Finding Adventures in the Ordinary

2010-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Because sometimes you just need to sit on a hippo.

Right?

Thanks to the town of Hutto, TX, we now have gained some perspective atop Hippopotamus amphibius.

I don't know about you, but if I saw this every morning on my way to work, I'd start my day with a smile.

This was only one of the highlights of our recent trip to Texas...we also got to visit Arash's family & friends, checked out some local cuisine, and took a ride on a pontoon boat out on the lake in Austin. Why are CA and TX so far apart?!

Ginger

2010-02-01T12:00:00.001-08:00

Ginger - you'll be missed.

You were a great dog; but we know you thought yourself more human than canine...We're so glad you found our family all those years ago, and we'll never forget you!

Autumn is all around us...

2009-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

...and since I have gotten the urge to bake pies probably about once an hour for the past few weeks, we decided it was time to do something about that.

We took a quick trip to Julian (in the East County area of San Diego), and enjoyed the scenery along the way. Every time we drive somewhere like this - the countryside, somewhat removed from the city and even the suburbs, it makes me ask myself, "Could I live out here?" Now, probably some of the inspiration for the question is because one can hardly help but notice how much cheaper the real estate is out here and also just how beautiful it is; but also because it makes me question the need and the desire to live "in the middle of everything". Every time we think about where we'd like to "settle down", we ask ourselves how anybody can possibly go about answering that question.

Do we choose to live near family? Well, if you're like most Americans these days, that's no easy task. My family is scattered around the world in such a way that it would be impossible to live near more than a few individuals in any one place.

Do we choose to live where there are people with shared interests? Do we settle down where there are lots of things going on that we know we enjoy (concerts, farmers' markets, theatre, museums, cultural events, etc)? Should we pick a place that has good schools & hospitals, fair real estate prices, or low taxes? Do we look for a place that makes us say "Wow, that's beautiful!" everyday? What about our friends?

I know that we are an increasingly globalized species; we humans fly about the world almost on a whim these days, and it seems that only in a few small towns do families stay close by with one another for any length of time... and it makes me wonder so, so many things.

Well, our trip to Julian came and went, and I'm no closer to answering any of those questions for myself. But we did come home with a bag of assorted apples and I got to satisfy my pie-making urge (at least for a while!). Interestingly, the orchard was all but picked clean of apples by the time we got there; proof that our society is so starved for a connection with nature that we flock en masse to the orchard, willing to pay $10 for the experience of picking our own fruit, even when we are told by a rather grumpy ranch owner that she could not guarantee we'd find any apples out there.Also, we had to sign a form promising not to throw any apples or hit the apple trees with sticks. Fine.

We ended up settling for the experience of picking one or two apples from the trees, and then filling our bag with apples that had already been harvested earlier. They were, indeed, delicious.

Adventures in Cooking

2009-09-08T12:07:00.001-07:00

Home made gnocchi isn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Hooray! I now have a new addition to my repertoire.

I even made some extra to freeze for later, which is handy because even though it wasn't a whole lot of work, it did make a whole lot of mess, which isn't fun. Also, the 'dough' that the gnocchi is made of is one of the coolest textures I think I've come across in my life- feels like incredibly smooth play-dough, and I couldn't resist making a few sculptures out of it before I cut it up into bits (wish I'd remembered to take a pic of the sculpture)!

Anniversary Cake

2009-09-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

I know some people think it's a sweet tradition to save a bit of their wedding cake to be frozen and eaten on their first anniversary. I think that's kinda gross, personally. So we didn't.

We thought it would be much tastier if we simply ordered another cake from the same bakery on our anniversary - we thought we'd rather reminisce with fresh cake. So we ordered a cake from the bakery- the kind we had at our wedding but never even got to eat (we were busy).

Much to our surprise, we saw when we picked it up that it was decorated not at all like a wedding cake, but with tons of beautiful, fresh fruit. It didn't look anything like our wedding cake, but was still gorgeous.

Except. . . that it sort of looked like the decorator fell asleep mid-embellishing. It reads "Happy Anniver. ..sojmelasoiejrlkjaskskl." Awww, that's sweet.

Anyway, the other unfortunate part is that the adorably polka-dotted exterior of the cake was inedible. Totally and completely disgusting. I took a bite, and seriously wondered whether or not I'd just eaten a piece of floral foam. Maybe it wasn't meant to be eaten, but if that's the case, I'd have appreciated a heads-up from the decorator. It wasn't fondant, it was a stiff, spongy, barely cake-like substance which tasted faintly like paint. Yum.

Not to knock this bakery too much - they did great work for our wedding, and we love this place as a neighborhood coffee shop. . . but needless to say, next year, we make our own anniversary cake.

For the dogs

2009-08-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

We have recently acquired a new [temporary] member of the family. . . meet Phoebe!

She is a 1 year old Boxer/Pit Bull mix who somehow found herself wandering the streets and ended up at the County Animal Shelter in San Diego. This sweet girl wasn't faring so well at the shelter- as we've come to learn, she has a bit of a sensitive stomach- and with the stress of life at a shelter, she had simply started losing weight.

So, with one more look at this sweet face, we had to help. She's been living with us for about 2 weeks now, and is a complete sweetheart. You couldn't ask for a more loving, goofy dog - she's fantastic.

We are looking for a good home for Phoebe - she would prefer a fenced yard, maybe another med-large dog to play with, and lots and lots of cuddling time with her family. If you know of anybody in the San Diego area looking for a sweet dog like her, please send 'em my way! You can also see a video of her here:

http://focas-sandiego.org/adopt/phoebe.htm

She is now gaining weight steadily, has been spayed, and is learning new tricks every day. She's ready for a permanent home!

China!

2009-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

My brother Nate and his wife Sam are headed to China! They will be there teaching English for two whole years (miss you guys already)! I know they are about to embark on a wild, wonderful adventure, and for anybody interested in keeping in touch with them or reading about their adventures, check 'em out here:

http://nateandsam.wordpress.com/

They truly are an amazing (and adorable) couple, and I know great things are in store for them. What better way is there to celebrate their 3 month "anniversary" than by flying to their new home in China...you guys are pretty cool.

1st Anniversary - almost here!

2009-06-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it, but we have almost been married a whole year now! It doesn't quite seem possible; but then again when I look back at everything that has happened in the past year, I am surprised that it all could have taken place within just one little year.

Here's a bit of what happened:
-we moved into the house on Finch Street
-Arash started and finished his first year of law school at USD
-we've traveled to Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Kansas
-my brother and his fiancee got married
-I've been in training to become a doula & recently attended my first birth
-Arash turned 27, I turned 26, and we both felt for the first time not being part of the "young crowd" at a wedding recently

I'm sure there were other momentous events that I'm forgetting, but that's a smattering of 'em. And hey, there are actually several weeks left 'til the official 1 Year Anniversary (it's on July 12th - you can congratulate us then!), so maybe we'll have lots more to report by the actual date.

Speaking of "dates", we still haven't figured out how we want to celebrate and commemorate the occasion. . . First things first: I'm off to order some cake from the bakery that made our wedding cakes. Mmmm.

Carlsbad Flower Fields

2009-05-03T10:39:00.001-07:00

From carlsbad flower fields april 2009

If you've never seen 42 gazillion flowers all in one place, this is something to check out. We happened to visit at the start of strawberry season, which is lucky for me, 'cause I adore fresh strawberry concoctions such as the Strawberry-Lavender Sundae I ate. So delicious.

From carlsbad flower fields april 2009

This place also has a beautiful rose garden, a sweet-pea maze (like a corn maze, but with peas instead), and while we were there we got to see the orchid fair! This might not be a place you can spend a whole day, but it sure was beautiful, and was worth the trip. It was all the more fantastic because of going with good friends, but honestly, the strawberry-lavender sundae would have been tough competition all on its own.

3rd Annual FOCAS Bowlathon

2009-04-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am proud to say that I am participating in the 3rd Annual FOCAS Dog & Cat Bowlathon to help raise money for FOCAS (Friends of County Animal Shelters), which is where I work. The bowling team I'm competing with will probably wish to throw me out by the end due to my utter lack of bowling skills, but lucky for everybody, the fundraiser has nothing to do with how well I can bowl. :)

I am asking friends and family to help our cause by donating (every little bit helps!) to our team. All proceeds from this event go toward reducing euthanasia in the San Diego County Animal Shelters, and we all know that's something worth giving for. I know that anybody who has ever adopted a shelter
pet, visited an animal shelter, or just loves the companionship of their pet knows that a pet's life makes such a beautiful difference in our lives, and makes our world a smilier place to be.

This scruffy little guy is Chevy; he was hit by a car and brought into the shelter, and FOCAS was able to provide him with the surgery he needed to get better. He is currently in a foster home with one of our volunteers, and undergoing physical therapy to regain his strength. Incidentally, Chevy still needs a home- but for now, we're just happy to have been able to fix up his legs and get him well. This is jus one example of the amazing work FOCAS does every day.

If you would like to contribute to my bowlathon team, please click here for the online form:

https://payments.auctionpay.com/ver3/?id=w0118410

Spring has arrived in El Cajon!

2009-03-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

And the garden is absolutely stunning. I cannot take any credit, of course, since all the bulbs that have flowered recently have been here for years- I just water 'em. We are working hard on combating a fairly hefty weed-infestation in the upper garden area, but in the front yard and the back, the flowers are bloooooming!

Here are a few examples of the gorgeousness that is popping up all around.

If a tree falls in the forest ...

2009-03-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today is St. Patrick's Day, 2009. I'm wishing I lived closer to all of my friends (especially those who would get a kick out of joining me for a pint of green beer). Drinking green beer at home alone really doesn't shout "cool".

My good friend Alison just came to visit last weekend, and it just reminded me how important I think it is to have a good, close network of friends nearby. Or at least within dropping-by distance.

Speaking of having Alison here for the weekend, we had a few little adventures on Saturday.

Adventure #1: Surfing! I had been surfing a few times in the past, but had never made it to actually standing on the moving surfboard. So, we signed up for a lesson with Surf Diva in La Jolla- a great company designed by two ocean-powered sisters who make surf classes completely relaxed and empowering. Needless to say, we had a blast (and I will be the first to mention that Alison stood up on her very first wave of the lesson- she rocks), and I did make it to standing up a few times. I'm hooked, and can't imagine how much more fun it will be once I get the hang of it.

I'm going back for more waves as soon as I recover from...

Adventure #2: Tattoo! I've been thinking of getting a tattoo for quite some time now, and had been mulling over a design idea for a couple of years- so I finally decided to go for it, and got "inked" on Saturday. My tattooist worked on my design idea over the week, and then after a few tweaks from me, the design was finalized. I was very nervous about the whole thing, especially since the design I wanted was rather large- I kept wondering if after a few minutes under the needles I'd chicken out and have to stop...but with the support of Alison and Arash (who stayed by me through the entire 2 hour ordeal), I made it through. I'm really happy with the result, and can't wait until it's healed! I imagine that this will be my only tattoo- people always say that it's "a mile to the first tattoo, and an inch to the second", but as it turned out, my pain threshhold turned out to be lower than I thought it might be, and I can still remember the "fight or flight" instinct that kicked in about 5 minutes into the tattoo process- I found it really hard to stay calm and although I'm thrilled with this one, I can't see myself doing it again. Anyway... here's the tat!

The design is a tree-woman, who symbolizes so many things that I aim to embody- strength & stability, connection with the Earth, simplicity, and the idea that humans are just as much an integral part of nature as are insects, apes, clouds, and . . . trees.

“You did not come into this world, you came out of it.
You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean.
You are not a stranger here.”
--Alan Watts

Things that happen.

2008-11-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

I always find it interesting to learn how people mark the time. If you ask someone, "What have you been up to?" or "What's been going on?", you're likely to get different types of responses- maybe an accounting of events they've attended recently, or maybe how their relationships have been progressing... maybe they'll tell you how their job has been going, what news they can share about their families and friends, or instead what they've been doing with their free time. It seems that people define their idea of "what's up?" very differently depending on the person they're talking with. And I suppose that's only natural. So- what's been going on for me?

How about a few photos- they're worth a thousand words, right?

The puppies!

We only have them for a few more days... then they go to adoptive homes. (Photo by Anita)

Trying to finish the long job of unpacking and nesting in the new house. Attempting to make THIS...

...look like THIS! (Photo of our newly re-decorated and painted master bedroom)

Enjoying the Autumn season and all that it brings...

...and trying to get back into good shape. Though the previous photo may indicate a counter-productive activity. Hm... Well, that's all for now. That's what's been going on.

The end.

OBAMA!

2008-10-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

How could anybody NOT want this family to be in our White House?

It's been a while...

2008-09-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

...and so much has happened. I feel like I'm living a slightly different version of my own life compared to the one I had a few weeks ago. Not inherently bad or good- just different.

We have moved into the house which belongs to my family- my grandfather has recently moved out into an apartment in a retirement community, and Arash and I are living in the house now. It is wonderful to have so much space now, especially considering the first apartment we had when we moved to San Diego about a year and a half ago (seriously, it was so small that, well, I don't know exactly how to characterize it except to say that it was incredibly cramped in there...there weren't even any drawers in the kitchen). Anyway, we now are residents (for an indeterminate amount of time) in this 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house, and the memories here are abundant and sneak up on me daily.

Standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes and looking out the huge kitchen windows into the front yard (yes, there are multiple yards and outdoor spaces here--I get mighty excited about that every day), I can call up specific conversations I have had in that very spot with my grandma, who passed away a little more than a year ago. When I go up in the back garden, I remember plucking tiny carrots from the ground with my grandfather, and even being scolded mildly for picking the ones that weren't ready yet. Many Thanksgiving dinners around the dining table, lazing about with my grandma (obviously a rather rare occurrence, for those who knew her) and watching together TLC's "What Not to Wear"- I always thought it was really funny that my grandma watched (and liked!) that show, seeing as how I never knew her to shop for clothes for herself- ever. There are so many more, and many other memories brought up by finding little items scattered around in drawers and closets...we have also found photos of the family that I had never seen before. Photos of my grandma when she was MY age and younger- it's amazing how as her granddaughter, I never knew her as anyone buy my grandma, but she, like anybody, had a past, a youth, a childhood- and I can only look at the photo of her in her high school cap & gown on graduation day, and think that this young woman would someday become my grandma...my imagination has a hard time filling in that gap; spanning that time until she would become rescuer of spiders in the bathroom, champion backyard-fort-builder, and singer of strange lullabies.

But now this is where I live. The first house that my husband and I have ever lived in together. And one day, maybe someone will find photos of us in all our "youthful glory" and wonder what went on in the years in which they did not know us.

Also, we've been here just a few weeks now, but I don't think it's too early to celebrate the fact that I haven't yet killed my grandpa's roses.

aaaaand here are the "official" photos!

2008-09-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/arash.ebrahimi

I keep looking at them, re-living the day for a few moments. It was really an amazing day; there's nothing I would have changed about it.

OK, well maybe I wish my big "surprise" had panned out... but then again, it turns out that Arash sort of knew about it anyway. Oh well. I had recorded myself singing a song that he used to sing to me all the time, but apparently, my computer skills aren't up to par, and the song somehow didn't get transfered into iTunes.

Mr. and Mrs.

2008-08-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! We're married!

We have spent the first three weeks of our life as newlyweds enjoying some down time before Arash begins law school at USD, and anxiously (and not so patiently) awaiting our wedding photos!

We have received some great shots of the wedding from friends and family, but (and I don't mean to insult anybody's photography skills) we are really, really excited to see the professional ones. Mostly because in the photos taken by friends and family we are all looking nice, but just not looking at the camera...

Here are some of the great ones captured by wedding guests... Enjoy! :)

Also- thanks to everybody who helped to make our wedding day really special- we had the time of our lives, and hope you all had fun, too!

dum DUM da dum...

2008-07-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

Getting married (and planning the wedding) is about as big an adventure as I can imagine...traveling the world, moving to a new city, starting a new job- all of these seem like baby steps when compared to the mountainously large ordeal that preparing for a wedding (even a very simple one) can be.

I'm gonna go ahead and give us a whole lotta credit for how sane and healthy we've remained amid the stress and chaos of this past year. The past few months have been decidedly more rushed than we've ever felt before, but I'll tell you one thing- I wouldn't have it any other way. What better way is there to strengthen our knowledge of one another? We have learned more about each other's limits in this short time than ever before- and I do believe we knew each other pretty darn well before we even got engaged. Honestly, I think every couple should make a point to plan their wedding themselves...aside from the stress of it all, this has been FUN. We've gotten to creatively express our love for one another through so many avenues...and the fun is only starting!

Speaking of fun (or rather, speaking of stress?), some good friends of ours have recently become engaged, and have started this website. They are planning to have a wedding (in just a few months, mind you) for just $1,000. Check it out: http://1kwedding.com/

Starting a new chapter in life, starting a new chapter of the blog...

2008-06-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

I figure it may be some time before I get to take another big trip to anywhere truly extraordinary, and since I enjoy blogging, regardless of whether I'm at home or in some faraway place where using the restroom is usually much more interesting, I thought I'd turn this into a regular ol' run-of-the-mill blog. You know, stories and stuff and somethings.

Here goes... :)

Highlights of the Trip...

2008-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

...in whatever order they occur to me!

Lucha Libre! I'm now a die-hard fan...and I'd give anything to see El Flash fight again!

Climbing the pyramids = workout of a lifetime!

Trying new foods (and sweets!) around Mexico City

Visiting the home of Frida Kahlo (SO awesome), and also reading lots of funny signs...see for yourself!

I'm home!

2008-01-18T07:58:00.001-08:00

Well, I didn't manage to blog on the final two days of my trip- they were FULL of amazing stories, however, so I will just have to finish telling them from home.

My trip home was exhausting- even though the flight is only a little over three hours long, I had to wait in the airport for almost 3 hours before that, and then when I finally though I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, in steps good ol' US Immigration...after getting off the plane, I waited over and hour and a half just in the Customs line! Whew. What a day!

I'm so sad not to be travelin' it up with Alison anymore- but glad to be home with Arash again and glad to be brushing my teeth with running water...glad to have my own comforts of home...and SO excited to hear what Alison will be up to these next few months! (Any of you who want to keep up with Alison can check out her blog...it's linked from mine on the right hand side of this page).

I'll get to the rest of the stories soon...right now I've gotta get to work!

Besitos,
Katie

This is me at the pyramids of Teotihuacan, sitting atop the Pyramide del Sol.

Los Antros

2008-01-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

We're pretty exhausted today- last night was our night "out on the town" with our new friends Mirelle and Sergio. Mirelle is a law student at the university where Alison will be studying, and they've both taken really great care of us- showing us around, making sure we get back to our hostel safely, showing us the best places to eat, etc. They took us out to the clubs last night (here called Antros...though I'm not sure why). We were completely beat after an already long day of shopping, buses, walking the city, and just generally being travel-weary...so we didn't really last too long, but I'm glad I got to experience the night life here in D.F. We saw some parts of the culture that I don't think we would have seen without our expert guides...some of the clubs here are pretty exclusive- but Mirelle seemed to have a friend at each one, and she got our "cover" waived once, too. We went to a nice bar, a predominantly gay dance club, and saw the Zona Rosa, known for being the extremely progressive side of the city.

It is now just after noon, and thanks to the fact that there are no external windows in our hostel room, I just woke up a few minutes ago. Which, if you know me well, is crazy! I honestly thought it was still early in the morning when Alison got up to start getting ready...so needless to say, we got a late start on the day. But we plan to make up for it by starting our day off right- with a steaming cup of mexican hot chocolate and some amazing sweet breads and pastries. Mmmm.

If we last long enough tonight, we are going to Lucha Libre with our friends- kinda like American WWF. Woohoo!

Que lo pasen bien!
Katie

a few more photos in no particular order

2008-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Here´s a photo of Alison in front of Hostel Amigo, where we stayed for the first few nights in Mexico City. If it looks like the street is completely torn to bits, it is. We had one heck of a time getting all our bags through this street- there are places where you have to walk across flimsy boards covering trenches, sidewalks with giant gaps in it, and the very entrance of the hostel is covered with a giant, round piece of wood (looks like a top to a large cask or something). You literally have to jump over a ditch to get to it. So here´s Alison pretending (or not) to fall into the ditch. The guide book said this was in a ritzy part of town. I beg to differ.

The next photo is a picture of the Cathedral in the main square (the Zocalo) of Mexico City. This is the building that we got to climb on top of (while mass was going on underneath us) to see the bells at the top. It was a little scary, I´ll admit. The staircase was a spiraling, metal structure, and I was definitely keeping an eye on how many people were climbing it at once. A little uncomfortable. And while at the top, our tour guide talked about the bells, and then, while I was not paying attention, he decided to ring the bell- and I almost fell over with fright. It was so loud and so sudden- I´m just glad I wasn´t standing on that spiral staircase when he rang it. Whew!

And the last photo, although blurry, is a picture of a Diego Rivera mural inside the President´s Palace. An original!! It was amazing to see these up close, and this was one of my favorite panels. His works was (and is) very political, and depicts a lot of conflict between the cultures and classes here in Mexico.

Enjoy!

Some people ride rollercoasters...

2008-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

...we ride buses in Cuernavaca.

It was definitely a white-knuckle ride to the pyramids yesterday. Not that we were expecting a luxury coach, but we certainly were kept alert by the way that the drive of our ¨micro¨ seemed to be playing chicken with other buses on the roads. We made it, however, and it was completely worth the hot, dusty bus ride.

The pyramids at Xochicalco were an important civilization around the year 700 AD. The structures have since been reconstructed to reflect their original positions, and they are remarkable. We visited the Pyramide de Quetzalcoatl (a warrior god whose image was a plumed serpent), an astronomer´s temple where the solstices were tracked and where the calendars were kept on track, and a pyramid where special ceremonies took place, including a space for playing a ball game in which the winner was given the highest honor- to be sacrificed to the gods.

I found myself staring at the ruins trying to imagine what it must have looked like at the height of it´s existence- so little is known about why it was deserted and how life was back then. So much of their lives must have been so different from ours today- and yet, so similar in some ways- there would have been families and shops and gossip and fights...people working and cooking and sleeping...laughing and jokes, lovers and enemies...kids playing games, adults talking ¨grown up talk¨... It really makes me appreciate both the uniqueness of cultures around the world, and also marvel at the human-universals that are found in every corner of the world. I am, however, grateful that MY culture does not include a sport in which the winner must die- although I can´t say I personally would be too worried about winning at soccer or some sport like that...

We´re going to stay one more night at our B&B in Cuernavaca...today we´re going to take it easy, maybe do some shopping for local artesanía and see some museums. We´re pretty exhausted from our wanderings yesterday- not only did we climb several pyramids, we got lost several times walking around Cuernavaca (the streets here are not on ANY kind of grid or system.. it´s kind of like free-style street building), and probably walked at least 10 miles looking for the bus stop. Our piernas are like jell-o today.

Here are a few pictues from yesterday- one is this sign we keep seeing that simply points to ¨Mexico¨...which I can´t really figure out, since, well, we´re IN Mexico. The others are of the magnificent stone work at the pyramids- which was just stunning.

Abrazos desde lejos,
Katie

Cuernavaca

2008-01-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

We´re now settled into a beautiful little Bed and Breakfast place in the town of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Cuernavaca is known for being the city of ¨eternal spring¨. Our hostel is the most gorgeous place run by the sweetest couple- called La Casa Mediterranea. It looks like something you´d see in a photo of the Riviera or a little Spanish Villa...it´s so peaceful, and the breakfast is to die for. We had ¨molletes¨this morning- kind of like biscuits covered in beans and melted cheese, with fresh cilantro salsa on top. Delicious.

We´re on our way to explore the town today- last night we were so tired, it was all we could do to get to a little cafe and have some coffee. Oh, and the coffee here is excellent! Our plan is to get on a little local bus and head to the Pyramids of Xochicalco (so-chee-cal-co) today- labled a Unesco World Heritage site, which I am super excited to see. There is just so much history here, and it´s beautiful to see the efforts with which things have been preserved. After that, if we have any energy left, we´ll go see this town´s Zocalo and possibly a museum housing works by Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo.

Hope everyone´s doing well, and here is a photo of our B&B.

Lots of love,
Katie

photos!

2008-01-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

I´m finally in an internet cafe...so here are a few highlights of the trip!

There´s a picture of me with statues of Diego and Frida at the Palacio del Presidente (kinda like the White House here), another of Alison cutting the Rosca de Reyes (she didn´t find any plastic figurines in hers), and one of us standing on the roof of the Cathedral in the Zocalo- we were on a tour of the giant bells (el campanario) atop the church- it was amazing to see the city from way up there!

Mexico City

2008-01-07T06:15:00.000-08:00

We made it! We are now happily in Mexico City, and have begun exploring- and this city is GREAT. I'm not saying it doesn't deserve any of the reputation it has for being polluted and sometimes dangerous- but, overall, it's just like any other big city in those regards. There are some truly amazing sights here- the presidential palace, the cathedrals...we have seen so much already in just two days!

If this computer were not agonizingly slow, I would post pictures of some of these places, but to save my sanity, I will just have to post them later.

We met up with another student that Alison will be studying with at the Universidad Pedregal here in the City; she took us around the Zocalo a little bit, and then to her home to meet her family and friends. We had a wonderful time. Since yesterday was Dia de los Reyes, we got to participate in the traditional "breaking of the bread" that is common here: the families buy large, donut shaped bread adorned with fruit, nuts, etc, and each member of the family takes a turn slicing themselves a portion. The interesting thing is that baked inside of the sweet bread are little toys, usually shaped like the baby Jesus. If you are the lucky (or unlucky) member to find the "juguete" in your bread, you are "blessed", as well as saddled with the responsibility of hosting a feast of tamales at some specific date in February...I can't remember now which day it is. My piece of bread contained not one, but TWO baby Jesus figures.

Too bad I'm leaving before this tamale extravaganza!

We also got to experience Mexican pizza for the first time...my vegetarian pizza had onions, green peppers, green olives, and lots and lots of chile peppers. It was almost too hot to handle, though I was shamed at my wussy tastebuds when I noticed everyone else in the room adding habanero sauce to their pizza slices. Oh well.

Anyway- we're most likely off to the town of Cuernavaca today, so I am about to go pack up my belongings and make the trek to the Metro (which, by the way, costs about twenty cents to ride, and it's awesome!)

Much love to you all,
Katie

Mexico Preview

2007-12-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Arash and I drove down to Mexico for the day with my friends Laura and Alex (Happy Birthday, Alex!). We had amazing food at Luis's restaurant- I'm only told that the deep fried lobster was delicious- though I can vouch for very tasty beer. I also was introduced to the phenomenon of the "chelada"...which is beer mixed with lime and salt, kinda like a beer-margarita. Very tasty.

We went shopping for a little while after dinner; I was practically drooling over some of the pottery and other gorgeous hand-arts in the shops. Arash liked the artisan crafted chess sets. We are definitely going to have to make another trip when we actually drive across the border so that we don't have to carry all the souvenirs on foot.

So, this was really like a little Mexico appetizer, if you will...just enough to get me incredibly excited for the longer trip.

OK, I know this isn't really travel related...

2007-12-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

...but I thought I'd share a photo from our recent engagement photo session provided by my aunt and uncle (www.socalsunshine.com). This was taken in Balboa Park in San Diego, which is the place we actually got engaged.

recent trips

2007-12-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are a few photos of some recent travel...we had an AMAZING time in Michigan with all the family, and it was by far one of the most beautiful, serene places I've ever been. It was so good to spend a few days with the whole family (or at least a whole lot of them) together- something that doesn't happen too often! I took the first two pictures at Watervale Inn, a place we will definitely have to visit again. The last photo was taken by Linda and Gene, my aunt and uncle, who are incredible photographers. This gathering of the family was to celebrate the 10th wedding anniversary of my uncle Scott and aunt JoAnn- congratulations, you guys!

Next trip!

2007-09-26T09:27:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a year since my last trip to South America...but there is good news- a few trips are on the horizon! We did however do a little traveling, even if it was in order to move to a new city... we've moved to San Diego (and the photo here is the view I get about 2 blocks from my office!).

Next month it's off to Michigan for a big family reunion and anniversary celebration, and I'm excited to see everybody and to visit Michigan (never been that region of the US before...should be great)!

Then, in January, I've just made plans to go with my wonderful friend, Alison, to Mexico for a while. This one won't be a long trip, just a week or so, but I am already so excited I can taste it. And it tastes good. We don't know where exactly we'll be traveling, but the plan is to fly into Mexico City DF and then just head out from there. Maybe Guadalajara?

So until then, cheers!

-Katie

Quepos, Costa Rica

2006-08-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

That's right everybody, we've made it to our final stop on our trip. We're safely in the city of Quepos, Costa Rica. It was a long day of airports, planes, taxis, and one very beautiful-yet-scary bus ride to this city. When we arrived, it was hot...not like the kind of hot you all are probably experiencing... hot like when you get out of the shower and the bathroom is all fogged up. Clothes stick to you, it feels like it's impossible to sweat- either that or you just don't notice the sweat for all the humidity in the air around you.

We stopped once at a small restaurant/fruit stand and I had some of the most amazing pineapple I've ever experienced. Our hostel is very cute, and comes complete with a pool, hammocks, a kitchen, etc... So, except for the fact that it has been raining with thunder and lightning showers ever since about midnight last night, things are perfect. ;)

We're not sure if we'll stay here, since it looks as though it might rain for the next two days straight...we can't really do the things we planned to do (horseback tour of the rainforest, sleeping on the beach, visiting the Costa Rican bagpipe museum [Arash]...)so we might head back to San Jose early. It's raining everywhere in this country. We've checked. And it looks like it may be due to some hurricaine named Debby...sheesh. Luckily it's not expected to get crazy...just rain a lot.

So... Saludos desde Costa Rica...hope you all are well!

Medium Strange

2006-08-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos,

More things Ive learned so far:
-being the "funny" guy on the tour . . . annoying in any country
-asking for your steak "mediano raro" does NOT mean medium rare. It means medium strange
-when the waiter asks you how you like the way that steak was cooked, do NOT give him the "A-Ok" symbol that we do in America. Thats the equivalent of giving him the middle finger.
-When you are caught in an anti Israeli/America rally, do NOT say "Shalom Yall"
-This next one is embarrassing. Even for me. If you see a bidai (sp?) for the first time in your life, and have no idea what it is, do NOT lean over it and turn the handle.
-If you happen to do the above, do NOT tell your travelling mates what happened. Especially if one of those is your girlfriend. She WILL make fun of you.

At the top of the highlight reel would have to be Che Guevaras house, some cool dance-theater stuff, and hopefully Snakes on a Plane tomorrow. Will be getting together with the Pipe Major of the BA bagpipe band on Tuesday.

-meeting with the pipe major of ANY pipe band while you are on vacation is nerdy in ANY country

Trying to look as non Middle Eastern and American during the rallies around South America. In the short time I have been here, I have literally stumbled across 4 or so. They all seem to be peaceful, so so far we haven{t really been scared.

Hope all is well with everyone. Katie, Luana and I send our love.

Be on the lookout for some pictures soon!

Last stop in South America

2006-08-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Since our last postings we have covered a lot of ground! We took an overnight bus from Mendoza to Córdoba, and spent two days/one night there. That city reminded us quite a lot of San Francisco, CA because of its tall buildings and insanely busy streets. Just ask the two of us who almost got run over in the streets. In Córdoba we took a bus to a town called Alta Gracia where we visited the childhood home of Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The house has been turned into a museum, and we got to watch a few short documentaries on the life and work of El Che. It was like seeing the preview to one of my favorite movies, "The Motorcycle Diaries". In fact, they even have a replica of his infamous motorcycle there in the house. I even got to use Che´s bathroom. Weird, eh?

Well, after our stay in Córdoba, we took another nighttime bus all the way to Buenos Aires; it took almost 13 hours to get here, and we arrived at 5am. We checked into a really cute hostel right in the heart of downtown, which we have yet to see because we´ve been sleeping since we got here. Anyway, we´re very excited to get started exploring this city, which, I believe, is the largest city in South America. I´m told it is "the New York of South America", but will have only images in my mind to compare it with, never actually having been to NY myself. I´m looking forward to artisan markets, incredible food, tango lessons, possibly a ferry ride to Uruguay´s capitol, Montevideo, and cheap shopping!

All continues to be well with us, and we hope you´re all doing splendidly, too!

Lots of love from us all!

¡Mas Fotos!

2006-08-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Fountain in Mendoza, Argentina

Arash and Luana having breakfast in our hostel

Arash and his adopted street dog, "Buster"

Katie and Luana at a wine tasting; standing in front of huge wine barrel.

Katie and Arash on the vineyard tour, Mendoza winery.

View of the Andes mountains as seen through the bus window.

Take Two

2006-08-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

As Arash said earlier, we`re now in Mendoza, Argentina. I must say, I love this town, and this country as well. It helps that the food is amazing here, despite the fact that very little of it is vegetarian... In fact, no sooner that I had walked downstairs to the main room of the hostel, someone asked me (in a lovely Argentine accent) if I would like to have breakfast, and where I'd like to eat it. I was then brought a cup of coffee (the real stuff, not Nescafé like in Chile), and a basket of pastries. Mmmmm.

Anyway, now that we`re safely here in the country and settled into a hostel, the events of the past two days seem [almost] funny. You see, our first attempt to travel to Argentina was on Sunday morning. We woke up really early, took a taxi to the bus station since the metro system wasn`t operating that early in the morning (these people know how to sleep in!), and then purchased our three tickets to Mendoza. By the way, bus tickets here are insanely cheap; I think each bus ticket (international, mind you) cost about 15 dollars. Luana reminded us that she had to pay about 40 dollars for her train trip from SoCal to Sacramento. Anyhow, we ate breakfast in the bus station, waited a while, and then hopped on the bus for what we assumed would be a 6 or 7 hour ride across La Cordillera de los Andes. Well, as soon as the awesome, snow-covered mountains came into sight, we encountered a line of buses and trucks stopped on the sides of the road. We were soon told that an accident had been reported somewhere along the route through the mountains, and that they`d had to close the passage in order to clear the accident. And with that information, we waited.

And waited.

Finally they came onto the bus and gave us the very helpful information that the accident still had not been cleared, and that the authorities had absolutely no idea when it would open. Oh, and also, we were not supposed to get off of the bus. I think they were afraid of people making a dash for the borders on foot. But had they seen my traveling companions, I don`t think they`d have worried so much, `cause they had both been sound asleep since we had reached the mountains.

After what seemed like about 3 and a half hours (because it was 3 and a half hours), they announced that the passage through the Andes would remain closed due to a combination of the accident and the weather on the Argentine side of the pass. We would have to return to Santiago. This was not only frustrating because of having sort of wasted a whole day, but we had also already checked out of our hostel, already exchanged all our chilean pesos for argentine pesos (and apparently these countries are fairly picky about currency), and we realized that we had no idea if the passage would be open the next day or not. We started going into "last resort" mode, thinking about trying to buy plane tickets (which are not insanely cheap here) or trying to go toward the southern passage through the mountains...Finally we decided to give it one more day, and to try the bus again.

The next morning, we got up, took another cab to the bus station, and while in the taxi, we heard on the radio that the pass was still closed. I was crushed. I had already begun to imagine the taste of the Italian food and wine of Argentina... Plus, it was starting to make me nervous that we wouldn`t have enough time to actually get to our final destination in Argentina, Buenos Aires, because our return flight leaves from there. Anyway, since we`d already paid for our bus tickets, we had to go to the station anyway to get our refund. But when we arrived at the ticket counter, nobody would affirm for us that the pass was or was not closed. As in, they weren`t going to refund our money until the last minute, in case the bus driver decided to take his chances and head toward the mountains anyway. *groan*

Finally, at what seemed to be the actual very last minute, the driver decided to go. We, on the bus, were dreading having to spend another day on a bus for no reason. It wasn`t until we actually passed through the immigration booths and we were back on the bus heading down the other side of the Andes that I began to relax... we had made it! So, in spite of all the grumbling on my part about the ordeal, we did get to see some fantastic scenery; the mountains were absolutely gorgeous! Also, we got to watch "Bewitched" en español on the bus. Pretty funny stuff.

SO, to end the story... we made it, Argentina is fabulous, and we`re going on a wine/olive oil/chocolate factory tour this afternoon. Can`t wait!

Love to you all,
Katie

Mendoza, take II

2006-08-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

From the desk of A rash:
(title to be explained by Katie tomorrow)

Wow! So much has been going on. So far I´ve had the chance to experience 3 wonderful countries with great friends. We are all safe and really enjoying our time here.

Things I have learned so far:
-"ferreteria" does NOT mean ferret store
-rosted peanuts taste way better the further South you go
-if you are thinking that dried bannana chips on a hot dog (with Mayo and Guacamole) sounds good, then you would be WRONG

It has been very interesting seeing dynamics of the current world political climate play out in the different countries we have been in. We walked right into a peace rally, criticizing US and Israeli actions. During this rally, we were Canadians.

Still on my search for South American bagpiping history, and hope to connect with some contacts in Buenos Aires when we get there.

Hope all is well with everyone :)

mas ¨ph¨otos

2006-08-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

!photos!

2006-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Mommie!

2006-08-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

From the desk of Arash

My first time out of the country, and I have already seen so many things.

The first foreign country I went through, on my way to Chile, was San Francisco. Wow!! You can´t believe all the different languages I heard. This is a very strange country where meat is very hard to come by. Everything is ¨natural¨ or ¨organic¨. It seems to be a local custom to color your hair green or blue or pink.

I enjoyed a nice 5 hour layover in Costa Rica. I did some shopping, and had my first experience being in a Country where I don´t speak the language fluently (well, that gives my English more credit than it deserves)

I am so lucky to be travelling with two people with so much knowledge. I am in good hands and look forward to all the great things we will experience.

Evidentally, the night I left for South America, many terrorists were caught in the UK. While no one was told this in the airport, we all had to open our bags and take out any liquids. I am lucky I didn´t run into any trouble travelling.

Hope all is well with everyone

Concepcion, Chile

2006-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today is our last full day with my chilean "host family". We arrived on Sunday after having spent the night in the Santiago airport, and after a 7 hour bus ride toward the southern regions of Chile. It was raining so hard the day we arrived that it was difficult for me to even recognize the town I had lived in for 4 months! My host dad and sister came to pick us up at the bus station, and then drove us back to their house. I was so happy to see my host mom that we both started crying when we saw each other!

They have been so wonderful- they even cooked a big vegetarian meal for us when we arrived the first day...how sweet! And they´ve been taking good care of me since then, because I´ve still been a bit sick from drinking the water in Peru. Oops.

Last night Luana and I went out dancing with my friend Carlos last night and had lots of fun...revisiting old hang-outs from when I studied here, dancing to good music (and some bad music... they actually played a techno re-mix version of "YMCA" at the discotheque last night..).

Today we will pre-celebrate Luana´s birthday here with my host family (her real birthday is tomorrow!), which I´m sure will be wonderful, and tomorrow we´ll head back to Santiago to meet Arash at the airport. Yay!

Hoping you all are doing well!

Chau,
Katie

Machu Picchu photos

2006-08-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here are the promised photos of some things we´ve seen so far!

2006-08-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

We made it to Machu Picchu yesterday...but more importantly, we made it back! The trip yesterday, although we enjoyed visiting the site, was more than difficult. We were picked up at our hostel in Cusco at 5am by our tour operator; no problem there. But soon, we realized that there had been some miscommunications about the travel arrangements. We thought the taxi driver was taking us to a bus station about 5 minutes away, but instead, he was driving us to meet a train that would stop about an hour and a half away. So as soon as we figured out where he was taking us, things were peachy. The drive was beautiful; we drove through the foggy Urubamba Valley, and our friendly driver pointed out sights along the way to Ollantaytambo. He also stopped to look for part of his car along the way; evidently he'd lost a piece the day before. Also, taxi drivers in Peru don't often feel the need to only drive on the correct side of the road- I'd say that for the most part, we drove on either the left-hand side, or on the dividing line.

So, finally we arrived at the train station. When the train pulled into the city of Aguas Calientes (at the base of Machu Picchu), we looked at our itinerary for the trip, and it said that a representative of our tour operator was to meet us at the train and then take us on a bus to the ruins. Well, we got off the train, and nobody was there to meet us. We waited an hour, had some tea at a local cafe, and then decided to take matters into our own hands. Since I had been to Machu Picchu before, I knew where to catch the bus, and we figured that maybe we'd meet our guide at the entrance to the ruins. Maybe he'd be holding a sign with our names on it? Maybe he'd have a sign or shirt with the tour operator name on it? Not so. We got the entrance, and in the swarms of people, we could see no one looking for us, or calling our names. Again, we just decided we'd go without a guide, and entered the Incan sacred city.

We wandered around for an hour or so, taking awesome photos (which I will post soon, I promise), and then stopped to take a rest in the shade of one of the huge stone buildings. No sooner had we sat down, when a woman came around the bend calling, "Ka-ter-een? Luana?" Surprised to hear our names, we of course responded... only then to be scolded and yelled at by this strange woman, who apparently was another guide with our tour operator. She kept demanding in broken English to know where we had been and why we hadn't found our tour group. When I responded (in Spanish, mind you) that we had waited a very long time for our guide, she completely ignored what I had said, and insisted that we return to the entrance to meet our guide. Offended and slightly humiliated, we raced back to the entrance. Out of breath and annoyed, we discovered that our guide had already gone into the ruins. By this point, we were ready to simply continue the day without a guide (many people go without guides), but for some reason, the people we spoke with at the entrance wouldn't hear of it. So, we ended up tagging along with another tour.

The tour, although we were possibly not in the best mindset, was enjoyable. I learned a lot of the history of the site, and met some interesting people. Then, after a bit of free time exploring, we decided to head out. We took the bus back to Aguas Calientes, where we discovered that we had about 7 hours to kill before our train would leave. So, we did some browsing of artisan markets, ate some dinner, and then...waited. Later, the same woman who had yelled at us in the ruins came up and reminded us as if we were children that our train would leave at 8, that we had to be there at least 30 minutes early, and to please, please not forget this time. Annoying. Anyway, we waited at the intersection where the train had stopped that morning, so that we'd see the train as it arrived. Luana, however, was wondering if the train would really come to the same place as it had dropped us off. I, thinking that the town was too small to be able to miss seeing a train, said that I was sure we'd see or hear it as it arrived. So, at about five minutes to 8, some man came to us and asked if we were waiting for the train. When we said yes, he looked surprised and said that we'd better get to the train station. Train station? Oh yes, the one that is halfway across town? So, of course, we didn't know where we were going, but started running through the town, asking people we passed to point us in the right direction. We knew that if we missed this train, we'd have to spend the night there, and would possibly miss our flight the next day. So, we ran faster. Finally, we made it onto the train (which actually didn't move for another 15 minutes).

About 30 minutes later, the train stopped. It was completely dark (and really cold), and we couldn't tell if we had stopped at a station or not. Then another train passed us, and we figured we had stopped because of the other train for some reason. The other train passed by, we heard our train's engine start, and then heard a terrible, crunching, mechanical noise coming from our train. Then, all the lights went out. We proceeded to sit, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere for about 30 minutes. Nobody came to explain the delay, and then suddenly, we started moving again. Our train still didn't sound like it was working well.

Anyway, to finish this long story, we didn't get back to our hostel until after midnight, after a terrifying ride with our taxi driver (same one from that morning), and have been sleeping and recovering ever since. Whew.

In a few hours, we'll be headed to the airport to fly back to Lima, and then to Santiago. Wish us luck!

Notes from Cusco

2006-08-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning to all,

Well, it looks like we are going to be able to make it to Machu Picchu this week: we found a rather strange way of getting there, but the plan is to go there by buses and train on Friday. Usually one gets there by just one train, but we´ve managed to find a path that takes us on two or three buses and a train. Hopefully that´ll just make the trip that much more amusing!

Today Luana and I are going to do some more exploring in Cusco. We have this little map that has been getting us around the past few days, and we just noticed this interesting little symbol that is labeled "Steps to Saqsayhuaman", so we´ve decided to take ourselves on a little tour. Steps, by the way, are more than abundant here: each evening when returning to our hostel, we have to climb flights and flights of stairs that are built right into the street.

Also, I made an important little discovery about the tap water here: we´re not supposed to drink it. But, in spite of my ignorance about the water, I haven´t noticed any sickness from it. Hooray for strong stomachs!

Hope you all are well!

Katie

Edit: We made the trek up countless stairs to the place called Saqsayhuaman...only to find out we needed some sort of "tourist ticket" to get in. It was an Incan archaeological site, which would have been really awesome to see, but the tourist ticket would have cost us about 70 peruvian soles (roughly 25 US dollars) and neither of us actually had that many soles with us. So, instead, we got to take some great photos, and got an amazing workout (at 8,000 ft elevation, mind you)!

So, that was the adventure of the day. Well, actually, finding vegetarian food here is also an adventure that I get to do about 2 times a day as well. Needless to say, we are not lacking in adventure!

Greetings from Cusco, Peru!

2006-07-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Good evening everybody,

We have arrived safely in our first destination after a full day of plane travel (five flights in four countries), a night in Lima, and a lot of waiting around.

Things are going well, except for some trouble getting train tickets for Machu Picchu...it looks like it might not be possible for this trip, so we will be looking in to other options tomorrow. Wish us luck!

I'm off!

2006-07-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

It's Saturday afternoon, and I've just finished packing...just in time, since I'm leaving for the airport in just a few minutes! I managed to get all my stuff crammed into these two bags, so things are going well so far. No major snags in the plan yet...only had one minor panic-moment when I realized that I had left my passport in the copy machine at the library. But not to worry, we rushed back to get it, and all is well.

Wishing you all a great weekend, and will update you all on my whereabouts soon.

Hasta pronto,
Katie

2006-07-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

...because some folks have been asking. If things go as planned, this will be the approximate route, starting in Lima.

11 days and counting!

Two Weeks and Counting Down!

2006-07-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends and family,

I thought this might be a convenient and amusing way for us to keep in touch while I'm travelling, given that international phone calls can be rather expensive. This way, we can leave each other notes at each person's convenience (regardless of time zone), and I can regale you with amusing stories from abroad, and maybe even show you a few photos before I get home! ;)

So, as you may have noticed, I'm not yet travelling. I'm still here in Davis, CA, working full-time at Explorit (which is often an adventure in itself!) and am keeping very busy with teaching summer science classes. Soon enough though, I will be wandering around South America with two of my best friends: Luana, my roommate from my freshman year of college, and Arash, my boyfriend. I am preparing for the trip, however, by investigating hostels, looking up bus schedules (we will be on buses for long periods of time throughout the trip), and attempting to contact a few friends I still have in Chile. I'm also trying to pack up my house in order to move very shortly after my return to the States...so, needless to say, I'm busy!! And that's precisely why I decided to set up this blog site in the few spare minutes I have this weekend...
...so stay tuned!

Love to you all....
Katie