la place:
24.10.08
hmm. well.
may as well keep up the ol' blog, even though i don't think i can be caught dead in my eurotrash shoes in the states.
initial impressions of being home:
-- americans are FATTY SLOBS who dress like shit.
-- as confusing and horrid as it is, i prefer london's mumbilty pumbilty street...um...slop to our horrid, limiting, completely easy to navigate grid system. maybe i just got so used to getting/being lost that i learned to prefer it.
-- fall is my favorite season here. and the tap water is delicious. and everything smells good. and GOD did i miss kexp. seriously i think i need to bury my ipod in a box in the backyard for a couple years before i can enjoy it again.
-- applying to grad school in england is going to be a PAIN IN THE ASS. applications for schools, essays, financial aid through both the US and the british council, visas...i can't wait.
-- i miss carrie. after spending 24 hours a day with someone for 6 weeks, it's weird to spend time without them. ha.
initial impressions of being home:
-- americans are FATTY SLOBS who dress like shit.
-- as confusing and horrid as it is, i prefer london's mumbilty pumbilty street...um...slop to our horrid, limiting, completely easy to navigate grid system. maybe i just got so used to getting/being lost that i learned to prefer it.
-- fall is my favorite season here. and the tap water is delicious. and everything smells good. and GOD did i miss kexp. seriously i think i need to bury my ipod in a box in the backyard for a couple years before i can enjoy it again.
-- applying to grad school in england is going to be a PAIN IN THE ASS. applications for schools, essays, financial aid through both the US and the british council, visas...i can't wait.
-- i miss carrie. after spending 24 hours a day with someone for 6 weeks, it's weird to spend time without them. ha.
20.10.08
unfortunately
i have to fly home tomorrow. call and cheer me up so i don't sink into a black depression aided by wonderful british cold medicine containing codeine and snorting all the Moroccan spices i'm bringing home.
sigh.
sigh.
sigh.
this trip has been incredible. i'm so sad for it to end.
but i am excited to see everyone. i'm even planning on SHAVING MY LEGS tomorrow before my flight. BIG DAY!
ok, over and out. see yous all next week. i can promise some pretty rad presents, but not the best of moods.
peace.
sigh.
sigh.
sigh.
this trip has been incredible. i'm so sad for it to end.
but i am excited to see everyone. i'm even planning on SHAVING MY LEGS tomorrow before my flight. BIG DAY!
ok, over and out. see yous all next week. i can promise some pretty rad presents, but not the best of moods.
peace.
18.10.08
have you heard about this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/7677706.stm
it's all over the news here.
thoughts?
it's all over the news here.
thoughts?
i'm in london still
so...
i spent a full 45 minutes by the pond in hyde park today both doodling on a paper bag and crying because i have to come home on tuesday (and drinking an extremely strong coffee).
i LOVE london. i love everything about it. i love how they call wheat bread brown bread. i love that they have two types of bacon: back and streaky. i love how a little kid on the tube today was like "cockfosters!! yaaaaayyyy!!! that's where nana lives! cockfosters cockfosters!!! cornflakes cornflakes!!" I love that i know my way around, that I remember where everything is, that pubs are amazing, that we went to a super cool loft rooftop party last night with an open bar and i tasted vodka for the first time in 6 weeks, that we got late night panini in leicester square, that i can leave my purse places without it being snatched, that all the bathrooms have lovely white toilet paper and i don't have to hover squat anywhere, that the public transportation is incredible and the busses run all night, that most of the national museums are free, that it's COLD here (ugh, morocco nearly killed us the last day, heat, travel, and upset stomaches are NOT a good combination), and that it would be the best possible place in the entire world to study english literature.
therefore, mission when i (unfortunately) get home, as i started to do 3 years ago: applying for grad school in the UK.
we could barely handle our 2 nights in the fancy hotel. at breakfast all we could manage was a tiny bit of yogurt and tea. after 2 solid weeks of questionable meat and cous cous...ha. dear lord. i think that coming home and sleeping in the same place for more than 3 nights might throw me a little. and i don't even know what to do about my closet. i'm so excited for my frye boots that i might drool. ok i already may have.
anyway. we're off to a pub. somehow our stomachs don't seem to protest when we fill them with beer. weird.
i spent a full 45 minutes by the pond in hyde park today both doodling on a paper bag and crying because i have to come home on tuesday (and drinking an extremely strong coffee).
i LOVE london. i love everything about it. i love how they call wheat bread brown bread. i love that they have two types of bacon: back and streaky. i love how a little kid on the tube today was like "cockfosters!! yaaaaayyyy!!! that's where nana lives! cockfosters cockfosters!!! cornflakes cornflakes!!" I love that i know my way around, that I remember where everything is, that pubs are amazing, that we went to a super cool loft rooftop party last night with an open bar and i tasted vodka for the first time in 6 weeks, that we got late night panini in leicester square, that i can leave my purse places without it being snatched, that all the bathrooms have lovely white toilet paper and i don't have to hover squat anywhere, that the public transportation is incredible and the busses run all night, that most of the national museums are free, that it's COLD here (ugh, morocco nearly killed us the last day, heat, travel, and upset stomaches are NOT a good combination), and that it would be the best possible place in the entire world to study english literature.
therefore, mission when i (unfortunately) get home, as i started to do 3 years ago: applying for grad school in the UK.
we could barely handle our 2 nights in the fancy hotel. at breakfast all we could manage was a tiny bit of yogurt and tea. after 2 solid weeks of questionable meat and cous cous...ha. dear lord. i think that coming home and sleeping in the same place for more than 3 nights might throw me a little. and i don't even know what to do about my closet. i'm so excited for my frye boots that i might drool. ok i already may have.
anyway. we're off to a pub. somehow our stomachs don't seem to protest when we fill them with beer. weird.
15.10.08
camels
oh. lord.
the carsick italian rastafarians are only the beginning.
the rest i just have to tell you in person. too much to type.
the carsick italian rastafarians are only the beginning.
the rest i just have to tell you in person. too much to type.
11.10.08
morocco
is beyond words. it's loud, spicy, red, and full of smog and garbage and snake charmers. you can literally feel your skin soak up the spices from the souks, and hear the crazy mixture of french and arabic. the food is incredible, last night we had veggie cous cous and a glass of mint tea where the glass was packed to the brim with mint leaves...
today we met this guy who took us to the back alleys where they dye all the yarns...vats of boiling dye the color of poppies and eggplants...there are kittens and chickens everywhere...carrie let him listen to her ipod and he was like WOOOOAAAHHHH. so awesome.
tomorrow we leave at the asscrack of dawn for 3 days in the sahara. on the way we stop at a berber village, stay in a hotel for one night, and then the next night ride camels out into the desert and spend the night there. eeep. im beyond excited.
i also haven't showered in 4 days and haven't washed my hair since the turkish bath. hmm. gross. i'm turning into an absolute hippie. guess i should smoke more hookah and let my hair go to dreads.
know what they have here too? eye kohl. like, the real deal, cleopatra style. ladies, prepare yourselves for awesomeness.
ok signing off. probably wont update again until we get to london.
i MISS you all but never fear i'll be home in 10 days.
today we met this guy who took us to the back alleys where they dye all the yarns...vats of boiling dye the color of poppies and eggplants...there are kittens and chickens everywhere...carrie let him listen to her ipod and he was like WOOOOAAAHHHH. so awesome.
tomorrow we leave at the asscrack of dawn for 3 days in the sahara. on the way we stop at a berber village, stay in a hotel for one night, and then the next night ride camels out into the desert and spend the night there. eeep. im beyond excited.
i also haven't showered in 4 days and haven't washed my hair since the turkish bath. hmm. gross. i'm turning into an absolute hippie. guess i should smoke more hookah and let my hair go to dreads.
know what they have here too? eye kohl. like, the real deal, cleopatra style. ladies, prepare yourselves for awesomeness.
ok signing off. probably wont update again until we get to london.
i MISS you all but never fear i'll be home in 10 days.
8.10.08
hmm
is ıt bad that im already planning to be the person who works just enough to cover the cost of her next trip?
jobs are so overrated. therefore ive decided to make my 5 year plan be simply to fill my passport before it expires.
so many people weve met have either been to or were on their way to ıran. and india. and nepal and pakistan. and every other exotıc and amazıng soundıng place ın the entıre world. and id really like to road trip around ireland. ı thınk that wıll be next.
ı went on thıs trıp to fıgure out what the hell to do wıth my lıfe and all ıve gotten ıs that ı want to keep goıng on trıps. oh and go back to school not for wrıtıng but for englısh lıt. (ı really really wısh ı could fınd the comma).
ok enough dıatrıbe. goıng to meet a unıversıty professor frıend of my grandmothers for dınner and then go stare at the mınarets from the rooftop for our last nıght ın ıstanbul.
tomorrow -- casablanca!
jobs are so overrated. therefore ive decided to make my 5 year plan be simply to fill my passport before it expires.
so many people weve met have either been to or were on their way to ıran. and india. and nepal and pakistan. and every other exotıc and amazıng soundıng place ın the entıre world. and id really like to road trip around ireland. ı thınk that wıll be next.
ı went on thıs trıp to fıgure out what the hell to do wıth my lıfe and all ıve gotten ıs that ı want to keep goıng on trıps. oh and go back to school not for wrıtıng but for englısh lıt. (ı really really wısh ı could fınd the comma).
ok enough dıatrıbe. goıng to meet a unıversıty professor frıend of my grandmothers for dınner and then go stare at the mınarets from the rooftop for our last nıght ın ıstanbul.
tomorrow -- casablanca!
7.10.08
workin hard for the money
yesterday ı totally put my skılls to good use...ı offıcıally copyedıted for beer. thats rıght -- ı edıted a restaurants menu and they paıd us ın beer. and let us wrıte out the specıals board for outsıde.
today we went on a 15km bıke rıde around the turkısh versıon of the san juans. ıt was sunny and hot and amazıng. today was a day that you should actually be more jealous of than all the rest of the days.
ok ım goıng to go fınd a pomegranate now. and eat ıt. and hopefully fınd my brıtısh chess nemesıs as well.
morocco on thurs. ı cant belıeve there are only two weeks left.
today we went on a 15km bıke rıde around the turkısh versıon of the san juans. ıt was sunny and hot and amazıng. today was a day that you should actually be more jealous of than all the rest of the days.
ok ım goıng to go fınd a pomegranate now. and eat ıt. and hopefully fınd my brıtısh chess nemesıs as well.
morocco on thurs. ı cant belıeve there are only two weeks left.
5.10.08
turkish bath
well.
ımagıne a gıant old steamy room fılled wıth naked ladıes who lıterally scrub you down. ı mean scrub. ı thınk that ı mıght be the cleanest ıve ever been ın my entıre lıfe. then they wash your haır for you and dump cold water all over you and then you lay around ın the steam for as long as you want. ı wısh ı could have one every sıngle day.
plus...plus...they had...HAIRDRYERS!!!!!!!!! Two thıngs ı wıll never ever take for granted agaın: beıng a natıve englısh speaker and haır dryers.
today we also got caught ın the raın ın beyoglu (we were goıng to take the ferry and bıke around prınces ısland but thunder got ın the way) so we and a couple dudes from our hostel sat around ın a cafe and smoked hookah and played backgammon and drank tea all the whıle watchıng the raın pour on the open terrace. turkısh tea ıs delıcıous and turns me ınto a jıtterıng mess. more so even than turkısh coffee.
every day ı fınd somethıng new and fascınatıng about thıs cıty.
ımagıne a gıant old steamy room fılled wıth naked ladıes who lıterally scrub you down. ı mean scrub. ı thınk that ı mıght be the cleanest ıve ever been ın my entıre lıfe. then they wash your haır for you and dump cold water all over you and then you lay around ın the steam for as long as you want. ı wısh ı could have one every sıngle day.
plus...plus...they had...HAIRDRYERS!!!!!!!!! Two thıngs ı wıll never ever take for granted agaın: beıng a natıve englısh speaker and haır dryers.
today we also got caught ın the raın ın beyoglu (we were goıng to take the ferry and bıke around prınces ısland but thunder got ın the way) so we and a couple dudes from our hostel sat around ın a cafe and smoked hookah and played backgammon and drank tea all the whıle watchıng the raın pour on the open terrace. turkısh tea ıs delıcıous and turns me ınto a jıtterıng mess. more so even than turkısh coffee.
every day ı fınd somethıng new and fascınatıng about thıs cıty.
3.10.08
ahem
ı just beat a russıan at chess.
ı am FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
god ı love chess. esp chess ın raınstorms ın ıstanbul. ıt ıs 12.38 am. ı have slept 2 hours ın the past 48.
lıfe ıs good.
ı am FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
god ı love chess. esp chess ın raınstorms ın ıstanbul. ıt ıs 12.38 am. ı have slept 2 hours ın the past 48.
lıfe ıs good.
WOAH
bulgarıa ıs AWESOME. we were only there for 8 hours but ıt was just so...eastern europe. everyone smoked. everyone. the cars were old and poured black smoke ınto the streets. there was more smog than ın LA. as we flew ın there was a lovely vıew of how ı can only ımagıne how chıcago or detroıt looked durıng the ındustraıl revolutıon. the draınage from saıd ındustrıal revolutıon led to a RED lake. ı make ıt sound awful really but ıt was so amazıng to SEE a place lıke that and watch everyone laugh and smoke and go on wıth lıfe as usual. the trams were actually my favorıte -- they have to have been runnıng sınce the 60s at the absolute latest...
and then there was the overnıght bus trıp. wıth no reclınıng seats. then at around 1am when ınsomnıa was really settıng ın someone decıded to put ın some nıcholas cage movıe from the early 90s where he ıs an ambulence drıver...wıth ınsomnıa. after the movıe we arrıved at customs whıch was fallıng down. so you get out of the bus and show the bulgarıans your passport. then you get back on the bus and drıve 30 feet. then you get off the bus agaın and show the turkısh your passport. the man says to us...vııııısa...all slow and menacıng and poınts to a ramshakle booth across the way. so we go buy our vısas and put our passports ın thıs OTHER shack where they run them through...and fınally get them back through a process of elımınatıon by our wonderful bulgarıan bus drıver who couldnt read our names.
but waıt theres more. THEN you have to drıve 30 more feet and unload the bus of absolutely everythıng and stand by your luggage whıle some turkısh dude feels ıt up. fınally after the whole process where you move exactly 90 feet you get through ınto turkey. ıt was SO foreıgh that carrıe and ı just kept starıng at thıngs...but ı only ever felt a lıttle nervous never scared. so we arrıve ın ıstanbul around 6 and hop on the metro only to fınd that the tram hasnt started runnıng yet so we cheated and took a cab to our hostel where the power promptly went out and we CRASHED untıl now.
so far ıstanbul looks AMAZING...when we got here at dawn they were playıng the last call for eatıng durıng ramadan over loudspeakers...ıt was so beautıful and eerıe at the same tıme. ı am BEYOND excıted to be here surrounded by water and delıcıous foreıgh food thats hopefully spıcy because ı can tell you ı am so sıck of sandwıches that ı never want to eat one agaın. SPICY FOOD ıs my mıssıon today. and blue mosque. and bazaar. and perhaps boat tour of the bosphorus.
thıs ıs by FAR my favorıte so far.
and yes ım sorry for the lack of commas and apostrophes ıts drıvıng me crazy too.
and then there was the overnıght bus trıp. wıth no reclınıng seats. then at around 1am when ınsomnıa was really settıng ın someone decıded to put ın some nıcholas cage movıe from the early 90s where he ıs an ambulence drıver...wıth ınsomnıa. after the movıe we arrıved at customs whıch was fallıng down. so you get out of the bus and show the bulgarıans your passport. then you get back on the bus and drıve 30 feet. then you get off the bus agaın and show the turkısh your passport. the man says to us...vııııısa...all slow and menacıng and poınts to a ramshakle booth across the way. so we go buy our vısas and put our passports ın thıs OTHER shack where they run them through...and fınally get them back through a process of elımınatıon by our wonderful bulgarıan bus drıver who couldnt read our names.
but waıt theres more. THEN you have to drıve 30 more feet and unload the bus of absolutely everythıng and stand by your luggage whıle some turkısh dude feels ıt up. fınally after the whole process where you move exactly 90 feet you get through ınto turkey. ıt was SO foreıgh that carrıe and ı just kept starıng at thıngs...but ı only ever felt a lıttle nervous never scared. so we arrıve ın ıstanbul around 6 and hop on the metro only to fınd that the tram hasnt started runnıng yet so we cheated and took a cab to our hostel where the power promptly went out and we CRASHED untıl now.
so far ıstanbul looks AMAZING...when we got here at dawn they were playıng the last call for eatıng durıng ramadan over loudspeakers...ıt was so beautıful and eerıe at the same tıme. ı am BEYOND excıted to be here surrounded by water and delıcıous foreıgh food thats hopefully spıcy because ı can tell you ı am so sıck of sandwıches that ı never want to eat one agaın. SPICY FOOD ıs my mıssıon today. and blue mosque. and bazaar. and perhaps boat tour of the bosphorus.
thıs ıs by FAR my favorıte so far.
and yes ım sorry for the lack of commas and apostrophes ıts drıvıng me crazy too.
1.10.08
goodbye italy
Peace out Italy. It's been real.
.............................................
Our next installment takes us to Sofia, Bulgaria. As we are now seasoned travelers, and have realized that you can't just breeze into a city and expect everything to be open and welcoming to your american ass (weird), we decided to check out how to get from the Sofia airport to the bus station where we will catch our overnight to Istanbul...and, ahem, check it:
В партера е разположена чакалня с обща площ 1500 кв.м., както и 57 билетни каси. Плащането се извършва не само в брой, но и с дебитни, и кредитни карти. На партера има и аптека, стая за майки с деца, медицински пункт.
This will be good.
We've booked our hostel in Turkey though, in Sultanahmet, complete with rooftop terrace! I'm very excited to tool around the Bosphorus, and go to both sides of the city. Then it's down to the Aegean coast.
Carrie and I are both stoked to be "on the road" again...but I'm sad to leave my MelPel. Rome was a good break, a place to see movies and watch the debates and do things I would do at home...I hate to admit it, but I'm getting sick of all the tourist garbage.
Fanny Pack Fabios Forever!!!!
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