So apparently its not Godiva like you think it is. It's Go-Diva. like Go! Diva!. Silly.
So I've branched out and left Brussels proper (not to go to Riga) to visit a friend in Waterloo! And there they had a gorgeous piano and and and..turn tables! I learned how to DJ (in a small way) so that was pretty awesome. then Back on the Halloween express train to Brussels to go out (I was a princess) The night went by fast with Italians and Swedes (and a 2 americans) talking about banking crisis' and meatballs and smart people talk, and if lingonberries were lingonberries in english..which i think they are. (wikipedia says cowberry..but what do they know)
School is schooling along. Though I miss the constant rushness of things. I end up going to bed at like 5 or 6am and then waking up around 3 in time to eat breakfast, do homework and go to school! I guess my brain cant get used to the whole "its ok if school is at night and not in the morning" concept.
I feel like i had so much to talk about...and then i started writing. oh well. I'll be saving up the stories!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Apartment!
Alright, all is well. Finally got that apartment and a good nights rest. Its a wonderful (yet small and overly expensive) apartment, in the bottom of a mansion of two architectural photographers. Its decorated with all sorts of paintings, old books, photographs of sunflowers, worldly knick-knacks and more.
The best part is that it faces the garden, and I have a little door in back and a little veranda and table to sorta chill and take in the roses and trees. Although its mostly raining all the time. So I havent gotten around to doing that yet.
There is also a lot of vanilla tea, which magically tastes creamy..even though its just a tea bag. Wonders never cease.
Today..off to Riga for the weekend for a wedding and to do some banking, visiting and most importantly...buying groceries. 70 cents for a packasge of ramen is too redonk for my wallet!
Heres some photos!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Something new
Well apparently its been a year!
oops.
Anyways, I'm busy attending a certain american university in Brussels! Adventures shall be had, for sure, but for now I'm looking for a place to stay...which I think I may found on the ground floor of some famous photographers house? I'm sure that'll be interesting.
For now Brussels seems like a big faceless city. Like Anytown, USA...or rather Anycity, EU. This may be because I've yet to have some cherry beer, a fresh waffle and a sit next to Manneken Pis. This will all be fixed once I get back from Riga this weekend. Hopefully.
oops.
Anyways, I'm busy attending a certain american university in Brussels! Adventures shall be had, for sure, but for now I'm looking for a place to stay...which I think I may found on the ground floor of some famous photographers house? I'm sure that'll be interesting.
For now Brussels seems like a big faceless city. Like Anytown, USA...or rather Anycity, EU. This may be because I've yet to have some cherry beer, a fresh waffle and a sit next to Manneken Pis. This will all be fixed once I get back from Riga this weekend. Hopefully.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ahh travel
So it's been a while..but I had an interesting moment today (and most days).
So I don't have any money because I bought last minute tickets to Cyprus and thusly havent really eaten anything but potatoes and onions. But thats not the point. The point is I had to take the bus to the airport here in Riga in order to conduct an interview with a director at the Post.
I scrounged up enough pennies for the 40 santims it cost to get there. But realized i had NO money to get back at all. And the possibilities of sneaking on the bus were nonexistant. SO in rummaging around in my messenger bag and found two very wrinkled US dollars. "AH HA!" i thought..i could walk into the airport and go to the currency exchange! Which I did. And got 82 cents out of it. The dollar blows.
Anywho. Then I asked where the Post office was..and the woman was like "why didnt you get off at the right stop for the post office? This is the airport? Didn't you think about this!?" But thats the kind of tone I've grown accustomed to. So she finally pointed me in the sorta right direction. Through some bushes. and a swamp. and like a sandpit. It was a good time. And about an hour later I arrived slightly scratched and dusty..and sandy, to the post office. Where I had an interview. Then I rushed to get back to town, only to find that the like 9 presidents in town for the Baltic Summit were leaving..so we had to wait for like 5 presidential motorcades to whiz by. seriously. what a day. But on the brightside I have 30 cents!
So I don't have any money because I bought last minute tickets to Cyprus and thusly havent really eaten anything but potatoes and onions. But thats not the point. The point is I had to take the bus to the airport here in Riga in order to conduct an interview with a director at the Post.
I scrounged up enough pennies for the 40 santims it cost to get there. But realized i had NO money to get back at all. And the possibilities of sneaking on the bus were nonexistant. SO in rummaging around in my messenger bag and found two very wrinkled US dollars. "AH HA!" i thought..i could walk into the airport and go to the currency exchange! Which I did. And got 82 cents out of it. The dollar blows.
Anywho. Then I asked where the Post office was..and the woman was like "why didnt you get off at the right stop for the post office? This is the airport? Didn't you think about this!?" But thats the kind of tone I've grown accustomed to. So she finally pointed me in the sorta right direction. Through some bushes. and a swamp. and like a sandpit. It was a good time. And about an hour later I arrived slightly scratched and dusty..and sandy, to the post office. Where I had an interview. Then I rushed to get back to town, only to find that the like 9 presidents in town for the Baltic Summit were leaving..so we had to wait for like 5 presidential motorcades to whiz by. seriously. what a day. But on the brightside I have 30 cents!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Luckily...
Well fortunatly I have my own computer here in newspaper land. The unlucky thing is that they changed the locks on the doors of my office and I cant leave to go home. of all the random times to change locks and not tell anyone. Oh well. I could do with some blog updating time.
There is nothing more gorgeous than an eastern european winter, provided there is snow. Which there isnt right now. Just cold. But that all the more reason to enjoy hot beverages, alcohol and the company of others. And hanging out in sweaty dance clubs turns into more of a pleasently warm experiance, rather than an unbearably hot one.
In other news: There is an Uzbek restaurant in town which I am so going to check out.
I thought about going down to Kosovo for the independence announcements..but it didnt work out. It will be interesting to see Russias reaction to the decision and the impending economic whatnot thats sure to follow.
There is nothing more gorgeous than an eastern european winter, provided there is snow. Which there isnt right now. Just cold. But that all the more reason to enjoy hot beverages, alcohol and the company of others. And hanging out in sweaty dance clubs turns into more of a pleasently warm experiance, rather than an unbearably hot one.
In other news: There is an Uzbek restaurant in town which I am so going to check out.
I thought about going down to Kosovo for the independence announcements..but it didnt work out. It will be interesting to see Russias reaction to the decision and the impending economic whatnot thats sure to follow.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Riga, Latvia!
Weeelll So i'm back in Latvia again, working at the Baltic Times and teaching english, among other things. As its been one week, i've already lost like 7 pounds eating nothing but sausage, dairy products and fried potatos. It's really quite heavenly.
Last night I saw a production of Lolita in Latvian, and can now understand why many in Latvia chose not to do drugs. Watching the play was much like an acid trip. IN a good way. In a way that included live sheep walking out of closests with indians in very small loin clothes..in LOLITA. I'm not sure Nabokov would approve.
All in all its good to be back in the land of relatively unsmiling people (save for the few that are very smiley and totally awesome), Fried delicious foods, and a work ethic that rivals france.
Last night I saw a production of Lolita in Latvian, and can now understand why many in Latvia chose not to do drugs. Watching the play was much like an acid trip. IN a good way. In a way that included live sheep walking out of closests with indians in very small loin clothes..in LOLITA. I'm not sure Nabokov would approve.
All in all its good to be back in the land of relatively unsmiling people (save for the few that are very smiley and totally awesome), Fried delicious foods, and a work ethic that rivals france.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Bosnia!
Sorry I havent written in a while, but there has been more happening than i could keep track of! I'll start with my first impressions of Sarajevo, which i'm sorry to say werent quite that great. Perhaps because everything was so shot up and it was constantly raining. But when there are sunbreaks the city looks better. It was ruled at different points in time by both the Turks (Ottoman empire) and the Austro-Hungarian empire. This leads to very interesting architecture on the main street. Every Balkan main city has a main pedestrian street and this one is no different except that the stores are more pricey for whatever reason, and the architecture is Austro-Hugarian..Austro-Hungarian and then BAM Turkish! Which makes for an interesting walk and an even better cup of coffee. There are many parks in which old men play chess with giant chess boards and I must say i too have become sucked into the chess phenomenon and our group of 20 students has now bought several boards and we play constantly, which is something to take our minds off of the fact that if we trip over something whilst walking to the club its usually a grenade hole. which is quite sobering.
But to take my mind off the constant staring and sadness that seems to envelope srajevo, some friends and I took a (looong) bus to Zagreb, Croatia! What a great city, my favorite by far of all the ones i've been too. theres just so may different people, good food, people dont stare you down as if you're an alien, and everything is just so..well european i guess. I am considereing going to grad school there as the tuition and food is craaazy cheap and there are lakes and biking to be done (see pictures)
Then two days ago we visted Srebrenica the town in which the mass genocide happened. We travelled with Bosniak (bosnian muslims) students to this town to which they had never been. Bill Clinton visited in 2003 to open up the memorial and hopefully bring people back to this town in which they have nothing left. Nearly everyone in Bosnia lost someone there in Srebrenica and its hard to understand the horrible things that people are capable of doing to each other. Even so recently. One can read about war and history all they want. but actually being there, in the building where things happened, eating lunch in the hills where 6000 men tried to escape execution and maybe 1000 survived, is quite different. Something that stays with you for the rest of your life. I suppose going into the program i knew it would be hard to see all this and to hear peoples stories, and i couldve chosen to go to greece or italy to study, but I dont think i'd trade this opportunity for anything. Its hard, but good to learn about these things that in the U.S. we really cant even begin to fathom. You learn the extent of human compassion, but also about the amazing elasticity of the human spirit. The lively music and constant singing in the streets is the sign of a people who wont be brought down by anything. It might be nationalism, it might be pride, but for now life is stable and they are happen, and the music stays with them.
But to take my mind off the constant staring and sadness that seems to envelope srajevo, some friends and I took a (looong) bus to Zagreb, Croatia! What a great city, my favorite by far of all the ones i've been too. theres just so may different people, good food, people dont stare you down as if you're an alien, and everything is just so..well european i guess. I am considereing going to grad school there as the tuition and food is craaazy cheap and there are lakes and biking to be done (see pictures)
Then two days ago we visted Srebrenica the town in which the mass genocide happened. We travelled with Bosniak (bosnian muslims) students to this town to which they had never been. Bill Clinton visited in 2003 to open up the memorial and hopefully bring people back to this town in which they have nothing left. Nearly everyone in Bosnia lost someone there in Srebrenica and its hard to understand the horrible things that people are capable of doing to each other. Even so recently. One can read about war and history all they want. but actually being there, in the building where things happened, eating lunch in the hills where 6000 men tried to escape execution and maybe 1000 survived, is quite different. Something that stays with you for the rest of your life. I suppose going into the program i knew it would be hard to see all this and to hear peoples stories, and i couldve chosen to go to greece or italy to study, but I dont think i'd trade this opportunity for anything. Its hard, but good to learn about these things that in the U.S. we really cant even begin to fathom. You learn the extent of human compassion, but also about the amazing elasticity of the human spirit. The lively music and constant singing in the streets is the sign of a people who wont be brought down by anything. It might be nationalism, it might be pride, but for now life is stable and they are happen, and the music stays with them.
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