The farewell tour is complete. Only 5 days left of Asheville, my home for the past 5 years. Though I hate to leave it behind, I wouldn't want to depart from anywhere else.
A few notes from my recent travels:
Memphis:
-created a priceless work of art in the caustic medium (hot wax), thanks to my aunt Grace
-ate Corky's BBQ
-went to see some friends play music downtown and, upon realizing the gig was off due to an electric fire at the venue, went to B.B. King's with my mom for live music and ribs
-said farewell to a lot of family that I'll miss very dearly
Raleigh/Durham/Triangle:
-haha, that was just fun times with great friends who I will also be missing greatly
Wisconsin:
-drank some delicious craft beer in Ashland (South Shore Brewing),
-went to my first ever hockey game and I'm now in love with a sport that, where I'm going soon, people likely have never even imagined,
-walked the 10km across the frozen Chequamegon Bay (shuh-wah-muh-gun) of Lake Superior during a crystal clear, cold night to find the Northern Lights shining in the sky upon reaching the other shore,
-learned a bit about "ore docks" and the Great Lakes shipping business (a la Edmund Fitzgerald style boats)
Chicago:
-$3 is a great price for Jameson, $10 is a terrible price for Camels
-Al's Beef is delicious, deep-dish pizza is delicious, Korean tacos are delicious, and Lunchables at 4am are delicious
-only go to the Evil Olive on Monday's if you're really freakin weird
-O'Hare is huge
Thanks to everyone who gave me a place to stay along the way. Thanks to everyone who helped show me a good time during the tour.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Two Weeks
Two weeks till we report to staging in Washington, DC. 14 days is not a very long time. At all.
I'm glad I've gotten to go see family and friends in Raleigh and Memphis these past two weeks. Raleigh was great fun. Memphis was a bit more difficult, saying goodbye to grandparents and such. This weekend I'll go to Ashland, Wisconsin to see my sister for a couple of days then fly to Chicago to see my friend Dylan until Tuesday next week. And that'll be the last stop. When I get back from this trip, I'll have about 5 days to finalize all preparations before going to DC on the morning of the 27th. So I'm putting a lot of effort in this week to get most everything done that needs to be done so that next week isn't absolutely insane.
I bought a Malagasy-English dictionary a couple of weeks ago. It's been real helpful with starting to get the language under my fingers but it's also a bit daunting knowing that I'm starting from zero with this language. French was difficult to learn but at least French and English have some common ground. Spanish came easy due to the French. But Malagasy? There is NO common ground there, save for a few words borrowed/corrupted from French.
And here's a shout-out to all you current volunteers in Madagascar who have posted/commented in the February stage's Facebook group. Your input has been invaluable to all of the preparing (packing and mentally) we've been doing to come be a part of the work in Madagascar. Thank you! And stay safe with Giovanna!
Stay tuned folks. This is gonna be a fun ride!
James
I'm glad I've gotten to go see family and friends in Raleigh and Memphis these past two weeks. Raleigh was great fun. Memphis was a bit more difficult, saying goodbye to grandparents and such. This weekend I'll go to Ashland, Wisconsin to see my sister for a couple of days then fly to Chicago to see my friend Dylan until Tuesday next week. And that'll be the last stop. When I get back from this trip, I'll have about 5 days to finalize all preparations before going to DC on the morning of the 27th. So I'm putting a lot of effort in this week to get most everything done that needs to be done so that next week isn't absolutely insane.
I bought a Malagasy-English dictionary a couple of weeks ago. It's been real helpful with starting to get the language under my fingers but it's also a bit daunting knowing that I'm starting from zero with this language. French was difficult to learn but at least French and English have some common ground. Spanish came easy due to the French. But Malagasy? There is NO common ground there, save for a few words borrowed/corrupted from French.
And here's a shout-out to all you current volunteers in Madagascar who have posted/commented in the February stage's Facebook group. Your input has been invaluable to all of the preparing (packing and mentally) we've been doing to come be a part of the work in Madagascar. Thank you! And stay safe with Giovanna!
Stay tuned folks. This is gonna be a fun ride!
James
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