The big news this week is 7 billion people alive on the planet. There has been a lot about it on CNN-which is one of 6 English channels I get, so I have heard a lot about it. However, my favorite story was one today. You can go to the following website, enter your birthday, and find out where you stand in the line-up. According to the website, I was the 4,536,956,329th person alive on Earth when I was born and the 79,177,333,121st person to have lived since history began. Pretty cool right? Find out where you stand. Lots of Love, M.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515
PS There is a margin of error. I have no idea what it is or how accurate the count is, but it is kind of fun nevertheless.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
What's in a Name?
Laos, Lao, Lao PDR, officially, the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Whatever you decide, I have arrived. Tomorrow will be one month since my arrival in this beautiful, land-locked country. A little bit of general information for you. Nearly 6 million people live in the country which is just a bit larger than the state of Minnesota. The average annual income is approximately 500 USD. The Mekong River, one of the longest in the world, flows for almost 1,000 miles through this country. It is a massive river. I like to go look at it when I get a chance. It seems to be moving fairly slowly, but it is enormous. There are 5 countries surrounding Laos. They are, China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is hot, humid and dusty. I have also heard on multiple occasions that it is only going to get hotter-hooray. After this country, I am done with hot weather. I think I might move to the North Pole. We'll see. One more fun fact, this is the most bombed country in the history of the world. I am sure there will be more on this one later.
I stayed in a guesthouse for just over a week upon my arrival. I found a house and had to wait to move because of a holiday. I was so tired of living out of a suitcase and I was starting to go a little crazy. I wanted to cook my own food, and do my own laundry. I put my first load in the washer only to find it didn't work and I ended up ruining a bunch of clothes because of a new towel I had thrown in. Oh well, that is how those things go. My house here is like a palace compared to my tiny CHU in Iraq. I have a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. My camera got broken in Colombia, so you will have to wait for pictures. I live about 25 minutes away from the university and have purchased a motorbike for transportation. Traffic is sometimes a little bit of a challenge, but I am starting to get used to it.
I know this is a short update and I have more to write, but I wanted to give you a little bit of information. I promise I will write again soon. Love, M.
I stayed in a guesthouse for just over a week upon my arrival. I found a house and had to wait to move because of a holiday. I was so tired of living out of a suitcase and I was starting to go a little crazy. I wanted to cook my own food, and do my own laundry. I put my first load in the washer only to find it didn't work and I ended up ruining a bunch of clothes because of a new towel I had thrown in. Oh well, that is how those things go. My house here is like a palace compared to my tiny CHU in Iraq. I have a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. My camera got broken in Colombia, so you will have to wait for pictures. I live about 25 minutes away from the university and have purchased a motorbike for transportation. Traffic is sometimes a little bit of a challenge, but I am starting to get used to it.
I know this is a short update and I have more to write, but I wanted to give you a little bit of information. I promise I will write again soon. Love, M.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
One is the Lonliest Number...Colombia Part 2
So, after spending the weekend on Gorgona, I had mixed feelings. I was looking forward to seeing this beautiful country, but bummed that I had to do it alone. I mean it is always nice to have someone to share the experience with. When I talked to Kyle, he mentioned that he had some time off, so I said, "Please come to Colombia and hang out with me." And he did. I flew to Bogota the night before he arrived. He had enough time for a nap and a shower before we were off on another great adventure.
First stop, San Andres. It is a spectacular island in the Caribbean. They say it is in the sea of seven colors. I kept trying to remember this to tell Kyle, but couldn't, calling it the seven blue sea or something like that. It is surprisingly far away from Colombia, and felt more islandy than Colombian. Nevertheless, it was great. We stayed in a great hotel where Kyle fished from our second story balcony. He raced around the island on the worlds slowest golf cart while I tried to remember the thing about the seven colors and kept saying, "I can't believe how beautiful it is here." Kyle spent the first two days talking about catching a barracuda, and then did, from the balcony. Then decided to tell me about how barracudas attack swimmers when we were snorkeling over to pick up a fly he lost in the water below our room...ridiculous.
Parque Tayrona- When I first flew from Bogota to Cali I saw a picture of this place and put it on my list. It is a park and had a place run by the same people who do all of the parks in Colombia. It was absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of stairs, but it was great.
The last place we went in Colombia was the region of Boyaca. We flew back to Bogota for a night before meeting Mr. Nixon, not the US President, who drove us around for the next 4 days. It was a lot of driving, but we got to see a lot and had a fun time. We got to see the Great Salt Cathedral-where I discovered the busted camera, lots of beautiful towns and churches, great flowers, and the thermal waters. Very nice.
First stop, San Andres. It is a spectacular island in the Caribbean. They say it is in the sea of seven colors. I kept trying to remember this to tell Kyle, but couldn't, calling it the seven blue sea or something like that. It is surprisingly far away from Colombia, and felt more islandy than Colombian. Nevertheless, it was great. We stayed in a great hotel where Kyle fished from our second story balcony. He raced around the island on the worlds slowest golf cart while I tried to remember the thing about the seven colors and kept saying, "I can't believe how beautiful it is here." Kyle spent the first two days talking about catching a barracuda, and then did, from the balcony. Then decided to tell me about how barracudas attack swimmers when we were snorkeling over to pick up a fly he lost in the water below our room...ridiculous.
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| Happy Reunion...at least for one of us |
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| Standing over the blow hole...which never blew |
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| Barracuda bait in the sink |
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| Sunrise over the boat wreck |
Parque Tayrona- When I first flew from Bogota to Cali I saw a picture of this place and put it on my list. It is a park and had a place run by the same people who do all of the parks in Colombia. It was absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of stairs, but it was great.
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| Ecohabs-third from left is ours |
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| Not swimming at the super deadly beach |
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| Sunrise |
The last place we went in Colombia was the region of Boyaca. We flew back to Bogota for a night before meeting Mr. Nixon, not the US President, who drove us around for the next 4 days. It was a lot of driving, but we got to see a lot and had a fun time. We got to see the Great Salt Cathedral-where I discovered the busted camera, lots of beautiful towns and churches, great flowers, and the thermal waters. Very nice.
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| In the Salt Cathedral |
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| In front of the first of many beautiful churches |
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| By one of the 5 blue pools |
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| At the lake |
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| In front of Simon Bolivar's hacienda |
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| The end of the vacation |
Well, as you can see it was a great trip. We had a lot of fun. A big thank you to everyone who helped make it so great. My next post will be all about life in Lovely Laos. Lots of Love, M.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Colombia Part 1
I ended up going to Colombia for three weeks after leaving Missouri. It might seem like an odd choice to some, but it was amazing. I went because Bri knows a man named Enrique from work who is from Colombia. I have no idea when they first had a conversation about me going to Colombia, but I think it was sometime while I was still in Iraq, trying to figure out what I would do afterwards. I know it sounds a little vague, but the point is, I flew to Bogota, took another flight to Cali, where I was greeted by Pedro, Enrique's nephew. I was shown a great deal of kindness by Enrique's family and don't really know what I would have done without them. I had an amazing 3 weeks and got to see so much of the country. I really was lucky to see so much and I have a TON of pictures, I will give you the highlights.
Gorgona-I spent a few days on the island of Gorgona in the Pacific Ocean. For those of you who have seen LOST, it was sort of like that. I wanted to go because it was time for the whales to get laid as Pedro informed me, so they would be visible. He then told me about all of the snakes, and I wanted to go a little less. In the end, my desire to see whales prevailed. I flew to the tiny town of Guapi and took a boat on a very bouncy ride to the island. As soon as we were on dry land someone told us to turn around and there was the first of many whales I got to see on the trip. It was an incredibly beautiful place. I got to go on a nature hike in the rain where I kind of wanted to see a boa constrictor...until a pelican flew so close to my head while I was swimming that I nearly had a heart attack-I decided I probably didn't really want to see a snake. Sorry, no pictures of whales, I was unbelievably slow with the camera.
The Coffee Triangle-Now I am sure that the first thing you all thought of when I said "Colombia" was coffee and rightly so. The coffee is pretty great there. I also spent 3 days in what is called the Coffee Triangle. I got to go to a National Park featuring the Wax Palm, Hot Springs(amazing), and the coffee park. The coffee park is actually like the Juan Valdez version of Disney Land...sort of. There were a lot of rides there, but there was also a lot of information about the history of coffee, how it came to Colombia, and how it gets from the plant to your cup. It was interesting. The best thing is that the entire area was unbelievably beautiful. I saw the most amazing clouds.
Santa Marta-After the coffee triangle, I went to Santa Marta for a couple of days to stay with Tia Lucila(Aunt Lucila for all of you non spanish speakers, another of Enrique's sisters). She was great. She was probably the most patient person I encountered as far as my Spanish is concerned. What you should know is that I don't speak a lot of Spanish. I thought it improved in Peru, but when I got to Colombia, it was different. Lucila spent a lot of time speaking incredibly slowly and when I still didn't understand, she would think for a minute and explain again a different way. Most of the time, I figured out what she was getting at.
Gorgona-I spent a few days on the island of Gorgona in the Pacific Ocean. For those of you who have seen LOST, it was sort of like that. I wanted to go because it was time for the whales to get laid as Pedro informed me, so they would be visible. He then told me about all of the snakes, and I wanted to go a little less. In the end, my desire to see whales prevailed. I flew to the tiny town of Guapi and took a boat on a very bouncy ride to the island. As soon as we were on dry land someone told us to turn around and there was the first of many whales I got to see on the trip. It was an incredibly beautiful place. I got to go on a nature hike in the rain where I kind of wanted to see a boa constrictor...until a pelican flew so close to my head while I was swimming that I nearly had a heart attack-I decided I probably didn't really want to see a snake. Sorry, no pictures of whales, I was unbelievably slow with the camera.
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| The Beach |
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| The old prison |
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| On the rainy nature/jungle hike |
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| Drinking from a coconut |
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| Monkey |
The Coffee Triangle-Now I am sure that the first thing you all thought of when I said "Colombia" was coffee and rightly so. The coffee is pretty great there. I also spent 3 days in what is called the Coffee Triangle. I got to go to a National Park featuring the Wax Palm, Hot Springs(amazing), and the coffee park. The coffee park is actually like the Juan Valdez version of Disney Land...sort of. There were a lot of rides there, but there was also a lot of information about the history of coffee, how it came to Colombia, and how it gets from the plant to your cup. It was interesting. The best thing is that the entire area was unbelievably beautiful. I saw the most amazing clouds.
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| Wax Palms |
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| Yes, the entire area was this spectacular |
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| Hot Springs |
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| After the Springs |
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| With a "Willy" which is still used to transport people up the mountain |
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| All I need is a donkey |
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| In front of a model of a "typical" house |
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| Me overlooking the Coffee Triangle |
Santa Marta-After the coffee triangle, I went to Santa Marta for a couple of days to stay with Tia Lucila(Aunt Lucila for all of you non spanish speakers, another of Enrique's sisters). She was great. She was probably the most patient person I encountered as far as my Spanish is concerned. What you should know is that I don't speak a lot of Spanish. I thought it improved in Peru, but when I got to Colombia, it was different. Lucila spent a lot of time speaking incredibly slowly and when I still didn't understand, she would think for a minute and explain again a different way. Most of the time, I figured out what she was getting at.
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| People making a bridge...and a buck during a rainstorm |
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| Taganga Fishing Village from above |
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| Fishing Village |
Home
After Tasmania-deviling our way through Peru, I went back to Missouri. It is always good to be home. I was only home for a few days and spent more time than I should have trying to figure out where to spend 3 weeks outside of the US. All planning aside, I managed to accomplish quite a bit in my short amount of time there.
I got to see a lot of friends-if only for a little while, spend some time with my family, visit the lake, go shopping, give my beautiful nieces some love, eat a delicious dinner with Bri before leaving KC, cut my hair(well, I had someone else do it), see my cousin's new house and laugh a lot. It seems I focused on enjoying my time rather than taking pictures, but here are a few. Lots of Love, M.
I got to see a lot of friends-if only for a little while, spend some time with my family, visit the lake, go shopping, give my beautiful nieces some love, eat a delicious dinner with Bri before leaving KC, cut my hair(well, I had someone else do it), see my cousin's new house and laugh a lot. It seems I focused on enjoying my time rather than taking pictures, but here are a few. Lots of Love, M.
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| The girls and I |
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| New Haircut...check |
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| Two delicious plates of meat for the lovely ladies |
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| Bri and I outside of Fiorella's Jack Stack-stuffed |
Thursday, October 6, 2011
A Whirlwind trip to Peru
I thought I would be leaving for Laos in early September, so my plan had been to go to orientation, spend some time in Belize, meet my mom in Peru, go back to MO for a little while, head back to Page to repack, and then fly to Laos. Well, while in Belize, I heard from Georgetown that I wouldn't be heading to Laos until the beginning of October. I needed to change my plans-but I'll get to that later. First, Peru. My mom flew from KC arriving an hour before I did from Belize City. Upon my exit from customs, I found her sitting on a bench patiently waiting where two very nice young ladies from Miami had left her. We got some local currency from the ATM and jumped in a taxi. As our driver ferociously drove us into the Lima night, my mom asked a few times, "Are you sure this is safe? Are you sure this is ok?" "Yes mom. This is fine. We are totally safe." was my reply while I was thinking, "I have no idea. I have never been here before. If we aren't safe, it is a little too late." Again out loud, "He had a badge, I think we're fine."
And we were fine. Better than that, we were great. We didn't have a lot of time to explore the country of Peru, so we focused on the big one-Machu Picchu. According to some, it is one of the new 7 wonders. It was wonderful. We spent 2 nights in Lima before flying to Cuzco. We spent one night there before taking the beautiful train ride to Aguas Calientes. We had a great time there, a couple of girls took our table at a restaurant, we got into some seriously sketchy looking hotsprings, annoyed the bus ticket lady to the point of her sighing and saying, "Yes lady" and climbed the mountain. It was grand. We went halfway back to Cuzco by train, took a taxi the rest of the way, stopped to shop in the lovely town of Pisac, and then spent a night in Cuzco before heading back to Lima. Mom had an early morning flight, I didn't fly out until night so I took a tour of Lima.
Overall, we had a great trip. It was a lot of fun and we had some unbelievably good food. We did a lot of traveling in a short amount of time and spent a good deal of time asking the question, "Do you have my passport, or do I?" Enjoy the photos. Love, M.
And we were fine. Better than that, we were great. We didn't have a lot of time to explore the country of Peru, so we focused on the big one-Machu Picchu. According to some, it is one of the new 7 wonders. It was wonderful. We spent 2 nights in Lima before flying to Cuzco. We spent one night there before taking the beautiful train ride to Aguas Calientes. We had a great time there, a couple of girls took our table at a restaurant, we got into some seriously sketchy looking hotsprings, annoyed the bus ticket lady to the point of her sighing and saying, "Yes lady" and climbed the mountain. It was grand. We went halfway back to Cuzco by train, took a taxi the rest of the way, stopped to shop in the lovely town of Pisac, and then spent a night in Cuzco before heading back to Lima. Mom had an early morning flight, I didn't fly out until night so I took a tour of Lima.
Overall, we had a great trip. It was a lot of fun and we had some unbelievably good food. We did a lot of traveling in a short amount of time and spent a good deal of time asking the question, "Do you have my passport, or do I?" Enjoy the photos. Love, M.
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| Mom on the train |
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| At the top |
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| We ran into these guys repeatedly in Cuzco |
Belize
As I wrote earlier, Kyle and I went to Belize. We had a great time. We spent a couple of days on an island called Caye (Key) Caulker, went to the jungle for a few days, tried out another beach-side town, decided we didn't like it and went back to Caye Caulker. It was very beautiful and relaxing. Kyle did a lot of fishing. I worked on my sunburn. We took a very long ride on the chicken bus, saw monkeys when we were at the Mayan Ruins of Caracol, battled mosquitoes, and had a great time. I don't have a lot of time to elaborate, but I am going to post pictures. Lots of Love, M.
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| Riding on the chicken bus |
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| In front of Caana, the largest pyramid |
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| Me fishing...not catching |
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| Kyle, the shark, and a local boy |
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| Waiting for the sunset |
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| Kyle and his fly-fishing guide, Eloy |
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