childlike joy at a "grown-up" age

over memorial day weekend, i had one of the most relaxing mini-vacations i can recall having in my long history of vacations.  ocean isle beach has always had a special place in my heart but this weekend was just absolutely perfect.  we had the most ideal combination of everything i like at the beach: beach runs, good coffee, good books, great weather, delicious food, and excellent company.  i felt incredibly rejuvenated and ready to face the last 14 days of the school year with all my strength.  

while on this perfect mini-vacay, i spent a lot of time in the sand.  well duh, i was at the beach.  sunday afternoon, especially, i was sitting in the sand at the edge of the water making drippy sandcastles (you know the ones that look like la sagrada familia in barcelona) on my legs, covering myself entirely in sand and salt.  i was the most content that i have been in a very long time.  i looked over to my friend and said, "i am just having so much fun right now." and we talked about how unusual it was for me, a 25 year old with a career job, to be having such a good time playing in the sand.  i didn't fit in with the other beach-goers building sandcastles; they were 20 years younger than me.  it's rather unusual to see a 25 year old covering her legs in sand castles on purpose and loving it.  why is that?

when do we stop wanting to build sand castles?  and why?  does the decision to cease sand castle production correlate with growing up and the onset of adulthood?  and what does all that mean?  i know that being an elementary school teacher affords me many childlike privileges (such as wearing very bright non-business attire daily and telling corny jokes) but are these things actively avoided by other people my age?  i have grappled with this question before - what it means to "grow up" and to "be an adult" - but i just don't understand why a person can't have a good career job, be responsible with their finances, and know how to cook a solid meal (all qualities that i feel adults should possess) while at the same time, enjoy building sandcastles?

life isn't all work, work, work and i just don't think that everyone knows that!  especially living in the dc metro area, i can almost feel the stress vibes emanating off of a majority of the population.  if all of these adults took some time out of their stressful lives to act like children (by having simple fun, not by throwing temper tantrums), i'm pretty sure the world wouldn't stop spinning and they might remember what it feels like to not be stressed out.

i hope to never lose sight of the little things that make me smile (like a really terrible joke or blue nail polish) even as i grow into a more responsible adult (what that means, i've yet to learn...)

x!

possible retraction?

i cannot believe how many things i did today!  despite the cold, rainy weather, i got up (early) and ran the GW Parkway 10 miler classic (and finished in 1:35:39!), ate a delicious brunch in del rey with M and her fam, AND met up with cousin J (who i hadn't seen since i moved here) for delicious, celebratory beers at one of my favorite spots.  that was all before 3pm.  i was exhausted.  upon returning home i took a much needed shower and nap and then was out the door for church at 5 followed directly by needtobreathe at the 930 club.

i did all of those things and i normally don't like to leave my house in the rain.

i was thinking over my day and i realized that it would be hard to accomplish such a day living anywhere else.  i also realized that i've had lots of similar days in the recent past.  in fact, my weekends have generally been incredible.  thus, i may have to retract my previous claim of having a mundane life...

x!

reunion and my second half marathon!

a week ago, i ran my second half marathon!  the plan was concocted while i was in vietnam last november.  i'm not sure where the inspiration came from but all of a sudden, i remember thinking, "i want to run another race!"  so i did a quick google search, found the rock 'n roll half marathon in DC and sent an email out to friends.  who wanted to join me?! 

since we ran the bavisela together in trieste last may, it was easy to convince V and L and the plans were set.  march 17th, 2012 = reunion half marathon + early bday celebration for me and my quarter of a century! 

so how did the training go?  well i got into really good shape in december when i wasn't working.  i was lucky to have beautiful running weather at my parents' in roanoke, and not having a job gave me plenty of time to focus on the running.  unfortunately, when i did start working again in january - things got a bit hectic.  i was stressed and with minimal daylight hours, it was difficult to find time to run outside - and who wants to do a long run on the treadmill? definitely not me.  

thankfully, living near V again gave me extra motivation.  we started running together during the weeks and doing long runs on the weekends -- it's amazing how much more fun it is to run 11 miles with a friend than by yourself.  overall, things were much easier this go around.  i knew what to expect and i was more confident in myself knowing that i had run 13 miles before.  in addition to V, i knew lots of other people in the area training for the same race or another race so there always seemed to be people doing the same thing i was.  and running through the monuments in DC isn't the worst thing ever.  

as we turned the corner to march and the weather gods decided they weren't into winter weather, things began to heat up around here.  and by that i mean, temperatures very quickly rose to mid-70s and wearing a jacket was no longer necessary.  beautiful! wonderful! excellent! i first thought.  but then i went on a run and was super sweaty and the heavy, humid air was hard to breathe and WOOF i was not trained for this. enter, nervous emotions.  

my goal for this race (the one i told other people) was to beat my time last year (2:14) but my secret goal (the one i didn't tell many people) was to break 2 hours.  i was feeling really good and the times of my long runs made me think i could do it.  alas, neither happened, officially.  my official finishing time was 2:16 but i did have a 7ish minute bathroom stop in the middle.  so, minus those 7 minutes of standing in a line, i would have finished in 2:09 and boom! met my outloud goal.  

the race was a fun one.  there were SO MANY people running and going through DC on st. patrick's day made for humorous spectator circumstances.  there were lots of encouraging signs saying things like "beer: 5 miles ahead," or "hurry up so we can drink."  there was even a make-shift service station of good samaritans passing out cups of green beer to runners.  i may have taken a cup if they hadn't been positioned right at the bottom of a big hill around mile 8...

at the end of the race, we weren't greeted with jello shots like last year (we missed you, K!) but the race did have a giant expo with lots of free swag and live music! we did our best to hoard the free swag and milk the expo for all we could.   

then we spent an excellent day hanging out in DC, catching up, refueling, and yes, drinking our share of guinness to celebrate the holiday.  the race was fun and the reunion around which the weekend was centered was even more fun. 

i love the camaraderie of running races with friends -- luckily, i have a few more coming up!  in may, i'm doing a triathlon in san diego with my sister as well as tentatively running another half over memorial day weekend with lizzy in boston!  apparently i'm into being physically fit.  thanks to daylight savings, it's much easier to find daylight hours in which to train...  you know me, just thinking about running in the dark makes me nervous.

i'm still amazed with myself and my enthusiasm for running now as an "adult."  on every long run i took, i found myself thinking back to my high school track days and the passionate hatred i had for running the 400 meter warm-up lap that was required.... man how things change.

x!

memories of parma: bikes! and un panino di pesto cavallo.

last september, i spent a weekend in charlottesville, a place that i love.  the weekend was full of concerts, good food, good friends, and the beginning of incredibly crisp fall weather (!).  cville visits are always full of memories that make me terribly sad college is over.  however, since returning from italy, one of my favorite things about visiting cville is chatting in italian with one of the best bartenders on the corner, N, and invoking a whole different kind of nostalgia.

last year, N spent some time in parma, italy, playing for the parma panthers football team.  i know it sounds strange, an american football league in italy?  have you read john grisham's playing for pizza?  well N lived the life of the main character in the book - he played for and also coached the panther's football team.  in his spare time, he was hanging out in parma! lucky for me, he had a lot of free time during the day and his stay in parma overlapped with our spring break from school.  so before our epic malta adventures, V and i ventured to parma.  hanging out with him in cville brings back wonderful memories of our visit so enjoy a much-overdue review of our trip to parma in spring 2011!

________________

parma was an amazing surprise. the people must be very interested in keeping their little town a secret, because i haven't heard nearly enough rave reviews about the city.  being just a short train-ride away, it often gets overshadowed by the historically famous university city of bologna.  i haven't been to bologna myself, so i can't offer a comparison but i loved the quaint charm of parma;  it was beautiful, and just bustling enough to feel alive.

i arrived before V and spent an evening strolling the cobblestone streets with N and his football friends. similar to other small italian towns i've visited, people were spilling out of bars and cafes and flooding the streets.  it was a clear night and the streets were filled with light and weekend city noises - i was in heaven.

V arrived the next day and we only had the afternoon to explore before heading onward in our spring break journies.  thanks to the preferred method of transportation in the city, we were able to cover a lot of ground in a little bit of time.  

everyone in the city bikes, which i LOVED.  thankfully, N had 2 spare bicilette that V and i were able to borrow.  N was an excellent tour guide and led us on a speedy tour past all the sights.

we started at the duomo which was rather plain on the outside but incredibly beautiful inside.  this is unusual in italy as many of the churches seem to be competing with their neighbors to see who can have the most magnificent display.  it was refreshing, actually, to see a church that was so humble from the outside.  it seemed as if it was saving the beauty for the true visitors who ventured inside -- why waste all the effort on the half-hearted tourists who didn't bother to enter? 

after the duomo, we continued on our bike tour by the river, over bridges, and through a gorgeous park with lots of ruined things.  

then it was lunchtime.  N led us to a tiny alley that was full of parked bikes and people having lunchtime conversation - our hole-in-the-wall destination seemed like the place to be!  N assured us that we were getting something authentic to parma. 

we walked in and N ordered for us, "tre panini di pesto cavallo per favore"

knowing he was still just learning italian, i offered to help.  "hey, N? you just asked for some horse, what did you mean to say?"

nope, he ordered correctly.  we were about to receive a sandwich with RAW horsemeat.  the thing to eat in parma? who'd have thought?

the preparation

the finished product

in addition to the raw horse, the sandwich had grilled vegetables and some sort of white condiment.  and oh MAN was it good.  the horsemeat was very light - not too filling (which was good because it was piled on) and the crunch of the veggies went well with the texture of raw meat.  the bread was that perfect soft and flaky italian variety and it was just all perfect.  you could tell it wasn't their first time creating the masterpiece.  

as we left, it was a bit unsettling to see the horses trot by pulling carriages... but i would definitely eat the sandwich again.

after our raw horse sandwiches, the only thing left to do was buy postcards to send our friends telling them that "we ate raw horse!!!"  no other tourist attraction was going to top lunch.

the whirlwind day in parma was magical. beautiful weather, wonderful friends, bikes! and raw horse (?) - what more could you ask for?

xx

reentry.

i'm alive.  yes, i've been MIA from the blogosphere for quite some time now (i believe my last post was in october? oops), but i'm back now.  i've just settled into an apartment in the ballston area of arlington, va with a lovely view of interstate 66 and i start teaching 3rd grade full-time on monday.  yes, as my sister says, i'm becoming a grown-up lady (sort of).

i got back from italy in late july, 2011 and have been flitting about the globe (of course) since.  i visited some friends in new york, california and then i took a road trip through alaska and canada.  in early october, i embarked upon an epic southeast asia adventure with longtime friend, A.  i was gallivanting 12 time zones away for 6 weeks and returned just before thanksgiving.  

and i've been in the states ever since.  that means i've been in america for 62 whole days - the longest period of time without leaving the country in about a year and half.  and oh man, am i still adjusting.  here is a short list of some things i haven't quite gotten used to again in the past 62 days.

my iPhone: in italy, i had a cell phone.  but only about 10 people had my number and i worked with all of them which meant there were very few reasons to actually call or message me.  that communication situation is drastically different than my current situation where my sister sends novels via text message (complete with pictures) and my mom likes to talk on the phone once a day.  apologies abound because i'm just not used to people calling me!  also, when i do use it, my usage skills are mediocre at best.  i'm almost certain that it doesn't reach its full potential.  i did have an ipod touch in my travels last year that i used quite well but something about adding the telephone capabilities have blown my mind.  i DO, however, have a neon yellow case for my phone, which makes me love it.

grocery stores: now, i love the grocery store.  i usually take a list with me but don't consult it very often because i love to go up and down every aisle and check out the selection.  when it comes to actually putting something in my basket, however, the anxiety sets in.  WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OPTIONS?! i've started reading the ingredients in everything for comparative purposes, thus, adding to the amount of time i need on each aisle.  and it doesn't really help me choose what to buy because almost all the labels include some chemically-sounding something that i have never heard of and couldn't try to pronounce if i wanted to.  do i really want to eat that?! so i usually end up choosing something that i'm less-than-thrilled about consuming and then i'm just unhappy.  now you're probably wondering how i have time to go through this process every time i need to buy some food.  i don't!! and i'm rarely completely satisfied with something i've bought, so it's not like i have go-to items that i can run in and grab.  i just don't know what to eat anymore.  for the record, comparable anxiety hits me in similar stores such as CVS, walmart, and target. it's awful (anecdotal tangent: my first day back in america last july, i was in target trying to buy shampoo.  i left the store in tears - and without shampoo - because i got so stressed out.  very traumatic).   

driving: i'm not totally sure what the problem is here but i know that i didn't used to dislike driving as much as i do now.  i've told you before that driving is not my preferred method of long-distance travel, but now i just don't like it ever.  i'm annoyed by needing to drive my car anywhere.  if i'm going somewhere close-ish, i want to walk; but people don't do that here - everyone drives everywhere.  it's nonsense.  this is more a cause of annoyance than something i'm not good at (not to say i'm an excellent driver, let's be serious).


in the coming weeks, as i'm continuing to adjust to life in america (and so close to the nation's capital!) and settling into my pseudo-grown-up-lady life, i'm going to be updating this here blog with things i left out of my travels last fall and even last year while i was in europe.  it will be all kinds of nostalgic to reminisce about travels and life last year especially as the weather here is so, well, january.

so, get excited because it's going to be fun!

x

thoughts from cambodia

we've been in phnom penh for a week already and I'm in no hurry to leave. the city is nice, not too big- we've been able to walk most places- and not too small that we've run out of areas to explore. it's easy to navigate if you don't factor in the extremely chaotic traffic situation. the people are friendly and my very basic attempts at speaking Khmer have made them even more welcoming; it's inspiring to encounter such friendly people especially while knowing what a tumultuous past the country has had. learning about the Khmer rouge genocide while getting to know the country in it's current state has been very interesting and humbling- and the khmer optimism for the future really shows.

our week here has been unlike any travel experience I've had before. we've only done a few things you would find in a guidebook and have been doing more wandering and discovering things on our own. also, because the country is developing, there are numerous NGOs in the area and through a friend of a friend I've been able to explore what people are doing to help and I got to spend a few days working with Khmer children, which I loved. getting to know a city and its people slowly has given me more time to absorb all the new things that I'm seeing and learning. I can tell that I'll leave here with a higher appreciation for where I've been then I have had after previous trips.

on that note, I'm grateful to be traveling with A, who has really forced me out of my comfort zone. although I may not seem happy about it at the time, I know being uncomfortable and trying (really) new things has helped me to see and do things that I never would have otherwise [thanks!].

so, to sum up these very brief thoughts, even though each day is hotter than the hottest day of a Virginia summer, I'm having an amazing time.

what's next, you ask? this weekend we go to kep, a beach on cambodia's southern coast and next week we'll get over to ho chi minh city at some point. after spending some time in vietnam, we'll go to northern thailand to laze along the mekong with A's cousin. then it's back to the states just in time for turkey and stuffing.

x!

thailand: before

me:  i'm leaving for thailand tomorrow at 6am

 Jenna:  um

what

COOL!

did i not mention?  i'm going to thailand tomorrow. for a while?  definite plans are unknown at this point as, again, i'm letting a friend take the reins at the beginning of this one.  i'll keep you posted on my incredibly lengthy journey, when possible.  

stay tuned!

alaska: anchorage and more

my trip to alaska wasn't what i had in mind but then again, i'm not quite sure what i expected.  as i mentioned before i left, i didn't spend a ton of time mentally preparing for this trip, i just kind of went.  i was visiting a friend, S, and since he's been living in anchorage for the past year, i presumed that he'd just do all the planning.  later, i learned that he wasn't the biggest fan of this plan and maybe i should have done some research about what i wanted to do other than "cool alaska stuff." oops?  oh well.  i had a great time so thanks, S!

i arrived fully rested at 1am and even after going out for some tasty alaskan brews, i was up early the next morning without any feeling of jetlag (woo!).  we met up with a friend and drove around the mountains outside of anchorage in his jeep.  as i was trying to figure out what to wear for this day of adventure, i couldn't gather from S what we'd be doing all day, and it turns out that we didn't really do much other than look at the beautiful sights from the (open) windows of the jeep.

J, the jeep-owning friend, lives in palmer, which is northeast of anchorage.  after meeting him and his jeep, we continued a bit farther north to the mountains and uninhabited areas around sutton.  we drove around on lots of pot-hole-filled "roads" and up some very steep inclines.  for the majority of the day, the jeep was enveloped with fall colors and snow-capped mountains loomed in the not-so-far-away distance; my mouth was open in awe pretty much the whole time.  the views were like those familiar to me from colorado - but on steroids.  we were lucky to have incredible, sunny weather for our sight-seeing and the temperature was just crisp enough that i wasn't cold; it was perfect.

after exhausting the area around sutton, we drove west to hatcher pass which is a popular day trip from anchorage, yet S had never been.  a creek (river?) runs through the pass and there are deserted mining buildings at the base of gnarly, snow-dusted mountains, all making for incredible sights.  at the top of a hill off hatcher pass, we saw a paragliding lesson taking place (so, naturally, that has been added to my bucket list).

 i mean, just thinking back on these views and looking at my pictures, i am realizing that there's no way i'll ever be able to help you to understand how amazing it is (although i'm going to try my hardest).

on day 2 we took a little jaunt down south of anchorage to homer.  we stopped halfway, in soldotna, to eat breakfast, buy me a flannel shirt, and for my first kaladi brothers coffee experience.  then we continued down along the cook inlet and stopped at the most incredible overlook just before getting into the town of homer.  homer is a fishing town, so it's right on the water.  from the overlook, we could see across the inlet to mountains and mountains beyond mountains forever.  again, the weather was beautiful so the clear sky was reflecting off of the water and all the mountains to create the most incredible array of blues in the distance.  right in front of us was a ton of alaskan fireweed which turns red as it's dying out at the end of summer.  the red fireweed, the yellow trees, and the blue mountains, water, and sky - who knew alaska could be so colorful (i didn't)?!  i could have stood at the overlook just staring at the view with a giant grin on my face for the whole day, it was so breathtaking.    

and THEN in addition to these incredible vistas, there is a glacier just around the bend!  glaciers are crazy looking and they're all over the place (i probably saw 5? during my time in alaska and canada).

later in the week, i had some free time with which to explore the city of anchorage.  i was able to use S's car and went about my days as if i lived there; it was pretty nice.  i started off a few of the days with a yoga sesh at laughing lotus anchorage.  i'm so glad i thought to seek out a yoga studio in the area; while cooped up in a car during the days to come, i was glad i had been able to move around and stretch my body.  other things i loved about anchorage were kaladi brothers coffee and tidal wave books.  because of their incredible convenient proximity, i was able to make multiple trips to tidal wave books and kaladi brothers coffee.  as i was sitting in a comfy chair by the fire at kaladi brothers, diving into a book from tidal wave, i only remembered where i was when the barista shouted, "alaska chai ready at the counter!"  i also discovered normalcy at the kobuk in downtown anchorage; here i was able to go about my travel routine of (more) coffee, reading and postcards (and a homemade pumpkin donut!).

    

other highlights of anchorage time included dinner and a movie at bear tooth pub and restaurant - tasty pizza, in-house-brewed beer, and a movie theatre?! i had never experienced such a combination and i  have to say i was a big fan (although the movie, midnight in paris, was not among my favorites).  also, our last night in the city we drove to the west and saw the sunset over the water.  to the northwest, we could just barely see mt. mckinley through the clouds, which was incredible, since mckinley, north america's tallest peak, is more than 100 miles away from anchorage.  oh, and the sunset was kind of pretty.

alaska is just a grand expanse of nature and anchorage is a speck of population amidst the emptiness; a typical small city dwarfed by the overwhelming nature surrounding it.  i was captivated by the mountain views just outside of anchorage much more than i can ever remember before of another mountain view.  in alaska, it's all you can focus on when looking to the distance; it's all you see because it's almost all there is.  sure, there are people, but not too many of them.  for such a huge state, it has a less people than many major cities in the lower 48 (to use the alaskan term).  it's just spread out quiet, which is kind of nice.

and then crazy things happen like a moose eats your bushes.

x!

i'm going to alaska.

so a while ago, i gave you all a preview about what i was up to this fall.  then i got busy actually doing it all and haven't shared an update.  sorry about that.

today i leave for alaska, my first major adventure of the fall.  the current plan is to fly to anchorage and in a few days, hop in a car with my friend, S, and drive back to virginia.  but that's not all - S wants to go ALL the way down to new orleans and THEN back up.  now, i'm not sure how your US + canada geography is but canada is huge and alaska is very very far away.  this endeavor will involve driving almost all the way across canada and reentering the usa around north dakota.  let's just glance at this map over here to the left. see alaska, obviously top left and then north dakota is in the middle (it's a green state) and virginia, way east (yellow).   last night, S said the total mileage estimate was some enormous number like 6,000.

so. yeah.  S has recognized that i have never driven in a car longer than 6 hours and even that wasn't all that recently -- he's worried about me.  i've put it out there that i may want to be dropped off at a major airport along the way to jump ship.  then S will have to continue on his own and that will be sad, but i just might not be able to handle it. 

i am feeling incredibly unprepared for this trip and i can't pinpoint why although there are many factors that could be contributing.  first of all, we'll be camping in the canadian wilderness for about a week; i've been camping before and i've spent lots of time in the snow, but i have not done both of these things together.  do i have the right clothes? am i going to be freezing? i'm fully prepared to wear every article of clothing in my backpack while sleeping in a tent.  but still, i'm nervous.  the nerves i have are very different than any i had before unplanned trips last year, in fact, i was always more excited for unplanned things last year, but those trips were predictable.

it could also be that i've never done anything like this (camp in canada OR drive across the country) and it's just so vastly unknown that i can't wrap my brain around it.  everyone has been telling me that this will be an amazing experience - a cross country road trip! when else will i have the chance?! and apparently we'll be "chasing autumn south," and fall is my favorite season, chasing it could be fun.  my friend, A, told me yesterday that there's just something about a road trip that can't be described adequately; the passing views create a gorgeous panorama that you can't possibly recreate, you only know how beautiful it is if you're there, looking out the window (i wish i remembered exactly how eloquently he said that) -- and we all know how i feel about a good bella vista.  

it's not that i'm not excited, because i am.  i know it will be an incredible experience that i might not ever get the chance to have again and that's exciting.

stay tuned, hopefully i'll be able to update along the way.  i can tell you how cold i am, how beautiful the sights are, and how excited i am for a shower.   

x!

cronicles della mia cucina: brooklyn dinner party

last week, in new york, i got together with some friends i hadn't seen in a while; we gathered at one girl's brooklyn apartment for dinner.  i was in charge of wine, D was in charge of delicious baked goods and J brought the ingredients.   since i was the only guest who doesn't live in the city, we spent a lot of time talking about me and my last year in trieste.  it was nice to be doing what we did so much of last year with a new group of people.  it was comforting to be cooking with friends while i was talking about cooking with friends on via della guardia.  we talked about trips i had taken and made plans for new trips; our conversations flowed just as they had in italy - with the help of italian wine.  and it was especially fun to learn that i'm capable of cooking delicious things that don't involve pasta (thanks for the delicious recipes, J!)

shrimp and avacado salad with crispy tortillas

adapted from here

ingredients: 

tortillas sliced into strips

5 tbls olive oil

kosher salt & black pepper

1.5 lbs peeled & deveined large shrimp

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tbls fresh orange juice

2 tbls fresh lime juice

2 romaine hearts, sliced (about 5 cups)

1/4 small cabbage, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

1 avacado (or more, avacados are yummy)

directions:

heat oven to 400 F.  toss tortillas with olive oil & salt; spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp (7ish minutes)

in a large bowl, toss the shrimp with cumin, salt, and pepper.  heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  cook the shrimp until golden and cooked through. 

in another bowl, combine the juices with 3 tbls of olive oil, salt, & pepper.  add romaine, cabbage, avacado, and shrimpg.  toss to combine; top the salad with the crispy tortillas and serve!

roasted corn with manchego and lime (YUM)

adapted from here

ingredients:

6 ears of corn

2 tbls olive oil

2 tbls unsalted butter

kosher sald & black pepper

1 jalepeno, finely diced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 lime, cut into wedges

1 cup finely grated manchego cheese (YUM!)

1/4 cup thinly sliced chives

2 tsp finely grated lime zest

directions: 

preheat oven to 450 F. roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp-tender (about 15 minutes). let cool, shuck corn and cut kernels from cobs.

heat oil in a large skilled over high heat.  add corn kernels and saute until heated through and golden brown.  add butter; stir until melted. season to taste with salt and pepper. 

transfer corn to a large bowl/platter; sprinkle jalepeno and crushed red pepper flakes over.  squeeze lime wedges; sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest. 

the joy of snail mail

 in the past few weeks, i've been spending a lot of time organizing my room in my parents' house.  in it are boxes upon boxes full of unorganized things from the past 6 years of my life.  in order to effectively live in this room while i'm not gallivanting somewhere else, i must unpack.  as a part of this process, i'm cleaning out drawers and other spaces to make room for everything that must come out of boxes.  one of the most entertaining drawers that i've cleaned out has been my nightstand drawer which was FULL of notes i received from friends during middle and high school.  no doubt, these notes were passed to me during class, in the halls, or put on my car for discovery at the end of the day.  many were folded in intricate origami patterns and some were written so cryptically, i had no idea what the message was.  rereading them brought back so many memories of weekend parties, crushes we had on so many different boys, and many other things that have slipped from my memory since high school graduation; i was so glad that i kept them all, reliving each one of them was hilarious.  

yesterday, i was telling a friend about my note drawer discovery and i was surprised to hear that he had a similar (but much smaller) old collection of notes from years back and had recently reread them in a fashion very similar to what i described.  we reminisced about high school, how much time had passed, and how much we had changed since and he posed the question, when's the last time you passed a note to someone!? and i realized that i still write notes all the time.  

no, i'm not folding them intricately and passing them during class, but i write and send notes to friends and family all the time.  many of you are lucky to be on my postcard-recipient list to which i'll write you colorful and (i hope) exciting postcards from my travels and to those of you who sent me handwritten greetings in italy, i always reciprocated.  it's true, though, that we are a dying breed and it's much more likely to send (and receive) an email, text message, or some other form of electronic greeting than an actual letter in the mail.

i recently passed along a challenge to talk to people and now i'm extending it to include the act of sending a letter because what a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters.  you can't reread a phone call [liz carpenter].

along with this challenge to you, i want to send even more postcards during my travels!  in the states, a postcard stamp only costs 29 cents but postcards themselves can cost anywhere from 25 cents to more than a dollar.  that, my friends, can add up.  and then all over the world, international postage varies.  for example, to send a postcard from italy to the united states costs 1.84 euro which (with the current exchange rate) equals $2.57.  when you add in the cost of the actual card, that's more than $3 a postcard!  just thinking about the quantity of cards i sent out last year and how much money i must have spent in total boggles my mind (i don't think i'll do the math, i know it was a lot).

so, i'm asking you all to help me out.  if you like postcards, donate to my postcard fund!  if you appreciate the dying art of snail mail, help me to keep it going!  to the left of this post, underneath my "about me" section, you'll find a button labeled donate.  all you have to do is log in through paypal and very securely send some postcard money my way!  your thoughtful donation will be much appreciated!  


and don't forget to take the time to sit down and write someone, they'll appreciate the thought.


x! 

next up in the life of liz: fall 2011

when i typed the title of this post, i initially typed "2010." that's wrong.  it's 2011 and really almost 2012.  when did that happen?! it really is true what they say, "time flies when you're having fun."  as my sister said the other day, "how much faster is it going to go when we're OLD?!"  i'm not sure how the acceleration of time with age works, but i don't want to waste any of my 20s trying to figure it out -- i know i need to enjoy it while i can; i only have one life. 

so what am i going to do with these epic years of mine, you ask? what have i been up to since my grand return to america at the end of july?  well, besides spending lots of quality time with all those people i missed last year, i've got some pretty sweet plans in the works.  i won't give away all of my hopes and dreams because, you know, i don't want to jinx anything.  but i will give you a high-quality preview. 

(an extended) labor day weekend: new york city! people i can't wait to see include: my long-lost ladybird, IST ex-coworkers who are educating the new york city youth at a charter school in brooklyn, J, who will absolutely be my first famous friend with her sure-to-be-rapidly-approaching broadway musical debut,  some sisters (a fellow ginger and twin b), my favorite princess (who's engaged!!), and many others.  i'll be there for pretty much a week and who knows, at that point the city may have sucked me in and i might never leave. 

if i do make it out, 

september 8th - 11th: dc/northern virginia!  again, so many of my favorite people live densely packed into this small area that i just hope i get a chance to see them all.  concrete plans so far include hanging out with V and her family; i have been suffering without my roommate/coworker/travel partner/friend since she left me in trieste on july 11th.  i'll get to see her as cheerleading coach in-action and i'm hoping her dad will cook us some delicious puerto rican food.  or maybe we'll make italian food?  we'll probably eat a lot; it will be delicious. 

later in september: a weekend in charlottesville for some other liz time (which will surely include a "cville highlights" journey before she leaves for oxford) and some concerts with friends and the family, some days at the beach (which days are yet to be determined), and then! an unprecedented alaska/canada/other places road trip adventure.  no, i have no idea what i've gotten myself into but i'm excited. 

other goals: i've been told i'd like chicago and seattle.  i also have some friends who are out of the country in some pretty cool spots that i might need to visit....

stay tuned for updates! 

x!

reverse culture shock?

by no means am i claiming that i have been in the third world, however, it's still weird to be back in the states. 

i remember going through the required prep classes before studying abroad my third year of college and two of the things they warned us about were culture shock and reverse culture shock.  i remember being incredibly annoyed that i had to sit and listen to what i thought was nonsense at 10am on a saturday morning.  i also remember not really experiencing it at all during or after my semester in siena.  "well it was only italy," i thought.  and this time, it still was only italy, but this year was so much more.  i've been trying to reflect upon the year little by little as it has gone by so i'm sure you're aware that this past year was so much more than me living in italy.  i made friends that i am sure i will keep for the rest of my life and they helped me to grow into someone with many more goals and interests than she had a year earlier.  i traveled to some incredible places and saw and experienced too many things to even begin to list here.  AND i taught some of the coolest kids i've ever met. 

and now i'm back in america.  why isn't everyone dying to hear stories?  why do i only get the question, "how was italy!?" i don't have any idea how to answer that question.

i'm pretty sure i'm making my way through the stages appropriately and i'm hoping that "readjustment and adaptation" is quickly approaching.

we'll see? 

x!  

cronicles della mia cucina: sunday brunch!

i've only just begun and this post has already made me hungry.  i currently have no groceries and sunday brunch was always one of our most delicious events.  

we started off the year, going to our favorite spot for brunch on sundays but once we got into cooking, we decided to recreate brunch at our apartment.  the meal slowly grew from simple to a smorgasbord of amazing things all made from scratch.  below, enjoy a sampling of photos

wheat bagels in the process, almonds being toasted to be turned into almond butter, and V making smoothies

finished wheat bagels, a variety of spreads, mimosa fixins, the grinding of almonds into almond butter and coffee

another table view: eggs and hash-browned potatoes and friends!

bagel batch #2 and homemade bread becoming french toast! 

after this specific brunch, i remember a group food coma that resulted in movie-watching-turned-napping in the via della guardia movie theatre. 

x!

L.I.Z.s on the road: the FEST

oh man.

other liz and i are in benicassim, spain for the festival internacional de benicassim.

it is quite possibly the most intense week of my life and last night was only the first night of the music. we spend our days on the beach and the music begins at 6pm and runs through the night.  no, that doesn´t leave much time for sleeping and it´s so hot that sleep is uncomfortable unless you´re on top of a float in the ocean. my skin is so saturated with sunscreen from constant reapplication that i´m not sure it´ll ever come out of my pores.  i would venture to say that the beach is more crowded than north myrtle during UVA beach week in may and i have seen more hilariously awful tattoos than should exist in this world. 

wish me luck on survival of the weekend.

x!

ps, i´ll be stateside in less than a week!

and then there was one.

welp. 

since my last update, the L.I.Z. adventure has taken a break in trieste.  we're down one L.I.Z. (hopefully she's able to actually leave the country tomorrow and be done with standby hell) and the past few days have been full of nostalgic cooking, the trieste farewell tour, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning the apartment.

it's 4:46 am now and i'm wide awake.  this morning, L and V are flying back to the states.  i woke up to give them goodbye hugs and now the insane seagulls are on an indescribable rampage of extreme noise-making, i'm crying, and my mind is swarming with memories from this year -- so of course i can't go back to sleep. 

even though it most definitely is, i still can't believe that this year is over.  it honestly feels like so recently that we were just moving in and getting to know each other.

i knew that it would be strange once everyone had left and i was the only one here but i honestly didn't think i'd cry this morning.  i haven't cried yet while saying goodbye to anyone, but of course it was the amazing roommates that started the waterworks.  although i shed a tear (or many tears), it's not so bad right now because other liz is here and she and i are (or, will be when the sun comes up) busy preparing to go to spain tomorrow (!), but on the 18th when i return to trieste and am really alone for a few days, i think it's going to hit me even harder that this year has ended. 

it was just such an amazing year that i'm not ready to be done with it! 

x 

L.I.Z.s from the road: episode 3

since the last update, we've spent approximately 19 hours on trains, buses and boats but have made it to hvar island in croatia!  our perch on top of a hill looking out over the adriatic sea is definitely the most beautiful place we've been to on this trip.

to backtrack a little bit... during the first part of our trip, the weather was uncharacteristically COLD.  i say "uncharacteristically" because it was late june, i'm actually not sure what the weather is normally like at this time of year in prague, budapest, or belgrade.  i just know that it was june and i was cold and not happy about it.  not being the only l.i.z. to feel this way, we were all three incredibly anxious to get to the coast.

so, the other day (i'm so lost as to what today's date is, what day of the week it is, or how quickly time is passing) we got on a train in belgrade heading to bar, montenegro.  after something insane like 11 hours, we made it to bar and then took a taxi (with a hilarious woman that kept trying to chat with us despite the fact that we had no common language) to budva, the "montenegrin miami," where we stayed for a couple nights.  even at night, it was much warmer in montenegro and we were excited. that is, until we woke up the following morning to an overcast sky.  luckily, the weather cleared up and we were able to enjoy some blue skies and a good number of beach hours for our two full days there.

on monday, july 4th (the only date i will remember from the whole trip), we took another 10 hour bus ride from budva to split, croatia!  after the bus, we took a ferry across the sea to hvar island and have 3 more nights in this incredibly gorgeous haven.  dubbed "the sunniest place in europe" by wikipedia, we are optimistic for the weather.

today, other liz and i rented mopeds and drove them all over the island -- we passed lavender fields (the smell was amazing!), bopped around the old town, stari grad, and stumbled upon a secluded beach cove for a late-afternoon swim.  it was a pretty excellent first day on the island.

tomorrow, V comes to join us!  we have a long list of things we still want to do on the island including hiking up to the old fortress, going to the beach club in the woods?, finding other secluded beaches, taking a taxi boat across to a smaller island for a sandy beach day, etc. etc. 

x!

L.I.Z.s from the road: episode 2

current location: SERBIA!

since we last spoke, the 3 lizs spent the night in the danube-front marriott in Budapest, which was incredibly luxurious.  we collectively took 4 showers, primped excessively, hoarded toiletries, got a late checkout and stayed in bed until noon. it was excellent.

after wandering around budapest a tiny bit more and enjoying some delicious Thai food, we hopped on a train last night at 2330 headed to serbia -- we're getting back to other liz's roots.

i've had a few overnight train experiences this year and none have been horrible.  have you seen the episode of seinfeld when kramer hangs out with all the japanese men and they sleep in the dresser, each in an individual drawer? well, this felt kind of like that. or like sleeping in a coffin. either way, it wasn't my favorite.  i did really enjoy it when the customs officer (at the serbian border) laughed about us all having the same name.

today, we are covering beograd (where they use cyrillic, making navigation difficult, and currency is confusing but we think things are cheap?) and then tomorrow we're off to montenegro!

we are having a great time but I am exhausted. I am just a tornado of emotions, so much is going on inside that I'm just emotionally and mentally drained-- I'm homesick but foo which home? America or the home I've created in Trieste? Or do I miss the people- which people? My family and friends in the states or the family I've come to have over the past year? It's really sinking in that this year is over and I've said goodbye to a lot of people. Those who matter most, I know I'll see again but the uncertainty of when is still sad, you know?

Oh, life.

x

L.I.Z.s from the road: episode 1

First of all, blogging from my "iDevice," as other Liz has me calling it, causes many more capital letters than I use intentionally and I can't seem to create the center alignment that I recently adapted for blog entries. Also! My iDevice sometimes changes things to be spelled in a British way such as centre and favourite, so excuse me.

I'm disregarding all these nuances to update you on where the 3 Liz's are in their journey. You're welcome. It will be a brief summary of the highlights but you'll be caught up to speed.

Today is our 3rd day in Budapest. I'm obsessed with this city; I think it may be my favourite of all the places that I've visited this year (so far, at least). Today we check out of our fabulous hostel and move to the river-front Marriott (thanks marymom and daddyjohn!), about which Eliza has never been more excited.

After spending Saturday night (which turned into Sunday morning) through early Monday morning with Ron (coincidentally in Budapest at the same time) exploring the city on bikes, yesterday we ventured to Lake Balaton! Sitting by the largest lake in Eastern Europe (possibly all of Europe) was a relaxing break but produced a bit more collective sunburn than we hoped for.

Before making our way to Budapest, I reunited with "my Liz friends" in Prague. I liked Prague but it didn't blow my mind. I'm reluctant to write it off completely, however, because I've heard so many people rave about it. When I arrived, it was much colder than I had anticipated and I was very distracted with seeing my friends after so long. I was getting used to the travel routine that other Liz and Eliza had created with each other and trying to get filled in on everything I had missed. I'm assuming that these factors played a large part in my opinion, or lack of opinion, of Prague. I'll have to go back some day.

Now that we're in Budapest, we're in a groove of traveling with each other and I'm familiar with the city (having been here just a few weeks ago) makin things super easy. Tomorrow night, we're geading to Belgrade, Serbia and then we'll make our way over to the Adriatic coastline (hopefully our sunburn will have healed and our skin will be prepared to bask in the rays again). I'm excited.

Yesterday, I kept forgetting what country I was in. I don't know if it was sitting by the water and thinking it was the Adriatic (the Lake Balaton situation was very much like Barcola), or the train rides or unfamiliar language but more than once I was confused about our location. It was the most enjoyable state of confusion I've ever experienced.

More updates to come as we make our way through our itinerary.

X!

the near future is looking to be quite nice

today, i bought two little wish bracelets from a street vendor near the canal.  you're supposed to tie the bracelet on with 3 knots and make a wish with each knot -- the bracelet has a base color and each color stands for something different, love, hope, friendship, career, etc.  your wish should probably correspond to the base color of the bracelet.   when the bracelet falls off, your wish is supposed to come true -- you've heard of these.  well, i tied them on and after an hour or two, i hadn't come up with wishes yet.  even after seriously focusing, i still could not come up with something to wish for.  at first, i was frustrated that i couldn't decide upon something specific but really, nothing to wish for? things must be going okay!  i mean, in all seriousness, what could i have to complain about? i do have a gazillion things to be doing in preparation for the end of the school year, moving out of my apartment, and saying goodbye to those who have been my family for the past 10 months but at the same time, i have so many good things happening.  tonight i ate homemade spaghetti carbonara that was just "thrown together" by V, i only have a week of school left until summer, i'm rendezvousing with two of my best friends in prague in 9 days and i've got about 6 other trips in the works.  life is good.

in the past few months, as my friends and i have all been job searching, trying to decide what to do when we leave trieste, i've had a lot of conversations (and time to think) about plans for next year and weighing the options.  stay abroad? return to the states? keep teaching? go another route? if stay abroad, where to go? if return to the states, where to go?  as you may or may not know, i've decided to focus on traveling next year (unless some incredible opportunity for employment comes along and knocks me off of my feet), within the US and abroad.  i've got people in cool places that i need to visit and i was so indecisive for so long about where i wanted to go and be for an extended period of time that it just seemed like the right decision for me.  hopefully, living the life of a perma-gallivanter, i can continue to work out what i want to do more long-term.  but for now, i could not be happier with my decision to not really have a plan (who am i?!).  

i wasn't always happy with my lack-of-"real"-job for the fall and i couldn't have reached this point of content without really hashing out the pros and cons with everyone around me.  in tuck everlasting, one of my favorite books and the novel we are finishing the year with in class, one of the characters says, "people got to do something useful if they're going to take up space in the world." and i could not agree more.  however, what i want to do is travel the world and tell people about it - inspire them to "step outside and see what's shaking in the real world" (as a friend of mine says).  is this desire a desire to do something, or would the end result just be bragging?

a common question that many people ask (and must answer) is, "what do you do?"  as a favorite redhead family member says on her design blog, sweetboo, it's becoming more difficult to succinctly define "what you do" in today's world.  i could not agree more.  when people ask me, "so what are you going to do in the fall?" i know that they mean, "do you have a job, or what's the deal?"  and no, while i don't have a full-time teaching job lined up, that doesn't mean i'm not going to be doing anything.  in fact, i'm going to be doing a lot of things!  these things might not be traditional employment options, but i'm planning to broaden my horizons through travel, fund those travels along the way,  and learn a lot -- not everyone can say that about their day jobs, am i right?!      

maybe i'm wrong.  so, should i be searching for a more "normal" immediate future?  a friend, M, is having a hard time deciding what to do next - she's deciding between traveling the world and having a job that will look good on her resume, a "normal, professional" job.  but what is normal?!  there really is no "normal" anymore, people in this world are all over the place and you can't compare yourself to others -- you must do what is right for you in the moment.  following your own head is how you will make it to where you're supposed to be -- how you'll find your "normal."  thankfully, the more i talk to people, the more i'm noticing that everyone is growing more conscious of this which makes it easier to do what you want.  who cares what is considered normal?  

now, i don't know what all the answers are (are you surprised?), everyone has to figure out what is right for them.  i do know that we shouldn't dwell on things for too long, stress should be avoided like the plague and we mustn't forget to have fun.  as dr. seuss says,  life's a great balancing act...but there's fun to be done!

so, as i said in the beginning, i've got a lot going on but no complaints, life is good.

x!