last days in costa rica

My last few days in Costa Rica... I am sad to be leaving the friends that I have made but I am anxious to go home. I purchased a flight and all I can think about now is seeing my family and friends, sleeping in my own bed, snow and hot sauce!

The last weekend I was there I said goodbye to my host family, Mario and Celina, and packed up my entire pack. After all the souveniers I bought and the 4lbs of dulce de leche I am carrying home for Sam, my pack is definitely heavier than when I left! I am going to need to dump a lot of clothes and extras before I try to get this home.

We got a bus/cab/ferry to the remote Osa Peninsula on the far Eastern side of Costa Rica. I was told my a friend of mine that of all the places she had been, this was her favorite so I knew I needed to go. The trip was long. The landing was wet...we got off the boat with all our stuff as it backed up onto the beach and let us off in the waves. The place was incredibly remote and the beaches incredibly beautiful. We did a jungle hike, went to a Turtle release party on the beach, went snorkling and saw Cano Island. The weekend was fun and I was there with all my new friends. I couldnt help being anxious knowing that soon I would go my own way and the girls would all head back to San Jose, without me!

The last day there we all had busses that would leave within 15 mins of each other which was perfect...that is, until I missed mine, watched the girls pull away and waited an hour and a half alone at night for the next bus. Fortunately, when I got off the next bus I met two Americans who were also headed to the Panama border. I took a taxi with them and crossed the border where I got my very first hostel, alone! I was really nervous and nearly shit my pants when the water in the shower somehow turned on when I was in the other room! Thank god for the TV and air conditioner for background noise. I woke up at every sound. But when I officially woke up in the morning feeling like a bad ass. Here I was on the road, alone. Could I do it??

Gum and Groping

Saturday night in Manuel Antonio we drank at the hostel for awhile before Sarah and I decided we wanted to go to the club. Friday night we had wanted to and it just didnt work out so Saturday, also being Sarahs last night in Costa Rica, was the night!

We jumped on a bus with our friend Rachel to go into Quepos, the nearby town with the clubs. Unfortunately we all only had about 5 US dollars on us and drinks-entrances to clubs can get kind of expensive.

We hop off at the first bar and go in, sans entrance, and buy a 4 dollar drink each which means we are screwed for the rest of the night. So realizing we couldnt get anything else here, we walked to another bar. They told us it was like 5 dollars to get in so after some serious begging and pleading they let us in. When we got in and realized there were 2 other people in the bar and that was it, we had a good laugh. So we set off in search of some kind of alcoholic beverage for 1,000 colones..or 2 dollars. Thinking we were 3 white girls, this should be easy we told the bartender our story. What did he say..you can buy water, and thats it. Thankfully after some serious schmoozing he picked up a giant lime green super soaker and shot some kamikazee like beverage down our throats which officially got the night rolling!! After that we ran into the server from our hostel, an Australian we ended up calling cabbage and a Nico turned Tico...all of whom were delighted to keep our fists full of beers.

At some point in the night we left, ate some pizza and ended up back at the club. We were having a blast dancing to the techo infused American music and probably would have been out til all hours of the night untillll....

Rachel grabs me and says Can you get the gum out of my hair? Apparently some boy grabbed her arm to dance and she said no so he straight up threw his gum into her hair. How nice.

Rachel and I go to the bathroom for literally 3 minutes and come out to find Sarah saying three guys came up to her and groped her when we left. So I turn around and make a face like is this serious!? in the direction of the boys she said touched her and do you want to know what happens? The adult male, in front of probably 10 other adult makes, walks up to me, puts his hands on my shoulders and shoves me. Seriously.

I am getting freaked because what do I do? At home, you make a big deal and any single man in that bar will kick his ass for even thinking to push a female. Here...not so much. So I grab the girls and say we need to leave. We get outside and his friend comes up to us and says oh sorry, hes really drunk. When we start to explain to him what happened and how in all of our countries (Canada, Australia and America) that is NOT ok he pretty much told us its best if we leave. Unbelievable.

The Nico turned Tico we were with says oh yeah sorry hes a street guy, theyre different...that stuff happens all the time. Im furious because I cannot believe that just happened. What made me more upset was the fact that I couldnt do anything about it because I didnt know what he would do. The police here dont do shit and its not abnormal for guys, especially these street guys, to be packing heat. Its frustrating to have to be physically groped and pushed by someone you dont know and to not be able to do a damn thing about it.

Needless to say we hopped right in a cab and went home.

Manuel Antonio

9 of us volunteers got a bus to Manuel Antonio on the Pacific side of Costa Rica for the weekend. It was a really good weekend and we actually got 2 mostly sunny days out of it.

Within the first 20 minutes of being there we saw a sloth and monkeys so we were all thrilled. What didnt thrill us was the first hostel we stayed at. We got off the bus at Vista Serena which is on the outside of town which we didnt like. We checked in, got to our bunks and realized the water didnt work, there were no locks on the lockers, we were 30 minutes walking from town and a whole list of other gripes that ended with us getting our money back and walking to town in search of another hostel.

While sitting at dinner one day we heard this terrible scream and saw people start gathering around something laying in the street. Turns out it was a monkey that had jumped on the power line and got electrocuted. Some guy waited for him to stop convulsing and then put him in his car and drove away...to where, I do not know. But I did get a good laugh out of imagining this scene, the man and the supposedly dead monkey in a car, turning out like the scene from Tommy Boy in which Chris Farley and David Spade are alone in a car with a supposedly dead deer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voefhWfS80A

Crashing Elviss Lime Green Scooter

I just slept in a hammock for two nights at a Hostel in Puerto Viejo and it was surprisingly fantastic. Now on to other highlights from the weekend... We drank a lot and spent some time playing in the Caribbean. However my favorite part by far was crashing a lime green scooter, property of Elvis.

One night at a bar there was a guy checking out my friend for the duration of the night...however when I told her this, she didnt believe me. That was until the next night when he straight up oogled her and then said, I was checking you out all last night. Turns out his name is Elvis.

He was pulling out all the tricks to get us to get on his lime green scooter so he could drive us home from the bar. My friend refused thinking it was far too dangerous. Now, the entire time I have been in Central America I have been saying I want to rent-drive-ride a scooter and so far, it hasnt happened. So imagine my sheer joy standing there in front of my dream! So I said She wont get on it if you drive, but if I drive she will. Easy as that!! Two seconds later he was giving me directions for how to maneuver this thing (it consisted of gas, break, see ya!) and I was flying down the road yelling THIS IS AWESOME!!! My friend was yelling with her legs wrapped around me, SLOW DOWN! I didnt. But what I did do was try to turn around and ramp the green scooter up over the side of the road and into the bushes. Then I stood yelling HELP ME! PICK IT UP! As we tried to get it out of the bushes before Elvis, who was walking behind us, could see it. It didnt work.

Luckily he wasnt mad and instead just told me that no, this lime green scooter does NOT have a reverse button...then he showed me how to turn it around....something he probably should have added to the list of instructions BEFORE I hopped on that bad boy with my friend on the back and went hauling ass up the road.

orphanage

For the last two weeks I have been volunteering a few hours each day at an Orphanage here in San Jose. There are about 4 or 5 different Tias who are mother figures for the children that live there. Some days there are only a few children, other days there are as many as 20 kids there. Some of them go to school, others do not and I have yet to figure out why this is so.

There are a few kids here whose stories just break my heart and makes me all the more certain that I will be adopting my children in the future.

Oscar* is 12 and he has been living at this orphanage for nearly a year. He doesnt talk much about where he was prior to that. He doesnt know all his letters, cannot say his alphabet and when we started, could not spell his name. He does not go to school and his 6 year old *brother* knows more than he does. At this point, he cannot be placed in school because what grade would you start him at? How do you have a 12 year old in kindergarten? He is so eager to learn and is just soaking up everything we are teaching him.

Jedrich* is 6 months old and has been at the orphanage for 2 months. His mother, an 18 year old, took him to the hospital to have surgery and never came back for him. He had surgery on his head and had a shunt put in because he has water pools in his head which have caused him to be blind. He is usually propped up in a stroller in a room by himself and cries whenever he is awake.

These kids absolutely break my heart. I cant help but notice how bizarre some of their behavior is. They rarely fight and when they do, its short lived and solved on their own. They rarely cry and when they do the Tias are on them right away. They don't play with toys with even close to the imagination that any of my preschool kids do. I am sure these are all a result of living in an orphanage.

I am learning so much being here and seeing firsthand what its like. The Tias dont speak very much English, nor do the kids. They love to tell us "Thank you!" whenever they can...even when it may not be the right word. They love to count in english and say their colors. These kids are all so fantastic it just kills you to think what they must have been through to have ended up here.

While I was working, a friend of mine had some money she had donated at home by some coworkers for the kids at the orphanage. To be sure our money ended up there we went and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of toys and food for our orphanage and for a community center.

Overflowing Toilets

When we first arrived at our homestay in San Pedro, the family told us the toilet handle is a little tricky and that you have to be sure that it sets right after you flush. I only half listened because at the time the directions were being given to my two roommates, not me. That night at dinner we hear that Celina, our host mom had nightmares about her house flooding because 2 years ago one of the volunteers didnt fix the handle right and the whole bottom floor flooded in the middle of the night...all because of the damn toilet handle.

So I ended up having the stomach flu for a couple days and the night before it all set in I was feeling tired and awful. I go to the bathroom, flush, and then go sit in the living room with the girls for awhile. Celina comes running out of the bathroom saying in spanish, that there is water in the bedroom. Well, only in MY bedroom which seems appropriate given mine is the only room in the house with carpet.

I spent the next 45 minutes on my hands and knees slopping beach towels into the lake that was my bedroom and wringing them out into a bucket. Then they had to borrow a machine from their friends to suck up the remaining water. Then there was some moving of furniture to lay down another carpet so I could walk into my bedroom which then smelled like a cellar and continues to three weeks later.

I think my host family is going to really like having me there!

The ride to San Jose

Our options for leaving La Fortuna and getting to San Jose so Whitney could fly home were either the 8 dollar public bus which takes over 4 hours and is unreliable, a 36 dollar per person shuttle, or pay a guy we knew 30 bucks per person to ride in his personal car. On a side note, 'L' the guy we paid was already going to San Jose to sell his car but he worked for a tour agency so we paid him and he wrote us up a tour reciept so it was all very legitimate.

8 am was the departure time. 815am, L's friend shows up to get us. We go pick L up at his office and end up sitting out front in the car watching him eat his breakfast for 10 minutes. Before the first hour is over..its a 3 hours drive...we have stopped for gas, pulled over to check what the smoke was coming out of the hood, pulled over so L could have a 5 minute conversation on his phone and then ended up at some bank like building where he vanished for 45 minutes taking care of personal business. We are sitting in the car calculating how much more time we needed and Whitney is becoming enraged. She had already changed her flight and paid 100us to do so, so if she missed this flight she was going to be furious. Not to mention, Leo already knew that she had a flight.

Eventually and after a lot of aggressive comments from Whitney, we are on the road again...that is until the car breaks down on the side of the highway and he ends up in a screaming match with Whitney. He flags down a random car which was headed to san jose and puts our stuff in it and off we go. So much for the shuttle ticket to San Jose.

Luckily the car was that of 2 young guys who were on their way to some music tryout in San Jose and they got us safely to the airport without a hitch. We also ended up emailing the owner of the company that L works for, who we paid, and telling him what happened. The next weekend I went back to Fortuna and got myself a refund and an apology.

A lot of drama just for a ride to san jose...

not everything in costa rica is traumatic

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1441327642262&ref=mf


While rafting sent me into a panic, right after we got to do some of the coolest shit ever. We went canyoneering which I have never done. We started on this hanging bridge with an open part in the middle which you just stand over and then while attached to a rope, plummet straight down into the waterfall below. There were 4 of us 2 girls and 2 boys and wouldn´t you know it, the boys refused to go first and I knew Whitney wouldnt so I did. I imagine this is how badasses feel when rapelling out of some airplane and I loved every second of it! Then we did some spiderman rapelling down some waterfalls which was so much fun! The link above is the video the tour agency made of our trip...check it out.

Then we did a Tarzan Swing. Its a platform that you stand on, get harnessed in the then the guide pulls you back and swings you forward...suspended from a single wire and swinging above a canyon...its insane! Again, I had to go first which I am starting to like. You could lay back and stick your feet in the air...all while swinging over this canyon! Theres no evidence of this on the video but here is video of some strange girl doing it so you get the idea of just exactly how cool this is. http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/andersontravel/anderson_travel/1190066220/tarzan-swingxxxso-funx.avi/tpod.html

flopping around in class v rapids

Were arranging all of our adventure tours through an agency in La Fortuna Costa Rica and so far it´s been great. That was true until 2 of the guys convinced us to do a canyoneering-white water rafting trip. I went rafting before in Chile and didnt love it but I REALLY wanted to do the canyoneering so I agreed. Too bad we had to do the rafting first...in class 5 rapids.

Whit has never rafted and my experience is in like class 2 or 3 so it hardly qualifies me to be in class V rapids. The guys insist that as long as we listen to the rules and follow safety rules we´ll be fine. I wasnt so sure and I wish I had said no because it ended up being the worst adventure sport experience of my entire life...all jokes aside. Horrible.

There were 3 of us regular people and 2 guides in our boat. After less than like a half hour of these ridiculous intense rapids in which I was scared for my life, the f-ing raft flipped over and dumped us into that furious river. We were going through huge rapids and all I remember is a huge wave in the face, opening my eyes and seeing the entire left side of the raft in the air and people falling on top of me...all of us flipping into the big rock face to the right of us. The raft flips in the heat of the rapids and theres like a pocket you stick your foot into to use to hang on while you paddle. Well my freakin foot would not let go and I start panicking because I am in the class 5 rapids, on the underside of a raft with my foot caught in it gasping for air and instead just choking down buckets of water. We were told if this happens to get out from underneath the raft so 1. they can see you to rescue you and 2. you dont get slammed into rocks. So theres 4 of us under this raft and youre trying to use the raft to launch yourself out from underneath it but it feels like your getting your ass kicked inside a washing machine. The sheer will not to drown forces you to somehow get your ass out from underneath there only to get sucked downstream in the rapids. The whole time you are savoring every .1 second you get with your face above water so you can manage some kind of pathetic attempt at a breath. Half the time you just breathe not knowing whether your head is truly above water because all you see when you open your eyes is either sheer black or churning white...all signs that breathing is not really an option.

After god knows how long of this terrible game, I look over to see my rescue options. Whitney and the guide are on top of the flipped over raft, the guy that went with us is sitting on a lone rock in the middle of the raging river and while by some freak accident I still have my paddle but no one anywhere near me is looking in my direction and I can´t get enough air in my lungs to yell. Just as I find a rock to hold onto the rapids suck me back in. I end up a little ways past them down the river and have to get rescued by the kayak which is horrifying in itself. First theres a wall of rock to my left, across the rapid and he tells me swim to shore! I look left and say where!? because as far as I can see there IS no shore and the rapid is either going to slam me into the rocks or im gonna get washed away because I cant hold on to the rocks. So my ass ends up in yet another sufficiently sized rapid and im struggling to climb belly first onto the back of the kayak which allows the rescuer to paddle you to shore. The crap part about this is the entire time your legs are still in the water slamming into every boulder underneath you with the force of the rapids propelling them. Altogether the most horrifying experience of my life.

I ended up squatting on the shore, coughing up water and saying to the guide ¨I dont want to do this anymore!¨ Turns out on the otherside of the river on the bottom of the flipped raft, Whitney was uttering the same words to the other guide. What we both failed to realize at the time is that there was no End button on this trip and all we could do to get it over with was get back in the raft and close your eyes hoping not to ever end up back in that river again.

Traumatic is the only word I can think of to describe this experience. Seriously, horribly fu(king traumatic. Excuse the language but at a time like this it is entirely appropriate. I have souvenier bruises up and down both of my shins, on one elbow, one hip and my favorites, two on my forehead.

Suffice it to say I will never again be found in a raft, and if by chance I do, it will be an intertube in Lake Erie with a MichUltra in my hand...as far away as possible from any Class V rapid.

Don´t cry over spilled milk...or soup.

San Pedro Sula is a large city in Honduras, or as close to a large city as we´ve seen in Central America thus far. In the center there is a nice park with markets all up and down the surrounding streets. We spent a day wandering through the market stalls to see what kinda junk they were selling and just to see the culture. These markets are very different than anything we have in America...the closest comparison is a Flea Market on Sunday. And that doesn´t even do it justice.

Weve had some issues with constantly being stared at but more annoying is the complete and utter disregard for personal space in these countries, Honduras being the worst. Whitney made a comment in the market about how this is a very touchy feely culture which is an excellent preface to this story.

Not ten minutes later as we´re walking through this market, I I see some guy walking towards Whitney and I with googley eyes. I adjust my path to walk wide of him just to be safe. A minute later from behind me I hear in clear, LOUD English ¨ew! WHAT THE F$(*!!!!¨ I turn around panicking because I knew it was Whitneys voice. I see her standing there with her arms out and her jaw on the floor with her face contorted with sheer disgust..directed towards none other than the googley eyed guy I walked away from.
I yell... Did he touch you!?
Whitney¨-- Yes he KISSED ME!!!
Me--On the face??
Whitney--No..on the...arm!?

We walked away with him standing there looking all sad and pouty. Then Whitney informed me that when he kissed her, before screaming obscenities she turned and swatted him with her water bottle on reflex. As shes telling me this I either kicked a ramen noodle bowl or had it thrown at me because it hit me behind the knee and covered my sandaled feet in day old, cold, smelly, dirty noodle soup. After that, it was time to go back to the hotel.

Lunching with a Naked Boy and Transvestite

We arrived in Managua, Nicaragua after about 10 hours on a bus and had only eaten grapes and a turkey sandwich all day so we were starving. We got directions to a place to eat that apparently did not exist. Instead, we ended up walking around for like 20 minutes before asking a group of drunk old men where to eat and a police officer. All of them answered with ïts so late to eat food!´and laughed because nothing is open. Mind you, its 430pm.

We stumble into this place that looks like a restaurant given it has tables set up out front with tableclothes and a menu is on the wall. We walk in and theres a boy watching TV so we say hola, hola and he ignores us. We look around for signs of food which is when Whitney sees a naked boy in the back and questions what is happening here. Some other little boy comes from out of the woodwork, fully clothed, and asks us what we want. We say is there food now? He says, let me go ask. So he comes out and tells us no, no food...from behind him come a group of people that consists of 1 adult woman figure and 3 children. The naked boy is upfront and hes filthy and flappin his wee wee around asking us something in Spanish we dont understand. The woman figure, who up close is CLEARLY a man, pushes the naked boy out of the way and tells us that no, in fact there IS no food right now.

Good thing because in retrospect, I dont know how comfortable I would have been eating there.

12 Hearts

After a long-ass bus ride to Tegucigalpa we retired to our rooms to get settled and ended up turning on the TV. It had maybe 6 channels, all it spanish. So we settled on one called 12 Hearts. There were 5 girls and 3 boys all lined up based on their astrological signs and then they asked all kinds of questions, most that I did not understand. Then the girls would get called 1 by 1 to the middle and would call up one of the 3 guys and answer Ïs she your heart?¨ and the boy would either say yes or no. If he said no, the girl got booted off and the guy went and sat back down hoping the 1 of the remaining girls that he wanted would call him up. Then when the two that liked each other got together they would essentially announce this and then the two would wildly make out and grope in the center of the stage...on tv...in front of an audience of people and viewers. The best part was the hostess was wearing a coat, as a dress. It was all a very interesting cultural experience, haha.

Chivalry Is Alive and Well

After an incredibly stressful and somewhat fruitless trip to Lago Yojoa in Honduras, we boarded a bus headed to the colonial town of Comayagua (We did this by standing on the side of the road with all our stuff and sticking our arm out to busses speeding by and asking them where they were going). It is not at all uncommon for even nicer busses to stop and pick up travelers on the side of the road just about anywhere. Even if there are no seats left and technically they are the kind of bus that ISNT supposed to do this, they will, for the extra money. Such has been the experience on every bus weve been on so far except for King Quality which functions more like a greyhound bus in America...buy a ticket at the station and board there or youre out of luck. So, on this NON greyhound-like bus to Comayagua, by the time we got on there were no seats left. We put our huge packs underneath and stood in the aisles with our daypacks on..which I must mention, are not particularly light especially after the Honduran souvenier expedition we completed. Anyways, we stood in the aisles for about 10 minutes as the only foreigners on the bus. Two little boys probably no older than 11 were sitting next to each other. They looked at us and giggled a few times before scooting together on one chair, making eye contact and pointing to the seat next to them, motioning for one of us to sit down.

Probably about twenty minutes later I made eye contact with another local guy who was turned around in his seat looking at me, half out of his seat and motioning for me to sit down. Then, because of the lack of seats he ended up standing in the aisle for at least 25 minutes. We were both very grateful to have a seat to rest our wary backs.

Beans, eggs, rice, repeat

It turns out the staple in all of Central America is eggs, rice, beans all in some form with a tortilla. I am loving these refriend beans and that will be a staple in my diet when I get home so I was thoroughly excited to find the newest version of the egg, cheese, beans, tortilla mixture in Honduras known as the Baleada. Essentially a hot tortilla with all these ingredients plus creme all melted in the middle. Delicious. I was not as pleased to get up this morning in Nicaragua to find eggs, yum, and a bean and rice mixture on my plate. Beans and rice in the mornings? Only in Central America...

quote

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins

Kidnappings in C.A.

We made it to San Pedro Sula and spent the last few days just hanging out...shopping for crap to make our bags heavier and eating at american chain restraunts. Its been refreshing. Not to mention our hotel has air conditioning and a hot shower and a tv...3 things we have had very little of in the last month or so.

Anyways, the place we are at is owned by a couple and their 2 teenage children. They speak good english and have no idea I can sometimes understand them. So they are all sitting downstairs talking loudly about god knows what and the daughter is on the porch by herself. All of a sudden they hear a car door shut and the dad gets up and flies out the front door and starts freaking out when his daughter isnt there. The brother and mom say they dont know where she went and everyone is starting to get really really loud and frantic and I have not a clue whats going on. Finally the mom yells to the coworker upstairs, he yells back and they all settle down. Whitney and I, sitting there confused, finally get an explanation of the chaos.

Apparently kidnappings are tremendously common around here. Locals who work at the banks have deals with criminals...the bank workers inform the criminals which families have money and then they go kidnap their daughter and then ransom her for money. Knowing how much they have in their bank account, the kidnappers know how much they can ransom her for. The dad that owns the hostel said for this reason he puts all his money into things and never into bank accounts because it is not safe.

Significantly freaked out, ya?

Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone

Well I have some news to report. In about 3 weeks or so I will be travel partnerless. Whitney has decided she is homesick and cant do the full 3 months so she is upping her flight to leave early November instead of early december. This means I will be on my own until I decide I cant hack it...or get bored, broke...or move here.

As of now we dont have a plan. We have a 5am bus to Copan so we can see some ruins in Honduras and from there we will just make our way to Costa Rica where she will fly out. After that I will probably travel Costa Rica and Panama by myself....maybe do some more Spanish school or do an extended volunteer program. Its nuts because I literally have no plan. Ill just have to see when Whit actually leaves and where I end up. So no worries but definitely a change in the plan.

Another reason to love Guatemala

After all that to get to Belize to go to the embassy we ended up back in Flores Guatemala and took a 9 hour overnight bus to Guatemala City. I showed up at the embassy, skipped a line of about 100 people because they were locals and I have a US Passport, strolled in, told them what I needed, paid for it and voila! there it is, new pages and all in less than an hour in total.

Again, I love guatemala. I also love having my cab driver, who is cute but short, tell me that I dont speak very fast but its very cute...and then giving me his number to call him when I come back. Haha, Guatemala is the best place on earth! I then drove all over the city trying to get a bus to Honduras and it cost us less than ten bucks. So do you want to book your vacation here now or later..

The Turd of an American Embassy

Before I left America I knew at some point Id have to get some new passport pages as I think I only had 7 or 8 spots left when I left. Well I used them quicker than I thought so I did some reasearch online and you pay 82dollars and get new pages added to your current passport. No big deal. So I figure this out in Caye Caulker, look for the nearest embassy which both our guidebooks (2009 and 2008) say is in Belize City. We get a ferry to the city with a bus booked the next morning to Flores, Guatemala which is the jumpoff point from wherever we go next. We arrive in Belize City to find out there is no longer an embassy there. But what IS there is a sprawling cess pool of a city that is strikingly similar to what I imagine Camden, NJ to look like.

Anyways, we then walked all around the city trying to get this bus rescheduled when we were told we have to take a 6am bus to Belmapan, the capital which is an hour away and where the embassy currently is. So we are up at 5, on this bus, get to Belmapan and arrive on the doorstep of them embassy. We stood outside for like 20 minutes and then had to line up and slide your passport through the security window where the guard decides to buzz you in or not. I tell her what I need and the conversation goes a little like this.
Her¨Did you have an appointment?
Me¨An appointment? For what?
Her¨You need to have an appointment to get new pages.
Me¨Ok. I need to make an appointment.
Her¨Ok you need to go online to do that.
Me¨ok well can I go online and schedule it for today and come back.
Her¨Sure but you probably wont get an appointment for today. Maybe tomorrow or in a few days.

So I get a cab to the nearest Internet cafe which is not open. Get another ride to an open place to find indeed there Are No appointments for today. Youve got to be kidding me. Its blazing hot and my bag is huge and im getting pissed.

So we go back to the terminal with busses, corral like animals around a big gate that opens when the bus arrives and whoever pushes the hardest gets through. Those little Belizean women are pushy, let me tell you. So after 2 rounds of this we shove through. We end up arriving at the border town, taking another cab TO the border, waiting there for 2 hours for a bus to come, go through customs using up my very last passport page and get the bus on the other side. Then about 2 hours later we get off the bus, on to a shuttle and arrive in Flores. Welcome back the city says.

So in a little less than 4 hours we have a 9 hour bus to Guatemala City where we HAVE to do whatever it takes to get those passport pages or I cannot leave Guatemala. Ill let you know how it goes.

Drowned Camera...round two.

Ive done it. Ive drowned my camera once again. This time I had it in a water proof camera bag and we were snorkeling in the carribean and it was beautiful and we wanted pictures. So whitney, who was still on the boat, double checks the seal and throws it in. I swim for awhile and try to turn my camera on. When it doesnt work I instantly think shit i didnt charge it! for real!?! That is about 2 seconds before I realized that somehow the damn waterproof bag was leaking and I had succeeding in drowning my camera yet again. So it is currently in rice drying out but I sincerely doubt that cameras ability to survive TWO drownings in 3 weeks. Ill let you know if thats possible and if it is, I have the most ninja camera ever.

Lost at Sea

I have a fear of large bodies of water, especially those with big waves and those that you cannot see to the bottom, and those that contain sharks and other stinging/biting animals. Understand that before you read further..and no laughing at my stupidity.

The other day we were in Caye Caulker in Belize. Its a beautiful island with like 1,000 people on it. We were staying at a beach front hostel and were pretty much the only ones there since it is low season. This was fantastic. The hostel had a beach with chairs and a pier and everything. I went out onto the peer, took my flip flops off, sat down to put my feet in the water and look around. Suddenly, a gust of wind and my ONLY flip flops went flying into the wind and landed in the water..like a foot away from me. I panicked. Get in I told myself...get it before the waves take it away! I hesitated..and then hesitated some more..looking around to find something to grab it with. Mind you, i am IN my bathing suit this whole time. Im freaking out, I cannot get myself to get in that water...especially alone when whitney was all the way at the other end of the pier. So I ran back and told her I needed help. She, who is equally as afraid of oceans, walked out to the pier with me and we realized my shoe was way too far away and neither of us had the guts to swim out to it.

Ridiculous I know...especially considering 2 days later I was in the middle of the Carribean snorkeling...flip flop less. Which is a problem when I only brought 3 pairs of shoes on this trip. Woops.

lo siento, no es mi problema

When we left Lago Atitlan for Xela it sounded fairly simple. We bought a 11 dollar ticket that would get us from San Pedro to Chichi which was an hour, where we would switch shuttles and then continue on to Xela, another 2 hours. Simple enough.

Lies.

We leave san pedro and about 20 minutes in we have to shut off the bus and get out because there is some kind of road construction happening and the road is impassible. SO we all unload while traffic piles up behind us..everyone sitting on the side of the road waiting for about 30 minutes. Once we get moving our bus cant get up the hill so we have to wait, let all the traffic pass us, and then retry it. About another 30 minutes later we are winding back and forth up the side of the mountains and the bus starts sputtering...and we start coasting backwards down the cliff. The driver says please get out, this is very difficult. So half of the bus gets out and hoofs it up the terrain and meets the bus at the top. We all find this very funny...the first time. When it happens again ten minutes later its not so funy. When the bus stops working all together and we all have to sit on the side of the road for an hour waiting for alternative shuttles, it is no longer funny at all. Actually its to the point where most of us are failing to see the humor at all when the rescue shuttle can only fit half of the crew, leaving the other half of us to wait another 20 minutes for the second shuttle.

Whitney and I hop in and get the last seats, in the last row...which is american terms is the trunk. Sitting in the trunk, 3.5 hours into a trip that is supposed to take an hour and bouncing around like rag dolls...

When we finally arrive in CHICHI which is a huge market city and is the destination of every other traveler on our shuttle, we inform our driver that we are to get a connecting shuttle here that is bound for xela. He said, oh, sorry but you missed it. We instantly get pissed because we not only paid for it, but we are now stuck here without a shuttle?? In relaying this to the driver, his only response is Lo siento, no es mi problema. In english, tough luck asshole, not my problem.

It only gets worse when in looking for an alternative way to xela we find out its going to cost us 100usd for the 2 hour trip. Not to mention we have three creepy guatemalan men telling us they can take us in their shuttle, no their bus, no their taxi, right now, no in an hour, no at 4pm to xela for 100 usd no 15quetzales no...shady!!

So we end up running away and jumping spontaneously on a collectivo headed to los encuentros. Where that is we have no idea but its 45 minutes closer to xela, or so we are told. So we squeeze in, whitney up front next to her new bff pedro and me in the back in the middle in a sea of guatemalans...all staring at me like i have 8 heads. These collectivos make about 6 stops per quarter mile and shove whoever wants to get in, in a seat...or on someones lap...or to hand on to the oh shit handle and hang out the side.

Finally we get to los encuentros and 3 seconds later are shoved onto a Chicken Bus headed for Xela. Now we have been informed several hundred times DO NOT RIDE A CHICKEN BUS. They are notorious for highway robberies...for maniac drivers flying down the highway at excessive speed ignorning all traffic laws and weather complications. Not to mention it is a recycled US cheese bus and they put three people per seat so breathing room is negligible. All the while, your pack full of everything you own currently is being slopped around all over the roof where you cannot see it and will have no reassurance that it is still there until you get off and with some act of god, it is still there. God was on our side that day, thankfully.

After 9 toturous hours, 3 shuttles, a chicken bus and a cab we find ourselves at the american equivalent of a dump hotel...thanking god the day was over. Oh but im sorry, ´no es mi problema.¨

poo pile

The family that we are staying with is hillarious. It is the mom Maricela and her husband Alnoldo and their 3 children, one of whoms husband and baby Alejandro live there as well. They are loud and there are always extra people around...sounds just like the Fischer house. Then they have a dog, Mia who is the sweetest little thing. Im missing my Sophie so it was so nice the first day to play with the dog. All was well and good the first day we arrived and we went to bed happy.

The next morning I wake up at about 6, yes believe it, and go to the bathroom. Well I open my door and see the dog beat me too it. There is a huge pile of poop literally in the threshold of my doorway. Im horrified and have no clue how to tell this family that their dog did this! If that ever happened at home with Sophie my family would be mortified. So I scramble to the bathroom and back to my room to get ready for school. Before I get the chance to tell them, its gone. Vanished.

The upper story of the house, which we are staying on, is also the floor that 2 of the other family members live on so I assumed someone saw it and got to cleaning.

The next morning, it happens again. Only this time, its two huge piles and a puddle of pee! Again, it vanishes before breakfast.

The third morning, repeat. Only that night it also happened. So I told the dad in broken spanish ¨dog use floor as bathroom... to which he replies you need bathroom? I say no no dog bathroom. He says oh oh! ill clean it up! As if its no big deal...

So being thoroughly confused and equally as disgusted by this I ask my teacher the next day what is happening here. She proceeds to explain that its not like in America here where you put your dog on a leash and take it for a walk to go to the bathroom. Most people here have what they call terraces, pretty much an eclosed patio that the dogs use like ours use the grass. Im dumbfounded.

So the poo piles shall continue. What a treat.

Drowning Day

We left Antigua on Wednesday which was a holiday, and it feels as though it has not stopped raining since then. We signed out of our homestay at 10am and the first shuttle wasnt until 1 so we sat in the park for 2 hours in ponchos waiting for our shuttle to panahajel, Lago Atitlan. Once we got to Pana, it started pouring on our walk to the ferry. By the time we found the ferry we had to wait another hour for a boat however, the walk to the boat we finally caught was through a raging rapid of raing water in which I completely soaked my sneakers. The hour ride across the Lake to San Pedro, where we are staying was terribly soppy and wet. By the time we made it across, my clothes were all soaked as well.

We hung up all our wet clothes before we went to bed and awoke to find nothing had dried and it still raining. This sucks however we were forewarned that this is the rainy season here. Now I like rain....however I completely DISLIKE water in other forms when it involves damage to things that do not belong in water. Like my camera. One morning we got up and packed up our important stuff for the day...money, water, camera, passport, etc. I sling my bag on and a few seconds later yell bc my back is all wet. Apparently the lid was not all the way on my water bottle and it drowned the contents of my bag...camera included. NOT happy. Esp bc a few months before I left I just paid 100 bucks to get the thing fixed after I dropped it. Now post drowning I immediately bought a bag of rice and have had the camera in there for 2 days but so far no luck. So, in conclusion I have officially broken my first camera on this trip.

So onto further water related dilemmas. If you know me at all you know I get blisters like a son of a bitch so doing anything in wet sneakers is just entirely inappropriate on every level. Having drowned my sneakers the day before and having made plans to hike a volcano, you begin to see my problem. So yesterday we went, sopping sneakers in hand, in search of a place with a dryer that would let me pay to use it. No luck. They all took one look at my sneakers, the 2 places that actually used machines and not just the sun, laughed and then said no. Maybe they would break the dryer, I dunno. Well I ended up giving in, buying some baby powder and filling my shoes with that and newspaper to suck up the moisture. Luckily it was a success and I had almost dry sneakers for today....

Onto the volcano story. This was the 2nd one I hiked. I hiked Vocan Villarica in Chile a couple years ago and hated every moment of that one too. Seriously it is like the most physically demanding thing you can put your body through. I do not know why people enjoy it. Ok thats a lie, I do. You get to see some of the most beautiful scenery in all the world and it is so fulfilling to know you got yourself there on your own two legs. So after 4 hours we made it to the top and it took us about 2 hours to walk down. Our guide was laughing at us the whole way bc we were so slow. Thank god there were no other people in our group! Unfortunately bc it is so cloudy here, we had an amazing view until we got up above the clouds and then we saw nothing..but clouds. Bummer. Its pretty absurd that this is the second time that has happened (we met the same fate in Chile). How many volcanoes do I need to climb to get a clear view!

So in the end, today was fun...and horrible. Next on my list is buying a new camera so I can show all you wonderful people at home the world. Until then...

Sound Enhancing Devices in a Bathroom Stall

Our family that we stayed with in Antigua was apparently very well off. We had our own wing essentially on the 2nd floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom, living room and terrace. The way it was structured our windows in our room were actually facing the inside of the house and into the hallway which was open to the kitchen below it on the first floor. The bathroom which was right next to all of this had a small uncovered opening in the upper portion of the ceiling. This type of construction is odd but common here.

The first day I hopped into the shower which was up a step. After getting out and standing there in my nudie pants drying off for a minute I caught myself shouting OH MY GOD! because I realized that since I was up a level, any tallish person in the hallway could have stood there and seen my naked ass. Awkward as shit. A couple hours later Whitney experienced the same thing and had pretty much the same reaction...although i think her words were JESUS CHRIST!

So to reinforce the idea of sound enhancing devices, one night we were woken up at about 5am because our roommate, who had been sick for a few days, was dry heaving over the toilet. Although before coming out of your sleepy haze, you could have easily mistaken his location to be right above your face. Apparently our other roommate who sleeps downstairs and in another wing could hear every gag and heave as well thanks to the acoustics.

either stupid or foreign

There are always moments throughout the day where you catch yourself feeling like a total idiot. In reality, you aren't one, you're just a foreigner which at the moment seem freakishly similar. I had a moment the other day. After a long walk we wanted to go get these crepes at this store that we pass every day. They looked so good and we have been talking about them all week. We walk into the store and find no crepe supplies but a freezer full of gelato, which is delicious any other time but not when you are looking for a crepe. So we stand there, looking at the freezer, both of us separately trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. There is no menu, no english, no crepe supplies and the 3 workers are all standing there, staring at us, waiting for us to order. After a few minutes we start awkwardly looking around and at each other saying, "umm" and not wanting to look too painfully obvious in our confusion. So finally we come up with some broken spanish to ask where the F the crepes we so desire are. She says something I did not understands and points to a large round skillet and then back at the gelato. Still as confused as before, we made a few fruitless attempts to get ourselves a crepe and finally resided to the fact that we would not be having crepes that day. Having to order something we got some gelato which of course did not satisfy the crepe craving and in fact, wasnt very good anyways. Oh the joys of traveling.

Another daily struggle is how to use something as simple as a keyboard. I had forgotten how something that is pretty standard in the US could be so wrong abroad. For example, I am currently in a computer lab with 8 computers. They are all flat screen and newer as I am at school. Now any time you sit down you have to first make sure you know how to use the @ sign and the ? mark because on every keyboard it is different. Yesterday it took control 4 and 6 at the same time to get a question mark. This we figured out after pleading with an internet cafe attendant to show us how to use the @sign. He looked at us with a blank stare im sure asking himself "who are these buffoons?!"

On another note, last night we learned to Salsa! Well, just the basics but it was a lot of fun. Tonight we are going to a happy hour at an Americanish bar and then downstairs to try out our new skills. Our teacher told us never to say no to a boy who asks you to dance because its very hard for them to ask you in the first place. Ya. We'll see how that goes. Were going with our 2 housemates so its going to be quite the scene...4 Americans dressed in traveling clothes flopping around to the beat, probably not well.

Oh and for those of you that are following "Where's Miguel?" you'll be shocked to know that oddly enough the salsa teacher was named Miguel...but he was tiny, and made me feel like an ogre so that was a no go. Plus he was married, had a kid and is a dancing man...enough said I think. Here's to finding Miguel at the next stop!

The domination of Lady GaGa

Yesterday we went on a walk just to see what we could find that we hadn't yet seen in Antigua. Because Antigua is on like 2 major fault lines, they are prone to earthquakes here. As a result, a lot of the older buildings have crumbled and only portions of the edifices still stand. There was a law made recently that says all new buildings or renovations to buildings must be in the style of the older buildings here. So its a gorgeous city.

So on our walk we stumble upon a small park with towering old churches surrounding it. Its around siesta time and we are towards the edge of town so there aren't many people around and traffic is minimal. Its so quiet and still...almost so much so that its alarming. Suddenly you hear it...on the xylophone...a small boy playing it... lady gaga bad romance. And its echoing about 4 blocks away.

Dont get me wrong, I love myself some Lady Gaga and i'll "Just Dance" any time, any day. You could even say its my theme song. However, there is something deeply disturbing about hearing Bad Romance from a 10 year old boy on a xylophone outside of a church.

If only lady gaga could have seen it.

wrapping up antigua

For the last week I have been taking spanish classes at a place called Maximo Nivel in Antigua. I have 4 hours a day, plus a homestay where they will only speak to us in Spanish so I get very tired here. Its exhausting really. Constantly having to listen to every word that is spoken and having to think about every word that comes out of your mouth...its horrible, but I am learning quickly I think. Much, much quicker than I ever did at home in school. One day here is like a week of high school spanish at home so it is DEFINITELY worth what I am paying.

Anyways, today in class it was funny bc my teacher Evelyn will give an example in spanish and the persons name will always be like 'Diego' or 'Marta' and mine are like 'Bill' and 'ashley'. Whats normal is so different here, its interesting to see. Plus with my teachers we talk a lot about things that are "normal" to both of us. My teacher thinks all guatemalans are ugly! Theyre so perplexed by snow..i showed sondra, my teacher, pics of my house in the winter and she was like wtf?!!?

The homestay were at is awesome bc there are 2 other americans staying with us, maika and rick. She speaks like no spanish and Rick is practically fluent...which makes group conversations in spanish really ridiculous. And then there is whitny who speaks literally no spanish. But she is learning too! We have our own room, no hot water for showers, and weight watchers portions of food. But its like an apartment cuz theyre practically never here so its easy to come and go as we please. All in all its a good experience and were def going to try it again in another city/country.

That is all for now. Its been pretty normal here since ive been in the same city for a week and were just going to school, eating meals, and walking around the city absorbing the culture. I like it here a lot. People are generally nice and its a beautiful city. I think, however, that I am ready to move on at the end of this week. From what we hear, it is a lot cheaper in other cities too bc this is like the new york of guatemala-- modern and more expensive. So today we are trying to figure out what the plan is bc classes are over on wed morning.

Highlights in antigua include...playing charades to try to buy some glue for our journals, going to a soccer game, watching two teams of disabled guys in wheelchairs play basketball at the court down the street from our house and watching horses "dance" in the streets. Tonight, if all goes as planned which rarely happens around here, we salsa!

Oh and for those who are going to ask, there has been NO Miguel yet!

Broken Back Beds

Antigua is cool so far but I CANNOT figure out the map of this place. Every street looks the same, half the intersections are not labeled...its impossible. Im definitely struggling. Where is my map girl Sam Veltri when I need her!? Now I HAVE to learn maps...ugh.

Last night we stayed in a hostel called Kafka that two americans on our shuttle here recommended. Its great but the beds, were brutal. I went to bed at like 8pm because I had been up traveling for 24plus hours and was beat. Well first I took a cold shower in a stall the size of a broom closet, in a midgets house. Then I went to bed. I woke up probably every 15 minutes because the bed was SO hard. My neck and back and everything in between have been splitting all day long. Unbelievable. So I popped some advil and we switched hostels.


Now were at Jungle Party which is only 8dollars a night! And they have a dog that looks like Sophies great grandma. The guy at the desk offered us $1 vodka and rum when we signed in so this is going to be interesting. We will only stay there one night because tomorrow we get up and start our 1 on 1 spanish classes at 8am. We signed up for a week of spanish and a homestay through Maximo Nivel. So far so good. I mean, we get free internet! Tomorrow we will meet the family...lets hope they have a hot son in his 20's.

Runaway Laptop, the grocery bag suitcase and the man with no shoes

Ive made it safely to Guatemala. Currenly I am in Antigua, a 45 minute car ride from Guatemala City. Antigua is a largely tourist city with many travelers taking spanish lessons here.

So I'll take you back to the beginning of the trip for a few laughs... my lovely friend Megzies picked me up in Erie and drove me to the Pitts airport around 2pm. My flight was at 630p but when we got there the security line was ridculously long. So long I thought i'd be so late. So after awhile Megan leaves and I look to my left after a huge commotion and some guy is chasing his tumbling laptop bag DOWN the UP escalator. The laptop is picking up speed and the guy, in his dress clothes, is trying desperately to catch up but since the escalator is going the opposite way, he is making little headway. So after about 30 seconds some stranger runs UP the escalator the appropriate way and cathches his laptop. The runner then flies up the stairs in sheer embarassment, grabs his waiting luggage, and leaves. Given there were probably 150-200 people in the security line watching this happen, I would have run too. So the silliest part...I turn to the lady behind me with my mouth gaping open and say "Well thats embarassing!" She looks at me, in disgust, and says "Hes lucky he didnt get hurt!" I thought it was funny! If you know me, you know i ALWAYS think people falling is funny...even when I fall.

Moving on to Boston. I land, pick up my bag bc it was not a connecting flight only to find I have to reenter security which is closed because its 1130 at night. So I set up shop on a bench and get out a book. Shorly after an unattractive 20 something guy sits next to me. After awhile he makes small talk..and I oblige. Im freezing so I go to sit on the floor opposite side of the room. As I am getting my stuff this kid says, in a creep voice, "I like your braids." So nervous laughter ensues and I get my bags quicker than I planned. Mins later he follows me saying "ya it is cold over there." Jesssusssss! I lay down and put my headphones in thinking he will stop talking, which doesnt work. What is it with people not getting social cues!? So he then says "If youre still cold, you can come sit by me." I started praying Whitney would get there soon but she wasnt due for another 2 hours..and im stuck with creepy mcgee!! Finally whit shows up and rescued me. What made him weirder was he was going to Nicaragua to travel for 3 months but literally ALL he had was a small bookbag with his laptop, a nicaragua guide book and im not kidding, ONE plastic grocery bag with a few clothes in it. The only shoes he had were dress shoes. You can imagine my confusion now, ya!?

Moving on to Ft Lauderdale. I see a tiny, tiny man who looks like he is from Guatemala walking around on crutches with no shoes....I emphasize walking around an airport with no shoes. Get on the plane and who is sitting next to me? The man with no shoes. Who hurt himself falling off his bicycle come to find out. But still, couldnt you wear a shoe on your non hurt foot? Welcome to guatemala i suppose.

hasta luego

So this is it. The day I have been waiting for for MONTHS now. In a little more than 24 hours I will be getting off the plane in Guatemala City and I am so excited!!!

I got to hand in my resignation at work....which was awesome. Then last night a couple friends came out to celebrate--thank you i love you all!!!! The highlight was playing flip cup in the kitchen with an additional rule: you drink, you run around the island, you flip. After a few hours of craziness my mother, yes MY MOTHER, came to pick her 3 adult children up from the Crooked I at 2am. How lovely is that. Anyways Adrienne, Leah, Megan, Lindsey, Meghan and Ben, Tina and Brian, Bobby and Meg..thank you thank you for a wild night in celebration of this exciting journey!!

Also, thanks to everyone who has been supportive of another one of my crazy ideas! (esp you Miss Jenn Nelson!)

I wanna be a husky!

Last September I was in Seattle, WA walking 60 miles in 3 days as part of the SUSAN G KOMEN The 3 Day in efforts to raise money for breast cancer initiatives. I stayed for a week or so and my friend James and his girlfriend Amanda gave me a tour of the city. I loved the place. It was a perfect mixture of what I grew up loving-- Lake Erie and everything that comes with living near a body of water, and everything I craved-- living near mountains! It was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love on the flight in. So when I left, I started looking for jobs in Seattle. I think the problem was with every interview when they asked "When did you move out here?" I would say "As soon as I have a job I am on my way." which immediately makes employers prefer a person who is already living there. So after living in Erie for awhile longer I decided that maybe graduate school was a smart option for me. So of course, I looked at Seattle.

I had visited the campus of UW when I was in Seattle and it is so nice. So the last 6+ months I have been diligently working on my grad school application. I know its incredibly risky to apply to only one school, you know something like putting all my eggs in one basket. But if I go to grad school at this junction in my life, I only want to go to University of Washington. So after a ton of hard work, my essay is done, Ive paid my application fee and its officially submitted. Now all I have to do is wait until April to see if I get in.

Keep your fingers crossed :)

Keep me where the light is

I should be asleep, preparing for a hard days work tomorrow but instead I am watching John Mayer streaming live on his Battle Studies tour from Red Rocks in Colorado. Delightful :)

I stumbled upon his heavenly blog and am going to sleep so well tonight knowing that this beautiful thing has come into my life.
http://www.johnmayer.com/blog/permalink/5522

Here is my favorite ranting courtesy of John Mayer <3

I used to think that life was an intricate series of levers and pulleys, buttons and switches, Mexican standoffs and hostage negotiations. As I get older I realize that life is more Netherlands minimalist than Jackson Pollock. The problems don’t get fewer, and in fact they grow in number, but the way I index them in the database is different. More problems get filed under fewer category headers.

Things are getting simpler, and it’s making life better. Here’s the cheat sheet:

People want to be liked. We all crave attention and affection and we all reject shame. When we get embarrassed we send a thug version of ourselves to the forefront to do our fighting for us. We’re at the top of the food chain just under fear. We don’t want to be in a relationship to hear the words “I love you,” we want to be in a relationship to say the words “I love you.” We want to feel needed, and exceptional and we hate feeling insignificant. We want to ace a hearing test. We are binary creatures; if we’re the plaintiff, we want to win every dollar. If we’re the defendant, we want guard every penny. We want to make more money than last year. We don’t want to get cancer or die in our cars and we want the same for our loved ones. We go out on weekends to try and have sex while trying not to get punched in the face. We drink so we can be ourselves and not mind it so much. We’re desperate to be understood. We want to know someone else has felt it, too. We hate being judged unfairly. We want to make the person we heard wasn’t all that into us change their minds and admit they had us wrong. We want sunny skies with a chance of killer tornadoes, just to keep music sounding good. We take hours upon hours to admit to self consciousness. We don’t know exactly how to pleasure each other. We just want love. In any and every form.

See? It’s simple. :)

Raising Bains

One late night of channel surfing led to stumbling on a really amazing documentary called "Raising Bains." Its about this family, Kathy and Dave Bain, who had one biological son and have adopted 12 other children. 8 of them are part of a biological family that was going to be split up but were then all adopted by this family. Its so fun to watch what that sort of mixed family is like and the dynamics and just the mixing of personalities. The dad is also some type of professional in the field of adoption counseling so they are really prepared to handle all these kids. Anyways, its basically the life that I want. I'd love to have a few of my own and then adopt a handful of kids, too. I think theres something really amazing about all of that.

http://www.thebainevent.com/Site/The_Bain_Event.html

best travel tips ive read

http://thewanderlust.us/theblog/category/travel-tips

How to: Be a Young (or Solo) Traveler
DateTuesday, November 10, 2009

Simple guidlines to wandering the globe by yourself or as a youngling and not getting snatched by pirates...or harrassed by hippies...and still having the time of your life

Lesson #1: Don't Be A Dumbass

My theory is: If it looks like a dark alley, chances are it's a "dark alley". And that can be taken figuratively or literally. If you're looking at a nighttime shortcut street you've never taken before, keep your guard up. It doesn't mean you're scared of the dark and what the shadows might hold. It means your inner voice is saying, "Gee there, this looks like one of them bad ideas" (if your inner voice sounded like a member of the Apple Dumpling Gang). You know who lurks in "dark alleys"? Jack the Ripper and that creepy wheezing kid from Hey Arnold. And if some guy sends you a drink after looking at you all night like a fat guy watches the Food Network after 11pm, I wouldn't drink that if I were you. Or if his name is Quagmire.

Lesson #2: Despite Popular Belief, English is Not the Universal Language (thanks for noticing)

Before I visit a new country, I try to learn all the basic phrases a toddler might need to know: Please, Thank You, Yes, No, What is this?, Where is the bathroom?, Do you speak English? You would be surprised how much more compliant people can be when you at least learn to say "Do you speak English" in their native language. It shows that you're trying, making the effort, attempting to meet them halfway. Walking around asking everyone if they speak English in English might find you someone who does, but that doesn't mean they'll help you. In my experience, people who don't even try to learn the basics of the language come off as lazy and rude....or American. It's not the best first impression, especially if you really do need actual help and are not looking for the local Starbucks.

Lesson #3: Prepare Thyself

Much like learning the basic languages phrases, don't go into an unfamiliar situation deaf, dumb and blind. Check the internet for pictures of what the currency looks like. There are some Americans today that didn't even know that the United States actually has a $2 bill and a gold $1 coin. If a vendor hands you a wad of bills and a few coins, you should know that the plastic coin with Ronald McDonald on it isn't on the minting list....and that pink fifty won't get you anywhere except in Monopoly land. Also, check the news reels for any civil wars going on in the area, destructive weather, new laws or waves of sickness. No one likes a trip that involves malaria, a monsoon and a dictatorial uprising.

Lesson #4: Meet the Locals

You can ask the concierge at your hotel where the coolest places are, but its more than likely that they're recommending places that they have some sort of marketing link with or of the like. Most of my friends that work at places like that would never tell the tenants about their favorite places for fear of it turning into a tourist spot. The concierge might be a local, so talk to him like one and not like your personal fun-tertainment cruise director, and he might swing a cool spot your way. Waitresses and bartenders are usually my favorite. A good amount of the time they're glad just not to talk about the specials for five minutes. If you honestly want to be friends with them, don't lead with a question that benefits you. Ask them about their day or the story behind their tattoo!

Lesson #5: Travelers blend in; Tourists refuse to give up their cultural comforts and therefore deserve to be pick-pocketed

Switch out your bling for something a little more modest. Pickpockets are very similar to Florida-raised blonde fashion designers ;) and Hollywood paparazzi ; Shiny Object Syndrome applies to all. If your oh-so-shiny-rhinestones-where-the-numbers-should-be wristwatch is peaking out of your shirt cuff, you might as well put an "I dare you" sign on your chest. Leave the ridiculous Hollister style mildly humorous graphic tees at home (or burn them, your choice) and, girls, your Coach wedges are not appropriate for visiting dusty ancient ruins. As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". Try trading the cargo shorts for kurta pants or the mini dress beach cover-up for an ikat sarong. The object is not to be a super ninja spy and disappear completely, but to blend in enough not to be hassled, harassed or harangued.

Lesson #6: Just Say "No"

...or whatever the local dialect equivalent is. Being a southern girl means that you smile when you say "No thank you". We'll turn you down in a heartbeat, we'll just do it with a bright smile and an adorable twang on the end of the line. That glowing politeness turns into a weakness in foreign countries. Market vendors come at you from every angle demanding you to buy what they're selling and if you throw out a smile and a "no thank you" that translates to "Just harass me for 3 more minutes without stopping and I'll give in because either I want you to leave or I pity you". Actually this goes for any college campus on hippie "Community Day" or walking through Canal Street in New York. Just say no, without the smile or the twang. Be direct, assertive and if you were walking in the first place, don't stop. If you need extra help, put on some sunglasses so they can't look you in the eye and earbuds (regardless of whether they're attached to anything) so they think you can't hear them.

Lesson #7: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Since English speaking countries have recently become the lands of the flesh, some people get downright stubborn when you ask them to cover themselves when entering a sacred or modest location. Much like the Vatican and other religious monuments, it is usually requested that visitors cover either their shoulders, heads or full body when entering as a sign of respect for the area. It's hard for people to pray to their god against life's temptations when a woman walks in wearing a Victoria's Secret bikini and beach cover-up. You're on their turf, so don't piss off the locals (they know where all the good stuff is ;). Also, don't be afraid to try new foods, but if you don't like it, be discreet. You took a gamble on something you weren't familiar with, don't blame the cook or curse the culture.

Lesson #8: Friend Request Accepted

When traveling alone, make friends as you go! You may have arrived friendless, but you don't have to leave that way. One of my favorite things is trying out a new city and making new friends with a clean slate. A second chance at telling that awesome story without forgetting the punchline and having to end it with an embarrassing "...and then I found five dollars" or "and then I fought off a lion with my bare hands". Make conversation with the woman and her kids who run the fruit stand down the street, talk to the guy who works the newspaper stall, buddy up with the scuba guides. If your looking for a vacant couch to crash on, that's one approach, but if its company and polite conversation you're after, try to be a little more subtle.

Lesson #9: Hunt the Bargain Bird

I happen to live in one of the only societies when it's considered rude to haggle prices. My silly overpriced coffee house will never change their prices regardless of my professed knowledge of the costs of brewing a single cup of hazelnut. In other locales, say Indonesia for example, the first price offered is merely a suggestion (and usually 3x the actual price) and it is expected for you to negotiate for a lower price. If it's a service, it might be the opposite. They will promise you a lower fee and then demand a much higher one on completion. Make sure you firmly agree on a price before starting. Get it in writing, if you have to! Much like #5, be direct and assertive. Most vendors enjoy a good haggle, it's a competitive feeling; a game. Others of course, don't give a damn about you, just want your cash and for you to leave the country soon after. Either way, don't be a sucker.


Lesson #10: Be Brave, Not Foolish

You'll have noticed by now that some lessons are contradicting. Say no, but be respectful about it. Don't be a dumbass, but take chances. It's up to you. Generally speaking, no one is going to be making the decisions for you, no one is going to hold your hand while you cross the street. Listen to that inner voice we were talking about (not the Apple Dumpling Gang one; listen to the one that sounds like Morgan Freeman). Being brave is trying something new. Being brave is getting on the plane/train/bus in the first place. Being brave is looking at the bluff over the ocean and having the balls to jump. Now being foolish might be... looking at the bluff over the ocean and having the balls to jump when you know very well that the screw in your knee is going to dislodge and your going to need surgery to replace it the second they fish your wailing flailing body out of the water. Know your limits.

Understanding

I am feeling really good today. I finally had a productive conversation about my trip with my Mom. My parents have been incredible silent about me getting ready to leave here in less than 19 days! I was packing all my stuff in the living room the other day and my mom walks in, looks at it, says nothing, then asks me to help her move a dresser.

So apparently everyone got in a huge fight when I was gone today and when I came home my mom and I had a minor heart to heart...I am very pleased with the result. It went a little like this:

Me: ...i'm so tired bc I am too stressed to sleep...
Mom: Stressed about what?
Me: This trip.
Mom: WHAT!?!! STRESSED!!
Me: Yea mom. This is a stressful thing. Leaving the country for 3+ months is terribly exciting but its also very stressful. There is a lot to get ready for and I'm traveling with someone I have never traveled with and I have to worry about money and blah blah blah...
Mom: Stares at me in a state of utter dismay.
Me: Why do you think its so annoying that you are so unsupportive? Im already stressed enough on my own that hearing your gripes and feeling like you dont support me just adds to it!
US = FINALLY some basic level of understanding here. Sweet relief.

It also helps that I got a good wine induced cry with with my hugely supportive friend Megan in which she reassured me that this IS a good thing, that i will NOT die and that it WILL be a good experience for me. Thanks Megz.

living with my parents...

My parents are a total trip. So a week or two ago I came home to find my mother had put a laundry basket full of shit on top of a chair that my purse just happens to be sitting on. There are FOUR EMPTY CHAIRS within 3 feet of the chair she chose, with my purse on it. Totally ridiculous. So I was like WTF dad, do u see this?! This is ridiculous!! And he laughed and agreed.

So today I came in to find him writing something on a piece of paper that was resting on an otherwise empty coffee table...but he was using a picture frame thing I had just painted/decorated as a hard surface to write on. I reiterate, on an OTHERWISE EMPTY TABLE. I pointed it out and was like ok see this, this is an exact duplicate of the laundry basket incident. Sigh...parents.

Badass meets Amazon

My parents use AOL for email and since my computer pretty much took a giant dump and wont turn on I have been using theirs. I always get annoyed when AOL is left open and no one is using it but today I was grateful. A story caught my eye: Ed Stafford, a British guy just completed a 2+ year journey WALKING the length of the Amazon River. His story is amazing. He literally walked 3,000+ miles. He started with a friend who ended up leaving early into it and then finished the walk with locals and whoever wanted to join him. There is a blog in his website you can read that is absolutely amazing. At one point the locals were so afraid of him, shouting and calling him "Pela Cara" because they thought he was going to "steal their faces. Apparently there had been a few incidents in the jungle where bodies were found with their organs missing and the locals were blaming it on gringos saying it is Gringos who steal children for trafficking and also steal and traffic body parts. Insane.
http://www.walkingtheamazon.com/

So after reading this story I was turned on to another amazing story about Martin Strel, a 50 something year old Man from Slovenia who SWAM the length of the Amazon in 2007. Hes also swam parts of the Nile, Danube, Yangtze and other major rivers. Hes hysterical- an overweight, wine drinking, speedo wearing Slovene who swims in parasite and predator ridden waters in attempts to raise money to protect the environment. Totally amazing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/sports/playmagazine/0603play-swimming.html?_r=1

Some pretty amazing stuff considering there are all kinds of parasites in those waters, mosquito borne illnesses and insane amounts of vicious animals in the water...think bull sharks (the most dangerous shark in the world-- thank you shark week for that fact), anacondas, alligators, pirhanas....the man starts to seem MORE than crazy.


http://www.amazonmartinstrel.com/

career confusion

Last week I got reamed at work for pretty much messing up royally with some paperwork. I was really upset at the time because I was embarrassed but when I got in the car it dawned on me, these people were totally in the right to yell at me. I have a terrible work ethic and it is beginning to be a problem.

I like having a job because I feel healthier, both mentally and physically, when I have a routine purpose to get up in the morning. I enjoyed my job the last 2 years because I had summers off to regroup and recharge. Not to mention, I had a TON of freedom in the workplace, got a decent paycheck and learned a lot about child development. Now to the problem: I cannot handle monotony. After a few months at any job I start looking for a way out. I cannot stay satisfied while doing the same types of things day after day. The paycheck is great but the lack of purpose is not, nor is the lack of expression.

I am a person who has a hard time finishing things. I read 4 or 5 books at the same time because I like going to bed and having choices...being able to read what my mind craves that night not what I picked out 2 weeks before. I have many art projects going that sometimes get put away for months before I actually finish them. I enjoy this freedom. The ability to get up in the morning and choose is fantastic.
I am also very creative and I think the types of jobs I have been looking for are NOT the types that will make me happy. I like to make things, design things, create things. Yet I am about to apply for a degree in social work...am I in the wrong field?

Im not sure if this creative drive and this need for constant newness around me is a blessing or a curse? I guess it means I have tremendous ability to be a self starter. Having the creativity to think of a new idea and the drive to find a way to execute it definitely is a blessing. I need to start looking for a career where I can do both...

If I continue to be this dissatisfied with the jobs I have and keep up this pattern of dissatisfaction I am going to have a hell of a time establishing a career. I think maybe I have too MANY ideas about what i'd like to do yet I don't want to commit to any of them because then I cannot do the others? All I know is I need to figure it out before I make a mess of my resume...

Motorcycle Mama

I made my summer list of things to do to keep me busy right, kinda like a bucket list. I've mentioned it before. On the list: Ride a motorcycle. I racked my brain all summer wondering how in the hell I was going to meet a biker dude who adored me and would drive me around the city on his bike. I couldn't quite work that one out then it dawned on me, my cousins best friend and his awesome gf both have them! So at a bday party when they guy finally got his head out of blow up doll "Partial Penis Peggy" long enough to breathe, he said of course he'd take me out! So a week later I am mounting a damn good lookin blue (same shade as my good lookin car) motorcycle and touring 150 miles of rural PA. F-ing fabulous.

It was weird because youre hauling ass on the highway holding on with nothing but the back of the drivers jacket and all the strength you can muster in your thighs wondering why you aren't just blowing off the back of this monster. Its fabulous. I even got to use a sexy helmet that was bright pink/blue and had some stripper mama design on it. My favorite part is going real fast around the curves because you gotta lean with the driver. Sometimes you feel like you could just reach out and touch the road beneath you...but you don't, obviously, or you'd lose some seriously important finger tips.

Needless to say, this shit was awesome and so were the hot dogs we stopped for on the way home (some little place in Cambridge Springs with delicious dogs and the finest people watching). Now I should mention that I have added something to my list for qualities necessary in a husband. High up on the list is now: owns a motorcycle and rides like a badass. Cant wait to meet him. Oh...and if you could make it a green bike, thatd be ideal...greens my fav color ;)

you tube love

i loveeee hunting youtube for new music. After all, it is how I discovered one of my favorites Justin Nozuka :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/justinnozuka

Warning: don't dance

Im sitting in front of the TV watching a particularly enthralling episode of Date My Mom so something equally as mind numbing and my mom says "I have a funny story for you."

Yesterday my mom was talking to my like 97 year old neighbor about what her kids were doing. My sister just got a new job at the bank...my brother just got a job at Perseus House....and Im getting ready to leave. The neighbors like OMG you have to hear this story....

Her niece goes to Africa recently for a mission trip. They go deep into the countryside to a small village. There is some ceremony going on and the girl decides to make the most of the experience and gets up and dances with the locals. A few days later when it's time for her to leave the country she can't. Her passport has been flagged because she has been listed as one of the wives of the chief of the tribe she had been visiting. Apparently in African villages dancing with a chief is the equivalent of saying I do. Took her SIX WEEKS to sort everything out so she could come home. Imagine being stuck alone (the rest of the "missionaries" had to go home without her) in Africa because youve unknowingly gotten married. Insanity!

In the end my neighbor was like, tell Kathryn whatever she does, don't dance!

karma

"and we laugh
and we cry
and we live our lives
and we love and we love and we love
and it comes back to us"

unnecessary laughter

A certain agency that I have been working for for 2 years now, which shall remain nameless, requires that employees wishing to return to work in the fall get a physical in the summer before they are approved. No big deal. You would think, right??

Ok so last year it was my first summer going through this and through failure on my own behalf or that of my supervisor, I didn't know about the physical thing until late August. I was supposed to go back the last Monday in Aug. Well I get a call from the agency explaining the situation and unfortunately I was en route to Denver via 2001 Taurus with my 2 siblings. So phone calls #1 and #2 went a little like this...

Me: Oh I am sorry. I am out of town for the week but I can go the day I get home to get the physical done and have them fax it over if that is ok?
Unidentified asshole: Well youre not understanding. That wont be enough time to approve it. Dont bother showing up the first day without it. YOU should have known about this and YOU messed up and it was YOUR responsibility to do this and dont bother coming to work!!!
Me: I understand it was my reponsibility but I was out of Erie for work all summer and the earliest I can do it is next week. I am sorry, I do apologize but what would you like me to do here to fix it?"
UA: !?!#%#*!!!$(#%*
Me: Yes, I am sorry. What would you like me to do right now in order to work this out?
UA: ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!!! BAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next morning, the same woman calls me back and it goes a little like this.

UA: Hello, did I speak to you yesterday about some issues over the physical?
Me: Yes..?
UA: How soon might you be able to get it?"
Me: Monday?
UA: That would be wonderful. Just get that scheduled at your earliest convenience and we will see you at the first day of work! :)
Me: ok?

Now you understand my serious confusion at the inconsistency here.

Flash to this year. Today I realized I do need to go back to work the first week so I can keep my health insurance going through September. So I call to schedule. I call and very nicely explain that Id like to schedule my physical. The lady sort of hmmms and hawwwss and asks my name. I tell her and my job title and say yes I just wanted to schedule a physical so I can return to work. Do you know what follows....LAUGHTER. Not a muffled giggle or a irritated scoff but a full blown ERUPTIVE LAUGHTER. She then proceeds to tell me they stopped scheduling them the end of July and I missed that boat! Id have to call the drs office myself and schedule it. Then she laughs at me, again!

SO I call the drs and they are very pleasant and within 2 minutes I have an appointment scheduled. SO, would someone care to clue me in on what exactly was so funny!? oh and then maybe tell me why anyone with that horrific of phone etiquette is still employed!?!?!

internalizing it all

I hate to complain because lets face it, I have it pretty good, so I do admit sounding like an rotten fool saying this but, I continue...the stress level in my life right now is through the roof and I am failing at controlling it.

Since the whole gram dying/break up mess I have a skewed way of dealing with stress. For about a year I was so overwhelmingly emotional and I had no idea how to heal. Part of my rehab (lol,ya i call it that) was learning how to move things from my conscious thought process and into the part of my head where they werent going to interfere with my daily life. Basically I became a pro at shutting thoughts off when I didnt want to deal with them. The problem with doing this is that while your head/heart combo is feeling stellar for putting the problem out of sight and out of mind, the rest of your system is failing. You still stress your body with the unconscious stress of emotional events. So while my person feels fine, acts fine and ignores the stress...the core of me is frantically trying to deal with it.

I did this once for so long that I had some really weird almost hallucinatory side effects. Lately i've been having the worst time sleeping. I'm on a weird schedule anyway since i'm not working so ill stay up til all hours and sleep all day...which i'm fine with. What I am not fine with is going to bed and waking up every 45 minutes for no damn reason. Its hard to get rested when this happens...I feel like a menopausal mama and i am NOT loving it. So I get up and am cranky and have no energy all day. And now I am starting to get canker sores from all the stress on my system.

I know I am nervous for this trip. Its a big deal and i'm encountering really mixed reactions to the whole thing. I feel in a lot of ways on my own in all of this and its stressful. There is also a TON i have to have taken care of before I leave...the most stressful being financial followed by finding new health insurance and grad school applications.

Here is to getting some decent sleep!

Summer Bucket List

Earlier this summer when calculating i'd have an assload of free time I figured I'd better make a list of ideas for things to do to keep me busy. The idea was to cross them off as I go as a sort of inspiration to get out there and see some fun things this summer. So far it is a success. The things I have left to do are...


Ride a motorcycle
shoot a gun
go kart
eat jamaican food
go 4 wheeling
go jet skiing
fly a kite

J.May

FINALLY another John Mayer concert!!! Anyone who knows anything about me knows I love few things as much as I love John Mayer (Cheese, sleeping and hot sauce ranking pretty high up there). So needless to say I was f-ing PUMPED. This was my third one and it was just as good as the other two. Thanks teeny and A for comin with :)

Now I know a lot of people have a strong dislike for JMay given his "sexual napalm" comment of the recent past and his reputation as a womanizer and as kinda an arrogant asshole. I admit, he is all of that BUT he is hysterical. He is unapologetically John Mayer and that is so terribly endearing. At the core, he is a socially awkward dude from CT who spends a lot of time alone with his guitar. Not to mention he has a way with words even a poet couldnt beat and is so guitar saavy I dont know what to do with it.

The highlight of the night for me was "Good Love is on the Way" which actually inspired my blog as the title are quotes from the song. Its all about realizing that you're good and life is good and because of that somethings fabulous will come your way, some good love.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Nx6rzYBAc


3 years broken hearted
But now her ghost is finally gone
I'm done with broken people
This is me
I'm working on (cause I know)

Good love is on the way
I've been lonely but I know, I'll be ok
Good love is on the way

Good to go for wherever I'm needed
Bags are packed and I'm
Down by the door
You can take all the tricks up my sleeve
I don't need them anymore