#205 - thanksgiving trip

i'm not sure when the last time was that i was home for thanksgiving. maybe 2003 after i graduated from college? it's been awhile. in less than 24 hours i will be on a plane to hawaii, my boarding pass is printed and i am (not) packed. with the new baggage policy i will be just bringing a carryon. i don't need much anyway, swimsuit, some t-shirts and shorts, and slippers. what else would i need? i am gonna try to workout everyday since a lot of people will be busy during the day with things like work. other than that i have a few plans.

tuesday
arrive around noon
lunch with mom

wednesday
beach?
dinner with friends

thursday
thanksgiving!
brunch with family

friday
surfing?
mom's b-day dinner @ ige's

saturday
sister time?
UH football tailgate and game - go warriors!

sunday
golfing maybe?
tennis at night?

monday
beach?

tuesday
golfing with dad?
flight to maui

so i am trying to get in a lot of sun while i am there, store up some vitamin D. haven't been in strong sun in awhile. i have my oregon tan right now. all my plans with ?s are up in the air but strong possibilities. i haven't been working too hard on making plans because i know they will come together without me. things always workout in the end. i am looking forward to lots of things like seeing friends/family, surfing, golfing and eating. some foods on my list are big city diner, mililani golf course, loco mocos and ramen. also tokyo tei in maui! i am getting hungry just thinking about all this. so because of all this eating i need to be hitting the gym or beach everyday. if not, the plane won't be able to take off because of too much weight. hahaha

i always fill up my time in hawaii with lots of things so it goes by really fast. in no time i will be back here so i want to just make the best of it. i have been posting a lot about oregon state football but it is real now. we are playing the civil war on december 3 at autzen stadium. it's the biggest one of them all, and i am not just saying that. whoever wins goes to the rose bowl! the granddaddy of them all! it has been quite the season and we are just getting better. we have a little over a week to prepare and it is on!! i am so excited but unfortunately i'll be away from the state of oregon. not to worry though, i am bringing a lot of OSU paraphanelia and t-shirts. i will be representing and watching it wherever i can. hopefully with oregon state fans present.

see you all soon.

#189 - JUNE

i haven't written anything in a month! i've been busy and i promise there was some excitement. first of all, i finished school and graduated! yeehaw now i am waiting to take my NCLEX, the national board exam for nursing. after i pass that i will be a RN. my parents, sister and uncle all came up from hawaii to visit and participate in my graduation ceremony. it was awesome. unfortunately, no pictures of graduation yet. sorry.

my big june event was a trip to alaska on a cruise ship! it was my first cruise and while maybe not the last, i don't think i'll be going on another anytime soon. it was a lot to take in, for sure. especially when it came to eating. most of the meals are included in the price, unless you want a fancier meal, then it is $10-$25 set price. we ate a lot at the market cafe, which was buffet style. towards the end we started eating more in the restaurants but you could still order as many appetizers and stuff that you wanted. it was a lot of eating, what we are really good at!

it was cool cause i got to spend a lot of time with my sister, who i miss a lot. we get along fantastically. i also spent a lot of time with my parents. it was nice but a little cramped. we all shared one room and i slept on a bunk! it was interesting and i wish we had two rooms. it would have been a lot more expensive tho i think. there was a lot to do on the ship, a lot of which i did not partake in - crazy dance parties, a pool and hot tubs, casino, bingo (played once). we did go to all the night time shows though, with the jean ann ryan company. they did 3 shows - andrew lloyd webber tribute, cirque pacific, and "band on the run" 70's. it was really neat and we saw the chinese all-star acrobats, which was badass! another awesome thing was the magic show! shawn farquar is a two time world magic champion and he was awesome! here is one of his best card tricks, it's amazing!


we did four different outings off the ship in different ports of call. one of the best was the glacier day. we went to see mendenhall glacier by taking a bus ride from juneau. the glacier was cool but it was far away, i thought we'd get closer but i suppose it is better if people stay far away from them.i also wanted to see the glacier calving, which is when big chunks fall off. but we did not get to see that unfortunately. too bad, but what we did see was maybe even better...a BEAR! it was a baby i think and who knows where the mother was. i was standing at a lookout trying to get a picture of the glacier when i look down and there is a bear! i said "oh my god!" and screamed like a girl. that probably wasn't the best idea but that's what happened. the bear didn't even notice me or the other people around. he was 10-15 feet away from me, only a 3-foot cement wall separating us. oh man it was scary!after that experience nothing was going to be awesome so we got back on the ship and went on our merry way. the plan was to go see sawyer glacier but for whatever reason it was not accessible, so we went up a different fjord and set sail for dawes glacier. it took over 2 hours and everytime there was a little bend in the road we thought it would be around the corner! it took forever and the scenery didn't change much. it was cold and rainy and we were standing on the bow so all the wind was going right into our frozen faces. it was pretty spectacular though.we also had stops in ketchikan, skagway and prince rupert, canada. we went on a scenic train ride in the yukon area and learned about the gold rush. basically there was gold in alaska and so a bunch of men went there to get some. what do a bunch of men need? a bunch of women. so in every gold rush town there were lots of brothels. we went on a tour of one...that's all i remember about skagway. my sister and i nicknamed it "skankway". and if you get a chance to go to prince rupert, canada - don't. there is nothing there! we're still not sure why we stopped there. so that was my trip.

now i am back in portland, studying for my exam and moving (again!). also i have to look for a RN job and start working. yikes! for all those who have been hounding me for a picture of my bf, here is one of me and jeremy at a park. we had just finished a big meal of sushi and were hanging out in the sun.

#186 - i want out

i want to get out of here! don't get me wrong, i love portland and my life is pretty darn good right now but i want out...i want to travel. i'm getting the itch pretty bad. i think what makes it worse is the thought that i will be getting a full time job pretty soon. i hate the idea of being tied down. i have been working on-call for the past couple years, so i say when i am available and when i am not. i can say i don't want to work for the month of june or whatever. it's the bomb.

last summer i went to mexico and guatemala, it was an amazing experience and once i was back i just wanted to leave again. it was a month-long trip but i wanted more. i am not into having just two weeks off a year as your "vacation". i don't like the idea of having to plan a trip within the confines of 14 days. lame! i just do not want to work a full time job. i think that is the expectation. most places do not want to hire you unless you have experience. they also do not want to know you are going to leave after making X amount of money so you could travel to ___ for X amount of time. so i cannot tell anyone that, shh....

mostly i want to travel the world. i want to see everything. unfortunately i know i will never be able to do that. at this point there are several places that i must see before i die. there are different reasons but i've got a few trips in my head that i must do, in order to see these places.

SOUTHEAST ASIA i am totally drawn to this area right now, i don't know if its the culture, food or landscape but it just seems AWESOME! places and things in order of importance:

• thailand - songkran in april - it's a new years festival where everyone throws water on each other. plus, i could eat all the pad thai and som tum i want. for cheap, like thai food should be! a thai tattoo would be cool too.
• laos - while not many people i know have been there, i have heard it is cool and will definitely get there
• vietnam - again, food is key here. phở is the bomb.
• cambodia seems wild
• malaysia - my parents went there and said it was fun but pretty grossly humid.
• indonesia would be neat to go to

ITALY i feel italian sometimes. i could seriously eat italian food all day, everyday. i'm not exaggerating. i think in another life i was italian. while i mostly want to eat my way through italy, there are also a number of things i want to see/do there: rome, vatican, sicily, venice, tuscany, abruzzo, florence...basically everywhere. i want to see art and learn italian. i want to push the leaning tower over.

BACKPACK EUROPE this is separate from my trip to italy. i want to do the whole backpacking thing, taking the eurorail and sleeping in hostels. not sure where i want to start and end but i know i want to go through the chunnel! i'm guessing i will start in great britain - england, ireland, scotland. i need to golf in scotland and swim in lake guinness in ireland. then on to france, portugal, spain, germany, netherlands, austria, czech. not necessarily in that order or equal time in those places. there are obviously lots of things to see there. i'll need many months and moneys.

SOUTH AMERICA/CENTRAL AMERICA, again i will forget my two spanish phrases if i don't go there soon. oh dear. first, see motorcycle diaries, then you will know what i want to do in south america. basically i want to travel the continent, as it is "all one america". i want to see iguaza falls, go down the amazon river, go to carnival in brazil, rain forests, mountains, oceans, people, food, etc. i want to speak spanish and i guess maybe i could learn a few phrases in portuguese as well. chile and argentina sound like awesome countries!

AFRICA duh.

#137 - pictures with parents

i wrote a little about my travels with the 'rents but now i've got some pictures so i wanted to share a little bit about what we did.

SEATTLE
we stayed in seattle for two nights and did a few things that were new. we went to the olympic sculpture park for a free art walk. my dad is a big photographer and my mom needs to take pictures too cause then she has something to do while he's taking photos. so basically we all three had cameras and took awhile to go through the park. it was really cool cause it was free and you kind of just walk around and look at different sculptures. art is so up to interpretation, but i enjoy it sometimes. so this picture is of one of several giant safety cones. they were gigantic and while i thought they'd be made of the same material, they were not. they were metal. art.

bumbershoot! it's a weekend of music, music, music...and also some comedy and art. but i was there for the music. my parents were there also and i think had a good time. first we saw vince mira, a young guy from seattle with a voice like johnny cash. he sings a lot of cash covers and a few originals that are basically the same style. i saw blitzen trapper for the first time. they are a portland sextet and were pretty awesome, i'd definitely go see them again. they do lots of experimental stuff and mix country, bluegrass and folk. we got tickets to the show on the mainstage at night, which was death cab for cutie. i definitely like them and had a great time, even got to crowd surf, but my favorite act of the day was langhorne slim. he plays with an upright bass player and a drummer but is definitely the show. his music is kind of folk rock bluegrass and he has a different voice. some songs kind of remind me of bob dylan and others but other stuff is just different. real fresh and entertaining. here are a few vids from youtube:






CANADA
after seattle we drove up to vancouver, BC. vancouver is where the next olympics will be in 2010. can't wait! we stayed with some relatives and had really good dim sum. we went to grouse mountain which is the "peak of vancouver". most of the olympics will be held at whistler which is an hour away but this little mountain was cool. there was a tram ride up to the top and we saw a logger show and birds of prey, which was awesome. we saw a great horned owl, ferruginous hawk, turkey vulture and bald eagle. they would bring them out and the birds would fly from perch to perch, sometimes needed a little encouragement. it was really awesome though, one of them flew right over my head! these things are pretty dangerous/vicious to smaller animals and rodents. they have beaks but mainly use their strong talons to crush their prey! i learned a lot about these guys and it was a cool little demo. i learned that the bald eagle doesn't get a white head till it's pretty old, they start out all brown. they are also pretty big guys and build giant nests as well. it was neat. they also had two grizzly bears at grouse mountain. they were orphaned as babies and were brought to the mountain so they could be safe. they are testing out new ways to save orphans and return them to the wild so they don't have to be euthanized. so these guys are testing out electric fencing technologies.

after vancouver we took a ferry to vancouver island. we went to the butterfly gardens and butchart garden in victoria. they were both pretty fun and awesome. i've never really seen that many types of butterflies. my mom bought this butterfly chart and had me memories 34 types of butterflies while we were riding in the car. so i can identify those 34! haha i am such a nerd. there were so many, and it was set in this building with tropical plants and weather. it was chilly outside but almost 80 inside. there were many different sizes and colors of butterflies, including those popular orange and black monarchs. it made me think of all those caterpillars i saw in guatemala. i wonder what kind of butterflies they were going to be.

the butchart gardens were beautiful. we went before but i don't really remember much because it was in intermediate school but it's a giant garden and really british. it was cool but a little too proper for my tastes. there were tons of pretty flowers though and that was nice. we wanted to eat at the restaurant there but you needed reservations so we tried this place outside the park that had cajun/creole food and i had ribs that were delicious! we came back for the night gardens, which they pretty much just put lights on the different plants and it looked different. usually you think of flowers as beautiful for their colors so i experimented a little and did some B&W photography to capture their different shapes and sizes in the light with shadows. it was kind of fun and interesting. the whole day was basically photography with the parents, seriously they took hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures that day. i got away with only 200 maybe. so i had fun taking pics but it was kind of a long day. we went to our hotel in downtown victoria late that night and slept well. the next day was museum day and just hanging out around the town. it was a pretty nice time in canada, i always enjoy going there...mostly cause they say "eh"!

#135 - ahh, portland

travel is fun but it's always nice to come back home. i'm lucky and i have two such places, portland and hawaii. no matter how long i stay away for, hawaii still feels like home. i don't really want to live there anymore cause i love it on the mainland, but it is a special place. i am lucky to have family and friends there. i've been living in portland for 4 years now and oregon for a total of 8. i love the weather, people, places, greenery and attitudes.

my parents are here for two weeks so we went up to seattle and canada for one of them. after bumbershoot and spending time in seattle we drove up to canada. we have some far off relatives that live in vancouver, BC. we stayed with them for one night and they were nice people. i got to hear many stories about their past, many many stories of hardships they endured. it does get old eventually but they were pretty sweet and cute. we went to dim sum one day for brunch, it was the best i've had. the spring rolls with shrimp were amazing. the shrimp were HUGE and the outside so crispy and not greasy at all. roast duck (always a treat), choi sum, char siu bau and an assortment of other dim sum things. we also got a good spicy eggplant noodle dish. mmm...our relatives cooked dinner that night as well, baked salmon and tuna cakes. it was actually good, and i don't even like seafood. we visited grouse mountain, which is the highest peak in vancouver. they had a wildlife area with two grizzly bears and a program with birds of prey. it was pretty cool seeing the horned owl, ferruginous hawk, turkey vulture and bald eagle up close. they trained them to fly from post to post but some of them flew right over head. whooosh!

vancouver is where the olympics will be in 2010 so they are working hard on improving the city. it is costing them millions so i definitely plan on going and spending a few dollars up there. starting to save... my "aunty" (or however we are related) is not very happy about the money situation since they'll be in debt up to their heads and then have all these buildings afterwards. they had to build a curling building cause for olympics i guess it needs 8 lanes. the ones they had were only 4. so they built it on an old playground or something.

we took the ferry to victoria BC and went to the butterfly gardens and butchart gardens. i took many pics that i will upload soon. we spent lots of time and it was a lot of beautiful things with many colors. also in victoria we took a tour of the parliament building and visited the royal bc museum and saw two IMAX shows. it was fun!

all this was fun and i spent time with my parents but it was nice to finally come home to portland. it's comfortable here and i actually missed it while i was gone. seattle is too big and city-like, even though people like to think we're as big. we're not. being in canada was nice but we were mostly in touristy areas so that changes things a little. i'll be going back in 2 years and it'll be even more touristy. it's not a very big place yet thousands of people will be going for the olympics. i am giddy with excitement! stuff i want/need to see - snowboarding, ski jump, speed skating, figure skating (practice would be fine), hockey (any country). i am sure the events will all cost an arm and leg but i just want to be there.

#134 - bumbershoot

i'm in canada right now! we drove up to seattle and spent two nights there. the second day we went to bumbershoot, which is a huge music and arts festival. it's been going on for many years but has become a giant event. i went with my parents, which was kind of odd cause it was more a "young people" thing. :)

we got there early, before gates opened, and stood in a long line that went around the EMP and down the street. it took about 20 minutes to get in once the line started moving at 11. once in we had to get our evening show passes, which were first come first served. the passes were for Superchunk and Death Cab for Cutie. i kind of mapped out the bands i wanted to see. there were about 5 different stages set up around the area, all with nice grassy areas to sit/lay in or stand and dance.

first we went to see vince mira, a young boy from seattle with an old, deep johnny cash-like voice! it was great. then we went to see joshua morrison but he got called away on military orders so couldn't make it. in his place was kristin ward, a folk singer. at that point my parents wanted to go to a comedy show and i to more music. so i left them.

i saw mark pickerel & the praying hands, blitzen trapper (awesome band from portland), langhorne slim (really awesome!) and two gallants.

i found some new music and had a great time! and of course in the evening, after we left to have dinner, we went and saw the big names in the stadium. it was fun. i got to dance around and be stuck with a bunch of sweaty teenagers. i went crowd surfing!!! i love it, you can see everything and it's fun!

#120 - wasting time

i've been back now for four days, and what do i have to show for it? not much besides pictures on flickr. yes, it took awhile, but that's not a good excuse. luckily my work has been calling me non-stop so i'm working thu, fri, sat this week. so i think i'll be ok money-wise. i was a little worried cause i've got rent coming up and i haven't been working, only spending. i spent just about $1000 on my trip, not counting the airfare there. it's not too bad, i kept track of everything i spent there so i would have a good idea of what i bought. the top three things were hotels ($140), meals/snacks/water ($318) and transportation ($190). other things would be gifts, internet, laundry, stupid phone calls, guatemalan farmacia purchases, border fees, park entrance fees and a massage.

it was the best $1000 i've ever spent.

i've been pretty much here, in my computer chair, doing computer stuff all day and listening to music. where have the days gone? i haven't left the house in a couple days. one of my goals for the week was to get some clothes bags together though and i've been working on that...very slowly. i've actually got 4 plastic bags full of clothes so far. i want to pare it down even more. what i realized while traveling is that i live in a world of excess. it's not just me but all i need to change is myself, i'm not worried about others right now.
we took a lot of buses through small towns and saw people living in probably 10x10 cement buildings with dirt floors. while i'm not gonna go that far i know that i don't want to live in a big house. i live in a room right now, it's probably about 8x13 or so. pretty small but it's just me and i've got a living room, bathroom, basement, and kitchen also in the house. whole families were living in these tiny rooms and that was it. plus they have lots of kids there, who knows where everyone slept.

another thing was that i did not travel with that much clothes:
-2 tank tops
-2 t-shirts
-black, collared short sleeve shirt
-green, no collared short sleeve shirt
-collared long sleeve shirt
-long sleeve linen shirt
-swim suit
-3 shorts/capris (gray, green, khaki)
-fleece
-rain jacket
-hat
-chaco sandals
-merrell waterproof shoes!
-rubber slippers
-3 undies and socks

some things i was able to just wash and hang up to dry. we did laundry i think 3 times, about once a week. although it was kind of tiring to wear the same things, i did mix and match them so i had some variety. so what i learned about that was i have WAY TOO MUCH CLOTHES! i barely wear things and other things i wear to death. while i'm not throwing out my whole closet, i do want to simplify it a bit. no one really needs 50 t-shirts right? especially ones with the same design...you get a new shirt on every dodgeball team, so i have a zillion shirt that say "recess time sports" on it, in many colors. i'm not gonna wear that anywhere but dodgeball really so into a plastic bag they went. if someone gives me a shirt, i try to wear it and keep it. really, i should only wear things i really like and that fit well but i'll hold onto things that people gave me that don't even fit...just in case. don't wanna hurt any feelings. i've also got a million orange/OSU shirts from athletic training days. i probably don't need them ALL.

so what i do is every hour or so, i get off my butt and do a little bit of cleaning/organizing/purging at a time. then i watch a movie or tv show online, or make some spaghetti. i am just enjoying the last days of my freedom i guess. tomorrow i am actually leaving the house to hang out with family friends then watch some dodgeball. go me!

i am also trying not to go grocery shopping, yet. the thing is, everyone has a pantry right? so you stock up on things when they go on sale and what not. well, do you ever really use everything? no. i tend to go through certain things and then some things just stay there. so now i'm trying to eat everything here before i go shopping. i will probably have to buy some things like fruits/veggies but i've got spaghetti, beans, rice, tomatoes, noodles, ramen, curry, miso soup, applesauce (my grandma sent me a care pkg full of little cups of applesauce), instant oatmeal, chili, soup, salsa, tofu, mac&cheese, crackers, frozen veggies and PB. i think i could live for quite awhile on those things.

#119 - being back blues

i don't know what it is but i feel really off. coming back from a long and exciting vacation is just no fun. i wanted it to just keep going but had to come home. so sad. i wonder if this is common. i don't have to work till friday so i've been sitting in my jammies all day, not really motivated to do much. i've been eating spaghetti and ramen cause that's what i have around. going to the store just sounds like too much work, and i'd have to spend money too. man i'm weird now. my excuse for staying home is that i've been working on my trip pictures. it's on my flickr account so hopefully you can view it easily.

it was fun to go over them and remember each place, the beginning seems like so long ago! i'd say the coolest day was going to the Tikal ruins in the jungle, we saw monkeys and really old temples. each place is special in a different way but jungles are really cool!traveling to far away places just makes you appreciate everything you have at home even that much more. i will never take a toilet or hot shower for granted again. i was walking through the portland saturday market the other day, it's an artsy craft fair type market they have every weekend. it was weird to walk through looking at people's stalls and not be harassed! that sounds bad but everywhere we went they were trying to sell something, especially at the chichi market. it was a ton of fun but it's over-stimulating sometimes when people are yelling at you "what chu like?" and you have to push through people to get somewhere. a guy tried to sell me a pink hand mirror on a chicken bus! that was funny.

i can't say i enjoyed every minute of my trip but it was one of the coolest things i've ever done and i definitely need to do more traveling. i especially want to go to more spanish speaking countries and learn a little more spanish. i think my english has become worse though, if that's possible. i was writing spanish in my journal the whole time there and although it was hard i learned a lot of words that way.

back to reality i guess. i start work on friday (or before if someone calls in, which happens) and school next tuesday. i've got 40 hours of clinicals next month, then my parents come to visit (for the UH game). it's just one thing after another. i liked traveling, not really knowing what's gonna come up next and not really having a plan. there were places i wanted to go and hostels i wanted to stay at but we were flexible and altered our original plans a few times. it's good to be flexible and not let things bother you. hopefully i will make it out of my house tomorrow, since my pictures are done.

#116 - five days

i will be en route to cancun. i am almost in no way ready for this trip. mentally i am ready but as far as things to take with me, not even close. i'm going to pack extra light since we'll be moving around a lot and i'll have to carry my backpack a lot. this weekend will be a little crazy with last minute shopping and seeing all my friends before i go.

• friday - last hours with doggies, drive back to portland, happy hour for chris's promotion, maybe tanuki with the FF
• saturday - try to pack, library (return things), figure out what i need, golf/fun @ edgefield
• sunday - pack, happy hour with work friends
• monday - last minute shopping (rei, best buy, fred meyer), lunch w/erika! for her b-day
• tuesday - 6am flight to LAX > mexico city > cancun

travel blogging. i found this website called travelpod and made a blog there but i'm finding it not so easy to work with. mostly i don't like the layout, which you can't change. then there is travelblog.org which is also a blog site but with lots of pictures. i don't think i'll be spending lots of time blogging on the road so i don't know how much i'll be putting up pictures either. mostly i want the blog so that people know i'm still alive and rockin. i think maybe i'll just stick with my blogger and create yet another blog. gotta come up with a nice vacation layout.

EDIT: new blog is brandi travels 2008

#108 - preparations

in exactly six weeks from today i will be on the plane to cancun. i've been keeping busy reading up on places to eat, sleep and play. it's all i can think about, it's probably all i talk about. i feel sorry for the poor people who are my friends and have to listen to me talk about it. i wish i could bring all my friends along, that would be great. unfortunately i've only saved up enough for myself. i still have so much to do...travel insurance, shots, malaria pills, buy a few more things, talk to jose, get an extra camera battery, make copies of things, get traveler's checks, etc.

packing will be interesting. they say to lay out all the things you are planning on taking, cut that in half and take twice as much money! i am a horrible packer. i bring everything i think i may need. i am usually going somewhere that weight doesn't matter though. i will be lugging my pack all around, probably every other day, crammed on "chicken buses" worrying that i'll be robbed/ripped off. so i want to bring as little as possible.

so far i've come up with a rough itinerary:

• july 1 - leave portland, arrive in cancun at midnight get through customs, etc, get bags (this is essential, i hope the airline comes through for me), hang out and head to isla mujeres as early as possible on the 2nd
• july 2-4 - relax on the beaches of isla mujeres
• july 4-6 - head to merida, hang out with jose
• july 6-7 - ruins of chichen itza!
• july 8 - travel day to flores (guatemala), probably 15 hours on a bus or something ridiculous like that
• july 9-11 - lago de peten itza, el remate and tikal (more ruins!)
• july 11-13 - coban, lanquin, semuc champey
• july 13-16 - relax and enjoy the views on lago de atitlan, panajachel and san pedro la laguna
• july 16-19 - hang out in the city of quetzaltenango (xela), hike volcanoes
• july 19-21 - chichicastenango, visit the town and exciting market!
• july 21-24 - antigua - another city and more volcanoes
• july 25 - i leave :(

it's going to be a lot of bus rides and many different hostels but i want to make the most of this trip so i'm trying to hit the main places that interest me. of course there is a lot more i want to do and see (and eat) but i've only got 25 days. when i invent the teleporter, travel will be faster.

it will be nice to be in a country where i can get a whole meal for $3 and eat tacos everyday. i just love learning about new countries, cultures and people. i've been taking this spanish conversation class and i've got two more classes left. i don't think i'll be prepared. i still have no idea how to speak spanish. i've got a few important phrases down - "una cerveza por favor" and "donde esta el bano". what else do i need to know?! i am sure i will meet lots of people so i'll have lots of chances to practice my very very limited spanish. i can't wait!!

#94 - spanish (español)

going to mexico and guatamala - must learn spanish! i'm taking a spanish conversation class at the community college and it's a non-credit night class. my teacher is this little lady from colombia who is just hilarious! she makes me actually want to leave my house to go learn spanish on monday nights. i've been knowing i need to learn spanish for awhile now. i got books at the library, cds and musical spanish. so far i've just...procrastinated! surprise! so i'm leaving in less than 3 months and need to know things. here is one reason i love youtube.

totally ridiculous. i am learning a lot in my class but i know the moment i need to actually speak to a mexican person, who's talking way too fast, i won't be able to come up with anything smart to say. i've heard that people appreciate when you try to speak their language, rather than assuming they speak english. so many people actually know spanish though, and well. i cheated myself when i took japanese in high school. what a slacker! i already knew japanese and there i was, in class for the easy A. there are lots of things i would do over in high school but oh well. now it's gonna be harder to learn cause i've lost so many brain cells. i blame dodgeball. we'll see.

#92 - i've got tickets

i did it, i bought them today - round trip tickets to cancun in july! so here is the plan, leave on july 1 and return july 25. since it's a RT to cancun i will be spending probably a night or two there, separated by a nice trip by bus around yucatan mexico and guatemala. cancun is party central but i will mostly likely not dive into the party scene. i'll be there for cultural experiences, not shmoosing with other americans!

loose itinerary (as of this moment):

• arrive midnight july 2, find a way to bus terminal, wait around until there is a bus to merida
• spend a couple days in merida, see my friend jose
• valladolid and chitchen itza - mayan ruins: temples and pyramids
• isla mujeres, a caribbean island northeast of cancun where you go around on golf carts
• south to chetumal
• across border to guatemala - flores/tikal - more ruins, plus beautiful lake peten
• coban, trip to lanquin and semuc champney - a series of ponds and pools
• from there to lago de atitlan, a lake surrounded by volcanoes - different towns/villages around the lake - panajachel, santiago, san pedro, seeing some sunrises/sunsets on the lake
• chichicastenango for the sunday market - biggest market, locals with crafts, produce and food
• experience antigua - spanish colonial city, some volcanoes
• fly back to cancun to catch flight back to portland

so i've got about 23 days of travel. i'm taking a spanish conversation class but i doubt it'll do me any good. they'll probably be talking so fast i won't know what's going on! in addition to that, a lot of the guatemalan and yucatan population is mayan so they speak in one of twenty-plus mayan languages. many don't speak spanish, let alone english.

i have no idea how i'm gonna pull off all these bus trips and getting around. how am i going to see everything i want to in three weeks?! there are a ton of things i need but don't want to take too much. i gotta get some immunizations and anti-malarial pills. mosquito nets. traveler's checks. there are so many things to plan. planning is part of the fun! anticipation and excitement...but reading stories and looking at pictures are nothing compared to true experiences. i will definitely write a travel blog when i go. and take lots of pictures of course.

but i've got tickets. i am going!

#86 - tony bourdain!

i just love this man!

i read a couple of his books and quite frankly, they were awesome! kitchen confidential and a cook's tour were great books for me, nonstop exciting and interesting stuff. the first about his career in the kitchen, where if you don't know any chefs it's a total eye-opener. the second is tony traveling around the world, eating everything in sight, making a show while writing a book. he is upfront with his opinions and makes many valid points. i agree 100% with him on sandra lee (semi-homemade). i HATE that show and her as well, as much as i could hate a person who i don't know who is seemingly harmless, trying to help people who have no idea make food. i am in no way ever tempted to make food she makes. yuck.

i love tony. i mean he's got a show about food, eating, drinking and traveling. what else is there? he always says "i'm a pleasure-seeking person". i totally know what that means and i am sooooooooo the same way. i do things because they feel good or taste good. food/eating makes me happy.

he says very intelligent things despite sounding like an ass sometimes. he is so funny and entertaining. he's got this thing about/against vegetarians and i was one once. i am now not, because i love meat. i love ribs, salami, fried chicken, bacon, lamb, ham, beef brisket, etc. why deny myself? i also love vegetables and tofu and vegetarian foods. i mostly cook and eat veggie but enjoy just about every piece of meat i've ever eaten.

the things he says about the endearing people of third world countries and traveling making you a different person are totally just honest and true. everyone around the world is basically the same. we all need to eat and traditionally it is where people come together. food and drink brings the world together. the majority of people around the world cannot afford to make a choice to eat meat or not, they are just trying to survive. i am so priviledged and lucky to be born in the country/family that i was. i will never really understand the other side no matter how many of those countries i visit or how many people i meet. that's just how it is and so i have to do what i can with it. appreciate it!

#80 - trip list

i make lists. here is one i started at work and need to write down somewhere better than scratch paper so i don't have to start it again. list of things to take/pack when i go on my month-long trip to central america! whoopie! a lot of these things are like "duh" but need to be on the list. crossed out items i already have. other things i have but aren't quite ready or don't have enough of.

general items - things i definitely need!

• backpacking backpack
• day pack/bag - something pretty simple to carry over the shoulder and fit camera, wallet, notebook, snacks, pens, etc

• money belt
• wallet
• cash
• credit cards
• traveler's checks
• passport + copies of
• driver's license/id + copies of
• insurance card + health info + copies of
• watch
• alarm clock
• camera + extra batteries/memory card

clothes - preferably quick drying, light weight things in darker colors.

• chacos
• a hiking/running/tennis shoe
• rubber slippers
• swim suit + shorts
• convertible pants - can be used as pants or when it gets hot...shorts! would be great with cargo pockets.

• regular long pants
• shorts - i've heard only tourists wear shorts but i don't know how i'll survive wearing long pants in tropical weather, maybe if they are nice it's ok
• convertible shirt with collar - roll up sleeves with button to keep it up, these are most likely protecting from the sun with UPF 50
• something nice that is ok for wedding
• short sleeve shirts
• tank tops
• vest
• light fleece
• rain jacket
• underwear and bras
• comfy/lounging clothes + PJs
• hat
• bandana
• socks
• line to hang clothes on

toiletries - i'm pretty low maintenance but still there's quite a bit here, in travel sizes of course

• shampoo + conditioner
• soap
• washcloth + towel
• razor
• toothbrush + toothpaste
• floss
• sunscreen
• bug spray
• first aid - bandaids, gauze, neosporin, etc
• medications - prescription + tylenol/ibuprofen, antihistamine
• emergen C packets
• deodorant!
• girl stuff
• TP
• sewing kit + safety pins

miscellaneous - stuff that you still probably need

• power adapter (maybe)
• notebooks
• pens
• swiss army knife
• flashlight
• double sheet + pillow case
• extra stuff sacks
• playing cards
• a book
• sunglasses
• binoculars
• ziploc bags of different sizes

#56 - summer trip

in the ideal situation i would have an endless source of money with which to travel the world. unfortunately i don't so it's not my ideal situation but i do have an opportunity for a great trip this summer. my friend and former college roommate, amanda, is getting married this august in costa rica. her fiancee is a costa rican so naturally they are having it there. it was going to be a nice 3 month trip for me to explore central america but unfortunately i had to go and ruin my trip by failing my class. so instead of having from august till whenever to complete my trip, i will probably only have a month, depending on when my summer class is. i have to take a 1 credit class called nursing transition NUR 151. since my teachers/advisors are inept and generally wrong i have no idea about when and how i will take this class. it will start june 23 and get out either july 25, august 15 or august 29. then fall term starts on september 22. if it is july 25 i can do a 6 week thing. august 15 and i can do a 4 week thing but if it's august 29th i won't much time, barely enough for a 2 week trip. i have been saving money for awhile now for it so it would be a bummer if i could not make it work out. i have also been doing research, reading online and in travel books...only making me want to go more!

if i have a 6 week trip i could make it work. here are the 7 countries i am interested in visiting and planned on spending time in on my 3 month trip. instead i'm either going to cut out time in each country or skip countries altogether, thinking the latter probably.

• costa rica
• nicaragua
• el salvador
• belize
• honduras
• guatemala
• mexico

obviously i am going to be there because of my friend. since she won't be living in c.r. i am not sure how long she will be there before/after her wedding so if i cannot make the wedding in late august that would be a shame. then would i not even go? that is the question. spend my money to visit another area perhaps. i think my 6 week plan (school ending july 25) would include, in order of interest but not necessarily chronological/geographical order:

1. costa rica - 8-9 days
2. guatemala - 7 days
3. yucatan peninsula, mexico - 5 days(ish)
4. el salvador - 4 days
5. belize - 4 days

then if the trip were to shorten to say 4 weeks or less with amanda being in c.r., my list might be more like:

1. costa rica
2. spanish school and homestay somewhere to learn spanish

so these are two different possibilities that i've been thinking about, both not what i planned initially but change and flexibility are the names of the game. if she will not be in c.r. at that time though, i might do a trip to guatemala or mexico instead, the two i have a little more interest in and that aren't terribly expensive. i have something to look forward to, i'm just not sure what.

#41 - new years trip!

i've been looking online for stuff to do on my family trip this coming month - to the south! i'm going to be leaving hawaii for portland on the 29th and arrive late at night, then catch a flight at 6am the 30th to meet up with my parents in Denver and take a plane to memphis. from there we're driving down to new orleans for the game.

new orleans - there is so much i want to do in NO but we won't have very much time. we'll get there late on the 30th and leave early on the 2nd. so that's only 2 full days, one of which we'll be watching a football game. i really wanted to go on the haunted history tour at night but we might have to go during the day. i want to see all the cemetaries and voodoo stuff. of course seeing the french quarter, bourbon street, jackson square, st charles avenue and magazine street. it all sounds fun and hopefully we'll be able to fit it in.


we're planning on new years eve on bourbon street and maybe jackson square! i've heard it's one of the best places to be when the ball drops, hopefully i won't be too claustrophobic with all those people. january 1 is the sugar bowl, the whole reason we are going. but it is at night so we have the whole day to do stuff (nurse the hangover). eat beignets and drink cafe au laits. why not?!



nashville - just found out we won't be able to go see a show at the grand ole opry. =( so sad!! they only have shows on tuesday, friday and saturday and we'll most likely be there on a wednesday or thursday. BOO!! we were going to drive to nashville just for that. hopefully we still go there cause i want to go to the country music hall of fame! also the RCA studio b, where elvis, dolly parton, waylon jennings and roy orbison recorded.

memphis - the most important thing here would be graceland, home of elvis. my mom loves elvis and i think he's pretty cool too. he's the only musician in 4 hall of fames - country, rock&roll, gospel, and rockabilly. i think we're gonna spend a lot of time there so she can get her elvis fix. i have a feeling we'll be playing a lot of elvis on the drive there.



we'll be driving over 1000 miles on this trip so it should be interesting. luckily it will be 5 of us, me, parents, uncle, and dad's friend. so it won't be just me and the 'rents. regardless, it's a lot of time spend in a small area without escape. hello ipod.