Ramble On

My Life as a Movie : Dodgeball

2012-01-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

Again I have been remiss in my posts. It’s not for lack of things to say… I’m sure there are many who would readily debunk any rumor to that effect. However, two things have been swimming around in my head and I wanted to write about them. One of them will be a separate post. The other is just a series of observations that I want to somehow record.

Whenever I move, one of my first orders of business is to find a gym. I tend to go a lot, especially in the winter, and I do pretty serious evaluations of prospective clubs. I feel I have become something of a connoisseur. (Sidenote: I am thinking of adding this to my resume because it’s a pretty important skill that I think prospective employers would want to know about.) So after relocating to my beloved Old Town and then starting a new job, I was doing a lot of research again. The most surprising result of this research was the extraordinary parallels to the movie Dodgeball that started to appear. The movie became even funnier because the gym stereotypes hyperbolized in it, I found at least in the places I visited, were very real. And I have to think that this is not a unique situation.

Most recently I have visited a place in Old Town that was really the inspiration for this post. If it hadn’t been so uncannily similar to the film’s portrayal of Globo Gym, then I probably wouldn’t be writing right now. This particular gym is about two blocks from where I live and is brand spanking new, remodeled last year. It has all the latest equipment, gorgeous membership managers (both the men and the women are very pretty), super buff personal trainers walking around trying to get you to do a free session with them or take their class, they even have a movie night combined with a spin class on Friday nights (Great date night idea! File under: how to end your relationship). Their facilities are top of the line, gleaming and bright. I am pretty sure that I met White Goodman too. Though he seemed a bit more genuine and was not wearing a unitard, he DID have a handlebar mustache, he DID have highlights in his hair, and he WAS ridiculously jacked. I think my guy’s name was Bolt or something else straight out of American Gladiators. I was escorted around the club on the “VIP” tour, which is the tour they give everyone. And then I was told that I would get all kinds of discounts if I signed up that day. I have to wonder about the people who sign up no questions asked and don’t put up any resistance. Do people actually pay the first-quoted prices sometimes? Also, the fact that companies institute charges like an “enrollment fee” just so they can discount it when you sign up and make you feel good about yourself drives me bonkers.

The people I see frequenting this club are rich housewives, retired military guys, and young professionals. Everything seems so shiny and new. I find myself questioning things I have not questioned before: Are my workout clothes aren’t cute enough? (No, they are not.) Are the action figures… I mean, personal trainers watching my every move to make sure I am “maximizing my workouts” or “strengthening my core”? (maybe, I can’t tell… I’ve been reading on the elliptical but there’s always some freakishly tan person in a tech tee prowling). This is intimidating for someone like me for whom exercise is a very individual experience. It took me until this past year to actually enjoy an exercise class. I have found them helpful for getting out of a rut and changing things up. I think that it is probably helpful to be accountable to someone for reaching exercise goals and for actually getting stronger. Left to my own devices I would be happy just rockin’ out on the elliptical or the treadmill all the time. I think it is important to look outside yourself for help and to trust the counsel of others in this case and in others and that is something I am trying to take to heart for 2012. The only problem with doing so at a health club is that it comes at a hefty price.

I am thoroughly impressed with this place and have enjoyed my free ride there. I know it will soon be over but it’s been fun to see how the Globo Gym members of this world live. Now when I watch Dodgeball, I will appreciate it that much more.

Father/Daughter E-mail exchange

2011-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Summer Playlist

2011-08-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have been digging a lot of new (to me) music lately. For one reason or another, these songs are just hitting home with me. Whether its the beats, the tunes, or usually just the lyrics, some of them I just can't stop listening to. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to write with your comments or thoughts.

Potential Concert Buddies?

2011-08-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. Here's my most up-to-date fall concert schedule. It's ambitious and I'm hoping rewarding. Let me know if you're interested in coming to any of these with me.

Under a Blood Red Sky

2011-07-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

It's 6:07 am. I turn my head and shake the sleep from my eyes. When it clears I see salt marshes to the left and a neat row of brightly colored beach cottages, and docks with boats gently rocking in the water to the right. This is Sunset Beach. The sky is on fire with color and I cannot remember a more invigorating wake up or the last time I was so grateful for my life. I walk out onto the porch just next to my bed and deeply breathe in the humid, salty sea air.

Wait, what am I doing? This is the stuff that great runs are made of. Hurriedly, I pull on running clothes and shoes and sprint to the beach as fast as my legs will take me. The three-day rain streak is broken. The sky is blue, the clouds expansive, and the bright sunshine, oh the welcome sunshine, so coy these last few days, has returned and casts a rosy glow over the breakers and soft dunes. The tide is receding and all I see in front of me is flat sand. I hit my stride and before I know it, I've run out of island and hit the jetty. I turn around and face the steadily rising sun and watch it reflect brilliantly off the long stretch of beach before me. I set off towards the other end. My pace quickens as the gladness to be here, in this moment, courses through my veins.

The joys of beach life wash over me like the waves on the shore: little ones getting a head start to their sand castles, families taking early morning walks together, tai chi and quiet contemplative moments for others. I feel so far removed from everything else going on in my life but I also know this is the place I see it all most clearly too.

I'm wasting time writing about this day when I should be out enjoying it. To that end: The end.

Last day of Classes, Good Friday, and the first 24 hours in Istanbul!

2011-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

First thing’s first: I AM DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL! I have turned in all my papers, finished all my classes, passed comps, and completed all my presentations. It feels great to come home at night and not have schoolwork to think about. About two months ago, my cousin Cara and I were talking about her upcoming trip to Istanbul. She told me about her great set up and it sounded like it would be a great way to celebrate the completion of my Masters degree. So I bought my ticket for the day after my last class.

After two months of craziness involving much more than just school and work, I am now on the other side and looking at job searching, apartment searching, and just figuring out the next general steps for life. I am so excited to see what unfolds. Since there is very little certainty in my life, it’s probably best I just stick to writing about what I know, and that is mainly what has already happened. So I will do my best to recount the events of my recent trip to Istanbul and include pictures and video where appropriate.

The night before I left, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with some of my favorite William and Mary alumnae (Latin scholars… that means they were all girls!) who came out to celebrate the end of grad school with me. Mer even came from Colorado. Dedication! We danced and kicked back the cocktails to the sounds of the Bandylions, my friend Matt’s cover band. I am a borderline groupie, especially now that they play in Arlington more and not just Adams Morgan. It was a great end to my grad school classes and I felt very privileged to have so many fantastic people around to help celebrate.

I left for Istanbul the next evening. My flight wasn’t until 11pm that night and being Good Friday, I had just enough time to fit in the service at The Falls Church before I left. It was a beautiful Tenebrae service and a reverent send off for the flight. I flew direct to Istanbul. Aside from a very garish color choice for upholstery, the flight was great. I had most of the row to myself and so was able to stretch out across some seats and actually slept which is a major feat for me. I arrived around 4:30pm, got my visa and got on the Havas (pronounced HA-wash) bus to the heart of New Istanbul and the site of my hotel – Taksim Square. Driving from the airport to Taksim, you go under a 4^th century aqueduct put in by Justinian. Justinian was apparently a fan of public water works because he is also responsible for the Basilica Cistern, which I will come to later. But then you arrive in this very modern, European square that is crowded, noisy and full of bright video billboards. This is the first very apparent contrast in Istanbul- old and new. You are confronted with it visually first, and the more time you spend in the city the depth of the roots of this contrast become more apparent. Over the course of my trip, I noticed several of these contrasts or clashes that I kept coming back to when I would reflect on the day: dirty vs. beautiful, Islam vs. Christianity, East vs. West, and, as I mentioned, old vs. new. I will touch on all of these in the context of the site which embodies it best in my mind.

After wandering around the square for a bit, then finally asking a parking attendant, I found the hotel and then I found Cara. I will take a moment to say that this trip would not have happened without my awesome cousin Cara, who offered to let me stay with her while she was in the city for work. We had a lovely view of the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait from the room. After I set my stuff down and got cleaned up, we dove into the urban crush of Istiklal Street on a Saturday night to find some dinner. Istiklal is a pedestrian street lined with shopping and dining options that is right off Taksim Square. It’s almost assured you will end up there at some point on any trip to Istanbul. It’s also assured that you will mispronounce its name a LOT before you finally get it down. Cara made the mistake of telling a funny story about a guy she knows who calls it Icicle Street either because he literally can’t say the right way, or doesn’t care to change. From then on, I could not say the name of it correctly. I kept thinking icicle, icicle, icicle.

Turkey is almost 99% Muslim and so the fact that it was Holy Saturday didn’t change the pace of the evening at all. Cara and I between us had been researching where to attend Easter services the next morning. While we did get some good recommendations, the one I really wanted to go to was Aya Yorgi (Church of St. George) which is the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox church. You have probably come across Patriarch Bartholomew at some point. He’s a pretty cool guy as Patriarchs and my limited experience with them go... He’s into environmentalism and an inter-religious dialogue, also social justice. He’s a hero for the marginalized Eastern Orthodox Church in Istanbul, and rocks a totally sweet beard.

So after Cara went several rounds with a very unhelpful and often misinformed concierge desk at our hotel, I e-mailed the Patriarchate itself. A very nice man, the Rev. Dn. Nephon Tsimalis, wrote me back the following e-mail:

Dearly beloved in the Lord:

I pray my email finds you well and I wish you a spiritually uplifting Holy Week. I always recommend visitors in our City to attend Divine Services at the Ecumenical Patriarchate during this most holy time of year. Of course, the experience at this venerable See is very moving and promises to be memorable. It's an experience of a lifetime. Please attached the schedule of services.

Wishing you the very best, I remain...

And then he signed his name. Who wouldn’t want to spend Easter with a church after that? So Cara and I decided we would try for Aya Yorgi. We had a very yummy dinner of kofte (meatballs) and eggplant kebab, then we caught a cab to the western suburbs of the sprawling metropolis. Our cab driver sort of knew where the church was. He had to stop and ask for directions twice however. We got there a little over an hour before the service was supposed to start. We walked into a small stone courtyard and into a complex of buildings. We followed the stream of people going into the Church. We noticed everyone buying candles and kissing an icon. Cara and I decided we needed to get candles, so we did. The icon kissing we skipped but I did find out later that it was part of the ritual of this particular service. In waiting for the service to begin, we did meet a Greek couple on vacation and they helped us through some of the service when we asked what was happening since it was all in Greek. They were orthodox as well and congratulated us on our participation in such a sacred feast at such a sacred place.

To describe the service would be confusing, because even being there and seeing it all take place, we were a little lost. There was a lot of chanting, two processions, a large gathering out in the courtyard, Patriarch Bartholomew had his candle lit and spread the flame through the entire congregation, and then we all yelled “Christos Anesthi!” and then it was sort of over. The best I could find for an explanation was at this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Saturday That link gives a little more context about the service itself.

Aside from being a little lost in the actual liturgy of the service, we understood a lot of the symbolic elements of it, like the changing from the Lenten purple robes to white, and the passing of the Eternal flame was explained to us by our Greek friends. It is a tradition that originated at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (which Cara had just visited!). Apparently, in Greece, on Holy Saturday, the Eternal Flame is brought by military jet, and is distributed to waiting Priests who carry it to their local churches. The event is always televised and if there's a threat of bad weather or a delay, the entire country agonizes until the flame arrives safely.

One thing Cara and I did notice during dinner and in our hotel was the chocolate stores and gift shops having chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets everywhere. Again, I will reference Turkey’s almost total Muslim population. Is American culture so prevalent that even in a place where Easter means nothing to the vast majority of the population, it’s still important enough to have the chocolate bunnies everywhere? I found that very strange and asked Cara what she had seen around Valentine’s Day (another mostly commercial holiday, in my opinion) when she was in Syria. She said they took it very seriously. I not a big fan of Valentine’s Day, but this Easter bunny stuff in a Muslim country does not make sense to me. Also, I have wondered why a bunny for the harbinger? Wikipedia’s answer doesn’t convince me.

So after the service at around 2am Cara and I went to Istiklal again to try and find ice cream. The street was no less busy than it had been hours earlier. When you walk down Istiklal at any given time it’s like playing a game of frogger to keep from slamming into people, especially when you want to get to a store on the other side of the street. We did find ice cream, and the ice cream scoopers liked us, and we’re pretty sure they gave us free scoops. So with our Easter celebrations behind us, and the whole week in Istanbul in front of me, Cara and I headed back to the hotel and finally went to bed around 3am with big plans for a Bosphorus cruise the next day.

Sidenote - if you are interested in the differences between the Orthodox church and some other Christ-centered religions, here’s a quick comparison chart:
http://christianityinview.com/comparison.html

Day 2 – Bosphorus Cruise and Spice Bazaar

2011-05-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

After having gone to bed so late, we definitely woke up late the next day. I got up to try out the fitness center at the hotel and had a great time listening to the odd Turkish radio choices pumping at full blast over the stereo. When I got back, Cara and I got ready and then headed out for our first crack at the Istanbul mass transit system and to see what the Spice Bazaar held for us. We enjoyed the cheery tune the turnstiles play when you slide in your token to gain access to the trains. It sounds very much like when you win an extra life in an old school video game. Istanbul is built on seven hills. They are VERY steep hills and the city, in all its modernity, has decided that no one should be forced to walk them if they don’t want to. So you can take these underground funiculars down or up the hills as you please for a mere 1.75TL. Taksim Square is perched on one of these hills but our hotel was very close to the tram stop so transport was a breeze. By the end of the week, Cara had even been convinced to get an “Akbil” which is the Turkish version of a SmarTrip card.

So after hopping on the funicular, we transferred to the tram and got off at Eminönü, the port in the heart of Old Istanbul or the Sultanahmet neighborhood. This is the place where the dirty vs. beautiful contrast is most easily seen. It’s very different down there than up at the top of our hill in Taksim. The smells down near the port come over you in waves. It goes from urine, to fried fish, to delicious bread ring thing, to gasoline and back again. There is trash everywhere and pigeons in every place not occupied by vagrants, but there is a huge and beautiful mosque right next to the port. There is graffiti and salty fisherman hocking their catches all along the historic Galata Bridge leading right to the port area. There is almost constant traffic in the city, both pedestrian and automobile. At the port it is concentrated around a big mosque right near the quay and back into the neighborhoods as you draw closer to the Grand Bazaar. We wanted to do our cruise on Sunday so we stuck close to the boats. We perused the Spice Bazaar which is much smaller than its famous counterpart but which I ended up liking a lot better.

As soon as you enter the very old tile building that contains the bazaar, you smell wonderful things. Your nose is tickled with chilies, saffron, turmeric, roasted nuts, and essential oils of all kinds. The vibrant colors of all the spices in their bins next to the luscious piles of Turkish delight instantly incite hunger. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the Spice Bazaar because neither of us was in the market for its bounty just yet. We did enjoy the feast for the senses and the free samples from street vendors around the market though. Haloumi cheese, fresh sausage, pistachios, dried apricots… I did make a mistake in my eating at this point though. I had seen all these street vendors selling grilled corn, which is one of my favorite things. So I bought one ear before we went into the spice market. It was a huge letdown. The kernels were supremely overcooked, completely overdeveloping the starches. It was rubbery and it didn’t even have that nice grilled taste. Street vendor food fail. Stick with kebaps (or kebabs) in Istanbul - they’re a much safer bet.

We then headed to the docks to see about taking our cruise. We found out there was a boat leaving at 1:30 and we went ahead and bought our tickets. There was surprisingly little detail involved in the tickets and the brochure we were given and so we assumed that it would just be an out and back touristy thing. No no, this was an actual ferry ride and had different stops and you could get on and off at little ports on the Asian and European side of Istanbul. It was a pretty chilly day and while the views from up on top were much better, the wind and the cold drizzle that had started to fall made the upper decks particularly inhospitable. We moved below after about a half hour. We made our way up the Bosphorus Strait as if we were the ball in a game of Pong. I think if the sun had been out we would have seen the deep blue green of the water a bit better. But we saw the buildings and the city really well from the water.

We ended up a good distance north of the city and found out that the boat was going to dock for 2 hours and we had to get off. With this unexpected turn, we decided to hike up to the old crusade fortress at the top of another very steep hill. With no handy funicular to help us, we intrepidly started our hike. That hill was NOT messing around. We did make it to the top and we had some awesome views of the strait and you could even see further up where it opened to the Black Sea. The fortress itself was closed off but the fence barrier wasn’t that great so I climbed over it along with a few other tourists to see what was on the other side. Some nice views, a dilapidated courtyard, and some interesting shallow tunnel works were all that was there. I think the climb over the fence just made it feel a little cooler.

Finishing up at the fortress and very hungry, Cara and I headed back down the hill so we could get good seats for the boat ride home. We had been standing the whole way up. I ran ahead to stake our bench, and Cara got us a fried fish sandwich, which we were told we had to try while in Istanbul. It was good, but I would recommend trying to get one closer to Eminönü port if you ever get the chance. That’s where all the fish mongers are and probably it’s fresher and you’d get more fish to offset the bread. It was still good though. I also had a Turkish grilled cheese sandwich. It probably tasted so good simply because I was going to gnaw my arm off from hunger. The very salty mozzarella-esque cheese they serve here might be haloumi but there’s so many things I ate that I didn’t or couldn’t identify, I can’t be sure.

Finally, partially sated and fully seated, we settled in for the ride back to the main port. We got in some good cousin bonding time, and then we became very quiet. I think the tiredness had set in. We made it back to Taksim, went in search of a late dinner snack, and so dove back into Icicle… I mean Istiklal Street craziness. Cara had to work the next day so we didn’t stay out too late. I had an ambitious day of sightseeing ahead of me as well. I generally planned my days the night before but only once did I end up doing everything I had planned to do and nothing I didn’t plan to do.

One thing that is pretty awesome about Istanbul, being a dessert fiend, is the amazing dessert shops that we found everywhere. They don’t serve anything except dessert! It’s not like the VERY specialized stores you find in DC either. These are no one-trick ponies like the cupcakeries and the fro-yo places, which I love, don’t get me wrong. They serve cakes and pies and puddings and tortes and ice cream, etc. They give you a binder when you sit down, with pictures, and you sort through it all and it’s hard to decide because they all look wonderful. It reminds me of Europe and was somehow refreshing, and also delicious. So again very late we called it a night.

Day 3 – The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cisterne

2011-05-31T20:14:00.001-07:00

I started each day at the hotel with a trip to the fitness center. The floor to ceiling windows in the smallish room overlook the square and I found myself able to block out the painfully outdated radio selections just by watching the crazy flow of traffic around the square. The cars weave in and out of each other and the nonsensical traffic patterns of the square itself make for an almost mesmerizing distraction. I also found that when I did put on my iPod, The Hold Steady and Rilo Kiley made my morning that much better and at certain points, the traffic seemed to be pulsing with the beat.

Cara was kind enough to let me have her hotel breakfast because she usually doesn’t have time to eat before work. Well, while breakfast couldn’t replace seeing the original frescoes in the Aya Sofya or steaming in a hamam, it certainly was a fabulous way to start the day. They had acres of food laid out: Breads, pastries, fresh fruit, dried fruit, omelette station, meats, cheeses, an olive bar, cereal, hot entrees with 4 different kinds of sausage, and all kinds of yogurt and toppings. I was thankful to be able to start my day that way. I almost never ate lunch. I would just sail on through until evening. Plus, jet lag screwed up my appetite a little as well. But I always made sure that I ate in the morning, if only just to enjoy the expansive views of the city from the huge windows.

After a hearty break to my fast, I headed out to catch the tram down into Sultanahmet where all the big sites to see in Istanbul are concentrated. I chanced upon a little bit of sun that morning and it’s amazing what a difference it makes with warmth. Aside from these rare sunny moments it was a chilly and grey week for the most part. I had originally planned to start with Topkapi Palace and then work my way to Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya, but the Blue Mosque was staring me in the face when I stepped off the tram and so I headed over. I walked up to the enormous building, through the marble courtyard, past the rows and rows of washing stations, the large central fountain, and up to the ornately decorated main entrance. I covered my head with my scarf and removed my shoes, and then I entered this palatial building. Islam doesn’t allow for images of humans to be displayed in their places of worship and so you get the beautiful tiles and elaborate design of the ceilings and walls, and the striking carvings and architecture of the building itself. The magnitude of the building and the vivid colors displayed make it hard to think it was built in 1609. This building is also representative of the next theme of culture clash that made itself readily apparent in just seeing the sites of Istanbul: Islam vs. Christianity. The place where that is most glaringly obvious though is the Aya Sofya, which I didn’t get to until Wednesday.

After the Blue Mosque I went to the Basilica Cisterne, which proved to be an entertaining little slice of history and kitsch, all rolled into one. This building is probably best described by its Turkish name: Yerebatan Sarayı or "Sunken Palace". It is composed of 336 massive pillars of marble and, because it was intended to be a Basilica and then changed to a cisterne in the 6th century under the aquaphile Justinian, has excellent accoustics and a floor entirely covered in water. While the structure alone would have been interesting, more amusing to me was the fact that they were pumping in very creepy music, and had it lit very eerily. What took the cake was Turkey’s answer to the “old timey” photo places they have at amusement parks and towns that lack real tourist attractions. They had a corner of the expansive room set up to look like the den of a harem, and they had belly dancing costumes, sultans robes, and other silly hats and scarves that you could put on and have your photo taken in. It struck me as extremely out of place and reminded me a bit of some of the museums in Africa who wanted to “spice up” their museums with some extra touches that felt completely contrived and out of place.

Up next, Topkapi Palace. I walked over to the huge marble wall with the ornate inscriptions in gold and jade inlaid over the ebony doors. I loved walking through into the pristine courtyards and seeing all the tulips in bloom. Sultan Ahmet was a big fan of tulips and I happened to be in Istanbul during the International Tulip Festival as well as Shopfest! 2011. Shopfest, as far as I can tell, is just a time when they advertise all the shopping in Istanbul and have sales and people are supposed to fly in from all over to pump money into Turkey’s economy. The Tulip Festival is much more pleasing to the senses and easier on the wallet. When a sultan decides he likes something, the people really respond because there are tulips everywhere. They are well cared for, colorful, and artfully interwoven into the major sites and boulevards of Istanbul. Even amidst the grittier parts of the city, you could still find some bold red and yellow splashes peeking out of trash-filled streets and unsavory odors. Another prevalent theme in Istanbul: the juxtaposition of the dirty with the beautiful.

Topkapi Palace would have been a lot more pleasant had there been about one third of the number of tourists. I waited in line for a solid 45 minute to get an entrance ticket to the Palace itself, then I waited another hour for the audio tour rental. They don’t have good signage in the musems and so audio tours are really necessary if you want to know what you’re looking at. They are always an extra charge but worth it. Once I was through those lines, I thought it would be normal walking through buildings and seeing things. Such was not the case. The palace is made of... I would call them compartments. Certain rooms are connected to one another but there are divisions and you cannot walk from one room to another all the way through the house. Learning more about how palace life was conducted it was easier to see why they would build it like that. You need to be able to keep the concubines away from the wives, the men separate from the women, and there is a distinct hierarchy to where one lives in the palace as well. The palace’s best feature is far and away the unbelievable painted tiles and the intricate designs you find to demonstrate both the wealth and power of the sultan. It’s also interesting to see how beautiful the harem is and in the audio guide they talk about the importance of the position of the mother of the sultan. All the women used to compete to have the children essentially so that they would be the mother of the eventual sultan and wield incredible power over the sultan and the government of the country even.

There is also a gigantic diamond housed there called the Spoonmaker diamond because legend has it that someone long ago traded the diamond for three spoons. In another area they house the most holy Islamic relics, the prophet Mohammed’s cloak and sword. I had fun going through the different rooms and it would have been great had it not been for the huge volumes of people and the long waits at every turn. It was worth the trip because the architecture and design elements are beautiful. After Topkapi Palace, I walked around the Sultanahmet neighborhood for a little while. I walked to a mosaic museum in the far corner of the district that was tucked away behind a small bazaar. The mosaics date back to something like 600 AD. There are some pretty hilarious information plaques next to the sections of mosaic they have recovered. You can tell they are done by the archaeologists themselves because the translations are a bit off, and they go into extreme detail about the excavation process, how hard it was, and how much visitors will appreciate the excellent care taken to preserve the tiny tiles. I promise I appreciate the mosaic and the work that went into excavating it for my enjoyment! You don’t have to be a archaeological martyr about it, sheesh.

After the mosaic museum, I was getting tired but still had some time left. I walked up to the neighborhood of the Grand Bazaar and thought whether or not I should dive in to the crush and pressure to buy or not. I decided not to that day, and to save my energy for a more concentrated effort on Wednesday. I hopped on the tram and went back to the hotel. I got back and decided that I wanted to take a trip to the on-site hamam. A hamam is a turkish bath house. Traditionally it involves a large slab of heated marble on which patrons would lay, steam themselves, and then bathe using water spigots in several places around the large marble table in the middle. The one at our hotel was unisex and had small compartments off from the large slab in the middle that had smaller benches around the wall spigot in each. I hung out in the steamy room for a while, then popped into the very deep and very hot jacuzzi tub. Suffice it to say, it was a pretttttty strenuous afternoon.

I met up with Cara and one of her co-workers and we hung out in a room for a while. It was interesting to hear her talk about her work in real time. Usually when she gets back from a trip I only hear a very condensed version of how the trip went and I don’t get the blow by blow stories that a visit to her work site treated me to. I’m not totally sure how much I can say about Cara’s job on a blog, suffice it to say that it’s very interesting and provides for a lot of ups and downs and human interest stories.

We got a little sidetracked chatting and we didn’t end up going out to dinner until about 10pm. It’s not a problem in Istanbul though because the city is still humming well into the wee hours of the morning, even on a weeknight. We were on a mission to find molten chocolate cake (or “kek” in Turkish... which was far and away my favorite foriegn vocab word for the week). We did not succeed during my entire stay despite numerous efforts at at least seven different dessert purveyors. I did get to try some very nice other kinds of chocolate kek in my search and was only disappointed once or twice. One interesting menu item spotted: rice pudding with chicken breast! We had another late night but it’s fine because sleep is irrelevant on vacation.

Day 4 – Chora Church, Aya Sofya, Whirling Dervishes

2011-05-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

My day started off with more weird music at the hotel fitness center, another fabulous breakfast overlooking the whole of Istanbul, and a little bit of misdirection from our hotel’s concierge. There is a very out-of-the-way Byzantine church in the western suburbs of Istanbul that was supposed to have wonderful mosaics that I wanted to see. I asked the concierge how to get out there via public transport. She said I should just take the number 87 bus and then she gave me very specific directions for where to wait for this bus. It was easy to find the bus stop she was talking about, but after waiting for a half hour there and seeing every other number bus except the 87, I decided she was wrong. Cara had also told me that they had been wrong or unknowing in other areas before so I decided I should ask someone else and try and find it on my own. Then, I was walking back to the hotel and passing the bus stop that the concierge specifically told me to ignore and there, sitting there just waiting for me to board, was the 87 bus. I hopped on and we started off into the farther reaches of the sprawl of Istanbul.

I quickly realized that I had not really asked any other questions about how to get to this church such as, when should I get off the bus? Hmm. So I went up to the bus driver and started pestering him, which in DC bus culture is strictly taboo. These transactions are also made much more difficult because no one in Istanbul outside the hotel and tourism culture seems to speak much English. So I tried to keep any questions I had to ask people to the bare essentials and use hand motions whenever possible. Example: “Chora Church?” (hand motions: shrug of shoulders and bewildered look on face, followed by pointing to a map). This may have been overkill, but the driver knew what I wanted to know and showed me where to get off so I considered it a communication job well done.

I didn’t spend a lot of time at Chora Church because it is small. If you are planning on a visit to Istanbul any time soon, I would say you could skip this if you’re pressed for time to see other things. However, it is a great break from the bigger attractions and mosaics are some of the most important and historically representative of the Byzantine period. Chora means “land” or “country” in Greek or This church was converted into a mosque during World War II and then later became just a museum. A layer of plaster covered all the artwork and over time earthquakes have taken chunks of them down. And archivists and archaeologists did what they could to salvage what was left. This is the exact same story with Aya Sofya which was next on my list for the day.

Aya Sofya was far and away my favorite building in Istanbul. It’s very similar to Chora Church in its history, and not that much older. The site was dedicated in 360 A.D. (Chora was dedicated in 408), and completed around 520 under Justinian. It has served as a place of worship for Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox christians, and Muslims for over 1500 years. It changed to a mosque in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. No services of any kind have been held here since 1931 when it was closed and in 1935 it reopened as a museum. As I mentioned before, this building really embodies the clash between Islam and Christianity that made its mark all over Istanbul. Chora church alludes to it, but really the view you get when you step off the tram at the Sultanahmet stop and turn towards the square is the crux of it. You see two gigantic structures, both shining examples and defining achievements in their respective architecture styles, and each representative of a different religion.

The Aya Sofya has it all inside. The Blue Mosque was always a mosque and still remains so to this day. The renovations done to Chora Church removed the minarets, the mihrab, and the minbar, as well as any other decorations that were added while it was a mosque. Aya Sofya still has the remnants of the battle inside it. When you walk in, you get the audio tour and the tour orients you with the outside of the structure first, asking you to note the minarets, and the outward evidence of different periods of construction which you can see pretty easily, even without an untrained eye. Walking in, you feel the coolness off the marble immediately and the weight of the structure around you. I would guess that there isn’t one piece of that building that doesn’t weigh less than 200 pounds. The huge doors and grates that lead to the cistern below are the most prominent features that lead from the narthex into the main sanctuary. I wish I knew all the technical terms for the parts of the church but I do not and so I ask for leniency with my terminology.

The nave is really where the beauty is. The huge domes, the massive purpose poryphyr pillars, the huge medallions of Muhammed’s relatives’ initials, and the gradeur and history of the structure leave their mark immediately. I can think of few other places where I really do think of the stories the walls could tell, but this place is one. What would the narrative of a building that has its mihrab right underneath a beautiful mosaic icon of Jesus and Mary be? You think of the battles that were won and lost and the people who took shelter here, the conquerors and the conquered that passed through these doors, and you can see the scars on the walls and how each left their own mark. One of the best features of the building for me was in the upper gallery where the vikings left their initials carved in the marble in the balcony. You can only really read the name “HALVDAN” and it dates from the 9th century. But there are other carvings and figures which are possibly older but undeciperable.

Obviously, I loved the Aya Sofya. It’s the building that left the biggest impression on me. I think it’s the best example of the culture clash that defines modern day Istanbul and the best example of what a strategic and interesting seat it holds in today’s Near East and European spheres. I was sad to leave the building but I know that I will continue to think about it as I read more about the history of the region and how events that transpired there influenced present day circumstances.

After the Aya Sofya, I walked back up to the neighborhood around the Grand Bazaar again to see about going to a hamam. I stopped by one that had been recommended to me but found that I didn’t have time to fully enjoy it that day. I decided to hamam (not sure if that’s a verb) the next day walked up to the Grand Bazaar to see if I could get a slight orientation. I spent a half hour there and barely scratched the surface of one of the avenues in the mercantile labyrinthe. I couldn’t stay long because I was meeting Cara for dinner and a whirling dervish show that evening. I met Cara at the tram stop in Sultanahmet and we wanted to go to this place that doubled as a cooking school for dinner. Turns out, they were full and only do one seating at a set time per night but we did stop by and I decided I would sign up for the cooking class for the next evening and Cara would join me for dinner the next day. I had a mezze plate for dinner. When my brother Ben and I were in Egypt we decided that we could live on mezze forever and never get tired of it. I still believe that.

The whirling dervish show was good. I had been told to try and find one that’s less a spectacle and more of a cultural experience. I wanted to know more about Sufism and what goes into the whirling. There were no lights and no grand choreographic measures for this but it was a dual show: turkish traditional music and dervishes. I appreciated getting to hear a little more from the crazy instruments and how the two aspects, the religion and the music support one another. I was amazed at how the participants can spin in one place for so long without getting dizzy, without looking, without moving from their center at all. Whirling dervishes are a particular mystic sect of Islam. Kabbalah is to Judaism as Sufism is to Islam, basically. It’s sort of mandatory to see a Whirling Dervish gathering while you’re in Turkey. It’s also on the Intangible Culture World Heritage list and my UNESCO geekiness mandated it. After the performance Cara and I went to Taksim, found a yummy dessert place and sat around and chatted until it was very late again.

Day 5 – Dolmabahçe Palace, Grand Bazaar, Hamam, Cooking Class

2011-05-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

And then it was my last day in Istanbul! I took a little more time in the morning to leave the hotel because my day wasn’t as jam packed as the others had been. I decided I wanted to walk around the city a little bit more and not use public transport very much. That was always my favorite thing to do in Paris. Whenever I had spare time, I would fill it by walking wherever I was going, no matter how far. It helped me get to know the neighborhoods, and get a better feel for different areas. I notice a lot more around me. One thing I got very loud and clear on this day walking around more was that being a blonde in Istanbul makes you extremely conspicuous. I didn’t feel like a target so much as I just wish that I wasn’t so noticeable as a tourist and immediately identifiable as American. In any case, walking around the city felt a little stranger due to that.

I went from the hotel and walked down the steep hill to Dolmabahçe Palace. I didn’t intend on going inside but once I got there, it was just about to open and I thought maybe I would just do it. I am really glad that I did. The tour guide at Dolmabahçe was great. It was so nice not to have to listen to an audio guide and to be able to interact with someone. The Palace is like the Turkish Versailles. It was fun to peruse the opulent décor, chandeliers that weighed two tons, and immaculately manicured lawns and gardens. The Palace is also right on the water with guards patrolling the docking areas. This palace is where Ataturk died as well. No travel blog about Turkey would be complete without a cursory view of Ataturk. He is credited as the founding father of the modern Turkish state, many political, cultural and economic reforms, and Turkish Independence. The best takeaway from my tour was a new phrase: “No mubalaga!” which basically means no b.s. There were a lot of Indian tourists on my tour with me and they struck up a conversation with our guide about the language. I don’t know if this is true or not but Levant said that modern day Turkish is 45% derived from Urdu. Either way, this phrase was a good one and rolls trippingly off the tongue. So fun to say.

After Dolmabahçe I took a long walk to the Spice Bazaar to pick up some souvenirs for family and then I started up to the Grand Bazaar to get a few more. Scarves are the thing to get here. And I began to try and bargain for everything. If I wanted a necklace, I would ask about a discount for two. I would not sit with the merchants, I would not drink their tea. I told them I was there to deal and drove hard bargains. I thought I was doing such a good job. Of course, I wasn’t and was probably just paying the prices they originally intended to get people to pay. I found out later that I went through the entire Spice Bazaar paying the marked prices when I could have been wheeling and dealing my way in there as well. I was sad about that. But it didn’t occur to me that spices or teas would be different from scarves or jewelry. Missed opportunity.

After the Grand Bazaar, I was excited for a real hamam experience. I had a long discussion with my friend from the study abroad office who had given me a heads up about the full hamam experience. I was glad for this preparation because I think it’s a little easier to go for it if you know what you’re getting into before it happens. I went to the Çemberlitaş Hamam and signed up for a scrub and a massage. I had never done anything approaching a spa experience so everything was new to me. It’s a beautiful room and very nice inside. They had mostly tourist clientele. When you walk in, depending on your service, they give you a towel and everything else you need. And you get a locker you can use to keep your stuff in. I had a very relaxing afternoon and even felt like I got a real cultural experience as well. I maybe wouldn’t have done it otherwise since it’s not really my style but it was fun and new. I’m leaving out some details so if you go to Turkey and want to hamam, let me know and I’ll give you my full story run-down so you can be prepared.

I was thoroughly relaxed and shiny with oil by the end of my time at the hamam and it was time for me to go to my Turkish cooking class. There is this place in the Sultanahmet neighborhood called Cooking Alaturka which is run by a Dutch lady who studied in Istanbul, fell in love with it, and moved back after university and started a life there. She used to be in the hotel industry and is writing a book about it but she currently teaches Turkish cooking to tourists and I had a great time learning from her! We had quite the menu. We started off with zucchini patties, green beans in olive oil in tomato puree, and yoghurt soup. The main course was called Sultan’s delight, which is a large pot of vegetables and meat slow cooked with Turkish spices and red pepper paste, a smoked eggplant puree in béchamel sauce, and for dessert we ate quince stuffed with apples cooked in vanilla and cinnamon syrup. It was a delicious meal and so fun. I would recommend this for anyone traveling alone as it was a great way to meet other travelers and a fun, communal way to spend an afternoon. We had a great time cooking together, and eating together was a great opportunity to trade information about what to see and do. It was here that I found out I could bargain at the spice market and that I probably should have looked for a more local, less well advertised hamam. Randomly, a guy at the class went to Duke with Cara and they knew each other. Small world! So after we all ate and drank together to finish our evening Cara and I caught the tram home. It was a great finish to my stay in Istanbul. I was excited to go home the next day because I felt like I just put my life and all its big decisions on hold for a week. It was a fantastic break and I feel like I did the right thing going.

Istanbul is an incredible city. And the rest of Turkey is definitely on my list for places to see. I’ll have to pump Cara for information on Cappadochia, Gallipoli, Chalcedony, Izmir, Ankara and other sites. Sigh. So much to see in this world. My flight home was great, uneventful other than another random meeting with a friend of a co-worker who had been traveling in Istanbul as well. What a great trip! Many thanks again to Cara and all the people who gave me great advice and guidance for my time there.

2011-04-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

This is a poem for Good Friday that my Aunt Jill sent my mom years ago. Since it is Good Friday today, I thought I'd share it with you all. It's from a collection of works called Waters Under the Earth (Canon Press) by Robert Seigel.

This Lenten season has been a particularly meaningful one for me. I don't know that I really understood the journey of lent or the joy of Easter (other than assured receipt of mass quantities of chocolate, and maybe a pretty new dress if I was lucky) before I was an adult. It's strange for me to think of how disconnected I was from my faith for most of my childhood. It felt like something that happened around me and that I was only marginally involved in, simply because I was present for it. Now having taken ownership of it and being an active participant, the words I've been saying for so many years have sprouted new branches of understanding.

The liturgy I've said for so long has formed deep roots and a structure from which my faith has grown. As I get older, and I learn more about different parts of it, I am more amazed at how the church fathers of yore wrote such a complete, concise, and beautiful expression of faith for us to join together in on a Sunday. This Easter I will be in Constantinople/Istanbul. I'm looking forward to a different experience of this high feast day. I'll report back with pictures and stories throughout the week.

This trip comes directly on the heels of my completion of grad school. I'm done with my Masters degree officially and I am elated. What better recourse than to leave the country! It's sort of my M.O. A toast to other GW graduates and to a summer of uncertainty and faith!

Luck be a Lady

2011-04-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

I used to enter contests all the time. Sweepstakes, lotteries, games of chance, filling out surveys for gift certificates, etc. If it took less than 5 minutes to enter, I always did it. I never won anything. After COUNTLESS attempts at beating the odds, zilch. It's a typical story. I've never really gambled because I don't feel like giving my money away. It's too hard to come by.

So in the last few weeks, I've taken a different approach. I've entered things that actually required skill to win and had some pretty good experiences. The last two weeks at my local trivia night, my team has taken home top honors and a $50 bar tab. I'm not going to take the credit for this because it has largely been due to the older brother of a college friend who plays with me. He knows the sports trivia cold and that's always where I crumble. But we've been riding high on our victories and we've also won a bid in the annual trivia tournament of champions as a result. Living in Fairfax and trying to finish grad school and sort out my future, this is a rare comfort.

But the real big victory is illustrated below:

http://councilnets.mayhem.cbssports.com/opm/standings

WHAT UP! And I should add that really, my skill in picking a bracket is VERY limited. But happily, VCU really helped me out by making everyone's brackets fall apart too. I am definitely pulling for Butler to win it all. So, in the wake of what is turning out to be the biggest loss in my life to date, I've had a few tiny victories. And I have to say, they feel good.

Things Have Changed

2010-08-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm sitting on the edge of a long journey about to happen. I felt excited and rarin' to go at the outset of last year's first year back in academia. Now that I'm approaching the real beginning of year two, many things are different. I feel that I actually have a marketable skill and that I will actually get a job when I finish school and this is somehow frightening and amazing at the same time. My mom used to tell me about getting her masters and her PhD and I used to think, there's NO WAY I can ever do that. That's way too much work. Here I am just two classes and one exam away from my degree and I can hardly believe it. I had a summer full of travels and adventures, and I keep having to remind myself that this is not a dream, that I actually can do and have done these things.

As I approach the end of my academic life (I hope...), I start to wonder how I'll actually fare in the world of 9-5, five days a week, two weeks vacation per year. It sounds so limiting, so constricted. I think it's going to be really important for me to find a job that keeps me mobile and keeps me thinking outside borders. I don't mind being in one place for a while, but it's hard to think of not traveling very much and not having a lot of time to do so. After such an amazing trip to Africa, I can hardly think that my life shouldn't include the other three continents I haven't even touched and many, many more long and involved explorations into other cultures and the people that comprise them.

Whatever awaits me at the end of this year, I know it's gotta be good, and it's gotta be big.

Concert Calendar

2010-08-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

anyone interested in going to any of these upcoming shows with me?

Saturday 8/21, Vienna Teng in Silver Spring, MD at the Takoma Park Performing Arts Center, $20.

Tuesday 8/24, Rodrigo y Gabriela at Wolf Trap, $25 Lawn

Friday 8/27, Marah at Rock and Roll Hotel, $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Saturday 9/11, Vampire Weekend at Merriweather Post, $30-$45

Sunday 10/10, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers at The Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, $15/$17

Thursday 10/14, Belle and Sebastian at D.A.R. Constitution Hall, $38.50

Saturday 10/16, Ingrid Michaelson at The Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville $18/20

Sunday 10/17, The Avett Brothers and Grace Potter at The Charlottesville Pavilion, $35

Friday 10/22, The Felice Brothers at Rock and Roll Hotel, $15

Friday 11/12, Brian Regan at the Warner Theater, $60

Let me know!

Sunset Beach

2010-07-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that are making me love this place even more, after 20 years of coming here every summer.

-The salty crust on the top layer of sand at the point and the soft sand underneath: Crème Brûlée sand.

-Watching the thunderheads rolls in and the anticipation of a thunderstorm at the beach.

-The fascination of the young ones with seashells and other beachy objets trouvées

- The hotness of the sun mitigated by the breeze off the ocean, mixed with the smell of suntan lotion

-Morning runs down to the point, and then coming back to a cold hose shower outside

- License to eat unlimited quantities of ice cream

-Evening games of Scrabble, Cranium, and crosswords

- Watching my little cousins grow up

I have the love of my family in my soul, the ocean water in my veins, and the kiss of the sun on my skin. This week makes me so happy.

Home Again, Home Again

2010-07-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few quick notes having already touched down in Atlanta and with a short layover until my final leg. Lots of Chacos every where. This gladdens my heart as I think that Chacos are God's gift to feet. But a surprising amount are popping up here in Atlanta and I guess it's just unexpected because of the locale. I would not be surprised if I were at, say, DEN or SLC.

I just purchased soft serve frozen yoghurt for breakfast. I couldn't resist the temptation. It was as creamy, cold, sweet and delicious as I hoped it would be.

It feels very strange to be coming back in the pinnacle of summer, as I have just left a country in winter. Granted, it was a milder winter, but it is strange to see people in shorts and sandals and feel the oppressive humidity everywhere. I am also excited for the extended daylight hours. The sun was setting at about 5:45 in SA and here I'll get a good three extra hours of daylight. To me, this is the best part about summer. It feels like the days go on forever.

I had to claim my baggage and re-check it here because it was my first stop in the US and I had to go through customs. It took probably one quarter of the time to get my baggage off the plane and into my hands as it did in Jo'burg or Cape Town. I hate checking bags anyway, but it was necessary for a 6 week trip. I have to give a certain amount of respect to the people at the Atlanta airport for how quickly they manage the enormous amount of stuff that goes in and out of their airport every day. Dulles too, of course.

I cannot WAIT to get back on Pandora and podcasts and find some new tunes and incorporate my new African bands with my current library. I am going to give the Genius function on my iTunes a run for its money. I want to see how it will interpret the new stuff and weave it in with the old.

I am so excited to go home and watch the final of the World Cup. I am not as excited to go back to work this week. But there is something nice about coming back to familiarity and life as I know it. It feels like I've been gone forever but it really hasn't been that long. But its always great to come back to the US.

Last Days in SA

2010-07-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

I can see why most South Africans stay on the garden route for multiple weeks. Each town has its own feel and different things it offers. You could spend a few days in each town. Since we're trying to fit the whole country into three weeks, we haven't had that luxury. But we have seen quite a bit. I think we saw the best thing Plett has to offer this morning as well. We got to go to the Robberg Nature Preserve for a morning hike to the seal colony and surrounding beaches. We encountered about 4 other people in our three hour hike as well as pristine beaches with crashing waves, and some gorgeous landscapes. The hike was a bit challenging as well, we hike along a rock wall and had to pick along some difficult and steep terrain for a few parts. It was really enjoyable. The seals were fun to watch for a while too, but they smelled to high heaven and most of them were asleep in the sun. There were a few playing in the water and I kept replaying the Planet Earth footage of the Great White chomping down on one of them in slo-mo. Poor unsuspecting seals.

The garden route was well worth the two full days of driving it took to get there and back. We came across lots of charming seaside towns, did some fantastic eating, and had wonderful vistas the whole way. We went through a lot of farm land and saw ostriches, sheep and even some other game preserves. I would have wanted to spend more time out there though. It's a holiday destination, not a sightseeing destination. The whales and the Robberg hike were great though and I think our time on the Garden route was well spent.

Coming back to Cape Town we decided to live it up a little for the last two nights of the trip and stayed in Camps Bay. It's like the St. Tropez of Africa basically. Everything is expensive and chic, and it's all a bunch of high-priced real-estate crammed along the gorgeous coastline. Since we're still on the Atlantic the surf is a bit rough and there's lots of kelp so it's not really good swimming. Plus, it's winter here, so that doesn't help water temperatures. But other than that it's a very nice seaside town.

For our last full day in Africa, we checked off the last three things on the Cape Town to do list: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, and Boulders Beach (African penguin colony). Kirstenbosch was the first stop and it's an oasis of calming sights and aromas. Being winter, we didn't see all that much in bloom but we did have a lot of good views of Table Mountain. One of my favorite flowers blooms in SA in abundance, the Bird of Paradise flower. And they have tons of HUGE ones all over Kirstenbosch so that was very nice. I got very excited about the "Otter pond" thinking that they would have some real otters. But it's just a sculpture of an otter they say represents the rare otters that still inhabit the streams around Table Mountain.

After Kirstenbosch it was on to Boulders Beach to spot some penguins. We had a great drive down looking at all the 19th centure colonial architecture. It was very reminiscient of Martinique and New Orleans. I get the European feeling everywhere I look here. It's amazing the lasting influence it has over a continent that, from its origins, is so wholly different from Europe. Ah colonialism. The penguins are very accustomed to humans. They had a bunch of juvenile penguins who were molting their fuzzy coat for the glossy feathers of the adult penguin. The mom penguins were guarding the openings of the burrows from the humans who were all peering in to take photos, myself included. But sometimes the youngsters would waddle out for a stretch in the sun. The other penguins without young ones to guard were out and about on the rocks and paid no mind to the people around. They just went about their business. You could get within about three feet of the penguin before he would start to run from you or look at you funny. Penguins are such silly birds, we could have stayed for hours of entertainment.

Next it was the Cape of Good Hope. The most striking thing about this fabled nautical destination is the contrast between the calm of the Indian ocean and the chaos of the Atlantic. Looking on one side of the peninsula to the other you can see why sailors would dread the passage. The Indian ocean is like swimming pool compared to the cauldron of mischief the Atlantic has been throwing at navigators for centuries. It was interesting to see the exhibits about the different shipwrecks and the symbolism of the Cape of Good Hope of mariners and shipping companies alike. It's also a place of unparalelled beauty and dramatic cliffs with turquoise blues and greens at their feet. They have a huge nature preserve surrounding the areas which has a lot of indigenous shrubs and flowers. It's nice they preserved everything but it is pretty barren other than the view points. We were so tired from hiking and walking around a lot that we didn't do any of the optional hikes down to the various points and beaches, but there are a lot of options. It's uncharacteristic of us, but I'm starting to feel the effects of three weeks of non-stop travel.

Our last night in Africa consisted of a few loads of laundry, a beautiful sunset in the town just north of Camps Bay, Sea Point, and a delicious three course meal of fresh prawns, some fresh caught Cap Salmon ( a hearty white fish, not far off from the Petty family's beloved Chesapeake rockfish) and a delicious peppermint chocolate dessert which I'm still really not sure what it was other than a fabulous end to one of the best culinary weeks of my life.

We had to get a very early start for our Cape Town flight and when I woke up in the morning I heard a steady stream of water. It sounded like someone taking a shower, so I checked the oceanview balcony and was greeted by a solid wall of sideways rain. I was grateful for it otherwise I probably would not have been able to leave such a wonderful city.

We flew back from Cape Town, had an easy time at both airports other than it taking forever for our baggage to come off the plane, and met Amy who took us off to lunch with a pastor and his wife from her church in Johannesburg. They were such a lovely couple. 5 kids of their own and two adopted children, one with very special needs as he was severly abused as a child. I think that's been one of the reasons why I have loved Jo'burg so much is that Amy has shared her community and her work with me in a way that makes the town a lot more than just a really huge city or a place where I watched the world cup. Getting to know the children she shelters at Child Haven, and meeting the people behind the ministry (their home also doubles as Baby Haven where they house unwanted or discarded children) really made a difference in making the city more human and less just a stopover. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and hospitality of the people I have met in Africa. Oddly enough, the rudest people I have encountered have been in the service industry. It doesn't make sense to me as an American, and also as a former service industry employee. You really do have to dig deep at times in your encounters with people. In my experience in Africa, people genuinely take an interest in you and they earnestly wanted you to love their country as much as they did. They would always provide good information about what to see, although they didn't usually know the specifics.

I felt very fortunate to see as much of Africa as I did end up seeing. Amy said that often, because of the economic situation of a lot of its residents, people in South Africa only end up seeing a very small percentage of the country where they live. And in my travels, I found it to be one of the most rich, diverse, and beautiful places on earth. It's not a well-oil machine of tourism either. I think my experience in the islands prepared me well for the inefficiencies and the quirks with a country less developed than the US. I have to love it for that too. It's wholly different but it's not a place where you feel alienated or so out of place that you could never be at ease. Sure, it's dangerous to walk around at night and you definitely have to be on the alert, but it's easy to get over the bad parts when you've seen as much good as I have.

I am so sad to be leaving this country. I will never forget my time here and perhaps my travels will lead me back eventually. I hope and pray that it will, and until then, I am very happy to be coming back to life in the US and excited to see what my last semester at GWU and beyond holds.

T.I.N.A.

2010-07-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

So you recognize the "T.I.A." I've been saying over and over (it's best known from the movie Blood Diamond). Well, today, after driving a part of the Garden Route on the Southeastern coast of South Africa, I have to say I feel more like I'm in California or Greece. I keep thinking to myself, This Is Not Africa. We had a great day on the way from Cape Town to Plettenberg Bay (Plett) today. We started out very early from Cape Town, and drove to Hermanus. We were hoping for a few whale spottings. We got there just as the town was waking up, and we saw not just one, but 5 southern right whales. They come right into the bay in Hermanus and it's mating season. We were fortunate enough to stumble on a Hermanus native who worked for one of the companies and she explained the scene unfolding before us. The first thing we saw was a lone female who was swimming on her back and slapping the water in the hopes of attracting males. It's a very effective strategy because within a half hour we saw at least three other males around her. Then we saw another lone blow closer in to the shore. Soon we saw several more around that single one. It was amazing. I could have stayed to watch them for hours. Plett is supposed to be an excellent place to watch whales as well, but we didn't see any this evening as we were driving in. Thank goodness for the Hermanus stop.

The next leg of the trip took us to George. Again, I was on a quest for a unique lunch, unwilling to sully the memories of yesterday's masterpiece. Again the guide came up huge with a selection of a restaurant on a farm about 10km outside of George. It was called Leila's arms and we had a wonderful time there. You arrive and it's a small cottage with rustic furnishings and a friendly proprietor who greets you. They have a very small menu but most of their ingredients are made from scratch and come from their garden. We had a great cottage pie and baked sweet potato with tons of toppings and a gloriously fresh and deliciously spiced chicken salad. YUM. Since we were the only people there, we also got a tour of the main cottage house which we found out was made of mud and straw bales and had a bed that rolled out into the open so you could sleep under the stars. It was incredible.

We bade goodbye to our lovely lunch spot and pressed on to Plett. We got to our accommodations and headed out to go for a run on the beach and pick up stuff to make dinner. W ran this beautiful road full of palatial beach houses and stunning views. It was worth it just to see the rich real estate and feel the sea spray. We will be watching the Spain/Germany game tonight and looking forward to some hikes along the coast in the morning.

The Winelands

2010-07-12T18:08:00.001-07:00

We are now at the point of the story of my trip in Africa that will take me a long time to write about because yesterday was one of the most delightful days of my adult life. I will have to roll the memories around in my head as I recall the delicious flavors, smells and sights of yesterday. The Winelands of South Africa are an epicurean smorgasbord. We made the decision to rent a car and pick our own wineries after much debate back and forth for pros and cons. It went something like this:

Tour Company pros - don't have to drive and worry about drinking too much at tastings, they have relationships with wineries and may get to places you wouldn't have though of, don't have to worry about directions.

Tour Company cons - could be stuck on a bus with loud and belligerently drunk people for hours, limited number of stops and time to spend at each stop, may only stop at big commercial wineries that have relationships with tour operators.

Self-designed pros- can go to as many as we can handle in one day, can pick out ones that were recommended to us by locals, can stay as long as we want, can eat wherever we pick, can do whatever kind of tasting we like.

Self-designed cons - have to worry about drinking too much, someone has to drive, we may miss some good wines because we don't really know what we're doing or have any relationships.

In the end, it was worth it to get the car because we were able to visit seven wineries. Since Mark is very nice and doesn't like wine quite as much as I do, I was the chief taster for most of the day and the chief organizer for which wineries to visit and where to eat. I had a good buzz going for most of the morning but it was the most delicious kind of buzz you could have. I started to wonder if i was really tasting the wines I drank or if I was only semi-drunk off of how fabulous the weather, the countryside, and the food were.

We started at Fairview winery in Paarl. Those who enjoy wine may have come across the "Goats do Roam" label. It's a (pretty great) pun on the famous Côtes du Rhône region in France and it's big burgundies and lovely sauvignon blancs. Fairview had a lot of goats and some of the best goat cheeses I have ever eaten to offer with their strong flight of wines. They offered a few of the Goats do Roam, some of the flagship wines, and some they have under another label as well. Mark was quite taken with the goats and their cheeses, and I was thoroughly pleased by a nice soft Chenin Blanc that I decided to take home with me. The next stop in Paarl was KWV. While the tasting was not the idyllic country side setting, the wines were very nice. They had a nice semi-dry sparkling wine that I took to, as well as a pinotage that they age in toasted oak for a few months and it has a distinctively mocha flavor and aroma. I can only dream of how it will taste with dark chocolate.... mmmm.

The next town on the list was Franschhoek which means French corner in Dutch. I instantly felt smitten with this region. It was the most picturesque of the three and it was also the most reminiscent of Provence. From the craggy landscapes to the gorgeous vistas and delicious food, it took me back to one of my favorite places on earth. It certainly didn't feel like Africa. We stopped at the Boschendal winery which was maybe the most beautiful we visited. All the estates are whitewashed stucco with thatched roofs, wrought iron gates, beautiful lawns, and these pine trees that grow in a very appealing and artistic way. I have to think they are trained to grow that way, but then, maybe pine trees are different in Africa. Boschendal also had nice wines, but I didn't buy any there. I loved all the sauvignons that I tasted and I thought if I kept buying everything I liked, I would never be able to get it all home. The next stop was Graham Beck winery where the tasting room looks like the sleekest of bistros with black marble and silver everywhere. They had the largest varieties of tasting menus, one of just champagne which was hard to turn down. Here they use the Méthode Cap Classique which is very nice and exactly like the traditional champagne method, but of course, the French won't allow anyone else to call it méthode champenoise. They had very nice champagne but I ended up going home with a merlot which I found to be very smooth and spicy. I actually can't wait to get home and start cooking to match these wines and have some nice dinners.

The next stop was all the way across town but it was perhaps the best stop of the day. I had been searching for the perfect place to have lunch on the wine day. I wanted a place that wouldn't break the bank but would provide a certain charm and fit with the rustic elegance of the day. I have to say that the last two days, the guide that I brought over with me has come up huge with two recommendations. Yesterday it was La Petite Ferme. Nestled into a hillside overlooking the Franschhoek valley with a garden and a view to kill for, a small dining room that was full of sunlight, and gorgeous smells from their herb garden, as soon as you pull up you know you're in for a treat. All the tables are right by the floor to ceiling windows giving on to the view of the mountains and the valley and the garden in the back. We started with a cheese platter. They make all the cheeses on the farm. It was maybe the best decision we made all day. They served brie, pecorino, gorgonzola, and a peppered havarti with garnishes of raw almonds, strawberries, preserved figs and a melon preserve which I would have hated had it not been so absolutely phenomenal against the creaminess of the brie and balanced out the strong flavors in the gorgozola so well. I had never tasted anything like it and I will remember that lunch for as long as I live. The dishes that came after it were equally delicious but the simplicity and beauty of the tray of farm cheeses that began our meal will stay with me for a long time. I also had a lovely pumpking creme brulee afterwards which had the most perfect brulee crust on the top I have ever seen. I hope that someday I can create meals that are this lovely and simple.

After lunch it felt like nothing could get any better than that right there. We pressed on to the Lanzerac estate which I wanted to visit because of it's beautiful locale. We got there and they were closing so we were a bit rushed but because of that, the tasting was complimentary. I got a pinotage. In the afternoons I felt like I needed to buy more reds since I had found more whites that I had liked in the morning. Lanzerac is probably a place you would want to savor more than we were able to. They had all different kinds of pairing tastings, with chocolate and cheeses, but we were only able to do the wine. Next we were sort of racing the clock to get in a few more before they all closed. We heard one close was open until 5, and it was 4:30pm. We raced over to Overgaauw and met its lovely and kind proprietor and chatted with her about our day. I enjoyed their table red wine and felt obligated to purchase one since we were the only ones there and we stretched their opening hours a little bit. (Can I add here that I didn't pay more than $10 for a bottle all day? I bought a LOT of wine and spent no more than $50 on all of it.) Then it was on to Neethlingshof. They had a huge complex with a restaurant and the most beautiful boulevard of trees that served as its entrance. The huge pine trees bent over each other to form a sort of natural pine cathedral ceiling as you are driving in. It's gorgeous. We loved the wines as well. They had some amazing reds and I bought a few bottles there as well.

I was so sad to leave the gorgeous wine country of South Africa. I was ready to drop everything, leave my degree unfinished and just stay. Franschhoek is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I will never forget it. I will have trouble drinking the wine I brought back with me because those tastes and flavors will be the souvenirs and I will want to cherish them forever. We watched the Dutch take on Uruguay at the hostel and called it a night after Robben put in the go-ahead. It was a day for the books.

The Sunrise Kids

2010-07-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

The next day, we woke up early, as per usual, and only had a few interruptions during the night. That's the other thing about hostels: they tend to attract partiers. So we had people just coming in as we were getting up. The other clue was that they serve breakfast until 1pm at the hostel. Anyway, we were up and on the road to table mountain by 8am. The guidebooks and hostel employees said it would take 2-3 hours to hike up. We got to the foot of the mountain and started hiking by about 8:45 and one hour later, we had run out of mounain. It was one of the hardest hikes I've done because it's basically just thousands of steps straight up, but at least it was short. And it was incredibly rewarding. The views from the top are incredible. And there's lots of other trails you can take when you get to the top as well. We added another hour and a half to our hike by hiking out to the very eastern border of the table to a beacon and then we hiked back RIGHT along the edge. It got so close in parts that we could look over and see straight down at least 100-200 yards. It's a great hike because it's right in the middle of this great city but it's incredibly beautiful and doesn't feel affected by the urbanization around it at all.

So after we finished the hike up plus the bonus hike, we walked over to the other side of the mountain where the cable car ride is. Once we got there, we saw tons more people. The cable car ride down was great because we descended through the layer of clouds that had formed at the bottom of the mountain and came floating back to civilization. It was a great way to start the first full day in Cape Town.

After finishing the mountain, we got cleaned up and then headed down to the waterfront. I had booked the Robben Island tour for the afternoon and I thought we'd probably be cutting it close to get there since we had planned to hike the mountain in the morning. Instead, we had so much extra time, we were able to squeeze in the Two Oceans Aquarium in between the hike and the tour, as well as a leisurely lunch. The aquarium was amazing even though it didn't take too much time to get through that either. It appropriately focuses on the Atlantic and Indian oceans with a special exhibit for African penguins. We saw a ton of great species that I had never seen before: giant spider crabs, giant spotted eel, ragged tooth sharks, giant bullfrog, poison dart frogs, and abalone, which I have eaten and worn, but never seen alive. They are not very pretty, nice shells though. So the aquarium is certainly worth a trip for people traveling to Cape Town and it doesn't take long unless you have kids. The only other thing that might waylay you is the gigantic tanks they have full of different species of fish, turtles and sharks. It gets pretty real inside those tanks as well because we saw some fish who had bite marks on their backs that looked fresh, and we saw many with scars from the same types of injuries. I'm thinking those ragged tooth sharks don't play well with things they normally eat. Perhaps that's part of the draw for the tanks. But these tanks are hypnotic. They have 25 ft floor to ceiling viewing windows all the way around them and they have kelp that sways back with the fake current inside the tank. They also play calming music and I was pretty sure I was in a trance after standing in front of one for a few minutes watching the gigantic fish swim around in circles with the swaying kelp.

After the aquarium we went down to a bookstore to research a little for the wine tour we planned for the next day, and then we headed out for our Robben Island tour. This tour is pretty special. It includes a boat ride to and from the island, a bus tour on the island and the tours are all conducted by former inmates on the island. It's really interesting to hear their experience. The tour and museum proved to be similar to the majority of ones I have visited in Africa though. They don't have a very logical flow for their narration or interpretation of what you are seeing. The bus tour guide I appreciated though because he did mention and incorporate how important the World Cup has been for Africa and what it means for South Africa to be hosting. I thought they could have used some focus and some common threads in all aspects of the tour though. The tidbits they give you are interesting, but they don't really fit together in the order they were presented. I still really liked the tour and would definitely recommend it. It's an important part of African history and something that everyone in South Africa has a strong connection to. I also found out that the Netherlands were the only team to take the time to come and visit Robben Island. That impressed me a lot. They were who I wanted to go to the final anyway, but that was a class move and they went up quite a few notches in my book because of it. After the tour, we took the ferry back and had a good dinner at a thai place then headed back to the hostel again. It was a full day but I was really happy with it. I grow to love this country and everything it has to offer with every additional square mile I discover.

Changer de l'Air: Cape Town

2010-07-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

Normal 0 0 1 441 2515 20 5 3088 11.1287 Greetings from the beautiful seaside metropolis of Cape Town. We are staying at the very popular Cape Town Backpackers and I have decided that now in my late 20's it's a little strange to stay in hostel. It's still the most economical and fun if you're by yourself. I also will say that's it's very centrally located and has lots of tours that pick you up directly from here. But spending the night with 8 strangers in the same room and being subject to their behaviors no longer has the same adventurous feel that it did when I traveled through Europe. Anyway, Cape Town is amazing. A total contrast from Jo'burg although it is still a very urban area. Everything here is a little more stylish, a little glitzier. It's not to say I like it better; it still has the same crime problems and safety concerns that Jo'burg does, but maybe it's just better at hiding them. Regardless, Cape Town has been really good to us. We heard lots about the weather mood swings and how it would be rainy and cold during our time here. It has been windy, but we've had warm temps during the day and nothing but sunshine. Our first afternoon in Cape Town we were greeting at the airport by the man we presume is the proprietor of the backpackers hostel. An ex-Californian who moved to SA for a girl. He proudly tells this tale under the guise of being ashamed at following a girl, but you can tell he thinks it's the best decision he ever made. He's also very upfront with the information as we found out this story within 5 minutes of meeting him. But he gravitates towards Americans and clearly enjoys some of having his ex-countrymen in tow. So after a sunny and friendly American greeting at Cape Town International, we were transferred to the backpackers where we dropped stuff off and met another very gregarious staff member. He was from Zaire and we got to speak a little French to one another.

Once we got settled, we found out we could walk down to the waterfront. It was a sunday so there wasn't a whole lot open, but once we got down to the waterfront it was completely packed with tourists from all over the world. We came across the FIFA fan zone, and the two-story tall Coke man, a sculpture made entirely of cases of coke in the shape of a fan holding up his arms. He looks a lot like a man made of red Legos. So we jostled our way around the waterfront being hustled by restaurant employees to eat in their establishments. It was earlier in the afternoon so we decided to take a lap around the waterfont, which is strikingly similar to Pier 39 in San Fransisco. In fact, ALL of Cape Town is strikingly similar to San Fransisco. But we ended up having a nice glass of wine on the waterfront and then eating at a South African restaurant for dinner. The picture I have posted here is me trying to make sense of the 700 bottle wine list at Balthazar where we stopped for drinks. I was like a kid in a candy store. Dinner was a buffet and my favorite thing on it was the pumpkin fritter and the vegetable masala with haloumi cheese. Yum. We were pretty tired after walking down there and all the travel of the day, so we took a cab back to the hostel and called it in shortly afterward.

Bye Bye Kruger

2010-07-03T11:29:00.001-07:00

For our last few hours in Kruger, we decided to do our own sunrise game drive. We got out on the road by 6:15 am and the sun was not yet up. Once we were on the road we were taking the same route as the previous day, but the whole valley and the rivers were covered in this gorgeous fog and the morning light coming over the horizon made it a spectacular drive just for the scenery alone. However, about 20 minutes into our drive south, we saw something in the middle of the road and as we got closer, we saw that it was a huge hyena. We hadn't seen one yet and it was kind of eerie with all the fog. Even though they're related to dogs, hyenas scare me. Once again, The Lion King shows its pervasive hold over my perceptions of Africa. then, just a minute or two after that, we saw something large run out onto the road. It was still very misty so we didn't know exactly what it was. But we got a bit closer and saw that it was a male lion, fully grown, and he was roaring. He laid down on the asphalt and rolled around for a minute then he got up and started trotting towards our car. Still roaring. He passed RIGHT by the driver side door (it's on the right here) and it was completely incredible. We didn't expect to see a leopard but we had really hoped for a lion. The night before, I had been fervently praying that we would see a lion and I had a dream about seeing one and it was waving goodbye to me when I was leaving the park. This was about as close to my dream as it could get. I was so thankful and awed by it. We really did have an amazing time in Kruger and we got some incredible sightings. I'll post a few of the pictures here but will post the bulk of them on Flickr.

After we said goodbye to Kruger while leaving through the Orpen gate, we headed west to the Panorama route through gorgeous forests and over rolling hills. We got to a town called Grasklop and bought a small map guiding us to some of the different sights. Then we got to the first stop, the Pinnacle. There were some really interesting terrain changes on this trip and I am really struck by the geographic and botanical diversity in Africa. Today alone we have been in a rainforest, a savannah, and a mountainous deciduous forest. We got to see some lovely outcroppings and, you guessed it, panoramas. Well worth the detour for the diversity and the small hikes. We also stopped for a while at a lovely waterfall called Lisbon Falls. There was a lot more in the region we could have done, some more small towns to explore but Jo'burg and Cape Town are calling. The Experts told us we'd need to book a guest house on the route because there was so much to see and do. We were happy with our small portion of it, but there were lots of motorcyclists and cyclists out presumably doing the route themselves at a leisurely pace. It's something like Skyline drive in Shenandoah.

Now we're back in Jo'burg and ready to leave for Cape Town tomorrow. Hard to believe I'm only a week from being back in the states! See you all soon.

Kruger Day 3

2010-07-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

The day started off gray and rainy. There was one highlight though, as we were running around the camp, a group of South Africans having breakfast at the campsite stopped us and asked if we were the ones who were on the radio yesterday. See? Radio star. Told ya. Though the rain made the morning slightly warmer than the previous two, it was not really good for game viewing because our Kruger experts from the previous morning said that all the animals hide. No lion sightings yet but today more than made up for that with all the great stuff we saw. Lots of very close encounters today. While our drive from Shingwedzi to Letaba, our final rest camp in Kruger, was gray and cold, we got within four feet of a huge herd of Cape Buffalo. The experts that we didn't really need to be afraid of lions and leopards but we really needed to watch out for buffalo and elephants. Today we learned this lesson, but I'll get to that. So while driving by the Cape Buffalo, we were hoping they would not ram the rental car and we made it through the herd unscathed. I actually could have reached out the window and touched one, that's how close we were.

Once we made it to Letaba, we started to really see the changing landscape. The brush got more sparse and we started to see a little bit more savannah and open areas. We also finally got to see two of the big rivers that go through Kruger, the Olifants and Letaba river. I get excited about water in Kruger because water means animals. Our guide on the Sunset drive last night told us that it had been an unusually wet season in Kruger and they had gotten more than 200cm over the average rainfall. Normally around this time the plants would be dry and the leaves would be down, but as it was, the leaves were turning, just like in fall. Also, the northern part of Kruger is in the Tropic of Capricorn, which I found it hard to believe because of how far south I perceive the country as being. Anyway, it has made for excellent weather during the day (save for that one rainy morning) and also cool nights where you can enjoy the trillions of stars that come out to say goodnight to you. I would say that the further south we got, the easier it was to see game because of the landscape. But the north was gorgeous, just harder to see things.

So after we stopped at Letaba, we checked out the map of the animal sightings for the day and planned to follow a long back road to the south where there were some purported lion sightings. We as we crossed a bridge just south of Letaba we saw a huge expansive river open up beneath us. It was this river we would drive right along on the back road. Once we got off the main road, the sightings really started. We followed one side road and got a great view of the Saddle-billed stork which Kruger is running a viewing contest for. We noted the location, time and got a few pictures of it and we're going to submit the photos to the contest as soon as we get internet. After that we were driving along the road and we got right next to a huge giraffe. But the real thrill of the day came just a few kilometers later when we encountered a herd of elephants crossing the road. We had seen on just to the right, and then further up the road we saw another one crossing the road. So we went up to get a closer look and we saw that the one elephant was going to stay in the middle of the road and walk for a while. What I didn't know is that this was the patriarch of the herd and he was scouting the route to make sure that it was clear and safe for the 12 elephants that came after him. We followed him at a good distance, keeping in mind that they could sit on our car and crush us easily. Then when it looked like he had gone off to the side of the road, we went up closer. We had seen that his ears were flapping though, and this is a warning not to mess with the elephants. The Experts told us that this also usually means they are being protective and have babies with them. So I think we got a little too close. We had stopped for a second, then the elephant saw us and stopped. Then we crept forward a bit, the elephant turned a bit and started flapping his ears. He had seen us and identified us as a threat. Then he looked away, we crept up a bit more and this put Papa Elephant over the edge. He turned to face us and started running at us, flapping his ears. Fortunately, Mark was quick on the reverse pedal and we backed up quickly enough so that he didn't feel the need to trample us. We stayed well away from him after that. But we did stay in a spot with a good view of the road so that we could see Papa stand in the way of all comers to let all the rest of his extended family pass safely. We saw a long train of elephants, walking in a line down to the river to get an afternoon drink. There were two very small babies in tow as well, which put the elephant's aggression into perspective. It was an amazing, albeit a little scary, encounter. When they had all gotten down to the river we were finally able to proceed down the road and we saw the whole family squirting each other with water and the young ones taking a drink with their trunks. It was pretty amazing.

Further on down the road we saw a rhino, tons of zebra, no shortage of impalas or Steenboks, and we were hoping for a lion. We came across a safari vehicle full of people staring at nothing. We pulled up next to the guide and asked him what was happening and he said he could see the ear of a lion in the bush. We strained and strained but we couldn't see the "flicking ear" all the rest of the people said they saw. Fortunately, we didn't have to settle for just a flicking ear. But we had to wait until the next morning for that. Don't worry, it's coming.

We saw loads more elephants, zebra and impala. The elephant charge was the real coup of the day, and the rhino was also pretty interesting since we hadn't seen one yet. That night, after about 7 hours in the car and with neck strains all around from turning to see stuff and leaning out the window to take photos, we hit the restaurant at Letaba. It is owned by the same company that owns the restaurants at the other camps we stayed at and thus,we have had the same thing for dinner all three nights. It's okay but the real story is the wine. I've gotten house red or whatever they are selling by the glass and it's been amazing every night. I'm not really sure if it's the same stuff every night, it always tastes a little different, but it's been so so good. I can't wait to visit the winelands in Cape Town this week! Pinotage, here I come. We watched the second half of the Ghana/Uruguay game but I was falling asleep and so I couldn't stay up for the extra time. The entire camp was gathered in the lodge watching the game so that was fun anyway. Everyone was cheering for Ghana. We are finding that there are not many black families here on vacation. It's almost all white Afrikaans families, which I found kind of interesting. There are almost no white people on staff unless they are the rangers though.

So our day ended with a great story and total exhaustion. But the best sighting was yet to come.

Kruger NP Day 2 - SA Radio Star

2010-07-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

This morning we got a late start because of the late-night game drive and just loving being in Kruger. We got going around 9am when I got the call from Jacaranda FM's radio personality A-rod to schedule my interview. He was quite a character on the night drive, we're pretty sure he was drunk. So this morning we sat in the little restuarant with A-rod and two South Africans (who I will henceforth call "The Experts") who had also been on the game drive with us and who had also lived and worked at one of the camps here in Kruger for two years. Needless to say, they had a lot of advice to share. It was fantastic, they gave us some great advice about everything to see and do, and where to go, where we maybe could skip, tons of great insider information. They just couldn't wait to share it all with us. It made me feel like we needed at least 1 week here and not just three days. So after our chat with them, it was time for the radio interview. I was set up, because I told A-rod that we had wanted to go running in the morning, but that it's not allowed. This translated to "stupid american trying to run with the wild animals" on the radio. So when he introduced me, his colleages on the air were like, "I don't know if you know this, but in South Africa, we have dangerous animals and the gates are up there for a reason". So it was fun. The South Africans were listening to it on their car radio while I was giving the interview ten feet away. I really enjoyed it and I got to say how much I loved South Africa, so that's good. You can see pictures/proof of my celebrity status on A-rod's twitter feed, JacarandaARod. You have to scroll down to the July 1st feed to see the picture of us with the SA radio star.

Then it was on to Shingwedzi rest camp, our second stop for our time in Kruger. The speed limit in the park is 40-50kmph which is roughy 25-30mph. You go slow but it's really amazing all the stuff you see. Today alone we've been stopped from crossing a road by an elephant and a pack of zebras. We were about 30 feet away from a huge herd of Cape Buffalo. We saw three crocodiles sun bathing on a rock with 4 turtles. We've seen lots of beautiful birds and tons of impalas. I think the best part of this park is the role reversal of a zoo. The animals rule in Kruger, and the humans are welcome, but at their own risk. That's why the park and rest camp gates close at sundown, and we can only go out after that on guided game drives. No electric fences or penned in habitats here. I'm excited for the sunset game drive we have tonight. I'm told the animals are most active early in the morning and at sunset. So hopefully we'll see the remaining two of the big five we have left, the leopard and the lion.

Update: Our Afrikaans guide on the sunset drive on Friday night was incredible. He knew everything about every species we saw. He found a chameleon in the dark of night on the side of the road while he was driving. He also spotted two owls, a stick bug and a snake, all on the road, without killing them and he knew tons about each one.

Kruger NP Day 1

2010-07-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have been excited about this part of the trip for a long time, but I really understand how excited I should be now, being here and seeing the park for the first time. It was a very long drive today but we had good highways for the bulk of the trip. We have been enjoying South African road signs, particularly one with a possessed-looking deer in the midst of flames that is supposed to advise you not to have fires on the side of the road. The first part of the drive was not very pretty and full of toll roads. The second part was much more scenic and full of lots of local color. We are spending the first night in Kruger at Punda Maria rest camp which is in the way north of the park. Our reservations said that we had tent accomodations for the night, so I was prepared for a very rustic experience. If this is rustic, then I'll take it. The "tent" is a lovely log structure covered with canvas and mosquito nets that has electricity, this awesome open-air shower and the most idyllic deck overlooking the park with an outdoor kitchen. I sort of never want to leave. I am blogging underneath more stars in a night sky than I have ever seen in my life and soaking in the peace and quiet of a night spent far away from my normal life in many ways.

On the drive here we drove past many more townships and lots more shacks. We had to keep an eye out for monkeys and goats, two things that are pretty different from the common roadkill we see in the US. Once we had to stop for a herd of cows to cross the road. There were lots of banana tree fields as well as other agriculture that I couldn't really identify just from driving by, but it seems like a fertile area, lots of agriculture. Arriving at the Punda Maria gate was somewhat anti-climactic. We had been in the car for almost 7 hours straight and were very happy to arrive but it was unceremonious and quiet. However, not two kilometers into the park, we looked to our right and there, directly by the roadside, was an elephant, happily munching on his dinner of the better part of a tree. A very nice welcome to Kruger if you ask me.

I thought the park would be much busier and we'd have problems with overcrowding. Not so, at least in the Northern reaches of the park. It's very quiet, (save for some crazy Germans who seem to be rehearsing a play of some sort...) and it feels like there is no one here, although that's certainly not the case. We had availability trouble in the park even as far out as 6 months ago when we were booking, so I am very thankful to be here and in this awesome tent.

As we were registering for the accomodations and checking in at the camp, the reception lady gestured to a gentleman behind us and said "Hey A-rod, here you go." Looking at the register, we are the only Americans in the camp. There is a guy from a big radio station in SA, Jacaranda 94.2 FM, who was looking for foreigners to interview on his morning show about the world cup and travels. He is keeping a twitter and facebook page up about all his travels. The reason I know this is because he wants to interview us tomorrow morning for his show. So at 9:30am local time, we are supposed to get a call from A-Rod of Jacaranda radio FM and we are going to be called-in to his show. Crazy!

After checking in, getting a radio interview, and falling in love with tent-style bush living, we had a pretty good dinner with a glass of wine, a pinotage from SA, that made my entire day 10x better. After that we went on a nighttime game drive where we saw lots of impala, one striped Genet, a few steenboks and about 7,000 spring hares. Spring hares are a cross between a bunny, a squirrel and a kangaroo. They have the cuteness of a bunny in the body, the tail of a squirrel, and the legs and hop of a kangaroo. These were everywhere. Other than those sightings and a few Nyala we had seen before getting into the camp, it was a pretty uneventful game drive. We are hoping for good luck in the morning. Talking to a few people who live in Kruger who were on the drive with us, we have a good chance to see leopards and elephants in this area. Gotta get an early start though, that's the best time to see the animals we're told.

All the Little Children

2010-07-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we had invited all the people in our group over to the orpanage in Roodepoort to meet the kids and have breakfast with us. They had had a late night before so only half of them made it, but the kids loved them so much for coming. They may have loved the breakfast tacos that we had for breakfast more, but they love meeting new people and they really love giving them tours and singing for new people. They are used to me a little bit now since I've been staying there for about a week. But in the mornings when I come in from my run, they still wonder who I am and why I'm out of breath. "Auntie Karla... what were you doing? Were you racing?? did you WIN??" So Tuesday morning and into the afternoon we all just played and spent time with the kids. Then they went down for a nap and we headed up to Pretoria.

Two of us dropped the other four off to the Paraguay v Japan game. Then I headed out to the Pretoria zoo which is supposed to be one of the top 10 in the world. While the actual grounds of the zoo are not that impressive, it did have a cable car ride to the top of a large ridge and as you walk down, you see most of the animals. They also have a ton of different species. Lemurs, lots of birds, lions, tigers, about 6 different kids of deer and bok, lots of different kinds of monkeys, and hyenas, which were so close to me I was really uncomfortable (they are much bigger than I remembered them to be in The Lion King, the source of most of my knowledge of Africa). I really like zoos in general and this was a great one. Lots of the animals were active, there was nobody there, and I got to see way beyond what I would normally see in a zoo in the States. After the zoo we got to experience rush hour in Pretoria which was not awesome, but I am glad I got to see the captial city and all it's hustle and bustle. Those are the two words I could use to describe Jo'burg as a city as well. It's very go go go. Today we are heading out to the bush and Kruger National Park to go on safari for a few days. Hopefully there will be more good wildlife photos coming your way soon. But there's no internet in the bush so I'll see you all in a few days.

The City of Soccer

2010-06-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

Sunday I deemed "Jo'burg Day". Since we had all had such a rough night before we started late, around 11:30am. I had made reservations at this restaurant I really wanted to try called Moyo and Amy made a great recommendation to go to the outdoor one at Zoo Lake, which was a picturesque setting with trees and open fields and lovely lake in the background. Moyo is traditional African cuisine and we all had excellent lunches. you can get your face painted in traditional style, which I did, and they also have musicians and entertainment while you eat. It's not at all obtrusive or annoying though. It's very nice. We all enjoyed our food and the warm,sunny afternoon in the park. After that we went to the rooftop craft market at Rosebank mall. It's more of a gigantic flea market but everyone enjoyed it. Almost everyone bought a vuvuzela too. After that we headed to Newtown for what turned out to be the highlight of my day, the SAB World of Beer tour.

Only three of us did the tour, the other three went to the Fan Zone just a block away to watch the Germany v England match. Boy did they miss out. The tour starts off with a movie with a full two minutes of just rain sounds and then another guy who pretends to be Indiana Jones and who talks about the elements of life as they relate to beer. We missed most of this because we joined the tour already in progress. Next we were taken to another scene which was supposedly out in the African bush. We sat on log stumps and watched the screen which showed a full two minutes of bamboo sticks and blowing wind before the real film started. We learned how the African tribes make Sorghum beer and how it works into traditional tribal cultures. The video had lots of mostly naked women in it, so needless to say, the guys on the tour loved it. Women are the keepers of the beer in Africa. A woman can add greatly to her value and reputation as a good wife by brewing a good beer. Men do not brew the beer, only consume. When in a gathering, everyone drinks from the same vessel (usually a hollowed out gourd) and the men drink first, starting with the oldest man. Then the women are allowed to drink and it is disrespectful to refuse the beer. It is passed from person to person in the proper order until all the beer is consumed. At the end of the movie about making the beer, we got to drink sorghum beer in the way I've just described.

Next we went through a sort of history of the existence of beer in Africa, which was complete with poorly fashioned animatronic miners, more videos of the important people in beer history (made even better by the fact that they pretend they can see you and talk to you and talk in overly dramatic voices), and some fake dynamite explosions. We also walked through a replica of a township shebeen (bar) which we later learned was incredibly accurate. We got lots of free beer and I felt that my R30 was very well spent. I also think that South Africa beer is pretty dang good.

After that it was time to head to Soccer City, the flagship stadium of the 2010 World Cup. It seats 94,000 people and is a really great piece of architecture. We parked at Wits and rode a shuttle bus to the stadium. The logic that went behind the shuttle system is still a mystery to me. I had heard that it was pretty strange but not until I experienced it did I really see what I was up against. The shuttle bus approached the gigantic stadium only to drive PAST it, as well as two perfectly nice bus stations. It then drives about a mile and drops you off in a field and you start your very long walk to the stadium from there. It took longer for us to park and get to the match than the actual match itself. It was completely worth it again though because Soccer City really brough the World Cup spirit home for me. The stadium was almost completely full, Argentina fans were dominant over Mexico by a long way. Deafening roar of vuvuzelas and the excitement of the match for all the loyal supporters was really the thing I wanted to see. And Soccer City did that. It really was incredible walking into the stadium to our seats and hearing and seeing just how huge and loud everything was. Argentina made short work of Mexico. They are an incredible team. Their skill level, the way they handle the ball, they way they use all their touches effectively astounds me. Seeing it in person is a whole different ball game. You can see just how fast they are running, just how precise their passes are, how they see the field, how the team moves up and down the field looking for outlets and plays. It really is a beautiful game. And Soccer City is a phenomenal frame for it. I hope that the stadium won't fall to ruin in the wake of this World Cup as so may do. I'm thinking more of the Olympic Villages that I've seen in France and other countries where they turn into slums after the event. I have to wonder also about the vaccuum that World Cup 2010 will leave in South Africa. All this excitement and hope have been built around this event, and now more than halfway through, people say that it's hard to imagine life after it.

As it turns out, some of us, myself included, got a little bit soccered out. Though I love watching the games and I wouldn't trade the games I went to for anything, I think four in a row was really ambitious. We should have spread them out more. So after two really late nights and lots of driving, I had to throw in the towel. I sold my tickets to Brazil v. Chile and Paraguay v. Japan. I hope that doesn't make me a weenie and I did second guess my decision a bit, but I have been going non-stop and I think four games in four nights was a bit much. So while my World Cup watching is not at an end, I will not be sitting in any more stadiums, fighting any more traffic, being deafened by more vuvuzelas, nor getting pushed around trying to leave the stadium.

The Longest Day Ever

2010-06-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our first match, and the one we were most invested in. USA v Ghana. Since it was everyone's first day we tried to start a little bit later. We collected everyone from their hostel in the morning and I had the day all planned out. We went to the Sterkfontein caves at the Cradle of Humankind (world heritage site!) and the Maropeng. Sterkfontein is a large limestone cave where they have been excavating the oldest skeletons ever found (hence the name). Wits University professors are responsible for most of the discoveries. We had a good but not very informative tour through the caves. My favorite part was just navigating through some of the narrower passages and seeing the underground lake. It's definitely no Luray Caverns. From there we headed to the Maropeng Visitor's center which is probably the most unfocused museum I have ever been to.

The museum is based on the idea of the area being where the first humans lived. They have some guiding posters at the beginning when you walk in, but beyond that, they loosely interpret the focus of the museum to include environmentalism, religious studies, biology, human development, history, and psychology. The first thing you do in the museum is take a boat ride through what we think was the early ages of our planet. We are not sure because there was nothing explaining the boat ride before, after or during it. We are pretty sure we saw techtonic plates moving at one point, but other than that we had some fake snow, a recording of wind blowing, and some scenes of volcanoes that we floated past. I thought this boat ride was completely incredible because it was silly, had no point, and made no real sense in the context of the museum. After I got over my initial confusion, it became hilarious.

The rest of the museum was also hilarious. At one there is a table where you can place a phone call to different ice age animals. I called the Wooly Mammoth who had a ridiculous German accent and who told me about his tusks and fur and what he liked to eat. I wanted to call the dodo bird too but I was laughing too hard to dial. The Maropeng visitor's center is the best and worst museum ever, except for maybe the SAB World of Beer tour, which I'll get to. After the Maropeng, it was on to the match. The long anticipated, highly emotional matchup between the US and Ghana and my first World Cup game.

It was in Rustenburg, which is in the middle of nowhere. I did kind of like it for that, but after the match, I hated it for that. For those of you who saw the game, we had INCREDIBLE seats three rows up from the pitch in the bottom left corner of the field. The stadium was really tiny too, only 46,000 at capacity. A sharp contrast to the stadium we were at the next night. We were so close to the action, we saw players faces, the corner kicks for the US in the second half took place not 100 feet from us. It was a strange first World Cup match to go to though. In such a small stadium in such a remote location, it's hard to really grasp the size of the ripple effect this match had. When in Jo'burg or watching on television, it's easy to see how the world's eyes are focused on this one little soccer field. But actually being at this tiny stadium, with the stars above us in the pitch-dark night, it was hard to grasp it because it felt so intimate. I was also so wrapped up in the outcome, I barely noted the atmosphere. Save for two hateful English guys behind us who thought their two-man chanting team would single-handedly destroy American morale. If I hadn't already been rooting for Germany against them, I would have started after that experience. In spite of all that, it was still incredible to be there and to cheer for the US and to take part in the world's biggest sporting event for the first time, but it was also terrible that we lost. We met a lot of American fans at the game and it was sad when we all left. The drive home took 4 hours and I didn't get to bed until close to 5am. It was a rough night. But worth it. Totally worth it.

The Second Half of the Adventure Begins

2010-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

So it's now a little less than a week since I left Wits and the rest of my friends from the US have arrived. It's been an incredibly jam-packed few days and it's really hard to think how much we've all done. Especially when you factor in the jet-lag of the people who just got here. Wednesday after I finished up at Wits I was immediately picked up I was packed and ready to move out of my room at the international house. I am now staying at the orphanage in Roodepoort where my friend lives and works and it's been a wonderful place so far. After I left campus, we went to Montecasino, this gigantic indoor entertainment/dining/nightlife establishment near Sandton to watch the US game at the FIFA FanZone there. However, they had elected to show the England game, and not the US game so we were quite miffed. We had not bought our tickets yet though, so we found a bar with some other incensed Americans, ordered some beer, and began watching the most agonizing 90 minutes of soccer I have ever watched. The US v Algeria game left my shoulders incredibly tense, my heart pounding and sense of elation I will not soon forget. I have never been in such physical pain watching a game though. It was also great because there were at least 10 other Americans with us and they were drinking Budweiser and yelling a LOT, so I felt right at home. Montecasino is not at all South African, or even African. Once you're inside, you could be anywhere in the world and you wouldn't know the difference. So obviously the game, although painful to watch, ended up being the greatest thing ever. Not ONLY did the US win the match, we won the GROUP which meant that we had tickets to see them play on Saturday night.

For those of you who don't know, I have been planning this trip to South Africa for about 4 years. Since the Germany World Cup in 2006, my friends from college and I decided that we needed to go to the next one and that we would all go together. Our friend Benji had already been to Cape Town to dive with the sharks for his W&M Monroe Project, so he was excited to go back when we found that it was in South Africa. We bought the tickets to the games on the first day of the first ticketing phase which over 18 months ago. 1.5 years later, everything was coming together. All our plans have come to fruition and the trip is actually happening. I can hardly believe it's happening even as I sit here living it.

So on Thursday, we had the whole day and a rental car with unlimited miles. We drove to the Magaliesburg and visited Hartbeespoort Dam, Sun City resort and Pilanesberg National Park. The Dam is just a lovely spot to get out and take pictures, not much other than that. Sun City was very Las Vegas. It had one extremely opulent, over-the-top hotel called the Palace Hotel. A HUGE fountain and man-made lagoon greeted you upon entry and the hotel itself was gigantic. We are pretty sure a few of the teams were staying there as many official looking people were milling about. We scoped out the Palace hotel, grabbed lunch, made fun of the monorail, tried to play the slot machines, then we visited the man-made beach and while walking over a bridge we witnessed a fake jungle earthquake and lots of smoke, which reminded me of the Indiana Jones show at Disney World. Then we went to their gooooorgeous golf course which made me want to drop everything and go play nine holes right then and there. We headed out and on to the National Park. There's only so much kitsch you can handle in one sitting. (I'll get to it later, but my tolerance and love for South African kitsch is steadily growing with every attraction I visit).

Pilanesberg National Park was fantastic. I'm glad we spent the afternoon there. We saw lots of wild life: wildebeest, waterboks, springboks, kudus, giraffes, elephants, zebras, hippos, rhinos, and lots of different kinds of birds. I kept wondering why it was so much cooler to see them here than in the zoos where I have seen them all before (except wildebeest). I think it's because there is nothing between you and the animals when you're in these parks. They are just there, living their lives without walls or pens or zookeepers feeding them. Just coming upon a rhino eating his afternoon snack is much cooler than the one who is trying to hide from all the people leaning over the fence to catch a glimpse at him. I wouldn't have wanted to spend too much more time there though because it did get a little hard driving on these really rough, unpaved roads, constantly straining to see animals. I was a little jealous of the people in the huge 4x4 safari vehicles with the open tops. But Pilanesburg has all the big five (elephant, rhino, cape buffalo, lion and leopard) and is an easy day -trip from Jo'burg if you don't have time to get further out in the bush.

The drive home from Pilanesburg was a little harrowing. It was pitch dark and the roads were all single-lane. It was definitely baptism by fire on my first day of driving SA style. The traffic rules in Jo'burg are loosely adhered to and you have to constantly be on the lookout for people who run red lights way after they turn, taxis that suddenly stop in the middle of the road or change lanes into you, and people walking on the highways. All of these happened more than once on the drive home. It made the fact that I was going to be the one driving home from Rustenburg at 2 in the morning after the US game on Saturday a little harder to handle. But it was a great trip aside from that.

Friday was the day the rest of my friends arrived. They weren't due to arrive for a few hours and we had dinner reservations for that evening so we had pretty much the whole day. We spent it with Amy and three of the kids for the first half of the day. We went to the beautiful botanical gardens which had one really nice waterfall with a quick hike up to the top. We saw tons of grasshoppers the look just like leaves on trees. In fact, we wouldn't have noticed them except the leaves on the trees were moving and there was no wind, and on closer inspection, most of the "leaves" were these huge grasshoppers. It was something straight out of Planet Earth. We then had lunch at a nice outdoor cafe with a playground and pony-rides and a small petting zoo for the kids. South Africa has a lot of very kid-friendly places, and I'm getting to know where they are since I've been hanging out with a lot of young ones lately. I think their outdoor cafes are so lovely. Even though it's pretty chilly at night, the days are full of sunshine and have been in the 70's. We had a very nice lunch, and then we drove back to the orphanage and hung out with the kids until it was time to go pick up my friends and then go to dinner.

Dinner that night was at Carnivore which is sort of out in the country. If you have ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse before (Fogo de Chao or Texas de Brazil for DCers), they come around with huge pieces of meat on skewers and it's all you can eat. Carnivore is the same exact thing except with African game meat. On the menu for the night was wildebeest, impala, crocodile, zebra, kudu, among other things. I liked the crocodile the best. It was a pleasant intersection of chicken and fish in one meat. So the meat was more novelty fun than truly delicious. It was a great place for us to go on everyone's first night in town though. They were exhausted but still managed to find energy to eat some strange animals and drink some Castle lager.

Leaving Wits Vegas

2010-06-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being remiss in my updating but it's been a little busy. My internship at Wits is now over and I was very sad to leave the office. They were a great bunch of people to work with and I hope that I will get to see them again soon. I also hope that I will be as lucky with colleagues when I find a real job after grad school. So the last days on campus were fun. We would watch the games in the conference room over lunch and in the afternoons, chat about team performances and game results in the mornings when we came in, and everyone's spirit was up. We also managed to make some good headway on the IEASA conference. I got some contracts edited down to what we needed and got some good prices. My evenings were pretty boring. A couple of times I went with people out to this one bar we can walk to and watched the evening game with them. That's always a nice break. But otherwise, the internship ended quietly. On my last day, the staff gave me a farewell breakfast and Saraphina serenaded me which was fantastic. I had bought a cake to give to the staff after their marathon meeting in the morning and so it was kind of a celebratory day.

I was really grateful for all the tips the staff gave me and all the opportunities they opened up. The director of the office was kind enough to invite me to the US Consulate in Sandton for the US v Slovenia match. Even though we were totally robbed of a goal, it was a great atmosphere to watch the game in and I had a fantastic time meeting other Americans in South Africa and just being around a lot of people who were rooting for the US team. I will get to this later, but we didn't encounter too many people from other nations willing to support the US.

So I had a wonderful internship at Wits and now I feel like the real trip is starting. Next come all the games and all the travelling to different cities and safaris. I'll also get to see a lot more of Jo'burg once we get the car tomorrow so that's very exciting as well. It will be my first time driving on the left side of the road using with sitting on the right hand side of the car with the gear shift on my left. Adventures in driving and in Jo'burg here I come!

Z's and the Rain Cave

2010-06-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zambezi... I don't think I've ever been in a position to use the Z on my keyboard this much. I've just come back from possibly the best 24 hour trip I will ever have in my whole life. Upon the unfurling of my devious plot to get academic credit for a trip to the World Cup, I found that I could fly direct from Jo'burg to either Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Given the current climate in Zimbabwe and the fact that they have actual currency notes that say 10 Trillion Zimbabwe dollars and it still adds up to less than $1 USD, I figured it was best to use Zambia as my base. Their currency is the Kwatcha, and I enjoyed that 1000 kwatcha is about $.20 USD. That's right, twenty cents. I was passing out thousand kwatcha notes like it was my job. Hey big spender.
So I bought my ticket to Zambia, and before I knew it, Saturday June 12, 2010 had arrived. Ever since I can remember I have had a fascination with Victoria Falls. I think I heard about it on a Reading Rainbow episode or some other educational program when I was really young and couldn't get it out of my head. I knew a girl in Ohio in my elementary school who was from Pretoria, SA and I always thought she was from Victoria, meaning, Victoria Falls and i was incredibly jealous of her for having lived near them, even though my geography might have been a little skewed. So this mini-trip was the realization of a dream, as this larger trip is the realization of many dreams and so much more.

On Saturday morning I took a cab to the Gautrain station in Sandton for the first part of my adventure. The Gautrain (pronounced How-train, like the dutch pronounce Gouda How-da) is a brand new piece of infrastructure that was supposed to be a lot further along by now and very developed by 2010. As it stands, there are three stops not including OR Tambo International. But I thought, since it JUST opened literally 4 days before, I should give it a shot. The inaugural run of the Gautrain had been on June 8th and there I was, boarding it just a few days later. I enjoyed being able to take part in it. Many Afrikaaner families were taking a ride just for fun, and they took their kids with them to see what it was like.

The stations are brand new and very nice. The system works a lot like the SmarTrip system in DC. And the train was fast, quiet, and clean. Immaculate really. The stations were crawling with uniformed attendants directing you and showing you were to go. The stations weren't fully complete yet but they have ambitious plans for this Gautrain, let me tell ya. I had a very nice ride to the airport, and I would recommend it for anyone travelling to or from Jo'burg.

The flight over to Zambia was quiet and the real treat was at the very end of the flight you fly right over Victoria Falls and I was fortunate enough to be on the correct side of the plane to see it. Impressive doesn't cover it. I was so excited to get there and to start exploring I could barely sit still.

When I arrived my hostel picked me and two Spaniards up to transfer us to the hostel. I had thought about going straight to the falls and then coming back in time for the cruise, but what ended up happening was a more than adequate alternative. Once I got checked in, I decided I needed to plan the 24 hours I had really well in order to make the most of them. I sat down at the activities desk, with whom I had been in correspondence about what I should do. Within 10 minutes I had booked a microlight flight, a Zambezi cruise and decided against the game drive the next morning. I was all set. So an hour later I was picked up and taken to an airfield not far from the falls. Microlights are basically sophisticated hang-gliders. They have long wings, with an open carriage that hangs below them. I sat behind the pilot with my feet hanging out over nothing the whole ride. Nothing but awesome views all around. The flight was incredible. It was much better than being inside a helicopter cockpit and not feeling the wind or the spray from the falls. It was expensive but well worth the experience. I have some really good pictures which I will post soon.

After the microlight I was taken directly to the sunset cruise I had booked. I immediately met some really great Irish medical students who were, as usual, fun and welcoming. We spent the cruise together and they had some amazing insights into Zambian health care. As part of their degree they are doing work in hospitals in Zambia and in Tanzania for three months. It happened to be their first weekend off and I was pretty fascinated/horrified by some of the stuff they told me. Every day I thank God to live in America and have the most advanced medical care available to me at all times. So it was an educational and fun evening. The sunset over the Zambezi was lovely and we saw lots of wildlife: elephants, hippos (tons of those), a few crocs, and an impala. They all come to the river at sunset to drink. It was a great night and after the cruise where the booze was flowing freely, there was a sing-a-long bus ride back to the hostel instigated by the Irish which continued when we sat down at the hostel bar to wait for the England/US match to start. It was a good two hours we were sitting there. I met two Finnish girls, one of whom was working for a Finnish NGO and helping organize humanitarian aid. Everyone in Zambia is doing something interesting. I met an American from UNC Chapel Hill who is working for a non-profit charity website taking photographs of the organizations it helps. He and I were buddies during the US game as everyone else seemed to be rooting for England. And what a game it was. Hope you all had a chance to watch it.

I couldn't have asked for a better crowd to be around in Zambia. Staying at a hostel while travelling alone helps and you can usually find people to split cab fares and such with you. It made watching the game that much better to have both Americans and English there. Lots of trash-talking and predictions. Watching the English faces when the goalie flubbed that save... priceless. So I was glad to be there. Though, later that night, around 4am a big group of guys came back and woke everyone up. I did sleep though, which was fortunate.

The next morning I woke up early and was at the Zambia side of the falls by 8am. I had my trusty rain jacket and camera and was ready for a wet and thrilling experience. Walking up to Mosi-Oa-Tunya (the native name for Victoria Falls, meaning "the Smoke that Thunders") was incredible. You walk through a path and you feel it and hear it before you can see it. Many people say that to get the full experience for Victoria Falls you have to see it from both the Zambia side and the Zimbabwe side. I had already decided to do both and the Zambia side isn't as extensive as the Zimbabwe side, as I learned. Zambia brings you RIGHT up to the falls where they are just in front of you and the spray right now, being high water, is enough to soak you through and through. I walked across a bridge that went right through the spray and it was like walking through a 4-way rainstorm. Rain comes up down and sideways at you but it's not at all harsh. It's really quite a thrill. I thought of when I worked at an outdoor store in Fairfax, and would have people test out the Gore-Tex jackets in the rain cave. I wish I could have sent them to Vic Falls. there's no better test for Gore-Tex than the spray from the biggest waterfall in the world. Coming out on the other side of the bridge you get a great view of the Batoka Gorge and often, rainbows. I have some good pictures there too.

Finishing up on the Zambia side, I began the walk over to Zimbabwe. Yes, I walked to another country. It was pretty great had it not been for the teenagers hawking their African curios and ridiculous Zimbabwe currency constantly. I walked past this big market they had at the opening to the Zambia Victoria Falls and everyone immediately asks where you are from and for me, they all commented on the US team's performance the night before. I imagine they all have a line prepared for whatever country you are from. They've probably seen it all. So they meet you, introduce themselves, shake your hand, then immediately tell you some big story about how they are a local artist and about their speciality. Which, oddly enough, is exactly the same specialty as 7 other booths in the market. But no no, theirs is the best. So it takes some navigation. And you can bargain them down a good bit. I'm still not sure if it's real but I got a beautiful malachite necklace for $20US which is pretty good. I still think I should have tried for less though.

So like I said, walking to Zimbabwe. The border patrols are pretty funny. It costs an arm and a leg to go between the two countries, which I guess, it makes sense. They know they have one of the world's most amazing natural sights and they sure make you pay for it. Between the visas and the park entry fees, I think I paid almost $150 USD when it was all said and done. But I do have some cool stamps in my passport now. When you walk over to Zimbabwe, you cross the bridge over the Batoka Gorge where lots of people do bungee jumping, rope swings, and abseiling. I did none of these things. If I had done anything I would have gone rafting on the Zambezi. It's at its peak right now and with class 6 rapids, it would have been one wild ride. Unfortunately, there was no time. I was really pleased just to walk along the winding paths and keep getting views of the falls and to be rained on constantly in the brilliant sunshine. Even with the thundering falls, I found the parks to be really relaxing and serene. The pathways have lush vegetation since they get rained on all day every day for most of the year, and it was really quiet. There were not a lot of people around and in parts it was just me, some monkeys, and the falls. It was a great morning.

I headed back to the hostel around noon to catch my flight and was very sad to leave Livingstone. I had an incredible time in the two countries and would encourage anyone, from anywhere to make the trip and stay a lot longer than me. My microlight pilot was from Baltimore and he said he had been living in Australia and then moved here into the bush to fly these planes for tourists. I thought, maybe I'd like to borrow a year of your life...

Catching the Fever

2010-06-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Many of you saw it on my facebook or GChat status. you've probably also noticed that I almost never update either of these but lately, I've been updating two times a day just because so much cool stuff is happening. I have a staff e-mail address here at Wits for the whopping one month duration of my time in Jo-burg. But I get the e-mails from the office and the university updates on it. This has led to two excellent developments. One is the phrase: Ke Nako. This is Swana for "It is time." And it is plastered all over Jo'burg on posters and on pubs on the TV. It's really an excellent slogan I think. It's very symbolic of it being time for Africa to live up to expectaitons about the World Cup, time to make real changes socially and politically, time to start being better stewards of the aid they are receiving and time for them to use their moment at the forefront of the world's media. But every day I get e-mails from the administration asking me if "I can feel it..." to which, more and more every day, I reply: yes.

The beginning of last week was spent with me spending two half days in and out of Dr's offices getting my leg checked out. It's fine now, but it looks like DVT is a real thing so when they warn you about moving around on long flights, LISTEN. It's not fun. So Wednesday was my first day where I didn't have to be depending on rides or hearing bad news about my health or second guessing African doctors. I had learned the day before that Oranje, the Netherlands national team, was having a training session open to the public at Wits. So I quickly snapped up a ticked and Wednesday I got to go. You will see more photos included on my flickr site, but here's a good one of the team gathered together at the beginnig of the practice.

This single, semi-informal event completely sent my WC excitement meter through the roof. It's definitely as close as I'll get to any of the teams while I'm here and the energy in the crowd and the loyalty and craziness of the supporters already, at just a practice session, was incredible. when the Dutch players walked out on to the pitch, everyone started cheering, and my old "great moment in sports history = crying" reflex kicked in and I got a little teared up. I am SO thankful to be here and be a part of this. In the words of Howard Cosell: Truly a sight to behold.

As if watching the Dutch team practice wasn't enough, Thursday night there was a kickoff concert in Soweto. I would have been there had the tickets not been $100+. That was a little rich for my blood so me and some other International House people gathered to watch the concert broadcast on Thursday night. They only televised the last half of the concert which is a shame. The big reason I wanted to go was to hear the local acts and Vieux Farka Touré. They all went on in the 4pm-8pm block which was untelevised. I am determind to see the Soweto Gospel Choir or at least purchase a CD while I'm here. The concert was like one big Coca-Cola ad and there were several humorous mishaps (T.I.A.!) for example, the real François Pienaar of Invictus fame was supposed to come out and do a short speech between acts, and so they announced his name and someone who was certainly not him came out smiling and delivered his speech. I have real problems with Shakira I've decided, but I cannot shake this "Waka Waka" song. It's completely infectious. And once you see an orphanage full of very cute little ones singing it and getting really excited when it comes on, you kind of have to love it.

After the practice on Wednesday, the concert on Thursday, the entire country was electrified with anticipation for the opening ceremonies and the games. Many of you in the states probably didn't have a chance to see them but they were pretty cool. China really ruined opening ceremonies for the rest of time with the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing, but this was great, with the exception of R. Kelly, obviously. Also, Algeria's representative performances at the opening ceremonies and the people they had perform at the Thursday concert made me never want to go to Algeria, ever. The music they played both times brought both events to complete standstills. The stadiums went noticeably quiet and nobody was waving their flags or anything. It was sad. They were just terrible.

So let me give you a timeline for Friday:
6am - my alarm normally goes off but today I was awakened to the sound of vuvuzelas blaring.

7am - I actually get up. vuvuzelas are getting more frequent

8am - walk to work, car horns and vuvuzelas competing for top spot in noisemaking

8:30am - Lebethe pops into my office with a HUGE smile on his face in his school bus yellow Bafana Bafana jersey "CAN YOU FEEL IT?? IT's HERE!" He says to me. And then compliments my awesome SA team jersey.

9:30am - I quit pretending I will get any work done in my little conference room makeshift office and go into the big office where Ismail and Sarapina are having a vuvuzela-off...indoors.

10:30am - two unsuspecting ITguys brough in to network my printer are forced to take at least 75 photos of our office in our Bafana jerseys with various flags flying and vuvuzela positioning

11:30am - people start leaving the office early because there is absolutely no way to get anything done with the din of car horns and vuvuzelas all over campus and all over Jo'burg.

12pm - we get an e-mail from the director of the office saying we can go as soon as we put up our "out of office " replies

12:01pm - I leave

12-1pm - I bat my eyelashes at the pool guys who were closing the pool when I walked right over after work. The university closed early at 1pm for the games but they were closing it EXTRA early... I got them to keep it open until the appointed time and got in a good swim.

1:30pm I make a little lunch and start getting super excited for the beginning of the world cup.

2pm - Amy picks me up and we head to her friend's house to watch opening ceremonies and RSA v Mexico

2-6pm rapt attention in front of TV, eating too many Doritos, and a particularly creative (if I do say so myself) marshmallow diagram I used to explain an offsides call to two mothers who were watching with us. SA ties Mexico! A strong showing for the home team.

6-8pm Doppio Zero cafe where I had a delicious cake and some SA wine and was getting really excited for the next game.

8:30pm back to International house where I watched the game with 12 people and none of us were from the same country. I thought that was cool.

9:30pm I call it quits after the first half. I am having a hard time watching the French play and decide that I hate Ribery. I also hate what happened in the qualifier with Ireland. Who knew, something French that I don't like... never thought I'd see the day. Good thing I went to bed early too. Scoreless tie? Not worth it.

10pm Fall asleep, self-diagnosed with a severe case of World Cup Fever.

Sunday in the Park

2010-06-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Another sunny day in African winter. Temps have been in the 70s even though the nights are pretty chilly. Today, I went to church and spent the afternoon with some pretty cool youngsters from the Child Haven orphanage in Roodeport. It is supported by Every Nation, an international missions organization.

If I was in their position, I would have though today was awesome. I thought it was pretty awesome anyway and I am three times their age. It started off with church. There was lots of singing and dancing, and upstairs where the kids were, there was cupcake eating as well as some learning about forgiveness and coloring. After church there was Chuckleberry's Burger Heaven, where the kids were taken to lunch as a special treat. Chicken burgers all around. Our food took 6 years to arrive at our table, but other than that it was good. There was even a trampoline and a playground at this restaurant. I guess they figure they need to distract you if the food is going to take so long. But none of the kids seemed to mind.

Then we went to Delta park which is a gigantic, brand new playground. As if that wasn't enough, a generous donor had provided the money for all 13 kids to get a Bafana Bafana (the South Africa national team's name) jersey to support them during the world cup. Then tried to organize a game of soccer with the kids, but it didn't get very far. The girls were just happy to kick the ball while the boys were angry with them for picking it up with their hands to get it in the right position or to control it. The sun was shining and I think everyone was enjoying their day. Lots of pictures were taken and THEN the kids got "ice cream". I learned that different nations have different words for what is considered ice cream. We gave the children orange popsicles, and the English people there were calling it a lolly, much to the chagrin of the youngsters. (NO! It's an ICE CREAM!) Whereas I would have just called it a popsicle. Oh well.

But the kids had a great day and I was sorry to leave them. I had to get back to say goodbye to another one of my new friends who was heading back to the states today from South Africa. I also needed to steal his leftover food and cooking pot which I don't have in my room. In any case, it's a lot quieter around without my international friends but some of them will return on Wednesday. I am looking forward to getting to work tomorrow and also to going to the pool on campus which I just joined and had my first swim in yesterday. It's heated so I can still swim in it, even in the winter. Running on campus is proving to be a real toughie. The hills are killer and I have to get creative to get the distances I need. However, it's good that the campus is quiet so I don't feel quite so silly as I usually do when I run in a foreign country.

Here's to the start of my first full week in South Africa.

A Night Out in Randburg

2010-06-05T03:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to go out with some friends of my German friend at the international house. They have a car and took us up to a big outdoor shopping center (for NoVa people, think Reston Town Center) with all kinds of shops and restaurants. Andrea, my German friend, and her friends Cristina and Lloyd took us to meet up with 10 of their friends for dinner and bowling. They are all South Africa natives. Dinner was great only because all of the poeple were very entertaining. I talked with a guy named Teddy for a long time because he was wearing a Postal Service t-shirt. He's into folk and was really into the American music scene. He's pretty handy with MySpace pages and finding new artists. Everyone else has what I can only relate as Australian charm. When I was traveling in Europe, every Australian I met was very easy with people, very entertaining and funny. It seems to be the same with South Africans I am finding. I first met Mike, and then all the people at the International Office, and then the large group last night. What is it in their culture that just naturally blesses people with excellent social skills and gregarious personalities?

In case you were wondering, bowling in South Africa is exactly the same as it is here. but they don't have entire buildings devoted to it like we do. It's more a few lanes as part of an arcade. Also, the restaurant we went to, Spur, is hilarious. Their food is all burgers and steaks and surf and turf combos. And it has this REALLY over the top Native American theme. Cowhide and bows and arrows and cartoon indians line the walls. The food was not that good. I got a plate of nachos, mostly because the picture showed a huge dollop of guacamole on the top. The chips were real soggy and it got cold pretty fast. But Spur is a wildly successful South African chain. They have them everywhere and its very popular. Maybe I should have gotten a burger.

I wanted to take Andrea to get ice cream because it was her last night in town, and the place we wanted to go to was closed. So we went back to Spur to get dessert to take away back to the bowling alley. I got ice cream and brownies. Neither was very good and I was severely disappointed. I should never try to get stuff I love in American in Africa. Stick with local and regional stuff. I definitely know this by now, but it's a lesson I have to keep learning over and over. Especially when the temptation of ice cream and brownies presents itself. It's like I have to try because I know how good they can be. Oh well. Maybe I'll remember that next time I try and get dessert.

Some Lessons in Culture

2010-06-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

Today as I called a few businesses around town and as I further my interactions with South Africans and other nationalities, I learned a few things. For instance, the guy who is studying abroad from W&M is a bagpipe player. He is friends with the German people who live in the international house and in German, bagpipes are called "dudelsacks". which is pretty much the best translation I have ever come across. When you say it in German, it sounds like this : doodlezahk. What a word!

I learned another fantastic word today: ulelating (YOU-leh-late-ing). This is the sound that Xena warrior princess makes when she is attacking people. AYIYIYIYIYI!! It is also the traditional African cry of celebration or happiness. I heard this quite a bit at the graduation ceremony last night and NOW I can say that I know the proper term for it. Ulelating.
Also, when you call people in South Africa at a business and they put you on hold it plays the most annoying hold music ever. It's like ice cream truck music that would drive children far far away. It does remind me of my first car though, my '91 VW Golf, that would play music when the doors opened if the engine was on. Oh how I miss that automobile.

Also, in Afrikaans, I think that people call you "mom" or "pap" if you are an adult and they are in a convesation with you. I've been speaking to people and they'll say "no mom". And I hear people on the phone with men referring to them as "pap". Which I have to think is sort of like ma'am or sir. There is also the replacement of the American "really?" which we upspeak, to the South African "is it?" which is downspoken. It sounds sort of pitying in any context. Example: "I just saw a white rhino!" "Is it?"

I don't think I will get very far with Afrikaans here, but I am enjoying the parallels between Martinique and South Africa. I am realizing the interesting mix of European and African cultures just as much here as I did there. The loose interpretations of time, the languages and how they are spoken. I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of Afrikaans and Creole and see what kind of cognates and similarities show up. I am finding Johannesburg to be the melting pot that everyone says it is and I'm also really loving being at this university. I feel that I am a part of an office that really takes care of its students and that endeavors to make connections and build up the students and the university both. Reading some of the papers that will be presented at this conference I'm working on makes me regret not being here for it. It's all about higher education in Africa, its contributions to development, and how internationalization in the AHEA can make a difference with Africa's growth and stability. But I am proud to be a Witsie, albeit temporarily.

First Day of Work, Becoming a Witsie

2010-06-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

After today I have met some people who work at the international office, started navigating my way around the Afrikaaner and Zulu accents I come across on a daily basis, and said the phrase "T.I.A." in my head about 600 times. I am still without internet in my room, which I was hoping to accomplish on my first day. Since there has been a gas leak and a 6 hour power outage in my first two days on campus, the process of accomplishing things has slowed somewhat. I started work today and will be working on the IEASA conference administration and maybe a few side projects that I'm thinking about. After working only 5 hours a day for the last year, it felt strange to put in a full 8.5 today. I was taken on a walking tour of campus by one of my wonderful internship coordinators. She's a round, jolly, and very funny German lady who runs one side of the Wits international office. Her counterpart, a gentleman who has been helping me navigate becoming a Witsie, is very tall and thin, has a gaunt face, and a strange goatee, emphasis on the goat. He's very nice and they both make jokes a lot which makes me feel much more comfortable. Today when I walked in, goatee guy told me I was overdressed to go work in the mines with the other interns.
I had to make a few calls to some of the other admin offices on campus today and was delighted to hear this said: "she's busy chattin' up a storm, I can try her back in a mo', or you can give her a tickle in a bit". It also might have been tinkle. Either way, I was tickled. Apparently the World Cup South Africa Committee has promised that there will be enough power for all of South Africa during the games because they are purchasing it from other countries and private providers. No one believes this.

Just as I was about to leave today I discovered that Wits was holding their graduation ceremony this evening. Ever the purveyor of cultural experiences, Frau Jolly immediately got on the phone and found a way to get me a ticket so I could see it. I ended up going, meeting a few professors and seeing about half the ceremony. It's very similar to the American style graduation, and they take most of their cues from Oxford as far as regalia. I think everyone does. I did snap some photos of the campus today and some of the graduation ceremony which I hope to post when I have internet access. It's many people's last night in town tonight and so I'm going out with some people here to celebrate. It will be my first foray into Jo'burg nightlife and I'm looking forward to it.

The group included a German, a Zimbabwean, and two americans, counting myself. I got loads of good tips for traveling to Victoria Falls and now cannot wait to go. How crazy to think I'll be there in just a week and a half! I'm very excited for the trip and now feel very informed on how to make the most of my time there.

Wits

2010-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have arrived in Jo'burg at the University of the Witswatersrand. I had a really great first night too. My arrival at the airport included: a short wait at passport control, several comliments on the USA jersey I sported for the entire trip over, my bag getting to Jo'burg (thank God), and a driver waiting to pick me up and drive me to Wits. It really couldn't have gone more smoothly if you ask me. When I got here, I spent a few minutes unpacking, then trying in vain to make my internet work, and then I gave up and started wandering around a bit to see if I could see anything. I didn't get to campus until about 7pm but I did end up meeting a bunch of people. Not seeing a lot of campus but hopefully I'll be able to do that today. I met a guy from the Elliot School at GW who is here but on his way out in a few weeks. I also met a guy who is from William and Mary studying abroad here. He leaves on Sunday I think. I met another girl from the US and three German girls. We watched "Lost in Translation" together and I owe them a lot for making my first night not at all boring or scary. They answered a lot of my questions and helped me get a feel for the reality of campus. I am very grateful to them all. I am also really glad I'm living in the international house even though it seems as though most people will be leaving here in about two weeks. It's much easier to meet people when they all feel as different as you do in this place.

One Year Later and a Different Continent

2010-06-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

It's hard to think that's it's been almost exactly one year since I last used my blog. Since starting grad school and traveling a lot in the past year, I have found a suprising lack of time for self-reflection. During the two enormous blizzards that invaded DC this past winter, I mainly just withdrew into a cave of baking and watching movies. It wasn't the best way to spend my time but it sure felt good to give in to being holed up for a while.

I have, since my last posting, traveled to Colorado twice, North Carolina twice, Charlottesville twice, Hawaii once, and Williamsburg, VA three times. I think that's it. Knowing that this is my last year before starting my "career" as it relates to my graduate degree is making me very conscious of my need to travel and exploiting the flexibility I have these days. That said, I should mention that as I write this, I am currently on a plane to Atlanta, leg one of two, where my final destination will be Johannesburg, South Africa. I decided that for my last real summer possibly ever, I needed to go big. So I am on my way to witness the largest sporting event in the World, the World Cup. I will be representing my country, my high school (represented by a player on the US national team) and my university. I also find it hard to believe that this is all actually happening. I think it will feel real when I arrive at OR Tambo international airport and all those warnings about baggage theft and people trying to kidnap you come flooding into my new reality.

I should have written before this. I know that I had things to say, things to process, great concerts that I needed to gush about, but for some reason, I just kept thinking I'll pick it up when I go to South Africa. That's when I'll have all the exciting stuff to talk about and share with people. And it's true, this trip checks item after item off my bucket list. Victoria Falls, World Cup, world famous Stellenbosch wine region, Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, the meeting place of two oceans, the Zambezi river, going on safari, and probably more. But aside from its touristic appeal, I do have legitimate academic purpose to be doing this. I will be working at the University of the Witswatersrand (white water ridge in Dutch, namesake for the currency of South Africa as well as the region where most of the gold is found) as an intern in their International Office, helping them prepare for the international education conference they are hosting at the end of August.

The series of events that led to this happening is long and I am unclear on the exact path. Suffice it to say that I had a wonderful internship this past semester at ACE, supportive faculty at GW, adventurous friends from college, and a boyfriend as interested in seeing new places as I am. So now, here I am, two hours into a six-week journey, on a freeeeeezing cold airplane to Atlanta, and then on to Jozi on the longest flight I will have ever taken. I look forward with confidence, excitement, an open mind, a grateful heart, and not an insignificant amount of fear for what awaits me academically, personally, and spiritually.

Movie's I watched on the plane before the drugs kicked in:
The Last Station - makes me want to read Tolstoy.
It Might Get Loud - hands down the best music documentary I have ever watched. Highlights: Edge plays early demos of his guitar tracks from "Streets" and there is concert footage and he explains how his guitar is his voice. There's also footage of Bono playing the bands 'unreleased outside if Ireland' terrible 80's music and they're all wearing silver pants with 80's fros. Jimmy Page plays riffs from Ramble On in his London flat. All three dudes talk about how they view music and wax philosophical about the creating of music. I could listen to them forever basically. Jack White makes an electric guitar out of a couple of boards, some wire, a coke bottle and a few nails. Highly recommended.

Dancin' in the Dark

2009-06-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

I've had three consecutive successful Friday nights. Consequently, it's how many Fridays I've been back in Northern Virginia since moving up from the Burg. They have all had to do with reunions and they have all involved diverse activities. I am generally very happy with being back in NoVa. I miss Williamsburg but starting my new chapter up here has been great for the most part. I'm saying yes to everything: concerts, outdoor movies, golf lessons, late night band appearances, jobs I have no business doing, etc.

I've gotten in a few fights with DC, mainly the fact that you can't find parking at a metro anytime you want, they are usually full to overflowing after 10am, and that causes problems with my work schedule. And also the fact, that if I want to get home late at night, I'll have to be able to park at metro stations. I foresee problems in this area. But other than that, it feels good to be back in this area and I feel spurred towards new and different activities. Which brings me to the inspiration for tonight's post: the Gipsy Kings at Wolf Trap.

I cannot imagine watching this show seated in an auditorium, the music literally picks you up and sets your shoulders shimmying. It's been a while since I've been to Wolf Trap, I'm trying to think if the last time I was there actually was the night before I left to go to William and Mary to start college. I saw Blues Traveler and G Love and Special Sauce. It was a good show. I don't think I've been back since. Also, I went with my former youth group leader, the lovely, talented and effervescent Kate Hays. Kate impressed me first with her car: a dark green VW cabrio with a beige interior and a kickin' sound system, basically my dream car at 16, except mine would have been blue. Also by loving Bruce Springsteen (I totally knew she would have an impression on my life when we both started belting out the lyrics to Thunder Road simultaneously). She encouraged impromptu dance parties to bad 80's music and it sealed the deal for me, we were obviously kindred spirits. She helped me pick out prom dresses and introduced me to Loehmann's, for which I am forever grateful.

Tonight, Kate and I reunited, and I couldn't have asked for a better venue for a reunion or for a concert. The night was humid and warm, it sprinkled a little on us right before the show started but it was short and very light. Then the skies cleared, and the stars came out to listen. I went to this concert based solely on the fact that I wanted to see Kate, and that I had heard the Gipsy Kings put on a good show. Of course, I know the one song everyone knows, Bamboleo. And I was expecting some fun rhythms, but I did not expect a three-hour latin dance party. Basically, as soon as it got dark enough for everyone to stop being self-conscious, if you weren't too drunk you were up and dancing. And I don't mean just swaying from side to side, I mean full on salsa, arms cocked, hips doing moves Shakira would use in her music videos, and shoulders all moving in time with the infectious latin rhythms.

I should point out here that the Gipsy Kings are French. They hail from Montpelier near the Spanish border in southern France, pretty much the best place on earth. I point it out simply because I did not expect that. They have such overtly spanish sounds and rhythms. They pioneered a hybrid of latin music they call the "rumba Gitano" which is a mix of South American rumba with the flamenco style guitar. A marriage that works out really well for people who like to dance. But it's a bunch of French dudes playing amazing songs in Spanish. Every song lyric seemed to be "Bailar" or "Amor" or "todos". I was clapping and wiggling, and loving the driving congo drums and the passionate guitar playing. I called it "musica de amor" music of love because flamenco is about passion, and latin and spanish cultures have passion in spades. It was infectious in the crowd too, because our group was surrounded on all sides by couples very interested in making out, and not so much in dancing, so we had to watch where we stepped.

Tonight was everything I love about summer.

Where I will be every Friday night as soon as I'm in NoVa

2009-05-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.rosslynva.org/play/calendar/film-festival

A dream come true? Quite possibly, yes.

First Day it Broke 90 degrees

2009-04-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got my first taste of delicious summer. Not the gross summer that makes you wilt within 5 seconds of contact with the outdoors, but luxurious, hot, sunscreen-scented sunshine. It made me want a chaise lounge and a mojito. It's hard to say what my favorite part of today was. It was definitely not the fact that I had to work. But if I had not worked today, I would not have witnessed two things which brought me a lot of joy:

1) An excited bride surrounded by bridesmaids and flower girls and junior bridesmaids in vivid pink. She was taking large gulps straight from the bottle of champagne before the younger girls showed up. Her dad and lots of other suited men came up and glowed with pride (including one guy with the best chin strap beard I have EVER seen) as she was waiting for her limo in the lobby of the resort. I had met the groom the day before and the feeling of anticipation was palpable.

2) An elderly couple came in and wanted to thank me for the lunch reservations I made for them. They later told me it was their anniversary and they were out celebrating 55 years of marriage. They had lived on the same street growing up and had known each other for over 75 years. I can't stomach movies like Titanic, or The Notebook, because someone wrote them to make a movie that would win people over. But this kind of thing, this couple standing there talking with love after 55 years, wins people over without any carefully developed plot line or beautiful actors playing their parts. These two people are the inspiration for movies like that, and they are real.

I started thinking about all the weddings I will attend this summer and the one I went to in January. I am glad I'll get to be there at the beginning and I hope that they will all end up like the couple still together and very much devoted after 55 years.

Do not encourage silly behavior!

2009-04-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

I was sitting innocently at my desk, G-chatting and looking at Easter Brunch menus, when I hear " 'Ello Gov'nah!"

Into my office walks a portly man in his 50's smiling. I couldn't help but laugh. He said "Oi 'av a few questions concernin' Colonial Waaaalliamsburg". At this point he had approached my desk, with its very nice secure guest-retaining wall that is extra high and that young children like to swing on in the summer months. Because the accent was so bad, and he was just a silly, silly man, I laughed. Mistake.

He asked why I was laughing. I told him because of his accent. MISTAKE! He then CONTINUED the accent for the rest of our seemingly-endless Q&A session about where to eat in Williamsburg. In which I learned (in cockney English) that his wife likes "those new age places that give you a stick and a sliver of meat and charge you a hundred bucks" and that he likes real food. He also asked my where my boyfriend takes me. I hate when men do that. I wanted to say that since I eat exclusively spray cheese and my mommy told me boyfriends are the devil, I wouldn't be able to answer that question very well. So now I'm torn between wishing this man would go away and being interested in how long he will persist in conversing in an English accent with me. He outlasted my wildest expectations.

He left when I got a phone call. Then when I hung up, he popped back in and CONTINUED the English accent. " 'Ello Again!" I get another call. "Cheerio f'now mate! Back in a bit with the woife!" This time he leaves for a while, but then comes back, wife in tow. STILL with the english accent. And he kept it up until I had successfully completed dinner reservations for the next three nights. I suppose he had explained it to his wife, because she didn't look surprised that he was talking that way. Perhaps this is a regular occurence at his house.

Also, on Sunday, someone asked me where Williamsburg is. Sigh.

Add it to the Life List

2009-03-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

I would very much like to drive this musical road in Lancaster, CA. I agree that the William Tell Overture is a little bit out of left field for a choice, but I still want to drive this road at exactly 55 mph. Good thing my dad owns a civic.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/09/the-road-as-roc.html

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

--Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon (1865)

Also, Google's homepage design (see below) from the author of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", Eric Carle, is making my day. I remember loving the illustrations in this book when I was in kindergarten.

Netflix musings

2009-02-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had some good luck on my Netflix queue this week. First up was "Son of Rambow" which is about a boy from an english mennonite(?) family who falls in with the class ne'er do well and begins an unlikely and hilarious friendship which is heavily influenced by their shared love for the movie "First Blood". There were some overly cheesy parts but I really enjoyed watching it. The humor made the cheese way more tolerable. I was surprised to see that the dude who plays the smarmy Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl plays the equally spoiled, equally rich, equally disaffected older brother in this movie, but I shouldn't have been. He was much more likeable and comfortable in his native England without his put-on American accent.

Last night I got home and really wanted to watch a particular movie. I searched for it on the instant watch list and amidst the 40 other flm versions of the story, there it was: The Adventure of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn (1938). The reason I wanted to watch this particular one is because I just last night remembered watching it on TV once and my parents recording it and then my and my little brother watching it allllllll the time after that. I remembered so many of the lines from the movie and I remember Errol Flynn's quintessential portrayal of the noble turned altruistic woodsman. No one ever did "swashbuckler" better than Errol Flynn. I also remember the costumes that Maid Marian (played by Olivia de Havilland) wore in the move and being completely obsessed with them as a young girl. I just wanted to see it all again as an adult and see if it was the same. It was, if not better. It was so silly and over the top, but I love it for that.

Now I'm in the middle of "I'm Not There" and I'm kind of lost. I've read two biographies of Bob Dylan, and "Chronicles, Vol. 1". They don't really match up with this at all, but I think that may be the point? (Sidenote: Christian Bale is way too attractive to play Bob Dylan and is overdoing the impression of Bob's voice.) I do think it's right on in how the folk generation looked to him to define them, he rightfully chided them for it, and in return they put him on an even higher pedestal...after they stopped hating him for "turning his back on them". No one has every really been able to understand Bob Dylan. He is a fascinating enigma. And we're obsessed with trying to figure him out. Cate Blanchett totally deserved her oscar nod for this. She makes every other portrayal in this movie look real bad. A distant second to her performance is the boy who plays the Woody Guthrie persona. This reminds me I need to listen to my Dylan albums all the way through more.

I've always believed, this just proves it.

2009-02-13T10:30:00.001-08:00

I know I've spoken before, even in this blog about how I have a firm belief in Divine control over my iPod and the songs I hear on the radio sometimes. I saw a new non-threatening chain e-mail thing on facebook about the soundtrack to your life as defined by the shuffle feature on your music player, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test my beliefs. Now, I know that we're not supposed to test God like the Israelites in the desert did (see the book of Exodus) but I was hoping this is more like Gideon with the fleeces (Judges 6:36-39).

Here's how it works: Open your music library, put it on shuffle, press play. For every question, type the song that's playing, and when you go to a new question, press the next button. No cheating and skipping songs, obviously. Each question corresponds to a scene in a movie about your life broken down into major events.

In order to be scientifically sound (um, kind of...) I ran the test twice. I will include the results of both experiments as well as an analysis because I'm a huge fan of the scientific method.

-----Trial #1-----

Opening Credits: "Groove Me" by King Floyd

Waking Up:"Derelict" by Beck

First Day Of School:"Twist and Shout" by the Beatles

Falling in Love:"Stickshifts and Safetybelts" by Cake

First Song:"With or Without You" by U2

Fight Song:"Lost!" by Coldplay

Breaking Up:"Shelter from the Storm" by Bob Dylan

Prom:"April Come She Will" by Simon and Garfunkle

Life Theme:"At My Most Beautiful" by R.E.M.

Mental Breakdown:"Song for a Train Ride" by Gadjo Playboys

Driving:"Holes to Heaven" by Jack Johnson

Flashback:"Tell Him" by The Exciters

Getting Back Together:"Very Superstitious" by Stevie Wonder

Wedding:"Dreams" by The Allman Brothers

Birth of Child:"Serious Times" by Gyptian

Final Battle:""Weight of the World" by Chantal Kreviazuk

Death Scene:"Killing Me" by Graham Colton

Funeral Song:"Silver and Gold" by U2

End Credits:"Hey Brother" by Beulah

Analysis: It's not a bad list. A lot of the songs are really appropriate. "Serious Times" at the birth of my first child. Two of my favorite artists are represented in excellent placements. "Silver and Gold" at my funeral would be a good tribute if I somehow become an inflammatory political activist before I die, but I don't think that's very likely. "Weight of the World" is more a song about overcoming battles or being free from them than actually being in one, so I don't think that's a very good "final battle" song. "Killing Me" as my death scene soundtrack is appropriate in title alone. It's actually about love, not death. but it's still pretty great that that came up. I really don't want the Allman Brothers played at my wedding. Also, the getting back together song of "Very Superstitious" is nice and ironic. And "Lost!" is a very wussy fight song if you ask me, but I've always fought with my words, never my fists.

----Trial #2----

Opening Credits:
“Carolina” by Josh Rouse

Waking Up:
“Do You Like the Way” by Santana featuring Lauryn Hill & Cee-lo

First Day Of School:
“Rascals Out” by Gadjo Playboys

Falling in Love:
“Far From Saved” by Granian

First Song:
“Trouble” by Ray Lamontagne

Fight Song:
“Hope on Board” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Breaking Up:
“Gold Dust Woman” by Fleetwood Mac

Prom:
“Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel

Life Theme:
“Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” by Bob Dylan

Mental Breakdown:
"Down the Road Tonight” by Hayes Carll

Driving:
"World Spins Madly On” by The Weepies

Flashback:
"Annie Waits” by Ben Folds

Getting Back Together:
"Candy’s Room” by Bruce Springsteen

Wedding:
"Piano Sonata #14 in C Sharp Minor, ‘Moonlight’ 3. Presto Agitato” by Ludwig von Beethoven

Birth of Child:
"Jack and Diane” by John Mellancamp

Final Battle:
"Baguée” by Paris Combo

Death Scene:
"Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” as sung by Ray Charles & Betty Carter

Funeral Song:
"Southern State of Mind” by Steven Kellogg and the Sixers

End Credits:
"Cocoon” by Jack Johnson

Analysis: A really fantastic list. Some of my favorite songs ever are on it. For my wake up song, I don't think that "Do You Like the Way" is all that representative of my life when I first wake up, but it's a cool song to wake up to anyway. "Rascals Out" is a great first day of school song. "Far From Saved" is a little too troubled of a song for me to be completely comfortable with that as my falling in love choice. I would like it to be something happier than that. It's kind of funny because the next song is about being saved by a woman but scorned at the same time. My love life will obviously be tumultuous. "Hope on Board", a song I like very much, is a terrible fight song. I have some music in my library that would be GREAT fight music. In fact, I downloaded most of it because of Tarantino-movie fight scenes. I LOVE that "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is my life theme. My wedding song is frenetic and C sharp minor is a very unhappy key. Boo. My death scene song is heartbreakingly appropriate. Almost as good as "As time Goes By" in Casablanca. That's a score. My funeral song is one of my favorite songs ever, but it would be better for my driving song. The Weepies are a good driving band though. They give you a lot to think about.

So all in all, I think while there were exceptions, the lists were very well stocked with the "random" selections from my library. I have always been, and will remain forever, a believer.

T-Pain, I love you, but that hat's gotta go.

2009-02-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

I was watching the Grammy's red carpet with my small group girls last night. We enjoyed both the beautiful dresses and making fun of the really not beautiful dresses. And while they almost made me go deaf with their screams when the Jonas Brothers appeared, we had fun trading observations. In general, we tended to agree. My biggest gripes were the lack of rock and the overabundance of glam.

It's so frustrating that Paris Hilton uses her piles of unearned money to wear crap like this. Doesn't she purport to have a sense of style? Lord knows she's never proven that, or that she's got anything else besides money.

Kate Beckinsale went a little too far. This is definitely an Oscars dress.

Katy Perry's Red Carpet dress was a sharp contrast from her costume on stage. She went from vamp to the Chiquita banana lady in less than an hour. Didn't really like either look.

I wish Paula would stop going out in public. She so clearly doesn't have it together in any respect and doesn't know anyone who does either, or they would stop her from wearing stuff like this: Paula Abdul

Cyndi Lauper's eccentric rock and roll style for once wasn't hideous but perfectly fitted to her and super cool.

Estelle just got it wrong. She had one of the hottest songs of the year and comes out looking all Jetsons. And her shoes were like hole-filled socks with heels attached to them.

Now for the gents.

Kings of Leon were the best dressed group of the night. The right balance of "we don't care" dressed down with " however, we still wanna look awesome" dressed up. Rock star hair to match.

T-Pain was a perfect example of the Hat-wearing trend (so hot for guys right now) gone astray. But hip hop artists do what they want. Another good example of not-good-hat-wearing is Futureman. Maybe worse than T-Pain. ARrrrr!

And it's not that all rappers choose to be ridiculous either. Kanye and T.I. both arrived looking fly and so did Young Jeezy, which, probably unfairly, I wasn't expecting. And one of my faves was the always gangsta Snoop Dogg.

But Jason Mraz was prob my pick for best dressed male of the night. Chucks, paired with a nice suit, funky tie, and a good example of how a hat should be worn. Perfect mix of cool and flare, but still dressed up.

The most mismatched pair of the night was definitely Allison Krauss and Robert Plant. He's a rock god. He doesn't answer to earthly fashion rules. It's just unfortunate that half of the reason for all his awards this year happens to be stunning and polished. Not that he cared, but there was a sharp contrast between him and his lovely female counterpart.

I love the Grammys because musicians from all genres mix with film and TV stars and the red carpet is "like a box of choc-o-lates". Less risks were taken this year though. Is it wierd to think that the girls looked too pretty? I guess I just wanted more diverse styling choices than the very pretty, fluffy pinks and classic lines I expect from Oscar night.

Now Sweeping the Nation

2009-02-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

I read this article in the New York Times and literally 5 minutes later I got tagged. I took it as a sign that I needed to participate.

Here's the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/fashion/05things.html

and I will also post my 25 things. If you are not on facebook and would like to participate, feel free to send me your 25 things. It might be fun!

1) My least favorite word in the english language is "skort". Consequently, I think this is the worst idea for an article of clothing ever. Pick one, skirt or shorts.

2) I have a weird thing about needing to own my favorite movies but never watching them.

3) When I hear a song in a grocery store that I like, I sometimes will sing. out loud. also, if the song calls for it, I dance. I find Farm Fresh and Trader Joe's to be the places where this happens the most.

4) I respond to stress by baking or running.

5) My dream car is Cameron's dad's car from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California. I would also accept an early 60's Corvette or Cobra.

6) I am a huge fan of delayed gratification. I love waiting for Christmas presents and would never open any of them before the appointed time. I like planning fun things in advance so I can get excited for them to happen.

7) The first album I ever bought for myself was C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat" on tape in 4th grade.

8) My favorite big city in America is Chicago. But not in the winter.

9) Among my top travel goals are New Zealand (particularly hiking the Milford Trail) and South Africa's 2010 World Cup.

10) I don't like chick flicks because I contend they take cheap shots at emotional soft spots and often the acting is crappy. Titanic, the Notebook, and A Walk To Remember are all chick flicks to me (sorry if that offends). I do however enjoy great romance movies, i.e. Casablanca, Sabrina, The Princess Bride, A Very Long Engagement. I appreciate movies that can combine humor, plot and real emotion.

11) The Super Bowl is my favorite eating day of the year because I love dips of all kinds, especially hummus and guacamole.

12) I cherish my Netflix account and have recently taken to watching every Ken Burns documentary I can get my hands on. (not one disappointment in the bunch, let me tell you.)
13) My favorite smell is campfire.

14) I think spring in Williamsburg, VA is a little slice of heaven.

15) The best bar I've ever been too was The Flying Saucer in Nashville, TN.

16) I don't have DVR or TiVo so I am always in front of a television between 9 and 10pm on Thursday nights for the Office and 30 Rock. "I want to go to there."

17) Robert Redford and Brett Favre are in my older man file.

18) For a while when I was in pre-school I lived in Utah. We had the coolest backyard ever, complete with mountain views, tire swing and awesome sledding hill.

19) I would like to visit every National Park in the United States. Of the ones that I’ve been to, Yosemite and Zion are probably my favorites. I went to a lot when I was really young but don't have a lot of memories from them.

20) My favorite run in Colonial Williamsburg is around W&M’s campus, down the Colonial Parkway and to Jamestown Beach.

21) I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy annually. I also watch the movies every Christmas, usually in rapid succession.

22) Great accomplishments in sports make me emotional.

23) When I was younger I used to sort my M&M’s by color and eat them in the following order: tan (this was before the blue ones replaced them in 1995), dark brown, yellow, orange, red, then green.

24) I can rap every word to Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' but a G Thang". It was the first rap song I ever heard.

25) I’m really finicky about grammar and diction.

Swedish Wisdom

2009-01-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

"I'm sick and tired of living in the future. I just want some now."

I think this quote sums up my feelings over life since about Thanksgiving. (It was spoken by the frontman for the Swedish rock duo The Tough Alliance about his resolution not to dwell on the upcoming year. I would never have come across them or this quote if it hadn't been for the clutch birthday present from my older bro, a subscription to Paste magazine. Mad props, Beebo.)

All I can do is think about where I should be going, what I should be doing, what I could leave behind and what I could be heading towards. I've never called my parents more in my life. I keep hoping I will hear just the right thing to do. I remember being in college and picking classes and thinking with each class I decided to take I was deciding the course of my future. Now even buying new tires for my car seems like a gigantic, definitive life move.The truth is, there are good things and bad things about ALL the options in front of me. They will eventually narrow down. But I may have to prepare myself to make a huge change faster than I ever thought I'd have to.

Of course none of it is set in stone, and for the longest time I felt like everyone else was going through all these exciting changes and I was being left behind in the dust. Now it seems it's time to stop thinking about change and start actually changing.

I just want some now.

Strange Christmas Occurances

2009-01-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Over the last few very busy weeks at the resort, I have encountered several colorful characters.

1) Two weeks ago, a lady doing her morning weight lifting routine had her iPod on and successfully tuned out to the rest of the world. My office is caddy-cornered from the workout room and no one thought to soundproof it because usually workouts don't require a lot of noise. I'll occasionally hear people pumping themselves up, weird breathing, or weights clanging but beyond that I hardly even remember the room is there. That particular day this woman was BELTING out Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". She must have had it on repeat too because it lasted for an extended amount of time. I sort of loved her for being so oblivious to the world outside that workout room. Maybe she didn't care, maybe she didn't know, but either way, she made my morning. I do that sometimes in grocery stores. Particularly at Farm Fresh where they play all the oldies. I always have to sing along with "Mustang Sally" or "I Wish it Would Rain". It's not something I can physically control either, it just happens.

2) An 82 year-old man walks into my office and goes "Ah, so YOU'RE the one with the sexy voice. Don't tell my wife I said that." I am guessing that this guy has always been sort of a smooth operator. It's endearing and off-putting at the same time. Past a certain point I think it's just strange for men of that age to be saying things like that. But it's also kind of good and vital to see that indomitable playboy spirit living on. He brought up his own age and even the fact that he's too old to be talking like that. Which makes him even more suspect to being a ladies-man in his earlier years. I didn't get creeped out by it because he's just having some fun, but still it made a lasting impression. Perhaps I should go into late-night radio.

3) I've been discussing this incident with a few friends in the last day and I'm of the opinion that the man in question was colorblind. Or else, the color of his sweatsuit blinded him. Walking past the workout room, this very bright pink color caught my eye. There sat a very old, very tiny, very frail man, diligently doing his reps with the 5-pound dumbell. He was wearing a sweatsuit of uninterrupted, vivid fuschia from head to toe. His wife was in there with him, equally tiny and frail. She was wearing a jogging suit with a turtleneck. I want to think this guy is colorblind, but if he's not, maybe he just likes really bright colors. I had to laugh. Maybe he picked up one of his wife's suits by accident?

Just a couple anecdotes from a busy holiday season. I've been enjoying the older crowd here during the holidays. Lots of 50th and 60th anniversaries being celebrated which always warms my heart. But now we've entered into the barren wasteland of tourism that is January and February. Hopefully I'll get a lot of reading done. Happy New Year, everyone.

Say it on a sweatshirt!

2008-12-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

I saw this and I had to write about it. No one ever picks my initials for any demonstration. This photo is from a Wal-mart print ad for personalized gifts. I think Wal-Mart secretly appreciates my frantic weekly shopping trips where I keep my head down and try and get in and out as quickly as possible. They heart KP!

Note: this is not a hint for a Christmas present.

Busy Fall

2008-11-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

I've been taking a class at W&M just to get my feet wet in the academic ocean again and most of the stuff for the class has been due in the last few weeks and will continue to be for the rest of the month. I've been enjoying the business though it has kept me from my online thought sharing.

The thing that I'm enjoying the most of anything in life right now is definitely the trees. I don't remember ever seeing a fall this brilliant and colorful. It's probably got a lot do to with my perspective. I keep thinking where I was in fall of last year. Working 70 hours a week, being fed lie after lie and promise after promise, dealing with issues that were WAY over my head, and feeling totally overwhelmed and lost. I'm glad I'm not there anymore. I missed fall because all I experienced from September to December 19th of last year was the walk to my car in the morning when it was dark and then at night when I left the hotel when it was dark again. I completely missed my favorite season. Maybe it's my favorite season. I'm a fairweather fan, you see. Whichever season I'm in is usually my favorite.

I busted out some of my sweaters for the brief chilly period we had two weeks ago. What is better than a cozy sweater, a brisk autumn breeze with colorful leaves swirling around you, pumpkin bread in the oven, and hot cocoa to sip on? I would submit the follow response: nothing. I have been absolutely revelling in fall. I think I'm overcompensating for last year's loss, but I could care less. My co-workers have been forced to consume mass quantities of all my fall-inspired baking attempts, I cannot shut up about how beautiful the leaves are, I could write a sonnet about honeycrisp apples every time I bite into one (today I spent $7 on 5 of them at the store. I shouldn't have spent that much on apples but I had to have them)...the list continues. I spent the better part of my day off on Wednesday going around Williamsburg and taking pictures. I just wanted to preserve and remember the beauty somehow.

I had a birthday last week. I didn't do a whole lot except invite a bunch of friends out to dinner. We went to this place that Chapel has absolutely overrun called Pancho Villa's. It's a mexican chain restaurant. It's not particularly amazing food or atmosphere, but Chapel people are seriously obsessed with it. I hear about it WEEKLY. It's come to be known as "The Paunch". (Oh the clever double entendre!) Anyway, I had never been so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Plus mexican restaurants never care if you make a rukus. They usually encourage it, so it's a good place to celebrate a birthday.

The food wasn't anything to write home about but it was a fun night. One of my other friends in Williamsburg, John, had celebrated his birthday at The Paunch not too long before mine and I guess people made him do a shot. So they decided I should be subjected to the same punishment (and believe you me, a shot of cheap tequila and lord knows what else is indeed a punishment). So the mexican guys come out and scrunch an obscenely large and heavy sombrero on my head, and place said shot down on my right. Then this one guy covers it with a napkin and picks it up and slams it down three times. It's obvious after the third time that I'm supposed to take it (it's fizzing now and I really didn't want to). So I took it and then immediately after I set it down the mexican guy covers my mouth with a napkin (KINDA like gagging me and I was not prepared for this at all, see photo) and pushes me back and forth in my chair three times. Then that's over and the waiters yell and one of them hits me on the head with a PIE TIN. (Please note Exhibit A to the right: the pie tin/assault weapon poised for attack AFTER he gags me with the napkin.) Then the same mexican guy sets a pepper plant down next to me which is clearly marked DO NOT EAT, NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, DECORATIVE PEPPER PLANT. I wasn't sure if it was a present or if I was supposed to eat a non-edible pepper or what! At this point I was so confused by the recent chain of events I had no place left to turn except laughter (see photo above). And I laughed until it hurt. I kept replaying the whole ridiculous sequence in my head and never understanding and THEN seeing the pepper plant again and the cycle just kept getting funnier. It also might have had something to do with the tequila, but I'm not sure it played a huge role.

So the birthday was very fun. I was set on getting cowboy boots as a present to myself. So I bought a pair I liked and now they are sitting on my floor in my apartment and I'm not totally sure I can pull them off. I am having second thoughts. I bought a second pair and am going to compare the two and send at least one, possibly both back because I'm not exactly sure I'm hip enough to do this. I haven't given it enough of a shot I suppose but apparently the cool thing to do is wear cowboy boots with dresses and skirts. No way is that ever happening for this kid. I think I would really like the boots I have now if it weren't for the pink stitching all over the tops. We'll see what ultimately wins. I may just need to wait until I have a greater selection at my disposal.

Now it's time to start gearing up (saving up!!) for Christmas. I think I might actually get to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year which would be fantastic. And, fingers crossed, Christmas too. My co-workers better get ready for the onslaught of gingerbread, sugar cookies, pumpkin bars, chocolate and other goodies coming their way.

WHO is making this happen??

2008-10-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

I just heard on the news that "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is the number one movie in America for the second week in a row. I have several questions:
1) Who the HECK is going to see this movie?? (For the record, if you did see it and we're friends, consider our relationship terminated, effective immediately.)
2) Who the heck gave millions of dollars for this movie to be made?? Who greenlighted this project? I would have guffawed in the face of ANYONE who pitched this movie idea to me.
3) HOW is it the number one movie? It's not a chick flick, it's not action, it's about a wussy dog. I can't believe this. Obviously I'm upset because I felt the need to write about it.

Were the Taco Bell commercials from the late 90's not annoying enough for everyone? Was it really necessary that they made a movie? Sheesh. I clearly do not have the foresight that some movie exec in Hollywood does because if I was a bigwig in movies I would never have allowed my studio to touch this. Someone must have thought this movie would make money, and I for one, am deeply saddened that that would be a predictable quality in any American. Okay, tirade over. I was just shocked that a movie like this could beat out a "Body of Lies" or other movies in the commencing award season film releases.

A big Thank you to Seth,

2008-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Officially a great way to brighten your day.

http://failblog.org/

Chain Letter Bread, Kermit the Man, and Something All Girls Do

2008-09-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

This past week was my first-ever experience making Amish Friendship bread. While the end product is delicious and the idea behind it is rather warm and fuzzy, I couldn't walk away from it without feeling a lot of pressure. I like to bake whenever I feel like it. I don't really like to have a schedule. This bread is definitely on a schedule. Here's how it works in case you've never encountered it before:

Day 1, someone gives you a starter bag. The secrets of this bag are held by the Amish so in order to begin the process of friendship bread you have to either be Amish or get a bag from someone. For the next five days you mush the bag once a day and make sure you evacuate any air that accumulates in the bag. Day 6 you add milk, sugar and flour to the starter bag and mush it together. Then for the next four days you mush and evacuate as in the beginning. On the 10th day, you add more milk, sugar and flour, put some of the mixture in four bags to give away, and then what you are left with is the base for the bread you bake that day. You have to add other stuff to it and it ends up making two good-sized loaves.

The pressure part of it for me was that you need to pass the bread along so others can make it and keep spreading the chain. You can keep one of the bags for yourself and if you do you have to make bread every 10 days and give three bags away. When discussing this with others, it seemed eerily similar to that most hated of all forms of mail, the chain letter. I didn't want to have to put people I know on the same schedule I had been on for the last week and a half. It seemed like I was giving them a chore.

Then I tasted the bread. Utterly delicious. I had had it before and it had been a long time but it's so moist and cinnamon-y and dense. It also has a slight crunch to it because you coat the pan and the top with a cinnamon sugar mixture. It's just great. Worth the 10 day wait and it truly is a gift to anyone willing to take the time to make it. I sort of regretted giving all my bags away. But it will be easy enough to get one back from one of my small group girls. I gave two away at work and two away to my small group. I really do like the idea of Friendship bread and I love the taste, however it does seem like more pressure than should be associated with baking.

I had my first small group of the year Sunday night which was not as well-attended as I would have hoped. I always have core girls who show up and we're having it at someone's house now which is pretty fun. Different vibe than we've ever had before. One of the girls who always comes has had sort of a crisis of faith summer and she had a lot to say. In the midst of one of her stories she was telling how a boy she liked had been doing a lot of things that annoyed her. Basically because he was paying more attention to another girl right in front of her. And she said that one day she just snapped and lashed out at him over something really small. I was completely struck by how common a reaction that is for women. And this is predominantly in romantic situations with guys. Why is it that we keep things hidden inside? We don't say anything when someone does something that makes us really mad, and we think they SHOULD know that it's bothering us. Then one day they do something like offer us a tissue at just the wrong moment and BAM! we just explode on them for no reason and we yell for a long time until it's all out of our system. They are left bewildered and with a shredded, unused tissue thrown in their face. I always try and do things that are rational and be calm about those kinds of situations. I try to bring it up when I'm angry with someone about something. It's not confrontational, it's clearing the air because I'm not attacking them, I just want them to know. But I know that I've done that before, just lashed out because I couldn't take it anymore. I want to consciously try and improve on that point. Be more upfront with people if something is really bothering me. I think for me it's more a fear of rocking the boat or messing up the status quo. But I've found that it's much more important to be vocal about the things you don't like and figure them out earlier rather than later. It can lead to a lot of unpleasantness when problems go undiscussed. And that's true in a lot of other areas besides just relationships.

Another fun thing happened yesterday. I actually met someone named Kermit. In his defense he was named Kermit before the frog was popularized and he tells me his namesake is actually Teddy Roosevelt's second son. Had sort of a sad life but one full of adventure. Anyway, when the guest told me his name he immediately said with a smile "and don't you say a word!" which of course made me laugh. He has obviously developed a good sense of humor about his name and has heard every single possible joke about his name. I wasn't going to attempt one but his preemptive strike was pretty funny.

Freshman Move-in Day

2008-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Remember when you first went off to college? Remember seeing your cramped low-lit dorm room for the first time? Remember how it was like summer camp with orientation activities for the first week? I sure do. And I was reminded of it today. I had a day off today and list of errands to run that took up an entire piece of legal size paper. I managed to accomplish everything in my power to accomplish with not a whole lot of delays or problems. But I am going back to school too. I'm going to be taking a class at W&M this fall to see if the Education school would work for me. And in registering for this class and doing my errands today I came across freshman and their families in many different situations.

1) Wal-mart - the obvious one-stop shopping place for back-to-school. I got there at about 11:30 which was before freshman move-in was really over and so I feel as though the big rush hadn't set in yet. So many desks, lamps, laundry hampers, large bottled water packages, TVs, mops, vacuum cleaners, everything you didn't know you needed until you actually got to the room, was being purchased. I just remember that first day so well. My roomate Rebecca pretty much had it all. She was always so prepared for everything. I was just thinking, I need clothes, some sheets, a computer, and I'm good. Rebecca brought the mini-fridge, the TV, the videos, the snack food, the extra shelving, the fun decorative items for the room. Everything she brought when I was it was thinking, MAN I'm glad she thought of that.

2) Target - akin to wal-mart but more for the fun decorative room items. Target has made a substantial impact on the college market by selling a wide array of funky lamps, furniture, sheets and other dorm items with a very youthful esthetic. Something you feel like you can really make your own because you don't live with your parents anymore. Even though they're paying for your individuality.

3) Parking Services - the long line of forlorn students forking over a ton of money to pay for coveted asphalt real estate. I remember hating getting the bad parking spots on campus because I ALWAYS had a lot of stuff to tote to or from my car. I felt like the exorbitant amount of money they ask for that privledge should guarantee a space within 100 yards of my residence. Such is life in Williamsburg.

4) The bookstore - Panicked students who couldn't find all their books, some sections were out of certain books, what will I DO if I don't have all my books before the first day of classes? That was definitely me. I FREAKED out when I left the bookstore thinking I had all my books and then on my first day of class there was an assigment from a book I definitely did not have and had not seen. Turns out the bookstores organization has improved since 2001 but when I was a freshman they had the classes sort of grouped together, not really, and they were on different levels, so you might have thought you had all the books but there may have been some on a different shelf, or you may have bought the wrong section's books, or you may have bought the wrong class accidentally. They've thought of ways to get past that now. I also saw a lot of parents proudly purchasing W&M apparel. Draping themselves in gold and green and walking out with boatloads of paraphernalia for relatives and siblings.

I really enjoyed kind of reliving move-in day today, but, as always, am glad it wasn't me. I just remember how life defining I thought it was and how when I had to pick my classes I felt like I was choosing a career and how ADULT everything felt. Oh what fun. Now actually being an adult has lost that golden glow. But I think I prefer the reality of the adult world, just not the cost.

Sidenote: E! news just told me that Denim leggings are in?? This just goes to show that no one should EVER throw anything away because it will always come back in style. and that goes for movie scripts, books, CDs/tapes/8tracks/records, and other pop culture items. Because if you hang on to something long enough, it will become cool or original again.

July is over?

2008-08-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

My goodness it has been such a busy month. I left for Blue Ridge on the last day of June, and I feel like I was only able to take my first real breath yesterday. In the month of July, I traveled out of state 4 times, got the news I had to move, moved, and started grad school applications. I am very happy to be on the other side of this month because I feel like even though it was hard all the changes and things that happened are ultimately good.

I had to move from my awesome apartment at one of my small group girl's houses and now I'm at another basement apartment. It's nice because I still have my own apartment, still have my own entrance, and I have just started decorating it a little bit. That's always something I've enjoyed though paying for the decorating it's that fun. But it's starting to feel like my place. The thing I miss the most is having my own kitchen. But I have access to the one here, and laundry, and that's all I need. So I'm happy with it for the time being.

I'm starting to get all the grad school materials together as well. I'm interested in studying international education or possibly education administration. I'm discovering what what I really want is to further the international focus in education in the US and continue to open people up to how big the world is. So grad school is going to be the only way to really get into that now since I've been doing such random stuff for so long.

Well I'm happy with how it's gone. I'll be updating my photo album with all the fun pictures from July travels. Pining for the Rockies and planning when I can go back to see Mer again. That's about it. The fall is probably going to be a bit more calm. I might be taking a class at W&M if they let me. I'm just trying to take steps forward now. Wherever that leads.

If I Had a Million Dollars...

2008-07-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a rather slow day at work. I spiced it up a little bit by searching for this one handbag I saw a guest come in with that I totally loved. It was a coach bag and I generally don't like them, but this one was fantastic. It looked like this photo to the right. It's the navy blue jaquard that I like with the dark brown leather. I'm liking the color combination a lot. It's hard to find too, which I also like.

Then I got to thinking about designers and brand-names and I also got to thinking about how it's been a long time since I had a date with fashion. I decided that I would go on a quest and today's particular search was centered on vintage couture. I managed to come across a bunch of awesome pieces on this website called thefrock.com and I decided that I would post some pictures and explain where I see these fitting into my fictitious ultra-fabulous millionaire life. The only kind of life where these clothes would have any kind of a place.

Here we go:

This little number would be used for cocktail parties at my super cool friends' houses and perhaps hitting a swanky club after. 1950 Norman Norell.

Pierre Cardin circa 1960. This one I would definitely use for business meetings where I would show up looking impossibly chic, but also like I mean business.

This is the first of a few Oscar/Cannes Film Festival dresses I have picked out for myself. This is the one I will wear when I'd like to have a dramatic entrance, yet maintain a classic look. Vintage Balenciaga.

Blue beaded empire waist dress will be used when I need to feel like royalty. Perhaps when I'm invited for a state dinner at Windsor Castle when William finally comes to his senses and ditches Kate for me.

Vintage Halston. This will be my uber-glamour dress. Definitely made for a red carpet event.

Elizabeth Arden. This one is maybe to present a lifetime achievement award at my favorite charity's annual gala.

There's more. but I'll save those for a different rainy day.

A Week in the Mountains

2008-07-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

I just returned this evening from a missions trip just outside of Asheville, NC with my church and with four members of my small group of rising sophomore girls. We left on Sunday after church and drove for about 8 hours. My van had my girls, 4 freshmen boys and some junior girls. It was a long ride, and the younger ones were very excited. I tried to think of as many car games as possible, but I ran out of ideas pretty quickly. We played the game where you go around and each person says one word to contribute to telling a story. They made me die in every story, but I died in very creative ways. Once I was incinerated in a frog's uterus. Singing show tunes then became the entertainment of choice for the girls, which quickly put the rest of the bus on their iPods with pillows around their heads.

We got their late, around 10pm, ate cold pizza, got a brief run down of our week, the next day's schedule and some of the rules. The living conditions were not bad considering other mission trip accomodations I have heard of. We were inside an old school house that is being very gradually renovated with donations and some of the proceeds from program fees. We stayed in a large classroom with very old and dirty floors and our "mattresses" were four inch slabs of foam covered in nylon. We also had fans that sounded like jet engines to keep the room cool at night. At first I thought this would be a problem but it actually really helped drown out the noises of 36 high school girls in one room together, definitely a blessing. I ended up waking up every hour on the hour most nights because every time I turned I got twisted up in my sleeping bag and slid off the foam.

The first morning I woke up at 5 and decided I couldn't spend another second trying to sleep or in that room so I decided I'd go for a run. I didn't go far and the hills were major, but the quiet and the cool of the misty mountain morning made it well worth the effort and the lost sleep. I knew this would be a very important part of each day. The schedule started for everyone else with a wake-up call at 6am and breakfast at 6:30am. Each group there (three others besides ours were there the same week) was assigned cleaning duties in rotation after meals. We had breakfast on the first morning. Then we had a worship service from 7:30-8:30.

This worship service was different from any I had ever experienced. The other female leaders from my church and I were sitting together on the first morning in the back and we were behind our group so we could see most of their reactions. It started out by the lights in the old gym dimming, someone in the audio booth above blowing a very loud horn, and swing music starting and all the staff members at the camp gathering at the back and dancing and clapping while all the campers watched. Then a Chris Tomlin song called "Party" kicked us off and the staff runs to the front and starts dancing and clapping again. This particular song has the word shout in it about 50 times and every time that word comes up the staff would shout it. So the students from our group were totally shocked because we aren't used to this high-energy worship with dancing and shouting all the time. Two other churches were totally into it and were going nuts. After that song, a christian rap song came on, then one that had a line dance (I had no idea that there are people out there who line dance during worship songs) associated with it, that everyone else knew except us, and then another one where we were supposed to dance again. Our Pastor of Student Ministries, Travis, said that he thinks they found every song that had the word dance and shout in it and put them in the morning worship. This succession of songs was punctuated by one of the camp directors taking the microphone and doing a southern baptist style prayer yelling "O GOD" and then we would echo, then "OUR GOD" and we echoed, "ALMIGHTY GOD" then echo, and then the rest of the prayer in antiphonal yelling.

This pattern of worship songs never changed the whole week. What did change was the participation level from our students. The first morning only two people from our group, two of my freshmen girls actually, chose to dance and join the "party". By then end of the week, we all knew the line dance, had memorized the chorus of the rap song, and perfected our go-to crazy dance moves. I am still sort of reeling from it because as far as worship goes, give me a pipe organ and a hymn from antiquity over contemporary worship songs any day. I also have a problem with lots of shouting when I'm not fully awake yet. I think some other people did too but the kids loved it and they continued to sing the songs for the rest of the week, all throughout the work days and at night. I am fully convinced that I could never work at this camp, nor would they ever hire me.

Our job for the week was to replace a roof and repaint a house in a very poor area of Asheville. Nathaniel Wiley owned the home we worked on and the first day I went in to meet him and find a little bit about him. His wife died a long time ago, he was in the navy and fought in Guadalcanal and other South Pacific battles from WWII, and he used to enjoy gardening. He was a little wary of social interaction at first but it turned out he just needed to be drawn out a little. He answered any question you asked and he was always very nice about it. His home was in severe disrepair. It looked as though it hadn't been cleaned or taken care of in many years. My small group girls and I basically worked together the first part of the week. We all started off painting on the first day, and some of us got up on the roof and tore off old shingles and started replacing the rotten boards in the roof. The first time I walked into the backyard I saw that he had years of junk collected and that his gardening hobby had been left by the wayside. Everything was overgrown, covered in ivy or creepers, and nothing had been there for less than 5 years judging by the extreme rust present. I decided that this backyard would become my baby. I worked on it for two and a half days, tore down a shed that was falling apart, removed old lawnmowers, washing machines, ovens, tires, bottles, barrels, tools, pipes and anything else I saw laying around back there. We ended up filling two huge industrial sized dumpsters with the junk and debris from the backyard.

Wednesday we had a day off from working to break up the week and we started off by going back to sleep after the morning worship service. Then we drove out to a local nursing home and visited with some of the residents for the last part of the morning until lunch. I met an older gentleman named Earle Davis and I had a lot of fun listening to him tell me about his days as a salesman and sharing his Hershey bar with him. He made me promise to write him and tell him all about my life and he told me threatening stories about people who promised to write before but didn't. Everyone I met in the home had grown up in western North Carolina and had spent all of their lives there. I learned some mountain-speak from the director of activities who had to help me interpret some of their sentences. I heard a man named Hank play a continuous loop of Hank Williams songs on his dobro. Really liked that guy. We could definitely be friends. He would laugh during the middle of the songs and try to explain them to us but he didn't have any teeth so we had some trouble. He seemed especially tickled by the ones with men chasing after women who couldn't be caught. And all-around it seemed like the entire group had a good morning visiting the people in the home. Many said later it was their favorite part of the week. Lots of the freshmen boys were told they were very handsome and teased mercilessly about their good looks and charm. Those unfortunate ones were also teased by the rest of the group for the rest of the week as soon as their impact on the elderly women became public knowledge.

That afternoon we drove out to Pisgah National Park and went to "Sliding Rock" which is a natural water slide. The water was 50 degrees and when I hit the pool at the bottom it took my breath away it was so cold. I came up breathing short and quickly but the shock of cold felt great once I was in the sun drying off. I took videos of most of the group going down the slides and I hope they will make good contributions to the inevitable DVD recap that will be made. After the sliding rock we drove a short ways to a small picnic site at the foot of a trail. Our leader had told us that the hike we were doing was not really a hike but a "light stroll" and that we wouldn't need sneakers, flip flops were fine. Well, this was not entirely true. The hike included several steep gradients and had some rough terrain on it. Most were just wearing $1 Old Navy flip flops and they all had a word with Travis after the hike was over. Incredulous cries of "LIGHT STROLL??? FLIP FLOPS??" could be heard at most points along the 5-mile trail. Also, the students decided it would be funny if they did their own rendition of the morning antiphonal yelling prayer. I was bringing up the rear and I could hear the yells coming from up front. After we got back from the hike we got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove to a lookout point where we did our evening "Porch Time" where we ate dinner, shared stuff that happened during the day and did a bible study. The sun was setting and we were overlooking a valley with several rock structures. We sang some songs and it was a generally lovely day, save some sore feet.

Thursday and Friday were our last days on the work site. We had to sprint to finish what we could on Friday and I feel like we still could have gotten more done. We were a little limited by the number of ladders we had and also by the fact that we were not skilled painters or roofers so everything we did was slow and at times sloppy. We had to do a lot of touch-ups and do-overs. On Friday I spent some more time indoors talking to Nathaniel and helping some of the students clean the inside of his house as well as throw out the years of stuff that had accumulated in there. To give you an idea, he had aspirin bottles from 1950 and Listerine from 1960. We tried to help him get a start on those and it seemed like the bit that we did for him gave him an attitude of possibility instead of defeat. He started to help us clean things out and participate in the process instead of just letting us bring stuff and ask if we could throw it away. He liked to spend his days putting puzzles together and we filled 8 large trash bags of just puzzles he had done and didn't want any more.

I am really thankful to the staff from the camp that helped us. They spend their entire summer doing construction projects like this and teaching young kids how to roof and paint and getting up and yelling and dancing every morning so the kids can catch their excitement. I can say with absolute certainty I could never do what they do. It was a blessing to have them. On Thursday night my small group and I were hanging out in the large breakfast room and a couple of the staff members came over and hung out with us for a little while. The girls loved it and it was interesting to see how much of an interest they took in these people who gave up their summers, their friends , and their homes (three of the most sacred things to a teenager) to live in this rural part of North Carolina and help people without means to rebuild their homes. They asked good questions and it made them think.

Tuesday evening after we were done with the work day my girls decided to tackle and tickle me until I told them about every boyfriend I have ever had and about my first kiss and all that fun girl talk stuff. I didn't mind telling them too much but they were hilarious about it. They hung on every word and asked questions about all the guys and told me they were all SO dumb for breaking up with me or whatever happened. Sometimes it feels good to have such blind loyalty and side-taking even though I know that much of the blame rests on me as well. It was a really good bonding moment for us as a group. I saw all of the girls grow a lot too. Friday night, our last night, we had a special study and lesson to recap all that we had done and help the students process what they had seen and listening to the girls talk about it afterwards and hearing their reactions I could see that they were open to the possibility of change and that this truly was an unforgettable week for them. They were all very sad to leave and go back and face "real life". I see it on most of the trips that I go on with the chapel, that people feel really safe when surrounded by all their church-going peers and that it's an environment they feel they can't fail in. Travis even spoke to that issue in the Friday night talk, he challenged them to carry the lessons they had learned this week into the rest of their year and to hold on to the changes that they felt called to make and to really institute them. I saw everyone there take those words to heart. Even the silliest of the girls listened and were very affected by the talk. Putting it into practice will be the hard part of course, but Travis' challenge did not fall on deaf ears.

After that we broke the seriousness by trying to get into town in time to watch the fireworks. We missed them, and so we pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store, Travis went in to buy ice cream novelties, and someone decided it would be an excellent time for a dance party. So we turned on any dance music that we had and all 46 of us started to rock out and cheer any time we saw a firecracker. Then all the boys started boarding the buses and rocking and shaking them. Everyone was in high spirits and we ended the night by serenading the parking lot with a rousing rendition of Tom Petty's classic "Free Falling". That night was one for the books.

Saturday we got up at the same time, cleaned our room, loaded the buses and started to long trip back home. Everyone was really quiet on the way back, nowhere NEAR the same as the trip out. But as we neared Williamsburg the younger girls and guys started to get a little crazy again. At this point they the girls had all developed either an issue or a crush on a boy and I was much relieved that they were finally able to separate. We got back to Williamsburg, I said hello to some parents, then picked up my stuff and went to go get my car. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to get home. I instantly started my laundry because I knew if I waited I would just fall asleep. I unpacked, went to the grocery store to get some food and stuff to put on the poison ivy I got, and then popped in a movie. I fell asleep on the couch about a half-hour into it.

I am so happy that the week went as well as it did and that I was able to spend so much quality time with my girls. I am also happy that I am no longer awakened by people shouting, that I am required to do energetic singing and dancing before 8am and that I am not in constant contact with freshmen boys any more. It's going to be a busy July and I'm really glad it got off to such a good start.

Pinky Toes

2008-06-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

I just got back from one of my very rare self-pampering sessions. I just had a pedicure. Because I like to run my feet periodically work themselves into an abominable state and need some TLC. Tonight I managed to get them back to sort of normal. I went for a different color choice than I normally do and now as I'm sitting with my feet up on the couch and my polished toes are staring back at me, I think that they have surpassed the upper majority of me in style. My toes look way better than the rest of me does normally. Usually when I come home I immediately change into sweats and a t-shirt. I think I may have to try harder so my toes don't look so out of place.

This may be a problem. I have been described as stubbornly low-maintenance by friends before. I think that is definitely true. I can't get cute haircuts because I won't spend the time it takes to keep them cute. I can't buy makeup because I never take the time to put it on. There will come a time. I think of my mom whom I can't remember ever having walked out of the house looking less than very put-together. Perhaps my toes will inspired a more, ahem, polished look for me in the post-work hours.

Daily Storytime.

2008-05-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

A follow up on the blog from May 6th.

Today, from an elderly gentleman named Fred, I heard the life story of Thomas Alva Edison. Apparently Fred lives in Ft. Myers, Florida which is where Mr. Edison summered. He knows all about his inventions, his family history, and shockingly, more stories about people related to Thomas Edison. I don't even think this gentleman had a question to ask me. He just wanted to talk about Thomas Edison.

It reminds me of those public service annoucements that NBC used to do that ended with the phrase "The More You Know" sung by a pretty voice. Their implication that the more you know, the better off you are. They were usually about drugs or not talking to strangers, but knowing about good ol' Tom is beneficial too, in my opinion.

Woah.

2008-05-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqxSaW05p4

this is unreal.

The Magnet

2008-05-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

I think one of my favorite parts of this job is the random stories I get to hear. The perps are generally elderly men, young wives, or women travelling together. This week alone I have:

1) Heard the story of a family originating from Sussex, England, who came over and started Bermuda Hundred (near Chesterfield Co. in Richmond) and their progressive family developments from 1780 on. After the story I was sent on a search for a weaving loom that the family brought over with them and donated to my alma mater. The gentleman I spoke with was quite dismayed that I wasn't familiar with his family's loom and asked if I would be kind enough to locate where it was on display. About 10 calls and 3 hours later, I had spoken with every Colonial Wiliamsburg operator on the switchboard, (confused half of them, and supremely annoyed the other half) 3 museum curators and one collection director and none of them had any idea what I was talking about. I finally got the e-mail of a curator of objects at William and Mary and I am awaiting her reply. (Update: she has not replied a week and a half later. Perhaps finding this loom isn't a priority. Can't imagine what else she'd do with her time.)

2) Been regaled with the entire chronological account of one gentleman's 43-year service in the Navy, as well as the fatal flaws of modern naval strategy as compared to mid-20th century tactics.

3) Been warned against moving to a rural area because of drug manufacturers' proclivity to remoteness. (3 cautionary tales involving meth labs, fields of marijuana, and the merits of having a volunteer neighborhood patrol). This same person, in the same conversation, (actually, it was one-sided, so diatribe is more apropos) spoke to the merits of population control and how she thought we should implement it stateside. "China's got the right idea"

4) Heard the story of how 3 different couples have met. (These were the easiest to sit and listen to.)

I also like when husbands and wives make fun of each other for their priorities when on vacation in front of me. This often arises when people see the brochures for one of several things. For the women, it's either Prime Outlets or Yankee Candle. For the men it's either golf or the Bass Pro Shop.

"Ugh, we are NOT going to Yankee Candle."

"But honey, this here says that they just released three new scents!" (At this point it's up to me whether I want to jump in and ruin the husband's chances of getting away without going there, or if I let it go and just offer directions. Usually, if I say even one small factoid about what else they have at the Yankee Candle store, or even just mention that it is the flagship store for the company, the strength of the wife's determination reaches new, and inevitably insurmountable levels.)

"Oh I just have to try them. We've got some time, let's go right now." And what she doesn't say, but is definitely thinking, is: "This is pay back for you playing golf EVERY DAY."

I have conquered the screams of children when they find out Busch Gardens isn't open by keeping a jumbo bag of starburst in my desk as well as coloring books with color pencils. Infants are generally entertained if I give them a brightly colored piece of paper to look at, which they usually end up chewing on.

The one thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to not get annoyed by pushy, abrasive people from the Northeast, and how to deal with people who come here on vacation but do not want to do anything historical. Patience, grasshopper. Patience.

Manliest Name EVER

2008-04-18T12:32:00.001-07:00

So a man in a leather vest just walked into the Concierge office gripping an unopened 16oz can of Budweiser and asked for a tee-time for tomorrow afternoon. I reserved one for him and in doing so, learned his name.

Guy Bowmaster.

It was like something out of a movie. What a hardcore name! I had to stifle a giggle as a modern-day Conan the barbarian movie unfolded in my head and I saw fur and leather costumes with wierd helmets and lots of running through forests. Obviously we have to have awesome Rambo-esque bows and arrows as his weapon of choice, for how else would Guy have earned his name? How is that not a really bad 80's movie already? Sigh. Missed opportunities.

How to take a pun to the next level.

2008-04-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ladies, here it is, the answer to all your honeymoon fashion questions:

Brief Jerky!

A friend had put up a link to this earlier today and I followed it not knowing what would be on the other side. Little did I know I would find this gem. Each pair goes for $139.00 on this website .

I wonder if it comes in different flavors like at the gas stations... ranch, bbq... the possibilities are seemingly endless. Especially now that I know I can BEDAZZLE it.

Sometimes rain that's needed falls

2008-03-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like a good week is drawing to a close.

Spring is a time for rejuvenation. I mentioned it in my last post, but I always go back to things in the spring, and think about those same things and how they might or might not affect what is to come. As new life springs to Williamsburg and it becomes one of the loveliest places you could ever want to be, I am struggling to put some regrets in the past and move forward. I've gotten a lot of things off my chest, talked about things I've been holding in for a while, and I just feel like I'm coming out on the other side of a dark time.

I have a wierd thing about the songs/movies/clothes that I love the most. I sort of like to save them. I like to reserve them for the times when I think of them and only THAT item at THAT moment is the right one. I rely a lot on the Shuffle feature of my iPod. I seriously do think God controls it sometimes. I'll be thinking about a song or a thing or a time and then the EXACT right song will come on. whether it was the song I was thinking of or something that is just perfectly fitted to my mood, Shuffle has come through on more occasions than I can count. My only complaint is that sometimes it favors songs over others. The randomness makes it almost not random, if that makes any sense at all.

I had a really good music day today. I put on some playlists that were remnants of mix CDs I made for people last year. Some seriously excellent selections came on and I was so happy they did. Now they are all swimming through my head and coursing through my veins and putting me in the mood where I don't care if people see me dance a little or I'll just sing a line from one out loud because I can't hold it in. There was also great music at church this morning AND when I went to a gathering tonight.

Maybe it's just been a good music weekend. I broadened my horizons by going to a place called Saddle Ridge on Saturday night with some friends. Virginia's answer to a honky-tonk. They are a chain, and they are in most major cities and spreading. Ours is in Hampton, so it's about a half-hour drive. Anyway, we first got there and I was very self-conscious because I (a) don't own cowboy boots, nor have any acceptable and cute western wear for going out, (b) never dreamed I would be in a position where I would need/want any of those things, and (c) also never dreamed I would willingly subject myself to country music and LINE DANCING. However, it was a combination of the music and the dancing that made my evening so much fun.

First, I get a kick out of the line dancing experts who add spins and extra kicks and hops and know that they are the leaders of the dance floor. They just kill me. The men particularly. Some of these men, and I'm only guessing here, strike me as the kind who would be shy and awkward in most other social situations. But since they can do this ONE thing, since they can line dance, they become extremely desireable commodities and very popular in this select enclave of culture. They get girls following them around to learn steps, they get their pick of dance partners, they just seem to feel really good about themselves out there, with the confidence that they know how to "Boot, Scoot and Boogy" or "Save a Horse and Ride a Cowboy".

So at first, I hid behind my plastic cup of cheap beer and observed the line dancing and watched as people would flood the floor for the dances they knew and saunter off when they didn't. And I watched the leaders quickly establish their dominance and pride in that dominance. And I secretly wanted to be a crazy country line-dancer. Then a certain song came on and I saw that the dance was pretty easy. I decided to go for it and join the ranks on the dance floor. I picked it up alright though there was a turn that I didn't get until the end of the song. But I had done it. Thankfully, the next thing they played was a lot like the electric slide, just a little more country, and so I could get that one too. Then they actually played the Electric Slide and that was easy, but so many people were on the dance floor it was hard to move.

Once I ventured out into a culture I always say how much I am NOT a part of and also don't want to be a part of, I had to eat my words about it a little bit. I had a really good time. Now, I know that I am still terrible at line dancing and probably made a fool of myself out there, but I'm glad I tried it. and I sure will do it again if the opportunity presents itself. They did play some current dance hits like Rhianna and some old school stuff.. AC/DC and Black Crowes as well as the mandatory, Mix-a-lot. So didn't always have to be in formation which I liked. The variety made it more accessible.

Monday is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to a somewhat quieter week at work. It will be busy but not fever-pitch again until school lets out. In the meantime I'll be working out my budget and trying to figure out how to bike to work and not be disheveled and sweaty when I arrive. Suggestions are welcome.

One Year Anniversary

2008-03-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

I realized that this weekend marks one year since I've been back from the tropics and one year since I've been in Williamsburg again.

I guess I wish more had changed than it really has. I feel like I'm closer to KNOWING what I want to do, but as for actually doing it, I'm still a ways off. I made a recent trip to the Career Services center at William and Mary to ask them about things I should be looking at or doing. They were helpful in pointing out resources, but the most interesting part of my visit there was when I first began chatting with the guidance lady, she asked me "so how long have you been out of school?" I answered two years. She said "You're right on time". Its so funny how predictable my generation is. It seems a great number of us get jobs right after college that we don't intend on making our careers and leave them after about two or three years.

So to update, in December I quit my job at the hotel. I feel like I have gotten a piece of my soul back since then. It took me a while to find a new job, but the one I did end up with was the last place I wanted to be: another hotel. I am the Concierge at an upscale golf resort in Williamsburg. I kept saying I wouldn’t work in another hotel and that I wanted to get out of the hospitality industry. I am still learning the lesson, never say never.

This operation is different in that I am part of a large corporation now, not a small, family-run business. There’s a good health-care plan, a standard employee training program, efficient employee enrollment processes… It’s so very different from anywhere I have ever worked before. I like being part of this well-oiled machine so far. My bosses are very kind people but they make it clear they would not tolerate lateness or any slacking off. They obviously love what they do. And my actual job, what I’m getting paid for, is helping people have a good time in a city that I actually really love.

When I’m traveling I’m about making the most of my vacations. Now I get to channel that back and help these people who come to stay do the same. I give them information on the myriad of things there are to do, daytrips to take, where to eat, where to go for entertainment. There’s so much. And I get to help them tailor it to their tastes and energy levels, and help them make their time here amazing. I really enjoy it.

I’ve only been doing it for four days, so my tune may change, but for now, I couldn’t ask for a better tide-me-over job so I can figure out what I need to be doing for real with my life. It’s fun.

What inspired me to write this entry today was the spring weather we got in Williamsburg this week, the daffodils that have started to come out, kids flying kites and the pool in the backyard being opened. I wouldn’t dare go in it yet, but it sure does mark a season change.

Also, because I am fighting some sort of cold/sore throat thing, I tried to just stay in today and rest. I slept for 12 hours last night and will retire early tonight as well. I have a feeling it was brought on by the sudden change in schedule in my life. From pretty much doing nothing to getting up early being busy all day. But because of the illness, I didn’t do a whole lot today. But I did watch every single conference championship game to be had on CBS today. And I watched all of the Selection Sunday proceedings. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. I feel like I can make much better choices for my bracket now. It was fun to watch such tight competitions. I love spring sports.

Spring always makes me think. It’s notoriously a time I go back to thinking about cycles and comparing where I have been in previous years. I always get like this in Spring when the weather is tantalizing with the promise of permanent warmth soon. I keep thinking summer is almost here. But in truth, I need to wait about two more months. Busch Gardens opens next week, so do a lot of the other attractions. I am to prepare for the onslaught of visitors to the area, and I want this to be a great summer. I have every intention of it being one. For some reason, I feel like I wasted last summer. This summer, as it could be my last in the Burg, needs to be great.

Here’s to discovery and springtime.

I'm forever yours....

2007-11-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

So, obviously anyone who reads this will notice that I haven't posted in about three months. There's a good reason for that: the hotel is open and operational.... sort of. I haven't had a life to speak of since then, and needless to say my blog postings have fallen by the wayside as well.

Anyway, my day at work ended on a sour note. I won't go into the details, suffice it to say, I was left in turmoil. However, I had many tasks to complete that evening and I was set on completing them.

I dragged myself to the gym for a very stale, uninteresting workout that I felt like I was only half a part of. Then to the grocery store where I had to steel myself against the temptation to buy foods that I knew would comfort my bruised spirit. I was almost home, when my favorite local radio station decided they wanted to play some Journey. And not just any Journey, but the ULTIMATE Journey.

Those who know me well, (or at least those who read my blog) know that I have a shameful soft spot for 80's hair bands and hard rock. I love it for the awful awesomeness of it all and for the "it's so bad but it's so good" quality. Journey is one of those bands so utterly cheesy and contrived that anyone with a shred of musical integrity should shun them. They were put together piece by piece by a major record label, they didn't write most of their songs, their sound was the definition of "corporate rock", and a while ago, Steve Perry quit the bad, and because they wanted to jump on the classic rock revival tour bandwagon, they replaced him with someone else and he sounds EXACTLY the same. But I have this undying love for the band that I don't think I will ever be able to shake.

Now, even though I did just do some major Journey smack-talking, they have their redeeming qualities: 1) Steve Perry's voice. I don't know that they could have found a sound that meshed better with his vocal quality. His sort of gravelly tenor makes the epic guitar solos soar. 2) Those epic guitar solos. They just make you want to fly. 3) Catchy songs. The kind that you form bonds with people over, the kind that stay with you for a while and you don't mind that they do.

I believe all of these good and bad qualities culminate in what I believe is the ULTIMATE Journey song: Faithfully. This song came on the radio tonight and I don't think I've ever had a more therapeutic release than letting go and belting out the words along with Steve. Of course, I cannot do them justice the way Steve can, but those notes, and the chanting of the "ooo ooo ooo ooo" and being able to tie the song in with the images from their music video (which I knew because I own Journey's greatest hits on DVD, and it's everything you thought it could be and more, trust me.....). I just needed that song at that moment. And it came on, and again I have to say thank you to the DJ or maybe moreso to God, who knew I needed to hear that song right then, even though I didn't.

I'm forever yours..... Faithfully.

Coming Together

2007-08-17T13:37:00.001-07:00

Last night the winery hosted a dinner for the local Kiwanis club. They had requested a tour of Wedmore Place and we were only too happy to oblige.

Things got going around 7:30 pm. We had had a series of very strong storm cells passing through, but it happened to be just at that time when there was a lull. We walked over and gave the tour in three different groups.

At the end of the tours, I was actually ecstatic to be a part of this hotel even though right now there is so much to do and to anticipate. I'm up to my ears in code compliance and fire safety procedures, menus and packages. But when I saw the beauty of the hotel at night, and the excitement buzzing around the locals about the place where I work, I was really happy I was a part of it. I drove home feeling so blessed to be placed here and to be on this team.

The storms kicked up again right when I started to drive home and they were STRONG. I'm sure this is redundant at this point but there are few things I enjoy more than a summer thunderstorm. I love how it reminds me of the power of creation. I heard that Martinique got hit with Hurricane Dean. I'm not worried though since they are all pretty used to getting slammed like that. But seeing my little island in the news made me think how long ago my time there feels now.

I've started to get the feeling that as the hotel is coming together more, so is my life here. But my responsibilities are definitely growing as well. I've got to be setting up good systems at the hotel that will work consistently and will help things run smoothly when we do have lots of guests, conferences, and bridal luncheons all on one day. I'm excited for it and I hope I can come through on them as well.

Also this week I've been going back and reading my old blog from my year abroad. It creates such longing in my soul to go back out there and travel more. Literally anyone who is traveling I just want to go with them. Doesn't matter where or if I've been there before. And I don't think it's because I feel claustrophobic in Williamsburg, I think it's just because it's something I really love to do.

AND, can I just say, I just had a totally sweet night. Martin Sexton played a fantastic set at the Kimball, and THEN running through a major thunderstorm getting totally soaked to get to my car afterwards. Love it.

The World's Going Blonde!

2007-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with Lauren. Lauren is my alter-ego. My friend who is the opposite of me but we just work. My best friend.

She came to visit me this weekend and I have to say it was restoring. We spent a whole lot of time together just sitting around and talking and it was really really fun.

Anyway....

She called because she wanted the link to my old blog from my year in France (referred to as "le Métropole" in Martinique) and while I was searching for it, we started reminiscing. When we do that, it almost always ends up with me groaning and her laughing hysterically. This time, we both ended up laughing. When I found it, I sent the link to her and then we both started reading the entry about when she visited me in paris together. I just started laughing because my GOSH what a crazy trip that was. I mean, seriously, read the entry for yourself (date: April 14, 2004). It was crazy.

So we're reading over it and laughing and then we say bye and hang up. I'm left to ponder how utterly seminal that year of my life was. Not only seminal but just blessed and amazing and every other adjective to convey awesomeness that exists. I would be so different if I hadn't done it. and I'm beginning to feel that call again. I have never been able to shake it since I got back from London my freshman year of high school. I yearn to travel. YEARN for it. I want to see everything everywhere.

Then my Gmail chat window blinks and I see that Miss Feliz has messaged me.

"Dude, I have an idea"

Coming from Lauren, this is not always something I want to hear. But I got the feeling magic was about to happen. She proceeded:

lauren: we travel the world and even though i dont write i'll provide material and funny anecdotes for you to write about
good idea no?

me: love it!!

me: we could have something about being blonde in the title....

lauren: when i get a job at the random house inc. and work with fodor's i'll slyly suggest it The World's Going Blonde

me: The World's Going Blonde!! It's PERFECT

lauren: not only am i anecdotally funny, im clever too

;)

and thats totally not how you spell it, but yeah

me: no seriously we HAVE to write a book together called that

..........

Now, though Lauren is natural blonde, like myself, she has changed her color and length many times over the years. I have so many pictures of her with different hairstyles. I would how many I would get if I counted.... Mine has remained straight and long and pretty much unchanged since high school. My mom pleaded with me never to do anything to it during my middle school years when dying it ridiculous colors and hacking it off seemed like amazing ways to establish my individuality and discover myself. Oh teenagers. Thankfully I listened to my mother and never did anything to it except cut it short at the end of 8th grade.

Blondeness is something Lauren and I share, but Lauren's blondeness is a completely different kind. It's a bit like how we fit together as people. There is a tie that binds but it's not always apparent and sometimes completely non-existent to anyone who doesn't know us. I feel that with our powers combined (go ahead, we all know you're finishing the line and singing the theme song) we might actually be able to come up with something that isn't terrible to read. Lauren has enough "cohones" for the both of us and I can put words together in an intelligible manner. I even enjoy it. Great idea alter-ego. Let's go for it.

Look out world.

Voice Recognition

2007-07-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

This just happened to me at work. To set the stage, I had to call a phone company to inquire about the telephone numbers at Wedmore Place and how to switch our toll-free line over to the other building.

Phone recording: Hello, you have reached Cavalier Telephone company. Please state the telephone number of your account.

Me: 7-5-7-2-5-8-0-8-9-9

Phone recording: 7-9-7-3-5-2-0-5-9-9 (Pause) Is that correct?

Me: Not even close.

Phone recording: You can speak to me like you would a normal phone operator.

Me: I don't think you want me to do that.

Phone Recording: Please state the telephone number of your account.

Me: 7-5-7-2-5-8-0-8-9-9

Phone Recording: 7-3-6-3-2-9-0-5-8-8 (Pause) Is that correct?

Me: Are you SERIOUS??

Phone Recording: You can speak to me like you would a normal phone operator.

Me: Can I also punch you in the face?

Phone Recording: Please state the telephone number of your account.

Me: Heaven help us. 7-5-7-2-5-8-0-8-9-9

Phone Recording: 2-7-8-0-6-4-1-3-8-5

Me: GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Phone Recording: You can speak to me like you would a normal phone operator.

At this point I hang up because I need both hands to smack my head repeatedly and smear down my face in frustration.

A few minutes later I mustered the courage to call again.

Phone recording: Hello, you have reached Cavalier Telephone company. Please state the phone number of your account.

Me (with fingers crossed): 7-5-7-2-5-8-0-8-9-9

Phone recording: 7-2-7-4-5-8-1-2-9-9 (Pause) Is that correct?

Me: (deep breathing) okay, we're gonna do this ONE more time.

Phone recording: You can speak to me like you would a normal phone operator.

Me: HA! can we just get on with this?

Phone recording: Please state the telephone number of your account.

Me: sev-en fiiiive sev-en twooooo fiiiiive eeeiiiiight
zeeeeroooo eeeeiiiight niiiiiine niiiiine

Phone recording: 7-5-7-2-5-8-0-8-9-9 (Pause) Is that correct?

Me: YES!! Yes! It's correct!! It's correct! WOOOO!!!!

Phone recording: Please hold while I connect you.

Me: WOOOO!!!!... oh... hello... sorry... I'm just excited that... um, nevermind. so here's the thing.....

When I finally got off the phone I just started laughing hilariously. I felt like I had just been experiencing a comedy sketch of some sort. Anyway, despite the original frustration, it brightened an otherwise dull Thursday.

Working from Home

2007-07-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today how awesome it would be to work from home based on a series of articles CNN has been posting online. Then they posted this Dilbert cartoon which I found pretty funny:

You and Me and the Summertime

2007-07-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

Only because I work in an air-conditioned office and my apartment has an ambient temperature of about 50 degrees can I say that for about the first minute after I go outside does that blast of summer heat feel good.

It embodies everything that I love about summer. The slight laziness that everyone feels entitled to because there's no school, it's too hot to do a lot outside that doesn't involve a water park. The feeling of the hot sun shining on you. The sensation that the beach is right around the corner.

It's really the beach that I think of when I feel that summer heat. And when I say "the beach" I am thinking of only one place which embodies all that those words mean to me: Sunset Beach, North Carolina. I don't feel like a year has actually happened until I get to Sunset with my family. This year will be the first year in a very long time that I won't be in attendance for the whole thing, or possibly even any of it. And I'm starting to realize just how sad that makes me. The salty smell and the opressive humidity that are instantly okay as soon as I cross the beach access over onto the sand of this most hallowed ground. One of Sunset's many blessings is its ever-changing but always fun tidepools and the width of the beach itself that makes it great for all kinds of sports and games. Most of my cousins are now married and have had children. I take joy at my fortune in having seen some of them get their first look at the ocean, catch their first fish, and take their first boat ride.

I have watched my family grow up and mature and it's been interesting comparing the changes in myself from year to year. It's a benchmark. It happens at the same time every year, we go to the same place, with the same people, but every year it's great. With so many constants, the changes are much easier to notice. It makes it all the more apparent how the dynamic has changed with the addition of the 3rd generation of kids.

I will miss that so much this year. But at least I have that feeling of summer. And everytime the heats blasts me in the face when I walk out the door, I will smell the salty air, I will hear my younger cousins laughing, I will think of balmy nights walking to the pier, long waits to get over the drawbridge, boat rides, scavenger hunts, storms rolling in over the bay, and most of all I will think of my totally awesome, dynamic, growing family.

That was the worst feeling ever.

2007-07-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

I don't think I will ever forget the look on that face. That is far and away the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my professional life.

I can't help feeling horrible. Blah. I need to stay away from the ice cream case when I go grocery shopping tonight or I might try and drown myself in mint chocolate chip.

My one consolation is that it didn't go as badly as it did in that episode of The Office.

What is Awesome?

2007-07-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you what's awesome.

It's a Tuesday night and I don't have to go to work tomorrow.

Collin (my 9 yr. old new best friend for the sole reason that I have a bike and he has one too) and I are going on a bike ride to the duck pond at 10am.

I have a new life goal: to compete in the world series of pop culture and to get respectably far, (at least past the first round), and I have people willing to help me accomplish this RIDICULOUS life goal.

I laughed a lot today, and I like to laugh, especially when things are stressful and crazy like they are at work.

I love barbeques and I get to go to one tomorrow.

I broke one hundred when I went bowling last night. (Then proceeded to bowl a 46 in the next game... but that's not the point).

I own Animaniacs on DVD... I'm sorry, but that is awesome.

I have a pool in my backyard. this has been an unrealized dream of mine ever since I knew that you could have pools in your backyard and that I probably wouldn't ever. It's not really MY backyard since I live at someone else's house in the apartment in the basement (not as pathetic as it sounds)....but I can still pretend.

I heard a lot of 80's music today and that always makes me happy.

That is what is awesome my friends: life in general. Sometimes I have to type it out to really realize it. But it's true. Better get to bed so I am rested for my bike ride to the duck pond. oh boy oh boy!

Healthy Snacks!

2007-06-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone's always picking on me for eating salads all the time. I laughed forever when I read this article from the Onion because it strikes a chord with me and my precious rabbit food. It has quite a bit of language so if you're not allowed to watch R movies, don't click on the link.

Did she actually just say that??

2007-06-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Isn't the gym and the people who frequent it such an interesting sub-culture?

I'm a gym rat, and I'm not trying to exclude myself or imply that I am somehow not a part of this subculture. I go all the time. I'm the one gets annoyed at major holidays because the gyms are closed, the one who will leave late for vacation so I can squeeze in an hour before I get in the car and will be away from my precious elliptical for days on end, the one who yearns to get to the gym after work each day and loves the feeling of total exhaustion and being drenched in sweat from a good long workout.

I think I may be a bit obsessed. But I really like going to the gym after being in a chair all day staring at a computer. And I like the people who go to gyms. Just the other day, I was on a machine and a girl my age was on one next to me, and I noticed that she, like myself, was watching Braveheart on her TV. I happened to catch her eye and she said "there was never anyone hotter than Mel Gibson in this movie" and I agreed with her. Instant bonding!

I like the guys who work at the gym who are always pretending to check the machines around the cute cheerleader-types on the treadmills. I like the obsessive parents, which I may become someday, who drag their children to the gyms with them and the kids complain that they don't want to be there for an hour, and end up sitting on the stretching balls in the back watching other people's screens for entertainment.

I was never one of those kids getting dragged. I remember when me, my dad, and my older brother used to go to the gym on saturday mornings in Columbus, Ohio. I used to go and run on the treadmill and see how fast I could go on it until I thought I would fall off. And we used to play raquetball together, and go swimming. Maybe I've always been a gym rat. I used to really look forward to those days at the gym.

But I also like just random encounters that make interaction okay, if for no other reason than the united purpose everyone has by being in the same place at the same time. Same thing happens to me at the grocery store. People just naturally peruse what you put on the conveyor belt, and sometimes they say to me, "mmm that looks interesting, what is that?" and then I tell them and we chat about it and other similar food products and then I pay and am on my way. But I enjoy those little interactions.

The reasons I started writing this entry was because yesterday at the gym, I was going to clean off my machine when I was done, basking in the glow of another completed workout, ready to head home, my favorite part of the day, and I go back over to the machine and a girl has already gotten on it. I have a towel in hand and she's just hooking up her headphones.

Me: Would you like me to wipe off the machine before you get started?
Her: Uh, no that's okay.
(Pause)
Her: Unless you have AIDS....
Me: Do you ask everyone that?
Her: I guess it's fine. I don't really care about a little sweat.
Me: (stunned) ....okay then.

I didn't really think about it again until this morning. What a bizarre thing to say! (Though perhaps not as bizarre as the fat guy who decided to do a solo naked chinese firedrill around his semi-truck on the shoulder of I-64 eastbound this morning.......true story, ask my co-worker Courtney.) Anyway, I was just thinking about gyms, and about wierd things, and sometimes wierd people who are attracted to gyms. It may be that I'm just there so often that I notice the people there more than other places. But there seems to be such an interesting cross-section of Williamsburg whenever I go to a fitness center (and I've been to almost all of them in the Williamsburg area): seniors, parents and children, singles, professionals off from work, I just like to muse over the things that I see and try to think why they are. I also like to laugh and thinking about all that amuses me.

Anyway, any given day is just full of tasty little morcels like the ones you find in interactions with people, or stories about people. Variety truly is the spice of life.

Helllllooooooo Nurse!

2007-05-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

the new Continental GTC. V-12,

552 horsepower,

10 mpg.

Anyone got $200,000?

2007-05-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

oh no! oh no! oh no!

The Greene Leafe may have managed to poison the performers we get only once anually. Every year in the spring time William and Mary brings one or two pretty well-known bands to campus and the college community feels happy that even though we are an old, old school, we can get down.

I hope it's not their fault. The Leafe is an institution! and to have the words "under investigation" attached to the purveyors of mug night and pint night, well, it's bad news.

The Story According to the Daily Press

New Shoes on...

2007-05-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

First, for those of you who like to run, you will understand why I love the following images so much:

Before

After

It's also why I have such a hard time throwing away old shoes. I spend so much time and good memories and the shoes take me such interesting places. When I have to retire a pair, I can never throw them away immediately even though the sole is completely worn through and the shock absorption has only been absorbing foot odor and doing nothing for my poor knees for weeks...

It's emotional.

Second, is anyone watching Adventures in Hollyhood on MTV? I think it might be the most hilarious show MTV has ever aired. It stars Three 6 Mafia who are from Memphis who are living in Hollywood, doing the movie/music/producer/gangsta thing that I guess is sort of a right of passage and has to be expected of the only rap group ever to win an Oscar.

So my first favorite thing about the show is that it has subtitles. Yes, Three 6 Mafia does speak English, but SO unintelligibly that they have to have subtitles in order for you to understand them. The dialect they have produced is so slurred together that "Dang I love you" turns into "daaaahluuuhyuuu". spelled just like that.

I saw an episode today (Entitled "Makin' a Gangsta'ass movie") where they were preparing for making a big movie pitch to Joel Schumacher's office and one guy in their posse who's always got a cowboy hat on decides he's the expert on pitching movies. So Juicy and whoever the other guy from Three 6 Mafia is, (the two front guys anyway) are sitting there, taking notes from cowboy hat posse member. Here's a very poorly transcribed bit of their conversation:

Big Triece: Yo, so like, uh, first thang you gotta do, is uh, like uh, make a lotta eye contact, see. And you gotta, uh, like look dat cracka in the eyes, mang.
DJ Paul: okay okay... (writing down on a note pad) eye contact. alright alright mang, what else you got?
Big Triece: uh, so next you gotta like make the i-dea for the movie like real clear, you know?
DJ Paul: yeah yeah man, das real. okay.
Big Triece: yeah and you gotta tell 'em what dis movie is ABOUT, yo.
DJ Paul: okay so like if I said, "dis a Gangta'ass movie"?
Big Triece: Das my BOY. you ready... you READY.
*all get up and pound fists and pick up their plastic cups filled with unknown beverage.

Then later, Big Triece gets a phone call from the studio and the girl receptionist says "hello this is Joel Schumacher's office calling for Juicy and DJ Paul" and Big Triece goes "dey ain't no Schumacher's here" and hangs up, and then shakes his head going "daaawahdeydoincallinheah".

It's hilarious.

Also, spring is finally here. we had a fantastic thunderstorm this evening and I'm confident that there are very few feelings I like better than being inside and watching a storm on the outside.

The Last Martinique Entry

2007-03-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is one of the prettiest buildings in Fort de France. It's the library named after Victor Schoelcher who campaigned for the independence of slaves in the 19th century.
Photo courtesy of Mr. David Stevens.

This is about as pretty as Fort de France will ever look.
Photo courtesy of Mr. David Stevens.

This is a good view of the lush Martinique vegetation.
Photo courtesy of Mr. David Stevens.

I think the last time I wrote anything for my blog was a very long time ago. My last days in Martinique weren’t all that busy, but my camera lost a battle with an ocean wave and without pictures, I made excuses that the blog wasn’t worth updating. I know, lame, but I’m just lazy, what can I say.

I have been back in the states now for a full two weeks. I have started my new job at Wedmore Place, a new inn on the property of the Williamsburg Winery, and have been trying to get the basics in place before the anticipated opening in May. It seems like it is going to be a good fit for me and I am happy I accepted the job, even though I had to leave Martinique early. I have falled back into a rhythm which includes a 40-hour work week, running on the beautiful Williamsburg trails, and defrosting my car windows in the morning. All of those are pretty drastic changes from my former tropical life. I think the best thing about coming back has been instant communit, closeness to family and NCAA basketball. I tell you no lies.

Where did I leave off….

Right, the kayaking adventures and reggae concerts. The notable events that happened after that:
1) Antigua
2) Final adventures in Martinique, Anse Couleuvre, Slave canal hike, Cap Macré, climbing up to the church on the hill, exploring Diamant and going out to Cabane des Pecheurs and Ti Sable for some weekend evening soirées.
3) Selling the car!!
4) Barbados
5) St. Croix
6) Back home.

Antigua was pretty fabulous. I had a great time on the island with Benji. He was a great companion and we spent a lot of time on the beach, out in the sun, and eating delicious food. Benji had an awful time getting there, but made it around 11:30pm. We spent the next day on the beach, and then in the evening we went out into town, then to Dickenson bay where we walked around admiring all the gorgeous resorts and we ate dinner at a really nice restaurant on the beach.

The second day we did a catamaran tour of the western side of the island and snorkeled in Cades reef which was phenomenal, really relaxing and luxurious. That Sunday we rented a car and drove around to the southern and eastern part of the island and explored Half Moon Bay, and Nelson’s Dockyard. We went to a sunset party at Shirley Heights and listened to a great steel drum band and it was a quintessentially Caribbean experience.
We spent one more day on the beach after that and then we departed Antigua. I had a great time and I would definitely say that Antigua had the prettiest and most pure white beaches I have seen.

When I got back to Martinique, Carnaval was in full swing. I went into FDF once and wore some crazy clothes and painted my face and put on a wig. The streets were filled with cross-dressers, people in crazy outfits and lots of music. I had a lot of fun but only went with a friend of mine from St. Joseph. I can’t really handle the crowds so well so the final day I just kind of laid low. Everything was closed and I couldn’t go grocery shopping which wasn’t so fun, but I managed on what I had left in my freezer.

I tried to go out and see as much as I could my last couple of days. Went to beaches I had missed, went to restaurants I had wanted to hit, spent time with some of the assistants, and taught one more class. It was really nice and relaxing, and I feel like I got to see most of everything I wanted to see. I have pictures posted of some of the cooler points.

I sold my crazy car, which I had finally named Zoey, and said goodbye to her the night before I left. I am very pleased with having been able to sell her. She was a great companion for my adventures. I am really pleased with how my stay in Martinique ended. I definitely had good and bad. But I am really glad for everything that happened and for what I am going to take away from it.

After Martinique, I headed out to Barbados. Landed around 11am, checked in at the hotel, the room wasn’t ready yet so I headed to the beach in Worthing. Stayed there for about 4 hours and had a great time. I went back to my nice little apartment hotel and chilled out until dinner time. I walked through my little area in Worthing and got acquainted with it and had a relaxing night.

The next day was purely a beach day. Just walked down to Dover beach, had lunch at a seaside shack and just relaxed for the rest of the day. Went back and then headed to dinner in “the Gap”, the St Lawrence Gap area which was really nice and right on the water. We ate very well and listened to the sounds of the live band while eating at an “irish” pub.

The next day I had arranged a rental car and drove all over the island, way up to the north to go to the Animal Flower cave which is the northernmost point of Barbados, caves that were created by the massive waves that rock the cliffs daily. Going down into them was cool, but I had expected a little bit more. Still worth a visit, I may have been guilty of romanticizing it from the pictures and info I collected online. That day for lunch we ate at a hotel that was right on the eastern coast. The food wasn’t that good but wow was the view fantastic. I think that is one of the best parts about the Caribbean. It’s the beachside dining and the gorgeous views one can have while enjoying food. It’s so relaxing and makes you appreciate the beautiful things the world has to offer.

The next day had to do the catamaran cruise again. I love seeing the island that way and it’s a great way to get to good snorkeling places. I booked one that included two snorkeling excursions, one with hawksbill sea turtles and one in a big snorkeling area which had two wrecks and a huge natural reef. The snorkeling with the turtles was the best. We were on the boat with a Quebequois basketball team that was down there for a tournament, and we were on the very tip of the beginning of the cricket world cup. There was much excitement and all the cab drivers would talk about it. So Barbados was beautiful and relaxing and I had so much fun, but I was so looking forward to seeing my family and the final step before going back home, I think I had my sights really set on St. Croix.

Unfortunately, I had a pretty awful day of travel. My planes were late or re-routed and my bag was re-routed also, so once again, the Caribbean strikes the baggage claim. Getting to the arrivals gate in St. Croix and seeing my dad and brother was the best, but EVEN BETTER than that was when I saw the villa my dad had rented. It was completely amazing. We had a beautiful view, a deck, a pool, a gourmet kitchen, beautiful furnishings and anything else we could have dreamed of. I loved it there. We all did. It was the perfect place to spend my last few days in the Caribbean.

I spent a heck of a lot of time in the water. It was either kayaking, snorkeling, or diving, but I was always there. We snorkeled the underwater trail at Buck Island which was awesome. It was like an underwater museum. My brothers and I did it together and it was so cool. I did two dives with my dad. Had a great time doing two wall dives that were very different, I liked the second one best. It was like in Finding Nemo when the fish go to “the drop-off” basically, that’s what we went to, or at least the St. Croix equivalent. We saw the wall of vegetation literally drop into the deep blue of the ocean below. It was really interesting. We went kayaking out to some Mangroves and out to the place where Columbus supposedly landed and made contact with some Arawak Indians. I had so much fun hanging out with the fam.

Then I came back to the US, was in Northern Virginia for about .2 seconds, and then came back down and started life in Williamsburg again. It’s been great to be back. I’m not sure what will happen, who is leaving, who is staying, but I know this is where I’m supposed to be right now. So I’m happy. Missing the Caribbean, but happy.

2007-03-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

So here are some of the kids that I taught at LP Bateliere. I asked them to say goodbye. They are so gangsta.

A Sense of Urgency

2007-02-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

I am remembering how I hate the feeling when I know I have a lot to do that I cannot do all at once. I hate having things that I have to do that are out of my control. Namely, sell my car, and find a way to close my bank account after my final paycheck is deposited into it at the end of this month. I am doing a classified ad which I hope has the desired effect for the car, and I guess the bank account situation will just have to go work itself out.

I have had very few classes lately too, just two hours on Thursday and 3 on Friday. All the rest of my classes are doing internships for a few weeks. They have been better about listening. I have been trying to do more fun things with them like games and songs. I did a crossword puzzle and guessing game that worked alright, but they really hate speaking in English. I had to constantly ask them to ask the questions for the guessing game in English and they just kind of ignored me.

Those are some of the reasons I am happy to be leaving Martinique. I wake up in the morning and I’ve dreamt I’ve been at home and then I open my eyes and see the mosquito nets and I realize I’m not there yet. It shows me how much my subconscious is looking forward to going home. But for the moment, I’m still just trying to make sure that I don’t leave any regrets in Martinique other than the ones that I can’t really change. I have been a lot more adventurous and I’m glad because I know I will leave with good memories to sort of work against the bad ones.

I’ve gone to two reggae concerts in the last two weeks. I saw Aswad and Gyptian. Aswad is kind of older and I guess a very well-known reggae act in the UK and elsewhere. Gyptian is a young Jamaican who just came on the scene this year and is pretty much the bee’s knees when it comes to reggae. They were very different shows in terms of atmosphere and crowd, but they were both enjoyable in their own right. Aswad was probably the most relaxing and easy-going concert I have ever been too. All we had to do was relax and sway and the music was great. I actually listened to a couple of Aswad songs after the concert (regular studio recordings) and I didn’t like them at all. I thought they were pretty terrible actually. It’s all in the atmosphere.

Gyptian was a totally different experience. There were still a lot of rastas and a lot of weed being consumed, but the crowd was a lot younger and a lot rowdier. The opening act was a native Martinique rapper called Mighty Killa who raps in Creole very quickly. I understood pretty much nothing. The kids in the audience loved him though. He rapped about the upcoming presidential elections in France and had a chorus of “Sarkozy lies” going amongst the audience before too long. The fact that this guy wore his own picture on his t-shirt didn’t help my opinion of him, which was not good. I was glad when he left the stage.

There was a HORRIBLE rasta guy who came on between Mighty Killa and Gyptian and his music was terrible. I was VERY glad when he left the stage. Then Gyptian came on and he was really good. But, there was a small group of Guadeloupeans at the concert, and about three songs into his set, a fight broke out between the Martinis and the Gwadas. There was bottle throwing and fist-throwing and lots of little fights that splintered off the others. A bunch of people got up on stage to escape the fight, and Gyptian left the stage. He came back about 5 minutes later when things had calmed down, played 2 more songs, told us he was angry and that he wasn’t going to play anymore, and then left. So the concert ended poorly, but it was interesting anyway.

I went kayaking in a mangrove on Sunday which was a fabulously relaxing experience. We had to paddle across a channel which was a little rough, but after that it was so calm and quiet. I had a great afternoon. I went to go explore the ruins of a castle in Trinité on Monday and had fun stomping around the grounds. There was the most hilarious historic interpretation translated in to English. The pronunciation was horrific but it provided a good laugh.

Tuesday I had probably my biggest day of teaching yet. I agreed to do two sessions for a private school for their “Language Days” on Tuesday. I planned a quick introduction on the US, followed by a little “Stump the Teacher” session about Martinique, then the rest of the class was for Valentine’s Day. I brought along a song to do with the kids, where they had to fill in the missing words, and another song they could follow along with. Then I gave them some vocabulary and had them write love letters to their favorite celebrity. It was hilarious. But they were much better than my normal students, they participated a lot, and I think they liked the lesson. So I was pleased with how it went.

Wednesday we decided it was the day we would tackle Aqualand… Martinique’s very own waterpark. It was pretty great. Couple of crappy slides, a shallow play area for kids and a wave pool, but because we knew it was going to be crappy, and the park was practically empty, it was awesome. We didn’t have to wait in any lines and we were allowed to go down the slides backwards which was great. So we had a lot of fun there, exploring some Martinique kitsch.

This weekend I am hoping to hit a Latin dance soirée that goes on every Friday night in the north, and then some possibly go-karting? We shall see. Leaving for Antigua next Thursday and very excited about it! Pictures and videos are up. Enjoy.

Martinique Line Dance

2007-01-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

Another video I took at the St. Joseph parades yesterday.

Carnaval videos...

2007-01-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

I joined YouTube to be able to post these, so I hope it works....