Sunny Came Home...

Home again home again. It has come the time that I leave my Asian exploration and return home. There are some people who can travel and travel, who don’t really need a home base. I, however, have learned the lesson that I really do like my lovely city of Edmonton and even though the travels are great, I do enjoy the fact that I am going home right now.

The last few days of Japan have been really good. We got in some “authentic” experiences, and though I don’t know if I should call them authentic, they were definitely some do-in-Japan-only kind of things. For example, the other day we headed to Akihabara to nerd it up in electric city. Its basically massive electronics stores, manga stores, collectibles/figurine stores, and arcades. We also figured that we better check out a maid café whilst in the neigborhood. What is a maid café you might ask? Well let me tell you:

A maid café is where you go to a café and are served by girls dressed up as French maids. They hand you flyers on the street (it’s a very competitive field) and then you pick one and go. Ours was WAY less sleezy than we thought it would be, which was a-ok by us. We headed up to the café, were greeted by an array of Japanese AND actual French maids, and grabbed “our favorite table”. After ordering some slightly ridiculously priced pasta, our maid brought it over and taught us a repeat-after-me incantation (with actions) to make it taste yummier and be cuter. You could also pay 500 Yen (about $6ish) to have yoru picture taken with a maid, or 1500 Yen to have a 3 minute video made with you and the maids narrating a small cartoon (oh yeah, it was a “Maid and Animation” café). Basically it was ridiculous, and so so funny.

We also hit up a sushi train last night for dinner, which was not too crazy an adventure for myself as I only ate the egg ones, and ordered a plate of cucumber maki (so wild). For those who eat fish it was a pretty solid train with a good choice of cool looking plates. Afterwards we found one of the more taboo areas of Japan. We walked a block or two down some good looking streets in search of a café, yet stumbled upon about 6 blocks worth of men in suits standing almost guard of the streets. All of the buildings seemed to not have much on their signs, but we could see it was very expensive and all had time limits. There were also many big posters with different girls names and pictures on them… super. It wasn’t the weirdest area, but definitely had a strange vibe to it.

After all the sightseeing, adventures, and non-adventures, things have been good. So goodbye Japan, I would like to see you again some day. Soon dear Edmonton, I will be back (and from the future too!).

The best things in life are free...

I came to Japan expecting Tokyo to cost me a BAZZILION dollars, but so far so good! Since we don't have oodles of time here, we are mainly just trying to check out lots of areas, which has proved tres inexpensive. Its like once we are done walking around an area and looking at everything, the day is already over!
Today we found a great contemporary art museum though which had some really really cool video pieces in it. Also discovered how AMAZING the photo-booths in all of the arcades are. You go in, pick some crazy theme or background, take about 6 photos. THEN, you go into another booth, pick three of the 6 photos, and have like 5 minutes to decorate them, add backgrounds, change you eye color - you know, the normal stuff that every photo should have. They also make your skin look FLAWLESS, and add stuff to your eyes so they look massive. Hilarious.

On another note- it is so hard being a vegetarian here! Everything has meat, and if it doesn't, it almost certainly has fish. Actually correction - it is hard to eat HEALTHY and be a vegetarian here. The chocolate bars, popcorn, rice chips, ice cream, and lattes are all good and veggie friendly, but defs not part of a balanced diet.
I guess I'll work on that part once I get back to my life where I can cook food (I think the thing I am most excited about when I get back, next to seeing people, is cooking and baking... yummers).

Alright, our time in Tokyo is almost over, only four sleeps to go! Tomorrow will be SO good though, as we are going to Harijuku to take in all the cos-play kids, and oh-so-famous Harijuku girls, who all parade around on Harijuku street every Sunday. I will also be taking in the Harijuku thrift store. Yes folks, I might just find some new duds. I am sure they will be MUCH more normal than what I'm used to... you can see why I'm excited.

Flip The Switch - Tokyo Is The Light...

Made it! I am in Tokyo and absolutely amazed!

Being here is such an immense change from the rest of our travels. I knew it would be, but really it is CRAZY.

This city is super massive. It's bright, clean, full of lights, and also Christmas decorations. The stores are all massive, the people are all sharply dressed, and the first park that we found today was BEAUTIFUL in its Autumn colors.

So far we have basically just randomly checked stuff out. Ended up at a science museum that was pretty neat. It had some rad stuffed creatures, skeletons, history stuff about Japan, and awesome interactive things. We have also checked out one of the multi-leveled arcades that are basically gambling... sort of? But SO fun. Basically my not-so-inner child is allowed to run free here.
From the arcades to the massive toy stores, to the VERY exciting Gibli Museum that we are going to tomorrow - I am enjoying things here.

Anyways, adventures basically consist of us picking a district of Tokyo, taking the train there, and exploring. So far - so good.

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea...

Today will be our last day in our South East Asia travels. Right now I am in Hanoi, awaiting this evening, when we will be flying away to Tokyo, Japan.

Since last post, I have met locals in a un-guidebook-mentioned city, traveled quite the ways, and left the beautiful country of Laos (that's a bit out of order). Also in our journeys, we experienced a VERY tiring three day tour that involved SO much cycling, some treking, kayaking, staying in a village, and riding an elephant! I was quite happy to hear that the elephants we were riding were rescued from dangerous logging, and now enjoy their days carting around tourists while having the evenings to freely roam the jungle - happy elephants! Being in the villages was kind of weird, kind of good. I felt super out of place, but it was great to see the way of life there.

Travels have been good so far, and I am happy to be headed to Tokyo as it will be a very different scene, I am sure. So farewell Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia - its been nothing but great experiences. To the night buses, the villages, the fish oil smell, the buddhas, the temples, the woman yelling "hey LAYDEE", the selling, the buying, the street food, the roaches, the art, the noodles, the rice, the history, the beer Lao, the good and the bad, and everything else - goodbye for now.

Onwards we march...

Mountains, jungle, rivers, beautiful skies, hundreds of drunk white kids… wait… what? Welcome to Vang Vieng, Laos! Karen and I have made our way up through Cambodia, the southern part of Laos, and all the way to (and since yesterday, past) Vang Vieng, where we were for the past couple of days. When people mentioned “tubing down the river” all through our journey, I never really knew what they were talking about or what to expect. So we show up, on the side of a dirt-ish kind of highway, and get a tuk tuk driver to take us to a guesthouse, and to figure out what the big deal is. When going through this small and quiet town, it was strange to come upon the very large tourist section that has formed here. Basically, this is how it goes:

You come here, rent an inner tube, go on a day long pub crawl down the river to the numerous bars that are on the waters edge, and then continue after the sun goes down (at about 6 o’clock) at all of the more land-oriented bars. That is the main draw of this place, and it has its good and bad points to it. I realized today that even in a crazy place like this, I still don’t like top forty music, nor do I appreciate fist pumping, backwards hat-wearing people. I don’t mind having a drink or two whilst floating down the river though, and it was a pretty fun way to spend a couple of days.

Now, however, we are in another town called Laung Prabang. It is a town full of french influence, as well as SO MANY good restaurants and bakeries. The night market is bustling, bright, and full of a lot of great things. The general atmosphere here is really great; it is peaceful, and quaint. Tomorrow we are headed on a three day tour, which is going to be the best tour we have done or even though about, for sure! It is a combination of trekking, cycling, kayaking, home-stays, and playing with elephants! So good! As our trip is nearing it's end, the rest of our time in Laos will be spent well.

Buddhafish...

On a happier note... lets talk about monk chat.

Cambodia's major spirituality is Buddhism. One of the things that I really wanted to achieve by traveling in Asia was to learn more about Buddhism. Truthfully, I have always admired Buddhism without really knowing much about it. At this VERY excellent cafe/restaurant called "Peace Cafe" an opportunity arose.

A few days ago, Karen and I first fell upon Peace Cafe. It is a vegetarian restaurant that also runs yoga classes, singing group, monk chats, and has a meditation hut. All of these things were very appealing to us, so we looked at the schedule and decided to come to as many things as possible. Yesterday night we went to yoga which was a really great class. The teacher was clearly highly skilled at yoga, and described things in a very easy to follow way.
This evening, we went to monk chat - an intro to Buddhism. We showed up a bit early and grabbed a cup of tea while waiting for the monks. They soon arrived in their orange robes and shaven heads, with smiles on their faces. At the monk chat, two monks (a third joined later) were there, as well as Karen, myself, and a guy named Nick from Seattle.
The chat was just as I had dreamed, a monk telling us about the root meanings behind Buddhism, and showing us a bit about Buddhist meditation. The monk who came later was SUPER educated, and could speak exceptionally good English. With him we were able to ask any questions we had about Buddhism and he would give us his answers. It was good to hear about the robes, the temples, what people do at temples, and that Buddhism is more about just being a good person than anything. I guess what I will take away is the word Purpose. Do things with a conscious purpose and realize what you are doing and why you are doing it - simple.

Karen and I decided that this third monk was the Buddhist equivalent of Catfish. Hence, Buddhafish.

Anyways, I am at peace knowing a bit more about the culture here, as well as what the real purpose of all of these pagodas is. Now when we visit more temples tomorrow, I will know that my own reasons behind being there are what matter, not really any specifics traditions or ceremonies.

Raw Edges...

Tonight is the end of day 5 of Cambodia so far. All I knew about Cambodia before getting here was that something bad happened once upon a time, and that once as a child I saw a clip on the television showing wooden huts full of skulls.

I have never fully associated Cambodia with anything. No full story, no culture, not even a certain kind of food. All I knew was that for some reason I associated the word "genocide" with this country.

Coming here, as well as reading a book called "First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung, has opened my eyes so much. Simply visiting two places (the killing fields and the genocide museum) has taught me things that I feel I should have grown up knowing. It is weird to think of such horrific things happening anywhere in the world, and especially in such a peaceful place as present day Cambodia. Our experience, for example, at the genocide museum was such a contrasting scene. After walking through rooms where a thousands of people were brought to be tortured and then murdered, we would exit outside into a beautiful courtyard full of sunlight and palm trees.

Also with the killing fields, the scenery defied the story. Walking on small dirt paths we would wander past small wooden signs talking about what happened in a nearby spot when the horrors that happened were occurring there. Looking to the sides of the paths there were numerous large holes, overtaken by grass and flowers. It was hard to imagine those holes were mass graves only 31 years ago. The centerpiece of the killing fields is a large monument, filled with the human remains of about 17 000 people, all of which were found at the site we were walking around. The monument is there as a reminder of what has happened, an honor to the people whose lives were taken, and a stark reminder of what should never occur again.

Seeing that really makes you grateful to be alive. It really makes you thankful to live in Canada.

I don't really want to describe all the things that I have seen, as really it is just learned through visiting very public places, and reading very public things. I do recommend everyone brushes up on their Cambodian history, especially those who don't know anything about it. There are tons of books on the subject as well as a few movies.

Remaining reminders...

When deciding that I would travel to Vietnam, it came across my mind that I would probably learn about some of the immense history this country has. Through our trip, we've heard bits and pieces, but very recently I have learned a LOT.
One great day of learning was on a bike tour in a town called Dalat. In Vietnam people often make money by just randomly offering a service, or things/food for sale, to people in the street. A common example is offering a ride to somewhere on their motorbike. In Dalat, the most common offering one will get is for Easy Rider tours. There are, probably, some sort of official easy riders, and then every other person that owns a motorbike in the town who claims to be an "Easy Rider" tour guide. We found someone who seemed quite legit actually, as he had a jacket, could speak vietnamese, english, AND french, and had a very thick book of written references (always a great thing to find). Anyways, we chose him, he and two friends picked Karen, Sara, and myself up the next morning, and took us on a full days tour. We saw some amazing things such as:
- A dragon pagoda
- Where all of the vegetables are grown (a neat city center farm land kind of deal)
- A flower farm (Dutch inspired green houses)
- A silkworm farm
- The Elephant waterfall
- A coffee plantation
- A tea plantation
- A strange way of growing mushrooms
- How rice wine is distilled

The real learning however was throughout the day while our guide Stefan told us about Vietnam from his personal perspectives. Hearing his struggles through life, and how hard it is to make money to keep a family going was crazy to hear. Like that even though Vietnam is reunified, North and South are one, he still sees areas of unbalance.

Hearing his perspectives on the war really brought things closer to home for me. For example, he mentioned seeing his village evacuated and then bombed as a child. He mentioned being a soldier during the Vietnam war and because of that had some interesting comments. For example, he pointed out this bare looking patch that covered a hillside. To the uninformed eye, it just looked like a large area of grass, which it is. As he explained though, the area is like that because after the hill was lit up with napalm, the jungle could not grow there anymore.

My knowledge has grown from other days as well. Yesterday we went to the "War Remnants Museum" which is a museum of just that; remnants of the Vietnam war. I realized while being there that I really have no idea about what happened during that war, or almost any war for that matter. I learned in detail about so many things that I previously had no clue had happened. For instance, I now know about the mass quantities of chemicals used on Vietnam that caused not only immediate effects, but had repercussions on the environment and the people for years after they were used. I also found out about the massacres that happened in various areas, like the one in a place called Son My.

I guess before finding these things out, I didn't know why the war happened. I didn't know the extent of what went down, why the whole world was opposed, or what effects anything had. I now know more, but feel like I am just beginning to understand a history that is incredibly tragic. Learning hand in learning hand, I also recently have been reading about the Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia, the next country we are headed to. All of this makes me appreciate South East Asia so greatly. For countries with such brutal and horrific pasts, they are thriving so much now with such a commendable mentality. After all my findings, I get why Vietnam is SO PROUD, and I get why Ho Chi Minh is SO RESPECTED.

All in all, I will continue to learn onwards in my journey. Tomorrow we set off down the Mekong Delta with the destination of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia.

Things on Bikes...

Alright, so this post will be updated throughout my journeys here. Motorbikes are a huge part of the culture here in Vietnam, and they are absolutely everywhere. There is probably a motorbike for every Vietnamese person over the age of 16... seriously, there are thousands. The use of a motorbike in North America is basically to transport 1-2 people, in a normal traffic setting. The use of a motorbike here is to do absolutely anything, carry any amount of people, and to transport all goods.
The following is a list of things that I have seen on Motorbikes:
-Women sitting side saddle carrying large wedding picture while someone else drives through very busy traffic
- Man driving with one hand while cradling a baby in the other
- Sleeping toddler on drivers lap, half on half off
- A full bouquet of balloons
- A popcorn machine with small bags of popcorn
- 30+ boxes
- Corrugated steel
- Rebar + metal pipes
- Four grown men
- An 8ft across dresser, going uphill, with two men (one on either side) running with it to balance it
- Women in high heels and tight dresses riding side saddle
- Compressed air cylinder on the flat part of a scooter in front of the drivers legs
- Me, a driver, karens large backpack, and my large backpack
- Bags of live fish! Like 30 bags... crazy.
- A child sitting behind the driver, with an I.V in, with a person behind the child, holding the I.V pole (seen this more than once)

SUBSECTION - Bicycles:
- Hundreds of flowers
- Two people and another bike
- Steam buns and a working steamer
- 1 very large pig strapped horizontally

The Moments That Make Up The Dog Days...

Today was day three of a three day tour to Halong Bay and Catba Island. The first day we drove to Halong city and then took a small boat to our larger boat. We cruised around the bay which is filled with beautiful islands and a mist that makes it look magical. The tour was great because not only were the sights amazing, but we were with a great group of people from many different parts of the world. After drifting around, we did a bit of kayaking and ended with a swim around our boat. That night we stayed on the boat while floating on the bay. The evening ended quite late, as there was definitely some karaoke happening, and a lot of good conversation to be had. The next day we ventured off to monkey island where the people we met actually were chased by monkeys! A bit scary, but super funny to see. After that we headed to Catba island where we stayed that night. Basically the entire trip was relaxing, beautiful, and filled with great people.

Other than our small expedition we've been staying in Hanoi. The city has been MADNESS due to the festival/generally crazy lifestyle. Take the other day for example: there was a parade in the evening which we went to go watch. After waiting quite a while the parade started. It was a group of military people marching in sync, followed by cheers. Next was a differently dressed military group, marching in sync, followed by cheering. And so on, and so on, and so on. Oh and then the floats started. First up, a large red float with a big picture of Ho Chi Mihn (might be spelled wrong... oops!) and a "Hanoi 1000 years" sign. This float was followed by a group of people with signs of Ho Chi Mihn, then people with flowers, all cheering. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
A bit of a different type of parade, but their spirits were all good.

Anyways, things have been crazy but wonderful. Tomorrow night we're off to Sapa for a motorbike/trek tour, and a homestay in one of the villages. It sounds exciting and will surely be an adventure.

Quitters...

Today was supposed to be the second day of our volunteer project. The project was made to help out with the 1000 year anniversary of Hanoi which is 5 days from now. So, I say "supposed to" because things worked out a bit differently than planned.
Here is the story:
Karen and I cabbed over to the meeting spot yesterday morning where we met up with a few other volunteers from various projects, and waited around for a bit. After some time, the director lady told us to take our stuff, as we were going to the place that we were staying in (which we thought we were already at). We arrived at this place, met all the other participants, and then waited. After a while we introduced ourselves and looked at the itinerary which looked a lot like much touring of the city, going to museums and such, free time, games, and things like that. All of this is alright... minus the fact that it isn't volunteer work! After the group started asking about our volunteer work, it was told to us that it was pretty much for us to learn about Hanoi, and then make a poster/movie/slide show about how great the city is... not super awesome. Anyways, it appeared that it wasn't what we expected, and crappy accommodations (cockroaches and not enough beds!). We decided to ask for our money back, which we received the majority of (from the Vietnamese organization who were quite nice) and to leave on our merry way. The Canadian organization kind of sucked though, as they charged us more than the others, and none of the money apparently went to the actual organization. The battle will continue with them for sure.

Anyways, today we went to the Temple of Literature, which was nice, and would have been more peaceful if there weren't thousands of people in and around the area (the festival has drawn MASSIVE crowds). We also had an AWESOME vegetarian meal in the style where its all veg, but cooked to look like meat. This is in order to make carnivores feel more at home (a la padmanadi style). An added bonus was that it cost us about $3 each for more food than we could finish. Yes. Also checked out the festivities this evening, it was super crowded, but a really cool atmosphere. Cool performances and neat random street-happenings. Soon we will probably take a three or so day trip to Halong Bay, as well as a place called Sapa.

On the road again, and so much wiser.

Arrival!

Alright so I made it safe and sound, and am currently in a backpackers hostel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Flights were all good, blah blah blah, but I can see that the adventure definitely started once I got here. I arrived at the airport, my visa on arrival worked out, and there was a man waiting for me with my name in the lobby (as planned). Once he started driving me I could tell that this place is quite different than anything I have ever known. Everyone here drives INSANE. No other word for it, its just pure chaos on the road. There are tons of motorbikes darting between cars, people driving in the wrong lane, and it seems that a 2 lane road means that its a 6 lane road if the fit is right. So crazy, but I saw no accidents... but most likely will.

The hostel is super awesome. Its really clean and beautiful. There are linens for the beds, free breakfast, free internet, free movies, etc etc etc. And it's only $5.50 US per night. Yeah. Soooo good. So anyways, that's my crazy first impression of Vietnam. Can't wait for the adventures to begin.

New Travels!

Alright so it looks like I am headed to Vietnam! I have been accepted to a volenteer program that is for the 1000th aniversary (yes, thousandth!) of Hanoi. It is a really big festival, and it looks like I will be helping run stands and set up in some way.

I am leaving super soon, as my volenteer project starts on the 4th of October! It is a bit of a rush to get stuff together, but my planning (or lack there of) is actually almost done. I will be meeting up with my friend Karen there who has been away in Australia for a year, so that is an added bonus of this trip. I will be kickin it around Asia for about 2 months, and will be back at the end of November.

Alright, let the adventures continue!

Vestman Islands

So those few months ago I ran out of computer time wilst I was actually in Iceland. And since then, I proceeded to somehow forget my password and really forget to update this blog.

So for this entry, you can personally past-date it to sometime in early June.



Vestman Islands was SO beautiful! It is this small little island that is south of Iceland itself. Our host Heimer was raised on Vestman Islands, and he asked us if we wanted to go visit his family with him for a weekend.

Getting there required a three hour ferry ride that proved to be the new bane of my existance. The waves were incredibly powerful on the ocean that day, and something called "under waves" caused our boat to rock and roll most of the passengers into incredible fits of sea-sickness. Beth was somehow fine, and through her stories after the ride, she saw some hilarious things. Picture walking into a room and seeing about 25 people sitting buckled over, or laying down, or standing - all holding on to something of course, and all staring at these small waxy white paper containers that looked something like a chinese food box. Then keep walking, and see the same scene you just saw in about ten more variations... that was everyones wonderful boat ride experience (keep in mind that I am leaving out the many gruesome details, such as a sink of vomit rocking with the waves - ew. )

Anyways, once we reached Vestman Islands, all was good. The weekend was full of "Sailors Day" festivities, which meant a whole lot of random, cool things. It also meant that Beth and I did not have to spend a dime on food, as Heimers mommy cooked up a storm and generously offered us every meal. Beth learnt the wonders of dried fish, and I enjoyed the bakery down the road.

There were a few things very specific to Vestman Islands. One of which was the rope that hangs off of a cliff. It is basically this freyed looking rope, hanging down probably 100 ft, that you are supposed to climb up on a rock, grab the rope, and swing to another part of the cliff. Super hilarious, and such a cool tradition. Another thing specific to this particular island is the fact that it expanded by about 20% in the 1970's when a volcano erupted! The eruption also buried a street or two of houses, so there are some cool half-buried excavation sites that you can walk around in. One evening we climbed up the volcano that had errupted, and it was still warm in a lot of places. Also, if you dig down about a meter or so, it is still hot enough that you can bake bread in the hole!

Anyway, the weekend in Vestman Islands was pretty wonderful. We laughed, climbed mountains, and even tried nose tobacco at a party (it burns so good!). Full of adventures, it was a good last weekend in Iceland.

An adventure!

Yesterday Beth and I went on a ´day excursion´ that was called the Black and Blue. Its called that because it is caving and snorkeling, all in one fun filled day (thumbs up). I usually don´t go for expensive, touristy, trip things, but this one looked fun so we thought it would be good times.

So it began by driving out to þingvellier (thats probably spelled wrong) which is a national park type deal. There we got into our dry suits, and then our otter suit exteriors. SO funny by the way. The interior layer is like wearing a suit that is made out of a sleeping bag, and the outer layer is this bulkyish dry suit (kind of like a wet suit but a bit different) that had very tight wrist things, and neck thing. It also had built in rubber boots to keep your feetsies dry.

We put on some more stuff, and then hop into the coolest thing ever. Its the split between the american continent and the european one. The water filters down from a glacier and takes 30 years to get into this crack, which we then swim in. Oh yeah, the fact that it is glacier water DOES in fact mean that it is hella cold (hence the super suit). Anyways, we just kind of drifted down stream and got to look at all of the awesome down in the ground water stuff. The visiblity is 100 meters there, so it was super crystal clear.

After that adventure, we get out of our dry suits (which kept us very dry) and go down the path a bit to our next stop, the cave. The cave was formed from lava a few thousand years ago (like 10 000?) so it is a lava tube cave. It was super rocky and hard to walk through, but also extremely neat. The guide was cool and had a lot of good facts and stories, which made it pretty rad.

I don´t know which I liked better, but good times were definitely had.

Good Times

Ok had an excellent weekend. It began on friday.
We went to a cafe/bar deal downtown. The Best Party (a local political party that is actually called that.. .and sound awesome) were throwing a party there so we got free beer, free food, and a free concert. It was great.

Saturday Beth and I walked around the small town (thats connected to Reykjavik) and hung out all day. We found another mall, and it was quite expensive. Afterwards we got some pizza and icecream while we hung out with our awesome hosts parents and watched Eurovision. Hilarious by the way.
After some excellent Eurovision competition... just kidding... we went to a party at a couple of their friends house. Drank some beers there and had some good talks with more local people. Everyone was super cool so it was sweet. After the party we headed out to the excellent Icelandic night life. Beginning at around 2 am, we went to a place that is coffee bar by day, bar by night. They played REAL music which was a great change from the bars I have been to. We left around 4, and the bars weren´t even closed yet. They dont close until 5-6 am. Oh and it was bright out the whole time, since the sun doesnt really set around this time of year.

Today we woke up and headed out to the Blue Lagoon, It was pretty cool, and my skin is pretty silky smooth. A nice peaceful day to end a most excellent weekend.

Naked

So basically the main culture shock of being here in Iceland is the whole naked thing. If you go to a pool, in the change room you MUST change in front of everyone, and shower naked. If you don't shower naked, people yell at you. For real.

Coming from my, apparently, incredibly modest upbringing, this took some getting used to. After some initial weird feelings, I was actually feeling comfortable with being naked in a room with a whole bunch of other naked ladies. It was quite a liberating feeling. This first barrier that I crossed was however at the health center, where most of the ladies were older, saggier, and heavier.

The other day was my first foray into a *drumroll* normal swimming pool. Everyone looked like a model - the high majority were thin, muscular, hairless (apparently) and flawlessly tanned. THIS became my new culture shock.
I now entered a weird second puberty, where I felt awkward about the whole naked thing. I assume that it we were to go swimming 10 more times, my odd feelings would once again change.

All of these swimming experiences really got me to wonder, why the shame? Why does our western society promote shame of your body? Why do we feel awkward in public places, when really, we just don't have the small pieces of fabric that make up a bathing suit on yet? And why was my confidence suddenly depleted by the introduction of a new standard of beauty than I am used to?

I guess that is my thoughts on naked. And I guess I will have to ponder them all myself.

End of work

Today was our last day working in the greenhouse. So no more effort filled days for Beth and I, which is a relief, although it was quite good while it lasted. In the next couple of days we are going to head to Reyjavik and try out our couchsurfing skills. Hopefully all will go well and people will be sane and welcoming!

The other day I was out for a walk and ran into some local teenagers. They were 15, hilarious, and really reminded me of the highschool crew. Vulgar, raw, bold and hilarious, they were super good to talk to. We learned a bit about Iceland and how there is literally nothing to do in this small town I am in here.

Anyways, I am off for now as someone needs the computer.
Ciao for now :)

Not what I expected... but then, what did I expect?

So since I got here has definitely been... a bit different then I thought. I have been relaxing, taking it easy, and working hard. I dont really know what I thought would be different, but perhaps it will be what I expected once we are in the city.

Whatever this experience is, it is really great. I have been working out, eating incredible, vegetable full meals every meal, and swimming all of the time. We also just discovered the awesome sauna that smells amazing... so thats a plus.
Basically, Im working at a rehabilitation and health spa... high note on the health. Its been good for the body mind and spirit.
Minus the scratchy-rash thing that I got from tending to the cucumbers... oh well.

The people here are... well, old. But that is because of my location. I like just people watching here and wondering about everyones lives. Each person I have met had had such a different story with them and I like that a lot.

P.S. I definitly saw the oh-so-famous cloud of ash that everyone fears yesterday. It was distant, therefore not that crazy. Hopefully we can fly out when the time comes... fingers crossed?

Anyways, I do miss people, but I am definitely looking forward to my next adventures. Coolest thing on the upcoming schedual - hitchhiking to the next town over on the weekend. Horrah :)

Typing on a Swiss keyboard

Hello. Definatly have to be breif!

Right now I am super tired as I spent 6 hours of today walking to and then climbing a mountain, sitting in a hot river (naturally hot from the geothermal activity from the mountain) and then walking all the way back.
Good time, but exausting.

It is absolutly beautiful here. Doing the greenhouse work my thumbs literally have turned green, but I have learnt a lot.
SO MANY MOUNTAINS.
So much swimming. (6 times so far and I got here on Sunday!)
And so much... good? strange? .... food.

cheers for now.
bye

First Entry

Alright, so this will be my lovely travel blog, as I am quite terrible at talking to EVERYONE all of the time. Aka, if you are interested in my travels, this will be the place to look.
I don't know how often I will update this or anything like this, but it's worth a shot.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Iceland! I will be gone for juuust over a month, so, a good chunk of time, but not too long. To kick off the trip we (we being myself and my friend Beth) will be volenteering for two weeks. The project is called "gardening and forestry activities" and I am pretty excited about actually learning something about gardening.

Mmk. Some "fun facts" about Iceland (that I haven't experienced or proven... but have read aha)
- The literacy rate of Iceland is 99.9%.
- Strippers are illegal in Iceland
- Most Icelanders do not have a family name so children have a given name and then father’s-name-son or father’s-name-daughter.
- Because they don’t have surnames, Icelanders are listed in the telephone directory alphabetically by first name.
- Iceland has no army, navy, or air force. It does have a Coast Guard.


Ok. So I promise I will have better/more interesting posts once I actually go there.
For now, farewell!