colonial

yesterday i had to be convinced that 1990 was almost 20 years ago. its really weird but i actually dont mind getting older so much.

love and protests

I left Paris and headed to Amman, Jordan. I never thought Id see Applebees and Fudruckers in the Middle East, but Amman made that possible. Other than the American corporate eyesores, I thoroughly enjoyed Amman. Not much to see, but it was a nice transition from Europe to the Middle East. The people were great and I was able to attend the largest Gaza demonstration in the Arab world. It was peaceful until the very end and I wasnt there to see things go sour. I think a few kids threw rocks at the police and then the police went nuts. I know a fire hoses and a lot of tear gas were poured out onto the protesters. I stayed with some kids that live in the neighborhood where the King of Jordan's house is, so I continued the legacy of getting really lucky with places to sleep while traveling.
After 2 days of being in Jordan, I traveled by bus to the West Bank. Aside from a lot of waiting around at the border and a few checkpoints, it was pretty painless, which isnt normally the case. I arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah after 6 hours (it would be about an hour and a half- 2 hours if there were no checkpoints) and it felt good to be back here. I didnt live in this city before, but its a nice place to be. Its very free and there are a lot of nice places to hang out. Im just here for the night visiting a friend and then I'll head to Nablus, where I'll be living. Its about an hour away and I'll make my way there in the morning.

I will try to continue posting here for my more private musings, but more consistent updates will be found on:
http://roaddonkeytails.blogspot.com/

bonjour

IMG_0150, originally uploaded by wanderlustdust.

im in paris right now. i love it. below average temperatures. snow. ice. being lazy because we're frozen. eating good food. the notre dame. emily and gilbert and fanny. jokes.

trying to remember and forget 2008

New Years of 2008 I was in the West Bank. My roommates and I had dinner and partied Palestinian style. The bombs started dropping shortly after midnight and that was a real buzz kill. It was strange to have bombs instead of fireworks, but it was a memorable New Years anyhow.

1. January I stayed in the West Bank, made great friends, travelled around, and learned a bunch.

2. February was about the same, but I had to say bye to the West Bank and my friends.

3. March I returned to Orlando, returned to my Orlando friends, returned to my waitressing job, started school again, and then left Orlando again. Azuree let me borrow her car to go visit my dad for spring break. There was a crazy snow storm and I ended up in Nashville, TN with a very welcoming Casey McBride. From there I met my dad in Memphis TN and drove to Houston. I dont remember anything else from March, but it was a really awesome spring break.

4. April I started hanging out with Doug a lot and continued that throughout the entire year. Such good times. Final exams for the spring semester.

5. May I went to Chicago and was a bridesmaid in Azurees wedding. Shared a room with Amy and Austin, best room ever. I flew back to Orlando the day after Azurees wedding for Dylon and Ruthies wedding. Wedding weekend marathon. Summer school started, worst semester ever.

6. June I went swimming a lot and canoeing a lot. I loved that, but somehow I also worked a lot and was at school a lot.

7. In July I was a bridesmaid in Nathan and Annas wedding. That was fun. Austin left. I had an amazing landfill adventure.

8. August I drank a lot of wine and snuggled a lot. I finished the worst semester. I went to Mexico and loved every second of it. Came back and started my last semester of school.

9. September I got laid off from my job and that really killed me. Although it was hard on me, getting laid off from work meant Hang Out Mania 2008 was to begin! The race for the U.S. presidency was in motion and driving me crazy. Started training for a half marathon. Made a bunch of new friends and spent a lot of time with them.

10. October I went to Chicago and visited the Wiitalas. Had so much fun! Went and saw Louis Farrakhan. Still didnt have a job. Saw Bryan and Jenna get married!

11. Not really sure what happened for most of November, but I know I went to St. Augustine for Mexican Thanksgiving with the Hamels and then went to Atlanta and saw Nathan and Rachael get married. That was wonderful. The first part of the month was mostly spent in BBQ bar, I think. Oh, and Obama was elected president of the U.S.A.

12. December I turned 23. Graduated from College. Went away. Partied for all 3 occasions. Ran a half marathon. Said bye to a bunch of amazing friends. Said bye to someone I probably shouldnt have. Flew to London, went to Oxford, and spent Christmas working in a homeless shelter with Aby. So good to see Jack and Aby. Went to Switzerland after Christmas and watched the snow fall.
December 31 I was in Switzerland and really sick. I just went out to a fancy 6 course dinner and drank champagne with my godmother and her boyfriend. Wanted to not be sick and to be with my friends, but it was nice. Huge snowflakes had my attention the entire night.


2008 went by really fast. It was a huge transitionary year and I partied a lot, so its mostly a blur.
Its the first day of 2009 and I dont really know what to make of it yet. Its going to be a lot different than 2008 though. Im going to Paris in a few days and then heading to the Middle East.

my unwanted shadow

my unwanted shadow, originally uploaded by wanderlustdust.

im not a big fan of dogs. i was attacked by one last january and still have the scar. this little mophead of a dog has taken a liking to me despite what i thought was my obvious disinterest in her. i cant go to the bathroom without her coming in. and if i do sneak in without her, she will whine at the door. its 2:19am and i just had to get out of bed to let her in my room, because apparently she wasnt going to let me sleep until she could sleep riiiiiggght next to me. there are plenty of other people she could bother in the house, but she chose me...the one who doesnt love dogs. thanks again, life, for your awesome sense of humor

other than that, i spent a few awesome days in london. worked a solid 8 hour shift at a homeless shelter on christmas day and it was the best christmas of my life. people proved to be really beautiful creatures.

now, im in switzerland. its cold.

its almost 2009.

hell just broke loose in israel/palestine and im supposed to be there in a few days. arriving somewhere during a full out war is bad timing.

jet set

I'm sitting in Oxford, England.Ive been waiting months (maybe years depending on how you look at it) to leave the States and this morning I got off the plane in London not knowing the next time I'll see that place. I wasnt as prepared for that as I shouldve been with all the anticipation surrounding this move.

It didnt help that I got to London and had absolutely nothing to do. It was 7 am. and the friend Im staying with wasnt scheduled to get off work until 6 pm. Randomly, my friend in Oxford got online and we started talking. Next thing I knew, I was on the bus to go visit him. We had lunch and now we're sitting at his job looking out the window at the gloomy winter weather.
I had no idea I was going to be able to see him on this trip. We're discussing oracles and vision quests, just what I need. Its been so amazing.

"Im up here trying to work and it sounds like a rugby match is happening in the other office. Its Christmas!!! Go on, have some fizzy." Thank you, England, for bringing champagne into the workplace at 3pm. Im enjoying it.

England isnt my final destination, but it feels good to be moving forward and I think I physically had to move my body in order to get in the mindset of moving on to something new.
Its strange being in a country that everything seems the same, but Im the foreigner. The bus driver asked me to repeat "Barns Road" about 5 times, because he couldnt understand my accent. I have an accent.

Im half awake. The world is my oyster. This is my attempt to get the ball rolling with blogging. Lame attempt, but its a start.

Im realzing that England wasnt the place to go to escape Christmas music.

liberation/graduation

liberation/graduation , originally uploaded by wanderlustdust.

sweet sweet victory