Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Deep in the closet
As you can see from the pictures I’ve posted, I spent the weekend in Naples. I was about to get to both Capri and Pompeii. What an exhausting trip! I think I’m still trying to recover.
Friday night was pretty much a nightmare because it was super hot and the train workers were on strike. Apparently they strike every Friday night and I was the only one who didn’t know this. As a result, the train that was supposed to depart at 6:45, after much confusion, left at around 11. I wasn’t able to enjoy the scenery because it was pitch black outside. I didn’t get into Naples until around 1 AM and I had to take a cab over to the hostel which closes at midnight. Luckily, there were some people up and awake in there and I was able to get in.
The following morning, I walked around Naples a bit before catching a hydrofoil (fast ferry) out to Capri. As soon as I arrived, I bought a ticket for the boat tour around the island. It was so nice to be on a boat out in the sun!!! The water was so beautiful, but much too cold for me to go in. I got to see the white grotto, the green grotto, the different “beaches” (I use the term loosely because most of the “beaches” were just stairs cut into stone from which you need to throw yourself), all the expensive boats and yachts and people throwing up.
Yes, you read that right! There is a famous grotto, the blue grotto that you need to board a separate, small boat to enter. There are so many tour boats and so many people who want to enter that you end up waiting at least half an hour for everyone to go and come back. Meanwhile, the sea is pretty rough. The lady to the left of me started puking her brains out and the girl to the right of me started shaking and I crying. We finally got back to shore and more people were puking over the side of the dock. I, myself, had to find an immobile spot on which to sit and recover for about half an hour.
That evening at the hostel I made several friends and we decided to travel to Pompeii together the following day. So, on Sunday we all walked over to the subway and were a little confused. A guy in front of us overheard our confusion and swooped in to help us. I immediately identified him as a flaming homosexual, which is great because I love gay men! He claimed that he knew the guy who sold the tickets at the central train station and that he could get us our tickets for free. Long story short, we all saw him pay for the tickets and he gave us some excuse about getting his money back from the guy later. It was apparent to me that he did not know the guy and that he had simply paid for out tickets himself. But it was super nice of him nonetheless.
This left me very confused. In fact, I’m still confused. One of the women I spent the day with, a Norwegian seamstress, disagreed with me that he was gay. And she would know because she works in the theater and with many gay seamsters. I just didn’t know how she could think this. It was sssooo obvious that he was gay!
He told me he was going to be in Rome on Thursday for a concert so we exchanged numbers. I saw yesterday that I had a missed call from him, so I returned his call and we chatted a bit. One second he made a comment about how we (the group of girls who went to Pompeii) were like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. The next second he made a comment about how it was nice to meet cute girls.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So, now I really don’t know. He’s only 20 and he’s from a small town so it’s very possible that he’s not out or doesn’t realize it yet. But I don’t know any straight guys that talk or know anything about Sex and the City.
OH! And on the train ride home I got to sit across from Tony, an improvisational/experimental percussionist. That is not to say he does not use sheet music… It is to say that he actually creates his own bongos out of jars, cans and paint cans. Yeah. He was interesting.
Anywho, we’ll see how Thursday goes with my new, sexually ambiguous friend.
Friday night was pretty much a nightmare because it was super hot and the train workers were on strike. Apparently they strike every Friday night and I was the only one who didn’t know this. As a result, the train that was supposed to depart at 6:45, after much confusion, left at around 11. I wasn’t able to enjoy the scenery because it was pitch black outside. I didn’t get into Naples until around 1 AM and I had to take a cab over to the hostel which closes at midnight. Luckily, there were some people up and awake in there and I was able to get in.
The following morning, I walked around Naples a bit before catching a hydrofoil (fast ferry) out to Capri. As soon as I arrived, I bought a ticket for the boat tour around the island. It was so nice to be on a boat out in the sun!!! The water was so beautiful, but much too cold for me to go in. I got to see the white grotto, the green grotto, the different “beaches” (I use the term loosely because most of the “beaches” were just stairs cut into stone from which you need to throw yourself), all the expensive boats and yachts and people throwing up.
Yes, you read that right! There is a famous grotto, the blue grotto that you need to board a separate, small boat to enter. There are so many tour boats and so many people who want to enter that you end up waiting at least half an hour for everyone to go and come back. Meanwhile, the sea is pretty rough. The lady to the left of me started puking her brains out and the girl to the right of me started shaking and I crying. We finally got back to shore and more people were puking over the side of the dock. I, myself, had to find an immobile spot on which to sit and recover for about half an hour.
That evening at the hostel I made several friends and we decided to travel to Pompeii together the following day. So, on Sunday we all walked over to the subway and were a little confused. A guy in front of us overheard our confusion and swooped in to help us. I immediately identified him as a flaming homosexual, which is great because I love gay men! He claimed that he knew the guy who sold the tickets at the central train station and that he could get us our tickets for free. Long story short, we all saw him pay for the tickets and he gave us some excuse about getting his money back from the guy later. It was apparent to me that he did not know the guy and that he had simply paid for out tickets himself. But it was super nice of him nonetheless.
This left me very confused. In fact, I’m still confused. One of the women I spent the day with, a Norwegian seamstress, disagreed with me that he was gay. And she would know because she works in the theater and with many gay seamsters. I just didn’t know how she could think this. It was sssooo obvious that he was gay!
He told me he was going to be in Rome on Thursday for a concert so we exchanged numbers. I saw yesterday that I had a missed call from him, so I returned his call and we chatted a bit. One second he made a comment about how we (the group of girls who went to Pompeii) were like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. The next second he made a comment about how it was nice to meet cute girls.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So, now I really don’t know. He’s only 20 and he’s from a small town so it’s very possible that he’s not out or doesn’t realize it yet. But I don’t know any straight guys that talk or know anything about Sex and the City.
OH! And on the train ride home I got to sit across from Tony, an improvisational/experimental percussionist. That is not to say he does not use sheet music… It is to say that he actually creates his own bongos out of jars, cans and paint cans. Yeah. He was interesting.
Anywho, we’ll see how Thursday goes with my new, sexually ambiguous friend.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
It's, not its
I sit writing from the professors computer today. There doesnt appear to be any apostrophes on this keyboard and so my conjunctions will suffer. Shes finally back from a 3 week vacation in Slovenia and pretty much the first thing she says to be is some awkward comment about my roommate and her cousin dating. She appears to be none too pleased about this situation. And said displeasure appears to be aimed at my roommate. Im pretty sure she said something about having 2 boyfriends... I cant recall because it was uncomfortable conversation for me.
We were able to talk about the work Ive been doin while she was gone and I was really afraid to meet with her thinking that I had been slacking off. To the contrary, she was rather impressed with both the amount and the quality of the work I did and we discussed how I could probably get multiple articles from my outline. We decided on one article on childhood obesity in Italy aimed at healthcare professionals and another, more global article on the current obesity crisis with a special emphasis on the origins as they pertain to the nutrition transition.
WAKE UP! I know. Its not exciting stuff, but Im really happy about it!!! Writing will commence tomorrow after I meet with her again to discuss organization.
This weekend Im hoping to make it to Naples. I would like to hop a boat tour of the island on Saturday and catch a tour of Vesuvius/Pompei on Sunday. I really need some sun. The Italian population appears to really enjoy tanning and being tan and for the first time in my life I actually feel pale. If I really enjoy Naples, I may decide to spend my last weekend in Italy there... Which is the following weekend. Gosh, this has gone by so quickly.
In terms of my other travel arrangements, almost everything is set. I had to cancel my original train ticket from Mumbai to Kerala because the waitlist was just not moving. Im now leaving on a later train on a lower class (3AC). I hope its not too bad. Im just really happy I got a confirmed seat. Additionally, Ive made all but one of the bookings for Vietnam/Cambodia. Really, the only things I have left to book are a night in Phuket when I arrive and another night before I leave.
Wow. It feels so good to know pretty much everything is taken care of. I never realized how difficult it is to itinerize and coordinate traveling... Especially abroad. I was really overwhelmed in the beginning, but by breaking it down piece by piece I was able to dominate and now Ill be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!!!
We were able to talk about the work Ive been doin while she was gone and I was really afraid to meet with her thinking that I had been slacking off. To the contrary, she was rather impressed with both the amount and the quality of the work I did and we discussed how I could probably get multiple articles from my outline. We decided on one article on childhood obesity in Italy aimed at healthcare professionals and another, more global article on the current obesity crisis with a special emphasis on the origins as they pertain to the nutrition transition.
WAKE UP! I know. Its not exciting stuff, but Im really happy about it!!! Writing will commence tomorrow after I meet with her again to discuss organization.
This weekend Im hoping to make it to Naples. I would like to hop a boat tour of the island on Saturday and catch a tour of Vesuvius/Pompei on Sunday. I really need some sun. The Italian population appears to really enjoy tanning and being tan and for the first time in my life I actually feel pale. If I really enjoy Naples, I may decide to spend my last weekend in Italy there... Which is the following weekend. Gosh, this has gone by so quickly.
In terms of my other travel arrangements, almost everything is set. I had to cancel my original train ticket from Mumbai to Kerala because the waitlist was just not moving. Im now leaving on a later train on a lower class (3AC). I hope its not too bad. Im just really happy I got a confirmed seat. Additionally, Ive made all but one of the bookings for Vietnam/Cambodia. Really, the only things I have left to book are a night in Phuket when I arrive and another night before I leave.
Wow. It feels so good to know pretty much everything is taken care of. I never realized how difficult it is to itinerize and coordinate traveling... Especially abroad. I was really overwhelmed in the beginning, but by breaking it down piece by piece I was able to dominate and now Ill be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!!!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Hot and bothered
Updates, updates, updates!!!!
Last time I posted, the big drama was with my roommate cheating on her boyfriend. Normally, when someone I'm around is doing something I don't approve of I continue going about my business unaffected; however, since I was cheated on by my last serious boyfriend (not my wonderful Joe) I'm a little sensitive to the idea of someone around me committing adultery. As such, I created a rather hostile environment around the apartment. The hostility was palpable.
After a few days of this, my roommate mustered the courage to ask me what was wrong. I tried to avoid the whole cheating situation, but really I didn't have much ammunition to go on and she saw right through my attempts to accuse her of random things. She badgered me a bit and I cracked, spilling my anger about having to live in such close quarters with a cheater and a liar.
Sigh...
This is when she told me that she had actually broken up with her boyfriend the same day I had confronted her and the professor's cousin about their inappropriate behavior. She said she didn't say anything to me because she didn't think I cared. Embarassingly enough, I began to cry because I felt so guilty about being hostile; I felt a flood of emotions related to the aforementioned relationship; I felt relief after experiencing several weeks of extreme discomfort with the situation. So, while indeed she is (rather seriously now) dating the professor's cousin, it's was techinally legal and without sin. All in all, I was really happy she confronted me and now things are much calmer and more peacful around here.
The newest drama in my life has to do with this woman who tends the front desk of my gym during the afternoon hours. The gym is very hot because she, the person who sits down and does nothing, believes that even though it's 90+ degrees outside, it's perfectly okay to have the A/C off, the fans off and the windows open so long as the lights are off (??????). I attempted to explain to her that this was not condusive to a productive, vigorous cardio session and that I may die, but she doesn't speak English.
I asked her to turn on the A/C... I was pointing to it and fanning myself with my hands while saying, "Calde," the Italian word for hot. She nodded, said, "Ahh, sii" like she knew what I was talking about and then got up to go to the bathroom. She clearly had not understood. Sooo, I walked over the the A/C remote and turned it on. After she came out of the bathroom I motioned to her that I had turned it on. She got angry at me and said, "Next time, please ask before." Sometimes, I think I live in an alternate universe where I could SWEAR that I'm the only one who experienced what just happened 2 minutes ago. This was one of those times.
At any rate, the gym is consistently at least 85+ degrees, though it is hotter around 1-3. Instead of fighting with this woman, I coordinate my workout time with the evening class as this is the only time the A/Cs are reliably on and it's not as hot out. I'm sure that woman would have them work out with the windows open because it's just soooooooo cool outside.
As a result of all of this, I have turned into that gross gym person whose sweat flies all over the cardio equipment. It isn't bad enough that I accidentally broke a treademill during a hard run last week. No. I also have to be the person who leaves sweat drop stains all over the place. It's just so hot and humid in there that the sweat evaporate neither from my body nor from the floor/equipment/innocent bystanders. I've always seen these people in the gym... I just never thought I'd become one.
Today, I ordered a used camera lens from ebay. I'm getting my first wide angle lens and I'm sssooooo excited!!! I did some research and I found what appears to be a good, amateur lens for a great price. Looking forward to that.
Robin and I are still working out the details for Vietnam and Cambodia, but it's all coming together. Getting all of my visas situated is going to be a huge pain in the butt. My India trip has me a bit concerned because I'm waitlisted as #6 for the train I booked and my number hasn't moved at all since I bought it. I'm going to have to look into another train or a lower class. Yikes.
Last time I posted, the big drama was with my roommate cheating on her boyfriend. Normally, when someone I'm around is doing something I don't approve of I continue going about my business unaffected; however, since I was cheated on by my last serious boyfriend (not my wonderful Joe) I'm a little sensitive to the idea of someone around me committing adultery. As such, I created a rather hostile environment around the apartment. The hostility was palpable.
After a few days of this, my roommate mustered the courage to ask me what was wrong. I tried to avoid the whole cheating situation, but really I didn't have much ammunition to go on and she saw right through my attempts to accuse her of random things. She badgered me a bit and I cracked, spilling my anger about having to live in such close quarters with a cheater and a liar.
Sigh...
This is when she told me that she had actually broken up with her boyfriend the same day I had confronted her and the professor's cousin about their inappropriate behavior. She said she didn't say anything to me because she didn't think I cared. Embarassingly enough, I began to cry because I felt so guilty about being hostile; I felt a flood of emotions related to the aforementioned relationship; I felt relief after experiencing several weeks of extreme discomfort with the situation. So, while indeed she is (rather seriously now) dating the professor's cousin, it's was techinally legal and without sin. All in all, I was really happy she confronted me and now things are much calmer and more peacful around here.
The newest drama in my life has to do with this woman who tends the front desk of my gym during the afternoon hours. The gym is very hot because she, the person who sits down and does nothing, believes that even though it's 90+ degrees outside, it's perfectly okay to have the A/C off, the fans off and the windows open so long as the lights are off (??????). I attempted to explain to her that this was not condusive to a productive, vigorous cardio session and that I may die, but she doesn't speak English.
I asked her to turn on the A/C... I was pointing to it and fanning myself with my hands while saying, "Calde," the Italian word for hot. She nodded, said, "Ahh, sii" like she knew what I was talking about and then got up to go to the bathroom. She clearly had not understood. Sooo, I walked over the the A/C remote and turned it on. After she came out of the bathroom I motioned to her that I had turned it on. She got angry at me and said, "Next time, please ask before." Sometimes, I think I live in an alternate universe where I could SWEAR that I'm the only one who experienced what just happened 2 minutes ago. This was one of those times.
At any rate, the gym is consistently at least 85+ degrees, though it is hotter around 1-3. Instead of fighting with this woman, I coordinate my workout time with the evening class as this is the only time the A/Cs are reliably on and it's not as hot out. I'm sure that woman would have them work out with the windows open because it's just soooooooo cool outside.
As a result of all of this, I have turned into that gross gym person whose sweat flies all over the cardio equipment. It isn't bad enough that I accidentally broke a treademill during a hard run last week. No. I also have to be the person who leaves sweat drop stains all over the place. It's just so hot and humid in there that the sweat evaporate neither from my body nor from the floor/equipment/innocent bystanders. I've always seen these people in the gym... I just never thought I'd become one.
Today, I ordered a used camera lens from ebay. I'm getting my first wide angle lens and I'm sssooooo excited!!! I did some research and I found what appears to be a good, amateur lens for a great price. Looking forward to that.
Robin and I are still working out the details for Vietnam and Cambodia, but it's all coming together. Getting all of my visas situated is going to be a huge pain in the butt. My India trip has me a bit concerned because I'm waitlisted as #6 for the train I booked and my number hasn't moved at all since I bought it. I'm going to have to look into another train or a lower class. Yikes.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Clear skies ahead
I'm back in the computer lab at La Sapienza this week. I'm trying to avoid my roommate, who has been cheating on her boyfriend with the professor's cousin. After confronting the two of them at the beach a few weeks ago, Joe advised me to create distance between myself and them. While it does bother me that my roommate is amoral, I don't know what kind of agreement she has set up with her boyfriend (if any at all). What bothers me the most is that she actively alienated me by monopolizing the professor's cousin's time. By flirting with him so unabashedly, she clearly captivated him. This self-centered behavior and a complete disregard for others is what really grinds my gears, as Peter Griffen would say.
Anyway, I am still trying to make the best of my time here. I suspect my roommate was away with her boy toy this weekend so I took advantage of having the place to myself. I also took a long walk around the city down to Campo di Fiori to see if I could find a dress for my brother's upcoming wedding and a tie for Joe. No such luck as most stores were closed. I took advantage of the beautiful, blue skies and whipped out the cam. Kind of disappointed that I didn't get more artsy pics. I feel like this batch came out semi-matter-or-factly.
Additionally, I've been plotting my escape... I mean future travels. I booked all kinds of airfare last week. I'll be flying from Rome to Mumbai next month where I will spend about a day and a half. From there I will hop a 24+ hour train to Kochi. While it would be easier to hop a plane, I really want to experience the countryside, see the sights and just generally live life! Upon arrival in Kochi, I plan to book a backwater tour through Kerala, "God's own country". So excited about that!
My tour will end up back in Kochi where I then depart on the looong journey to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to meet up with Robin. We have to iron out the details, but I believe we will be going to some sand dunes and clothing factories up North. We're then going to hop a bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to see the killing fields, the genocide museum and to ride ATVs... Yeah, I know it's a bizarre combination. Finally, I will fly to Phuket to see the love of my life!!!
While things are really hard right now considering the roommate situation and the abundance of culture coupled with my dearth of class, I am really looking forward to my travel plans. Can't wait to get some pics!!
Anyway, I am still trying to make the best of my time here. I suspect my roommate was away with her boy toy this weekend so I took advantage of having the place to myself. I also took a long walk around the city down to Campo di Fiori to see if I could find a dress for my brother's upcoming wedding and a tie for Joe. No such luck as most stores were closed. I took advantage of the beautiful, blue skies and whipped out the cam. Kind of disappointed that I didn't get more artsy pics. I feel like this batch came out semi-matter-or-factly.
Additionally, I've been plotting my escape... I mean future travels. I booked all kinds of airfare last week. I'll be flying from Rome to Mumbai next month where I will spend about a day and a half. From there I will hop a 24+ hour train to Kochi. While it would be easier to hop a plane, I really want to experience the countryside, see the sights and just generally live life! Upon arrival in Kochi, I plan to book a backwater tour through Kerala, "God's own country". So excited about that!
My tour will end up back in Kochi where I then depart on the looong journey to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to meet up with Robin. We have to iron out the details, but I believe we will be going to some sand dunes and clothing factories up North. We're then going to hop a bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to see the killing fields, the genocide museum and to ride ATVs... Yeah, I know it's a bizarre combination. Finally, I will fly to Phuket to see the love of my life!!!
While things are really hard right now considering the roommate situation and the abundance of culture coupled with my dearth of class, I am really looking forward to my travel plans. Can't wait to get some pics!!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I'm going home!!! (Eventually)
Good news!!! No, GREAT NEWS!!! I contacted Continental kind of on a whim on Sunday to give securing my airfare one last stab. It worked!!!! I have a flight home that only cost a change fee. I am sssssooooo relieved... I feel like I can live my life again!!!!
You may notice that I posted some pics of Rome. I went on a bus tour around the city on Sunday and saw lots and lots of ruins. Like, lots. And FYI, in case you didn't already know, Circus Maximus is a field of grass. And also, most of the ruins are ruins because the Romans ruined them. They built the Coliseum and then a few years later were like, "Yeah, we don't use this anymore. Let's take the marble and trabartine and build something else." It was a fairly common theme for most ruins. They were recycled.
I've been working a lot on my research -- both the obesity research that was assigned to me by my research mentor here and my practicum research on orthopedic injuries in firefighters. They're both moving along well. I sent an email to the Athletic Training program director and the clinical coordinator about the prospect of receiving a grant through the NATA since getting the data I need costs money that I don't have. I will begin the grant application ASAP. What's the point in going through all the trouble of doing the research if you aren't going to get it published?
Looks like a may write two separate articles on obesity -- one for the International Nursing Review and another for the Italian Journal of Public Health (in Italian). I will aim for the Journal of Athletic Training with my firefirghter study, but I'm afraid it may be better suited for a journal in occupational health/safety. I guess we'll wait and see.
Ugh. Enough about research. So, I've been talking with Robin and we're going to move forward on a trip to Vietnam (Saigon and some dunes a bit North of there) and Cambodia (Phnom Phen, the killing fields and genocide museum). From there I will depart for Phuket to meet Joe. I will have a free week before I meet up with Robin, so I'm debating flying into Mumbai and taking a train to depart out of Kerala... Gotta love budget travel. Additionally, the awesome customer service rep at Continental got me a sweet layover in Hong Kong, so I will have approx. 20 hours to show myself around the city!!!
While being in Rome is tough (considering I'm not a very classy person who's into museums, history or shopping), I'm trying ti make the best of it. The museum a few blocks down from the apartment has a photography exhibit currently on the top floor so I can't wait to check that out. I'm really feeling good about getting published with all of my works and I am super excited to startmy grant application. Wow, I'm such a dork. But I think I'm most excited about discovering more of Asia after this is done.
This summer is shaping up to be one of lifetime. :)
P.S. Even though I'm on my laptop, spell check is still in Italian. Sorry!!!
You may notice that I posted some pics of Rome. I went on a bus tour around the city on Sunday and saw lots and lots of ruins. Like, lots. And FYI, in case you didn't already know, Circus Maximus is a field of grass. And also, most of the ruins are ruins because the Romans ruined them. They built the Coliseum and then a few years later were like, "Yeah, we don't use this anymore. Let's take the marble and trabartine and build something else." It was a fairly common theme for most ruins. They were recycled.
I've been working a lot on my research -- both the obesity research that was assigned to me by my research mentor here and my practicum research on orthopedic injuries in firefighters. They're both moving along well. I sent an email to the Athletic Training program director and the clinical coordinator about the prospect of receiving a grant through the NATA since getting the data I need costs money that I don't have. I will begin the grant application ASAP. What's the point in going through all the trouble of doing the research if you aren't going to get it published?
Looks like a may write two separate articles on obesity -- one for the International Nursing Review and another for the Italian Journal of Public Health (in Italian). I will aim for the Journal of Athletic Training with my firefirghter study, but I'm afraid it may be better suited for a journal in occupational health/safety. I guess we'll wait and see.
Ugh. Enough about research. So, I've been talking with Robin and we're going to move forward on a trip to Vietnam (Saigon and some dunes a bit North of there) and Cambodia (Phnom Phen, the killing fields and genocide museum). From there I will depart for Phuket to meet Joe. I will have a free week before I meet up with Robin, so I'm debating flying into Mumbai and taking a train to depart out of Kerala... Gotta love budget travel. Additionally, the awesome customer service rep at Continental got me a sweet layover in Hong Kong, so I will have approx. 20 hours to show myself around the city!!!
While being in Rome is tough (considering I'm not a very classy person who's into museums, history or shopping), I'm trying ti make the best of it. The museum a few blocks down from the apartment has a photography exhibit currently on the top floor so I can't wait to check that out. I'm really feeling good about getting published with all of my works and I am super excited to startmy grant application. Wow, I'm such a dork. But I think I'm most excited about discovering more of Asia after this is done.
This summer is shaping up to be one of lifetime. :)
P.S. Even though I'm on my laptop, spell check is still in Italian. Sorry!!!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Rome 5.13
The bus was moving pretty fast. I got some Vatican, some Coliseum, some Circus Maximus, some basilicas and some ruins... not really sure what I took pics of.P.S. Apparently, Christian slaughtering was a big Roman passtime. Need something to do on a Saturday afternoon? Go watch some Christians get eaten by lions. How about a Wednesday morning? Go watch Christians lose a race and get eaten by lions. Need a fire to celebrate? Burn 250 Christians in the courtyard.
Can't make this stuff up, people.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Pakhon 5.19
I'm finally posting pics!!! They are in chronoligical order starting with Thailand. I just uploaded everything, so there may be what appear to be doubles throughout the albums -- that's me playing with light or speed.Enjoy!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Russian Roulette. Not.
Today's post was requested by Joe. Apparently, the guy doesn't text with me or talk with me enough per day; he also needs to read about the same things I talk with him over text and on the phone. Once again, I apologize for grammatical and spelling errors because this is an Italian computer.
Since I haven't really talked about what I have been doing here, I will start with some background information. I am currently living in the center of Rome in a popular shopping district with the classmate who requested my presence here. I have come to learn that it's not actually that she wanted me here so much as she didn't want another student, who was also in Thailand, to be here. She has bad-mouthed this person quite a bit and so I put 2 and 2 together.
Speaking of my roommate, she does quite possibly the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. She will actually sit around in the apartment, fully dressed and ready to go, reading books about Rome... But she never actually leaves. She just reads the books. Why doesn't she go to experience instead of stay to read? I mean, the coliseum is like right down the street and we can see the Vatican from the terrace. So strange.
Anyway, the apartment is spacious and located on the 7th/top floor of an old building. The terrace is amazing and offers 180 degree views. The place is quite dilapidated and needs some work, though. We have learned that we cannot run the A/c and cook at the same time because it trips the breakers. It's kind of exciting because before you flip a light switch you don't know what effect it will have of the circuit board. It's like an annoying, low-stakes game of Russian Roulette.
As for my research, I am doing a literature review on food habits in Italian adults and children as they relate to obesity. I told my research mentor about my undergraduate experience in public health, though I wish I had just told her about my current studies. She introduces me to her colleagues as a student of public health, which is radically inaccurate. My attempts to correct her fall on deaf ears. I'm not sure if that's because her English isn't the best or because she's always doing a million things at once. She is awesome, though. Very smart lady and very kind, too. I have a lot of faith in her guidance and am looking forward to being published.
My roommate went to Interlocken for the weekend, so I hope to use the time alone to get moving on this lit review, the lit review on firefighting injuries I have totally been sitting on and to go on at least one tour. It's been difficult the muster the motivation to get out and see some ruins.
Let's see... Oh, I joined a gym near the Spanish steps. It costs 95 Euros/month and fits about 4 people in the weight area at once. One of the personal trainers there noticed I was pretty serious and I think he felt bad for me. He spoke Spanish and so we had a nice conversation where he told me about a better gym that is located closer to the apartment that costs about the same. I will definitely look into that place for next month.
Also, I received a terrible slap in the face the other day when I tried to reinstate my canceled ticket to fly home from Bangkok. The woman told me it would cost $1300 in fare difference plus a $250 change fee. Ummm, yeah... That's not in the budget. So, I'm pretty much freaking out about that and completely stressed out. My Dad thinks the scholarship program is responsible for that fare, or any fare, home because, well, I don't even have a way to get home from Rome let alone Bangkok.
This has really thrown a wrench into my plans. I was in the midst of planning a mini-tour through Vietnam and Cambodia with Robin the week before Joe arrives and a backwater tour in Kerala, India the week before that. Now I don't know what's going to happen... If I will have to fly back home or what. AHHHH!! I don't even want to think about it!!!
On a lighter note, I am working with my clinical coordinator at school on a grant proposal to expand the ethnic/cultural reach of the Athletic Training profession. I've been sending her a bunch of my ideas and I hope that she selects one. I am really excited about the prospect of helping write the proposal and set up an outreach program in the community. I love working with underprivileged children... Well, underprivileged people in general. We'll see what happens with that.
Okay, I need to stop procrastinating now.
Since I haven't really talked about what I have been doing here, I will start with some background information. I am currently living in the center of Rome in a popular shopping district with the classmate who requested my presence here. I have come to learn that it's not actually that she wanted me here so much as she didn't want another student, who was also in Thailand, to be here. She has bad-mouthed this person quite a bit and so I put 2 and 2 together.
Speaking of my roommate, she does quite possibly the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. She will actually sit around in the apartment, fully dressed and ready to go, reading books about Rome... But she never actually leaves. She just reads the books. Why doesn't she go to experience instead of stay to read? I mean, the coliseum is like right down the street and we can see the Vatican from the terrace. So strange.
Anyway, the apartment is spacious and located on the 7th/top floor of an old building. The terrace is amazing and offers 180 degree views. The place is quite dilapidated and needs some work, though. We have learned that we cannot run the A/c and cook at the same time because it trips the breakers. It's kind of exciting because before you flip a light switch you don't know what effect it will have of the circuit board. It's like an annoying, low-stakes game of Russian Roulette.
As for my research, I am doing a literature review on food habits in Italian adults and children as they relate to obesity. I told my research mentor about my undergraduate experience in public health, though I wish I had just told her about my current studies. She introduces me to her colleagues as a student of public health, which is radically inaccurate. My attempts to correct her fall on deaf ears. I'm not sure if that's because her English isn't the best or because she's always doing a million things at once. She is awesome, though. Very smart lady and very kind, too. I have a lot of faith in her guidance and am looking forward to being published.
My roommate went to Interlocken for the weekend, so I hope to use the time alone to get moving on this lit review, the lit review on firefighting injuries I have totally been sitting on and to go on at least one tour. It's been difficult the muster the motivation to get out and see some ruins.
Let's see... Oh, I joined a gym near the Spanish steps. It costs 95 Euros/month and fits about 4 people in the weight area at once. One of the personal trainers there noticed I was pretty serious and I think he felt bad for me. He spoke Spanish and so we had a nice conversation where he told me about a better gym that is located closer to the apartment that costs about the same. I will definitely look into that place for next month.
Also, I received a terrible slap in the face the other day when I tried to reinstate my canceled ticket to fly home from Bangkok. The woman told me it would cost $1300 in fare difference plus a $250 change fee. Ummm, yeah... That's not in the budget. So, I'm pretty much freaking out about that and completely stressed out. My Dad thinks the scholarship program is responsible for that fare, or any fare, home because, well, I don't even have a way to get home from Rome let alone Bangkok.
This has really thrown a wrench into my plans. I was in the midst of planning a mini-tour through Vietnam and Cambodia with Robin the week before Joe arrives and a backwater tour in Kerala, India the week before that. Now I don't know what's going to happen... If I will have to fly back home or what. AHHHH!! I don't even want to think about it!!!
On a lighter note, I am working with my clinical coordinator at school on a grant proposal to expand the ethnic/cultural reach of the Athletic Training profession. I've been sending her a bunch of my ideas and I hope that she selects one. I am really excited about the prospect of helping write the proposal and set up an outreach program in the community. I love working with underprivileged children... Well, underprivileged people in general. We'll see what happens with that.
Okay, I need to stop procrastinating now.
Monday, June 7, 2010
No, we can't.
I know, I know!! I am so bad about updating this thing! Since it has been about a week and a half, I will simply select a few excerpts from the events that have occurred in this time.
Sorry for spelling and punctuation errors ahead of time. The spell check on this computer is in Italian so apparently this whole thing is spelled incorrectly. Also, this keyboard has the punctuation placed differently from a US QWERTY, so navigating that has been loads of fun.
The last entry I submitted was written before I had the pleasure of landing in Qatar -- my first venture to the Middle East. And though it was just a layover, I have to say that I will not be going back any time soon. On one hand, I understand that there are different cultures around the world and they all function differently. On the other hand, I found out the hard way that I am indeed a a feminist.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and I think I had mentioned previously that I had problems with the way men were treating me there. particularly outside of the resort. They were just rude and disrespectful, but not to the extent they were in Qatar. I mean, I got off the plane and there were dudes shoving me out of the way and cutting me in lines. It was crazy. I felt sick to my stomach being there and wanted nothing more than to be out of there. It made me realize how lucky I am to live in a country where women have equal rights and (some) men are chivalrous.
On a side note, I saw Sex and the City 2 this weekend and it further confirmed my beliefs about the Middle East, fiction or not. The society is simply more conservative and oppressive than I can handle. Even thinking about being there makes my stomach turn.
I have been in Rome now for about a week and a half. In that time I have learned that this place is about 50 years behind the US. There is no WiFi available anywhere. In order to connect to the internet from home I had to purchase a wireless SIM card. It has 100 hours/30 days on it. Let me tell you, you don't realize how much you use the internet each month until you're limited to 100 hours.
The university here, Sapienza Universita di Roma, is very large and has upwards of 100,000 students in attendance. It has every type of faculty you could imagine, much like Khon Kaen University in Thailand. The particular building I am in was probably built circa 1960 and hasn't had much renovation since. It's really shocking... I thought Italy would be much more Westernized than it actually is, but it is totally behind the times.
My roomate and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with students our age who are just now getting their Master's in something like foreign diplomacy. They were all very well informed individuals in terms of world events as it was part of the curriculum to be well informed. When I mentioned my thoughts about Italy being behind the times they totally agreed with me and offered me the following explanation: Italy is an old country. It is run by old men who are funded by old men. The agenda never includes change.
At this time, I pulled out my Blackberry and one of the students looked at it in amazement. He said, "Wow! Just like Obama!" For realz, he had never seen a Blackberry in person. I was shocked! And I was further shocked by their general obsession with Obama and the phrase, "Yes, we can!" Which leads me to my next thought...
These students are all very dissatisfied with the political situation in Italy. They don't like that they are all unable to find work and that coming across a good job - especially as an ambassador - is nearly impossible. All of the students had plans to either go home over the summer or leave the country to find work. I said to them, "If you guys are so upset about the political condition in your country, why don't you do something about it?"
They looked at me like I had 3 heads and gave me a lesson in why it could never work. I said, "You guys are so obsessed with Obama... How do you think he got elected? Grassroots movements! It starts with you!"
Again, 3 heads.
What I came to realize through this conversastion was that while I, as an American youth, was brought up being told you can, they, as Italian youths, were brought up being told you can't. I feel sad that the youth apparently feel defeated. Until someone gets the courage to be progressive enough to stand up and say that things need to change, I am afraid that this country will stay perpetually behind.
God, when did I become so ethnocentric?
Sorry for spelling and punctuation errors ahead of time. The spell check on this computer is in Italian so apparently this whole thing is spelled incorrectly. Also, this keyboard has the punctuation placed differently from a US QWERTY, so navigating that has been loads of fun.
The last entry I submitted was written before I had the pleasure of landing in Qatar -- my first venture to the Middle East. And though it was just a layover, I have to say that I will not be going back any time soon. On one hand, I understand that there are different cultures around the world and they all function differently. On the other hand, I found out the hard way that I am indeed a a feminist.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and I think I had mentioned previously that I had problems with the way men were treating me there. particularly outside of the resort. They were just rude and disrespectful, but not to the extent they were in Qatar. I mean, I got off the plane and there were dudes shoving me out of the way and cutting me in lines. It was crazy. I felt sick to my stomach being there and wanted nothing more than to be out of there. It made me realize how lucky I am to live in a country where women have equal rights and (some) men are chivalrous.
On a side note, I saw Sex and the City 2 this weekend and it further confirmed my beliefs about the Middle East, fiction or not. The society is simply more conservative and oppressive than I can handle. Even thinking about being there makes my stomach turn.
I have been in Rome now for about a week and a half. In that time I have learned that this place is about 50 years behind the US. There is no WiFi available anywhere. In order to connect to the internet from home I had to purchase a wireless SIM card. It has 100 hours/30 days on it. Let me tell you, you don't realize how much you use the internet each month until you're limited to 100 hours.
The university here, Sapienza Universita di Roma, is very large and has upwards of 100,000 students in attendance. It has every type of faculty you could imagine, much like Khon Kaen University in Thailand. The particular building I am in was probably built circa 1960 and hasn't had much renovation since. It's really shocking... I thought Italy would be much more Westernized than it actually is, but it is totally behind the times.
My roomate and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with students our age who are just now getting their Master's in something like foreign diplomacy. They were all very well informed individuals in terms of world events as it was part of the curriculum to be well informed. When I mentioned my thoughts about Italy being behind the times they totally agreed with me and offered me the following explanation: Italy is an old country. It is run by old men who are funded by old men. The agenda never includes change.
At this time, I pulled out my Blackberry and one of the students looked at it in amazement. He said, "Wow! Just like Obama!" For realz, he had never seen a Blackberry in person. I was shocked! And I was further shocked by their general obsession with Obama and the phrase, "Yes, we can!" Which leads me to my next thought...
These students are all very dissatisfied with the political situation in Italy. They don't like that they are all unable to find work and that coming across a good job - especially as an ambassador - is nearly impossible. All of the students had plans to either go home over the summer or leave the country to find work. I said to them, "If you guys are so upset about the political condition in your country, why don't you do something about it?"
They looked at me like I had 3 heads and gave me a lesson in why it could never work. I said, "You guys are so obsessed with Obama... How do you think he got elected? Grassroots movements! It starts with you!"
Again, 3 heads.
What I came to realize through this conversastion was that while I, as an American youth, was brought up being told you can, they, as Italian youths, were brought up being told you can't. I feel sad that the youth apparently feel defeated. Until someone gets the courage to be progressive enough to stand up and say that things need to change, I am afraid that this country will stay perpetually behind.
God, when did I become so ethnocentric?
Friday, May 28, 2010
Insert title here
Currently, I am sitting at the gate for a flight to Doha, Qatar, where I will connect to Rome. I have come to terms with the idea of being there as my awesome boyfriend has reminded me that this summer was about getting published and not about globe-trotting. He’s so smart. I left Tioman this morning, connected in my FAVORITE place in the world (NOT), Kuala Lumpur, and am now flying out of Bangkok.
As a side note, I had to get a new piece of large luggage today at Subang Airport, where the small flights come in and out to Tioman. I was able to purchase a reasonably priced item and transferred my contents into it. I decided I needed to find a dumpster to put the old luggage into, but could not locate a receptacle large enough. I went to catch a taxi to Kuala Lumpur International and mentioned to the driver that I needed to get rid of the old suitcase. About 3 minutes into the drive, he attempted to pull the taxi over so that I could throw the old piece of luggage on the side of the highway… I politely declined. About 20 minutes went by without incident when he told me that he was hungry and needed to stop to eat. ??????????????? What??????????? Luckily, he wasn’t able to find a place to stop, but I did get a little nervous and think that he might try to kill me.
Anyway, back to what I really wanted to write about. In the US, people complain about illegal immigrants. They steal jobs, they stress the system by not paying taxes, they bring down labor costs, blah blah blah. But let’s get one thing straight here: they do jobs Americans simply aren’t willing to do. They do what they need to do to get by and help the people they care for.
When I first arrived at BKK, I had a thought, albeit a somewhat prejudicial one. In the US, oftentimes Hispanics (and other minorities), sometimes legal, sometimes not, take jobs like airport janitors. I saw so many women walking around BKK that were part of the cleaning crew and I asked myself (and pardon this, please), “If these people aren’t Hispanic immigrants, who are they?”
After only the short time I spent in Thailand, I now know the answer to that question… They are the women who would leave the small villages, like the one I was researching, to go to the big city for work so that they could make money and send it back home to their families. One case in particular that I’m reminded of is that of a 13 year old boy with cerebral palsy we met on our first day. He had never attended a day of school because the Thai educational system was not equipped to accommodate him. His primary caretaker was his aunt because his mother worked in Bangkok to send money home.
I’m really tired and I can only hope that I’m making sense right now, but the struggles of these people are the same as the marginalized in the US. Think about how many people you’ve met in your life who came to the US from a different country with the hopes of sending money back home to their families in their native countries. Take, for example, many Hatians in South Florida. This issue was made even more apparent after the devastating earthquake Haiti endured. It was revealed that a solid part of the economy on the island is driven by the money sent back by family members working in the states.
What I think I’m trying to get at here is that people who are so different – culturally, ethnically, spiritually, and geographically – can have the same struggles. Whether it’s mothers in Pakhon Village in Northeast Thailand, airport janitors in Newark, New Jersey, or Haitian cab drivers in Miami, Florida, the story is the same: Do whatever it takes to move forward and sacrifice everything for the well-being of your family… Take a hit for the team.
I am so thankful I was able to experience the little I did in Thailand last week. Connections like this were my main reason for wanting to be in a country so dramatically and diametrically opposed to the US. Not only did I want to see the differences, but I wanted to see the similarities as well. You don’t know what’s out there until you go investigate and find out for yourself.
Things are looking up, I think. I don’t know what Rome will bring, but I can only hope that it will blow my mind completely and teach me something I never expected to learn.
As a side note, I had to get a new piece of large luggage today at Subang Airport, where the small flights come in and out to Tioman. I was able to purchase a reasonably priced item and transferred my contents into it. I decided I needed to find a dumpster to put the old luggage into, but could not locate a receptacle large enough. I went to catch a taxi to Kuala Lumpur International and mentioned to the driver that I needed to get rid of the old suitcase. About 3 minutes into the drive, he attempted to pull the taxi over so that I could throw the old piece of luggage on the side of the highway… I politely declined. About 20 minutes went by without incident when he told me that he was hungry and needed to stop to eat. ??????????????? What??????????? Luckily, he wasn’t able to find a place to stop, but I did get a little nervous and think that he might try to kill me.
Anyway, back to what I really wanted to write about. In the US, people complain about illegal immigrants. They steal jobs, they stress the system by not paying taxes, they bring down labor costs, blah blah blah. But let’s get one thing straight here: they do jobs Americans simply aren’t willing to do. They do what they need to do to get by and help the people they care for.
When I first arrived at BKK, I had a thought, albeit a somewhat prejudicial one. In the US, oftentimes Hispanics (and other minorities), sometimes legal, sometimes not, take jobs like airport janitors. I saw so many women walking around BKK that were part of the cleaning crew and I asked myself (and pardon this, please), “If these people aren’t Hispanic immigrants, who are they?”
After only the short time I spent in Thailand, I now know the answer to that question… They are the women who would leave the small villages, like the one I was researching, to go to the big city for work so that they could make money and send it back home to their families. One case in particular that I’m reminded of is that of a 13 year old boy with cerebral palsy we met on our first day. He had never attended a day of school because the Thai educational system was not equipped to accommodate him. His primary caretaker was his aunt because his mother worked in Bangkok to send money home.
I’m really tired and I can only hope that I’m making sense right now, but the struggles of these people are the same as the marginalized in the US. Think about how many people you’ve met in your life who came to the US from a different country with the hopes of sending money back home to their families in their native countries. Take, for example, many Hatians in South Florida. This issue was made even more apparent after the devastating earthquake Haiti endured. It was revealed that a solid part of the economy on the island is driven by the money sent back by family members working in the states.
What I think I’m trying to get at here is that people who are so different – culturally, ethnically, spiritually, and geographically – can have the same struggles. Whether it’s mothers in Pakhon Village in Northeast Thailand, airport janitors in Newark, New Jersey, or Haitian cab drivers in Miami, Florida, the story is the same: Do whatever it takes to move forward and sacrifice everything for the well-being of your family… Take a hit for the team.
I am so thankful I was able to experience the little I did in Thailand last week. Connections like this were my main reason for wanting to be in a country so dramatically and diametrically opposed to the US. Not only did I want to see the differences, but I wanted to see the similarities as well. You don’t know what’s out there until you go investigate and find out for yourself.
Things are looking up, I think. I don’t know what Rome will bring, but I can only hope that it will blow my mind completely and teach me something I never expected to learn.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
When in Rome... Live on a couch?
Yesterday was a very long, draining day. I left for my tour at 9 AM and did not return until 4:30. It was originally going to be some snorkeling and a trip to Mukut Waterfall, but the guide was able to convince everyone to make it a tour around the island, which is exactly what I had wanted!!!
We set out to the waterfalls and i notices immediately that the South end of the island has a lot more rain than the other parts. It was overcast and foggy there and the water was a bit rough. The crew docked the boat and we began our descent into the jungle... Well, not really. There were poured concrete steps. Not very authentic if you ask me. Apparently, some movie called Bali Hai (sp?) was filmed at this particular waterfall. It was very pretty. I'm working on setting up a Picasa account to link to this blog, but the internet connection here is too slow to facilitate quick upload.
People were getting into the water and sitting at the base of the waterfall, allowing the water to pound their heads. I, being not so adventurous in the realm of aquatic activities, decided to climb the waterfall to take some pictures. I got into the water a little bit just to cool off, but it was all over after the guide showed me some fresh water eels. Yuck.
After this, we all jumped back into the boat and headed to a beach on the West side of the island called Juara to get some lunch. This is when things took a bit of an interesting turn. Near Juara Village there is a turtle sanctuary that specializes in collecting, hatching and releasing different types of sea turtle eggs from the island. The tour guide asked me if I wanted to see it. I said sure and jumped onto the back of his motor bike.
Immediately, I knew something was amiss when I had a flashback to my dead grandfather who smelled of the same vices as the tour guide: cigarettes and alcohol. At this point I realized that the tour guide was driving the motor bike drunk. I can speak about this with a sense of humor now because, well, I'm alive!!! We had a very interesting conversation on the way to the sanctuary about the school system. Children on Tioman attend 3 different schools, depending on their age. Once they hit about 16 years old, the kids have to go to the school on peninsular Malaysia and it is very expensive for the families. The children live in hostels while they go to school and return home about every 2 weeks.
We arrived at the turtle sanctuary and were greeted by an American chick from California who was a total hippie. She is on Tioman as a volunteer biologist trying to save the turtles and she started planting a garden so the sanctuary can be sustainable. Right then, I received a phone call from the 60s asking for her to return.
There were some baby sea turtles in a big vat that they had found emaciated on the beach. They brought the back to the sanctuary to nurse them back to health and plan to release them once the next set of eggs hatches. There was also a very large female turtle in captivity there named Jo. The only reason they had her is because she is blind and every time they tried to release her she would just come back. She is 4 years old, but eats so much that she is the size of an 8 year old. She must have been American in a past life.
After the little tour, I jumped back onto the drunken motor bike and learned that the guide is Muslim with 5 kids and number 6 on the way. His wife works for the Berjaya resort also and is originally from this island. When we returned to the restaurant, the guide proceeded to sit down and drink with his buddies for the next few hours until we were ready to leave for our next destination.
All that followed was snorkeling at 3 different location of varying degrees of scariness. I made it about 3 minutes in the water at the first location before I decided that I was indeed having a panic attack. The second location was a marine park which contained many ferocious and hungry beasts. I wish I had had my camera on me for that stop because those fish were CRAZY! And HUGE! They wanted food and every time someone threw some bread in there it was a feeding frenzy. I jumped in and swam to the dock fast enough that I didn't have a panic attack. The third location was not scary and I jumped off the boat several times.
Later that evening, I skyped with Dr. Anderson, who informed me that I would be going to Rome. She told me I would be living on a sofa bed in a one bedroom apartment. Oh no, I will not. I'm currently working on finding some other living arrangements. I am very particular about having my own space and if I must be in Rome (somewhere I don't even want to be) I will not be on a sofa bed (somewhere I REALLY don't want to be). If things don't work out, I suspect I will come home because I will not make it on a sofa bed for several months.
I'm becoming more and more concerned about the status of our exotic beach vacay in Phuket. Everything is booked... except for my airfare at this point. I understand that the university doesn't want me to go back to Thailand, but I am a free adult who can make her own decision. I feel like they constantly putting road blocks in my way. For example, I booked airfare for Rome last night and they administration made me send them the ticket so that they could see it was one-way. What business is it of theirs to tell me whether or not I can by round trip airfare? So what if I did?
I don't know. This is all very frustrating. They're sending me somewhere I don't want to go to live on a sofa bed and they're trying to control how I spend my money. This whole thing doesn't seem right.
We set out to the waterfalls and i notices immediately that the South end of the island has a lot more rain than the other parts. It was overcast and foggy there and the water was a bit rough. The crew docked the boat and we began our descent into the jungle... Well, not really. There were poured concrete steps. Not very authentic if you ask me. Apparently, some movie called Bali Hai (sp?) was filmed at this particular waterfall. It was very pretty. I'm working on setting up a Picasa account to link to this blog, but the internet connection here is too slow to facilitate quick upload.
People were getting into the water and sitting at the base of the waterfall, allowing the water to pound their heads. I, being not so adventurous in the realm of aquatic activities, decided to climb the waterfall to take some pictures. I got into the water a little bit just to cool off, but it was all over after the guide showed me some fresh water eels. Yuck.
After this, we all jumped back into the boat and headed to a beach on the West side of the island called Juara to get some lunch. This is when things took a bit of an interesting turn. Near Juara Village there is a turtle sanctuary that specializes in collecting, hatching and releasing different types of sea turtle eggs from the island. The tour guide asked me if I wanted to see it. I said sure and jumped onto the back of his motor bike.
Immediately, I knew something was amiss when I had a flashback to my dead grandfather who smelled of the same vices as the tour guide: cigarettes and alcohol. At this point I realized that the tour guide was driving the motor bike drunk. I can speak about this with a sense of humor now because, well, I'm alive!!! We had a very interesting conversation on the way to the sanctuary about the school system. Children on Tioman attend 3 different schools, depending on their age. Once they hit about 16 years old, the kids have to go to the school on peninsular Malaysia and it is very expensive for the families. The children live in hostels while they go to school and return home about every 2 weeks.
We arrived at the turtle sanctuary and were greeted by an American chick from California who was a total hippie. She is on Tioman as a volunteer biologist trying to save the turtles and she started planting a garden so the sanctuary can be sustainable. Right then, I received a phone call from the 60s asking for her to return.
There were some baby sea turtles in a big vat that they had found emaciated on the beach. They brought the back to the sanctuary to nurse them back to health and plan to release them once the next set of eggs hatches. There was also a very large female turtle in captivity there named Jo. The only reason they had her is because she is blind and every time they tried to release her she would just come back. She is 4 years old, but eats so much that she is the size of an 8 year old. She must have been American in a past life.
After the little tour, I jumped back onto the drunken motor bike and learned that the guide is Muslim with 5 kids and number 6 on the way. His wife works for the Berjaya resort also and is originally from this island. When we returned to the restaurant, the guide proceeded to sit down and drink with his buddies for the next few hours until we were ready to leave for our next destination.
All that followed was snorkeling at 3 different location of varying degrees of scariness. I made it about 3 minutes in the water at the first location before I decided that I was indeed having a panic attack. The second location was a marine park which contained many ferocious and hungry beasts. I wish I had had my camera on me for that stop because those fish were CRAZY! And HUGE! They wanted food and every time someone threw some bread in there it was a feeding frenzy. I jumped in and swam to the dock fast enough that I didn't have a panic attack. The third location was not scary and I jumped off the boat several times.
Later that evening, I skyped with Dr. Anderson, who informed me that I would be going to Rome. She told me I would be living on a sofa bed in a one bedroom apartment. Oh no, I will not. I'm currently working on finding some other living arrangements. I am very particular about having my own space and if I must be in Rome (somewhere I don't even want to be) I will not be on a sofa bed (somewhere I REALLY don't want to be). If things don't work out, I suspect I will come home because I will not make it on a sofa bed for several months.
I'm becoming more and more concerned about the status of our exotic beach vacay in Phuket. Everything is booked... except for my airfare at this point. I understand that the university doesn't want me to go back to Thailand, but I am a free adult who can make her own decision. I feel like they constantly putting road blocks in my way. For example, I booked airfare for Rome last night and they administration made me send them the ticket so that they could see it was one-way. What business is it of theirs to tell me whether or not I can by round trip airfare? So what if I did?
I don't know. This is all very frustrating. They're sending me somewhere I don't want to go to live on a sofa bed and they're trying to control how I spend my money. This whole thing doesn't seem right.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Malaysian Odessey
I'm a little bit behind on my entries. This has to do with a combination of Internet access and forgetfulness. I'm currently sitting beach side at the Berjaya Tioman Resort on Pualu Tioman in Malaysia. One word: wow.
This place is beautiful. Getting here is a little treacherous and a lot scary, but so worth the danger! Since the island really only caters to the resorts and the SCUBA divers, the airport is tiny... I mean, this thing is small. The runway has to be only about the length of a football field or so.
I took a small propeller plane in from Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning after a stay for the night at hotel from hell. It was located approximately 15 minutes away from KUL. The downtown area is 1 hour away from the airport (!!!!!) and caters mainly to Europeans looking to shop for "cheap". The conversion for USD to RM is about 1 to 3.3, so the Europeans really get a bang for their buck here.
Anywho, about the hotel: it was dirty, small and broken. The shower had black feet marks in it, so, needless to say, I wore sandals in there. The toilet was running incessantly, but it was masked by the noise of the A/C. Unfortunately, the A/C could not mask the noise of the club 4 stories down on the first floor of the hotel. It was terrible.
I woke up in the morning, had some bfast and took a can to the airport that caters to domestic travel, Subang. The cab driver was very knowledgeable and we had some good conversation about his country. He informed me that Malaysia is a mixture of 55% Muslims (I was very surprised to see women in Burkas EVERYWHERE), 20% Chinese Buddhist, 10% Indian (he was 3rd generation) and the mish-mosh make up the last few percentage. Malaysia is a very progressive country, as evidenced by the brand new buildings, domiciles and sky-scrapers everywhere. Their main exports are palm oil (palm trees like you wouldn't believe here), rubber and electronics. Most citizens speak English, as Malaysia is a former British territory and English is compulsory in the schools. I asked about poverty and he said it wasn't bad -- about 30% poverty rate. Additionally, the medical system is socialized and free for everyone. I am very impressed with this place.
So, I got to the airport, jumped on the plane and the next thing I knew we were approaching the island for landing. The airplane banked suddenly and sharply over the water and around a mountain. Immediately after clearing the beach we landed. Just as soon as we landed we were turning because the runway was so short. This was by far my scariest plane experience to date.
I checked into my cabana (yeah, they have cabanas here!) and I knew that God was rewarding me for dealing so graciously with the hotel room the night before. It is a beautiful, functional, quiet and fully in tact room only feet from the beach!!
Today, I went on a tour of some local islands while other people snorkeled. I don't snorkel due to fear stemming from an incident in childhood involving a school of jellyfish. The last time I snorkeled was my sophomor-ish year of college off the Eastern coast of Puerto Rico. I jumped in, looked up and, as far as my eye could see, there were jellyfish. Done and done. But the water here is so beautiful!! I have some great pictures.
For lunch, I went to "town" and got some authentic Malaysian cuisine... Delish! Tomorrow, I have plans to take a boat to the South side of the island to see some waterfall. The following day, I am doing a jungle trek to a waterfall.
After this trip, I expect to be placed somewhere else to continue research for the MHIRT program. I will likely go to Rome, which I am none too thrilled about. The whole reason I wanted to participate was to see how other people live. I know it's slightly different, but I know how Romans live... I know how Italians live... I know how Europeans live. We are all at the top of the food chain, you know? I want to see how they do it in places that aren't as privileged as the Western world. I want to see poverty and struggle so that I can understand where less fortunate people come from and what their lives are like. It's not a done deal yet, but I'm not exactly hopeful...
This place is beautiful. Getting here is a little treacherous and a lot scary, but so worth the danger! Since the island really only caters to the resorts and the SCUBA divers, the airport is tiny... I mean, this thing is small. The runway has to be only about the length of a football field or so.
I took a small propeller plane in from Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning after a stay for the night at hotel from hell. It was located approximately 15 minutes away from KUL. The downtown area is 1 hour away from the airport (!!!!!) and caters mainly to Europeans looking to shop for "cheap". The conversion for USD to RM is about 1 to 3.3, so the Europeans really get a bang for their buck here.
Anywho, about the hotel: it was dirty, small and broken. The shower had black feet marks in it, so, needless to say, I wore sandals in there. The toilet was running incessantly, but it was masked by the noise of the A/C. Unfortunately, the A/C could not mask the noise of the club 4 stories down on the first floor of the hotel. It was terrible.
I woke up in the morning, had some bfast and took a can to the airport that caters to domestic travel, Subang. The cab driver was very knowledgeable and we had some good conversation about his country. He informed me that Malaysia is a mixture of 55% Muslims (I was very surprised to see women in Burkas EVERYWHERE), 20% Chinese Buddhist, 10% Indian (he was 3rd generation) and the mish-mosh make up the last few percentage. Malaysia is a very progressive country, as evidenced by the brand new buildings, domiciles and sky-scrapers everywhere. Their main exports are palm oil (palm trees like you wouldn't believe here), rubber and electronics. Most citizens speak English, as Malaysia is a former British territory and English is compulsory in the schools. I asked about poverty and he said it wasn't bad -- about 30% poverty rate. Additionally, the medical system is socialized and free for everyone. I am very impressed with this place.
So, I got to the airport, jumped on the plane and the next thing I knew we were approaching the island for landing. The airplane banked suddenly and sharply over the water and around a mountain. Immediately after clearing the beach we landed. Just as soon as we landed we were turning because the runway was so short. This was by far my scariest plane experience to date.
I checked into my cabana (yeah, they have cabanas here!) and I knew that God was rewarding me for dealing so graciously with the hotel room the night before. It is a beautiful, functional, quiet and fully in tact room only feet from the beach!!
Today, I went on a tour of some local islands while other people snorkeled. I don't snorkel due to fear stemming from an incident in childhood involving a school of jellyfish. The last time I snorkeled was my sophomor-ish year of college off the Eastern coast of Puerto Rico. I jumped in, looked up and, as far as my eye could see, there were jellyfish. Done and done. But the water here is so beautiful!! I have some great pictures.
For lunch, I went to "town" and got some authentic Malaysian cuisine... Delish! Tomorrow, I have plans to take a boat to the South side of the island to see some waterfall. The following day, I am doing a jungle trek to a waterfall.
After this trip, I expect to be placed somewhere else to continue research for the MHIRT program. I will likely go to Rome, which I am none too thrilled about. The whole reason I wanted to participate was to see how other people live. I know it's slightly different, but I know how Romans live... I know how Italians live... I know how Europeans live. We are all at the top of the food chain, you know? I want to see how they do it in places that aren't as privileged as the Western world. I want to see poverty and struggle so that I can understand where less fortunate people come from and what their lives are like. It's not a done deal yet, but I'm not exactly hopeful...
The Eye of the Hurricane
I sit here now typing this entry from halfway across the world at 25,000 miles in the air.
Allow me to take a moment to describe a bit of what has gone on in the last few days. The last blog I wrote detailed the “turmoil” that was going on in Khon Kaen. Nothing ever ended up happening that night and everything was back to normal the following day. We had an emergency meeting with Prof. Siriporn to discuss our safety and general feelings of well-being. The absolute consensus between both the students and all of the professors was that we had nothing to fear so long as we complied with curfew.
As I often tell Joe, it’s like not going to Harrisburg, PA because there is political unrest in New York City; Kohn Kaen is 6 hours from Bangkok. Granted, it’s not that there wasn’t anything going on around KKU, but it was well contained and not near the villages of study. At any rate, when asked, we all agreed that we wanted to stay.
The rest of the day was spent on “self study”. We took that to mean “cultural study” and went shopping downtown with our buddies (the translators). We rode both the sontel and the tuk-tuk… Good times. Because of the political situation, many of the stores and malls closed early so we headed back to the dorms and hung out.
The following morning (5/21) we awoke to emails from the university notifying us that the Thailand MHIRT program had been canceled and that we were to come home effective immediately. Enclosed were our itineraries for travel. Needless to say, we were blind-sided. We met with the staff to discuss travel arrangements. It was decided that we would visit the closer of the 2 villages, Loomhin, the following day to say goodbye. The day then progressed as follows:
Noon – welcome party with the buddies and Adjans
6 P.M. – farewell party with the buddies and Adjans
I wish I was kidding.
After our second party, we all met up to Skype with the director of the MHIRT program to get more information about the sudden decision. She informed us that the Provost of something went over her head with some other people and made the decision to pull us out. I want to believe that their decision was completely unintelligible and based on footage from CNN, but I have to admit that it’s possible I was in the eye of the hurricane, unaware of dangers to come.
The drama started when the office of education abroad began demanding that grown-ass adults report to campus for a meeting on Monday. Oh no they di’ent. As far as we were concerned, if we were out of Thailand we were releasing them of any liability. You cannot force people with God-given rights to freedom to show up at your office and not allow them to live their lives as individuals with free will. Additionally, I may be placed as an alternate at the MHIRT site in Rome. I’m not trying to jet lag myself to death, so I will wait it our on a white, sandy beach near the Equator :). In the end, we students agreed that so long as we were out of Thailand we had completed our end of the bargain.
Which brings me to my next adventure… I am on my way to Malaysia!!! Anyone who knows me – really knows me – understands that a trip to Malaysia for me is like coming full circle in life. When I was a youngster, maybe 4 or 5, my parents thought they would control my brother and myself by threatening us in the following manner: If my brother was bad, they would return him to Sears, where they bought him, and exchange him for a much nicer and better behaved counterpart, Jimmy. If I was bad, my parents were going to send me back across the world in exchange for my much nicer and better behaved counterpart, Malicia; yes, Malicia from Malaysia. And so now here I am 1 hour shy of fulfilling the lifelong dream of returning to my home in Malaysia and seeking out Malicia. Wish me luck!!!!!
Allow me to take a moment to describe a bit of what has gone on in the last few days. The last blog I wrote detailed the “turmoil” that was going on in Khon Kaen. Nothing ever ended up happening that night and everything was back to normal the following day. We had an emergency meeting with Prof. Siriporn to discuss our safety and general feelings of well-being. The absolute consensus between both the students and all of the professors was that we had nothing to fear so long as we complied with curfew.
As I often tell Joe, it’s like not going to Harrisburg, PA because there is political unrest in New York City; Kohn Kaen is 6 hours from Bangkok. Granted, it’s not that there wasn’t anything going on around KKU, but it was well contained and not near the villages of study. At any rate, when asked, we all agreed that we wanted to stay.
The rest of the day was spent on “self study”. We took that to mean “cultural study” and went shopping downtown with our buddies (the translators). We rode both the sontel and the tuk-tuk… Good times. Because of the political situation, many of the stores and malls closed early so we headed back to the dorms and hung out.
The following morning (5/21) we awoke to emails from the university notifying us that the Thailand MHIRT program had been canceled and that we were to come home effective immediately. Enclosed were our itineraries for travel. Needless to say, we were blind-sided. We met with the staff to discuss travel arrangements. It was decided that we would visit the closer of the 2 villages, Loomhin, the following day to say goodbye. The day then progressed as follows:
Noon – welcome party with the buddies and Adjans
6 P.M. – farewell party with the buddies and Adjans
I wish I was kidding.
After our second party, we all met up to Skype with the director of the MHIRT program to get more information about the sudden decision. She informed us that the Provost of something went over her head with some other people and made the decision to pull us out. I want to believe that their decision was completely unintelligible and based on footage from CNN, but I have to admit that it’s possible I was in the eye of the hurricane, unaware of dangers to come.
The drama started when the office of education abroad began demanding that grown-ass adults report to campus for a meeting on Monday. Oh no they di’ent. As far as we were concerned, if we were out of Thailand we were releasing them of any liability. You cannot force people with God-given rights to freedom to show up at your office and not allow them to live their lives as individuals with free will. Additionally, I may be placed as an alternate at the MHIRT site in Rome. I’m not trying to jet lag myself to death, so I will wait it our on a white, sandy beach near the Equator :). In the end, we students agreed that so long as we were out of Thailand we had completed our end of the bargain.
Which brings me to my next adventure… I am on my way to Malaysia!!! Anyone who knows me – really knows me – understands that a trip to Malaysia for me is like coming full circle in life. When I was a youngster, maybe 4 or 5, my parents thought they would control my brother and myself by threatening us in the following manner: If my brother was bad, they would return him to Sears, where they bought him, and exchange him for a much nicer and better behaved counterpart, Jimmy. If I was bad, my parents were going to send me back across the world in exchange for my much nicer and better behaved counterpart, Malicia; yes, Malicia from Malaysia. And so now here I am 1 hour shy of fulfilling the lifelong dream of returning to my home in Malaysia and seeking out Malicia. Wish me luck!!!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Red Shirt Turmoil
So, apparently today while we were out conducting research in the village the Thai military storm the Red Shirt camp in Bangkok and forced the leaders of the rebel group to surrender. As a result, members of the party located in other parts of Thailand, mainly E-San, or the Northeast (where Khon Kaen is located) decided to demonstrate their dislike of the situation by burning down buildings, including Khon Kaen city hall, a government run broadcasting station across the street from Khon Kaen University (KKU) and Udon city hall (where a nurse from the village offered to take me when I stay in the village overnight).
On our ride home from the village, our first clue that something was amiss was the giant cloud of smoke emanating from somewhere near downtown. Shortly thereafter the retarded traffic began. Our translators immediately became concerned because in all of their time at KKU they had never seen such terrible traffic. I mean, it was bad. At one point I had to pee so badly I thought I was going to pass out, so two of the translators and I jumped out of the van, went inside a local business to pee and came back out with plenty of time to get back into the van exactly where we had left it.
One of the interpreters had a voicemail from Prof. Darani (who owns the dormitories we are living in) notifying us that our trips to the villages tomorrow would be cancelled and that we needed to be at the Faculty of Nursing at 8:30. We later learned that there is a curfew in place from 8PM to 6AM and that if the political situation gets any worse all power and communication networks will be shut down. This brings me to the current blog post. I was going to wait to post my journal in order, but I wanted to get this information out there first in the event that the situation escalates.
Currently, I am recharging every piece of electronic equipment I brought with me in the event that the government decides to shut off the power in the city. It's sad that such a wonderful day in the village has turned into a frenzy over political unrest. I find it hard to believe that a country as stable as Thailand that has been without conflict of any kind for so many years should suddenly go into a tailspin a few days after I arrive. I mean, I knew I had that effect on men, but I had no idea I transcended boundaries.
On our ride home from the village, our first clue that something was amiss was the giant cloud of smoke emanating from somewhere near downtown. Shortly thereafter the retarded traffic began. Our translators immediately became concerned because in all of their time at KKU they had never seen such terrible traffic. I mean, it was bad. At one point I had to pee so badly I thought I was going to pass out, so two of the translators and I jumped out of the van, went inside a local business to pee and came back out with plenty of time to get back into the van exactly where we had left it.
One of the interpreters had a voicemail from Prof. Darani (who owns the dormitories we are living in) notifying us that our trips to the villages tomorrow would be cancelled and that we needed to be at the Faculty of Nursing at 8:30. We later learned that there is a curfew in place from 8PM to 6AM and that if the political situation gets any worse all power and communication networks will be shut down. This brings me to the current blog post. I was going to wait to post my journal in order, but I wanted to get this information out there first in the event that the situation escalates.
Currently, I am recharging every piece of electronic equipment I brought with me in the event that the government decides to shut off the power in the city. It's sad that such a wonderful day in the village has turned into a frenzy over political unrest. I find it hard to believe that a country as stable as Thailand that has been without conflict of any kind for so many years should suddenly go into a tailspin a few days after I arrive. I mean, I knew I had that effect on men, but I had no idea I transcended boundaries.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Final Countdown
My Passport/Visa arrived this morning!!! It was like Christmas all over again. What a relief! Note to self: local consulate > embassy in DC. Tough lesson learned...
Today I cleared out and cleaned my fridge as I will be switching off the breakers in my apartment during my time away. I got some cash from the bank, paid any outstanding credit card balances and bills and started my laundry. I've already begun packing and the only things I have left to pack are the things I have yet to wash.
The other day I went on a shopping spree. While I hate shopping, I had to buy actual clothes, not spandex or stuff to work out in. It was devastating. I had to pick up "long" shorts, capri pants and some t-shirts. Additionally, I picked up an external hard drive (on which I will store pictures), a USB SD adapter (to transfer my pics from SD card to computer) and a foreign energy adapter. I plan to bring power strip to plug into that. I see myself blowing a Thai circuit in the near future.
I hope I have everything under control, but I have that nagging feeling that I'm missing something even though I think I may have the bases covered? I don't know.
On a different note, I booked all of Joe's airplane trips and our hotel stays. I am so excited to explore Phuket and surrounding areas with him. He has dubbed our trip an "exotic beach vacation." How appropriate. Now, I'm working with Robin to see what it is we're going to do after Joe leaves.
I tried to change my flights as I was told non-chalantly by the program director that it would only cost $150 to change a flight. Boy, was she ever mistaken!!! Making even 1 minor change to my flight itinerary increased the cost by $1000-2000!!!! Madness. I will have to work around that. Updates to come...
Take off in T-26 hours...
Today I cleared out and cleaned my fridge as I will be switching off the breakers in my apartment during my time away. I got some cash from the bank, paid any outstanding credit card balances and bills and started my laundry. I've already begun packing and the only things I have left to pack are the things I have yet to wash.
The other day I went on a shopping spree. While I hate shopping, I had to buy actual clothes, not spandex or stuff to work out in. It was devastating. I had to pick up "long" shorts, capri pants and some t-shirts. Additionally, I picked up an external hard drive (on which I will store pictures), a USB SD adapter (to transfer my pics from SD card to computer) and a foreign energy adapter. I plan to bring power strip to plug into that. I see myself blowing a Thai circuit in the near future.
I hope I have everything under control, but I have that nagging feeling that I'm missing something even though I think I may have the bases covered? I don't know.
On a different note, I booked all of Joe's airplane trips and our hotel stays. I am so excited to explore Phuket and surrounding areas with him. He has dubbed our trip an "exotic beach vacation." How appropriate. Now, I'm working with Robin to see what it is we're going to do after Joe leaves.
I tried to change my flights as I was told non-chalantly by the program director that it would only cost $150 to change a flight. Boy, was she ever mistaken!!! Making even 1 minor change to my flight itinerary increased the cost by $1000-2000!!!! Madness. I will have to work around that. Updates to come...
Take off in T-26 hours...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Visa Mama Drama
Wow, ummmm... So, I'm feeling just about completely out of control right now. I just got off the phone with my health insurance company and it turns out that I paid for a policy that I cannot use. I purchased a full year of health care last August before I found out I received the scholarship to study abroad and they *WILL NOT*, under any circumstances, refund my money despite the fact that I WON'T BE IN THE COUNTRY. Thank goodness for health care reform. I feel robbed.
Additionally, I'm having issues with my Visa. The "local" Thai embassy is in Coral Gables. For those of you unfamiliar with South Florida geography, that is REALLY far from Fort Lauderdale. Apparently the office is open on Tuesday AND Friday, not from Tuesday TO Friday. When I went in last Wednesday they were closed and the woman at the desk informed me that I had plenty of time to mail my Visa to the embassy in DC.
While she was right about this, what she failed to mention was that the DC office is stricter than the local office. None of the other students were required to have a letter of invitation from the university in Thailand when they got their Visas at the local office, but the DC office requires one. Now my Passport and Visa app are sitting in some office in DC and they're waiting for me to get a letter from Thailand and I leave on Friday!!!!
Ugh. I keep calling the DC embassy, but no one picks up or returns my messages. The lady made it sound so easy. Stupid lady. I did what I could... I didn't get my plane ticket (required for Visa) til about 2 weeks ago and I have been in and out of town. I know I should have done it earlier, but, realistically, I did it as early as I could have. Let's face it; it's a learning process.
On a lighter note, we booked Joe's flight to SE Asia. He will be landing in Singapore thanks to Continental frequent flier miles (95,000 of them). We're looking at Phuket and surrounding islands and Koh Chang, a rainforesty island off the Eastern border of Thailand. Travel to Malaysia would have been too much. Robin is taking the 16-20th off of work in South Korea and we have to put together a second itinerary. She's thinking island hopping... I like, but we'll see if we can't get to Bali.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! I can't believe I leave in 3 days!!!!! I am ssooo nervous!!!!!
Additionally, I'm having issues with my Visa. The "local" Thai embassy is in Coral Gables. For those of you unfamiliar with South Florida geography, that is REALLY far from Fort Lauderdale. Apparently the office is open on Tuesday AND Friday, not from Tuesday TO Friday. When I went in last Wednesday they were closed and the woman at the desk informed me that I had plenty of time to mail my Visa to the embassy in DC.
While she was right about this, what she failed to mention was that the DC office is stricter than the local office. None of the other students were required to have a letter of invitation from the university in Thailand when they got their Visas at the local office, but the DC office requires one. Now my Passport and Visa app are sitting in some office in DC and they're waiting for me to get a letter from Thailand and I leave on Friday!!!!
Ugh. I keep calling the DC embassy, but no one picks up or returns my messages. The lady made it sound so easy. Stupid lady. I did what I could... I didn't get my plane ticket (required for Visa) til about 2 weeks ago and I have been in and out of town. I know I should have done it earlier, but, realistically, I did it as early as I could have. Let's face it; it's a learning process.
On a lighter note, we booked Joe's flight to SE Asia. He will be landing in Singapore thanks to Continental frequent flier miles (95,000 of them). We're looking at Phuket and surrounding islands and Koh Chang, a rainforesty island off the Eastern border of Thailand. Travel to Malaysia would have been too much. Robin is taking the 16-20th off of work in South Korea and we have to put together a second itinerary. She's thinking island hopping... I like, but we'll see if we can't get to Bali.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! I can't believe I leave in 3 days!!!!! I am ssooo nervous!!!!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Newsflash: I'm a slut
Today was a loooooong day. I started out by taking Zazzy to the vet to get him his certificate of health so he could fly on the plane. What a pain in the butt this whole traveling a pet thing is turning into. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly tomorrow. Wish us luck!!!!
I followed that event up with a trip to school in monsoon-like conditions to pick up my letter for the consulate, pick up some paperwork for my research hours and attend a meeting for MHIRT scholars before we leave. The first batch of students ship out on Friday.
I had to leave early to go teach an SAT class, but before I stepped out Dr. Anderson stopped me to make sure I heard the next part of the lecture. It went a little something like this: Have safe sex and beware of foreigners trying to impregnate you; you will be sent home if you have a drinking problem; strangers will want to marry you for a Green Card -- you are a meal ticket. In short, by stopping me and following that up with this lecture she single-handedly insinuated I was: slutty; an alcoholic; not inherently interesting.
We all had a good laugh about it. I might have cried in the elevator.
I followed that event up with a trip to school in monsoon-like conditions to pick up my letter for the consulate, pick up some paperwork for my research hours and attend a meeting for MHIRT scholars before we leave. The first batch of students ship out on Friday.
I had to leave early to go teach an SAT class, but before I stepped out Dr. Anderson stopped me to make sure I heard the next part of the lecture. It went a little something like this: Have safe sex and beware of foreigners trying to impregnate you; you will be sent home if you have a drinking problem; strangers will want to marry you for a Green Card -- you are a meal ticket. In short, by stopping me and following that up with this lecture she single-handedly insinuated I was: slutty; an alcoholic; not inherently interesting.
We all had a good laugh about it. I might have cried in the elevator.
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