Home yet again

I wasn't going to post this yet because my laptop with the pictures is ill, but...

After Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes, we headed back to Cuzco. The city center is beautiful, and with blue painted balconies, large plazas, and intricately architecture tall buildings, it had a bit of a European feel. We hung out there for a few hours, did some shopping, and ate some super delicious food. I have had few sandwiches in my life that were as delicious as the sandwich I had a Cuzco Bar. Yum.

We took a night bus back to La Paz. Let me tell you, night buses seem WAY quicker than the day buses. Plus, we got the camas (they are like the first class of bus tickets), so that was a lot more comfortable.

Rachel went back to Santa Cruz, and I hung out in La Paz again for a couple of days. I ventured into the city for a couple of hours. Honestly, I was so overwhelmed by all the people that I couldn't handle much more than that.

The trip was such a blessing. I had adventures (which were great), but I also got to spend time with amazing friends that I don't get to see very often. And really, that's one of my most favorite things in the world. Good conversation over a cup of coffee or Mexican food, or on a train to an ancient mountain resort adds such a wonderful depth to the experience. I love it.

My next step is an adventure of an entirely different sort. As much as I love to travel, I'm ready to be home for a while, not living out of a backpack. Also, funds are running low. I need to find a way to make money that's actually enjoyable. I don't know if it's irresponsible or not, but I kind of refuse to work a job that I know I will dread. I firmly believe that humans were created to work, but that does not mean that we were created to loath our work. And since I work to live not live to work, I'm praying for something that I actually like. We'll see how that goes :)

I think I'll just post this sans pictures. Because even though my fantastic father did some work on laptop, it's still not really working. Pictures could take a while.

Yay! I'm a llama again! (Finally, some pictures)

Peru is beautiful. So is Cuzco. Sixty to 70% of the city's local industry is related to tourism, so they keep the city really clean. We stayed with a missionary couple there that run a guest house. The bed had a heated mattress cover! What?!?! It was great :)

Saturday morning we started our drive to Ollantaytambo, the location of the train station. The whole thing is a *bit* misleading. If you get a train ticket from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, it's actually from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. It's an hour and a half drive from Cuzco to O-town by bus, but the Strongs (the missionaries) needed to go up that way anyway, and really, it was amazing.

First we stopped off at a wildlife refuge. Not a wide variety of animals,  but check out this bad boy.

The Andean Condor with an 10ft wing span

About a minute down the road, we stopped to see llamas and alpacas! Rachel was giddy with excitement (I was pretty excited too, I just tend to be a tiny bit quieter about it)

I will call you Chewy, and you will be mine. You will be my Chewy.

We stopped in Pisac for some shopping and food. Cute town. Then there was a stop at was at a pottery factory. It was very difficult to decide what to buy, because seriously, everything was just so fun. And decently priced.

And then on to the train station. We got out, used the bathroom, and then Rachel realized that she left her camera in the Strongs' van. There was a bit of a panic moment or two,  until we tracked down a phone and called them. They were super gracious and turned around to bring it back to us.

The train to Aguas Calientes was fun, mostly because we were super impressed by the raging river of death next to us. It's the rainy season here, so it was really high. And scary.

Not the best pic, but it shows the river going over the bridge. 

We got up at 5am on Sunday (please take a moment to appreciate that fact) in order to be on the bus to Machu Picchu by 6. We managed 6:15, because we had to buy tickets and wait in a tiny line.

If any of you reading this ever get the chance to go to Machu Picchu (MP for now on), go early. The low clouds make for some magical looking pictures, but it's also a lot quieter at early in the morning. We did not follow the arrows, but wandered wherever we wanted to go, so for the first hour at least there was hardly any one around. But enough of that, here's some pictures!

"RACHEL!!!"

The view of MP from Intipuntu along the Royal Incan Trail

After reaching Intipuntu, this is how I felt

We had no idea how long it would take us to see all that we could see, but we were done around noon. After that we wandered Aguas Calientes, and came across this gem of a statue. This, I think, is one of my most favorite pictures of Rachel.

The Bridge to Peru

The last eight days have definitely been an adventure. I'm going to update in chunks, I think.

Santa Cruz was full of very nice people, including Rachel. AND it was warm. As someone who finds winter highly overrated, I thoroughly enjoyed being very warm/on the brink of hot for a few days. 

I got to hang out with the youth group on Monday night. Then Tuesday I went to check out things at the school where Rachel works. Listening to seventh graders do presentations on biographies is a fairly interesting anthropological experience. Ah, the memories of junior high awkwardness. Then I got to "enjoy" the sixth grade music class. If I start to ask, "what?" a lot, it's probably because I can't hear anymore.

Wednesday I went to school again, got to experience eighth grade literature and fifth grade music. Then I went with Rachel to the SAM prayer meeting, and got to meet more great people. 

Thursday morning we went over to the hangar to take a tour flight around Santa Cruz. Unfortunately they got an emergency medical call right as we got there and weren't able to. However, because we were supposed to, the plane was all set for the emergency - so that's a blessing for the other person. 

Our flight to La Paz in the afternoon was super delayed because it's South America and these things happen. We had to be at the bus station at 8:00pm to catch our ride to Cuzco, so we had Sarah and Scott meet us there with all my stuff (which I was originally going to go back to their house and get, but didn't have time). When we went to the terminal, we discovered we were only 12 hours late for the bus. 

That's right, the translation barrier again. Man, it can get discouraging. What we thought was a night bus (and what I thought I had clarified to the ticket lady) was in fact an 8:30am bus. Oops. So we bought new tickets for the next morning and went to Sarah's for the night. 

The bus to Peru was...confusing. We stopped before the border so they could check our passports. Most the time we didn't know what was going on because the bus guy only spoke Spanish, and that he spoke super quickly. When we got to the border they told us to get out, walk a ways, then go to the Bolivian border control. Rachel didn't bring her passport so we ran back through the muddy marketplace to the bus and then back to the border control. It was a little stressful.

But not as stressful as it was after we got our passports stamped. No one told us what we were supposed to do, so we just tried to follow the guy in the green jacket that we saw from the bus. We walked across a bridge packed with people, completely unsure of where we were supposed to go. On the other side, Rachel asked a police officer what where the bus was. We managed to understand, "Bolivia, Peru, Bolivia." I think that meant, "Go through the border in Bolivia, then Peru's border, then back to the bus in Bolivia." I think.

So we meandered until we found the Peruvian border control, and the giant line there. Seriously, it took us almost 2 hours to get through that line. And it was mostly outside in the sun. In the middle of the day. Totally unprepared was I, so I ended up with a nice little sunburn. When we were almost through the line, we saw something that was so relieving - the BUS! Yay! Seriously, it was like all the stress just melted away. 

We got to Cuzco 3.5 hours late. Before crashing for the night, we swung by the train ticket place and got some new ones (since we messed up our whole schedule earlier). THEN we got to crash. 

I realize that there is a lot that has happened since then, and I'll get to that, but I'm going to end here for now.  Look forward to pictures and fun things in the next update!

I think I scarred some little kids

This is the view out my window. Not bad.

I did, indeed, get a bunch of parsley. BUT! Not all was lost. Basil was acquired by others, and it went into a delicious pesto sauce. Really, everything that night that we had for dinner was amazing. Some of Sarah and Scott's friends came over for a dinner party, and we ate pizza, pesto/noodles, other noodle goodness, garlic bread, and brownies. So good.

We also played some board games, which I always enjoy. None of them had to leave particularly early because there was no school the next day. That's the funny thing about Bolivia, and La Paz. You just never know when school is going to be cancelled.

You see, the city is trying to reforming the public transportation. The drivers (buses, minibus, trufi, taxi) will occasionally go on strike because of it. And it's not good enough to just not drive for that day, they also set up blockades so no one can go anywhere. Including teachers and students.

So Tuesday, what did we do? We put up curtains, ate some yummy food, played Ticket to Ride, and just hung out. It was wonderful, because really, the reason I came to La Paz was to see Sarah, and I got to do that all day!

Thursday I visited the school where both she and Scott work. Apparently her students had been anxiously awaiting my visit for the entire week. They are just so sweet. I got to be "Social Studies" for that chunk of time, showing them pictures of Australia (mostly the animals) and talked about farming there. Then they got to ask me all sorts of questions. One of them made the mistake of asking what I ate while in Australia. I told them I ate a lot of sheep. Sheep are pretty common here in Bolivia, so I thought that was a pretty safe one.

I was wrong. They were a little bit mortified, if being a little mortified is possible. And to add to their already distaught little minds, I added, "I also ate some kangaroo." Well, you can imagine how that went with a bunch of 9-yr-olds. Here I thought it would be somewhat okay since they eat things like llamas, but again, I was wrong. 

Other than that, it went really well. The also got to ask me questions about me personally. 

"What's your favorite color?"

"How many siblings do you have?"

"What Australian animal do you prefer?"

"What Australian animal was your favorite?"

"What's your favorite not-Australian animal?"

"What's your favorite animal pet?"

Sometimes they get in a rut. I think my favorite part was when they would throw their hand up in the air like they had a very urgent question, but then when I called on them they would have to think and think to come up with something. It was so fun. And adorable.

That night we went to get anticuchos. It was pretty good meat with some potatoes. And you know what kind of meat it was?!?! That's right, folks, cow's heart. La corazon de una vaca. Because I'm hard core like that. Haha. Seriously though, it was pretty tasty - a little greasy - but tasty. Also, the lady cooking it was using a hair dryer to build up the flames for the grill.

Friday we loaded up the Beast (a just-about-ancient Toyota Landcruiser) and headed down to the jungle again. This time to participate in the staff retreat for the school. They let me go, 'cause they're nice like that. Sarah and I hung out most of the time. We climbed through the jungle most the way up a mountain until the path went into the yard of a super random house. Then we laid out, read a bunch, went swimming, read some more, the usual. (She lent me this book called In the Time of the Butterflies. It was really good). 

Tomorrow I leave for Santa Cruz to visit my lovely friend, Rachel. It's going to be a fun, busy adventure for the next week. Feel free to pray for us as they are threatening more transportation strikes (not dangerous for us, but it could end up being very inconvenient). 

Mount Herb

Some of you might not know, but I'm not in the States right now. I'm in Bolivia. This is actually my second time visiting the county.

You see, I went to college with this fantastic person who decided to move to Bolivia to teach third graders. She arrived here over four years ago, and in 2009 I came down to visit her. We did an exciting trip around Argentina, Chile, and finally some things in Bolivia. When we got back to Bolivia, I got pretty sick so it severely limited what I could do the week I was here. Still, we managed to see Tiahuanaco (which was pretty sweet) and a little bit of La Paz. 

Flash forward to 2012 and another one of my lovely friends decides to move to Santa Cruz for a year and teach. Of all the places I would think my friends might decide to move, I would not have guessed Bolivia. But anyway, I thought to myself, "Self, I should visit Bolivia again." So here I am!

I'm currently in La Paz, which is always an adventure. It is Carnival season, which means school-aged people are often caught throwing water balloons at those walking down the street. And although I got hit with one last time I was here, I've managed to avoid it so far this time around. Of course, I intentionally haven't been out much during the times when the kids are out of school.

We also left the city over the weekend to spend some time in the jungle, which was super relaxing and fun. The drive to Coroico is simply amazing. Stunning. Spectacular. Breath-taking - you name it. The Andes Mountains are decently sized in these part, and wow! Pictures do not do them justice, but just in case...

The weird spots on the picture are because it was taken out of the window of the "Beast", an ancient Landcruiser. There was a lot clouds and mist action around the mountains, so naturally I had the song from the Hobbit stuck in my head the entire time.

Part of the trip we were driving through clouds. At one point the road went right along the mountain ridge and it just dropped off on either side. 

While we were there we ate some wonderful food (I ate llama with a fruit sauce and it was delicious), and we went ziplining! It was three platforms that stretched over a beautiful valley. So fun. We got back yesterday afternoon and just chilled for a while, then ate the most amazing French toast concoction. I'm going to try to make it when I get home, and I might just need to have a French toast party.

Today I went into the city to do a bit of grocery shopping. I may have mentioned before my fear of public transportation. Well, I still suffer from that, so I was super nervous, especially since my Spanish is sub par. I took a taxi to sort of where I needed to go (I think some things got lost in my butchering the language). Burger King was my reference point, so I walked up and down the street a couple times, until I gave up and decided I needed to decide which way I thought was the street I needed (yay for poorly marked streets). I found it! Finally. 

I was on a quest for Basil, brazil nuts, and milk. Milk - leche in Spanish. Totally got that. I was warned that Brazil nuts were called something closer to Almond-something-or-another. Got that. Basil? The other day they had shown me what the basil looked like and where it was. Four days later it was NOT in the same spot. And it is NOT called Basil here. No, it's called albahaca. This, I did not know. And since I don't ever cook anything that requires fresh herbs, I don't know what it looks like. Everything else I saw looked like lettuce, so I grabbed the closest thing I could find. Then I sucked it up and took a bus back to the house. 

Yeah...I'm pretty sure I just got a bunch of parsley. 

Two thousand twelve is done; bring it, thirteen!

I realize that it has been 2013 for three weeks now, but sometimes it is hard to get motivated to write anything. However, there is much to be thankful for because it was a really good year. Sure, it started a little slow, but by the end there was no denying that it was a year to remember.

I went to six weddings this year, one being my brother's. It's always fun to celebrate things like love and such. 

I read a ton this year, including some classics that have been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read them (like the Complete Sherlock Holmes, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, and Robinson Crusoe). There is something very satisfying about reading a giant and/or challenging book that was written many many years ago. Sometimes I'm convinced I was born in the wrong era, but then I turn on my iPhone and am not so sure.

Speaking of different eras, I've been SLOWLY typing up letters from my great great grandmother's brother, my great grandfather, and my great grandmother. I love being able to peak into their world - a world of flowing script, socials, visiting friends for extended periods of time, and taking the wagon into town, etc. And my great grandmother addresses her husband as "dear boy" in all her letters, which I think is just adorable.

My sister and her little family were able to come to NJ for my bro's wedding and for Christmas. And they are moving back here, so that's exciting! 

Another big thing that happened this year that you MIGHT be aware of is traveling. It's always been a dream to see a good chunk of the world and I have. There is so much more to see, but it's been incredible so far. It's something that I'll remember forever, and those kinds of things just don't happen everyday. 

I'm continually thankful that I've had the courage to step out of my comfort zone and enjoy amazing experiences. And I'm thankful that God has protected me throughout the journeys and shown Himself to be so patient, kind, and faithful. Cheers to 2012!

Missing Out

I've been home for almost a week now. It's good to be back.

Between catching up with family, friends, and running errands, I've managed to stay decently busy. However, I've also gotten the chance to do some reflecting on the last couple months, thinking about adventures, conversations, and experiences I've had. I realized something.

Americans are missing out.

I'm all for America. I love this country, the culture, the food (yay iced tea and good tacos!), but there is something Americans are generally terrible at doing:

Vacationing.

For starters, we have some serious workaholism issues. If an individual isn't a workaholic, their job tries to make them one. The fact that a person usually gets a SINGLE WEEK of paid vacation after starting a job is ridiculous. If someone goes away for more than that because they value rest and fun and holidays and think it's worth missing out on the pay, they are sometimes resented. I usually have to quit a job if I plan to do any significant traveling because otherwise there is no way they'll let me not work for that long. I realize there are some who don't, but too many Americans live to work instead of working to live.

Our young people are missing out, too. Two options are presented for high school students upon graduation: go to college or get a job. I would like to present a third option, an option that much of the rest of the planet has already embraced.

See the freakin' world. We are so connected to the world through TV, internet, and whatever, but at the same time so disconnected. Gone are the days when you don't know what's going on across the ocean because it takes months to cross it in a boat, or you have to write letters with actual pen and paper and then wait weeks for a response (although snail mail is still pretty great). We have the opportunity to hop on a plane and actually experience other cultures. To do things like chase kangaroos, climb the castle steps that kings and queens climbed, gaze in awe at the mountains that amazed the Spanish conquistadors, work alongside the truly impoverished and learn the value of every single meal.

And to discover that the world that is supposedly at our fingertips with computers, smart phones, and television is actually so much bigger, more beautiful, and more amazing than anyone can imagine.

Imagine what might happen if our young people could learn that before spending four years studying what their 18yr-old selves think they want to do with their lives (or what their parents want them to do). We might just end up with a bunch of people who know what genuine adventure is, what it's like to connect with another human being that grew up in an entirely culture, to genuinely be in awe of an aspect of creation that they've only read about in books or on wikipedia. To no longer view cultural arrogance and ignorance as an acceptable option.

Some might argue that we have plenty of things to see in the US, there is no reason to go abroad. To this I say, yes and no. Yes, there are amazing things in the States. We live in a diverse country that has mountains, lakes, deserts, plains, hot, cold, waterfalls, beaches, and an extremely wide variety of food. I've seen a bit of this country and it is beautiful in rugged, colorful ways. There are many cultures within our borders (just put a northeasterner in the south for a bit and you'll see that). And honestly, it is in my plans to see more of these places and people. But when traveling in one's own country, it's so much easier to try to retain one's culture. I lived in Michigan for four years while at school and I tried to remain as New Jerseyan as possible (I pretty much succeeded, although occasionally a squished "a" will come out and I'll grimace). There's a "yeah, I'm 1000 miles from home, but it's still America" kind of attitude.

Overseas, I've found it much different. It's "Holy cow, I'm in England!" or Australia, or wherever I may be resting my head that night. And then there is a desire to actually interact with the culture, to see how's it's different and similar. To try things I wouldn't ever try at home.

I think everyone should try it at least once. If nothing else, you'll hopefully come home with a deeper appreciation for iced tea, good Mexican food, great burgers, and driving on the right side of the road. And to become more sensitive to different cultures and customs, even within our own borders. It doesn't have to take a lot of money (South American hostels are CHEAP), or a ton of time, but whatever it does take is worth it.

It's also just a great opportunity to grow as a person. It's amazing what you can learn about yourself while by yourself in a far off place.

All this is to say I think we miss out by limiting our options or by arrogantly believing we've got it all here. This world is huge and wonderful. Even if we don't have the chance to go overseas, we should be taking time to experience other cultures, to look into the eyes of our fellow human being, acknowledge the differences, and then see if we can learn something about life from them.

Going home

Today I played a  game of hungry hungry hippo. I'm not sure the almost 2-yr old understood the concept. It was hilarious.

This morning we went to Ikea. Part of me is really thankful that I don't live closer to one at home because then I would have no money. The other part of me wishes I had my own home so I would have a place to put all the amazing things I could buy at a store like that.

No trip to California is complete without going to the beach at least once. So we did, and it was a little chilly. My niece loved it, though.

Tomorrow I got home to New Jersey. I'm excited and yet I'm having a hard time believing it's been 8 weeks already.

California Dreaming

This has not been a productive jet lag. For the first couple days in California, I kept calculating in my head what time it was in Australia. I'm hoping I'm just about over it.

I love visiting my sister. Not only is she hilarious but so are her kids. Oh my word, they just say the funniest things. And they have a mild obsession with Mexican food...

...which I love.

There are very few things I missed while I was overseas, two of these being iced tea and Mexican food. I haven't had any iced tea yet, but I've had Mexican thrice (we need to use "thrice" more often - it's great). Of course, one of those times was Pollo Loco, so that might not count, but the other two times were legit.

I missed Thanksgiving, too, which my sister deemed completely unacceptable. So what did we have on Thursday? Turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, cottage cheese, and sweet pickles (because no family meal is complete without cottage cheese and pickles - seriously). Mmmm, delicious.

Saturday we went paddleboarding! (Yes, it took me until I got back to the States to do any sort of water activity). It was wonderful. We went with a couple of friends, and though it wasn't all that warm, we had a really good time. And I didn't fall in! There were a few times when I got awfully close, but somehow I managed to not lose my balance.

One of the times I almost lost it was when a bird popped up out of nowhere. One moment there was no bird, the next BAM! Black and white bird just a couple feet away. The pelicans were also really cool. They did a lot of splashing about as they hunted fish. I was fascinated, and also a little concerned they were going to poop on me as they flew overhead.

Sunday night we walked around Balboa Island to look at all the Christmas lights. The weather was absolutely lovely and the houses are just beautiful. Well, most are beautiful. Some look like this:

This house may not be beautiful, but it was definitely impressive. The guy who owned the house came over and talked to us for a couple minutes. He even gave us a business card, which was specifically for his Christmas decorations. That's what dedication looks like, friends.

That's all for now. Good night!

No Flux Capacitor Necessary

Yesterday was the longest day of my life. Not because anything bad happened, but because when flying back to the States from Australia, the day really does go on for about 43 hours. 

After my time in Nevertire, I went back to Sydney for a couple days. It was a nice relaxing time. I took the train into the city and wandered around a bit, did some souvenir shopping, ate some ice cream, saw a man with a seagull perched on his head. Good times. 

Then I took a train to Wagga Wagga, which is about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. I really only stopped there because of that and because it's named Wagga Wagga. I have this unfortunate thing that often happens in which when I'm only in a city/town for one full day, it usually rains. It definitely rained in Wagga. I waited for it to stop then walked around the town. It's a nice little town, but everything closes super early on Saturday. Even stores in the mall were closed at 4pm (it's even Christmas shopping season!) So there wasn't much for me to do.

My last stop was Melbourne  (or more accurately, Sandringham, south of Melbourne). I had a lovely time chatting up with people there. I even went for a bike ride, which made me realize a few things. 1) I'm out of shape 2) I don't like the idea of getting stuck far from shelter in the rain (because it was looking pretty ominous). But that's okay, because I got a lot of sorting of pictures done. I did not take all that many photos this trip. I think I was too busy actually experiencing stuff.

I flew out yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) at 2pm-ish. I'm not really sure of the time since the plane was late. I arrived at 11:30am-ish in California. Still Tuesday. I'm visiting my sister for a week in here in Cali, and I got to finally meet my nephew. He's adorable. 

And that brings me up to date. Thank you so much to everyone who made my trip awesome! Seriously, I would have had a lot less fun without you. 

Here are some pictures for you:

The Melbourne Aquarium has a fantastic penguin exhibit with a couple different species of penguins. I stood there for a while watching them steal each others' stones for their nests.

Merino sheep in the shearing shed waiting to be shorn. I don't think they were looking forward to the experience.

Koala crossing! I did not see any koalas crossing the road, but just knowing they were someone in the forest around me was very exciting.

I failed to get a picture of the lightning, but it was very exciting. Also, the beach was made entirely of colorful stones closer to the water, which I enjoyed.

Sydney Opera House. Sorry there is not contrast between it and the sky. It was rather cloudy that day. Pretty cool place though (even though I did not go in bathrooms, which I hear are amazing)

This is my noble steed. I spent a lot of time of this bike, finding and rounding up sheep, chasing kangaroos and just riding around doing random tasks. The board on the back is for the dogs to ride on. 

This is the view from the plane. So much open space, it's amazing. And in case you are wondering, emus tend to run from planes. 

A Nice MLT

I had a very Miracle Max kind of moment the other day while eating my first ever mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. And cheese, because few sandwiches are complete without cheese.

Oh, and I'm no longer in the middle of nowhere. While going to the bus stop to leave said place, I noticed a sign (which I unfortunately did not get a picture of) which said:

Nevertire: Population 103.

That's right, folks, one hundred three people live in Nevertire, New South Wales, Australia.

Anyway, overall it was very interesting and mostly fun. I admit, there were a couple things that were not fun. The first being the overabundance of ants. One of the gates into the property happened to close over the middle of a GIANT ant hill ("giant" applying to both the ants and their home). You know that scene in Indiana Jones (the most recent one - if you haven't seen it, good on you) in which the person gets overtaken by all the ants and it's pretty creepy? Or, if you haven't seen that particular cinematic masterpiece (sarcasm sign) perhaps you have seen The Mummy where the person gets eaten alive by scarabs.

It was kind of like that, only I didn't die. Seriously though, I did not like it. I had to stand over the hole from whence they poured while fumbling with the padlock to the gate. And everyone knows when there is a threat of being eaten alive by insects, it's never easy to get the lock on the chain.

The other was the evening when I couldn't get the dog to cooperate and because of that the sheep were very confused and I was very frustrated to the point of yelling and there may have been tears involved (it was late and I was tired and hungry). I was feeling pretty bad about it until Jack the Englishman mentioned the same exact thing happened to him and he went off screaming at the dog, too. Failing at being a shepherd is much less depressing knowing I'm not alone.

Oh, and speaking of Jack the Englishman, he was staying with the son of the people I was helping. He helped out with the wheat and sheep sometimes, so we ended up working together occasionally. Somehow between on the laughing and making fun of each other for the way we talked, we got something done. I don't even think we broke anything! It was really nice having someone closer to my own age to hang out with some times. And to share frustrating stories about sheep.

I just went back to look at what I've told you about where I was and realized it's not much. This is me and Kevin in his plane! So cool. I wish there was enough free air space in New Jersey for me to get an ultra light. I also wish there were emus in our fields that I could chase with the plane. That would make for a good time.

Where I am right now (which is Sydney) is not too hot, but Nevertire the last few days I was there was beastly hot (upper nineties/100). I got a pretty nice farmers tan, even while applying SPF 50 twice a day. Well, on my arms at least. I think I only wore shorts a couple times (riding a motorbike through harvested canola fields while wearing shorts is painful).

The family was super great and they have ice cream almost every night after dinner, which immediately raises my opinion of them. Australians in general have been pretty cool.

Now I have to figure out how I'm spending my last few days here. It's crazy to think it's almost over. It's also crazy to think of how cold it is at home. I'm going to freeze.

Bound, bound, bound, and rebound.

If you drive to the middle of nowhere Australia and then drive another hour, that's where I am. It's very peaceful out here, and the sunsets and stars are absolutely breathtaking.

I'm currently on a farm that's about 10,000 acres. That's really big. They have some cows, a bunch of sheep, wheat, canola, and cotton.

And motorbikes!

Since they are way more practical on the flat landscape and big terrain than horses, they use motorbikes (or as we Americans like to say, "dirtbikes") for all of the rounding up of sheep. It's pretty fun.

Along with riding a bike again, I've learned some other things. Like how to cut off a sheep's tail (literally cutting it off, not just banding it), though I haven't actually done it. I just watched. There was something sort of disturbing about the blood squirting from where the tail once was. It reminded me of a bad slasher film.

I've also learned how to "drench" sheep, how to mark them, how to drive a stick shift with my left hand (which actually feels way more natural than the right hand - go figure).

Oh, and how to efficiently catch frogs that hang out in my bathroom at night. That's always a treat.

Another great thing about this place is the wildlife! Seriously, I saw about 100 kangaroos today, and that's after I chased a bunch on a motorbike yesterday. They are fast! There are also a lot of wild pigs around. I sampled some of the meat from one of their legs. It was pretty good. I've also seen lizards, snakes, spiders, foxes, and various insects.

I should probably stop hogging the computer.

Good on ya

The Sydney Opera House is not white. This sort of blew my mind, since in all the pictures it looks white. It's more of a cream color.

Crazy, I know.

Adelaide was super fun (thanks Caragh!) and beautiful. From there I took a flight to Sydney. Most of it was normal, minus the small detail of them not once asking for identification. I thought that was a bit odd. Less odd and more awesome, though, was me getting three seats to myself, which meant that instead of having an aisle seat, I got to sit by the window and see the coastline, some land, and then more coastline. Absolutely stunning.

My sister-in-law's sister, Lauren, lives in Sydney, so I'm currently staying with her. It's been very nice and the food has been delicious. She took me to see the Opera House (along with the harbor) and the beach. It's really strange being used to things like pigeons and seagulls and then seeing these guys around.

Today I went into the city with Lauren's neighbor. She has the philosophy, "a stranger is only a friend you haven't met yet." She's hilarious. Also, we were walking around the neighborhood last night and it went like this -

Lady: Oh, let's walk over here. That tree has spiders and I know you don't like spiders.
Me (in my head): true, but how do you know that? I just met you..
Lady: Americans don't like spiders, which is funny to me. We have these big ones (makes the circumference with hands - too giant)
Me: Ew, yeah, I'm not a fan of spiders.
Lady: These ones are harmless though. They fall from the trees in December, so I guess you'll miss that, dear.
Me: Bummer.

We went to the aquarium. I think I need to do an official aquarium tour of the world, because I love them. It's funny, since I don't like fish. Well, I don't like to touch them or eat them or know they are in the water with me. Behind glass is perfect.

We also wandered around Darling Harbour. They love ice cream and gelato here, of which I wholeheartedly approve, and since I like to blend in to whatever country I happen to be in, I decided to get some.

Tomorrow, at a time that is way too early, I head off to a farm in Nevertire, which is past Dubbo and pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which means phone service is limited and internet even more so. So if you don't hear anything from me, that's probably why.

Goodday Mate!

Yesterday I got to hold a koala, and it didn't even try to eat me!

I'm currently in Adelaide (at least for the next 18 hours) and so far it's been fantastic. After a nice, uneventful bus ride from Mt Gambier, I arrived here on Friday afternoon. I'm staying with a girl that I met in Carlisle, England.

Saturday we went to some wineries. Adelaide is known for it's surrounding wine region, and there are definitely a lot of wineries.

Yesterday we went to Gorge Wildlife Conservatory (or something close to that name). They weren't doing any more koala holdings for the day because of the heat (yay heat!) but Caragh used to work there, so the owner was kind enough to still let me hold one. It basically just chilled in my arms for five minutes, not moving much at all.

I also got to pet some kangaroos and wallabies. When there is a joey in the pouch with its feet sticking out instead of its head, it looks kind of bizarre.

The beach here is beautiful. Some high school looking kids were jumping off the pier into the clear blue water and it looked like so much fun. Unfortunately, we did not bring swimming-appropriate clothing so we had to settle for wading up to our knees. The water was a little chilly, but mostly great and seriously, so beautiful.

Today we went to see some waterfalls and then back to the beach. This beach, however, didn't have much sand but rather really pretty rocks - lots of different colors and all layered in colors. A thunderstorm was rolling in over the ocean so we watched that for a while before decided that it was starting to surround us and getting precariously close. It's still rumbling outside.

Tomorrow I head out to Sydney.

And again...

My computer is still on the wrong time zone.

Sunday we went to the sand dunes and did some sand boarding. Basically, it's sledding and snowboarding on sand instead of snow, which means it's a lot less painful and a lot warmer. It wasn't terribly warm because of the wind, but we did apply sunscreen three times I think. And there was the view of the super blue ocean that was sort of incredible.

Yesterday we were going to go to the beach but the sheep decided they did not like that plan. Shortly after lunch we started rounding them up. What normally takes ten minutes took two hours. There was one ram that was so fat that after running away from us for a while, he just sat down, heaving. Really fat sheep are hard to move because, shockingly, they are heavy. So we hooked up a makeshift sled to the back of the car and drug the not-so-brilliant thing out from under the trees. Ines (the German girl) had to sit on its back the whole time, which was hilarious. There was definitely some screaming involved.

Today we sheared some sheep. By we I mean a friend of the host family. Ines and I watched and picked up the wool. We got to try shearing too (just a tiny little patch), which is kind of scary because it's really easy to accidentally cut the sheep. Oh, and we got to put some bands on the sheep tails. I used to wonder if it was that important to knock off the tails, and then I saw the nastiness that results when you don't. Ew.

After two days of really warm, beautiful weather, today was kind of sad, but since we were inside the shearing shed all day, I suppose it doesn't really matter.

Fires, Dunes, and Sheep

We've done a bit of weeding of garlic, planting tomatoes, collecting wood, and other various farm-y things. And a bunch of other things.

Guys, Australia is fun!

Friday night was the birthday of one of the members of my host family, so a bunch of people came over for a barbecue. There were shrimp and a barbecue, but not shrimps on the barby. And they are called prawns here (the shrimp, not the barby). We ended the night with a giant blazing inferno of a bonfire.

And I just realized what time it is and I need to call home!

Righty-Oh!

Internet is a little limited, so as a courtesy for those actually paying for it, I'm not going to be uploading any pictures. Sorry.

Melbourne was really nice. Monday morning I took a stroll to town (about a half hour/forty minute walk). On the way I came across the Shrine of Remembrance, and since it was free I checked it out. Then I continued along until I got to the aquarium where there were PENGUINS! Lots and lots of them! There were waddling around, trying to steal the stones from other penguins' nests. Some of them were even swimming. I'll have to put together a "I love the Aquarium" video at some point and show you just how much I loved them.

They also had a tank with sharks and giant rays and lots of fun fish. They had a couple tunnels to walk through where the fish would swim over and you could see them up really really close, like the Adventure Aquarium in Camden (they still have that, right?). So cool. I do love fish...when they are behind glass and can't touch me :)

Then I walked back toward the hostel that was actually in the outskirts of Melbourne. On the way I went through the Royal Botanical Gardens. Lots of pretty plants and birds that I thought were ducks until they got out of the water and had chicken legs. Weird.

Tuesday I met up with Catherine, a girl I met in Wales. We walked through the center of the city and checked out the Victoria Art Gallery (with some fantastic albeit expensive pastel works). Fortunately for my wallet I have the problem of anything that I buy now I have to carry on my back for the next six weeks. Then we went to the Melbourne Gaol, which is a prison.

It was really cool. I learned all about Ned Kelly, who was sort of like Australia's Jesse James, only he wore armor! They hanged people right in the jail, so that was....interesting too. They don't still hang people there, in case you were worried.

We checked out the Koorie Heritage Center, which was really neat - lots of stuff about the Aboriginals. Their treatment was not Australia's shining moment. Not unlike some other people we know...

Then we went back to Catherine's house, walked the dogs on the beach (and had to watch out that they didn't try to eat the washed up PUFFER FISH), ate some snack, then some dinner while watching the Big Bang Theory (always a winner).

Wednesday was conquer the public transportation day. I got a bus at 6:38am to the train to another train to a bus. The bus ride was beautiful. I'm finding I'm a giant fan of wide open spaces, no matter what the country. And...

I SAW A KANGAROO! In the wild! It was just chilling under the trees by the road. I almost missed it because it blended in pretty well, but I saw it! I did not, however, get a picture. Sorry.

Met up with my WWOOFing family in Mt. Gambier. They are really nice and funny and there are two other girls here too who are pretty much hilarious. So far it's been a good time.

I'll be here for nine days I think before heading up to Adelaide.

Oh, and I'm staying in the world's most awesome camper van. I was a little leery at first since it's completely gutted except a bed and a heater, but last night I slept really really well and wasn't as cold as I originally thought I would be. I woke up to the sound of roosters, but managed to fall back asleep (which is great, since roosters don't have the best concept of when morning actually is). And it's nice to have my own space at night.

This is a lot of text for a post with no pictures. Hopefully I will get some posted at some point, but it really just depends on my connections in the future.

Airports and parrots

I've made it to Australia!

It took a while, but I finally got here. I was supposed to arrive a day ago, but I didn't. Also, I know what airline is no longer on my nice list.

Thursday evening I flew from Philly to San Francisco. The flight was uneventful, which is always good. I got off the plane, ate a highly overpriced sandwich, waited a bit at the gate, then boarded a 747. It had actually been a little while since I'd been on a 747. Everything felt a little old school, including the leg room.

But I digress. Next to me was a lovely gentleman traveling home with his wife and son. We chatted about Australia, his family's travels in the US, the usual sort of conversation that happens when preparing to sit next to a stranger for 14 hours. This conversation lasted, off and on, for four hours. The plane never left the ground. 

Apparently, when the latch to the cargo door doesn't lock, it's a problem (which I guess makes sense since otherwise all the luggage would end up in the ocean) which cannot be easily remedied. Or at least not quickly remedied. Four hours!! we sat on that plane before the captain announced, "Ladies and gentleman, thank you for your patience. Unfortunately the flight has been cancelled." Followed by a lot of information that you probably don't care about.

Awesome, because I really did want to be trying to find a place to sleep at 2:30am. 

So we took our merry time getting back off the plane, down to the ticket counter, and then over to the big ole board of hotels and various other places to stay in the San Francisco area. There was but one catch.

A convention was in town, which meant there were no rooms at the inn. At least not enough for most of us. I gathered my things, found a quiet place near the baggage claim, and tried to sleep on the floor. There were a lot of us scattered about the place. It was quite sad looking.

The worst part? I totally forgot my glasses case on the plane. I have my glasses (since I was wearing them in preparation to sleep), so that's at least something.

I hung out in the airport for 24 hours. I would have gone into the city, but my sleeping failed miserably and I had visions of myself getting lost in San Francisco and completely falling to tears in my fatigue. Because that happens when I'm tired. So I decided not to risk that; instead I would just try to sleep a little more. 

Happily, the next flight was not cancelled and since I was so exhausted, I actually slept a bit on the plane! And watched Men in Black III. 

My connection to Melbourne from Sydney went without a hitch, which was great. And the 1hr 40min flight went by so quickly after being on the plane for 14 hours before that. It helped that I fell asleep while waiting for it to take off and only vaguely remember lift off. I do, however, remember a very suspicious clunking noise as we went down the runway...

So here I am in Melbourne. While waiting to check into the hostel, I walked a bit and found a place to get a prepaid phone. I walked into one shop and told the girl what I wanted. She responded with, "Oh! The cheapest one we have is $129, but there is a sale at such-and-such a place. Much cheaper. Just take a left on Chapel St and it'll be on your right." 

Love it. And it was much cheaper :)

Also, on my walking adventure, I heard a bunch of birds in a tree and went to investigate. Parrots!! Pretty green ones with red and yellow markings. There were probably about eight of them. I was walking away and a couple of them flew right by me! Seriously, they were precariously close to my head. It made me nervous.

Since then I've taken a much needed shower and an even more needed nap. The pillows here are kind of great. 

Hopefully next time I'll have some pictures for you.

Eek stravaganza.

I am leaving in 20 minutes to go to Philadelphia International Airport. It's my first stop on my way to Australia.

I'm really nervous.

But I'm also really excited. These last two weeks have flown by, leaving me not a whole lot of time to process the fact that I'm leaving again for two months. Fortunately, I have 26 hours of traveling to come to grips with it.

That's all I have time for right now, since I still have to stuff a couple things in my bag and print a couple things out.

Jet lag can be very productive

I am not a morning person, BUT I have been getting up early (for me) because I can't sleep past 8 or so. I know, I know, it's been a week since I got home and I really should be over the jet lag. But I figured something out.

I can get a lot done during the day when I actually get up.

For some of you, this is a no brainer (and I guess it is for me too, I just try to deny it). Since I'm only home for a couple weeks though, I want to be extra productive and helpful with farm stuff, because I really do enjoy it. And because the weather was sort of fabulous at the end of last week.

Friday I poured concrete with my mom, sister, and dad. Mixing concrete by hand is a really good core and upper back workout. We managed to get all the concrete in the sales room done (yay!).

Saturday I learned a new skill! Using a torch to cut metal is fun and useful. There was a bunch of steel or iron  bars (I don't know my metals very well) that were about 16 feet long and needed to be much shorter to scrap, so we cut them up. I managed to not burn myself! And now if I need to break into a vault or something, I can do it with a torch. Of course, I don't condone burglary, so I probably won't be using my new skills for that much.

Sunday I went to a lovely wedding of a couple friends. The weather was very not summery, but the rain held off long enough for the ceremony to be outside.

Which reminds me, I'm mourning the loss of summer. There are a lot of crazy people out there that are excited about fall (yes, I believe you are crazy - you are welcome to judge me back for my love of sweltering heat). I suppose I shouldn't mourn it too much since I'm going to fly to summer next week.

That's right, folks, I'm going to Australia next week. I'm excited, but really nervous since I'm going by myself and it's halfway across the world. Also, I'll be there for seven weeks. If I end up not liking it (which I'm not expecting) I'm in a bunch of trouble. I'll  be WWOOFING (world wide opportunities for organic farming), so at least I will be staying with people and working alongside them, so that should be fun.

Time to get working on all that logistical stuff that goes along with such a trip.