Joyce Goes for a Run

15 miles done!

2012-01-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

WOOOOOOHOOOOO! Finished my 15 mile run this afternoon feeling about a million times better than after my 14 miler (and having run at a much faster pace, even)! While I can't be exactly sure why this one felt so much better, I'm guessing it has to do with:

Getting good sleep
Running consistently last week - not trying to fit my runs in amid travel
Carb loading and eating well in the two days before the long run (especially noshing on pretzels for an extra dose of salt)
Eating a better breakfast (bagel w/ cream cheese)
Fueling more consistently: Gu before the run, as well as at mile 5 & 10
Drinking nuun instead of water, to replenish some electrolytes
Knowing when to switch to music, instead of just podcasts (and ONLY looking at my Garmin after a whole song had played)
Being a far more pleasant day to be running than last week - chilly, but no rain

I did my run on the Burke-Gilman trail, as usual, but this time set off toward Lake Washington and UW as soon as I got over University Bridge. It's such a nice trail and all but one or two of the street crossings have crosswalks. The only things I didn't like was how many bikes went whizzing past without ringing their bells or yelling to let me know they were coming, even where the path was really narrow. No real chaffing issues, which is a blessing, and I'm definitely less sore so far than I was last week at this time. w00t! In super attractive news, my face was absolutely covered in crusty salt patches. Ew. As if I needed more evidence that salt loss is a potential issue for me.

I was momentarily sad when I realized that today was the inaugural Tinker Bell half at Disney Land, which, clearly, I wasn't running. But, as Duchie pointed out - we're PRINCESSES, not fairies and, to be completely honest, I'd so much rather have had a good 15 mile run in the bank toward my marathon than a new medal for a distance that isn't going to be enough to get me ready for London.

Speaking of shiny medals, however, I finally registered for the Birch Bay 30k road race. I've actually got 21 miles on the schedule that day, so I'll do an extra 2.5 or so before the race starts. It's kind of exciting - it's my very last long run before the taper begins and I'm glad that I'll get to practice running without needing to carry my own water. Plus, medal, amiright?!

This week marked a return to consistency of which I'm proud. With no more travel plans, other than for races, I'm looking forward to sticking to my plan.

Monday - 4 miles easy
Tuesday - strength workout
Wednesday - 7 miles easy (treadmill - booyah)
Thursday - strength workout with trainer
Friday - 4 miles easy (my AWS day, so out in the glorious Seattle sunlight!)
Saturday - 15 miles
Sunday - REST (or maybe yoga?)

2012-01-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm three days post-long run and I do feel almost completely better, although yesterday and the day before were pretty awful. The office administrator has thought this whole marathon lark was insane from the day I told him that I needed to request a big chunk of vacation time and why. He thinks my tottering around the office is hilarious. And, I suppose, it kind of is. He's really going to enjoy the next three months.

I might have been better off if my days hadn't started by needing to return library books. Which isn't so bad in itself, except that returning books means that I then have to walk three blocks down Seattle's nightmare hills to work. If your quads were as unhappy as mine were at the time, you'd be complaining about walking downhill, too!

So, to cap all of that off, I had a nice massage tonight and then went for an easy seven miles on the treadmill. Which really wasn't so bad, other than having to wait a few minutes for a treadmill to open up.

I think tomorrow I'm going to stop by the running store downtown to talk salt tablets. I'm a really heavy sweater and always have been - I do wonder if salt loss might have contributed to my calf cramps after the last long run and have something to do with the muscle soreness I've experienced?

Right. To bed! Well, to sleep, seeing as I'm already in bed.

Whinge

2012-01-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

Just needed a bit of a moan. I ran 14 miles on Sunday. It was a new personal distance record, as I've never run anything further than a half marathon (13.1). I mean, I hadn't. Before Sunday. Now I have. Obviously.

But, ugh. It wasn't a very good run. It was the same pace as my first, very slow, half marathon. I never felt super comfortable, which I think might be, in part, because I managed to eat two mince pies for dinner before I collapsed into my bed for 13 hours. Proper fueling, I think not. Or maybe it was the stress of the previous week, which, between family, the funeral, and the travel cluster recounted below, was probably significant?

Either way, I ate my Gu, thought about pretzels, took one or two brief walk breaks and got through it. Slowly. Oh, but I did find the start of the Burke-Gilman trail, which was interesting & I'm looking forward to the Lake Washington Loop Trail for my next adventure.

But, ouch, ouch, ouch. I haven't been this sore since my first half marathon (the one after which I declared that anyone who would run a full marathon was INSANE and I would never be one of them). My calves started cramping immediately. My right shin is tender to the touch, my quads and hamstrings are distinctly unhappy with me, my ankles are bit tender. Basically the entire bottom half of my body hurts. Quite a bit. And I'm sort of shuffling around the office. WITH THREE MORE MONTHS OF THIS TO GO! And I'd be just over halfway done with the marathon.

Whine, whine, whine. I have to keep telling myself that my body will get more used to this - I didn't have any of these issues after my 12 mile run and, frankly, the biological effects of 12 vs. 14 shouldn't be that significant. And I'll have better (and probably worse) runs. But, I have to keep going. Still, why didn't anyone warn me that the training was going to hurt so much?

I've booked a sports massage for Wednesday. I'll bet that's going to hurt, too. Whee.

The past week - epic travel fun

2012-01-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, last week was a bit epic. Started out the Friday before leaving for Philadelphia for what turned out to be my Grandma's funeral (see prior post - I bought the tickets before she passed away, so I originally thought I'd be visiting her). There was some utter crazy rescheduling brought on by a delayed aircraft that saw me deciding I'd fly to JFK & make my own way to Philly, then switching airlines and flying to Atlanta for my connection. It was a bit insane, but I made it.

Grandma's funeral was on the Monday and I had a chance to go down to Center City to see my two best college friends. Unfortunately, I think they ended up seeing far more of each other than of me, since I absolutely collapsed after the first five minutes of the Star Trek DS9 episode we started watching. I'm told that they watched another one AND made popcorn, but I was completely zonked out. Bless. They took good care of me.

Monday was a beautiful day - a bit cold & windy, but sunny and wonderful. I know Grandma would have loved the funeral and it felt like a big family reunion and a bit like a party. It was terribly sad that she wasn't there, but I loved seeing people who I haven't seen in ages or who I can never see enough of. In particular, I really loved seeing my cousin and her parents, my aunt and uncle, who I've gotten to know better & better over the last few years. Such a treat! And, Duchie came up from DC, cutting short her romantic B&B weekend with her husband to do such exciting things as keep me company on my 7-mile treadmill pace run. But, I did let her watch Murder, She Wrote & we shared the trashy magazines that I found on the airplane to New York last week. It was so great to see her, too!

Tuesday was the first hint of trouble, when the administrative head of the office called to let me know that the office would be shut on Wednesday because of an incoming snow storm, of which I had been blissfully ignorant. I decided to change my flight to Thursday, because the snow was supposed to turn to rain. I don't think anyone knew it was going to change to freezing rain, however. After a lovely bonus evening with friend in Center City watching Downton Abbey (squee!), I tottered off to PHL. The useless check-in lady knew nothing about the weather issues out West and I checked my bag. When I got upstairs, I checked twitter (god bless it) and found out that SEA-TAC had been closed with the ice. I immediately rerouted myself to Chicago, because I figured a bigger airport was better and I could always stay with my friend's family if I got stranded.

And a good thing, too, because they did cancel my flight and the earliest I could rebook (without going standby) was Saturday. Somehow, my bag was in Chicago, too, even though it had first gone to St. Louis on my original flight. So, I spent two nights with my friend's family, which was wonderful. And I went to Hull House to see another college friend and ended up buying a few of Jane Addams' books. Pity she spells her name the same way as the Addams Family. WHICH I DO NOT, TAKE NOTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BULLIES. Amazing woman & amazing work, though, and incredibly interesting. I can't wait to do some more reading. I finally got back to Seattle Saturday evening. Hurrah!

Florence Knoll, 1917-2012

2012-01-11T22:20:00.000-08:00

I am super tired following a trip to the East coast last weekend and am trying to get as much sleep as I can before I head back again. This time, it's for my grandma's funeral and, as much as I'm looking forward to seeing family, it's going to be sad and hard. I also hope it will be a joyful occasion: my grandma lived to be 94 years old and had only really been sick for the last few months of her life. She had all of her mental facilities and was visited by tons of family and friends in the days before she died. I think, all in all, it isn't a bad way to go. I was grateful that I was already on the East coast and took the train down from New York City to Philadelphia to see her. We spent several hours talking and remembering the things we had done together. It was very special and I'm so grateful that we had that time together. Miss you, grandma.

2011 Recap

2012-01-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

2011
I feel like 2011 was my first year of serious running. I started out the year training for my first half marathon, dealt with some injuries, was practically pathetic about running over the summer, jumped back in after the Bar, and ended the year training for my first marathon!

I set three new PBs in the 5k and PB'ed by 11 minutes in my second half marathon. And, frankly, I'm awfully proud of myself.

It was also a big year, personally. I graduated from law school, studied for & passed the New York bar exam, moved to Seattle and started my first grown-up job!

Resolution Run 5k

2012-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Fairly recently, my roommate asked me if I'd promise to stay with her if she signed up for a 5k. So, that's how we ended up mostly walking a 5k on a beautiful day around Magnuson Park. Seriously, I was soaking up the Vitamin D. We did opt for the "dry" version that didn't involve us leaping into the lake at the end. So, now roommate is talking about doing a 5k every month and starting to hit the couch to 5k plan pretty hard. Hurrah for starting the year off right with the most beautiful sparkly polar bear long sleeve t-shirt! I'm also glad I didn't get to race this - my legs were SO tired after yesterday's 11 mile run. (Also, how CUTE is my new Skirt Sports jacket? Boom for deal sites!)

Funny story about that 11 miler. I was into my last mile and on my second lap around Green Lake when I realized I was running behind two women with a very fat bulldog. I also realized that my slow/easy run pace was the same as the bulldog's. I had to speed up, for my fastest mile of the long run, because I was NOT going to be shown up by a fat bulldog.

A Christmas Run

2011-12-27T22:52:00.007-08:00

I think this was one of my best runs ever. It wasn't particularly fast. I didn't worry about my heart rate. I didn't even stick to my training plan, but it was absolutely wonderful. I never want to forget it and what it meant to me. I got to spend time with all three of my best best friends - two in the flesh and one in spirit.

I spent Christmas weekend with my dear, dear college friend j00j in Evanston, north of Chicago, and her family. It was absolutely wonderful: we baked cookies, watched Doctor Who, went for walks, attended late night services at the church where her family has been going for generations, and generally enjoyed just having time together. I took a big chunk of smoked salmon from Pike's Place Market and it was absolutely delicious. And there was duck! QUACKQUACKQUACK. Yes, I did walk around quacking. I think it's a sign when every single member of the family bought everyone else dark chocolate for their stockings. It was the perfect Christmas.

But, of course, marathon training does not take time off for Christmas and I had a couple of short runs and a long run to get in. I set off after brunch & present-opening on Christmas under beautiful, sunny blue skies for six miles. I know it was Chicago, but the weather was perfect: it was warm enough to wear long sleeves and a vest and it was completely dry. I set off from my friend's house toward Lake Michigan, which was almost exactly a mile away. I loved that my route took me along the water front, where there were loads of families out on walks and kids trying out new bikes. There are beautiful views of the downtown skyline. And, I was listening to the new Christmas Wittertainment podcast, which was hilarious.

My first stop was supposed to be 3 miles away, but with some meandering (read: getting lost), I got there in 4. My other best college friend Jules is a very, very devout Baha'i and her grandmother is in the hospital, dealing with high fevers that have stopped her from having a procedure that she really, really needs. She's had a lot of ups and downs over the last few years and it's been very hard on Jules' entire family, especially her mom. I knew it would mean a lot to her if stopped by the Baha'i House of Worship (the only one in the United States) and read a prayer for her. I've always been an agnostic, but one who I believe understands how important religion is in the lives of others, particularly Jules'.

The House of Worship is an absolutely beautiful building (see above), covered in amazing, intricate carvings. I've been several times and it always takes my breath away. I left my Garmin with the volunteer at the door, because I knew it would beep when it lost satellite reception and took a seat. I read the prayer that Jules had texted to me several times, trying to concentrate on her grandmother and on the things that I wanted for every member of her family. It made me cry, but eventually it was just so peaceful. Earlham might have given my a Bachelor's degree, but I also learned how to center myself and open my heart. I was so glad to be there and to do what I could do to help Jules and her family go through a very hard time. (Even better, j00j & I skyped with Jules later that evening!)

My last stop was another mile away at the childhood home of the husband of my third (although, first) best friend, Duchie. It was so awesome to essentially give her a big, sweaty drive-by Christmas hug! We live on opposite coasts (FOR THE MOMENT), but it seems like we're never very far apart, really. It was pure luck that her husband grew up so close to j00j and it made me so happy that I could see her on Christmas.

After all the detours, my 6 mile scheduled run turned into 6.2 for the Home for the Holidays virtual 10k into 7 miles because I didn't feel like walking back so far.

This was a run where I got to spend time with the three most important women in my life, who are so different from each other, but who always inspire me (and who are so patient and supportive, even though I'm sure all three of them are ready to muzzle me when I start talking about the marathon and training). That was the best Christmas gift I could have gotten. (Second best: the Christmas running mix j00j made me with a techno remix of C is for Cookie!)

Marathon Training Week 2

2011-12-20T21:47:00.002-08:00

Monday: 3 miles easy

Tuesday: Strength training
This kicked my rear AGAIN, although I didn't realize it full-force until Thursday. My legs, my legs! Had to miss the local bar association's Christmas party to go to training, which was a bit sad, but I knew marathon training was going to involve sacrifice, right? And there's always next year.

Wednesday: 5 miles easy
Did an outside run. w00t! Had to knock these out in order to meet up with a friend to go to the local running store's Christmas party. So, 25% discount and four pairs of shoes later.... What?!? I'm trying to figure out which shoes are going to get me through marathon training and they have free returns!

Thursday: 3 miles easy

Friday: Strength training
This was a bit of a cop out. I couldn't muster the energy to go to the gym, even though my legs felt less tired after sleeping in my compression tights (all hail the compression tights). So, instead, I used my 5lb. weights and my own body weight and did what I could here at home. I still worked up a sweat, but definitely didn't do everything that I'd done on Tuesday. Still, I did something and I think that's what counts.

Saturday: Rest day/trip to Mt. Rainier
This was a change from the "official" schedule and one that I'm so grateful that I made. Saturday was stunningly beautiful and I think it was 100% the right decision to move my long run to Sunday and take today to go to Mt. Rainier with my roommate (see previous post). We didn't do enough walking to really call it cross-training, so I'd say my legs got a good rest in!

Sunday: 9 mile long run
More fun on the Burke-Gilman trail for me...trying not to die laughing over Mark Kermode's review of the new Chipmunk's movie on my Wittertainment podcast. I thought my peanut butter Gu was really tasty and my new Camelbak worked pretty well. I still need to do some adjustments, I think, because my left shoulder got pretty sore and needed to be stretched out and I got a bit of chafing under my left arm. Met my roommate for tea/light lunch afterwards, which was lovely.

Mount Rainier!

2011-12-20T21:34:00.004-08:00

The summit view from Paradise (that's where one of the big visitor's centers is and an inn, although it was closed for the season):

My mentor at work has been very concerned that I don't get out enough around the region and has taken to telling me about new places to visit every time we talk. As a result, I talked my roommate into a trip to Mt. Rainier. We were so lucky to have absolutely beautiful weather - it was sunny and warm and just absolutely stunning. There was a bit of light hiking, an amazing waterfall, and I tried out my yaktrax for the first time (they're coils you slip on the bottom of your shoes for traction). And us Indiana girls spent the whole day going OMG, MOUNTAIN!!! LOOK THERE'S A MOUNTAIN!!! It was great!

Week One

2011-12-12T22:57:00.003-08:00

Week One is in the books and the first row of stars is on my marathon plan at work (blue for easy runs, yellow for strength days, red for pace runs, green for long). The week went really well. I thought Wednesday's 5 miles at marathon pace were pretty boring on the treadmill, but I was very proud of getting through them and nailing the pace right where I wanted it to be. It seems that treadmill running is just a bit less boring when you have hills to think about going up and down. Just a bit.

I felt famous during that run, too, because my "Rate Your Run" entry to Marathon Talk got read out in Episode 98, which I happened to be listening to at the time. I had a feeling they wouldn't be able to resist a race report complete with a mashed potato munch-off.

So, I've seen lots of other bloggers do a weekly recap this way, so that's what I'm going to try and do once a week during my training. Hopefully I'll have something else to say once in awhile, but it's a good minimum goal:

Monday: 3 miles easy

These were a little fast, because I was running purely on feel, but that's ok.

Tuesday: Trainer day

I really like my trainer, even though I still feel kind of guilty about having one. She's coached cross-country and run a marathon in the past, which I definitely like. I feel like her workouts are a good balance between complete-in-the-moment butt kickings and still being too sore the next day (because my hardest training runs, at marathon pace, will be every other Wednesday). Plus, she's from Indiana!

Wednesday: 5 miles at marathon pace

My ongoing concern here is that I don't actually know what my marathon pace is. I figure that I'm going to train at the paces the Macmillan pace calculator suggests for a 4:30 marathon (which I think is kind of a long shot) and then just enjoy myself on the day itself. I don't want to miss the experience of running London because I'm so focused on a time goal. If my half marathon experience is anything to go by, the first one is about the experience and then you worry about the times later (that is, of course, if I ever do this to myself again). Oh & the run was good, too.

Thursday: 3 miles easy

There's not much to say. It was cold and dark and I ran.

Friday: Strength

On Fridays, I repeat the workout that I did with the trainer on Tuesday. But, it never feels quite as hard as it does when someone's pushing me, even if I do the same number of reps. Or, in theory, I could be getting stronger. Got up early to do this one before making green bean casserole for the office Xmas party (yes, on my day off). Caught the end of the Harlequins game against Toulouse (*sad face*) and went to Ikea with roommate before picking roommate's sister up at the airport for our weekend of shopping, food and awesome.

Saturday: 8 miles long

Not a terrible day for a run. Ran from home, down through Volunteer Park, over University Bridge, on the Burke-Gilman train for a bit, then heading back. I timed the turnaround completely wrong...so I didn't have to do ALL of the hills on the way back (so, depends on your definition of "wrong") before stopping to pry a bagel and mocha out of some hipster hands. When asked for opinions on whether I should get a hot chocolate or a mocha (it's hot chocolate milk, right?) I was given the "WTF, it's MORNING, drink COFFEE, you FREAK" look. I wanted to comment that "DUDE, I just ran 8 miles. I THINK I'm awake now," but I didn't. The run was nice & disc one of Justice Steven's book kept me company for the first hour. Nerd heaven.

The rest of the day involved haircuts, MOAR sushi, shopping, pizza, Bridesmaids, and Toddlers & Tiaras. It was glorious.

Sunday: Rest day.

I rested the heck out of this day with dim sum (omnomnomnom), visiting the Humane Society (we're thinking about fostering!), Theo chocolates, Sunday markets, a trip to the REI mothership (cannot WAIT to try out my new camelbak on a run), and yummy dinner at home. I was sad that roommate's sister had to go home today, because it was an awesome weekend.

Next week

Monday: 3 miles easy (done)

Tuesday: Trainer

Wednesday: 5 miles easy

Thursday: 3 miles easy

Friday: Strength
Saturday: 9 miles long

Sunday: REST

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2011-12-04T23:27:00.003-08:00

Marathon. Training. Starts. Tomorrow!

I still think I'm in good shape. I did my 7 mile long run yesterday at world-record slow pace, but I did it. And it wouldn't have been QUITE so slow, if I hadn't chosen some really challenging hills to tackle. Was it my best run? No. Was it the worst? No. Would have I have done anything differently? Probably yes - I would have run today when it was beautiful and sunny, instead of yesterday when it was grey and horrible and I probably could have found a better pre-run fuel than chocolate covered Trader Joe's brand knock-off oreos.

I'm excited. I cannot wait to start sticking stars on my training plan to show which runs I've finished and I'm really excited that I have a running buddy who's training for Boston while I'm training for London. Right now, that start line feels really far away (albeit, not as far away as the finish line feels), but I'm ready for the challenge. I've just got to stick to my plan and run smart for the next five months. And I think I can do that.

In other news, I had a lovely day that started with My Week With Marilyn, which was totally fluffy, but very fun. I think Michelle Williams will be getting award nominations, that I didn't love Kenneth Branagh's performance (although I LOVE Kenneth Branagh, but this felt a little too much like an impression), Dominic Cooper is just WEIRD with an American accent, Judy Dench is awesome (as ever...and Quaker!), Simon Russell Beale's part was way too small (couldn't HE have been Marilyn?), and the actor playing Colin was kind of adorable. Did I mention that my local multiplex only charges $6 for screenings before noon? (Yes, I would have chosen not to go to the multiplex, but there were very limited options for this particular film and this was the one that was accessible by bus.)

Later, I wandered down to Pike's Place, via Westlake, doing Christmas shopping. I had several thoughts: 1) Seattle amuses me in so many ways and 2) thank goodness my employer decided to send me to a city that is as serious about it's clam chowder as I have always been. I capped the day off with a bus to Green Lake to return a pair of shoes and pick up a new pair. Didn't love the Brooks Pure Connect - felt too narrow and overdesigned, in general, but am hoping for better results with the Brooks Green Silence, which should be showing up at my door on Tuesday (my size was out of stock, so I get free rush shipping instead).

143 days to go

2011-11-30T22:07:00.003-08:00

Marathon training, per my slightly insane 5-month training schedule, officially starts on Monday, but I'm really following the same schedule this week, with the exception of a shorter long run. I know 5 months is crazy, but, to be honest, I just couldn't wait any longer to have a plan (A PLAN) to follow. I'm such a better runner when I have a goal to work towards and am not nearly as good at just forcing myself to get out the door and go for a run. Plus, the holidays can be a hard time to be really mindful of getting in the exercise, so it's better for me if I have a schedule that I'm going to try my hardest to stick to. And I'm trying to get back to a slightly lower weight, so exercise is a KEY component.

It's all very exciting: I have the schedule all taped up in my cube at work, ready to go. I even bought star stickers today to put on it when I finish a run. So, basically, as I told facebook, it's like potty training, but I get a medal at the end, instead of a Barbie wedding dress (yes, that is what I requested and received as my official potty training reward...).

So far I've logged a whopping 8 miles this week. OMG, call the Olympics. I know, it isn't that much, but I've got two more runs planned and that should take me up to 17-18. Again, it doesn't sound like that much, but in my running career I honestly consider four runs and more than 15 miles to be my weekly goal. I rarely meet it, so I feel like things are off to a good start.

Today's run was a 5 miler that I was planning to run by heart rate, up until the point that my Garmin told me it had a low battery when I turned it on. Oops. So, that ended up being a five miler run on nothing but how I felt and measured by my iPod, which is also probably a good thing. Also, w00t for having Nike+ installed as a Garmin backup system. I'm still having some issues with tightness in my right Achilles when I run, but it did loosen up after about 3 miles. I think I need to do more stretching back there and continue to concentrate on not tensing up when I run. I also ran in my Minimus for the first time in awhile and they actually felt great - even better than the Hattoris on Monday. I still think that the Minimus are amazing shoes AS LONG AS there are no rocks in your path! I know they're supposed to be trail shoes, but they HURT.

I think the running downtown after work thing is working out really, really well. I love that I don't give myself the option to go home. In fact, the quickest way to get home is to get my butt out the door, finish my run, get my things, THEN catch the bus. It only becomes slightly awkward when other people work late and I feel like someone's going to catch me coming out of the bathroom in workout clothes. The only downside is that I run along the waterfront and it's FLATFLATFLAT. I'm missing the hills and the stamina that I'd built up doing hill repeats in my neighborhood, but I still think it's too dark to think about doing those until the days get longer. Or on the treadmill. *poutyface*

Finally, there was a really beautiful sunset today. The clouds cleared just enough so we could see it and the Olympics. Stunning. My office has the most spectacular view and I'm grateful for it every single day. When the sun goes down, I'm rewarded with the handiwork of whomever decided to decorate the top of the Space Needle to look like a Christmas tree. Brilliant and adorable!

Green Lake Gobble 5k

2011-11-20T14:34:00.002-08:00

In the recesses of my mind, I knew that I had a fast 5k in me. Ok, I didn't really keep that to myself - I think all of my friends knew that I really wanted to just bust one out before marathon training started and I got down to pushing out new distance records every week. I mean, don't we all just like to GO sometimes, instead of worrying about whether we have the endurance to last or whether our heart rates are too high, etc.? And, I think the 5k is a really good measure of fitness, especially for me, who tends to be conservative, even in races, over long distances.

So, earlier this week, I signed up for the Green Lake Gobble, a 5k around one of my favorite places to run in Seattle. Green Lake has a beautiful paved trail all the way around (~2.8miles) and they add on a tiny out and back to the sidewalk to bring it up to the 5k distance. I picked up my bib, chip, and true turkey of a race shirt yesterday and MAY have gotten sucked in to trying yet more running shoes. *hangs head in shame*

This morning started out really badly. I was up before my alarm and killed time drinking tea before my zipcar reservation. 45 minutes later, after two zipcars that simply wouldn't GO when I pushed the gas (new note: NEVER reserve a Mini Cooper zipcar ever again), I took a cab to the race start. It actually ended up being the right amount of time, because it was SUPER cold this morning and I had just enough time to use the potty (real potties!) and do a couple of brief warm up trots. Seriously, this was the first time since I moved to Seattle that I've seen frost on the ground, probably because it was a beautiful, sunny, and clear day. The only real loss was to my long run, because I'd originally planned to leave my stuff in the car and go for another lap of the Lake after the race. But, oh well.

The race isn't super big, but I was a little concerned because the pathway can get very crowded on a normal day and isn't incredibly wide. But, the non-racers were awesome about stepping off the side to wait for us to pass, and the racers got strung out really quickly, like within the first quarter of a mile. I was running mostly on my own, but ran next to another woman for at least the first half of the race. She told me afterwards that she was trying to keep up with me (and lost me when I pulled ahead), but I thought I was keeping up with her! Dueling rabbits! Still, it was a really sweet thing for her to say! I did get passed a bit, especially in the first half of the race, but concentrated on picking people off in the second half.

So, my goal for this one was to come in under my current PR and finally break 29:30. Apparently I was not ambitious enough, because my official time was a WHOPPING minute and a half faster than my PR at 28:07. HOLY CRAP. I ALMOST BROKE 28?!?! That's INSANE. WHO TAKES THAT MUCH TIME OFF THEIR 5K TIME? Well, me, apparently!

Obviously, I had to make some phone calls (Me: GUESS WHAT I JUST DID?!?, Best Friend: Um, can you give me some context?), hydrate (mmmm, nuun & hot cider) and snatch a few snacks (bonus points to the cinnamon bread chunks from the Great Harvest Bread Co.). My only criticism was that there were random prizes for the 14 people who managed to beat the really fast turkeys to the finish line. But, um, those people are all or almost all going to win age group or overall prizes, too! What about the rest of us? I love how the DC races have random bib number draws for everyone! I left before the mashed potato eating contest, alas, to catch the bus home.

And, the extra bonus is that my gym finally opened today and I had my free training session. I'm SOOOOOO glad that I didn't do those extra three miles this morning, because I was feeling the burn anyway. But, it was also a confidence booster, because I'm tougher than I think I am, especially if someone else is pushing me. I'm signed up for personal training sessions, which was something I'd planned anyway, to help me get into marathon shape (and better shape afterwards, in general).

I'm just going to spend the rest of the day basking in the warm glow of my endorphins. :-)

2011-11-01T23:20:00.002-07:00

Ahem.

I PASSED THE NEW YORK BAR EXAM!!!!!

I also need to do a recap from Columbia Gorge. How about this weekend?

2011-10-19T23:01:00.003-07:00

I am so, so tired and bed is imminent, but I thought it was about time for a quick check in here.

I've got one last short run before the Columbia Gorge Half and I'm still feeling pretty excited about the race. I know that hills aren't my strongest thing and that this course has lots of them, but I'm definitely more prepared than I was before I moved to Seattle and pretty much HAD to start running hills if I wanted to actually get anywhere. Living on the top of the hill can have some disadvantages, but I know they're great training.

Today was a nice, easy 4.5, which I really enjoyed. I especially enjoyed finding, when I finished that my "easy" pace was only 5 seconds slower than my absolute dream half marathon pace for Sunday. So, that was nice. I feel confident that I will be able to do better than I did at the Princess, because I'm better trained, not going in injured, there won't be a sudden heat wave to adjust to, and I'm NOT going to forget to eat anything during the race! Sadly, I will not be running with my best friend, nor will there be a castle. Still, there will be an iPod, probably playing Wittertainment or my new favorite, Marathon Talk, and a Garmin that I'm finding I need to look at less & less. I still like analyzing the data when I'm finished, but I am loving the "no pressure" running of just waiting until it has done the requisite number of beeps to indicate the miles I've finished. I seem to run so much better when I can run by feel, rather than by Garmin. Doesn't mean I'm going to run without it, though! Then I couldn't overanalyze my pacing and splits. :-)

So, goals: my A goal would be to get under 2:15. My B goal is to be under 2:25 (my PB from Princess is 2:28). My C goal is to finish.

And, after that, it's on to a good rest and training for London! I met a woman for whom NYC will be her 7th marathon last night at the Sounders game. Needless to say, we both kind of forgot that there was a game on and spent the entire 90+half time+injury time talking about marathons. Awesome. It was fantastic and super helpful! However, we both realized that Boston, for which she'll be training next, is conveniently timed for making up training support teams, since Boston is the day after London. That would be nice, even though I'm still very much in awe of people who can run fast enough and training hard enough to earn BQs.

Right, falling asleep a bit now & must give in!

And now for some VERY big news....

2011-10-06T22:06:00.002-07:00

I'm running the London Marathon!

I'd be completely lying if I didn't admit that I'm pants-wettingly scared about this fact AND so over the moon that I want to shout about it from the rooftops!

I keep reading blogs from previous Londons and getting chills about the whole experience. And then, a split second later, wondering how on earth I'll cope with the training, the wall, getting the nutrition strategy right (am I the only person who wonders about this obsessively?). I realize how well I already know the course and how much better I'm going to know it soon. And I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have the support of friends who are going to be cheering me on the whole way (in tiaras!).

So, I'm just getting started - I've ordered several books from the library and am going to have to sit down and make a plan. (A PLAN!!!!) And, then, of course, comes the hard part - sticking to it. I'm going to plan for four runs a week. That's more than I manage now and will be quite a challenge, given that I work from 7:30-5 and it's dark so early in Seattle. I think more runs that I'd like will be in my gym, once it's finished and opens, on a dreadmill. Ew. But, I'm also looking forward to the cross-training and definitely planning to do a yoga class each week.

I'm definitely not starting to train now. I've still got two weeks and a bit until the Columbia Gorge Half and am technically in the taper for that race. However, I am so, so grateful now that I'm signed up for that race and really got my training in gear over the past couple of months. The news about London came off of a really good training week and an 11 mile long run that was definitely hard, but not utterly exhausting. I can feel the improvement, even from a few weeks ago. My body feels strong and I love that feeling. I am in no way, shape, or form underestimating the challenge that running the marathon will be, but I feel like I've at least given myself a good shot at getting through this in one piece, because I've already built a solid base to train from.

And OMGOMGOMG, I'M RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON!!!! EEEEEEEEEEE!

2011-09-19T22:30:00.002-07:00

I started my new job today. It was lovely - the people are lovely, I have a colleague where I didn't expect to have one, and the views are utterly fantastic. I'm as stoked about it after the first day as I was leading into it, which is a huge win in my book. While I'm a little jealous of the waterfront views that much of the rest of the office enjoys, my cube looks straight out at the Space Needle, so that's still rather nice. I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm a lawyer (well, almost...*crosses fingers and vaguely contemplates making sacrifices to the NY Board of Law Examiners*), but, then again, I NEVER want to be that lawyer anyway, so it very possibly doesn't matter.

A big highlight of the day, after I'd pounded up a few of the hills in downtown Seattle (dear god, I don't understand how a city can survive with the hills this city has between 1st and 5th Sts.) was stopping by the gigantic central library to get a library card and a healthy stack of books. Being an idiot, I'd only packed two books (aside from a couple of reference/textbooks) to get me through until the pod arrives next week. And, obviously, I've finished them. STUPID. So, now I am restocked and must remember to go and place a few things on hold. Apparently everyone else wants to read Hunger Games, Mao's Last Dancer, and Born to Run, too. Lame. Still, it was glorious and even better is knowing that going to the library doesn't even require a detour from my commute.

Plus, I saw Mt. Rainier!

Finally, a bit on the running. Last week, in between a trip to the Social Security office and the DMV, I visited the mothership and signed up for an REI card, just like a good little Seattleite. I also bought two pairs of shoes - another pair of New Balance Minimus (the original version - for some reason the update didn't feel quite as good, so I decided not to mess with success) and a pair of Saucony Hattoris. Now, I'd been looking at the Hattoris for quite some time, ever since I saw them reviewed on The Running Moron's blog. I'd even go into the running stores in DC and pick them up and think about how comfy they looked. So, last week, I FINALLY tried them on. And they feel amazing. So they went home with me. And then went for an 8 mile run on Sunday*. And, despite having killed my forefoot the day before in the pair of Minimuses that are now officially retired, the Hattoris were lovely and comfortable. And blue. They really do feel like you're running in slippers.

As for the run, I enjoyed checking out the Arboretum and the shore of Lake Washington. I got lost a fair amount, but my phone helped me. I had to walk some of the hills, but I was really, really proud of getting to 8 miles, even after giving myself permission to poop out after 7. I've got a ways to go before the half marathon, but I think I'll survive, at least.

*Yes, I do realize you should probably break shoes in first, before taking them on very long runs. But they just felt so perfect out of the box (and didn't cause any problems)! I'm SURE it helps that I've been running in shoes with a 4mm drop for months, so going to zero drop didn't really feel any different. It actually felt better because my foot felt better cushioned in the Hattori.

A few first ramblings about Seattle

2011-09-18T15:39:00.003-07:00

Well, I've moved across the country and have started settling into my new life. This life involves a LOT of Ikea furniture. It also apparently involves me playing with my stamps a lot. So far, I've made a massive spreadsheet of all of my Yugoslavia and put them in chronological order - which is a really good idea, when the plan is to eventually accumulate enough to do a fairly decent rate study. I was shocked by how many of them I've managed to accumulate in a relatively short amount of time, given that they seem to trickle in a few at a time. Of course, this also encouraged me (as if I haven't spent enough this week already) to decide to start targeting some of the online auction sites a bit more aggressively.

So, if you're a stamp dealer who happens to have any Yugoslav covers mailed between 1988 and 1999ish, please give me a buzz!

I've also sat down and spent a bit of time thinking about how to revise a paper that I'm working on about the Thatcher Ferry Bridge stamp error litigation. What I mostly decided is that I want to go through the DOJ files at the National Archives as soon as I can - it's annoying that I LIVED in DC and never made it (granted, I was a bit busy this summer) out there and now need to plan a special trip across the country.

But, so far, Seattle is nice. I LOVE the weather, which is just as much like London as everyone always told me it would be: overcast, cool, sometimes a bit drizzly (I've been assured that soon, it will ALWAYS be drizzly), and so humid that you're sweating after five minutes. I love the house's location - living within a three-minute walk of a Trader Joe's AND a crunchy, granola co-op is just about the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me after so many years of it being hard to get groceries. I've managed to see a bit of the city while running errands; so far, my favorite thing was the crumpet and tea shop at Pike's Place Market. And, yes, I did stop to watch them throw the fish around. I can't wait to see more of the Market & try a lot of the food options. Plus, new housemate has been super awesome about taking me out places and making suggestions.

I've been running several times now. The local running store is only a 10-minute walk away and has running groups twice a week. I went on Thursday, which is the night that involves a post-run trip to the bar. That was lovely. I also ended up being the only person other than the organizer who showed up for another, Saturday, run around one of the lakes. Both runs were great, but I'm definitely slow compared to these other runners. I'm not ashamed of that and I know running with them will make me stronger, but I do kind of wonder where the other Penguins are? Do they not join running groups? Do they run with other groups? Or, are there fewer "recreational" runners in Seattle?

The other thing that will make me stronger (if they don't kill me first) are the hills. Dear god, the hills. THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM. AND THEY ARE SO STEEP. I WILL NEVER MOAN ABOUT DC'S CAPITOL HILL EVER AGAIN. I had to walk a good number of them on this morning's run, but I was pleased to make it 8 miles without falling over. It puts me more or less on track for the half marathon in October, by which point I will hopefully know what my spring racing season looks like - some runners from here are doing the Hollywood Half, which sounds pretty amazing, but we'll see...

2011-05-04T09:43:00.002-07:00

The idea of a streak went down in flames when I realized that it really was not the best idea for me to keep pushing every day to run, even when I was still recovering from injury.

I've run several times since my last blog post, but yesterday was particularly memorable/stupid.

I had a form that needed to be turned in at school, a mile away, by 5:00. At 4:50, I left my house and, after waiting for Mr. Garmin to find some satellites, booked it in 80 degree weather, when I haven't been properly hydrating or feeding myself for several days (What? It's finals?). And then I felt like I was going to pass out when I stopped running. So, obviously, I walked for a bit, then started running again.

I was running along the sidewalk beside the Capitol reflecting "pond," when one of the sidewalk joins decided to leap up and trip me and I bit it hard - as did my iPhone, which now has a nice little scuff on one corner, but is otherwise happy. My knees and palms, not so much. I've got some huge sore spots just below my knees, but at least the bruising seems to have been avoided by the rapid application of frozen peas. God bless my special "only for injuries" bag of peas. And, of course, I still wanted to pass out from the heat, dehydration, and running too fast. But, I made it all of 2.25 miles before I ran into a friend and decided it was time for me to be done running.

All of this bodes very well for my 5K this weekend, but I will, of course, be drinking lots of water between now and then. And going for a few more runs.

If anyone is actually reading this, I'd really appreciate any donations you might be willing to make to Cancer Research's Race for Life this year. My page is at: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/joyceadams1308. It's my fourth year, out of the last five, running, and I'm still grateful that this is the event that first introduced me to running and let me channel my sorrow at losing my mom and dad into something that keeps me happy, balanced, AND helping other people. Thanks.

Day 4, 6.5 Miles

2011-04-23T21:09:00.002-07:00

Another late night, minimum-length run. But, another mile for my streak, so I'll take it.

I decided to try running in my regular trainers, instead of my barefoots. Sure enough, the tendon in my groin that has been SUCH a problem didn't feel as good as it does in the Minimuses. That's totally fine - I'm happy to keep working on upping my milage in the Minimuses, because the regular shoes felt SO SLOW and I went back to feeling like a plodding elephant. Still, I'm a little sad because I think my other shoes are really nice looking (yes, that's vain). And, because it doesn't bode well for me, at some point, deciding that I cannot live my entire life in barefoot running shoes. I haven't worn anything else, except for when I'm wearing my work flats, for a good two weeks now. And Duchie helped me buy some really, really cute heels for graduation! I think I may still need to try some PT, or at least do another few weeks of strengthening exercises.

In happy news, I got to talk to my favorite Australian today and that was lovely!

Day 3, 5.5 total miles

2011-04-22T20:03:00.002-07:00

As I could have predicted, tonight's run was a bit crap. It's cold, it's raining and it's late. So I only did a mile. Meh. It's supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. I might take my regular trainers out for a "long" run to see how they and my injured bits will do. 4 miles? It's kind of pathetic, but I'd rather be safe than sorry (and can always go longer on the day).

Hmmm, am I going to have to run first thing on Sunday, in order to be ready for an Easter cupcake feast?

Well, it's been awhile...

2011-04-22T16:30:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't done anything with my blog for a very, very long time. It was easier to post every thought on facebook, but I kind of wish that I had kept a better record of the last three years, now that law school is drawing to a close. It's been interesting to go back and read through some of my entries and sometime's it would be hard to remember how many different Joyces I feel like I have been in the past...six years!

Anyway, I'm really only here because I'm embarking on a new thing. We'll see how long I last, but my new goal is to run at least a mile every single day. I'm the queen of "I'll run tomorrow," so there's a new urgency that accompanies the need to run every day. Or at least it has over the past two days (because that's how long my streak has lasted since I decided to have one). I'll get a few miles in tonight after I get kicked out of this coffee shop, where I am supposedly writing a paper comparing the treatment of forced marriage asylum claims in four countries (and I'm stuck on the UK, where the asylum system is so, so, so bad that it has reduced me to spontaneous tears at times). But, my legs are tired from a hard effort yesterday and a morning strengthening session that involved lunges (seriously...why do they hurt so much), so I think it will be a nice, relaxing slow run.

So far:
4/21: 2.5 miles, including 6 minutes of hard running (two Eurovision songs, if you must know how I'm timing these)
4/20: 2 miles
TOTAL: 4.5 miles

I know, those are super short, but I'm just coming off an injury that's been with me since before the Princess Half at the end of February and I'm easing into something that resembles barefoot running (New Balance Minimus). Which, to be honest, hasn't been that hard of a transition - it would appear that I was a forefoot striker all along. But, I LOVE THEM and feel like a gazelle, instead of a plodder.

Plus, my most immediate upcoming races are all short 'uns: May is going to involve 3 5Ks. But, soon enough I have to work up to a trail 10K on June 5 & the Baltimore 10 Miler on June 18. It'll be fine. :-) But, man do I want to PB at Baltimore & beat my time at the Army (we're not even going to talk about the Cherry Blossom, which I enjoyed SO MUCH, but ran very slowly), so I'm going to have to do some serious work between now and then.

Finally, I need to give some thought to the new Tinkerbell Half at Disneyland. Since I'm planning to be on the West Coast, this becomes completely doable in a weekend - and I like the idea of being part of a brand new race! I feel that I need to kick a half marathon's butt after the Princess, which I'm pretty sure kicked mine!

2009-03-01T06:11:00.002-08:00

Oh, South Africa, you crazy country.

So, I was reading this article in The Guardian this morning as I ate my breakfast and waited for the rugby (go Quins!) and was pretty annoyed.

The jist is that the ANC has added Winnie Mandela to their list of parliamentary candidates for the election in April, despite a constitutional bar on convicted prisoners serving in elected office until 5 years after their sentence has been completed (see § 47). Winnie was sentenced to 5 years (later reduced to 3.5 suspended sentence years) for fraud in 2003 (the appeal was in 2004). Now, there is some ambiguity because the Constitution bars any person who "is convicted of an offence [sic] and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine" from sitting in Parliament and Winnie had a suspended sentence. I don't know anything about South African case law, but it seems that this is a job for the lawyers.

What really toasted me was this statement, actually:

"The ANC, probably rightly, believes that the majority of voters do not care whether she has a criminal conviction," said Rapule Tabane, the political editor of the South African weekly Mail & Guardian.

No offense to the journalist, who I think is probably stating the truth, it's just that this seemingly blatant disregard for the rule of law is one of the things that I really, really dislike about the ANC. You see it with Zuma, who's used his political stature to avoid prosecution, with the officials at my old municipality who seemed to think that their ANC status gave them impunity when they stole from the citizens, and probably a million other examples from all over the country.

Or, let's be honest, I just hate it when people disregard the rule of law in any country, but I get especially upset when I see South Africa, a country with so many problems and so much promise, going down that same road. Show some discipline, for pete's sake, and respect the government that you built out of the ashes of apartheid!

2008-12-31T00:55:00.002-08:00

I am alive, I swear. Somehow updating my blog just didn't seem like a huge priority during the first semester of law school, which is probably a pity. I'm sure I'll want to look back and see what things were like, but it was also an insanely busy period.

I mostly just wanted to send out into the ether my memories of a wonderful day in London, yesterday. I've been here almost two weeks, although it seems like much longer, and unfortunately head back to the States for the new semester in just a few days.

Anyway, yesterday started with the longest line that I've ever seen at the National for day seats. By the time I got to the counter (after an hour in line, only 20 minutes of that in line before they opened the doors), there was standing room only for all six shows (3 evening, 3 matinee). So, I settled in to do case briefings for our first week back and checked in with the box office before lunch. I snagged one ticket then, but was able to exchange it for two seats together after lunch. They were wonderful! Full price, but alas. Center and about 10 rows back, which was amazing, since we both really wanted to see August: Osage County. It's pretty easy to see why it won the Tony and I lurve whole house sets. Which prompted Ian and I to recount how many complete house sets we'd seen at the National (we think three: Rafta, Rafta; The Rose Tattoo, and this one).

For lunch, I caught the bus to my old bus stop and had pie. DEAR GOD, THAT IS AMAZING PIE. It was also lovely to remember all the friends who I took to have pie there when they came to visit me in London. I realized later that I'd forgotten to look for the pie shop's blue plaque, but they may be all the excuse I need to go back again for more. PIE! I don't know what I expected, but Tower Bridge Road has barely changed in the 18 months since I left. It was a bit odd, but comforting, too. A big part of me just wanted to slip right back in to the life that I left here. But, someday....

I had a lovely bimble back up Bermondsey Street (again, few changes), through Borough Market (as wonderful as I remember), and along the Thames. It was lovely, but I really do miss living here. Capitol Hill is great and all, but it just can't compete with Southwark. I think that I'd like to find a way to move back to the neighborhood when I come back to London, whenever that is. After I picked up tickets, I walked over to the LSE to pick up a book that I wanted and bimbled back to finish my homework, read a bit, have some dinner, and meet the Boy a bit before curtain.

Play was great. I'm not sure that the actors themselves weren't replaceable, although they were wonderful, but they weren't...memorable. The play was the strong thing here and the Boy later remarked that the mid-play dining room scene was the best piece of theatre that he'd seen since the big speech in Blackbird. I'm fairly inclined to agree with him. It was a really long play (two intermissions), but until the last five minutes (I think they could have trimmed a scene or two right at the very end), I was absolutely unaware at the passage of time. So, yes, if you have time, go see August: Osage County at the National.

And I think that's all from me; I need to get ready for the day and go to do some shopping. :-)

2008-08-04T17:42:00.003-07:00

I don't know when this blog turned in to a place for me to have random thoughts, but here's another one.

I'm currently leafing through the latest People magazine (shut up!) and reading about the new Jolie/Pitt twins. And I wonder a) if the twins were born in France in order to make it easier for their parents/siblings to get EU citizenship? (not that I have any real understand of French citizenship law) and b) if I'm the only one who looks at that crowd and wonders what kind of passport/immigration fun you could have in that family. Eight people, six nationalities (unless any of the kids have been natzed).

I'm off to England tomorrow!!!

Happy thoughts!

2008-07-31T18:06:00.003-07:00

1) I TOTALLY have the chairs from the cafe where the women have brunch at least once an episode on Sex and the City. Ikea. Who else? (Is it sad that I know the product line that well?)

2) Tacky DC souvenirs. I love those shops in Union Station. Tonight, also, I found Mints for Obama (tagline: Peppermints we can believe in). Hilarious!

3) The fact that the Boy, the Boy's brother and I are all APPALLED that his parents would buy an All Blacks onesie for the impending grandchild and that we've been dispatched to Twickenham to supplement the wardrobe of England's newest supporter (to be; he/she's not here yet). I'm very excited, because I'm always wanting to buy the cute stuff for my nephews, but it wouldn't really mean much to their parents.

4) Having coffee with a friend.

5) My new Brookstone blanket (50% off!). SO SOFT and big enough for my whole bed! Cowering under my special, but twin-sized, fleece blanket was a bit strange on a queen-sized bed. Now it will just have to be special in the living room.

6) Being almost done with work (tomorrow!).

7) Going to England sooooooon. And seeing Boy and so many friends.

8) Lists.

2008-07-24T20:21:00.002-07:00

My friend read my last post and proclaimed: "It's like you're a poster child for Stuff White People Like."

I'd also like to discuss my unhealthy habits with craigslist. Is it normal to keep looking for apartments, even after you've gotten one? Why do I compulsively check the Arts & Crafts page, even though it serves as a daily reminder that a lot of people own a lot of tacky crap (and all seem to need to get rid of it because they're "moving abroad")? Seriously...I've found some awesome stuff, but they're diamonds among some pretty rough stuff. I'd take myself to task for scouting the furniture ads, but I really am looking to upgrade my loveseat. More importantly, is craigslist a thing white people like? Am I living up to my reputation?

Ok, after an Ikea flatpack filled evening, I'm heading to be. Got to be up in time for my 20 minute walk of a commute. :-)

New neighborhood

2008-07-22T13:49:00.002-07:00

Ok, time for my more or less monthly post: but OMG! I know that I'm a total yuppie, but I LOVE my new neighborhood. I just moved to Capitol Hill and have this adorable little basement (English garden, if we're being posh) apartment. The GULC (that's the Georgetown University Law Center) campus is a few blocks down Massachusetts from Union Station (and not, it must be noted, in Georgetown), so the whole point in moving here is to be less than a 20 minute walk from school. But, I love that I've got two coffee shops, two yoga studios, a public library, several parks, and lots of restaurants all nearby. Even my tiny corner convenience stores sells couscous and three kinds of organic milk. I'm a happy, little camper.

2008-06-15T12:20:00.002-07:00

Well, it seems like the answer to the title question of this blog is that Joyce goes to Georgetown. Which is awesome. I got accepted off the waiting list last week and couldn't have been more excited. Accepting the offer and withdrawing from Northwestern was kind of a no-brainer, but really only because I'd been asking myself "what if I get off the waitlist at Georgetown?" for several months. In the end, the only thing that really, really mattered was the international law curriculum. It's a major, major thing at GT (we have our own library and building) and not so big at NU (I wasn't sure how I was going to find enough classes that even interested me). Chicago would have been awesome, but I'm really rather relieved not to have to move across the country. Now I just have to find a new place to live, so if anyone knows of anything on Capitol Hill within easy walking distance of Union Station, just let me know!

That's the major news for now. I've been keeping busy with stamp club meetings and ushered at the theatre on Friday. Last weekend was the major stamp show for DC and I spent two days out in the suburbs somewhere. It was fun, although I didn't find a ton of stuff for my new 1980s/90s inflation-era Yugoslavia collection. That's been coming from e-bay for the most part and I'm up to 6 covers! (Soon to be expanded by 35 thanks to a massive lot.)

I dunno, I really suck at updating, but I'll be keeping the blog going. Maybe law school will spark me to write more often? We can hope!

I officially suck at blogging

2008-05-17T21:35:00.003-07:00

I'm really sorry! I'm not good at this anymore! But, I've got something to talk about now....

So, today was the last event for "Passport DC", which has been a three-week celebration of embassy-ness and DC's international flavor. Two weeks ago was EU Open House day and today was "rest of the world." Plus, I took time off of work yesterday to go to the Russian Embassy. Both days were really long and involved a TON of walking and waiting in lines, but were absolutely fantastic and definitely worth needing a good soak in the tub to make my legs feel better. Is it a coincidence that I passed out in naps both times? Probably not....

Both days involved a LOT of turn-of-of-the-century mansions on and around Dupont Circle and Massachusetts Avenue (which isn't called Embassy Row for nothing). Some were really surprising, like the ultra-modern Italian Embassy, one of the ones I definitely expected to be old. The British Embassy is a MASSIVE compound and, although they only opened one room, definitely won the "free stuff" battle and set a really high bar for everyone else (they were our first stop on EU Day). Even better was me trying to keep a straight face when Her Majesty's Representative spoke and told us how much Britain loved being European. I think he was trying to illustrate their position as a bridge between the US & the EU, but it was kind of funny. Also quite popular were the several different kinds of Scotch that were being served at 10am. And my new British Council flip-flops (I know, I know...wtf?). Those rock. Also, the staff all looked rather uncomfortable in specially printed t-shirts with a MASSIVE Union Jack on them! Hee, hee.

Other embassies were a lot more traditional. The Irish Embassy was like that, where all the white people stood in line for AGES to celebrate their heritage and were rewarded with a piece of cheese each. Uh..... I was going to boycott the Cypriot embassy until I heard that they were serving massive platters of Halloumi cheese, one of my all time favorites! I had several pieces and laughed to myself about their promotional materials, i.e. "The Myth about the Isolation of North Cyprus." I brought that one home, but haven't looked through it. Also awesome: the number of different materials designed to explain the EU to children/dummies/Americans (same things, right?), which are EXACTLY what I wanted for my EU class at Earlham several years ago. Win!

There was more of that today, actually, where there was a major focus on South and Central America. The Peruvian embassy and the Colombian residence, especially, were incredibly maintained/restored mansions. Wow. There was a real tendency everywhere to mix modern art with the old houses and we learned that the Colombians fly in fresh Colombian roses every week for the floral arrangements. The Peruvian embassy was a special treat because they took small groups upstairs to see the Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission's offices. The tour guide was their press secretary and he was great. On both this tour and the one of the Venezuelan residence (a purpose-built art deco mansion), I definitely learned more about the countries than I'd previously known (although I later proved just how much Paddington Bear trivia I know with a detailed history of his pedigree).

And, today, there were quite a few modern embassies, mostly clustered up around Van Ness on the edge of the UDC campus. Pakistan definitely won my prize for "architecture that reflects the country" with this amazing modern mosque/Islamic/Mahal blend. It's only three years old and VERY modern, but with windows that are styled to look traditional, with the points, and loads of tile work (that's not really tile, but maybe?). BEAUTIFUL! I totally want to go (although that was kind of the theme of the day, much more than for EU day). Bangladesh had great food and I now know how really good Ethiopian coffee is. Ghana was SO DECKED OUT in flag goodness for their 50th anniversary celebration and someone at Nigeria forgot that they'd signed up, I think (TIA! Also, snerk). Oh, and Australia opened the big open entry space in their embassy, which has a model of the Southern night sky on the ceiling. They were doing wine tastings (yum), had a fantastic digeredoo performer and a very nice photo exhibition commemorating Australian/American cooperation on the Western front in WWI.

The day was all capped off by finding a Peruvian restaurant (it sounded so good when described at the embassy!) courtesy of google maps on my phone (BEST. THING. EVAR!). We tried the traditional cocktail (Pisco Sour) and had an incredible dinner, all for fairly reasonable prices (cocktail, an appetizer & half an entree for bang on $25/each), sitting outside in the perfect weather. Mmmmm. The restaurant was INTI Peruvian Restaurant and it's roughly at S & 18th in Dupont. Lovely day. I'm glad that I'm finally enjoying things about DC, especially since the move to Chicago in the fall currently seems inevitable.

OMG, my wee Muppetkins is going to LSE!

2008-04-14T18:48:00.002-07:00

This is just one big w0000000t shout out to my Muppet, who is one of my most awesome Earlham friends. We bonded over a mutual love for England and I remember he was one of the most excited people when I got in to LSE. AND NOW HE'S JUST BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM, TOO!!! Yeah, that's two of us on Welling's tally and I bet she'll be over the moon when she finds out. OMG, jealous, but Muppet totally deserves it and I'm super, duper proud of him. Eish! I'm going to have to try and hook him up with the LIMUN crew! :-)

So, some dorktastic photos:

Signs that you know too much about weird sports....

2008-03-28T21:23:00.002-07:00

1) ...you watch an American production of "The History Boys" while mentally critiquing their scene change rugby "matches" (no doubt thrown in only at the beginning so we all remembered that it was supposed to be set in England, unless it was supposed to be foreshadowing for "Pass it on boys, pass it on" at the end of the play). SHOCKING attempt at a line-out and we won't even mention that the ball came the wrong way out of that ruck. Otherwise, generally decent job with the accents (although the "dumb boy" who was supposed to have the REALLY thick Northern one was really bad and unfortunately it's an accent that I'm fairly familiar with...despite the fact that my Boy is quite a clever Northerner) and pretty bad set, more evocative of a posh, modern, wood-paneled office than a Northern grammar school in the 1980s. Sometimes they got the timing of the punchlines wrong, which I think was a difference in the way Americans and Brits phrase things, and there were a fair number of jokes that went over people's heads. I don't think the audience understood that it was a comedy until the second act. And, of course, no one thought that the Holocaust or fondling themes were meant to be amusing. But that all sounds more critical than I mean to be: ultimately, I think it's a play that works wonderfully in an intimate space and tonight was a treat. Did I mention that it was free because I was an usher. You can bet that I'm doing that again!

2) ...you're watching "Becoming Jane" because you're a sap for period dramas and as Jane Austin and James McAvoy face off on the cricket pitch you think to yourself "ooooh, she's really going to catch it now; look how far back he's gone for the run up! Fast bowl coming up!" I think the Boy can take SOLE credit for that particular bit of dorkiness, since he made me go to the cricket in South Africa. Go Proteas!

3) (thought of one more, also related to "The History Boys") ...you are really, really amused that the actor being Damon (the cool one who everyone seems to be in love with) decided that his "cool" hairstyle meant evoking the spirit of Shalk Burger. And we already know my opinion on Afrikaaner/Springbok coiffure choices, don't we class?

OMG, two posts in one night?!

2008-03-18T18:49:00.003-07:00

I would like to add to Lindsay's collection of Balkan graffiti with my own:

That's me on Ruga Bill Clinton and a bit of graffiti which rhymes in English (and though I'm only two lessons into my Albanian tapes, I don't think it does in it's original language): No Negotiation/Self-Determination.

I've been sad to read about everything happening in Mitrovica, but that's where things were mostly likely to turn sour. I wish we'd had a chance to visit last summer, but it probably came at the expense of the side trip to Macedonia, which I also adored. It's so frustrating!

One other quick Kosovo note, which amused me to no end...did/does anyone else pick up on the subtext in this statement by Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, responding to a question about the embassy attacks:

"Well, obviously, some of the actions of Serbia have been deeply disturbing. The riots in Belgrade, the attacks on a number of Embassies were outrageous and unacceptable. This is a terrible thing. There have been various provocations in North. This sort of thing was to be expected. I think the Kosovar leadership has responded to these provocations with, frankly, a maturity which vindicates the decision of the United States and two thirds of the European Union members to recognize it. And I think with time, and as Kosovo develops, these problems will work out slowly, but I think they will."

Obama on Race

2008-03-18T18:21:00.002-07:00

I just watched today's Obama speech on race and I have to say it was pretty impressive. It was more interesting than American Idol, which I turned off when I realized that this was one that I had to watch straight through and not during the (long and frequent) commercials.

I kind of feel like I've just watched a really good episode of West Wing, like those times when I can hear good writing happening in my head and my fingers try to keep up.

But I think Obama's message was fantastic. I agree wholeheartedly that this election should stop being about race, because what my experience in South Africa taught me is that Americans have so much in common, even when they don't realize it. I don't want to denigrate South Africans by saying that they're not like Americans (because ultimately we're all human) or pretend that I completely understand the African-American experience, but the truth is that we watch the same tv, DO have many of the same problems and hopes (as Obama pointed out so eloquently), are governed under the same set of laws and by the same people, share a language, and learned many of the same things in school. And I wish more people realized that and would focus on our similarities, rather than our differences, as Sen. Obama did this morning.

His remarks reminded me of one of the things we learned about in South Africa, but so often struggled to integrate into our lives: Ubuntu. As many of you know, it's the concept that "I am, because we are." And realizing that we MUST recognize our overwhelming commonalities, rather than our differences when tackling the problems that almost every American worries about, the economy, education, health care, and foreign policy, seems to me like our own American Ubuntu.

It was great.

2008-03-02T11:14:00.002-08:00

I have a better sense now of what might be happening in my life, come the fall. I got in to Northwestern, which I never expected and which I have been over the moon about since Thursday. It's a wonderful, wonderful school with an atmosphere (supposedly) that would be as close to Earlham as I'm going to get in a law school and a human rights program that is very much oriented towards matters of transitional justice, one of my personal passions and interests. Plus, I love Chicago and would like to be back in the midwest.

None of this is final. I'm still waiting to hear from another school, but I am also starting to stress about moving (far more than I should for an event that's five months away)!

I would also like to congratulate myself on doing some ironing today and found myself thinking that if I wanted to iron, I should have stayed in South Africa!

2008-02-23T09:37:00.002-08:00

Well, my excitement for the morning has passed. I woke up to find my cell phone service cut off and, upon further inquiries, that I owed almost $400.

After paying enough to get my service back, I was able to investigate my online bill. Seems like the main problem was that I was being charged $1.49/minute for my calls to the UK instead of the better $0.08 rate that I pay a little bit extra to receive. And, since that's the difference between $8 and $150 for my recent calls, it was dramatic. Customer service was great and fixed everything right away.

So, yay for AT&T and your service (although I may be shouting about a reactivation fee if I see one, for the bill that I never received)!

Happy (almost) Birth-day, Kosova

2008-02-16T20:01:00.002-08:00

God, I can't believe that it's finally happening. For years and years, I've been teasing my dear, favorite Kosovar, asking him when his wee, little fake country was going to get it's independence and today (because it's already 5 am in Prishtina), it probably is. For reals. And I know it's not my country, but I feel immense pride on Behar's behalf and I am so, so glad that he and a whole lot of other people will no longer be stateless (de facto, not de jurie, of course). I'm happy that he'll have a real passport and that Kosova will be a real place on the map, and that it'll have the might of the EU behind it and helping it grow.

Kosova was so beautiful when we visited last summer. It seemed like a place that was so looking forward to the future, but one that needs someone to help plan and control the explosive growth that is taking place. I hope that the beautiful, forested mountains won't go the way of Macedonia's (away, in other words). I hope that Kosovars can honor their past and their dead and celebrate their freedom in ways that don't threaten the beautiful and sacred places and the lives and safety of Behar, his friends and family and everyone else.

I have a special hope that the Serbian Orthodox monasteries will be alright. Especially Decani, which was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever visited (although the monks were creepy). I felt honored to be there, but sad knowing that I could only visit because of my foreign passport. Behar would never have been able to go, but for a bit of luck when the NATO troops accepted his US driver's license as ID.

But, anyway, well done Kosova and enjoy your independence. You've suffered for it and been in limbo for so many years, while the international community argued over your fate. Also: do you guys get to be in Eurovision now? Because that would make me super happy! Happy Birthday!

Flatpack Princess

2008-02-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

I would like to admit a secret love for the Ikea flat pack. For some reason, their directions and I just understand each other. I can get in the zone and hours go by while I insert wooden pegs and tighten screws with the little wands. I'm just sad that I have very little furniture left to assemble in my new place. I would also like to volunteer my mad Ikea skillz to my friends.

All this is by way of saying that I finally have a bed and a mattress! After a call to customer service to have the directions e-mailed (they'd been left out of the box) and a trip to the store to buy the midbeam support that I'd forgotten, it was done. And so I got to sleep on a real bed for the first time in several weeks. Awesome.

I'm also looking forward to today, because of the chance to see lots and lots of friends, some from the stamp collecting world and others from LSE. Tomorrow's the rugby and I've just gotten word that my wonderful, wonderful Boy has booked his early-April plane ticket!

Plus, I am officially admitted to American's law school (there was some mix-up that involved my notification being sent to South Africa)! w00t!

Washington Gas Sucks

2008-02-06T10:22:00.001-08:00

I am so incredibly steamed right now. After making me go in to see the gas company customer service people in person (which they then told me was completely unnecessary), we scheduled the installation of my gas meter for this morning between 7 and 12. After hauling myself out of bed to get dressed after being up with election returns until 2, I've just waited and waited. I even put a note downstairs on the call box with my cell phone number, since the box doesn't work (probably because I don't have a phone).

Finally, at 12:45, I call the same people who made me go to the office in person and they explain that the technician had been there at 11 and left a note on the glass door. I go downstairs and there's no note. I walk up and down the sidewalk, checking the flowerbeds and there's no note. There was no courtesy call, as there was supposed to have been. I think the chumps saw that my street was under some construction (replacing lead pipes, I think, which seems like a noble undertaking) and decided not to bother. So, now, the only option is to reschedule for "between 8 and 5 tomorrow," which having wasted today already, I'm rather upset about.

So, while there aren't any other options, I would like to alert the world to the fact that Washington Gas sucks and has terrible customer service. I hate monopolies, 'cause I'd sooooo take my business somewhere else.

The great irony of all this is that I HAVE gas already (apparently for free) and the gas company seemed shocked as hell about it. Muppets.

Life in the US

2008-02-01T19:32:00.001-08:00

I was talking to the Boy tonight and giggling gleefully about all the craaaaazy new contraptions I’ve discovered upon living, really living, in the US for the first time in two and a half years. And now, I understand why people think this is the land of milk and honey: we have everything! And it’s moderately priced (as long as I don’t multiply prices by 7 to put them into rand)!

My new apartment, while located ages from a metro station and in an amenity-less “emerging” neighborhood, has enough gadgets to keep me SUCH a happy bunny. I have a dryer!!! Which means that for the first time in ages I have my very own, completely dry fluffy, big towels! This might seem like a little thing, but after London, where nothing ever dries properly, and South Africa, where I used those horrible travel towels the whole time (because buying proper ones seemed like an extravagance), it feels like the world’s biggest luxury. And, although I can’t imagine needing it for just one person, I have a dishwasher and A MICROWAVE (we didn’t have one in London, so I’m kind of in awe of not needing to spend 10 minutes heating up some soup and needing to wash the pot afterwards). OMG.

This last thing’s the best though. The Boy was thoroughly amused and a bit patronizing about it, but I refuse to be deterred. So, I have two window units, one in the bedroom and one in the main room that are both heaters and air conditioners (A/C! Be still my heart!). And they operate by REMOTE CONTROL!!! So, I have this plan to wake up with my alarm, turn on the heat, push the snooze button, then get up when the heater’s had 10 minutes to take the frost off. Pure luxury. Only in America.

This is all, of course, in addition to my tendency to wander around stores, particularly the grocery store, in a daze wondering where all of this came from and why on earth we need so much of it. In the recent past, I may have had a short freak-out over the need for 10 ft. of shelving devoted solely to pickles. Seriously?! I’ve also been acting like a bit of a n00b, as I bumble my way around DC and the metropolitan area. What’s startling is how willing people are to help and how many strangers strike up conversations with me.

It’s one of the things I’ve noticed about myself since I got back from the Peace Corps: I feel much more willing to strike out without a plan or directions. And, more importantly, I’m willing to have conversations with perfect strangers. It was always awkward in SA and still is (a bit), but I feel more willing to be open and more willing to hear their stories (and met some very cool people as a result). I feel more confident in places that probably would have sketched me out before. I think this will sound weird, but I feel even more comfortable around persons of color than ever before. I think living in South Africa made me super, super aware that despite differences, people who live in the United States have more in common than we often realize. And for some reason, I seem to have a bit of serious street cred, because I lived in Africa.

I do, however, have to fight the urge to call every older woman, especially the African-American ones, I meet “ma’. I think that might get misinterpreted. And, after three weeks, I’m finally ready to cut back on the root beer. Hurrah!

2008-01-27T18:26:00.001-08:00

Oh, er, right. I'm not in South Africa or the Peace Corps anymore. I moved to DC two days ago and am starting a new job very soon. I also couldn't feel happier about my decision to leave.

And, yes, I'm changing the name of the blog again.

Update from the road

2008-01-04T10:02:00.001-08:00

Well, we're two days out of Cape Town now and it's been fantastic. We've got a tiny white [Boy: actually it's silver] Toyota that the Boy's been driving through some very beautiful and dramatic countryside. (The Boy is doing all of the driving because I sort of forgot that I needed to have my driver's license with me, which actually worked out well because they only had manuals at the rental place at the time.) His review: "It goes like a three-legged sheep and handles like a whale." (We were on a winding, fun mountain pass at the time, through the vineyards, reflecting on how much it looked like a place where Top Gear would film.) It also has the turn signal stick on the right side, instead of the left, so the windows were getting washed with astonishing frequency for a while [Boy: when I rule the world all cars will be laid out the same, but to be fair the windscreen is now sparkling].

We stayed last night in Swellendam and drove to Cape Agulhus, which is the southern-most point in Africa and the point which demarcates the boundary between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It was strange to stand there and reflect on the continent that stood to my back. We were standing on the edge of a nice, quiet, prosperous, Afrikaans and English speaking (read: white) seaside town that wouldn't have been out of place in England if it were a little more densely populated and with more of what the Boy calls "tat" stores [Boy: it would have been about 10 degrees cooler as well]. And, yet, I was thinking about my village and Niger and what I've seen of Kenya & Tanzania: generally poor, black and very different than Europe and the US. I kind of felt that L'Agulhus (that's the town) would give the completely wrong impression to an alien who landed there and wanted to learn about Africa. But, that's South Africa for you: "the world in one country."

Today was the start of the Garden Route proper and we took the slow route through more mountains and the Little Karoo desert (not at all impressive because it looked just like the area that we did our pre-service training in, albeit with big mountains this time). It was really, really windy by the coast, so no swimming, but we did visit the Post Office tree, which has been used for sending mail since the early explorers [Boy: cue much squealing from the Girl Girl: he's just jealous of my "post office-dar"]. We'll pop back tomorrow so I can finally mail my postcards.

Oh, and I should mention the last few days in Cape Town. We went up Table Mountain, which had amazing views over the city and out to sea; bimbled over to see Parliament and the synagogue; and then spent the Boy's birthday going to the first day of the second South Africa-West Indies test match [Boy: cricket for any Americans or other aliens reading]. It wasn't bad, although I was very bored when things got slow in the session between lunch and tea [Boy: read as "I didn't understand the subtleties of an absorbing tussle and have an American attention span" Girl: but, he did promise me ice cream at the tea interval]. I was, however, infinitely amused by the family behind us with its grown-up children (my age?) who got progressively drunker as the day went on. By the end they were having a beer cup stacking contest with another family and were calling for the Proteas (SA's cricket team, named after a flower) to bring on Shalk Burger to bowl (read: pitch). (Burger was one of the heroes [Boy: villains] of the World Cup-winning rugby team, in case you have no idea why that was funny.) We continue to follow the match on the radio.

A few notes:

1) The Boy would like everyone to know that he did not only give me a bear for Christmas, but also the Doctor Who Season 3 DVDs. He thought I made him sound cheap (also read: Northern *grin*) in the last post.

2) I love that South Africans call avocado "avo." It denotes a fondness and familiarity with one's food that I don't think Americans generally have, although "mac 'n cheese" may be an exception.

3) Today's Afrikaans word of the day: spanspek = watermelon.

4) Mossel Bay is lovely. It's a very Victorian seaside town that hasn't gone downhill or too far towards tat. I like it a lot. And Swellendam has a million B&Bs and is home to what may be the only chatty English couple in history (even if we did stereotypically talk about the weather). My map reading skills are coming along [Boy: coming along being a relative term. Boy "left or right here?", Girl "err I don't know", Boy "make a decision!", Girl "err.... straight on?", Boy "that's not an option! bugger it! right it is", Girl (5 minutes later) *accusingly* "you've gone the wrong way"], but we're awfully glad that we bought a nice road atlas.

5) This road trip is turning out to be a lot of fun.

Hello from Cape Town

2007-12-30T11:50:00.001-08:00

Woooo, it's time for an in-vacation blog! I'm in Cape Town at the moment, with the Boy and really enjoying it. What's been most shocking for me, even though it obviously shouldn't be, is how much diversity there is everywhere. We just had dinner on the V&A Waterfront surrounded by people of all colors and it's tremendous to see. It's so normal in my real life and so alien to my Peace Corps life (aside from our PCVs of color). Cape Town has been a real awakening to how much has changed and how much progress has been made. I know I always tell people how hard it is to constantly jump between the "third world" in the village and the "first world" in Polokwane or Pretoria, but Cape Town is absolutely incredible. I can't believe that this is the same country as my village.

We've kind of made this first part of the trip the "deal with South Africa's depressing recent history" section. Two days ago was the Soweto tour, which included visits to the Apartheid Museum (ok, but very "great men did this" retelling of the story without too much depth or focus on ordinary people) and the Hector Peterson memorial/museum (which is excellent and deals with the Soweto uprising of 1976). I wasn't so impressed by Soweto, mostly because it didn't feel alien to me at all! I guess I've acclimated more than I think. Today we went to Robben Island, where the government stashed all of the male political prisoners of color (black, Indian, coloured). It was a very interesting experience, not the least because of the queue for tickets. They're fully booked until Jan. 10, so there were a lot of crazed people trying to buy standby tickets. Luckily, I booked a couple of months ago! It was an interesting, very choreographed tour. You got herded on to a bus for a 45 minute drive around the island, then a 45 minute tour of the maximum security prison, including the reverent filing past of the cell where Mandela spent 18 years. I can't say it was a particularly emotional experience, however, and I somehow thought that it would be. On the up side, there were penguins!

I'm also simply more confused about this place. I get so frustrated with its potential and the things that are so, so bad and then feel guilty when I remember how much the people in my community have struggled. And I think about how much has changed, which is incredible, against a pessimistic niggling that nothing will ever get better.

I guess I just have a few other random thoughts:
1) The Johannesburg domestic terminal is fantastic! We checked-in at a kiosk and dropped off our bags without ever waiting in a queue and no one ever harassed us before we got on the plane! I'm usually completely stripped of my dignity and ready to kill someone at airports, so this was fantastic. On the two hour (and $100) flight to Cape Town, they even gave us sandwiches. Veggie Boy got a whole chocolate bar with his cheese sandwich, but the rest of us got one sad cookie.

2) For Christmas, I received a beanie bear wearing the uniform of the Boy's rugby team (Harley is the mascot's name, since the club is the Harlequins). I have now purchased a miniature springbok wearing a South Africa rugby jersey. Harley has been retaliating, beating up said Bokkie (and the Boy has helped, although he swears he's over England losing in the World Cup final).

3) Christmas was amazing. Another PCV and I went to the nearby Dutch Reform Church for their Dutch services, which was great, and we met some really nice people afterwards. Then, 13 of us SA-16ers all gathered at one of the backpackers (hostels) to cook more food than two times that number could have eaten! It was fantastic. Wonderful food and so many friends. I really do love my PCV family.

Possibly more to come.

Finally! Candidates on the ICC

2007-11-30T01:57:00.000-08:00

There may be readers out there who, like me, care very much what their Presidential candidates are saying on the International Criminal Court. My friend from Chicago and I wrote to Obama a very long time ago asking about his position, but we never heard back (and were a bit peeved about it, considering that he's her US Senator). We finally decided to do the research ourself and turned up this gem from the (UNA-USA sponsored) American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC). It's a fact sheet giving candidate's actual answers to ICC-related questions.

I have to say, I'm not excited about Obama's responses, which basically give some cautious optimism, before noting that the Court is still young and "it is premature to commit the US to any course of action at this time." He also expresses concerns for American service personnel. Frankly, I think that if our servicemen and women can't behave themselves (and remember, in this case, not behaving means committing war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity), they should be just as subject to anyone else to the Court's jurisdiction. Of course, the reality is that they would almost undoubtedly be court-marshaled and tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in US military courts. This would eliminate the Court's jurisdiction because the US would have shown itself both willing and able to deal with these crimes. Ahem.

Where was I? Ahhh, Hilary. Her answer: Bush's unsigning has been really bad for us, the ICC has really behaved itself admirably since its establishment and "I will as President evaluate the record of the Court, and reassess how we can best engage with this institution and hold the worst abusers of human rights to account." I like this answer better. She doesn't say that she'll sign right up again, but makes it pretty clear that she'd like to be a partner for the ICC, in its investigations, and avoid being an obstructionist force on the Security Council. I don't think the Senate would ratify the Rome Statute in a million years, so I think this is as good a compromise as we're likely to see.

And, finally, Bill Richardson, just because he made me happy. I think this pretty much says it all: "The US should join the ICC as a full-fledged member. We have nothing to fear." Again, not in a million years, but wouldn't that be nice? Happy Joyce. :-)

All in all, I might use my worthless primary vote (NO ONE will care what happens by the time the Indiana primary rolls around in May) to show support for Richardson and maybe help him get the VP nod. On the other hand, I've been often torn between Obama & Clinton and this is the sort of thing that could tip the table. I'll be honest, it's a lot harder to be inspired by Obama when, unlike most US voters, all your news about the race comes in print format. Populism doesn't work as well when it isn't being delivered in speeches and definitely doesn't work when reported dryly by the Economist. On the other hand, am I a one issue voter? Sigh! I need to find out more about their opinions on the UN.

Things I think I will not get used to....

2007-11-23T03:19:00.000-08:00

1) People being rude. Two days ago, a group of primary school kids yelled at me, in English: "Your vagina is beautiful!" While that's hysterical, it's also just tiring.

2) Screaming. The adults that I've lived with scream at their kids all the time in tones that I only associate with something being really, really wrong, even though it might just be to check on them or to ask for a cup of tea. It really bothers me.

3) Gasto-intestinal distress. Yes, I'm sick again. At least today there's no fever, it's cooler and I can do more than collapse on my bed again after every trip to the latrine.

Yesterday, I officially "quit" my job, as in I went in to the office to tell them what PC and I had decided. The Director of the Department was very kind about the whole thing. My supervisor gave me the limpest handshake I've ever recieved.

Update on the site situation

2007-11-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

Alright, Peace Corps came to visit, we talked and they've released me from working at the municipality. I am absolutely over the moon about this. Even better (as if it could get much better), I've been given permission to go looking for my own new site. I told my APCD (program director person) about a meeting that I had set up for January with an NGO that runs provincial and a national Model UN and I'm hoping to meet with them before then, now (have permission to go to Pretoria and everything). I've sent e-mails to everyone I can think of who might have contacts in South Africa and am open to suggestions! Although I love this family and I will continue to stay in contact and visit them, my APCD also gave me permission to move and I am really, really hoping to be a city girl again sometime in the next few months. I'll keep you posted.

Christmas & the immediate future

2007-11-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

First, um, and I feel really tacky doing this, but I thought I might make some Christmas/Solstace/Winter Festive Season suggestions for, er, presents.

Because, I'd really, really like some kind of specific things to share with my host family. Primarily, I'd like: children's picture books and magazines or books with lots and lots of photos. I feel a little bad giving them copies of the Economist, see, to "read" along with me. The kids here are 7 & 8 and none of them can read yet, but I'd like some age appropriate stuff that we can practice on or that they/we can at least look at together. And the littlest one (he's 2), love trucks. Granny & Gogo would probably love anything that's from the US, maybe decorative sorts of items (they're both in their 70s and gogo can't walk). Thanks!

Um, and because I'm a little selfish (and bored), I love entertainment: books, magazines, DVDs, that sort of thing. I do get the Economist and the Christian Science Monitor and would still LOVE trashy gossip stuff (People), as would the girls in my village.

As for the work situation, I'm on a stoppage right now (supervisor approved), until my organization authorizes payment for my transport. Peace Corps is coming out to talk on Tuesday about the entire work situation. I'm looking forward to our discussion and hope that it'll help alleviate some of the stuff that I've been dealing with since arriving at site. More on that later.

2007-11-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's ever been or known a Peace Corps volunteer (and gotten an honest assessment out of them) or who has a decent sense of imagination, probably knows or has heard that life as a volunteer can involve a LOT of ups and downs. You might not hear about the downs, especially in a public forum like this, but I'm trying to write about the things that have gone well. Whether it's an event or something I've done or a relationship I've made, these are the things that make me think that I could be effective and survive for two years. These are the good days. Read what you want into the fact that blog posts have been pretty sporadic.

Anyway, today was a good day. I helped the local home based care organization recreate a really, really complicated reporting form. They worked closely with the last volunteer in my village and I was super impressed that, after I made all the tables that were needed, the staff member took back the computer to enter all of the labels and the data. It was very "thanks for your help and I can totally do the rest of this!" I sat with her to help dictate the data and with tweaking the tables (and taught her how to put shading in some of the boxes), but it was really gratifying to see someone here be so very independent. Their old volunteer really taught sustainability. Sometimes it's nice not to be needed. :-)

My second engagement of the day was to attend the ward committee meeting for the villages that surround mine. It was so exciting to be in an environment that I actually know something about. Thanks to my time with the Lib Dems, I feel like I do understand how local government can and should engage with its constituents. I feel like I have something to offer if I work with these ward committees, which is a big change from my usual job. Plus, they asked for my help! Which, for me, is huge. Anyway, the ward councillor is a cool guy and he actually reminds me of my friends (who are about the same age as him) who are councillors back in the UK.

Ok, that's about it. I'll keep you posted on how it goes with the ward committee. Now, I've just got to convince my supervisor that I'll get a lot more done if I'm deployed to them, rather than being forced to sit in the office.

Now, I've got to attend to my dinner (I've eaten more Ramen in a month and a half of Peace Corps than I did in four years of college) and figure out how to ignore mentally disturbed drunk guy from next door, who has a habit of showing up at all hours of the day and night and loves to talk "to gogo," no matter how often he's told to go away (and stay away). Ugh.

A food question

2007-11-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Um, this is a little weird, but just about ever since my day of horrific food poisoning two weeks ago, I've been reluctant to eat. Thinking about food makes my stomach go queasy, as does thinking about the actual taste. And I'm not really hungry, which is in HUGE contrast to training, when I could never eat enough. I even have a bar of chocolate that I have absolutely no desire to eat, which is WRONG!

Any ideas what's going on or what I can do to fix it?

Also, because I'm interested: what do you find most interesting about me? I'm doing a poll. :-)

Senior Citizens Parliament

2007-10-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very good day. Last week I spent most of one day in a pre-workshop for the Limpopo Senior Citizen's Parliament and, knowing that my supervisor was scheduled to be away at a workshop, I asked if I could go along. The big day was yesterday.

I was "supposed" to get picked up at 7:30 for the 9:00 event. (My village is straight south of Lebowagkomo, where the Provincial Parliament meets and about 45 min or an hour away.) I totally knew that no one would be there for some time, but I went early because there was NO WAY I was going to miss the taxi! It eventually got me at 9:00, but some of the others had been waiting since 6:00! I just stayed out of the sun, read my book, and ROASTED in my suit jacket (the choice was between being hot and being sunburnt). We had a really nice taxi. It even had a DVD player! So, we alternated between watching a miracle preacher save some kid who hadn't walked for 15 years and the previews for a Nigerian movie (and anyone whose seen those can tell you that they're...special). We couldn't watch much of either because I don't think the driver could drive and manipulate the DVD controls at the same time. It was so amazingly bizarre.

I absolutely loved the group that went from our Municipality. I sat with one tate (lit. father) for a long time during the event. We couldn't really talk, but he was so kind and lovely. Two women from a village west of Jane Furse spoke (there were loads of observers and carefully limited speakers) and I was so, so impressed by their candor, their bravery and their insights. I mean, to get up in front of a full house in your legislature and talk about sexual abuse against old women? I thought they were amazing. And I told them so, afterwards! One of them was so excited by it all that she took me by the hand and we talked all the way to the food tent. I'm going to go and visit their pensioners club soon, hopefully.

Four topics were discussed: 1) pensions and pension pay points (many people go to a certain place on a certain day of the month to get their money in cash and sometimes have to wait for hours and hours and get harassed by vendors, funeral parlors, etc.); 2) Care and services for the elderly (Home Based Care, old age homes, etc.); 3) impact of HIV/AIDS on seniors (many of whom end up caring for dying children and the orphaned grandchildren, some become infected because their children haven't disclosed their status, they don't know about proper handling for people with HIV/AIDS, or they don't have gloves); and 4) Contributions of seniors to the quality of life (lots seemed to be about sharing culture and morals).

There were some fantastic ideas. Like: little care packages with wipes and water for the people waiting for their pensions (not to mention making toilets available) or giving away GLOVES at the government clinics, the way condoms are available. Lots of people called for more education, whether about HIV/AIDS or better ways to manage your pension income. Of course, one of the biggest rounds of applause for the day came when someone suggested more corporal punishment was the way to stop the spread of HIV. I got a lot out of it, because someone gave me a translation device! Now if only those worked in the village....

It was also an interesting cultural day. Everyone was wearing their best clothes and it was so much fun to look at the different ones: Venda, Southern Sotho, Pedi, Swati and so on. Awesome! And they even had a special table of food for people on a no salt diet...which was so me! Of course, I'd only just recovered from a very, very bad "running stomach" (yes, that means what you think it does) so I was taking it easy.

I think the part that I liked best of all came at the beginning. Someone (who I think was important, but I'm not sure who he was) spoke for a long time to open the event. And he made a point that I thought was important, but probably blindingly obvious to everyone there. He talked a lot about how these older people were the ones who have the most to tell us kids about life under apartheid, how they were the ones who lived through it the longest and fought against it. I think that my favorite people here are the old ones and I can't wait to get to know them better. (Bonus: if they worked in Joberg (which many did), they tend to speak great English!)

Oh, yeah, and I'm pretty psyched that I got to visit the Provincial Parliament (that's like the State Legislature). It was a lot like a college campus, really, with lots of government agencies in different buildings. And pretty much no ornamentation (but then, the Indiana General Assembly doesn't have to spend much on translating equipment). It was such a great day and one of the best I've had in South Africa.

2007-10-20T06:37:00.001-07:00

Alright, have made three batches of chocolate muffins and taken in a baby chick. My radio's not getting a signal, so I don't have to listen to boasting Springboks. So, on to the match!!!

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

2007-10-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world

I know, I know, it’s been awhile (as usual) since I updated you on my Peace Corps (hereafter PC) adventure. I suppose that’s mostly because of the old adage: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” And you are all probably internet savvy enough to know that maintaining a blog involves a good deal of self-censorship. There are things that could be written here that could easily be misinterpreted or just involve airing things far more publicly than they should be. But for anyone who thinks that PC volunteers have it easy: guess again. This ‘work’ is filled with frustration and a lot of wondering as to whether you made the right choices along the way. It makes you wonder if your being here makes any difference and if external events will ever allow you to be effective.

But, I’m going to try to keep the rest of this light.

I’ve been gradually increasing my cooking repertoire, which has been a lot of fun. My work’s got internet and I have COPIOUS amounts of time to surf it, so I’ve been able to do a fair amount of recipe hunting. So far, I’ve managed a lovely aloo gobi (even tasted the way I meant it to, amazingly enough!) and two kinds of muffins (banana and chocolate/oatmeal/raisin). Two nights ago I used the soya mince that they sell in the stores to make a nice sauce by grating in four tomatoes. It strikes me as odd that this vegetarian meat product should be so readily available in SA, but I think it’s supposed to be used when you can’t afford to buy any meat. I’m not a vegetarian, never fear, but I don’t really enjoy or practice the cooking of meat. Call me lazy. Also lacking a refrigerator. Oh, and I bought 2% milk yesterday (I’ve only ever seen whole milk before) and it was such a treat!

I was having a chat with my host siblings last weekend, as we sat and I read my new Sepedi book (for 1st graders). (On a side note: the kids are all in either grade 1 or 2 and none of them could read it. They either pretended or simply repeated what I read out loud to them.) Jumpo (the girl) was peering around me (I was sitting on the stoop) and asked where my baby was. She was utterly shocked when I told her that I didn’t have one. I suspect it was because of a combination of my age and gender. I’m not knocking anyone who chooses to have children at an early age (and that’s certainly the norm here), but I was really sad that she simply expected all young women to have a baby and couldn’t seem to fathom someone NOT having a child. Young unmarried women with children are a very high risk group for AIDS, if only by virtue of the fact that they’re obviously practicing unsafe sex. I don’t want my little sister to assume that there aren’t alternatives.

And we had a TORRENTIAL downpour earlier in the week. I’ve got some photos that I can upload at some point, but it was insane! The usually dry river beds were absolutely full and moving SO fast. Anything that could be a channel for the water was and there was blueberry sized hail. My taxi had to turn around in Mamone and take the tar road to Marishane because the road had been washed out. I now completely understand the idea of flash floods. And one think that I enjoy is that there are always rainbows afterwards, because the sun is out as soon as the clouds clear away. Many nights I can see the lighting in the distance, enveloped in clouds, and that’s also beautiful.

And finally, we’re having an at-site party at another volunteer’s house tomorrow night for the rugby match. I don’t know how many of the others are coming, but I’m looking forward to hanging out and not watching it by myself! The Boy has been nervous from yesterday and I’m worried about the state of his stomach. Oh, and Mandela recorded a very nice message to the Springboks that they replayed on the radio. But, I'm still not cheering for them.

A comment on Genocide

2007-10-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

This blog will take a rare break from talking about me to make a comment on the kerfuffle surrounding Congress’ proposed condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. This isn’t a new story, by any means, and now it is looking increasingly unlikely that the full House will actually vote on the matter. BUT, I have LOVED watching Turkey get in a snit and the diplomatic delicacy that the executive branch has been using to try and avert a disaster that could have serious consequences for the supplying of the war in Iraq.

I’m not particularly bothered if the House doesn’t vote (although, Congresswoman Carson: vote for it). I know that it would mean a great deal to the few remaining, now extremely elderly, survivors. Judgement has already been rendered and I can’t believe that anyone would think that an up or down vote on a non-binding resolution would suddenly make those events real (or, conversely, that its failure would mean that the Genocide never happened). I think that the discussion the resolution has sparked is a victory for those people around the world who believe that genocide should never be swept under the carpet.

And, most importantly, I think it illustrates what we sometimes forget in the human rights community, when our discipline is under constant attack. No matter how bad they are at respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights, no one wants to be called out on it (even if the incidents in question happened almost 100 years ago)! We see it in the Human Rights Council now, with the difficulty it took to set up a process for the Universal Periodic Review, and with the other review mechanisms set up by the principle human rights treaties. And, haven’t we all observed states getting upset by unfavourable reviews from the big NGOs, i.e. the US’ perpetual reaction to the assessments by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch? This language is powerful, even if the US and others usually want to pretend that it is not.

I am so proud of the House for taking up this issue and for fighting for it. I am proud of the media for devoting so much attention to this story. It’s one of those very, very, very rare moments when I can actually believe that my home country is a force for good in the world. At the same time, I understand the realities of international relations and understand why the Bush Administration would oppose the resolution (even if I don’t approve of their actions…what else is new?).

Whatever happens, the point has been made. The Ottoman Empire did commit genocide against the Armenians. Turkey has been reprehensible in not only failing to acknowledge or apologise for the events, but in continuing to be hostile towards survivors who want their story to be told (one representative called it ‘genocide denial’). And thanks to the actions taken by members of the House of Representatives, the Armenians have finally won.

A PC question

2007-10-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an argument that my girl in Niger and I were having yesterday:
Which is better (Peace Corps amenities-wise): internet at home or running water? We've each got one and both envy the other.

I finally got to meet many of the councilors today when they came in to get some information after their meeting. I have to say, they seemed really impressive and I can't wait to be formally introduced!

New photos!

2007-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I was wrong. France won. And apparently it was an even better match than the England-Australia one! If anyone sees fit to put it on a CD for me, I'd probably not mind seeing it.... South Africa did win today (*groan*), but I thought Fiji put in an amazing effort and even looked capable of taking the match for awhile.

I mostly just wanted to let you know that I've uploaded a few more photos on Flickr. Unfortunately, yesterday's photo session means that my little host brothers won't stop asking "Cata?", which is apparently the verb for "take photo." My Sepedi is fuzzy, but I DO know the word for "no" and it isn't working! (Aowa, for the record.) And for some reason, one of them keeps asking for my glasses and asking how much they cost. I think he thinks that they're a fashion accessory, despite both my and his grandmother's explanations. Frankly, they're kind of annoying. Boys! Ack.

So, here's the family, minus Mma:

ROAR!!!

2007-10-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

England wins! England wins! England wins!

AAAAAAAHHHH, that match was NOT good for my blood pressure, but it was fantastic! I got nervous every time Australia had the ball, but England's defense held up and were able to put the Aussies on the back foot. If Jonny Wilkinson had gotten all of his penalties, I might even have promised to stop making fun of his pre-kick constipation pose. But, as he only managed 4 of the 7, I reserve the right to do so. Still, this match involved an awful lot of me waving my hands at the television. I can't believe they did it.

For those of you wondering what on earth I'm talking about...today was the England-Australia semi-final of the Rugby World Cup. Basically, Australia=awesome, England...well, they lost 36-0 against South Africa. Does that explain? Everyone thought this was a 'one horse race' (and one commentator even said so) and were predicting at least a 10-15 point margin for the Aussies. But, ENGLAND held them and WON!!! On to the All Blacks (New Zealand, for the uninitiated), she said with a sigh (unless France pulls an upset tonight). I thought I was going to cry with relief.

Otherwise, the week's been frustrating. I'm not going to air everything in such a public forum (especially now that we've had to submit our URLs to the Country Director), but I'm trying to cope with some work-culture shock at the moment. Government efficiency in the US/UK and in South Africa are two VERY different things, let's say. I've been really frustrated and wondering what on earth I'm doing here. Don't worry, this is normal for Peace Corps volunteers, and I just have to keep telling myself that things will get better. After all, it's only the end of week 2.

I've used a little of my spare time to get in touch with UNA-SA (sorry, that the United Nations Association here in South Africa) and Education Africa, who run provincial and a national MUN. I can't imagine not having MUN in my life and would love to spend some time on a secondary project. If anything, I have to cut the people I work with some slack, because they didn't grow up practicing government the way we did. Even student council, I now realise, was practice for when we grew up and I think that it would be really great to help students here practice the same thing. Of course, because it's me, I want to do MUN.

I was going to insert some anecdote from the week here, but I can't remember any. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that my area may be a bit on the god-forsaken side, but it's actually amazingly beautiful. I love the rocks and the color that the purple trees give it. And my gogo (grandmother) continues to bring up God and his creator-ness in every conversation we've had after I told her that I didn't go to church and believed in evolution. She's amazingly lovable and lively, so I don't mind. And the littlest one and I tell each other "Shop!" a lot and touch thumbs. He makes me smile and laugh so much.

First week at site

2007-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm settling in at site now for real. I have my own little room outside the house and am gradually buying things to build up my own little kitchen on a wee table. So far, I have a kettle, which means I can only eat instant noodles and instant oatmeal. And tea. But very soon, I'll get a hot plate and be in business! It's all rather cute, if I must say.

My family is FANTASTIC. I never really interacted with my training host family, but I love hanging out with this one. The house is owned by an old woman, but her sister (who can only walk with a walker), 6-year-old grandson and 2-year-old great-grandson also stay here. It's hard to describe, but they're fantastic. The sister, especially, is so full of life and stories from her life in Jo'berg. She sits on a little porch all day and sells little packets of snacks and frozen koolaid to school kids. She always busy and never quiet and I love hanging out, except when she starts talking about God (which happens a lot, because I think she's trying to convince me of something). The 6-year-old, Neo, is super curious and always trying to spy on me or sneak into my room if the door's open. He was good about being more polite when I asked him, though. There's been a ton of extended family visiting, too. Mostly, young women, who I've spent hours talking with and who I can't wait to spend more time with!

Work is a little confusing. I don't really know what's going on or what I'm supposed to be doing. Partially, that's because no one else does either. These first three months are about finding a niche. Personally, I'm hoping that they'll find me a desk before the three months are over. There's been some scandals and now the municipal manager is suspended and there's no one to make decisions. Oh, and salaries weren't paid last month, so there might be a strike. Who knows? Meanwhile, I sit in my boss' office studying a book on Access. Because if I have to read another bit of law that is as badly edited as the Municipal Structures Act, it might be problematic. I really wanted to mark it up. Such bad alignment! And the punctuation! And the inconsistant use of bold & italics! I know some people in the State of Indiana who would have fainted at the sight.

Finally, I feel it is my duty to warn you against cat ownership. Wizards can use them to kill you. Or make you blind. Glad I asked my pet-loving gogo whether she liked cats before I asked if I could have one in my room.

Bring me the finest muffins & bagels in the land!

2007-09-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Victory is mine! I have triumphed over the gods of language testing and scored an intermediate high on ye olde Sepedi (Northern Sotho). I can only assume that the Harry Potter reference tipped me over the edge (as opposed to the scenario which I completely bombed). Either that, or, as I suspect may well be the case, the evaluator was generous.

Regardless, my host family LOVED the photos that I gave them as a thank you present and I am almost entirely packed (the rest doesn't have to be ready until Wednesday morning). It's all very strange.

Oh, and I made tuna noodle "casserole" for my family. My sister was not impressed (but, then, she so rarely is with my cooking).

Woo! I have internets!

2007-09-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, this isn't the most exciting day of my life, but it ranks pretty high up there! (Hmmm...I should think about what the most exciting day was.) But, I've managed to make my computer (lovely, lovely mactop) talk to my mobile phone (which I guess it already did, because that's how I got cool ringtones) so that I can have internet anywhere I want! So, now I can blog from the comfort of my very own rural village! If only my phone could also provide showers....

There's also so much to say that I don't have a very clear idea of where to start. I've had some incredible high points, some incredible lows and a lot of more moderate oscillations. My host family sometimes drives me nuts, but as we get closer to leaving, I find myself really kind of upset about not seeing them every day. I am so looking forward to training being finished, but I don't really know what I'll do with my days once I'm at site and relatively alone. And, I had a terrible placement originally that made me burst into tears every time I thought about it, but ended up with one that sounds like an incredible challenge that I'm super-eager to take on!

My permanent site will be in an area called Jane Furse, located here. My job will be to work with the local municipality in their department of community services, which doesn't really exist right now. They've just hired someone new (who's worked with PCVs before and is fantastic) and want me to help her. I'm very excited because it fits in with some of my interests (human rights, government reform, politics) and sounds like such a huge challenge. But, I can't wait to get to work!

We swear in on Thursday and then I'll be a real PCV. Hurrahs! And, I'm sure I could give you some funny stories if you wanted. I'll have to think of some.

Until then, think of me in my language test trying to figure out how to describe the plot of Harry Potter in a language I barely speak (Sepedi, for the record, and I'll know the results soon). Um. "Harry Potter....ke nna...wizard le o ya sekolo...Hogwarts." Oh, yes. That really happened. Or you can think of me greeting the cows that roam pretty freely here: "Dumela, kgomo!" They don't answer back. Sad.

Joyce leaves for the Peace Corps

2007-07-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's nearly time. Here's a copy of the letter than I sent to my friends & family, because I don't feel like doing another version:

Hello from Indiana (although not for long)!

The bags are (almost) packed and I've eaten more ice cream in the last two weeks than you can imagine. There was a Harry Potter marathon with my best friend and her family (including a sneak preview screening of the latest movie); an insane trip to Cleveland for a concert, sojourns to see family & friends in Arizona, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington DC; a stamp show; and a whole lot of shopping! After five weeks, I even finally managed to adjust enough to be nice strangers who wanted to strike up a conversation (a weird American tendency).

But, now it's time to go. I've had a lot of conflicting feelings over this assignment, but have kind of come to terms with it. I do think I've been given an exciting chance to do interesting work in a fascinating country. For the record, that's NGO Capacity Building (working with little non-profit organisations (as we say in the US) to help them be more effective) in the Republic of South Africa. I don't know who I'll be working with or where in the country and won't for at least another month.

South Africa Group 16 (as we're called) will leave the US on July 19 and arrive in Johannesburg on July 21, at which point we will be engaged in subversive tactics to try and get ahold of the new Harry Potter book. We will spend a week in Rustenburg and then move to home stays in the Zeerust area for the next 7 weeks. Both places are in the North West, part of the former Orange Free State. You can find a halfway decent map of South Africa here: http://www.places.co.za/html/visualfind.html (click on the NW province for more detail).

Until we swear in (tenatively scheduled for 20 September), I won't have any access to e-mail or a cell/mobile phone, so please don't be offended by the long periods of silence. I can, however, receive mail at the following address until then:

Joyce Adams, PCT
Peace Corps
PO Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

I would love to hear from any (or all) of you, since letters will be my one connection with the friends & family that I've accumulated from all over the world and I'm counting on there being some pretty lonely, homesick moments. And, my birthday's (still) on August 13, so I'll celebrate it during training!

I know it was helpful when another friend left for the Peace Corps that she sent a list of package suggestions. Please don't interpret this as a plea for packages at all! But, here goes: photos, letters, books (quality fiction, human rights-related, classics, young adult, anything set in London, international law), DVDs, cross-stitch kits (later, I'm pretty stocked right now), and magazines (celebrity/gossip, the Economist, New World, New Yorker).

Alas, I've got to go and finish the packing. It's nearly there, but I might just have to give in to all my critics and take out the can of pumpkin-pie filling that I packed for Thanksgiving.

Love to you all,
Joyce :-)

News from the stamp world

2007-07-08T05:44:00.001-07:00

Well, my exhibit (which I haven't seen in two years) had its first outing as an actual 'adult' exhibit (you're still considered a youth until your 22nd birthday) and recieved a gold (the highest medal level) in what was a massive surprise to me. Egads. And here I was thinking that I would have something to aim for again.

I did get back from the trip to Chicago, Philly, DC & Baltimore last Tuesday and have been pretty non-stop busy since then. It was great to see friends and family and the BABY PANDA at the National Zoo in DC! I'm sure I'll find time to put up some photos...eventually!

The farewell tour continues...

2007-06-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm almost finished with the Philadelphia/grandma portion of this trip and looking forward to heading down to DC for friends and a wedding. I was going to type a whole thing, but the internet is being funky at Panera (thank god for them and kudos for the free wifi, which has turned out to be a much bigger incentive for me to visit their stores than the food (not that it isn't good, too)). Some quick observations:

1) When Americans offer you tea, it is iced and really, super sweet. This is both odd and a little icky. Twice now, I have made this mistake.

2) People here look funny in shorts. I hadn't realised that I'd stopped wearing them, like most people in Britain. Also, they're super short and look a little hooker-ish. What up, style-less country?

3) Root beer is the best thing about the United States. Chicago isn't bad, either.

4) Anyone remember when I moved to the UK and thought that the NHS perfunctory doctor style was tacky? Now it's weird that they want to have a conversation about unrelated matters.

5) Top Gear should be added to the list (which also includes Duchess & Bill Bryson) of things that have been able to make me a little less funked.

6) I'm actually sick of talking about Peace Corps. And, duck it, I still would rather go to EE/CA and am secretly (well, maybe not so secretly now) not especially excited about leaving. I am hoping this changes and can stop envying the people who are going to Macedonia soon to do the same things that I am supposed to do in SA.

7) I'm still in grief mode and it sucks. I'm really tired of faking cheeriness, because no one would understand. I just want to go back to England and get a hug from the boy.

2007-06-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, again with the hiding. I've been away and doing my best to heal my broken heart/jet lag with anti-social behavior. On the other hand, you really know who is your best friend when you're in such a crappy mood that she's pretty much the only person you want to hang out with and she constantly reminds you, in ways she probably doesn't even notice, why you're still best friends after all these years. Thanks, Duchiepoo. We've been doing lots of laughing together (Avast, ye cookie!) and attempting to put right the years-long losing record of her family card game.

I spent last week with my wonderful, adorable, perfect nephew Jerry-bear, my sister and her husband out in the middle of the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Seriously, it shouldn't be possible to live four hours from an airport, but it was great. I kind of loved being where no one could find me and nothing's more fulfilling than the knowledge that you can take care of a child (and give his mom a break). Jerry had his first fever and was a total crankpot, but recovered nicely and has turned (quite literally before my eyes) into a little crawling explorer who couldn't see enough of the world. I love watching him grow up and change and am super, super sad that he won't be a baby and won't remember me when I get back. We also spent some time tooling around Canyon de Chelle, the country's second largest canyon system. Stunning! I loved the morning that we got up really early to hike the one public trail down to the 1000 year old Pueblo ruins before it got hot and while the light was interesting.

And after that, it's been a series of serious shopping (so bored!), appointments and a short trip to Richmond to see one of my awesome Earlham professors and my guardian angel. Really, drive to Richmond is so short now! I can totally zone it out, especially now that the speed limit on I-70 is set to 70. Oh! And Duchie helped me with dress shopping! Tomorrow I'm off to Chicago after another PACKED day and then on to Philly, a friend's wedding, a side trip down to Baltimore and back to Indianapolis for the final countdown. Egads!

I haven't been using my computer, so I don't have the photos from Arizona to upload, but will try to do that when there's wireless this weekend.

2007-06-11T18:12:00.001-07:00

It was suggested to me that I should at least update this blog to tell the world that I'm in Indiana. And no, I don't want to talk about it.

I miss London and my friends there so much, even after only a few days. Heck, I didn't have to make it out of the departures lounge for that (and OMG, there were American service personnel in desert fatigues EVERYWHERE in Shannon airport). I am so glad that there are people to pick me up and try to hold the pieces that are left together. I always knew this process would closely mimic the grieving process and that's proving to be rather accurate.

Two things that I've been thinking about lately, though:

1) A cab driver asked me what I thought I'd miss the most about London. And I think that I came a little closer to figuring it out (apart from the obvious close friends). What I love about that city is that I feel like I really can be a citizen of the world there: people come from everywhere and bring their cultures with them. It all sort of dumps in to this amazing melting pot that doesn't exclude people from outside their communities and Londoners LOVE experiencing other food, music, art, dance, culture. That stuff is always on offer and I adore how London is a really safe space to be, celebrate and share who you are.

2) We drove to Cleveland to see a Prodigals concert as part of a big family festival. Before them was a group called 'African Soul,' which was sort of educational music & dance troupe that's main goal was to teach kids and audiences about real (West) African culture (and Maya Angelou, which is always appropriate and should be done more often). Duchie asked me later if I'd felt any white guilt afterwards (slavery came up and celebrating a culture that hasn't always been allowed to thrive in this country) and I didn't. I still don't. What's happened to my liberal middle-class white guilt?!?

w00t for Race for Life!

2007-06-04T06:19:00.001-07:00

Well, Race for Life was fun again this year, although I did notice the bits of silliness a bit more the second time around. And it was nice to run with a friend, too.

Anyway, the big news is that I finished in 35:38, which is basically three minutes faster than last year. Looks like I managed that goal! And my awesome, wonderful friends donated more money than last year, too, my other goal! If you'd still like to donate to Cancer Research UK, then my page is here!

Otherwise, packing up my life continues and I'm tidying up the loose ends. It stinks. But, the England Saxons (basically, the second-string England team) won a really great match against New Zealand Maori at Twickenham (home of England rugby) on Saturday! It was so much fun! Oh, and the US (which, incidentally has a national rugby team) got HAMMERED by Canada. They were really rather rubbish.

2007-05-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back in London 'for good' after all that galavanting around Cyprus and the Balkans. What a great set of trips, which I'm sure I'll recap at some point soon.

Still, I just wanted to drop a note that the internet in the flat has died and I'm having to rely on coffee shops for the time being. Perhaps it's good practice for South Africa which I'm clearly going to need. I was going NUTS yesterday. On the other hand, I spent a lot more time being productive and reading. There's just so much to do! My flatmate has already gone back to Spain, which means I'm going to have to finish taking care of the little things she left behind and do all the cleaning. Arrrgh. I hate being the person who has to do the final details again, although at least this time it's for a very, very good reason and I'm glad she's back in Spain with her family.

I'm also excited about seeing a lot of my friends for what will probably be the last time in a long time. (The seeing them part, not the last time part.) I just can't believe I'm leaving. I certainly don't want to.

As always, I've been a little quiet...

2007-05-26T13:43:00.001-07:00

This time it's because of travel. I was at home for a little more than 12 hours between flying home from Cyprus and leaving for Kosovo. I'm still in Kosovo and am gradually getting sleepy after a long day of travelling back from Macedonia. And The Boy (who was gleeful at finally getting some stamps because we're outside the EU) called me a passport whore. The nerve! Did I mention our 'visit' to Albania that didn't actually involve us taking the long way around the immigration plaza?

It's been fantastic and I am certainly not ready to face up to the reality of going back to London tomorrow and having to pack up and tidy up my life in preparation for returning to the US.

Also, Kosovo has lovely mountains. And Skopje's a bit of dump, but has an AMAZING vegetarian restaurant. And the Boy and I have a great deal to write to Brandt guides about. Which are nice, because no one else does guides to this part of the world (well, except the Serbian tourism agency and they're...biased), but lacking a bit for the independent traveller. Le sigh. Stream of conciousness. I'm going to grab the Boy so we can work on that now.

Generations

2007-05-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

I'm fascinated by the different ways in which people have attempted to define and name my generation. It's a little weird because, as a 1983 baby, I'm generally thought to be right at the start of the Millenials/Generation Y (shudder, hate that name) and don't think I have a whole lot in common with the kids who were born as I was entering (or perhaps finishing high school).

I must note that I speak particularly about my friends: the upper-middle & middle class kids (predominately white, I'll admit) who I went to (public) school with in suburban Indianapolis and liberal Earlham College.

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I think that my friends and I were particularly shaped by the optimism of the post-Cold War years, those years when universal peace and prosperity seemed possible. We're internationalists, in part because of the spirit of cooperation that dominated, and have (I think) had a very difficult time dealing with the state of the world today because we'd gotten used to being optimistic about the world and everyone in it. I think it's atrocious that the actions of the Bush administration shattered the worldview of so many young Americans by proclaiming that there were EVIL people and places and that we shouldn't be their friend; rather, we should go to war against them! We grew up believing that evil was something like what happened in Kosovo or Rwanda or Somalia and that we should stage humanitarian interventions to protect human rights (even if we didn't realise that that's what we were aiming for at the time). Regime change was a factor of our parent's foreign policy and not ours.

We're also liberal. We grew up being afraid...very afraid...of AIDS, but I think were also pretty well informed about its causes and ways to avoid it. Our health teachers knocked the myths about transmission out of our heads and I think we were the first generation to be exposed to openly gay/lesbian/bisexual, etc. people so young. I think that Rent was a watershed, at least among my friends and I (we were theatre dorks). Being gay was normal, the people were cool and had awesome songs and it was really no big deal when our friends came out of the closet, too. After all, we'd known them all our lives, so a realisation about sexual orientation didn't make them different people in any way. If anything, it made the boys more fun, in that way that women feel a special kinship with men who don't hold any designs on them as more than friends.

And, I think that the events of 9/11 represent a sort of capstone for the kids who remember the optimism and saw it crash to a close. That was a scary day that's been followed by feelings of betrayal (more aimed at our government and less at the rest of the world, where we recognise that we've done a lot of things that should be resented and where inequality and poverty is pervaisive and unacceptable). We're sort of bitter and it sucks to be both nostalgic and pessimistic at the age of 23. Still, I know that there are people and organisations that are doing good work and I'm determined to be one of them.

Plus, now I get to be a Kennedy kid and join the Peace Corps. His optimism in the face of the Cold War resonates pretty loudly, at least with me, and I think among the millions of others who are drawn to the things that Barak Obama 'preaches.' Maybe tomorrow will be better.

New title soon!

2007-05-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Le Blog will have a new title soon: JOYCE GOES TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Yes, it's official (as soon as I ring up the Africa Placement Office); I've been invited to be an NGO Capacity Builder in South Africa with the Peace Corps. It's absolutely perfect! There are a whole bunch of dorky reasons why that I can elaborate on at some point (economic & social rights in the Consititution and Athol Fugard being just two of them), but I'm just excited.

I didn't actually realise how big a deal this was to me until I made my very first "Guess where I'm going" phone call to my beloved Juliet, on the home front in Niger, upon which I burst into tears. I suspect she understands. I just can't believe that all of this is ready to happen. I applied to the Peace Corps in September, so we're right at about eight months and I feel like I've been both working for this and waiting for it for so much longer. Of course, I've been thinking about Peace Corps for a lot longer than that and it's helped so much to talk to PCVs and RPCVs. Still! EEEEEEEEEEEEE! South Africa!!! They have rugby! (Boy's designated job is to help me figure out which team to support.) Wow.

After my trip to Norwich tomorrow (gotta squeeze in that pilgrimage to Earlham Hall) and a play tomorrow night, it's down to the hard core packing. Bring it!

Can I gloat a bit?

2007-05-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it was an eventful week spend on the seacoast...delivering Lib Dem propaganda. Lovely place Eastbourne, even the council estates (the ROUGHEST in Eastbourne, which, er, looked a bit like the nicer bits of Brent). We stayed in an absolutely amazing mansion with one of the now newly-elected candidates and I managed to bugger up my knee a bit with all the hills and stairs. It's feeling better now, but after delivering the good morning leaflets on election day itself, I was quite happy to sit in a chair all day and bother people by telephone. Still, it wasn't bad. Compared to Brent I could a) pronounce all the names and b) knew whether those names belonged to a male or a female! It was lovely! Later that night, there were a few council employees at the count who'd gotten calls from me. Hee! I guess it's not often that you get a call from a strangely American-sounding Lib Dem telling you 'for god's sake go and vote!'

It wasn't the best of nights around the country. My lovely friends from Lincoln both lost their seats, which made me very sad, and Newbury made even more losses. Still, we had a GREAT night in Eastbourne. On Wednesday, the numbers looked really bad, but on the night we managed to take 8 of the 9 target seats (at lost the 9th by only a handful of votes). The council went from 15 Tories & 11 Lib Dems (plus 1 Independent) to 20 Lib Dems & 7 Tories. w00t!! I have to say that one of the highlights of the evening was watching Brent East's very own Sarah Teather announcing the 'good news' from Eastbourne on the BBC.

Also awesome was that we got the triumphant Ming visit (because we were the best victory closest to London). I have to say the visuals looked quite good, if partially because four of us had an emergency run to find helium and we squatted around the end of Eastbourne Pier blowing up balloons!

Spot the Joyce:

Race for Life

2007-04-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

As far as Peace Corps as concerned, I now know enough about my placement to know that I'll be in England long enough to take part in my second Race for Life, the 5K women-only races sponsored by Cancer Research UK. I did this last year in honour of my godsister Tricia (ok, TEB) and in memory of my Mommy. This year, it will be in both of their memories. I would love to raise more money than last year and to beat my time!

I would really, really appreciate any donations! If you'd like to contribute something to this awesome organisation, please visit my fundraising page at: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/joyceadams!

Thank you so much!

What a lovely day!

2007-04-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

Had a spot of shopping this morning with my dear boy, bought the rucksack I'd been planning to buy for quite some time, had a nice lunch along the Thames in Richmond (don't get too excited, we bought sandwiches at Tesco) and was reminded at how much of London I would a) love to see and b) haven't seen. Have decreed that the weekend after the elections is 'explore posh bits of southwest London day.'

Then, it was off to the Quins match where they TROUNCED Sale 49-0 in the last match of the season (and a grudge match for the Quins against the side that sent them into relegation two years ago). Boy has decreed that I officially became a fan when I sorted my own ticket and was absolutely happy to sit by myself to watch, instead of with him. On the other hand, I was quite happy to take the unoccupied seat next to him for the second half, as it was in the shade. And, he bought me my very own Quins shirt as an anniversary present! For no good reason I am wearing it now. :-)

Doctor Who was excellent tonight, if OTT on the cheesiness at times. Still, this episode was the first time that I've gotten chills from the Doctor since it was Ecclestone doing the acting. I was really impressed with Tennant, because he hasn't always been overly successful in convincing me that he had a dark side. Martha did a good job too and I LOVE Dalek 'acting', which consists of slight movements of the eyestalk and mini-rotations of the 'head'. When two of them had a 'chat,' I was dying with laughter (well, ok, I giggled). Errr, and then I defrosted the frozen-over seal of the freezer with a hair dryer. I am such a cool kid.

Mmmm, sushi.

2007-04-26T05:07:00.001-07:00

I find myself on a sushi kick. Literally, I can't eat enough of it. And happily, there's a take-away sushi place nearby that's provided my lunch quite a few times over the past few weeks.

Partially, I think it's the weather. It's warming up and soup no longer sounds like the brillant idea that it did when it was cold. Also, I'm so OVER sandwiches. And maybe with all this working out, my body's been demanding protein (especially in salmon form, I find)?

Or, perhaps, I'm gearing up for moving to a land where sushi won't be available, much to my woe. Woooooeeeeeeeeee! :-)

I'm super excited!

2007-04-25T07:03:00.001-07:00

Our tickets to Kosovo just arrived in the mail (for some reason we needed paper tickets) and I can't wait to go! I feel like I've been waiting for this trip for absolutely ages and I'm really looking forward to seeing Baaaaaaaahar again! Kosovo! Kosovo! Kosovo! Wheeeeeeeeee!

Still nothing from the Peace Corps. I've now been medically cleared for more than a month. They do have to give me at least six weeks warning.

And, I've had a smug couple of days. Yesterday, I sorted out my own ticket to the sold-out final home match of the season Quins game and I was vindicated by showing the world (well, the Boy and his friends) that I did, in fact, know what I was talking about when I was absolutely sure that an outlined country was Uganda and not Libya (as the quizmaster mistakenly identified it) at the pub quiz Sunday night. Go me, indeed. :-)

My marathon injury

2007-04-23T04:58:00.001-07:00

One of the Boy's friends was telling me about her dad's marathon
injury, sustained while jogging ten feet across the living room to
watch the London Marathon on tv, and now commented upon annually on
its anniversary.

I too, think I may have sustained a marathon injury: a bruised or,
perhaps, strained muscle in my right forearm from clapping almost
continuously and vigorously for three and a half hours straight. Oops.

Still, the marathon IS my favourite annual London event. The weather
was much nicer (for the spectators) this year, but the costumes
weren't as good. Still, the atmosphere rocks and I especially love
yelling for the stragglers at the end (which is clearly where I would
be). Wooo! I'll miss you next year, Marathon!

Dame Margaret Anstee

2007-04-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the NGO that I'm working for hosted their annual conference. I've been to enough stamp shows in my life to have a fairly good picture of the members before they arrived and wasn't disappointed. As usual, quite a few were a bit bonkers, they were almost uniformly old and a lot of the others turned out to be rather cool.

Anyway, the coolest thing was that I was put in charge of meeting and helping our keynote speaker, Dame Margaret Anstee, the first woman to be an Under-Secretary General at the UN. She was a representative of what is now UNDP throughout South America and in Morocco and Ethiopia and worked on the first (and perhaps most important) of the UN reform proposals in the late 1960s. She was also the first woman to lead a peacekeeping operation, in Angola. And, yes, I was in 'charge' of making sure she made it to events and helped her with her luggage. On an interesting note, all of her outfits, accessories and make-up were somehow UN blue. That's stylin'.

She spoke on being a woman at the UN, a lot of which are also in her book Never Learn to Type, but I got to ask her about being a woman doing development work in Africa. Her advice was to always take risks in your career, work with women, be yourself, and be discrete. I think that's all very sensible. Oooh, and I spent breakfast listening to her chat with old UN-types (quite a number of members seem to have worked for the organisation at one time or another) and gossiping. Did you know that lots of people didn't like Boutros Boutros-Gali? I certainly didn't. I have to admit that a lot of it was over my head, though. It was all really, really cool.

Yesterday was a great day, but I'll write about it later. It's time for me to get out of the house and walk up to Tower Bridge for the marathon! Woooo!

An expat among the Peace Corps?

2007-04-19T05:58:00.001-07:00

It dawns upon me, as I spend copious amounts of time reading Peace Corp welcome packs while I wait for my invitation, that I'm going to feel a certain amount of distance from my fellow volunteers. While most (if not all) of them are adjusting to living outside the United States, in particular, I'm going to be adjusting to living outside the United Kingdom (having more or less made my peace with being an American expat in the UK).

Will I have to dredge up two-year-old memories of the US? And who will I talk to when I miss thing about the UK, especially if no one else has ever lived there? Will it be isolating? Will it be an advantage?

I'm reminded of the State Department publication I read on third culture kids, the children of people living abroad who have developed a hybrid identity based on their country of origin and the countries in which they have lived. It was called 'According to my Passport, I'm Going Home.' I'm not one of these third culture kids (mostly, because I acknowledge that at 23 I'm no longer a kid), but I completely recognize the sentiment. I can't pretend that the United States is 'home' at this point in my life (and I hope no one takes offence at that statement) and I wonder if it will be difficult for me to interact with people for whom it emphatically is?

Mexico recap...finally!

2007-04-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being so slow with this...photos are a few entries below and over at flickr.

Well, some people thought I went missing, but really, I went to Mexico! I’m so sorry that I didn’t keep my girls in loop (I really, honestly thought that I’d said something). But, yeah. My big sister V has been going on missions with her alma mater optometry school for 10 years now, but this time there was a very small person who had to go along with her! I leapt at the chance to take care of my adorable, wonderful, 5 month old nephew Jerry for the week. And let me add, as a side note, that despite everything that’s happened in my life, having a wonderful new family has made it so much easier. I don’t ever feel alone AND I get to be Aunt Joyce to some of the cutest kids on the planet. Not something I thought would ever happen to this only child. Plus, I have a sister. Which is something I think I totally missed out on for 20-some years.

I left London early last Saturday morning and flew to Dallas with an…interesting seatmate. Why do Americans (and really, just the men) think you want to talk on planes? Really, I’m not a fan. So when I pulled out my fairly hefty paperback book on genocide he said: “You like readin’?” Me: “Yes.” Him: “Yeah, I never got inna that.” After this follows an admiration of the thickness of the book and inquiries into how long it’d taken me to tackle such a behemoth. What do you say? Talk about a conversation stopper! Still, the movies were a HUGE improvement over USAir and the airline was better, too.

I had a bit of time in Dallas on my own (most of which I’d use talking on the phone, on both ends of the trip) and V&J got in an hour and a half later. I saw Jerry at Christmas, but OMG is he even cuter now! Especially as he’s learned some amazing new tricks. He’d discovered that he had a voice and could use it to make comments about the world (us walking down the terminal…Jerry: “Eeeee!”) AND (even better) he’d gained some motor control, which allowed him to grab things (beware the dining table) and stick out his little pink tongue. Ush! We were joined on our flight to Guanajuato by a whole bunch of students from the optometry school and even held the plane for them a little (Airline: “We, uh, don’t have a pilot…but we PROMISE they’ll be one soon!”). Customs was fine (new stamp!) and we got to the hotel pretty late.

We had long days all week, since the buses loaded to go to the clinic at 7am and, even though we left earlier than everyone else with the baby, there was an awful lot of exploring that needed to be done. Oh, and jet lag, which actually passed relatively quickly. For the most part, Jerry and I hung out in the director of the eye clinic’s office while the 40-some students and doctors sorted through 4000 patients in five days. Amazing! We’d have some tummy time, some playing on our backs time, some bouncing, some reading (Jerry’s an expert on genocide now), lots of diaper changes, a fair amount of singing, rocking and sleeping, have food, and go for walks. Jerry got cooed over every time he left the room and rather often when people popped by to get things. Can’t blame them, but my “he’s beautiful!” Spanish isn’t bad. (The rest of my Spanish, I assure you, is horrific.) I did spend a couple of hours pretending I knew how to dispense glasses, though, one day. OMG, totally made it up, but learned some, too, about glasses and prescriptions. It was fun and the rest of the students and doctors (may of whom were V’s good friends) were quite awesome. And I am now capable of fixing my crooked-feeling sunglasses.

There was a lot of talk before we went about ‘taking the baby the a third world country.’ Having been there and back, Guanajuato (the city, not the state) itself was hardly ‘developing’ (if you ignore the part about not drinking the water). The city was founded by the Spanish during the colonial era and is built in a bowl, surrounded by mountains. Or, rather, the ‘downtown’ is in the valley and a lot of the residential area (including where we were staying) was above it on the side of the hills. It made for a pretty spectacular view and I fell in love with the city itself, which unsurprisingly reminded me of Spain (um, dur, Joyce!). One interesting feature were the tunnels, built to save the World Heritage downtown from the scourge of too much traffic, which seemed to involve no lights and lots of blind turns. Wheeee! They were creepy.

The centre of Guanajuato revolves, more or less, around two adjacent plazas. The Jardin is a triangular pedestrian area with a garden in the middle that’s surrounded by outdoor cafes, the theatre and churches and flooded with mariachi bands (V noted at one point that it was a good thing I wasn’t a guy or we’d have been serenaded for sure). The other is Plaza de la Paz and is in front of the Cathedral. I did a quite stop in many of the downtown churches and they were fantastic. The Cathedral was especially nice and all were in fairly heavy use (thus, I don’t have interior photos because I think it’s rude to interrupt people’s prayers with a flash). I was creeped out by the massive wax statutes that serve as the main form of decoration (as opposed to dark paintings that you can’t actually make out), because they were so lifelike and surprising. Since the vast, vast majority of my church visits have been in Europe or North America, this was interesting in its newness (although it’s apparently fairly standard throughout Latin and South America).

Guanajuato is just a cool place to explore. They’ve done a great job preserving the city and it was amazing to wander around these tiny, squirmy streets that are still lined with 3-4 story buildings, painted different colors and decorated with the balconies and metal work that you think as traditionally Spanish. We’d go downtown for dinner most days and had some decent, if not amazing or remarkable, food. I didn’t get sick and also discovered that the Mexicans may give the Austrians a serious run for their money in the hot chocolate sweepstakes. Mmmmm, cinnamon!

On the free day, V, Jerry, two other doctors and I went to San Miguel, a town that’s known for its enormous American retiree population and artists markets about an hour away. San Miguel’s main plaza is huge and also bounded by markets and churches. Generally, though, the city didn’t feel as ‘undiscovered’ as Guanajuato; the streets were wide and there were older Americans everywhere! The markets, though, were fabulous. There were lots of rugs, paintings, and silver work. Plus, we stumbled across the shop where a family from Oaxaca were selling their wares; their son had come to the clinic the day before. Jerry really didn’t mind all the shopping. It was his five-month birthday AND he got to sit in the snuggley harness and ‘walk’ around all day. You could just see his huge eyes trying to take everything in! On the way home, we were forced by the schedule to take the ‘nice’ bus, which was INCREDIBLE. Think business class on the airplane and you’re probably picturing the right thing. I really wouldn’t have minded the 14-hour bus ride across Niger, if we’d been in one of these buses. And all for only USD $10 (the cheap bus was $6 and perfectly adequate, even equipped with a sign that lit up and buzzed if the driver decided to speed).

We left really early the next morning, which was sad. I would have loved to stay longer and I’m a whole lot more interested in going back to Mexico and other parts of South & Central America now. The worst part was saying goodbye to V & Jerry at the Dallas airport; he made me cry! Silly Jerry! I can’t believe that I might not see him again until I’m out of the Peace Corps, when he’ll be walking, talking, and almost 3 years old! It was a wonderful week, partially because of the setting, but mostly because I got to spend so much time with part of my new family. And because now I’ve got the most adorable photo of Jerry on my phone that I can proudly flash to anyone and everyone who doesn’t care, but is forced to admit how cute he is!

I spent the rest of my long lay-over taking a taxi to the nearest mall, loading up a bit at Old Navy and making extra sure that I consumed both barbeque and root beer at the airport. Heh. Oh, and the flight back was unremarkable, mostly because I didn’t get to give up my seat (and, yes, I sat in line to make sure I was the first one on the list!).

A Long Easter Weekend

2007-04-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Three things, just in case you were wondering:

1) I made it through Lent without eating any biscuits/cookies, except for that one I dreamed that I ate and then was very confused and felt guilty about it.

2) I did a 5K run this weekend, 2:25 faster than my Race for Life one last year. I wasn't pushing too hard, mostly wanting to make sure that I could. Having looked at the graph provided by my Nike+, I think I'm a freakishly well-paced runner.

3) I still haven't heard anything from Peace Corps.

Easter weekend was wonderful. The boy and I both took off of work on Thursday (Friday and Monday were holidays here) and travelled up for two days in the North. My lovely boy, as you may or may not know is a staunch Northerner, from Lancashire (NOT Yorkshire. They lost the War of the Roses, you know) and wanted to take me up there. I wasn't complaining, as I've seen so little of the rest of the country, and had never even been to the West of the country before. We stayed two nights in Manchester in an AMAZING hotel and went to Liverpool for the day on Thursday.

I have to say that I liked Liverpool best, but mostly because it has such an interesting history. This being the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade and Liverpool's role as the biggest slaving port city in the country, there was a fair amount of that to be dealt with. The city later became THE hub for immigration to both Australia and North America and both of these histories were the subjects of good exhibits at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. Oh, and it played another huge role as the headquarters for the Atlantic shipping and protection thereof during World War II (and also had to put up with loads of bombing). The waterfront and a bit behind are all part of a World Heritage Site (me: "tick!") and are amazing. The Three Graces (the Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and the Port of Liverpool Building) really are spectacular and wonderful embodiments of the wealth and importance that trade brought to the city. According to Wikipedia, they're Romanesque, Italianate, and baroque respectively, and all built around the turn of the 20th Century (the first turn, not the second). I especially loved the Liver Building with its Liver birds on top. The best view had to be from the ferry ride that we took along the Mersey, during which we were both a bit cold and the boy complained about going 'soft and Southern.' Bless.

Me in front of the Three Graces

The Liver Bird

That night we went to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Manchester Exchange, le Boy's favorite theatre in the Whole Wide World. It's a very cool space, with a theatre that looks a bit like a lunar landing craft crouching in the middle of the old corn exchange. The theatre itself is in the round and incredibly intimate (although I did feel a bit like I was being strapped in for a Disney ride) and the renovation of the hall was incredible. They managed to preserve the feel of the place and its beautiful, period touches, but also to integrate this new, vibrant arts feeling with colored glass in the skylights and funky chandeliers. Also, they had Magnum bars at the interval, which reminded me of Niger (and what doesn't?)!

The Manchester Exchange

The Theatre in the middle

I was a little worried going into the play, because I don't know anything about Virginia Woolf and hadn't read any of her work, but that didn't matter. I was, as I always am at well-written sniping domestic drama, of The Lion in Winter, which is high praise indeed. There were times when the events on stage were just so uncomfortable that you wanted to be able to jump up and get a drink, just like the characters seemed to do all through the play, and get as smashed as Honey so that what was going on wouldn't a) seem real or b) matter. I connected with Martha's vulnerability: I feel like I know what that means, needing to put a tough front up so that you can't be touched or hurt, but being devastated when someone figures out how to defeat it. And I was worried by George: I don't want to be one of those people who seem to show promise and then end up going nowhere. And I do know that I want someone to love me who understands me that well and with whom I can be challenged (hopefully not in such a psychologically manipulative way) for the rest of my life. It was a good night.

We spent most of the day on Friday wandering around the shopping area of Manchester. Manchester's legacy is as a town of the industrial revolution and of industrial uprisings, neither of which I'm especially well-versed in, although the boy did his best to fill me in. I was really impressed by the downtown, most of which underwent extensive renovation after the IRA detonated at 3,000 ton bomb in 1996 (the Royal Exchange was near the blast site and needed extensive work). The shops were the same (if not a bit larger), but definitely less stressful than London. We also had a wander to see the outside of the library (the largest in the world when it was built) and town hall (which proves itself to be an amazing double for the Palace of Westminster in movies and on tv). Sadly they were both shut for the bank holiday. I really regret not letting myself be talked into the Museum of Science and Industry (although, frankly, can you blame me for not wanting to find out how the cotton machines worked), because we MISSED the Doctor Who exhibition. Woes! I'm already angling to go back. It was lovely.

The lovely weekend was capped by a morning spent watching the BBC Parliament rerun of the 1992 Election Night returns (dorkitude at its best) and seeing John Gabriel Borkmann at the Donmar...where we just happened to be sitting in the middle of the Earlham study abroad group. That was WEIRD! (and cool).

Mexico!, part 1

2007-04-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Have finally managed to upload my photos to Flickr. Visit the set here.

Some highlights:

Jerry bear on his 5 month birthday.

A Church in San Miguel

Guanajuato looking lovely.

The narrative's coming soon, but I have to retrieve it first.

Inside I'm Screaming

2007-04-02T14:43:00.001-07:00

Think of this as a scream. A cyberscream.

I still haven't heard anything from Peace Corps. I recognize that it has only been just over a week since I was medically cleared, but I'm getting really impatient. If I'm leaving in June, then I have less than TWO MONTHS to pack up my life here and 'move' back to the States. Which is sort of pushing it, especially since I have to book plane flights home and for the last European adventure. I'm very aware that every single day that PC farts around, the prices go up. Plus, that's not a very long time to wrap up a life and prepare for two years away from easy access to things like bank accounts and the IRS website. Let's not even think about having to say goodbye to people for those two years. I'm already aware of the barrier it's putting between me and the boy.

I'm just annoyed at the limbo that I'm finding myself in right now. Grrrr. Arrgh.

New Doctor Who!! bounces

2007-03-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

I <3 David Tennant. And the Boy won't get me one! First the polar bear, now this! Bah!

The new companion is great. Rose was lovely, but I never really related to her. I like the dorkness factor of this one. Also, I was worried and highly amused by the rhinoceros men. Oh, dear. I know you have to suspend your disbelief, but, the Moon?

Also, every single person in London went...Oh, that's St. Thomas' (the hospital). Royal Hope, what?

And that's after tonight's lovely play at the National. Sisze Banzi is Dead was fantastic. I'm sure the boy will do better at describing it. Or I'll try again later. When I haven't had wine and can type (well).

A PC update

2007-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

After what seems like a million years, I received word that I've been medically cleared for Peace Corps. Seriously, I started on this process back in November and am just pretty relieved to have things finished. It's also exciting, but I'm also very concious of the way that this makes PC a REAL, basically done deal. Now, I'll get an invitation (possibly in the next week or so) and be heading to some unknown part of the world very shortly. It's suddenly scary.

I say shortly because I made a mistake and misread my nomination. According to my recruiter, I'm slated to leave in late May-early June, rather than the July, August, September that I'd been counting on ever since I was nominated. I don't know if I'd have done things very much differently, but it's still a bit of a shock. I have a plan, which works if I'm nominated and staging on a date that I think I am (I'll let you know for sure when I know), but it's still going to mean missing a lot of the things that I had planned to do this summer. I'm not going to be able to visit my sister and her baby on the reservation and I'm not going to be able to go to a Proddies concert or any of the Irish festivals. I'm not going to have very much time to be in Indianapolis and say goodbye to people. I'm going to miss Indypex. I'm probably going to miss the race, but mostly because I'll still be in Europe.

I am going to see a dear friend who'll be travelling around Britain this summer. I am going to see j00j one way or another. I am going to be able to spend time with my bestest friend and with my wonderful godparents. I am going to do that trip to Kosovo and North Cyprus to see Baaaa and my ECMUN co-hort in crime, Tanyel, who I've missed since last seeing her at our graduation from Earlham. I'm in real danger of being upset about the things that I'll be missing and just have to keep myself focused on the positives.

Worst of all, I'm going to have to leave my wonderful, wonderful boy behind. It's been almost a year now and it's going to suck to high heaven to leave. There's no real alternative. Even if I didn't go to PC, my visa would expire in July and I'd have to leave then. And it was going to hurt whenever the geographically induced split happened; really, I was delaying the inevitable because I was (and am) so happy. I have so much sympathy for my darling Juliet who just went through a similar situation when her boy finished his service in Niger and watching her struggle has really brought this whole situation home to me, even though it's a couple of months off.

I guess, it's going to suck to leave London as well. My mom hated the word 'suck' and forbid me to use it, but I think it's a good way to describe the way I'm going to feel for awhile. I love this city and feel so much at home here, as well as there being so much that I still haven't seen or want to do again. I'm going to go through a period of depression just about the National Theatre and all the amazing things that I'm going to miss seeing. I know that's silly, but it's really how I felt after study abroad, too. I just have to be determined to come back some day. For good. As long as I can import mac & cheese, I'm happy to be an expat.

There are good things to come, I know it. The country that I think I'm going to sounds like a dream assignment and SO MUCH LESS hardcore than Niger. Which, frankly, is ok by me (Jules, you will always be more hardcore than me, but we already knew that!). Still Africa, but with seasons and mountains and the possibility of seeing an occasional rugby match and Cadbury chocolate in the country 'next' door. Plus, the work sounds challenging but just like the sort of thing that I wanted to do in Peace Corps. And, I think that my adjustment won't be as crazy, given that I've not really lived in the US for a long time. Not using public transportation? What's that? You know. I think I'm more used to the less materialistic attitudes that places have outside the US and to damp and cold and to waiting for your clothes to dry on the line. And I'm certainly used to being away from friends and family. I don't always like being away from the people who are dear to me, but I'm definitely better at knowing when and how to say in touch than I was when I moved here and I'm better at missing them without it affecting the way that I live. Then again, I'll have a new set of dear friends to miss and that stinks.

Oh, and the blog'll get a new title when I find out for sure where I'm going. Just a head's up!

2007-03-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

You know what I've been realising, and it's awfully sad that I was never much for it before, is that I need to be more vocal about the issues I care about. So, I've e-mailed my state representative to vote in favour of the proposed hate crimes legislation (and let's not discuss why we don't have any yet) and against a constitutional amendment banning civil unions and non-heterosexual 'marriages.'

For an idea of what I'm up against, whether on issues or just in the state of Indiana, in general, check out this article from Nuvo (Indy's alternative newspaper. Many of you will want to bang your heads against the wall.

I think I need to dash off some letters to my US Senators about Darfur. After all, the main message of my genocide book seems to be that the US government won't give a flying fuck about people dying unless there's public pressure. If you can think of some other genocides that I've missed, let me know.

Oh, and I did start working on the Mexico report, so never fear! I'll do some more after we go out for root beer tonight!

How exciting do these sound?

2007-03-14T04:12:00.001-07:00

Carla's List

Filmmaker Marcel Schüpbach was given unprecedented access behind the scenes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In an atmosphere of high tension, where everything plays out like a poker game, prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and her team relentlessly pursue notorious perpetrators of crimes against humanity, such as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, still at large. Both Serbia and Croatia – as well as the International Community – pledge total cooperation in helping locate the suspects, but this does not seem to produce any concrete results. And time is running out: in September 2007, Del Ponte's appointment as prosecutor ends. Moving between The Hague, New York, Zagreb, and Washington, Carla's List vividly brings to life Del Ponte's dogged race against the clock in pursuit of justice.

Total Denial

The inspiring story of fifteen villagers from the jungles of Burma whose quest for justice eventually leads them to bring a case to a US court against two oil giants – UNOCAL and TOTAL – for human rights abuse. For five years producer/director Milena Kaneva collected accounts from Burmese villagers of forced labour, relocation of villages, rape, and murder associated with construction of the Yadana pipeline. Her "guide" during this journey was Ka Hsaw Wa, a member of Burma's Karen ethnic minority, and one of the leaders of the student movement for democracy in Burma in 1988 which was violently suppressed by the Burmese government. For more than a decade, at considerable personal risk, he has gathered testimonies and other evidence on numerous cases of human rights and environmental abuse. In 1995, along with the co-founder of Earth Rights International, Katie Redford, Ka Hsaw Wa brought a landmark lawsuit against UNOCAL and TOTAL that drew international attention to the pervasive abuses in Burma.

Bring it on, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival! Anyone wanna come? The Boy just gave me evil glares....

I (still) can't spell

2007-03-14T03:38:00.001-07:00

Hurrah! I have found a way to make my spelling's non-American! If I just search for the letter 'z' (or, ahem, 'zed') and replace it with an 's', then it's all better! w00t! I can't tell you how many spelling corrections I've gotten on my MUN briefings. Arrgh.

Maybe I should have done it on my dissertation, too....

The Contents of my Wallet...

2007-03-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

More on Mexico later (and sorry to all those people who thought I'd been eaten because I didn't actually bother telling them I'd be missing for a week), but I find the contents of my wallet interesting. No one else may, so move along if you're not interested in a 'Joyce thinks this is cool' post.

Money:
£10
USD $63.71
€30
3100 CFA
Pesos $88.50

3 Student ID cards (NUS, ISIC, Earlham)
5 Library cards (British Library, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Senate House, Indianapolis, Southwark)

2 Krakow tram tickets
What I think is a 24 hour Bratislava tram ticket

Some business cards

Ticket stubs from:
Secession
Vienna Synagogue
Versailles
Reina Sofia
The Prado

And my sister made me promise to get a new wallet before I left the city, because the bus part of the London bus wallet's sort of fading fast. Good thing I know where to get a new one...!

Whipping it Up

2007-02-28T15:04:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I was rather looking forward to last night's play, Whipping it Up, which was a find of the Boy's and a transfer from the Fringe. We'd actually tried to get tickets during the original run, but it was very much sold out after the amazing reviews and had to wait until the transfer to the West End. I couldn't really imagine a more perfect combination: my dorky politics self, my dorky politics Boy, and a political comedy set in Westminster...it had all the makings of a Yes, Minister marathon-like thing. In the end, my sides weren't splitting with laughter, but I was amused and generally glad we'd gone.

The essence of the story is that the Tories have secured a 3-seat majority in the Commons under Prime Minister Cameron. A leadership challenge masquerading as a rebellion on a Tent Poles Bill (don't ask) is keeping the whips busy, as they work to contain the threat, try and delay the vote until the PM is back in the country, unravel (create?) a sex scandal, deal with a particularly dogged journalist, and play tricks on the opposing party. I thought bits were quite inventive, until the Boy informed me at the intermission that a great number of the 'tricks' were copied out of a book written by a former Whip. Still, he was generally impressed at the play's accuracy.

The acting was excellent all around, but some of the characters did a much better job at hitting all of their punchlines and connecting with the audience. The Labour Whip, who hardly spends any time on stage, was absolutely fabulous. I was also highly amused by the little white Christmas tree (the play takes place a week before Christmas) decorated with blue glass balls and topped by a blue rosette. Nice touch. Less amusing were the elderly Tory and his deaf partner who were sitting next to me. I really didn't need every joke repeated, dears! And said Tory actually cried out at the revelation that everyone thinks that Tories are snobbish twats and take particular pleasure in their downfalls. Um, duh?

In all, it was funny. Not brilliant, but good. I'm glad we paid preview prices for seats in the back of the Stalls. I might not have been so amused at full price.

(On a side note, price is the reason we're not seeing Equus. As the Boy pointed out, we can see three shows at the National for the same price of only a half-decent ticket for nekkid Harry Potter. Shame, really, as the first night reviews were stunning. And because of his acting, not just his abs. Oh, and for this, I love the BBC. The EU Constitition will eat your BRAAAAAINS!)

2007-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

The boy and I went to see Hot Fuzz last night, done by the same guys who did Shaun of the Dead. Just as that one was a zombie movie spoof, this one was an action movie spoof, which (thankfully) you didn't have to actually have watched an action movie to 'get.' That's because so much of the humour was very much related to making fun of the English countryside, which I, as a Londoner, can very much enjoy. J/K. Countryside, you're lovely. Anyway, I was a huge fan until we got to the actual action part and then I was bored. Ooops. But, le boy, who apparently thought Bad Boys was the best movie EVAR at 16 was more amused. Mostly, I liked the swan. :-)

As for the rugby...well, I'm just glad I'm on my own tonight. The Quins pulled off a win by doing a great job on penalty kicks against the #2 team in the league, which totally wasn't supposed to happen. As for the England match, that one was all downhill after the very emotional playing of the anthems (the England-Ireland match was being held at the Croke in Dublin, home of Gaelic sports, and site of the first 'Bloody Sunday' where the British army opened fire during a match, so playing God Save teh Queen was a HUGE deal). Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to watch the second half. Disloyal? Maybe, but hey, it's his sport, not mine!

Tomorrow night, hopefully pub quiz! Hurrahs! And, then off to Mexico really, really soon!

KB, LIMUN, Toby & the Oliviers

2007-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

So many things to talk about, when one's a rather irregular blogger....

I really should deal with the one that's turned me into a bit of an emotional wreck today. Just when I got into work (which means it was sent in the 20 minutes that it takes me to get from home to the office), I had an e-mail from Earlham professor Bob letting me know that a fellow member of my London program had committed suicide. It was really, really upsetting news and I had to leave for awhile to cry and gather my thoughts. I sat by the Thames thinking about him and centering, because that's what an Earlham grad does when they're upset about something or someone related to their time at Earlham. I have such good memories of this man, who was the person who convinced me that I wouldn't turn into an alcoholic with one drink and who really took the time to make sure that I was ok in a really rough patch of my life. He had such great stories about his visits to the very, very gay clubs, pubs, and bars and always had fantastic insights into the books that we were reading...it made the rest of us VERY jealous. I remember tromping home together in the snow and the night we had to get him home from the pubs in Dublin and the few great conversations that we had back at Earlham, afterwards. I really don't want to get any more e-mails like that one. All of you, and all of my friends are too dear.

Moving on...our Model UN conference, LIMUN, went very well last weekend. We probably had 550 students (out of 650 registered) and a great time was had by all (with the possible exception of those who suffered from some Titanic-like scenes at the HMS Belfast). My committee was very small and did an excellent job. I was surprised that they wanted to talk about statelessness first, but am glad they did because the debate got really intense when we switched to human rights and sexual orientation on the third day. It was so bad at first that I had to lay the smack down and remind delegates that they needed to be representing their states and not themselves. The delegates even did some of that amongst themselves, most notably in shutting up the delegate from Brazil who wouldn't stop talking about "Adam & Eve, not Steve & John" (which isn't even the right annoying anti-gay rights slogan!). I had to remind Mali that he was 90% Muslim and he pointed out that he was 100% gay. We decided he could be an NGO instead, thus transforming his transition, while not as dramatic as from male to female, from a "small" African state to a huge international NGO (I paraphrase). Still, we never had to deal with an amendment, because they were so good at working out compromises and consensus and the work was pretty darn high quality (esp. on the sexual orientation, where I didn't think they'd really be able to get anything done). Oh, and a big thanks to the United States for this: "We have excellent homosexual laws. Massachusetts even allows gay marriage." Riiiiight.

Otherwise, last week was very busy getting ready for the conference, but the Boy did a lovely job with Valentine's Day and took me to see Underneath the Lintel, a one-man play featuring Richard Schiff (Toby! from West Wing). He's a older Dutch librarian who becomes obsessed with figuring out who returned a book 113 years late and ends up travelling around the world in search of the person he thinks might be the wandering Jew. He did a tremendous job, marked for me, at least, by the fact that after the first 30 seconds I was no longer thinking of him as Toby. Pretty impressive for an actor whom I've watched for seven years, no? The play resonated deeply, this hunt to find a place where we belong, displacement, and fascination with the mysteries that we simply can't solve. If you're in London, don't believe the critics. It was great. I'm sure the Boy wrote a beautiful review, but I'm not as insightful as he is. It was lovely and afterwards we took our now-traditional walk over Waterloo Bridge talking about a fantastic piece of theatre.

Finally for me, and speaking of theatre, the Olivier Awards were handed out last weekend. They're the West End's Tonys and I remember being annoyed with the nominations because I hadn't seen so many of the plays or actors/actresses. Turns out that I/we did pretty well after all, having seen Sunday in the Park with George (Best Actor/Actress and most of the techinical awards), Blackbird (Best New Play), and Caroline or Change (Best New Musical), and all of which I thought really deserved their awards. Although, I wasn't overly impressed by the actress in Sunday... and I think that either it or Coram Boy could have taken the technicals. But, perhaps, I'm biased.

This is long. I'm done for now.

OMFGBBQ! So Cool!

2007-02-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure that I can adequetly explain the extent to which Shashi Tharoor appearing as a guest on the Colbert Report is perhaps the coolest thing that has happened this decade. OMFG, awesome.

Shashi, I feel, is my own personal (not-resigned) UN Under-Secretary-General. He spoke at Earlham two years ago and even has an ECMUN shirt. Woo! He made me think. It was nice. Watch out, Stephen Colbert (and, yes, I love you, too).

Speaking of which: happy half-birthday to me! And happy early Valentine's Day to all of you. Le Boy is being mysterious about the whole thing, but I don't think anything can beat the creepiness of last year's not-date to see Blackbird. Child 'rape' and sexual psychology! What fun! Awesome play, though.

And, this weekend's LIMUN, so stayed tuned for more MUN fun. I might even update from committee, if I get bored, although it's unlikely.

Oh, and the other awesome thing? LSE didn't have power yesterday (flood...Holborn...power cut?) and had to cancel everything. It made me snort a bit.

What a lovely Sunday...

2007-02-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today was just perfect.

Got up late, made pancakes, dozed while England won the cricket (other people cared much more than I did, clearly), had lunch and nice walks around Stoke Newington with my lovely friend from LSE who I see not enough of, had a quick look around the Borders in Angel, met le Boy in Clapham to go to a pub quiz with his friends, won and got a taxi home with one of them because we missed the last tubes north.

And, now, to bed, before a VERY busy week. *happy sigh*

2007-02-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Well, le Boy's watching the Wales-Scotland rugby match and I can't bring myself to focus on a second match in a row. England just beat Italy in a VERY Dull match. Seriously. I fell asleep and the most exciting thing were all the shots of Princes William & Harry & Kate in the crowd. Which touched off a whole conversation about Harry's parentage. As it would.

Last night we went to see An Oak Tree, a VERY Edinburgh theatre piece in which one of the actors is a guest star and has no idea what the play's about or is going to happen. It was...slow? I think, as with some of the other stuff that we saw in Edinburgh, that it's a more interesting exercise for the people performing than for the audience. But, I wonder if it'd be better or different with another second (or, really, first) actor? Thursday night was Sofie O..., the women who was in Hotel Rwanda. Ours was an actress who was in Markey Boy at the National. I think I was going to be disappointed by anyone who wasn't David Tennant. It was also a very 'Guardian' reading audience. And we got cake afterwards.

I also met le Boy's parents in an odd lunch. Survived, if nothing else.

BTW, my new internship is lovely. Between it, ECMUN, LIMUN and outreach sessions, I feel like I'm living in a little Model UN world. It's nice in here.

Lindsay's book meme

2007-02-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Le Boy has been blogging lately and being very deep and insightful about topics as varied as movies, campaign finance reform, and rugby and I'm feeling more than a bit shallow. It seemed as good a time as any to work on the book meme that Lindsay tagged me with...oh, in December?

1. One book that changed your life?

Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World, Walter Russell Mead.

This one’s probably a bit obscure unless you happened to be taking Doug’s National Public Policy class with me in the spring of 2004. Mead talks about four major categories of foreign policy thinking, each named for a president: Hamiltonian, Wilsonian, Jeffersonian, and Jacksonian. I recognized myself as a firm Wilsonian, but he only explains the origin of the school in religious terms (basically, missionary work). This book raised questions about the origins of my own strong beliefs in the importance of human rights (and revealed to me that I had them), even as I rebelled, as a bit of an agnostic and a person who’s a bit wary of proselytizing religions in general, against the idea that this tradition could ONLY be rooted in Christianity and religion.

This book coincided with the semester that I spent driving back and forth from Indianapolis twice a week for an absolutely crap internship (lots of thinking time) and it was the semester that I really and truly realized that my true calling was not to be a employee for ye olde state of Indiana, but somewhere out there in the world. The idea that I had bigger questions to answer about human rights comes out of reading this book and it’s what ultimately led me to the LSE. I also realized that I needed answers because I wanted to “do” human rights with my life.

2. One book that you've read more than once?

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village, Sarah Erdman.

Yes, it's a Peace Corps memoir. My friend Libby suggested that I read it, just as a group of her friends did, to get somewhat of a better understanding of what life would be like for their West African volunteer. And because I was really starting to do some serious thinking about joining the Peace Corps myself.

I obviously haven't been a volunteer myself, but I really did get a sense of the extreme emotions that can come into play from absolute elation to frightening depression and frustration (even if I think she does focus more on the positives). It's an incredibly vivid set of memories for Erdman and she does a fantastic job of painting a picture of her villagers and village life for someone with absolutely no real life experience with which to interpret her images. It also gave me fuzzy feelings about the work that Peace Corps volunteers can do and sad feelings about the way in which her country disintegrated very shortly after she left.

I read this at two very different times. The first one was during the trip to Kenya and Tanzania. I have really distinct memories of sitting in our tank, wizzing past people and villages and reading about this woman who spent two whole years getting to know a tiny, tiny corner of that huge continent. I was jealous and disappointed with my inability to do the same (at least on that trip). I read it again after I got back from Niger and suddenly understood words and had my own vivid pictures with which to compare to hers. I also understood how much of a Peace Corps volunteer's life she left out and knew new things, like how important the interaction with other volunteers can be in the life of a PCV. It was sort of a way of cementing my Niger memories, showing myself that it really happened, if that makes any sense.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island?

Hmmm. I think I'll take one of my LSE coursepacks. I think the one that I purchased for Human Rights of Women (can I have both volumes?), the class that I could never take because the amazing Christine Chinkin was on sabbatical last year. It would be absolutely lovely to be able to sit down and digest a whole coursepack and to think about how all of those things fit together. In other words, I'd like to relive my LSE education, but at a much, much slower pace (I assume I'm going to be on this island for awhile) and without any other pressures or distractions.

4. One book that made you laugh?

Recently? Then, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

So, Juliana's been bugging me forever about the brilliance of Neil Gaiman and the Boy put the first of Pratchett's Discworld series in my hand, so this is sort of because of both of them. I adore Pratchett's satire and this book didn't let me down. I was giggling a lot with images of overloaded scooters, angels who had drifted downwards, the four horsepersons of the apocalypse, and so on. It's times like these that I wish I caught more bible references, as it would probably have been even better! Yay for English people's incredibly dry wit.

5. One book that made you cry?

26a, Diana Evans.

Oh, god, I was a huge mess after this book. It's about twins who grow up in north London, in my adopted constituency (see also: Zadie Smith's books) and who are incredibly insightful and promising. Then, there's event in thier childhood that drives them apart and just throws everything off the rails. It ends tragically and I was so utterly heartbroken. I think I saw a lot of myself in those twins, their cozy hideaway in the attic reminding me of the nests I used to make for myself at home, the innocence and blind enthusiasm with which I used to approach the world (and frankly, try to still), the way that one moment can shatter that innocence forever and change the course of your life. I still wonder what my life would be like if my parents were still alive and I think that Georgia and Bessi reminded me of those questions. Utter and complete mess. Huge tears.

Right. I'm only halfway done, but it's late! Off to bed and to be continued some time soon, I hope.

I forgot one thing...

2007-02-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

I forgot one comment on the Kosovo thing. Look! Gender! w00t!:

Kosovo shall establish a comprehensive and gender-sensitive approach for dealing with its past, which shall include a broad range of transitional justice initiatives.

Good for whoever was drafting this thing.

Kosova

2007-02-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

My favorite Kosovar sent me a link to a more detailed summary of the Kosovo plan than I'd seen on the BBC. It's here if you'd like to read it.

Here's what I wrote back to him as a reaction:

You know, I saw this plan summarized on the BBC and sort of went "what the heck?" I don't really understand how you can be a state and not a state, even more than you already are. Plus, you just wouldn't fit into the Westphalian system and it creates two classes of states.

I wonder the extent to which this mirrors (if at all) the UN mandate in Timor L'este? Is this precedented? It also reminds me of Iraq, but at least there we try to pretend that the international community isn't running the place.

I also don't know if Kosovo has any other choice; I doubt that full independence could happen now and having the world pretend you're a state has got to be better than them pretending that you're not a state. At least that way you can get a passport.

Finally (and sorry that this is sort of a stream of consciousness as I react to the more detailed plan that you linked), I wonder if it isn't awful to have the EU so fully involved in helping develop your country and creating institutions (and, again, the way that the UN did in East Timor). It reminds me of the way that the organization tried to reshape Eastern Europe in its own image after the end of the Cold War. If you're being groomed for membership, then it might be a very good thing.

Still, I'm glad he might finally get a country and a passport, if the Serbian government decides to stop being total pricks. He's certainly been waiting long enough. Yay, Baaaa!

MUN & Bobby

2007-02-03T02:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was nice.

I went and met with students and their teachers at a North London school (Brent, woot woot) to start preparing for LIMUN and talked about doing a school conference once we get through LIMUN. Or maybe with another school that's also been in touch and with whom this other school already has links. I love MUN and I love fostering it (ESPECIALLY with high schoolers). And I never thought it would be something that was so high on my agenda. Anyway, it seems like an amazing project and one that would tie right in with my starting-on-Monday internship with the UN Association, working on their MUN stuff.

It's also amazing to realize that without meaning to, I'm suddenly doing things that make me a more attractive Peace Corps candidate! Ack! How'd that happen?

And, I dragged the Boy to Bobby last night and it kinda stunk. The previews were sooo much better. I mean, I understand how amazing he was and how hopeful things seemed because of my parent's stories (my mom was one of the people who got locked in the Indiana Secretary of State's office when he came to file for the Indiana primary and he ALMOST used her comb (read: her friend was quicker on the comb draw)), but the movie didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy and certainly didn't work if you didn't already know something about Bobby's impact on the United States. (As the Boy put it: "You had to already buy into the Bobby myth.")

I think the final diagnosis was "lrazy", although there was some great acting (OMG, can Martin Sheen be my boyfriend, as well as my grandfather and my president?) and some cute moments. Also, Lindsay Lohan has so many freckles that I really worry about the skin damage she's done to herself. Hope she goes to the dermatologist regularly. And there were some parts that were pretty cringeworthy (any part with Laurence Fishbourne...barf! although he's an excellent actor). And Elijah Wood's eyes are so pretty!

new phone!

2007-02-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

Yay! I have a new phone!

My old one got left somewhere. Someone called my flatmate (who had tried to call me) where it was and, I think, left it there, where it got snatched.

Anyway, apparently O2 gives you some credits every month that you can save up toward a discount on a new handset and so it was £30 less than the retail price. So, my £90 phone was on sale for £80 and purchased for £50 (really my cheapest option, everyone, and yes, phones are pricey). A good deal, considering, I think. And it's so much shinier than before!!! I'm sort of taken with it and it's lovely new screen. So Pretty. My precious. The Boy had a whole theory about technology depreciating, but I'm excited, as my old phone also cost £80 and wasn't nearly this cool.

This is also a reminder that I need phone numbers, having lost them for anyone who I didn't have on my SkyPE list. So, if you're not Ian, Alison, Ana, the Blacks, Duchie, Grandma, Juliet or Juliana, then could you send me your digits? Thanks!

2007-01-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm on my way home now, sitting, once again, in the wonderously wireless-equipped Charlotte airport. I found some great treats at the Indy airport, namely a black and blue "Indianapolis" t-shirt, that I think can serve as a cheap and not at all licensed city-support item for the Super Bowl. Because there was no way I was payiing $20 for a Colts shirt, a team that I've never cared about in my life. But, I love that people around the world are being forced to hear about my hometown for two weeks! I also found a copy of Andrew Stoner's biography of Governor O'Bannon. Andrew was Deputy Press Secretary during at least one of my internships and I'm looking forward to learning more about my favorite governor. Also, there's a list of everyone who worked for the O'Bannon administration and it's both heartwhelming and nostalgia-inducing and very cool. I spent two summers interning in the Governor's Office and worked with quite a number of the people on that list.

Anyway, I had a WONDERFUL time in Indiana and especially at Earlham. I love that place and I love my friends there. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Juliet & Juliana (and maybe even Diana) had been there, too. Then, it would have been just like old times. I wonder when I'll get over leaving? I never thought I'd get over missing high school, but I did, eventually and the time came when I just stopped thinking about it.

As always, I'll miss people here, but I'm also awfully excited to get back to London! It's so much easier to leave 'home' when you're also going 'home.'