A Series of Fortunate Mistakes

The Real Plague Carriers

2010-11-21T17:36:00.001-08:00

I'm sick. ...Again.
I went for several years without even a yearly physical, and yet this year, since starting my new job at an elementary school, I've been about four times... in about three months. And I'm sick again.
I went 23 years without any allergies, and in the past two months I've had two added to my medical record.
I'm now convinced that it wasn't rats who carried the plague, it was children.
I feel like I have Typhoid Mary in my class.

Solo camping

2010-11-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

So it turns out I do have something interesting to write about.
Last weekend was my first adventure in solo camping. So as anyone who has ever met me knows, I get cold very easily. As in, I'm a total wuss, and when the temperature drops below about 70F, I start shivering. For a girl born and raised in NH, that is just unacceptable. ... And pathetic.
Anyways, When I had a three-day weekend and was in desperate need of a break from reality, I decided to test out my new sleeping bag-- I've had the same sleeping bag since I was about 10, and while it is still fully functional, it is not a cold-weather bag. Since winter lasts like 3/4 of the year where I am, it made sense (after more than a decade) to finally upgrade to something a little less summery. This might also have been prompted by the overnight trip we took the middleschoolers on this summer at the camp I worked at-- one of the younger girls had the same sleeping bag. Don't judge me; I needed a new one.
So I decided to test out my cold-weather gear. My dad has some property out in the middle of nowhere. For those of you who have ever been to NH, you may scoff at the phrase, thinking that it encompasses the whole state, but no, this is in the middle of nowhere by NH standards; as in complete with bobcat, bear, and roads that don't even exist, according to my GPS.
I tried to convince my dad to go with me, but he was off on another hunting trip, so I had the choice of going alone, or bailing. I went.
The few people I told thought I was kidding. Like I said, I get cold easily. I wore sweatshirts in the Kalahari desert. No kidding. And this is November in NE.
I got there after dark, set up camp (in the dark, in the woods, by myself. Shut up, I'm proud of myself) and built myself a little fire. I tucked myself as far down in my new sleeping bag as I could go, and thus passed the first night.
I got woken up by mergansers splashing in the lake, making a total racket. Day one spent reading, watching the critters, hiking, cooking over another fire... it was lovely.
Another night, another day like the first. I not only survived the chilly nights, but it was such a beautiful way to spend the weekend after the stress of the week. Plus when you're so far out that you can't see a single light from civilization, the stars are unimaginably beautiful.
...And I just really like building campfires.

Shameless Plug

2010-11-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted in months, it's true. This was started (and intended) as a public travel journal, and ended up being a "this is my life" sort of thing. Lately, my life hasn't been interesting enough to write about. It happens. So what does one write about when daily life is too boring?

Well, you can now follow my socio-political ideas over at "What's Wrong With This Picture" (subversiverants.blogspot.com) or for something less weighty, you can read up on ideas for fun, food and fix-ups at "Try This At Home" (fixthis.blogspot.com).

Unless I start traveling again, or at least start leading a more interesting life, odds are this one won't have much to say, but I'll do what I can. Until then, enjoy some of the other brain-leakage! Who knows, there might even be a good idea or two in there somewhere.

Afterprom

2010-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

At 23, I feel a bit old for Prom. Apparently, though, I don't look it.
Since Merry's boyfriend Ben is a teacher, and his friend Nick is a substitute teacher, to keep them company while they chaperoned the After-Prom Party, Merry and I crashed the affair for some awesome bowling, which I totally rocked. Plus we got free cotton candy, which is always a good thing.
Then we tried to leave. They wanted me to "sign-out," believing me to be a highschool student. I nearly had to pull out my drivers license, and Nick had to vouch for me. I didn't realize I looked that young.

As my moving date approached, Kyle (yes, from the Gettysburg trip) made a repeat appearance, wandering around the harbor with me, scandalized that in the months I'd lived in the area, I'd spent so little time in Baltimore itself. We also hit up the Baltimore Zoo. Very depressing. Don't go to the Baltimore Zoo.

For my last day, Nick took me to the Baltimore Aquarium, where I tried to push him into the Shark Tank. Someone else must have already had that idea though, because they'd taken precautions against such things. Major bummer. The Cheesecake Factory afterwards more than made up for the lack of shark-week inspired drama.

The drive back to NH was thankfully uneventful, although painfully long. Bailey has been tormenting my little sister's dog since we got here, but the wanton destruction of cardboard boxes and toilet paper has apparently stopped, so I have no qualms about letting my cat chase the dog if that's what it takes to keep her occupied and entertained.

Mom's Day

2010-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Gettysburg

2010-05-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

I went to Gettysburg once as a little girl, with my mom and my sisters. I loved reading about the Civil War, and was ecstatic to get to SEE where things happened.
It rained. The whole time. And every electronic tour-guide thingy pronounced it "get-iss-berg" which annoyed the crap out of me.
But hey, it was still cool. Place names I'd read about a thousand times, like Devil's Den and Little Round Top were actually real, and I could climb all over them. I could actually SEE where Pickett's charge was.
Fast forward about a decade or so:
A college friend from freshman year (for those of you who don't remember, that was in New Jersey) called me up. Apparently both of us were about an hour away from Gettysburg. Daytrip!
Kyle, who had been to Gettysburg a lot more frequently than I had, suggested meeting up at this quaint little restaurant for lunch, then making a day of it. When he was telling me about it, I'd thought he was exaggerating, but no: the Dobbin House actually DOES have THE BEST french onion soup ever made. It's ruined me forever. Now I'm going to have to drive all the way back to Virginia anytime I want french onion soup.
We also had rum drinks and actual food, but who cares about that.
Then we wandered into the Guest Center in search of a map, or really any sort of guidance. They suggested an Auto Tour, but who wants to see everything from a car? We were told we wouldn't be able to walk everywhere. We rolled our eyes; we're twenty-something. Clearly we know better.
So on foot, we set off. We wandered around, probably in circles and zigzags, for HOURS. After a brief stop at Friendly's for sundaes, we were off again. We ended the day watching the sunset from the top of Devil's Den. 11:30 a.m. lunch, wandered all day, half an hour for ice cream, wander somemore, and left at 8:30 or 9ish at night. Looking at the map, we HAD covered just about everything.
Yep, we showed that Info Center Lady: You CAN walk it... as long as you're willing to not be able to walk the next day (my feet were KILLING me).

Stuff

2010-05-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

I gave my notice at work. I don't have anything lined up, or a solid idea of where I'm going, but I will NOT be here after the end of May, so in my mind, that's a start.
Now normally, I'd be panicked without some sort of plan, even if it was just a back-up plan, but for some reason, I'm not. I'll be okay.
So I've been half-packed to move for over a month. That might have something to do with why I don't feel nervous about leaving-- I can't WAIT, so it's hard to think past move-out day.
As I've been sorting all my things and packing, I've discovered everything I own can be placed into one of four categories:
1) Necessities/Practicalities: Things like a toothbrush, food, pillow, towels, bike, REAL maple syrup, pocketknife, knee brace and the bare essentials of clothing.
2) Fluff: Things I WANT, that may make my life more interesting or fun, but I don't actually NEED to survive from day to day, like computer, dvds, pens, and most people would say books, but I list them in that first category.
3) Memorials: Pictures, trinkets I picked up in foreign locales, presents people have given me...
4) Everything else. I don't know why I have this stuff, I rarely use it, don't really want it, but can never seem to find it when I'm throwing stuff out or using things up.
My mission in life, for the end of this month, is to completely eradicate that fourth category, and severely weed out the second. Bailey's been helping by eating or otherwise destroying everything she doesn't think I really need (clothes, computer cords, headphones, cardboard boxes for packing things, my bike...)

Does Anyone Still Read This?

2010-04-08T21:49:00.001-07:00

It'd be nice to know if I'm wasting my time.

The Life of a Hermit

2010-04-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

So some of you know that what I miss most about not living in MD is having space. I need breathing room. I need trees. I need to not have neighbors constantly buzzing around my house. It makes for very claustrophobic living. Plus I keep thinking I'm going to end up running over one of the millions of little neighbor kids who keep riding their bikes in the parking lot and darting out into the street.
Dad has been building a little bunker of sorts on Jackson Pond. For those of you who've been there, it's literally in the middle of freaking nowhere. His creation (which isn't done yet) will be basically one tiny square room with a dirt floor. Four walls, a ceiling, a door and a woodstove. No electricity, no running water, no conveniences. Well, there is a spring a couple yards away. That's kind of convenient.
Anyways, Dad offered me this little haven for awhile, and I've been more than seriously considering it. He says it probably won't be finished till late summer, but I'm hoping it gets done much sooner. What does it say about me and my current situation that I'm like "electricity? I don't REALLY need it..."
I've used a few people as sounding boards so far. No one seems to think I can hack it. Dad says it'd be a good experience for me, but I'm not sure he has any faith in my endurance either. He also says it'd be easier to live there late fall through the winter than it would during the summer, mainly because of the bugs. I don't disagree that the bugs are going to be awful, but I know my abilities well enough to know that I can be moderately self-sufficient in warm weather, and probably even live there through a Maryland or New Jersey winter, but I am not tough enough to survive a NH winter there by myself. I hate the cold on a normal basis, and don't think I'm strong enough to shovel my way out of the hut all the way back up to the road, I doubt that road gets plowed well, and I'm even less sure that my little Toyota Echo could handle it even if it WERE plowed. I'd have to either hibernate or starve, because I think I'd be stuck.
But anyway, here's what I've come up with so far; tell me what you think:

*No running water.
Inconvenient, but there is a nearby spring. As long as I'm willing to haul my own water, I can manage. I have a solar shower for when it's bright and sunny out, and I'll have a woodstove for when it's not. All I need is a flat non-dirty platform (or rock!) to stand on, and voila, insta-shower (just add water!). For laundry, I remember Dad had a little hand-crank one. It took forever, but it works. I'm not sure if he has his anymore, but I found where I can get one anyways. All else fails, I'll go visit the 'rents and borrow their washer. Clothes lines-- wonderful inventions. No electricity needed!
*Heat.
Okay, so this is kind of a problem. I'll have the woodstove and I'm great at setting fires, but it's the wood that's the problem. Scavenging sticks is all well and good, and I'll definitely spend a lot of time doing that, but I've never had to chop wood before. I asked Dad to show me how, and he said he'd do it for me as long as I carried it and stacked it. I think he's worried I'll chop off a limb by accident. Since that's sort of my fear too, I'm willing to go with him on this one.
*Cooking.
A bit time consuming, but I've cooked over woodstoves and fires before. Plus not all food needs to be cooked! I won't starve.
*Refrigeration.
Watertight cooler down in the very cold spring. I think It'd work.
*Lights.
Candles and kerosene lamps, lots of matches and lighters, and flashlights (with extra batteries) for if I need a quick night-light.
*No electricity.
Definite bummer, considering how attached to my computer I am. Who knows, maybe my life will improve by being unplugged? I know my time-management will. Besides, the only things I'll really NEED to have charged are my cell phone (in case of emergency) and my camera (a girl's gotta have priorities). I'm sure I'll manage to find somewhere with a plug for a few hours once a week. Maybe at work.
*Bugs.
Alright, this one I don't actually have an answer for. It'll probably be the worst part, and I have no defense other than bugspray, which I hate because it makes you feel slimy and smells funky.
*Bathroom.
Composting toilets. I hear they're the next big thing.
*Wild animals.
Luckily most of the ones who would eat me or Bailey (like the bobcat or fisher that are on the property) are nocturnal. As long as I have Bailey in before dark (it works with Rizzo, why shouldn't it work with Bailey?) we should be okay. That's the hope, anyway.
*Fear.
Not gonna lie, I'll probably get spooked there in the woods all by myself, especially the first few nights. It'd be better if I had a dog (don't ask why, but they're more bravery-boosting than my little kitten) but I don't, so I'll just have to get over it, right?

Alright, so what did I miss? I'd like the feedback, because I need to consider ALL the bad stuff more than the benefits, because I know it'd be hard to live there, and I have to realistically decide if it's something I could handle. No sense diving in without checking for aligators first, right?

Fairytale

2010-04-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a princess.
Why? Because there's always a princess. Shut up; that's just how these things start. Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, a princess.
Now this princess, she was not the normal sort. No fair-haired beauty, she, but a very ordinary looking sort, so long as purple-streaked hair and flannel shirts are ordinary.
What? 'Cause it's my story, that's why. She'll be a purple-haired punk redneck princess if I want her to be. Now stop interrupting.
So once upon a time this princess was riding through the kingdom on her fourwheeler, as all awesome royalty does, when she came across a woodchuck. Crap, that's not what I meant. She came across a person. Not a peasant; that wouldn't be very PC. Just an ordinary person. The person happened to be a guy. Not because a girl would be awkward or wrong in this situation, just that in this particular story, it was a guy. So this guy, we'll call him ummm... Stephen. Stephen very smartly got out of the way of the fourwheeler, because to stand in its way would be a silly thing to do. Getting run over by a fourwheeler, while probably not fatal, would still hurt a lot. Actually, it might be fatal. I'm not sure. I try to avoid that sort of thing. Anyway, the Princess, we'll call her Lisa-- no, I don't care if that's your sister's name. What? No! If it's good enough for your sister, it's good enough for this princess. Fine, whatever, we'll call her Lizzie then. Happy? Sheesh.
Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted AGAIN, Lizzie pulled the fourwheeler over to the side of the road, and took off her helmet so that she could say hello. Of course she's wearing a helmet. It's safer, and besides, this story has to have a moral SOMEWHERE. Right. So she took off the helmet to say hello, because it's very hard to talk through a helmet. Besides, you just look silly.
After the obligatory introductions, Stephen, being a smarter-than-average bear-- No, he's not a bear, he's a boy. It's just a Yogi Bear reference. Augh, I hate telling stories to you young kids. You never understand anything.
So he's smart; let's just leave it at that. Okay, so being smart, Stephen figured that rescuing a princess would be worth some sort of reward. The hitch in this little plan was that the only princess available for rescue at the moment didn't seem to be in need of rescue. In fact, she was about as far from a damsel-in-distress as he was.
Thinking quickly, seeing as she was in jeans and a flannel shirt, riding a fourwheeler, he figured that she would enjoy some rougher trails-- more excitement, you see.
"Princess, if it interests you, there's a little side-trail that ends in the rockiest mud-pit you will find in the region." What? Because mud and rocks are what fourwheeling is all about! Man, what do you DO for fun? Don't you ever leave the house? I bet you just play videogames all day. Okay, so rocks and mudpits are fun for fourwheelers. That's all you need to know.
Good grief, we'll never get done at this rate.
Yadda yadda yadda, Lizzie zoomed off on the side trail in search of fun, and Stephen hurried after her, hoping her fourwheeler would get broken or stuck, and he'd get to rescue her and get some sort of a reward. Yes it's logical. Fourwheelers break all the time. If you haven't trashed yourself and your fourwheeler, you probably didn't have much fun.
So let's assume Stephen did something devious to make the fourwheeler break so he could rescue her. What? I don't know. If I knew, I'd have just said what he did. I've never sabotaged a fourwheeling trail before; I'm just assuming it can be done. Besides, I'm getting tired of this story. You interrupt too much. Besides, isn't it past your bedtime?
Okay, so we'll skip ahead again, the fourwheeler is broken, Lizzie is stuck in the mud, and Stephen shows up ready to somehow rescue her. He pulls her out of the mud and gives her a ride home, and then smiles, assuming he's about to get a big reward. Money, fame, maybe the key to the city, I don't know.
So anyways, Lizzie says "Thanks for helping me out," and then cuts off his head. The end.
Oh come on, that's a great ending, plus now at least the story is over and I can stop answering your stupid questions. Moral? I don't know. How about "don't trust a girl who can't rescue herself," or maybe "don't lose your head over some girl."
Wait no, I've got a good one:
Wear a helmet.

Open Letter

2010-03-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

To everyone who knows me:

Please quit telling me "I told you so."

I want to be very clear about something: I am doing just fine. I may not be exactly where I want to be, but I am alright. I pay my bills on time, I have a steady paycheck, I'm a responsible pet owner (Bailey got spayed today), and though I may not know what I want right now, I'm at least getting done what I have to.
This whole Maryland experiment may not have gone the way I would have wished, but I'm proud of myself for doing it anyways. If I leave now, it isn't because I couldn't make it here on my own, or because I can't live without you. I can. I wasn't sure I could when I left, but now I've seen that I can, and that is why I am happy I tried it.

To everyone I don't know:

Please quit coming into my store and calling me "honey," "dear," "girlie," or "babe." I don't know you that well, and if you wouldn't treat my male coworkers that way, what makes you think it's okay to say it to me? Stop touching me. We're not friends; The smile I'm wearing is fake. I'm trying to get you to buy something from my store, because that's my job. I don't think you're charming or witty, and I don't like you invading my personal space.
On the other hand, I also don't like being ignored. After you say hi to ALL THREE of my male coworkers, it would be nice if you'd at least acknowledge my presence. If you don't, then at least don't expect me to fall over myself to help you later.

On that note, to Merry:
Thanks. You've been my saving grace down here. It's been a long time since I've had a close girl friend to just chill with, who wasn't trying to use me to hook up with my friends or just playing nice because we HAD to. I love that you brought me to watch your friend's band play, and that you go out of your way to drag me out for coffee at the bookstore when work or my apartment have become too much for me to handle. I really do appreciate it.

Update

2010-03-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a long time since I've posted. Mostly that's because there hasn't been much to say. Things haven't really improved, and if anything, they've gotten worse. I'm coping, but it's made me slightly more neurotic. Now, if my life is a mess, I end up cleaning my room. If my life is going to be a mess, it isn't fair that my room (or car) should be too.
Now, because Bailey's vet appointment to get spayed isn't till the 31st of this month, she's been locked in my room, and has taken her revenge. I've now got a horny and BORED destructo-kitty loose all day in my room, which is looking worse for wear no matter how often I clean it. Plus she keeps me up all night. I suppose this is what it's like to have a sixteen-year-old girl: my house is a mess, she's up all night, and there are two horny boys (Buddy and Po, my housemate's two un-neutered cats) yelling outside my door all the time, despite the numerous threats I've made to them at five a.m.
Student loans are another major stress factor, but I'm slowly getting control of that: I have the two smaller loans on automatic monthly payments, and the two bigger ones I do manually at the end of each month, so I can pay off a little more than just the minimum if I have a little extra in my paycheck. Since that's about all I can do, I have two options:
Option one: I can have a nervous breakdown about all the things I can't control or
Option two: I can do what I can about those, and then concentrate on what I CAN control.
I CAN control my grocery bill. Planning ahead when there are sales, and bringing my lunch to work rather than eating out every day definitely saves money.
I CAN control what I do in my free time. Two hours at the gym after work helps almost as much as a nap, plus it's better than earplugs for ignoring Bailey at night.
I CAN control my spending. Budgeting necessities like gas, food, rent and student loan payments, phone etc, I can see exactly where my money goes every month and not spend it on things I don't need and am just going to have to box up and move.
I CAN control my things. I can't control what how Bailey DESTROYS those things, but I can organize and pack away and give away anything I don't use/need.
I've been applying for new jobs and looking for new apartments everywhere from NY to ME, but nothing definitive yet. I've decided I need to be out by the end of April. The longer I stay here, the harder it will be to move, and the more strained my friendship with Cassie will be.
I'll miss Merry (who I've been hanging out with a lot) like crazy, I'll miss my gym (I have the option of a regular one within walking distance of my house WITH POOL/HOTTUB or an all-girls one a ten-minute drive away) and I'll miss my dentist, because finding a new one is such a pain, especially a nice/good one with a funny assistant.
I'll try to be better now about updating, but with so little going on (and so much of my time spent trying to keep Bailey from eating my bike) I make no promises.

Not a Southern Girl After All

2010-02-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

So either I didn't go far enough South, or else I really am a Northerner.
Okay, so I hate the cold. I don't do any winter sports (the idea of even going outside is enough to make me want to go back to bed) and if I have to leave the house, I'm bundled up so much I walk around like that kid in my dad's favorite Christmas movie (A Christmas Story), you know, where I have so many layers on I can't put my arms down by myself and have to slowly waddle wherever I'm going.
I thought going south would be good, because winter would be just like a prolonged autumn without the pretty colors, but I was lied to. True, most of the time, I can get by with just a sweatshirt.
But when it DOES snow, oh my god, even three inches is deadly. I've become such a wuss since I don't have snowtires on my car and living in a state that sincerely believes that plows will work without actually touching the road. I'm not even exaggerating: after a harrowing drive home from work through about 5 inches of powder and slush, during which I witnessed a plow truck with the PLOW UP just throwing salt all over, a coworker tried to convince me that that was because "it's powder. You can't plow powder. It's not possible." The entire state is like that. Try driving in unplowable powder/slush with no snow tires and drivers who begin to panic hours before the first snowflake falls. I had a coworker call out of work because he'd seen a weather report that it would start snowing THAT NIGHT.
News update: Just got my second snowday (tomorrow)... from the same storm... which ended yesterday.

So I either didn't move South enough, or I'm really a Northern girl, because all day today, I missed New England like crazy. I spent all day looking for places to rent back in NE where I could have space and trees and not as many crazy people. If you haven't guessed, my housemates are driving me nuts.
I had thought to stay here at least through the summer, but I think this Maryland Experiment is about done. Keep an eye out for cheap places for me to rent, or animal-industry jobs!

Maryland is not really all that Merry

2010-01-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit disappointed by that, actually.
I needed a change of scenery, and since Maine didn't work out (too cold for me) I moved in with one of my girl friends in Maryland. Her and her boyfriend, which I didn't know until I moved down here. Before I GOT here, I had been led to believe he was just a third housemate. Now he's my boss at work too. Yeah, not sure how long that's going to work out, but I'm trying.
Rizzo, the big blond love of my life, did not adjust well, and has spent nearly the entire month hiding under the china cabinet, so on my first visit home since moving in November, I'm bringing him back to my mother's.
Bailey, on the other hand, moved right in and promptly beat everyone into submission. For a while she kept trying to run outside, but after our one big snowstorm, i snapped a long leash to her collar with plenty of room for her to run, and let her "escape" out the door. She took off like a shot, hit the snow skidding, fell down the front steps, and decided she'd had enough. I had to drag her out from where she'd taken refuge under a parked car (that's what the leash was for) and she hasn't made an escape attempt since. Ahh the beauty of letting kids and critters make their own mistakes.
My friend Merry lives about 5 minutes down the road, which is kind of nice, even though I still don't get many chances to go visit with her.
Other than that, no real news, just looking forward to my visit home at the end of January!

Paris in the Fall

2009-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Paris was not my city. I did all the required stuff (up the Tour Eiffel, climbed up Notre Dame, toured the Louvre... you name it, I pretty much had it covered) but was remarkably uninspired by it. Plus I got sick, like the second day in. Don't get me wrong, I still had a blast, but I could never have spent more than a month living there.

I went to visit my little sister Amanda, who is studying there this fall. I got a place to stay and a free tour guide, which was great, but she had these annoying little things called "classes" which kept getting in the way of my sightseeing, so while she was busy, I wandered Paris by myself. I spent HOURS in the Louvre and was horribly disappointed by the Mona Lisa, but it's okay, because I still found my two favorite statues (Cupid and Psyche, above, and Nike, not pictured here) plus the Hermaphrodite, which is a trip.
One of my other solitary excursions produced the picture below, which I discovered, when I posted all the pictures on facebook, was everyone's favorite. I hadn't thought much of it until then. I snapped the photo in just a second, because the kid's dad was right behind him, so I had to get the shot before he stepped into the frame. This kid wasn't actually being all cute, he was screaming "QUA! QUA!" at the ducks, who ignored him.

Everyone takes this picture when they climb up Notre Dame, but I didn't want to pay for the postcard, so I just took it myself. Not bad, eh? Even got the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Halloween was a blast. We went to Asterix Land. I don't know how cool it is normally, but it was awesome for Halloween. Everything was lit up, and even though I couldn't go on the terrifying rollarcoaster, since I was sick enough that the Metro made me want to heave cookies, I did go on a few other rides, including one that's just the coolest swingset ever. You sit down and pull the little bar down so you don't fly out, then the whole set swings you around up in the air so you're flying in circles.
The highlight was the haunted house. Unlike every other haunted house I've ever been in, this one had people inside and out, so you weren't even safe from flesh-eating zombies once you made it through the house. They also didn't have that silly "don't touch people" rule, which meant that at one point, an undead clown zombie came up behind me through the fog and the blinding strobe light and put his hands around my neck to choke me. Best haunted house ever.
I've discovered that I really like silhouette pictures. The one above is Alessandra, one of Amanda's friends that I really liked. The other two who went with us were Mike, who was a doll, and Kelsey, her roomie.
The picture below had to be taken in about five seconds, because it was my last sight-seeing day, and I was driving Amanda nuts, taking pictures of EVERYTHING.

Even though she'd done it before, Amanda went all the way up the Eiffel Tower with me. ALL the way up. It's a long way up. Apparently Amanda didn't know I'm afraid of open high spaces. We cheated and took the elevator, and Amanda teased me about the death-grip I had on her hand on the way up. Despite my fear, I did manage to take several great pictures, but this one I took after reaching solid ground again was my favorite. The policeman standing at the exit when I snapped this giggled at me. I must have looked a bit rattled. Worth doing though, because now I never have to do it again!

The best part was just hanging out with my little sister. She was absolutely in her element, and I loved seeing it.

This last picture is my favorite, and my favorite story from Paris--
There's a tiny pond in a garden in front of the Louvre that is dark and murky so you can't see more than an inch into the water. These dubvious depths, which seem like they couldn't support even scum life (seriously, this water was really gross), hide giant killer demon fish.
I know, I didn't believe it either.
Amanda was trying to prove it by luring these monsters to the surface with muffin bits, but this one pesky seagull kept swooping down and stealing them, so Amanda got down on her knees at the edge of the cesspool and valiently attempted to protect her precious bread crumbs.
Funniest thing ever. I was laughing so hard, I could barely get this picture, because my hands (and thus the camera) were shaking uncontrollably.

Alice in ... Paris

2009-10-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I've missed a lot, but it wasn't good stuff, so it's not important anyways.
Tonight Mom is helping me finish sewing my costume, because I leave for Paris in the morning!
A week in Paris! I'm going to visit my little sister who's studying there this Fall. And I'm spending my favorite holiday there!
Halloween... the one time of the year where you are EXPECTED to dress crazy, and then told to go out and take candy from strangers. Gotta love it.
So I'm being Alice in Wonderland, and when I told my little sister that, she informed me she was planning to be the Queen of Hearts. How perfect is that?! I tried to dye my hair blond for it, but my hair apparently refused. So basically what the dye did was take all the brown out of my hair, and leave all the red that I didn't even realize was there in the first place. Whatever. Alice will just be a little off color.
Post and pictures when I return, wish me luck!

Rizzo's Jail Stint

2009-10-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Rizzo got in a fight recently, and had his face all chewed up. It abscessed, swelled, the hair started falling away, and that's when we could finally see how much damage had been done (he's a long hair cat. Unless he's dripping blood, all you can really see is fluff, and he hadn't been showing any sign of pain, even snuggling his face into my hand).
I took him to the vet, and they kept him overnight to clean him up. Well, actually now they've kept him two nights. I know he's fine now (abscesses are a messy business) but I still don't feel right when he's not home with me. Also Rizzo hasn't gotten more than a scratch in a fight in several years now. He's a big kitty (more than 15lbs, none of it fat) and he's been neutered, so other cats don't generally start fights with him. Apparently now there's a dog (or coyote, we know we have those around) that I have to worry about.
On the other hand, if he HAS to get in fights, at least he's winning.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to bring Rizzo home.

Life Sucks. Here's a Sandwich.

2009-10-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

...I think it would taste bitter and delicious all at once.

Sandwich Fair! Other than of course the Highland Games and Halloween, this is the highlight of my year. No, not a fair centered on sandwiches, but a little country fair in a town called Sandwich (which is awesome, and I almost want to live there just so I can say I live in a sandwich).
Of course James went with me, as he has every year since highschool. I suppose that wouldn't be all that surprising of a tradition-- fairs and friends, makes sense, right?-- except that the fair, for him, is a form of torture. Why, you ask? Because I like rides, the spin-y-er the better, and James likes his stomach to stay where it is. He KNOWS that every time he goes to the fair I am going to make him go on those rides, and yet he still goes every year. The past few years, he's brought his girlfriend Vicki along so that SHE can go on the rides with me, but this year she bailed.
Her loss, because we went on a helicopter! Helicopters don't really fly, they're just so ugly the earth repels them. They ARE, however, amazing. James let me sit in the front with the pilot (headphones and everything! The pilot was very amusing.) so I got the most incredible view, with glass all around me and even right up to my feet.

Kate-- I think you should take Mom to the fair.

They also had a new ride this year! Like my favorite one (the one James refuses to go on ever again, he says) only it drops you, AND you twist around upside-down. James refused to go on, so obviously the entire time waiting in line, and then once he was strapped in, he was informing me that he hated me. It's a lie; he totally loves me, ESPECIALLY since I force him to prove he's tougher than he thinks he is. If I didn't torture him with fair rides, the fair wouldn't be as much fun.

Oh, and because I'm lovely, the night before, I gave him a little bottle of Ouzo and another of Absinthe, and made him shoot both, no chaser. Yeah, I'm a total sweetheart.

End of the day, we hit up the bee stand (another tradition), and then James's mom, whom I adore, made us dinner, and his two labs (Seamus and Sully) sat on me and tried to lick my eyeballs.

And now, for your moment of Zen:

Not a Great Weekend

2009-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Quick update:

Oscar died on Friday.
LSAT was on Saturday (I didn't pass out or throw up, so that's pretty good), but I won't find out how I did until the 19th.
The one good note was dinner tonight at my sister's.
Let's hope tomorrow is better.

The Stonewall Series

2009-09-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Spent the past few days at Dad's. I told him about how I'd gone to Maine and my friend Matt had let me shoot his shotgun, but that I hadn't liked it since it kicked. Well, apparently now I've probably developed a permanent flinch, so Dad took me out for some remedial shooting practice. I don't know whether to hit Matt or thank him for permanently ruining me but at the same time making my dad take me shooting (finally!).

We spent the better part of two days out at Jackson Pond. The first day Dad wanted to clear out some rocks out of the well, so he stripped down and hopped in. In case some of you aren't aware, the water was like ice. I can't decide if he's tough, or just crazy.

Ajax and Dad discovered a ground hornet nest, and both suffered several stings. The bees actually chased Dad for a long ways, even going up his shirt, which was rather mean of them. Dad then had enough bee stings to test out several different remedies. Egg membrane apparently works the best, while baking soda does nothing. I don't know what else he tried. The weirdest thing was that immediately after escaping the bees, he said to me "Let's go find them." "What? You just found them! Why would you go BACK?!" I have no doubt that Dad will get his revenge and take out the whole nest, but there was no way I was going back LOOKING for a stirred up nest of angry hornets. You're on your own with that one.

Day two had less (read: none) shooting, but more wandering on my part. Dad borrowed a back-hoe and proceeded to play around on that, while I wandered around taking pictures, because that's what I love to do.

MOST PEOPLE, when they go for a walk to take pictures, manage to stay fairly clean. Not me. I managed to get scraped up and bruised, and come home covered in dirt and dog slobber. I got some good pictures though, so I guess there's that.

New Hampshire Highland Games! One of my two favorite annual events in New Hampshire. Mom and I went on Sunday, the last day. Most of the fun stuff happens on Saturday, but that's also the most crowded/most expensive day. We did everything-- watched the music, dancing, competitions, ate the food (got harassed by bees), and basically just wandered around for a few hours. It's an ADD kid's dream: There's always a thousand things going on, so you can run from one thing to another.

I bought two cds from non-traditional type bands. One is Albannach, which has five drummers and a bagpiper they call "Bullfrog," who can puff out his neck like you would not believe! The other cd is from a group called "Red Hot Chili Pipers," and they're... interesting. If you've never heard Queen played on the bagpipes, you're missing out. They were definitely showmen.
Also made sure to find the MacLean and MacFarlane tents.

Oh yeah, and totally got mooned by a dancer when he spun right as the wind kicked up. Oh yeah, that's on video. Poor guy. (Look to the right.)

The (rather cute) guy manning the MacFarlane tent informed us that the wind had been really bad on Saturday, saying he had one hand holding onto the tent, and the other holding onto his kilt. I think Mom was a little embarrassed, but I thought he was a riot.

Great weekend.

Oops

2009-09-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad at posting lately, and pathetically enough it is because I can't find my card reader, so have no new pictures. What good is a story without pictures?
So while I've waited in vain for my card reader to magically appear or else my pictures to magically transfer to my computer, I have missed posting about a Rohdenburg family reunion, my friend's rib-cracking surgery, my little sister's sojourn to France, and my trip to Maine.
Since the last thing happened most recently (I just drove back last night) that's what I'm going to write about, despite the lack of pictures.
I went up to Maine to visit a friend of mine (Matt), taking "my Australian" (my GPS has an Australian accent) with me, and so Matt refused to email me directions, saying I should test out my GPS. I found out later he didn't email me directions because he didn't think I could read a map, because "most girls can't." Kate and Amanda should rest assured that I quickly called him out on being a sexist schmuck, and got better directions for the trip home. All in all, the trip cost me SEVEN TOLLS. Seven tolls in a stick-shift car with roll-down windows. I am NOT that coordinated. I told Matt he owes me big-time. I'm making him go visit Nedra with me. I haven't told Nedra yet.
While I was there, we went out shooting (I think to make up for the five tolls I hit on the way up, which I insisted on grumbling about) and I shot a shotgun for the first time. Screw that. My shoulder KILLS. Plus I have much better aim with rifles and handguns.
We also went out to dinner twice, went to the movies (Inglorious Basterds) went to the bar... but most of the time we just hung out. Aside from the ridiculously long car rides, all in all not a bad trip.

Home Alone II

2009-08-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been house sitting and am halfway through. This is the first time I've been alone since I left Cyprus. Crazy, huh?
Well, not ENTIRELY alone...

--My little demon kitty is very affectionate and has been alternately snuggly and trying to bleed me out (my lower legs have been scratched to hell, because she likes to climb up and sit on my lap when I eat). In fact, this very second she's sleeping on my chest with her head tucked up in my neck. I'm trying to teach her to come when I call her name, like Rizzo does, and so far she's managed okay, but I'm not sure if she's coming because I call her, or because she GENERALLY follows me around unless she gets distracted.
--Amanda's dog has been kind of sulky. He took off once (yeah, that was a mistake on his part) and since then has been even following me into the shower, sleeping on my stomach, under my feet when I'm on the couch (hiding from my kitten, because she terrorizes him).
--Amanda's cat is not my favorite at the moment, but we'll not go into that.
--My baby seems to have adjusted to the kitten's presence, but has figured out that when I come home from work, I am too exhausted by the dogs and the kitten for immediate attention, so he chills outside until I have about an hour to deal with everything else.
--Mom's dog comes out for meals and once in a while to go outside, but otherwise skulks under the bed.
--The hamsters, unfortunately, are the ones suffering most from my exhaustion. I haven't held Oscar all week, and Amanda's hamster has been fed, but that's the extent of our interaction.

I feel awful about it, but I'm a very introverted person. Usually that doesn't extend to animals, but after working all day, I just can't seem to deal with three very demanding animals and then a bunch of passive ones without overlooking someone. I guess I'm just spread too thin.

I have to admit, it's a little weird for me. I can't figure out what's wrong. I've always loved animals, and I've worked with groups of kids and animals before, and not had such a limited patience. I don't understand why I can practically run a horse barn with 25 horses, and direct a camp with 50 kids, but I can't seem to come home from work and handle a handful of dogs and cats.

♫ I Believe in a Thing Called Love ♥

2009-07-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

So David and Katy's wedding was lovely, but the highlight had to be Nate (David's brother) 's follow up to his Best Man Speech (how could I not have gotten the speech on video?!), which unfortunately I'm having issues posting at the moment, so it will have to be added later.

Since Katy's favorite color is pink, bridesmaid's dresses and groomsmen's vest were all in pink. David's father was NOT matching, because he said the bride's father had refused, so he felt a bit left out. Keith sang at the wedding (and did a great job), David had to sing to get his bride back (at the reception)... and then Nate had to sing, so that we could all be amused.

I'll try (for the 800th time) to post the pictures and videos later, so keep an eye out for this to be updated!

The True Value of Family

2009-07-19T05:10:00.000-07:00

Apparently, there is none.

Notice: this post has been deleted because it shows my sister in an unflattering light by telling the events of last Sunday, and my mother demanded I take it down. Censorship hits again.

Oscar Not-So Wild(e)

2009-07-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

So today's story begins on a dark and stormy ni-- err, morning, actually. I was driving home from Dover, and it was just pouring rain. Twice I nearly had to pull over and wait it out, because it was raining too hard to see anything. Finally I made it about halfway, which is Concord, and pulled into -- you guessed it-- Petco. To wait out the storm, of course! While I was there I figured I MIGHT AS WELL check out their dwarf hamsters, I mean, I had time to kill anyways, right? So one of the workers brought out two little "surprises" for me to look at, about 6 or 7 weeks old. The first one was an itty bitty little white thing, that flipped out when I picked it up and nearly took a 5 foot plunge trying to run out of my hands. Hamster number two was not so pretty, but snuggled up in my hand for a nap, and didn't even freak out when I flipped it over to check the gender (being so young and tiny, neither of us could actually tell, but since my pets always end up being boys, even when they're not supposed to be, I'm guessing boy.) Anyway, Oscar is probably the sweetest hamster I've had yet (and the tamest!), and I'm attempting to train him to be really good at being just scooped up out of his cage. So far, so good. He pretty much lets me do anything I want without too much fuss, even when it means waking him up. He even climbs right onto my hands.

Yesterday, when Amanda's dog Max took off to play at the neighbor's (again) he doomed me. The neighbor's cat had had kittens: three tiger males... and the runt, a feisty little black female. Since I apparently have a thing for off-colored runty kittens (Rizzo being the only blonde out of an all-grey litter), Bailey came home with me, and proceeded to cuss out every single one of our other pets. Considering Rizzo has about 14 lbs on her, she's pretty gutsy. She's also got a mouth on her. She growls, hisses, has the loudest purrs... and yowls non-stop at 6:30 in the morning until I go pick her up. We have to work on this morning business.
Speaking of Rizzo, the neighbors apparently think that "Rizzo did it," as they so elegantly put it. Much as I'd love to have kittens with Rizzo's genes, he ummmm lacks the equipment. Bailey is not Rizzo's progeny.

Rizzo is NOT happy with me. He didn't care much about Oscar, but this new kitten business... well, I'm hoping he'll forgive me soon.

The Boys Are Back In Town

2009-07-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

My LAST social foray was the fourth of July party at Ryann and Crystal's. By the time I got there (after work and the fireworks), Ryann was dead, Crystal had walked into a sliding glass door, and the weird alcoholic concoction that everyone there had been drinking was gone (thank god. No way was I touching that stuff! Tip for redneck drinks: If it isn't beer, it probably is going to either kill you or make you wish it had). Stevie was around for a bit, but then ditched me to rescue someone whose truck had broken down, and then Mike showed up (didn't recognize me) and drunkenly hauled both Crystal and Ryann off to pass out on the couch. That left me with the rest of the party, whom I didn't know... and Kenny.
Kenny I had only ever known as my friend's boyfriend, and I had never liked him. Now they'd broken up, so I didn't even have her around to keep us civil. Awkward?
Actually, it turned out pretty well. While I still trust my first impressions, as I found in Cyprus, sometimes when I give someone a chance to make a second impression, it's a better one. Kenny and I (and Ryann's stepbrother) ended up just chilling around the fire until almost 4am, and it was actually a good time. Kenny and I even had a glow-stick fight that left us both nearly brighter than the fire that Ryann's stepbrother kept sticking his hands in. So it wasn't a waste of a party even though everyone I knew bailed early, and it gave me a chance to re-evaluate someone.
And the last of the boys for today; I brought home a new little baby! Dwarf hamster, that is. After three days of no idea, he's finally been named Oscar. When I get him to sit still long enough to get a good shot, I'll put up pictures and a full post on him.

That's Not What I Meant!

2009-07-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

Story of my life. And it has now infiltrated my sleep, so even in my dreams I'm awkward and misunderstood. And klutzy. Go figure :(

On the upside, I have just reread AND rewatched Alice in Wonderland (which I absolutely love... I'd love to fall into some sort of ridiculous nonsensical world) and found out that they're doing a NEW movie with Johnny Depp as the mad hatter. It's coming out around my next birthday, so happy birthday to me! If I'm in New England, I already have a date to go with me :D

Thought for the day: I really hate the question "so what did you do all day?" Why is it that that question immediately serves to do nothing but put the person it is directed to on the defensive? It is not idle curiosity that prompts that particular phrasing, but a demand that the person justify their own existence over the past 24 hours. I don't like justifying my existence. What did I do all day? Maybe I just chilled or read a book or something. Why shouldn't I? It's MY day. Maybe that's exactly what I wanted to do with it. Or maybe I just don't feel like telling about each of my various activities. What if nothing I did makes for a good story? What if I was really busy and productive all day, but it's incredibly boring? "Nothing" seems like a better story than a detailed play-by-play of a dull, average day.

I want to go back. :( I miss the random parties that seemed to be just wherever we were. What did you do today? Nothing, but it was an amazing nothing, and we had a blast.

Priorities

2009-06-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

What does it say about me when I get up in the morning, take a nice shower, put on clean clothes... and then immediately go snuggle up on the floor with the dog to read a book? I spend 15 minutes getting clean, and two seconds to get covered in dog hair and slime again. Now, most people would probably think "oh man! Now I have to go get clean again!"
But all I could think, other than "this is a very interesting book" was "For once, I am exactly where I want to be."
What does this say? It says that I ought to be a hermit, and just live out in the woods somewhere with a bunch of animals. Unfortunately, there are very few hermits who have made lucrative careers out of refusing to join society (in fact, I can't actually think of ANY at the moment) and even worse, if my future pets are anything like the dog I was snuggling with, being a hermit is going to be an expensive lifestyle. Bummer, man. I guess it's back to the rusty knife and dumpster.

Let's Get Political

2009-06-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

I adore Rachel Maddow.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

and another of my favorite women on tv

I was planning on putting up more stuff, but today just wore me out completely.

The Antidote

2009-06-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Had a bad night last night, so I'm making myself feel better by looking at pictures I've taken since getting back to NH.
...which reminds me, in addition to all the other stuff I need to get done, I have to put all my pictures on discs so they stop taking up so much room on my computer. I have thousands just from the last few months. No exaggeration: I literally have over 4500 pictures from my trip abroad.

Back to Boring

2009-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Now that my adventures abroad are over, it's back to the boring stuff.
Unfortunately, that means that even when I'm busy, there isn't much interesting to report.
For instance:
1) My new car has insurance! Yay! And it's registered, and got a date with the mechanic for (another) inspection! And my old car has a for-sale sign, which is so depressing, but needs to be done. Anyone need a 1993 Honda Accord? Works great, just got inspected, great tires and everything... tell your friends.
2) Still searching for grad schools and programs, and started my app to the Peace Corps (scary thought. I'm HOPING that I'm accepted into a forestry/wildlife program. I'm not a huge fan of people, but working with animals and conservation for two years sounds like something I could handle.)
3) My room above the garage is still neither cleaned nor even finished. Every time I try to organize something, I make a bigger mess. And as soon as I start to get really productive, the insects start in. I've had gigantic demon killer hornets that refuse to die (tried three times to squish it), gargantuon godzilla spiders that vanish into sweatshirts (said sweatshirt is still outside on the railing. I'll eventually throw it in the washer when I think Godzilla has left it), and swarms of moths (okay, not really scary, but STILL!). Rizzo (for those of you who don't know him, he's my favorite boy-- a gorgeous blonde cat who is better trained than many dogs) sleeps up there with me at night, but although he will defend me from hyper-active ankle-biter dogs, apparently he feels I can fend for myself against insects, and just watches my efforts at de-bugging my room with a bored expression. He DOES snuggle with me afterwards to make me feel better though, so I guess that's something.
4) I have yet to go hang out with my friends. I DID go fourwheeling about the day after I got back to Sunapee, I dropped off a present and chatted for about 20 minutes with one friend, and another of my friends stopped by to say hello for five minutes, but other than that I've been incredibly anti-social.

And so it goes. Babysitting for a family friend tonight, working for a couple hours tomorrow...

I want to go back to Cyprus :(

London: Take 2

2009-05-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

So I went back to London, and basically played nanny to this kid:
Most of you know him. For those of you who don't, that's my seven-year-old stepbrother, Rudy.
We went exploring again, wandering around, did the bus-tour thingy, saw a bunch of museums, and went searching through a 5-story toy store looking for Dr. Who action figures. Because what is England for, if not Dr. Who action figures?

While I plan on living in my Gaudi gingerbread house most of the time, I think this ought to be my summer home/ tree house

I was smart enough to bring an umbrella to London
... and dumb enough to forget it in the hotel. We spent an entire day walking around in the freezing cold rain.

We didn't get to have tea with the Queen, because Rudy kept wiping his hands on his pants (first after eating chocolate, and then cheese. You aren't allowed to have tea with the Queen covered in cheese and chocolate.) but still managed to see the changing of the guard (not as exciting as I'd hoped) and the horse guards. ...and some carriages with the windows closed so you couldn't tell if anyone interesting was inside.

So I'm back in NH now, and attempting to figure out what comes next. So far, in my attempt to organize all my stuff, I've made a gigantic mess, and now it's downpouring, so at least my car will be nice and clean.

It Ain't Over Yet, Folks!

2009-05-25T13:43:00.001-07:00

Screw this, I'm going back to England. Tonight.
How long till I can run away out of the country again? Apparently about 3 days.

Picture Recap

2009-05-23T19:38:00.001-07:00

These were some of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. Most of them you've seen before, but some of these are new.

London Bridge and Other Catastrophies

2009-05-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

... Actually, the only real catastrophe was in leaving Cyprus: I didn't want to go, didn't have enough time for everything I needed to do, and didn't get a chance to say goodbye to a couple people.
I got my 1000 kilo suitcase and my other bags into the cab, with Taylor waiting with me, and rushed off to catch the midnight shuttle to the airport. I was petrified I'd miss it, but I made it... in fact, I was its only passenger. An hour later, I was at the airport, two hours after that I was checked in (and they didn't even charge me extra for how heavy my suitcase was! Although they did look at me like I was an idiot because I couldn't understand the woman's accent.) and soon after that I was through passport check, security (where I was felt up. At other airports, it would be more of a frisk, but in LCA they just aren't very good at it. They wouldn't find an ACME bomb under a skin-tight tank-top with their way of frisking, so it just seems more like an excuse to grope someone) and then I made my way onto the plane. Uneventful flight, spent freaking out about how I would meet up with Dad in London.
My dad, being a pilot (for anyone not aware), was flying in to London about two hours after my flight was supposed to get in, and he had asked the bus driver taking the flight crew to the airport to swing by my terminal and pick me up. If I missed that, I'd have to find my own way to the hotel. Needless to say, especially with all my crap, I did NOT want to miss this bus.
I got through passport control and everything fine, but spent the next two hours freaking out that I'd missed Dad somehow. I didn't, and we made it to the hotel fine.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around London. We went to the Imperial War Museum (of course) where I found this great warning sign:
and Dad found his dream planes:
we went to the Natural History Museum and saw the dinosaurs (eat your heart out, Amanda)
and mammals
and I, of course, took half a million pictures.

(At least THESE guards don't wear silly outfits)
We went to a park, which was probably my favorite part.
There was a football practice of sorts. I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but it looked like about three teams playing little games all at the same time.

Pay attention:
Tired street artists
And the coolest advert car ever:
I made it on to the plane fine, and the flight crew was incredibly sweet to me. They kept checking on me, brought me extra drinks, snacks and amenities... plus I was in first class. I could not have had a better flight.
So now I'm back in NH, and missing Cyprus already. How long until I can run away to a new country?

Last Night at Home

2009-05-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

So tonight is my last night in my apartment, and even though it's boring and empty now, I don't want to leave. Plus I found out that the new batch of Americans moves in May 25th. Talk about wasting no time replacing us! What a bummer, man.
So I'm sitting out on my balcony, and even though it's dark and a bit chilly now (chilly being 75degrees, so I'm wearing a sweatshirt. It was 95 today and I didn't bother turning on the AC. I'm gonna freeze to death back in NH) I refuse to go inside. I've got hot tea, a sweatshirt, and an episode of Bones, and am just enjoying seeing the University all lit up from my balcony for the last time. I packed today (again) and am coming home with an extra carry-on and an extra duffel bag, and everything is about 1000kilos overweight, and I'm going to have to listen to Dad tell me I have too much crap. I WOULDN'T HAVE THIS ISSUE IF I LEFT ALL YOUR PRESENTS BEHIND!!!
I don't want this to be over.

Alone is the Last Place I Wanted to Be

2009-05-17T08:05:00.001-07:00

This past week I've had to say goodbye to almost everyone. It sucks being the last one to leave. I'm not ready to go home yet, but I don't want to be HERE anymore, because without a bunch of the people in the picture above, it doesn't feel like home, and it isn't as fun.
Kendra and Emma have left, and Meggie hasn't been around much
Reid left, along with the other Bethel Boys
Both of these girls are gone now
Kate asked me to post more pictures with me in them, so I'm attempting to oblige. 2/3 of the Bethel Boys-- I adore them, and wish I'd gotten to know them earlier in the semester.
Emma was an absolute riot, with a smokers voice and a constant cry of "Sig-NOOOO-miiiiii!!!!" (means "excuse me" in Greek, but because of Emma, it's sort of become the GLS motto/war-cry. I'm not sure exactly what that says about us.)
Two of the people in this photo are left, but one is away in Turkey
Reggie had to leave her pseudo-husband and go back to her real boyfriend back in the States.
We had a dinner, two farewell/birthday parties, and a graffiti party (this is from Reid's birthday/farewell) but none of us were really ready to say goodbye. To go home, maybe, (most of them had been counting down the days for the past two months), but no one was ready for anyone to actually leave.
Lindsey and I at dinner
A typical night in the Maro 209 apartment (mine)
Meg and Alana, both gone already
Taylor and Joe (who left what seems like ages ago)

Bubby and Joe giving Regina raspberries. All three of them have left. When Traci left, she was nearly in hysterics, and there were more than a few tears when half the GLS group left on a bus, leaving about 10 of us waving goodbye.
Reid's birthday, on the walk home, which was another great night, even though nothing extraordinary happened. Just good company, silliness, and a tiny bit of tresspassing.
Watching people drag suitcases out onto the curb, waiting for taxis
Another typical scene all semester (Maro 109, right below us, where I spent half my life, it feels like)

Maro 109 roomies saying goodbye
The apartment next door is empty, as is the one above and the boy's. The apartment below is down to 2 girls, and in mine, I'm the only one left. Gabriel Apartments is completely empty except for one girl, and there are about 5 other girls scattered in the other buildings. It doesn't feel yet like I'm ever leaving, and I'll be sad that it's over when I do, but I don't like being left behind. It's a bit like living in a ghost town.

I leave my apartment for the last time the night of the 20th (my flight out is really early in the morning on the 21st), but it's hard to believe that I won't be coming back here, that we're not just all out on one of our weekend trips to some foreign country. Most of the GLS people have declared that they will never come back to Cyprus, and I don't think I will either. It would be too depressing, because it just wouldn't be the same. I'd like to see some other places. Maybe India, or Australia? I'm headed back to the Dominican Republic this summer, and before I turn 23, I'd like to visit Amanda in France (if she goes there for a study abroad, and I'd like to come back to Europe even if she doesn't) and go to Mexico at least, because I've never been there, and that just seems silly.

Also, I'm craving juice, and I never want to see spaghetti again.

What Doesn't Kill Us Only Makes It a Better Story

2009-05-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

Not sure what Kendra was posing for here, but they were all standing on a wall, and with the tree behind them in full bloom... I had to take the shot.
This is either really bizarre yoga, or else just proof that we're all a bit crazy.
And here is where you can begin to get jealous. We spent the weekend in Ayia Napa in a hotel almost identical to the one in Pafos, but this time I roomed with Alana and Reg (two out of three of my regular roomies, one of the Sam's, and Ashley didn't room with us, but she ended up sleeping with us. That happened a lot that weekend: room assignments just meant that's the room your stuff was stored in, but which bed you slept in was decided by who helped you home from the bar, or how far you got by yourself before deciding that that was close enough. We were a short walk from Nissi beach, which is where all the beach pictures are from. That's where most of our time was spent. Some people went parachuting, others went cliff diving (although we never made it to the REAL cliffs to jump. Bummer, but we more than made up for it with the other stuff.)
These things scared the crap out of us. They just appeared out oT nowhere, and we looked over and BAM! there they were! You'll see in the second picture, where you can see a woman standing next to them, that they're HUGE. They don't care that you're there, either. They walked right over my towel, and continued on their way down the beach.
It was a bit chilly, but amazing. And salty. I'm pretty sure that I ended up swallowing enough saltwater to flavor my food for the rest of my life, and it burned my eyes so badly that I thought I'd go blind.
This is one of the only pictures I took of anyone chilling on the beach, because the first day we got there in the afternoon, so didn't get much sun, but the whole next day, as people recovered from their hangovers (story coming in a minute), at least half of GLS took advantage of the fact that it was a topless beach, so no pictures. (That's Bubby, Will and Dave)

Ayia Napa was where Regina and I got to know James better, which was a giant case of "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL SEMESTER?!" He's a riot. As you've already seen, he's a great diving board, but what you might not know is that he's better at handstands than Regina:
And that he spent most of the weekend tossing Reg and I around... whether we were willing or no. Not going to lie, it was a ton of fun. I miss him :(
Claire showed off her under-water camera
One of the nights, we had a sort of slumber-party on the roof of one of the buildings (yeah, that's kind of our thing) with the Bethel boys (Reid and James... I don't remember if Brendan was there or not) and Reg, Ali, me, and at least two or three other girls, but I don't have any good pictures of it yet. It ended near 3am because James and I were both still awake, and a cement roof isn't all that comfy, so we ended up waking everyone up and shuffling off to bed.

And this is the typical scene in our room (wherever we were all semester): everyone getting ready for a night out. Alright, parents and adult-figures should probably stop reading at this point. You've been warned. Plus I'm over 21, so it's kind of allowed.
We went out first to Senior Frogs, which serves alcohol in a fishbowl with a ton of straws for 15 Euro. That's 5500ml per fishbowl. Between the 20 or so of us who went out, there were 6 fishbowls, 4 drinks-by-the-yard, and half a dozen individual drinks. Then we went to the second bar. I ended up being the designated-walker, escorting two of the girls home after the night of drunken debauchery. Towing one girl home by the hand and begging the other to stop yelling at the random people still out on the street, I must have looked like a very harrassed camp counselor. I kind of felt like one. I had to hold their hands to cross the street, and at one point, it lapsed into a performance of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." I was carrying Lindsey's purse and shoes, holding her by the hand, I had to unlock their door and put them to bed. Funniest walk I've ever been on. I miss those girls too :( My roomies (and Ashley, whom I didn't know was rooming with me and Reg until I woke up the next morning and rolled over) came home much later, but I didn't hear a thing. Great night.
I can't put my finger on exactly WHY it was so much fun and so amazing, but it was. It was probably the company.

American Night

2009-05-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

Beer and Graffitti-- International Night had it all. And the great American pasttime:
After getting back from Turkey, I had just an afternoon in Nicosia, leaving for Ayia Napa in the morning.
That night was the International Festival, or whatever, at the University. A bunch of us had formed the American Society (by request from the University, so yeah, now I get to say I'm a founding member) and so we were required to have a booth and show off our culture. How did we do that? With beer, hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill, chips and for our cultural activity... Beer Pong! (actually Beruit, but since most of our GLS group is from colleges that don't know the difference, we let the title slide). We all referred to the evening as American Night, since we took over and just held a regular (aka "great") GLS American party, considering all the other people/cultures there just extra party guests. We all had a blast, and it was nice as kind of our last big fling in Nicosia, since we were headed to Ayia Napa in the morning, and a number of people weren't going, and others were leaving right when we got back, so it was our last party all together. We were loud, crazy, and had the best time.

Okay, now I'm skipping the Ayia Napa weekend for a moment (that'll be the next post, which will go up in a minute, don't worry. I'm playing post-catch-up today, and other productive stuff today).
One of the favorite activities for the GLS crew, after going out clubbing and sunbathing on the roof of the Gabriel Apartments (it looks like the Jersey Shore up there some days), is of course partying on the roof of the Gabriel Apartments!
Our little goodbye party involved drinking and graffitti-- two of our favorite party games. We all wore white tee-shirts and brought markers and signed each other. Much better than a yearbook, but because we had no fabric markers, we probably will never be able to wash those shirts. Eww. Still cool though. We even let Dave's friend join in on the signing fun, even though he's from England. We pretended he was an American for International night, too, and most of the signatures on his shirt had to do with how much cooler America is than England. I'm sure he agreed... or at least he'd better have, because we were on a roof. :D

♫ Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople ♪

2009-05-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

Joe and Cait, my traveling companions
This made my day. On the Princes' Island, there were horses EVERYWHERE, pulling people in little carraiges (yeah, we totally got in on that, it was the perfect way to see the island), being led around, just hanging out, pulling carts...
There were cats everywhere, too. One jumped up on my lap when I was sitting on a bench (right after Cait said she wanted one of the cats to just "jump up and love me," so I got her wish, basically :D ), and it was very snuggly. A bit dirty, but snuggly (and I'm washable, so I didn't mind). It made me miss my own cat.

Do you prefer Pepsi or Coke? Too bad, they only have Cola Turka, which I've decided to claim as my favorite, and will attempt to order at every restaurant from now on, just to confuse people.
One of the mosques, and below you see the "wishing column," which sounds so much better than its other name, which is the "sweating column." You stick your thumb in the whole and swirl your hand around (while making a wish!) and from thousands of people doing that, it's worn away part of the column. It's a bit gross, but like tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain, it's just one of those things you have to do when you're there.

I know I haven't posted any Turkey pictures, and that's because, to be honest, I don't really have any. Due to us showing up before we could check into our hostel, we had to store our bags... and I forgot to get my camera out, because I thought we were just going to grab something to eat. Turns out, that's when we went and did all of our day-time exploring, so I'll have to steal pictures from the other kids.
Five of us went, and I was the last addition, doing the spur of the moment thing. Luckily for me, I ended up in the same dorm-style room as Joe and a girl named Cait whom I'd never really talked to (the other two girls were Danielle whom I'd just met and roomed with in Pafos, and Jordan who lives next door) and a bunch of Australian kids. They were fun to listen to, but incredibly messy.
Actually, though I'd kind of assumed I'd end up wandering around mostly with Jordan and Danielle, since it was the two of them who had given me all the information on the trip and the hostel, I ended up with Joe and Cait the whole trip, which was awesome. Once again I got to meet and hang out with someone I wish I'd met much earlier on the trip, and unlike in Cairo, in the bazaar when the vendors harrassed us, they called out to Joe instead of us girls, kind of automatically assuming he was in charge. Sexist, I know, but it gave Cait and I a sort of freedom, almost, and it was Joe who was constantly being annoyed.
We saw the Blue Mosque and a few others, the Sofia Hagya and all those cultural things, and mostly just wandered.
The two souvenirs I'd expected to get in Turkey (scarves, because I'm addicted to them and they're gorgeous there, and evil eyes) were the two things I really didn't bother with. I got a few evil eyes, but that's because they were attatched to something else I bought. Mostly what I ended up with was tea and a coffee grinder so that I could continue my Cyprus coffee addiction back home... as long as it makes it back home.
The two best parts were the day we spent on the Princes' Island and the turkish baths. We had been told to visit the island, but first of all were not really warned that it's not one island, but a collective name for a bunch of them, so we got on the ferry and basically just picked one of the stops. Turned out pretty well. Secondly, we spent most of the morning debating whether it was the "Prince's Island" or the "Princess Island" because without seeing it written, we couldn't tell from the pronunciation, so we were curious. Only at the end of the day did we discover that it was neither, but the plural of the masculine. Not an option we'd considered.
Anyways, back to the interesting stuff. We took the tram to the harbor (in the two days we spent in Istanbul, we got lost a thousand times and rode the tram all the way as far as it goes in both directions. Just a little trivia fact.) and hopped on a ferry, picked a stop and got off, and started walking around. Almost immidiately we were nearly run over by a horse-drawn carraige, and then another, and another, and another (seriously, they're everywhere!) and finally we decided we'd be all touristy and do it, since none of us had ever been in one before. Joe bargained the price down, and we hopped in, playing musical chairs in order to get all the pictures we wanted, and toured the island, which was beautiful (although there wasn't really much to do there). We did a tiny bit of shopping (I bought tea. I think between Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, there's now more tea and coffee in my bloodstream than plasma. That'll be interesting to explain the next time I have to get blood drawn) and for the most part we just ate. We had a couple beers in at a little table in the harbor (where I got that picture of the horse-drawn wagon unloading one of the boats) and were swarmed by cats and seagulls, while Joe (who doesn't like seafood) ate a fish that was still whole and fish-looking. I was impressed-- even though he hated fish, he had been willing to try it, and actually ate the whole thing. All in all, it was a perfect day.
The turkish baths... oh man, if you ever have the chance, do it. Best money ever spent. As soon as we walked in, they threw Joe into one room, and Cait and I into another to change, and that was the last we saw of Joe until the end. All three of us had been wondering about how much we were supposed to strip down for the baths, as we'd heard conflicting rumors. Cait and I kept our undies on, but Joe was more daring and went starkers (we asked, later. When you travel with the same people for so long, you lose some of your shame. I know way too much now about way too many of the GLS people. Good times, man). Dressed in towels that looked like cut-up picnic table cloths and bright rubber sandals, Cait and I were ushered into one side, into a hallway that was just marble all over, and at the end it opened up into a room where three sinks were overflowing, and there was a low marble bench hugging the wall. The woman who was leading us around (wearing a bathrobe) picked up two bowls that were near the sinks and showed us that we were supposed to dump water from the sinks onto us. Sounds boring, but actually it's really awesome and relaxing. Two Canadian girls were there, finishing up, and they left after chatting with us for a bit. Once Cait and I were thoroughly soaked and had adjusted to the humid heat, to the point where we kind of felt like the puddles that we were making on the marble floor (we wondered about the draining system, as there didn't seem to be any. Later we noticed grooves in the floor in the hallway that allowed the water to run out.) the woman in the bathrobe came back and led us out into another room, where she and another woman (both now wearing swimsuits) took away our tablecloths and had us lie down on stone tables. They exfoliated, washed, massaged... it was amazing, but in that way where you're not really sure if it's excrutiatingly painful or incredibly relaxing. As a note, they are RUTHLESS on sunburns and bruises. At a few points, I was on the verge of screaming, and Cait said the same later, but from what Joe told us, the boys had it even more so. On their side, where there was apparently a party going on because he'd been thrown in with a bunch of (very cute) Italian boys, the big Turkish men who did the washing and massaging basically just beat them senseless and nearly cracked their spines. Joe said there was a lot of screaming involved (from him and the Italians) but afterwards they felt amazing. That's kind of how it goes. Cait did almost kick the woman working on her when she went to touch her feet, since apparently Cait has very ticklish feet (which Cait said she'd never noticed before). Anyways, first you lie face down and then when you're pretty convinced you have no skin left but that all your muscles have been rubbed into silly-putty-like-consistancy, they have you flip over and do the same to the front. Then they send you back to the washroom where you sit and pour water on yourself until you feel like moving again (or fear that you're going to fall asleep and drown, which is a good time to leave). We could hear Joe's voice through the wall, and he told us he could hear us, but we couldn't hear what was being said.
After, we got out and they gave us towels and we dried off and changed, then sat and had apple tea (which tastes like PERFECT hot apple cider. It's the most amazing stuff ever), while we waited for Joe, and then just hung out and chatted with the Italians for a bit, before we went home for the night, where we slept like dead people. Best money spent-- worth every penny.

Pafos Pictures

2009-05-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

The pool at our Pafos hotel... and yes, that's the sea in the background. Be jealous.
Even at night, the flowers were blindingly bright it seemed.
I really should have entered the GLS photo competition... but I forgot, of course.

The birthplace of Aphrodite (She supposedly climbed up onto that big rock in the distance after coming out of the sea)

This is one of my favorite pictures, actually. That's Dave (barely visible), Reg, Em and Traci (whom we always call Bubby, because she's basically the jewish grandma for all of us).

Pool Stunt!

2009-05-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

So my human diving board is James, and he's a riot, but I have about 3000 bruises from him picking me up and tossing me around. No complaints though, because the entire weekend was a blast. I know I still have to tell about Paphos and Turkey before Ayia Napa, but I had to post this video, since this was quite possibly the most fun thing I've done in Cyprus.

Impulse Decisions

2009-05-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

After having rather a rough night, I started acting on whatever impulses I had. I booked a flight for Turkey (I leave at 4:15 in the morning tomorrow), and when my roomies started talking about how they'd like to cut my hair, I let them do it. I made sure the ponytail they cut off was long enough to donate, and after that, I just let them do what they wanted, and didn't even look in the mirror until after it was cut, dyed and styled. It barely touches my shoulders now, but I like it. Meg did a great job cutting it, and Alana's dye job turned out perfect. I'm not telling my friends back home (I don't think any of them read this anyways) and so I can't wait to see their faces when I get back. Anyways, wish me luck on my Turkey visit, I'm sure I'll have a blast, even though it was last minute and unplanned.

Good Times, Bad Ideas

2009-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

We just spent the weekend in Pafos, by the beach. Yeah, that's right, I just spent the weekend playing in the Mediterranean, lounging by any one of the SEVERAL pools, or dancing around and listening to (horrible) karaoke. Speaking of which, Jake's rendition of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" was one of the most amusing things I've ever seen, and Taylor's "Dancing Queen" was actually well done.
As you might have guessed, there was alcohol involved, although that may not have been the ONLY reason for the major incident of the weekend. Taylor is a swimmer, and so used to diving into pools. Unfortunately, she tried it after a night of drinking... into the shallow end.
The good part is she's fine, just about 10 stitches in the forehead and probably a killer headache.
Moral of the story: Don't dive headfirst into the shallow ends of pools. I know it's not applicable to many situations, but it's still good advice.
We had a number of other non-injurious incidents, including a few people's misguided (and again intoxicated) attempts at skinny-dipping, and a lot of sunburns.
Want to know where I was during most of this? I was around for the dancing and karaoke, but for the less advisable activities, I was on the pull-out couch with Danielle and Chelseanna watching movies until we fell asleep. I'd never even talked to them at all before, but a number of rooming issues led to me being thrown in with them (and later josh joined us, but not for the movie watching, because he hates everything that I don't. I don't mind, he's from Florida and listens to too much techno-- it's burned out his brain when it comes to tastes I think, because we never agree on anything, and he thinks NH is "creepy.") so basically I got to meet two new girls, and they turned out to be really cool. Anyways, if I think of anything else, I'll do another post later, but for the moment, I'm going to go attempt to be productive.

The End of Spring Break...Sort of...

2009-04-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

So the second visit to Athens, right? I said it was a later story, so I'm finishing up on the epic two-week spring break. GLS is evil. The only way they could have made the trip home to Cyprus any longer and more inconvenient would have been if they flew us there via Australia (which would have been cool, so I probably wouldn't have even been as cranky).
Wake up: 6am phone call, which Meggie shushed instead of answering.
Long wait in the Barcelona airport, then a flight to Milan.
Milan would have been cool, but despite having a SEVEN HOUR LAYOVER we weren't allowed to explore the city, plus it was downpouring. Meg lost (and then had to take a bus to a different terminal to find again) her ipod, our checked luggage got soaked (so now all my stuff smells) and at least one girl's brand new Italian leather jacket got ruined, and I had to go buy a book in one of the overpriced airport stores, where I had to choose from about three shelves of English books, because while I can read Spanish or French, Italian just looks silly and nonsensical to me, but I had to have a book, or I'd have gone insane. Oh, and I scarfed down McDonald's fries and a burger like it was my job, because all the other American girls, with their lists of food they're craving, made me desperate for fast-food unhealthy grossness (and it was delicious, in that "mmm... I can HEAR my arteries clogging" sort of way). By the way, when I get home, I want pizza from the Newport place. And tortilla chips with salsa. And enough real maple syrup on pancakes to make me physically ill.
After one of the most boring waits ever, we boarded our second plane... to Athens... at 8pm... which I had not been prepared for. WORST FLIGHT EVER. I was tired, cranky, felt icky, and was seated next to two of the most dramatic girls EVER! They were convinced the plane was going to go down in flames the entire flight (there was really only a tiny bit of turbulance, but listening to them, you'd think we experianced 100 drops and did barrel rolls in an apocolyptic style thunderstorm), claimed they were being roasted alive (the temperature inside the plane was barely warmer than normal. I was in a sweatshirt and still fine) and they were threatening to sue.
I survived that without throwing anyone out of the plane or stabbing them with the plastic fork provided to us, and then had to sit in the Athens airport for another long layover, listening to EVERY SINGLE GIRL bitch about how tired and cranky they were. 25 irritable girls who have been in close quarters (and without boys) for two weeks who are up (and sober) past their bedtimes... Yes, not only did I find paradise in Barcelona, I found hell in the Athens airport.
Finally around 1am we boarded the flight back to Cyprus, where one of the checked suitcases had been lost, so we had to wait for that to be sorted out, then got yelled at in Greek by a busdriver in the parkinglot for a good 20 minutes, then the LOOOOOONG drive to the apartments, and bed... around 5am. I had to get up for class at 8:15. Which I couldn't miss.
I'd decided that all I could manage would be to get up and get dressed and get to class, but when my alarm went off in the morning, steps 1 and 2 were even starting to look optional.
I actually managed to attend BOTH my classes, although the professor in the second one sent me and the other American girl home during the break, because we looked like zombies. You know it's really bad when you actually start to LOOK like your passport photo. It was a bit scary.
However, I've slept and showered and look fairly human once again, so despite the papers still waiting to be written, I'm pretty content. It's weird how much my apartment in Cyprus feels like home now.

Barcelona

2009-04-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

Barcelona was probably my favorite part of the trip. To start off with, we immediately saw the FCB bus as we were leaving the airport! (By the way, I now have a number 21 Hleb jersey :D)

I got to eat paella (Claire and I shared, and scarfed down enough so that we both looked 5 months pregnant. Oh, and the waiter didn't speak English. Francina, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, did most of the talking for us, but they made me go ask for the check), and eat at the fresh food market, which was one of my favorite things, and there was amazing (and pretty!) deserts as well.
Gaudi was prominently featured everywhere, with some of the coolest buildings I've ever seen, and I'm going to live in one (I'll give you a hint-- it's the one that looks like a gingerbread house. I'm going to dress like a witch and have black cats and run a daycare center. It'll be great.)

I discovered that Barcelona is either radioactive, or naturally produces gatorade beneath the streetsI found a tiny section of paradise

I spent a day with some friends at the famous park at the top of the city, where I took some of my favorite pictures, including the best one I've ever taken of my roomie Regina, and Claire, whom I got to know on this trip, and we spent a lot of the time wondering how we'd managed not to know each other beforehand, since we have a very similar sense of humor.

Regina found her perfect Vespa
Claire and I laid on the floor taking pictures of each other upside down, and of the ceiling, while listening to some guy play guitar
And we spend an afternoon at the beach, where Claire and I played in the icy waves and watched crazy people wind surf (or just regular surf) while the other girls tried to decide if we were crazy, or didn't have nerve endings anymore, or just didn't have the sense to get OUT OF THE WATER since we kept screaming that it was cold every time a wave came up and splashed us (I had my camera and was taking pictures, but we were only like knee deep, so it didn't get wet or sandy or anything bad like that)
Half our little crew waited outside in this little park area while the other half explored the inside of an unfinished Gaudi building and a couple guys on guitars played "Brown Eyed Girl" which made me really happy

I discovered why everyone in Barcelona is really happy and laid back

I had the coolest camera malfunction ever while taking a picture of fake people on a balcony dressed more fashionably than _I_ ever will be

And lots of other random things. I took over 850 pictures of Barcelona alone, in only two days, and feel like I could have continued at that rate for another three months straight and still not run out of interesting subjects. All in all, Barcelona was straight up incredible. Of all the places I've been on this trip, I think Barcelona was the one I'd love to live in. Everywhere else was a cool place to visit, but Barcelona could easily be home.

Fresh Food and Flowers in Barcelona

2009-04-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

Italy part 3: Venice!

2009-04-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

Venice was the most beautiful city in Italy. Hands down. Rome may have been the most interesting, but Venice was just gorgeous, despite the initial downpour and freezing wind. We spent the worst of it in a little coffee shop, and then wandered around. What can I say? We like wandering. And for someone who likes to photograph water and canals, Venice was a dream.

Gondola guys! Complete with awesome hats and little sailor suits. Yes, they really wear them, and they're EVERYWHERE. We didn't actually GO on one of the gondolas (well, some of the other girls did, but not the ones I was with), but I took a lot of pictures of them. And canals.
I don't know why, but I've lately been taking a lot of pictures of scummy shorelines and docks and ropes and all that lovely stuff that looks kinda cool in an "ewww... I dare you to touch it" kind of way.

Italy part 2: Florence!

2009-04-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

An accidental photograph taken by my camera while I was photographing one of the canals that we were lost near (which is the picture below. We walked along that bridge, and it's all stores! Mostly jewelry.)

I'd been really looking forward to Florence, simply because the group that had gone before us had raved about it, saying it was the best part of Italy. It was pretty, but actually kind of boring. Other than shopping (which we all did too much of simply because there wasn't much else to do) we just walked around a lot. And got lost. A lot.
My destructive luck struck again when it finally became clear that my suitcase could make it no further. The wheel (and the whole corner that the wheel was attached to) had completely broken off, and the whole bottom seam was undone. At that point it would have been easier to simply make a new suitcase out of duct tape than it would have been to repair this one. Luckily, while Rachel and I were lost and wandering around, I found a new one! Which I bought, dragged back to the hotel, and am now in the process of destroying (although hopefully not before I make it back to the States).Florence was where we lost Emma. Our walking entertainment, she unfortunately was the victim of our trip (one person having been basically killed off on each trip) and was hospitalized with appendicitis, so she not only lost one her appendix, but one of her fallopian tubes as well, and had to stay behind in Florence, in the hospital. Luckily one of her parents flew in to stay with her, but we're very sad that she missed the rest of the trip and might not be able to return to Cyprus at all.

On a happier note, we also saw the David. Apparently he's known as the most beautiful man in the world. It figures: the most beautiful man in the world is made of rock. At least that means he's aged well, right?
Florence is where we basically got accosted by a bunch of Italian boys who barely spoke English, but were determined to flirt with us. One of them spoke Spanish though, which I could understand, so the entire time we were all talking, it was a confusing babbled combination of English, Italian and Spanish, which resulted in me NOT giving out my phone number, but smiling and assuring them we'd probably bump into each other again, which we did... five minutes later.
One of them wanted me to take a picture-- well, that's what he SAID, because his English wasn't very good, but what he wanted was a picture WITH me, which I conveniently misunderstood, instead staying firmly BEHIND the camera. Rachel obliged him though, and he didn't even seem to notice her lovely smile. Ah yes, Italian boys.
While the Italian boys are harmless little flirts, what you DO have to look out for are the statues. Living statues. Throw a coin in the box at their feet and take a picture with them: They're statues so they're not supposed to move, right? Apparently the coin makes them sentient, and they will then grope you slowly and awkwardly while your hysterically laughing companion/photographer tries not to wet their pants laughing long enough to take the picture so you can run away and feel a little dirty. Great fun.

Italy part 1: Rome!

2009-04-29T01:27:00.000-07:00

More ridiculous looking guards! I cannot take seriously any "guard" who wears MC Hammer clown pants.
Those little colored specks are people. Yeah, it's kinda big.
The Sistine Chapel didn't do much for me (don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool) but I nearly started hyperventilating the first time I saw this.
The Trevi Fountain
If you toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain over your shoulder, it is supposed to mean you'll make it back to Rome someday. If you toss in two, you'll get married. Despite ME being one of the two oldest girls on the trip (and I'm not that old!) you wouldn't believe how many of the girls tossed in two coins.
The shoes I could not afford to buy for my sister, Kate.
Yes. Yes it is.

Rome was my favorite of the Italian cities. Lots to do and see and take pictures of, and the company was pretty good because we weren't sick of each other yet. The subway was a little sketchy with so many people and the constant warnings about pickpockets, but walking around was amazing. The first night a bunch of us walked around the entire city, despite the drizzling rain, and happened upon a concert going on, with lights, dancing and fantastic singing. It might have been romantic, but our trip was all straight girls, so none of that. However, I have to state that I'm beginning to suspect that it is a law that Italian waiters have to be really really cute.
We went out several times, and even though I've never been the biggest fan of Italian food, in Italy it is flat out amazing. I'm so glad I didn't study abroad there, because I'd be broke and obese within two weeks. For those of you who KNOW my eating habits, let me say this: I had lasagne that I literally could have eaten for three weeks straight without getting sick of it. I can't say enough about the food: it was just incredible.
The second day, we wandered around the city again, but with better weather and an actual guided tour. Actually, basically the whole time we were in Rome we just wandered around the city taking pictures. Even of things we weren't supposed to *coughSISTINECHAPELcough*
Americans may seem to have a complete disregard for "no photos" signs, but really I have to say that it is Europeans who are rude, which was entirely unexpected. I've really not been impressed.
Anyway, Rome was awesome and I'd love to go back.

Pisa, on the other hand, was boring. There's only one thing to see, and it takes five seconds to see it. It took longer for our group to go on a bathroom break than it did to see everything I needed to of the tower.

Greece!

2009-04-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

What you can't tell from this picture is that the rocks are deadly and there's a sea urchin minefield there.
Most of the group who went to one of the Greek islands for a day trip-- Christina, Taylor, Meggie, Amy, Regina, Emily, Emma, Kelly, Kelly, Lauren, Desi, and Meg (and probably a few other girls I'm forgetting)
How gorgeous is this?
That's the beach. Not sandy. And the water was COLD.

I like this better than the U.S. version
Ampitheatre

Athens from the top

Steps of the Parthenon

Okay, one country at a time. In Greece, we just went to Athens. Actually, we went there twice, but that's a later story about how cruel and sadistic GLS is. (GLS being the program I'm studying with.)
Athens was gorgeous. I have a 4GB memory card in my camera, and have never come close to seeing how much it can hold, even though I take a lot of pictures everywhere I go, however, probably since my major centers around all the stuff in Rome and Athens, between the two places I took about 1300 pictures. I didn't have to use my second memory card. I'm a bit amazed. With all the pictures I've taken these past few months, I've discovered a few trends with my photography:
I like to shoot outdoors with natural lighting.
I prefer no people in my shots, but animals are a great subject, as well as plants.
Buildings kind of bore me, but ruins are fine. I only like buildings once they're dead.
I tend to shoot pictures of things through other things, like an alley through a hole in a fence, ruins through a doorway, narrow streets, things like that. I like natural framing.
I tend to shoot at an angle, never perfectly landscape or portrait.
Although I shoot both wide angle and close up, when I go through the pictures later, I tend towards the close ups.
Also, water apparently is a favorite subject of mine. Especially canals, I've discovered, because they provide the best combination: water, narrow alley-type, and natural framing from bridges.
Anyways, back to Athens. We of course saw the Acropolis, and in fact, due to my total lack of grace and poor traction on my shoes, I nearly fell DOWN the Acropolis several times. Most of that trip was spent alternating between taking pictures and trying desperately to keep my balance. The place was overrun with stray dogs, and not little ones like in the Dominican Republic. Big, pretty stray dogs, that would come up and lean against you to be patted.
We went with some Greek guys to watch the guards at the Parliament building or whatever it was stretch. They wear very silly outfits with big floofy shoes, and they're cranky, even though they don't get to say anything. In order to take a picture with them, you had to ask the military guy nearby for permission. I thought it was silly that guards needed their own guard, and then concluded that I'd be cranky too if I had to wear a silly skirt and ridiculous elf shoes.
I'd show you the pictures, but they're on someone else's camera, and I haven't stolen them yet.
Also, we went on a day trip to one of the Greek islands. It was beautiful but the water was cold and four of us attempted (and succeeded, but only barely) to navigate what looked like an easy little bridge of rocks. It turns out the rocks were evil and sharp but slippery all at once, and to make matters worse, there were sea urchins EVERYWHERE. It was like navigating a minefield, except every step was designed to make you lose your balance and fall, and the waves kept trying to push you over, and you couldn't catch yourself because you'd fall on a sea urchin or six. I don't have any pictures of that or of the sea urchins, because I was smart enough NOT to attempt to bring my camera out on this little venture, because not only would it have died against the rocks or an urchin AND gotten wet one of the 800 times I lost my balance, but it would have also had to swim in with us when we decided we were NOT going to attempt to walk anymore. I DID, however, manage not to hurt any sea urchins. I'm kind of impressed with myself on that score (although instead I just dashed myself against just about every sharp scum-covered rock). I also was one of the few girls who remembered to bring a swimsuit. The others just stripped down to their undies, which was kind of amusing, because not only did they look silly, but then they drew attention to themselves by screaming like they were being stabbed the entire time, and feigning terror at the sight of all the urchins. Oh, and whomever told you about sandy beaches on the Greek islands... lied. A lot.

Home Alone, But With a Lot Less Macaulay Culkin

2009-04-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

For the past few days, everyone has been gone. When I say "everyone," I mean my apartment was empty, the downstairs apartment was empty, the next door apartment was empty, the boys' apartment was empty, and most of the building next door was empty.
So what is a girl to do when she's left completely unsupervised for several days?
Injure herself of course! I had a knee give out while I was in the shower (because fate is not only cruel, but has an evil sense of humor), I accidentally ripped a small hole in my shoulder somehow (and now it feels like it's on fire), and I have a myriad of fun new bruises from bumping into tables while sliding across the floor in my socks, and from falling up the stairs because my flipflops have no traction. I've also developed a hacking cough, because what's the point of being injured if you're not COMPLETELY uncomfortable and can still breathe normally?
So today I have the fun tasks of 1) packing for my Greece/Italy/Spain trip, 2) organizing the room so I can empty out and use my suitcase and 3) writing a stupid paper. I hate papers. Erg.
Oh well, by the next update, I'll have been in at least one new country. Yay!

Amsterdam pictures!

2009-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

That's right, Batman was totally there.

(live swan, but it didn't decide to go all crazy on us, which was nice.)

Budapest pictures!

2009-04-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

That's me holding up that bird.

XXX

2009-04-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took a few days to travel. Originally I wanted to go to Jordan, Israel and Turkey, which is how Nicole and I got in touch: she wanted to go too, and one of our mutual friends suggested we go together. After much planning, we ended up in Budapest and Amsterdam instead. Neither of us have a CLUE how that happened, but like the title of this site suggests, it was yet another fortunate mistake. I'd never have gone to Amsterdam otherwise probably, and certainly never Budapest, but it turns out Budapest is the most beautiful city ever; so much so that I didn't even care that my fingers froze nearly off and the wind tried to strangle me with my own hair. I even got to hold a falcon! It was amazing (but really really heavy, and it was a struggle to keep my arm up and straight out like the guy showed me). We met up with a couple girls that live there, and they showed us around, and basically it was just a total blast.
Amsterdam. XXX-- it's written everywhere: buildings, the streets, the posts... triple x's all over the city. Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, right? Apparently not. The truth is much less wild. There used to be seven duchies in the Netherlands, and each was denoted by a certain number of X's. Amsterdam was the third duchy, thus three X's. Appropriate though, no?
Unfortunately, this site isn't letting me post pictures at the moment (I think it has to do with the fact that our internet hates us, and has been dead for several days) so I'll have to have a whole picture entry later, so be patient with me!
Also, today I got a package in the mail! Birthday, Easter, and a letter from my grandparents, all in one! Since my friends had thrown me such an awesome party for my own birthday, complete with cake, I'll probably use the cake mix/decorations/candles for my roomie Regina's birthday, which is coming up, which is even better, because it means that I got all the excitement of a package, and get the double fun of getting to see Reggie's face light up like mine did on MY birthday. :D I have to admit, when I opened the package, I squeaked like Joe did when he saw that mouse (more about that later) and I promptly ate the entire chocolate bunny that was in there, while reading Grandmom's letter, which had as much news as a newspaper, all squeezed onto one sheet of paper. It's amazing how she does that.
Anyways, I'll have to do another post to catch up on everything later, so expect that soon!

I love parties

2009-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me!
So I knew that we were all going to have a potluck Mexican dinner for my birthday.
What I DIDN'T know was how all-out they were going to go.
While I was out for a walk to take pictures of this whole walkway just covered with graffitti, Taylor and Alana decorated the apartment with streamers, balloons, and a sign they colored for me. They even cleaned and rearranged the furniture. Everyone cooked either right there in the apartment, or brought stuff when they came. The girls in the apartment next to us CLEARED OUT their fridge to make room for the over 100 jello shots they made. We had quesadillas, rice, guacamole, salsa, 7-layer dip, LOTS of chips, chicken, tacos with all the toppings... Taylor even attempted to shred lettuce with our cheese grater (just a little side note: it doesn't work). The best part? Josh had gone out and gotten me a chocolate cake, with a layer at the bottom of cherries (it was amazing. I was really sad this morning to wake up and not have any left for breakfast). There was lots of dancing and silliness, and basically it was just a great night all around: good fun, good food, and good friends. Let's hear it for 22!

Kites

2009-03-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Today was gorgeous out, beautiful sunshine and blue skies, but very windy. What does that add up to? Kite flying of course! I hadn't done it since I was little, but we went on a kite finding expedition, found a few kiddie kites (one had Nemo the clownfish on it, the other just was a pretty colorful pentagon) and went out. It turns out that I am the MASTER at kite flying. All I could think of though, was how much I want to get a kite for Rudy when I get home, and show him how to fly it. I bet he'd love it.

I'm Coming Home With Nothing

2009-03-12T10:47:00.001-07:00

I just basically sold my liver, kidneys, future children and took out a mortgage on a house I don't even own yet, all so that I can see as much of the world as possible while I'm over here this semester. That's right, I just bought a ticket to Amsterdam! We have a long layover which means we get to walk around Hungary too, but the round trip ticket cost 166euro, and the fees and taxes cost 155euro, which seemed a bit excessive, so for the flights just to get there and back, I just let the airlines bleed out about $413 from me. How I'm supposed to A) come up with the money for the hostel and anything I do while I'm there and B) have anything left to see anywhere else this semester, I have no idea. I'm still excited though, and I've heard organ removal is a great way to quickly lose weight, even if it does hurt a bit. Oh well, I don't carry a ducttape wallet because I'm used to carrying a lot of money around, right?
So ummm... anyone have any ideas of what we should do when we get there?

Picture Time!

2009-03-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

Carnival
Football!
With Music!

Paphos
A pier in Limassol
Regina
I love this picture (I took it at at the parade). That's Alana, Amir, Meg and Kristina
Taylor fell down
Emily's usual spot
Photo class with Katerina
My favorite picture I've taken of Meg
Photo class again (picture taken by Navid)
Deep philosophical discussions at 4am
Deep thought going on here
Emily and Jake
The alley restaurant in Egypt that we loved
These were EVERYWHERE
View from the top of the Cairo Tower
Cairo (Pyramids in the background!)

The view outside our hostel window in Cairo

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2009-03-10T02:52:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Boys! 03/05/2009

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So since the boys are leaving for 8 days, and then after that our schedules are so conflicting that we won't be able to hang out with them much, we decided to throw them a little fete before they go. Pasta night! My roomie Emily and I cooked up a bunch of pasta, beer bread, and I made a really good olive oil bread dip too, and we crowded our apt and had a great time.

Carnival: Halloween Meets Mardi Gras 03/03/2009

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Limassol is RUDE. The people were NOT all that friendly, except for in the clubs, when everyone is drunk and dancing and guys try to buy you drinks and tell you you're an angel, which is pretty much standard all over Cyprus. None of us enjoyed the company in Limassol much though. Every hotel worker was incredibly rude to us, the cab drivers tried to rip us all off, and pretty much everyone we talked to was just straight up rude.
The Carnival was awesome though. Pretty much a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween (I can't really think of a better mix!). The parade was great, but I have to say, I think the first night there, when it was just all of us hanging out in the hotel room before hitting up the clubs (in costumes of course!) was the best part of the weekend. I think all of us are very glad that next weekend, for ONCE, we aren't going anywhere and can just relax.
...Except for the boys of course, who are leaving for 8 days.

Happy Birthday, Kate! 03/02/2009

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My sister turns 24!

Egypt! 02/24/2009

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So a whole bunch of us decided to go away for the weekend. You know, nothing fancy, just hang out... in Cairo.
We flew in late Thursday night and got driven to our hostel. The traffic is insane. Mom would have a heart attack-- it's as bad if not worse than Central America.
The people who worked at the hostel that we ended up hanging out with a lot, Mustafa and Ahab, were wicked fun, and the first night we were there, Mustafa showed us this very cute little restaurant in a back alley, where we had tea, hookah, and food that none of us will ever figure out the names of. Not a single night went by where I didn't have tea, so it was all good in my opinion.
Day one we did all the necessary Cairo things: I saw the pyramids and sphinx from the back of a camel (they smell REALLY bad, but they're so much fun, especially when they stand up or lay down-- neither of which mine was willing to do), and then I got to ride a horse as well, and one of the guides challenged me to go faster, so i walked over to where he was, spun my horse on its heels, and just barely touched its sides and we took off, racing across the desert and giggling like a schoolgirl. I don't know if I won, but I didn't really care, because that was the single greatest moment of my life. I wish someone had a picture of it, or a video. I apparently impressed the guide who was just watching (not the one I raced) because there was a horse I'd wanted to ride, but he'd been acting up, and after the race the guide came over and said "Okay, you're even a better rider than (the guide I raced), you could have handled that horse." and later at the hostel told all the other Egyptians about the race (in Arabic-- I sort of stumbled into the conversation and someone translated to me quietly).
Ahab was very sweet to all of us, setting everything up for us and even coming out to dinner with us once. He made me tea and when he found out I had studied a little Arabic, he went through just about everything I could remember, helping me with my pronounciation, and writing down a list of things I should know.
Mustafa was a riot. He also smokes hookah like a chimney-- I've never seen a person exhale that amount of smoke; he looked like a dragon. He hung out with us quite a bit.
The only recurring guide we had was Shareif (and yes, I'm well aware that I am probably butchering their names, but how do you write out Arabic names in English without having seen them?) and he was very amusing too, calling one of the blonde girls in our group "his angel" all the time, and flirting with her to the amusement of the rest of us.
We did go to the top of the Cairo tower and take a ton of pictures, but this website for some reason hasn't been letting me on, hasn't been letting me post, and has been rather obnoxious, so you'll have to look for the photos on facebook. We also went to the Egypt museum (and saw mummies of course!) and another little museum.
Oh, and did I mention I climbed up and then INSIDE one of the pyramids?

Best. Fieldtrip. Ever 02/18/2009

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My roomie Regina is in a cultural architecture class, and the professor decided to take them all on a field trip into the city, to see the structures, culture, and all that stuff. ...at night.
Since Regina is the only American in that class (and because it sounded like fun) I went along.
Oh my god, it was soooo much fun. We all met up in the city at 10pm and for the first bit, there were about 10 or 12 students. We walked around the city, looking at the structure and the history and different points of interest, we got the street names explained to us and the professor pointed out the changes that have taken place even just in the past few years. It was incredibly interesting and informative, and a better, more chill version of a regular guided tour. Even though it was just an hour or two into the night and the trip was planned to go till 8am, a bunch of the kids ditched, and it was down to the prof, two guys, two other girls, and my roomie and I. The professor brought up a lot of interesting issues, like the proper use of public space, the idea of "squares" as cultural centers and places to pause in the middle of a bustling city, a building's structure being modernized so that it no longer has the same artistic integrity, and the tragedy of the demolition of works by famously talented architects, pointing out different buildings and examples as we walked.
Then things got very different from your average class trip. We went to a caberet show (to study the culture, don't judge us) and afterwards the other two girls ditched, leaving just the four of us and the prof. So for more culture, we went barcrawling... with the professor... who bought the first couple rounds.
After closing down two or three of the bars, we went back to touring the city, and ended up in this little street with a bunch of storage areas, one of which it turns out the professor owned and had used to host a New Years party, so we opened it up, pulled some stools out into the street, sat down and had some awesome conversation about the importance of culture and history, faith, life and everything (oddly enough, "42" was never mentioned). A couple hours later, we were some of the first people to scope out the fresh food market that was just setting up, where Regina bought some strange thing that we neither know what it is nor how to cook it (but that's half the fun) and I bought some kiwis for breakfast. Then, because it was 6:30am and the sun was up, we, like vampires, headed home and went to bed. Good times, good times.

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2009-03-10T02:51:00.000-07:00

Fashion, Nice Graffiti, and Other Things I'm Not Used To 02/10/2009

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Everyone here is much more fashionable than I am, and I didn't pack a lot of clothes, but everything I DID pack was wrong. Everyone wears skinny jeans and high-heeled boots, which I don't even OWN, let alone bring with me, and I look like a homeless person, although I've been here for several weeks and have yet to see a homeless person in Cyprus. Luckily my roommates are determined that I shall NOT remain a fashion-trainwreck, and one of the Cypriot girls in my class has made it her mission to teach me Greek, so by the time I come home, I will be as foreign as any alien. I'm going to have worse culture shock going HOME than I did when I came.
My style is comfy jeans and non-flattering clothes and scrubby looking hoodies, so I am covered pretty much all the time from neck to wrists and ankles, feeling rather prudish. About the only time that any skin between my neck and toes is showing is when I'm either sleeping or showering. Recently our bathroom light went out, and we discovered we needed a new lightbulb, so we bought one, even checking the watts first... and it still didn't work. So instead of trying again, we've just let the bathroom stay in the dark. ...which makes it very awkward and creepy to shower, because you're in the dark, showering, and the door is open with everyone just chilling in the other room. Not the sort of thing I'm used to.
Also in weird things I'm not used to, I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but we've got drag racers that race along the street directly in front of my apartment (in fact, directly beneath my balcony). They start racing around 11 at night and keep going (VERY loudly) until about 4am... EVERY NIGHT. So far we've heard a few blowouts, but no crashes and no one's been hit, although we expect at least one of those two to happen. I'm more liable to get hit by one of these drag racers than I am to get into any other sort of trouble here in Cyprus.
And lastly, in addition to the expected greek graffiti, anarchy symbols, "f&@% the police," and strangely enough an advertisement for Smirnoff Ice, we found these gems:

My Apartment 02/08/2009

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Since I seem to be having luck posting pictures tonight, before that runs out, I figured I'd show you where I live, at least a little bit. When I get more pictures of the place and the city (now that I have a new camera!) I'll post those too!
Those are my suitmates-- Alana, Emily, and Regina (who is my roomie)

Why I Have No Money 02/08/2009

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I got the site running again! I tried to write a post yesterday, and couldn't get to it. Magically it reappeared today, which is good, because my "fix-it" skills are limited to 1) complain loudly 2) stomp around and hit random keys and 3) magic, so if it won't magically fix, I'm kind of at a loss.
Yesterday we went to the Turkish side of the island again, and although there were "no pictures" signs posted all along the border, and armed soldiers dourly staring at us, some of the girls on our trip still didn't seem to get the hint, so when one of them took a picture OF THE NO PICTURE SIGN, and another of a guard, everyone was surprised when a soldier came over and went through her camera, deleting the pictures. She's lucky she got to keep the camera at all.
We toured two castles and an old abbey, which were beautiful of course, and then went to the coastal town of Kyrenia, where 1) I got asked if I was Turkish (even though I clearly only spoke English and don't look even a little Turkish) and 2) spent a ton of money on stuff to bring home for people. ... which is why I have no money. All I'm saying is, my sisters had better love me a lot.
The major story of the day was the public restroom escapade. One of the girls (Taylor) and I, instead of sitting down to eat at one of the gorgeous outdoor-along-the-water restaurants, walked around for a bit, took pictures, fended off advances from silly guys, shopped, and eventually made a trip to the WC (bathroom-- I figured that out in Vienna; I thought they were just being mean and hiding all their bathrooms, and I finally had to ask, and she pointed to the WC sign directly behind me, looking at me like I was a moron.) Anyways, Taylor had issues figuring out how to even flush the toilet, and then as we were going out, didn't realize you had to pay, so I did, since she didn't have any change on her. We got outside, and she asked how much it was, and then in shock yelled at the top of her voice "I just paid a EURO to PEE?!" and we got to enjoy the weird looks from everyone within a 50 yard radius. And then of course, every time we saw someone we knew, she would repeat it like the hottest news headline of the day.
Oh, and in the best little shop we went into, underneath a castle, the guy there (who was really nice and very funny) had a Che Guevara beaded thingy. I was amused.

Oops 02/03/2009

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They say that those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it. Well, what about people like me who DID learn it but hang out with people who assume I'm just being silly because they'd have "cleared it all up by now"?
Apparently when I objected to crossing that big empty field by saying "they used landmines during that whole mess 30 years ago" I was right. We were apparently in the "dead zone" near the Green Line... which was full of mines. Several soldiers were killed not too long ago trying to clear the mine fields.
I need to start listening to myself more.

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2009-03-10T02:47:00.000-07:00

Remember kids: barbed wire means "no" 02/02/2009

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So yesterday a bunch of us decided to go for a walk in a national park here in the city. However, after seeing some monstrous killer demon fish and some oddly deformed and gargantuan duck-aliens in the pond, we ran out of things to stare at like tourists. So, being the brilliant people that we are in a country that was invaded in a civil war of sorts only 30 years ago, we crossed a main road, meandered through what was a perfect movie-set minefield, and then debated where to go from there. Like in any good movie, for the action (or horror, whatever) to start, the group must split up, so we did.
The two boys, two other girls and I decided to go climb a mountain we could see in the distance. Not climb a trail, not take the road, but just go straight up the side of the mountain, picking our way up the loose soil through pricker bushes and ... oh yeah... abandoned gun turrets. After climbing down inside it to explore (because that's a brilliant idea) we ventured on.
When we got to a point where we couldn't climb any higher on the mountain, we decided to try the road to see if we could get to the very top. Now, to Joe, Alana and I, the barbed wire, razor wire, big gate blocking the road, military barracks and the giant "stop" sign seemed designed to indicate that maybe we should turn around at that point. Unfortunately, to the other two, it was a clear invitation to explore.
Long story short, when the soldier with the very big rifle came jogging towards us, we made a very hasty retreat back down the mountain, while I debated which of my companions to trip in order to make my getaway.
What makes this such a good story is the fact that I did NOT in fact get shot with the very big rifle, nor even thrown into a foreign prison. I've heard those aren't fun.
In today's news, my class schedule is all messed up, but the Cypriots in my photo class are a total riot, and after class we ended up just hanging out and chatting in the cafe for two hours.

First day of classes! 01/26/2009

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The hardest part was finding the room. Seriously, this semester is going to be the easiest one I've ever had.
Oh, and one of my prof's said he could put me in touch with some NGO's in Cyprus, how cool is that? Tomorrow when I can get onto my email again, I'll send him one so he can forward it to them. Wish me luck! I'm not really sure what I'm hoping for yet...
I attempted to make tzaziki spread today... and oh man it's amazing :D
I've gotta cut down on my consumption though, because groceries here are expensive!
Oh yeah, and we went to the other side of the island a couple days ago-- the Turkish side.
A few years ago they declared themselves a separate country, but they aren't recognized by any country except Turkey. We had to show our passports, but they only stamp the visa. I now have a visa and stamps from a country that legally doesn't exist!

Birthdays! 01/25/2009

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Happy birthday Dad and Grandmom!

I desperately need a nap 01/24/2009

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It's been a wild couple of days. A couple of girls I hadn't met yet went with me to search out different spots around town, and we were supposed to meet up with the rest of the kids in our program at some restaurant. Sounds good, right?
We got sooooo horribly lost.
We even ended up at the wrong restaurant.
Luckily, we ended up at the place that has been labeled by a few magazines as having the best meze in Nicosia.
And oh my god was it amazing. SOOOOOO much food. We even had snails, and one of the girls screamed when she pulled it out of the shell (they're very ugly out of the shells). Meze is not one food, when you order meze, its the entire meal-- they bring out a ton of traditional food-- cold appetizers, hot appetizers, main dishes, deserts, coffee... just mountains of food. we had to pile platters on top of other platters and a little side-table because we couldn't fit it all. It was a good mistake. ... plus the waiters were really cute...
Speaking of the food, my roomie and I have been blaming it for the weird dreams we've all been having.
We went to Troodos the other day, the mountains, and had great Cyprus coffee, went exploring, got lost, went to the wine capital of the country, and of course got a few souvenires and a lot of great pictures. Since my camera is broken, basically everyone here is really sweet to me, handing me their cameras so I can take pictures, and then allowing me to upload them onto my computer. Unfortunately, the internet is slow and sketchy here, so it's hard to put them on facebook, and nearly impossible to put them on this site. I'll try again...eventually. Hey, I've been
We've gone out every night, except tonight because I'm just exhausted. I spent all day lazing about because no one had the energy to do anything.

Who brings a giant American flag to Cyprus?! 01/21/2009

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So last night a whole bunch of us went out to a sports bar at 7 to watch the presidential inauguration. We were nearly the only ones there (usually the bars don't even open until 11 for the sports bars and 1am for some of the better clubs) but we made a lot of noise. There was much cheering for Obama, and much booing for Rick Warren, and the bartender sent us all a round of shots to celebrate, and then one of the kids announced that he had brought a ridiculous amount of American flags in his luggage, and later hung a full-sized one in one of our apartments. At midnight one of the girls on our trip turned 21, so basically, much celebrating... for some people, TOO much celebrating.
This morning we had a lecture, and everyone from our party looked like they'd stumbled out of bed and were half asleep.... so basically we looked like American college students.
...Except for Emily. One of my suitmates wakes up ridiculously early every morning, no matter how late we all go to bed the night before and get this-- she CLEANS. I know. I think I'm in love.
Also, I've met my new best friend, Josh. I told him I was adopting him. He said he was okay with that, which is good, because he probably didn't have a choice.
Today's mission is a cooking class! We're all excited.

Out On the Town 01/17/2009

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So we went out last night, got a taxi downtown, went out to a sushi bar (yes, again, we sort of missed out on the whole Cyprus thing) and then went barhopping. I DID have local beer, which was actually really good, I'd recommend it if you're ever in the area.
However, two of us came home early (not wanting to spend all our money in one night-- drinking is EXPENSIVE here!) and then the third wandered in. Then an hour and a half later (four-thirty am) the last one came home... with three greek boys. They then were joined by some random girl no one knew and no one liked (she was very brash and ridiculous) and they stuck around and made a ton of noise until SIX AM!
So this morning when I woke up, I tested my camera by taking a bunch of pictures of the apartment, and it appears to work most of the time, but since I can't see anything in the viewing screen, I can't aim or set up my shots, so a lot of them look terrible, and none of them look all that good or artistic, so I'm very frustrated. However, by taking a million shots of the same things, I'm hoping I'll get a few good ones, and I can post them!
We've been eating most of our meals out on the balcony-- it's gorgeous (hope you're enjoying your negative-degree weather, it's supposed to get near 70 here today!).
On a depressing note, I have been told (we haven't watched the news or even seen a TV screen since we got here) that a plane crash landed in the Hudson River a few days ago, but luckily everyone survived. ...except the bird that caused the engine problem in the first place.
One of my suitmates was in the shower this morning, and even though this is supposed to be one of the three days we have running water (the next day isn't till Tuesday!) the water ran out mid-shower.
So we walked around the city today, and my camera officially kicked the bucket.
Also, uploading pictures to this site is not really working. I'll try again sometimes, but you'll have to check facebook if you want the whole mess, and until I can figure out how to get another camera, or steal pictures from everyone, I won't even HAVE any to post

It's ALIIIIIIIIIVE!!! 01/15/2009

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... And by "it," I mean me.
Yes, I am alive, a little worse for wear, desperately need a shower, and completely exhausted, but I am now in my (currently heatless because we haven't figured that out yet) apartment with 2/3 of my new roomies.
The apartment is gorgeous, the city is cute (what I've seen so far) and at least most of my stuff made it here with me okay.
Unfortunately, my brand-new camera did not. Even though it was packed cushioned in a bag inside my carry-on on the top so it wouldn't get squished, something happened and cracked the viewing screen, so it still seems to take pictures (I'll test that theory tomorrow-- I don't have the heart to try it tonight) but I can't see what I'm taking a picture OF. Broke my heart and totally crushed my spirit.
24 1/2 hours after I got into the Larnaca airport, the shuttle to my apt came, so I'm here now. Most uncomfortable night ever. Long, boring, and the metal chairs were torture. The entire lower half of my body was alternately numb and in pain.
We all went to an orientation dinner tonight, so my first meal in Cyprus was.... (drum roll please) Pizza Hut pizza! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, authentic Cypriot cuisine.
We're also having a drought apparently. We have running water every other day, or something like that.
I do have a funny story to tell you, and then I am going to go pass out for at least a day and a half.
On the first flight of my million-hour-journey, there was a young male flight attendant, who made friends with a little girl a few rows ahead of me. When they came by with the drink carts, he called her "Princess" when he asked her what she wanted. When we landed, he came dashing up to say goodbye to "his princess," and she stood up on the seat, said "You need a really big hug," (proceeding then in giving him several) and informed him that she would take him home to Brazil with her and teach him Portuguese. It was absolutely adorable.
Alright, shower and bed for me, Goodnight!

Second Try!

2009-03-08T08:57:00.001-07:00

Since my website has decided that it hates me, and either tells me that it doesn't exist any longer (it won't show up so I can't get to it) and when I DO get onto it, it won't post anything I write, add or upload, so I figured I'd try at least the journal portion here.
Because about the last 9 posts didn't load, I'll just copy and paste all the previous posts to here later tonight or tomorrow. Let's see if this works!