tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38839132069812227392024-03-18T20:33:00.227-07:00Nomadic Lauralauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-54558297354363960072008-09-27T21:58:00.000-07:002008-09-27T22:12:51.000-07:00DMV Confession<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>It might have just been luck. But I didn’t deserve it. I was thrown together. I slept past my alarm. I even forgot my bike helmet until the 4 year old neighbor reprimanded me and recommended that I go back home and get it. As it turns out, the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> department of motor vehicles <i style="">can</i> give you a written test, upon license renewal. I hadn’t reviewed the difference between a guidance sign and a warning sign or read over the driver’s manual. And, I had moved, which <i style="">can</i> require documentary “proof of residence.” I had no such documents with me. I had just rolled out of bed. I’m not a morning person. I was not looking or feeling very swift.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I walked into the DMV and there were people EVERYWHERE… angry, unhappy people that had been waiting for hours. I only had really allowed an hour and a half to renew my license, and my lack of preparation made it seem a little unlikely to happen today. I wasn’t worried. It’s not my style, and besides, I don’t even really drive. I was not under the same pressure as the other, much more respectable <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Washington</st1:state></st1:place> residents at the DMV this morning. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And I couldn’t find the number dispenser. There were several lines and you were supposed to have a number to know your place in line. Gosh, I should have had some coffee. I did a full lap through all of the irritable people, trying not to stand out or look too happy. I may become a target. This type of tense environment can be dangerous. A riot could have broken out at the DMV this morning. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Finally, on the beginning of lap #2, I found the number dispensers. They were by the door, when you walk in, under a large sign that read: PLEASE TAKE NUMBER HERE.” Everyone can get a license. It’s not as intellectually challenging as I was finding it. As I started to push the button to dispense my number, a young woman at my left asked, “Are you renewing or getting a new license?” I had no intellectual capacity to spare, so I answered her honestly and acted like it was a reasonable question. Normally, I may have wondered why another DMV patron cared about my renewal vs. new license categorization. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I’m just renewing,” I told her. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Some guy got tired of waiting and gave me his number. I’m in the ‘new license’ line so I can’t use it. Do you want it?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Sure, thanks! That’s really nice.” Sweet. It was number 48. I took it and kept my other number, just in case. Cool, maybe that’ll speed things up a little. They weren’t calling the renewal numbers yet. I had no idea how long I was expected to wait. But whatever. I’ll just give it to someone else if I have to leave.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Right after I found a place to stand (all of the seats were taken and it actually took a few minutes to find a place to camp out that didn’t invade someone else’s personal space bubble), the reality message came. One of the DMV staff members stepped out from behind the counter and said “if you are waiting to get a new license, the current wait time is approximately <b style=""><i style="">two and a half hours</i></b>. If you are waiting to renew your license, the wait time is approximately <b style=""><i style="">one and a half hours</i></b>.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yikes! No wonder everyone was so stressed out. I briefly wondered how long <i style="">my</i> wait time was going to be, since I had the special number from my friend by the number machine. They still hadn’t called <i style="">any</i> numbers from my line since I had gotten there, so I had no idea where I stood. One man, who had <i style="">also</i> noticed that the “renewal” line was not only moving slowly, but it was not moving at all, took this opportunity to get some face time with the DMV guy making the announcement. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I couldn’t hear the entire exchange, but it ended with “Listen! I’m waiting for another 30 minutes; you had <i style="">better</i> start calling license renewal numbers before I leave!” And he was fuming. We were just short of a fiasco. The room was just shy of the tipping point to revolution. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As I was thinking about this, and wondering how angry that man would be if he knew about my little number situation, the number announcer came on: “number 48, please go to window two. Number 48, window two.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And there I went, took the vision test, gave them my new address, took a new photo, and signed the form… approximately 15 minutes after arriving… completely unprepared. Anyway, glad I got my new license. I’ll have to remember to do a bunch of nice things so I don’t mess up my karma too too much! </p>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-8775126833395226472008-03-02T20:35:00.001-08:002008-03-02T21:09:18.917-08:00Babyness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQiG6CngBvbGcrOStf5R_GYaC0Tfx7X1F0i6lnGpgPQYTcEuYHYOCTeNYqHbg8ojOl7g2-Pm3iKdxXwMmKzPJfvrKLvOMnaXyQ-seTCkt70tDNFgRErhSyGDysTXEOL5NQJyuGbz_BQvq/s1600-h/Lillian+the+cutie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQiG6CngBvbGcrOStf5R_GYaC0Tfx7X1F0i6lnGpgPQYTcEuYHYOCTeNYqHbg8ojOl7g2-Pm3iKdxXwMmKzPJfvrKLvOMnaXyQ-seTCkt70tDNFgRErhSyGDysTXEOL5NQJyuGbz_BQvq/s320/Lillian+the+cutie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173371009138531954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAqLV13iI2AuWdlIrxUNRWphywmNhwmxFjAq5kCzuDS5_yLDrIXSaVUEWM2i3zsYoFig2NhPGLJnpR3PwceizXJNzcBpbuzu9-B_oFrGtHLoMNIqwJLxV75TlZx6j_XnKIfUtLI8P098p/s1600-h/Abby+and+Jane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAqLV13iI2AuWdlIrxUNRWphywmNhwmxFjAq5kCzuDS5_yLDrIXSaVUEWM2i3zsYoFig2NhPGLJnpR3PwceizXJNzcBpbuzu9-B_oFrGtHLoMNIqwJLxV75TlZx6j_XnKIfUtLI8P098p/s320/Abby+and+Jane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173370566756900418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlNfTrPo7GG2DgWeEJLGUxl391-0vrP_jnrR3AlKyt-kff3JEtO8XQtrKBBoBnvHlMBGqCsSjMOKHAn8zX-c2XDwDLPoueFf7tp-RQJJGIUpzX-pTq9nUJELJ1xhRZBnp-FxCtlz_ymeU/s1600-h/audrey+and+laura.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlNfTrPo7GG2DgWeEJLGUxl391-0vrP_jnrR3AlKyt-kff3JEtO8XQtrKBBoBnvHlMBGqCsSjMOKHAn8zX-c2XDwDLPoueFf7tp-RQJJGIUpzX-pTq9nUJELJ1xhRZBnp-FxCtlz_ymeU/s320/audrey+and+laura.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173370571051867730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKshL3lMu8eIZO7Mh1fsY-hcqaltnZ7V1hOtiQ22eMsRPDd-vHk4RZtTfXLGjKmBzNRmSlTUPd4gLAIPaYfxGzTH195MDahpCA3-wZNOS3Kt3B5u3OgfetAu5YuGQfXvZ1BnDsOUCIYSRS/s1600-h/audrey+and+lauram.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKshL3lMu8eIZO7Mh1fsY-hcqaltnZ7V1hOtiQ22eMsRPDd-vHk4RZtTfXLGjKmBzNRmSlTUPd4gLAIPaYfxGzTH195MDahpCA3-wZNOS3Kt3B5u3OgfetAu5YuGQfXvZ1BnDsOUCIYSRS/s320/audrey+and+lauram.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173370592526704226" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-43937389300201083852008-03-02T20:02:00.000-08:002008-03-02T20:34:44.677-08:00I Love Berkeley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tPfcsqCEP_X1lVrcFPbTF7ZKARdhHc2QhNji2rFvbmBfxlDD2dn8LolHOjWT-tEHGuWDX1nVdg5mVw63DmN1DjvgayB0RtkAcOqjCWYj348Z2v-VIRB50hnJfJBiQ0MIYipYtlTbNvdj/s1600-h/mani+and+noah.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tPfcsqCEP_X1lVrcFPbTF7ZKARdhHc2QhNji2rFvbmBfxlDD2dn8LolHOjWT-tEHGuWDX1nVdg5mVw63DmN1DjvgayB0RtkAcOqjCWYj348Z2v-VIRB50hnJfJBiQ0MIYipYtlTbNvdj/s400/mani+and+noah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173364334759353858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nP6_TjmzgvvgErhZeyOBoXM9sBwxmdPl7-7emRRSTK8Zr2udmGo3ObnpC4CI0pGJy1mIEg2Q05ZfNfJQ5GrwkSNHU-6asMTcc5TMc94atGBQQkhpwsiNmmK-b5r0HhvTiWUDIVRyyMae/s1600-h/breast+feed+for+peace.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nP6_TjmzgvvgErhZeyOBoXM9sBwxmdPl7-7emRRSTK8Zr2udmGo3ObnpC4CI0pGJy1mIEg2Q05ZfNfJQ5GrwkSNHU-6asMTcc5TMc94atGBQQkhpwsiNmmK-b5r0HhvTiWUDIVRyyMae/s400/breast+feed+for+peace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173364317579484642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3whY0gH9CUpUrjdJhr2O0BC_pwiwK5FJg-sz_RbKzCDaWMmGPw_6pfYE2VxbYvtyv_IHrcEODAa87uP8T6jtTbIlG_0wI7_mm_JSBC3JjlLJ5TTwS3jFlCTn08FfrQvShTu1e5of-aN0/s1600-h/needle+exchange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3whY0gH9CUpUrjdJhr2O0BC_pwiwK5FJg-sz_RbKzCDaWMmGPw_6pfYE2VxbYvtyv_IHrcEODAa87uP8T6jtTbIlG_0wI7_mm_JSBC3JjlLJ5TTwS3jFlCTn08FfrQvShTu1e5of-aN0/s400/needle+exchange.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173364330464386546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tPfcsqCEP_X1lVrcFPbTF7ZKARdhHc2QhNji2rFvbmBfxlDD2dn8LolHOjWT-tEHGuWDX1nVdg5mVw63DmN1DjvgayB0RtkAcOqjCWYj348Z2v-VIRB50hnJfJBiQ0MIYipYtlTbNvdj/s1600-h/mani+and+noah.jpg"><br /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-77069277690078937902008-03-02T19:44:00.000-08:002008-03-16T10:31:06.924-07:00Escape to California<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStdJz3s8l8llzy9Nk3-kvYzjeivAINQcaWykrpmxikRPkmyc2VKUyGtJTlGqi4m54HNNCgmiaK6i8_c54rd7rUOyCH4vHRT09jv_dTBf-QVwTL2tsbQTMdJAtb-0U3jBrkgy6iRtdjbc8/s1600-h/Emmy+shoe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStdJz3s8l8llzy9Nk3-kvYzjeivAINQcaWykrpmxikRPkmyc2VKUyGtJTlGqi4m54HNNCgmiaK6i8_c54rd7rUOyCH4vHRT09jv_dTBf-QVwTL2tsbQTMdJAtb-0U3jBrkgy6iRtdjbc8/s320/Emmy+shoe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173374238953938562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSox4bIiWMP1CAfNwyzrZC-RK7q2IUdz442m20rSaMfpq2VMnuzg5wo0UmXP-mjurl-C3AgVKUsvL_hGpmk6TZkt3OXiUCpVbfBPEK9hz91qWntl8-3qLVjfM0VXNOcbSJXqLv9nIBbVB_/s1600-h/super+mom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSox4bIiWMP1CAfNwyzrZC-RK7q2IUdz442m20rSaMfpq2VMnuzg5wo0UmXP-mjurl-C3AgVKUsvL_hGpmk6TZkt3OXiUCpVbfBPEK9hz91qWntl8-3qLVjfM0VXNOcbSJXqLv9nIBbVB_/s320/super+mom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173374243248905874" border="0" /></a><br />California was a good place to find refuge from the Seattle rain with family this winter.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNl5PhZ5JbMzVpv6XC7WksLk1iDhPs_DGdrPlQlXMFuZSN1cUSNM1c-16GNYRoGyGdbVAoe3mH43fU_VJYDz0owSTI8Bftqh_OQrr9QbmuA5YIkRfgUeAcqRiSPg-Is3L42EGfx16wO_j/s1600-h/dad+and+robin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNl5PhZ5JbMzVpv6XC7WksLk1iDhPs_DGdrPlQlXMFuZSN1cUSNM1c-16GNYRoGyGdbVAoe3mH43fU_VJYDz0owSTI8Bftqh_OQrr9QbmuA5YIkRfgUeAcqRiSPg-Is3L42EGfx16wO_j/s400/dad+and+robin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173358553733373330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQF4EEABP8fl0sn3B09KSbQSEM1rUeNeQRcVktaGvlHhiX8zfqpqfsMRhp6mOboqjqVrscN8wVOgjZfLajnWDXUW7hKD6Zqg-3qvgcg679ueTKdlahEXEZUhFs5G2lW6W8bbYwmol9VKB/s1600-h/That's+everyone.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQF4EEABP8fl0sn3B09KSbQSEM1rUeNeQRcVktaGvlHhiX8zfqpqfsMRhp6mOboqjqVrscN8wVOgjZfLajnWDXUW7hKD6Zqg-3qvgcg679ueTKdlahEXEZUhFs5G2lW6W8bbYwmol9VKB/s400/That's+everyone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173358566618275282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazO953KSWbQf3JNRaRVb_tQ5yzv-Wqu1brEx1LzOjnSahmwwXYKGu8J1jODkA64FpF1R6ladDG_vkbv0hjB82ym7_RV70vw6D_OV6lmZu8PSBRwa_97D4IJ2Aarv3V8uLwjE97BpGi7d1/s1600-h/grandpa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazO953KSWbQf3JNRaRVb_tQ5yzv-Wqu1brEx1LzOjnSahmwwXYKGu8J1jODkA64FpF1R6ladDG_vkbv0hjB82ym7_RV70vw6D_OV6lmZu8PSBRwa_97D4IJ2Aarv3V8uLwjE97BpGi7d1/s400/grandpa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173358558028340642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjFSHmKYSslJrXIEaor92BDdujCX9sYbenxvgy-sVoY1Y8yzKAq13-HBoy_a3GpBVhM_jdhw_xuZlf1x6JqpfftZNFUYZlAoLR_YxsBObZ6pE3zO5rnpLSuJlBd2eh4GwurKLEp2fA5Nt/s1600-h/McLaughlin+ladies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjFSHmKYSslJrXIEaor92BDdujCX9sYbenxvgy-sVoY1Y8yzKAq13-HBoy_a3GpBVhM_jdhw_xuZlf1x6JqpfftZNFUYZlAoLR_YxsBObZ6pE3zO5rnpLSuJlBd2eh4GwurKLEp2fA5Nt/s400/McLaughlin+ladies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173358562323307954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKVni49Mb_nOF7iKe3Ac02AwtbTwQ4CjIwx8Ky-ogliRYSbHaXMuphmqbCuToPeDPldwda4MMjtAMJXNA8P87UvSdrR49LJwCMMvUwxxqwVhTJmulQfRCgl1rnF0qqWcDLPVhXykCb6a1/s1600-h/mom+and+grandma+E.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKVni49Mb_nOF7iKe3Ac02AwtbTwQ4CjIwx8Ky-ogliRYSbHaXMuphmqbCuToPeDPldwda4MMjtAMJXNA8P87UvSdrR49LJwCMMvUwxxqwVhTJmulQfRCgl1rnF0qqWcDLPVhXykCb6a1/s400/mom+and+grandma+E.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173358566618275266" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-85551523419967790192008-02-01T00:26:00.000-08:002008-02-03T21:59:08.797-08:00Survivors<p class="MsoNormal">Billy’s mom died last Thursday. It wasn’t very long ago that she was diagnosed with cancer, but they had time to start making plans. She died much sooner than expected. The whole family was planning to get together while she was still able to enjoy them. That was supposed to be <i style="">this</i> week. I haven’t talked to him yet, but I hear that Billy flew to Texas just in time, and was able to be with her in her final moments.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The same day that I found out that Billy’s mom and her doctors had decided that chemo was not an appropriate option for her, my Aunt Diane was diagnosed as terminal. She has three sons who are taking care of her. I admire their positive outlook, and their hope/acceptance balance. I have a lot of emotions that are a little more neurotic and confused. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This week, it seems like everyone is dying of cancer. I’m a little sad, but a little weirded out as well. It feels like the plague is striking again and picking up speed. I’m worried about my friends and family. I worry about myself. I’m sad.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cancer.<br />CANCER!<br />Fight cancer.<br />Fight!<br />Billy’s mom, Diane, Scott’s dad, Gina,<br />Meghan’s father, GRANDPA.<br />Everyone <i style="">everyone</i> EVERYONE!<br />Peace.<br />Find peace.<br />Rest In Peace.<br />Fight!<br />Peace. Fight. FIGHT!<br />Peace-fight-peace-fight.<br />PEACE!<br />Pre-CAN-CER-ous-cells.<br />Cigarettes. Cell phones. Car exhaust.<br />Sunblock?<br />Sun.<br />Chronic exposure.<br />Acute exposure?<br />Unknown risk.<br /><i style="">Everything</i> everyone everywhere.<br />Exhaustion.<br />Cancer.<br /><i style="">Live</i> In Peace.<br />Survive!<br />In Peace.</p>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-36456387311120108662007-12-16T20:45:00.000-08:002007-12-16T23:19:12.929-08:00Thankful in Fernley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIDEtMRJptHPANICudaku4M0KKBvm-Xkz7MG98I6HOrQJlkxWJ-a8BA2nn0-cPJD7p24VCKeiyQpeFWwPlmiHp7IXe02zqmUyZhLBWCAf3zabT87CPn40MLEjAvYYgu4t9b8hbkqz4SyS/s1600-h/small+CIMG1871.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIDEtMRJptHPANICudaku4M0KKBvm-Xkz7MG98I6HOrQJlkxWJ-a8BA2nn0-cPJD7p24VCKeiyQpeFWwPlmiHp7IXe02zqmUyZhLBWCAf3zabT87CPn40MLEjAvYYgu4t9b8hbkqz4SyS/s400/small+CIMG1871.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144820932729507666" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fernley</span>, Nevada is one of my prime Thanksgiving spots, I recently discovered. Uncle Danny and Aunt Kim moved there a few years ago and this was the first time that I've managed to visit. It's a small town without a whole lot of population. My cousin Lisa enjoys traveling through the Sierras to play in her soccer games (yes! Good job Lisa!) I'm hoping to convince her to move to Seattle for college. Then she can play in Co-rec. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">That'd</span> be fun!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHnqWn3ayehzNtWkiWtCamaVAgtPwWCOd9UYjPbo3RtRqPkUFQ1RAzRpM3U6iKZmNf-uCi-N7nYcVz4bujXLE7-G8O0W_xcxHzQkIbIWaxrtbGyrqqpD8ZQHe5IzUaptOndLhLtulghYT/s1600-h/small+CIMG1842.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHnqWn3ayehzNtWkiWtCamaVAgtPwWCOd9UYjPbo3RtRqPkUFQ1RAzRpM3U6iKZmNf-uCi-N7nYcVz4bujXLE7-G8O0W_xcxHzQkIbIWaxrtbGyrqqpD8ZQHe5IzUaptOndLhLtulghYT/s400/small+CIMG1842.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144820937024474978" border="0" /></a>I flew to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Fernley</span> via Mt. Rainier. Check it out! Twas a gorgeous day!<br /><br />As we looked down at the baren Nevada desert landscape, I had the great pleasure of listening to this: "People say there's overpopulation," a woman behind me proclaimed, "but there's not," she was very matter of fact. "Because, I mean, just look at Nevada. It's <span style="font-style: italic;">totally </span>empty. There ain't no people here." I was slightly irritated at her presence. But I was stuck with her, given the airplane situation. It certainly wasn't worth intervening. Just when I was about to get back to my Harry Potter book, she decided to continue. "I mean you could just take all those people in China, and put 'um right here in Nevada!"<br /><br />God bless America! It's not every country where people say things like that!<br /><br />Anyway, back to Fernley: We enjoyed a mean game of... of... this game that's kind of like Taboo and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Pictionary</span>, but you don't have to buy it. You just make it up yourself. I will not make up a name like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Tabictionary</span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Pictionoo</span>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEdjLoPQJw_Ywvn4fTf_ceHCwVvI783puGV0c8ZfcPQv6BrHznrchKaittziTcptoRDFGFOzmQucGV7zgDA4rzfmutUqP8zLEKtJBZ7VDBVbEQE8_1CHPlsLVy8HnePO3ur5AwPWllVMz/s1600-h/small+CIMG1851.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEdjLoPQJw_Ywvn4fTf_ceHCwVvI783puGV0c8ZfcPQv6BrHznrchKaittziTcptoRDFGFOzmQucGV7zgDA4rzfmutUqP8zLEKtJBZ7VDBVbEQE8_1CHPlsLVy8HnePO3ur5AwPWllVMz/s400/small+CIMG1851.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144831614313173010" border="0" /></a><br />Believe it or not, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Fernley</span> is not the only place in the area. Virginia City took us in for the afternoon. It showed us its Cowboys, its gambling, its unexplained love of Mark Twain, and a memorable fire drill in the local theater... It was a just a fire drill. It wasn't a security alarm that went off because my family was having an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">impromptu</span> talent show on the main stage that we thought was not in use. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Soooo</span>, no worries there. Just a fire alarm!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvC5jInGszJvsE65-Kw2nE8IFmtxvbYxs1Nt8VWSkMKtSCGi6WLx8yqAjOfaRP4Qm8ZThVQ_zq78fdpFoyg79zuuifjPhL_8rbgkIqcTdWPzz546sEBuDgfD4Q_wiG162trdorsXRnqtA/s1600-h/small+CIMG1869.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvC5jInGszJvsE65-Kw2nE8IFmtxvbYxs1Nt8VWSkMKtSCGi6WLx8yqAjOfaRP4Qm8ZThVQ_zq78fdpFoyg79zuuifjPhL_8rbgkIqcTdWPzz546sEBuDgfD4Q_wiG162trdorsXRnqtA/s400/small+CIMG1869.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144820941319442306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb57Q2lKec_NMotSi46jQDQyQYA1Pp8g8Zm6ivItp4eztOF1wfeRJEX0UWQbPeFxxY3YWf5tmm5ryGwwfDnmR9X63VwCY0eCrhEI4DKhqDrJxFQe2ZPlxX9OvOMQKHOG97SKHIf8pQTux/s1600-h/small+CIMG1881.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb57Q2lKec_NMotSi46jQDQyQYA1Pp8g8Zm6ivItp4eztOF1wfeRJEX0UWQbPeFxxY3YWf5tmm5ryGwwfDnmR9X63VwCY0eCrhEI4DKhqDrJxFQe2ZPlxX9OvOMQKHOG97SKHIf8pQTux/s400/small+CIMG1881.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144820941319442322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpFyGnXiu_Ib_vbuGJGOYhDKTExPJ4SPj4u5rlqq_739QfW77Ln-rvJlIwpB69z7aSZd9gJ1GH0a7clC8QN75vCO1nfuCk_F3fWX9ODJFxxnUbx24Gy7dZUGwWCWY3lXpejVhiZco_ITQ/s1600-h/small+CIMG1883.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpFyGnXiu_Ib_vbuGJGOYhDKTExPJ4SPj4u5rlqq_739QfW77Ln-rvJlIwpB69z7aSZd9gJ1GH0a7clC8QN75vCO1nfuCk_F3fWX9ODJFxxnUbx24Gy7dZUGwWCWY3lXpejVhiZco_ITQ/s400/small+CIMG1883.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144823625674002386" border="0" /></a>This is Robin hanging out with a statue of Mark Twain (the aforementioned love). She's HOT!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrh24dAI6Hmx27zGRLZr5TLqkv8J_P8cIHXA2UreIW0NX_yw9xL9Xx-CWtyem7-iFZLCaRuKusuPoXNKic3j33Rk4B5mhpgtP4I1V9f-J7n-vjNqJBDj_j4ObiDfppHxY3skFmR9Ef5H5U/s1600-h/small+CIMG1897.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrh24dAI6Hmx27zGRLZr5TLqkv8J_P8cIHXA2UreIW0NX_yw9xL9Xx-CWtyem7-iFZLCaRuKusuPoXNKic3j33Rk4B5mhpgtP4I1V9f-J7n-vjNqJBDj_j4ObiDfppHxY3skFmR9Ef5H5U/s400/small+CIMG1897.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144823634263937010" border="0" /></a>Tahoe also allowed us to enter... even after our talent show episode in Virginia City. They hadn't blacklisted us, at least not <span style="font-style: italic;">yet</span>. We didn't actually enter <span style="font-style: italic;">the lake</span>, for fear of freezing our little <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">booties</span> off, but we did walk around and check it out a little bit. And we ate burgers and garlic garlic garlic fries. They were good. I love garlic. And, while we alienated the rest of the world with our powerful breath, we had each other man. We were in it together. My family is there when I need them!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGCEYgvBClIdDC3k66E1gqoTpUNSY9TfgoledQEs36SYwRB9IPMn0nNc0hHtPzeyhvcBggPlIixzWCjCbxb9jE2mCoZm9sx6R2wjK89hXoyHi_yAnGuYBdtxLDH4Z2p0FVIULDdf_WX5g/s1600-h/small+CIMG1886.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGCEYgvBClIdDC3k66E1gqoTpUNSY9TfgoledQEs36SYwRB9IPMn0nNc0hHtPzeyhvcBggPlIixzWCjCbxb9jE2mCoZm9sx6R2wjK89hXoyHi_yAnGuYBdtxLDH4Z2p0FVIULDdf_WX5g/s400/small+CIMG1886.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144823629968969698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8LZD-dqcNJ7c0xsO7KaxGyXMZsa4LU2tv4ZkuA5e2DT9Ibg7q_TUsYyPL7bBOMisXzvs9yhugpknsf60LuwU1QJu5sMr07gXy7G5U1Tl0sS5O0UW7q6DORf3tTsjUedwALLDsdlXMNiL/s1600-h/small+CIMG1889.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8LZD-dqcNJ7c0xsO7KaxGyXMZsa4LU2tv4ZkuA5e2DT9Ibg7q_TUsYyPL7bBOMisXzvs9yhugpknsf60LuwU1QJu5sMr07gXy7G5U1Tl0sS5O0UW7q6DORf3tTsjUedwALLDsdlXMNiL/s400/small+CIMG1889.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144831618608140322" border="0" /></a>These are the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Perrymans</span>. I love them very much. I realize this is not a very good <span style="font-style: italic;">picture </span>of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Perrymans</span>, but it my only picture with all <span style="font-style: italic;">four </span>of them. In fact, this, my friends is my only picture of Cheryl in my entire photo collection from Thanksgiving. Note to Cheryl <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Perryman</span>: hang out with us for longer! Maybe next year I'll include your entire face in a photo, instead of only two-thirds of it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXV8wr1G_SaNchPvN9woH9phfmViSq1-dV5LS2yeIbvBXmbovurGo_qpKEjJLBnNZ1ZSWhf_PkZ-0CX7oi_1_37MROAgTY3qNI3z5Tat_eVOsairPKC0bmd-Wz3CxuTV9qUO3l3uWmOd8/s1600-h/small+CIMG1893.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXV8wr1G_SaNchPvN9woH9phfmViSq1-dV5LS2yeIbvBXmbovurGo_qpKEjJLBnNZ1ZSWhf_PkZ-0CX7oi_1_37MROAgTY3qNI3z5Tat_eVOsairPKC0bmd-Wz3CxuTV9qUO3l3uWmOd8/s400/small+CIMG1893.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144823634263937026" border="0" /></a>We all had a GREAT time in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Fernley</span>! Even Robin thought so! Countless thanks to Kim, Dan, Cheryl, and Lisa for hosting us all and throwing a rockin' Thanksgiving party!lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-25302248493671827182007-10-31T21:32:00.000-07:002007-11-02T23:31:29.241-07:00Mongolian Camel Movie<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY9KEPTLbdVIbXRyeyaTsc3Bv7vwaEkLOHg6lWJay6GH0Pblv0rqdfXzy-1fPlCMTMVrzuUTNbLdwGrGgIRDNjVQG4gWvEstvjNSrhaQOyakdObuaAqa2595jSSxP693JPIP0kP56-wxQ/s1600-h/CIMG1707.JPG"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyL2hPml7KoNTv3nxgIfq2xq2NA-EuyyHyVU0BpJ6MR1RBBUgU5VD7fT0drv76AZH7DrUMSjSGDMS0Ip0qoJg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></a><br /></div>The railway runs through Siberia and the Gobi Desert. It kind of looked like this most of the way from south of Lake Baikal to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ulaanbaatar</span>, except the little pond was special.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FkohvYBc24uvKx0tGRCTW1QHLqetmVxbht5Boz_TSJO2MSaPtjlqlzUbMCveFJ_EVI_HyA5iR8YI-NARVQbF2ni8IoizWetqSSSPHPvoIb45y9ChiZcRK9J42BVrIICQziQgeXk3Tf-v/s1600-h/CIMG1730.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FkohvYBc24uvKx0tGRCTW1QHLqetmVxbht5Boz_TSJO2MSaPtjlqlzUbMCveFJ_EVI_HyA5iR8YI-NARVQbF2ni8IoizWetqSSSPHPvoIb45y9ChiZcRK9J42BVrIICQziQgeXk3Tf-v/s400/CIMG1730.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127742387102272674" border="0" /></a><br />We found refuge inside the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ger</span> for a mean game of sheep ankle bones. It's a game played with... ankle bones of sheep.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvT1licMAE20NOh80vBTz4f8-ogv-tG-i1AGwbGh5zutXXToER54q_mQdgRXi1o2dRrGPSZZnEvD97XGami00eNTBhn0Y7Qnhv8GhxP7Z-pqdB060Jyc8MAkCSCBEnTl6AnkvSXTv2tf0/s1600-h/CIMG1715.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvT1licMAE20NOh80vBTz4f8-ogv-tG-i1AGwbGh5zutXXToER54q_mQdgRXi1o2dRrGPSZZnEvD97XGami00eNTBhn0Y7Qnhv8GhxP7Z-pqdB060Jyc8MAkCSCBEnTl6AnkvSXTv2tf0/s400/CIMG1715.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127742374217370754" border="0" /></a><br />The National Park had some beautiful views, but unfortunately not any hiking trails that we saw.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY9KEPTLbdVIbXRyeyaTsc3Bv7vwaEkLOHg6lWJay6GH0Pblv0rqdfXzy-1fPlCMTMVrzuUTNbLdwGrGgIRDNjVQG4gWvEstvjNSrhaQOyakdObuaAqa2595jSSxP693JPIP0kP56-wxQ/s1600-h/CIMG1707.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY9KEPTLbdVIbXRyeyaTsc3Bv7vwaEkLOHg6lWJay6GH0Pblv0rqdfXzy-1fPlCMTMVrzuUTNbLdwGrGgIRDNjVQG4gWvEstvjNSrhaQOyakdObuaAqa2595jSSxP693JPIP0kP56-wxQ/s400/CIMG1707.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127740252503526418" border="0" /></a>This would have been a perfect sampling well for my microbial source tracking project. The cows hang around right next to the drinking water well. I would say this is a high-risk well. It may or may not have been the source of my intestinal difficulties to come.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVCQOx36cOLvgmqzFWFBA8YzqTdDYbmswVraA_SZ0T-F9Nk6tlRVk0310ttE0aBQAfesBukLjHHIdYGmpPDH1QJZjUnBc1DLIRbB2QV2lm9bUQxYzw3xqlD3ZNikOlBWdu11jSR8d_3Kz/s1600-h/CIMG1713.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVCQOx36cOLvgmqzFWFBA8YzqTdDYbmswVraA_SZ0T-F9Nk6tlRVk0310ttE0aBQAfesBukLjHHIdYGmpPDH1QJZjUnBc1DLIRbB2QV2lm9bUQxYzw3xqlD3ZNikOlBWdu11jSR8d_3Kz/s400/CIMG1713.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127740256798493730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61GNHk_jEcOEMnp3Vj4UmPiK2hGO2rzsNRg77eOL0a12HSDCtgT6p7fMTVbc6eElNg5MOpYIBKrXOjV6j0jgah3IuusDEPpwqdHP2tKLLn9eNG6uOwwT2P0d_SsXLDseeJeIgLOK2CPtT/s1600-h/CIMG1717.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61GNHk_jEcOEMnp3Vj4UmPiK2hGO2rzsNRg77eOL0a12HSDCtgT6p7fMTVbc6eElNg5MOpYIBKrXOjV6j0jgah3IuusDEPpwqdHP2tKLLn9eNG6uOwwT2P0d_SsXLDseeJeIgLOK2CPtT/s400/CIMG1717.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127740265388428338" border="0" /></a>This is what the traditional Mongolian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">gers</span> (or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">yurts</span>) look like. The families move five or ten kilometers away, four times each year. It takes three adults about an hour to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">disassemble</span> on of these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">gers</span> and pack it up (usually onto a truck).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB9Jo9g8Xh2GLculM_9EpyRAlF9FTi3x3vtRHxEMfsY25AmEkEqggU5dXvq_CUFB4LjZYlz4U4S0_JaEqaGoLhIfkn7h88sJtkQEzMF_uyKxs9f_emDVi8vhMjnmcnvIrJrumz13ZoVgK/s1600-h/CIMG1720.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB9Jo9g8Xh2GLculM_9EpyRAlF9FTi3x3vtRHxEMfsY25AmEkEqggU5dXvq_CUFB4LjZYlz4U4S0_JaEqaGoLhIfkn7h88sJtkQEzMF_uyKxs9f_emDVi8vhMjnmcnvIrJrumz13ZoVgK/s400/CIMG1720.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127740265388428354" border="0" /></a>It was beautiful in Mongolia... but darn cold!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoVszFEF-UTCWIZelV5fdhQBefMn4K6sy2WkCvr5NQZzDkY77l6tNF1gstDTKc0by-JOL4lOsLVSoBXYTz70iqFK4jUmn4xyKK9pYID_nOWe_oZ1pKCiomTsdSAgOiTVQCWpzlH1U2NFv/s1600-h/CIMG1719.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoVszFEF-UTCWIZelV5fdhQBefMn4K6sy2WkCvr5NQZzDkY77l6tNF1gstDTKc0by-JOL4lOsLVSoBXYTz70iqFK4jUmn4xyKK9pYID_nOWe_oZ1pKCiomTsdSAgOiTVQCWpzlH1U2NFv/s400/CIMG1719.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127740273978362962" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-15561122404465386282007-10-27T01:11:00.000-07:002007-10-27T01:13:34.284-07:00Adjusting AdjustingMy dear, sweet Uncle Hal took me in to Spanaway, and sent me back out again to Seattle on Wednesday morning. He picked me up at the airport after one of the clearest days I’ve ever seen along the west coast. Seriously, you could see all of the San Francisco Bay bridges from the plane! It was phenomenal! For those of you who aren’t familiar with San Francisco weather, IT’S ALWAYS FOGGY. The flight from San Francisco to Seattle was beautiful the entire way. However, I missed a lot of it because I was busy relishing in the fact that I was coming home with Ben, the person on my right. He and his wife had lived in the Czech Republic ten years ago. He acted like it was special to be the one to share this moment with me. “I feel so lucky to live vicariously through you right now,” he said. “OK, what do you want to eat most when you get back to Seattle?”<br /><br />That was when I first realized “yeah! I’m coming home!” I survived the past year abroad. And there’s something about coming home that makes me realize how human I am. I just got back from Siberia, the Gobi Dessert, the Arctic Circle, but I feel the same way that I felt after the first day of kindergarten. I’m home!lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-76373753589640696432007-10-26T23:36:00.000-07:002007-10-27T00:19:34.665-07:00Beijing Traffic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBlytr51bXJUUar_nkXK0XcvNZZD3BAB7weXmPHy4noyiwDs5sIdouUq5ebJGMeuCIHSiX-zHZBmOM_4WUXbLTK-oNehdPcpaBHtRqLXAcTZzK7qEdh8sTIC4B8aRbP7uMF9B8rHvad20/s1600-h/CIMG1812.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBlytr51bXJUUar_nkXK0XcvNZZD3BAB7weXmPHy4noyiwDs5sIdouUq5ebJGMeuCIHSiX-zHZBmOM_4WUXbLTK-oNehdPcpaBHtRqLXAcTZzK7qEdh8sTIC4B8aRbP7uMF9B8rHvad20/s400/CIMG1812.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125907254950874050" border="0" /></a>Nobody is winning the battle between the motorists and the pedestrians in Beijing. But, strangely enough, no one seems to be losing too badly either. OK, this is the situation at most intersections: You get to the corner and you notice an immense amount of activity. There are bikes. Lots of bikes. Pretty cool bike of all kinds, but anyway. Some go straight, some stop, and some turn either left or right. There are vehicles. The same is true for the cars (stop, straight, left, or right). And then there are pedestrians. In addition, if you can see him amongst all of the activity, there’s often a crossing guard officer with the apparent goal of keeping this quadratic equation in order. But he’s very polite, and you don’t really have to listen to him is you don’t feel like it. And he doesn’t exactly agree with the traffic signal. He’s usually a little ahead of the traffic light… probably… if you trust him. Oh yeah, if you’re a motorist and you want to turn either left or right on the red light, you’re in the right city! Both left and right turning seem to be acceptable on the red. No problem there.<br /><br />If you’re a pedestrian, your chances of making it across the intersection with all of your appendages in tact is just as good with the signal as without. There are bikes and cars coming at you from all directions at all times, regardless of the greenness of the traffic light. In fact, I bet you’re better off crossing in the middle of the block instead of at the intersection where you have four directions of oncoming objects, instead of just two.<br /><br />The funny thing was, I hardly saw any close calls between motorists and pedestrians (except with myself and a few motorists/bicyclists). This was not true in Paris, Porto, Tampere, or Helsinki, where I had a much better understanding of what I was supposed to do in order to conserve life at the traffic intersections. Somehow, everyone develops the necessary dexterity and visual acuity required to cross the street in Beijing. Or maybe no one is left who unfortunately did not develop these skills. I am proud to say I survived (though just barely) pedestrianism in Beijing!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB48JgVm95xBPvRUnSeLrjo5-yXRqw2p1LB7j0bk1caqcZHbY5RzueUF7sdteRgPex5Lz9pUu7w-SR4gisG21zi2i6tYHw44UIpGi7NepPEusRPX1i5bxkJbk9oEAnZ_Q8wiHs3wucYvC/s1600-h/CIMG1814.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB48JgVm95xBPvRUnSeLrjo5-yXRqw2p1LB7j0bk1caqcZHbY5RzueUF7sdteRgPex5Lz9pUu7w-SR4gisG21zi2i6tYHw44UIpGi7NepPEusRPX1i5bxkJbk9oEAnZ_Q8wiHs3wucYvC/s400/CIMG1814.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125907280720677842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81ITJ5tBIjvaqfnlwvc9IrxqFF8opFZGH_kSfZKrOuq2X0DKXM7KA2v80dskaWBBOTbnSCCwQPiskJvQaw0yR-cucySXXBshrci3T7cca_ECN7IAlX4EXHmENnKQ7DUstXyl5kl5_H-XO/s1600-h/CIMG1816.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81ITJ5tBIjvaqfnlwvc9IrxqFF8opFZGH_kSfZKrOuq2X0DKXM7KA2v80dskaWBBOTbnSCCwQPiskJvQaw0yR-cucySXXBshrci3T7cca_ECN7IAlX4EXHmENnKQ7DUstXyl5kl5_H-XO/s400/CIMG1816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125907306490481634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghESgJhXXFsQ7UKSDxeAvUbrW8J9FmFU8vFLQ7ItfCuxPEV56alPBrXwlnsVeSsEwXbr0ih9cKg4vcExTKo3P4ntoY1Twe58sd1_J4YR-qr6nmUO4vv1xERUIJZrcYpo4bVmrzdO4kdRi/s1600-h/CIMG1820.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghESgJhXXFsQ7UKSDxeAvUbrW8J9FmFU8vFLQ7ItfCuxPEV56alPBrXwlnsVeSsEwXbr0ih9cKg4vcExTKo3P4ntoY1Twe58sd1_J4YR-qr6nmUO4vv1xERUIJZrcYpo4bVmrzdO4kdRi/s400/CIMG1820.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125907323670350834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikq9S54FJqTS8djq6a5yMU_YCnLmqJZSIly8Z5d5_R3hIT5OOnWpjDpU2QLzDkKd73oBdqx0jyV0z7D2vZZt9qQBz8EeSLbgo6jvx3As5kq1BP8Go-4hwJV1AiuvWSLuFpAaWZ2215YhZ4/s1600-h/CIMG1824.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikq9S54FJqTS8djq6a5yMU_YCnLmqJZSIly8Z5d5_R3hIT5OOnWpjDpU2QLzDkKd73oBdqx0jyV0z7D2vZZt9qQBz8EeSLbgo6jvx3As5kq1BP8Go-4hwJV1AiuvWSLuFpAaWZ2215YhZ4/s400/CIMG1824.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125907340850220034" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-45304964590044900732007-10-26T22:35:00.000-07:002007-10-26T23:35:06.028-07:00The Most Annoying Lady in the World<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcV_XSl8_jkKR2WH5PGxdxp_t8QHEHukxCRgW-26jl9ceyzPLkPl0_EHdR97sh3Ke5P_J7ZzG_gjeytebvpDEckPLdqWuONMy6qkCRP9wbVeaYhX9SW_0KDpqeZ3KbQzx4EVQh9OVNzZ3/s1600-h/CIMG1691.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcV_XSl8_jkKR2WH5PGxdxp_t8QHEHukxCRgW-26jl9ceyzPLkPl0_EHdR97sh3Ke5P_J7ZzG_gjeytebvpDEckPLdqWuONMy6qkCRP9wbVeaYhX9SW_0KDpqeZ3KbQzx4EVQh9OVNzZ3/s400/CIMG1691.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125889563980581794" border="0" /></a>Marie and I encountered her at Simatai, a semi-touristy town nestled up against the Great Wall of China. Actually, she encountered us. It wasn’t a casual encounter either. We were not special. She was looking for someone to follow, and as tourists, we qualified. She followed us as we hiked along the Great Wall for over an hour offering unwanted information and tourist trinkets. How can we get away from her? We wondered.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQon2XOUfaLXQu8HczP4Id6ErXSoyfU8HWi4nh1e4p1NULWndihh3W5F_49PGymrkAu2VSxtWrtAcmkvIC-rQIvj85OWNS1IfcIEZmMCJP5q8zf8eLmR7rGoSmK0oMOrBR-Ahw4guq-h5/s1600-h/CIMG1692.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQon2XOUfaLXQu8HczP4Id6ErXSoyfU8HWi4nh1e4p1NULWndihh3W5F_49PGymrkAu2VSxtWrtAcmkvIC-rQIvj85OWNS1IfcIEZmMCJP5q8zf8eLmR7rGoSmK0oMOrBR-Ahw4guq-h5/s400/CIMG1692.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125889551095679890" border="0" /></a><br />The Great Wall is precariously balanced along a steep ridge, with the original purpose of guarding China from… various enemies throughout history. While it had questionable success, its placement also makes for fundamentally amazing views, which are aggressively marketed at tourists all around the world. If we only had peace and no annoying ladies following us, we could imagine China back in the day, defending its territory. And, so long as we faced away from the snack bar, the tourist gondola that transported us three quarters of the way up the mountain, and the merchants selling plaques that said “Great Wall,” we could enjoy the beauty of the region.<br /><br />“We want peace,” Marie very genuinely, yet assertively, explained with her outstanding Mandarin language skills. “We don’t have any money.” This was actually true. It wasn’t a miscalculation so much as we forgot to think about the funds before leaving Beijing. We had precisely the right amount of money to get us on the bus back to Beijing. No more, no less. No snacks. No trinkets. Our annoying follower had heard this before and it unfortunately just fueled the fire.<br /><br />“Mongolia side,” she pointed to one side of the wall. “Chinese side,” she pointed to the other side (with the trinket tables and the snack bar). We happened to already know which side of the Wall was Chinese.<br /><br />She was ANNOYING!! After over an hour of ignoring her/asking her to leave us alone my temper came through. “NO!” I yelled (in English). “I don’t want any postcards that say China is beautiful!” But then I was a little surprised (and I felt a little meaner than Marie) when she actually did leave us alone after that. Maybe it was because we were almost to the end of our walk along the Wall… and not because I’m so horribly mean that I was able to scare away even the most annoying lady in the world. Anyway, we had the last 20 minutes to ourselves to enjoy the tranquil beauty of Simatai.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61v4_VlPWyJ9MsqGa1piFG348ESe0xB_bETIsJA0cUlKMLdEtNDzD003ycSHbpcO7fN5k55eRZ-iUOf0Hm231XzVWIZv0FzHqgnyYUYw1HW0hytm2VX4NEGAV_idhtjiG44KGCwIosN4B/s1600-h/CIMG1695.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61v4_VlPWyJ9MsqGa1piFG348ESe0xB_bETIsJA0cUlKMLdEtNDzD003ycSHbpcO7fN5k55eRZ-iUOf0Hm231XzVWIZv0FzHqgnyYUYw1HW0hytm2VX4NEGAV_idhtjiG44KGCwIosN4B/s400/CIMG1695.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125889516735941490" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxe8USr6y6sBUGUeF338hSkpWSszWC3msQ1KwD3MV3nr8Uil_sG5bqTeNFkdBdV12cc-f9LeKe7MVX0EcPN4qTRy14l6248IGs1x5C8qWjfxSZ2oeZbFM3KiulVWEi3m6cqdWM1O3MGwQ/s1600-h/CIMG1697.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxe8USr6y6sBUGUeF338hSkpWSszWC3msQ1KwD3MV3nr8Uil_sG5bqTeNFkdBdV12cc-f9LeKe7MVX0EcPN4qTRy14l6248IGs1x5C8qWjfxSZ2oeZbFM3KiulVWEi3m6cqdWM1O3MGwQ/s400/CIMG1697.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125889585455418290" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-82309182236665437992007-10-05T06:55:00.001-07:002007-10-05T07:12:54.905-07:0031 in Moscow!!I turned 31 in Moscow on the 28th, just after meeting up with Marie and Ever in St. Petersburg. We toured around and motivated to start our journey across Russia.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwrfHYmEUCtUjVVvPUfa-xFON1P6KYoxDTPdkxDWCHNEmxlM5w5InLdIBJ86ROqSLycbcKSbZCf_-dPcjBNAvrG5B2erY4Jh2mpNnKSSzl1Ksmpfl7RBgdGhbGilvfI7jhGKg0_48IsMK/s1600-h/CIMG1247.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwrfHYmEUCtUjVVvPUfa-xFON1P6KYoxDTPdkxDWCHNEmxlM5w5InLdIBJ86ROqSLycbcKSbZCf_-dPcjBNAvrG5B2erY4Jh2mpNnKSSzl1Ksmpfl7RBgdGhbGilvfI7jhGKg0_48IsMK/s400/CIMG1247.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117852305972113602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgAwn5OHgpSJvaXW011RNYhd7XphkJa6lEu3FK1qJHl2vDbNROy71DiBlVGVwnbVSUb6nnsYPmTUy6o0S7rJqRauTXOXAMzFKBbEk1Mn7ia0XDoFeQIc6a7-Lx36CoEbmaojcDIz1v2Rf/s1600-h/CIMG1249.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgAwn5OHgpSJvaXW011RNYhd7XphkJa6lEu3FK1qJHl2vDbNROy71DiBlVGVwnbVSUb6nnsYPmTUy6o0S7rJqRauTXOXAMzFKBbEk1Mn7ia0XDoFeQIc6a7-Lx36CoEbmaojcDIz1v2Rf/s400/CIMG1249.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117851799165972610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUpLRfKQPkU11l9x0bQI6nmoPLhh9ZVCSn4WiCOFTRbmtc1I2Jjsnv84Gv2JjyfcPFIqEppOTqXMmL1lBCQJP8QEzVIl7wss1cqwua_XAeTSu-chtghU3-EiTnFbj6Hap0upUAIovV4Lg/s1600-h/CIMG1250.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUpLRfKQPkU11l9x0bQI6nmoPLhh9ZVCSn4WiCOFTRbmtc1I2Jjsnv84Gv2JjyfcPFIqEppOTqXMmL1lBCQJP8QEzVIl7wss1cqwua_XAeTSu-chtghU3-EiTnFbj6Hap0upUAIovV4Lg/s400/CIMG1250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117851807755907234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKYvPG6IrxZVwE0KgoHn6JtZSZtbutgESuBZsXY3sSooC0iZz-3_bmERXmy5AtxvU_ezPcMdU1PnPUOVuhrPC4qVQy9AWQpo6U1ZIJJmMbX4_zO-NtuwPA1A9w8N6-Q5vpLwBSyTgdy2W/s1600-h/CIMG1254.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKYvPG6IrxZVwE0KgoHn6JtZSZtbutgESuBZsXY3sSooC0iZz-3_bmERXmy5AtxvU_ezPcMdU1PnPUOVuhrPC4qVQy9AWQpo6U1ZIJJmMbX4_zO-NtuwPA1A9w8N6-Q5vpLwBSyTgdy2W/s400/CIMG1254.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117851807755907250" border="0" /></a><br />I have many pictures and few words on Krasniarsk and Yekateringburg. There are many stories to tell. You will hear them when internet access is more frequent.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi3fHVaa7VE-w78MVCXU8tZFlHN__N8UQXv8pi2XwIgh9tRHiqOvOqJCLtp_9kIETbYKyf4BoI9xRzFMtiLzLkQBmGmMAwVzQ0cfnxV_3tcEvQg0VOiNO8n2gg10seaRuQsLo5dXgkNiq/s1600-h/CIMG1237.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi3fHVaa7VE-w78MVCXU8tZFlHN__N8UQXv8pi2XwIgh9tRHiqOvOqJCLtp_9kIETbYKyf4BoI9xRzFMtiLzLkQBmGmMAwVzQ0cfnxV_3tcEvQg0VOiNO8n2gg10seaRuQsLo5dXgkNiq/s400/CIMG1237.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117854127038247218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpDc4OrFsA1Jf6mNXMUmWbpx21tslPdZHmUKY4g76IlFqd-RpSI1EIarQ6H1ymE7wxaDCCTDbF_azrzrge0SDqjcW-v89Ngw2s3dqPPHn66OwFdJhAHAmyN9BscNVfVfYzfglGDLFXdN-/s1600-h/CIMG1242.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpDc4OrFsA1Jf6mNXMUmWbpx21tslPdZHmUKY4g76IlFqd-RpSI1EIarQ6H1ymE7wxaDCCTDbF_azrzrge0SDqjcW-v89Ngw2s3dqPPHn66OwFdJhAHAmyN9BscNVfVfYzfglGDLFXdN-/s400/CIMG1242.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117853792030798066" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrrjWeKG35rdhgAq6Ksm-7QuQqEETdqVhvPb-XAp3q0ms5exEY0bdrw6-69jQ1zqFJc-uWc1wMpQttG1k1McaRSe7EM6sNkGeagXy2YCe29J_B0rl66xzXXOnmhDCcLbVx7N3fb4M_wDA/s1600-h/CIMG1240.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrrjWeKG35rdhgAq6Ksm-7QuQqEETdqVhvPb-XAp3q0ms5exEY0bdrw6-69jQ1zqFJc-uWc1wMpQttG1k1McaRSe7EM6sNkGeagXy2YCe29J_B0rl66xzXXOnmhDCcLbVx7N3fb4M_wDA/s400/CIMG1240.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117853800620732690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29DDm0DCMSHra-KajEq-Ovgoo5ipFPLwCr_cGih9zx_vehPY07N70p58invsqjv2-6EWgk0dNKqvfyxor4ukqfXPQspw-Qwu-gp6w1aXH5LTCwDnN0sWxRZu6G5qhgDIYhLKsiYDaF_zc/s1600-h/CIMG1244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29DDm0DCMSHra-KajEq-Ovgoo5ipFPLwCr_cGih9zx_vehPY07N70p58invsqjv2-6EWgk0dNKqvfyxor4ukqfXPQspw-Qwu-gp6w1aXH5LTCwDnN0sWxRZu6G5qhgDIYhLKsiYDaF_zc/s400/CIMG1244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117853796325765378" border="0" /></a>Sunday we're off to Mongolia!lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-28554896945376871132007-10-05T06:46:00.000-07:002007-10-05T06:53:52.194-07:00Lake Baikal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGioksHumwuzhmQNCS7d5pL7tlOdu-ONN9gD0fS2lI2Bu3Q4jMRuzRh6-Edk1QpMLOj62e8fbidMiW1X3YMq8w82T3vnqSQ0zVXgCdAqp6Gf0dtoajR9pZjUBDz4XJRWpqDmjFS9643UhA/s1600-h/CIMG1230.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGioksHumwuzhmQNCS7d5pL7tlOdu-ONN9gD0fS2lI2Bu3Q4jMRuzRh6-Edk1QpMLOj62e8fbidMiW1X3YMq8w82T3vnqSQ0zVXgCdAqp6Gf0dtoajR9pZjUBDz4XJRWpqDmjFS9643UhA/s400/CIMG1230.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117850334582124610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbLpKwA5NL4PJStEHZbyQ0mCV9fMMHr-JIzdnR6EtN0x1oFWVK-kvLr2-9OTwlQnINOOyKML1CUW_m68ludYetoDErQCsw5MFPC3ZTeEvhfrxqqOoDFwZi7Ql2HJGVIJ4_KpkaLAzzN75/s1600-h/CIMG1232.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbLpKwA5NL4PJStEHZbyQ0mCV9fMMHr-JIzdnR6EtN0x1oFWVK-kvLr2-9OTwlQnINOOyKML1CUW_m68ludYetoDErQCsw5MFPC3ZTeEvhfrxqqOoDFwZi7Ql2HJGVIJ4_KpkaLAzzN75/s400/CIMG1232.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117850338877091922" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBxMasgwWyCYVa9zNfMuDeYb48VKHdNGqbqQVeRDEHwptgq2lVvB80ayX0Zh45-x6JU1z8lMOH-fSJJeNX-rSwASkWkpqfqc2tSdx6hUbvVaGPmb-6oVOh3Ruq8ZvrUYQe1HBb1ij29ew/s1600-h/CIMG1236.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBxMasgwWyCYVa9zNfMuDeYb48VKHdNGqbqQVeRDEHwptgq2lVvB80ayX0Zh45-x6JU1z8lMOH-fSJJeNX-rSwASkWkpqfqc2tSdx6hUbvVaGPmb-6oVOh3Ruq8ZvrUYQe1HBb1ij29ew/s400/CIMG1236.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117850347467026530" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-28161370638810595192007-09-26T03:13:00.000-07:002007-09-26T03:52:36.056-07:00Slovakia!!!Slovakia was filled with warm hostpitality, castles, and some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen! Dasa showed me places that I never would have figured out how to get to on my own. She shared her family with me and even took me to the castle where she worked at as a tour guide during highschool... while translating all the while. I found myself laughing a whole lot even though I spoke very very little Slovak. It is an amazing place!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS4TAN9Gq_pLIt8vUDxkTlsHWUZeHR8WGLRoD5h9fHXHe3O2NeKjDfjCZ-TiuTcpL58oJFnowuwCt3GVP9BZ-tyLIgh4xFBomDqANamDDSZk6w2VyKYwGBY59sOly9xPTEGHeowfvHQA2/s1600-h/CIMG0918.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458426748848386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS4TAN9Gq_pLIt8vUDxkTlsHWUZeHR8WGLRoD5h9fHXHe3O2NeKjDfjCZ-TiuTcpL58oJFnowuwCt3GVP9BZ-tyLIgh4xFBomDqANamDDSZk6w2VyKYwGBY59sOly9xPTEGHeowfvHQA2/s400/CIMG0918.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dasa and her mom showed me around Nitra.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_Q5OdFvKsi06BN5KjEa8ycnr7PxMj8Qskn_xLRBgCr0rrU55fMRhske3HThOFU1uB77OC6j5k9yHzYelcGdbUu0JzrHFEMtnlzSpKwP3YzeUOP__xfUMEEqzA6JE_q14Q3tiubuzxd8R/s1600-h/CIMG0919.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458431043815698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_Q5OdFvKsi06BN5KjEa8ycnr7PxMj8Qskn_xLRBgCr0rrU55fMRhske3HThOFU1uB77OC6j5k9yHzYelcGdbUu0JzrHFEMtnlzSpKwP3YzeUOP__xfUMEEqzA6JE_q14Q3tiubuzxd8R/s400/CIMG0919.JPG" border="0" /></a>Dasa's mom cooked us a tasty dinner and then took us out for some warm spiced wine to keep us from getting too cold!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOuFeQLK2BBaUXy1NZiIErEJAv3ZtfjaY5mOIZhOGJQK2uz3Yx0LRaTN1SYmW7XUxtbeisMScYFM8MCd9h9ARTOHol6iATybncrU0FF0qFdXeAyHovcQ103XM6x5f-aam7gLqCCCtKRIr/s1600-h/CIMG0920.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458001547086018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOuFeQLK2BBaUXy1NZiIErEJAv3ZtfjaY5mOIZhOGJQK2uz3Yx0LRaTN1SYmW7XUxtbeisMScYFM8MCd9h9ARTOHol6iATybncrU0FF0qFdXeAyHovcQ103XM6x5f-aam7gLqCCCtKRIr/s400/CIMG0920.JPG" border="0" /></a> The view from Dasa's window in Nitra! Can you believe it? Amazing!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiwTARJ_m1D9ACZMEViPgR5KQO57_ARV7fheNugHx1pyU59nGkgBfETgaX5y9pYVkNod-49Zys5_X8LC3XTpPD484BUUlotmMhFad4FT3L8wHmFOKTAGC-X-i9qyYMJ8CI3LM5Vhkjo5U/s1600-h/CIMG0921.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458005842053330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiwTARJ_m1D9ACZMEViPgR5KQO57_ARV7fheNugHx1pyU59nGkgBfETgaX5y9pYVkNod-49Zys5_X8LC3XTpPD484BUUlotmMhFad4FT3L8wHmFOKTAGC-X-i9qyYMJ8CI3LM5Vhkjo5U/s400/CIMG0921.JPG" border="0" /></a> Zvolen's Castle:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK815xBeq6WirlOqq2kk2n8Ta04R7rjteDQmyww4OmKSyraLii3qmOb6yvKowOFK9BOu0valZ-daoS_Wq-WVtTLn-t4A1x2q97UPufoZuwMD6VzlE4hHaKWGx0wSOC-J1mn6E-CKmGiLXg/s1600-h/CIMG0923.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458014431987938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK815xBeq6WirlOqq2kk2n8Ta04R7rjteDQmyww4OmKSyraLii3qmOb6yvKowOFK9BOu0valZ-daoS_Wq-WVtTLn-t4A1x2q97UPufoZuwMD6VzlE4hHaKWGx0wSOC-J1mn6E-CKmGiLXg/s400/CIMG0923.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dasa's mom packed us a huge lunch for the road (with Zvolen's castle in the background)!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-XrdB-NLi-gP_5ewGadNfAnXmcSE0Gb1ixFmoRdsrihVcLC01SVc8YPtTkbSGS7KBzqcwuowyVlIEda1otfcpB_izmEJ-sYzbyX6FbJu1iEdZeA3O43umhdc6ZwRv3GLZxUlA6eHlhLJ/s1600-h/CIMG0924.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114458014431987954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-XrdB-NLi-gP_5ewGadNfAnXmcSE0Gb1ixFmoRdsrihVcLC01SVc8YPtTkbSGS7KBzqcwuowyVlIEda1otfcpB_izmEJ-sYzbyX6FbJu1iEdZeA3O43umhdc6ZwRv3GLZxUlA6eHlhLJ/s400/CIMG0924.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROleZhnKamYoflLTzP02m22V4Fq8JMNanhWi4iwweJ9PxKWKVfPXMQ9l4FzjtUBfSaX10XxKsXbcuo-fisb2pFdTtP3MpuLbh60BLaMMtpABtHZbRXvsZ3MCCUd8I3F4FAhsAbbd_VuOy/s1600-h/CIMG0915.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114457151143561362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROleZhnKamYoflLTzP02m22V4Fq8JMNanhWi4iwweJ9PxKWKVfPXMQ9l4FzjtUBfSaX10XxKsXbcuo-fisb2pFdTtP3MpuLbh60BLaMMtpABtHZbRXvsZ3MCCUd8I3F4FAhsAbbd_VuOy/s400/CIMG0915.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dasa's father and brother, Miro, greeted us in Nitra. They treated me like a princess! Dasa's father said that he wanted to treat me well because I was the first American <em>ever</em> in their flat, and he wanted to make a good impression. He joked that I might have been the first American in their whole eight story building!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCAzlPqnBQGbxru38w2chXtlEjhK1BOZ4sB5xLu0iSfIBjiwC1w8G_cJsUs39-4go3gfvN843frqclb62hmNVBayeFMzYe__5jLcfe6xBu_j9XM6kjvlsgGvyb3v2pkthmqS1WuIjW4Bv/s1600-h/CIMG0917.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114457155438528674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCAzlPqnBQGbxru38w2chXtlEjhK1BOZ4sB5xLu0iSfIBjiwC1w8G_cJsUs39-4go3gfvN843frqclb62hmNVBayeFMzYe__5jLcfe6xBu_j9XM6kjvlsgGvyb3v2pkthmqS1WuIjW4Bv/s400/CIMG0917.JPG" border="0" /></a> Looking over Bratislava:<br /><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHD6LNmtLC6kIGYl6JRwf8QJh8IElzv2ZC4QV9YVRNuqEC9taT_frRH2K6XyQZF50B2wluaSghXijAi6nL8Ol5Kpr7R2xPBmWwtC6dNOEtdPkhwvmlgnOUf16a2EduX5HB2Cc-bJj3DV0U/s1600-h/CIMG0907.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114456171891017746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHD6LNmtLC6kIGYl6JRwf8QJh8IElzv2ZC4QV9YVRNuqEC9taT_frRH2K6XyQZF50B2wluaSghXijAi6nL8Ol5Kpr7R2xPBmWwtC6dNOEtdPkhwvmlgnOUf16a2EduX5HB2Cc-bJj3DV0U/s400/CIMG0907.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dasa's University in Bratislava:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX08gZR2-iZp8kOOu3mF2SOz_Cq8o8y6Xdnmssr2ejtyL1LKz2053cB47oyw1Q9rHrS_LYSeLOB4P0VQaBlfw9Rb3w-Eygsqh84X6a8b3T_AKOQppsEiBl_qQwurSm_7Sr9J3EkPiumulw/s1600-h/CIMG0909.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114456176185985058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX08gZR2-iZp8kOOu3mF2SOz_Cq8o8y6Xdnmssr2ejtyL1LKz2053cB47oyw1Q9rHrS_LYSeLOB4P0VQaBlfw9Rb3w-Eygsqh84X6a8b3T_AKOQppsEiBl_qQwurSm_7Sr9J3EkPiumulw/s400/CIMG0909.JPG" border="0" /></a> The Slovak National Palace and some goofballs taking action shots in front of it:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbOzEZQI_nek_21kKX-9A9uxJDk-Gk4RJvOItPdoKQ9qwb6_6D7V9FxbmMFsNDbowisCVXHqT17zMECM26L3hRJ6OLojqwIbwM3xUyQBS_sgbnYkxaEEd-pJlYf5AZA-zr1ndaliYu-da/s1600-h/CIMG0910.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114456180480952370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbOzEZQI_nek_21kKX-9A9uxJDk-Gk4RJvOItPdoKQ9qwb6_6D7V9FxbmMFsNDbowisCVXHqT17zMECM26L3hRJ6OLojqwIbwM3xUyQBS_sgbnYkxaEEd-pJlYf5AZA-zr1ndaliYu-da/s400/CIMG0910.JPG" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114457997252118706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeiGlsZTqjQB4DV7wSYODlk1C0v44x2nkWLOE11l0YpFny7aSI3FjHstvMlqeWHtRsQPTK30V6Pih0W3Qk7DfY93Wj1BpHHsjieJDz0c64SpK5N61QQtz2jzdHoPUICFvkpqE7Ej1xF2g/s400/CIMG0911.JPG" border="0" />As an environmental engineer, I appreciated the sewer man statue in Bratislava.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY42EjK0MdC8T7Mp_6LFV52CZOZEozCfcWvOwSmbi9p4SHnPwUnjfn-zEpLMs9plvgwPzeqjXkZaCHz0RageXkPCzfXTWgIjmCgohuejJ-M1cOnhxfBEl2ujDGX0RxT3RX1NU6gEnknZ_/s1600-h/CIMG0908.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114456184775919682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY42EjK0MdC8T7Mp_6LFV52CZOZEozCfcWvOwSmbi9p4SHnPwUnjfn-zEpLMs9plvgwPzeqjXkZaCHz0RageXkPCzfXTWgIjmCgohuejJ-M1cOnhxfBEl2ujDGX0RxT3RX1NU6gEnknZ_/s400/CIMG0908.JPG" border="0" /></a> Bratislava's castle:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHu80FePUitmyHAt9Y8TJDycxU4ouuJcxrmmP80n7GXe-1r3J5RUKZcV_JG9qALHnAWdqzJ5FdeQlpWlmTrwnUs3y4XMS0tAQ3KDgNef4z3vk_Ye-qoSvx7Ryvk1Y-YB51FDIx0XOyhau/s1600-h/CIMG0906.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114455261357950978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHu80FePUitmyHAt9Y8TJDycxU4ouuJcxrmmP80n7GXe-1r3J5RUKZcV_JG9qALHnAWdqzJ5FdeQlpWlmTrwnUs3y4XMS0tAQ3KDgNef4z3vk_Ye-qoSvx7Ryvk1Y-YB51FDIx0XOyhau/s400/CIMG0906.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114455248473049058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMt91yJv1ZhNefoMb5DGI_hTPUmVv-n_CII_AXWc0iN6JJZblXt9avhmGbqMWCUf7Nrm4e0nt1V1yJZz_ypE1EmIkyaaefvQR3KOiBHTZmwKuif2YvCux_mcCZ44JFGAektk9hMW5Lmyg/s400/CIMG0904.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>We met up with Martin and another friend in Bratislava. It was great to see Martin again. It felt like old times in Tampere.</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114457146848594050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNuZLtlG6yKdh-HY2o74kYY5XB8XGBhViEFevh1iEIbtFjnJAo4zNj6apHVfRaPMMg5CmRLhrdQSPNoMANga9qAwBB_JsOsYPb8UlcE2B5QsUZEx9Z26e1FfHECZWf2JXKAityUjYzmrV/s400/CIMG0914.JPG" border="0" />Thanks for a fun and memorable trip Dasa and family!!!<br /><div> </div></div></div></div>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-85742173717014549772007-09-26T03:04:00.000-07:002007-09-26T03:13:41.617-07:00SwitzerlandGeneva was beautiful during my short short stay:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoszDkkc07V5j5FgSVjAZdblOrx8k1KdEcBMvhRfJI1LNHpxXLRK7kauq9fvIyPrGuqA6j1LUcX5phhmZCZ04tEbTkJPLB-hdVfsYhVirmyVQH2h7uicUWarWpXI22hBqwV-pueIHZxA4D/s1600-h/CIMG0895.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114452134621759346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoszDkkc07V5j5FgSVjAZdblOrx8k1KdEcBMvhRfJI1LNHpxXLRK7kauq9fvIyPrGuqA6j1LUcX5phhmZCZ04tEbTkJPLB-hdVfsYhVirmyVQH2h7uicUWarWpXI22hBqwV-pueIHZxA4D/s400/CIMG0895.JPG" border="0" /></a> United Nations Plaza:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglYda1WmxdxuFjE5m15tzDjyJmsvf0QFvvpgW3oBGuqQioqxEw4oLmlZw65EEEGNgRbnHl2wjDdOPHkkjPq49u8m2Z_gYFtz8gY5fa9WVDnasbAlQeUZDyVCMTOImbsdY5RSevyAdg8qK/s1600-h/CIMG0896.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114452147506661250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglYda1WmxdxuFjE5m15tzDjyJmsvf0QFvvpgW3oBGuqQioqxEw4oLmlZw65EEEGNgRbnHl2wjDdOPHkkjPq49u8m2Z_gYFtz8gY5fa9WVDnasbAlQeUZDyVCMTOImbsdY5RSevyAdg8qK/s400/CIMG0896.JPG" border="0" /></a> The International Red Cross was founded in Geneva (the similarities between the Red Cross flag and Switzerland's flag are not a coincidence). It started in response to war casualties. Red Cross volunteers would help injured soldiers regardless of which side they were on. The museum had some information on the Geneva Convention, which allowed them to work on the battlefield as a nuetral organization.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv0QlCglTGGo9Pgmcp_kViYO4PkHCya8S6iCYkYRlU-hKIe6-p3PAxJ8eEJpc9RTkBplnIaUuBLfBSSTrxgzLT1a-C5EV2gnfXfq0dJeqsWCixR1pg3DstFN0SnXum9bzN5sMxgHq18yB/s1600-h/CIMG0897.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114452147506661266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv0QlCglTGGo9Pgmcp_kViYO4PkHCya8S6iCYkYRlU-hKIe6-p3PAxJ8eEJpc9RTkBplnIaUuBLfBSSTrxgzLT1a-C5EV2gnfXfq0dJeqsWCixR1pg3DstFN0SnXum9bzN5sMxgHq18yB/s400/CIMG0897.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T40AFkPhoowkiSQivuNyFhvS3CWljZA2WyuEr1zDe-ouqC2WCwdJuFqF2tyesZw_zWlyB_6zreXnYBHxiNCvVzWj12jyRJFjpMUoEtCVT27PjSUbvo6dherR-cA0SKfmjhxTD3Hrn3LQ/s1600-h/CIMG0898.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114452156096595874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T40AFkPhoowkiSQivuNyFhvS3CWljZA2WyuEr1zDe-ouqC2WCwdJuFqF2tyesZw_zWlyB_6zreXnYBHxiNCvVzWj12jyRJFjpMUoEtCVT27PjSUbvo6dherR-cA0SKfmjhxTD3Hrn3LQ/s400/CIMG0898.JPG" border="0" /></a> This was in Zurich where I spent six hours watching the beautiful river, writing in my journal and reading my book before heading on to Bratislava.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDTcQ20oEp6TeO_OFyBfRotq1lLMquu7v0_soTtl2vgayqhsdt8r0fHsrL2HC3SBUD4xiPFEOPKBTFBvopx7IB4z74jzqvRJwcaSyqa50jEoB6GAuhmmEVC3UZ_pJRaej0Y441gJ4ZujA/s1600-h/CIMG0899.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114452160391563186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDTcQ20oEp6TeO_OFyBfRotq1lLMquu7v0_soTtl2vgayqhsdt8r0fHsrL2HC3SBUD4xiPFEOPKBTFBvopx7IB4z74jzqvRJwcaSyqa50jEoB6GAuhmmEVC3UZ_pJRaej0Y441gJ4ZujA/s400/CIMG0899.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-13341171776761286722007-09-26T02:45:00.000-07:002007-09-26T02:45:05.062-07:00Portugal: Get a Date<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0XskaYnWGJUwg8LIOqztf7PjVuVeEo_ZbfTVOY7MKFfQwOU4GXSzqOJdpAUykhs_mKnC1WznQuTINF1Cg3DNemAo1N0aCDU78GfkGUzdjmD1RcpGiQleKhSWuSTYQx26mGdylhL4Vabt/s1600-h/Porto.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810277051458754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0XskaYnWGJUwg8LIOqztf7PjVuVeEo_ZbfTVOY7MKFfQwOU4GXSzqOJdpAUykhs_mKnC1WznQuTINF1Cg3DNemAo1N0aCDU78GfkGUzdjmD1RcpGiQleKhSWuSTYQx26mGdylhL4Vabt/s400/Porto.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Get a Date: a Play by Play of Getting Kicked OFF the Bus!<br /><br />It was a pretty easy trip by bus from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city st="on">Santiago de Compostela</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>, down to <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Porto</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Portugal</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Leasa, my travel buddy, and I thought the bus was rather hot on the way there, but it was a nice bus with padded seats and movies playing. Let’s be honest, it was only three and a half hours between these two delightful cities. We could put up with anything for that long. <i>Plus</i> we had guaranteed comfort and good food on each end of the trip. <p class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p>On our journey <i>to</i> <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Santiago</st1:city></st1:place>, we had advanced purchased round trip bus tickets to avoid any future complications on the way back. Very forward thinking… we thought. So it was Saturday morning and we were ready to leave <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Santiago</st1:place></st1:city>. We had just spent two marvelous days eating Spanish tortilla and paella, and wandering the beautifully crafted streets. The way back was going to be easy: <i>fool-proof</i>. When we got to the bus stop, Leasa even recommended a strategy to avoid the ventilation problems that we had experienced on the way there. Good idea. She took the bags to the back while I pushed and shoved my way to some good seats near the air conditioner. We sat down, the bus started up and we were off. Piece of cake.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>What a beautiful route it was: lakes and wide open spaces, balanced by quaint little cities with red roofed houses… and countless satellite dishes to remind us that we were in the 21<sup>st</sup> century. The bus was full. When we arrived at our first of three or four planned stops, there was a crowd waiting to get on. I <i>was</i> curious: how were these people going to fit? There were zero seats left. So I was thinking about this while I was flipping through my tour book in the forefront of my mind. I was glad <i>we</i> purchased <i>our</i> tickets ahead of time and already had our sea…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>“Laura, Senorita Laura, shdondesh eshta shda shda shda?” gurgled in from the loud speaker to the back of my not-really-Portuguese-speaking mind. Long pause. “SENORITA LAURA!!!...SHDONDESH ESHTAS?”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>What? I think they’re saying <i>my</i> name over the loud speaker, I thought. My mind shifted from planning our leisurely day in <st1:place st="on">Porto</st1:place> back to the bus on which I was riding. Oh shoot! There was a really long awkward silence and it was ME they were searching for. Why? How did they even know my name? …and that I was a senorita? OK, I told myself, start thinking in Spanish and come up with some quick reasons why your seat shouldn’t be the one that’s given up to the seat-hungry crowd. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I spent a few minutes begging and pleading with the driver not to drop Leasa and me off in this random town. “What if we sit on the floor?” I asked. “How about the co-pilot seat up front?” Just don’t leave I told myself. If I leave, I’m no longer a problem (except to myself!). But if I stay, I’m everyone on the bus’s problem… sort of a tough place! The driver permitted Leasa and me to stay until <st1:city st="on">Vigo</st1:city>, close to the border of <st1:country-region st="on">Portugal</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Then we were shown the door. The person who won our seats smiled sheepishly and wished us luck.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Apparently we were supposed to get our pre-purchased tickets <i>validated</i> before we hopped on the bus. Our tickets didn’t have the date. “You need a date! You don’t have a date!” the bus driver kept telling me.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>So there we were… in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Vigo</st1:city></st1:place>. First we were told that we needed to hang out in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Vigo</st1:place></st1:city> for nine hours at which point the next bus would come. While we did enjoy our brief stay in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Vigo</st1:place></st1:city>, nine hours would have been overkill for the little town. We found a local bus (with a much happier driver) that took us to Tui where we could walk across the border. We picked up a new Polish friend who was also accidentally dumped in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Vigo</st1:place></st1:city> and a Spanish guy who had a similar problem (and he was even Spanish!). We felt like pilgrims as we boldly marched across the bridge that links Tui to Valenca (<st1:country-region st="on">Spain</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Portugal</st1:place></st1:country-region>). With the Schengen Agreement, no one actually ever walks across the border anymore. It was a special moment.</p><p class="MsoNormal">After a marvelous lunch followed by some much needed ice cream, we hopped on the train, the Valenca-Porto train, that is. We enjoyed a mix of English, Spanish, and attempted Portuguese on the train ride, which brought us all safely to Porto by 5pm, just in time to grab a glass of sweet port wine and watch the sun set in Portugal! </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Either the plan was not fool-proof or we were the fools! Anyway, <st1:country-region st="on">Portugal</st1:country-region> (and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>) was filled with adventures and good times!</p>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-26403576483648902432007-09-26T02:43:00.000-07:002007-09-26T02:43:25.830-07:00Portugal: Aveiro and PortoAli and Leasa are good friends from Tampere. They're in an Erasmus Mundis program that moved to Portugal for Fall semester. I took advantage of their nomadic lifestyle and visited them in Aveiro. We had fun fun fun! The food was good and the wine was cheap. After living in Finland, I was continually surprised at how cheap everything was. One morning I went out to buy bread for breakfast. My Portuguese is pretty... negligible so I kind ended up buying a whole lot of types of bread. I had two grocery bags full. How much did it cost? Three euros! It didn't even matter that I don't speak Portuguese. I got to try a bunch of breads!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCQ4iJzNwlKPgK7mu7WcQeAsmk6YIsxjOe0AF5YCHdvand_CZhvQPSAffU09FQCDJbtDJpzPDWPAWlDGCJR7pc3XOW-tHrgMWkm0o-oVDpC_Jhvc5EBmVCvO3Wa4MXkWg8dJg_t-Rkwl2/s1600-h/ali+aveiro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810775267665106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCQ4iJzNwlKPgK7mu7WcQeAsmk6YIsxjOe0AF5YCHdvand_CZhvQPSAffU09FQCDJbtDJpzPDWPAWlDGCJR7pc3XOW-tHrgMWkm0o-oVDpC_Jhvc5EBmVCvO3Wa4MXkWg8dJg_t-Rkwl2/s400/ali+aveiro.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLrUUqQcJLk4zNNnqtveCDY4tulTK9kA_QArhmT013g3ufpshr5Kp1UY0CKbM4pa0nhBiazMD7yPROMF98ECWmy8X8EeGopG_1MJsqQRbCvxQ-buFUT7mmV-ekwcxsrPCmD7AXEWQHkjm/s1600-h/laughing+leasa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104811101685179698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLrUUqQcJLk4zNNnqtveCDY4tulTK9kA_QArhmT013g3ufpshr5Kp1UY0CKbM4pa0nhBiazMD7yPROMF98ECWmy8X8EeGopG_1MJsqQRbCvxQ-buFUT7mmV-ekwcxsrPCmD7AXEWQHkjm/s400/laughing+leasa.jpg" border="0" /></a>Lots of buildings have very colorful painted tile patterns like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdf_Kj-8un4tm2_yGDuRBW2UvKMY0EaD_8JDbyA3c6sZlCOh2jK3UygUIO10e9_nVojfCsQ1m-0eR_kHxnwgVonSwtnKhtw3aDWrVcPf4YFOyTzmPSkPbGtjjPDUS-scqA0PjNdlwhX_M/s1600-h/pattern.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104811105980147010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdf_Kj-8un4tm2_yGDuRBW2UvKMY0EaD_8JDbyA3c6sZlCOh2jK3UygUIO10e9_nVojfCsQ1m-0eR_kHxnwgVonSwtnKhtw3aDWrVcPf4YFOyTzmPSkPbGtjjPDUS-scqA0PjNdlwhX_M/s400/pattern.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCec_GRMYjuG0olzD_XTbhEly5sVru8wYQRTyr8xZMkEXkftWHAN2Q2vR5ibsr9rTnTACmY-LBeVVzmO3VyspOSooAuJJv4e7XfbPnoCTsJEHkYlkjU0V5T5RGwfibT6zJXzJysyh02BS/s1600-h/aveiro2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810783857599730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCec_GRMYjuG0olzD_XTbhEly5sVru8wYQRTyr8xZMkEXkftWHAN2Q2vR5ibsr9rTnTACmY-LBeVVzmO3VyspOSooAuJJv4e7XfbPnoCTsJEHkYlkjU0V5T5RGwfibT6zJXzJysyh02BS/s400/aveiro2.jpg" border="0" /></a>These are some shots around Aveiro:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmechjr09DXWaTaUwDxJQmr0AbIgRSbwCf-LbMdaFb8Fhd25ueVlrPs2FBseOhp89ogHJoR-sEpldeJATsQ5D2JxYmXr36bxNJzjPYO7aKVmR46x7Y8eWPv8OAa-J6KhkxB9gzRiwsxgqB/s1600-h/aveiro3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810788152567042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmechjr09DXWaTaUwDxJQmr0AbIgRSbwCf-LbMdaFb8Fhd25ueVlrPs2FBseOhp89ogHJoR-sEpldeJATsQ5D2JxYmXr36bxNJzjPYO7aKVmR46x7Y8eWPv8OAa-J6KhkxB9gzRiwsxgqB/s400/aveiro3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTjQ2ZbPRx8jop5q5GeNtICxLqsfGikXCS9ojL9vx1nxJx51x-2ZToNu57CZliHk2drO0QZAMLItMTFdDv7Ra-4SskTIkLtqStoe7Zw-M-OF99DtBJ-qKVUTDCpQy0NU_47xwOkn0A85Y/s1600-h/Aveiro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810783857599714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTjQ2ZbPRx8jop5q5GeNtICxLqsfGikXCS9ojL9vx1nxJx51x-2ZToNu57CZliHk2drO0QZAMLItMTFdDv7Ra-4SskTIkLtqStoe7Zw-M-OF99DtBJ-qKVUTDCpQy0NU_47xwOkn0A85Y/s400/Aveiro.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is Porto. I loved it there!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdEE41_KuOvEAm4z-dlRhNlxdPy97Zzh23xL6Mtz3GEw6-TPhLvu-eqqsQq-hWwrR6ah1LtNofFVYY1plQ29xKKBoXNU-YN5XLJsn0W1ahV4xzDL_q8212qgBAE69vDYTrCVcdRIw6v__/s1600-h/Porto2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104811114570081618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdEE41_KuOvEAm4z-dlRhNlxdPy97Zzh23xL6Mtz3GEw6-TPhLvu-eqqsQq-hWwrR6ah1LtNofFVYY1plQ29xKKBoXNU-YN5XLJsn0W1ahV4xzDL_q8212qgBAE69vDYTrCVcdRIw6v__/s400/Porto2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvDhebpJsX_PmnfRcMZRBFgacixcvOYI2nL6RoKdhwpYQ2RVZ9odAHrLMlMvGTLtHJy0Azv3FczitDh6c0ImGL5vP_y-NYUgAjM53TC-DO6ynR1e0PNjLr16IMNXPyKfNlMMol5aH8xun/s1600-h/fish+mosaic.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104810792447534354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvDhebpJsX_PmnfRcMZRBFgacixcvOYI2nL6RoKdhwpYQ2RVZ9odAHrLMlMvGTLtHJy0Azv3FczitDh6c0ImGL5vP_y-NYUgAjM53TC-DO6ynR1e0PNjLr16IMNXPyKfNlMMol5aH8xun/s400/fish+mosaic.jpg" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-3851565751633098902007-09-22T15:45:00.000-07:002007-09-26T03:16:38.182-07:00Spain: Flamenco and more!Pilar is a friend from my Berkeley days. She and her husband moved their whole family from Colmenar Viejo (just outside of Madrid) to Berkeley for a year. They took language and business courses and enrolled their kids in the local schools. They are true entrepreneurs and continue their adventures with their new business that they have started up in Spain.<br /><br />Pilar and I went to a traditional flamenco show one night.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtczkU5VCXj_UfUCFk242JKZEvWFmRO6kwXF7MntPOJ7t1_otcz7ltWKIRiXWNEOFjaRhxTkBBF08iFQ6KOqYi_41PJQVLjqt6UO6yyD7jD5ZgO6SbwZo-q96U57hiFteB2mkAftpkec3/s1600-h/Laura+and+Pilar+Flamenco.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635609321464914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtczkU5VCXj_UfUCFk242JKZEvWFmRO6kwXF7MntPOJ7t1_otcz7ltWKIRiXWNEOFjaRhxTkBBF08iFQ6KOqYi_41PJQVLjqt6UO6yyD7jD5ZgO6SbwZo-q96U57hiFteB2mkAftpkec3/s400/Laura+and+Pilar+Flamenco.jpg" border="0" /></a>Apparently flamenco is most famous in southern Spain and typically performed by the Spanish Roma Tribe people who are forever capturing my cross continental European attention. Each muscle, eye, and smile or grimace were all part of the dance. Clap clap-clap-clap SMACK SMACK! It was all planned.The volume, the sound, and the tone take turns climbing and falling. The musical feet click-click-click Stamp-stomp stamp-stomp faster than my eyes could manage, forcing me to depend on sound, which was still grounded by reality. Ale! Toma! The crowd yells. "Ale Miguel!" one of the dancers agrees. "Escucha" someone else yells who prefers everyone listen quietly. But the crowd continues on. The dancers and musicians feed each other through their struggles, sadness, anger, and occasional smiles that allow us to applaud.<br /><br />The music ends suddenly and quickly continues again, against our expectations. The dancers move faster than I thought possible. Each knuckle, finger and eye placement are perfectly placed and ask the musician to play louder, softer, or longer. The dancer continues past what is humanly possible while sweat drips down their faces and saturates their clothing.<br /><br />It was amazing!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hG76CZuQofbSRgduD4PGfqUUEm16ru3i0IHcg0dveQZGQ4FtLQGFhk983Pk-n7xKNJfcOI8I1e6GI355yW33A4w7oq5D0WNfpHgV_2ECwRjC3nU3w1zTunzLzcHLTRjdxwO9FIzKzuik/s1600-h/Taragona.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104636090357802162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hG76CZuQofbSRgduD4PGfqUUEm16ru3i0IHcg0dveQZGQ4FtLQGFhk983Pk-n7xKNJfcOI8I1e6GI355yW33A4w7oq5D0WNfpHgV_2ECwRjC3nU3w1zTunzLzcHLTRjdxwO9FIzKzuik/s400/Taragona.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYGbzqkhg762UGAspNkb6xM6Q_YeYouzFivuFWQMtlR6W9nWdldAd6bm7nsL4gY-ZMrPvSl97dX9KczwUmk-_GE14kcvgoewml_14WtpKgnh8ufddYMeICsaHh6mJgjjLAjA_IAXsPh_J/s1600-h/Madrid.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635914264142946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYGbzqkhg762UGAspNkb6xM6Q_YeYouzFivuFWQMtlR6W9nWdldAd6bm7nsL4gY-ZMrPvSl97dX9KczwUmk-_GE14kcvgoewml_14WtpKgnh8ufddYMeICsaHh6mJgjjLAjA_IAXsPh_J/s400/Madrid.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM7j3faE0WZbmPhKCLg4eBnWeOdtj3mRXXLTsz-Ur2j4ykAeHisExh9TcEouDZGh94HJR78lxiaSaRiqaBiH_M2OucpOK8dYYJEcNTTKSTDQbVLVgGFrbIcspYnilAunEMUCgWwjsetTL/s1600-h/Madrid2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635914264142962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM7j3faE0WZbmPhKCLg4eBnWeOdtj3mRXXLTsz-Ur2j4ykAeHisExh9TcEouDZGh94HJR78lxiaSaRiqaBiH_M2OucpOK8dYYJEcNTTKSTDQbVLVgGFrbIcspYnilAunEMUCgWwjsetTL/s400/Madrid2.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is the train station in Madrid:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmct-h3j-453cx9t16JHrrbI1wtW8BoJSYiE8jGgeD7czuCNKEDh5QEAOTOof8CD9HcNzKoOEZlANlbRK4TtqbXgbu_xKwWF8b3ugCPRvIYeESbouj4Xz4fM1qlGcwC8ZyIRaCWgTwd2-/s1600-h/Madrid+Train+Station.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635922854077570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmct-h3j-453cx9t16JHrrbI1wtW8BoJSYiE8jGgeD7czuCNKEDh5QEAOTOof8CD9HcNzKoOEZlANlbRK4TtqbXgbu_xKwWF8b3ugCPRvIYeESbouj4Xz4fM1qlGcwC8ZyIRaCWgTwd2-/s400/Madrid+Train+Station.jpg" border="0" /></a>I took over at the place that Pilar took me to eat traditional Spanish tortilla. Scoot over master chef...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYajOjR31lJs5GxcgLGJ2z6grCY5DCiazoEU12lV1Vycs_k-nkWwc4pIMT7av0QWBfOz-Sc_UgbsjtFI0xgvBRsi62K6LknznYLo-6o1KquH5_ilzq-liWmXQJjZJ_8jWC-ZzD1fqOzAs/s1600-h/Making+Tortilla.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635927149044882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYajOjR31lJs5GxcgLGJ2z6grCY5DCiazoEU12lV1Vycs_k-nkWwc4pIMT7av0QWBfOz-Sc_UgbsjtFI0xgvBRsi62K6LknznYLo-6o1KquH5_ilzq-liWmXQJjZJ_8jWC-ZzD1fqOzAs/s400/Making+Tortilla.jpg" border="0" /></a>Barcelona!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4NovTW8vbu9wzbkpI84YE1iBU1w84UphpzBwtL5ZfO-fTlOQuHHA14nWJW4Qnpz_BbScLvPCWGSHCtcNbTSZj2PLUebQZesfzFL1g59aCtkh6ZjGB7P20jSmRMPjdGH0tFcCcljevbx6/s1600-h/me+in+barcelona.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635931444012194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4NovTW8vbu9wzbkpI84YE1iBU1w84UphpzBwtL5ZfO-fTlOQuHHA14nWJW4Qnpz_BbScLvPCWGSHCtcNbTSZj2PLUebQZesfzFL1g59aCtkh6ZjGB7P20jSmRMPjdGH0tFcCcljevbx6/s400/me+in+barcelona.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5C9-noDJyrySkrOLHpXUKvLfWDstLnPTEgt2vZMOpzWYL3fWEe-XYlHx5ravXo2NlkmY4MsSwfSMwTKxvf8nDM5OPVyJ1C4JCtmj5gXpsheF4xoigjiW_Fzh3U6_Vhx9W_4_fMkCqQhD/s1600-h/barcelona.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635592141595666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5C9-noDJyrySkrOLHpXUKvLfWDstLnPTEgt2vZMOpzWYL3fWEe-XYlHx5ravXo2NlkmY4MsSwfSMwTKxvf8nDM5OPVyJ1C4JCtmj5gXpsheF4xoigjiW_Fzh3U6_Vhx9W_4_fMkCqQhD/s400/barcelona.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfHONJ4HTWODxLObJTXIfM_XL5zGXKL7woG3i9gONqBkh5mqbs-oVcfDXuq2v_jPlNkKroZc2SUWKgNvzYI_8_d5jKBzwxzW2SkO4SwmzJxCG3tJD5CMrzfVrKpch5vOiIxAXWFyVlKXz/s1600-h/barcelona3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635596436562978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfHONJ4HTWODxLObJTXIfM_XL5zGXKL7woG3i9gONqBkh5mqbs-oVcfDXuq2v_jPlNkKroZc2SUWKgNvzYI_8_d5jKBzwxzW2SkO4SwmzJxCG3tJD5CMrzfVrKpch5vOiIxAXWFyVlKXz/s400/barcelona3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fk40NizVqpRWTI3sd9RKLjUOF-RXpJWXqlbNZe4-dwxZ-jQIYIa1BEAv-WlbTscUbsd7w9EKLTabVeUcHthNbbQlQDAp1KxwoKfIpTRyDtwj1vw_AqHILygFJE9v2nLKLtu2geNfz1Q1/s1600-h/barcelona+market.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635605026497586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fk40NizVqpRWTI3sd9RKLjUOF-RXpJWXqlbNZe4-dwxZ-jQIYIa1BEAv-WlbTscUbsd7w9EKLTabVeUcHthNbbQlQDAp1KxwoKfIpTRyDtwj1vw_AqHILygFJE9v2nLKLtu2geNfz1Q1/s400/barcelona+market.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9R3QcyHIirVyHxacP_hg6viwnsaSTaxtDlPXO_xqJy_b1b3GS1e7PohNX4yejekdvfaDg2GFzauT-nNpVGwEV6XDQAQ7LdHijSOqzp66cc9fAyUnIi_DcgzbtEGoK3MWWPn2ds5-IhqXB/s1600-h/Barcelona+market+fish.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104635605026497602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9R3QcyHIirVyHxacP_hg6viwnsaSTaxtDlPXO_xqJy_b1b3GS1e7PohNX4yejekdvfaDg2GFzauT-nNpVGwEV6XDQAQ7LdHijSOqzp66cc9fAyUnIi_DcgzbtEGoK3MWWPn2ds5-IhqXB/s400/Barcelona+market+fish.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtczkU5VCXj_UfUCFk242JKZEvWFmRO6kwXF7MntPOJ7t1_otcz7ltWKIRiXWNEOFjaRhxTkBBF08iFQ6KOqYi_41PJQVLjqt6UO6yyD7jD5ZgO6SbwZo-q96U57hiFteB2mkAftpkec3/s1600-h/Laura+and+Pilar+Flamenco.jpg"><br /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-51817097149800355052007-09-20T02:45:00.000-07:002007-09-26T03:03:24.538-07:00Paris Waste Water TreatmentIn fact, it was quite beautiful. Imagine yourself in Paris, watching the sun set... with the conical water tower in the background, and a very faint smell. The Paris wastewater treatment plant hosted a group of us from the UNESCO New Directions conference on a tour of their facility. It's privately operated so they have fancy advertising. They wined and dined us. It took a brief adjustment period for me to embrace the idea of eating delicate little Parisian chocolates just after walking through all of that microbial action. But it was alright. I was most interested to learn that Paris did not have its own treatment plant until the early 1980s, before which time, some of the city's waste (that wasn't sent away) found it's way directly into the river. That was not very long ago. Now, however, they have a fancy wastewater treatment facility with activated sludge and hopes of marketing their biosolids as fertilizer. I think the translater was a little bit surprized to find himself saying that the solid waste is treated and they hope to sell to people one day for their own use.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114447405862766386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWvAYPvEoiT4WYmI-a02tsWwJazLknVFi_hY5igADlZdDK01sXy31M26nyJ0kjzJdzFwLEY8WapVU8KNQdGlYB3bWpFU1KF1al7pIq6VeG1njsyPABMmyHRNCDjIbP0Nuz6VTP3Lbk4Sg/s400/CIMG0891.JPG" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4TSbBn0p-lk8NsORyVfKW7N6FIshyJhPcWu8tNNOxfUC0tJqp8SkO76cTrUjjkCDNU-PFm_LQbNfYv3knzC_AQOWohjlXZWCSmL72TknU2rpSBsLqM94-JVWaPnayMQGWjq18kQrFy6L/s1600-h/CIMG0892.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114447603431262018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4TSbBn0p-lk8NsORyVfKW7N6FIshyJhPcWu8tNNOxfUC0tJqp8SkO76cTrUjjkCDNU-PFm_LQbNfYv3knzC_AQOWohjlXZWCSmL72TknU2rpSBsLqM94-JVWaPnayMQGWjq18kQrFy6L/s400/CIMG0892.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2dGA37AggEXjpEcXkBZ0ctqbkHkaFpdtWGarVn15IKGO1OwmkAR1zU__yiD1PQg7jEJhtGkqulKgt_nN9ogZNbI9kXXUqrbMRQLcnvYM_LZOsn7S8gtX9_WBv1hPZsMIY7bcp7MAuSye/s1600-h/CIMG0893.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114447607726229330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2dGA37AggEXjpEcXkBZ0ctqbkHkaFpdtWGarVn15IKGO1OwmkAR1zU__yiD1PQg7jEJhtGkqulKgt_nN9ogZNbI9kXXUqrbMRQLcnvYM_LZOsn7S8gtX9_WBv1hPZsMIY7bcp7MAuSye/s400/CIMG0893.JPG" border="0" /></a> We dressed up in these fantastic outfits with baseball-shaped hard hats, very fashionable safety vests and headphones for our translation. I really wanted to wear my outfit around Paris, but I had to leave it at the treatment plant for the next group.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QKa-_BS7GxnujNPPy7UlAa-IOUJrJnG_6G-hikyJUNpv_JIurJAWt5d1Y_fpZ8eBGIuc7M5G3JZpKYoF4phytIyVYCtzu8iynA_nLYztyieGDuKwG1VutNiDbj_hChwjAU17SKh9rkJw/s1600-h/CIMG0894.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114447612021196642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QKa-_BS7GxnujNPPy7UlAa-IOUJrJnG_6G-hikyJUNpv_JIurJAWt5d1Y_fpZ8eBGIuc7M5G3JZpKYoF4phytIyVYCtzu8iynA_nLYztyieGDuKwG1VutNiDbj_hChwjAU17SKh9rkJw/s400/CIMG0894.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div></div></div>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-24409087875876926662007-09-11T08:11:00.000-07:002007-09-11T08:30:50.688-07:00Paris<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gAHH2rD0BKfuRBE2q-dj-m9roOCkDEMcKkmjWiY0lJZrZGnSlBSp1EwKEkppAGEyzJd2mezKgsRXpQt2fdNDv-O-SV-6I184nYy4TKf8E7qRKXXY8NVT5T3gH-bTN4qgt4No1T-QMDQO/s1600-h/CIMG0608.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gAHH2rD0BKfuRBE2q-dj-m9roOCkDEMcKkmjWiY0lJZrZGnSlBSp1EwKEkppAGEyzJd2mezKgsRXpQt2fdNDv-O-SV-6I184nYy4TKf8E7qRKXXY8NVT5T3gH-bTN4qgt4No1T-QMDQO/s400/CIMG0608.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108966357990008194" border="0" /></a>I'm in Paris getting ready for my final presentation at the UNESCO headquarters and doing some sight seeing here and there.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgg5KdzJHefhSsya3BHQ49od2AOfM_Wn97GlPZ2sC01wPri7k3CyRJclsCq6oW67b5UdIH0J9NfnYgY4_NciiA87Ft3R8SNj32JCmMPksllfHdr830c-eSJiLLKRYY7_QaTSxSANk_q9h/s1600-h/CIMG0609.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgg5KdzJHefhSsya3BHQ49od2AOfM_Wn97GlPZ2sC01wPri7k3CyRJclsCq6oW67b5UdIH0J9NfnYgY4_NciiA87Ft3R8SNj32JCmMPksllfHdr830c-eSJiLLKRYY7_QaTSxSANk_q9h/s400/CIMG0609.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108966370874910098" border="0" /></a><br />These are all of the tiny people looking down from the Eifel Tower.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUBftzNLDwSkCeMPOQ11V03iF5r3Hul3XoEEGUZy90FAb6Pc3v8oyJiMDHU7fXfX-uctM0Khyphenhyphen8UxGENB34iLc3QBzGYfukXcI3VQhSz3I1mfnUOg-nE7V2lBUkZbwPyzVgljs2bC1yE02/s1600-h/CIMG0607.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUBftzNLDwSkCeMPOQ11V03iF5r3Hul3XoEEGUZy90FAb6Pc3v8oyJiMDHU7fXfX-uctM0Khyphenhyphen8UxGENB34iLc3QBzGYfukXcI3VQhSz3I1mfnUOg-nE7V2lBUkZbwPyzVgljs2bC1yE02/s400/CIMG0607.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108966113176872306" border="0" /></a>The perfectly manacured gardens sit beside the Concord Metro stop. They're very beautiful, but DON'T step on the grass. Grass is to be looked at in Paris, not touched! In addition to the tiny fence that keeps honest people honest, there are threatening signs keeping passerbys from stepping on the grass.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK4oZLn6dgtDtMWNOsRuzMUMaBOh34QKwuTosBZ1qTLPt-7ZIivcYXiiZLzmomYfLSwCYI1Ac-hdM8Qauh0z0r4OLPy_l0OLUDu13aF292HAfkXn3ULBADhr2_v-kFghdiSnF70zT-tWS/s1600-h/CIMG0614.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK4oZLn6dgtDtMWNOsRuzMUMaBOh34QKwuTosBZ1qTLPt-7ZIivcYXiiZLzmomYfLSwCYI1Ac-hdM8Qauh0z0r4OLPy_l0OLUDu13aF292HAfkXn3ULBADhr2_v-kFghdiSnF70zT-tWS/s400/CIMG0614.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108967384487192018" border="0" /></a>Notre Dame is remarkably bright for having so few windows.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_iMdu0skYsYWYVXiWRoe1rMCSWEUD2d7SgxYVlLqkcnqO3I_tYkfaSrjZsaeRWeWYdD-2WzGAz8JNO2M3dMHLrtnSZBUNdiLJ4EMV4cAPOT_tUg8ybWqjY-3THw86Y_lZ-b38XqsOMCMd/s1600-h/CIMG0612.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_iMdu0skYsYWYVXiWRoe1rMCSWEUD2d7SgxYVlLqkcnqO3I_tYkfaSrjZsaeRWeWYdD-2WzGAz8JNO2M3dMHLrtnSZBUNdiLJ4EMV4cAPOT_tUg8ybWqjY-3THw86Y_lZ-b38XqsOMCMd/s400/CIMG0612.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108967135379088818" border="0" /></a>I watched some kids play soccer for hours outside of the Patheon. That's a high quality of life: <span style="font-style: italic;">soccer </span>outside of the Patheon!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KJnBI-mZvelLoAaK5f5S80jEM2PebC5s3km933gzH6hCfajQgtfFBTRMKofWlhuw5CoxqilwLRj2nmNWUNF2xUK7BOjMiTsBER4x3l6dSJUw5YRnM8ZPP6FilTPksfeK8D9aPiz901oQ/s1600-h/CIMG0610.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KJnBI-mZvelLoAaK5f5S80jEM2PebC5s3km933gzH6hCfajQgtfFBTRMKofWlhuw5CoxqilwLRj2nmNWUNF2xUK7BOjMiTsBER4x3l6dSJUw5YRnM8ZPP6FilTPksfeK8D9aPiz901oQ/s400/CIMG0610.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108967131084121506" border="0" /></a>lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-1776083493771558222007-09-09T07:20:00.000-07:002007-09-09T07:29:46.046-07:00Paris: Saturday Sidewalk-Cleaning DayYesterday I walked outside of my hostel and the sidewalk was totally wet!<br /><br />Shoot!<br /><br />Before going back inside to get my umbrella, I looked up at the sky. It was bright blue. There were no clouds. In fact, it was a beautiful day. I decided against the umbrella and started down the street to the metro station. Wouldn't ya know, there were shoppkeepers out all along the way <em>scrubbing</em> their sidewalks! Water, brooms, soap, the whole nine-yards. Of course! It's not raining; it's sidewalk-cleaning day!lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3883913206981222739.post-74407913048848121762007-08-25T10:02:00.000-07:002007-08-25T10:06:59.425-07:00Coming Soon...In mid September I will meet up with some university buddies and travel from St. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Petersburg</span> to Beijing by rail!!!<br /><br />Stay tuned for pictures, stories, and ADVENTURES!!!lauritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07358398301258094679noreply@blogger.com0