Sunday, December 30, 2007

The Desert in December


It's been one week since I arrived in Tel Aviv, and at the same time it feels like so much more and so much less. Just yesterday I was studying for exams (shudder), but we've also managed to do so much here in just a short period of time.

Our first day of Cairo was one of rest. We slept in, then walked from Pauline's apartment to the Egyptian museum. The museum can best be described as a giant warehouse of ancient artifacts, unceremoniously placed without labels in tall glass display cabinets. Everything is so nifty, like all of the items found in Tutankhamen's tomb, but you have a hard time appreciating it because the museum doesn't elevate it on a pedastel in a room with a lot of velvet ropes and guided paths.

The next day we woke up early because Pauline put together a great package trip to the white desert. Now that was incredible. Just follow the link, I'll post pictures of us later. Truly like walking on the surface of the moon. No matter that our jeep lost the capacity to start on a sand dune, since there was another jeep that could pull us until the engine jumped. We climbed a black mountain and a crystal mountain before stopping for the night. There, our guides put together a great camp fire dinner and protective shelter so we could sleep under the stars. Unbelievable. And unbelievably cold. But after all, it is still December even in the desert.

And then, on to Alexandria. Just a short trip by train this time. Somewhat of a relief not to be in a car, where the drivers (bus ones included) feel the need to turn off their lights several times as other cars approach at night for no clear reason. The sea is beautiful, and the new library with its nifty interior architecture and spacious desks for reading makes you forget how crowded the streets are outside.

Overall things have been smooth as butter, thanks largely to Pauline's amazing Arabic. She's saved several other tourists from defeat, reinstilled some small faith in the world's view on Americans, and only publicly shamed three people for being inappropriate to us on the streets. Not bad.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Christmas in Palestine


It was supposed to be Christmas in Bethlehem, but since Bethlehem is in the West Bank it really is the same thing. We did make it to Bethlehem but opted not to stay for the outdoor service since it was very crowded and a little cold. We still got to wander around the church and stick my hand in another holy hole. The first time was at where Jesus's cross was supposedly situated. There was no attempt to stop cameras inside the churches, so all of this is well documented by Pauline.

We then went back to Jerusalem to pick up our stuff. Pauline had sweet-talked a hostel she had stayed at previously to let us leave our backpacks there for the day. "No bombs, right?" the owner joked. He had remembered her from before, and wouldn't even let us pay for this service. We had spent the day wandering through the old city, the East side, the West side, and sipping mint tea at the American Colony hotel. The markets are awesome, filled with delicious bread goods and pomegranates the size of your head.

Once we had our bags, we made the trek back through the check point into Ramallah and hopped on another taxi to Birzeit. We stayed at Pauline's friend's apartment, which was across the street from a small Latin Orthodox church. We went to their service at 8:30pm, sang some unfamiliar Christmas carols, and laughed every few seconds as a loud explosion would go off from the back of the church. All the neighborhood kids were lighting noise fireworks in the parking lot. It sounded a bit like the 1812 overture was accompanying the priest.

Christmas morning was just like usual. Since we didn't have presents for our host, we wrapped up some fun household items for him to unwrap in the morning. A tradition in our family. Our tree was a fake potted rose plant that we decorated with some gold bracelets and cut out stars. After breakfast, we stopped by Pauline's host family so they could meet me. I wowed them with my ten words of Arabic Pauline had taught me, and they explained how Pauline was Um Nasser's tenth daughter. Her picture is framed on the window sill. We ate incredible olive oil and I tried pigeon for the first time. We also were sent off with a five pound bag of almonds. The family was incredibly kind, and totally in love with Pauline.

Pauline and I make it to the bus station only to realize there are no tickets left on the last bus to Eilat. Thankfully the bus driver lets us ride anyways, though I lost my seat half way to someone who actually purchased their ticket. Nothing like sitting on the floor with an AK-47 a foot from your face. I suppose that's better than when its barrel was bumping my leg. We had stopped along the way to pick up some members of the IDF who stood in the aisle for part of the ride.

But in the end, we made it to Cairo with no problems, if not with some stiff legs. Markell made it safely, and now the three of us are going to hit the town.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Prague: The 16 Hour Tour

7am - My plane lands. We're actually a bit behind schedule but I don't mind. I'm just happy my Detroit leg had no delays, and really what's there to do in any city on a sunday before 7am? It's still dark out so I'm thinking if I hurry to the city I'll get a nice sunrise..

8am - No sunrise. Just cold, grey clouds in a completely unopened city. But people are starting to emerge and kiosks slowly starting to open. The streets are beautiful cobblestones, many of them pedestrian only, and I wander to the National Museum and all through "stara mesto" which I know means the old part of town because it's the same in Russian. The languages have a lot of overlap which is helpful, and there are also a ton of Russian tourists. But everyone here seems to know ten languages so it's not a problem. Too cold to keep walking, I stop in for a Danish and a cappucino. The Europeans sure do breakfast right.

12am - My left pinky can't move it seems to have frozen inside my glove. But the Prague Castle is having it's changing of the guard. Standard pomp and circumstance, marching, etc., but then a five man band popped out of the second floor archway to provide some music. Very nice touch.

2pm - I hide in another cafe for lunch and warmth. Loved the creamy vegetable soup and the ham with cabbage, can't say I was a fan of the dumplings (slabs of potato and bread). As I start to nod off over my apple strudel (that was drowning in a delicious pool of cream), I decide my best strategy would be to sleep at the airport for a few hours. Pauline is not going to be happy if I show up after two sleepless nights and fall asleep in the manger.

8pm - I discover the Prague airport has internet. And here we are!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Who doesn't love holiday travel?

My friends, it's time for another trip. Not that I've avoided traveling over the last few months, but for some reason domestic trips don't evoke the same allure that international ones do. I promised to post more regularly then failed, but my excuse is that I started blogging for the law school admissions site and double duty is just a bit overwhelming. What I might do is post those entries here as well. So much for hiding my true identity.

The exciting news is that in less than a week I will be departing for my fourth international trip within the year (though not calendar--I came back from South Korea on December 31st last year). My weekend getaway to Doha, Qatar also predates this blog, though on a rainy day those two trips would be worth blogging about. Both quite spontaneous and very spectacular, and, perhaps more unusually, both virtually free. This does make the second consecutive holiday season I will be spending abroad. An interesting pattern, one I'm ambivalent about repeating.

Holiday travel is just plain stressful. For a student, it is usually preceded by finals and/or other stressful end of the semester activities. For a worker in most industries, it means increased traffic and fewer employees to handle it since they're all fighting to take time off. There are long lines, not just at the airport but on the roads due to bad weather and increased shopping. Speaking of the weather, it's usually not very conducive to traveling this time of year either. The foot of snow we got last night here in Michigan is beautiful and makes me prance around like a six year old, but if it happens again this Saturday I'll be singing a different tune. Holiday travel also comes with lots of logistics to handle, anything from packing to buying tickets, or the standard drive to Chicago to wait in line at the Passport agency for extra pages because the Egyptian Consulate won't put a visa on the one blank page you have and you can't buy the visa at the airport because you're flying into Israel and taking the bus through a non-major point of entry. Good times.

But, at the end of the day, I can't wait. My passport came back today, my sister safely made it to Jerusalem, and the weather forecast for Saturday is free and clear. And while I may be out of the country again this holiday season, I'm thankful that this time around I'll be spending it with family. And baby Jesus. And the pyramids.

Friday, October 19, 2007

I think I twisted my back line dancing

Is there a way to put that in smaller font? As in really, really small can't quite read what it says font?

Yes folks, this morning I woke up and couldn't move. And yes folks, I was line dancing last night. Shocked that there's a country bar in liberal hippie Ann Arbor? Never fear, Diamondback Saloon is conveniently located 15 minutes outside of the city on the I-94 Service Road. You'll recognize it by the hot dog stand located on its front lawn. A fellow country music fan and I had gone in search of our friends Garth, Alan and Toby. Alas, they were nowhere to be found.

The band started on the right foot. And with a 25 cent beer in my hand and my cowboy hat on straight I thought I was ready for the evening ahead. But then the band took a break and the hip hop started. Turn down the lights, queue the strobes, and let the line dancing begin! Girls came out of the wood works with the most complex steps I had ever seen. It took an entire song to learn the moves that you’d never get to show off because the music would end and they’d start a new one. Thank goodness they weren’t too good for the electric slide. Yee haw!

But back to my back. I don’t remember a specific moment when something got pulled the wrong way, but I really started feeling it playing darts later that night. And the surest way to feel the pain is with a scooping grapevine to the left. Ouch.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

If you're going to San Francisco...

Be sure to bring as many outfits as possible. Because it rained on friday, it was hot and sunny on saturday, cloudy and windy sunday, and I stopped paying attention after that.

Oh San Francisco, it's good to be back. It's been almost four months since I left in June, and things are a bit colder but otherwise still the same. The massage chair at work clearly missed me, we had to hang out for over an hour. And it was awesome seeing everybody and catching up on old times. I've had to repeat "Yes, law school is awesome" on several occasions, but I'm getting good at telling the stories and describing life in Ann Arbor.

It's nice too knowing I can still get around the city no problems. After a few more months I'll start forgetting streets, new buildings will pop up, people will move and I'll feel like a stranger. But for now I can pretend I'm a local, eat at as many restaurants as possible, and hang out with my friends for as long as they'll let me.

Speaking of hanging out with friends...

Sunday, October 7, 2007

How now, Trojan cow?

Here in Ann Arbor, everyone hates USC. Which means when Stanford played USC, the Cardinal cheering section was huge. And when Stanford beat USC last night 24-23, the whole city was celebrating with us.

I wasn't even planning on watching the game. A fellow Stanfordian and I had gone out to watch last week, only to slink away depressed from such an embarrassing loss to Arizona State. So when we heard the spread for this week was 41-3, no one even suggested suffering through it.

But good old KZSU is hard to resist with their excellent radio coverage of Stanford sports. And shortly before the half ended, my friend and I were engaged in a gratuitous text battle keeping each other posted on the game we were both listening too. When Stanford scored to make it 16-14, I think we both said something like "WE HAVE TO WATCH THIS!!" and within minutes were screaming at the TV screen at a local sports bar.

I won't bore you with the details, since ESPN and every one else is covering them pretty well. But yes, this was our back-up quarterback starting his first college game ever. Yes, our defense held one of the country's best running teams to under 100 yards total. And yes, this was the first time in 35 games USC has lost at home. Remember who beat them last time? You guessed it: Stanford.

What a great Saturday.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Guess Who's Back!

Wonder why I dropped off the face of the blogging planet? I can give you three reasons, though most of them are just lame excuses:

1) I stopped traveling. My blog is, after all, supposed to be about travels. Something feels a little strange about a public journal if all I did was eat breakfast, go to class, eat dinner, go to bed. Riveting, eh?
2) I started law school. Meaning I actually have real work to do: classes to attend, books to read, people to meet, etc.
3) I feel guilty that I haven't posted pictures from my trip yet and didn't want to write a new entry until I did. Well over a month later I still haven't posted them, but I promise eventually maybe one day sometime soonish I will.

But I'm over them, all of them. I might have to rename the blog Superflewis Studies, but we'll see. In the meantime, here's law school in a nutshell: I eat breakfast, go to class, eat dinner, go to bed.

Stay tuned for more...

Friday, August 17, 2007

Home Sweet Home

I suppose that's what I have to start calling Michigan since I'll be living here the next three years. I made it back to the States with no problems, and even got a free ticket from United for letting them reroute me through Chicago. Always a bad idea to go to O'Hare--my plane out of there was deemed unsafe to fly so we were delayed quite some time--but hey I've got nothing to do that's urgent. And now that I'm a student again I can't turn down anything that's free.

So here I am, counting down the days until school starts. Stay tuned for pictures and some final thoughts on the trip.

Overall verdict: awesome.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Made In China

In less than 12 hours I will be on a plane back to the U. S. of A. I'm of course filled with the usual excited to go home, sad to end such an awesome trip emotions that everyone gets at this point while traveling. But before I start reflecting, I should finish the story with some tales from Beijing.

Beijing is not what I expected. It isn't crowded, dirty, smoggy, humid, or cheap. Ok, it is all of those things for sure, but since I set the mental bar so high before arriving, I've been very pleasantly surprised at how blue the skies are, how much shoulder room I've felt in the streets, and how clean most places are.

I've skipped almost all of the tourist stops, save of course Tienanmen and a very nice Pagoda park in the city. Having Val here makes me want to explore more markets and streets where her language skills are a huge asset as opposed to places where I can easily revisit on an English tour group one day.

And when I say we explored the markets, I mean we fully detailed all eight floors of clothing, silks, jackets and jewelry. I've never bargained more in my life, nor left with the strange feeling that I was still ripped off for agreeing to pay $2 for a silk scarf. Everything really is as the title of this post describes.

We also attempted leg waxing, since it would cost less here than buying the packets over the counter at home. An hour and a half later, I would call it more a leg gooing and tweezing than anything else. Perhaps it was a bad sign when the woman took the jar out of a brand new box and started reading the instruction manual?

Last but not least, we've had lots more good eats: squid on a stick, melon on a stick, corn on the cob, popsicles (I average about seven a day, though the red bean and green bean ones are my least favorite, mango so far is the best), noodle soup, other noodle dishes, peking duck (for being the priciest dish here, it's not that good), taro pearl milk tea, stir fried stuff, really spicy can't breathe stuff, dumplings, and red bean cakes.

The food on the streets is insanely cheap and so delicious you scoff at anyone for eating anything else. That I will miss. In fact, a lot of this city I will miss. But it just means I'll definitely be coming back.

United Airlines, taaake me hoooome, to the plaaaaace where I belooooooooong.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Trans-Siberian Busway?

Ok technically we took the Trans-Mongolian Railway, but only as far as Erlian, the Chinese border town just outside Mongolia. There were no train tickets straight to Beijing for the month of August, at least according to the ticket office in Ulan Bataar, which is a separate story worth sharing at some point, so we settled for a sleeper bus. Picture a large tour bus, but instead of seats, it has three long rows (two aisles) of bunk beds each about half the size of a twin bed. I promise, it's not as bad as it sounds.

The positives: air conditioning, cleanish sheets, and no smelly bathroom on board.

The negatives: a "smoking section" (aka the driver and his friends), very loud karaoke television, and no bathroom on board.

Unfortunately for Frances, too much unpasteurized dairy consumption in Mongolia had left her insides pretty vengeful toward the outside world. I'll leave it at that.

Fortunately for Frances, I feel much better and China has been quite delicious. Already today I've had tofu soup thing, fried donut thing, mango popsicle, egg onion pancake thing, cabbage pancake thing, and it's not even dinner yet. Valerie can communicate which is a huge plus after dealing with unpronounceable Mongolian, and it's nice being able to just relax and enjoy the humidity and smog.

And you're right, the karaoke television was really a positive.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Could it be? I think I like kids!

Yes it's true. I think I'm finally starting to get why people like hanging out with those slobbery, smelly, undersized creatures that are kinda like pets only you'll be arrested for trying to pawn them off to your neighbor. Either that or four days with no shower in a bumpy jeep through the dry heat of Mongolia has left me without all my mental faculties.

Our driver, Natsikturch (at least we think), convinced us to reroute our itinerary to stay at his place the first night instead of Ogyi Lake. Of course by convinced, I mean he talked to us a lot in Mongolian, pointed at the itinerary, then drove us to his home. And of course by home, I mean a ger (aka a yurt), in the middle of Mongolia. We stopped only briefly to pick up his two-year old son (so we think) named Tawasheroo (also so we think). Tawasheroo was not a fan of smiling and liked trying to imitate his father by banging on the steering wheel and playing with the gear shift. We were not off to a good start.

But a camel and a horse ride later, plus a walk through the plains to a setting sun, and my mood had warmed up considerably to Mongolia. I found Tawasharoo trying to climb on the back of one of the girls I was traveling with, and she was having none of it. Remembering how fun piggyback rides were when I was a child, I scooped him up and ran around until he giggled hysterically and was swinging from my arms like a monkey in the trees.

His slightly older cousin named Anurag, or close enough, politely declined her turn, but very eagerly accepted my offer to chase the family's herd of goats/sheep together instead. This involved a lot of skipping and baa-ing. Speaking of the herds, they love standing near the roads so that when we drive through one every five minutes, we're honking the horn as several dozen goats or sheep or horses or cows or yaks frantically scatter in front of us. It's quite amusing. Anurag and I chased some goats, sang to the one English song she had on her cell phone, then went back holding hands to the ger for dinner.

So clearly, it's not that I like kids all of a sudden, it's just that I miss being one. Or perhaps, as my roommate Jake once said, my ovaries are ova-reacting.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Madonna, and...

Frances. That's right, apparently I'm America's next biggest hottie. At least according to the Mongolian police officer that decided to invade our kupe after we crossed the border out of Russia. After walking by the open door twice and glaring quite sternly at our open bottle of wine, he then morphed into the most social, non-english speaking Mongolian possible. It helped that I also knew the words to that ya ya ya coco jambo ya ya yeah song. And more importantly, we could both name all of the Backstreet Boys. I knew that information would be useful one day!

Talk about a welcome wagon. We battled with the train lady over hot water (she wanted money - it's free), not to mention the boxes of cigarettes that were stuffed into several of the other kupes. Then of course there was the random girl that we were told would be sitting in our cabin, but just for the border crossing portion of the trip. Standard apparently, especially the fact that it took 9 hours for all this to go down.

But still, I can boast about reaching a brand new country. By the end of this trip I'll have one for each year of my life, until of course my birthday later this month. Then I'll have to start planning a new adventure!

Ulan Bataar deserves a separate post, but it's time for bed. We're at ten days and counting...

Friday, August 3, 2007

Siberia!

So begins the epilogue of Crime and Punishment, which I just finished on the 4-hour bus ride back to Irkutsk from Lake Baikal. Don't roll your eyes, it wouldn't be fair for me to have read anything but Dostoevsky on this trip.

We just spent the last three days at Olkhon Islands in the center of Lake Baikal. Go on and Google Earth it, I can assure you it's every bit as beautiful as it sounds. The day we arrived it was foggy and raining. I asked our driver if it was always this way, and he answered "tolka sevodnya" - only today. By driver I mean guy from the street we had convinced to take us up to the islands since all the real bus tickets were sold out. Also of note, almost all the cars here have right-side steering wheels. Yes, they also drive on the right side. No, it doesn't make sense.

The best part about Siberia is that no matter what you do, it sounds incredible. Going for a walk? Eh. Going for a walk in Siberia? Cool! Buying a beer? No big deal. Buying a bottle of pevo in Siberia? Awesome. Everything sounds amazing when you add "in Siberia" to the end. Just yesterday we went mountain biking from one side of the island to the other, were fed some raw fish by friendly russian swimmers, and lost all feeling in my palms from the bumpy ride. But it was unbelievable. How often can you say "I just went mountain biking...in Siberia."

And now, we're paying an arm and a leg for internet as we wait for our evening train to take us out of Russia and into Mongolia. Our seats are in kupe (second class) because they don't offer the cheaper 54-bed dorm-style platzkart option on trains to Mongolia. Unfortunate, since they cost twice as much as our other tickets. Fortunate, since we'll be only have to share the cabin with two french backpackers we met at the train station. We're quite excited at the prospect of a body-odor-free train. Excepting our own, natch.

In a word, Russia has been expensive. Allow me two more and I'd add beautiful and under-appreciated. Both by foreigners who don't visit and by locals who leave their trash everywhere they go. Perhaps I should add a disclaimer to a previous statement I made - littering is lame, even in Siberia.

Dasvidanya Rossiya, Ya uzhe skuchaya po-tebye.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

We Have No Cold Water

Excuse me? I'm sure I've just misheard the lady at the front desk. It's standard after all for places in Russia to lose their hot water for about a month in the summer. Why is not clear, but people are used to not asking why so it continues. The woman repeats - we have no cold water.

Trying to flush the toilets - no water. At a bar trying to wash my hands - no cold water. Even trying to eat pelmeni, a boiled dumpling served in broth, I'm told that unfortunately they have no broth because, you guessed it, no cold water. Yeah I know, broth is made from hot water, but remember what I said about asking questions? The most information I could glean was that the whole city would be like this until monday. Maybe the city just forgot there were more than 28 days in July.

The evening news did provide some clarity - the city's cold water pipes are being repaired. Whether this is planned or unplanned we'll never know, my Russian is not that good.

And so I will always remember thee Krasnoyarsk, city bez kholodnoi vodi. Oh and the hike we did in Stolby National Park was pretty nifty too. But you'll just have to wait for pictures to know more about that.

On to Baikal!

Friday, July 27, 2007

"Yeah? Well, At Least We Won The Cold War..."

Val and I just lost a game of cards to our new Russian friends, Vlad, Pasha, and Misha, and as they gloat over beating the Americans at their own game this is the one thing I can think to say. Fortunately, they find it funny. "You realize you're on a train in the middle of Russia?" Also fortunately, no one else heard.

The train was hilarious. Val and I just spent 70 hours in a train car with 54 other people, dorm style, with feet sticking out in the aisle, tiny cubbies for beds, and body odor that exceeded all my wildest expectations. All Russians too, wondering why on earth some Americans would want to come take this slow moving train and call it a "vacation." But in the end, I got some good practice for my Russian, and we made it safely to Krasnoyarsk with some new friends and some hilarious photos.

As for Krasnoyarsk, you say? That remains to be seen. The good thing about Krasnoyarsk so far is that it has internet. The bad thing about Krasnoyarsk so far is that our hotel charges $1.50 for a shower. Don't worry, the toilets are free. I asked. We have about three days here to explore, then on to Irkutsk. I'm very excited to see Lake Baikal, I hear the water is only mildly freezing this time of year.

We're officially in Siberia. How now, brown cow?

Monday, July 23, 2007

The River of Dreams

One last post before taking a three day train to Krasnoyarsk. And don't worry, it's a good one.

"Frances, two years ago I saw you and Valerie coming to this river. I didn't know what you would look like, but seeing you now I know."

So spoke Lyuda, girlfriend of Pavel, friend of Alex, celebrating her birthday on the banks of the Oka river outside of Chekhov, outside of Moscow. We had been there all afternoon swimming, eating potatoes, and attempting to decline the vodka everyone was insisting we try.

"I have a gift. I know you don't believe me, but I can see the future."

You can imagine how interested I was, both in what she had to say and in how much of that Vodka she had to drink already.

"I am extremely worried about Valerie. She should not be dancing with that guy. I see bad things happening."

Half an hour later, after much serious discussion in Russian about how to make sure Valerie stayed safe, we agreed that I should go speak with her. Valerie promised to stop dancing, and Lyuda was almost in tears she was so happy.

"Frances, I didn't want to say it earlier, but I saw death. Promise me you won't go swimming."

We had been in the river once earlier duing the day, and there had been much talk about how much fun night swimming was. Needless to say, we didn't do it. Besides, it was far more comfortable staying at Alex's in a bed than on the banks of the river of death in the back of a van.

Only now I can't say I stayed in a van down by the river. These are the sacrifices a traveler must make.

To Krasnoyarsk and beyond!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Nope, I'm not on a train to Sverdlovsk. I'm not even going to Sverdlovsk anymore. Apparently, the only tickets out of Sverdlovsk were on August 3rd. Which would mean taking either a bus or flying to get out of there on a more reasonable date. Yeah not happening.

So now, we have tickets to Krasnoyarsk for tuesday. Which is great because it means a few more days in Moscow. It also means a three day solid train ride, but at least if there are no trains out of Krasnoyarsk the bus ride to Irkutsk is much more reasonable. As in 24 hours instead of 56. Should at least be interesting, right?

The good news is Valerie and I found each other without much difficulty, largely thanks to the cell phone my friend Alex lent me. And thanks to my friend Micha, we've been able to stay hostel-free in Moscow thus far. Friends are amazing.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Some fun encounters

In no particular order...

1) Customs, as I'm leaving the airport: (in English)
Angry guard: Where?
Me: Where what?
Guard: Where coming from?
Me: America.
Guard: Ticket!
Me, confused because I'm leaving the airport not trying to board a plane: Boarding pass?
Guard: Ticket!
I had him my boarding pass, which is from my connecting flight through Tallin.
Guard, starting to get angrier: From Tallin, not America.
Me: I travelled through Tallin. I actually travelled through Dublin too, here's that boarding pass. And I can find...
Interrupting Guard: You said America!
Me: Ok fine I came from Tallin.
Guard: Proceed.


2) Directions (in Russian)
Russian Woman: Excuse me, where's the metro?
Me: Smolenskaya? (the metro closest to where we were)
Her: Lyuboye.
Me: Oh I'm sorry I don't know where that is.

Frances continues wandering, leaves woman standing confused. Shortly realizes Lyuboye means any. Any metro. Nice work.

3) Macdonalds
Me: Ya khochoo molochni koktail (I want a milk shake).
Cashier: Kakoy (what kind)?
Me: Crap I forgot how to say strawberry.
Me: Krasnaya frukta (red fruit)
Her: Krasnaya frukta?
Me: Ya zabila kak skazat pa rooskiy. Eta krasnaya frukta. (I forgot how to say it in russian, it's a red fruit).
Her: Kloobnika? (strawberry?)
Me: DA!

4) Pushkinskaya Square, mid-way through a conversation with a girl that sat down next to me (in russian).
Girl: Are you sad?
Me: Sad? No I'm just tired. Are you sad?
Girl: No. I'm just drunk.

She then invited me to see Transformers with her, which i politely declined. She seemed bummed--not that I wasn't going to join her, but because I said I'd heard it wasn't very good. It's her favorite movie of course, and this was the third time she was going to see it. That's right, third.

5) Visa registration office (in english):
Me: I'd like to register my visa.
Woman: You don't need to register it, it's very expensive.
Me: I know, but won't that look strange if I leave the country after three weeks and never registered?
Her: Just don't get stopped by the police.

Important background: you're supposed to register your visa if you're in a city for more than three days. Since I'll be on the train for most of the trip and not really in any one city for more than three days I wanted to at least have the Moscow registration. It wouldn't be valid in other cities but would be helpful if stopped by the police. For those of you not familiar with Russia, this happens a lot. They hang out by the metro and in the squares randomly asking people for their papers as proof of legality. Not a big deal, but you usually have to pay them some money to avoid a huge waste of time or if you aren't there legally. Only happened to me once when I was here before, I tend to not get asked when I've got my glare down right.

And many, many more.

Dom, Sweet Dom

Oh Moscow how I missed thee. Some things will never change. As soon as you leave the airport, at least a dozen men approach asking if you want a taxi then follow you when you say no. I hear the trip from the airport to the city in London costs 20 pounds, roughly 40 dollars. The trip in Moscow is 20 roubles, roughly 75 cents. I hate my giant backpack which betrays my status as a tourist. I want to pick up right where I left off but my rusty Russian says otherwise, and my finely tuned metro skills have somehow vanished in the three years (to the month) I've been gone. One note on the metro--you have never ridden an escalator until you've ridden the ones in the Moscow metro. They move at lightning speed and are sometimes so deep you can barely see the end when you start.

The hostel I stayed at my first night was on Stariy Arbat, right by my old stomping grounds. I start to remember, not just the dance of the metro, but my Russian. I can ask for directions, buy train tickets, and help translate at the hostel for the tourist with no Russian skills and poor English. I ditch the backpack and even remember how to glare at strangers so they think I'm a local.

It's a hard city, and a fast city, but I remember why it's my city. It can be incredibly cruel to strangers, but more generous than any other to friends. I met up with my good friend Alex, a Russian I met while studying here in fall 2003, who I've since seen only a few times while he was on business trips to San Francisco. He offered to let me stay at his place in Chekhov, a quiet town just outside the city. His mother, whom I had never met, waited up for us and provided a full meal, a hot shower, and a comfortable bed in a room that didn't have 8 other people coming in and out at all hours of the morning. The hospitality they bestowed on me was enormous, not to mention the home-cooked food which was ochen fkoosna (very delicious).

Today, my travel buddy Valerie gets in to Moscow. With any luck we will find each other between the tracks of a metro station, and depart for Sverdlovsk on Friday. We only have tickets to Sverdlovsk because the woman at the train station was either too impatient to sell me more, thought they were too expensive, or didn't have tickets to Tomsk. I'm not entirely sure. Well, I am sure, and it's all three of the above.

Sverdlovsk, at least I hope, is the alternate name for Yekaterinaburg, the city just past the Urals where the last Tsar and his family were killed. At the very worst, we'll be spending a lot of time there. At best, we'll leave the next day for Tomsk.

Lots of train ahead, probably not a lot of internet. Ostarozhna, dveri zakrivayootsya. Sledooshi stantsi, Sverdlovsk.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Dublin

Probably won't get a chance to post again tomorrow before I take off for Moscow, so here it is. Dublin is rainy. Really rainy. And I shouldn't say that, since today has been just lovely. But yesterday--just walking from the bus stop to the metro (or the Luas as they call it, pronounced like my last name) fully drenched me.

The city has otherwise been very enjoyable to explore. It's what you expect, areas with cobblestone streets, cute shops, and lots of English spoken in ways you can't understand unless you listen carefully. It's really a bizarre feeling not being able to comprehend someone speaking your own language. We took a tour of the Dublin castle yesterday as well as saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Will has been an excellent tour guide showing me, Jonathan, and Paul the city and its highlights. Tomorrow we're apparently going to touch mummies. I'll let you know how that goes.

But the real treat was the hike we did today at the fishing town of Howth. Exactly like I had hoped, there were cliffs jutting out right above the sea, green rolling hills, a cloud-spotted sky and even a lighthouse hovering over the water. We lucked out and didn't have much rain for most of the day. At the end, we stopped by a fish shop to pick up some trout for dinner and watched some seals play in the harbor. Yes, Pauline, I have pictures. Simply lovely.

Now it's time to go out on the town. Hope it doesn't rain!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Last Post in America!

At least, for a month. Pauline and I made the drive to Michigan
through giant thunder storms and Chicago traffic. Good thing the wind
shield wiper blades broke after we escaped the big bad clouds. Barely.
Still, I enjoyed seeing this type of weather in the middle of the
summer. It has been six years after all.

Today has been spent getting ready for my big adventure. Packing for a
month long trip abroad is tricky. You want to be prepared for all
sorts of weather but you also want to bring as little as possible
since it will be travelling on your back the entire time. We'll see
how I do.

I'll try to post from Dublin if I get the chance. Otherwise, see you
in Moscow. Ok kids, cell phone's getting turned off.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

"I Think You Should Be Queen"

Apparently, my grandmother would prefer to see my face on the back of Canadian coins. I tend to agree, but neither of us could come up with concrete steps to implementation. Long ago my mother had a good plan--marry one of the two princes. At three, Frances liked this idea. My oft quoted response was "I'll take William." At twenty-three, Frances is not so sure.

Welcome to Minnesota. A land of lakes, food, and family. A lot of family. Cousins, cousin-in-laws, baby cousins (once removed), aunts, uncles, and one matriarch to rule them all. Almost 93 and still making the best cookies I'll ever have, Grandma shines above us all like the star on top the Christmas tree. And believe me, it's one big tree.

I made it safely up to the lake on Tuesday for some spectacular fireworks, strawberry shortcake on a boat, and a comfortable bed with soft squishy pillows. My uncle cleaned my car, my aunt fed me bacon, and my happiness level went up at least three notches. Giant family bbq on the 4th, another good night's sleep in the cities, and I think I'm ready for Pauline and Alex to show up tonight for the weekend.

Something feels like home. Now where are those molasses cookies?

Monday, July 2, 2007

Murdo She Wrote

Nothing says sleep here tonight like a town named Murdo. That and the realization when I passed a sign saying "Now Entering Central Standard Time Zone" that it was really 10pm instead of 9pm. I don't like driving past my bedtime, so here I am.

Today was a full day of first time visits. First time to the states of Nebraska and South Dakota, first visit to Mount Rushmore, and first time to eat buffalo meat. Beautiful, beautiful, bizarre, and delicious. The North-West corner of Nebraska is covered in rolling grasslands with those random giant trees popping out occasionally for no understandable reason at all. Did it used to be a forest? Unlikely. Then why is it the only large tree for miles? Blame it on the birds, perhaps.

The drive from there into South Dakota was very pleasant as I was off the main road the entire way. No other cars for miles, but a surprisingly large quantity of roadkill. Either one truck had a really bad day, or the ratio of animals springing across the road to cars was not in my favor. I did see some deer drinking from a stream on the side of the road but thankfully didn't have to dodge any animals in the road. Other than the dead ones I already mentioned.

I ended up racing a thunderstorm out of Mount Rushmore which prevented me from stopping at my second Sonic sighting, this time in Rapid City. But it all worked out because I broke for a delicious sit-down meal in Walls, SD at the Red Rock Restaurant. Beers were two dollars. Two dollars, San Francisco, did you hear that? And this wasn't happy hour. The buffalo burger was tasty, had a little barbecue flavor to it, and the homemade, apple-caramel-pecan pie added the perfect finish.

Oh, and no, I didn't have any beer. I'm driving! Thanks for that vote of confidence.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Salt, Sonic, and Sunsets

Yes, Utah is salty. Like a big salty desert. As for the lake--the photos will do it far more justice than anything I have to say (its odor clearly inspired the Bog of Eternal Stench and the gnats cover everything like locusts, which includes you). Probably shouldn't have said anything at all.

Wyoming, on the other hand, is my new best friend. For starters, drivers should be required to wear blinders because it is next to impossible not to stare at the outcrops of rocks, expansive plains of green brush, and billboards for Sonic. Make that one billboard, and one heavenly limeade in Evanston, Wyoming.

I will end by saying the best and worst part about driving East is not driving into the sun. A rear view mirror sunset is breathtaking and all, but I ended up pulling over at least twice to reclose my jaw and wonder at the beauty of orange-tinged clouds lighting up the sky. The finally-off-the-interstate drive between Rawlins and Casper through the Great Divide Basin is truly one of the most majestic I have ever taken.

Ask me again tomorrow.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Strength for the Journey - aka Pilgrim Radio

I didn't think I was going to make it through Nevada. Let's be honest here, I'm impressed I made it out of California. What with the out later than expected friday night, the car stuffing nightmare this morning until Markell "I'm so organized I must have been adopted" and Andrew "I've got oldman strength" showed up to save me, and the gridlock traffic on I-80 the whole way--yeah, California made it pretty clear where it stood on the issue of our break-up. I should just be thankful Jake didn't slash the tires.

The drive itself has been smooth sailing otherwise. And by smooth, I mean beautiful. It had been a while since I was last in the Tahoe area, and boy was I sorry I didn't come up here more often! Amusingly, there was this wonderful rest stop at the top of Donner Pass with a ten-minute glacier trail hike past these tail pines and huge slanted boulders. I took plenty of pictures and as soon as I figure out my new camera I'll put those on here somewhere too. Very refreshing to walk around after sitting in a car for several hours, and I only hope there are more of these vista points in my future. I'm sort of a sucker for scenic turn-offs.

Nevada has also been filled with visual eye candy. Aside from the powerplants, mines, and correctional facilities with the always entertaining road signs saying "Don't pick up hitchhikers - Prison ahead," the landscape is like mountainous desert. Everything is red, including the discus-sized moon, with sweeping plains and tall peaks. It is all very inspiring. I lost cell phone reception quickly after Reno, which hasn't returned, and the NPR station that had lasted surprisingly long was crackling beyond patience. Suddenly, through the static emptiness came a voice that sounded remarkably like Kelly Clarkson. Saved at last! Only upon closer inspection, she was singing about Jesus's blood. Apparently, Since U Been Gone has a Christian remix in Nevada, only it's not actually my favorite Idol singing. So I was, quite literally, saved at last. I won't lie, the station was so good and so fitting the scenery that I ended up listening to Pilgrim Radio until it too faded into the distance a solid two hours later.

And now I sit safe (because I've barricaded my deadbolt-less room with the table and a trash can) and sound (at least we hope, did I mention the room has no deadbolt?) in a nice little motel in the town of Wells, Nevada. The good news is my already worried mother won't read this until the morning, and by then we'll all know for better or for worse how this evening turned out! Who knew Elko, Nevada would have no vacancies in all seven of its hotels? Not this tired driver that's for sure.

Exhausted,
Frances

PS - Sorry for the posting bonanza. This is the one I wanted to write and figured I couldn't start the blog without the other posts and then yeah yeah whatever you know I just love blogging already. I get it.

The Plan (ish)

Barring major changes, here's a rough outline of where I'll be over the next several months:

June 30th - Leave San Francisco (and shed many tears)
July 1st - 3rd? 4th? - Drive to Minnesota, see Mt. Rushmore, etc.
July 4th - 8th - Kick it family style in Minnesota
July 8th - 12th? - Bum off my sister in Michigan
July 13th - 16th - Dublin (fly out the 12th)
July 16th - 22nd - Moscow (finally ya vernoos)
July 22nd - August 15th - One long train to Beijing
August 15th - the next three years of my life - University of Michigan Law School (go blue!)

You know posting all of this is scary. What if my cult following in Montana decides to stalk me? I'm making it too easy--next time I'm using code names for every place I stay.

Roger that.

Welcome!

Looks like I've started my first blog. Since I'll be traveling so much this summer (and away from so many of my friends and family), I wanted to have a way for all of you to know I'm alive and well without having to send one of those giant spammy "my trip in a three page essay" emails no one ever reads anyways.

I'm not the blogging type, so I'll apologize in advance for:
1) not posting regularly,
2) not posting about stuff that interests you, and
3) not writing as eloquently or concisely as my sister Pauline who inspired me to keep a blog while traveling abroad.

But since I'm not one to be upstaged by a younger sister, or any sister for that matter in case Markell is feeling left out, I'll certainly give it my best shot.

Thanks for stopping by!
Frances