Travel to Argentina

This weekend embassies around Washington DC opened their doors for visitors. They hosted cultural events, movies, food, and exhibits. I traveled to the embassy of Argentina in DuPont neighborhood and listened to the traditional music of tango. Amazingly, the musicians asked if anyone in the crowd wanted to tango. Individuals raised their hands then danced together. This intimate dance was performed by complete strangers. Beautiful and a great idea for a sunny Saturday afternoon.

This art weekend kicked off with a trip to an event in DC called "Art-o-matic." At art-o-matic, artists display their work on nine or so floors of a new building. Performances occur simultaneously, anything from comedy to music or fire throwing. Friday I enjoyed art by a law school friend's daughter who lives in DC. She named her mother as one of her inspirations. I agree! The fire throwers remind me of Guatemala and the beaches of Thailand. Alas, it can also be found on the beaches of the Potomac.

Art weekend stirred the question: What life do I want to lead as a professional? What are my hobbies? Volunteer focuses? Educational pursuits? Relaxing activities? Tango fits into my spanish language theme . . . I may have to look into dance classes. Or more classes, meet-up groups, volunteering in the Spanish-speaking community...so many possibilities in DC but I have to choose. Time flies by and here I've been living as a professional for eight months. Art weekend may inspire me to set more volunteer or education dates with organizations and activities around town.

Unrelated, I would also like to own a bicycle. Any good ideas for places to look for used bikes?

Photos From Eyal of Volcàn Pacaya - One Week Ago...

Hats in Honduras

Last weekend I crossed a border into Honduras with my schoolmate and fellow Swede. We saw Copàn Ruinas (the city) and Copàn (the Mayan ruins). Met many fellow backpackers and enjoyed the tiny town. Particularly I enjoyed the men in cowboy hats with machettes. Just for work, no worries. Many horses there, too. The ride over entailed 6 hours in a tourist passenger van listening to Spanish dance and jive music. Incredibly unique to be cruising up and around mountainous corners passing other vans, trucks, buses. It was the heat + music + speed + scenary that hit me. This is a lucky summer indeed.

One man I met is worth further description. He is a clown by profession from Wales, though really a wanderer from country to country. Currently he is dating a hippie Guatemalan. She and her friends really reminded me of American hippies, so to say. I met him as I ran home from the ruins in the rain with my friend. He invited us to see his band. We joined him, but he was the band. So I and my Belgian friend played some bongo, sang, danced and dreamt of the first international tour of our new band. Oh the characters you´ll meet.

The many travels are extremely tempting. Optional future travels include seeing a lake surrounded by volcanoes, cave adventures, jungle river rides, seeing tortugas (turtles!) by the ocean, plus plus plus. This Saturday I will climb the largest volcano in the area, Volcàn Acatenango. There are supposely banditos there, bandits, say some. We are taking a guide with a gun, which I always do on hikes around here - it´s typical. Also, I will not take any money or my camera. Just a sweater and rain coat. No worries. The police thwart off banditos around here Banditos are only interested in the lone sheep.. and that I am not.. thanks to the loving advice of family.

Helado Sarita

Have I mentioned that Antigua Guatemala is a great place? Take for example the name of their ice cream store chain: Sarah´s Ice Cream. I go by Sarita here. A single scoop cone is around 70 cents. Yes please!

Antigua experienced two large earthquakes, one ins 1717 and one in 1773. They toppled many of the beautiful buildings so the city boasts many convent, church and government building ruins. One arch withstood mothernature twice. This arch connected two convents and is a place for clichè pictures, says the travel books. This is because through the arch you can see Volcano Agua, the one directly at the south of town. Three volcanoes surround the city. One is active, an by active I mean you can see the fire shooting out at night and the smoke by day. There is no danger to us in town, only dangerous to climb it. There is a central park with a picturesque church and the city streets are cobblestone.

As for my Spanish, school continues to impress me.
--A Field Trip
On Friday we traveled to a neighboring town and observed traditions of the Mayan people. The wedding is very traditional with a lot of sewing taking place. The fiance woman sews a cloak for the mother in law to be. If the mother in law takes off the cloak during the wedding, the marriage is off. After the wedding the new wife receives a sew blanket for carrying a baby. Then the wife goes off to make tortillas, before any other activities. I am not cut out for the Mayan lifestyle. However I can handle the Mayan foods. Rice, chicken, delicious spices, tortillas (this corn tortillas) and plantains.
--Learning important words
One teacher always teases the female students. I recently learned a phrase that is very helpful. Cuidate: Behave yourself. Today he asked me, How are you? I responded bueno, good, or so I thought. But I actually said bueno, I have a good body.. I was supposed to say bien, well. So then I said Bueno y Bien.. I look and feel good. Two points for a sense of humor in Spanish. It is difficult to remember all the humorous errors. It would fill up the blog.
--Can I draw?
Yes. I am the token artist in the group. Don´t ask why. I am drawing a large baby and small bottles for a baby shower that we will host at school tomorrow for one teacher who is due next week. My school is a great one because many students are recruited by word of mouth so students are willing to try new things and enthusiastic to make friends. The field trip and baby shower are little things that make the experience.

No Worry of Addition with 8 Cups o Jo

Today I visited my first coffee plantation, just outside Antigua in Jocetenango. One display warned: Coffee can become an addictive substance if you consume more than 8 cups of coffee per day. For my fellow coffee lovers, bottoms up but stop at 8.

As for my Spanish, I really advanced last night when I asked my family´s 10 year old granddaughter, in Spanish, ¨what does purple mean?¨ Smooth move... I quickly followed it up in Spanish with, ah ha, a mix between blue and red. I am really mastering this language now.

I Cannot Carry the Ring, Mr. Frodo, but I Can Carry You.

This is not my group, but my group did roast marshmellows in the lava of Volcàn Pacaya.

When hiking the volcano, my friends and I found it a bit reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. We called to one another amidst the buffs of errupting air and lava, while traversing over beds of black but hot lava rock... ¨I cannot carry the ring, but I can carry you Mr. Frodo.¨

Last weekend I climbed an active volcano. We took a bus for an old US school bus for an hour and a half. At the destination people sold horses to substitute for the hike and children sold sticks for 70 cents or so. My travel mate later said he wished the children would have sold the sticks better. Something like, ¨Really, you want the stick. It´s a difficult climb, slippery and the rocks will cut your hand.¨

The hike was an hour and a half up the volcano. The guides spoke in Spanish. After some time we reached the lava bed at which point we were hiking on dried lava. It is black and sharp to the touch. It´s like climbing on a boulder field but you cannot touch the rocks. Eventually the guides stopped but said we could go as far as we wanted. This is when many people hiked to the point that they could roast marshmellows from the flowing lava.

Flowing lava is a red stream of burning rock. It fell like an avalanche more so than it flowed. This made for an interesting video in the background of my friend roasting a marshmellow. As we hiked down in the dusk, we could see the lava shooting out the top of the volcàn. Magnificent.

Lessons learned:
1--Do not wear sandals when hiking a volcano.
2--Bring bandaids and flashlights when hiking a volcano.
3--On every trip, be prepared with Minnesota jokes and impressive Wisconsin facts (like the number of lakes we boast).
4--3 tacos for $1.20 really hit the spot after hiking a volcano.

I met 3 Wisconsinites, 2 Minnesotans, a kind Israeli who will later send photos, and others. Hurray for temporary best friends- I truly appreciate travelers.

Yesterday it rained much of the day. I met up with old travel friends (old means I knew the person over 12 hours) to pass a day in the splendor of Antigua. We ate deli sandwiches, played pool, watched American films at Cafè 2000, and I attended Spanish mass with my host brother at the famous church off the Parquè Centràl (central park).

For those of you concerned about my black bean and egg intake, I have only been offered the aforementioned at one meal. My host mother's food is worthy of prizes for the rich flavors, variety, and speed.

Back to studying spanish!

Dia Dos - Antigua

Today I emailed out my new email address with this blog address. If you are new to my blog-o-sphere, let me share its purpose. I am maintaining a blog to share about travels mainly, but while I am in one place I also write about interesting books and music. Blogs are useful tools for sharing about life - while mine is not meant to serve as a journal, it may be more like a journal this summer because I do not have a digital camera to share photos. Enjoy. And, please keep me updated on your life as well!

Back to travels...
This morning after a fruit and bread breakfast I left Guatemala City for Antigua. The local buses cater to all people by having a person yell the route out the door, for those who cannot read the route. This helped me, too. We stopped many times along the way, one time picking up 2 peace corps women about my age who were helping farmers harvest their coffee in a way to produce more profit. All in all, the 1 hour ride for $1 was smooth as could be expected.

Upon exiting the bus I began speaking spanish. There is muchisimo room for improvement, which I will begin tomorrow. I will start a language class here in Antigua tomorrow for 2 weeks, then move to Xela in the mountains. Antigua, I am told-the old capitol of Central America, is a smaller town where rumor has it spanish is more clear to understand. I will judge that in 8 weeks. A second new friend told me he had never met a Wisconsinite outside the state. The only hostile traveler thus far (since I am considering anything anti-Wisco hostile). Otherwise I am seeing the beauty of this town and enjoying cheesy quiche (not unlike the spicy cheese bread at the Madison farmers market). I saw a market with some local goods, like woven blankets, masks, and an assortment of doo-dads. If you want something special, just place your request with me. Also, if you are reading and hoping for a postcard, email me your address!

Bienas Dias

Dia Uno - Guatemala City

Hola Faithful Friends and Family -

Glad you are joining me to climb the Guatemalan mountains in heels this summer. I arrived in Guatemala City this evening and I´m staying at Patricia´s Bed and Breakfast. I am in Guatemala thru Aug. 21. Looking to study spanish, so please excuse the many mistakes that will be written hence forth.

First Spanish phrase uttered = ¿Es Alberto aqui? The answer was no.

Tomorrow I will take a chicken bus to Antigua, a better city for touring for 2 days before I head to Xela for spanish classes. The ride is $1 for 1 hour. The bus is an old American bus, likely, and we can fit way more than 2 people into a seat. I´ll report back mañana.

In case you were wondering, my new friend, a fellow spanish student, just uttered

--I like your Wisconsin accent by the way --

My Wisco-spanish is going to rock the socks of my teachers.

Muchos Amor a tu.

Guatemala Sneak Peak

It's official. This blog will soon move to Guatemala with me as we study spanish and volunteer from late June to late August. I hope my spanish skills return with ease so I can move into the countryside and study while living on an old coffee plantation.

My goal is to enhance my language skills so I can feel close to fluent in at least one additional language. At the same time, I wanted to choose a location other than home where I can live in a new environment, too. Secondarily, though also key in my choice of location, is that I want to see what this international development is all about by volunteering from within. This led me to Xela, where many spanish schools incorporate social justice opportunities into part of the day. Aside from volunteering at a women's prison, in Xela salsa lessons, architecture, and my host family's life style will enhance the whole experience.

Lastly, I will have a few days to travel. Maybe I'll have to escape the high elevation...I've always wanted to live in mountains and already I'm planning my descent?? Xela is in the mountains and I will be there during rainy season. You can be sure my favorite H&M sweater will make it into my backpack. The weather in Xela will be shocking compared to DC. I have heard about this cave trekking experience from more than 2 friends. It's at the top of my list if I get a chance to travel.

In preparation for the summer, I'm embarking on a literary adventure through Guatemalan history and politics. Silence on the Mountain follows an American traveler who unravels the mysterious burning of a barn that is intimately tied to Mayan history, coffee plantations, and the country's story. Well written. Next I'm going to read an account by a young Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner who wrote I, Rigoberta Menchu. Then I'll have to follow up with the critics. Surely no one will disagree with the staple Lonely Planet guide gracing my desk, tempting me during finals.

On tour

Live recording of John Vanderslice in Chicago on 4-13-07.

I'm on tour with John Vanderslice. Well, I toured with him Friday in Chicago. Ok, I was a guest singer. Guess which song, listen, and enjoy. A video may or may not surface.

Chicago, All things Go

Friday I'm traveling to Chicago. The city is preparing for my arrival, see below.

From Johnvanderslice.com

"4 6 07
Cool, it's working! Keep sending me emails about playing bass and singing. Some cities are covered (Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Athens, OH). In Chicago we have Sarah Schuh (pronounced "Shu") singing "Dear Sarah Shu." We're looking for more symmetry like that. Tonight we have Larry Crane from Tape Op on bass!"

This will be me in a few days...

dear sarah shu

dear sarah shu,
I leave for you
all I knew about this job
on microcassette for further review

what it meant to me
how you’ll make it dear, hopefully
it’s dangerous here
yes it’s dangerous here

peer round corners with dental mirrors,
heed the threats, taking cautionary measures,
in the end, it is love
you’ll have to learn to survive

dear sarah shu,
I leave for you
all I knew about this job
on palmcorder for future review

your office will flood every night,
it’s water, don’t try to fight it
suspend all your files using
my system of hanging wires

break apart what I connected
show what I only suggested
’cause in the end it was love
I had to learn to survive

picture me by the window sill
wrapped in copper wire, my autumn sleeves,
with torn up directives
spread round the floor like shoreham leaves

picture me locking office door, now
kneeling down on the floor,
screaming: “protection,
I can make it, I can make it!”

peer round corners with dental mirrors,
heed the threats, taking cautionary measures,
but in the end, it is love
you’ll have to learn to survive

so long, sarah shu,
farewell to you,
stay calm, stay sweet,
regards from the other side of the teeth

break apart what I connected
show what I only suggested
’cause in the end it was love
we had to learn to survive

South Bend

Today this blog truly transforms into a travel blog, from none other than tropical South Bend, Indiana. It's reunion weekend with my Sweden travel mate and fellow blugold. http://www.nd.edu/

Tonight we toured campus, saw all the famous Rudy spots, and laughed with Second City Comedy Troupe.

My friend loves pictures of ducks, whether in Sweden, Madison or a museum at UWEC. We have not seen a duck yet this weekend.

Cambodia Pics on the Way

Angkor Wat

Luang Prabang, Laos: The Best in Pictures

The view from my hotel window. People were working in the fields. What a relief from the smog of Bangkok.

"Pu Si Mountain" - A great view of two rivers and the whole town after climbing many stairs.










Yes, many of these. It's a historic village, yo!








Rules were more strict in Luang Prabang. Is it religion? Small town Laos? The many monks? I'm not sure. But let this warning be a lesson to future travelers! And please be in by 11pm.









The Hmong night market, the only place I wanted to shop in all of Southeast Asia. Loved it.









farang [n] - the word for French/white people b/c we are the pointed nosed who look alike to rural folks
......
Here is a new type of TukTuk and motorbikes! Yes, I did receive a ride on a motorbike to a local dance hangout. It was with Pa-tou, our Hmong guide.
.....
Why you learned the work farang: Pa-tou and I armed wrestled because to his question, "Why are farang so big?" I answered, "Because we are so strong." When I lost the arm wrestling match, not without suspense, he raised his arms in the air and exclaimed, "Lao people." Classic.

The Great Trek!
Day 1: 6 Hour Hike
Overnight in a village
Day 2: 5 hour Kayak + elephant ride

Since Laos has only one ATM in the country, and it's not in Luang Prabang, it was easier to convince my travel mate to use the credit card to purchase an overnight trekking adventure. These two days have impacted me in many positive ways. For starters, you'll understand by seeing the view during our first day on a 6 hr trek over mountains and through 3 villages: 2 Kamu and 1 Hmong.


In the first village, children were playing with tires and sticks. This children took beautiful photos in each village. They loved to see themselves in our digital previews.






A man from Vietnam motorcycled into the village. He would take the villager's picture for a small fee. People were excited.








I could not have been more pleased then to find out our guide, Pa-tou, was Hmong. Traveling to the Hmong villages was a goal of my travels because I have grown up along with many Hmong families who moved to Wisconsin. Pa-tou is in the back of the photo. Another guide is in the front, on the left is a girl he had a crush on... at least until he met us.








The Village of our overnight stay: We stayed at the Chief's home! A two story. The first floor was dirt floor, but they did have a TV. People in the village paid 2 cents each and watched a Thai show together that night. It starred a Thai girl working in a factory receiving a text message from a boyfriend. The pictures show the young men playing a sort of soccer/volleyball over a string for a net. The ball was like a whiffle ball but of bamboo maybe. Also,


Pa-tou cooks with his Hmong friend. The Hmong and Kamu have their own languages, but speak Lao to each other. Sometimes a Hmong would speak in Hmong to a Kamu and everyone would giggle. Interesting that the Hmong stick together and visa versa. Also of note, the small kitchen and cooking over a fire.

Women making brooms, men thatch and hang the house walls.










Shaking rice to take out stones, bad pieces. Chickens nearby.

One of my favorite photos. Here a Lao man shares my travel mates packaged roasted and salted peanuts in exchange for some of his fresh peanuts. East meets West, West meets East. A beautiful thing right here. We all shared peanuts. It was a moment.

I'm on an elephant. Need I say more? Yes. This is an elephant camp, more humane than their other heavenbound option. One of the many times on the trip my travel mate and I learned, in another language, "I love you, only one." I love Laos, too.

Top 10 Thailand

A SAMPLING OF PICTURES...Below are the Top 10 Topics in Pictures of Thailand. To follow in future posts are top ten from Laos and Cambodia. And I will update this with more essential photos.


#10 We Love Our King: The Thai people love their King. Here you see a restaurant with pictures of the King from different times in the King's life. The King was celebrated last year for being in his position for 60 years. For the celebration, people wore these particular yellow shirts every Monday. I though there must be some regulation, but no. People just really love their King. Below you see people walking on the street on Monday, notice the yellow! I am the proud owner of a King's bracelet so graciously gifted by a nice Thai


# 9 Spicy Thai Food: cuisine shown here includes

Some tastybugs to snack on, loads of pineapple, glass noodle pad thai-ish dish from New Years that I could never find again (my favorite), and meat on a stick - that which sustained some of us.













#8 Ko Samet (Escape Island) "On Fire" -- A fire is lit at the base of this paper rectangle. Similar concept to a hot air balloon, this is a fun beach activity, watching the light disappear into the atmosphere . . . fun until the wind shifts and it descends onto romantic beach lovers walking innocently on the beach who scramble to escape the firey fun diving in their direction. Add one other story to this Kodak moment. As we ate dinner on the beach we also watched a fire show. This was put on by boys, from 15-25, throwing 2 foot sticks into the air. They would dip the end of the sticks in oil and light it on fire with a torch, hence the fire show. They also had numb chuck type balls of fire on the end of a wire that they twirled. Also a great show to watch, except that the boys were inhaling oil fumes and if they dropped it or flung it the wrong way, as we experienced one night, it flies toward you ON FIRE.



#7 Ko Samet "22 Baht" --The Thai sold meat on a stick, eggs, dried squid, fruit (yum!!), jewelry, $6/hr massage, and other goodies on the beach. $1=32 Thai Baht, that's a lot of pineapple. I lifted one of the carriers shown in the picture, barely, it was so heavy. Even old women carried these. The meat ones would have coals burning to cook the chicken. Portable coal chicken cooker. Interesting concept. Any Americans interested in serving me this way next time I go to Point Beach in Manitowak, WI? Things to note about this picture: the bathing suit in the background, Marisa's Thai thank you bow in the foreground.






# 6 Ko Samet "Fish Farm" -- I held this "Daw Noi" while at a fish farm off the island. Stay tuned for that explanation. First, the fish farm was the last stop on a 4 hour snorkeling tour my travel friends and I set out on one day on the island. We snorkeled in two places. At the second, our boat driver showed us a few sea treats. He jumped in and said to me "Follow me" and did that finger wiggle, an international sign for "over here." I thought, there's not much to lose, not knowing where we were swimming to. He swam 20 seconds then dived down. I watched through my goggles as he picked up a big stick from the sea floor. Then he dove down again and wedged a prickly prickly sea urchin onto the stick. He brought it to the surface and held it there. WOW! Next he went down and picked up this big slug looking thing, almost a foot long and thick as a softball, with his bare hands. I touched it. He called it a bing, some Japanese thing that people eat as a delicacy. Expensive. So apparently it's not true that you cannot touch the sea creatures when snorkeling. Another reason SE Asia is the land of no law, murphy's law, some kind of law different from home. Now, we finished snorkeling, we headed to the fish farm. This was a place where there were floating planks separating 8ft. X 8ft. areas where different types of fish grew. So while one area has friendly small sharks and friendly sea turtles, another area had vicious puranas that would bite your leg off if you fell in. And falling in was not far from reality with no hand rails or anything, just walking around on floating planks. I loved the turtles, the big ones, the small ones. A Thai taught me to say small turtle, baby turtle, and little turtle (daw noi, look daw, dow lek). Apparently I'm not that easy to teach, because when I returned to the beach I tried my new word out on a boy, saying "Daw Min." He ran to his dad, selling meat on a stick, who told me that meant body odor (as he waved at his arm pit). oops. This turtle story continued through the rest of the trip, including questioning a Cambodian waiter about the spelling and winning a stuffed animal turtle from a shady British fellow after he beat my friend at a dart contest. These good times mean Daw Noi HAS to make it into the best picture list.


#5 Grand Palace:
Our Thai buddies took us to the Grand Palace where the Emerald Budda is located. Here is an image of people worshipping outside the Emerals Budda. Enjoy the architecture.


#4 Thai Boxing:
My friends and I ventured into the world of Thai Boxing. The boxers seemed to be high school age. I am not sure how old they really were. This was interesting because it was boxing, but also to watch the gambling practices in the stands. Gambling is only allowed in the 3rd tier seats, where my friends and I sat. We did not gamble, but observed feverishly. Turns out, none of our buddies from class had ever been to a Thai boxing match.

#3 Thai Buddies:

In class we were all matched up with a Thai student as a buddy. Here are some of the students in class, Jan, Lily, Yod, Kaw. This evening they hosted a welcoming dinner with traditional Thai dancing as entertainment.



#2 Essence of Bangkok: Wild traffic, street food vendors, temples, and shopping. Siam Paragon is the most expensive of shopping centers. Gucci, you name it. Around the corner is MBK, a 7 level shopping complex where everything seems to be labeled 199 Baht. Yes, it's mostly knock offs.

#1 Tuk Tuk - open air taxis. One way to truly appreciated the art of negotiation.