schedule free is the way to be

Finally, An Update!

2009-05-11T03:51:00.002+01:00

Okay, I totally suck. I stopped posting, mostly because for me Morocco was the last actual travel I did on this trip - I stopped counting anything in the UK as travel long ago. Is that weird? Anyway, I do plan on keeping this blog as a travel-update-type-thing, but I'm going to mostly be doing TFA stuff from here on out, which is going to be entirely separate from any adventurey cool stuff I might be doing. So I signed up for a TFA blog on the amazing site TeachFor.Us, which is a compendium of lots of Teach For America blogs. Anyone who is interested in TFA, I would highly recommend checking it out. My TFA blog is up HERE.

In other news, it's Mother's Day. Apparently The Sound Of Music was on TV today? Mom used to sing one of the songs from that movie to me whenever we were about to do anything travel-related, and it's pretty appropriate for how I've been feeling lately about things:

I always long for adventure
to do the things I never dared
now here I am facing adventure
then why am I so scared?

YNWA

2009-03-14T17:49:00.002Z

Wow, I haven't updated in a while! Strange because at the moment things are only of the good - my soccer team, Liverpool FC, just beat the evil Manchester United 1-4 at Old Trafford, handing Man U their largest defeat at home since 1992. ROCK. After beating Real Madrid 4-0 to go through to the next stage of the Champion's League, I thought there was no way this week could get better. Clearly I was wrong!

Not only that, but I've made an impulsive last minute decision, mostly due to the fact that London is expensive and I can't sponge off my friend's hospitality for another week - I'm going to Morocco on Monday for ten days. I'm gonna be in Marrakech for four days, Essaouira for four days, and Marrakech again for another two. I can do it for under GBP 300 - flight, room, and food - and it's someplace I've never been, so I thought why not? Plus it's really, really, really cold here in London. It should be less so in Morocco.

I guess that's it, really? I mean, I've seen some friends and it's been fantastic. I forgot how much I missed Pinks and Cara and Isaiah, and I hopefully should see other people soon, after Morocco - Han and Becky and Cookie, at the very least...

Nas Praias da Armação

2009-02-20T02:13:00.002Z

Tomorrow Carnaval starts! With that in mind, I am taking it (relatively) easy tonight. But I should warn y'all not to expect much out of me, either by blog or email, for the next four or five days. I plan on making the most out of this experience, even if it's not gonna be a Rio Carnaval for me.

I still love it here, by the way. Like, a lot. Spent three hours on the beach this morning! It was lovely. Hope it's not too cold back in North America...

Voltei De Novo...

2009-02-17T18:17:00.002Z

Yeah, okay, so I'm back in Florianopolis and I'm probably just gonna sit on my ass on the beach here until it's time for me to leave. I had all these things I was gonna do, but what's making me happiest right now is doing very little while next to a gorgeous, gorgeous beach. And drinking fruity fruity drinks. And sleeping a lot.

I am not going to be getting to do a lot of this when I'm doing TFA, so I figure I better make the most of doing absolutely nothing while I can.

Carnaval is next week, and for a few days I was thinking of trying to get up to Rio, but I can't find a place to stay without paying a lot of money, and it all just seems like way too much effort. And honestly, I think it'll be great here. Certainly less touristy. As far as I can tell, everyone in Rio who can leave for Carnaval, does.

I have two weeks left before I'm back in the States. I'm pretty happy with the way I'm currently planning on spending those two weeks. YAY.

(This also includes not thinking about what happens when I get back to the States and have to get my life sorted out. Ahahahaha.)

Just A Little Bit Of Star Quality

2009-02-06T18:07:00.002Z

Yes, that was my obligatory Evita quote. I am in Buenos Aires, and it is amazing. There are cities in the world that I have been to expecting to love and adore them and ended up loving and adoring, like Madrid. There are cities in the world that I have been to expecting to love them and ended up not caring about one way or the other, like Barcelona. But some places surprise me. Vienna was one. Buenos Aires is another.

The hostel here is fantastic, with a gorgeous rooftop terrace from which you can see the Argentinean version of the US Capitol. If you walk to the other end of the Avenida de Mayo, there's the Casa Rosada, which is the Argentinean version of the White House. It's the Pink House, however, which is a lot less awesome (sorry, Argentineans). San Telmo is a short walk away, full of antique stores and cafes and tango music wafting around every corner. The city center is closest, with awesome clubs full of pounding music and seas of people.

This places is fantastic. It's definitely in my top 3 cities in South America, and it's someplace I could see myself living happily.

Plus the people are really, really friendly. Rock on, Argentina, for surprising me with your awesome. I feel like a bad Brazilphile for it, but whatever. :P

This does, however, make figuring out where to go next a little more complicated. Right now I'm scheduled to check out on Tuesday, but I'm not sure what to do... I guess I'll figure it out eventually?

Let's Brush Up On Internet Acronyms

2009-01-31T22:59:00.002Z

Okay so I have recently discovered that I use "IDEK" quite a bit and that a lot of people don't immediately put together that it means "I don't even know" - and honestly, I'm not quite sure how it became one of those things I use all the time, except that there are quite a few things I really, really don't know here in South America, so it's quite useful.

For instance: SPANISH. Oh my god, I really don't speak Spanish. I joke that when I try it always comes out either at about four words a minute or in Portuguese, but y'all. It's true. I hope people think it's cute rather than offensive.

Oh, and that reminds me - I'm in Uruguay! Montevideo, to be exact, and it's very, uh... generic South American medium sized city? It reminds me of a smaller Rio de Janeiro, or a less depressing Lima, and I'm sure once I get to Buenos Aires it will remind me of that as well. I dunno, I like it, and I'm having a great time, it's just very generic. But the hostel is great, except for the mosquitos that seem to be everywhere in the city (maybe it's the rain they've been having?) and I've gotten myself back to relaxed after the hellish bus ride I had to take to get here, so.

I'm really looking forward to Buenos Aires. I take a ferry across the Rio de la Plata on Monday, should get me into BA at about 5. More from me then.

Hostel Life

2009-01-22T13:33:00.002Z

So weirdly enough, I really missed staying in a hostel. I love Paulinha's family, I loved staying with her, and it was delightfully cheap (i.e. free), but staying in a hostel you meet so many more people, to the point where you don't tend to get sick of people. Except possibly one of the girls sharing my room right now, who is kind of a... yes. Unpleasant human being.

In any case - I have been back in Florianopolis for almost a week now and I could happily stay for the duration of my trip. Life here is exactly what I wanted out of my trip - laziness in a beautiful setting with plenty of people to hang out with when I want to and places to avoid them (the hammock on the roof) when I don't. I'm wanting to see Foz de Iguacu and Buenos Aires and other places, yeah, but at the moment... all I want to do is sit on my ass on the beach with my book possibly forever.

I could live here. I really could.

Firm And Sexy Plans

2009-01-15T00:42:00.002Z

Okay, mostly just firm. Actually, not all that firm, except for the plane ticket. But! I have plans: let me tell you them!

Tomorrow's my last day in Recife - I'm flying out at like 2 AM on the morning of the 16th, getting into Florianopolis midmorning. Hopefully my friend that I'm timing the visit so I actually get to see before he leaves will come get me from the airport, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm still not sure whether I'm staying with him or not, but he's promised to find me a hostel if it turns out I can't stay with him. So I guess that's good. There's a huge music festival going on this weekend, so a bunch of us will be hitting that up - other than that, I plan on sticking around Floripa, working on my surfing, and trying to not kill my hair with all the salt and sun. Seriously, I had to do like three hair masks after my week and a half in Porto de Galinhas. Surfer girl hair may look awesome, but it feel terrible.

Um. Anyway.

I'm looking forward to being back down south, where people speak with an accent a little closer to mine and with slang I actually have heard before - Nordestino is a lot different than the Portuguese I'm used to, and I've actually had people ask me if I was a gaucho (a person from Rio Grande do Sul). I'm definitely not carioca (from Rio de Janeiro) but my accent is kind of a southern hodgepodge of all the Brazilian bands I listen to. And American, of course. What it's really not, though, is Northeastern. I'm also looking forward to being back somewhat on my own. I love Paulinha's family a ridiculous amount, but I've been here the longest of any place I've stayed on my trip by FAR. I'm probably gonna come back for Carnaval as well. So it's time, you know?

As well as Brazil type plans I'm trying to figure out post-Brazil stuff. Like for instance: I'm probably going to need to go back to Indiana for a couple days between March 2nd and March 8th, when I fly back out to Europe. But most of all I'm trying to figure out when to come back to the States after Europe, when and how to move to Louisiana. Which is stressful as hell, actually, because I've never done this big a move for this long.

Life is creeping up on me...

homg brazil

2009-01-09T18:50:00.002Z

I have been offline for the past week. I am far too much of an internet addict to do this very often. But! Porto de Galinhas is gorgeous, I am tanner than I've possibly ever been, and Paulinha's family continues to be wonderful. I'm thinking of leaving to go back to the south of Brazil on the 16th. I'll do my best to keep y'all posted!

Feliz Almost Natal

2008-12-23T17:08:00.003Z

Have been back in Brazil since the 17th. Rio de Janeiro was fantastic. I'm now up in Recife, in the Northeast, staying with Paulinha and her family, who are generous and making it very easy for me to stay here. I'm here at least til the new year, possibly longer - I may go back down to Floripa, try to meet up with a friend of mine I met in Lisbon, or I may stay here and do a road trip with Paulinha and some other ex-exchange students who are coming to stay here after Christmas. I dunno.

Merry Christmas, everyone. And those of you in the States: please try not to freeze.

Check!

2008-12-15T23:38:00.003Z

So Machu Picchu has been checked off my list - Dottie and I went yesterday, and now we're killing time back in Cuzco waiting to return to Lima. Machu Picchu was fantastic, by the way, absolutely gorgeous and frighteningly high up in the mountains. I really do not do well with heights. In any case, the day was everything I needed it to be, and I'm very glad I went despite being, if I'm honest, not particularly happy to leave Brazil for Peru. Yes, I am firmly of the opinion that Brazil is the most interesting country in South America. I have not been proved wrong yet by Peru, as much fun as it's been. But obviously it's been great to see Dottie again, to get to do this with someone who loved Mom and knew how important this was to her. Like I said - I'm really glad I went. I'll put up a photo or two as soon as I get around to it. Heh.

Anyway, I'm gonna be back in Brazil on the 17th, and I've basically got planned until after the New Year. I'm spending just under a week in Rio de Janeiro, which I'm really excited about given I'm not really sure what one does there when it's not Carnaval. I guess we'll see! Then I'm gonna go to Recife to see Paulinha, who I haven't seen in like five years, which should be amazing. I'm staying with her through Christmas and the new year, but after that... I dunno. I may go down to Itacare in Bahia, see if I can meet up with a friend from Lisbon. Or maybe go up the coast from Recife, beach by beach? At this point, I dunno. Should be fun, though, whatever I end up doing.

In Peru

2008-12-12T09:35:00.002Z

Have met up with Dottie! So far it's been fantastic. We leave the hotel in about 20 minutes (at 5 AM - augh) to fly to Cuzco.

Peru!

2008-12-07T21:32:00.002Z

Heading to Lima. Actually, to Sao Paulo, and from there to Lima. I will very much miss Florianopolis. And surfing. But I will miss Floripa longer than surfing, because I am positive I will be surfing again soon. Possibly while I'm in Peru.

Ate ja, Brasil!

Surfistas

2008-11-26T10:51:00.002Z

So, I'm about to start my second day of surfing and I have come to a few conclusions:

1. Surfing is really, really, really fun.

2. Surfing is really, really, really hard.

3. I am learning to surf in probably the prettiest place I possibly could.

4. This is so going to kick my butt.

Voando Alto

2008-11-20T21:28:00.002Z

Ok, y'all, I'm leaving for Brazil. I'm not sure when there'll be internet - definitely in Florianopolis, but maybe not til then. I'll catch you up when I can!

Teach For America

2008-11-18T01:05:00.002Z

I got in! I will be a middle school science teacher in the South Louisiana region (that's Baton Rouge and some of the surrounding rural parishes) for the '09-'10 and '10-'11 school years.

Yes, I did Ancient History at university. Yes, I haven't done science since high school. But hey, I can do this! Science in middle school is the fun class where you get to do explodey type projects! Mentos and Diet Coke! The Egg Drop! I can do science.

In any case: I am very very excited. And I have a JOB. Y'all. A job! People will pay me to do stuff! Crazy talk.

In other news, I leave for Brazil in three days. Heh.

Bright Lights/Big City

2008-11-14T00:35:00.003Z

Still in New York, but I've been to Indiana and back since the last post, which was... much as it has been since Mom passed. Stressful and unhappy, mostly, but it was fun to see Stacy and I did get a lot done - I had no free time whatsoever while I was there but for about two hours at the end due to my flight back to the city being delayed.

And I've been getting stuff done here as well! For instance: I have a visa to go to Brazil in my passport now! I can actually go without being deported. This is a good thing. I leave in a week, get to Brazil a week from tomorrow, and start my surf camp on the 24th. I'm pretty ridiculously excited.

And finally, I find out about TFA on Monday. I've got pretty much every extremity crossed at this point. I'll keep you posted.

New Day, New Continent

2008-10-31T16:37:00.002Z

Back in the States - I'm currently at my cousin's house in New Jersey, trying to plan the next few weeks until I leave for Brazil! I'm in the NYC area until Sunday, when I get back to Indianapolis for a few days.

I had my final Teach for America interview yesterday, and it was long and very involved, which only makes sense given how competitive it is. But I think it went well, and I think they understand just how much and why I want to do it, so. I find out on November 17th whether I got in. Please send positive energy TFA's way on my behalf!

And now, a few pictures:

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Columbus monument, Plaza Colon, Madrid

pre-storm park in Madrid

dancing flamenco in Seville

Plaza Espana in Seville

Castelo do Sao Jorge, Lisbon

view from the castle in Lisbon

Lisbon cable car

Lisbon @ night

some friends on the beach at Cascais

That's all for now... pictures from Berlin and Liverpool later.

Adeus, Lisboa. Hallo, Berlin.

2008-10-21T15:55:00.002+01:00

I'm in Berlin, having left Lisbon this morning at about 11:00. I was obviously really, really sad to go - of all the places on my trip, Lisbon was one that I had relatively low expectations for. But I had an absolutely incredible time, made some friends I fully plan on seeing again, and learned quite a bit in the process. Now I'm back somewhere where I don't speak more than about four words of the language. Awkward!

But Berlin actually seems, from the little bit I've seen of it, to be pretty cool. It's a lot more like the States than Lisbon is - flying in, it actually looked a bit like Indiana - and it feels familiar in a way that the places I went to in Spain, at least, did not. (Lisbon felt familiar for the simple fact that it felt a lot like Brazil. Probably because everyone was speaking Portuguese. Surprise!)

In any case - it's 5:00 but it feels later, and I'm pretty wiped and my contact lenses are bothering me, and I really desperately need a shower. But the hostel is really quite nice - a little less welcoming than the Traveller's House in Lisbon, but it had an elevator and I'm sleeping on a real bed (rather than a bunk bed) for the first time in recent memory, so I guess it'll do. I see Clara (exchanger last year to Muncie, currently on a week off of school) tomorrow, which should be cool. And as soon as I get my shit together I'm gonna go attempt to figure out where I am and where food is and how I can arrange to have the two be the same place.

For the record: all of you should go to Lisbon. Seriously. I will most certainly be back.

OH! And for those of you wondering about Teach for America - I'm through to the last round of interviews. Mine is on October 30th in New York City, and I'm currently working on some stuff I have to do for that. A little shameless begging and I now have transcripts waiting for me at the Registry in St. Andrews. Of course this means I'm gonna have to do a detour through Scotland after I leave Liverpool but before I go down to London to catch my flight. But that's fine, I can manage that. Plus I get to see people again before I leave, which will be lovely.

But yes, I'm really nervous/excited about the interview. And I have a huge long to do list while I'm in NYC, including my Brazil visa. A month from now I will be landing in Sao Paulo. And considering how much better my Portuguese has gotten over the week I've been in Lisbon, I cannot wait to see what four months in Brazil does to it.

Did I mention I'm going to miss Lisbon?

Sunburns: Ow.

2008-10-17T20:55:00.002+01:00

I haven't had a sunburn in so long that I'm pretty sure I forgot just how incredibly annoying and painful they are. I'm usually really good about wearing sunscreen, and when I went to the beach at Cascais yesterday with some of the people I've met in the hostel, I remembered to wear sunscreen. Except I forgot to put it on one particular place, and now that place really really hurts every time I move and I'm just like - wtf, self. WTF. I will not be forgetting again.

In any case - Lisbon is completely awesome, with some really cool people both Portuguese and otherwise, and I've had a ridiculously good time so far. So much, in fact, that I've decided to stay a few extra days, because there's still more in and around the city I haven't had a chance to see yet. I was going to go somewhere else for a few days before my flight leaves on Monday, but I just - it's awesome here, and I'm not ready to go! The city itself is really lovely, and the people are friendly but not pushy, and the people in the hostel are really enthusiastic about sharing what they know about the city with us. It's really just a lovely place, and I'm so glad I came here!

Berlin on Monday. It's gonna be weird going back somewhere I don't speak the language. But I haven't been to Germany since I was 12, so I'm interested to see how my opinion of the place changes now I'm older.

In Which I DO Speak Portuguese

2008-10-15T09:17:00.002+01:00

I'm in Lisbon! Okay, well, I haven't actually been out of the hostel in Lisbon yet, for two reasons - first, I got in at like 9 PM and was completely shattered, given that I'd been on the bus from Seville for seven hours. See, there are no direct trains from Seville to Lisbon. I was told there were - I was assured of this. I was told incorrectly. The only options were going back to Madrid and doing an overnight train to Lisbon, which would have left me with one night less in Lisbon. I also probably would have been very cranky. So I took the bus, which was surprisingly comfortable, if a little bit of a long ride. I slept a lot of the way, watched the gorgeous scenery go by, and did some translation for the Australian couple on the bus who had no idea where they were going. It's good to be useful.

The second reason I haven't left the hostel yet is because the hostel is fantastic. Like, not only are the showers so good - giant showerheads overhead like warm rain showers, and I am only slightly exaggerating given how tired and gross I was for having dragged my suitcase up the metro stairs. But seriously - fantastic. But beyond that, they actually have hot cooked breakfast for you. And there was a Portuguese wine tasting last night. Lovely.

Before this I was in Seville, where I met a ton of cool people, had obnoxious philosophical discussions on the rooftop terrace, wandered around the world's largest cathedral with an openly gawking expression, watched flamenco every night at a place in the Barrio Santa Cruz called La Carboneria, and ate tapas at a hole in the wall while watching Spain play Estonia at football. It was every mental image I had of Spain from the time I was little. If you go to Spain, go to Seville. Seriously.

Before that it was Madrid for a week, which was too long and too fantastic for one summary paragraph, so I'll just leave it at this: I will be going back to Madrid. Oh yes.

But now, Lisbon. I am so excited to practice my Portuguese, y'all have no idea. It's already coming back, even if people all think I'm Brazilian because of my accent. And this city looked pretty cool during the five minute walk from the Metro...

In Which I Speak No Catalan

2008-10-04T18:17:00.002+01:00

Tonight is my last night in Barcelona, which has so far been incredibly good to me. It's a lot different than I imagined it would be from Mom's pictures and the way she described it, but in a good way. As much as she loved this place, it didn't particularly appeal to me. But now I have been converted! It's a lovely, vibrant place, fantastic for peoplewatching... I'll definitely be sad to leave, and I've still got stuff I want to do when I come back. Pictures forthcoming.

Tomorrow I leave for Madrid - I'm taking the train, and it'll take about 3 hours, which seems like not very long to get halfway across the country. I guess the train just must be really high speed? In any case, I'm seriously excited. It'll be a nice trip through some lovely countryside, I think, and at the end of it I'll be in Madrid, where I've wanted to go for a long time.

A big reason of why I'm excited for Madrid is that I speak, like, three words of Catalan, the language here in Barcelona. Yeah, everyone also speaks Spanish, but. I feel bad not trying in Catalan. At least I speak enough Spanish to make an attempt once I'm back where it's the main language. Even if my Spanish skills are hilariously bad. I'm just hoping they'll find it charming.

Monday I find out how my TFA interview went. I'll keep you all posted...

It's The End Of The World! Homg.

2008-09-29T22:16:00.000+01:00

So since the last time I updated apparently the next Great Depression has come upon us? Apparently the invisible hand of the market has been off for the last, like, three years playing rock paper scissors with the invisible hand of fate and the invisible hand of Zoroaster? Yeah, I don't know. All I know is I've paid for my plane tickets already and the price of living is gonna be cheaper in Brazil.

I find out on October 6th if I've progressed to the next stage of TFA. I had my interview today, and it was incredibly nerve-wracking and I hope I managed to hide that fact well. I only rambled pointlessly on one question, so I'm hoping that the good answers on the other questions outweighs the pointless ramble on the one.

Oh, and I'm in London. I'm going to Cambridge for the day tomorrow, and then on Wednesday I leave for Barcelona, followed by Madrid on the 5th. If it turns out I don't get to the in-person interview for TFA, I'll be able to drown my sorrows in all of the awesome that Madrid has to offer. And I'm pretty sure there's a whole lot of awesome there. At least that's what I've been told.

I'm pretty much ready to go to Spain. It's been great seeing everyone, but the UK is cold. I'm ready to be warm again.

I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Lazy Post-Adolescent

2008-09-24T16:30:00.003+01:00

In Penzance, Cornwall. It's absolutely lovely. So far I have gone out to Land's End, climbed up a little island peak to the castle on top of it, walked along the beach quite a lot, seen a standing stone circle, attempted to watch the Liverpool game (and then discovered it wasn't being shown on TV... dammit), and eaten possibly my whole body weight in cornish pasties. So far my favourite have been the ones from the Lavender Bakery on Market Jew Street. The filling was delicious, all warm steak and perfectly done potatoes and the pastry was just flaky enough.

I'm gonna go in a little bit and buy my ticket to Tickenham tomorrow. I leave at 11:42 and get in about 5. And then at 8, I'll look online and find out the result of my TFA application - whether I got an interview. I am resolutely not freaking out about this.

I'll leave you with some pictures:

(I had to take the picture on a self-timer and didn't realize I wasn't actually looking at the camera until after I got them all uploaded...)

Land's End

Short, Sweet, and Oxoniensian

2008-09-21T23:29:00.002+01:00

In Oxford. Fantastic hostel. This city is ridiculously pretty. I thought St. Andrews was posh, but this is just ridiculous.

Tomorrow: Penzance, in Cornwall. I'll be there for three days. I have meant to get to Cornwall for a while, and I had some time to kill before I go to stay with Hannah on Thursday, so I booked all of this last minute and I'll be leaving at noon tomorrow, getting in at 5ish. That gives me time in the morning to wander past the Bodleian again and this time try not to drool quite so visibly. It's like a palace! A palace for BOOKS! It's every geeky fantasy I've ever had come to life.

Also, I feel like I've got a little bit of culture shock just being back South after being in Scotland. Weird.

I will conclude with a short list of everything I know about Cornwall:

1. Cornish pasties are mighty tasty.
2. Cornish is an extinct language, the last native speaker having died in the 50s.
3. There is good, if cold, surfing in Cornwall.
4. Cornwall has lots of shiny castles and place names beginning with "pen-".
5. I really don't know very much about Cornwall.

I'm charging my camera right now, so hopefully there will be pretty pictures of beaches and castles and surfing and palm trees next to red phone boxes to follow.

Och Aye, Thanoo

2008-09-17T22:59:00.002+01:00

Back in Scotland!

That deserves a pause for emphasis, I think. Scotland is just as fantastic as always, and after a ridiculously tiring day on Monday and very little sleep on the plane ride over, I got to Ian and Olive's house on Tuesday and slept for about eleven hours on Tuesday night. Delightful. My body clock is now firmly back on European time.

I saw Eva today, and she's moved into her new flat, which is lovely. It's in Leith, near the water, a short walk from a ton of really cool bars and shops and stuff, and I'm a bit jealous she's starting up her new life, but I'm still looking very much forward to this year. I have told her tho that if I don't get into TFA, I'm going to be looking for jobs in the UK for 2009. She said she now hopes I don't get in. Ha very ha, Eva. :P

Tomorrow I head up to St. Andrews - I'll be staying Thursday and Friday with my friend Becky, though I won't be staying through to the beginning of Fresher's Week on Saturday. I'm coming back Saturday to hang out with Eva at her new flat, then possibly down to Hannah's on Sunday. We shall see! I'm excited, tho. So far being back on the move has been just as awesome as anticipated. Oh, and Liverpool beat Manchester United, and beat Marseille in their Champion's League game while Man U only managed a goalless draw against Villarreal. Yet more delight on my part. So far, September has my vote. :)

St. Andrews tomorrow! More from me later.

In Celebration of the Current Lack of Underground Swiss Black Holes

2008-09-13T04:25:00.004+01:00

Amazingly enough, the turning on of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN did not create a black hole underneath Switzerland.

...yet.

In any case, I managed to get my packing done, and the movers came yesterday and took everything I'm keeping away. Now the house looks strange and unreal and not like it's somewhere I ever lived, and while part of me is freaked out, the rest of me is just ready to leave. Which I do, in three days. Yee, as they say, haw.

Of course I still have to put everything that's coming with me in a suitcase. But I suppose if I could get the rest of it to a manageable point, I can do the last little bit. I'm so excited I can barely stand it. I miss my friends like crazy. And I'm so very, very much looking forward to Spain.

In part because of the Looking Forward To Spain, I went to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona tonight with my friend S. It's about two girls called Vicky and Cristina who go to Barcelona. Straightforward titles make me happy. ANYWAY. The actress who played Vicky looked like Mom when she was my age to a really frightening extent. There's one scene where she's sitting by a mirror and it looked exactly like a photo I have of her in a kimono from like 1973 or something.

It was good to feel a Happy Remembering Mom moment instead of a Freaky Remembering Mom moment, like the one from Wednesday where I found some mini-cassette-tape things from her job at CSO and listened to them because I am a masochist and heard her voice for the first time since she died. She was talking about pipes. It was all very strange.

Anyway, Barcelona. Barcelona will be great, but I am even more looking forward to Madrid, though I have no idea why. It just looks like an interesting place. I'm pondering stopping in Sevilla for a night or two before going to Lisbon, just to break up the journey. I guess we'll see.

THREE DAYS. \o/

CERN LHC

2008-09-10T14:38:00.002+01:00

At least if the LHC causes a black hole and rips a hole in the fabric of spacetime*, I won't have to finish packing today.

On the downside, there wouldn't be any flights leaving for the UK on Monday, so. I guess that's a tradeoff, right there.

Back to packing, then...

*Possibly? I really have only the tiniest of ideas about how this whole thing works...

STUFF.

2008-09-06T03:43:00.002+01:00

As in, holy crap do I have a lot of stuff. I've packed all but one shelf of books that I want to keep, 90% of the clothes I'm keeping that aren't coming with me to Europe, along with lots of other random crap, and it just - it seems to multiply. I'm gonna try to get the bathroom done tonight - ambitious, yes, but I think I can make it happen - but for some reason I'm having a ridiculously hard time making decisions. Just in general, I think, it's been an issue for me since Mom died. When Mom was sick and right after she died, I was having to make all these decisions, big and small, and all the minutiae seemed to build up and get really overwhelming. And now even with decisions that ought to be fun, I still put them off just... I dunno. To attempt to delay the pressure, I guess. It's just more stuff thrown into the mix.

But if I'm keeping stuff and it's not coming with me to Europe, it's gotta be packed up for the 11th - less than a week away. So decisions are gonna have to be made. Even if it is a giant pain in the ass. Soon it will be over, and Lord knows I cannot wait for that.

Timing Is Everything

2008-09-04T05:29:00.003+01:00

Exhibit A: Packing. My house is currently a disaster area - I move my stuff into storage on 11 September, so I'm trying to walk the fine line between getting everything into crates so I don't have to freak out and spend two straight days doing nothing but packing on the 9th and 10th. But of course, given that I have to live in the house for four days after, I don't want to pack up everything and then live in a weirdly empty house for longer than I already have to. So, timing.

Exhibit B: Travel. I think it's no surprise to anyone that timing is important in travel, but. I'm trying to figure out at the moment how long I might think I want to stay in Barcelona, how long I might want to say on the Iberian peninsula before heading to Berlin to see Clara and any other exchangers in the area. For that matter, how long to stay in Berlin before heading either to Copenhagen or back to London. Right now I have no idea how long I want to stay... anywhere, really. The most I can say for sure is that, from November 24th to December 6, I will be learning how to surf in Florianópolis. Other than that, I can't really say.

Exhibit C: Friends. I miss Jules. I miss Emily and Isaiah and Paulinha and Alp. I miss Hannah and Eva and Cookie and Lucy and Pinks. I miss Maud (who I just heard from today!) and Amanda and Karina and Semra and Rê. I miss all sorts of people in all sorts of places, but not really enough to stay put in one place long enough to let people come to me. Dunno what that says about me, but I guess I just do friendships well long-distance? God only knows. This is my choice, as I'm well aware, this year off, so I can't actually complain. At least not without being kind of a douchebag.

All in all I'm ready to get back to the UK, even if it's not to go back to St. Andrews for the first time in four years. (Though I guess technically I will be going back to St. Andrews, just not to go to classes and stuff. BUT STILL.) Not to mention: SPAIN. I'm amused just thinking about my future attempts at stupid, broken Spanish that I know will come out as some weird Spanish-Portuguese-English hybrid. Oh, future self. Please to not embarrass yourself too horribly, kthx.

But seriously, how long do I want to stay in Barcelona? Gah.

Also I am now 23. I'm okay with this. I guess it could be worse.

O País Do Futuro

2008-08-28T07:18:00.003+01:00

Specifically, November 21, 2008: the date I get back to Brazil.

I'd been putting off buying the plane ticket for God only knows what reason - maybe because when I don't have a ticket I feel a little more flexible? But it was getting more and more expensive, and I wanted to have some idea of when I'd be doing the surfing lessons in Florianópolis so I could start figuring out the logistics of getting myself to Machu Picchu for December 14th. (More on that as it develops.) In the end I'm staying longer in the States after I get back from Europe than I had originally intended, but part of that is because of the stuff for TFA - if I end up getting through to the in person interviews, those are the day before I get back, the day I get back, and the day after I get back. And I would know whether I was accepted by November 16th. So I wanted to be around between those dates, and the flight leaving on November 20th ended up the cheapest.

In any case, I get to São Paulo on November 21st in the morning, and I need to figure out what I'm doing after that here pretty soon. I've got exchangery type people that need emailing, for one - see who's around, who's got a couch I can crash on, etc. And I shall go from there. All in all, though... I really can't wait.

(My flight back to the States is March 2nd. Carnaval is late this year, the last week in February, so I figured I'd stay to March 2nd to give myself some down time. Seemed like the thing to do - plus, the cheapest date that week.)

In conclusion: BRAZIL.

Travel ≠ Love

2008-08-22T07:32:00.004+01:00

Met up with my friend E tonight at the Egyptian in Broad Ripple - the only place I can really stomach going in Indianapolis for any length of time these days. I hadn't seen E since the winter, so we had a shitton to catch up on. It never ceases to amaze me how some people in my life I don't see for months or more, but when I'm back with them it's like we never left. Delightful.

At one point we were bitching about the fact that we're at a point in our lives - graduated college, starting in on adulthood or semi-adulthood - where relationships with anyone lasting more than a month or so have started to get really, really complicated. I mentioned that the last guy I dated for any significant length of time broke up with me because he thought being in a relationship with a fixed end date was unhealthy, which got me thinking: travel and dating are really, really incompatible.

I may be stating the obvious here, but as far as I can tell even traveling with someone you've dated for a while seems like it could end in tears. There's so many ways to mess things up with the stress of a vacation and the intense one-on-one time that traveling as a couple brings. I have a friend who dated her boyfriend for three years, got engaged, and went on a ski season with her newly minted fiance. Now he's back in Scotland and she's working in a beach resort in the Mediterranean, sans engagement ring.

And that's traveling with someone you've been dating prior to the trip - for me, wandering around for nine months, there's another layer of complication. I may be happy to be single at the moment (given I'm in Indiana and the pickings, they are slim) but I'm not going to be in any place with any sort of permanence for a while. Relationships take time to develop, and as fun as meeting a gorgeous Irish guy in an enoteca in Rome and kissing by the Trevi Fountain might be, that kind of thing ends in the blink of an eye. One or both of you moves on, and you're left wondering what might have been and feeling inconveniently turned on every time you drink a glass of Frascati.

I'm looking at nine months or so of fixed end dates, of sweet memories but nothing more. It feels strange, seeing the people I went to school with get engaged and married and starting families, and knowing that I'm about to do the exact opposite. That, at least, I'm pleased about. But I know there will be a point where I'll meet someone, somewhere, on a cobblestone street under a hot summer sun, and think, Damn.

25 Days

2008-08-20T07:38:00.002+01:00

Less than a month until I leave Indiana to go back to Europe. Packing is a bitch. I feel like my house is mocking me.

It's strange to think that in 25 days I will no longer live in this place ever again. I'll put my life before September 15th into storage and that will be it: the period at the end of a very long and not particularly pleasant sentence.

My passport is sitting on my desk next to my bed, and if it had eyes it would be staring at me. Soon, baby. Soon. Business first, then we can work on getting you extender pages.