Travels

New Year's Eve & Day

2012-01-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Beautiful sunset at Ocean Beach, before we went home and drank all the wine we got on our wine-tasting trip!

Drive down the coast on New Year's Day.

Stopped at Pilar Point Harbor. Wearing my new scarf from Bev!

Mt Hood

2012-01-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hiking at Mt Hood Park with Jaime and Ben. It was sooo nice to see them again!

2,000 vertical ft later, we made it to the top!

Pretty wetlands on the drive home.

Lake Sonoma

2012-01-03T17:00:00.001-08:00

The last of Grandma Pat's Christmas cookies.

Rainy walk back.

Visit

2012-01-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Max and me in front of the Conservatory of Flowers.

Get-together with our families...for the first time!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T16:49:00.001-08:00

The lighting of the Georgetown Christmas tree by the old chapel.

Back in San Francisco. Christmas shopping at a new favorite bookstore.

Walking around the city.

San Francisco's special outdoor ice skating rink.

Yksi in the glow of the Christmas tree.

The dogs' holiday sweaters : )

Thanksgiving in Oregon

2012-01-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

Spent Thanksgiving in Manzanita, OR with Max's family. It's becoming a tradition! Beautiful place, and very relaxing.

Fall in Georgetown

2011-11-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

View of Georgetown, walking across the bridge from Rosslyn.

Georgetown University.

Traffic coming into the city from Rosslyn. This is why I don't drive to campus!

Courtyard & fountain on campus.

The ICC, home to the Center for Latin American Studies & the Security Studies
Program.

Hiking at Great Falls with Ben & Neha.

Dora being cute.

Boulder - family

2011-08-09T06:12:00.001-07:00

Dinner at Leaf vegetarian restaurant w/ my mom and Aunt Uusi.

Family get together at Uusi's place: Kathy, my mom, me, Auntie Uusi, Grandma Pat.

Boulder Dushanbe Tea House

2011-08-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

The tea house was given to Boulder by its sister city, Dushanbe (Tajikistan).

Out to lunch with my grandmother, godmother, and mom.

The ceiling of the tea house. Artisans came over from Tajikistan and were in Boulder for several years painting and carving.

Heil Valley Ranch

2011-08-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

I love how these people tried to brick over their trailer...

Boulder

2011-08-09T05:58:00.001-07:00

Hiking with my cousin Kathy near Nederland, Co. The altitude made it a very breathless hike.

Relaxing at my godmother's house in Longmont.

Hiking at Brainerd Lake with my godmother, Kris and her husband, Mark.

Snow on the ground in August!

Crossing Wyoming

2011-08-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

We like to stay in Evanston and hike at Bear River State Park.

Cricket and Diego on our hike.

Crossing Utah

2011-08-09T05:47:00.001-07:00

Driving from Wendover to Salt Lake City. It was an interesting landscape, but literally nothing changed for 2 hrs except for the semi trucks.

Getting a lot closer to the Great Salt Lake.

We stopped for gas right outside of Salt Lake City and let the engine cool down.

Nevada (August 2011)

2011-08-09T05:36:00.001-07:00

The drive into Lovelock didn't go smoothly, with radiator trouble and a dust storm.

Visiting at Dave's place the next day.

Lower Valley on the way back from a morning hike.

The mountains outside of Lovelock.

The California Zephyr

2011-08-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

The Zephyr runs from San Francisco to Chicago. I just went over the Sierra to Reno. It was a beautiful and relaxing day...

The Observation Car.

Self portrait across a passing train.

Train hub outside of Sacramento.

Southern Martinique - last day

2011-07-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Saint Pierre area

2011-07-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

This was one of my favorite days in Martinique. We drove to the west side of the island, where you can see the old capital of Martinique which was destroyed by a volcano eruption in 1902. Most people died in the eruption, except for several inmates who were saved by the thick walls of the jail. It's a very interesting area and one of the prettiest in Martinique.

We were told of an "easy hike" to a view of Saint Pierre and Mont Pelée. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, we finally reached the top...

The town of Saint Pierre

The nearby Gauguin museum. Gauguin lived in Carbet, near Saint Pierre, for about a year and painted some of his most famous paintings there. I was disappointed that the museum was closed because I really like Gauguin.

A building destroyed during that Mont Pelée eruption.

The old theater, which was destroyed. The jail was just to the left. Apparently Barnum and Bailey hired the inmate survivors.

Martinique Gardens & Ruins

2011-07-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Me at Chateau Dubuc, the ruins of an old french plantation. Apparently, the owner used bad light signals to lure ships close in. When they crashed on the rocks, he moved in for the spoils.

Max by a Manchineel tree. They're marked by a red line around the trunk. They look pretty normal and have these little green apples. In Spanish they call them "Little green apples of death." Manzanilla de la muerte. If you touch anything with the sap on it, it causes terrible burns and sores. Apparently, the Carib indians used to dip their arrows in Manchineel during times of war.

Jardin Balata. It wasn't that great, I didn't think. They said it was really hurt by a recent hurricane and wasn't as nice as it used to be.

This was my favorite place in Martinique, Jardin Anse Latouche. Another old plantation. I liked all the lush foliage in such a desert setting. In some place, you could see ponds with water lilies surrounded by cacti.

More Anse Latouche. Around here was where the fire ants got me :(

Musée de la Pagerie, birthplace of Josephine, who went on to marry Napoleon and become Empress of France.

Beaches in Martinique

2011-07-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

The beach near where we were staying. Lots of Martiniquain families, low key, nice feel.
Fancy beach in Southern Martinique with all these french tourists and yachts...we went on the last day.

Tartane, Martinique

2011-07-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

We returned to Martinique to spend a full week. We stayed in Tartane, a village on a remote eastern peninsula. It was very pretty and a good base, since it wasn't very far to the capital, to the north, or to the south. The house we rented was pretty, but we didn't really care for the owners, who were overly interested in the money and didn't leave us basic things like toilet paper, bath towels, soap, etc., all of which we had to buy, which was inconvenient. Still though, it was a pleasant enough place to spend a really great week.

We left Pagua Bay at 5 am, took the 10 am ferry back to Martinique, taxied to the airport, rented a car, and drove to Tartane. We were exhausted by the time we got to the house. Also, I think the motion sickness pills we got Max (sold individually in a dirt-floored pharmacy in a village in Dominica) may have knocked him out.
The patio was the nicest part of the house.
Gorgeous view from the patio of the village of Tartane.

Carib Territory

2011-07-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Dominica is the only Caribbean island with a native Carib population. The Caribs hid in the remote mountains of Dominica, intermarried with escaped slaves, and managed to survive the arrival of the Europeans and the diseases they brought. Pagua Bay, where we stayed, is right on the north edge of Carib Territory. One day we went to their cultural center at Kalinago Barana Auté.

Waitukubuli Trail

2011-07-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

The Waitukubuli trail is over 100 miles long and goes around and across the entire island of Dominica. The name comes from the Carib Indian word for their island, and it means "tall is her body," because of all the mountains. We hiked some of the trail segments.

Tree ferns, my dad's favorite.

Lots and lots of rivers to cross!!

Trying to see if we could break open a coconut...

Ruins of an abandoned house. The vegetation was taking over so quickly. A bit later we had to turn around because the trail was so overgrown.

Max went swimming in the pouring rain at Emerald Pool.

Everyone wanted to see these special amazon parrots, and it took about 2 hrs to find them. I wasn't really into it, so I took some pictures.

Max hiking through banana plants.

Ocean view on the drive home.

Pagua Bay House

2011-07-20T16:21:00.001-07:00

This was our base as we explored Dominica. It was one of the nicest places I've ever stayed...the pictures don't do it justice! It was completely luxurious, tasteful, and gorgeous.

Arriving at Pagua Bay Restaurant and Bar. We ate here two meals a day for a week, and soon developed our list of favorites. Juice: Soursop. Dinner: Coconut Curry. Desert: Cheesecake or homemade icecream.

Our cabins, connected by the deck.

View from the deck. The ocean was very rough and you could hear the waves all night.
The deck, where we read every morning.

Max and my room.
I loved the tigerwood floors!

Arriving in Dominica

2011-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I knew next to nothing about Dominica before we got there except that it's great for people who like the outdoors and hiking. I don't think many people have actually heard of Dominica, and even at American airlines check-in, the lady at the counter seemed to think we were going to the Dominican Republic.

Anyways, now I have a somewhat better understanding of Dominica ("Domun-EE-ca"). It's the least developed Caribbean island, with only 70,000 people and very few roads. It's an English-speaking Commonwealth that gained its independence from Great Britain in 1978. It's one of the poorest nations in the Caribbean, with about 25% unemployment. Its economy is based on bananas and recently ecotourism. In 2008, Dominica joined the Bolivarian Alliance, which allowed for aid from Venezuela and Cuba. The Chinese are also major supporters and have donated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for roads, stadiums, hotels, and schools.

The capital, Rosseau, where we rented a jeep.

Leaving the capital behind and driving up into the mountains.
In addition to driving on the wrong side of the road, the road conditions themselves were really challenging. Nearly all roads on the island are 1-lane, 2-way. At every blind curve (there are a lot!) you have to honk to warn people you're coming. There's an art to it!
Typical houses. They were all very open, usually no doors or windows, and no furniture inside. Sometimes you could see people napping on the floor inside. It was strange how open they were to the road.

Approaching our destination, Pagua Bay.

Martinique Music Festival

2011-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

As we walked around Fort-de-France on Sunday, we were amazed at how many people came up to us to tell us about the music festival that night. Everyone was very excited and wanted to make sure we knew about it. The festival itself was small but very interesting. Almost all of Fort-de-France was out lining the streets.

This group was from the neighboring island of Guadeloupe. I loved their costumes.

Large papier-mache lady supposed to represent Martinique. Her backside was obscenely huge.

This was a Martiniquian dance group. Their shirts are honoring Aimée Césaire, leader of the Négritude, or Black pride movement. As I understood it, he was instrumental in transitioning Martinique from a French colony to a French départament d'outre mer, in which Martiniquains would have equal rights and be full citizens.

The last group was sort of techo. We watched them from the balcony of our hotel room, which was pretty cool. Then we went out for crepes.

Fort-de-France, Martinique

2011-07-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

We spent two days in Fort-de-France, the capital of the French départament of Martinique. It was a gorgeous but very run down city with an unmistakably French feel.

As we walked around Fort-de-France, I remember thinking how remote and strange everything was. Later in the trip, our perspective changed -- as we explored Dominica, we'd refer back to how developed and modern Martinique was.

I really liked this pharmacy sign.

At the bar attached to our hotel, we got cold drinks to cool off. The weather was cooler than DC, but it was still hot, especially for my parents coming from SF.
Me & Max at the hotel bar.

The lobby of our hotel, L'Impératrice. It's named for Empress Josephine, who was born on a small plantation in Martinique and went on to marry Napoleon.

The park right across from our hotel.

Bibliotéque Schoeler, named for a famous French abolitionist. He helped abolish slavery in Martinique in 1848.

View of Fort-de-France from the ferry to Dominica. This was while the ride was still pleasant...later on, it got really rough and I almost fell down the stairs trying to get back to my seat. Meanwhile, everyone around us got sea sick, and the waves were quite exciting.

Dominican Republic -- Dajabón Market

2011-06-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

On our last day, we went to Dajabón Market and crossed the border into Haiti. It made a big impact on me having worked for the past week with Haitian immigrants and seeing their living conditions and tremendous poverty. Dajabón market is right along the Haitian border, which is marked by Massacre River. (In 1937, Trujillo ordered all Haitians removed the Dominican side of Hispaniola, and then had them murdered in the river crossing back over; about 20,000 Haitians died). When the market opens on Fridays, Haitians run across the bridge with wheelbarrows and horsecarts that they fill with supplies and run back into Haiti. It's an amazing and extremely stressful thing to see. I didn't take many pictures because I was worried about my camera. However, it was amazing just to see all of the activity and take everything in.

Río Masacre. Haiti is on the left, and the Dominican Republic is on the right.

On the bridge over Massacre River.
Dajabón Market from the bridge.

Closer view of Dajabón market. Three men push a horse cart full of onions back to Haiti. A girl sells soda. A man carries a wheelbarrow because there isnt enough room to push it. A boy carries four plastic containers of cheap electronics on his head.

Dominican Republic - PN El Morro

2011-06-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

On our last day of the community service trip, we took a break and went sight-seeing around El Cibao. These photos are from a hike at El Morro National Park. The beach at the bottom is where we went swimming afterwards to cool off!

Dominican Republic - Orphanage Outreach

2011-06-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

These are some photos from the program we were working with, Orphanage Outreach. You can also see where we stayed -- pretty, but definitely rustic.

My students with the kids at the local orphanage, where we were staying.

Dominican Republic - Summer Program Batey Libertad

2011-06-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Older Girls group at the English station. They were incredibly smart and eager to learn.

Relay races.

Little Kids group at the Literacy station.

Practicing drawing and writing at the Art Station.

Older guys playing dominoes.

Dominican Republic -- Batey Libertad

2011-06-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

We worked in a community called Batey Libertad. A batey is a settlement of agricultural workers, mainly sugar cane pickers. Haitians often cross the border in search of a better life and do the work that Dominicans don't want. At Batey Libertad, they live without running water or electricity in small tin shacks. It's estimated that 1 million Haitians live illegally in the DR (out of a Dominican population of 9 million).

10 of my students and 10 students from Bryn Mawr ran a summer camp at Baté Libertad. About 50 local kids came. The goal was to increase the kids' exposure to literacy, Spanish, English, team activities, and art. I was amazed that many of the school age kids did not yet know how to hold a crayon. It made me think about how hard it would be for them to learn to write later on.

Dominican Republic June 2011

2011-06-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

We were in the North-Western part of the country, about an hour from the Haitian border, for a community service project.

Pittsburgh - Day 3

2011-06-02T17:42:00.001-07:00

On our last morning in Pittsburgh, we didn't really try to do anything in particular, since we had seen a lot over the past couple of days and since it was a holiday and most things were closed anyways. We did walk through downtown and take the bus out to a neighborhood called ShadySide, which was supposed to be pretty to walk around.

A couple blocks from our hotel, the United Steel Workers Building.

Liberty Ave!

Pittsburgh - Day 2

2011-06-02T17:24:00.001-07:00

On our second day in Pittsburgh, we got up early to beat the 95* heat. We tried taking the bus to a neighborhood called Oakland. We were a little worried because taking the bus can be complicated and we didn't have a map. Everything was really easy, though. This is the chapel at the University of Pittsburgh.

Next we went to the Cathedral of Learning, which is the University of Pittsburgh's humanities building. We were looking for the famous "Nationality Rooms" that are designed to reflect a certain architectural and cultural style. After a terrifying elevator ride to the 45 floor, where we could definitely feel the tower swaying, we found the visitor's center and got a map of the rooms. We went to all of the free rooms on the 3rd floor, which included the Austrian, Welsh, Ukrainian, Japanese, and Israeli rooms.

The Ukrainian room. I thought it was cool how they fitted the lumber together without using nails. Many of the rooms looked quite simple on first glance, but had a lot of interesting background information that made you understand them better.

We also went to the Phipps botanical gardens, where we saw ferns, orchids, bonsai, cacti, water gardens, and butterflies. This is the fern room.

Pittsburgh - Day 1

2011-05-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to Pittsburgh over the long weekend. Not the most glamorous of American cities, but totally fun, cheap, and friendly. Here are some of the pictures.

Pittsburgh is surrounded by rivers. This was the bridge we crossed to go up the incline to Mount Washington.

The theater district, not far from our hotel.

Entering The Strip, Pittsburgh's old meat-packing district. We ate at Kaya, which was amazing.

View from our hotel room when we got back.

Christmas - New Year's 2010

2011-01-02T17:56:00.001-08:00

Christmas stockings in Pacifica, by the cozy fire that of course I made : )

X-Country skiing at Tahoe. Beautiful conditions & hardly any people.

Freezing cold walk along the beach right by the cabin we rented.

Max walking Cricket and Diego (the new dog!)

Driving to Lovelock through Virginia City, Nevada.
Family shot in Lovelock, NV with my aunt and uncle.

My parents. New Year's eve at La Costanera (Modern Peruvian food).

Me and Max, New Year's eve.

Oregon Coast - Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Santo Domingo

2010-07-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

We walked by the Santo Domingo Cathedral almost every day, but only on our last day in Oaxaca did we make it inside to see the famous museum and views of the city.

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Yagul

2010-07-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite archeological site was Yagul because it was so peaceful and wild. Hardly anyone else was there.

View from on top of the Yagul ruins

The ball court

Max and I hiked to the top of the hill for another view

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Mitla and Tlacolula

2010-07-19T06:38:00.001-07:00

We were all kind of tired out from our weekend in the mountains, but we decided we wanted to see the Mitla ruins and some stuff in the surrounding valley.

Mitla Ruins

This incredible little church was "undiscovered" until a few years ago. Now it is being restored by a Oaxacan millionaire who is related to Carlos Slim.

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: EcoTurIxtlán

2010-07-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

These photos are from our tour of the Ixtlán community lands, which have one of the highest rates of biodiversity in the world.

Elfin Forest (supposedly the tree in Avatar)

El Mirador, looking down over the town

Ixtlán's beautiful church

Ixtlán was very prosperous from Cochineal, thus all the gold

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Ixtlán de Juárez

2010-07-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

We took a weekend "ferning" trip to the town of Ixtlán de Juárez in the Sierra Norte mountains. Very beautiful area, but far too much time in the car as we drove around for about 8 hrs looking for a certain type of tree fern.

Lea loves nature : )

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Taller Arte Papel

2010-07-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Photos from our visit to the Toledo paper studio and the nearby art museum. This was in a tiny town outside of Oaxaca city.

Driving through town on the way there, not really expecting much...

Max outside the paper factory.

Francisco Toledo's incredible printed kites

The gorgeous local art museum. The pink fountain is dyed with the local cochineal dye

I liked the squashed pots...

& local black pottery

The fountains

Views from the balconies of the museum

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Teotitlán del Valle

2010-07-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

Teotitlán del Valle is famous for its traditional Oaxacan rugs. However, while we were in Oaxaca they also had a parade in Teotitlán called La Preciosa Sangre (the precious blood). All of the unmarried girls and women in the village carry decorated baskets through the streets in honor of Jesus. However, for the village men it is also just a chance to check out the single girls.

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: Monte Albán

2010-07-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

Day trip to Monte Albán, just a short way outside Oaxaca city, to see the Zapotec ruins.

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: First week of settling in

2010-07-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lea's birthday with a Quemén cake and a trip to see the Guelaguetza traditional Oaxacan dances, which included the Pineapple Adoration dance.

We walked around the city center, trying to find the things we needed, like banks and grocery stores.

And we were constantly being startled from the sound of firecrackers, which went off at totally inexplicable times of night and day.

Oaxaca, Mexico 2010: our rental house

2010-07-19T05:13:00.000-07:00

Photos from beautiful Casa de La Paz, where we stayed. It was so comfortable and beautiful, much better than a hotel! There were so many open windows that it was like you couldn't tell where the house ended and where the garden began. They allowed for lots of beautiful views and fresh air in the day and lots of mosquitoes at night!

The view from the upstairs window, off of Max and my and Lea's rooms.

Templo de la Valenciana "San Cayetano"

2008-08-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

We managed to get to the site of La valenciana mine only to find it closed due to a change of ownership. Disappointing considering all we'd heard about it and the fact that it produced (produces?) 1/5 of the world's silver. Still, we walked around the village near the mine, reluctantly toured a mining museum (my mom and defected from the terrifying underground tour), and walked to the nearby church. Here are some photos from the entrance to the church, which was a beautiful burnt orange color.

Recorrido de San Miguel

2008-08-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from our day in San Miguel, which is about 2 1/2 hours from Guanajuato. Overall, it was very chic and had great food and shops, but seemed completely divorced from Mexico, basically like a little Santa Barbara sitting in the middle of Mexico. We ate at an amazing french restaurant...the goat cheese salad brought me back to my times in Nice! Overall it was cool to see San Miguel, but we were glad to come back to Guanajuato...especially glad to have survived a terrifying drive home along Mexican highways with the driver ominously crossing himself before every curve in the road!
Me at the Botanical Gardens in front of an amazing succulent.

View of the town

Wondering if the taxi would ever come pick us up from the Botanical Garden.

Ex-hacienda de San Gabriel de Barrera

2008-08-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

One day we took a taxi to this intriguing place on the outskirts of the city. I didn't really have any expectations, which made "finding" this cool place thrilling. After the constant flow of people and cars in downtown Guanajuato, the quiet and green of this huge estate here were a complete shock.

The hacienda belonged to one of the first gold mining barons, Barrera, who built towering brick structures to clean the ore from his mines. After amassing a huge fortune, he began work on the house, grounds, and chapel, which is literally coated in gold. When the hacienda was taken over by new owners following the Independence, they decided to create 17 gardens in between the brick walls of the mining areas. The gardens are gorgeous and ornate, each of them with a different theme: Spanish, Baroque, Italian, Moroccan, English, etc.

I loved the Roman garden

Cool tile work

The hideous gold chapel

Vistas de Guanajuato

2008-08-01T16:16:00.001-07:00

Like Valparaíso, Guanajuato has funiculares, or "acensores," which are little elevators with a view that take you up the steepest hills of the city for a small fee. People who live at the top and don't want to carry their groceries up a hill or climb up after a long day at work pay for the acensor just like paying for a bus. This acensor, which went up to El pipila momument, was really touristy though. Here are some of the views from the top.

Noche en la terraza

2008-08-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

We decided to watch the fireworks and drink cactus fruit liqueur from the rooftop of our hotel one night. We couldn't really see the fireworks, and the liqueur was like cough syrup x10, but it was still a good time. The beautiful view of the cerros made me oddly nostalgic for Valparaíso.

El gallo pintogórico

2008-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from El gallo pintogórico, our favorite restaurant in Guanajuato. The name means "Pythagorean Chicken," which was hugely confusing to me until I saw a booklet with the same name at a bookstore. I guess El gallo pintogórico was a famous satirical pamphlet written by a Mexican politician back in the day...actually I still find the whole thing pretty confusing.

In any event, we ate at this place several times because we enjoyed it so much. To get to the restaurant you had to climb I'd say 8 flights of stairs, which was exhausting in the heat, but once you got to the top the views were incredible. It was so amazing to sit by a huge open window and see the entire city laid out in front of you. Though to be honest, my favorite dessert, baked pears covered in chocolate wine sauce, would have been enough in of itself to make me love the place.

Guanajuato, MX

2008-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

The street by our language school, Escuela Mexicana. It was only a short walk from where we were staying and we all loved our classes. I took Mexican politics and literature and learned so much.

Beautifully colored houses.

One of our first days in Guanajuato was a festival for San Miguel with indigenous dancers parading through town. The sound of their drumming and their feet (many were wearing metal shoes) was deafening, but it was also hard to tell where they were given all the hills and weird geography of Guanajuato. We finally found them late in the afternoon in an alley high up in the hills, by Callejón del beso. Some groups of dancers were amazing, others mediocre. We thought it was really interesting that every group had 2 boogey men, who would push the crowd back from the dancers with whips or threats, often making the children scream. This particular group had white cowboys as their boogeymen.

This is the center of Guanajuato just after a storm. You can see Teatro Juárez and the many, many people constantly out on the street.

A view from Alhóndiga de granaditas. You can see a bit of the Alhóndiga on the right. It was a holdout for loyalists at the start of the Mexican Independence movement. The insurgents, led by "El Pípila," a local miner, burned down its huge doors and killed the loyalists inside. The insurgents --including Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende--were later killed themselves and their heads were hung from the Alhóndiga as a warning. However, the Mexican Independence succeeded some 10 years later, and the early insurgents were viewed as heroes.

Back

2008-07-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

After a long time of not using this thing, I think I'm going to start up again. Last year I didn't have much to report aside from the insanities and complaints of my first year of teaching, which I didn't really feel were web-appropriate. Now, having moved away from the cultural wasteland that is New Jersey, I feel like I have a new lease on life and certainly more energy and desire to share my life with whoever is interested in reading about it.

In June my parents, Max and I went to Guanajuato, Mx for a few weeks. It was exciting to speak real Spanish again, as opposed to classroom Spanish, and it was also really great to be back in Mexico after our amazing trip to Oaxaca several years back. Pictures forthcoming!

Lee Anne and I have just moved to the DC area and are loving it. A few weeks ago we signed a lease on a condo in Alexandria and already our place is looking great and feeling homey. People seem remarkably friendly and there are lots of places see, restaurants and bars to try, and neighborhoods to walk around even in the 95* heat.

Spring Waltz!

2007-05-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

Jaime, Ben, Lee Anne, Max, Kat

Max and Daren. This picture is so cute!

Me with Max. I'm in my new dress, courtesy of Max!

Me and Max.

Kat, Lee Anne, Me, Jaime.

Jaime's beautiful hair, from the back.

Lee Anne.

Me looking mischievous.

With Daren.

Robyn and me in our new dresses.

Pictures with Max

2007-04-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Home

2007-03-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Mori Point in March.

I was home for just 10 ten days over break. Break isn't exactly the right word; I wrote a 20 page paper, prepared for a job interview, practiced, and read Demons, which has to be the worst book written by Dostoevsky (or anyone, for that matter). Still, it was nice in a sort of boring, productive way. I had fun seeing my parents and the animals and went on some pretty hikes (as you can see from this picture).

Right now I'm in North Carolina. I had a school visit and interview today. It was incredibly bleak waking up at 5:30 am Eastern (2:30 am California time) this morning, but other than that, the day went smoothly. I had to teach two classes and then had seven interviews. I liked the school a lot, but am unsure how I feel about the South...its a different world out here. It sort of feels like the 1950's.

Tomorrow its back to Grinnell for my last 6 weeks of college. Here's hoping they're fun ones!

2007-03-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have the heart to post this photo of last month's ice storm only because its supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow. Life is looking up now that spring is almost here and break just one week away : )

Its been an eventful month. We had an ice storm and a blizzard and lost power. I went to DC for an interview at a school. I studied a lot and played a lot. Got another tutoring job. My computer broke and we all had to figure out what to do about it--decisions regarding technology are not my forte. I applied for lots of jobs and was (am) alternately optimistic and overwhelmed.

Now for midsems week, and then two relaxing weeks at home.

Color

2007-02-07T06:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 4th

2007-02-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Not only do I have Monday morning to dread, I have a Monday morning that's supposed to be -8 degrees to dread. That is going to be bleak. My usual obsession with finding and retaining warmth has reached new extremes now that its pretty much nowhere to be found. In the past week I have been not-cold on three occasions
1. 1/29/07 9-9:30 am when I took a scalding shower
2. 2/1/07, 2-4 pm when I ran to class wearing nearly every article of clothing I own and sweated the entire time
3. 2/2/07 4-5 pm when we took a sauna

Other than the cold though, the semester is off to a great start. I'm only taking three classes: Latin America & the US, Russian Seminar on "Master and Margarita," and Dostoevsky in translation. They're difficult but suprisingly relaxed. Small classes, professors I know well, material I'm actually interested in, type thing.

Max & I are together now and I am... really, really thrilled about it : D I know people have been asking about him, so I guess I will try to answer, though it isn't so easy to describe someone. Anyways, he is a poli-sci major from Washington state just returning from studying abroad in London. We met last spring and kept in touch while I was in St Petersburg and then while he was in London; I was sort of worried that it would be strange transitioning from correspondence to an actual relationship, but it hasn't been at all, its been really natural and wonderful.

In other news, its back to DC February 21-23. I'm hoping this time I'll be able to see Kristin!

Photography Experiments

2007-01-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

These are from our latest trip to Nevada. I was trying to learn how to use my tripod in different types of light and at different times of day (mid-afternoon, late afternoon, dusk, and night).

Back from the East Coast

2007-01-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

I just spent the last week on the East Coast, interviewing for jobs, visiting people, and doing some very brief sight seeing. Since I'd barely been to the East Coast before, it was mostly just a vague concept in my mind, put together from what people say and what you see in movies. It was very strange to actually be there. It felt completely different from anywhere else in the US. And, of course, New York, Washington DC, and Philadelphia were all completely different one from the other.

Anyways, I had 5 interviews, which were with educational recruiters, a school, and a publisher. The most rewarding interviews were with the people that I got the impression would actually be hiring (apparently, most schools start around February). A few of them said they were just looking for potential hirees to fill potential openings. This is all fine and well, just not particularly heartening when you're actually in the market for a job. The next step for pretty much all my applications: online forms and submitting letters of recommendation. I'm going to try to get all this done before I head back to Grinnell.

In New York Lee Anne and I stayed with our friend Sara, who lives in White Plains, about a 45 min commute north of the city. The flight, the traffic coming back from the airport, and the early first day of interviews really took a lot out of us, but we did manage to walk around and see some things. We rode the ferry to Staten Island, had fresh New York bagels, went to Times Square (which isn't actually a square at all...how misleading!), and to Central Park. It was completely exhausting. Great to see Sara and her girlfriend though!

After a night in Delaware, we took the train to Washington DC, where Lee Anne and I both ended up having two interviews. We stayed with Sukha's girlfriend Margaret, which was lovely and very relaxing. She was a very considerate hostess and we actually got a good night's sleep before our interviews, both of which made a big difference. Anyways, in DC we went to the Museum of Natural History, which is fantastic and free, and walked around the neighborhood with all the embassies, trying to guess which country was represented by which flag. It was cold but absolutely gorgeous; both Lee Anne and I really liked DC.

After a morning interview in Philadelphia we went and saw some Revolutionary War historic sights, like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' home, and Franklin's burial place. It was sort of cool, though that era of American history doesn't interest me all that much. Of all the cities, I felt like I got the least sense of what Philadelphia was actually like, other than that it's really, really big and sprawling. I guess we were just too tired of seeing sights and trekking around big cities by that point to put in the necessary effort.

All in all, after 6 states in 6 days, 5 job interviews, and 7 forms of transportation taken, I am GLAD TO BE HOME.

Moscow, December 2006

2007-01-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Tverskaya street in the never-ending snow. Since our dorms at MXAT were just off Tverskaya and the back entrace to my theater was on it, I spent nearly all my time in this neighborhood.

Traffic, with one of Stalin's Seven Sisters in the background, early one afternoon.

Tverskaya street by the back entrace to my theater. The yellow sign on the right is for Shokoladnitsa, or Chocolate Girl, a cafe famous for their rich, dark hot chocolate.

Max sent me roses; they were so beautiful! I am getting really excited and impatient to see him back at Grinnell : D

Robyn at our (very pathetic) Christmas dinner...at least we tried, though. We had a food from each food group: grain, nuts, dairy, fruits, vegetables, chocolates.

Me at кофе хауз, an expensive but nice coffee place, for breakfast. I remember feeling exhausted and half dead, but I look suprisingly awake and happy in the picture. Its funny how that happens sometimes.

The Mossovieta at night, with genteel guests arriving in enormous fur coats. The elegant atmosphere only went to a certain point, though; I was nearly mauled trying to retrieve my coat from the coat check. Over the course of two weeks I saw Three Sisters, My poor Marat, Uncle Vanya, Kavaliers, Cyrano de Bergerac, Shivorot-Navyivorot (Russian fairy-tale), Holiday Men, Wife Husband Lover, The Minor, and Songs from our Komunalka. I thought I would get sick of seeing plays every day, and sometimes twice a day, but these were excellently done, and all very different one from another, and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

Me in front of a church near the Tretyakov Gallery, one of Moscow's finest art museums.

December 31st

2006-12-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say I made it home from Moscow! I don't even feel as bad as I thought I would, considering the 24 hours of airplane travel, 12 security checkpoints, and 11 hour time change I just endured.

Everything here is wonderful and beautifully decorated for Christmas. I sort of forgot that Christmas came and went for most people, seeing how uncelebrated it is in Russia. We're opening our presents tomorrow, though : )

I'll put my pictures from the trip up soon!

12/9/06

2006-12-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

A week until I leave for Moscow!

I'm getting really sick of Grinnell and ready to leave it for a while. Its not just the end of the semester work load, its that plus dealing with everyone else in that situation too. I mean I love the people at Grinnell, but I can't wait to be around non-college students for a while. Next semester's gonna be pretty great, I'm definitely looking forward to that. It'll be my last semester here, springtime, Max'll be back, my classes should be good but not terribly difficult.

I'm done with my 5 papers, though one is not yet sent in, so technically I could edit it more and clean up the footnotes. Next week I have finals on Tuesday and Wednesday and that's it! I'm going to start studying for them today since my whole goal for the end of the semester is to get plently of sleep and not be too stressed out so that I can smoothly adjust to Russia.

I've found more out about my internship, which is at the Mossovieta Theater. I want read some plays before I go (in English) so that they'll be more understandable when I see them in Russia. I'm supposed to attend all the rehearsals for "The Damned" by Mazzoni so I'll definitely read that one. I'm excited to see some of my favorites like "The Government Inspector," "The Minor," "Uncle Vanya," and "Woe from Wit." Unfortunately we're also seeing Gorkii's "The Lower Depths" which is pretty much the worst play ever...hopefully watching it won't be as painful as reading it since I barely even made it through it!

Winter Waltz!

2006-12-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

This was the closest Jaime and I could get to a photo with both of us smiling and having our eyes open. We ended up getting ready to go out just the two of us-- everyone else went out for dinner, but we were writing papers and didn't have time. Notice Jaime's gorgeous peacock feather decoration and my new hairstyle with bangs over the side.

Jaime and Lee Anne at a pre-waltz party in main. I only took pictures at home and here because I was afraid of losing my camera at Waltz itself!

Robyn & Russ.

Vera & Luke.

Happy...but also so damn tired. I have 5 papers due this week.

Jaime looking absolutely beautiful.

Nov 29th

2006-11-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

I should really update this thing more. Time's really been flying lately. I feel its still last weekend, and its already almost Thursday...weird!!!

Since this is the 2nd to last week of classes, things have been incredibly busy. I just got done writing a paper on Russian melodramas of the 1970's, which was actually very entertaining to research for. My next big project is a research paper on Colombian guerrilla movements. I find it interesting, but a little too interesting, since I have all these sources and ideas and contradictions and its been hard to organize my argument.

Can't wait for this weekend. On Friday night we're having a party, since some of Tyler's friends from home are driving down to Grinnell. Then Saturday night is Winter Waltz, which is one of two events a year in which you actually see Grinnellians looking beautiful and elegant : ) There are always really wonderful classy parties with champagne and cheesecake and then the dance itself is really fun, beautifully decorated, and has a live band. This year I actually bought a dress expressly for Waltz, instead of just wearing something random or borrowing from a friend.

In just 3 weeks (December 16th) we leave for Moscow.

Thanksgiving!

2006-11-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

Lee Anne, Kat, (Jere)miah, Jaime. We moved the table into the entry hall so we'd have nice wood floors and antique woodwork instead of the hideous old kitchen for our Thanksgiving backdrop.

Mike, Trek, David, Don, Lee Anne. Lots of people can't make it home for Thanksgiving.

Kat, Me, Lee Anne at the counter dishing up.
Lee Anne with her pies, which were amazing. She made them, the cranberry sauce, hot apple cider, and the gravy. Kat made the squash. Jaime made the mashed potatoes and the turkey. I made the stuffing (Akili's dad's cornbread stuffing with apples and walnuts) and the relish tray.

Mi pieza

2006-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Though my room was certainly the least livable when we moved in, it keeps improving, and lately I've become convinced that I actually chose the best one. Its on the second floor, which means its warmer, and faces the back of the house so it doesn't get street noise. Its little, so my stuff actually nicely fills it in, and it has a slanted ceiling...which I love. The only thing that pains me is the brown, orange, green, tan, and blue linoleum floor that peaks out on the edges of the carpet. I tried to downplay that in these pictures though.

The dresser had been left here when we moved in. It used to be in the corner, but I had to move it out from the right wall when we turned on the heating and I realized that's where the vent was. The window is plastic-ed over to keep it warmer.

Thanks to Jaime's friendship with the quansa-hut used furntiture salesman and our extraordinary bargaining skills, I got this chair and desk set for $25. They're in perfect condition.

My bed, which is more like a nest because the mattresses are so old you just sort of sink in. Its actually really comfy.

This is the carpet I got to hide the linoleum.

Floor to ceiling built in bookcase. Most of my books are at home though. These are pretty much just Russian literature and Latin American history for the semester.

Beginning of November

2006-11-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Its truly fall now, which is beautiful. I was afraid for awhile we were going to go straight from summer to winter.

We've all submitted our Russian visa applications, so it looks like this internship trip is actually happening. I've been checking the weather in Moscow every day. Its no colder than it is here, so far.

I applied for a bunch of jobs through an online program called the Consortium, which is for employers that want to hire graduates of the best liberal arts colleges, right out of college. Its a pretty great opportunity, since I have this amazing education but little practical experience, and these employers recognize that and don't mind. Anyways, I have three interviews so far. The first one is in New York City, the second in Washington, DC, and the third in Philadelphia. I'm excited. So Lee Anne and I will be making a quick trip to the East coast in January.

Now matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get rid of this cold. I've had it for a week, and every day I wake up thinking, today will be the day that I have that breakthrough moment of energy and return to healthiness. Still feel awful though, and haven't left the house for any reason other than class or work for what feels like a long time. Being sick really does a number to your social life. Oh well, at least I live with most of my good friends.

Castle

2006-11-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

One of Pacifica's weirdest landmarks is its "Castle" which was built in 1908 and is somehow both alluringly romantic and supremely tacky. Most people don't get to see inside it, but my mom won a Pacifica Resource Center raffle and got 3 tickets for a evening inside with jazz and food. The owner, Sam Mazza, had this thing for old movie props, so you can just imagine what its like inside...

My mom and Debbie with the musicians in the backgroud.

My dad and I escape from awkward small talk to take some pictures. I think we looks suprisingly at home in a fake castle.

The entrance, with a glowing green ball next to a fake knight in armor, pretty much sums up the whole place : )

Monday the 30th

2006-10-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

Things are going ok...I'm sick but actually enjoying being back at Grinnell, finally. I seem to be back on track with the productivity thing again too, which is a big relief! Yesterday I wrote 2 papers, worked all afternoon, practiced, AND cooked a nice supper : ) Anyways here are some pictures from our hike by the beach while I was at home. I've been meaning to post them for a while. We were between Montara and Pillar Point (Half Moon Bay), where they have the Mavericks surf competition.

Tide pools for the daring

10/25

2006-10-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is just my typical procrastinatory post. I think break was too fun because I'm not enjoying being back at all. Its cold, I have a million things to do, I'm probably going to get sick any day now, whine whine whine.

We're having a South American harp specialist (Ortiz) come on Saturday to do master classes and concerts which is exciting. It means though one more thing to worry about since I'm playing the main part in a 5-harp piece and Jeannie assigned me a solo to learn for that on just Tuesday. Plus I have to move work from Saturday to Sunday so both days are filled up.

Our house has not been doing well lately, since LA is sick, Tyler is overworked, and Jaime is having some intense academic-stress-breakdowns. It has not been pleasant.

I applied to 6 jobs yesterday. Even if I don't get any interviews, which I know would be entirely possible, its been good to learn how to do resumes and coverletters and actually apply for things. Stressful, though.

Well I should get back to some thankless reading of Uncle Vanya.

Portland visit

2006-10-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

I just got back from visiting Lewis & Clark, where I saw Carla, Mariah, and Jessica. It was an amazing trip, and almost a complete Chile reunion...if only Kristin could have been there!!!

I'd been through Portland lots of times before but had never spent much time actually there and appreciating it, so it was pretty cool to be able to wander around downtown and see the sights. We went to the biggest independently owned bookstore in the US! We also had coffee again and again and again which was good since it was really cold and rainy!

The first night there I stayed at Carla's, and the second, at Jessica's. They both had beautiful places. I didn't get to see Mariah's house since she lives half an hour by bike from campus. As for the campus itself...wow. It is really beautiful, green, and covered in trees. Walking around campus feels like being in the woods. I mean I like how compact Grinnell's campus is because it feels more like a campus and a community, but this was really beautiful and I could see how you could fall in love with walking to class every day along a mossy, misty forest path.

It was really great seeing everyone after 10 months of just the occasional email. I think all the time that passed could have detracted from other friendships, but the fact that we all met in Chile and shared life-changing experiences there made a strong enough bond that we could see each other pretty much whenever and have things to talk about.

Who would be up for a Buenos Aires reunion, in, say, 2015?

10/11

2006-10-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

We're supposed to get snow flurries tomorrow. I am so mentally unprepared for this horrible coldness and grayness. I wanted a nice long fall with pretty leaves changing...and the leaves are practically off the trees and its 35 degrees out and we're supposed to get SNOW FLURRIES???! Noooooooo.

I should be studying but I'm bundled up in my room drinking like my 4th cup of hot tea & writing emails instead....

I'll be home on Friday : D

Almost the weekend

2006-10-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Its been the kind of week where I leave the house at 9 o'clock in the morning and come back at 10 o'clock at night to start my homework. I usually really don't like that, but lately its been ok since I've been busy for good reasons. Like this week is the Rosenfield Symposium on Russian Politics and Popular Culture. I had lunch with 17 Russian professors on Tuesday, which was intense. Every day there have been 2-3 talks.

For my Russian Film midsem we had to watch 10 silent pre- and post-revolutionary clips from films we'd never seen before and then determine which director it was. We'd studied Bauer, Protazanov, Kuleshev, Dziga Vertov, Trauberg & Kozintsev, Eisenstein, Dovzhenko, & Pudovkin. I thought I would be able to identify their styles pretty well. On the exam I wasn't totally sure with most of them, but I could come up with reasonable explanations and convince at least myself. After the class this guy and I talked with the teacher though, and I figured out that I'd answered basically every single one wrong. Ummm...oh well?

Its starting to get chilly, and people occasionally accuse me and Jaime of "dressing like snowmen." Clearly the question ought not be why we are dressed like snowmen, but why everyone else is wearing t shirts and sandals in 50 degree weather.

Here's a picture of our living room, from when Nora was visiting.

Friday night

2006-10-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Akili's new camera + one photo every 12 seconds for 3 hours = endless fun. We're so easily entertained!

Thursday the 28th

2006-09-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

I stole this picture from Robyn, but I'm pretty sure she won't mind. I love it. Its from one of the last weekends in St Petersburg when we stayed out all night to watch the bridges go up. It was beautiful.

Things here are...going. Everyone's been upset and on edge since a Grinnell student went missing since Sunday. They had over 400 people searching yesterday. They've gone over the entire campus three times and are now doing helicopter and foot searches of the surrounding areas. He was despondent before he went missing so you can't help but assume the worst.

With Daren's help, I finally bought my fall break tickets. The itinerary is something like this: Des Moines => San Francisco => Portland => San Francisco => Nevada => San Francisco => Des Moines. I think my family is incapable of planning uncomplicated vacations. It should be so much fun though.

We're going to see Little Miss Sunshine tonight.

So I'm hesistant to say much in case it jinxes something, but...the Russian Dept is supposed to be buying me a ticket to Moscow in the next three or four days. More on that later : p

I hate my psychology class even more than I thought I would, which is saying a lot. I think of the field as...nothing, sprinkled with acronyms, speculations, and touchy-feely bullshit. I'm surprised by how many intelligent, reasonable people I know who are psych majors. Anyways, the professor I have is definitely not helping. If she brings in candy one more day or reminds us that psychology starts with "p" instead of "s" one more time, I'm going to lose my mind.

Sept 24

2006-09-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well another weekend has come and gone. It wasn't a good one. The question is, will Monday morning seem good by comparison, or is a good Monday morning impossible?

I hear the FogFest was really fun. I wish I could have been home to go to it!

I've been working on Debussy's First Arabesque and its so gorgeous I'm pretty inspired to practice. I've always had the belief that piano music doesn't transfer well over to harp, but my harp professor is of a completely different opinion...so its been interesting.

2006-09-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon is the time I put my life into order.

And waste time online.

Look what I found! Its pretty much the cutest thing...ever.

москва

2006-09-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Sept 17

2006-09-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

I got another job! And more importantly, I think it will be a really good and fulfilling one. Its tutoring a 4th grade girl in reading and math--I met her and she seems to be really bright and open to people. Its just a couple hours a week, but the pay is terrific.

In other news, the highs of this weekend were way to high and the lows way to low. For my peace of mind, things really need to even out.

Now back to listening to Calexico and doing homework.

Internet!

2006-09-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

We finally got internet and cable tv last night, not at the most opportune time since I was in the process of writing a paper and studying for a test (both today) but still incredibly nice to finally have!

I've been back at Grinnell for almost a month, and if this amount of time is anything of an indication, senior year is going to be the happiest and most relaxed yet. Things are just...really good, in a settled way.

I keep trying to find another job, since Dr Webb is phasing her college employees out in favor of a full time employee. Apply, apply, apply, but so far nothing to show for it. At least its giving me practice in job market rejection...? : )

I got my ears pierced and they look really nice.

Happy Friday everyone!

Vladimir

2006-09-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

I went with the ACTR program to Vladimir en route to Moscow one of my last weeks in Russia. We went by night train, which I hear can be quite nice, but in my experience was rough since the train was really run down and my bunk was the one right by the bathroom door. Anyways, we arrived in Vladimir half dead but extremely impressed by the hundreds (thousands?) of beautiful churches and cathedrals in and around the city. Vladimir is one of the oldest cities in Russia and was a medieval capital. It was a thriving religious center until the 1200's, when it was attacked by Mongol hordes and went into decline. Today its a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of many beautiful cities on the Golden Ring around Moscow. Our time there was really good, though I saw so many churches that I had absolutely no desire to see more for my remaining 2 weeks in Russia! : ) Our hotel was decent, had a nice view of a nuclear power plant (oh, the smog), and had bbc world news on tv, which was both so good and so depresssing (on the situation in the Middle East) that I cried after watching it the first night. In any event, here are the pictures.

Assumption Cathedral

Multicolor churches in Suzdal', a small town not far from Vladimir with over 30 13th century churches.

Detail of a painting that covered the walls and high ceiling of a Suzdal' church.

Nevski

2006-09-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Some last pictures of Nevski Prospekt. I spent so much time there I actually became kind of fond of the noise and craziness.

St Petersburg with the Ganns!

2006-09-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

There are so many great photos from this week, but I suppose I can't put them all up, so here are my favorites. It was good to have such a fun and relaxing last week in St Petersburg after an overall stressful and somewhat unpleasant time. The great company helped me end my time there on a positive note!

We rented a flat off of Nevksi just behind the statue of Catherine II which was really quiet, clean, and comfortable, things I'd come to believe did not exist in Russia. We went sight-seeing in the day, had some very good meals, drank vodka and Soviet Chamagne, and Jack and I went out a few nights to meet up with friends from my program. We also had some adventures with grocery shopping (yes, adventures with grocery shopping), red-light districts, and the Russian mob : )

My mom, Jane, Crystal, Robyn, me, Jack, and my Dad by Victory Park after an exhausting but really fascinating walking tour of World War II and the Seige history. The fountains were all installed for this summer's G8.

My mom and Jane having an exquisite ( and exquisitely expensive!) lunch at the Hotel Astoria.

From one beautiful and relaxing experience to another. We took a night boat trip along all of the tiny canals and rivers of the city and enjoyed a bottle of Sovietskoye Champanskoye. This is Spac Na Krovi, or Church on Spilled Blood, from Kanal Griboedova.

Jane, me, Jack, all a little blinded by the flash.

Cutest picture ever!

Back at Grinnell

2006-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be so terrible about posting, but, as has been the case all summer, I'm without regular internet and justing using it where and when I can. We're supposed to get it in our house on the 12th, which will be nice, though I've gotten so used to not having it that my internet and plans addictions seem to be permanently broken.

In any event, Grinnell is fantastic. The house was rundown and filthy when we moved in but is looking better every day. Living with Jaime, LA, and Tyler has been great, classes are really interesting, have been meeting lots of people. No complaints.

I finally got a phone so I feel at least somewhat connected to the rest of the world!

I have tons of pictures of Russia and our new house that I'll probably start putting up this weekend.

Suomi Finland II

2006-07-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Rantakatu. Pretty people walking along a fashionable street.

People riding their bikes along the river.

The tori, or market square, where you can buy flowers, fruits, vegetables, and fish. My favorite of course are the strawberries which you can buy by the liter.

The Aurajoki river one very beautiful, clear, quiet morning.

A man taking his boat out on the Aurajoki.

Our dear friend Hannele in her new appartment (!)
It was wonderful seeing everyone while I was there, though unfortunately I wasn't able to get ahold of the Lehtolas...I think maybe they were on vacation.

Eini sitting by the feast she prepared for me : D

View of Russian Karelia out the train window as we came back to Piter.

Petergof-Petrodvorets

2006-07-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

The grand entrance to the palace and parks

Fairy-tale beauty. Being surrounded by the sound and freshness of falling water was wonderful as well.

The grand cascade, which Peter the Great designed himself.

Peter the Great's study

Crystal and Risa on the train back from Petrodvorets which annoying went about 2 miles an hour the entire way!

Joana & Freddy

Week Five

2006-07-18T05:57:00.000-07:00

What a week this has been. The weekday part of it was hellishly busy. Classes were long and teachers gave extra homework ; the temperatures were in the upper 90’s ; every day after class I ended up trudging somewhere or other difficult to find and in some way unpleasant ; once I got home I talked to my parents on the phone for a long time trying to straighten out all of our travel plans which, as always, are so complicated they seem to have taken on a life of their own.

Exciting news : from Thursday until Tuesday I’ll be in Turku, Finland ! I’m thrilled. I’ve made a long list of people and places I want to see and the foods and things I want to buy. I think the prettiness and orderliness of Finland will do me good. I have a 6 hour afternoon train ride both ways which will go across Karelia and I think will be gorgeous.

Well, now a little about this past weekend. On Friday after classes I went home and sat in my room staring at the wall in exhaustion and directing irritated thoughts towards Russia in general. On Saturday, Alla and I left very early in the morning for the dacha (summer cottage), which is about two and a half hours away. We spent the day there with her best friend and her best friend’s grandson. It was marvelous. We swam in a dirty lake. picked strawberries, blueberries, and elderberries, read lying in the sun, napped, and played badmitton. Saturday night I came back to the city tired, sunburnt, and very happy, to go out with Robyn and some of our friends from the program. I wont go into all of the details of the night here, but it involved lots of vodka and terrible Russian elektronica and was quite fun. At one of the clubs we went to, the bouncer tried to confiscate this enormous chocolate bar that I’d bought, and but I argued and refused to give it up so after a while he just started laughing and let me through with it, which was funny. He had a completely surprised look on his face. I don’t think he’d ever had a foreigner girl 1/3 his size argue with him over a chocolate bar before. Clearly he didn’t understand my love for chocolate.

Дача

2006-07-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Alla and me outside her dacha in Karelia.

Alla and Banya walking back from swimming at the lake. I was just excited because I didnt get a single leech.

Alla and Banya, her best friend's 11 year old grandson who I played Badmitton with for hours.

Russian writers on St Petersburg:

2006-07-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

« Granite city of glory and troubles »
Anna Akhmatova

« Magnificent city, poor city »
Pushkin

« All fraud, all dreams, all that is not what it seems ! It is found on Nevsky Prospekt »
« How strange is my existence in Russia ! Sad dream ! Oh, to wake up soon ! »
Gogol

Pure Touristy-ness

2006-07-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

Kanal Griboedava, with Church On Spilled Blood in the background

The Summer Garden, one of my very favorite places

The Winter Palace, home of The Hermitage

The beautiful entrance to the Hermitage

My neighborhood

2006-07-05T04:32:00.000-07:00

According to something I read on Soviet architecture, the buildings in my neighborhood are from the Brezhnev period since they have 11-14 stories and cover entire blocks.

A closer look at a whole lot of nothing.

Women talking outside one evening.

Football, always popular.

Week Three

2006-07-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we had an Екскурсия to the Russian museum, which focuses solely on Russian art. After a boring, difficult to understand 2-hour tour, I wandered a bit and looked at things at my own pace, which was a pleasure. First I saw a Soviet art exhibit with tons of Malevich paintings which were really cool, especially after having talked about Malevich so much in my Soviet history class. Then I came across Petro-Vodkin’s terrific portrait of Anna Akhmatova, which is sort of cubist and done in these gorgeous green and teal shades. I could have just stood and looked at it for hours.

I hung out with Yuliya some more and had a wonderful time. Tuesday we went to this cool, dingy little coffee shop and shared cake and talked. Afterwards she gave me the CD of one of her favorite Russian groups, DBERU, which I’ve been listening to. Its bubblegum pop, but I’m no music snob, and I really like « Do skora bvstrechi » which has an awesome music video as well.

Recently we went to see Dostoevsky’s « The Idiot » done by a small theatre company. They’re unique in that their set is an actual rundown old apartment, and the actors are right in front of you, not out on stage. Anyways, we went up to the apartment, climbed 6 flights of insanely grimy stairs and then were herded into the smallest, hottest, grimiest room you’ve ever seen. I now have a complete appreciate for how person could go insane living in St Petersburg’s filthy 19th century underbelly. Anyhow, we sat around the room, and the idiot was in the center, ranting and raving at us with just the light of a candle. It was very unpleasant, not just because I dislike Dostoevsky, but because the idiot kept disappearing and then emerging from the darkness right front you with a chillingly maniacal laugh. The following day, everyone I talked to said they’d had nightmares.

On a completely different note, I’ve become fascinated with St. Petersburg style. The guys are all wearing tight jeans with these long black leather shoes that kind of look like witch boots and take up far too much room in the crowded metro. The Babushka’s are all wearing scarves and layers of wool sweaters, no matter how warm it is. Women over 30 tend to dress like they’ve stepped right out of the American 1950’s. As for Russian girls, they go for tons of makeup, elaborate, skintight clothes, and (minimum) 4-inch stiletto heels. To my eyes, they look trashy, but they certainly always look really put together and perfect for Russian standards, which surprises me. I never look perfect, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t in Russia. I just don’t know how someone can walk miles in high heels, ride on a hot, packed metro, work all day without air-conditioning, use bathrooms without running water, soap, or mirrors, and still look so perfect. It’s really bizarre.

A day in Russia...

2006-07-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

-get up at 7 :30 ; try to take a shower but discover there’s no hot water.
-rush out of the appartment at 8 :30 and try to take the elevator downstairs to get out of the building ; no matter which button you push, the elevator takes you to the 11th floor. You end up taking the stairs.
-After a 15 min walk to the metro station, you arrive ; it is closed for some reason, possibly a suicide. You take the bus to another station.
-You miss the first train because a violent Babushka shoves you aside.
-You make the second train, which has a temperature of 95 degrees. People are packed in like sardines, and no part of your body isn’t stuck to someone else’s.
-You arrive at Nevskyi Prospekt drenched in sweat only to have a pimply young police man stop you to check your documents and very sternly tell you lots of things you don’t understand.
-you arrive to class late, but luckily the profesor is late as well
-over lunch you try to buy bottled water at the store next door. It takes half an hour to get through the line. 4 People cut in front of you despite your fierce elbowing and death stares. Woman at the cashier claims she doesn’t have change for the equivalent of a one-dollar bill and makes you squirm.
-You go to afternoon class, which gets out twenty minutes late.
-You walk 9 blocks to an internet cafe, but their main system goes down immediately after you pay for one hour, so you stand waiting for 50 min while they try to fix it. Once it starts working, they refuse to give you a new hour’s worth of time at a computer, so with the remaining 10 min you try to read as many emails as possible.
-You go to a cafe for a snack. You order Blinyi with cheese, but they are out. You order salad, but they are out. You order Borsht, but they are out. You finally just order a glass of juice. After drinking it, you use the restroom at the cafe. Unfortunately, all of the following things are missing : toilet seat, toilet paper, running water, soap, paper towel, mirror.
-Since your metro station is (handily) closed from 4 :00-6 :30 every afternoon, you have to walk down packed Nevsky Prospekt to the next one. You take the metro home.
-You walk from your local metro station towards home. You can see your appartment building looming in the distance, and you walk and walk towards it along a dusty, filthy road, but the buildings and distances are so big that it seems like you’ll never actually get there.
-Having navegated the elaborate appartment security system (going through 5 doors, all with locks), you arrive home covered in sweat.
-Trying to rinse off your filthy, blistered feet, you discover that now there is no cold water, only boiling hot water, coming from the taps. Oh, and its brown.

Week 3

2006-06-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

I’m now entering my third week here and things are going a bit better.

This weekend was the White Nights Festival. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what this was before going, and after going, I still can’t quite describe it. To the best of my understanding, the holiday started out with the story of a young girl who always said that the man of her dreams would come for her on a ship with crimson sails. Finally he did, and they lived happily ever after. This became a legend and all St Petersburg students started celebrating (aka drinking themselves to death) on this day, which is always on a weekend around the Solistice. I arranged to go see whatever there was to see with some friends from the program…taking the metro to meet them, I realized that this was a much bigger deal than I’d thought. It was so packed that someone got crushed in the metro doors (which don’t have censors), and Nevsky Prospekt station, where everyone seemed to be getting off, was a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare.

We wandered around the city from 10 until 4 in the morning, when the metro re-opened, and saw a lot of people and places that, true to what seems to be the nature of the city, ranged from the grotesquely filthy to the truly beautiful. The Neva river was glowing in the moonlight and classical music was playing…people vomitted and urinated on street corners…fireworks lit up the sky….a little girl played with fire in a bar at 3 o’clock in the morning…an enormous ship with crimson sails took off from the banks of the Neva….there was so much broken glass on the street that every step on the walk home crunched. This is such a bizarre place.

My host mom mentioned something about a new world record for alcohol consumption being set, but I wasn’t able to understand whether she was talking about the White Nights or the enormously popular Beer Festival that took place the next night.

On Saturday I went with Robyn and some girls to a classical concert at the Mariinsky, which is the old Kirov Theater. We got the cheapest seats possible for about $2 each, but it was still superb. We heard Shostakovich’s Symphony No 2 « The October », Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Rachmaninov’s Concerto for Fortepiano and Orchestra No 3. My favorite was the Brahms, which was lovely and expressive, since the Shostakovich, which I was expecting to like the most, had a horrid vocal interlude that was basically an enormous choir belting out this revolutionary march at the top of their lungs, with the symbols going ever 5 seconds. Anyways, this is the « Season of Shostakovich » at the Mariinsky, so maybe I’ll go again and hope something better, since I do really like Shostakovich (unfortunately they already played No. 7 « The Leningrad »).

The beginning of this week will be stressful, since on Tuesday I have an hour long presentation in my Spoken Russian class. My topic is Ethnic and Religious Minorities in St Petersburg, which I chose and am really interested in. Too bad I can’t do the project over about 6 months and in English, because then I could actually do it justice.

St Petersburg Mosque

2006-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

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These are from the biggest Mosque in Russia itself, which is near Metro Gorkovskaya. I love the colors and patterns of the tiles, and kind of wished I'd been able to go inside to see what its like, though it was all gated off. Hopefully some day I'll travel though Central Eurasia and get my fill of beautiful architecture like this!!!

Museum of Political History

2006-06-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Our student group in a room dedicated to Party leader biographies.

Lenin's office