Living Out Loud

A Quick Recap of My Life Since April

2011-05-27T02:49:00.006+02:00

So, since I last wrote, Steve and I have been across the entire country and back, gone through two road trips, learned to drive a manual transmission, created a music video, and split up for a few weeks. In short….we've been a bit busy.

After Steve's marathon in Canberra, we bussed to Melbourne to meet up with one of Steve's friends, Pia, who decided she'd come with us on the first leg of our trip out to Perth. When we picked up our Wicked Campervan, we were pleasantly surprised and then a bit panicky. Surprised because they decorate all the Wicked Campervans and we ended up with the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo…freaking awesome to drive across Australia in the Mystery Machine, but when we opened the driver's door, what did we discover, but a manual transmission. Now this wouldn't have been a problem except that combined Steve and I have about the equivalent of an hour's experience driving stick shift and here we were faced with a 3,000 kilometer cross country trip in a vehicle we had no idea how to drive and the threat of a huge credit card bill if we killed the dang thing. It didn't help matters that our first foray in the vehicle was into downtown Melbourne to pick up Pia from her hostel before we headed west. Through much jerking, shuddering, frantic moments, and dozens of curses later, we managed to arrive without too much trouble.

So then we headed west, stopping in the Grampian Mountains to see some kangaroos, and then a few days in Adelaide where we rode for hours on free bikes and then wandered the night markets in Chinatown. After Adelaide, it was just Steve and I since Pia had to go back to Sydney. We continued along the coast, entering the sparsely populated area leading down to Port Lincoln where Steve went cage diving with Great White Sharks. Then we continued on our way across the Nullarbor, literally meaning "no trees" and you know what, it's just scrubby brush on hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers of flat land interrupted only by the occasional roadhouse and petrol station. I don't think I've ever been more governed by the sunrise and sunset in my life. Up with the sun, driving all day, and then cooking dinner by twilight in a rest stop before the sun disappeared for another 12 hours. It took us about 2 weeks to get from Melbourne to Perth, stopping in little towns and free camping in national parks over the Easter Holiday, because all the caravan parks were booked solid and we hadn't planned ahead. whoops! I completely forgot Aussies are the kings of caravanning and every holiday sees thousands of them on the road in search of the perfect campground to relax.

Driving across the Nullarbor!

In Perth, we spent some time with Byron, a friend of ours that we met when we first arrive in Lennox Head. We met both his mother and his aunt and their hospitality was amazing. We also got the chance to meet up with our friend Chris who we met way back in November while we were picking garlic in Hunter Valley. it was great to catch up and hear what he's been up to since we parted ways.

From Perth, Steve and I flew down to Tasmania, the Australian Island off the south coast of Melbourne where we had another 2 week road trip set up. We met up with Mary and Isaac, two awesome Nova Scotians, who we met in Lennox. We rented a Britz campervan, with two beds and a working kitchen (may I say a thousand steps up from our Wicked Campervan, and headed out on a leisurely trip around the tiny island of Tassie. We did a lot of hiking and wandering and boulder climbing. We saw Wineglass Bay, one of the top 10 beaches in the world, a car show, two of the oldest bridges in Australia, snow at Cradle Mountain where we huddled in the van under blankets because none of us had the proper weather gear, and a working wind mill. Traveling with Mary and Isaac was probably one of the highlights of the trip, despite the fact that nearly all of us were sick at some point during the expedition, because they are both so laid back and we all had a blast. If I could have, I would have made that trip last another few weeks. I already decided, I'm visiting them in Nova Scotia sometime in the near future.

Tassie's where we spent the better part of a day blocking and shooting our version of a music video for Rebecca Black's horrible, yet catchy, song Friday. If you've heard it, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven't and want to hear it, look it up on YouTube, but beware, it'll be stuck in your head for days afterward. That's probably why so many millions of people hate it.

From Tassie, we all went our separate ways. Steve went back to Perth to head north to the Ningaloo Reef to swim with whale sharks, the world's largest fish. Mary and Isaac flew to Sydney to stay with a family friend before they leave for home on the 5th, and I flew up to Cairns in Queensland to begin my whirlwind trip south, seeing in less than a month what most people spend 3 or 4 months seeing. I went snorkeling and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and went up to Cape Tribulation and the DainTree Rainforest, home to the cassowary, a bird almost as big as an emu known for its razor sharp claws that can disembowel a human with ease.

My next stop was Townsville to meet Sonya Ashton's cousin who lives there. Now I've heard plenty about Townsville through Sonya's stories about crocodiles and snakes and spider bites, but it turned out to be a surprisingly suburban town with gorgeous views of the ocean and the mountains surrounding it. I didn't see a single crocodile, spider or snake and had a blast while I was there. It was like having a home for a few days because Colleen was fantastic. She even made me sack lunches for my day spent exploring Magnetic Island.

And right now, I'm sitting at a Mcdonalds in Airlie Beach (I know, Mcdonalds…but it has free Wifi, so there). I have an hour before I head out on a 2 day sailing cruise through the Whitsunday Islands and more snorkeling and scuba diving. I'm looking forward to it.

Home on June 15th! I have so much to do before that happens, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at home and dong a little work before I head west for school in September! See you all soon!

Glow Worms, Flies, and Marathons in the Rain

2011-04-11T08:18:00.005+02:00

As I'm currently trapped on a bus for the better part of 9 hours, I thought I would take some time and update my blog a bit. Since Mom and Dad left us in New Zealand, Sreve and I have been busy. We did some exploring on the North Island of New Zealand, stopping in at Hobbiton, the real set for The Shire in all the Lord of the Rings movies. The totally awesome part was that since they're due to start filming the prequels to the movies anytime now, The Shire was picture perfect, complete with all the tiny gardens, the pub, and Bilbo's house at Bag's End. Since The Shire is on a sheep farm, as part of the tour we got to watch a local sheer a sheep in a minute flat, a feat which I'm sure took years upon years of practice.

We then made our way south to Rotorua where we went zorbing, which for all those unfamiliar with this weird and crazy activity, is where you shimmy inside a huge plastic ball, which they put some water in, and then you roll down a hill, slipping and sliding all over the inside all the way down. It was a blast! But way too short! Steve and I laughed the whole way down the hill.

A few days later, I dropped Steve off at the airport and headed to Waitomo for a few days spent in the glow worm caves. I took a tour where they kitted us out in wetsuits, gum boots and hard hats before we descended into the darkness, following a river into the depths to see glow worms light up the caves. They're really interesting creatures, actually a larvae of a type of fly, whose poop is luminescent and attracts prey toward the larvae for speedy devouring. If you don't think about that fact, it really is a beautiful sight. The glow worms look like stars of the Milky Way against the complete darkness you find yourself in. Oh, p.s. the water down there was FREEZING!

I had a nice welcome back to Australia. Going through customs, I decided to be good and declare all my food and tell them that yes i had been frolicking on a sheep farm whilst in New Zealand…I mean, it's New Zealand…you can't really avoid the sheep. anyway, the guy who looked over my stuff coming in was really nice and actually knew where Indiana was (the home of David Letterman!!!) and he knew we were Hoosiers! I have to say, he is the first Aussie I've met who had anything other than a vague idea of what Indiana might be.

From New Zealand, I went directly to Alice Springs so I could see and experience what Aussies like to call "The Red Centre." Alice Springs is out in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles from any other town of note and still 5 hours from the major attractions that draw people to the area, namely Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and King's Canyon. I spent a day roaming the town, not much to see there, before I headed out on a 3 day camping trip to see the three natural wonders I mentioned above. It was a great experience, even though I went by myself. Our driver forced us out of our comfort zones and made us sit next to new people every time we stopped so, by the time we rolled up to Uluru, we were all laughing and chatting like old friends. We spent the next 3 days hiking, taking pictures, eating BBQ, sleeping in swags under the stars, and generally having a fantastic time with the exception of battling flies away from us every second of the day. Many thanks go out to the inventor of the fly net. After my trip, I officially declare it the best invention since sliced bread.

From Alice Springs, I moved on to Canberra, one day late due to a flight cancellation….boo! I met Steve there, where he had been slowly dying of boredom since his arrival there a week earlier. Canberra is a pretty nice city, though it doesn't seem anything like a country's capital. It's actually a bit sleepy. I played the tourist and spent a few days walking around seeing Parliament, the National Museum of Australia, and the National Gallery. Then, yesterday, it was time for Steve's big marathon. And you know what? It was the only day during my entire stay in Canberra, that it rained. Go figure. The conditions were miserable. Cold and rainy, but 4,000 people showed up to prove they could master the marathon and Steve was one of them. He finished in 3 hours and 9 minutes, qualifying for the Boston Marathon! I was so proud of him, mostly because to me, running 42 kilometers sounds like death. The cold and rain slowed him down a bit but he still did an awesome job.

So that was yesterday. Today we're headed to Melbourne and then, renting a Wicked campervan, we're touring the rest of the south coast over to Perth, where we're planning to crash at a friend's place for a while. That should take us to the beginning of May. Lots to do. Lots to see. Let the next adventure begin!

And We're on the Move

2011-04-05T11:18:00.001+02:00

It's been a whirlwind rush the past 5 weeks, since Steve and I pulled up our roots at Lennox Head and hit the road and airways. The month traveling with mom and dad was pure luxury, staying in true motel rooms and eating out at restaurants, and of course having them visit as well :) It was a bit surreal to see them get off the plane in Ballina, to know that they came half way round the world to see us.

We spent a week in Lennox Head relaxing, checking out the weekend market at Bangalow, puttering up the river at Brunswick Heads, and watching Mom and Dad hang glide over Lennox. From Lennox we flew straight to Perth where we collected our rental car and headed out for a day's worth of driving north to Cervantes (rhymes with panties) where the most interesting part of the town is the water tower, where Steve and I wriggled through the fence and climbed up to the platform to watch the stars buffeted by gusts of wind that threatened to knock us off. However, it is near The Pinnacles, an eerie bit of the desert littered with thousands of rocky columns of various shapes and sizes reminiscent of an abandoned ancient miniature city.

The next day we resumed our journey up to Denham and Monkey Mia where a pod of female and young dolphins show up like clockwork every morning for their feeding. You're not allowed to touch them, but you do get to stand in the water within 3 feet of them and it provoked such a sense of awe to stand in their presence.

Our next big stop was back down south, past Perth in Margaret River, a cute town nestled near the sea and a collection of caves, which we checked out. We took a wine tour from Margaret River, spending a day shuttled between 5 different wineries and a brewery only to discover that we are not wine connoisseurs or even great appreciators of wine. We know what we like and don't necessarily want to drink anything else.

Next up was Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road, famous for the 12 Apostles, soaring rocky pinnacles jutting up out of the sea right off the coastline. We spent the night in Warnambool where we watched one of the most delightfully cheesy laser light shows ever which detailed the fate of an English ship that sank a mile from the southern coast, leaving just two survivors and an oversized statue of a peacock to wash ashore.

From that adventure, we boarded another plane, this time for New Zealand, one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. We checked into the Langham Hotel, a 5 star institution, complete with mints on your pillows, robes, and the option of dinner at the in house restaurant that had the best buffet ever with sushi, steaks, fish, crepes, home-made naan bread, and lots of desserts. Then we headed to Queenstown on the south island, one of my new favorite cities. It sits on the edge of lake Wakatipu, surrounded by mountains and peopled with lots of people who love the outdoors. We took a day tour to Milford Sound to see the fjords gouged out of the land by glaciers and rode the ferry out to the edge of the Tasman Sea, marveling at the towering sheer mountains that rose up around us.

Then we spent half a day climbing on Franz Josef Glacier suited out in our boots and crampons but otherwise sweltering hot as the sun beat down on us. It was amazing to see the crevasses and ice formations in the glacier and knowing in the back of your mind that this mass of ice is what carved out the gorgeous New Zealand landscape.

And the next day we left Mom and Dad at the airport in Auckland, waving good bye to them as we headed off to rent our own car and they trundled back inside to get on their flight home.

Fun in the Sun

2011-02-03T05:42:00.006+01:00

So a little over a week ago…actually a week ago yesterday was Australia Day in Oz, their own independence day when they celebrate the day Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay. It's kind of a controversial day, this Invasion Day, as the Aboriginals call it, since it marks the beginning of their subjugation to the western world. Despite the controversy, Steve and I, along with our Canadian and British friends from the hostel had a great time celebrating. We missed the breakfast BBQ by approximately 20 minutes, much to our disappointment, but ended up getting ice cream and meat pies instead…and boy, do Australians know how to do their meat pies. Delicious! Then we made it down to the beach to watch the local Wildlife Research Team release 3 turtles back into the wild. This was Lennox Head's big Oz Day celebration…what can I say? It's small town life. We spent the rest of the day on the beach, building a sandcastle that was wiped out by the rising tide, and then made our way to a BBQ dinner at the neighbor's house. Great Day

Since then, all our Canadian and Brit friends have moved on, either up on down the coast and the hostel is a bit quieter since they'd been here for weeks on end. The day after the majority of them left, we got a replacement. A very unwelcome replacement called Andrew, a guy from Sydney, who had absolutely no filter on his mouth whatsoever. In my first conversation with him, he backhandedly proposed to me twice, called me hot, and asked if it was ok for him to perv on me. Eventually I just ignored him, but for days afterward everyone wanted to know when the wedding was. He left a couple days after that, muttering under his breathe about how antisocial everyone at the hostel was and that he wouldn't be coming back. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Tuesday Steve got another job ripping down a fence and putting another one back up. I'm beginning to think that Australia only has casual labor for the menfolk since he got a job at O-pes too. Oh well. I'm enjoying my days of relaxation and freedom. So while he worked a 10 hour day in the sun, I went to the lake, read an entire book, and got to go hang gliding for free! yep, i said, FOR FREE! Graeme, the owner of the hostel, just came up to me in the afternoon, told me to get my shoes on and grab my camera cus I was going flying. And it was phenomenal, again! We did dives this time around and I actually got some good pictures of Lennox and of me. I saw a sea eagle fly by with fish in its talons. Oh, and the only catch of the whole thing is that I have to tell people who come through the hostel about it…as advertising for the guy. What a chore! hahaha.

And then it was Trivia Night again. The team was a lot different, a bit more serious, I would say. We weren't nearly as rowdy as last week, much to my dismay. I actually got shushed a few times when my contributions to the answers were said a wee bit too loud. It was still fun and we were only 1 correct answer away from winning the jackpot. Next week we try again. As they say, practice makes perfect!

And this morning I woke up at the unsightly hour of 4:45 just to drive to Byron Bay lighthouse to see the sunrise. And it was worth it. There is something peaceful and beautiful about seeing the world as it wakes up to greet the day. Here's a picture for you to enjoy as well.

$600 jackpot? I could win that...maybe...

2011-01-29T23:47:00.000+01:00

So Tuesday here in Lennox Head is Steak Night…and just recently, it's become Trivia night as well, a night of epic mishaps, and misunderstandings, but fun nevertheless. This past trivia night, we actually got together a real team instead of just sitting in the pub and playing on our own without the chance to win the jackpot (it's $600)

So here we are, a group of 12 backpackers from the US, Canada, and Britain attempting to answer ridiculous questions. Now the week before, the questions were easy, straightforward things you knew from high school, but was that what we got this week? No, it was not. This week it was Australian trivia and we were extremely bad at it. So bad, in fact, that the guy leading the quiz night, gave us a couple points each round and subtly tried to give us clues as to the answers, which would have been great, if we'd even been paying attention.

As it was, half the table was chatting away about something or other, a group were drawing pictures on the beer coasters, some were doing sudokus, and the two people at the end of the table were making peanut butter and banana sandwiches for an after dinner snack. We didn't so much discuss our answers as yell them at each other, not really caring what got written down in the end, but enjoying the argument. What made this picture even better was the fact that the rest of the teams in the pub are the real serious sort, who come every week, and keep track of their score, and even contest the announcer when he gives them an extra point (who does that?!). I do believe we offended their sensibilities. Amazingly enough, we didn't come in last…we got 4th, out of 7 team. I think we'll go again next week…the regulars are gonna kill us.

Ah...a holiday!

2011-01-25T07:23:00.005+01:00

ok, so i'm not as good with updating this thing as Steve is, so apologies up front, but i'm going to continue as I am…sorry.

We haven't been working the past week and a half since Suz and Avigdor went to Tasmania for a few weeks on a retreat and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy the life of the semi-retired. In fact, I think I'm spoiled rotten and don't want to go back to work. Our time off has coincided well with the arrival of some awesome people at the hostel. We've formed our own little family, getting up, spending the day chatting, eating, and hanging out at the lake or beach and it's fantastic. At night we either have movie nights or board game nights or a combination of both…and I'm learning to like board games slowly but surely. I actually played my first game EVER of Scrabble last week and won it by 60 points….although i then followed that epic win by an epic fail, but then that's just how my board game abilities go…it's either one extreme or the other.

I finally made it down the beach to the Headland and climbed up to look down on Lennox. It's gorgeous up there and I timed it just right to watch a rainstorm roll in over the town.

I got some packages from overseas in the last 2 weeks which made my week off of work even better. Steve's Chrissy prezzy for me came and he got me a KINDLE! so now I don't have to lug around books when we're moving from place to place. It's really neat, but I'm going to have to get used to not having actual pages to turn and dog-ear, and in general, mistreat. And I don't think I can take it out to the beach…I'm not daring enough for that. And a day later, a surprise present came from Belgium! from ellen. She got me a day calendar thing that I write down the day's events in…that's why i can tell you what's been happening since I last wrote. Otherwise, me and my horrible memory would just come up with… "um, yea, I've been going to the beach and um, hanging out." haha…this is slightly better than that i think.

In the mean time, my faithful secretary, Mom, has been working behind the scenes helping me get all my application stuff ready for the mail so I can apply to the post-baccalaureate program for Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Washington University. That program will get me prepared for a master's in Speech Language Pathology. The app is due April 1st (April Fool's Day, which makes me a little leery) so I should know sometime in April where I'll be come September. Wish me luck!

Best Job Op EVER!

2011-01-13T10:01:00.004+01:00

So I was perusing the local paper tonight and came across this ad in the classifieds. I think I found my new job.

Well...that was a first...

2011-01-10T07:40:00.002+01:00

Work's been a bit easier these days. Suz left on a three week trip to Tasmania, so we've been working with her partner, Viktor, finishing up the last few things to do on the shed/guesthouse. And he's quite a bit easier to deal with than Suz is. Also, last friday and today, we spent helping their next door neighbors pack up their house because they're moving about 10 hours south to Newcastle. I love Mel and Vinay and their 3 year old daughter, Aasha. They made us tea both days we worked for them and Mel baked this awesomely delicious banana, pistachio, chocolate chunk bread which is addictive and I ate way too much of. I gotta get the recipe for that even though I don't bake...just in case I ever change my mind and take up the hobby. Today, we cleaned out the kitchen and Steve walked away with about 10 pairs of chopsticks and we got a bottle of Jose Cuervo and another liquor since they didn't want to pack them up and haul them south. Score! Tomorrow, we clean out the fridge and we'll probably eat like kings for a week!

The last few days have been quite dramatic at the hostel. Our roommates (this would be our 3rd pair in a week's time) are undergoing a crisis. It's a boy and a girl from the UK who've been friends forever, but apparently the guy wants more and the girl doesn't and she just realized that he wants more than a friendship so now she's really uncomfortable around him. The tension and awkwardness between those two is almost palpable when you walk into the room (my room). Makes it hard to sleep at night...not really...but you understand what i'm saying. Anyway, she wants to cut the trip short and go home and he says that if she does, their friendship is over....cue drama and long discussions with third party observers (ie. me and steve) and endless pro/con lists of what happens if she stays and what happens if she goes. Don't get me wrong...I like this girl. She's fun and I like talking to her. She's actually one of the best roomies we've had, but I don't understand the back and forth. She knows what she wants to do, but then keeps second guessing herself. We'll see what happens. They're leaving in the next couple days, so I might not get the end of the saga.

Unrelated words of wisdom: It is incredibly hard to line dry your clothes when it insists on raining 2-3 times every SINGLE day.

Saturday night Steve and I went down to the pub with our UK roomies and actually stumbled upon something I'd never seen before. The band entertaining us were freestyle rappers who had artists draw on pieces of paper and their drawings were projected onto the wall behind the rappers. They played games trying to guess what the artists were drawing, what phrase the artists were representing, and telling a story about the pictures. It was pretty cool until they let a local in on the drawing. A very hammered local whose only artistic accomplishment was being able to draw wieners. They got rid of him pretty fast, but a while later he was back and took it a step farther, unzipping and flashing his junk so it'd be projected up onto the wall for the whole pub to see....and this is where Australia is soooo different from the States. In the US that guy would be out of the pub as fast as the bouncers could catch him, but here, the bouncers just shook their heads sadly and ignored him.

I think that's all the gossip and shenanigans that have been going on here...so...hope you're enjoying January and 2011!

So begins another journey around the sun

2011-01-02T11:39:00.001+01:00

2011 has started well I think. The first day of the year was filled with rain and a trip into Ballina for groceries and a rare meal out at the mall food court. I bought myself a pair of sunglasses since the arm on my old ones snapped off and no amount of glue (the stuff we've been using to put the walls up at work) would keep the two parts together. Now, is that promising for the walls or what? can't even hold together some crummy sunglasses.

Today has been even better since the sun came out to visit and I got to spend the day where any self-respecting resident of a sea-side village would, at the beach. So I spent the majority of the day sacked out on a boogie board on the sand, slowing frying myself a slightly pink color because I forgot to reapply sunscreen after my trips to the ocean.

Now, the ocean is still recovering from all the floodwaters that have been making their way to the coast from inland. I don't know if you've been following the floods in Australia, but some of Queensland is under water and that water has been emptying into the ocean near Lennox, bringing dirt and other various toxins. All this healthy pollution translated itself into heaps of foam washing up on shore, which the children here on holiday seemed to think was their own personal Christmas present and exuberantly slathered the stuff all over them in delight. Anyway, the foam has disappeared, but we've still got some floaty bits in the water here, which I decided to brave today since I was melting. It was really quite enjoyable and I was having fun watching the kids have a blast, until the little boy right next to me pulled his swim trunks down to his knees, popped a squat and did his business right there. Needless to say, I booked it out of the water pretty quick after that and stayed out of it for a while afterward.

This evening I decided to be industrious and headed to the other end of town to climb up to the headland, which overlooks the entire town and 7 Mile Beach. It was going pretty well until I came to the end of the paved path, and was promptly reminded that it has been raining for the last week and a half. (I don't know how I forgot) I thought I could avoid the mud, but in sandals it was kind of impossible and I ended up flipping mud across the back of my shirt and into my hair and had to walk back through town conspicuously covered in muck past all the tourists eating dinner, who were probably wondering where I found a mud hole in town. I swear, I am just that talented.

Tomorrow, it's back to work for Suz. I think this is the last week of that and I am excited. It's actually coming together quite a bit. We painted the walls and now the different sections of plywood don't look so horrible. Still not professional in any way, shape, or form, but not nearly as bad as before. This week we're re-painting the ceiling, scrubbing the floor (whoopee!) and then painting that. Should be fun.

Santa on a Surfboard?

2010-12-22T23:36:00.000+01:00

There are two days until Christmas, and I'm wearing shorts. Santa's suit is not fuzzy, red, and warm, no, it is a swim suit and his red Santa hat magically stays atop his head as he rides into town on his surfboard. From what I've gathered, Christmas day is spent at the beach, barbequing and frolicking in the ocean instead of curled up inside watching the snow drift by. Christmas in Australia is just plain odd, since Christmas and cold weather are apparently interchangeable in my mind. And Christmas day, here at the hostel in Lennox Head, Steve and I will be hosting the Christmas BBQ for all the backpackers since Graeme and his wife (the owners of the hostel) are having their family over for the holiday. I fully intend to nominate any backpacker who even mentions his/her skill on the BBQ as head-chef and will relinquish my duties...I mean, come on, me in charge of a BBQ?!

Life otherwise has settled into some kind of routine. Steve and I have been working hard almost 5 days a week at our job, remodeling a woman's backyard shed into a living space/meditation room/no more storage room. It has been great for the money, but the woman is a bit strange and hard to work for. Quite frankly, she stresses me out because she'll come in periodically to check our progress and change her mind about what she wants, list off 6 different things to be done (all contradicting one another), asks our opinions, and then promptly dismisses them because I don't think she was interested in the first place. As for the remodel job, I'd be surprised if the building was even standing if I came back in a couple of years seeing as she asked us to use rusted nails to hold the ceiling up and rotted boards as framework for the plywood walls. I almost want to write a disclaimer and hide it somewhere in the room, denying any responsibility for the shoddy craftsmanship because Robinson Construction taught me to build things better than what this lady wants.

Luckily, we're on a short vacation for Christmas, then we're working another week till New Year's and then she's off to Tasmania so I think work will be finished for a while and we can have a proper summer vacation at the beach, when it's not raining. Because that's what it does during an Australian summer. It rains, a lot. Although, as per Murphy's law, the rainy days seem to coincide with the weekends and the sunny days with our work week. I'm really not that surprised.

Yesterday, Christmas came early when we got back from work and found a huge package from home with all sorts of goodies and presents (prezzies in Australian). Mom and Dad sent us cameras, something I greatly appreciated since my current one has dust/waterspots floating around on the lens and I can't get rid of them. I think it's also a hint to start taking more pictures. And I really should since I've been in Lennox for almost a month and have about 2 pictures. Oops!

Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone back home and my friends in Europe! Love you all and I hope you have a great holiday season and enjoy your time with family. I miss you guys. Eat some good Christmas food for me since I'll be chowing down on hamburgers and most likely dodging raindrops. Happy Holidays!

...

2010-12-15T11:39:00.000+01:00

The other day, Byron asked me a question. He asked me what my favorite thing about myself was. And you know what? I didn't have an answer. I thought and thought but nothing came to mind and the silence stretched between us as my mind whirled dizzily trying to come up with something as he waited expectantly. I had no answer, and I refused to make something up. It is devastating to know that I can name off the top of my head those things about myself which I loathe, that I have an endless list of things about myself I would change if I could, but I couldn't come up with one single thing I honestly and truly like about myself. I think it is time to do some reevaluating in my life. Now is some time for deep introspection.

when it rains, it pours

2010-12-07T06:22:00.000+01:00

I've heard a lot about how Australia is and has been in the middle of drought for going on a decade. And then I decide to come to Australia and the rain follows. It's been raining for the most part of the last 2 weeks, at times down pouring in a monsoon. In one part of the country, people have had to evacuate because of flooding. In my opinion, that is hardly drought weather.

Over the weekend, Steve, Byron, and our friend Thomas, braving the rain, drove an hour north and inland to Mount Warning to camp for the night. We set up the tent in the rain, cooked and ate dinner in the rain, went to sleep in the rain, and broke camp in the rain. It was all really lots of fun, but that was just the beginning. The rain at this point was a mild drizzle, which you can ignore after about 20 minutes, but when we parked at the bottom of Mount Warning, suited up, and started our 4.4 kilometer hike to the top, the skies let loose. We started by avoiding the puddles and muddy spots, not wanting our nice dry shoes to get uncomfortable, but by about ¾ of the way up there, I'd stopped caring, mostly because I couldn't get any wetter, so I went slopping through the puddles.

The last bit up to the top of the mountain is described as a “sheer vertical rock scramble” in the words of whoever wrote the placards, and we had to haul ourselves up using toeholds and a chain to keep us steady. Mind you, the vertical rock we were climbing was a bit slippery, which added to the thrill and general level of danger. I spent approximately 11 minutes at the summit of Mount Warning, scarfing down a banana and staring at the beautiful view, of the inside of a cloud, decided it looked quite similar to what i'd been looking at the whole hike up, and turned around to go back down. At this point, my clothes are soaked, my shoes are squishing with each step, and the gusting wind brought out goosebumps the size of, well, Mount Warning on my legs. Needless to say, it took us about half the time it took us to get up there to get to the bottom, where I'm pretty sure I wrung a liter of water from my sweatshirt and shorts.

I am making sure that during my next hike the rain stays away.

this is a long one...might want to take some reading breaks...

2010-11-30T05:44:00.000+01:00

Happy late Thanksgiving to everyone in the US! I hope you ate some turkey and stuffing for me because turkey was not happening here. I was dripping sweat, sitting in the shade in shorts and a t-shirt, contemplating ice cream, which is the exact opposite of what I usually do on Thanksgiving when it's cold and all I want is delicious warm food.

The last week has been quite a bit of fun. We fell into another job around the area when Tony, a garlic farmer called the hostel and asked if there were any backpackers looking for work. Thus started my illustrious career as champion garlic digger, root snipper, bundler, and hanger. Now garlic picking isn't all that hard, but you're out in the sun all day, hunched over, digging garlic bulbs out of the ground, contending with mud, prickly bushes, and scuttling spiders. So you get really dirty and your back starts complaining after a couple hours.

Once again, Australian hospitality made itself known. I could get used to it. Our boss was always providing drinks, coffee, or tea, ice cream, fruit, and one night he even gave us his car to he wouldn't have to pick us up in the morning. If you ask me, that takes a lot of trust. I'm sure when he was watching us drive away, Stefan, our German friend, at the wheel, he was wondering what condition his car would be in when he got it back. But we each took a turn driving, you know, getting used to the whole “stay on the left side of the road” thing and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It's basically the opposite of back home with the left hand turns being the easy ones and the right hand turns where you have to watch for all the traffic. But it was nice to have the freedom that a car brings, even if it was for a night since we've been walking or biking into town, which is a time intensive endeavor.

Garlic picking was great. I met a whole bunch of people. A French girl, one from New Zealand, and a large group of people from Thailand and Laos who came in and saved the day a few days ago, making the picking go so much faster. Since picking isn't the most entertaining job in the world, we talked a lot and I got to learn all the important Thai phrases like hello, good, no good, and take it easy. I'd be out in the field picking and they would be jabbering away in Thai, with me in my own little world, and all of a sudden one of them would tack my name onto the end of a Thai sentence, essentially asking me a question to which I would stare blankly back at them and eloquently grunt out, “What?” to which they would laugh and then translate for me. I'm sure they enjoyed it, but they were also delighted that Steve and I would keep asking different phrases to learn their language.

The last few days in Hunter Valley were a blast since we took a break from work and just hung out. The 25th we trekked over to Potter's Brewery, just down the road from the YHA for a $10 brewery tour. I wasn't expecting that much and we were told that the tour lasted about 20 minutes, but an hour and fifteen minutes later, the guy was still talking. It was really interesting to hear about how different malts combined with different hops can produce an abundance of different flavors in a beer and how yeast turns to alcohol after a while. The whole process is very scientific and a lot of thought goes into deciding exactly what type of taste the brewer is attempting to obtain. After the tour, we walked next door to the pub and tried out a few of the beers Keith, the beer guy (his official title, I swear) had mentioned. There was a delicious mango beer and a disgusting bacon flavored beer which I got just to try and regretted the entire time I tried to drink it. Then we went back to the hostel to find it invaded by a huge group of people up from sydney. I don't think i've seen that many people at the hostel the entire time we were there.

Friday the 26th, our last day in Hunter we cleaned for Carolyn and then we (Chris, me, Steve, and Glen, a Kiwi) hopped on some bikes, up and down hills for a good 40 minutes to get to Hunter Valley Gardens where we played AquaGolf. Now aquagolf is an amazing invention. It is essentially a driving range into a large pond, but scattered in the lake are various nets labelled with different prizes ranging from $20 at the local pub, to a bottle of wine from a nearby winery, to the $10,000 grand prize. The guys were pretty good, and Glen won a voucher for a meal at the Australian Hotel in Cessnock. No one else won anything, but we bought another bucket of balls because we were convinced eventually we'd hit something. It's better than gambling, because you get to hit a freaking golf ball as hard as you can just for the fun of it. Then we went back to the hostel, piled into the truck and Carolyn took us into town for our bus ride to Newcastle. All of our friends saw us off. We had our own Hunter Valley send off committee with Chris, Stefan, Carolyn, Glen, and Terry. It was really cool that in the 2 weeks time we spent in Hunter, we made some good friends, and I'm sure that in the course of travels we'll see them again.

After waiting 4 hours in Newcastle, our bus finally arrived and we loaded all our stuff onto it for the 11 hour ride north. Luckily it was an overnight bus and I, for once, actually got some sleep. Anyway, we arrived Saturday morning in Lennox Head, dropped our bags in our room and headed down to the surf club for some breakfast at a stand on the beachside. Let me tell you, banana pancakes with ice cream is a beautiful way to start the day. We explored the town, looked into the real estate offices because we're thinking about an apartment, and discovered most everything is for holiday rent these days which is about $1000 a week. I hung out at the beach for a bit and walked to the ti-tree lake, where the tea trees turn the water brown like the drink. We met Byron, a med student from Perth who is doing a 2 week rotation at the Byron Bay hospital. He offered us a place to stay in Perth at the apartment he shares with a bunch of mates, so we have an option if jobs in Lennox Head don't pan out. We also met another Stefan, this one is from Switzerland, and he's been motorbiking down the east coast for the last 3 months.

Anyway, the four of us went into town last night to see what was happening in tiny Lennox and we found the bowling and sport club where drinks are about half price and the food is cheap and delicious. There was also live music. I will definitely be revisiting the bowling club in the future. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday was a lot of fun. It began as all days should, by getting in my bathing suit and slathering on sunscreen for some time to sit at the beach. Ruth, an intrepid traveler from the UK, and Byron got up early to go diving and when they came back, they made a delicious brunch that they shared with us. Then we headed out on the lake in kayaks we had to lug over there. I had quite the time of it in the lake as Steve and Byron were rocketing across the water, my kayak would unexpectedly spin in circles for no reason I could see. So it took me quite a bit longer to actually get anywhere than it did them.

Then we decided to get some food for a BBQ dinner that night, and this is how I go out grocery shopping and end up hang gliding. While we were out shopping for food, Byron got a call from the hang gliding guy saying that the weather was perfect for it and he needed to go up. Anyway, I decided to go watch and when we got picked up, the lady asked me if I was going up as well, and I thought, why not? So 10 minutes later, I found myself strapped in a high tech sleeping bag, fastened to a glider, standing on the edge of a huge cliff just outside Lennox Head. I didn't even have time to wonder what the heck I was doing there before Neil, the instructor, stepped off the cliff, with me right behind him. Hang-gliding is one of the best things I've ever done, right up there with parasailing. It is so peaceful to just float up there on the wind and watch what's going on down below. When I get back to the States and round up a bit of money, that's what i'm signing up for, hang-gliding lessons. It'd be great to do for fun.

After that we had our BBQ, made by a genuine Aussie on the barbie. It was pretty good. Steve and I spent the rest of the evening working on our resumes and teaching Byron how to play Shithead, a great card game (I didn't name it, that's just what it's called).

Oh, we also got credit on our phones for the first time in weeks all thanks to Byron, who let us use his credit card to buy credit online. He's a great guy :) Can't believe he trusts us that much after just a day!

Today was the day to get things done, or to at least attempt to get them done. We got up, had breakfast, and then hopped on the bus to go to Ballina for some groceries since the only supermarket in Lennox is the IGA which is tiny. Our trip turned into an expedition since the buses only run every 1 ½ hours so we hung around Ballina a bit and when we got back we dressed up in our very best, to go knocking on doors in town, begging someone to hire us.

I now understand why everyone gets so frustrated looking for jobs. This is my first experience with job searching and it is so disheartening to walk away from an establishment, knowing deep inside that the resume you just gave them is ultimately going to end up filed away somewhere they'll never look again, or in the trash. I stopped by at least 7 places today, and I think maybe one or two of the places might give me a call back sometime. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Tomorrow, I'm planning to head out again to a couple places that were closed today just to see what might happen.

Living It Up In Wine Country

2010-11-15T23:11:00.000+01:00

Did you know that being American and graduating college is no guarantee that you will do well at an Australian pub trivia night. With four Americans on our team, we ended up coming in last place and the grand prize winners more than doubled our score. It was a little embarrassing, but when you know nothing about Rugby, cricket, or British queens things don't go very well at all. We decided that the next time we need to recruit an Aussie from the street to answer those questions.

The next day we were up bright and early, dressed in our waitstaff uniform and headed down to Sydney CBD to take our bar service skills course. Now, we thought it would only last about 4 hours, but it turns out that it was a whole day affair. We went to a pub on Darling Harbour called James Squire and actually got to work behind the bar for a bit, pulling draughts (I had no idea that you want a centimeter of foam on top and it needs to be smooth and creamy. It's beer, people'll drink it no matter what, right?) and mixing pretend drinks. That part was neat, but I feel like we aren't that much more prepared for a bar-tending job than we were before we took the class. I think it's more of a job where you just have to jump right in and you learn along the way or you fail epically. Hopefully the former one.

Wednesday we rolled into Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley again where we got picked up and went to the hostel. At this point we've been at the hostel for about 5 days and truly it feels almost like a home since we've got a regular crew of people who are living here for a longer period of time and we're getting to know the owners, their sister, and their parents. It's better than just being around a rotating medley of backpackers who are there one day and gone the next. We've got Chris, a Scot who's here with IEP as well who is working in the vineyards suckering the vines. Suckering is basically pulling off all the lower leaves on a wine so the plant doesn't spend energy growing those leaves when they can use it to make grapes. There's Ian, a Kiwi who drives the buses to and from concerts at the wineries on the weekends and who is taking flying lessons during the week to get his pilot's license. Then there's Stefan, a German backpacker who is traveling around on his own and finding work every now and then.

The cleaning we've been doing at the hostel is pretty easy and doesn't take that much time, just tidying up the rooms after people leave and cleaning the commons area and kitchen. We've helped pack up all the comforters and got out the fans since summer's on the way and it's getting hot here at night. Today we spent most of the day painting two of the rooms. I'd forgotten what a pain painting is.

This past weekend was pretty much the best weekend I've had in Australia. Carolyn got us work setting up and tearing down for a concert at Bimbadgen, an upscale winery about 15 minutes away from the hostel. Steve and I, Stefan, and Chris got up early Friday morning and spent the day laying out 2500 chairs for the concert, setting up barricades, and putting screening up on the fences.

I also got to set up the dressing rooms for the stars because as a female the stage crew guys “knew I would do a better job.” Now if anyone knows my decorating skills or my artistic inclinations, you are aware of the fact that what I think looks cool doesn't necessarily look cool to anyone else, so I was a bit skeptical about the job, but I did my best. However, it is more than likely some of the singers sat down in their trailers and wondered what kind of crazy person set up the room so the rug was cockeyed, the couch was situated in the far back corner, and the mirror was set up at a 90 degree angle to the door so it cut off everyone's view of the door from the couch. Eh, oh well.

Saturday we did our cleaning at the hostel and that night we got a ride to the concert because Whitey, the manager of the show had given us free tickets to get in to sit in the grass. Sh, we're not supposed to tell anyone that. Well we rolled up and got to the gate, told the lady our names were on the list for tickets, and discovered that we'd actually been given seats! After watching a thoroughly drunk man shout insults at passing people as he was handcuffed and lead away we found our seats, right in the middle of it all. Now, these seats cost around $130 for paying customers so we got an incredible deal.

The artists were interesting, two Australian artists, Vanessa Amorisi and Jimmy Barnes. Didn't really like Jimmy, but Vanessa was really good. She was an ultimate entertainer and she even ran into the crowd to get everyone into the music. I'm pretty sure her security absolutely hates it when she does that since they have to deal with unruly fans and Vanessa was just dashing all over the place. You could see the frustration on their faces as she ran about 5 feet away from us with them speeding after her. She even tried to run up the hill into general admission where there aren't any barricades and it's just chaos, but her people managed to head her off and averted that disaster.

Sunday we headed over there again to tear down everything. The day was filled with stacking chairs and moving barricades again, sprinkled liberally with water breaks which the crew basically forced us to take. We were working steadily, but apparently we did all the work in about half the time that it takes most of their backpacker help to do it. I think we broke the mold for them. Afterward, the guys took us back to their homestead, a nice house with a pool and a penthouse suite. I think it started out as an obligation, a couple beers to thank us for our work, but it turned into an awesome time. We drank a few beers there, used the pool, then headed to Harrigan's, an Irish pub, for food and Whitey bought us each two beers a piece. Then we headed back to the homestead again to play some pool and darts. It's the first time that we've actually gotten to spend time with real Aussies since the majority of people you meet at hostels are fellow travelers from all over the world, but it's a rare find if you meet an Aussie. I tried Vegamite for the first time on toast, made to perfection by an Aussie and it wasn't horrible. Probably not ever going to be something I choose to buy and eat, but it was good to try at least. I can say it didn't kill me. Oh, I forgot, I also saw my first pack of kangaroos in the wild. Right behind the homestead and the pool, it's just open vineyard and in the evening about 10 kangaroos were out there cooling off and lazing around while we played a game of backyard cricket. I now understand cricket. It's just like a skewed game of baseball, but somehow more entertaining to play. I still don't think it's the much fun to watch though.

We didn't get back till midnight and I think the stage crew really liked us. We came out way ahead. We got paid 20 bucks an hour for a job that back home would pay about $9 at the most, had tons of drinks provided throughout the two days we worked, got concert tickets for free, had about 10 drinks bought for us by the crew at their place and the pub, ate their food and snacks, and they still thanked us for all the hard work. It was incredible. That's how it is at the hostel though as well. Every time we do something other than just the room cleaning they end up giving us stuff. A 1.5 liter bottle of water, a coke, a candy bar, lunch, the list goes on and on. This is the best i've eaten since I got here.

On an entirely unrelated note, in the past 24 hours, Steve and I have been asked twice if we are twins. Apparently, we look about the same age and that's the only explanation they can think of for why siblings are traveling together. It's a bit bizarre.

Rain, Cold, and Other Things

2010-11-06T08:28:00.000+01:00

Can I just say that I had the absolute worst shower experience EVER this morning?! At the moment, we are in Katoomba, a little tourist trap of a mountain town 2 hours train ride west of Sydney where there are tons of bushwalking tracks and a great deal of 2nd hand bookshops (yay!). It is extremely cold in Katoomba, ok so in the 50s, which isn't horrible, but when your “budget accommodation” isn't heated and the windows are left open all hours of the day, it's COLD. So, back to the shower. If there's anything I loathe in this world it is a cold shower. Well, I discovered something equally horrible. A shower in a freezing cold room with a permanently open window where the water is either scaldingly hot or ice-cold but never a temperature your body can stand. This resulted in me standing about 2 inches from the boiling hot stream of water, whimpering, covered in goosebumps, quickly sticking my hand in the water and pulling it back out before I got second degree burns, trying in vain to warm up at least a little bit without doing harm to myself. One of the least satisfying showers of my life, right up there with bathing out of a pot of water heated on the stove that one time in Spain when our hot water went out for a week and a half.
Anyway, Katoomba. We're in Katoomba through the weekend, alternately reading books when it's too cold and rainy to go outside and trekking up and down the mountain streets to see the natural sights and the random shops along the way. At night, I sleep curled up in a ball on an electric blanket next to a space heater in my sweatshirt and long pants. Monday, we're going back to Sydney and i'll be glad to get warm again. Coldness aside, I really do like the town of Katoomba with its mountain charm and cloud-covered streets. We walked down to The Three Sisters the other day, an enormous rock formation in the valley below the town. The best part of the experience is the legend connected to the sheer cliffs about 3 Aboriginal sisters who were turned to stone by a magic man to escape unwanted/unworthy (depends on the version) suitors. Sadly, the magic man died before he could turn them back to their human form so there they sit, in the valley, waiting. We're also going to check out the Giant's Stairway tomorrow. Great names, right?
Well, I've been meaning to put on here how you can get in touch with me since we're moving all over the place and sometimes the internet access is sparse. Probably the easiest way is to just email me at jcrobinson08@gmail.com and I'll get back to you when I check in, which is every 4 or 5 days at the most. Usually, it's more often than that. Also, if you are feeling adventurous and want to brave the telephone, i've looked up all the different codes to put in front of my number and this is what you need to dial to reach my mobile. 011-61-410-071-233. If you're worried about long distance charges, you can always call me and let me know to call you back so it'll be charged on my phone. I have a really great international plan so it shouldn't be a problem.
In other news, yesterday Steve and I heard a kookaburra laugh for the first time. It's a pretty ridiculous laugh and there's no other way to describe it than as a half insane old woman cackling away. Poetic, right?
Anyway, leave me a comment, questions, or whatever you like. It's always great to hear from you.

What's Been Going On

2010-10-30T11:11:00.000+02:00

Have you ever felt like you just wasted the better part of your day on something that could have been accomplished in half the time? Well, Thursday, Steve and I trekked across downtown Sydney to UVO Training for our RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) course that we have to take in order to get certified to serve alcohol in a restaurant/bar/hotel. Let's just say that the instructor spent 6 hours, yes SIX HOURS, lecturing us about responsibly serving alcohol. I can sum it all up for you in exactly two sentences. Here goes: Don't serve alcohol to minors or people who are already intoxicated. You will be fined impossibly large amounts of money if this happens and you are caught. She then spent a long time discussing the indicators of intoxication, which we are all well aware of since everyone in the class was of drinking age and has probably either experienced those indicators or has had friends who were more than willing to demonstrate, ie crying, slurring, running into things. After taking a 20 question test, whose answers we copied directly from the course workbook, we each got a shiny new certificate saying we are Responsible Servers of Alcohol. It was all a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

That night we had a hostel dinner BBQ and I had my first taste of roo, which is delicious by the way. I'm looking forward to having more soon. Then we walked down to Darling Harbour to see some fireworks. I haven't quite worked out why they were having fireworks on a random Thursday night, but they were the best fireworks I've ever seen and they actually were choreographed with the beat of the music. It was so cool to watch. I can't even imagine what New Year's Eve fireworks are going to be like in a couple months. Sadly, I doubt we'll be in Sydney then to see the festivities.

Friday morning we got up really early and took a coach bus out to Hunter Valley, which is a vineyard hotspot a couple hours outside Sydney. Just getting out of the city felt wonderful. I breathed a sigh of relief since as most of you know, I am not a big city kind of girl. But it was good to see green and open spaces with trees and vegetation. The hostel we stayed at is pretty little and there were only a handful of people staying there so it was a big change from the previous hostel we were in which is one of the most popular ones in Sydney. It's nice to have some breathing space and some peace and quiet. We're actually thinking about coming back here after all our courses in Sydney since they have a flier up asking for some people to do cleaning around the place in exchange for accommodation and the use of a bicycle. We'll see. We have until the 9^th to figure that out.

(This is where tone of voice would come in handy. Note: Sarcasm) Oh, I forgot to put in the most encouraging news. During our orientation, one of the coordinators asked us where we were heading after Sydney to look for jobs. We, being naïve and innocent, said Byron Bay, of course. Yea, she basically shot that idea in the foot. She hedged and said that it would be very competitive to get a job there since it's such a popular backpacker destination. I think we're still planning to try it, but we're going to head to Lennox Head, one town over, which isn't quite so well known to see if it's a bit easier to get a job there. If that still doesn't work, then WWOOFing is in order. What is WWOOFing you ask? It's basically where you work a couple hours a day on an organic farm somewhere in Australia in exchange for room and board. And you can stay a long time or a short time and then move on. It's a good way to work your way around the country. Of course, we'd have to buy a vehicle.

We're not in Kansas Anymore... Er, Make That Indiana, We're Not There Either

2010-10-26T01:31:00.002+02:00

So, Steve's already posted his blog for the first few days of our Australian adventure. I realize that we're probly going to overlap a bit on the important bits of the trip, but you'll have to bear with us while we figure out how to do this blog thing effectively. haha.

We had a bit of a rough start in Chicago with a 2 and 1/2 hour delay whose activities included changing gates three times and then getting rebooked on another entire airplane because of mechanical difficulties, boarding the plane and then sitting there for an additional 40 minutes while they fixed a freaking light on the wing. sigh...after traveling to LA and Philly on American, i'm pretty much finished with them. Nothing ever seems to go smoothly. However, Qantas, i wholeheartedly love for their awesomely huge plan (easily the biggest one I have ever seen) and all the goodies we got during the 14 hour flight. Snack bag pretty much saved my life, no exaggeration. Everyone always says that the flight is a long one, but that doesn't put it in perspective. ok, here's what you need to know. I had time to watch 5 movies, check our flight map about 25 times, eat two meals, and take a four hour nap with enough downtime in between those events to have 3 major marathons of Tetris playing. I also had time to alternately laugh and give commiserating looks to steve as he suffered through sitting by his seatmate with her twitches and space-invading habits. He definitely got the short end of that deal.

Anyway, we're in Sydney, all squared away after striking out into the city in order to find free Wi-Fi (our 5 star hostel does not include free internet, although it does offer a pool, a bar, a cafe, 2 huge kitchens, a movie theater, and a booking agency). With no Australian currency, i made the most ridiculous credit card purchase of a 2 dollar drink on my credit card before we got our bank accounts here all set up. Did you know Australian savings accounts have a 6% interest rate? I should just move all my money here instead of leaving it in my home account.

After banking, a trip to Woolworth's for food, a walk around the city, and a trip to the Apple store for internet, Steve and I crashed for 10 hours of blissful sleep. Tomorrow we have our orientation where we find out about jobs, accommodation, safety tips, and all the essentials. AND, we get our mobile phones, so maybe I can call people. Thursday we have a Responsible Service of Alcohol course, Friday we leave for Hunter Valley wine country for wine tasting and relaxation, Monday we have a jet-boating excursion on the Harbor, and then we have over a week to kill in Sydney before our Bar Service Skills course on Nov 9.

Hopefully during that down week we'll figure out our next move, whether it is to stay in Sydney or to head north along the coast to Byron Bay. I'm voting for that one. I want to spend the summer on the beach enjoying the surf and the sun. Sorry all you guys back at home preparing for winter. I'll enjoy it for you as well.

Talk to you soon,

Awaiting Take-Off

2010-09-03T03:21:00.003+02:00

SUCCESS!!! I have officially booked a ticket and am headed to the land down under in approximately 1 month and 21 days. ok, so there's no approximate about it. I have it counted down even though I know I won't begin to pack a suitcase until the day before I'm supposed to be in Chicago for take-off.

Now, I've just got to come up with a plan of action so when I tell people I'm going to Australia and they ask, "What are you going to do there?" I'll have more to tell them than a vague, "oh, traveling and working." This response only confuses them more and I'm pretty sure shortly thereafter they begin to wonder about my sanity and why I think it's a great idea to travel halfway around the world with absolutely no plan other than to see a kangaroo, the Great Barrier Reef, and possibly drive on the opposite side of the road without killing anyone, myself included.

Lots to do in the next month or so. Wish me luck!

Life on Pause

2010-07-18T19:19:00.002+02:00

So I just sat down and did the math the other day and i've been in warsaw for 13 months straight
(ok maybe not straight since i have gone to Canada, Vancouver, Kauai, and San Francisco in the past year). This is the longest i have lived in one place since i graduated high school some 6 years ago. My days here consist of endlessly long days working construction followed by exhausted sleep broken up by one day weekends which don't really count as weekends in my book.

Let me tell you, I am ready for a change of scenery or at least a change of some kind. This week is dedicated to getting all the necessary stuff rounded up to apply for a visa to Australia so i can start my next adventure. My bro and I are headed to the land down under for a year (cross your fingers) to travel and live and find any type of job to pay rent be it busing tables or hauling trash. haha, hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do. i'm EXTREMELY excited about this since i started thinking/planning it pretty much the second i got back from Spain last June. Let's get this show on the road!

2010-02-13T01:42:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I last wrote. Honestly, time passes a lot faster than I ever gave it credit for. Craziness has happened since I got back from Spain. Quick recap of life since June.

-Italy trip with Lucia for 2 weeks

-Seeing home for the first time in 9 months

-Hiding out in a condo in Florida for a week with Colleen while thunderstorms raged outside

-Nearly slicing off two of my fingers when I stopped myself from sliding off a roof 30 feet in the air

-Watching Colleen get married in July

-September: Having 3 crazy Belgians visit Warsaw and Amish country before road tripping it north to Toronto for a weekend of fun

-Trip to Vancouver, Canada with the parents (I am absolutely in love with their Hot Chocolate)

-My cousin got married in October

-I also saw the world's worst haunted house. It was more laughable than scary

-Christmas with the family!

-Up to Michigan to see my College friends.

-New Year's in Hawaii

-Scuba diving for the first time ever! Something I have been waiting to do for the last 3 years

-Decided to renew my devotion to my blog. we'll see how well this works. hahaha....

Hasta luego Baeza

2009-05-31T13:24:00.003+02:00

Well this is my last post from Baeza. I'm catching the bus out of town in two hours, heading north to Madrid to stash my luggage. Tomorrow morning bright and early, my friend, Lucia, and I are catching a flight to Italy for two weeks of backpacking adventure complemented by loads of pasta and gelatto. I land in Chicago on June 15th, so next time I write....I'll be stateside, readjusting to American life. See you all soon!

Jolly ol' England

2009-05-11T13:28:00.012+02:00

So two weekends ago, we were blessed with another puente (read long weekend) here in Baeza, and I figured what better way to celebrate no school and no yelling kids for 5 glorious days than to head back to what is rapidly becoming my most visited country: England! This time, though, I had someone to visit, my friend Mercedes from college who is currently completing graduate school at Brighton University. So boarding a plane for the (I calculated this) 8th time in a month, I flew off for London on a Thursday afternoon.

Mercedes was kind enough to come meet me at the Gatwick airport at midnight, which I am grateful for since I'm sure on my way from the airport to Eastbourne, where she's living, I would have become incredibly and irreversibly lost. That is why maps and friends who know where they are going are my best friends when I travel. Anyway, that night was reserved for sleeping and the next day, we had a relaxed morning and then caught the train to Brighton so she could show me the sights. May I observe here that the train system in England is infinitly more convenient and easier to get to than the train in Spain.

Our first stop was the Royal Pavilion, built for the drinking, womanzing, and gambling Prince of Wales George IV in 1787. He later became the King of England for a short time before his death. The Pavilion itself is a wonderfully fantastic place to walk around since it is heavily influenced by architecture from India, complete with minarets. The inside is decorated far differently from what one would expect from an English building. My favorite part was the dining room where the chandalier consisted of one gigantic dragon carrying the framework in his claws and a few other dragons at a lower tier with the lights in their mouths. Back in the day when the lights were candles, it looked as if the dragons were breathing fire. Awesome!

Afterward, we stopped for lunch at Bill's, which is restaurant in a converted warehouse. Of course I had to be healthy and have pancakes with fruit.......with ice cream and tons of syrup as well. Delicious, if not particularly nutritious. Next was some shopping and exploration of the city, wandering among the streets and shops, eventually making our way to the beach and boardwalk. Sadly we only stayed there a short time, but it was so cold with the wind blowing in off the ocean that my nose went numb. Then it was back to Eastbourne for some fish and chips. Later we met up with some of Mercedes friends who are also studying at Brighton and are in the international program. We sat on the beach for a bit, listening to music and then headed off to find a pub to while away some time.

The next day, it was off to the Isle of Wight via Southampton where we caught a ferry to the island. Given all the connections we had to make between trains, buses, and ferries, we had superb luck and never had to wait more than a half hour for any sort of transportation. Upon arrival to the island, we decided that we should just go visit the Osbourne House before making our way inland to our hotel. So we stopped by the tourist info center to ask where to go, and happened to hear the lady giving directions to other tourists going the same place. It sounded relatively simple so we set off without a map and with her directions firmly in our minds. We took the footbridge (actually another ferry going across a tiny river between cities) over to East Cowes and then started off on foot, Mercedes lugging her bag and me with my backpack. After about 20 minutes of hiking alongside the main road, feeling like hobos or hitchhikers, we were feeling pretty tired and wondering if we'd gotten the directions wrong. Turns out we were only 100 yards away from it! How good is that for a directionally challeneged person like myself? So we spent the afternoon checking out the Osbourne House, residence to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who considered it a summer "cottage." The word cottage does not do the place justice....it is big, but for a royal house, the rooms inside are remarkably small. We saw the house, some of the estate, and the Swiss cottage where the royal children learned to clean, garden, and cook.

The Braunstone Hotel in Newport, where we stayed that night, was a cute little place with gorgeous rooms and a pretty delicious English breakfast (kudos Mercedes!). Being in Newport on a Saturday night, Mercedes and I expected there to be bustling activity, but things were pretty quiet there. We managed to find the oldest pub on the island, where we had greasy pub food for dinner, which was so good, then we walked around a bit, saw the town, and found the movie theater. We ended up seeing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. My first English movie in a theater not dubbed in Spanish since September! Needless to say, I was incredibly excited and it made my night.

Newport

The next day we walked around West Cowes for a bit, then began our trip back to Eastbourne. That night we met up with her friends again for a pub quiz at the local pub. Being internationals, we were at a slight disadvantage, especially when one entire category had to do with British cities. That was a tough round. But we did pretty well. Then that night, I took the train to Gatwick and spent the night there because my flight left early in the am. I'm getting pretty used to staying in airports and killing time, exploring all the different corridors and whatnot. Didn't get any sleep, but eh, didn't really want any. Eventually I made it back to Baeza, ready for another week of school with my crazies.

Speaking of school, it's hard to believe that I only have three weeks left before I'm finished. This past week, my 6th year students asked me if I was coming back next year. To their dismay, I said no, and truthfully, I'm not even tempted to come back next year. It has been a great experience and I love the kids here, but I'm ready for another adventure, another experience, another type of challenge. So now I'm filling out applications for jobs when I return to the States. I forgot how tedious applications are, but I'm making headway. Wish me luck!

As always, here's a link to my facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052989&id=11400089&l=21a075ad46

Barcelona!

2009-05-10T14:29:00.008+02:00

Well I'm plumbing the depths of my memory with this post, and my memory has never been that great, but I'm going to do my best to tell you all about my trip to Barcelona which was about a month ago. The weekend after getting back from Kenya, my friend Lucia and I packed up our bags and hopped on a plane again, this time headed north to the famous city of Barcelona, home of the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi, and the Catalan language.

We didn't actually make it to the hotel until nearly midnight, whereupon we dropped our bags and promptly went down to reception to ask if they knew of a late night bar where we could have a drink to unwind after a long day of travel. The next morning we made our way into the city and met up with a group of people to go on a bike tour through Barcelona. We had a big group of people, proabaly around 30 of us tooling around on bikes, cutting off pedestrians, and trying to avoid being run over by cars. But it was a great way to see the city, the back alleyways, and enjoy the sunshine. We stopped by the Sagrada Familia, the infamous cathedral of Barcelona that has been under construction since 1882 and still has a ways to go before it is finished. Designed by Gaudi, from the front it looks like a fairy tale castle, but from the back is much more linear and geometrical. We didn't go inside the cathedral because you have to pay an exorbitant amount of money and truly, the interesting stuff to look at is on the outside.

For lunch, our tour stopped at a cafe on the beach where we enjoyed sandwiches and wine while watching the sailboats float by on the waves. Biking through the city is the ideal way to see the sights I think. We got to see the Arc de Triomf, the old Roman walls, a building torn down by Hitler and then painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone, plus we got to hear all the stories behind the buildings, the little stories that make up the essence of Barcelona.

After the tour, Lucia and I made our way north to Parc Güell, a garden designed by Guadi which was originally meant to be a housing project for the elite of Barcelona, but due to its ecclectic design, never gained much popularity as a place to live. Located at the top of a hill, on the way up to the park it felt as if we had blundered into San Francisco. We even had to take a few escalators to the top. We wandered around there for a bit looking at the plaza, the houses, and the famous benches, when we ran into a friend of ours from Cordoba! Sometimes life just surprises you. Veronique was in Barcelona for a reunion with some friends and we had no idea she was going to be there. What are the odds that we would be in the same place at the same time in a city as large as Barcelona? So we walked around with Veronique and her friends for a bit before heading off on our own again.

Me, Lucia, and Veronique

Our next stop of the day was the Palau de la Musica, a concert hall which has Guadi-esque overtones, but was designed by an entirely different architect. We bought tickets to watch a concert of Catalan music complete with traditional dances. It was very fun to see and listen to and we snuck a few pictures even though technically pictures were prohibited. It was just too tempting not to. When the concert ended we quickly made our way across the city to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, an enormous fountain which has a lights display complete with music twice a night for spectators. We didn't get there in time to hear the music, but we did get to see the lights on the water and it was very peaceful to sit on nearby steps, just watching the colors play across the water. Then it was back to the hotel for some chill time.

The next day we got up early and went off to search for some more of Guadi's famous houses. We saw Casa Battlo, a house which looks like its balconies are made from large skulls and the supporting columns look like bones. Then we saw the Mila House which looks as if the stones were frozen in the midst of a ripple, with cave-like balconies. It was astounding to see buildings which look as if they came straight from a child's storybook. Then we stopped by the Olympic Park from the 1992 Summer Olympic games and toured around the area for a bit seeing the stadium and the basketball arena.

After that we went back to the beach for some delicious paella followed up by some gelato before making our way back to the airport for our flight back, which was an adventure. We thought we were early when we got to the bus station, but then discovered we were at the WRONG bus station and had to go 20 minutes across town to the other one. We barely made it on our bus to the airport before it pulled out of the station. We cut it close and I seriously thought we were going to miss our connections, but we were successful!

Here is the web address of my Facebook photo album for some more pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052886&id=11400089&l=f0c9a5c289

Karibu Kenya

2009-04-14T16:07:00.012+02:00

How does one begin to describe Africa, to describe Kenya? It is a country filled with breath-taking beauty at every turn, with exotic animals, endless savannahs, cleansing rains, and a sky so vast it fills you with awestruck wonder. And yet, at the same time, it is a country that is very familiar with poverty, with pain, with the realities of life that we don't experience in the United States. It is so hard to put into words the experience of Kenya. To describe the little things like driving where there are no stop signs or lights, where most of the roads are so full of potholes that people drive on the shoulder instead so their teeth don't rattle out of their heads, and how speed bumps sneak up on you out of nowhere. There are always people on the road, walking to and fro, driving in organized chaos that I couldn't seem to figure out.

Even after only 8 days in Kenya, it has a special place in my heart. The kids at Dagoretti Feed the Children with their soul-melting smiles, sparkling smiles, and laughter. I have never been more aware of the color of my skin than when walking in the market or driving down the street. At church with Tiffany, the congregation recognized first time visitors and made them stand up...naturally, I didn't really want to do that, but really it's kind of hard to blend in when you're white as a ghost...in fact, it's pretty much impossible. Haha, but I never felt more welcome somewhere, especially when I was invited up to tea after the service with the rest of the visitors.

I found out that I'm horrible at bargaining in the markets because it's a long process and because I couldn't for the life of me remember the conversion rate between dollars and shillings. Makes it rather hard to be a shrewd bargainer when you can't remember something as simple as that. However, the vendors are friendly and more often than not, by the end of a purchase I knew his or her name and we'd had a nice chat as businness mixed with conversation.

The week went by so fast that I couldn't believe my time was up Sunday night when I walked into Nairobi airport. I wanted to stay another couple weeks at least because it was great to see and hang out with Tiffany and because I wasn't ready to leave Kenya. I wanted to spend some more time there chatting with Kenyans, drinking chai, and going barefoot all day.

For more pix of Kenya here's a link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051921&id=11400089&l=aeee217ddf

March is almost over?!

2009-03-29T14:21:00.009+02:00

It seems like I was just writing a blog about Belgium and all my adventures there and now, I look at the calendar only to realize that March is almost over, which means that my time in Spain is rapidly coming to an end. I only have 2 more months over here, but I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. oh, I booked my ticket home, and I'll be touching U.S. soil Monday June 15th.

This last month was great. The weather was gorgeously warm, sunny and in the 70's, so I spent countless afternoons outside playing tennis with Ellen, reading in the park, or picnicing on the hill at the edge of town enjoying the mountains and olive trees. Sadly, we're now in a cold spell, and the temperature dropped 20 degrees so I'm back to my winter coat and huddling under blankets in the apartment to stay warm. Luckily, I'm leaving in four days for warmer lands. Semana santa (holy week) begins here in Spain at the end of the week, as Spaniards start preparing for Easter with parades and festivals. I, however, am catching a plane en route to Kenya in four days! I'm giddy with exciement because it's my first time to Africa and I get to see Tiffany, a friend from Hope who has been there since mid-September working in an orphanage outside the capital of Nairobi. I get to spend a whole 10 days with her experiencing life in Kenya and I couldn't be looking forward to it any more than I am already.

Anyway, quick recap of the month. Mid-month I got some wonderful visitors. Abby came to visit during her spring break from med school and brought two of her friends, Crystal and Dana, with her. After meeting them in the airport in Madrid, we bussed to Toledo. Toledo is a quaint little town on the side of a mountain. The Jewish, Moorish, and Christain cultures all meet there, each leaving their own indelible mark on the town in both custom and architecture. We spent

two days exploring the town, wandering through streets and only glancing at the map when we felt like we needed to find something to eat or make our way back to the hotel. Let me just say that walking through Toledo was my exercise for the month since the streets go up and down all over the place. My legs were feeling the burn a week afterward. Here are some pics of Toledo.

We made our way back south to Baeza because work was calling me. So Abby, Crystal, and Dana did some solo touring of Baeza, Ubeda, and Granada during my work week and I introduced them to the wonders of tapas. We celebrated St. Paddy's day at a pub here in Baeza, playing darts and talking with the locals. I was impressed. Dana, who knows only a handful of words in Spanish, had absolutely no problem making friends with Spaniards and managed some pretty good conversations when one considers the fact that neither participant in the conversation understood the language of the other.

Thursday afternoon we caught the bus to Madrid for a couple days of sightseeing around the city. We laid low for the night in our hotel, and set out early the next morning to the city center. We started the day right with a delicious breakfast of pan tostada (basically toast) fresh orange juice and a tortilla espanola (an omelette of egg and potato, which is my favorite Spanish food). Then we hooked up with a free English walking tour through the city. Now this was the most interesting part of the whole day. Apparently the tour guide guild in Madrid is boycotting this company that gives free tours, obviously because if there's a free tour, people are going to take it instead of paying a ridiculous amount of money for another guide. So about six guides were harassing our party, talking through the entire presentation and holding up signs in neon colors with slogans like "stop lying" and whatnot. It was kind of annoying, but I was very impressed with our guide because he was very polite to the hecklers and continued his tour through it all. He did an excellent job and knew lots of little stories about different sites in the city. And those kinds of stories are my favorite kinds. The company is called NewEurope Tours and they do the same thing in all the big cities in Europe including London, Amsterdam, and Edinburgh.

Then we took a lunch break which lasted for a good 2 hours in the true Spanish style, lingering over sangria and dessert. Afterward, the girls did a little bit of souvenier shopping and we walked across town to the Parque del Buen Retiro, a park with el Palacio cristal in the middle of it. Basically the palace is a huge building made of glass situated next to a lagoon with a fountain in the middle of it. From there, we went to the Reina Sofia, an art museum which houses works by Spanish artists such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Miro. The museum is huge and we only covered one floor before we were out of time and had to leave because it was closing time. That night it was dinner and to bed because the girls had to get to the airport bright and early for their flights.

The next day, back in Baeza, my roommate Ellen and I went to a nearby town called Cazorla with our friend Miguel Angel where we went hiking through the Sierras de Cazorla, the mountains there. It was so good to get out of the city and just walk around in nature for a while. We sat next to a waterfall and I just reveled in the joy of being outdoors without being surrounded by dozens of stone buildings. Later in the day we stopped by a paddock and rented some horses for an hour and took them for a trail ride through the countryside. Even though it rained on us twice in the course of an hour, it was seriously one of the best things I've done in a long time.

Since then, I've just been relaxing and saving some money for break.

Upcoming events include: Dan's birthday on April 1st (tapas here we come!)

Easter lessons with the kids :)

KENYA!

And TIFFANY!

Heading to Barcelona with Lucia, my first foray into northern Spain.

ok, signing off. I promise to tell you all about Kenya and post some pictures. Did I mention we're going on safari?

It is what it is...

2009-03-22T10:19:00.003+01:00

Surrounded

and yet, alone.

Laughing but sad.

Outwardly confident

but falling apart.

A brave coward.

A silent screamer.

A doubting believer

(or a believing doubter.)

A cynical romantic.

A shy comic.

Eyes filled with thought and hope,

with worries, and humor,

and plans for the future.

Embodying a youthful spark

and an elderly weariness.

Belgium: Home of Fries, Chocolate Waffles, and Delicious Chocolate

2009-03-09T15:18:00.005+01:00

Sleeping on the airport floor in order to save a bit of money by not renting a bed at a hostel sounds like a great idea. The execution of said idea is a bit more complicated when you factor in bright lights all night long, cold tile floors, and chilly breezes wafting in through the automatic sliding doors every time someone walks past them, all complimented by the announcement over the loudspeaker every half hour telling everyone what they already know… “Do not leave your baggage unattended. Do not accept anything from a stranger…” So, after about 4 solid hours of sleep at the airport after I finally fell asleep, curled in a ball with my coat draped over my head to make myself think it was both dark and warm, the Baeza crowd and I got on our flight from Madrid to Charlevoix, Belgium where we caught a train north to the famous (or infamous) city of Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam we discovered that it is not a place where using a bathroom is a right, but rather it is a privilege you must pay for, and even then you are not allowed to brush your teeth at the sink. Oh no, the sink is only for washing your hands. A horrible discovery when one has been traveling for over 24 hours and desperately needs to clean the grunge off one’s teeth. After that we stashed our backpacks in lockers at the train station and headed out into the city where bikes rule the roadways and there are canals on every block. Amsterdam is an amazingly picturesque city full of great architecture and cute little shops. After wandering around for a bit we made our way to the Anne Frank Museum, housed in the flat where the Frank family hid for years during World War II before they were discovered. I can’t even describe how powerful it was to walk through the empty rooms imagining living there in secrecy day after day, afraid that someone would find them. Walking through the quiet rooms, up the creaking stairs really made Anne Frank’s diary come alive. People spoke in whispers, in testament to the struggle and terror the place had witnessed, out of respect for the people who had lived out their last days within its walls.

Afterward, we found a little restaurant where we had dinner, walked to the Van Gogh Museum and discovered that it was more expensive than we expected and decided to bypass it. So instead we went to a café where we coincidentally met some Andalucians on vacation like us. We then walked through the Red Light District of Amsterdam, an area guaranteed to embarrass you if you pay any attention to the advertisements or the windows where girls pose provocatively in skimpy clothing. And yet again, we didn’t rent a bed at a hostel so we spent the night moving from pub to pub, to McDonalds, to Burger King, buying a beverage here and a sandwich there in order to secure a table so we could sit in out of the cold and drizzle. When the train station opened at 5 a.m. we actually found a couch to sit on in the waiting room there and sat in an exhausted stupor for a few hours, drifting into sleep only to be awakened by station employees who were under the impression that we thought the train station was a hotel. We were well aware of the fact that it wasn’t, but I’m sorry, when you’re running on 4 or so hours of sleep in 48 hours, you sleep when you stop moving. And we’d stopped moving.

So we caught the train back to Belgium, to Ellen’s (my apartment mate) house in Kortemark, a small sleepy little town where we finally crashed and slept for a solid 7 hours. It was heavenly. That night we traveled to Ghent, the town where Ellen went to university, where we met up with some of her friends and got to experience the nightlife of a university town.

The next day we piled into a car and drove to Bruges, about 45 minutes away. We walked around for a bit. Then we made our way to a local brewery where we took an hour tour of the old brewery, a very informative tour made more enjoyable by the guide who had a wickedly dry sense of humor that caught you a bit off guard if you weren’t expecting it. At the end of the tour we got a complimentary pale ale, which we enjoyed in the pub there. Then we decided to take a riverboat tour of the city, through the canals throughout Bruges. It was really neat to see the city and its buildings from the water and to listen to the guide talk about the city. Justi and I decided we were going to live in Bruges someday. Then we drove back to Kortemark where we had another delicious meal (Ellen’s parents were wonderful hosts who introduced us to great varieties of scrumptious Belgian food), watched a bit of TV, relaxed, and went to sleep.

Our last and final day in Belgium, we took the train to Brussels, a 2 hour trip made longer by the fact that we accidentally got into the bicycle car where there weren’t many seats and thus had to stand for most of the trip there. We visited St. Michael’s Cathedral where you could go down into the basement area and look at ruins under the church. Then we stopped by a famous statue/fountain called Manneken Pis. There are many different legends about its origins but essentially it is a statue of a small boy peeing. If you are interested in the legends take a look atit on Wikipedia. They’re actually pretty funny. The boy has several hundred different costumes that he wears throughout the year. Hunger drove us to find anywhere to eat and we got lucky because we found a cute little sandwich shop which reminded me a bit of Subway, but with gourmet ingredients and having to order in French. The next stop was the European Union Parliament where we got to tour the parliament building for free with an audio commentary. It was really neat to see such an important building and to hear about what goes on there. Then we hopped on the metro and took it to the outskirts of town where we walked to the Atomium, a huge sculpture of an iron crystal which was created for the Brussel’s World Fair in 1958. Then it was back to Kortemark for dinner and sleep before we got up early and began a solid 14 hours of travel back to Baeza.

The long weekend was absolutely fantastic although I spent last week recovering from all the travel and catching up on sleep a bit. More pictures are soon to come. Oh, also, my dad’s birthday was two days ago! So Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you and mom are having fun in Australia with Steve!

Road Trip Down South

2009-02-20T15:56:00.011+01:00

The Rock of Gibraltar

Lots and lots to report since I last wrote. This past weekend I undertook my first big travel weekend since Christmas break. January was spent relaxing and preparing for the upcoming months of crazy travel and visiting new and interesting sights. Anyway, I've been busy the last week and a half because my parents were here to visit!!!! I have been looking forward to their visit for a while so I could show them around my new country. I mean, you can tell people about your new town, the people you hang out with regularly, and everything. Describe it in intricate detail and still, they have to actually experience to understand what life is like for you. So I had a great time introducing them to Spanish cuisine, the custom of eating tapas instead of dinner, and the oddity of the Spanish siesta in the middle of the day.

They drove down to Baeza from Madrid on a Wednesday and Thursday after school, we packed our bags, loaded the car, and set out for a great adventure along the southern coastline of Spain. Our first stop was Malaga, a huge port city southeast of Baeza. We stayed at an awesome hotel outside town up on the mountainside. Had a few moments of anxiety as we tried to coax our car straight up the mountain along small twisty turny roads. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the hotel and the next day took a taxi into the city center where we wandered around all day. We walked through the Alcazar (spanish fortress) and then walked up to the Gibralfaro Castle, settled on the peak of a mountain. And yes, we did walk up there. We were planning on searching out the elevator that supposedly goes from the Alcazar up to the Castle, but for some lunatic reason we got carried away and decided to do the climb under our own steam. A half hour later, after mulitple stops, we arrived at the top, struggling for air, to the welcome sight of a little store selling much needed refreshments.

Later we wandered down to the beach where we had lunch at a cafe while watching the waves roll in. Then we stopped by the Cathedral and the Picasso museum before snagging a taxi back to the hotel, which was interesting because we talked to many different drivers before finding one who even attempted to figure out where our hotel was. For a bit, I was almost panicking, trying to negotiate with the drivers in Spanish with my parents looking on expectantly, more than ready to sit down and rest at the hotel. It all worked out though. Whew!

The next day we continued our journey, stopping in the tiny village of Mijas thirty minutes outside Malaga. It's a total tourist town, but gorgeous at the same time simply because it is a traditional white village perched on the side of a mountain looking down toward the

Mediterranean Sea. Then we went on to Algeciras and our hotel where we checked in and then caught the bus to the border between Spain and Gibraltar. Walking into Gibraltar was crazy. It was as if a posh London burrough was dropped at the foot of a huge rock in the south of Spain. There were English pubs, upscale British stores, and the signs were all in English. A shock to the system after 4 months of living in a little Spanish town where people rarely speak English and signs are never in English. In order to reach the city, we had to walk across their airport runway, since the whole place is so compact. I don't know what I was expecting at Gibralter but I definitely didn't know it was such a big city. There are 30,000 people living there, packed between the water and the foot of the Rock. We took the cable car up to the top of the Rock, where we were greeted by curious and very bold Barbary apes, Europe's only wild apes. They were just milling around up there, ready to make friends with anyone who was foolish enough to offer them food. And if you even reached for your bag, they thought you had food, something Mom learned when she went for her camera and an ape tried to stick his hand in her purse! We toured the town, had a traditional English dinner of Fish and Chips and headed back to our hotel, which was built originally for British travelers on their way to Gibraltar. So we were keeping with tradition.

We got a good night's sleep and the next morning, as is our pattern, we drove further west to Cadiz. On our way there we went through fields and fields of windmills whirling industriously from the wind blowing in off the Atlantic Ocean. The wind continued to blow all day while we were in Cadiz, occasionally making it feel as if you were battling for every step you took. Our hotel was in the new part of Cadiz, but we walked into old Cadiz, along the waterfront, enjoying the sunshine. We walked through the ruins of a Roman theater. I didn't know before I visited the city, but Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Spain, founded by the Phoenicians, a maritime civilization, in 1100 BC. We explored two of the three castles built along the coast as fortifications against attack since Cadiz is in a very strategic location near the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. We had the opportunity to watch the inhabitants getting ready for Carnaval, which is actually this weekend (Feb 20-22), putting up decorations, posters, and generally preparing for a time of crazy partying in which a huge amount of Spanish tourists descend on the town, ready for a good time.

Sadly, then our road trip was at an end, since I had to be back in Baeza for an inconvenient thing called work. But I showed the parents around Baeza, and Ubeda, the town 15 minutes away. That was actually a fun thing to do, since after living here for 4 months, I still hadn't actually seen the historical parts of Ubeda. Tragic, I know, but now that is remedied and I was amazed to discover how much there is in Ubeda that I didn't know about. But today, my parents are on their way back to the good ole United States of America, I'm sure ready for a vacation from their vacation.

As for me, I'm just gearing up for some more travel. This Thursday is the beginning of a long long weekend in Andalucia. We get five days off, so the Baeza crew is traveling to Belgium to see Ellen's homeland where they eat french fries and chocolate every day and wash it down with a glass of beer. Then it's March and I get to look forward to more visitors! Abby and some of her friends from med school are coming to visit for a week so I'm planning some fun little trips for us. Woohoo! So much to look forward to!

to see some more pics from the trip go to this website : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049633&id=11400089&l=e102c

The view from our hotel in Malaga

Some wisdom to ponder...

2009-02-05T19:45:00.003+01:00

Caminar a solas es posible pero el buen andariego sabe que el gran viaje es el de la vida y require compañero. - D.H. Camera

To walk alone is possible but the good traveller knows that the greatest trip is that of life and it requires companions.

Odds and Ends

2009-01-13T12:01:00.003+01:00

Wow, there is so much to tell. I'm not going to write out every single detail of the last few weeks otherwise we would both be here for hours and my fingers would fall off from typing so much. Suffice it to say that the last few weeks have been great. I got to spend some time with Steve in Madrid, and Granada where we met up with his friend Baxter (from whom I inherited the absolute best pair of warm pants to wear when the heating goes out at my apartment). I introduced him to Doner Kebab, a delicious turkish wrap thing that just oozes goodness when you bite into it. After Steve left, I met my roommate Ellen and her brother at the airport in Madrid and we drove to Sevilla for a few days of sightseeing and New Year's Eve. (sidenote: it is virtually impossible to find parking in these Spanish cities.) Sevilla is one of my favorite cities in Spain so far. It is a big city but it doesn't feel like it is. We visited the Arab palace there, saw the Cathedral (where we climbed 35 flights of ramps up the tower at a brisk pace to look out over the city), and rang in the New Year eating 12 grapes in a plaza with all the other foreigners in Sevilla. All the Spaniards were at home with their families and hundreds of tourists gathered together in front of the clock tower to count down to midnight. It didn't really work that well because there was no way to actually tell when it was midnight because the clock wasn't digital, but we ate our grapes anyway (and did a countdown about 3 times for good measure).

Then Ellen and I went back to Baeza about a week before everyone else got back and just bummed around the city. We went out on the town that weekend and it was so much fun. There was an entirely different crowd out and about because everyone is home for the holidays. We met a huge group of people around our age who are currently going to university in other cities. They wanted to practice their English so we had a great time that night, but I was sad to discover that none of them actually live in Baeza anymore. I was kind of hoping we could hang out with them some more in the months to come. That same night, as the bar was closing, the bartender (whom i don't know) walked up to me and asked me if I lived on Calle Rojo, which I do. He proceeded to tell me exactly which building i live in on Calle Rojo. Just goes to show that in a small town it's kind of hard to fly under the radar when you're a foreigner.

That same night, I received a kind of back handed compliment. I was talking to someone and out of the blue they just came out and started talking about how I speak Spanish. It was really interesting to hear from a native speaker what they thought of my accent, pronunciation, etc. Apparently I'm pretty good at pronunciation, but could do with a little brush up on vocabulary. This I already knew. But at least i can get my point across when I need to. So my New Year's resolution is to study more Spanish vocab.

Anyway, the other English teachers have slowly trickled back into Baeza and it's been great to hear all about their trips and visits home and good to hang out with them again. Over break I was feeling very homesick, especially after Steve left, since holidays are meant to be spent with family. But I can honestly say, that right now, in this instant, I feel at peace with it all. I like where I am and I feel like Baeza is becoming a home. Took me three months, but better late than never right?

I got my hair cut yesterday. It's short, and definitely a Spanish style, but I like it. And I needed a cut. The hairdresser literally told me that I had a mountain of hair on my head.

oh, at the link below are pictures from break and my vacations with Steve, Baxter, Ellen, and her brother. We had some good times!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047751&l=10bbe&id=11400089

I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams

2008-12-20T00:13:00.007+01:00

Two weeks ago, we had another puente(long weekend) here, which means a day off of school. Lucia and I used it to go skiing in the Sierra Nevadas right outside Granada. It was so much fun, and incredibly challenging. I haven't been skiing in 4 years and even then I've only really been skiing at Swiss Valley in southern Michigan, which is great and all, but I don't think the terrain there qualifies as mountainous by a long shot. It's the first time I've ever had to pop my ears multiple times while skiing down a slope. We spent a wonderful day and a half riding ski lifts up the mountain and flying down the crystal white powder (and in some cases ice). It was a great time. I talked to a Spaniard on the bus up the mountain and he said that they'd never had as much snow as they did that weekend but that they ski year round in the Sierra Nevadas. In the summer, they walk up the mountain to the very top and ski in shorts! Crazy, eh?

Well, school is finished for the year here and for the next two weeks I have absolutely no responsibilities (job-wise) so there are endless possibilities for travel and general enjoyment of Spain. I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks. I leave tomorrow on the afternoon bus to Madrid to pick up my brother, Steve. He's going to be here for 1 week and I get to show him around! So I get a taste of home for Christmas which is nice otherwise I'm sure I'd get a bit homesick next week. It'll be great to see him and spend some time with him before he takes off for Australia this coming semester. This is also the first time that everyone in Baeza has split up since we got here in October. We're all going different places with different people, although our paths will cross in the next few weeks as we explore on our own. After Steve leaves, I'm meeting up with Ellen, my apartment- mate and we're going to Seville with her brother for New Year's Eve where we will partake of the traditional Spanish celebration which includes eating 12 grapes at midnight. Apparently you have to eat all 12 grapes by the time the clock is finished striking midnight, and if you are successful you are rewarded with 12 months of prosperity and good luck. If not....well, you get the picture...

This week was a lot of fun at school with all the activities and the festive air. Papa Noel (Santa Claus) came to visit the classes and brought candy for everyone. We sang Christmas carols in English. I taught my kids "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and they were all very excited about learning the song.

A plate of holiday treats mysteriously appeared in the teacher's lounge at school and refilled every night. I admit, I ate more than my fair share of cookies and chocolates. Los tres reyes magos (the three kings) came to visit, bringing everyone gifts and scaring the youngest of the children so bad that they cried. They brought me a beautiful bound agenda, which would be extremely useful if I had anything I had to write down, but since life is pretty simple here, I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of it. Baeza is also looking pretty festive. There are Christmas lights up all over town, a Christmas tree in the middle of the roundabout downtown, and a nativity scene you can visit. All this is made better by the fact that the weather has been gorgeous and in the 40's all week.

Well next time I update my blog, it's going to be 2009. It's weird to think that a year has gone by again and that this time last year, I was finishing up exams at Hope and now I'm hanging out in Spain. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to bother with the whole New Year's resolutions thing. Most of the time I just ignore the whole tradition because I can never stick to my resolutions and I don't kid myself about being able to. Either that, or I can't really come up with any good ones that seem worth my time and effort. However, I've recently decided to revisit the whole thing so I might come up with a resolution in the next couple of weeks. Who knows...new country...I might be inspired. Anyway, until next time everyone! Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! Celebrate with style and enjoy time with the ones you love!

We FINALLY have HEAT!

2008-12-11T10:37:00.001+01:00

after a week and a half without heating, someone finally showed up last night to fill our gasoline tank! Now I can walk around the apartment without wearing every last article of clothing i own.

Thanksgiving as an expat

2008-12-04T10:07:00.002+01:00

Thanksgiving is weird in Spain because, unlike Halloween or Christmas, the people here have no idea what the holiday is about. So there are no festivities and no holiday spirit bursting out of people. I spent Thanksgiving day teaching all my little kidlins about the Pilgrims and how important Thanksgiving dinner is. The concept of Black Friday astounded them no end, not surprising since I think it's all pretty crazy and I've grown up with the event.

We managed to score a turkey for our dinner, which we held on Saturday. Dan, my apartment-mate has been tutoring for a pretty well-off family and he happened to ask where we could find a turkey in the fine country of Spain since they aren't all that common. Turns out the family has a farm, and offered to kill, butcher, and defeather a turkey just for us! So we had a very fresh bird for our dinner. So Saturday morning I woke up, stuck the turkey in the oven to slowly roast throughout the day, and made some brownies for dessert.

Then I went to the bus station to pick up my friend Baxter, who came over from Granada to visit for a bit. I took him downtown to the medieval festival that was going on. There were lots of craft booths, homemade food booths, and a couple restaurant stands where we grabbed some drinks. A medieval festival in Spain has overtones of the Arabic culture though since the country was occupied by Muslims from 700 AD to almost the end of the 1400s. So there were musicians playing Arabic music walking the streets. I was going to give Baxter the big tour of Baeza, but it was freezing and then it started to rain so we headed back to the apartment to hang out.

Later that evening we gathered up all our food and headed over to our friends' apartment where the celebration was to take place. It was an international Thanksgiving and I think all the Europeans involved began to understand why we enjoy the holiday so much. I mean, who wouldn't be excited about a holiday dedicated to eating lots of great food. We had turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple cobbler, mashed potatos, pasta, corn, and green beans. We stuffed ourselves silly and went back for more. All in all, there were 16 of us there for Thanksgiving, 10 of which were from somewhere in Europe and 6 of us from the United States so we were way outnumbered. My new family had a blast though and we rounded out the night by watching Love Actually, ringing in the Christmas season.

On a somewhat related topic, but not continuing the above story: we got our Christmas tree yesterday! We had to order it and were a bit worried that it would turn out to be an olive tree (the only tree that you see when you ride the bus anywhere around here), but it's a genuine pine tree that smells exactly like Christmas! yay!

heeeeey there....

2008-12-03T12:06:00.002+01:00

i am absolutely horrible at keeping this thing up to date. Even though I have plenty of time to write everything down, somehow this just doesn't get done as often as it should. And now there's a lot to report so i'm probably not going to do it the justice it deserves. Since I last wrote, we've had two birthday celebrations, gone to Córdoba, had a wonderfully international Thanksgiving celebration, and experienced our first Spanish snowfall. See what I mean? A lot has happened.

We had two birthdays in November and as we need little excuse to celebrate and have a party, we planned some fun things to do for each birthday. Both Lucia and Ellen turned 23 here in Spain. For Lucia's birthday we checked out the nightlife in Baeza, staying out until 6 in the morning, presenting gifts, and having a great dinner at a nice restaurant that gave us free dessert (always a good thing) because we were with the birthday girl. Now the interesting part of the story. The night of Lucia's birthday there was a city-wide blackout in Baeza so we had to make preparations by the light of our computer screens and cell phones. Being newcomers to the country, we, of course, didn't have a single flashlight or candle. So when the batteries on our computers began to die, Ellen and I trekked across town through perilously dark winding streets in the pitch black to the only place in town that seemed to have power, the supermarket! There we loaded up on matches, candles, and birthday cake. The power outage didn't really put much of a hitch in our plans, just made the search for a restaurant that was actually open a bit tricky, but we prevailed and the festivities continued.

For Ellen's big day we decided to move the fun times to Córdoba, a city about three hours away by bus (much closer by car) that is famous for the Mesquita, an old Moorish temple that was converted to a Christian church when the Catholics drove the Muslims out of southern Spain in the late 1400's. We have some fellow auxiliares there teaching english that had some free floor space where we set up our air mattress and crashed for the weekend. We got there Friday night, went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner ( believe you me, good Mexican food is hard to find here) and then I went to my first movie in the theater in Spain! We saw Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond movie dubbed in Spanish. It was definitely an experience. I understood most of what was going on throughout the movie, but didn't catch those smart one liners Bond is always throwing around. Most of the group who went to the movies ended up taking a nap in the theater since it was all in Spanish, but I stuck it out, amazingly. The next day, we walked around the city, saw the Mesquita and toured the surrounding neighborhood. That night we had a family dinner of spaghetti and homemade birthday cake. Sunday morning we got up early and made our way to the Arab baths, one of the most relaxing experiences of my life. For an hour and a half, we wandered between the sauna, a warm pool, a cold pool, and a hot pool, followed by a massage (my first ever!) and by the end of the time I felt like a limp noodle. Then, we leisurely made our way to Bar Santo, a restaurant known for their potato tortilla (like a potato omelet) which is delicious. Then we walked down by the river and took a nap in the grass, enjoying the magnificent weather and getting stared at by all the passers-by. Eventually we mustered up enough energy to move, met some friends of friends, and then walked to the bus station to catch the last bus back to Baeza. It was the perfect weekend!

7 days later, it snowed for the first time since I got to Spain. One weekend I was walking around in a T-shirt and the next I was bundled up in my winter coat with gloves and a hat. Talk about a drastic change. It was good practice because Monday morning I woke up and discovered that during the night we had run out of gasoline to power our heating so it was freezing. Now it's Wednesday and we still don't have any heat because the gas man hasn't been able to come. Fingers crossed he comes today otherwise i'm going to freeze to death soon. I have a thermometer on my clock and it is currently 52 degrees inside our apartment and 41 outside! Ridiculous!

You Know You're Living in Spain When...

2008-11-16T18:26:00.005+01:00

...you have at least one bottle of olive oil in your kitchen cupboard at all times.

...everything except restaurants close from 2-5 for siesta.

...you go to the store every day for freshly baked bread.

...most of the boys have both a faux hawk and a mullet and they think it's cool.

...all children under age 12 have at least 1 tracksuit they wear to school a week and they have a backpack on wheels.

...you walk in the middle of the street instead of on the sidewalk because it's only 2 feet wide.

...you're not worried about getting run over while you're out walking. You're worried about stepping in dog poop.

...people regularly stay out until 7 in the morning.

...you don't eat lunch until 2 pm or dinner until 10 pm. Ever.

...there are three basic food groups: ham, bread, and wine.

...you don't turn on the heat, you huddle around the brasero instead. (a brasero is like a space heater you put under a table)

...most television programs are American programs dubbed in Spanish.

...people don't say "shhhh" when they want you to be quiet, they say "chhh"

...a small jar of peanut butter costs about 4 euro (that's 5 dollars).

...you can get pretty much anywhere you want to go by bus.

...you've been to a BOTELLÓN.

...carpet is hard to come by.

...you greet people by kissing them on each cheek.

...you leave your apartment at 8:45 because you had to be somewhere at 8:30 and you want to be early.

Pizza and Pasta Done Right: Milan, Italy

2008-11-09T15:20:00.006+01:00

Last Monday, the schools in Spain had a national holiday so there wasn't any school. Like any good traveler, Dan, Lucia, Ellen, and I took advantage of our free day, taking a long weekend trip to Milan, Italy to see what we could see. However, the story of our trip to Milan actually starts in Madrid on Thursday afternoon/night. Highlights of Madrid include: becoming intimately acquainted with a metro station trashcan when I got sick and then watching a man pull a newspaper out of the same trashcan right after I puked in it. Hanging out with Enrique, a 29 year old Spanish consultant Lucia and I met through Couchsurfing.com, a website where people from around the world offer their couches to people who are traveling and need a cheap place to stay. Only getting 3 and a half hours of sleep before our early morning flight to Milan.

We got to the Malpensa airport outside Milan before noon and discovered that it is VERY far outside the city and we had to take an hour bus ride to the center of town, during which I appeared as if I was suffering from narcolepsy due to my lack of sleep from the night before. I could not, for the life of me, keep my eyes open the entire time. We made our way through the city on the Metro system and finally found out hostel, Hotel Piola, located near one of the best pizza joints I’ve been to in a while, and home to Loki, the cutest white Boxer in the world.

It rained all Friday night as we trekked through the city to the Natural History Museum, and of course, I left my umbrella, which I was smart enough to pack, in our hotel room. The Natural History Museum was really neat and it had one of the best collections I have seen, especially a great collection of dinosaur skeletons and some rocking animal dioramas. Then we made our way back toward the hotel and had dinner at a nice little restaurant where we sampled delicious Italian pasta and risotto.

The next day we went into Milan with a battle plan since we had so much we wanted to see and not a lot of time to see it in. First on the agenda was a visit to Castello Sforzesco, a castle built in 1368 which now houses various museums and archives. After seeing the Castello and marveling at how incredibly old it is, we took the metro to Piazza del Duomo, one of the signature sights in Milan. It is a major tourist attraction with the cathedral Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuale II flanking it. I also believe that the piazza is the hang out of nearly every pigeon in northern Italy because you couldn’t walk five steps without almost smashing at least 3 pigeons.

We then walked to the Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural The Last Supper. The set up for visiting the painting was very high tech. You buy a ticket for a 15 minute time slot and when you arrive you are shepherded through a series of rooms which are closed off by timed automatic doors. You have to go through two rooms before you even reach the room with the mural in it. Being able to stand in front of the painting, knowing that someone painted it hundreds of years ago, left me a bit awestruck and then the only thing I could think about was the movie “The Da Vinci Code” and what it said about the painting.
So after visiting the mural, we walked back to the Piazza del Duomo to take a closer look at the cathedral. We wandered around inside for about a half hour before we discovered the fact that you could climb about a billion stairs up a tower to get to the roof of the cathedral. After climbing for 10 minutes at an amazingly fast pace up a cramped spiral staircase in which you had to plaster yourself against the wall to get past people coming down the stairs, I arrived that the coolest gathering place in Milan, 90 meters in the air. You could see the entire city of Milan from the rooftop and the Alps in the far distance to the north. Then we walked over to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a glass covered shopping arcade housing prestigious stores such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and McDonalds…seriously, not kidding here…McDonalds was right there alongside some of the top fashion names in the world.

We spent the rest of the night walking around, looking at shops, eating dinner, perusing a really neat sidewalk exhibition about the universe, and helping Dan find the perfect winter coat…cough cough, excuse me, coats. He got two so now he’s set for a lifetime of winters.

Sunday, we checked out of our hostel, dropped our bags in storage at the train station and took the early afternoon train to the city of Como on Lake Como, one hour outside Milan. The city was founded in its current location by Julius Ceaser and the ruins of the old city walls along with a castle are good sights to see. If I spoke Italian and had enough money, I would move to Como in a heartbeat. The town is gorgeous, on the water and surrounded by mountains. It has a lot of shops, great gelato, and many celebrities have homes there like George Clooney, Madonna, and Sylvester Stallone.

We spent the day touring Como and discovering its hidden secrets before we took the train back to Milan, where we picked up our bags, stopped in at a sports exhibit that was open until 10:30 pm, then found a café for some late night snacks and drinks before we went back to the train station to wait out the night. Our flight back to Madrid left at 6:30 am Monday morning and we didn’t want to spend the money for another night in the hostel so we spent the night in the train station waiting room with the homeless and other travelers playing cards and talking to people there. We met a group of American students studying abroad in Italy who were coming back from Greece. We caught the 4:15 bus to the airport and thus began a solid 14 hours of travel from Milan back to Baeza via one plane and three different buses.

To top the whole journey off I accidentally left my passport on the bus from Granada to Baeza, so I spent Monday night freaking out and worrying. However, I am extremely blessed because the next day the director at my school went with me to the bus station and asked about it. Turns out my passport only made it to the next town over and they had a bus driver bring it to Baeza with the next bus, so I was missing my passport for less than 12 hours. Life is extremely good sometimes.

I’m putting a link on here to my Facebook photo album of Milan for everyone to see, so enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045423&l=44cc8&id=11400089

Now I know why People Siesta in Spain

2008-10-20T23:46:00.004+02:00

This weekend was a marathon of fun. Thursday everyone in Baeza took the early bus to Jaen, the capital of our province to apply for our NIE, the national identity card that means we can stay past the 3 months we get with our student visa. So we spent the morning in a government office, talking to officials and running to a store nearby that had a copier when we found out we needed to copy literally every official document we had. We had to copy every last page of our passports. Even the empty ones. Don’t ask me why. That’s just the rule. Anyway, the paperwork is all in and in a month, I should be officially offical.

Friday began the festivities. This last week, Jaen hosted a feria, or fair, the likes of which we have never seen in the United States. Maybe Mardi Gras comes close. It’s basically a week full of good food, late nights, and lots of fun times. Dan, Lucia, Ellen, Meg, and I caught the bus to Jaen Friday afternoon loaded down with our backpacks. We met up with some auxiliaries who are teaching and living in Jaen and were kind enough to let us sleep on their couches and floor for the weekend. The night didn’t even start until 9 when we went out for tapas, something I have grown to love here. Basically tapas are great appetizer food, but in the best places you get a free tapa with each drink you buy, whether it’s alcoholic or not. It’s a good way to get free food along with a refreshing beverage. After tapas we headed to Botellon, which consisted of a large open plaza area where hundreds of people gather with drinks, whiling away the hours talking and meeting new people. Botellon was right next to a concert area, so of course we had to stop by when a concert started up. Did I mention that this concert didn’t start until 1 in the morning? No? Well it did. Crazy, eh? After the concert we went back to Botellon, which was nice because I got to meet some more auxiliaries who had come to town for feria.

Now, we didn’t actually make it to the feria until 4 am. And this is why Spaniards love their siestas. The feria is like the local fair multiplied by infinity. There are food tents when you walk in, and then you are surrounded by huge tents with dance floors blasting every type of music you could imagine. The next couple of hours were spent migrating from tent to tent, sampling music and dancing our feet off. I have never seen that many people out and about and having fun at 6 in the morning. There were three levels to the feria but we didn't make it past the first one before the night was over. We crashed for the day, the day mind you, at 7 in the morning and slept until 2, got up, took showers, fed ourselves, rested some more and then started the whole process again on Saturday night. We had a get together with auxiliaries, hit up botellon, got to the feria at 4 and danced till 7:30 am when we tore ourselves away to get some delicious gofres con chocolate (waffles with cholocate sauce drizzled on them), swung back by the apartment, picked up our backpacks and caught the 9:30 bus back to Baeza. Needless to say, everyone was running on empty by then. Here’s a great picture of Dan and Caroline at the bus station while we were waiting for the bus to arrive. It pretty much illustrates how unbearably tired we all were.

I got to recover a bit more today since I don’t work on Mondays until 4:30 at another school called Perez de Valdivia Formadores, where I teach a class of 12 kids who are in the equivelant of middle school in the States. There’s really no curriculum I’m supposed to follow, I just have to help them speak English, so I’ve been having fun with them, and they’ve been pretty cooperative so far. Although none of them actually seem to want to speak English and I end up speaking more Spanish there while I’m “teaching English” than I do anywhere else.

Today I finally went to the bank and opened up a bank account. I should get my debit card in about a week so when I get a check from work I can actually do something with it. I should be getting my medical insurance information soon too. So after I get that stuff, I think all the important things are taken care of here. Cell phone: check, job: check, NIE: check, bank account: check, Spanish friends to hang out with: working on that one.

Gallivanting through Granada

2008-10-13T20:12:00.004+02:00

About 10 o’clock Saturday night, my friends and I decided for sure that we wanted to head to Granada Sunday for a quick visit. We're a little last minute, but hey, we have fun. We left Baeza on the 8:15 bus and spent the day walking around the city and visiting all the sights.

We arrived at the bus station around 10 and made our way to the Parque de Ciencias or the Science Park, which is a museum complex. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Granada with a planetarium, an animal exhibit, and a whole bunch of hands on exhibits about energy and motion. It reminded me a lot of the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, one of my favorite places, so I had a lot of fun. This picture is of the tower at the Museum. After checking out everything at the Museum we hopped on the tourist bus, you know, those double-decker buses that take you around cities with a guided commentary. Of course we sat on top, getting a much better view of our surroundings and being periodically attacked by renegade tree branches if we didn’t move out of the way fast enough. They’re brutal. I know. I got hit in the face twice. Apparently I just don’t pay close enough attention to my surroundings and/or my reflexes suck.

We got off the bus around the Cathedral and discovered that there was a Renaissance fair going on. The streets were lined with booths selling pottery, jewelry, and knickknacks galore. There were also performers on the streets, making the whole place feel like a big festival. The gypsies were also out in force, trying to sell fortunes and asking for money insistently. You quickly learn to say no loudly and firmly and then ignore them even when they keep harassing you. Lucia got cussed out using this method, but it worked. We got doner kabobs for lunch (meat wrapped in a tortilla with whatever other ingredients you want with it) and sat on the steps of the Cathedral (in the picture) waiting for it to open at 4.

Spent some time wandering around the Cathedral, and then stopped by the Capilla Real, or Royal Chapel, right next door. Now the Capilla was pretty cool. It houses the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel, the King and Queen of Spain around the time of Christopher Columbus. They ruled the country when the Christians recaptured the majority of Spain from the Moors. Ok, history lesson is finished for the day. Just needed to explain why it’s an important place.

Next stop on our route was the Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fort that Granada is famous for, located up the mountain right on the edge of town. We spent about 2 and a half hours walking around the gardens that surround the Alhambra and then trekking through the different parts of the Alhambra. It was gorgeous to see. The architecture was incredibly intricate and I can’t imagine how long it took to create these buildings with their fountains, walkways, and detailed stone carvings.

When we made it down the mountain we discovered that there had been a parade through town celebrating the national holiday. The buses weren’t running and Dan and I needed to make it all the way across town to the bus station to catch the last bus back to Baeza. We parted ways with Ellen and Lucia with only a bus route map in hand, hoping that the buses would start running soon so we could make it in time. We walked for quite a long time, around an hour, steadily making our way toward our destination. After a bit, it looked like the buses were running again so we decided to wait for the bus that would take us straight to the station; however, the bus never came. With twenty five minutes left before we would be stuck in Granada for the night, we took off speed walking through town. Our map didn’t have street names, and I don’t know how we did it, but we didn’t get lost at all. All I know is that I was following Dan through the streets of Granada in the dark at a run, hoping beyond all hope that we wouldn’t miss the bus. Now, you all know how much I exercise, so I hope you appreciate the sheer hilariousness of this picture. We raced into the bus station, bought our tickets, and dropped into our seats exhausted and out of breath.

I start back to school tomorrow, and it’s my first day teaching in the afternoons at another school. Wish me luck!

This is inside the Cathedral

Thoughts on being a World away from Home

2008-10-09T12:32:00.002+02:00

So by the end of week two I feel a whole lot more comfortable here in Spain. I can understand people when she speak to me in Spanish and I only have to ask them to repeat themselves a couple times now as opposed to half a billion. Plus, I've been reading the newspaper in Spanish everyday so that's helping, reading about the banking crisis in another language is really confusing, let me tell you.

I finally got my teaching schedule and I ended up having a four day weekend every week, so I'm planning on doing quite a bit of traveling this year if the finances hold up. Lucia and I already booked a flight to Milan for the end of the month to celebrate her birthday, so that should be a blast.

I also fell into another teaching job on monday-wednesday afternoons. Dan, one of my apartment-mates told me about the opportunity and said that if I was interested I could walk over to the place with him one evening to hear details. We got there, the woman in charge sat us down for about 10 minutes and then got up, took us to a classroom, and told us to get started! It was a little unexpected, but I only had one student to work with so I managed to bs my way through it pretty easily.

I really like teaching at the primary school here and the kids make it so much fun. True, they rarely listen and hardly ever behave when you want them to, but they are so excited about life. I assist with classes ranging from 2nd year all the way to 6th year so I have a broad spectrum of ages and ability. Right now, they're all fascinated with me, waving whenever I walk by them, saying hi and bye bye. In almost every class, they tend to ask questions about the piercing in my ear since it's not common over here. When I catch them staring at me in the middle of class, it's usually because I've tucked my hair behind my ear and they can see the bar in my ear. It's really funny to see their looks of shock.

I finally got some pictures of Baeza for you all to look at. I put them in a Facebook album since it takes forever to upload them on this blog. You should be able to see them at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043968&l=40bce&id=11400089

and just so everyone knows, it's not warm here even though it's near the Mediterranean. It gets down to the 50s at night and tile floors really don't help keep the piso warm. This week we figured out how to turn on the warm water, so I had my first warm shower a couple days ago. It felt wonderful! If there's one thing I can't live without, it's a warm shower.

2008-10-02T19:31:00.004+02:00

My first day at school was two days ago and for not having any idea what was going to happen, things worked out perfectly. I showed up at San Juan de la Cruz (my school) a little before 9, which is when class starts over here. I hung out outside with the kids for a bit before I saw the teachers entering the building and decided I couldn't be a creeper any longer. In a matter of five minutes I met a dizzying array of teachers and I feel horrible admitting this, but I don't remember a single one of their names. I'm pretty bad with names to begin with and meeting so many people at once really just compounded my naturally defective memory.

Anyway, I got a tour of the school, which is pretty big and situated in this really old building with tall ceilings and stuccoed walls. I sat in on English classes with a professor who is 23. It was really quite entertaining when the kids walked into the classroom, saw me, and asked their crazy questions such as whether I was his wife. The kids are really fun, have tons of energy, and really don't seem to focus on their studies too much :) In one class the only thing they had to do was copy down 7 sentences in 45 minutes from the chalkboard and the majority of them didn't even get that finished.

I haven't really gotten to do much with the students so far. I've just been observing class and taking it all in. I should get my schedule for work on Monday so hopefully then someone will tell me what I can do with the students so I feel like I'm doing something productive. It's actually quite boring sitting at the front of the classroom for 4 and a half hours listening to someone else teach.

Lucia, Dan, and I have been on a mission the last couple of days to get mobile phones so we can stay in touch with each other and our schools. So we've been traisping around town, comparing prices at the different shops, but the place we want to get phones from don't have any in stock and don't know when they'll have more, so when we're in Jaen (the capital of the province) for orientation tomorrow, we're hoping we can find a store that will actually set us up.

Eating here is so different from the States. At school we have a break from 12 to 12:30 where people usually have a snack of some kind, but lunch doesn't take place until the work day is over at 2. So I usually have bread, meat, and cheese for lunch at 2, then take a siesta from 2-5 because most of the stores around town shut down for "midday." Then when things open again at 5, we go do errands and shopping, and dinner usually doesn't happen until after 9 pm. Totally different from at home where I ate at 5 or 6.

And yes, I know, you want to see pictures of Baeza and my piso. I'm working on it. Don't you worry.

Whirlwind Travel

2008-09-30T13:58:00.009+02:00

Changing time zones really messes with your system. By the time I fell into bed my first night in Madrid, I felt like I could sleep forever. Unfortunately, sleeping in a mixed dorm room at a hostel really doesn't lend itself to a good night's sleep. But gradually I'm getting used to Spanish time and the fact that they don't eat lunch until 2, right before siesta, and then dinner happens after 8 o'clock pm. Last night, we didn't finish dinner until 10:30. Crazy, eh?

This picture is from our teeny tiny balcony at the hostel. Anyway, I'm going to backtrack to Madrid. I flew into Barajas airport and met up with Lucia, another girl in my program who is living in Baeza, where we're both teaching. We made our way to our hostel via the metro, which I now think of as dangerous ground since I got all my Euros stolen while we were en route to our stop. The hostel was really nice, although my interesting luck continued when I, mind fuzzy from traveling and looking desperately for a bathroom, barged into the first one I found, not knowing it was the guy's bathroom, walked in on a guy who had just come out of the shower. Needless to say, we were both surprised, but luckily I didn't see anything that would embarrass either one of us, but it was close.

So after getting settled into our hostel, Lucia and I went for a walk through Madrid, which she says is like a Spanish New York City. It's certainly a bustling city center and really walkable. We saw the Plaza Mayor, which is the picture directly to your right. Then we wandered until we came across the Palacio Real which is literally so big everyone from Hope College could live there and still more people could fit in it. The picture below is the Palacio.

So Monday, Lucia and I barely made it to the bus from Madrid to Baeza at 9 in the morning. Riding to Baeza, it was really neat to see the countryside. We went through the mountains and as we went, we saw field after field from horizon to horizon filled with olive trees. If you didn't know, olive oil is one of Jaen's (the province where I live) biggest products. So we saw thousands of olive trees with a few scattered houses and the odd crumbling ruin sprinkled amongst them.

Ellen, one of my apartment mates met us at the bus station and we met Dan, my other apartment mate at our piso (apartment). I must say, it's a whole lot bigger than I thought it would be and by some twist of fate, I ended up with the biggest bedroom which has a armoire that could easily fit the entire contents of my closet at home inside it. It's a bit of an overkill since I came to Spain with one suitcase and a backpack.

We went grocery shopping today at Maxi Dia, about a 10-15 minute walk from our piso. It was a challenge to bargain shop in Euros for four people but we managed. The thing I forgot about while shopping was the fact that we didn't have a car as we do in the States where you can conveniently stow all your groceries as you drive home. Oh no, all four of us were loaded down with 3 to 4 bags filled with milk, juice, laundry detergent, water, and all the other necessities. So from now on, I think we're going to subscribe to the European way of shopping and only get a little at a time. It will be a whole lot easier on our arms.

Tomorrow I start teaching at my school, San Juan de la Cruz, a preschool and primary school. We passed it on our way home from the grocery store and I saw all the little 5 year olds coming out of the gates. They look so cute. Anyway, I'll let everyone know how it goes tomorrow. I haven't heard anything from my supervisor there so I'm just going to show up at 9 am and see what happens. I'm going on faith, something I've been doing a lot of since coming to Spain three days ago. Tune in next time for the ongoing misadventures of yours truly...