Be Wanderlustful

Preparing for Eid is like preparing for a hurricane

2011-08-30T09:53:00.003+02:00

I feel like I'm with my east coast friends and family in spirit right now. Even though the worst is hopefully behind you now, I feel like I am going through the same preparation steps you may have taken days/weeks ago. It is Ramadan here, meaning people have been fasting all month and tomorrow will be the big day, Eid, for their holiday (their Christmas, if you will). Eid does not even compare to shopping before Christmas or preparing for a hurricane or anything - it is on a whole new level of craziness all by itself, especially here in Bangladesh. It's a month full of shopping for gifts and a special outfit for each family member to wear on the Eid day. I've gone out shopping several times the past few days to stock up on supplies before Eid, because after Eid most shops will close for up to 10 days. Even the grocery stores close for 3-4 days. It has been overly crowded everywhere but today was amazing to see! I wish I could begin to estimate how many people were in Agora (the local grocery store) -- hundreds!! Every aisle was packed, there were at least 10 customers waiting in each checkout line (about 6 checkout lines in total). It was insane! When I first walked in, I thought to myself, you do not really need any of the items on your list, but I continued on anyway because there was a great sensation of feeling like I was a part of their holiday in this one way. While I am very excited to be here during Eid, I will be happy when things go back to "normal" (whatever normal is in a country populated by 160 million people).*side note -- I was going to get a facial or massage but the "spa" was packed! They estimated the wait to be at least an hour but I think that was an under estimation. The ladies like to be made more beautiful for Eid, including having mendhi done.*

A few items on my must-have list for the holiday weekend include:

going to the DVD store - bought Grey's Anatomy Season 7 (the second half since I purchased the first half last spring), Nicholas Sparks multi-movie disc, and Pirates of the Caribbean collection (I have only seen the first one - now might be a good time to get caught up) -- each disc cost $1 (amazing!)
ribbon - I brought mini clothespins with me and needed more ribbon so I can then hang pictures off of the ribbon -- so I can spend some time over the holiday nesting/decorating the apartment
2.5kg potatoes, onions, pasta, limes (lime juice goes in a lot of dishes I seem to make here!), oatmeal (and other ingredient for no-bake cookies), and my favorite food obsession - chickpeas!

The pictures below do not even begin to give you a sense of the crowdedness of the grocery story today. At least people were very polite about it, no pushing and shoving you like you might have seen in the US (hello, black Friday....). Occasionally someone would bump into my handcart or I would bump into them and there was always a quick, friendly apology with a look of understanding - that this is crazy!

A shopper's nightmare....

Waiting in line to check out....

Waiting in line while others try to maneuver around the lines to get down the next aisle

A sample Iftar meal...I love Iftar food but my tummy doesn't always love it because it's all fried, as you can surely tell in this picture. When I first arrived we went to my favorite restaurant, Tava, to order some food to bring home. While waiting for our meals to arrive in take-away boxes we were served this lovely plate of Iftar food so that we could break the fast with the other patrons in the restaurant. Michelle and I also went to our neighbor's (from last year) home for Iftar the other night. Families often create a pre-made plate of food just like this, even when breaking the fast at home. PS -- can we talk about the bird in the middle of the plate?! I am what I like to call a polite vegetarian when in Bangladesh. I do not really like to eat meat here (I am not vegetarian by any means it's just a personal choice to not eat it here). I especially do not like to eat beef here but I will eat it if it is served to me and there are not any other options, to be polite. Last year I did not eat the beef after seeing cows slaughtered during the second Eid (that was the end of my beef politeness....). I could not, however, bring myself to eat the bird on my plate....

Summer of 'Before and After'

2011-08-21T11:04:00.000+02:00

At the beginning of the summer I had all these lofty goals and ideas....now that summer is over I accomplished more than I would have without any of those goals but certainly did not check everything off my list. Number one on my list was to clean my room! It's been a storage room for the past 8 years and I decided that if I was going to have call that home for 2.5 months I needed to be able to see the floor. I also wanted to change some things up since I haven't lived in my room since high school. Here's how my summer room-cleaning project shaped up..... (some of the colors are a little off because I didn't think I needed my flash on....apparently I did! oops!)

Chalkboard Before....

Chalkboard After!

My Bed Before....

Bed After! (featuring a painted picture from Aunt (center above bed) and Grandma (right of bed))

Bulletin Board Before....

Bulletin Board After! painted the frame, covered the back with paper from Paper Source, and attached ribbon in a zig zag pattern :)

That side of the room after all the changes :) - notie the stylish bulletin board! I found cute clothespins at Michaels that go well with the color scheme!

My beautiful hand stitched pictures from Aarong (fair trade store in Bangladesh) with my favorite doll from my childhood on top of my wardrobe

disaster zone on the chest at the end of my bed...before....

After! with the beautiful Nakshi Kantha table cloth (from Sylhet)

My desk before the massive cleanup! Needless to say, I never actually used my desk, even in high school.....

My desk space after!

Bookshelf before....

Bookshelf after!! A lot of the books that were on here went up to the yard sale, leaving room for all the books in baskets on my floor and in my closets!

So that was my massive clean-up project for the summer! By the end of the summer it felt soooo good to have a nice, clean, organized room! I am a neat freak, Type A after all :) Hope you enjoyed seeing my productivity!

Thailand Sneak Peak!

2011-06-29T05:33:00.002+02:00

I feel like summer is flying by and it does not have my permission to do so! My mom's family got together for a family reunion at Myrtle Beach, which was awesome. It took us three family photos to get everyone in a picture...and still there is not one picture that captures all of us at one time! haha It was a great time hanging out, eating, tanning, and finding lots of weird critters in the ocean!

I finally got my laptop back today...even though it isn't fixed yet....thank you Bangladesh for doing quite a number on my laptop! and I was feeling inspired to look through the hundreds of photos I took in Thailand and Malaysia in May! I thought I'd start by posting a few of my favorites that stuck out as I sorted through photos today.

Young girl in one of the long-neck villages

at a temple in Bangkok

Koh Tao!

Chiang Mai temple (don't ask which one....we went to a million!)

I don't know why but I really loved these hot water kettles at our breakfast on our overnight hike to a hilltop tribal village outside of Chiang Mai

So This Is Summer...

2011-06-07T03:31:00.000+02:00

Well, I had the ideas for a great blog in my head earlier today but now I'm just flat out exhausted...blame jetlag or the fact that I worked out for the first time in a loooong time or the fact that I was totally defeated while shopping in town today...

Here's how my day shaped up
7am -- Day 1 of the couch to 5k run program! Loving the app! It tells you when to do what...week 1 = 20 minute run/walk intervals with a 5 min warm up/cool down. I don't know if my early wake ups can be attributed to jetlag or not but at least the run was a lot cooler at 7am! Let's just say that now that it's the end of the day my legs are pretty tired! Hopefully I can keep up the motivation and commitment to finish the 9-week training program!

Spent the morning shopping in town for craft supplies for a few projects for my room....I haven't lived at home since high school and I thought I'd spruce up my room a little - including massive, massive cleaning/organizing! *Note: my room has been a dumping zone for the past 8 years...after college, after Germany, and now mid Bangladesh!* Perhaps I'll post a few before/after photos when my craft projects start to look a little more promising (today was a fail on craft shopping....so looks like I need a bigger crafts store!) and when I'm feeling like I will have enough energy to muster through the piles and tupperware boxes in my room. Oh! Let me tell you about the wonders of the GPS....in brief, why can't it just say "turn right now [you idiot]" haha - seriously - it always seems to be one step behind me and I'm staring at street signs and wondering "Is it this road or the next?" maybe I'm the only one with this problem but I doubt it...."recalculating" ahhhhh

"Installed" mom's new baby....and her and dad's evening entertainment.....pool cleaning robot. He was a little crazy if you ask me - I had to keep pushing it under water because it would spin its wheels and come up to the surface and climb the walls of the pool....of course it worked perfectly when mom came home and wanted to see it do it's thing. Go figure. Well, hopefully it keeps working (it did a great job cleaning the parts it did roll over) so I don't have to have my old job of pool cleaner back! Spent the afternoon supervising the robot, tanning, and reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The evening was spent making homemade banana ice cream and mapping out my day for tomorrow....eye appointment in Richmond so I'm going to try to do some shopping before the apt!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and had a wonderful Monday :)

HOME

2011-06-02T17:18:00.001+02:00

Well, after a month of traveling around Malaysia and Thailand and making the long journey (30 hours) home I am finally here!! I was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and hugs and kisses. Since home I've been doing the usual hunt for new things...so far I've discovered the new fridge (kinda obvious....the old one was well, old, and white...the new one - spiffy and black! It even beeps at me when I stand staring into the fridge for too long...oops!), new dishwasher, I'm thinking there's a new grill (not sure if it's new or if I've just been away for too long to really remember what was here before), new dishes, new silverware, mom's newest and first quilt, and I'm sure a few other things I still haven't discovered.

Much to my surprise the new fridge was actually filled with food! Usually the fridge is bare-boned empty when I get home. Thank goodness it was full because I'm not sure if I'm ready to conquer the roads where people don't honk, drive on the right side of the road from the left side of their car, and don't swerve in and out of traffic. hehe what will I ever do without all the chaos?! Anyway, thank goodness there was cheddar cheese in the fridge! I have been devouring the cheese ever since I woke up this morning (bright and early at 7am!) I'm guessing I'll crash early this afternoon considering I went for 40+ hours on minimal sleep/airplane napping! The fridge also happened to have a container with one of my fave mom dishes -- 3 bean casserole :) yumm

Lucky for mom I was too tired when we got home last night at 11:30pm to empty my suitcase and show her all of my latest purchases including several gifts for her. Yes, usually this is my ritual that as soon as I walk in the door I start emptying the contents of my suitcase! Last night I was so tired I didn't even want to shower but forced myself based on the sheer fact that I was disgusting after traveling from Bangladesh to Abu Dhabi to JFK to IAD to home....in 30 hours...

Well, I'm going to get back to enjoying the TV (there's so much going on!! funny how facinating the TV can be after not watching tv for a year!) and my pictures from Thailand and Malaysia, which I will post soon enough :)

Send me a message, email me, call me, etc. if you want to get together this summer while I'm home :) xoxo

la la la Sri Lanka

2011-04-04T09:49:00.022+02:00

March 10-27, 2011 Spring break in Sri Lanka!! A much needed vacation from the long hours of lesson planning, grading, teaching, student meetings and having no social life. OK, don't get me wrong - I love my job - but I'm not a machine!

A few faves from my wonderfully amazing vacation in Sri Lanka!! :) More pictures here.

I was blessed to meet two of my students' mothers. Wasana's mother, Nima's mother, and a family friend while showing me around Colombo.

Elephant Orphanage outside of Kandy

adorable!!

waiting for our train, taking pictures of other trains going through the station in Kandy

on the most beautiful train ride from Kandy to Ella...I sat in the doorway with my feet dangling out the door most of this train ride - one, for the fresh air. two, because I kept giving up my seat to cute little old ladies that needed to sit more than I did.

this was one of those ladies who i gave my seat up to :)

gorgeous country side.

storm rolling in!

Our awesome tomato farmer that led Michelle and I up to the top of Ella's rock, barefoot. Apparently we looked lost as we tried to read our scribbled down directions from our lonely planet guide. Thank goodness for him and his machete that was to protect us from the wild boars (?!?! yikes!)

Unawatuna!! <3

Unawatuna was such a lovely way to end our vacation! I loved our guest house/hotel that we stayed at -- secluded at the end of the beach with slotted doors allowing the sounds of the waves crashing to soothe us to sleep every night! :)

Happy International Mother Language Day and Happy Birthday to Kristen

2011-02-22T10:29:00.000+01:00

February 21, 2011 Another day off of school for a national holiday. As has been the case lately, holidays and weekends do not necessarily mean a day of rest and relaxation. School is in full swing and has been busier than ever, meaning lots of fun and exciting activities (and academic work). International Mother Language Day was a wonderful experience that I'm glad I woke up early for :) Students gathered at 7am (yes, it was optional and yes, students didn't actually start showing up until closer to 7:30....we should have known better!!) at the university gate - all dressed in black and white ready to walk to the national monument in Chittagong where we would donate our flowers. Along the walk, students sang songs to show their Bangla pride and purchased Bangladeshi flag headbands. The students had told me we would walk barefoot, which I contemplated but wasn't sure if I would actually walk the streets of Chittagong barefoot....I later found out that in Dhaka there is a special walking area and people do make long walks barefoot (on painted pavement adorned with flowers). Without those special arrangements in Chittagong we walked to the monument before removing our shoes (thank goodness!).

After the International Mother Language Day ritual/ceremony was complete, the students seemed to quickly scatter. It was about 10:30 by the time we made it home....time to eat breakfast/lunch and nap! The nap was necessary because we had a student-faculty basketball game at 4! The faculty won 38-14 but the students scored 12 points in the second half!! Of course, what do you do after any team sport, win or lose??? Eat ice cream, of course! So we treated our students to ice cream after the game!

After the basketball game, it was time to freshen up and cook some bruschetta (Michelle and mine's contribution) for Kristen's birthday celebration! It was a delicious night including bruschetta, pineapple pizza calzones, hamburgers and french fries, and chocolate cake with bounty bars!

Here are some pictures from the day....enjoy!

My students, past and present....Nusrat (white group), Khadiza (red group), and Saika (orange group)

Vietenamese students showing their multiculturalism

One of the students with a hat she made - it was intense, blood and all! (ok, fake blood)

Tien and another student with the spirited Bangladeshi flags! The whole city is green with red dots -- the CNGs are green and now they have all painted red dots on them to show their pride on National Mother Language Day.

Intense face painting!

Once we made it to the monument (a 40 minute walk) we took off our shoes before visiting the monument and donating our flowers.

The students and our flower arrangement

AUW on International Mother Language Day, February 21, 2011

Everyone was showing their Bangla pride!

A group of cheerful boys

Happy Birthday to Kristen!!

yummy birthday cotton candy! :)

All those years that I played basketball (and dreaded practice)...who would have ever thought I'd be playing basketball in Bangladesh!!

Celebrating with ice cream!! :)

Fishery Ghats

2011-02-14T04:08:00.003+01:00

February 12, 2011 I finally made it to the fishery ghats! Claudio, AUW's professional photographer, graciously donated 6 SLR cameras to the photography club because last time he was here the photography club had NO cameras!! After the symposium he has been at AUW teaching groups of students how to use the cameras and leading them on trips to document the Saraswati Puja. This past weekend he took the photography club to one of his favorite places in Chittagong, the fishery ghats. For the best photos and most action at the fish market we left early, early, early (6am) Saturday morning. It was so worth it! There was so much happening - building ships, unloading fish, transporting huge blocks of ice, selling the fish, drying the fish, etc. I even boldly climbed up a flimsy ladder with 2 students to explore a ship being built - we found out that it only takes them 3 months to build the ships - crazy, huh?! Big thanks to Claudio for an awesome field trip and for renewing my love of photography! Oh yeah, and donating cameras to the photography club so the students can finally be little shutterbugs!

Here are a few of my favorites from the day....enjoy!

2011, where did you come from???

2011-02-06T08:51:00.000+01:00

Somehow 1/12 of 2011 is already over and I haven't even begun to think about my goals! I thought I'd start this year by reviewing last year's goals that I so conveniently blogged about. It's funny how in one way or another all of my goals from 2010 got accomplished...similar to Under the Tuscan Sun, my goals may not have been accomplished in the way I expected to accomplish them but reflecting back on 2010, I did achieve them! For 2011 I want to keep it pretty simple....

1. Be happy. Who doesn't want to be happy?! I'm a happy girl but really want to reflect on what and who makes me happy because when I'm happy, I'm more energized and I want to feel this happiness and energy everyday!
2. Be appreciative. There are so many things that we take for granted everyday. I want to be more appreciative for everything and everyone I'm lucky enough to have in my life.
3. Be selfless. As I learned this past week at the Chittagong Grammar School's conference, "Closing the Gap" I was fortunate to have been born into a family that was able to send me to school and take care of me. Not everybody has this same fortune and we all have gifts (not necessarily monetary) that we can offer to other people. This even means sharing the last cookie in the package! Even if I don't want to!
4. Be patient. This is a great characteristic that Michel, a french traveler we met in Nepal, was working on through his travels. I also feel the need to improve this sometimes - whether it's with friends, students, strangers, or travelers. Everything will work out in the end - so why not have a pinch of patience along the way.
5. Be healthy. Everybody always says they're going to work out, diet, whatever....this year I'm focusing on taking better care of my skin! Wearing sunscreen everyday (especially on my face) and figuring out how to get rid of the mosquito bite scars all over my feet...thank you Bangladesh...

Happy New Year from Udaipur!!

Hiking and Paragliding in Nepal

2011-02-06T05:46:00.001+01:00

December 22, 2010 Our last day in Nepal...After too many days in the big city of Kathmandu, Michelle and I were ready to see the esteemed mountains of Nepal. Since it was almost Christmas time I was feeling especially nostalgic for the Alps and this was the perfect cure!! In fact, I think the Himalayas might be more beautiful and breath taking than the Alps! (crazy, huh?) It was absolutely gorgeous hiking up to the city of Sarangkot and watching the sunset from the mountain side. We went to bed early - one, because we were exhausted; two, because it was freezing and curling up in bed was the warmest option! The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise (unfortunately with a million other people who didn't even make the effort to climb up the mountain...yes, there's a road that takes you right to the top). After the sunrise it was time to paraglide down the mountain!!

Sunrise from Sarangkot

Pokhara Valley

Paragliding Start Point!

And we're off!! Looking back on the Himalayas and our starting point

Igor, my awesome Russian pilot, and I mid flight!

Looking down on all the other paragliders -- Igor was awesome at finding thermals and keeping us high up in the air! I had wanted to go parahawking (the pilot looks for the hawks in the air and follows them because they find the thermals and float around - not losing altitude) but there's only one pilot that does this in Pokhara and he wasn't flying that day....but Igor naturally did this - AWESOME! Sometimes the hawk would be flying right beside us!

Beautiful!!

My Guilty Pleasures

2011-02-04T18:18:00.001+01:00

When I travel I always have a serious obsession with photographing locks, colorful doors, and laundry lines!! So here are a few i spotted on my vacation to Nepal and India

Nepal/India faves

2011-02-04T17:33:00.002+01:00

I may never get around to going through all of my pictures from my 3 week vacation to Nepal and India but I wanted to post a few favorites.

At a Buddhist temple in Nepal

At the end of the day when we were waiting for our bus to take us "home" to Agra after a day of sightseeing in Fathepur Sikri I went to buy a bottle of water... I had a long debate about which stand would have the safest water and I wanted to make sure I chose a stand that had properly sealed bottles of water! Well, I got way more than I bargained for! 10 minutes later the vendor took a huge knife to my bottle of water to get it open - yup, it was sealed alright!! While waiting I happened to see these cute men sitting around a shoe polisher.

Kristen swears I chose this cute old guy to be our tour guide at the Agra Fort so I could take pictures of him...it's only 1/2 true! How cute is he?!

Beer camel! No, really! Our camel entourage had just arrived at our final destination in the dunes and we were enjoying the sunset and I made a comment that anywhere else in India or Bangladesh someone would come along trying to sell us something! Then we saw this guy. We didn't think much of him at first and then he asked us if we wanted to buy beer! We all busted out laughing because the timing was too perfect! Sad for him, we had already bought beer before setting off into the desert!

Delhi was where we got our shopping quota! Luckily we met a wonderful woman in Agra who we ended up staying with in Delhi and she told us about this special market that was going on - complete with festive music!

Lunar New Year Celebrations!

2011-02-04T16:26:00.002+01:00

Our students, a few teachers, and OSA have organized several activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year! To kick things off we had an exciting game night with Chinese candies and calendars as prizes!

Chopstick Races

Tricky Riddles

Le, one of my Vietnamese students, was so mad that I was able to do this twice (with the easy and the more difficult chopsticks) and she couldn't do it once!

Hakima, one of my Afghan students, trying really hard to pick up the pingpong ball - she eventually got it!!

Thuy, Xian, and Oanh -- past and present students

Vietnamese Bingo!! AWESOME! I can't even tell you how much we laughed and how much fun this was!

Xiang Ba, another one of my students this semester at the Calligraphy table -- writing symbols that are beyond my abilities!

Happy Lunar New Year!

2011-02-03T08:45:00.000+01:00

Today, February 3, 2011, is the Lunar New Year in Vietnam, year of the rabbit, and China, year of the cat.

Happy New Year in Vietnamese

Ngoc and Tien-- I love their traditional dresses - I want to have one made when I go to Vietnam!!

Ngoc, Tien, Vinh, and Anh on the Vietnamese New Year!!

Lucky Money :) How cute is the money folded into a heart!! Lucky presents are given to enhance relationships and it can be bad luck to refuse a lucky present.

AUW Symposium

2011-01-31T17:09:00.001+01:00

Here are a few pictures from the AUW symposium, "Imagining Another Future for Asia: Ideas and Pathways for Change" held in Dhaka January 19-22, 2011.

There were beautiful posters of our students and inspirational quotes all around the venue!

Ngoc, one of my Vietnamese students from white group (my 2nd class last semester), and I at the conference.

Tien, one of my Vietnamese students from orange group (my 1st group of students last semester), and I at the conference.

Michelle, Karin, and I all dressed up for the first day of the conference -- Cherie Blair (AUW Chancellor) and Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh's Prime Minister) both gave remarks to open the symposium. When the day had finished we all bused to the Parliament building where we were received for a lovely dinner reception and guided tour of the parliament building. Due to high security throughout the day (meaning no handbags, cameras, cellphones, etc. allowed), I only have a few pictures of us in our saris at the end of the day in our hotel.

My new sari from India :)

India

2011-01-29T14:49:00.003+01:00

So much to write about, so little time....I'm back from winter break and had a wonderful 3-week vacation in Nepal and India! Life has been pretty busy and hectic since returning. I spent the first couple of days home in Bangladesh sick (thanks to food poisoning). Then, 80+ esteemed board members and visitors, including Cherie Blaire - AUW's newly appointed Chancellor, visited AUW to observe classes, meet students, and see the site of the new campus - designed by Moshe Safdie. Following these events at the AUW campus, the entire campus (400+students, faculty, staff and families, and visitors) stormed Bangladesh's public transportation as we made our way to Dhaka for the AUW Symposium, "Imagining Another Future for Asia: Ideas and Pathways for Change." In the interest of time (lesson plans are calling my name!), check out Jess' blog for more on the conference!

I realize that was a very skeleton update but I'm teaching two semester long courses this semester, TAing, and advising three clubs....and sometimes sleeping.... I haven't even had a chance to look through all of my vacation photos but I thought I'd post a few that I have looked through. Of course when you go to India the first thing everybody wants to know is, "Did you see the Taj Mahal?" So here are a few pictures from the TAJ!

White Love

2010-12-14T08:46:00.001+01:00

White Group (from left to right) back row: Nusrat, Nazma, Rabia, Me, Ngoc, Anh, Aaliya, Yagel, Sumitra, Jesmin

front row: Israt, Jannatul, Pahima, Meher, Vinh

Time is flying! but when isn't it? It's the end of another 7 week course and subsequently the end of the semester. This time around I'm ready for a break and ready for the change that awaits us all next semester. Speaking of which...next semester we will all be teaching semester long courses instead of 7-week classes. I've spent the past few days not only grading and planning for our winter break vacation but also beginning to plan a semester-long course. I will still teach business leadership but will expand on the existing topics and emphasize self-leadership development.

In the spirit of Who Moved My Cheese here are the Writings on the Wall (with no editing) that the presentation groups created to inspire themselves and their classmates to practice leadership in regards to each specific topic from our course.

Ethics: “The more you’ll be ethical, the more you’ll take the world up.”

Psychodynamic: “Respect yourself and others to build a bridge of a good relationship.”

Transformational: “Transformational leadership is like a mountain, climb on it. If you succeed in climbing you can become a good leader.”

Culture: “If you don’t know anything about me you can’t make friendship with me.”

Women: “Never prefer to be the follower because of being a woman, other than make this fact as your straightness to be the leader for others.”

Our students really do say and write the cutest/funniest things all the time and it's hard to remember to write them down...I didn't do too great of a job recording cute sayings from the white group but here are two:

- "In first class I failed, second year I studied two classes and I became third position and then first position. Oh God! A big change!!" -- Rabia

- "I want my teacher to keep smiling because it rises the value of your face." -- Meher (in her first writing assignment where they had to tell me about themselves and their expectations of the teacher)

Never Never Land

2010-12-05T17:34:00.002+01:00

'Tis the season for Christmas markets, gluhwein, schneeballen, and shopping....in Europe! After two Christmases in Europe, I will be spending this one in Asia. Thanksgiving usually marks the beginning of Christmas for me, cue the Christmas movies, cookies, and music but this year it's been a little harder to get into the spirit without the reminders...there are definitely no Christmas lights or gluhwein stands around Chittagong and certainly no snow! With the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes it feels more appropriate to think about having a picnic, with lots of OFF, on the Sea Beach in Chittagong. Despite all the reminiscing about my time spent in Germany I am looking forward to spending this holiday season traveling through Nepal and India. Even though Christmas night will be spent on an overnight train in India I have no doubt that it will be a memorable one. Anyway, after spending the past two years in Germany, Christmas Eve has become more important to me than the 25th....oh how I will miss Stille Nacht in the Partenkirchen Kirche this year :/

This reminscent post came after seeing many of my friends from Germany tagged in a note by a fellower GAPer. When I first arrived at ELR in January 2008 I heard quite a bit about this goodbye letter but nobody seemed to have a copy of it. Now she, Bethany, has posted her letter on facebook. Below is most of her Goodbye letter. I feel that it resounds with me even now that I'm in Bangladesh.

From Bethany, November 2007, taped to the back of every bathroom stall and above every urinal in the Abrams:

I have learned so much about myself and this place just in these last weeks, all things I wish I had grasped early on. I am passing my reflections on in hopes they will help you make the most of everyday here.

Look around, you are not the only one that has to leave their room to cook, do laundry, go to the bathroom, make a phone call or go online. You’re not the only one that has to wake up early, walk in the weather and put on an ugly uniform along with a fake smile. You are not the first overqualified person to scrape food into a slop bucket. This is a tiny price to pay for a humungous experience!

Never sell yourself or this experience short out of boredom or loneliness. You will not die if you are not the life of the party or the center of attention. You will not stop breathing if you don’t have someone to hold hands with in the hallway. The coolest person you could ever get to know out here is yourself.

Spend your time and money on the things that matter. Why get hammered every night in Garmisch when you can sip champagne in the south of France? Travel, travel, travel then travel some more!

We are not animals, better example; we are not 16 year old boys. For crying out loud go take a cold shower (alone). Go for a hike, read a book. Remember I got lucky; I ended up with “an amazing blessing I don’t even deserve” and not a terminal virus.

Develop an independent routine that forces you out of the Abrams. Frequent a coffee shop no one else goes to. Take a good book as a lunch date. Get an entertaining Deutsch lesson at the local theatre. There will be parties even your best friends forget to mention. It is better to know how to happily survive solitude then to have loneliness take you by surprise. You may otherwise end up eating the entire contents of your fridge, guzzling a 3 euro 2 liter bottle of wine and wake up on the kinderpath next to a pile of slugs with sheep poop in your hair…I’m just sayin.

Go outside everyday and take in a slow-mo 360 view of the Bavarian Alps. Trust me the goose bumps will never get old!

I hope you find the happy balance. I hope you never have to grow up and can stay in our Never Neverland forever…seriously though you are not really Peter Pan. Gravity does exist even at the Abrams and you cannot actually fly. Please stop sitting on second story windowsills it makes me nervous!

Bethany's letter reminds me to enjoy the day-to-day moments of anywhere I may be and that happiness isn't a destination but a daily ingredient of life. My time in Bangladesh is already passing too quickly and I know that these nine months will be just as integral as my time spent in Germany to my sense of identity on my quest to find direction in life.

Below are pictures of our AUW family Thanksgiving meal and 2 pictures from the past.

Thanksgiving Dinner on the rooftop of Panclaish - How many times do you celebrate Thanksgiving on a rooftop?

Our Thanksgiving buffet spread

Remembering the alps - the view from my bedroom window in the Abrams for 2 years!

Tallin, Estonia: One of the MANY Christmas Markets in Europe where I spent time enjoying caroling, gluhwein, cold weather, and Christmas trinkets

Photography Field Trip

2010-11-30T16:32:00.001+01:00

November 26 and 27, 2010, Twenty-three students ventured the streets of Chittagong for our first photography field trip to the War Cemetery. There are 755 soldiers buried in the War Cemetery from the Indo-Burmese war front of World War II. The cemetery was very beautiful and provided lots of photo opportunities for the students. Below are a few photos I took during the field trips.

Pahima, one of my current students and a member of the photography club, smelling a fragrant-less flower...but it still makes a cute picture :)

One of our new friends hanging from a tree limb

1st group of shutterbugs on the 26th

A few of the students - they were so excited to finally learn how to take photos! Unfortunately none of them have cameras and the University didn't quite have enough so that each student could have her own camera for the day.

In the shadows

On the 27th we came back to the University to find the basketball club practicing, so the photography girls tried their hand at basketball

Masooma snapping a photo

Eid-al-Adha

2010-11-23T09:07:00.002+01:00

November 17, 2010: This was the day of the second Eid, Eid-al-Adha, the "Festival of Sacrifice." Our friend, Mamun, invited us to his village again to enjoy the festivities. Below are a few pictures from the day.

Cue the sacrificing. After the men have bathed and prayed at the mosque the sacrifices begin (around 10am at this point). Twenty five cows were sacrificed in Mamun's village this particular Eid day. Most of the men and children in the village help with the sacrificing -- either holding the cow down or later when they cut the meat. Above, the village travels from the first sacrificing to the next...slightly primal at this point but overall honorable sacrifices.

The first of 5 sacrifices we saw that morning

At first, I wasn't completely sure about the necessity of this woman's job of watching over the meat until she left and the black crows came pecking at the meat...

The cow is sacrificed in one location and then carved open for meat, which is transferred to a location closer to the home (seen here). Then the family gathers around and begins to cut the meat and separate it into thirds - one third to eat that day, one third to save, and one third for the poor.

Fresh coconuts from Mamun's sister!

Our beautiful saris!!

Where I spend my days

2010-11-08T17:23:00.002+01:00

Life as a volunteer, teacher, adviser, and sometimes mother has been a great adventure the past three months. The days can be long as I usually take the 7:15am van to school and do not return home until the 7:30pm van returns to Khulshi. However, I have made my workspace more welcoming and motivating with a little help from my first group of students and several pictures of past adventures with great friends.

My desk and bulletin board -- notice the 2 large posters that Orange group gave me as a "We Miss You" gesture

The other half of my space -- thank goodness it's not a cubicle!!

The poster from my 15 wonderful students in Orange group

Beautiful note from Saika, a Bangladeshi student in Orange group

A note from Aaraby, the crafter behind the gorgeous posters

Lost in Translation?!

2010-11-08T17:06:00.002+01:00

My most recent assignment for my students required them to write a personal code of ethics. Of note, one of my students wrote the following three statements:

1. Break the rules.
2. Balance student and personal needs.
3. Harm others to protect yourself.

Perhaps I failed to teach the importance of ethics and what it means to be an ethical person....FAIL. *She did go on to explain her statements and say that she shouldn't break the rules and harming others should be stopped....who knows what happened with her statements...*

Orange Love

2010-10-26T09:27:00.001+02:00

Last week marked the end of our first 7-week seminar as Access Academy teachers at AUW. My first group was classified as the 'orange group' and they were amazing! It was really rewarding and exciting to see the personal and academic transformations that happened in those 7 weeks! I miss them already but I just started teaching a new group of women and have no doubt that they will continue to amaze and wow me just the same as orange did. Of course, orange will always be special in my heart, as my first class at AUW.

Part of their final class presentation for my business leadership seminar required them to create a "writing on the wall," like the characters in Who Moved My Cheese, as inspiration and motivation for the assigned leadership topic. Here's how my future business leaders summed up our past 7 weeks of business leadership topics:

- Leadership Ethics: We should behave more ethically in order to be successful.
- Psychodynamic Approach: People can succeed by practicing and improving themselves.
- Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership takes you forward.
- Culture and Leadership: To be successful as international leaders, we should know and respect others' culture and values.
- Women and Leadership: Do better than men!

standing: Soghra, Raha, Nishat, Fariya, Raiyanna, Nipa, Me, Nisa, Hakima, Jaba, Saika

kneeling: Tien, Thuy, Aaraby, Nima, Phungja

fun photo :)

I am so proud of them!!!

A few of my favorite quotes from my students: (of course they all say cute things but these are a few that I remembered to write down!)

-- "Ma'am, Bangladesh has taken all your weight" (this comment came after my students saw a picture of me at my college graduation, which was 5 months after I moved to Germany) -- Saika
-- "You will always be our special teacher since you were our first...this is my first time away from home and my friends and family and you were there." -- Raha
-- "After seeing your glasses today, I know that if I need them one day I must find this pair." -- Saika
-- "We miss your homeworks ma'am" -- all of them! every time I see them now that I am not their teacher

Durga Puja in Dhaka

2010-10-25T18:37:00.000+02:00

A quick photo journey through our Durga Puja celebrations in Dhaka, October 15-17, 2010. Overall it was a great weekend with lots of new adventures and great memories!!

National Monument for Martyrs - made possible thanks to Karin's friend's mom, Moni

one of the most beautiful, peaceful spaces and monuments I've seen. it reminded me a lot of the memorial to murdered jews in europe in berlin. peaceful. reflective. open for interpretation.

mastering 3 people in a rickshaw...for 1.5 hours on our way to a Bangladeshi rock concert!!

Bangladeshi rock concert at the Sheraton! (Karin knew the guy on the far left). we arrived just in time for the last 3 or 4 songs!!

first bus ride in Bangladesh!! real safe?! :)

busy streets of Dhaka

stuck in traffic...everyday life in Dhaka - we were lucky - according to the locals, traffic wasn't as bad as usual

fresh Fuchka from a street vendor

we sat in bright red plastic chairs devouring our spicy fuchka....and then debated our price with the vendor -- 20 or 40 taka...29 or 58 cents! gotta love the bangladeshi prices and our new bangladeshi attitudes! beshi! (too much!)

our first temple of the day!

we received many offerings throughout the day - from rice and veggies to michti and of course, coconut milk

rollercoaster meets ferris wheel meets death trap?! in bangladesh...yet another memory to add to my book, "That would never happen in the US" (you can't really tell from the picture but this 'ride' is held together with ropes!! and yes, I did ride on it!)

Hindu Street! lots of people, lights, shops, food, and small temples

burning the midnight oil - Bangladesh, the city that never sleeps

where do you go when there's no more space? up!

our last temple celebration - the mayor is in the lower left corner of this photo

our Durga Puja bandit, including a few random kids

after mastering 3 people in a rickshaw you graduate to 3 adults and 3 kids...fun times until they ate lunch with us and wanted to go home with us...hmmm

The Real Bangladesh

2010-10-10T10:41:00.000+02:00

On Friday, October 8, myself and 2 other WorldTeach volunteers as well as 2 Access Academy teachers ventured out to Halishahar to shop at the big Aarong - and by big, I mean 2 stories of fair trade shalwar kameez outfits, ornas, house decorations, and more!! Little did we know, that we would get to experience the "real Bangladesh." Last week it rained several days in a row but we didn't feel any of the effects in our part of town. Not only did the streets not show any signs of flooding but a van from AUW transports us to/from school everyday and we are able to stay sheltered throughout the day thanks to the catwalks between buildings. As we neared the Aarong in Halishahar, we were suddenly confined to a very small section of the road, closet to the barrier in the middle of the road due to massive flooding. When we saw the Aarong our CNG pulled up next to a small part of a sidewalk - the only place he could reach due to the massive puddles. As we walked along the sidewalk we quickly saw that we would not be able to reach the front door of Aarong without wading through the water....so we hiked up our pants and waded through the water to go shopping at what is considered a designer store in Bangladesh. Finally, the Bangladesh I expected to encounter on a day-to-day basis!

The water was deep even at the edges of the road

Fearless Richshaw Driver...we contemplated paying him 100 taka to take us 10 feet from one break in the sidewalk to the other, so that we could reach Aarong safe and dry

Jamie (left) and Kristen testing out the water - the door to Aarong is right there on the left...so close, yet so far away!!

This is the Bangladesh I was expecting upon arrival! It is monsoon season after all.

Happy Teacher's Day

2010-10-06T08:50:00.000+02:00

I have the best job in the whole world!! I love all my students! Two of my students made me cards for Teacher's Day :)

yes, that's a candy wrapper - Aaraby is sooo crafty!!

A card from Nima :) such beautiful drawings!

Chittagong Train Station

2010-10-06T07:56:00.002+02:00

Nothing like a train station full of men waiting to buy tickets in the men-only lines on the first day tickets were available for Eid Break (5 days in advance). Off to the right corner there was a line with 5 or 6 women waiting to buy tickets. Upon our arrival we were quickly noticed and watched over (literally) by all armed-forces members working at the train station - we weren't certain who the threat was - us or them - but nonetheless, they got an up-close-and-personal view of the foreigners. When purchasing tickets each individual can only buy 4 tickets at a time, so Calynn, Trishna, and I waited patiently in line to purchase our 10 tickets. When it came time for the transaction we just stood there as the assistant from AUW (a male) handled our transaction. Clearly we were only needed to hold a place in the women's line and speed the process up (I can't imagine how long most of the men in the station had to wait for tickets - there were 100s). Upon returning to AUW we learned that there had been a mistake with our tickets and we were charged more because the ticket attendant had charged us for his mistake (he printed our tickets with a start destination of Dhaka instead of Chittagong...??? and then had to reprint them - costing us about $6)

Mamun's Village

2010-10-02T09:41:00.000+02:00

September 13, 2010 Upon return from our vacation in Sylhet and Srimangal we were invited to our friend's village for a belated Eid celebration - our friend, Mamun, is a waiter at our favorite restaurant, Tava - conveniently located across the street from our apartment. His brother-in-law picked us up outside our apartment in a nice van and we drove for about an hour while dancing to Hindi/Bollywood/Bangladeshi music and enjoying the views as we left Chittagong in the rear-view mirror (don't get me wrong, I love Chittagong but I'm more of a country/small-town girl!). Our day was very relaxed and mostly consisted of eating lots of food and drinking Cha with Mamun's family and friends. We found his family to be very welcoming and genuine. His village was the nicest of villages we've visited in Bangladesh although he kept apologizing about the status of his family. We weren't quite sure how to react to these comments but we assured him that we were overly happy to be visiting his village and continually reminded him how nice his village was - they had running water, several houses for the many families, and they were well educated - most of his family members spoke English (almost none of the locals from the other villages spoke English). This humility was was just another sign of his genuine friendship and hospitality. Our day started with snacks (fruits and michti - sweets) then a tour through a few homes as we made our way down to the beach, then a photo shoot prompted by one of Mamun's friends, a late lunch back at the village --- chicken, rice, dol, roti, curried eggs, etc., then more cha and talking then a trip down the Road of Temples before returning home. Here are pictures from the day - if only I could have captured the smells and sounds of the village as well :) Sweet, salt air and palm trees blowing in the breeze as a storm moved in....this was by far the best day I've had in Bangladesh upon arrival and have no doubt it will forever be my favorite memory of this country and a newly-formed friendship.

Mamun's village - taking a break :)

Walking out to the beach - gorgeous! the air even smelled of the salty beach :)

The group on the beach (Mamun's friends with Sara, Me, Michelle, Kristen, and Katie)

Mamun and I out by the beach

one of Mamun's friends insisted we have a photo shoot on the beach -- that's him behind us - coaching us :)

walking through parts of the village on our way back for lunch

while we were chatting in the sitting area one of the women insisted the children were bothering us and sent them outside - only to pop up at the window :)

Mamun and his family - so cute!

after visiting Mamun's village we drove a few kilometers to the Road of Temples - after a short hike up a hill we were rewarded with great views of spectacular temples - and met these nice ladies who wanted a photo shoot with the Americans

the temple

Eid Mubarak

2010-09-21T11:11:00.003+02:00

September 7-12, 2010: Eid Break - A group of 9 WorldTeach volunteer teachers traveled to the Sylhet Division for some R&R and adventure in Srimangal and Sylhet! Our trip started with an overnight train from Chittagong to Srimangal with an unknown arrival time - luckily many passengers were curious as to where the foreigners were traveling so we were woken up in time to hop off at the small train station in Srimangal. Our time in Srimangal was wonderful! We stayed at the Eco Cottage, tucked in between tea plantations and a peaceful river. Our two days in Srimangal flew by -- tea plantations, pineapple farms, a lime market, a man-powered boat ride, 7-layer tea tasting, hiking through the Lawacherra National Park (leeches and all), watching women package Betal leafs while seeking shelter from the rain, and good food and a great tour guide :) Then, it was time to give Sylhet a chance - on the neverending van ride to Sylhet we fortunately took a break to see Madhabkunda, Bangladesh's tallest waterfall! Our time in Sylhet was cut a little short but we were thankful to not be stuck in Sylhet indefinitely....or take a 9ish hour van ride home to Chittagong....

*sidebar* So in Bangladesh you can only buy your tickets usually 10 days in advance but since it was Eid Break we were only able to buy our tickets 5 days in advance, which meant we purchased our tickets from Chittagong to Sylhet on Sept 2nd but were unable to purchase our return tickets. These were then going to be bought via telephone but for some reason that didn't work so we were told we could buy our return tickets when we arrived in Srimangal. When we arrived in Srimangal the ticket office wasn't open...then when it did open we were told we couldn't buy a ticket that would leave from Sylhet in Srimangal....then we got to Sylhet and were told that the trains weren't running the day we wanted to go home, so we started looking for a van and driver to drive us home, then the hotel sent someone to the train station with a 300tk ($4) bribe so that someone would sell us tickets! ahh Sooooo with all that said and done we were able to take a day train home on the 12th (versus the originally planned night train on the 12th). *end sidebar*

While in Sylhet we went shopping (I bought 2 new fabrics to take to a tailor for new shalwar kameez and a nakshi katha, embroidered bed cover), we had an Eid meal at an AUW employee's relative's house, we went to Jaflong for a boat ride (where we met up with Russell, our tour guide from Srimangal), and visited Tamil - the Bangladeshi/Indian border.

All in all our trip was a much-needed break from the hussle and bussle of the city...the air was fresher, the streets were calmer - they even had sidewalks, the sky was clearer - just right for star gazing....they even had fewer/no mosquitoes! Here are a few pictures from our vacation, more to follow later...I promise!

Kristen, Ayla, and I stayed in this cute cottage at the Eco Cottage in Srimangal

man-powered boat ride in Srimangal

fishermen on the water in Srimangal

colorful boats in Jaflong and the young captains

The group of WorldTeach volunteers and Russell, our awesome tour guide, and new friend :)

We met this family at the waterfall and then again the next day in Jaflong - small world :)

My life in random thoughts

2010-09-21T08:51:00.000+02:00

I haven't been making time to blog lately, sorry! I blame the overabundance of thoughts and ideas and pictures to go through....and the fact that teaching is my life and I finally had to buckle down and grade writing assignments, which was hard!! So, to catch you up here's a little blog of my life in random day-to-day thoughts in Bangladesh :)

-- My new found love of the nurse's office, saline packets, and having a mom away from home. We've all been getting sick and Sunday I was feeling especially sick/tired so I went to the nurse's office for a remedy and one of the nurses, Miss Rina, took care of me and made me rest for a while and it was just like having mom tend to you when you're sick.

-- I looove not wearing shoes....in class!! :-D On Monday I walked into my microeconomics TA class to see a row of bare feet feeling the textures in the carpet and taking a breather from their shoes! Those of you that know me, know I love to walk around barefoot but the idea of being barefoot in class was a tad bit taboo but I wanted to be barefoot too! So for the first five minutes of class I had a revolution about the freedom I was feeling just by being barefoot in the front row of class! :)

-- The library has Who Moved My Cheese AND He's Just Not That Into You (what else do you need?) It's funny to see the random titles in our library and I love walking from bookshelf to bookshelf to see what's within. I promise to take a picture of the library next time I go - b/c it's reminiscent of a large, at-home library and I love it! :)

-- I love being an ISFJ! I taught my students about personality types this past week - ahh sooo exciting! My students probably think I'm crazy on a daily basis because of my excitement about all the subjects we get to talk about!

-- I love the students @ AUW and I want to meet all of their families/visit all of their hometowns! I often see one my girls from my assessment testing group in between classes and the other day her mom and little brother were visiting and she was overly anxious to introduce me to her family! Her mom invited me to come visit anytime I want :) This is why the Bangladeshi culture is so amazing - they are so open, friendly, and hospitable.

Bhatiary Village

2010-08-31T17:07:00.006+02:00

August 26, 2010: This was a very special day...The executive director of WorldTeach, Helen Claire, has been with us here at AUW for the past month and she has a dear friend, Caroline Bauer, who has spent many years in Bangladesh. While living here, Caroline adopted the Bhatiary Village and built a play park, which we had the privilege to visit. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon...(more photos added to the end of my Bangladesh photo album)

The Play Park

The kids at the Play Park

so cute!!

Walking into the village

Our first glimpse into the village

The WorldTeach group on the rooftop of Caroline's house (which was amazingly gorgeous!)

The Penthouse (what we call our apartment) roomies

The Play Park Director's home

Bhatiary Village

I love visiting the villages - the people are so amicable! and the children are beyond adorable!

Classes are Starting

2010-08-28T10:59:00.003+02:00

Tomorrow is the first day of classes!! Why Sunday you may ask - well, Friday and Saturday are the weekend here. I'll be teaching a class on business leadership - using one of my favorite Leadership books - Northouse's Leadership: Theory and Practice as well as Who Moved My Cheese. I'll have a class of 17 with students from 6 different countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. It should be a great experience and I'm glad the first day of classes is finally here! :) I'll blog about how the first day goes after tomorrow! :)

Long Days with High Pay Off

2010-08-23T18:28:00.004+02:00

Justin Bieber "I just need somebody to love" kept our long day at AUW alive today. Our day started before 7:30 when the van arrived at Kulshi to drive us to AUW. Most of us proctored our last exam for the Access Academy students this morning, except 2 volunteers who were proctoring TOEFL exams for undergrads in the afternoon. After the last exam was finished it was a race all day to grade, grade, and grade TOEFL exams (reading, listening, structure) and math exams (statistics, algebra, geometry, computation, etc.). This has been a 3 day testing process with a total of 8 exams: the 3 TOEFL exams and 5 math exams. There was only one math teacher working to grade math word problems so we quickly began grading word problems as best we could once we had finished grading all multiple choice tests -- personally realizing just how long it'd been since I last took a math class....man time flies! As the day grew longer and longer we entertained ourselves with singing and giggling and joking and occasional frustrations due to stress/exhaustion. When the day finally ended at 9:30pm we joked that in one day we had lived through all 4 stages of group formations - forming, storming, norming, and performing. We definitely kept each other motivated through the day and lots of chai, sweet treats, and pizza hut were definitely added bonuses! It was a long day but great day! It feels really great to be a part of AUW and the developing stages of the University. I'm so glad to be here with an amazing group of volunteers, supporting an amazing mission! :) We can honestly say that the WorldTeach volunteers just successfully administered all Access Academy and Undergraduate assessment testing, including grading and recording - Go Us! and so the year begins with one successful project under our belts and a glimpse into the amazingness of our students :) Now it's time for a little Love Actually to keep us all sane :)

Jobra Hathazari Branch, Grameen Bank

2010-08-19T18:42:00.010+02:00

Today our WorldTeach group was privileged enough to be able to visit the village of Jobra, where Muhammad Yunus began his Peace Prize Winning project, Grameen Bank. My account of our visit is not meant to be all-encompassing but just a reflection and summary of interesting points. The Grameen Bank's website has a wealth of information that I would recommend checking out for more information.

Our day started with a briefing from Golam Mohammed, the Senior Principal Officer in Dhaka and our guide for the day. He discussed the types of borrowers, types of loans, and the loan process. Grameen Bank targets the landless and assetless individuals, 96% of its borrowers being female. Grameen targets women borrowers because they are most successful in caring for the family, ensuring the family's needs are continually met, and enrolling children in school, including higher education. There are 4 types of loans, loans for: business/income projects, housing, higher education, and individuals living in extreme poverty. To apply for a loan, the woman must provide her name, husband's name, and purpose of the loan. There are no legal documents to sign and the loan is collateral free since the general aim is to raise the poverty line. If the borrower is unable to write her name (sometimes the case) Grameen will provide her with writing lessons so that she will be able to write this information. This is important as each woman signs her name attesting to loan payments at the weekly business meetings.

After our briefing with Golam we heard testimonials from 4 male students whose mothers had taken out higher education loans from Grameen so they could attend University.

We then made our way to the village. Julia and I rode with in Golam's vehicle and were able to learn a little bit more about the microfinancing process and goals for each borrower. After the loan process is started, Grameen continues to check in with the borrower and family to assess the quality of life improvements. There are 10 main indicators that Grameen looks for to determine how well the borrower is doing in terms of rising above the poverty line. The 10 indicators are:
1. a home with beds for all family members (and mosquito nets)
2. water purification system
3. all children 6 years+ are going to school (when not sure of age, can tell when the child can bend his arm over his head and touch the opposite ear)
4. the woman is able to make weekly loan payments of 200tk
5. sanitary toilet
6. clothing
7. 3 meals a day
8. 5,000tk in savings
9. health care needs are met
10. additional sources of income available when needed

While at the village we were able to witness the group's official business meeting. The women had a ritual to signal the start and end of the meeting. This ritual included crossing and uncrossing the arms and standing and sitting several times. We then heard several personal accounts of when the women first starting borrowing from Grameen and how their lives and economic situation had been changed. One thing all the women adamantly agreed on was that they have more saris now than they were ever able to afford before receiving a loan.

The day was very insightful to Bangla culture and the ideas of microfinancing and the many positive effects it has on these families and villages. These women are so dedicated and driven to success with an innate knowledge of business and finance needed to thrive. To be able to develop a profit-generating idea, receive a loan, and then make the dream a reality without formal training, business plans, or legal contracts is an incredible notion and the reason Grameen can be thanked for raising the poverty line in Bangladesh as well as the other countries they operate.

Jobra Hathazari Branch, Grameen Bank

Bengali pointing the way to the office

Inside the office

Inside the Jobra Hathazari Branch - all loan payments are kept in record books

4 University students who are enrolled at the University of Chittagong thanks to Grameen Bank's Loan for Higher Education

fields upon fields for cultivating crops in the Jobra village, Bangladesh

first arriving in the village

a few curious men from the village

attending the official business meeting --each team of 5 women sit in a row with the group leader on the far left and the group-at-large's leader in the front left

official closing of the business meeting

one of the borrowers

Jobra village, Bangladesh

just another glimpse into the beauty of Jobra

I dream of sweets...

2010-08-18T14:44:00.005+02:00

Well, a lot is happening but not too much blog worthy I guess - just day-to-day life in Bangladesh playing out. *We are going to the Grameen Bank tomorrow! yay! and it's our last day of orientation - crazy!! - blog post tomorrow or soon after our Grameen tour*

The "death chalk" is working well....maybe too well - I'm getting tired of handling 1/2 dead cockroaches. This morning at 3:30am (when I couldn't sleep) and then again at 7:00 when I woke up there were 1/2 dead cockroaches on their backs (one each time) that had to quickly be handled with a thick paper towel! I'm glad that the chalk is working but can't they just find their own way to the trash bin.?! Anyway, this is not a daily thing at all just something that happened to strike twice this morning...

Today after Bangla class Mira (our table's teacher) took us to her favorite sweets shop (yumm) called SugarBun. They had tons of traditional Bangladeshi sweets, cakes, and breads...My roommates and I decided on 2 sweets to try and bought a box of 4 each (for 134 tk/$2) - pretty cheap, huh? I can't even begin to explain to you how amazingly delicious these sweets were (yeah, were - they're all gone!!)! The kalo jam tasted like a maple syrup doughnut soaked through with syrup! yumm and the other, Kacha Golla was an interesting texture but equally tasty - it tasted a little like a sweet dessert you would make using ricotta cheese. Both were definitely worth the thought of gaining a few extra pounds :)

Inside SugarBun

The sweets

See the Kalo Jam (bottom row, second from the left) and the Kacha Golla (top row, far right)

Street view outside of SugarBun which is within walking distance to AUW

another street view

i love how bright and colorful this city is :)

Here are a few pictures from the past few days....

Street market on our way to Aarong (Tuesday, 16th)

CNG ride home (I have a few videos....another day!)

The heartbreak children outside of Kulshi Mart/Tava....the littlest boy is always very persistent - broke all of our hearts today when it was pouring down rain and he was standing there shivering

Mira, my table's Bangla teacher, and I

Iftar

2010-08-15T13:53:00.005+02:00

It's Ramadan here in Bangladesh and while we're not fasting we are certainly enjoying this time. (Except for yesterday when we were at AUW for orientation and school was closed b/c it's the weekend, so we were going to eat at Impala but then realized all restaurants are closed during the day for Ramadan...day ended up being cut short so we could come back to our apt to each lunch. By the time we made it back to our apartment tava had set up their iftar buffet and thus began our new obsession.) All of the restaurants set up buffet lines along the streets with a wide variety of foods to break the fast, called iftar. Our favorite restaurant across the street from our apartment, Tava, has said iftar. The staff is so cute and wonderful. We've eaten in the restaurant twice and the head waiter has memorized all of our names (so cute!). They have a variety of food including chicken kabaabs, pakora, fish fingers, veggie/chicken rolls, samosa, etc. and today I ate the most amazing pineapple pie!!! They also have another desert that has been deemed "funnel cake on crack" by Kelsey (another volunteer) - basically it's a thin dough fried in sugar and it is quite tasty (pictures another day...I bought pineapple pie today instead). This will be our dinner for the next month! no questions.

Tava's iftar set up in front of Khulshi Mart (our closest grocery store)

A few of our waiters - the guy in the middle is one of my faves!

this guy created quite a bit of commotion during our orientation class....i dont need to think about spiders like this crawling around my apartment! so i'll just pretend they are only at AUW!

trapping the spider!

at AUW with Kristen in yet another of my new shalwar kameez outfits

Daily Life in Bangladesh

2010-08-12T17:06:00.013+02:00

So I can't believe it's been a week already!! I thought I'd just blog a little about what it's been like so far. There are a lot of things that are not what I expected or are somehow like what I expected but I just didn't know what it would be like to fully develop my expectations before arriving in country. Anyway, here are a few little things about daily life in Bangladesh....

-- The power goes out all the time! I read about this before coming but had no idea what the reality would be like...well some days the power goes out just as quickly as it is turned back on and other days it'll be out for an hour or more. At AUW you usually don't notice the difference because the generator kicks in shortly after the power goes out. At home while the power is out there's an annoying beeping until the power is returned but at least we have a light and fan in each room that function on the generator. Here's an article about Bangladesh's energy instability in the Daily Star, a local newspaper in Dhaka.

-- Don't drink the water!! I knew this beforehand and have done this when traveling in Egypt and Turkey but forgot how hard it can be to not open your mouth while in the shower (bad habit #1 to break!) or not to rinse your toothbrush with the tap water by accident. We're very lucky that AUW delivers water jugs to our rooms. Supposedly it will eventually be on a schedule but right now we seem to run out of water before getting a new jug...surely this will work itself out. Luckily our apartment has somehow timed it, so far at least, that we run out of water the same day new water is delivered.

(My extreme measures to make sure I don't drink the water by accident - notice the duct tape on the cold water knob -- that way I have to think about turning on the water since I don't usually use hot water)

-- There are bugs. Cockroaches are to be expected and I'm surprised/thankful there aren't more. We've had two big ones in our apartment so far...which we happened to name - Crunch and Phillip. One of them is dead -- I made a man from the apartment complex kill it when it appeared on my bathroom mirror while they were in our apartment working on the powerbox. As expected I'm covered in mosquito bites...the first few didn't swell up like usual but the other day at school one attacked my arm and they've all swollen up.

-- People stare/are curious. It's like we have a megaphone announcing our presence wherever we go -- van ride to AUW, shopping, crossing the street, etc. Men just start staring from miles away. When in the van we're an odd site so it's no wonder men stare -- we have a Bangladeshi woman driver, which to have a woman driver is an oddity in itself! then they see the van full of white woman and it's really weird! so they stare even more. Today we went shopping in a cute little shopping complex with about 10 stores all selling shalwar kameez outfits/jewelry/some household decorations. While in one store trying on a few outfits, the entire staff (about 12 men and 1 woman) were all staring at me and asking questions (Where are you from, What are you doing here, How long have you been here) and giving their opinion about how I looked in the shalwar kameez...and giggling when I went back into the dressing room. When I went to the neurologist the other day for my vertigo problems one of the women working at the office came and started talking to Pam (a nurse from AUW) and I, asking us all the usual questions. She was so interested and curious about us.

TANGENT -- My visit to the neuro cost approximately $6, yes $6! and he prescribed me 2 medications for vertigo (that hopefully start working soon) and I paid about $1.30 for a 10 day supply! crazy, huh? A massage or two is looking like a good investment in the hopes of aiding my relief of vertigo!

-- Overpopulation...is an understatement. I've never seen so many people in my life. The streets are packed with pedestrians, CNGs, rickshaws, and cars. However, stores and restaurants are very scarce and it's a wonder how they stay afloat.

-- Bangladeshis are crazy drivers. It's not like Germany where it was organized chaos or in the States where nobody really knows what they're doing/are preoccupied with their phones. No, after riding in a CNG today I'm even more scared for my life as a pedestrian on the streets. Bangladeshis supposedly drive on the "opposite" side of the road like the British but in reality they drive wherever their vehicle will fit - middle of the road, right side of the road, ditches, etc. In some parts of town the two sides are separated by a physical barrier (usually a small brick wall, 2 or 3 bricks high) but most of the time it's a free-for-all, wide-open road. There are no sidewalks here so walking around is a bit of a dizzying situation - dodging ditches/mud/trash piles, feeling the breeze from rickshaws and CNGs zooming around you, and constant honking. You just have to walk with a purpose and hope nobody hits you!! Our CNG ride this evening took us through a part of town I've never seen - side roads that our AUW van would never be able to fit down. The side road was lined with small shops and lots of people and full of ditches! ouch!

Traffic jam on our way home from the Chittagong Club (a members-only club). It took us almost 2 hours to get home....it took us about 20-30 minutes to get there.

My first CNG ride at night!

Below are a few more pictures from the past few days and I've also added more to the picasa album.

The group of volunteers with Omar, Director of Operations at AUW, and his wife at the Chittagong Club

AUW

Karin, Shahirah, and I at the Teacher/Volunteer Tea - they have tea twice a day - 10:00 and 4:00

The group celebrating Calynn's birthday at Tava - a swanky restaurant across the street from our apartment. They have a Chinese, Thai, and Indian menu in one. You can purchase a main course, naan bread, and a drink for about $6

My name in Bangla!! We're taking language classes as part of our orientation....I wish I could say I wrote this myself but Mirah, our table's teacher, wrote this for me. Languages have never been my strong point...

Welcome to Bangladesh

2010-08-09T17:33:00.006+02:00

Hi everyone! So it's been a long, busy, exciting, overwhelming, sometimes nerve wrecking few days since arriving in Bangladesh (I can't believe it's only been 5 days!!). There's so much to say but I'll keep it short! Bangladesh is so exciting, new, and different for me and it's even more intriguing because I tried to not have too many expectations (or do too much research) before coming on this trip so I wouldn't be disappointed or upset or expect something to be one way only to find out it's something totally different. Everyday there's something new to see, do, and experience. The almost hour long van ride from the airport was a great introduction to the country. Cars, traffic, honking, cows in the street, people pulling carts amidst all the traffic, lots of staring, street vendors, and an abundance of lush green vegetation!

A little bit about what I'll be doing for the next year... I'll be working through WorldTeach at the Asian University for Women with a few roles:
- teacher at the Access Academy (a pre-University school to improve the students English skills and prepare them for college coursework) - I'm planning on teaching a class on Business Leadership (pending approval still)
- teaching assistant in a university writing seminar class
- business teacher for the women's chamber of commerce in the local community

I'm really excited about this new and different opportunity. I love traveling and living abroad and after living in Germany I was ready for something a little different. I really wanted to be able to get more involved in the community and make a difference in the country I was living, so this seems like a terrific opportunity to accomplish all of the above plus a lot more! We'll also be able to do a considerable amount of traveling on our breaks thanks to a travel stipend from the university (details are still a little fuzzy). The travel stipend supports travel to countries where our students are from, which covers about 14 countries around Asia (Pakistan, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, etc.)

Here are a few pictures from the first few days! and as always a few more pictures here

Van ride from the Chittagong airport to our apartment! aka new home for the upcoming year :)

Rickshaws are everywhere! and people sit on top of everything whether it's being carried on a rickshaw, van, bus, etc.

This picture is for mom - probably the lightest I've ever packed in my entire life!! One 50lb suitcase, a laptop bag, and a half-empty hiking backpack

View of Bangladesh from my bedroom window :)

Sunset view from my bedroom! :)

Lunch at a local restaurant (Calynn, Jess (our Field Director), me, and Katie)

My first Shalwar Kameez! I bought two outfits from Aarong, a fair trade store down the street from our field director's apartment complex where our first few days of orientation were held

Street view from the rooftop of our apartment

Lots of driving...

2010-07-31T04:53:00.009+02:00

Well, it's been a while since I last blogged...here are some pictures from the last few months in Georgia and my whirlwind trip around VA to see friends in DC and Newport News. More info on my new move in the next blog :)

Memorial Day Weekend -- Finally got my water camera developed - here's a cute picture of Dena and I floating down the Ichetucknee

June 11-15, 2010 -- Natalie and Martin's Wedding Reception in Atlanta
Natalie and Martin were married in December in Munich, Germany but friends and family from the US could not all make it, so this reception was to celebrate with friends/family in the US.

Wedding Festivities included:
Day 1: BBQ and lots of corn hole (my new favorite game!)

Day 2: Pemberton Place -- World of Coke and Georgia Aquarium thennnn the Fiesta Wedding Reception

Lisa Marie and I waiting for our tour to start at the World of Coke

3D fun at World of Coke - FIFA exhibit

FIFA exhibit at World of Coke, yes please!

Georgia Aquarium - Behind the Scenes Tour = amazing!!!!

Lisa Marie and I being cute :)

At the Fiesta Wedding Reception (Me, Natalie, Lisa Marie)

Day 3: White Water Rafting down the Ocoee in Tennessee

Our raft...waiting for all the other rafts that got dumped on the FIRST rapid!! geez

still waiting - lots of fun on the rapids to follow our long wait! Great Day!

Day 4: Stone Mountain

Natalie, Lisa Marie, and I after climbing the ropes course!

Natalie, Martin, Lisa Marie, and I riding the train around Stone Mountain after playing a round of putt putt!

4D movie

Following the wedding festivities, Lisa Marie and I drove to Myrtle Beach for some beach time with my parents and mom's family. Then, we drove to GA for a quick tour of downtown Savannah and a day on the beach with Lisa and Les - they were so wonderful and took Lisa Marie and I out on the boat to the St. Catherines island. Then, Lisa Marie had to go back to Connecticut...

4th of July weekend -- Drove to Gainesville to see Dena then down to Palm Beach to visit with my Aunt Rise and Uncle Peter. We had a great holiday weekend catching up and eating tasty coconut shrimp and thai food!

Uncle Peter, Aunt Rise, and I

July 11 - Marcie came to visit! We "watched" the WorldCup Soccer Final, spent some time downtown, and spent lots of time catching up!

Marcie and I, downtown Savannah

July 16 - Last day at Ft. Stewart

Pretty cake, tasty too!

I drove to work on the 16th with my car PACKED! trunk full (above pict), back seat full, passenger seat full! Immediately after work I drove to NC to see Courtney and Kyle! Our first reunion since they left Germany last summer! It'd been way too long but we had a great time hanging out and catching up.

July 23 - 27 -- Whirlwind tour of VA - DC then Newport News

Katy, Marty, and I after a delicious brunch at La Madeleine's

Random sign in Arlington, VA (Bangladesh is everywhere these days!! signs, clothes, etc)...unfortunately I somehow managed to not take any other photos that night...but we had a lot of fun at Riras (an Irish Pub) in Arlington, dancing the night away to the Sugar Buzz Band

Downtown Alexandria/Old Town - waiting for dinner with A*Phis which didnt work out as planned due to the horrible traffic!! but Christy, Julie, and I were able to get together :)

Christina, Amelia, and I at Maggie Moos in Newport News - after eating Mexican, of course!

I met up with Lacey on campus Tuesday morning -- wow, has it changed! 2 new buildings and a few old ones demolished!

Life in the South

2010-06-05T17:22:00.009+02:00

So it's been a while, I apologize. I've been busy busy busy! and loving my new life in GA. Well, making the most of it all at the very least. A few things that have been going on: i'm taking salsa lessons! yes, lacey, a sorority sister, introduced me to salsa dancing when i visited her in columbia, sc and i've been taking lessons ever since!

i've been very grateful for my adopted family and am blessed to have their company at least once a week. we even had a world cup bracket draw party last night! they also took me out on a boat for my 2nd time ever (not counting the touristy boats). we boated out to st. katherine's island, a private island really close to richmond hill. a friend of theirs and i went walking around the island and decided it was time to turn around when we were walking between numerous dead trees uprooted on the sand and then saw a wild boar's skull. but it was a great day on the island - there's something to be said for tendering the boat and wading to the beach and then grilling and tanning all day!

my birthday was in april so dena, a friend from germany, came to visit and celebrate with me. sad that i went from being separated by the pond to being separated by several states...i hate being home but still being so far from everyone (about a 9 hour drive). but i'm really glad dena is close by and that i have my adopted family and salsa! :)

tybee, savannah's beach, recently hosted their annual beach bum parade so joel, a friend, and i went to tybee for the parade and a beach volleyball tournament. here are a few pictures from the past few months.

Dena and I out in Savannah for my birthday :) dinner and drinks at Jazz'd, an awesome tapas lounge in Savannah

We met this guy, Paul, and his friend, Jaime, who are both in the MWR Management trainee program and knew Meg, a lady I worked with in Garmisch...small world!

awesome, awesome, awesome thai food @ Ruan Thai in Savannah

yummmm a birthday isnt complete without a birthday cupcake of course! from Mabel Francis Potter's Cupcake Emporium

Lacey and I in Augusta, GA salsa dancing for the first time in my life...Lacey was a pro!

Jen, Lacey, and I salsa dancing

on to the beach bum parade on tybee....as we were driving onto the island there were signs warning us: "Water Fight Ahead....Lock Your Windows and Doors"

This is serious business...so serious that Joel had bought water guns but they weren't powerful enough so we threw them away and bought the serious, big timer pumps! people were ruthless!! opening car doors if they weren't locked (hey, they were warned to lock their doors) and lots of people had truck beds with pools full of water....ICE water! brrrr I have more pictures but they're on a water camera still to be developed...

hello tybee island and the beach :)

awesome breakfast @ The Breakfast Club on Tybee Island - numerous omelet options and other tasty breakfast items

Beach volleybal! yay! this made my heart happy! the men were especially great! it was an interesting dynamic to watch the older men play against the younger guys and the differences in attitude and casualness of the game. the older men were definitely more relaxed and the younger guys wanted everything called and to be played by the books....of course, only when it was in their favor...

awesome, awesome, AWESOME shrimp tempura from Bento Cafe in Gainesville when I went to visit Dena. We had a really great Memorial Day weekend hanging out... tubing down the ichetucknee, jazz concert downtown (to include being cussed out by an old man for talking...never mind the fact that everyone in the park was talking!!), tanning/burning/relaxing on the beach at ponte vedra, and enjoying the nightlife in gainesville (hello cheap tab!!) GREAT weekend :-D

Sweet Savannah

2010-04-11T16:11:00.008+02:00

April 2 - 5, 2010 Easter Weekend in Savannah with Mom :)

On the waterfront

All sorts of things, including this cute lil guy, for sale at the 1st Saturday market on River Street

One of a gazillion wedding parties we saw in Savannah! Hello Wedding Season :)

At the SCAD International Festival - talk about awesome ethnic foods for cheap prices :) and numerous vendors with hand crafted arts and live music and everything else to make for a great Saturday!

Just another house downtown

I love spring in Savannah!

Gullah man making a rose from a palm tree leaf....with his eyes closed!!

eyes closed and behind his back....

finished in 30 seconds flat!

finishing touches

loooove this house!

beautiful!

beautiful flowers everywhere!

Savannah

2010-03-08T01:37:00.007+01:00

March 7, 2010 Well, I'm going to skip around a little bit - I was getting antsy to go through my Savannah pictures so here are a few pictures from my last few weekends in Savannah, Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island!

River Street, Savannah

Talmadge Memorial Bridge

The Thomas Gamble Building

One of 24 squares in Savannah!

Inside Vinnie Van Go Gos - Savannah's Best Pizza

Leopold's - Best Ice Cream ever!

Girl Scout Mecca!

Fort Pulaski

Fort Pulaski's Lighthouse

Downtown Savannah

River Street, Savannah

One of many shops along River Street

Savannah Cotton Exchange

Downtown Savannah

Horse Carriage rides around town, waiting in City Market

Tybee Island, Savannah's Beach

Night in an Igloo

2010-03-08T01:26:00.004+01:00

March 7, 2010 Wow! So I'm finally getting settled in here in Georgia and thinking about all the great trips I took before coming back to the States! There are so many trips that I took that I never even blogged about but I did always try to throw a few pictures on here from my bigger trips. Well, here are a few pictures from an awesome and very unique experience -- spending the night in an igloo!! Matt and I spent the night in an igloo one of my last weeks in Garmisch and yes, the igloo was in Garmisch at the top of the Zugspitze of course! More pictures to come from Turkey and Cappadocia, Christmas Market road trip, Switzerland and my new home, Savannah!

Night in the Zugspitze Iglu Dorf -- January 25, 2010

Me at the top of the Zugspitze

The valley....Garmisch is down there!! :)

Outside the igloo entrance

Inside the igloo - all the rooms were decorated with different themes!

Another room

Night time up on the Zugspitze

Dining tables! and the awesome Swiss Cheese Fondue!!! mmmm-azing

Snowy Homecoming

2010-02-08T01:33:00.007+01:00

February 5-6, 2010 Yes, it took 2 days to get home from Munich....if it had been up to mom and I it would have been 3 or 4 days before we made it home! Here's how the trip went....Matt and I left Garmisch Wednesday afternoon and made our way to Erding. All day Thursday was spent relaxing at Therme Erding, the world's largest spa/sauna facility! Upon arriving at the airport Friday morning and waiting in line/distributing stuff between my many, many bags (all within the allowance since I had travel orders!!) I then made it to the front of the line only to be told (what I thought was a joke at first) that my flight to Dulles had been canceled and I should hurry upstairs to determine an alternate plan. Well, after talking to my mom (on lufthansa's dime) and confusing the heck out of the nice lady who was helping me, we finally found two flights - both with a final destination of Richmond, VA. (Leading up to this I had given her a sheet with a list of all possible airports in VA - Richmond was the only one with a flight that hadn't been canceled - if it weren't for Richmond I would have been stuck in Munich til Monday or Tuesday!!) Thank goodness the flight that had a stopover in Toronto arrived in Richmond earlier than the other flight, otherwise I might have chosen the NJ stopover flight and still be stuck in Newark, New Jersey because all flights out of NJ were canceled after I left Munich. So the flights were fine minus the fact that small planes (2 seats by 2 seats) are never fun to fly on and we landed in Richmond in a rainy/slushy/cold mess! Before I even picked up my luggage there were mom and dad (what a weird airport!) so we went to grab my baggage and I was then informed how bad the roads were and that we were spending the night in Richmond for the night and maybe the following night before making our way home.

So the next day (Saturday, February 6) we had a slow start leaving the hotel because we were watching the weather channel for an hour and then went to the lobby to do some research online and look at the interstate cameras (which showed bad road conditions!!). Despite seeing all the accidents and weather forecasts on the weather channel and seeing the live traffic cams that all suggested we wait at least another day before driving, dad decided we could make the drive home. A crazy drive it was....mom gave me her ipod touch to play games and distract me from the craziness/heart attack waiting to happen! The roads were barely scraped in a lot of places, most parts of the interstate only had one lane open and when there were two lanes the tracks were so close to each other that one little mistake and it would have been pretty nasty! After driving for almost 3 hours (on a drive that usually takes 1-1.5 hours in good weather) we were finally 6 miles from our exit when we came to a dead halt! After calling a friend who can see the interstate from her house we found out that there was an accident on the exit ramp we needed to take! Back in December when VA got the other big snow there was also an accident in the same place on the interstate and they were stuck there for 13 hours before the accident was cleared up! However, after the accident was cleared up the cars were still stuck because so much snow had accumulated between the parked vehicles. Lucky for us we only sat in the traffic for an hour before moving ever so slightly, just enough to get us to a police cross through, allowing us to hop on 81S to go back to the last exit and take the secondary roads home. Some of the secondary roads were in better shape than parts of the interstate (certain counties don't spend the money to plow the roads and the interstate through those counties were the worst!!). When we made it to our back roads they hadn't been plowed at all....and those last 3 miles home were probably the craziest/scariest part of our trip home! There was about 24-28 inches of snow and we could tell a truck or two had ventured down the road leaving us a path, kind of. With some slipping and sliding (less than I thought we'd have) we finally made it to our driveway, which obviously hadn't been plowed at all....Dad just gunned it down the driveway and plowed his own path! HOME! Finally. 4 hours later (remember this is only a 1.5 hour drive normally). Well, once inside we discovered that the power was out.....we were without power for about 3 hours - thank goodness for the generator to get things warm and working! *Surprisingly we didnt see any accidents happen on our way home! but when mom and I went out today (since dad plowed all the roads) we saw an accident happen - the guy just got sucked into the shoulder into the pile of snow)

64 West...dismal road conditions!

the accident on 81N we sat in for an hour before turning around on 81S and taking secondary roads home

Back roads to our house.....insane! 24-28 inches of snow!!

The next day mom and I walked around to photograph the beautiful snow - this one was taken from the safety of our front porch! The spruce tree was our family Christmas tree in 1990.

We were able to walk down the driveway after dad plowed all the snow!

Brunch and Grandma's Cafe

2010-01-10T16:38:00.004+01:00

January 10, 2010 Today I got to hang out with some really great people that I don't get to see too often or hang out with too often. Natalie and Martin came into town and we went to Mukkefuck for brunch. Everyone always raves about the potato pancakes from here that you can only get til 1300, so I felt as though I had to try the "Rosti" with bacon, tomatoes, and corn. It was ok....it was a little greasy and the toppings were not as complementary as the apple sauce you usually find paired with the potato pancakes. but! it came with a wonderful, delicious side salad and I looove Mukkefuck's house salad dressing....and the side salad was big enough to be an entree by itself! Bonnie and I also shared their potato soup, which was ok but not as good as Zum Wild's potato soup! After lunch, Natalie, Martin, Andrea, Sarah, and I walked through the Marienplatz to go to Aran for a coffee/chai tea, however they were closed....gotta love Sundays in Europe. So we went to "Grandma's Cafe" also called the Konditorei. It's great - I've always walked past here and wanted to go in, so finally I can check this off my list of things to do before I leave. We all ordered a piece of cake...I got the "Tag und Nacht torte" which was a delicious chocolate layered cake with rum flavored layers in between the chocolate cake! mmmm delicious! To drink they had all sorts of flavored shots you could order with your latte macchiato or cappuccino so I ordered my favorite flavor, coconut latte macchiato - it was absolutely delicious! I've never seen that before but I guess it makes sense...caramel latte macchiato. Well, here's a few pictures from the day - to include my wonderful thank you gift from Natalie and Martin....not only is the box totally precious but the chocolates look amazing!!! and they're from Dallmayr, the oldest chocolatiere/coffee store in Munich!

Natalie, Sarah, Me, and Andrea at Konditorei Cafe

The amazing chocolates from Natalie and Martin

The cute box the chocolates came in

The cute card from Natalie and Martin

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T22:06:00.003+01:00

Happy New Year, again!!! Here's a video from New Year's Eve at the War Memorial, above Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T20:11:00.003+01:00

January 2-3, 2010 Well, it's the first post of the New Year! and what a great three days it's been so far!! Matt and I stayed in Garmisch for New Years and it may have been the best New Years ever! I took New Year's Eve off and we relaxed all day and then went to the War Memorial (above the city) with some of Matt's friends to set off lots and lots of fireworks that they bought in Belgium. We could hear the live band down on the Marienplatz but we had the best view of the city as we could see the entire valley and every firework that was set up! This was absolutely amazing and it was such clear night with a full moon!! What a great night!! On the first we went to the Eibsee to walk around but the path wasn't in great condition, it was very icy!, so we walked part of the way around and then went back and walked the other way so I could take a few pictures of the Eibsee behind the lake. Most of the lake was frozen and there were some other Americans down by the lake throwing pieces of ice across the ice making a high pitch noise (not as a dreadful as it sounds - it was pretty cool!). Saturday morning we woke up early to go to the SPAAAAAAA, my favorite place in the whole wide world!!! This is one place I will probably miss the most in Europe!!! For 38 euros (34 if you go on a weekday!) you can spend the entire day at the spa featuring scrubs and masks every 1/2 hour in more than 20 saunas! It's Europe's (maybe the World's?) largest Sauna Paradise! Talk about total pampering! and they have really great Swimming Pools (a coconut drink!) at the swim up bar!! in the buff :) Then, today, Sunday, Matt and I got an early start and went on the Sandeman's Free Walking Tour of Munich. Talk about COLD!!!! It was sooo cold! Way colder than GAP was on New Year's Eve! but it was really fun! The tour guides through this program are always so funny and great because they are working for tips and they're living in the city because they love it! So it was a good morning. Then we were able to meet up with Natalie and Martin and eat at the Augustiner Brewery! Well, I'd post some pictures but I haven't had a chance to get them off my memory cards and onto the laptop.....and my laptop is almost full (with pictures), again....ugh! Pictures and maybe a video or two to follow later! Happy New Year!!!!

Pros/Cons of Traveling By Yourself

2009-12-28T15:05:00.006+01:00

OK. As mentioned in my last entry I said I would make a short list of the pros and cons of traveling by yourself.

Pros:
- You set your own schedule.
- You can focus on what you want to do - take pictures, shop, go to museums, etc. and nobody is going to wine or hurry you up.
- You will (or maybe not) see more than you would with someone else because you are moving at your own pace.
- You most likely will meet more people - at the hostel, restaurants, etc. I've found that people (especially other solo travelers) are more likely to approach you and strike up a conversation when you're also solo than if you're traveling with someone else.
- You never know how someone else travels or if you'll get along with them. Just because you're BFF with someone doesn't mean you'll travel well together! So traveling by yourself avoids possible conflicts or disagreements.

Cons:
- There's nobody to watch your back or your stuff if you just need to go to the restroom really quick.
- There's nobody to share food (or other things) with! I love trying local foods or in general, trying different things. When traveling with someone else you can each buy one thing and then share or sometimes there are certain tickets, excursions, or accommodations that can be split between two people lowering the cost.
- Sometimes it can be lonely if it's a longer trip and you don't have anyone to talk to.
- Eating by yourself isn't always fun but sometimes you can grab a sandwich or wurst and walk around while eating! Also, people watching can be really fun if you're eating by yourself.

I'm sure there are other pros/cons but these are just a few I thought of on my last solo trip so I jotted them down in my travel notebook for this blog entry. Hope these last two entries help with your travel plans!

Travel Tips

2009-12-28T13:50:00.005+01:00

As my time winds down here in Germany I wanted to share some advice I've learned from traveling Europe for the past 2 years. I also want to make sure I don't forget all of these "insider" tips when I leave here!! Just remember that these tips come from my personal experiences, each person is different and may prefer different things (how's that for a disclaimer?).

For cheap flights:
- kayak.com -- if you click on the link for more and go to 'buzz' you can do unique searches to find out when you can go to a destination for the lowest cost or if you don't really know where you want to go you can do a search by areas (or worldwide) for cheap flights

- lufthansa.com -- dont be intimidated by big name airlines! They usually offer great specials. Lufthansa has a 'Top Offers' link where you can see all flight deals (99 euros!) from a certain airport. I also love a newer feature called "No need to look - just book!" This feature will show you specials from airports near you for upcoming weekends (usually 4 weekends at a time).

For cheap accommodations:
- Hostels -- hostels are anywhere and everywhere (almost) and offer a range of accommodations. Some are nicer than others and some offer more than others so you can usually find something close to what you're looking for. One catch is that prices are per person and there are booking fees! After finding a hostel you like on the hostelworld.com website do a google search and changes are good that the hostel has an independent website. From there you can contact the hostel directly via email or phone and book a room to avoid processing/handling fees. Hostels can also be a great way to meet other people (usually under the age of 30) who are traveling and sightseeing just like you! Depending on the city you can sometimes find a Bed&Breakfast or hotel that would be cheaper if you're splitting the cost with at least one other person. For example, if the hostel is going to cost 30 euros/person you could probably find a B&B for 60 euros, which would be the same price for nicer accommodations (in most cases!).

- Couchsurfing -- couchsurfing is an interesting concept....you spend the night on a "strangers" couch for free! Granted it's nice to take a bottle of wine or cook your host dinner or something but in essence it's free! I've done this a few times and some of my hosts I loved, others I didn't care too much for. It can be a great way to meet and interact with a local and live like a local while traveling.

- Bed & Breakfast -- I've used this site sometimes but it's not a comprehensive list and you can usually find more options by doing a basic google search for bed & breakfasts in your destination city. Bed and Breakfasts offer quaint accommodations usually including breakfast, hence the name. :) This type of accommodation is a little more homey than hostels and hotels because you are staying in someone's house or their fixed up house that they rent out - sometimes the B&B is attached the owner's home.

Handy Tips and Tricks:
- If it's a short trip try to only pack a carry-on bag so when you arrive at your destination you don't have to waste time waiting for your bag(s)! This is also a good idea in case your luggage is lost!!

- Currency Exchange Cheat Sheets!! These are sooo, oh so, helpful when traveling to a country that uses a different currency than you are used to. They are small (about the size of a credit card) and provide a quick reference of local currency to your home currency. It also reverses the exchange rates so you can see destination currency converted into home currency as well as home currency converted into the destination currency.

- Ask about transportation cards. For example, in Bavaria you can buy a single ticket for 19 euros and go anywhere in Bavaria, hop on and off the train, etc. for the entire day or for up to 5 people you can share one ticket and do the same thing for 27 euros. Many cities have transportation cards that allow 10 rides on the metro or something similar. *I just learned about the "Schones-Wochenende" pass today on our Free Walking Tour in Munich....I've never used this but it just goes to show how many great train specials there are throughout Europe!

- FREE Walking Tours. These aren't in too many cities (yet!) but they are so great! It's a great way to get a quick (3 hour) history of the city and have someone navigate through the streets for you and show you all the highlights! A similar tour would cost you at least $40/50+ but these tour guides are people who are in love with city and share that with tour groups for tips only (whatever you have or want to give).

- Maps! These are my favorite maps as they tell you lots of great insider tips about the city, including great ways to see the city for free (i.e. in Brussels the map told us to go to the top of a parking garage for the best views over the entire city - for free!)! Unfortunately there aren't too many city maps yet but it looks like they're in the process of creating more!

- If you have a student ID card always travel with it! So many places offer discounts for students! I wish I could tell you how much money my student ID card has saved me when traveling!

- Don't worry about exchanging money before you leave although if possible it might be handy to have at least $5 or $10 in the local currency to cover the costs of a bus/train from the airport into the city. After you arrive in the city you can find ATMs everywhere and 9 times out of 10 you'll get a better exchange rate in the local city than you would have from home.

- Do your research! If you don't, you'll never know what the pros/cons are of a city and what to be on the lookout for.

- Go during the off season. Accomodations will be cheaper, some restaurants will be cheaper, and sites will be less crowded with tourists. March-early May and September are great months to travel Europe!

- Go to the touristy cities but also look for less touristy cities close by. Some of greatest treasures of Europe are the small, off the map cities! You're more likely to have a local experience as well as have a more relaxed trip.

- Don't be afraid to travel by yourself. Yes, be cautious, smart, and aware but don't be so scared to travel by yourself that you end up going nowhere. I've gone on a few big trips by myself - Paris, Bucharest (Romania), Helsinki (Finland), and Tallinn (Estonia), as well as a few smaller, day trips and have had a great time each time! Yes, it's different traveling by yourself but it doesn't have to be bad (I think my next blog entry will cover the pros/cons of traveling by yourself - stay tuned!).

- Have a master packing list handy at all times so you don't forget the essentials! I've had a piece of paper with my master list for the 2 years I've been over here. Every time I go to pack my backpack I grab the list and run through it to make sure I'm not missing anything. I've also included special sections listing things I like to take if I'm going camping, going to the spa, flying, driving, etc. So depending on how much you'll be traveling, what type of traveling you'll be doing, and where you'll be traveling to, you can have specialized packing lists.

- Plan ahead. Yes, sometimes you can find last minute specials but for the most part if you wait until the last minute you'll find hotels/hostels that you want to stay at and are in your budget but are fully booked! Again, this depends on what time of season you're traveling.

- Have a plan but be flexible. Sometimes I've arrived at a hostel and found out they offered day excursions and changed my plans completely (although you usually know what the hostel offers by reviewing their website in advance!). or maybe you arrive in a city and find a city guide with local events going on and you'll find something that sounds interesting that you want to try/go to. So with that said, I try to have an idea of what sites I have to see and what sites I'd like to see if I have extra time after seeing the "must see" sites. This allows for some flexibility (including shopping!).

- My favorite time of year in Europe is December!! Why? Because that's when the Christmas Markets come out and you can buy all sorts of local crafts in one place and enjoy a wonderful atmosphere complete with gluhwein or gloggi (hot, spiced wine). There are all sorts of links - here are two I used this past year:
Christmas Markets around the world
Christmas Markets in Germany

- Oh, another favorite site is Whats On When. On this site you can search by what/where/category/dates for events whenever and wherever! This site includes almost every event going on around the world - from Christmas Markets to Running with the Bulls to Art Exhibitions this site will be able to tell you what is going on.

OK. Well, that's it for now. As I think of more tips for traveling/traveling Europe I'll update this entry.

Hello 2010!

2009-12-27T12:56:00.005+01:00

Inspired by Nicole and Kristen's blogs, both girls are AKPsi "brothers" from college and I recently found their blogs thanks to facebook, here are 10 goals for 2010:

1. Find a job. Maybe this isnt so much a goal as a task that has to be completed but I will make a note, mostly to remind myself, that I will not allow myself to get stuck in a job that isn't what I want, like, or need.....I need to be continually challenged, learning new things, inspired, and have a mentor or two to follow/consult.

2. Downsize and build from there. I feel like my life is so full of things that dont mean anything to me - clothes I dont like and dont wear and in general too much of nothing. I came to Germany with 2 suitcases and a backpack and now I have a room full of stuff (that took me and my friends over 6 hours to move from my old room to my new room). So as I prepare to leave here I will leave things that I dont like/dont wear anymore/dont need behind and when I get back to the States I will think more carefully before making impulse buys! There's a thrift store on post and I plan on taking a lot of stuff there! or leaving it in DOS, "Dropped Off Shit," here in the Abrams. Short blurb on DOS - it's great, here in Germany (and maybe other parts of Europe), you can put used items in common areas (for us in the Abrams, people leave things in the hall, in the bathroom, in a special DOS room, etc.) and it might be something someone else would want/need - like a winter coat, or boots, books, etc. It's kind of like a public trash can where your trash becomes someone else's treasure.

3. Be Healthy. Yes, I realize this is a very broad goal and one that everyone makes at the first of the New Year but this is something I sporadically do throughout the year and I'm tired of being on a health roller-coaster - losing and gaining weight, having lots of energy to being dead on my feet....so I want to be more consistent with a workout plan and eating healthy (fewer excuses to eat just one piece of cake or eating just one more of something - which then happens everyday if I let it!). Included in being healthy means taking better care of my skin - this has become a big pet peeve for me lately and when I go home to the States I want to buy better skin care regime products to start taking care of my skin - it is our largest organ after all!

4. Give Back. One thing I've realized living abroad is that I miss that sense of community. I want to get involved in my community, wherever that may be, when i move back to the States. I want to volunteer because not only does it help someone but as a volunteer you also receive an overwhelming feeling of making a difference (and it's free!)

5. Keep in touch. While living in Germany I've had a hard time keeping in touch with friends from home and I've also realized that I've missed out on some great friends. So when I get back to the States I want to nurture these friendships and make up for lost time.

6. Appreciate the little things. Pretty self explanatory but I think sometimes I take advantage of, or overlook, all the wonderful small things that are happening in my life. I also want to give more of these small things/moments for those that mean so much to me.

7. Learn new things. I love learning new things so hopefully it'll be easier to find cheap/free classes/books to learn new things in the States! Included in this, is taking a photography class. I'm most interested in taking travel/landscape pictures but I would also like to learn to take better people pictures and learn more features about my camera. A few other things I'd like to learn more about include cooking, yoga/pilates, fung shui, and graphic design.

8. Remember to not be afraid to do something by myself. It's happened a few times here where nobody has the time off or money to go on a trip, so I've gone by myself and they've all been great for different reasons - either I get to focus on taking great pictures or I meet great people (that probably wouldn't have started a conversation if I had been with someone) or I get to do some quality people watching and reflecting. Alone time in public isn't a bad thing. Sometimes we're all to nervous/ashamed to be by ourselves in public that we miss out by choosing to do nothing rather than going by ourselves, so I hope I remember all the good times I've had on my own these past 2 years and am not afraid to do something by myself when I go back to the States.

9. Continue the adventure. These past 2 years have been such an adventure. I moved here not knowing anybody or even knowing what my job would be. Two years later I've made a few great friends that I know will be in my life for the rest of my life. I've also learned that no matter where I live there will always be something to do/see/visit.

10. Have fun. Go out more. Stay out a little bit later than I normally would. Take things a little less seriously. Laugh more. Smile more (maybe not possible but nonetheless...smile more). Make my life the greatest memory possible.

It seems like a lot and sure, there's a lot more I hope to accomplish in 2010 but this is a start. I really do want to follow these goals and get the most out of this new year. I hope anyone who is reading this has also written down a few goals and finds the inspiration to follow through with their goals. Here's to another great year of life exactly as we make it!

Happy New Year!!

Helsinki and Tallinn

2009-12-26T11:12:00.007+01:00

December 12-15, 2009 Possibly the coldest four days of my life (although I still think Krakow, Poland was colder...) spent in Tallinn , Estonia and Helsinki, Finland. Finland reached a high of -7 degrees Celsius, and a low of -18. Tallinn's high was -12 degrees Celsius and low was -16 degrees Celsius! I bundled up as much as I could -- 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of pants (2 thermal pants then jeans), 2 long sleeve tops then a vest and coat, plus a scarf, gloves and hat at all times!! At one point when I was walking around Suomenlinna island in Helsinki, my scarf had ice crystals on it!!! It was cold! I kept warm by walking around as much as possible and taking frequent breaks in cafes for hot chocolate, gloggi and Christmas cakes and pies!! A few highlights on the trip included seeing The Nutcracker and The King Mouse at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, taking the ferry to Tallinn, seeing both Helsinki and Tallinn's Christmas Markets at night, sea smoke early my last morning in Helsinki, meeting some cool people at the hostels, and in general exploring two new cities! Enjoy the pictures below :)

Tallinn

Mini Snowman in Tallinn

Ice Skating in Tallinn

Tallinn's Christmas Market

Helsinki - check out the ice puzzle pieces! (the building on the water front is the Government Palace and the cupola you see behind it is the top of Lutheran Cathedral)

Sea Smoke on the Baltic Sea - the ferry ride to Suomenlinna was possibly one the best parts of the trips - the sun was rising and there was the most beautiful fog (sea smoke as the locals call it) resting on the sea

more sea smoke as the sun is rising

Walking around Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress, an UNESCO World Heritage site

Another site on the island

Romania!!

2009-11-17T22:23:00.007+01:00

November 14-16, 2009 With the flexibility of my job I was able to celebrate Veteran's Day on Monday and create a 3 day travel weekend. My time was spent in Romania - a beautiful country! I spent 2 days in Bucharest with a day in between in Transylvania. Through my hostel I was able to take a day tour to Peles Castle, "Dracula's Castle" also known as Bran Castle, and a traditional Transylvanian town, Brasov. It would have been impossible to connect these three locations in one day via the train so I was very lucky that I had read about this excursion on the hostel's website. Below are a few of my favorite pictures from my trip....enjoy.

Palace of Parliament....the world's second largest building by surface area (after the US Pentagon)

Streets of Bucharest

Bank in downtown Bucharest

Peles Castle

Brasov, Transylvania

Hay Stacks, my favorite!!! at the Village Museum in Bucharest

one of the many houses at the Village Museum depicting the various lifestyles of Romanians

Leaves...women were raking leaves throughout the park and the Village Museum and gathering them in baskets or bags

Unirii Square, Buchrest

Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro

2009-11-10T21:31:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since Matt and I went our trip through the Balkan Peninsula but here are a few more pictures to glance through....and by a few I mean 150 out of 1800!!

Plitvice Lakes National Park from above...before we hiked down into the gorge

Walkway at the Plitvice Lakes National Park

Downtown Sarajevo

Island in Bay of Kotor

Boats in Bol, Croatia

Boat ride from Bol to Hvar

More Pictures

Wilson goes to New Zealand

2009-11-10T17:45:00.006+01:00

For the second year in a row I am proud to report that the Human Resources' pumpkin has won! Last year we won "Most Creative" and this year we won 2nd place...Custodial won a well deserved first place. The inspiration behind this year's pumpkin design is thanks to Accounting. I saw their pumpkin before we had even thought about a design and it was very creative. Going off of last year's set up I thought, ok, they have a creative pumpkin we'll go for first place in the scary category hence the scary aztec/maori chimpanzee. After it got dark outside we had a red glow stick inside!! very creepy! The name "Wilson goes to New Zealand" came from a comment someone made saying our pumpkin looked like Wilson from Castaway....add the Maori designs and you have "Wilson goes to New Zealand." I'm glad we carved a pumpkin this year because I discovered it can be fun and easy when you have the right tools. Not only did someone else gut the pumpkin this year but we had real pumpkin carving tools instead of kitchen knives. This year was also a lot warmer outside -- last year my hands were numb by the time I had finished gutting the pumpkin but this year we were outside with just long sleeve tops on.

The 2009 Edelweiss Lodge and Resort 2nd place pumpkin

The pumpkin and I

Last year's pumpkin, "The House of HRO," Most Creative Pumpkin
*photo courtesy of my dear friend Courtney*

Day Trip to Switzerland

2009-11-09T12:28:00.003+01:00

November 8, 2009 Jennifer, Megan, Mike and I went on a day trip to Saint Gallen, Switzerland. On our way back we stopped at the Bodensee. It's so weird being able to take a day trip to a different country and as a result sometimes you don't think about needing to travel with your passport! Luckily we were waved through at border control, whew!

The girls with the Berlin Bear in the Parking Garage

Baby Bear!!!

St. Gallen

Fall :)

Delicious Chocolate Mousse

Weird Spaghetti Chocolate...we never could place the taste

Door handle to the Cathedral

Another Cathedral with a tiled roof

The Bodensee

On the path to the water front

Pumpkin Fest

2009-11-07T09:55:00.003+01:00

September 26, 2009 Every September and October there is an annual Pumpkin Fest in Ludwigsburg, just north of Stuttgart. After going last year and having such a great trip with Lisa Marie I marked my calendar months in advance to make sure I went again this year. Of course, a trip to the Pumpkin Festival is not complete without a stop at the Riter Sport Chocolate Factory and the Stuttgart Base for some American shopping and eating!

Riter Sport Chocolate Factory....The Store! Renovated and way bigger than last year!

Pumpkin Fest! This year's theme was "Fairytales"....last year's theme was space/zodiac signs...check out that Giant!...Jack and the Beanstalk, I think

Mouse and cheese round made out of pumpkins!

Dragon and his slayor....I found out that day that I'm not so knowledgeable about fairy tales

Mother Goose

Pippi Long Stockings

Cinderella

Hansel and Grettel

Bayern Munchen Soccer Game

2009-11-07T09:25:00.005+01:00

September 22, 2009 Martin, Natalie's boyfriend, bought us tickets to a Bayern Munchen play off game! I couldn't believe how cheap the tickets were - 30 euros! and we had amazing seats!!! 5th row on the corner of the home goal! Great seats!! The game was very crowded but luckily there were extra trains running to help get the crowd out of there at the end of the night. The stadium is a "cashless" stadium which is brilliant! We bought a card, put some euros on it and then bought what we needed to and it was fast! It definitely made a huge difference in the food lines. Even if you bought food/drinks from the vendors walking up and down the stairs of the stadium it was quick because they just had to scan your card. Anyway, here are some pictures from the game.

Before the game, walking to the stadium

The game! The field! The stadium!

The girls dressed in red for FC Bayern

The arena changes colors depending on who is playing....Red for Bayern Munich, Blue for 1860 Munich, White for German National Team

Day at the Plansee

2009-10-25T19:49:00.003+01:00

October 25, 2009 Well, after being sick all week I was going stir crazy! Can't say I'm feeling 100% but I had to go somewhere/do something so I drove to the Plansee, a lake in Austria about 30-40 minutes away. The drive was gorgeous....winter might have called but the trees haven't gotten the memo yet and the Plansee was perfect. The fresh air was definitely needed and I got to photograph two of my favorite things - reflections on the water and boats (ok, there was only one boat I liked but still...).

Bodensee and Halfway House

2009-10-24T21:56:00.005+02:00

May 17, 2009 OK. So these pictures go way back...but like I said, I'm a little behind! This was just a random spring/summer day that Matt and I went for a little bike ride to a lake, the Bodensee, close by and then decided we wanted to do something more rigorous so we hiked to the Halfway House, a hut "halfway" up the Kramer mountain....not all that rigorous compared to hiking the entire mountain but still a hike :)

Bodensee

Boat at the Bodensee

View from the Halfway House or St. Martin's Hutte

Historical Walking Tour....Garmisch

2009-10-24T18:44:00.005+02:00

August 24, 2009 The community offers a historical walking tour of Garmisch in the spring and fall....here are some normal sites I "see" everyday...I definitely learned some things about the murals and buildings I pass by everyday...whether I remember all the stories is another thing!

So there's a cluster of three buildings that I've heard were important but never quite knew why....well, here they are...except I somehow did not take a picture of the "Blue House" so I'll have to add that later! but the Blue House is famous because the French stayed there for a few nights before invading Austria (they were planning on staying a few months until the homeowner gave the French soldiers an insider tip on how to easily get around the mountain so the soldiers wouldn't stay there for months as planned). The "Blue House" is now an upscale restaurant! Matt and I wanted to go there to say we had dined there so I took him there for his birthday...next time it's his turn! He ordered a really nice King Prawn dish and I had a Thai Chicken Curry dish - both were delicious! and of course, no meal is complete without a bottle of wine! Next to the "Blue House" there's a yellow building (pictured below)....basically the white building (pictured below) is the brewery and the yellow building is the "braustuberl" or the place you drank the beer...makes sense to put them right next to each other!

Brewery

Restaurant to drink the beer from the brewery (white house)

Barns everywhere in Garmisch....they were here first so the "newcomers" just have to deal with the smells!

Frühlingsstraße....the most photographed street in Garmisch...and just minutes from where I live/work

The murals on this building show the means of mail delivery/transportation through the years. Here they are on the river in 1730

Horse and carriage in 1830

and along came the railway in 1930

cute pun on words...Adam bookstore with a mural of Adam and Eve....you can't see it in this picture but there's also a unicorn in the mural! Adam and Eve meets fairytale!

At the Richard Strauss Festival in 2001 this statute was presented as a tribune to "The Women in the Operas of Richard Strauss" ....Daphne, Elektra, and Salome

The evening of the walking tour coincided with King Ludwig's Birthday, August 24th. Every year there are fires on the mountain to celebrate his birthday....there are fires on the mountains for other occasions throughout the year as well! This fire shaped like a crown was on the mountain seen in Oberammergau, a town 20 minutes away.

Pretty Mountains

2009-10-24T17:49:00.008+02:00

August 26, 2009 Not much here except the mountains never cease to amaze me....I have millions of pictures of the Alpspitze and Zugspitze...clouds, snow, sun - they're always stunning! Here are two I took one morning from my office terrace that maybe by next summer we will have convinced someone to turn into a beach with a bar and a cabana boy!

Alpspitze...if you click on this picture it gets large enough to see the cross at the top of the summit

The alps...right in my back yard!

Kurpark

2009-10-24T13:09:00.009+02:00

August 30, 2009 Well....I'm a bit, ok wayyyyy, behind on posting pictures and stories from my adventures....

Here are some pictures from a random afternoon in the Kurpark....back when it was warm!! After Matt and I were done being kids playing in the water, walking through the foot path and running around the grass maze we stretched out on a big blanket and shared a bottle of wine before biking back home.

cute kid

water wheel....where it all starts...there's a little section of water (ice cold water) that you walk through before walking along the foot path

There's a path for your senses... you walk around this big loop barefoot and feel all the different textures!

more textures

and more...

a maze that Matt and I and all the other kids in the park were running around on!

A

Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro

2009-09-19T16:57:00.018+02:00

September 4-14, 2009 Matt and I took the most amazing road trip through Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro...traveling through the inland first and up the coast as we worked our way back to Garmisch. Here's a quick breakdown of our trip's itinerary:

Day 1 (4th): Drove from Garmisch to Plitvice Lakes National Park. It was raining the entire drive luckily once we arrived at the campsite the "receptionist," who worked in a small building in the middle of the road, so kindly let us know that it was only 1 euro more to get a bungalow (compared to the price of 2 people, a tent and a car) for the night. So, we stayed in a bungalow versus putting up our tent in the dark and rain!

Bungalow means 2 cots and a roof ....bathroom was on the other side of the campsite

Day 2 (5th): Still raining....BUT as soon as we set foot in the park it stopped raining, the sun came out and it turned out to be a hot day! After exploring the National Park we drove to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). We had some trouble crossing the border...the guards kept saying we needed a green card and I kept telling them we were American citizens....come to find out a "Green Card" is an International Insurance Card that just so happens to be green....1/2 hour later we were on our way!

Matt and I overlooking the lower and upper lakes

Looking down on the trail we had walked along several hours earlier..we spent about 6 hours walking around the National Park

Day 3 (6th): Train from Mostar to Sarajevo! and exploring Mostar at night. We got an early start to go to the train station but we still ended up running around...basically we didn't have any local currency yet because the one ATM we saw on our way from the hotel to the train station was broke and the train station didn't accept credit cards nor would she take our euros. So, we went to the bus station and convinced that lady to exchange us some money - she just estimated how much our euro was worth and gave us some Convertible Marks. We then ran back to the train station teller, bought our ticket and caught the train 5 minutes later! YAY for the Bus lady who acted as a bank teller that morning!

Hay stacks and houses scattered along our train ride

Nothing better to do on a Sunday than play chess....and tell others how to play! :)

Sarajevo Rose...

Typical building in Sarajevo

The Holiday Inn...where reporters stayed during the war

The Stari Most or "Old Bridge" in Mostar...one of my favorite sites!!!

Day 4 (7th): Explored Mostar, got lost while trying to leave BiH; spent the night in a "sobe." A sobe is a room that an individual rents out of their home -- we paid 40 euros for a spectacular room and view!!

exploring Mostar during the day

Day 5 (8th): Drove to Kotor Bay, Montenegro.

We were able to see Dubrovnik from the road on our drive to Kotor

The Bay of Kotor -- view from our villa!

Day 6 (9th): Explored Kotor then drove to Dubrovnik and had our first date night! During date night I might have admitted that Matt's beard was growing on me...

The wall surrounding Kotor

There's a fortress creeping up the mountain that protects Kotor beyond the wall

Me at the top of the fortress!

Spectacular views of Kotor and the Bay from the fortress

Date night in Dubrovnik

Day 7 (10th): Explored Dubrovnik, walked around the city wall, drove to the island of Hvar. We didn't know what time the ferry left, we just knew it left every hour or so. Well, when we arrived in the town of Drvenik we could see the ferry....it was getting ready to leave in 5 minutes!! Perfect timing! So we hurried up, bought our ticket and sped onto the ferry.

The view from the wall around Dubrovnik

On the ferry to Hvar

Sunset over the Dalmatian islands

Day 8 (11th): Took a day excursion using our 'change money' to the island of Brac with the famous beach, Zlatni Rat! (I hate coins so I always put them in a jar and cash it in when it's full, Matt does the same - so just before our trip we both cashed in our jars and decided that money would be spent on a fun day! so this was it) We hopped on a boat in the Hvar town harbor and relaxed on a beach chair on the upper deck of the boat while we made our way to the island of Brac, next to Hvar. Once we arrived on the island of Brac I drug Matt on a speed walk to the beach (about 20 minutes! we didn't see people from our boat until 10 minutes later...). We then enjoyed a day on the beach and swimming around! Even though it was a little windy and the water was a little chilly it was picturesque and relaxing! When we got back to Hvar we ate at a nice restaurant in the main square with the cathedral and finished our night with a complimentary shot of grappa from the owner....ugh! haha

The beach!! :) It changes from day to day depending on the weather

Day 9 (12th): Drove to Split...didn't like it...kept driving to Novigrad (a small town further North). Before we got to Split we had to get off the island of Hvar...let's just sum this experience up by saying we missed the boat twice!! We didn't make it on the first ferry because it was full, so we were told it would be back in an hour and a half so we went to eat lunch. Well, as we were walking back to our car we noticed that there was another ferry and the line of cars was moving...sure enough they had all passed our car and we were stuck in a similar spot in the line as before. Then, 45 minutes or so later another ferry came....we were left to be the first car in line for the next ferry!! So, we had some down time to read magazines and research our upcoming destinations. I guess we weren't in a huge rush but waiting to board a ferry isn't my favorite past time but Matt considered it all worth it for the Hamburger we ate for lunch :-P

We arrived in the small town of Novigrad as the sun was setting and apparently the town was closing down! There is one camp ground in town and we arrived just as they were closing! So, the receptionist rushed through giving us a key and some info on where to eat (the one restaurant that was open!). After setting up our tent we drove back down into town to eat (it wasn't that far but we were hungry and wanted to get there asap!). We enjoyed a delicious pizza (each!) and of course, a liter of wine! Not a day went by on our trip that we didn't drink at least a liter of wine! Lunch and dinner were never complete unless we drank wine! When we returned to the campsite we realized we were never told what the code was to access the site...so I tried to lift the arm barring us from our tent...it didn't work so I told Matt he probably could lift it with his muscles...nope! So we had to call to get the code. Then, about an hour or two after we fell asleep we both laid there wide awake as the tent blew on top of us from the heavy winds and rain! Go figure. Then, I started to get scared and ran various scary movie scenarios through my head...not a good idea!! Let's just say it took a while to fall back asleep and I made sure Matt wasn't going to sleep until I did :)

Split

Boat on the water in Split

Day 10 (13th): Explored Novigrad, drove to Zagreb, date night #2. Even though Zagreb is larger than Split we didn't find it as overwhelming as Split. We also got smart and used the GPS to help us locate a hotel so we weren't aimlessly wandering around the city! We stayed at, in my opinion, the nicest hotel in Zagreb! The Hotel Dubrovnik **** located in the heart of Zagreb on the main square, Ban Jelačić square. We walked around for a little bit, enjoyed a glass of wine (the best of the entire trip!) and an appetizer at a swanky cafe near our hotel then we went back, got ready and had date night number 2 in the hotel's restaurant where I enjoyed my favorite meal of the entire trip, delicious gnocchi in a wine sauce.

The fortress of Novigrad...every town has one apparently... :)

The town of Novigrad

Day 11 (14th): Explored Zagreb and reluctantly drove back to Garmisch.... :(

The "cute street" as I call it or Tkalčićeva Street as locals call it

St. Marco's church with a beautiful mosaic roof

Fest Season!!

2009-08-26T20:36:00.008+02:00

July 25 - August 17, 2009 Leading up to Oktoberfest in September almost all Bavarian towns have their own beer fest. In GAP, Garmisch has their fest first then after a short break Partenkirchen's fest begins. Both fests are similar but also different. Garmischer fest feels more like a party and draws a younger crowd while Partenkirchen fest has more traditional nights with an older/more traditional crowd. Each night has a different theme/entertainment. My favorite at Garmischer fest is the Stone lifting! Men try to lift a 500pound stone! They also have a party band night that plays fun, old songs and everyone stands on the tables and dances...I kept waiting for the table to break! At Partenkirchen fest I went to see the "whippers" as I like to call them - men stand on tables with cow whips and snap them in the air above the crowd's head. There are several different groups that rotate through the night leading up to the grand finale with all of them standing on the tables with their whips (as shown in the video below). Each group of "whippers" has their own accordian player that leads the beat of the whips. There's another night with "finger wrestling." Unfortunately, I didn't make it to that night of fest this year...hopefully next year!

Well, here's some pictuers of me, friends and the tent activities at the two fests.

Traditional bavarian garb called a dirndl - Yes, I bought one this year and I love it!! I feel so much more authentic walking into the beer tents wearing this!

Very traditional -- dirndl plus a maB (that's a liter) of beer! This just happens to be a Martzen, locally brewed by Lowenbrau (oh yeah, did I mention that Garmisch and Partenkirchen serve different beers at their tents....Garmisch serves Lowenbrau, Partenkirchen serves Ettaler (brewed by the monks in Ettal, half hour from Garmisch)

Jennifer and I with our pink dirndls

Kari, Bonnie, Shawnelle and I at Garmischer Fest

It's always a smart idea to reserve a table

Now on to Partenkirchen fest...

What's a beer fest without currywurst and pommes?!

Traditional Bavarian dancing

The Band (not pictured but noted...the same cute tuba player from last year was there again this year....people from Garmisch-Partenkirchen are known to live here their whole lives)

The whips!! He stood on our table later - check out the video below to get an idea of what this night at fest is like

And towards the end of the night people have drank enough beer to want to stand on top of their table and chug a maB of beer...exhibit A

The "Whippers" at Partenkirchen Fest

Traditional Dance at Partenkirchen Fest

MADONNA!!!!

2009-08-20T22:00:00.004+02:00

August 18, 2009 Matt took me to see Madonna in Munich!!!!!!! It was the best concert I've ever been to!!! The concert started at 19.30 with Paul Oakenfold for one hour. After a 40 minute break Madonna finalllly hit the stage with "Candy Shop" off her new CD, Hard Candy :) What made the concert so spectacular was that Paul Oakenfold DJ'd throughout the concert so there wasn't a single quiet moment! He transitioned the beats from song to song and played 2 or 3 of Madonna's songs while she took a break....yeah, no 1/2 hour break or anything! and even when she took a short break you didn't really notice because the dancers were still out there entertaining! We felt like we were in one of Madonna's music videos the entire night! The choregraphics and lights were perfectly synched and continuous! Best concert ever!!!! Thank you Matt :)

Since the olympic stadium was so dark all night it was hard to get many good pictures/videos but here's a few.

Matt and I waiting for the concert to start at the Olypmic Stadium in Munich

Madonna!!

Madonna!!! She was hopping, skipping and dancing around alllll night!!! amazing!

Maddona performing "Give it 2 Me" -- it's two segments of a video pieced together

Hiking the Kramer

2009-08-16T16:35:00.004+02:00

August 15, 2009 The Kramer is a a mountain in my backyard here in Garmisch. It's 1985m tall, which is about 6,512 feet! Yesterday Matt and I ventured towards the top of the mountain to touch the cross....all mountains in Germany have a cross on the peaks! Some mountains have a cable car that will take you to the top but the Kramer does not, so the only way to the peak is to hike up there. It was an awesome hike!! Once you are almost to the top you have to do some climbing, which was a little scary but Matt and some other Americans we ran into helped me through it. We started our hike to the summit via the Stepergalm (alm = hut) and then decended via the halfway house/St. Martin's hut. The views on the decend were amazing - we could see several valleys and mountains that we don't see everyday because they're behind the Kramer. I wish my photos showed how rugged the terrain was towards the top but oh well...I was too focused on not falling down the mountain and dying!! More pictures to follow later! :)

Matt and I at the top!!

That's the "trail" we followed down from the summit

I <3 the Alps!!

2009-08-09T21:25:00.005+02:00

On Saturday Matt and I went hiking through the Hollentalklamm....roughly translated it means Hell's Gorge. Although it wasn't a bad hike at all!!! Once we made it to the "eingang" (start) hut it was easy trekking! It took about an hour to get to the start of the gorge then it was about a 3 hour hike through the gorge to the hut at the end. The views were well worth it!! Here's part of the hike through the gorge. There were many staircases along the edge of the gorge, bridges that crossed over the gorge, as well as tunnels through the mountain. :) More pictures to follow

Hollentalklamm

Blogging addict...Berlin Sneak Peak!!

2009-08-07T21:30:00.008+02:00

Apparently I'm a blogging addict the past few days! I can't help it! :) Well, here are a few, and by a few I mean 11 because that was as far as I could narrow it down, photos from Berlin. Jenn and I were in Belrin July 30 - Aug 2. enjoy :) stories and more photos to follow soon

Memorial to the Murdered Jews

Berliner Dome

Reflection of the Pergamon Museum

Alexanderplatz

Alexanderplatz....remembering when the wall came down 20 years ago

Brandenburg Gate

East Side Gallery....artists are painting sections of the wall

Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate....Pariser Platz