Christmas in Nepal

In addition to the hands on learning, I've been doing a lot of reading; "Things I want My Daughters to Know", "Cathedral of the Sea", "A Brief History of Nearly Everything", "Three Cups of Tea", "The Secret Life of Bees", "A Year in Provence", "Paradise in Our Backyard", "The Memory Keeper's Daughter", "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "Something Borrowed"...(I spend long hours in airports, what can I say?) But the book I'm currently reading is "The Motorcycle Diaries" by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. Its a first person account of his travels through South America to North America with his best friend on a motorcycle named "La Poderosa", meaning the "powerful one". The nine month journey takes these two from Argentina to Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela before making it to the U.S. and then back to Argentina all the while keeping records of their disasters and discoveries. In the introduction "So We Understand Each Other", Che shares, much better than I, what traveling and journaling can and cannot do. Enjoy:

"This is not a story of incredible heroism, or merely the narrative of a cynic; at least I do not mean for it to be. It is a glimpse of two lives that ran parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams.
In the nine months of a man's life he can think a lot of things, from the loftiest meditations on philosophy to the most desperate longing for a bowl of soup-in total accord with the state of his stomach. And if, at the same time, he's somewhat of an adventurer, he might live through episodes of interest to other people and his haphazard record might read something like these notes.
And so, the coin was thrown in the air, turning many times, landing sometimes heads and other times tails. Man, the measure of all things, speaks here through my mouth and narrates in my own language that which my eyes have seen. It is likely that out of 10 possible heads I have seen only one true tail, or vice versa. In fact it is probable, and there are no excuses, for these lips can only describe what these eyes actually see. Is it that our whole vision was never quite complete, that it was too transient or not always well-informed? Were we too uncompromising in our judgments? Okay, but this is how the typewriter interpreted those fleeting impulses raising my fingers to the keys, and those impulses have now died. Moreover, no one can be held responsible for them.
The person who wrote these notes passed away the moment his feet touched Argentine soil. The person who reorganizes and polishes them, me, is no longer, at least I'm not the person I once was. All this wandering around 'Our America with a capital A' changed me more than I thought.
In any photographic manual you'll come across the strikingly clear image of a landscape, apparently taken by night, in the light of a full moon. The secret behind this magical vision of "darkness at noon" is usually revealed in the accompanying text. Readers of this book will not be well versed about the sensitivity of my retina- I can hardly sense it myself. So they will not be able to check what is said against a photographic plate to discover at precisely what time each of my "pictures"was taken. What this means is that if I present you with an image and say for instance that it was taken at night, you can either believe me or not; it matters little to me, since if you don't happen to know the scene I've "photographed"in my notes, it will be hard for you to find an alternative to the truth I'm about to tell. But I'll leave you now, with myself, the man I used to be..."

Arriving in Kathmandu and making the 13 kilometers journey outside of the capital to Bhaktapur, home to Durbar Square. I would be in Bhaktapur teaching for 2 weeks before the rest of the group comes to Nepal. I was able to take in the sights, sounds and smells of my newest country. This square used to be the former palace of the royal family (when Nepal was run by a monarchy). The square is filled with temples, buildings, monuments and in keeping with the authenticity of the ancient city, the roads are quite narrow so automated transportation were not allowed in, but progress made this impossible. So buses, cars, motorbikes, buffalo and tractors navigate the narrow roads with a kind of iron determination that would surely cause me to have a heart attack if I were to try the commutes they make. I actually had an in depth discussion about the driving situation with my sherpa A.D.. We decided that motorbikes began as a great idea, a way in which to navigate through traffic and wind around the obstacles that keep four wheel vehicle at a stand still...but then more and more people began to see the advantages and their semi-affordability- at least compared to cars. (The 265% motor vehicle tax makes owning a car nearly impossible, but owning a motor bike possible). People bought motorbikes and now no one can get through the traffic jams-especially the motorbikes!! The lines in the road here aren't even a "suggestion" as I've been referring to them in other countries.

I walked the intricate alleyways of Thamel, the "downtown" district of Kathmandu during the time I have off for a change of scenery. The following weekend A.D. and I went to explore Pokhara, one of the Top 5 tourist trekking destinations in the world. It was full of nature and beauty beyond imagination. We hiked up to the World Peace Pagoda, just a large white mass at the top of a mountain until you get to the top. It was beautiful, but the view from up there was breathtaking!! We took a canoe ride from lakeside to the Hindu Temple island:)
As with most of the poorer countries the biggest problems are pretty standard: drinking water, food, poverty, corrupt government, (including the 25% income tax and strikes which make businesses, schools and roads shut down.)

-The group got in yesterday from the U.S. and I met them in Kathmandu. We will be traveling all over Nepal presenting scholarships to girls in primary schools funded by donations to the foundation I'm working with. It was eye opening for me because it wasn't until I was with my own people, so to speak, that I was really able to see the changes in myself. I'm much more laid back as far as my expectations on time frames, delivery on services and the length of time a meal should take. I enjoy conversation more because I'm less rushed and I feel like I can engage in a conversation that I might not have started if I thought the meal would only last 40 minutes. I really enjoy 3 hour meals with tea before and coffee after, I enjoy moseying along the streets of a city with no particular place to go...and no need to pretend I'm on my way to somewhere important to ward off approachers for that matter. I love sitting in coffee shops, tea houses or market places and not take my book out. Instead I can transform a stranger into a friend...probably even learn something. I walk with the humility of seeing too many hungry faces; no longer the swagger of a tourist in new travel gear who believes that reading the guide book has prepared them for the streets. No, I've seen too much truth to not bow my head and pull my hands together for a child I meet; the god in me will always recognize the god in them. (That is the literal translation of "Namaste").

-Load-shedding is a term most people in the U.S. aren't familiar with, but the way our energy use is going we may be soon. It is where districts/cities/towns elect few hours per day in which they will go with out power to share the load of the electricity usage. In Tanzania they took a different approach: they elect a full day, from 9a.m. until 11p.m. in which they go without.

-Add to the list of things I've tried: I ate buffalo meat, yak cheese and the most delightful sweet treat called goodpack.

-For their New Year's celebration (in April), they have a week long festival in which they throw rocks across the square at each other to get out the frustrations and anger of the year before. Because everyone is throwing the rocks there is a sense on anonymity so when someone says they got hurt, the typical response is "Oh, one of my rocks must have hit you".

-These are some expressions in Nepali that I've learned:
"The tongue has no bone"- It means that people can twist words all kinds of ways to make it sound pretty to the ear.
"I've changed my clothes more times than you have"- It means I'm older than you and have more experience.
"The mustache doesn't prevent the mouth from eating"- It means if you want something bad enough, nothing will get in your way. (Similar to the expression "Where there is a will, there's a way".

-The colored flags you see all over Nepal are the Buddhist prayer flags written in a language only the monk know how to read. They are covered with the written prayers, but when the sun has faded the flag to the point where they are no longer able to be read, they say that that is when the prayers have gone up to heaven.

-"Garaha" is the energy someone gives off; the unexplainable attraction or repulsion you feel for a person even before you have spoken with him/her.

-In the pictures of the water spouts throughout Nepal you will notice that most of them are made in the shape of a frog or a snake of some sort. This is because when the pipes would clog up, they would send a frog up through the pipe and a few minutes later they would send a snake in after it. The frog would break up the clog in the pipe trying to get away from the snake. Brilliant!!

-I was surprised to hear that although Nepal is one of the poorer countries as well as quite small, they sent 80 representatives to the G Summit in Copenhagen. Interesting because with that many representatives one would hope for a better line of defense against the pollution than surgical masks color coordinated to match their outfits.

-Perhaps it is because of the pollution, at least that is what I choose to think, but I've never heard so much hawking and spitting in my whole life!! Everyone here, including the women, spit on the streets. They say it is caused by the exhaust, but I've been breathing the same air and I'm not doing that...but then again I am getting headaches.

-Today's pollution level should have been much better because it is the first day of ANOTHER 3 day strike organized by the Maoists. The story is they want more power, influence and money. They have 40% membership in Parliament they feel they aren't fairly represented in the government so to retaliate they use their presence in government to stop potential progress and have imposed a "general" strike on the whole country. What this means is that every school, store, restaurant, business, market and petrol stations are closed; every bus, car and motorbike is off the street and no one risks challenging the Maoists who march through the streets. This isn't because the people agree with them, in fact it's ONLY because they are afraid of them that they adhere to the strike. The charred remains of businesses whose owner thought they might get by or the dented cars of the drivers that thought they would be lucky are left as a visible reminder and warning to the rest. In order for our guide to pick up arrivals from the airport he had to make a deal with a taxi driver he found on the road. Not only did he agree to pay a higher rate because of the risk the driver was taking, but he agreed to take care of any damages incurred should the car be attacked along the way.

Dubai...$80 billion later

- This is the first country for a while where I've been able to get a proper salad...(you'd be shocked the things that have been called "salads" in other countries.)
- A very international country. 41 different languages spoken just in Dubai alone! And only 6% of the population in this city are citizens of United Arab Emirates, the resta re immigrants here for business, travel, etc.
- To open a business here as a foreigner you need a local sponsor; someone from this country to say that they support the business you are bringing into the country. In turn, the sponsor owns 51% of the company...on paper that is. In theory this has been put in place by the government to protect the interests of the citizens, but what actually ends up happening is big business come in and pay a local anywhere from $10-50K per year, depending on the size of the business to endorse them on paper.
-Interestingly, as international as this city is you see very little conflict culturally on the streets...perhaps that is because almost everyone here is a "foreigner". The population of Indians is the highest, Pakistanis bringing in a close second and Filipinos coming in with a strong third. Here I see Indians EVERYWHERE !! Although Indians owned most of the businesses in Uganda and South Africa has the highest population of Indians outside of India, I saw very little of them aside from their strong influence on the cuisine. This it would seem because they owned the businesses rather than having the face-to-face with the customers. Lincoln said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "...any man can endure adversity, but if you want to know a man's character give him power."
- There have been places that I've traveled that I would love to go back to for a vacation, but this is the first city I've been to where I can realistically see myself living and working in.
- I thought Dubai would be like a larger version of Vegas and was preparing myself for that especially after flying here from Africa, but what I found was quite the contrary.
- Dubai maybe in debt to the tune of $80 billion conjuring up images of decadence and over indulgence, and yes that is here. In fact you don't have to search very far for it, but you do need to search. What I had pictured was hotel after hotel sparkling sending your system into sensory overload. They are here...just more spread out and the sparkles are on the inside:)
-Btw, a good portion of that debt that Dubai has asked for an extension on repaying (sending everyone clutching their purses) is because Dubai's government invested in hotel shares in the U.S....namely MGM, Bellagio and the like. (Ironic don't you think.) Since the crisis Dubai has canceled "The World" project (where man made island would have been constructed to mimic a map of the world). Construction cranes perch atop every other building waiting patiently for people to feel secure enough to indulge once again...and they will:)

Uganda

-I learned the true meaning of generosity from Ugandans
-They are collectively the most codependent people I've ever met. They know what you need before you do!!
-If "You are welcome" or "karabo" in swahili is the most popular saying in Africa, the most popular saying in Uganda is "Sorry". I would say I have no brothers, they would say "oh, sorry". I would say someone cut in line at the grocery store (apparently I left too much room between myself and the person in front of me) and they would reply "oh, sorry". I found it similar to "How are you?" in that we have said it so much in society that it has lost all its meaning.
-If transportation is the biggest and most self-defeating obstacle to overcome in Europe, then the equivalent in Uganda is accessing your money!!!
-Matatoos, or vans, are stuffed with endless amounts of people everywhere in Africa, but unique to Uganda is the popularity of a motor bike called a "boda-boda". Their drivers have NO fear and have been on the road way too long. They began calling them boda-bodas because they transport people from border to border. Ha!
-In their version the tooth fairy isn't a fairy at all, but a rat!! The child leaves the tooth for the rat to take in the night and, get this, the more money he leaves for your tooth the longer it takes for the tooth to grow in:)
(I found that in South Africa the animal is a mouse and it builds its house out of the teeth of children!! And in their version the more money you get from the mouse the shinier the tooth will be. HA!)
-Music being part of their culture may have influenced the way in which they greet each other. At first I described it by saying they "sing" to each other, but actually with more exposure I refined the description to more of a "cooing" or a kind of musical moan. It's quite soothing to tell you the truth.
-An answer "yes" in response to a question was the most difficult to translate because all they do is briefly raise their eyebrows so you need to be watching them when you ask a question.
-When I went to the falls there was a man who offered to ride the rapids with nothing more than a jerrycan between himself and the lethal tides...for a small fee of course (Jerrycans are the bright yellow containers they use to transport water. They are about a foot and a half tall and a foot wide...not much against the force of the water.) After a brief lecture on his career choices he got the hint that I wasn't going to be any part of his jumping off that cliff. When I shared the story later in the village they said that that guy has "diamonds in his hair". I asked what that meant and they said that it is the spirits around him that protect him from death.
-The villagers nicknamed me the second day I was there: "motis". It means the expander; that which makes others grow:) I like it.
-I heard a great saying from the guide at the Kasubi Tombs: "Swahili was born in Kenya, raised in Tanzania, got sick in Congo and came to die in Uganda."
-It rains a lot here, its one of the many ways Uganda is blessed. There are times in which the rain continues even though the sun has come out fully and they have an expression for it. They call this when "the monkey is getting married" sometimes it is when "the monkey married a fox" (or some other arbitrary animal). So you can guess what my next question was...WHY??? They said because neither happens very often.

-As far as schools:
-The staff quarters are still not completed and aren't expected to be completed until late this year...perhaps next year so I commuted in each day at the first school.
-Students were called out of class to help push the car I was in out of the mud of the driveway in front of the school on my first day!
-Students as young as P1, or first grade, use razor blades to sharpen their pencils!!
-They share erasers, pens and pencils...sometimes between 3 students or more.
-There is only one textbook for each subject of each grade and the teacher uses it to direct instruction. The teacher transcribes all work, text and important excerpts on to the parts of the blackboard that are still black...where it is then copied by the students into their composition books. Practice exercises are also written on the chalkboard by the teacher to be copied by the students and completed independently at their desks.
-Realia is unheard of and these students can sit for 3 hours at a time soaking in information and not one complains or attempts to create disruption. And if you think your day is long, well you have nothing on these kids. They walk from home for miles and arrive at 7am for P-7 (because they are preparing for exit exams) and 8am for the rest of the student body. Classes end at 5pm and then they walk back home to do their homework for the next day.
-Several students are without composition books so during the lesson while everyone else is copying the activity and exercise into their books, they just sit there. (staff said that some student's parents just couldn't afford school fees or the books for the students to write in.)
-Enrollment is down because school fees were raised to cover costs...they aren't sure where the students who no longer attend went
-It is assumed that the students eat breakfast before walking to school in the morning and supper upon returning home. Even with this belief, (which isn't true), they are only given porridge at 1pm for lunch. That isn't enough fuel to think for the 9 hour school day, nor for the whole day which is the reality of the situation.

They kneel when they are asking the teacher for something
They wait at the door way of the classroom for you to grant them permission to enter
They thank you at the end of the day for teaching them
They came into the classroom where I was observing and took me back to their classroom because they wanted me to teach them another lesson:)

Some stupid facts of the day about the game in Africa:)

-Zebras and wildebeest stick together in the wild because they make a good team...Zebras have good eyesight and wildebeest have a good sense of smell.
-The biggest killers in Africa are the Hippos
-I remember this fact like this: "Cheetahs cry because leopards are bigger". Cheetahs and leopard look very similar, but one way to differentiate them is that cheetahs have the markings on their face that make them look like they are crying. Also, leopards tend to be larger in size than cheetahs...hence the expression above.
-Neither hippos nor elephants can jump.
-Impalas have harems, but elephants are matriarchal, traveling in herds and quite sensitive in general. At the elephant orphanage they rotate the staff members when they are on the overnight shift because the elephants will become too attached to one staff member and will refuse to eat food from another.
-Elephants are susceptible to pneumonia, in part because keepers have no way of detecting the symptoms because elephants can't cough or sneeze. Their lungs are attached to their ribcage so by the time their trunk starts dripping its already too late:(
-Giraffes make no noise. They also frequently get cataracts because they spend so much time craning their necks to the tops of trees to eat while staring into the sun.
-Giraffe diet consist of acacia trees which, if you've ever seen them, have very intimidating spikes all over them. Giraffes are able to eat away without a care in the world because their saliva is filled with antiseptic constantly healing the wounds from their last meal.
-Hyenas and vultures poop white!! What a cool trick huh?!? That happens because they are both scavengers and eat the bones of the animal as well as the meat. The white of the poop is from the calcium in the bones they have digested.
-Hyenas can eat dead meat, meaning they can eat an animal that they haven't killed themselves but just came across...however, if a member of the pack comes across food it must let the other members of the pack know about it. If they don't and the pack finds out they will kill the individual hyena. Who says there isn't justice in the wild???

Kenya to Tanzania via camping...yes, you heard right camping!!

Today is day five of my 19 day African Adventure, so I've got some catching up to do. Lucky for me I've got helpers around me to jog my memory:)
Day 1: Niarobi
My flight left Cairo at 11:25pm today and I arrived in Nairobi minus a night's sleep. I hit the ground running in what tourists lovingly refer to as "Nairobbery" and left the hotel with part of the group for a visit to the Elephant Orphanage. Elephants found in many situations all resulting in them not having a mother to take care of them are taken to this place and raised with the intentions of releasing them back into the wild. So that the elephants don't become too accustomed to humans they only allow public feeding of the baby elephants for one hour each day. After that we went to feed the giraffes at the Giraffe Park (where I got a picture kissing a giraffe!!). You hold the pellet of food in your mouth and the giraffe gets it from you providing the best pic ever! After all that we went to the Cultural center to watch some traditional dances.
Day 2: Masai Mara
We left Nairobi for Masai Mara...a 6 hour drive in which one of the two vans we were riding in broke down on the way:) Breakdown #1 We arrived and got settled into our structure tents, complete with beds inside then left for our first safari ride that afternoon!!! It was great and although it was only 2 hours long because we were running so far behind on schedule due to the breakdown, we saw more animals that afternoon than we have seen on one single outing since.
Day 3: Masai Mara
Today we woke at 7am went for an all day safari then went to the Masai Village to see how they live.
Day 4: Masai Mara to Nakuru
We got up way early this morning for a short drive to see the animals in the beginning hours of the day. Afterwards we came back to the camp and had breakfast before heading out for the 7 hour drive to Nakuru...when the van broke down again. Breakdown #2. We arrived at about 8pm and immediately ate and went to sleep, exhausted from the drive.
Day 5: Lake Nakuru National Park
Today we got to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. We left around 9am for a safari drive through Lake Nakuru National Park. This place was so different from the other park. For one thing it was green in some areas!! Which actually a surprise because they are going through quite a drought right now and what used to be a lake containing flamingos in the millions is now home to 3-5,000 flamingos.
Day 6: Nakuru to Amboseli National Park
We arrived late to Amboseli and were barely able to set up the tents before the sun went down. It seems as though this place doesn't really cool off at night the way the last one did.
Day 7: Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National park was quite an experience. I got some great shots of the sunrise on one side and the moon set on the other. We went for a game drive and they have several swamps here where the hippos and elephants spend the day wallowing in and grazing through...if they don't get stuck that is. Most of the pics I got have Kilimanjaro in the background. Wow it's beautiful here...until the dust storms kicked in that is. It didn't really matter how beautiful it was at that point because you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Some of the group made the mistake of washing their clothes and hanging them out to dry just before the storm hit...nothing like wet clothes or a wet body for that matter to attract the red colored dirt of this park.
Day 8: Tsavo West National Park
On our way to Tsavo National Park we stopped at Shitani or "Ghost" Hills where black lava covers the ground as far as the eye can see. We arrived and went for our last night game drive and ended the evening having a drink at the local resort's bar overlooking the animal watering hole and watching the sunset.
Day 9: Tsavo to Mombasa
We began the day with a morning game drive before breakfast. We then set out on our drive to Mombasa. Upon getting there a few of us decided to go for a walking tour that included the spice market and Fort Jesus.
Day 10: Mombasa
Today is the last day with this group and aside from dinner tonight we really have no plans for the day. I took advantage of the proper bathroom and accommodations by doing laundry, but not until the evening did I realize that this was the most humid place we would encounter throughout the entire 19 day tour. I said goodbye to the first half of my trip and prepared to begin again with clean albeit wet clothes tomorrow.
Day 11: Shimba Hills/ Diani Beach
Shortly after breakfast we began the 7 hour drive from Mombasa to Diani beach where the tour shifts from schedules, planned meals and game drives to laiseez faire optional water sport excursions, byo snacks and coastal views. We stopped along the way at Shimba Hills for what turned out to be an impromptu hike at the peak of the day's heat!! Fortunately I didn't feel like I was going to die until we had to hike back up, but the hike down to Shedrick Falls was amazing:) We finished the day off at thhe local resort for a beer and to watch the elephants come drink at the watering hole.
Day 12: Diani Beach
Today we went to the Kia village for a tour of the Sacred forest and a briefing of the culture from the guide/member of the tribe. Afterwards we stopped by the Monkey Rescue center for a tour of the grounds.
Day 13: Shimoni
Early day began with breakfast before our dhow boat and snorkel adventure:) On the way to Kisite underwater Marine Park where they have the largest fish in the most spectacular colors I've ever seen we saw dozens of dolphins playing in the water. We had a lunch of fresh lobster and crab on Wasini Island and took a tour of the village. We saw the Kokoni Bridge and Rock Garden constructed by the women of the village and headed back to the boat. We finished up with more snorkeling out to a sand bar to lay out. Once inland we visited the Shimoni Slave Caves (an underground arrangement where slaves were stored and exported via an underwater tunnel that led to Zanzibar). We then walked to the treehouse where we would spend the night.
Day 14: Shimoni to Pangani
Today was a travel day in which we crossed the border from Kenya to Tanzania. I had bought my visa ahead of time, but guess who was the only member of the group they gave a hard time to about crossing the border. Thank goodness Edmund, our guide, was there to run interference. He said that the guys at the border were "being naughty" and trying to do "funny things" so that they could "get a little tea". Geez... The drive really wouldn't be complete, nor would this second group really capture the whole African experience without a breakdown. Breakdown #3
Day 15: Pangani
We arrived for the second all day snorkeling excursion. After snorkeling the Marine Park we rested on the most beautiful sand bar in the middle of the ocean. The water was turquoise blue and waves lapped at both sides.
Day 16: Saadani National Park
We packed our stuff and drove to the waters edge to catch the next ferry across the water. The vans drove on and 10 minutes later we were on the other side. We arrived at the park and went on a game drive that night.
Day 17: Bagamoyo
We awoke early for our last game drive before heading out to Bagamoyo. There we relaxed, played cards and camped with a view of the ocean, sleeping to the sound of the waves.
Day 18 and 19: Dar es Salaam
We drove to Dar es Salaam where out trip together would end...again for me. What an adventure!!

Have we been flipping our kids off this whole time??: Cairo, Egypt

-Each country has it's own unique customs which I enjoy so much learning about. For example Turkey had me laughing when I found out that the sign to flip someone off is the same thing that we do to children when we say "Got your nose"!! In Egypt making the pinky swear with someone is a way to tell them that you are mad at them.

-The similarities differ slightly like in Turkey you would find women in the streets selling tissues for money while wearing Louis Vuitton hajabs, but in Egypt they wait until the evening when they go to the mall to spend their tissue money to put on the designer wear.

-Another unfortunate similarity is the "Democratic" system that they both have in common. Interestingly enough Egypt's president "won" the election...again with a 95% majority. However, during the voting time my friend went to cast his vote like many other citizen only to be turned away at the polls with any number of excuses the police could find to not allow its citizens to vote. I asked my friend what the people of Egypt do with a president who leads his country like a monarch. He said the same thing they have been doing for 20 years: wait for him to die.

-The layout of the streets and the navigation of them has definately left it's dizzying impression. There are no left-hand turns so in order to go to a location you must pass it several times and that is assuming that everyone else follows the general unspoken rules of the road...which they don't!! Horns are used to indicate turns, to tell another driver you are there, to say hello, to let someone know you are backing up, to tell people you are about to drive the wrong way down a one-way street, etc. It is deafening, but if that doesn't get you and the u-turns have left you with something to be desired, then the multiple brushes with death will surely keep you on your toes. With lines in the roads as mere "suggestions" of lanes and cops as corrupt as I've ever seen it is beyond me why they have no public transportation. The most comical part of all was going to the mall and paying a guy to "watch" you car as he double parked it in front of his shop, (for a small fee of course), making sure to remind you to leave the car in neutral so he could push it out of the way in case the owner of the car you parked in came back. He waves as he puts a large rock behind each of your back tires so it won't roll backwards into traffic!!

-Many of the things I observe are funny and definitely worth mentioning for a laugh, but now being in Uganda (one of the poorest countries in the world) I can say that the city of Cairo is worse off than here. Cairo is unjustifiably poor!! Not that there is a justifiable poverty, but one is able to string together logically the causes or contributor to the lack of wealth. But in the case of Cairo they are the home to two of the seven wonders of the world including the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza. These tourist traps bring in untold amounts of money that the Egyptians never see. That saddens me more than anything and it makes me upset that though they have tried, they just can't seem to shake corrupt government, democratic or not.

Happy last day of Ramadan!! Yes please Turkey:)

-I've learned so much during my travels; each country deepening my understanding of society, culture, mankind and in turn, myself though (sometimes much more directly). Normally there is one person who acts as a catalyst, a person who seems to have an uncanny ability to say/do/be something in passing that hits so close to home you shudder. When you are lucky you find two in one city like I did.
Upon my arrival in Istanbul, like so many times before, I decided that to relax would be just a waste of a day. In the conversation in my mind I came to a compromise as is typical in the ongoing reconciliation of the many facets of my personality: I would go wander around after checking into my hostel and once I arrived at one of the sights on my ambitious list I would have a tea. Pleased with my plan I set off walking. Hungry from fasting for Ramadan and tired from a day of travel, and ended up getting lost...yet again. (It doesn't really bother me anymore to get lost, in fact it's in the category with everyone around me speaking another language, it's inevitable.) I ducked in the first travel agency I saw to ask for directions to the Blue Mosque and met Yalcin. Yalcin and I sat, talked and had tea while he shared (as only locals can properly) the history, must see locations and nuances of the culture. It turned out he and his sister owned the travel agency so the tour he helped me to book was going to be awesome. So fun in fact that at dinner we decided he would come along as well. The next day I saw the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia and went with his sister for a much needed mani-pedi and an unbelievable Turkish Bath scrub down before leaving for Selcek. From there we took a day trip to Pamukkale and Ephesus and stayed in Antalya before leaving on the first boat cruise from Olimpos. Over the next 4 days on the boat we saw the Sunken City and docked in Kas and Kalkan to explore the towns. We jumped off the side of the boat in St.Nicholas Bay and Tarzan Bay.
-I'm always intrigued to find out the customs that make the countries I'm in unique. Turkey may be the least conservative of the Islamic countries, but it is still is quite traditional especially when it comes to male-felmale relationships. When a young girl and boy like each other and the family of the boy goes to visit the family of the girl, she can let him know that she likes him secretly. After the tea has been prepared, instead of putting sugar in his cup she puts salt. He will know immediately that she likes him after the first sip. If he likes her back he show her by drinking all of it.
-The Ottoman empire was extremely influential and parts of it's legacy still live on today. The tea cups for example are shaped like tulips because at one point behind the Ottoman gates was the only place in the world they could be found. When the queen of Holland came to visit Turkey she saw the flower for the first time and fell in love with it. Wanting to bring it back to her own palace she asked for a plant, but her request was denied. She wasn't going to let a "no" stop her from getting what she wanted, she was a queen after all. Before she left the grounds she secretly plucked a tulip and hid it under the curls of her up do!! She smuggled the flower back to her palace and now Holland is the world's number one exporter of tulips.

"Money is like dirt, there is always more"

"My Third Nostril"

I haven't done a blog entry for quite a while now and for that I'm sorry. It's not that you've missed so much, I just know that this is my lifeline to the rest of the world and if you are "here with me" as I say then you should be aware of what's going on:) As I'm moving through my journey internet access is becoming less and less available and I can make no guarantees about the frequency of my entries when I'm in Africa, India or Nepal, but for now let me tell you about Greece.
I'm telling you, island hopping is the new black!! Although the first island is difficult to get to...no matter where you are, it's so easy just to go from island to island once you are here. Each one has a different vibe and gives off a different energy, you would never think they are all part of the same country. Santorini had a Caribbean feel to it; if you aren't on "island time" like everyone else, very quickly you begin to feel uptight. The result of this neither good nor bad, just always the same: you end up staying longer than you had planned because it's easier to stay than it is to leave:) The next island I ferried to was Mykonos... mecca of the gay community. I can compare this island to a cross between South Beach and Cancun. The island was packed to the brim with tourists...mainly Italians on holiday for the month of August. The "beach bungalow" (which sounds FAR more glamorous than it was) had no view and ironically was no where close to the beach. This I didn't really mind...it was the 45 euros per night I was paying to stay on a campsite (yes, a campsite!!) that really hurt. (In "real money" that is the equivalent of about $65!!) After lodging and one drink at 15 euros (about $22) I was over Mykonos. I've loop holes in many of the places where I've been and been able to get, at the very least, free wifi... When I got to the campsite and asked about free wifi the driver said "Nothing is free in Mykonos...welcome to Paradise". (To be fair the name of the area where we were staying was Paradise Beach, so it doesn't sound that bad when put in context.) My next island was Naxos where I camped as well. The people there were great and I had a blast! It was far less expensive and felt "real" not the showy feel that Mykonos had. I'm now on the island of Paros which is sort of a cross between Mykonos and Naxos. The prices here are higher than Naxos, but not ridiculous like Mykonos; the aesthetics are as beautiful as both if not better! Still, it has the artificial feel of Mykonos...the girls are in heels and full make up. I'm not about to cave to the cosmetic industry now...I've gone this long. Most of the time I just feel bad for the girls because I know how uncomfortable those shoes are!!
Some of the nicest people I've met have been from the places where I've been told the people are "mean" or to "watch out for the locals". Greece and Morocco are both great examples of this. I don't think the people in either occurred any differently to me than they would have normally or that my expectations of them were lower because of the things I had heard. I think people are generally doing what they are doing in good faith...whether it's trying to look out for a solo female traveler by warning her or a culture consciously being on their best behavior because they are aware that they have a poor reputation and are working to turn it around. I was told that the Greek people were mean and aggressive before I came here, but what I have found is just the opposite. I think this is another one of those cultural misunderstandings. The Greeks, like Italians, are very expressive and to some extent curt, but any foreign language spoken loudly and coupled with hand gestures is going to sound mean and aggressive to a listener who can't understand what is being said. I consider myself soft spoken for the most part and gentle with my voice, but in the hierarchy of descriptors apparently "ability to adapt" ranks higher. I've found it takes me about 2 days in a country before I have taken on the cultural nuances and adopted the country specific characteristics. This is by no means intentional, but has proven to be by far my greatest asset on this trip.

I was asked to write an article telling about my journey for "Adventure Woman" newsletter!!! (The link is on my Facebook page.) Some of the questions and topics addressed in my article are why I took this trip, the inner and outer journey/transformation, would I do it again? Recommend it to others? Has it changed me? What is the best advice I would give someone embarking on (or dreaming of) a similar journey/expedition. The article follows below. Enjoy!!

"My Third Nostril"
It is the end of August and I am rounding the corner on my third month of traveling! It is actually a drop in the bucket when I look at the year and a half left in front of me. I'm currently in Greece, the 13th country I've visited after moving counterclockwise through Europe. I began June 1st in London, took the Eurostar to Paris and the train through Belgium stopping in Brussels, Bruges and Oostende before heading up to Amsterdam. I took a few days in Bordeaux before switching gears to Spain's Madrid, Sevilla and Malaga. I took the ferry to Morocco and enjoyed the cities of Tangier, Marrakech and Casablanca before flying to Barcelona. I returned to the coastline of Nice, Cannes, Antibes and Montecarlo, then hopped on another ferry to Corsica. I took the overnight train to Vienna and Salzberg before going to Munich. I stayed in Prague for a few days to relax and enjoy what I had always remembered as my favorite city in Europe. I explored eastern Europe's Budapest, Zagreb and Split before a stop over in Italy and what has turned into an island hopping extravaganza including Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos and Paros. My plans are to fly out of Athens on the 1st of September to begin the next leg of my journey to Turkey, Egypt and Africa, Dubai, India and Nepal, followed by China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, before ending in Japan. Many have asked me why I'm doing this...and I've never been one to need reasons, but the more times I answer the question the closer I come to the answer. I remember hearing a quote that said "Those willing life takes hand in hand; those unwilling life takes kicking and screaming". This trip chose me; I'm clear about that. The variables that made it easier were that I'm a teacher and there are no jobs, I'm not in debt, I'm not married and I have no children...If those aren't reason enough, I'm young and probably won't get a chance to do something like this again. It's not that I didn't have reasons to stay; I'm just bigger than my reasons:) It's not that I don't get scared; I feel it. I just don't let fear stop me.
The inner transformation is best described as the equivalent to getting a third nostril. That may sound silly, but you didn't realize how much you needed both of them until one plugged up when you got sick right? Well traveling is like growing a third...you can't imagine that there is this much air out there!! I've learned there is a fine line between naïvety and intentional ignorance and that both are self defeating. I'm aware of my own transformations in some instances like my relationship with women. There is a kinship that I either denied or never chose to be a part of, but I've come to see that the bond amongst women has a language all it's own.
The outer transformation...well it's a humbling experience realizing your personal level of vanity. Going without hair color, cuts, facials, waxing...you get the idea. Men lose weight in Europe, women gain weight. Fair or not, that's how it is. There is no "low/non fat" or "sugarfree" anything and I hope you like ham because its in everything:)
"Would I do it again?" Well it's not over yet, but so far- in a heartbeat!! At times it felt closer to an endurance test than a vacation, but the yoda-like ticket lady in Oostende said it best: "You'll eventually get there...don't worry". I would recommend this experience to everyone! It's so difficult to realistically consider it once you have begun your career. Two weeks vacation really isn't enough time to go anywhere, but the world that opens up is beyond words.
The trip I'm taking at the age of 31 years old is very different that the trip I took to Europe just 9 years ago for my semester abroad.
I think the biggest challenge, in the beginning especially, was getting used to the sound of the voice in my head. Now if growing up an only child doesn't prepare you for traveling alone, I really think there can be no training.
I believe this trip has already significantly altered my thoughts, but as for my outward personality, well I'll have to ask my friends when I return home...in 2011.

Austria, Prague and Hungary, oh my!!!

I've been open-minded enough to have unusual food and have ended up enjoying Moroccan sacrificial lamb and goulash, but this morning for breakfast I was so excited at an alternative to the typical European "bread-fast"- I was going to have an Austrian omelet!! I ordered it, but requested "no ham". (If you've ever been to Europe you will notice 3 main ingredients, much like the rice, beans and tortillas of Mexican food. Here the big 3 are bread, ham and egg...in EVERYTHING! There is the occasional exception of tuna-even on pizza. Here nothing is sacred.) Instead of ham, the young man put pork and bacon...and cheese...and then salted it. How is it possible that with the way they eat in Europe that they still live longer than we do in America?!?! Is stress really that lethal? It must be because they eat a lot of unhealthy stuff here. What do Muslims eat? Ever since the issues in France with the burkas in school, I've noticed a lot more traditional Muslims in other countries I've been to.
I think the lack of stress is a trickle down thing as well. The way they are with their children is really admirable. They have a laissez-fair approach to the role of parenting. There is a cause and effect to the choices that the children make and parents don't get involved in its relationship. Because of this the children are in more control of themselves and regulate themselves. Here is testimony to that fact: I've seen one temper tantrum during my trip and it was by a boy from England.
-How can a shower bring you back from the dead??? I'm not sure how, but it did!!
-It's amazing the transformation your body goes through when you're traveling- gain weight, lose weight, gain muscle, you can see the little purple veins in your feet from walking, your skin changes from the food you are eating, your hair changes from the water you are washing it with
-I'm realizing it isn't so much about the places you go...how many castles/cathedrals/collections of shiny thing can one person go see? I'm finding it's more about the company you keep in the places you DO go. You may take all kinds of pictures, but the relationships you build, the time you invest along the way, the laughs and the tears shared with people that at on point were mere strangers. The backpackers that I have met seem to understand this. They have learned to enjoy the moment for what it is and not live in a state of perpetual anticipation of the future. It seem as though many of us are trying to speed life up, slow it down or pause it and hold on to something that is forever changing. I'm learning to enjoy the moment, not force situations and realizing that I may not always know the best way...and for a teacher that is a huge hurdle to overcome. I don't know it all, but I'm a fast learner, an even better listener and hungry for knowledge.
-It's funny how when people are speaking a language you don't understand you are sure they are talking about very important things...they aren't. Trust me on this one. I was a bit concerned because as the announcements for the train come on the overhead speaker, the conductor speaks in German for a good 4 minutes. When he is finished he says, in English, "We will be arriving in blah, blah station in 2 minutes". You get a little worried because you don't know what you have missed. Well, I finally had someone translate what they were saying and it was about the color of the train seats, about the orientation of the 1st and second class cars and how this train differs from others because of these particular features. I liked it better when I had no idea what he was talking about:) At least I could make up something interesting.
-I've been learning about the controversy surrounding Nestle and how they refuse to switch to conflict free/non-child labor obtained chocolate because of the profit margin they would lose. I'm amazed we haven't heard about this in the U.S.
-I've noticed stages that I've gone through as I've been traveling...right now I'm burnt out. I really think the heat and humidity has A LOT to do with it though and I'm optimistic.
-Today I leave from Budapest to Croatia. I leave here highly indebted to this country for reminding me of humility...not for the reasons you may think either. While skyping friends in Prague I unplugged my computer to get better sound by the window. In the midst of the emotion I forgot my computer charger in Czech Republic and didn't realize it until I was here. I have always been the hardest on myself and this case was no exception. As I was walking downtown trying to blow off some steam, I heard a woman next to me talking to her friend, mimicking the same conversation I was hearing in my head. "I didn't even realize until I was here...I'm so upset with myself", she was saying. "I can't believe I left my passport under my pillow in the hotel." I stopped in my tracks. At that moment I realized just how much worse off I could be. I officially dropped it, forgave myself and used my words to find an alternative. As it turned out, there was an Apple Store (called "istyle" here) within walking distance from where I was staying. Again, life was gentle with me and I'm grateful.
-Tip of the week: When washing out your clothes in the sink, DON'T look at the color of the water that is running off of them!!
-I'm so pleased that I've been able to share desserts. We in America may have big everything, but we have nothing on Europe's desserts. When I've gone out to eat and ordered dessert I've never been able to get even halfway through it, but the restaurants here have no concept of "doggie bag" and even if they did, desserts don't keep. So I've taken up offering the rest to a neighbor. I explain that the dessert is wonderful, but that I can't possibly finish and if they would like it they are more than welcome to it. You know what...they take it!! That makes me so happy. I'm really a sharer at heart and to see others enjoy what I've enjoyed makes the experience that much richer:) How wonderful!!

Vienna, Salburg and off to Munich tomorrow

-Monte Carlo/Monaco can keep their Ferrarris, I want a Vespa from Santa
-Another unexpected delay in the transportation plans, but no a problem. It just meant I got 2 more days in Nice...I cant complain. I've learned not to get attached to travel plans.
-Originally I had planned to go to Geneva, Switzerland, but I need to visit another expensive European "economic center" like a hole in the head. I've opted instead to forgo Switzerland and go straight to Vienna via overnight couchette. I have great memories of Vienna from when I lived in Europe 9 years ago on a study abroad, but I'm noticing that the European Union does something to its member countries...most notibly, make them unbearingly expensive. Since the majority of my trip so far has been to the more developed Western European countries AND the dollar is so weak right now, I'm really feeling the squeeze in my wallet. I had a great conversation in the train with a member of the foreign legion who gave me several great points and suggestions for my journey. He pointed out that as I move in the route that I have planned the cost of living is going to go down considerably. I'm moving eastbound around the world so Europe will be the most expensive place I will be. I decided at that point to let it go. If this is the steepest it will get then I will enjoy where I am when I am there and be happy to cut corners where I can. I'm not going to undermine the quality of my travels for the sake of a few euros. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is a huge burden off of my shoulders and I'm glad I'm back in the moment.
- I've noticed a huge difference in the authenticity of touch here as well. In general, Europeans are much more unaware of their personal space (see the loss of "my last creature comfort" in previous entry). In the metro nothing is sacred, you are inundated with hands and smells, but it's never intrusive. As much as you are positive you are going to be trampled at any minute, they skim you without contact (mainly in Morocco) or gently bump you without so much as an "excuse me" (mainly Spain and France). For as much physical contact as experienced from strangers, you can see why transactions in the stores caught me off guard: hands never touch during purchases. When you are buying something, your money goes in the dish to pay for it, it is picked up by the teller, your change put back in the dish and you pick it up. I remember days at home when the only physical contact I got with another person was when I would go to buy something and our hands would touch...how sad is that. Here I kiss strangers on the cheeks when I say goodbye. I hold hands with people I've known a day...and it seems so natural.
-The Austrians are very nice and look to me like Americanized Germans. They are taller, have darker hair and Everyone has piercing and tattoos...I mean like they look like they fought a tackle-box and lost.
-I like the German influence on the schedules. Everything runs on time!! No problems with transportation and there seems to be a continuity to the system. I'm going to get used to it though. From what I hear Italian train are just about the worst and without different classes in the cars, there goes the ace up my sleeve.
-I've never seen the kind of humidity that I did today. It was even worse than Madrid's weather, but it held out until I was at dinner before it started pouring buckets of water from the sky. Weird thunder and lightening storm followed and I got to witness the "threads" of diagonal rain that Salzburg is so famous for.
-It doesn't smell like honey, jasmine, wood, playdoh and salt water the way that Corsica did, but the smell of pennies in the air indicating rain to break the humidity will be just fine with me:)

Leaving the "Crazy Woman" for $6 tea

Barcelona got me. In all her brilliance, in her fountains that endlessly spew water synced to Disney music, in her museums that have dizzying layouts...she got me. I've extended my stay here and will be staying at my friend Elsa's house. This is the same Elsa that I met in Bordeaux who moved out to Barcelona about 3 weeks ago. Things are going well and I'm feeling better though not 100% in the least. But I do feel well enough to go explore Barcelona the way it should be explored.
When speaking with a Romanian waitress the other day she and I were discussing the Spanish dichotomy: those who love Madrid tend to dislike Barcelona and vice versa. Admitting that I had found myself to belong to the party of the lovers of Barcelona she disclosed the same with a laugh. I shared with her how I had extended my stay and still didn't feel ready to leave. At this she said not to worry because Barcelona is "like a crazy woman". With a puzzled look on my face I'm sure, I ran over the words in my mind again to be sure I had the translation correct. At this she switched to English. "Barcelona is like a crazy woman" she said, "because although you may leave her...you always come back". I love that!! And I know it to be true with everything in me. The advantage to staying in hostels are being told the sites to avoid and short cuts through the system, but it also comes with the story of the individual sharing the pointers. I've met half a dozen people who either came to Barcelona to visit and never left or swore to some back after a visit and are on the return journey or were backpacking and have been in Barcelona since a date they can no longer recall. In the bar where the Romanian girl works there is a saying on the wall that reads "So close to the port you forget the date". I've fallen head over heels with Barcelona and I vow to come back to retrieve my heart.
Today is the day it happened...I'll never forget it. I prepared for a full day of travel (at times it looked as if it would be even more...) on the train from Barcelona to Nice on France's Independence day. The French train system is unreliable to begin with, but you put a holiday in there and all bets are off. I could only buy the train ticket to get from Barcelona to Montpellier, but would have to buy my ticket to get from Montpellier to Nice when I arrived in that station. While standing in line to purchase the ticket the attendant told me that the train was "full"...the trains here are always "full", but interestingly enough have MANY empty seats. The complicated part is to find the conductor in the 3 minutes the train is in the station and tell him (in broken French) the situation and that you MUST be on this train and have him agree to print you a reserved ticket before you board the train. If, God forbid, the fates should never meet and you take off in the train and are caught without a ticket, or a promise of one, you can be fined and kicked off the train. Nothing like a little crisis, sleep deprivation and a heavy pack on your back to heighten the language skills. I can now dance the European language samba! Today I've skipped between French, Spanish and English so much that I'm convinced that I could get my point across no matter the country.
It seems difficult to put into words, but today I feel more fortunate than I have in a long time. I'm not quite sure why, but suffice to say that today I became a true international traveller. I began my day early, hunted a hostel directly in front of the train station to give myself as much time as possible to sleep the night before and by chance found myself in a train car with the most attractive man I've seen since I've been here. It's strange how life works with it's twisted humor utilizing hormones to aide in playing out it's dramas and we, as pawns, slaves to our emotions, pick up the play cues and dance the dance. We've all done it, but in this case it was done with eyes, in conversation and at the discovery of separate destinations, futile attempts were made to alter what had already been written: we had now and that was to be enjoyed. What greater a lesson, what sweeter a way in which to be reminded of it.

I just finished two books while sipping my cup of $6 tea...I don't know how much more of this I can afford. Anyway, the first book is "Paris to the Moon" and the second is "The Lost Stradivarius" by Faulkner. Both were good, but the quotes I share with you are from the former.
"Most Americans draw their identities from the things they buy, while the French draw theirs from the things they do. What we think of as French rudeness and what they think of as American arrogance arise from this difference...For us, an elevator operator is only a tourist's way of getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For the French, a tourist is only an elevator operator's way opportunity to practice his metier in a suitably impressive setting."

"Loss, like distance, gives permission for romance."

"The hardest thing to convey is how lovely it all is and how that loveliness seems all you need. The ghosts that haunted you in New York or Pittsburgh will haunt you anywhere you go because they are your ghosts and the house they haunt is you. But they become disconcerted, shaken, confused for half a minute and in that moment in a December at four o'clock when you are walking from the bus stop to the Rue Saint Dominique and the lights are twinkling across the river [...] you feel as if you have escaped your ghosts if only because, being you, they are transfixed too looking at the lights in the trees on the other bank which they haven't seen before either."

"Suis-moi je te fuis, fuis-moi je te suis." (Come to me I'll run away, runaway and I'll come to you)

From Spain and skin to Morocco and sobriety...

From Malaga to Algaciris on an unforgettable train ride, then from Algeciris on a ferry to Tangier, Morocco. I'm traveling with 2 girls I met in Spain on holiday from Great Britain and we get along well. Got to Morocco last night late and spent the day walking around the city experiencing the culture. Women walk around covered from head to toe in sweltering, humid heat that has storekeepers seated in the shade. I was fortunate enough to have spoken to another girl at the last hostel who had just come from Morocco and I hadn't realized how close I was to cutting it out of my trip...worse, for really no reason at all other than I was buying into the preconceived ideas about what I though Morocco would be like. I had something along the lines of T.J. with a gypsy vibe and people looking to rip me off at any opportunity. She told me that, and I quote, "Casablanca [Morocco] changed my life." She went on about how kind the people were and how she had thought, before she had gone there, that everyone in Morocco was a thief and that her friends had cautioned her to be careful. I'm so glad I talked with her before I decided to kill of my trip here. Culturally speaking, I prepared accordingly (buying a small ring to wear as a wedding band and brought a balaclava with me to wear), but most important I believe is I chose to be aware, not make stupid choices that put me in compromising situations and above all to give

After discussions with people in the countries I've been to I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge in American behavior and the way in which we are perceived by the rest of the world. With sincerity and honest curiosity they've asked me why it is than whenever you talk to an American it's always "the worst time they've ever had" or "the best place they've ever been to"? False intensity and lack of authenticity is what we are known for. As I move from country to country I've noticed that what I once called my "personal space" (or rather the relinquishing of it as my last creature comfort), is not really caused by a lack of personal space at all. It's actually a lot of people living in a very small space. We have a cultural norm that is unspoken, but agreed upon in America of what I've coined as "timely chaos". We have a schedule that we adhere to and are very attached to its implementation despite what others may have on their agendas. We never intentionally move in a slow fashion to prevent others from accomplishing what they need to do...right? But when someone isn't moving at a rapid pace and it is directly affecting you, you are SURE that they are deliberately standing between you and where you need to be/what you need to get done/success. This is stressful and makes us tightly wound...and this, my friends, is why everyone else in the world smokes, drinks and parties until 6 a.m. and we as Americans still die first. Try being in a hurry in the countries I've been to...actually don't. It doesn't work. You get frustrated...until you're not anymore and you come back to reality and see that NOTHING was changed by your stress/anger/frustration. Eventually, you learn that you're eventually going to get where you need to be whenever that may be, but for now you are where you are, so have a beer/mojito/cappuccino and enjoy the moment because it is the best part of right now:)
I'm currently in Casablanca, considered to be the "economic center of Morocco"...funny. I only think they call it that because it's a little less chaotic than Marrakech and Tanger.
"Spinning is its own reward; there wouldn't be carousels if weren't so."

Sevilla and Malaga

Well, I didn't think it could be done, but Spain has managed to top itself. Up until now, Sevilla was my favorite city of my travels, but Malaga has been able to keep the best part of Spain, (insert siestas and names of drinks here), and add the beach to the whole experience!! The people are friendly and even though most of them don't speak English they will work with you and try to get you what you need. That's another interesting point worth mentioning: they may not speak English, but they have no problem singing along to American music. The best was my cab driver singing along to Blondie after we were forced to draw pictures when the language barrier became such a problem...Ha!! Everywhere I go I hear American music...In a way I think it's sad. Music is such a huge part of culture that to give it up for the likes of Brittany Spears or T-Pain it seems a shame.
I didn't realize I hadn't explained what the drinks were that I was raving about. Caipirinhas are like mojitos, but have lemons as well as limes, without mint and are made with Brazilian sugar cane rum. Tinta de veranos is my recent favorite and literally translated means the "color of summer". It's similar to sangria, but not as sweet and stronger. It's made with iced red wine and a kind of carbonated lemonade...my description doesn't do it justice. I don't know what I'm gonna do with all these new habits when I get home.
I spent the past 4 days in Sevilla and Malaga and I have to say these are my two favorite cities in my travels to date. Although Madrid is a major city in Spain it has the impersonal feel of well, a big city. Sevilla is the fourth largest city in Spain, but hasn't lost it's small town feel. I'm taking well to the siestas in the afternoons. (Any country that can incorporate nap time and getting drunk at lunch into their cultural customs has my vote!) I'm having a blast and thinking of all of you. I miss you and want you to know you are here with me.
I finished "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and cried at the end...great book. I'm now reading "The Great Gatsby":)
My favorite quote from the book...so far:
"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it that you may come across maybe four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood; believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey."

Madrid with no voice:(

Having grown up in California I'm comfortable enough with my Spanish to get by. However...in Madrid not only do they speak another language, but they speak it differently than I've ever heard Spanish spoken before. The "sss" sound in words like gracias and Barcelona are pronounced "th", so the words sound like "grathias" and "Barthelona". Fortunately I was prepared for it, but it still takes some getting used to.
Between opening their shops late (usually around 11am) and taking a siesta in the afternoon from around 2-5pm, it's hard to imagine that, on average, the people of Spain get an hour less of sleep than any other European country, but trust me on this one.
Today is my last day here in Madrid and aside from a few delays with the trains, (which I now account for in my estimations of travel time), my arrival was without incident. The greatest adjustment has been from the crisp chill of France's 60F to the body draining humidity of Madrid's 106F! Still trying to figure out what is going on, my body shut down and I've gotten sick...these things happen and I suppose it's all part of the experience right? Either way it got me to stop and take in what is going on around me rather than running from museum to historical sight like I've been doing in the cities up until this point. If it wasn't me getting sick that slowed me down, it would have been the heat.
I've been able to meet more people and to catch up on some of the audio books I've been wanting to read. Currently, I'm reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and feel like I'm still experiencing the country/city because the book takes place in Madrid. I've included my favorite quote so far below. I'm sorry this entry will be brief because I'm really not feeling very well.

"And for her everything was red, orange, gold-red from the sun on the closed eyes and it was all that color, all of it. The filling, the possessing, the having, all of that color, all in a blindness of that color. For him it was a dark passage that led to no where, then to no where, then again to no where, once again to no where, always and forever to no where. Heavy on the elbows on the earth to no where. Dark, never any end to no where. Hung on all time always to unknowing no where. This time and again for always to no where. Now, not to be born once again, always and to no where. Now beyond all, bearing up, up, up and into no where. Suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all no where gone and time absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped. And he felt the earth move out and away from under them. Then he was lying on his side, his head deep in the heather smelling it and the smell of the roots and the earth and the sun came through it..." For Whom the Bell Tolls

Oostende, the train and Bordeaux

Things I will never take for granted again:
Non-smoking restaurants/bars/clubs
Gum-my kingdom for a piece of gum
English being spoken freely and without stigma
Elevators
Free toilets
Deodorant!!!!
Breakfast
Moderately sized sea gulls

Things I think we should adopt from the Europeans:
PDA
Husbands and wives that hold hands
Sunsets at 10pm
escalators that are still until you step on them
Chocolate that melts in your fingers and tastes like sin
Sincerity
Flowers for the sake of beauty
Affordable flowers
Mojitos made with real mint leaves and limes
Meals that are enjoyed and last over an hour
Leave it to me to find the LA Jolla of Europe! Oostende is very resort-ish with it's sandy beaches, boardwalk and ginormous sea gulls. I've gotta tell you, I was really looking forward to this place... It's a good thing too because I'm here an extra day due to the train being full. I've had a love-hate relationship with the train system since I got here. With the global pass I have you are supposed to be able to travel unlimited to 21 different countries in Eastern and Western Europe for 3 months without a problem. For this "convienice" you pay a hefty sum for the pass, but they failed to mention that there are additional reservation fees, couchette/overnight fees and fees for fast trains. In the pecking order of priorities, apparently, a place to sleep falls second to transportation to the location. I was supposed to be in Bordeaux this afternoon, but because of lack of train service and electrical problems I'm now booked at two different hostels for tonight...I'm on vacation, traveling and as much as I may complain about the inconvience, I'm not really put out except for a few euro as a deposit, but I wonder what the locals who depend on these trains as their primary mode of transportation do when the train just doesn't show up. What do they tell their bosses, their family/friends? It's quite a shift from the metro system of London or Paris that even I can navigate. That's another thing-no out of country booking! So because I'm going from Oostede (Belgium) to Bordeaux (France) I can book here, except the train is full and they said I should have booked ahead. So I decided to book ahead for the NEXT leg of my trip, from Bordeaux to Madrid, but because it's not a TGV train they can't do it...geez. When I explained the circular argument to the woman booking the trains she laughed because it's hard to deny the ridiculousness of it. She then asked if she could give me a piece of advise: she said to relax, that I'll get there and I'll have fun doing it because I look like the "adventurous type". (Lack of showers will make anyone look adventurous...Ha!) She is right though. Part of this trip is to distinguish what I have control over and what I don't. I'm here in Oostende, on the beach, drinking mojjitos for another day...what better place to be than here?? :)
Arrived in Bordeaux last night at midnight and got some rest. I met two girls in my room, one from France and one from Russia. Elsa, the one from France, is on her way to Barcelona right now after we had coffee and talked politics. (I've missed conversation!!) I'm going to meet her in Barcelona on the 7th of July when I'll be going to Spain. Natasha, the Russian girl and I are meeting in about 20 minutes at the Place de la Bourse for lunch. She and I talked in the dark last night about educaion and business while laying in our bunk beds. I'm finding traveling is one part summer camp and one part fear factor...
On the train ride here I listened to the audio book "Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson and my fellow drivers must have thought I was a lunatic because I was laughing out loud at some of the stories he was sharing about. He wrote (or dictated from his book in this case) something that seemed to capture in words the experience of traveling this way.

"I love the idea that you can never be sure of anything in Europe...but that's the glory of foreign travel as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of child-like wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross the street without endangering your life. You whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."

Bruges

Today's Bruges has a population of about 45.000 people (the Europeans put commas where we put decimals and decimals where we put commas). It is also the capital of the Belgian province of West-Flanders and among the important cities of Belgium. A lot of people take day-trips from Brussels to Bruges, (about an hour train ride), but there is a lot see in this quiant little walking town. Like Amsterdam there are quite a few bikes on the road, but I chose to walk it. Today I went to the museum within the Belfort Belfry Tower. Here the bells toll for no apparent reason, far more often than on the hour. Afterwards I went to the Dali museum next door where many of his pieces were on display. I'm convinced that man was tortured by day-mares! He was obsessed with animals and requestes a horse and several sheep be brought to his room when he stayed here in Bruges...I don't want to know. (See pics on FB)
The hostel was cool for hanging out and partying, but at some point I wanted to go to sleep and found it challenging with everyone still drinking and playing guitar until late. I suppose train rides are made for sleeping:) I'm leaving this evening for Oostende, a small resort town on the west side of Belgium about a 15 minute ride from here.

Hamsterdam:)

What a great time I had in the Netherlands...Oh Amsterdam with your alluring tall men and people with skin so clear it would put Irina out of business. (I'm seriously considering making herring a regular part of my diet. I'm convinced that's what does it.) I stayed at the Stayokay hostel just next to Vonder Park and in was lovely. Some of you will be able to appreciate the following: When I arrived after travelling on the train I wanted to take a shower so I got my towel and clothes and left the room to find the showers. I walked the whole floor before deciding to knock on a neighbors door for directions. (Fortunately they didn't answer...) I went back to the room, frustrated and tired from my journey, to discover the private bathroom and shower in our room!! It even had a regular twist faucet and not the push kind that spays water for 10 seconds like I'm used to.
I met the nicest bunch of girls in Amsterdam!! The first was my roommate Heloisa, a 29 year old from Brazil also traveling alone:) She was great and I miss her company already. While she was at the library checking her email she met two other girls, Elvira and Maria, who happened to be locals. They took us out to a little Latin salsa bar where we shared dance moves and met their friends Tanya and Sophie. All of us are in the picture posted on my Facebook page:) They taught me the funniest Dutch sayings...like when something happens that you knew would you say "There comes the monkey out of the sleeve" and when something goes your way you say, "I always get my sin". When someone makes you mad you say they've "got the blood under your nails" and when someone won't leave things in the past tell them "Don't pull the old cow out of the water". My favorite was used to describe why the oldest prostitute in the red light district was so popular "To learn, you need and old bike". Ha!! I love it.
I went to the market and had some authentic local food and went to the Van Gogh museum. I had a great time in Amsterdam and have the girls above to thank for it:) Thanks for the memories!!

Au revoir Paris, bonjour Brussels!

A bittersweet good bye yesterday to the city of Paris. It seems just as I begin to adjust to the city that I'm in I change cities and I'm still not sure which causes which. In Paris I discovered my new favorite: escargot, "salted" soy sauce versus "sweet" soy sauce and that in Europe it's not called wi-fi, but rather "wee-fee". Ha! (It's just funny to hear them say it.) One thing I can tell you without a doubt is that the people in Belgium smell a hell of a lot better than the people in Paris did:)
I spoke with Freddy before I left and asked him what countries in Europe would I be welcome in as an American and not feel I had a dirty secret. Between him and his friend, they came up with one: Kosovo!! Are you kidding me?!?! Geez...
I'm really proud of myself. Yesterday, upon my arrival, I hit the ground running. I went straight to the Centre Vincent Van Gogh and checked in, dropped off my pack and began walking the city. As directionally challenged as I am I almost count on getting lost, but yesterday I didn't!!! I got out my map and decide to go to the Botanical Gardens. There I found myself in a garden labyrinth complete with a bar and "wee-fee". Is there anything the Europeans haven't thought of?! I figured it was about time for dinner after that and mussels in Brussels couldn't be better!!! (I say "I figured it was time for dinner" because this is the season of Northern lights so it gets dark much later. Many of the pictures I've taken so far have been taken after 9pm, but you would never know it based on the amount of light in the photo.) I had remembered how amazing the mussels were last time I was here and I was ready for an encore. I walked from the Botanical Gardens past Grand Place to Rue de Bouchers where the air smells of lobster and butter. I had mussels that melted in my mouth and made sure to take a picture to share:) I ate one before I took the pic because it didn't even look real!!! I had one of the 500 different beers brewed here and then left to go walking around. I had read about a place called Havana that had djs spinning everything from techno to salsa and that on the weekends they have live music. They hadn't opened yet when I got there so I popped into a little restaurant owned by a husband and wife a few doors down. They were the cutest! I had the greatest time talking with them, watching Nadine run around the cafe like it was her kitchen at home with their dog close at her heels wielding his pacifier. (Apparently he is a puppy and "training his teeth" as they put it.)
Today I leave for Amsterdam. I'll tell you about that someday when you're a little older...Ha!! I'm kidding:) I'll be in touch.
Somethings I've learned since I've been here: to make the conversion from pounds to dollars double the number. For conversion in euros add half again as much. From celsius to fahrenheit double the number and add 30:) Remember, "coffee" in Europe is espresso! And the barely legal kind that has you grinding your teeth for hours!!! I'm convinced that the majority of the population is either drunk or spun out on caffeine.

Au revoir Paris, bonjour Brussels!

A bittersweet good bye yesterday to the city of Paris. It seems just as I begin to adjust to the city that I'm in I change cities and I'm still not sure which causes which. In Paris I discovered my new favorite: escargot, "salted" soy sauce versus "sweet" soy sauce and that in Europe it's not called wi-fi, but rather "wee-fee". Ha! (It's just funny to hear them say it.) One thing I can tell you without a doubt is that the people in Belgium smell a hell of a lot better than the people in Paris did:)
I spoke with Freddy before I left and asked him what countries in Europe would I be welcome in as an American and not feel I had a dirty secret. Between him and his friend, they came up with one: Kosovo!! Are you kidding me?!?! Geez...
I'm really proud of myself. Yesterday, upon my arrival, I hit the ground running. I went straight to the Centre Vincent Van Gogh and checked in, dropped off my pack and began walking the city. As directionally challenged as I am I almost count on getting lost, but yesterday I didn't!!! I got out my map and decide to go to the Botanical Gardens. There I found myself in a garden labyrinth complete with a bar and "wee-fee". Is there anything the Europeans haven't thought of?! I figured it was about time for dinner after that and mussels in Brussels couldn't be better!!! (I say "I figured it was time for dinner" because this is the season of Northern lights so it gets dark much later. Many of the pictures I've taken so far have been taken after 9pm, but you would never know it based on the amount of light in the photo.) I had remembered how amazing the mussels were last time I was here and I was ready for an encore. I walked from the Botanical Gardens past Grand Place to Rue de Bouchers where the air smells of lobster and butter. I had mussels that melted in my mouth and made sure to take a picture to share:) I ate one before I took the pic because it didn't even look real!!! I had one of the 500 different beers brewed here and then left to go walking around. I had read about a place called Havana that had djs spinning everything from techno to salsa and that on the weekends they have live music. They hadn't opened yet when I got there so I popped into a little restaurant owned by a husband and wife a few doors down. They were the cutest! I had the greatest time talking with them, watching Nadine run around the cafe like it was her kitchen at home with their dog close at her heels wielding his pacifier. (Apparently he is a puppy and "training his teeth" as they put it.)
Today I leave for Amsterdam. I'll tell you about that someday when you're a little older...Ha!! I'm kidding:) I'll be in touch.
Somethings I've learned since I've been here: to make the conversion from pounds to dollars double the number. For conversion in euros add half again as much. From celsius to fahrenheit double the number and add 30:) Remember, "coffee" in Europe is espresso! And the barely legal kind that has you grinding your teeth for hours!!! I'm convinced that the majority of the population is either drunk or spun out on caffeine.

Pictures

I'll be posting my pics on my Facebook page because it's just easier from my computer. Find me at "missivy949"

In Paris!!!!

As opposed to "Mad Donnoe" as I am it seems to be the new Starbucks in Paris...so here I am blogging in the plush executive seats that they are furnished with!
France has been welcoming me with constant showers since my arrival via the Eurostar Sunday evening. I was met by my good friend Frederik whom I have not seen in 9 years! After a quick catching up and a few metro rides around, we arrived at the Blue Planet Hostel where I dropped off my stuff and quickly changed for the evening. Frederick planned to escort me to an evening hosted by the Belgium Embassy for the results of the European Union elections held this week. But first we took a quick detour to the neighborhood where I lived when I was here in 2000 for my study abroad semester. Although it was late in the evening during the summer months it doesn't get dark until around 10pm. As we walked I saw brasseries and tabacs which seemed as though they had been frozen in time, unchanged. The biggest difference I noticed was in the cleanliness of the buildings and the lack of prostitutes...that sounds bad as I write it but they were as much a part of the Parisian experience as the distinct smell of the metro. (I'm not ruling out that the two are some how related...) When we arrived at my former home Alexandra was there to greet us. She has been working there since it was home to me but has since settled down with a husband and had a baby:) She invited us for dinner at her house the following night so I could meet her family. I had no idea what I was in for...Monday night was unbelievable. We got to catch up, I got to meet her daughter and her husband, not to mention the largest spread of Serbian French fusion you could imagine. The meal was so expansive it took shifts where everyone literally took a break, got up and walked around before the next course. What a treat being able to enjoy good conversation, good company and good food:) I'm still tring to talk Freddy into going out to the Rex Club where the group of us used to go dancing all night when I lived here. Years ago there would be a point in the night where we would need to make a decision as to whether we wanted to take the last metro or continue to party and take the first metro in the morning. What fun!!!

Safe arrival

I landed safely this afternoon to the most beautiful weather London has seen in months according to residents:) My transit here was without incident, waiting or long lines and even included an upgrade...tee hee Ironically, international flights are far more smooth than domestic.
I'm realizing I don't have much to blog about right now except that my pack is heavier than I am!! Everything seems important to pack at the time...until you have to carry it on your back!! Uphill, both ways...geez I'm sure that will no longer be a problem by the time I leave for Paris.
I'm missing all of you, but doubt the reality of where I am and what I am doing has really hit me yet. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the adventures as they unfold.
Before I go, a particularly warm thank you to James, Anthony and Joe for spending days moving all my worldly belongings into a "holding cell" until I return. Additional thanks to Vikki, Heather and Brenda for helping with the pesky red tape that comes with putting your life on hold. So far I've learned more about how incredible the people I call my friends are. Thank you for knowing me better than I know myself.
I'm going to go play drinking games with a bunch of strangers...I'm loving this already. Cheers!

Booking the flights...

Well this is it, no turning back now:) As of today I am officially scheduled to leave on June 1st out of LAX to begin my world journey. My itinerary starts in Europe where I look forward to spending June, July and August exploring the cities of:
London
Paris
Amsterdam
Brussels
Bruges
Oostende
Bordeaux
Madrid
Lisbon
Porto
Malaga
Costa del Sol
Morocco
Valencia
Barcelona
Figueres
Nice/French Riviera
Antibes
Monte Carlo
Corsica
Geneva
Zurich
Lucern
Prague
Vienna
Milan
Venice
Florence
Siena
Rome
Naples
Capri
Pompeii
Bari
Athens

At this point in my trip I will head into Turkey and Egypt for the month of September touring the pyramids and the like before flying to Nairobi.

The following leg of my trip I will be taking an overland tour of East Africa's wildlife and coast including:
Nairobi
Masai Mara
Nakuru
Amboseli National Park
Tsavo West National Park
Mombasa
Shimba Hills/Diana Beach
Shimoni
Pangani
Saadani National Park
Bagamoyo
Dar es Salaam

I will then, hopefully, be teaching in Uganda for a bit before stopping in Zambia to visit Victoria Falls. From there I will fly to Johannesburg and to Dubai before my next destination: India.
I'll spend the month of November in India, again hopefully teaching at an American Montessori school just outside of Delhi.

My last scheduled stop is in Kathmandu where I will be working with a foundation which, with support, finances the $40 educational career of young girls to ensure they are not sold into slavery.

I will leave you with this on the first blog of many: It is only because of the generosity of many and variables outside of my control that this opportunity has been brought forth as a possibility. Thank you to all of you.
With gratitude and humility,
Ivy