Another little adventure

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

Christopher McCandless

So...uh...whaddya do up der in da winter?

And so travel season begins again.. the snow has finally melted, the trees are finally looking less sickly, and the bunny rabbits that inhibit my garden no longer leave tiny paw prints up the front steps. Spring has sprung.
So I guess the natural question is, what the heck did you do this winter?

Well, a lot. I could put up rather unfortunate pictures of me studying, watching Hulu, or I could give you a little look into the beautiful places I had the great fortune to travel to, and always in good company.

Let's start with Christmas Break:
The Brule river, where I spend every summer and winter with my parents, learning the words of the woods and the flow of the river.


Old man winter and I went out on the river on a cool crisp January day, drinking in the sunlight and spotting many eagles perched high in the pines.


I hung out at home, watched the snow fall, and fall, and fall once more. Only one "half day", first time in decades that the U of M has even closed for part of the day. The roads were so dangerous to drive on one day that pedestrians were found walking down the middle, mostly because there were no sidewalks to be found.

Procrastination on paper writing

Duluth: Sunny snowfalls and radio waves

Delicate December: new winning song in my books
Loveliest Radio
Currently listening to the radio program that a friend of mine does here in Duluth, DJ Wonderland on KUMD, sitting at the kitchen table of the house I grew up in. The winter sun is shining softly through the window and snowflakes are sparkling in the air. Nothing like a sunny Sunday snowfall. Can barely see the lake due to a light fog settling upon Duluth.

Home Away from Home
Minneapolis feels so far away right now, even thought it's only a three-hour drive (supposedly, I beg to argue this fact after my travels on Friday). After having spent the weekend away from school, Mpls friends, and the busyness that encompasses the Twin Cities, I gain a new respect for this "great white north". Duluth is a treasure in its own right, even if it is colder than one might appreciate, it has a beauty that I forget to appreciate at times. Driving into town on Friday night with the trees heavy with snow, houses full of Christmas trees and lights, everything felt just about right. Seth picked me up at UMD with his girlfriend and brought me home to my parents' house (where Seth currently lives). Despite getting into town 5 hours later than I had expected, I was just happy to get here.

Radio is now playing one of my absolutely favorite songs, River (Indigo Girls).

Skiing, Hockey, Foods and Friends
Saturday morning I went x-country skiing for the first time this season with Seth and Kara and a few of their friends. I seem to always forget the subtle pain that comes with the first ski, the aches on the particular appendages of your body that you either over-worked, or happened to fall on (I fell twice, once on an uphill, once on a slick downhill attempting to avoid a tree). Pictures of this adventure sure to come soon.

Evening time means food and friends. Dinner at Haciendo del Sol
Enchiladas De Carne Two corn tortillas rolled around our special blend of ground round and spices, smothered with our special enchilada sauce and topped with two tasty melted cheeses.
Mmmmm. That's all I have to say about that.

After dinner I went to a Bulldog hockey game vs. Denver @ the DECC, final hockey game at the DECC before they open the new arena right next door. Very cool to see the closing ceremony and see many of the former Bulldog players.
After hockey it was time to see friends, from near and far, some recent, some it's been a few years. We talked about life, school, the usual weather, the KGB, personality types, childish vs. childlike-ness, Katy Perry (apparently not as popular in Turkmenistan as here...), and of course, knitting. Cannot forget knitting.

Also, went to my first gay bar-not taking into consideration the bar my family accidentally went into in England on my brother's birthday, when we were just looking for a place to eat dinner- the Flame in Superior, very interesting, enjoyable place to dance when the DJ is doing his thing correctly. Ended the night by talking with a friend of mine til 4:30am, who has been abroad in Peace Corps. I love how friendships surpass national boarders, continents, and timezones.

Still jiving to Radio Wonderland, something that has finally given me the inspiration to write...first time in awhile as you can see. Hopefully my winter break will bring my writing itch back.

The weather outside is frightful..

Missin Namibia

I left my heart on the east coast

Surprise trip to Boston for my friend Chris' Birthday

OK Go Concert with my friends Chris and Becky

The backs of their shirts lit up!!


Dinner with Daniel (former classmate from Budapest): best Japanese food I've ever had!


Hobbit feet


Olin College Campus

Downtown Boston
Crossing the Charles after my tour of Northeastern University School of Law

The big 2-1

Namibia offered me with the best birthday weekend of my life.

On Friday I woke up to a text from a coworker, wishing me a happy birthday. Just half an hour later, one of my roommates who had been getting ready for her day burst back into the room and looked at me and said "happy birthday!!"

I went into work on Friday and my coworkers threw for me a birthday party with cake, cookies, and cool drinks, or as we would call in Minnesota, pop. More than half of the office came out and celebrated with me. It was a birthday/going-away party for me, as today, the 27th, is my last day at my internship. (More on that later) I was on a sugar high for the rest of the afternoon after all of that cake!
My housemates and I all went out to dinner at the Namibian Institute of Culinary Education, or NICE. The food was delicious, salmon with cream cheese and ravioli with tomato sauce and cheese,along with a little vegitarian quiche as an amuse-bouche. For desert my friend Hayley secretely ordered two little cakes for the intern and I (who share a birthday). Photos to come, i promise!

After dinner we all headed to a bar where one of the interns' friends was holding a going away party. We hung out for a bit, me not drinking (until 12:01) , talking with some people I knew and some I didn't.

To top off the evening we decided to go to one of the clubs in Windhoek called La Di Das. We all danced the night away until at least 3:00am, some later, with all sorts of music (not great music but we take what we can get right?) Many of us had some 12-15 Namibian boys trying to dance with us, to which we attempted to politely decline. One of the guys in our group had the opportunity to dance with the Namibian guys. Getting home at around 3:30am, I was exhausted!

On Saturday I went hiking on a hill that overlooks Windhoek, and on Sunday we all had a big "family dinner" at the house, everyone helping to make Mac & Cheese, Sushi, 7-Layer Dip, and Vegan Chocoalte cake/ cupcakes. Needless to say, most of us overate. We then raided our interns' closet, dressing up in some pretty fantastic outfits. A good party and a great end to a birthday weekend.