Wanderlust

IVE MOVED!

2010-05-01T12:45:00.002-04:00

Sorry Blogger fanatics I've moved to Wordpress. It just is better. So my blog is now at

http://maiflower.wordpress.com/

Please still read!

exceptional reading!

2010-03-13T15:57:00.009-05:00

Sometimes when I am bored I like to flip through my school books. Normally they appear as a general English school book should..but then by off chance I find an extraordinary excerpt..particularly regarding the culture area and well...take a look for yourself.

What's Up ESO 1: Chapter 6 EXPLORERS

Peanut Butter and Jelly!
American soldiers invented this sandwich in World War II. It's a popular teatime snack for children in the U.S.A. (because we have tea-time in america...)

Ingredients (as if the name doesn't already give it away!...drumroll please)
- 2 slices of white bread (even though the picture displays wheat bread...god can't they get anything right?)
- 2 spoonfuls of stawberry jam or jelly
- 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter

and what..no directions! so i just have bread, pp&j and jelly in two spoons...awesome. totally inedible.

WHAT'S UP ESO 2 Chapter 7: Say Please!

When in Britain
Every Culture has different "rules" of behaviour. Here are some tips to help you if you go to Brtain.

1. When you meet someone for the first time, you should shake hands and say How do you do? If you know the person well, you can kiss them on the cheek, but only once not twice. Boys and men don't usually kiss or hug each other.

2. You musn't stand too close to people when you're chatting. If you do, people will move away from you. But don't worry, it's not because you smell!

3. You shouldn't make a lot of noise with your friends in public. People will stare angrily at you. And children musn't scream and run around, especially not in restaurants.

4. The British hide their emotions, so don't cry or laugh loudly in public. If you win the lottery, you would say Oh, that's great! And if your girlfriend or boyfriend leaves you, say Never Mind there are lots more fish in the sea and then go home and cry.

5. The three most important expressions in English are please, thank you and sorry. To be polite you have to use them all the time. And if you don't agree with someone, you musn't say I don't agree - say Yes, that's very interesting.

If you follow these simple rules, you won't have any problems in Britain.

Alright alright...fairly accurate. And while I am American and am not British I think its fair to say ..that not showing emotions in public but rather going home and CRYING...is a little harsh. WAAHHHH

WHAT'S UP ESO 2 Chapter 9 Get it right! (ohhhhhh the irony)

Which is the biggest city on the west coast of the USA? Washington or New York?

seriously....

i just hope this was a typo.

Now time to go watch LOST or something awesome like that :)

March 1st < March 2nd

2010-03-02T09:18:00.035-05:00

Ok I firmly now believe the Mayans were right. 2012 baby. Now we have earthquakes, tsunamis, killer hurricanes, deadly blizzards, and everything in between..all in one year. And you know what..while the climate is having its own mental breakdown...I think this whole Armageddon type prophecy might also be linked to my life long journey of awkward/random situations

Were do I begin..well well well. OK so I always seem to find myself in the strangest situations..situations in which people say "Only you Mai. Only that would happen to you." And while those moments make life interesting sometimes I think..... " what on earth did I do in my past life to deserve this kind of karma."

But nevertheless I love these situations. It is what I love to write about.

So once again I am going to take you through two typical days in the life of Mai.

(now imagine type-writer sounds synonymous with apocalyptic type movies)

For some reason I have some days where "When it rains it pours." And man did it pour on March 1st.

Mai's list of unfortunate events, March 1st 2010.
- The compositions I need to correct are missing.. all 30 of them.
- I can't find my teacher's phone number or email to tell him they are missing.
- My Yoigo phone decides to stop working.
- Due to some bad circumstances my friends and I are neither going to Valencia or Monfrague... two trips turned into zero.
- I check my bank account to 1) see if la junta has paid us so I can pay rent in 3 days and 2) to see if I have enough money to fly to Valencia. Not only have I not been paid...but I only have 50 euros and 200 euro rent to pay in 3 days.
- Nicole and I try to book a cheaper trip to Sevilla... but wait the bus website will not work...nor the hostel website.
- My phone continues to not work
- ....and finally I burn my hand on the oven. WOOT

In the end, things cleared up....but now I have a blister on my finger. In the words of Snookie from Jersey Shore "wahhhh".

And then comes March 2nd....
My favorite type of day. My day of absolute randomness and awkardness...come to mama.

Mai's list of random things March 2nd 2010 begins...(drumroll)... NOW

May 2nd. Malpartida de Cáceres. 8:30 am.
8:30 - 12:30 Classes are normal. Students are actually participating today. We all sing "we will rock you" and " we are the champions" by Queen in relation to the Olympics....I mean who doesn't love Queen?! and who doesn't love waving the "air lighter"... the better cousin to the "air guitar".

12:31 Recreo (break or recess). I start to chat with my teachers like normal.

Oti my main teacher in Arroyo tells me: "Mai you dress European..is it because your from Boston? I hear Boston is the most European city of the United States."
Me: "I don't know. Maybe."

Oti: "Can I come to your wedding?"
and signal random alert. beep beep beep

Me: (surprised) "Of Course..but it won't be for a long time. I need to have a boyfriend before a husband"

Oti: "I find you a husband. I want an excuse to go to the United States. So you must get married soon."

Me: "haha...(awkward shrug)"

13:00 After some market shopping, gossiping, and joking around we head back to school. After recreo on Tuesdays I normally have a free period. I enter the teacher's room and I resume my normal position that I like to take on Tuesdays.

I wedge my bum into a comfy chair with the warm brasero and a newspaper. I am all comfortable until.....yup the creepy old teacher who always tries to talk to me comes walking over. man. here he comes again.

Creepy old man teacher: "mai. are you bored?"

Me: "no. im just tired"

Creepy old man then tries to tell me a joke using English phonetics..which would have been funny if I had known that the joke was supposed to sound like English. I didn't really get it but apparently the word for jaguar in Spanish sounds like "how are you" and that zorri (another word for Zorro) sounds like "sorry"..I don't know anyway this is the same teacher that gives me too much information and he tells me that "zorra" the word for a female fox is another word for "puta" or bitch.

I don't even know...

THEN another teacher across the sala de profesores shouts "MAI. como se dice 'PUTA' en Inglés" ....

and before I know it... I am yelling "bitch".."bitch" across the teachers loung..in an elementary school. wow.

Trying to make this seem relevant I then explain that you should be careful with the word beach (la playa) and bitch (puta) because they sound similar.

Creepy old man teacher than says: "Quieres estar morena necessitas tomar el sol de la playa"

me: " what?????"

Creepy old man teacher: "Es una broma. el sol de la playa. el sol...como el hijo."

me: " i don't understand."

creepy old man teacher: " a son of a bitch"

me: "seriously ...I understand the words but I have no idea what you are talking about"

Creepy old man: " el sol en la playa es' the sun of the beach' which sounds like 'the son of a bitch' si quieres estar morena necessitas tomar el sol de la playa..if you want to be tan you have to take in the sun of the beach (or the son of the bitch).

me: ohhhhhhh...wow

...that was a horrible joke.
but I secretly thought it was kind of awesome. I have a soft spot for lame jokes.

March 1st < March 2nd.

A day in the life

2010-01-21T12:15:00.012-05:00

It all began yesterday.

While I normally post about my random scenarios I am going to post about my wonderful teacher Oti's unfortunate mishap. Yesterday, I received a text "please come at 8:40 tomorrow instead?" 8:40? I always come at 8:40 ....weird.

Anyway I arrive at Oti's apartment at exactly 8:40. Same as always. And same as always she was running late. We leave the house and Oti says

"My normal car is broken...we have to take an older car. Ill explain on the way to school. It's slower so that is why we have to leave early."

I think to myself oh is she embarrassed? Is this a 1980 station wagon and she wants to leave early to avoid stares? I mean the woman drives a brand new BMW..she has two.

We get to the car. Its a 1974 Volkswagon bug. YUP. The herbie car. As shown below.

NICEEEEEEEE

I am grinning ear to ear. This is going to be AWESOME. We get into the car. The seats have springs in them and the back seat has no seat belt. ha. ha. ha.

We start driving and we go up the ramp to leave the garage and the car stalls...

stalls and then starts rolling BACKWARDS and she shouts "Venga mi caballero!" "Come on my knight!"

She has to put on the emergency break and after THREE times (after rolling 3/4ths down) she is able to get up the ramp....phew

Remember the minor seatbelt detail?? yeah.

Then the stalling continues.

Once in an intersection...once going up another hill....and another in the rotary.

All optimal places to be stuck.

Now the daughter is laughing hysterically..and I'm bouncing around the backseat because 1) there are springs in the seat and 2)I have no seat belt.

Eventually we get to the daughters school and I move up to the front seat. Now for why the normal BMW is not working and why we are in the 1974 Herbie car.

Oti begins to tell me..

"So you know in the Parte Antigua..those pillars that block cars from entering. Those pillars can go down if you have a key and you can drive over them....WELL I was following a van in and I thought it was the time when you could enter the Parte Antigua so I just drove after him. Well he had a key and made the pillars go up to block other cars. Well the pillars ended up rising underneath the car..crushing everything and lifting the back end of my car into the air."

I am trying so hard not to laugh.

She continues...

" So I had to call the mechanic to take it to the shop and my husbands in Madrid so I was all upset. And then the mechanic starts to list of all the things that are wrong with the car and I start to cry. Anyway so now we are taking this car. Sometimes I think it will fly away like in the movie Herbie"

I think.. at least shes in good spirits now. But what a ridiculous story.

And then it continues...

Later in the day we get coffee and come back to find the students surrounding her car.

We think they are just interested because its an antique until we hear a student shout "paloma" which means pigeon. I think..what????

We get closer and there is a PIGEON stuck in the exhaust. Oh.my.god.
You could see the little feathers sticking out.

I start laughing again....poor pigeon, poor Oti. She bends down to try to pull the bird out but all she gets are feathers.

Now I have to leave the scene because I was laughing uncontrollably. Oti later has to get the janitor to pull out the bird which later left a pile of feathers and grease. So sad.

Fortunately Oti is a good sport and I got a few giggles for the day. And hopefully I will get more rides in the beetle! As long as we don't stall in anymore intersections....or ramps

VIVA ESPANA VIVA MALPALPA Y ARROYO..VIVA MIS PROFESORES

2009-12-19T02:14:00.008-05:00

SO before I depart I feel it is only necessary that I updated you on the total epicness and chaos that was my Christmas Dinner in Spain.

holy.shit.

I have two schools as I have said before. One in Malpartida and one in Arroyo. As traditional Spaniards these people love their alcohol and they love to party. Both schools had dinners but I decided to go to the Malpartida dinner because 1) they were paying for my dinner and 2) they asked me first. Soooo Malpartida it was.

My main teacher in Malpartida is named Oti ...(oh only if I had fotos!!!! por favor ..madre mia) Oti is this crazy awesome woman who is well always late. She is always late when were going to school, to the dinner, to everything (I've learned the majority of swear/slang words and terms for "idiot" from this woman). Well anyway she comes running to the car that picks everyone up and she has....

She had her blinking christmas tree earrings. That played music. YES

Anyway thats not the real crazy part. First we start off at 9 getting a few beers. Two beers. Check.

We then head to the restaurant. Fancy. High class. Excellent. Im excited. A 50 euro meal for me! For Free! Bring it.

First off we are served red wine..which to my unknown knowledge was being constantly replenished by the wait staff. Every time I thought I was finishing my glass and turned away...it was refilled. And after a while you forget... so 4-5 glasses?? (maybe more?). check.

We start eating. I get the fish as the main plate but that's just the main plate. I get seafood soup, some weird toasta thing that was delicious ( it had mango and i dare say...liver, but I just wont think about that), fancy mushrooms in soy sauce (not a favorite), cod (the main dish), then dessert which was fruit and a toffee drink..of course with some champagne. so champagne. check.

Ok sorry sorry. Was distracted by the food. Now one to the funny stuff. The conversations.

Now if you have never studied a language abroad, I am going to tell you now, its way easier to speak in another language when you are ..well after a few drinks. But here are three of the conversations of what I think I understood.

"MAI! You must find a boyfriend. That is the best way for you to learn Spanish! TONIGHT We find you a boyfriend. OK? OK! MAI! We must dance after dinner! DANCE! Did you know "dancing" is a medicine for small children in Spanish?" - Patricia
- Yup she did make that transition. Boyfriend and Medicine.

"MAI! I have a joke for you. 6 men were in a military plane ready to jump out. The commander ordered them to jump out of the plane and deploy their parachutes. They all jumped out...but one with hesitation. The commander yells at the soldier and the soldier jumps out. The commander closes the door and goes back to the cockpit. All of a sudden he hears a knock on the door. Confused he goes to the door (they are still in the sky). He opens the door and sees the hesitated soldier flapping his arms asking "whats the name of the indian! whats the name of the indian!" and the commander goes ....."GIRONAMO!" - Oti
- It took me a second. Spanish humor is a little different :). I told my banana joke. Did not go so well. Anyway moving on!

"MAI! Are all people in America mixed? Is it difficult..you know with the customs? I just can't imagine. Only Chinese people here mix with the Chinese people in Spain. You are an impossible possiblity!" - Montse
- Im going to let that one slide hahahah

Ok 6 glasses of wine later....

Present time! We did a gift exchange called the "amigo invisable" or aka yankee swap. I bought wine and truffles thinking that was neutral and mature. My mistake. I was supposed to find the most random gift I could possibly imagine!

First gift: Some mugs..but o wait they are cheap and written in poor english. Is that a coconut candle?

Second gift: a hippie necklace. which was given to Alfonso the 68 year old man who earlier in the week explained the difference between saying you are good and if you are "fine" aka hot and the difference between saying you are warm and saying you are horny. so awkward. anyway Alfonso got the hippie necklace

Third gift: a shoe shine box???? I dont know but everyone got free shoe shining for the rest of the night!

Fourth gift: a reading stand. yeah.

Fifth gift: my gift. which was on purpose. they made me read the letter out loud to practice. but anyway the gift was a fairy paperweight. it was a fairy sitting on a paperweight holding another paperweight. with all sorts of glitter. So there are about 60 photos of me sitting like the fairy holding the paper weight with the fairy holding the paperweight..all in a santa hat. imitation photos...check

sixth gift: a gael garcia marquez book titled Memoria de mis putas tristes. This caused the entire 30 person table to go in uproar and chant "PUTAS" which means "whore" in a high upper end restaurant. epicness check.

and the gifts continued. the waitress brings "chupitos" which are shots. chupitos check. and the camera then became popular. i now have 100 or so other photos of me and the english department battling the french department for the camera and the santa hat. guess who won?

anyway so now i have atleast 4 different types of alcohol in my system. plus random food. and i am going to admit now..i ended up puking in the bathroom. yes i did. i do not have the tolerance or stamina like these people!! i'm half asian i dont process alcohol. please stop laughing at me.

as i leave the bathroom upset i threw up my 50 euro meal i return to the total drunken shit show that are my teachers. I then find my teacher Mamen kissing..everyone. Love her! <3

time to leave.

now on the way to the car they have me singing the english part of feliz navidad while they sing the spanish (so i had a solo) all the way down the street. at the top of our lungs. check.

time to go to the pubs. more drinking. oh.my.god.

first off the woman who was driving. should not have been driving. worst drive ever. and my teacher oti was laughing hysterically about it the entire time. yesssss.

anyway we get to the first bar. and its all old Spanish music about bulls and there were a hundred "oles" in there. Then Oti randomly tells me " all the high school men are happy" and she tells me to "look". I have no idea what this means. I can assume but Id rather not. Moving on.

we go to the next bar. time for dancing (not the medicine..the english one)! this bar brings back the 90's flash back and we rock out to "i saw the sign" YES. Patricia tries to teach me flamenco. fail. Montse tries to push me on spanish men. They want to find my "novio" but later Patricia decided " your boyfriend is not here...look around. no. they are not good enough". Thanks Patricia. Also my coat almost ignited on fire. drunk teachers smoking near a wool coat. Fail.

We continue to dance and then! I get a phone call. Its Pepa from Arroyo!!!! Being the total manipulator that I can be sometimes I convinced her to come to the bar I am at with (which I did not know would happen) the entire staff of Arroyo.

So now the entire bar is dominated with my two schools!!!! Arroyo and Malpartida! YESSSSSSSS! Party! Party! Party! We dance, I accidentally almost kiss people on the mouth(remember I am still getting used to the kiss kiss), We battle over who is better Michael or Madonna. Epicness. The night ends well. I probably spoke my best spanish over a good quantity of alcohol and I got to see all my teachers before Christmas. check.

This is a photo from the ham dinner in Arroyo but..I think it sums up everything nicely "VIVA LA REPUBLICA! VIVA ESPANA!"...and yup he is standing on a stool.

how do i take down that blinking awkward sign over my head

2009-11-07T03:22:00.016-05:00

So while I have been ragging on my fellow Spaniards on their quirky style, I think its time I start noting my inability to blend effortlessly into the Spanish culture. In short, I always end up acting like a total American Spaz. And its only me. All the other Americans...you guys are fine. I think I just have issues in this department.

First off.. I basically came here not speaking a lick of Spanish. Yup I took it in college...two years ago and I dont remember a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. Hence my reason for coming to Spain. Have to learn somehow.

Anyway I have been sort of improving...I have more vocabulary now. I have mastered the present tense (I think)..and well...ok the present tense only. The past tense is in the working process. Lets not even talk about subjunctive.

While most Spaniards try to speak slowly to help me learn. Others...I think enjoy me relishing in discomfort.

For example or por ejemplo. This 16 year old heiress who I tutor loves to constantly remind me that I "speak Spanish with a English accent".
Well..I am from America. I do speak ENGLISH. And you know what! Its "an English accent". Grammar lesson for today. If the word begins in a vowel..you use "an"! She also charmingly told her father, who I just introduced myself to, that I could speak english but not Spanish and that I couldn't explain English grammar to her in Spanish.
(burries face into hands)

I also cannot do the effing lisp. And of course every student I call on...has the lisp in their name.

"what is your name?"
"celia" (pronounced "thelia")
"thelia?"
"no (stronger th)THelia."
"Theliaa?"
"NO THHHelia"

Ok nevermind! Next student.

"What is your name?"
"Alejandro"
"Alehandro?"
"NO. Aleha(with a hack)ndro."

(in my mind.. FUCKING A)

"Whose name is Carmen?... You Carmen..I mean Carrrmen. Answer the question."

Finally. Phew (wipes brow).

And then there is the the Double Kiss or what I affectionately call the Kiss + Kiss

In Spain, they do the double kiss (like France). No biggie right.
Well not for this mentally challenged American right here (points to self)!

First night:
My teacher greets me. Im jetlagged, Im sleep deprived, I just went through consulate Armageddon to get here and she whips out the Kiss + Kiss out of the blue. I thought this was only in France. My bad. Left right or right left.... FUCK

First week:
I keep forgetting the effing Kiss + Kiss. I can't remember. I just cant. I end up doing the Kiss + Kiss while holding my hand out for a handshake. AWKWARD

Second week:
Im confused. Do you just make a kissing sound or do you actually kiss. Wait. Why are you shaking my hand now, because you know Im american? Im so effing confused!

1 month:
At the Irish festival, I run into the attractive young math teacher, who of course has the beautiful nice girlfriend who you can't hate.

But all is fine. We chit-chat. I practice Spanish. All is at ease....

Then the dad shakes my hand (yup I then met the whole fam..brother included) Are they going to do American customs now? Im confused.

Lets continue.

Chit-chat some more. I accidentally spill beer (sigh..what is wrong with me)And then the dreaded....goodbye. Dad shakes hand. Brother waves. Girlfriend kiss + kisses. WTF do I do.

The math teacher goes last..he goes in for the kiss + kiss.

and then.

WHA BAM!

Oh.my.god. I had actual pain in my cheek bone. My instinct is to place my hand on his face like a mother places her hand on her child ( a mommy gesture), and the awkwardness continues, he accidentally leans his face into my hand and now its SUPER awkward.

As the rest of the family continues to look on.

Mortified I apologize profusely as he leaves and then I run and cowl in the corner. I continue to obsess over my humiliation on the way home, in the apartment and now on this blog! Its going to take me weeks...

And sadly this was not the first time it has happened. Yes I have accidentally headbanged other Spaniards. Nice to meet you :)

And i know all you Caceres lectores are ready to whip out the "thats what she said!" after that second to last sentence but let me end in peace! shesh.

OH BROTHER!

2009-10-25T12:26:00.018-04:00

before i post..i have an unhealthy obsession with this car commercial!

wipe your tears now...(sniffle)

As you know I have been teaching English...I don't know if you would really call it teaching though... its more like we go to class for 12 hours with no tests or class on Friday. And we get paid.

sighh....our days are so taxing.

But my students are pretty funny. Lets see here..Lets see. Well the first week they had to ask me questions about myself.

Some spit-fire questions from my students in Arroyo de la Luz

" Do you like Spain?"..obviously
" Do you like Spanish food?" ...I've been here three weeks and have only eaten ham..so uh I like the cheese.
" Do you like Spanish?" ..no I hate Spanish thats why I came to a Spanish speaking country.
" Where do you live in Spain?" Caceres.
" Are your parents living in Spain?" WHAT? No..again I am from.. you know what nevermind.

After the enormous wave of "Do you like Spain(ish)..etc." they get just downright comfortable.

" Do you like party?" ...um yes.
" What are parties like in America?"...ummmmm we go to bed earlier than you.
" Do you like beer?" yes.

" Do you like spliff?" ....okayyyyyy

continuing...

" Do you have boyfriend?"...no
" Are you married?" ...no!
" Do you have baby?" WTF.

and continuing...

" Do you like Spanish men?" (eyeroll) yes.
" Do you prefer Spanish men over American men?" are you seriously asking me this? how old are you again??? 11?

Oh the constant entertainment. My roommate Courtney had some dousy's as well. Courtney has been doing the program for three years and as a seasoned veteran shes heard it all.

Courtney's story:

Courtney: So class what did you do this summer?
Student: This summer I went to Miami and saw the bitches fighting on the street.
Courtney: Did you mean beaches. You went to the beach.
Student: No I at breakfast I saw the bitches fighting on the street. Bitches ..PUTA... bitches!

Teacher: Bitches is not a nice word. A better word is prostitute or whore...(teacher then writes WHORE on the blackboard).

Then another student apparently asked (because Courtney is from Florida):
"I heard on the Simpson's that Florida is the penis of the United States" -NICE!

After I finished peeing my pants after this story I decided to grade some papers from my Bachellerato class. My Bachellerato class consists of students practicing for a test (equivalent to the SAT) and they MUST pass English...

well we've got some work to do..

Essay question: Do you think noise is necessary for enjoyment?
(yup I had crickets cheerping in my ears too when I thought about it)

BUT heres what they said..of course I took notes.

"However, there are places where teenagers makes "botellon" some party in those places there is a lot of noise because some people think that loud music is better."

This kid used the word Botellon..which is Spanish and it is an outdoor party. Good Job. Totally appropriate for an exam.

This girl wants to say that noise is necessary for enjoyment because it can help her find clubs and parties

“ On the other hand, noise is able to be good. For example, noise is able to do you find a party or a clubnight or to even find somebody.

This girl was trying to say to be loud was fashionable..as if all the cool kids are loud.

“ we can say (that) the noise is related to the fashion because everybody want to go to noisy places to enjoy. “

And then theres this girl:

"I think that noise is not totally necessary for enjoyment because there are other forms for enjoyment as for example if you talk calmly with a friend, or if you are with your boyfriend or girlfriend it is not necessary it does noise for enjoyment because all is told by only a glance often, reading is very enjoyable too and it is not noise either." (ONE SENTENCE!)

Too many romance novels my dear..

Then we have this dosy:

"I think that yes, because when go to the party noise or music enter into the body and help have fun. But also molest, because there is much noise, it can molest neighbors. If the noise or music molest, you have a big problem because the police can denounce , or call attention, but this not need be so."

Apparently this kid thinks sound can molest

and i have no words for this one below:

"I think that people aren’t noise for enjoyment. In the first place, noise don’t like to nobody. It is some pesky for ours hear. We can have headache and we can finish all crazy. In the discoteques is normal hat the music sing loud. When you go to the disoctques you know that the music pesky but you go here because you want it. When you have a small brother for the night you don’t sleep because he cry and he make noise."

I mean I guess he tried using personification....
And now this one:

"In my opinion make noise isn’t necessary for enjoyment. Why moreover at night the people must dream and loud music for a long time is estthesing. Moreover te motocycles very noisy."

This kid finalized his essay about motorcycles. Even though he wrote entirely on parties. Motorcycles. Yeah! It all makes sense now. Thank you.

This girl below liked to replace her M's with W's...what a strange wistake..i mean mistake!:

"When a group of people weet with other people and they speak, they wake a lot of noise. They weet for enjoywent, then the noise is necessary."

And this kid below just wrapped it up in one clear concise sentence. The winning conclusion is...

"In conclusion everybody is very bad listen loud music"

In conclusion, I read 50 essays a total of 12 hours of reading bad English. Needless to say I decimated their essays in red ink. I used about one full red pen's worth of corrections.

In their defense the excerpt they had to read was downright aweful and confusing...part of it was talking about crops and how they smell. How that related to noise..I do not know. And to the motorcycle boy's defense. It did randomly mention motorcycles for one brief sentence. I don't know.

Anyway now I feel as if I can work for the CIA or FBI in their decoding department. Experience...12 hours of translating poorly written english essays about whether NOISE IS NECESSARY FOR ENJOYMENT.

This week is Halloween. I having them bob for apples, trick or treat, AND monster mash. Whose the most awesome teacher ever. (pointing finger at self in a proud confident manner..hells yeah)

Next post..I dont know. I'll surprise you guys.

Welcome to my city!

2009-10-17T23:09:00.015-04:00

watch me butcher spanish, be startled by my friend Will, and say bell tower 800 times all while giving you a grand tour of Caceres!

Hello Everyone!

Long time no read. I apologize for that heinous posting below. Boring content and bad writing. But thats what happens when you have zero internet and are trying to write a post in the library.

But now I finally have internet and can write long posts about overly generalized opinions about Spain.

Yesterday the telifonica man came out of the blue to install our internet at 10:00 on a Saturday morning which is unheard of in Spanish time.

Lets first generalize about time. Spanish time is always double of the actual time.
For Example:

" We will be leaving in a half an hour to an hour."
(Two and half hours later.... )

The time here in Spain is just overall ... insane. Shall I bullet????
Yes I think I shall.

~ The Sun does not rise...repeat does not rise.. until 8:30 a.m. ~

Can I explain the confusion this can generate for an intense morning person. Our whole beings involve us morning folk waking up to and by the sun. No sunrise no morning person.I go to school in the morning in the dark. I am walking through the halls in the DARK. Just LOCO!

~ People go out at 1 a.m. and don't go home until 8 a.m. ~

Nope I did not get a.m. and p.m. confused nor are there typos. You read that correctly! The reason people here siesta from 2-5 p.m. and eat dinner at 10 p.m. is..drumroll... so they can go out until Spanish time sunrise.

This is absolutely the most intense lifestyle EVER. Some clubs don't even open until 6 a.m.

If you tell a Spainard you want to go to bed at 3 a.m. or 4 p.m. they just yell at you and tell you you are " Parrty Pooperr!" and that " It's early! It's early!". The only defense is to say" I'm American."

My students often ask me " What are American parties like?". One awkward question..but I say and only say " We go to bed earlier than people in Spain. We go home after parties around 3 a.m. maybe 4 a.m." and that just erupts loud baffled whispering for a solid 10 minutes.
I dont even have words for this..ok maybe one. INSANE

~ Nothing is open. EVER. Or during hours when most convenient. ~

Siesta is a serious serious matter in Spain. While things don't open until 10 a.m. (AT THE EARLIEST), everything, literally everything, closes at 2 - 5 p.m. for siesta. NO ONE works 2-5. No ONE. Top marks on the life style list.

I know what your thinking... "Oh the important things must be open during siesta." WRONG (eeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh slamming the wrong buzzer over and over and over and over). The government bodies and important places such as the bank..they close at 2 p.m.!!! They dont even open after 5. Yup. I mean it makes getting your residency card and setting up your bank account to get paid virtually impossible...but its also kind of awesome. How this country functions..my bet Madrid and only Madrid..maybe Barcelona.

While I am struggling to adjust to this time schedule the Chino store has helped me through, the chino store, the most reliable genre of stores I will ever come across in my existence. My whole being survives on the graciousness and the accessibility of the Chino store. The Chino store is ..well.. that random shop run by Chinese. And these stores are LITERALLY called Chino stores. For example Chino Bazaar, Bazaar de Chino..etc. etc. They take pride in the ability to keep foreigners like us living cheaply and as if we were in a normal country. Im proud of you Chino stores and I am proud to say half of me belongs to your race. Live long and prosper!

~Now lets move on to food~

The five basic staples of the Spanish diet: ham, cheese, bread, ham, and ham.
Everything is ham, every style of ham you could think of, they even have ham flavored chips that they eat with their ham sandwich. Everyday all the students (every single one) eats the same ham sandwich, a baguette with cheese and ham, EVERY student EVERY day. I will take a picture one day and prove this to you.

The Spainards do eat other things...sometimes. Sometimes they eat tostadas..well which usually is a piece of bagette bread and ham, or tapas which is also bread cheese and ham..o wait same ingredients ..ok ok . Sometimes they eat payeya (can't spell) which is rice and shellfish. Or sometimes they eat eggs with potatoes called Tortilla de patatas. Or sometimes (scratching head - thinking intensely) sometimes they will eat some peppers or lentils maybe.

OH shoot and Papas Fritas and mayonaise. They love their papas fritas and mayonaise.

~Style.~

Lets go onto style. (Spain is a haven for cheap shoe shoppers everywhere!!! Yup that is the first thing I noticed and I am super excited to by cheap black flats on a monthly basis if I wanted too.)

The Spanish style is relatively distinct. You need skinny jeans, leggings, and a botched haircut. The clothes are modern and interesting, you can wear almost anything you want. Some people even go all out and wear the same color all the way through.. yup some people just wear entirely one color..or others combine different articles of clothing in ways I cant explain but are cool.

But the hair. The hair is oh so ridiculously awesome. The hair..ok I will list again.
1. Mullet
2. Drullet (mullet with dreads in the back)
3. Rat tail
4. Side rat tail
5. Side dread rat tail
6. Randomly shaved head
7. Randomly shaved heads with random dreads
8. Fohawks
9. 90's front spike (YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT)
10. Side-bangs

So many options so little time to regrow your hair! Im going to have to rock one of this at some point...Im thinking the side dread rat tail but I also am loving the drullet.

~OH and the language.~

Now my Spanish was bad when I got here. It still is bad. I knew this was going to happen ..but I had no idea that I would have absolutely no idea what anyone says. At school Boston University we learned MEXICAN SPANISH. You think not..but we did. Ok remember that minor detail that every spainish teacher voluntarily left out..oh yeah thats the VOSOTROS form...yeah. They use the vosotros here. They also lysp there "c"s and in Extremadura my region they mesh everything together and omitt the "s" (similar to how Boston omitt's the "r"). My best strategy for speaking in Spain is the slur all my words together..much more effective than pronounciating.

Overall ESPANA. Te Quiero. Love Spain. I love my students, I love my city Caceres, and I love the people I know here.

Caceres is an old moorish city covered in stork nests with no storks because they have gone south for the winter, intense conquistadoresque buildings, a plaza mayor, and a normal part with clubs, shops, and restaurants. Caceres is small (80,000 about the size of Quincy) but it is big enough to have a social life and since it is in the remote countryside, living is cheap and affordable. A+ in my book.

Caceres is also a catholic town, many catholic churches and it has its own Virgen de la Montana (the virgen my street is named after). The virgen of Caceres that they haul down from their mountain(hill) in an absurdly ornate parade. They also have crazy religious processions with pointy hats and huge heavy platforms where they carry statues of the saints. There is even a nunnery where the nuns never see any outside person. You can buy pastries from the nuns through a rotating door. Very cool.

And though Caceres is a "catholic" city..it knows how to party party party. In attempts to become the cultural capital of Europe, Caceres has been putting on crazy cool events. Last weekend, my birthday weekend, was the visual arts festival where they had a light show on all the major cathedrals and buildings. The light shows were tailored to the building so it seemed as if the buildings were emitting these crazy psychedelic light patterns. They also had amazing d.j.'s rocking out while the light show was being displayed on these antique cathedrals.
Two words "Catholicism Rocks"

Also I love my pueblos. I work in two towns Malpartida de Caceres and Arroyo de la Luz. My teacher who picked me up from the bus station is the main English teacher in Malpartida. She virtually did everything for me besides hand feeding me. I was lucky since some auxiliares teachers didnt even contact them let alone help them.

Malpartida is a small suburb of Caceres. My school is teeny tiny but the students are fun. Most common questions " What is your favorite Spanish food?", "Who is your favorite Spanish Actor?", "Do you like Spain?", "Do you like Spanish?", "Do you have Spanish friends?", "Do you like Spanish men?"...absolutely ridiculous. After you get through those wave of questions its relatively smooth sailing. These kids have never heard anything about America, only the U.K. so there is a vast vessel of information to give them.

Arroyo is the other town 45 minutes away. The students are super eager to learn, ask less questions about my opinion of Spanish things, and are from a town known as the "pueblo de los caballos" ..TOWN OF HORSES. EPIC win. The teachers are super friendly and the students have actually made me consider becoming a teacher. Teaching made fun.

My life is pretty simple and I am enjoying it as much as I can. Hopefully I can improve my Spanish so I can stop being mute at parties and bars. In time..in time. Im building up that vocabulary.

Next post is going to be about my schools again..I have left out so many details but a blog post can only be so long. AND I will get to China..I will.

Besos!

Journey to CACERES!!!

2009-10-07T13:11:00.012-04:00

HELLO EVERYONE

I am going to put China on hold and write about my journey to Spain. I haven't had internet in weeks so I that is the reason for my lack of blogposting.

Last week I arrived in Caceres the city of storks. The trip here was (to say the least) "interesting". I had just arrived back from China on September 27th and had just gotten over some sort of "flu" (that will go into the China post...ohhh the details" and was ubber jet-lagged.

First task...get the visa. YUP. I had one day in the states to get my Spanish visa. Since the Junta (the education department) did not send my letter which was necessary for my visa on time, the Spanish Consulate in Boston had to process my visa while I was in China. I arrived the 27th and then had to go in Monday morning on the 28th to get my visa in order to leave THAT NIGHT at 9:30.

Two hours after sitting in the consulate I grabbed that visa and booked it, and i mean BOOKED it out of that consulate.

And back to the airport.

I get on my seat and take a deep sigh of relief, I hope we start moving. I fortunately sat next to some nice german students who were the first and probably only german vegetarians i will ever meet We talked about american parties, how americans go to bed to late and drink terrible beer. It was quite entertaining. We finally lifted off and Only bother was the person in front of me whose seat was basically touching my forehead. but whatever. Im going to Spain!

I land in Madrid and go through the easy customs I have ever experienced. Literally a customs lady stands outside of the terminal, glances at you visa and that is it. THATS IT. I was convinced I had to do something else, some other line, but then I there was baggage claim. GREAT! I made it.

I get to the bus station buy a ticket to Cacers and realize I have two hours to wait. So I decided to call my teacher.

Easy enough right??? Oh if only someone was video tapping me trying to drag my two monster sized luggage bags as I go buy something to get change for the pay phone. Nothing was really open but the heladaria (ice cream shop) so I think..ice cream is good why not. I break my euros and get an ice cream.

Now I am dragging my two bags, which dont roll very well, and my ice cream, across the bus station to the phone, two of which dont work and one which ate my coins. Finally I get to one that worked.

"HOLA! Otilia. Es Mai Lombardi, tu auxiliare de conversacion"

"OH Mai, how are you?? (english thank god). Where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?"

"I am on a bus to Caceres I should get in at 9:30?"

" what time?"

(phone hangs up).NOOOOOOOOOOOO. This happens atleast four times. Finally the last call.

" Mai, I am wearing a white shirt, I will see you at 9:30.BYE!"

FINALLY. So I wait for my bus. Why isnt it posting the terminal? I drag my bags AGAIN now to the ticket counter. "donde es el autobus?"

Terminal 57.

I finally get on the bus. ALMOST THERE. Someone is getting me. Halelueigh!!! I also fortunately met another Auxiliar (english conversation assistant) who had done the program for three years. We arrive in Caceres together and my teacher drops her off at the Albergue (the hostel). I go back with my teacher and get a full meal and shower. Finally some luck!!!!

I am Don Quixote and Spain is the Windmill.

2009-09-04T23:01:00.043-04:00

blog post soundtrack song: the final countdown (appropriately by Europe) - video below

OK. So for the past six months. (yes. since the seaturtle incident). I have been trying to go through this process to get to Spain. But the process has been nothing but head bashingly difficult. And by head bashingly I mean that right now I feel like Don Quixote and that Spain is the windmill kicking my ass.

It all started back in February. Jobless and defeated I decided that this is the time that I need to get out of this country and fulfill my dream of living abroad.

It is going to be a year before Peace Corps. Plenty of time to squeeze in another abroad program.

I go to Diana. "Man. I wish the Spanish government would do the same type of program that your doing for France."
Diana: " Mai. They do."
Me: " are you serious."
Diana: "Yeah let me send you the link."

I look and realize the deadline is two weeks. I CAN DO THIS. I scramble my spanish essay together and literally stalk my Spanish teachers for recommendations. I get ahold of everything, my teachers say they can write the letter,
I think. THINK. I am all set.

Week 1:
And then I am introduced to Profex. The website is designed for Spanish students going abroad and asks confusing irrelevant questions like...your green card number. The site is also a matrix and once you filled in all your appropriate
information. It crashes. Confused. I showed the site to my Spanish teacher from Madrid
she goes " what is this system?..what..its frozen now..why is it asking you this! I do not understand...". Yup it was from then on I should have known..I should have KNOWN!

Week 1.5
My professors explain to me that they are in exam week and will be a little bit late in writing my recommendation. I pace and pace and pace.

week 1 and 6 days
A week and 6 days pass. My professors finally manage to finish them. I grab my recommendations and slam that application overnight in the mail. FINGERS CROSSED.

Three months later
(Even though the website said they would notify you in two weeks).
I get an email. You are on the waiting list. There are 400 kids ahead
of you. I accept defeat.

BUT THEN. I get another email.

Hello Candidate,
We have a few other positions available in different regions of Spain. Please let us know if you are willing to accept a position by letting us know your first three regional choices by Monday 29 at 12pm.

I think "IM IN". I jump and dance around. Envision my life in sunny Espana! JOYOUS WORLD.
But wait. What is this last sentence.

"We will continue to go down the wait list according to application number (i.e. still follow the first come first served format of assignments).Please respond by 12pm, June 29, 2009 if you are still interested in participating and becoming a cutural ambassador in Spain starting October 1st. Thank you for your continued interest."

Im confused.
Am I accepted or not. I email the head of the Ministry. There are 42 people
in front of me. I wait.

And then I get another email... I have a choice between Madrid, Extremadura and the Balerica Islands. I am so worried I wont be accepted that I say I will go ANYWHERE.

They put me in the most unknown part of Spain. Extremadura. That is Fine. By. ME. As long as I am going I couldnt be more HAPPY.

So now I know I have to go on to the next step. Getting the visa. Before I even applied to the program my Uncle, for my graduation gift, granted me a trip to Hong Kong to visit my family. I am so thrilled and honored. But wait. The trip is from September 12 - 26th. Orientation is the 29th. I need NEED to get my visa before September 12. I have time if I get my letter right away.

I instantly email the junta of Extremadura begging for my letter to be sent immediately so I can get my visa. They respond as if I was expressing concern over being homesick ...weird. Lost in translation maybe. But whatever lets wait for this letter. Dont want to be pushy.

July passes.

August passes.

Im emailing on a two week basis now. Where is my letter?!? I start having nightmares about this visa. I will be gone two weeks in September and NEED to get this visa before Hong Kong.

Why aren't these people responding? its been a month! The secretaries at my law office notice my stress. I start getting paranoid..was I not accepted. Was this a hoax?

Finally a response, translation

" Dear Mai, We are sorry that we have not contacted you. We have been on holiday (no kidding...you didnt respond for a month!). We sent your letter July 27th. You should have gotten it by now!!!"

it. got. LOST. (shakes fists angrily...grits teeth. etc.)

"We will email you and mail you a new one."

OK. Thank you. Deep sigh of relief. Thank god.

But then two days pass.. Why haven't they emailed the letter. I have one week to get this visa! Dear god let me get it soon!

Friday morning 6:30 am. I GET MY LETTER. Thank the lord. Now everything should be ok. I email the consulate immediately for a visa appointment. Hopefully they will understand my situation. I want to get to orientation so I can meet everyone in my city. Please. Someone. Help!

They email back 5:30 at night.

"Dear Mai the next available appointment is September 14th."

OH NO. I will be in China. I email them back explaining my situation.. and then read under their file.

"We must hold the visa and we will not accept applications that are not four weeks in advance of the program."

seriously.

So I am in this current position. And I just accidentally emailed the consulate three times asking to change the appointment date to September 27th. Now I'm pretty sure they are already hate me.

Lets hope I can get this visa...and finally get there. please please please!

Enjoy

SeaTurtles and World of WarCraft

2009-04-24T21:02:00.010-04:00

ALRIGHT. It has been a while since Ive written a post and this one is a dousy!!!! So since I have graduated I have been applying to jobs going to interviews etc. I majored in International Relations with a focus on Environment and Development so I have been looking for jobs relating to that field.

WELLLLLLLL since I only know how to find things through Craigslist I look under their job site and find this one job posting for a Program Coordinator for this non-profit who sends students to China to learn Chinese and save Sea Turtles. I would be provided with the airfare, food, housing, and $1200 a month along with the opportunity to learn Chinese and save seaturtles. The site even had a company email and photos of students saving seaturtles. photo show below.

Sounds great right?!! Yeah thats what I thought. Oh just wait.

So I apply and get called for an interview. Im psyched. The guy says lets meet at the aquarium and I can have my interview there. So I get ready and its POURING, like sheets and sheets of rain, Noah would have been no match for this rain, type weather. As I get into Boston the guy calls me about five times to reschedule the interview time. Annoyed I agree, continue to incessantly feed the meter, grumble in my wet shoes, etc.

Eventually I go meet him. Now I am partially skeptical of this non-profit after reviewing the site with my friend Caroline. It had some weird youtube video of kids saving sea turtles to "We are the World" as the background music. ANYWAY

I finally meet with this guy and he hands me the brochure, looks legit, and we start talking. Half way through this aquarium guy in aquarium scrubs comes out and the interviewer was like " Sorry I have to go talk to the sea turtle vet can you wait a minute?". I agree. BUT now am SUPER PISSED. I have had to wait for this guy for like 5 hours.

I wait. ...still am waiting...45 minutes later I decide to go feed the meter. Its pouring I get soaked again. ....15 minutes later I return. WET. and MAD.

Eventually the guy returns and he is like ok lets restart the interview. So now he has his laptop out. Not even looking at me. Clicking on the screen. I dont even know if he is listening to me.

And then he asks if I have any questions.

OH BOY. My turn.

I say yes.

Me: " So um how did this organization get started?"

Interviewer: "Well, see, I play World of Warcraft professionally and am working for this gaming company. I was in China for a convention and noticed these sea turtles being sold to restaurants. Ive always wanted to do something with a purpose so I decided to start this organization and my gaming company is donating 20 cents per game to help me fund it"

Me: " World of WarCraft?"

Interviewer: " Yes. The video game.... Dont you have brothers."

Me: " No. I am an only child."

Interviewer: See there are things like swords you need to collect. ...(random video game jargon that I completely tuned out). So basically your job would be organizing the students and the staff with the sea turtles and then working for my gaming company setting up gamers in China to work and play for gamers in the U.S."

Me: "Ummmm..ok... so how many students do you have enrolled."

Interviewer: "Oh none. I havent had that worked out yet. Do you have any suggestions."

Long conversation on how he basically does not know how to run an educational abroad program. And how hes an idiot and how no highschool students parents would send their children to work in China with marine life without serious serious insurance provided.

Me: " Ok" (in head thinking. free food, housing, airfare, 1200 bucks a month) " So I'd be provided free airfare, housing, food and a stipend of $1200 a month"

Interviewer: "Yes....I mean wait no. Not $1200."

Me: " That is what your Job Posting said"

Interviewer: " I meant in Chinese currency so Id be more like $600 for the three months. Is that a problem."

Me: "Yes" I walk out.

SO basically I was interviewed by this random guy who wants to save sea turtles in china and is funding the project by playing world of warcraft..... awesome

ROADTRIP USA

2009-03-17T18:31:00.017-04:00

Well my dream came true and I was offered the opportunity of a lifetime... A ROAD TRIP across the USA: San Diego - Boston. And bygolly I took it. See my friend Maura, a victim of the Northeastern co-op program, and was laid off from her co-op in San Diego. Since she could not afford to live there she needed to drive back home. This is where I came in. I hopped on a plane and let the adventure begin!

The first night, and every night there after we had margaritas. iced. with salt. regular. yum.

The first day it was raining. So we decided to drive 2 miles north to Los Angelos and see Hollywood and Bel Air. Finally all those Fresh Prince images finally had a location in my mind.

The next day Maura showed me around glorious San Diego. Im not sure if it was a pleasure to visit a paradise or torture from the fact that I had to return to grey New England. Also Maura got her nose pierced as a departing gesture to San Diego.

The next day we set off and in the first day we hit three different terrains in like 45 minutes. It was nothing short of ridiculous. We saw rock mountains, sand dunes, desert, illegal agriculture. We also drove from San Diego to El Paso Texas. Shazam!

Then we Drove from El Paso to Austin Texas. El Paso was boring with really inefficient Walgreens. Austin was an awesome hippie town with bizarre tropical birds. We hung out with some University of Texas students and played bananagrams. I rocked. Maura is practicing.

Next we headed off to New Orleans. This was supposed to be a short day of driving..OH boy were we wrong. First off we were going to stop in Houston because the highway we were driving on I10 went right through it. Well ...we didnt see it and actually drove right through Houston. Dont know how that happened. But we did stop in Beaumont so Maura could buy some cowboy boots. Finally when we hit Baton Rouge there was intense traffice. Why? Because everyone was drunk from Mardi Gras. There were 6 car accidents from Baton Rouge to New Orleans causing about 5 hours of traffic. At one point I had to pee on the highway and people were dancing in the streets having a party.

Nevertheless. Mardi Gras was pretty cool. Minus the weird adventure the night before in which the car stalled and rolled into the gas station and there after we went to a late night cafe in which Maura talked to this crazy man about tattoo's. Were trying to forget that whole incident. but anyway. Mardi Gras had lots of floats and drunk people. Like you thought.

After New Orleans we drove up to Memphis. We drove through Mississippi in 4 hours. We got to Memphis and went to Beale street to hit up BB Kings House of Blues. And it was AWESOME. We met some fun New Zealand guys. Got to dance. And be in music's hometown.

Well Memphis didnt turn out to be so cool in the morning. Maura's car was broken into and had her ipods, gps, and fm transmitter stolen. We also got a flat tire on the way and was overcharged for a faulty tire. I then drank a coke and redbull to drive all night. Which didnt happen so I had a caffeine attack around 3 am. It was a disaster.
oh also. the next morning we got a speeding ticket. screw Tennessee.

Well the last day we had to drive 19 hours to get home. We drove from Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island. And. FINALLY. Massachusetts. It was insane. The trip was nonetheless AMAZING.

Gung hay fat choy: May you become prosperous

2009-02-07T09:33:00.012-05:00

Last week my family and I celebrated Chinese New Year. The entire family gathers, eats copious amounts of clementines, hands out red envelops to us singletons, and bows to our elders wishing them a year of prosperity. Tradition requires you to wear red on
Chinese New Year for good luck, however, each year my family gets a little bit more lax with traditions. Since I am the only one who wore red, I guess Im going to be the only with luck this year!

Here is my goigngoign(grandfather), my porpor(grandmother), and yeye(aunt)

Now Chinese food has a lot of vegetables, but it also has a lot of meat, especially during special events. This is recipe for a vegetarian's nightmare. I have been a vegetarian for two years, but at every family gathering its as if I mentioned it for the first time.

The same conversation with my porpor(grandmother):
porpor: "no pork?"
me: "no pork"
porpor: "no chicken?"
me: "no chicken"
porpor: "have shrimp"..she walks away
me: with bowl of shrimp in my hand "umm..mom? anyone? shirmp!"

Because of my lack of edible options, I ate four clementines and two servings of string beans. delicious.... yeah.

Here are some pictures. One of my mother eating some Chinese meat dish, and one of my aunt and my porpor.

In fact this same conversation has happened between me and my great italian aunt

Reenactment from this Christmas
Great aunt: "you must eat sausage?"
me: i look at my mom for help " no..sausage is meat"
Great aunt: "since when do you not eat meat"
me: "since two years ago"
Great aunt: "so no meat ever?"
me: "not for now"
Great aunt: "that doesnt make sense"
me: i shrug

So I guess its my own fault that I decided to become a vegetarian in two culinary meat dynasties.

" I was there!" Inauguration 2009

2009-01-27T16:14:00.004-05:00

Last week I went to the inauguration in D.C. and it was nothing short of complete chaos. On the way there Christina, Diana, Tierney, Jason and I drove threw 3 blizzards from Boston just to get there.

After recovering from extreme exhaustion and highway hypnosis we finally arrived! The day before we walked around and it was already jam packed with people and POLICE.

We got commemorative pins, saw some sites, and even saw Obama peeking out behind a lamp post.

At night we find the notoriously liberal MSNBC news stand and kind of stand there for a while, with no real intention but just to acknowledge the fact that the inauguration would take place right here tomorrow and WE WERE THERE

On inauguration day we woke up at 2 a.m. listened to Tierney's infamous "Techno...no Techyes" mix c.d. complete with the "boom boom boom" song. We get to the metro station around 3 to find a 4 block long line to get on the train.. (this is 3 in the morning!)
We finally arrive at mall 5 in the morning, exhausted and stunned... we were now prepared to watch the sunrise..repeat SUNRISE..over the Capital.

Since were were going to wait another 6 hours we decided to plop ourselves down to keep ourselves warm... this was the view. tierney kept my legs warm. i kept jason's toes warm. christina and diana kept my left side warm . the minnesota couple next to me kept my right side warm. and my TWO hats kept my head warm. it was very cozy.

Finally around 11:30, the inauguration started late..grrr.. the jumbo trons sounded the commencement of the inauguration! The crowds booed bush, cheered obama, and sighed in impatience whenever anyone else besides bush or obama's name was mentioned.

sidenote: way for chief justice roberts to ruin a perfect moment!
The inauguration was the most amazing experience. I will never again be surrounded by 2 million people who were filled with so much hope. Despite the cold and long hours waiting, the experience will be hard to match. And as my pin stated "I WAS THERE".

On the way back we crossed over the George Washington Bridge, right where that plane crashed into the Hudson.. crazy stuff

Steve Carell bought a store in Marshfield!

2009-01-16T09:48:00.000-05:00

STEVE CARELL is a part time resident of Marshfield, the South Shore town that I used to live in and now live next too. EXCITING. I had no idea he lived in the "shore". He can now join the ranks of other South Shore celebs including the infamous Steve Tyler, Joe Perry, Jeff Corwin, and Jennifer Coolidge. I once served ice cream to Steve Tyler ( he got a really disgusting flavor, a kiddie sized cone of FROZEN PUDDING, which has pieces of dried fruit in it...an old people flavor GROSS). But maybe if I go to the Marshfield Hills General Store more often I could get a glimpse of Michael Scott and add another notched to my celebrity spotting belt.

GO STEVE woooo.

cough cough..its winter

2009-01-16T01:27:00.000-05:00

hello all,
i have a cold from well the reason where this illness got its name from - the cold. so in all my post-graduate glory i am posting once again. here are some more photos taken from my inner townie

Coastal

2009-01-14T15:53:00.000-05:00

Orchid

2008-10-09T10:12:00.000-04:00

Luck Charms

2008-10-09T09:58:00.001-04:00

Boston is so Irish....rainbow leading to the pot of gold... also known as Fenway Park

the city, camden, hampsted

2008-09-25T11:12:00.000-04:00

istanbul not constantinople

2008-09-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

The 'X' Factor

2008-09-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

OK so McCain clearly chose Palin in a desperate attempt to attract anyone... and basically all that was left were the clinically irrational. Biden was chosen because he made up for what Obama lacked, such as experience in foreign policy. Now I guess you can say the same for McCain but claiming that your weakness is lacking an extra 'x' chromosome doesn't seem to have the same charm to it.

There was a quote saying that Palin was now a "heartbeat" away from being president, and with McCain being 72 it is no laughing matter. McCain was once a seemingly respectable politician, in comparison to other republicans who are often times loyal Bush supporters, oil junkies, and psycho conservatives. But now that he has chosen Palin, we all better start warming up the old familiar yet haunting"YEEHAW" cause we will be in for a bumpy ride.

Schools Out for Summer...but not for Fall

2008-09-09T23:37:00.000-04:00

Well its back to school and we've had weather that has reached biblical standards....first there is the disgustingly humid heat, then the torrential down pour that had sparked the inner Noah in all of us (oh i can reflect me sitting in the apartment all wet rat like with a towel around my shoulders...stunning) and now..what is THAT signs of fall?

Overall, school has wrecked havoc on my sanity, once again, why am i so indecisive...

Now that Im squeezing out every last drop of development education i can receive, i have now come to realize that all i want to do in life is draw, ride my horse, travel, and save the world ( in no particular order)

Travel

2008-08-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

Turkey

2008-08-13T22:55:00.000-04:00

2008-08-13T22:53:00.000-04:00

2008-08-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Britain

2008-05-24T13:49:00.000-04:00

Well Well Well...so after talking to a fellow blogger..ive decided to resurrect the grand via for a third time for my semester in London

Semester :
Start: May 20th
End : August 9th

LETS GET STARTED

lily pad

2007-01-14T05:11:00.000-05:00

room: 0004
15 Buswell Street
Boston, MA

please visit...ill cook you food or something...uhh i live near crispy crepes...and that falafel place... and! and!.. uh 711(ok not so cool) ..no but seriously ..stop by

quote of the week: "gravity always gets me down"
runner up: " are the red states really turning blue??? or are they just holding breath til the republicans take back congress"
jogger up: " Corduroy Pillows! They're making headlines"

getting my moneys worth

2006-12-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

" Im a vegetarian so instead of turkey on thanksgiving..I had lamb" - my computer science professor ..being serious

poop

2006-11-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

enough said

ojala que llueva cafe

2006-11-10T18:06:00.000-05:00

inspirational quote 277: " STOP continental drift!"
"
1. everyone at BU looks like an equestrian with their suede and/or leather boots ...perhaps i should bring up the real deals and strut their stuff...however the cakes of mud and horse manure may not pass the visual inspection of the elite fashionistas.
2. i was affectionaly tapped in the leg by a duck while reading by the pond in Boston Common....an elightening experience really ...however it lured me to my 1483905th severe procrastination moment of the year in which i tested my thoughts that i may have the ability to communicate with ducks.....( according to mitch..they eat free at subway...inside joke with self...how pathetic)
3. i have come to the conclusion that i am far to indecsive for college...i think..maybe...yea...well no...actually yea
4. im considering consuling for my uncontrable doodling habits and using my left hand as my everyday agenda/doodling canvas....im a prime target for ink poisoning
5. pleasantly pleased with Boston

come disconnect the dots for me poppet...come disconnect the dots

2006-10-08T20:22:00.000-04:00

tips:
1) kendall mit T stop..NOT close to the hyatt
2) dont jay- walk ..understood?
3) best stuffy nose remedy...indian food
4) turkish people ...always useful for directions
5) cappuccino, expresso, chai, caffiene.... vital for boston survival

thats hot

2006-09-05T23:56:00.000-04:00

" the poor generation of girls below us..i mean its degrading enough that our generation had to look up to britney spears..but the girls below us who have to look up to paris hilton..whose famous for absolutely nothing..thats embarrising..and nicole richie..whose famous for just being FRIENDS with paris hilton is even more embarrising...ok yeah the simple life..theyre on the same level as the lady who won the swan..and by they way do you know the difference between grilling and bbqing"- my roommate

maiflower

2006-08-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

The Maiflower was an English automobile manufactured from 1919 until 1921 in Gloucester. Named for its builders, army captains M. Price and A. I. Flower, the car was based on the Model T Ford, although a newly fabricated rear end and alterations to the front transverse suspension provided variations on the standard Ford chassis. Two and four seat tourer and coupé bodies were offered.

hmm..interesting

oh mother of christ

2006-08-31T00:09:00.000-04:00

" oh mother of christ" - a little sex (bad 80's movie ...and no its not a porno)

...alright!..mai has severe pre-college(bu) anxiety..i was so optimistic up until now..and 3 days before the move-in.. slight freak out..well yeah.. i mean i am superstious to begin with..now its just gone obsessive compuslive..

- if i make the traffic light..it will be a good year
- if the next song i hear i like..it will be a good year ..oh no shakira again
- if i dont have to wait in line..it will be a good year
- if i dont overcook my grilled cheese..it will be a good year ...crap (burnt)
- if i have exact change..it will be a good year
- if i have trouble pumping gas..it will be a bad year
- if i have one more piece of gum left..it will be a good year
....and so on

its ridiculous....i need to relax..not possible.. i did this last year..but wait im transfering..shit ..ugh wil i make friends?..can i handle classes?..can i handle the city? will i keep busy? can i find a major? will i find a job? ..riding team or no riding team..( didnt really like riding team last year..but i love riding and usually competeing ..hmm conflicting)...

oh wait everyone can read this..whatever

sprinkles

2006-08-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

JC dairy is holding the knife over my fine thread of sanity..soo i will make this the final year of my five year reign... i am retiring!

hmmm

2006-08-15T11:07:00.000-04:00

keeping it together

2006-08-14T16:29:00.000-04:00

overheard convo.
john doe: "hey man what have you been up to?"
joe schmo: "about 350."

"Remember those monk chant cds they would try to sell you on television? Talk about keeping the band together."

So the other day I noticed a sunflower in a crappy corner with a telephone pole surrounded by trash (beer cans, wrappers....a tv) and naturally I assumed it had no home or owner and decided to well...take it with me! I went back, grabbed the shovel, ran back again, dug it out, and walked successfully home with a shovel in one hand and a living sunflower in the other. That day I adopted my first sunflower ..and looked slightly ridiculous doing it..but now it has a suitable home and I have a pretty flower. ( I just hope it wasnt some memorial plant or something)

"is he picking your scabs like hes picking my scabs" - younger pete of pete & pete

happy happy joy joy

2006-08-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

quotes of the week

first place: " I used to drink beer...now I just get ice cream " - Jc's customer after his second visit of the day

runner up: " A picture is worth a thousand words is not an old proverb"- 1921 ad copy by Fred R Barnard

jogger up: " Sounds crunchy..its fun isnt it" - taco bell commercial

ok now thats out of the way ..heres some enlightening information!

Powdered Toast Man ( Ren and Stimpy SuperHero) - "Quick man, cling tenaciously to my buttocks".

taken from wikipedia ...if you feel like reading

Powers and abilities
Powdered Toast Man is endowed with various abilities, and, like many superheroes, has a mysterious background and an alter ego. Powdered Toast Man can fly, either by releasing flatulence, by inserting his head into a special toaster and launching from it, or merely by pushing off from the ground. Importantly, he flies backwards. He can also hover in mid-air. His powers include some offensive weapons: high-velocity raisins shot from his mouth, hyper-corrosive croutons fired from his armpit, butter pats that are launched from the top of his head, and hyper-acidic marmalade from his navel. There are several signals that alert Powdered Toast Man to danger - his tongue phone, the inflation of his briefs, the dissipation of the toast particles in his head, or the reading of emergency messages encoded in slices of olive loaf.
He is apparently made entirely of Powdered Toast, as he can produce fully formed Powdered Toast by flicking his wrist or by separating his head (which is made of two pieces of toast) and scraping the interior with a butter knife. His head is therefore depicted as being made of two identical pieces of toast, each complete with a face.
By day, Powdered Toast Man is Pastor Toast Man, a "cool youth deacon". His disguise is composed of a pair of thick black spectacles and a pastor's collar, a possible parody of Superman's thinly-disguised alter ego, Clark Kent. Pastor Toast Man's office also serves as his headquarters, and he is served by a female assistant simply named "Lovely Assistant".

Accomplishments
He saved a kitten from being run over, at the cost of an airliner (which he shot down), and a truck (which was flattened by the airliner). It appears no one was killed in the crash, as the occupants of the plane seem cheerful and happy to see Powdered Toast Man despite their wounds. Responding to another mission, he threw the kitten off-screen, where it was presumably run over by another vehicle. He saved the pope (voiced by Frank Zappa) from the clutches of Muddy Mudskipper. Why or how Muddy kidnapped the pope is unclear, but it is clear that after Powdered Toast Man freed the pope from the barrel of TNT he was strapped to, he placed Muddy there in his stead and tied him up. Muddy was killed in the ensuing explosion.
When the President of the United States gets caught in his fly, Powdered Toast Man frees him. Though grateful, the President is incapacitated, and Powdered Toast Man steps in as Commander-in-Chief. While in office (having somehow avoided the entire line-in-wait to fill in for the Chief Executive), he heats the Oval Office with some dusty old papers, which include the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Powdered Toast Man responded on numerous occasions to the plight of Ren and Stimpy when the dog and cat duo had run out of Powdered Toast, producing more for them with a flick of his wrist or a scrape of his head. It is implied that this is the usual method that Ren and Stimpy get Powdered Toast when they run out, because it doesn't "taste right" unless Powdered Toast Man exits with his traditional passing of gas. He is also a very popular figure with children. Responding to a request from sickly "Little Johnny" about being able to meet the President, he actually manages to bring the President to him. Unfortunately in trying to get to Little Johnny on time before his nap, the President was vaporized by the massive speed of Powdered Toast Man. He also managed to save the child out of the hands of his apparent archnemesis "Waffle Woman", at the cost of destroying most of the Earth.

His most famous quotation
Powdered Toast Man to the Pope while rescuing him: "Quick man, cling tenaciously to my buttocks".

super unleaded

2006-08-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

what i actually listened to this summer...for the most part

my own face inside the trees -the clientele
elm grove tree- the clientele
emily kane- art brut
catch my disease- ben lee
tumble and fall- feeder
world spins madly on - the weepies
happiness- the weepies
gotta have you- the weepies
such great heights- the postal service
recycled air- the postal service
the high party- ted leo
the great communicator- ted leo
always on my mind- phantom planet
in our darkest hour- phantom planet
discretion-pedro the lion
the longest winter- pedro the lion
jenny wren- paul mccartney
friends to go- paul mccartney
for no one- the beatles
i should have known better- the beatles
tomorrow never knows- the beatles
across the universe- the beatles
jo jo's jacket- stephen malkmus
grass- animal collective
my summer girl- beck
love love love- tristan pettyman
cemetary gates- the smiths
work it out- jurrasic 5
farmhouse-phish
sylvia- the envy corps
bhambatha- zola
matofoto- pitch black
a message- coldplay
mines not a high horse- the shins
pressed in a book- the shins
turn a square- the shins
suspended from class- camera obscura
cabron- red hot chili peppers
kate- sambassadeur
whatever season- sambassadeur
the shins- flake music
the loneliness of a middle distance runner- belle and sebastian

nothing remotely interesting has happened to me or anyone i know.....which is..well ..no fun

broil

2006-08-02T00:49:00.000-04:00

...its really hot outside..and i dont mean just hot, i mean fucking satan himself would borrow a fan hot, i mean so hot that things burst into dust particles hot...so hot that uhh errr earth has become the third star from the sun hot ...so hot uhhh.. ok thats enough

it also seems that any situation where heat can reck havoc among my overall wellbeing...it has

we are all broiling and it needs to stop

quote of the week:
" biblical fiction is becoming really popular these days..you know the da vinci code..and the bible" ~ BU comedian

runner up:
"amanda bynes generally makes me want to kill myself" ~CS

classic: (aim convo)
icymoondrops: (wrote something about ..i dont remember..college?)
maiflowerr: for some reason i really want a corn muffin
icymoondrops: mai
icymoondrops: did you even read what i just wrote?

kiss 108...bostons number one radio station for preteen brainwashing!

THINK

2006-07-15T12:51:00.000-04:00

think (thngk)
v. thought (thôt), think·ing, thinks

To exercise the power of reason, as by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using judgment.
To weigh or consider an idea.
To bring a thought to mind by imagination or invention.
To recall a thought or an image to mind.

dynamite...PENALTY ..illegal move

2006-07-11T17:54:00.000-04:00

there is in fact a RPS (rock paper scissors) World Society http://www.rpschamps.com/ . They have televised competitons with nicknames and referees. These arent the people you would want to fight shotgun for or the last M&M with.

funny scituation

2006-07-09T02:57:00.000-04:00

" Im just keeping you honest, panzon."

Yes I spelled situation funny for you punk skeptics out there..I may act "special" sometimes but I am in fact 100% mentally unchallenged.. (tuna or chicken?just kidding..honors baby- college prep my ass). Anyway back to the story, as most of you know I moved to Scituate(reason for the title)its a good town and basically I just have to watch out for drunks that hang out by the harbor when I drive home late at night.

Well the other day I go for a run (or attempt to run) and as I am "running"(hard to imagine I know) I notice some money in the middle of a driveway. ( Ok I know what your thinking. How the hell did she see the money in someones driveway..well peoples driveways are short in Scituate and they are very open.. and no I donot run up and down peoples driveways for excercise.)So I pick up the money and realize its a crapload of cash..now heres were morality steps in.. I knock on the door to ask if anyone had lost a large sum of money ( 140 to be exact!) ..but no one answers the door, I walk around the house, I yell, (I admire their shiplike jungle gym), no answer. My first instinct is to leave it in the mailbox..but then I think ' it's not safe in there..and what if its not theirs, then I just gave away 140..I'll take it home and go back tomorrow morning' so I jog away...with $140 in my hand.

Tomorrow morning rolls around and I drive over to knock on the door again... finally someone answers. And who answers the door but this very large perky blonde.. yuppie woman. I tell her I found a large amount of money on her driveway and was wondering if anyone had lost any (I DIDNOT tell much I found, I knew better). So we go in her house and she asks all her family members if they lost any money... no one fesses up... basically she tells me to keep it and is grateful that I was honest but she'll call if someone claims they lost some money.

Naturally I am super excited and go on my merry way dwelling on my free fortune. It then dawns on me that it is the same woman I ended up having a conversation about neuroscience vets with a week or two before..another long story...basically I ran into her while attempting to run and I had stopped because her dogs were being attacked by another dog..somehow neuroscience for dogs as an occupation came up..dont know how but it was the same woman. (how do I end up in these situations, small world huh).

Well the situation ends bittersweet. When I return home I recieve a phone call from neuroscience dog money woman and she tells me she realized she had actually lost about 140 dollars that she was supposed to give to her husband. Now normally I would assume she would have just said that because she wanted the money but I did not tell her how much I found.. and well 140 dollars is a bit random so I believed her and drove back . When I get there she agreed to split it with me which was fine. So in the end, though I didnt get 140 dollars, I did end up with 70 dollars..for jogging or sort of jogging..I got guilt free money and that is good enough for me...actually fantastic.

Now the whole story seems like a movie plot or some wild excuse for drug money ...and if I was in Harry Potter maybe my deed would have gotten me into Gryffindor House, but its real life strangely enough and its just making my life more interesting.

much love

The Rescuers Down Under

2006-07-06T09:13:00.000-04:00

From National Geographic News..

Mouse Rides Frog in India Monsoon
July 5, 2006—It could be the most spirited interspecies escape since The Rescuers. But unlike the 1977 Disney movie, this situation is anything but fun.

Photographed Friday in the northern Indian city of Lucknow (India map), a mouse perches on a frog in waist-deep (for a frog, anyway) floodwaters—a small sign of the early arrival of annual summer monsoon rains.

So far, more than 30 people have died in India as a result of this year's monsoon-driven landslides and floods. Last year's deluge killed some 1,000 people in the financial center of Mumbai (Bombay) alone. Today polluted, knee-deep waters are raising fears of a repeat disaster among the city's roughly 17 million inhabitants.

In drought-stricken areas, too, frogs were playing the role of rescuer.

According to the Indo-Asian News Service, some rural Indians are holding frog weddings in the hopes that the amphibians' bliss will inspire farm-saving storms. After marking the bride and groom with vermillion and turmeric—traditional adornments in human Hindu nuptials—villagers take the supposedly happy couple to a nearby pond to honeymoon.

"If we get the frogs wedded, the Varuna, the god of the oceans, will bless us with rains," Beni Prasad, a farmer in the village of Khapa, told the news service on Sunday.

—Ted Chamberlain

as a former student with a pre-vet concentration im a sucker for animals...its like Katrina only bite sized!

anywhere you go

2006-07-03T00:20:00.000-04:00

Greatest 90's Rock/Pop songs...let the memories overflow

Anywhere you go – Gin Blossoms
All I want – Toad the Wet Sprocket
If you could only see – Tonic
Semi Charmed Kind of Life- Third Eye Blind
Pretty Baby- The Spin Doctors
The Freshman- The Verve Pipe
Two Princes - The Spin Doctors
Brick- Ben Folds Five
Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve
I’m a Bitch- Meredith Brooks
Spider Webs- No Doubt
Breakfast at Tiffany’s- Deep Blue Something
Basketcase – Green Day
Good Riddance- Green Day
Best I Ever Had- Verticle Horizon
Walk On the Ocean – Toad the Wet Sprocket
Hey Jealously – Gin Blossoms
I Saw the Sign- Ace of Base

holy sweet mother of jesus...

2006-06-28T02:56:00.000-04:00

Do any of you remember the flight of the navigator???? That weird 80's movie where the pre-teen travels through time on a spaceship..anyway he finally goes back to his family and takes with him a little alien pet that looks just like..well this newly discovered lemur! GOOD HEAVENS THIS alien IS REAL!...its so adorable i cant bear to look at the thing. You just want to squeeze it and make annoying glass shattering high pitched dolphin squeeking noises....you know what Im talking about..YES YOU dont deny it.

get set everybody

2006-06-24T20:02:00.000-04:00

Summers here and with the wrath of the global warming dieties upon us my brain is shriviling away and with it my 42,000 dollar college education. Now a good responsible student would keep those brain muscles toned and in shape with numerous amounts of reading, but that would be to practicle. Instead I have used my valuable spare time with watching useless tv(infomercials baby), ichat stalking, facebook updating, finding music, driving aimlessly, going to every beach on the southshore, obtaining an unusually dark tan and last but not least..blog writting.. occasionally I throw some responsibility into the mix in which i scoop ice cream for cash and ride horses for lazy owners.

1. Ice cream- after 5 years I feel I have learned most of the tricks of the trade in recieving some extra mula(tips)..basically I subtly sell myself while serving ice cream but here are some "tips" (harharhar) for you waitressing aficionados
one: always look painfully happy to the point where your face hurts
two: appear confident but relax as if you are doing the ordering for them
three: dress casually but put together ( jewlery does not hurt)
four: pause when giving back change
five: wear a red sox hat ( MAJOR POINTS)

2. horses- I ride show horses for owners who dont have the time but have the money for the equestrian world

3. tv- ohh infomercials, the dailyshow/colbertreport lineup, animal planet with the pops, and the loads of guilty pleasures I refuse to mention

4. beach- I have successfully gone to the beach everyday for the past two weeks in which I not only work on my italianchinese mixed tan but my mad frisbee skills
(humarock and the spit are by far the two best beaches in the south shore)

5. computer- oh dear facebook, ichat, and this blog have disgraced my life..i have spent countless seconds, minutes, hours...wasting time updating, "browsing" and chatting via internet. Also my lovely mac is my portal for music, lyrics, and occasional random tv clip, quote, or poem

6. driving- this hippocritical "hippie" burns gallons of fossil fuel to visit her friends in borewell cough..spat..excuse me i mean norwelll ...multiple times in the day ..it doesnt help that it is a jeep wrangler..top down..irresistable entertainment

And while were on the topic lets get this out in the open and straightened out.
I AM NOT A HIPPIE..not even close..its like a full time job ..I will admit I dress bohemian but I am in fact not a hemp growing, pot smoking, dreadlock wearing, tie dye loving, socialist hippie. My perception of this so called "hippie" is that these extreme liberals are extremely knowlegable in the art of politics, local/organic farming, and conservation.

Top Reasons Mai is not a Hippie
1. I eat meat: if i was reallly a hippie id be against the "cruelty" of slaughtered animals and the affect meat has on the ecology of the world
2. I dont know shit about politics: I have no idea ..i understand the basis of liberalism...but I dont exactly know what certain polticians stand for..I do recognize Barack Obama's name..and that hes a cool guy...and that George W is borderline retarded but thats as far is it goes for politics
3. My clothes are products of corporate america: I donot weave my clothes from hemp I grew myself from seeds I found in the woods walking in the local area.
4. I dont take acid: Lucy in the sky with diamands is not my homegirl...I make my own tangerine trees and marmelade skies. i hear its quite the ride ..but its just not my style..anyways im psychotic as it is
5. I like to shower: I always flush the toilet and shower everyday..yes Im wasting valuable fresh water that could be used to help many 3rd world countries...but Im selfish
6. Im not obsessed with Bob Marley..one love baby and thats not for reggae

Top reasons people THINK Mai is Hippie
1. I went to UVM for a year
2. I have conservational tendencys ( I buy local organic food and feel guilty about certain things)
3. I have an unsual love for hummus and granola
4. I am disgusted and vehemently against nonorganic large abusive dairy farms that readily supply america with its vast amounts of dairy products
and the kicker!
5. I dress sort of bohemian..NOT hippie..bohemian..DONOT get the two confused ..I like big jewlery and gaucho pants....not homemade unwashed clothes that may or maynot be tiedyed.

well now that that is off my chest and I have sufficiantly wasted a good hour in writing this I am signing off for now...ciao

start wearing purple

2006-06-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Id like to introduce you to my HERO Eugene Hutz, the front man for Gogol Bordello. His most famous song "start wearing purple" is featured in one of my favorite movies " everything is illuminated" (he plays alex..the best character in the entire movie) ..i recommend you illegally download it NOW

pooh bear!

2006-06-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

that would be a kitten..yes a feline friend, looking up at the BEAR in the TREE

greatest hits

2006-06-17T23:38:00.000-04:00

songs you hate to admit you love

1. I just died in your arms tonight- White Snake
2. Blinded by the light- Manfred Mann
3. Ice ice baby- Vanilla Ice
4. Living on a prayer- Bon Jovi
5. I think were alone now- Tiffany
6. I touch myself - The Divinyls
7. Like a prayer- Madonna
8. Girls just want to have fun - Cyndi Lauper
9. Video killed the radio star- The Buggles
10. I can see clearly now the rain is gone - Otis Redding
11. Hit me baby one more time - Britney Spears
12. Like a virgin- Madonna

it started out as songs that were easily stuck in your head, and then it some how ended up more as 80's girl power with a dash of early 90's

nationals

2006-06-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

welcome to nationals my friends
5th out of 18 schools(colleges) that qualified for nationals, 400 schools(colleges) total

the welded pentacle

2006-06-14T16:10:00.000-04:00

A secret society more inexplicable than the illuminati now inhabit the South Shore. Their origin is a mystery but their symbol has been known for ages, the welded pentacle, or metallic star seen hung on many South Shore homes. These stars come in all shapes and sizes according to membership rank and can be seen by others miles away. Whatever this secret "society"'s plot/motive is, it is probably against dignity and common decency of the average New England family, especially in terms of tasteful decorating. The welded pentacle must be stopped.

Bertie Botts

2006-06-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

" here eat this one"
"UGHHH its Rotten Egg"
"QUICK CHASE IT WITH A LEMON"

moment of zen

2006-05-31T12:27:00.000-04:00

- there is something barbaric about chunky peanut butter and moldy cheese
must see summer movies
- THE LAKE HOUSE (" its kind of a long distance relationship"...)
- CARS ( inanimate objects can have a romantic relationships too!)
- WORLD TRADE CENTER ( a mustache like no other)

Chicago

2006-05-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

THE PLACE LOOKS LIKE HOGWARTS complete with greathall, assigned dining hall tables, house names, gothic buildings, and students refer to each other by year number

new testament

2006-04-26T13:45:00.000-04:00

Well heres my Golden Moment of the Week: The other day a man was handing out the new testament to people walking by infront of the bookstore. So I enter the bookstore without having to go through the awkward moment of saying "No thanks Im rejecting God" type deal with this guy and attempt the perform the same manuever on the way out. So as I was heading out I chose the door farthest away from this poor guy and open it as far as I can to avoid eye contact and walk swiftly in the opposite direction. Well I was so concerned with not making eye contact that I failed to notice that I had opened the door to far and it snapped back and hit me before I could walk away in time. I realized right there that God was punishing me and that man who was giving the testament probably felt a sense of justice as I was physically attacked by this door. Atleast I confirmed his belief in God by sacrificing my dignity.

piccioni

2006-04-23T18:59:00.000-04:00

confession

2006-04-16T23:48:00.000-04:00

someone told me i should create a blog a while ago and ive been thinking about it but it went against my internet morals
however facebook destroyed that so i figured this couldnt be much worse

and apparently I struggle without the aid of spell and grammar check( I need to proof read these things)
I am nothing without you microsoft word!
...ok im done

the shaking of heads

2006-04-16T19:48:00.000-04:00

So after a few requests (not that my life is that interesting..slightly pathetic..but generally average) and for another source to channel my procrastinating energies towards, I have decided to create a blog.

So lets begin with my thrilling easter weekend that left the UVM campus a modern day ghost town

After realizing that a good portion of my brain was being taken up by knowing all the lyrics to Wannabe from the Spice Girls I decide to gather my horsy things and borrow my suitemates bike ( which is far to big for me) and ride down to see my new campadre "sparky" (adorable i know). So as I casually bike down East Ave. I think my cell phone is ringing because I decided it would be a intelligent idea to make the ringtone sound like birds. Well being the genius that I am I reach for my cell phone at the exact moment that I hit a bump in the sidewalk and do a swandive/belly flop into the pavement only to realize that I cant tell the difference between my cell phone ring and actual birds.

So after I pull myself to my feet ( which are much more reliable than my biking skills) I burst into a state of panic that I wrecked my suitemates bike and verbally terrify the attractive witness who stopped to help.

Finishing my 1,023,257th socially awkward moment of the year I come to find my suitemates bike is still in once piece and carefully(keyword) make my way to the barn hoping for an enjoyable ride to make up for this unecessary tragedy.

I eventually make it to the barn only to discover that the owner of Sparky decided to give him a bath the first day I come down to ride her horse. So after I explain why I look like I fell out of a car wreck and that I was fully aware that I was bleeding I come to the conclusion that almost all ( there are a few wonderful exceptions) horse professionals that are slightly crazy and I pray to god I wont fall into the world of the mentally deranged. Crazy lady basically asks me to train her 5 year old horse who shes barely broke and explains that her "angel" can be a "slight" handful
(not concerning)
So after nearly killing myself so I can have this lady watch me ride her horse because I thought it was the responsible thing to do she decides she doesnt want him ridden that day because she had given him a bath.

PERFECT

sidenote: I unfortnately miss riding the bike in the unexpected hail storm that to the horrors of college boys across the universe knocked out the satellite television.
(if only i could have ridden back in the hail in rain to finish the day right..no such luck)