tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99919962024-03-08T01:44:04.135+03:00Traveling EmOccasionally about my travels or my job as a high school math teacher but mostly just the rambles of my constant stream of conscious.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.comBlogger484125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-18405197058247992582011-10-19T13:28:00.001+04:002011-10-19T13:28:25.075+04:00Chiang Mai<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259637069/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6235/6259637069_bc6cb67004_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260166704/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Bottle Cap Checkers" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6230/6260166704_3bbe7a16dc_s.jpg" alt="Bottle Cap Checkers" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259640263/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Bottle Cap Checkers" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6161/6259640263_606fcfe14c_s.jpg" alt="Bottle Cap Checkers" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259642631/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6235/6259642631_d640d30f9c_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259644203/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6095/6259644203_8a381373cb_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259646337/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6229/6259646337_51779b3d78_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259647703/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6058/6259647703_dec85c8b5b_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260178450/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6219/6260178450_70a6af3935_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260180364/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6213/6260180364_222b58b2ba_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260182274/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6211/6260182274_e0f7cda2a9_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260185546/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6260185546_8f73cf8a4c_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259659429/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6120/6259659429_558d02e81c_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259660709/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6233/6259660709_faa716d27b_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260190122/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6180/6260190122_ee7609e06e_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260191620/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6260191620_0f950ffe20_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259665383/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6259665383_3aeeda8e1c_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259667383/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6050/6259667383_2da633891a_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260196884/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6228/6260196884_0297d88ab1_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259669573/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6238/6259669573_c49fd414b1_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259670537/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6105/6259670537_36430dc2f7_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6260200304/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6174/6260200304_8d857e96d0_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259673417/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6259673417_9d3cf190c4_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259675437/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6259675437_51a3e24a78_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/6259677077/in/set-72157627804079841/" title="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6117/6259677077_fcfa1622a9_s.jpg" alt="Mae Jo Golf Course" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/sets/72157627804079841/">Chiang Mai</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>I know I've been away from here for a long while. I've been hostessing, working on my masters, working at being a better teacher and, of course, traveling. I'm currently in Thailand (yes, again).</p>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-61701273800848186242011-06-28T09:27:00.002+04:002011-06-28T11:01:36.799+04:00Living Life Rather Than Writing About ItMy dear friend Sha was recently in Europe and as such we got to hang out, a lot. She commented on how many of her friends who have blogs haven't been posting recently and it seems as though many of us are living our lives rather than writing about them. And that's certainly what I've been doing!<br /><br />I went and met up with the aforementioned Sha in Venice. It went something like this:<br /><br />Sha: I'm going to Venice for the weekend, want to join me?<br />Me: (hesitates about 5 minutes) Ok.<br /><br />So, I got a day off of work, put some of my air miles to good use and went to Venice for the weekend.<br /><br />Venice is everything you imagine it to be and everywhere. So often when I travel I end up in the "real" part of a city, where people actually live and where it stops looking like the post cards. But this never happened in Venice. It really is that picturesque, everywhere. At least when you're on the islands of Venice anyway.<br /><br />It's all narrow canals with gondoliers:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880089390/" title="Venice by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6012/5880089390_e3d3c00c7f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Venice"></a><br /><br />Hordes of tourists:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5879518249/" title="Venice by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/5879518249_5a4b562dca.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Venice"></a><br /><br />I, of course, hated the hordes of tourists, but somehow managed. Of course, I had Italian coffee, pizza for breakfast and wine for dinner to sooth me. Rarely do I immediately think of returning to a place, but I'm already planning a return trip for April break with my parents. <br /><br />Then there was prom and graduation. Both really nice events, though somehow they were planned over a four day weekend!?!<br /><br />Prom was on a boat:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880108590/" title="Prom 2011 by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/5880108590_64794b162f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Prom 2011"></a><br /><br />There was beer and wine. And it was really fun. The boat made it great as it was only our students and teachers. <br /><br />Here I am with the Assistant Head of the Upper School:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880109426/" title="Prom 2011 by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5880109426_5e548cf414.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Prom 2011"></a><br /><br />Graduation was interesting. There were singing/band acts in the middle.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5879550199/" title="Graduation 2011 by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5879550199_399c9f4758.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Graduation 2011"></a><br /><br />And when each student's name was read there was about 20 seconds of a song of their choosing played. It ranged from heavy metal to show tunes to the Beatles. But in the end, that part was mostly awkward as the student just stood on stage in the middle with everyone staring at them. There were only 2 or 3 that did some sort of dance. Hopefully that will change in the up coming years. <br /><br />Then suddenly the school year was over. I went with the grade 10 class to Wallabi World (why is a Dutch amusement park named after an Australian animal?!)<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880159630/" title="Wallabi World by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/5880159630_433defbca2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Wallabi World"></a><br /><br />And then it was really over. And now it's summer holidays. I've been to Muenster, Germany. It is a small town that was completely destroyed in WWII and completely rebuilt to look like it used to. It's full of older people and because of that yarn stores. I was in heaven.<br /><br />Here's Joz at our first cafe. Note the cliental, I'm not kidding when I say the town is mostly older people. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880163762/" title="We were by FAR the youngest in the cafe. by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5880163762_ef5b044881.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="We were by FAR the youngest in the cafe."></a><br /><br />I went with my friend Joz and her 2.5 month old bebe L:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880161982/" title="Muenster by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/5880161982_a926dce04f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Muenster"></a><br /><br />The baby fell asleep in my arms 3 times. That feeling of rocking a baby to sleep, having them sleep in your arms, it's incredible. Not so incredible that I want it (for now anyways) but it was pretty awesome. As was the chance to take funny pictures of her like this:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5879616095/" title="Sleepy Baby by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5111/5879616095_3634c76ed8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Sleepy Baby"></a><br /><br />We got to go to the great farmers' market and got rained on quite a bit:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880172794/" title="Muenster by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6011/5880172794_5b96fda3ed.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Muenster"></a><br />but that left more time for playing Quiddler in cafes.<br /><br />When it wasn't raining we went to the (free!) botanical gardens:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880168822/" title="Botanical Gardens by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6005/5880168822_f7573af283.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Botanical Gardens"></a><br /><br />Now I'm back in Amsterdam. Laura and I went to hear (free, again!) opera in Vondelpark:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5879619799/" title="Summer Concert in Vondelpark by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5155/5879619799_d3323b5873.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Summer Concert in Vondelpark"></a><br /><br />And I built a ladder for my cat to climb more easily in and out the roof window. I haven't seen her use it yet though. But she's been super cute:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5880271560/" title="Too big for the bed by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5275/5880271560_8655d47b1b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Too big for the bed"></a><br /><br />And that's the life I've been living. I'm off to California tomorrow to continue with the living.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-12293683338180818182011-05-01T20:55:00.002+04:002011-05-01T21:05:08.300+04:00Queen's DayIt was "Queen's Day" here, which is a huge national celebration of the Queen's birthday. Think Mardi Gras, except that everyone was wearing orange, there were no beads and the day began with a mass yard sale, which ended at noon when the drinking began. It was an experience, but I don't really need to repeat it. I'm also really glad I stayed in Ouderkerk rather than going to Amsterdam. <br /><br />This photo was taken just after noon about 5 houses up from me. As you can see, not so crowded yet:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5675261295/" title="Queen's Day in Ouderkerk by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5675261295_0f880ee5a6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Queen's Day in Ouderkerk"></a><br /><br />This one was about 14:00 across the river. Lots of orange, everywhere. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5675263651/" title="Sea of Orange by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/5675263651_cd268bdc8d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="See of Orange"></a><br /><br />I stopped taking pictures after that, because I don't really need loads of photos of people drinking outside. The highlight was spending a day outside as it was (as you can see) gorgeous.<br /><br />I enjoyed today, the day after queen's day better. I rode my bike to Uithoorn along the Amstel River (about 10 km) and had a lovely brunch. The return trip was all up-wind, so took a bit longer, but the only people out today are those who are serious about their biking. So hardly any cars or other traffic. Lovely.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-28254268379297848252011-04-28T21:51:00.002+04:002011-04-28T22:21:17.098+04:00KeukenhofThere's this flower garden. It's pretty touristy. But was also awesome. And had so many different types of tulips. And other flowers. It was awesome. These are just a few... I took 80 some. Boring, I know, but some of the photos are pretty good. So go have a look...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663761584/" title="Keukenhof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5148/5663761584_52f9509282.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Keukenhof"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663753980/" title="Keukenhof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5030/5663753980_3399c9f707.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Keukenhof"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663755628/" title="Keukenhof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5663755628_ff7f57fe4b.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Keukenhof"></a><br /><br />And there were other flowers too:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663152401/" title="Keukenhof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5663152401_4175bd6a20.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Keukenhof"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663078959/" title="Keukenhof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5663078959_8bed554f37.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Keukenhof"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5663049889/" title="Daffodils (aka Narcissus) by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/5663049889_5ef2d767c0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Daffodils (aka Narcissus)"></a>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-8993309840362001842011-04-10T19:30:00.002+04:002011-04-10T19:35:10.435+04:00March?!Just heard about the shooting in Alphin a/d Rijn. I'm guessing (hoping) that I'll know no one involved as I don't even know where that is. Terrible though. I can't imagine how scared people were during those 10 to 20 minutes.<br /><br />Um, guess I never found the time to post in March. To say that I've been busy would be the understatement of the century. But busy in a good way. Joy! was here to visit from California immediately followed by my sister and cousin. So on top of working, and taking online classes towards my masters I've also been having a lot of fun with friends and family. Just returned from a weekend on the island of Terschelling in fact. I'm going to start posting some pictures and will try to write a longer update on Tuesday on the plane headed to Indianapolis (I'm going to the NCTM national conference, which is super geeky and AWESOME, for me).Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-15934580791947599162011-02-22T10:50:00.003+03:002011-02-22T11:49:04.186+03:00Tapas in BarcelonaYesterday Bree and I spent the day roaming the city shopping with our mutual friend Pat. Pat used to live in Barcelona and her husband still does. We spent the day shopping and then sharing some wine. When Bree and I would have thrown in the towel and headed back to our lovely B&B for a nap, Pat wouldn't let us. Instead plying us with coffee and water so that we could forge ahead.<br /><br />And in the end, we went to Quimet & Quimet where we met up with Pat's husband for some tapas. It was a tiny place that in passing you would think was a liquor store. And it did have loads of wines, a few beers and whiskeys. But there behind the counter, you spy some lovely foods. Incredibly fresh, we tried many and they were almost all incredible. All the while standing up surrounded by locals and a few other tourists. <br /><br />Here's Bree, Pat and her husband:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5465508603/" title="Quimet & Quimet by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5465508603_bebbc4d12e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Quimet & Quimet" /></a><br /><br />And here's some of the food (click to go to Flickr for notes with descriptions of each item):<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5466106914/in/set-72157625974922711/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGZ7W6CDBPKE4pwfjPudzlid3TbqZ4HdWZhUdDcXD9ZxpxMScZFTa1RDZUWN-9Nqcq556qih5uwFww2vHiylZBckEP86oUoXykjSqJ0dBNkffr3Czwm13k-RTJNFnul9cO7Excw/s320/79DDFC1F-8B60-2625-3196-9BFAA3FED04Cwallpaper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576421059196951538" /></a><br /><br />My favorites were the razor neck clams, the fava beans, the beef and the white asparagus (which I forgot to photograph).Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-62427568116236064252011-02-21T11:07:00.002+03:002011-02-21T11:12:35.315+03:00LondonRemember I said we were going to London for the boy's birthday. Well we did and had a great trip. We ate some really good food and walked a ton! It was lovely to walk along the Thames, they've really developed it into a nice pedestrian area.<br /><br />So here we are in front of Buckingham Palace:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5464463966/" title="Buckingham palace by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5464463966_46d9a2d99e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Buckingham palace" /></a><br />That's me holding my two new pairs of boots (I think I'm addicted to boots)<br /><br />And here we are wearing bibs as we at yummy noodle soup at Pho Cafe in Soho:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5464468392/" title="Adding cilantro by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5464468392_0eff42dc82_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Adding cilantro" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5464476940/" title="Wearing bib's at Pho Cafe by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5464476940_00909140fe_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Wearing bib's at Pho Cafe" /></a><br /><br />And now on a bridge crossing the Thames with Big Ben just barely in the background:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5464478298/" title="See Big Ben? by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5464478298_8275500a0b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="See Big Ben?" /></a><br /><br />At one point in the trip I mentioned that I wanted to return to see Wicked and he told me he'd never heard of it. So I say, "It's the story of the Wicked Witch of the West." Blank look. "You know, from the Wizard of Oz." "That's American, I've never seen/heard of it." "Dorothy? Toto? The yellow brick road? Munchkins? Flying monkeys?" Obviously there is some serious cultural sharing that I need to do. Maybe he'll enjoy it the most if I play it along with The Wall though...Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-62607634314503256812011-02-21T10:55:00.002+03:002011-02-21T11:06:58.966+03:00Andorra SchmandorraAnd Ian think's Luxembourg sucks. Andorra is not worth the visit people. Sure it's a beautiful drive to get there:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5463856033/" title="Catalunya Region, Spain by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5463856033_8b4b9bf5ea.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Catalunya Region, Spain" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5463856497/" title="Catalunya Region, Spain by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5463856497_5aeaac2b1b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Catalunya Region, Spain" /></a><br /><br />And you get to stop in cute little towns like Le Seu d'Urgell to have lunch:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5463854777/" title="Le Seu d'Urgell by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5172/5463854777_7cc2c6f217.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Le Seu d'Urgell" /></a><br /><br />But then your in Andorra and it's like your in a 1980's Panama City with mountains instead of the beach. It was packed full of people, many of them Russian, people still smoke inside there, we walked down the main strip for about 20 minutes before finding a restaurant (pizza and pasta) that didn't look terrifying. And by terrifying I mean plastic pictures of food out front and only men inside smoking and drinking beer. <br /><br />I'm traveling with Bree and we only went for one night. Mostly because we'd never been there and it's a "plus 1" for countries we've visited. But in the end, totally not worth it. Especially since we didn't get a passport stamp out of it!Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-55947549275595585032011-02-10T22:40:00.003+03:002011-02-21T12:51:29.568+03:00BabetteMeet Babette:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5464499140/" title="Babette on the roof by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5464499140_c83552d96c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Babette on the roof" /></a><br /><br />I've started a cat share! I used to love my farm share in California and still miss it, but this experience exceeds that by a long shot.<br /><br />I work with a great woman, Monica who has a great cat and has had her for 10 years. However, 3 years ago, Monica had a baby. And the cat doesn't like the baby/toddler so much. I'm sure, much like me, the cat finds him too sticky (note: it's not that I find Monica's son especially sticky, I tend to find all children under the age of 10 to be sticky).<br /><br />So, now Babette is living with me part time (Monica is taking her back when I go on holidays (well, holidays longer than a weekend)). She's much more dog like than cat like in that she always wants to be petted and by your side. Except when she wants to go out - oh wait, that's like a dog too. I know the way she's different... when outside she loves to be up on the roof!<br /><br />Anyway, she's great! And when I've got my camera back here at home, I'll show you how cute she is too!Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-8045542100579678332011-02-10T22:33:00.003+03:002011-02-10T22:40:20.030+03:00Traveling foolHoly moly, I've been doing a lot of travel since returning from Australia (as if that weren't travel enough!). <br /><br />Went to the beach<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5394760721/" title="A cold day at the beach in IJmuiden by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5394760721_6ce8c3525c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="A cold day at the beach in IJmuiden" /></a><br /><br />It was much colder than it looks. See how bundled we are (in things I've knit for us):<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5395357118/" title="A cold day at the beach in IJmuiden by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5395357118_94304157a8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="A cold day at the beach in IJmuiden" /></a><br /><br />Went down to Den Haag (you might know it as The Hague) to chaperon THIMUN. This is an MUN (Model United Nations) conference with over 3,000 student delegates. It might be renamed, MMM (meat-market-mun). You've never seen so many geeky teenagers finding love.<br /><br />That was Wed - Friday and then immediately headed down to Utrecht. I've been there before, but this time was to have dinner with Amy, who I went to Munich with, and we decided to turn it into a weekend. Which included lunch with my landlord. He's a pretty awesome guy. It was lovely.<br /><br />Last weekend I was in Brussels with our junior math team (one of my teams took 11th place out of 65 teams!). I like Brussels, but by the end wasn't feeling well. No surprise with how much travel I've been doing. Thankfully, I seem mostly recovered. Which is good because this weekend it's off to London for the boy (pictured above)'s birthday.<br /><br />So I'll try to return here at some place to post more, but it really requires me to be home more.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-75367810000469288692011-01-10T21:58:00.002+03:002011-01-10T22:14:46.155+03:00First day of teaching in 2011Before leaving for the year, the staff was reminded to turn off our computers, projectors, printers, etc. I, of course, already do this daily. However, someone in staff also followed up on this and unplugged all our projectors from the projector itself, where it hangs suspended from the ceiling. Upon plugging it back in, I had to readjust the alignment and recalibrate my SMART board so that the mouse would click where I touched rather than an inch below. But all that is fairly standard. However, my colleague's projector couldn't find a source. Even after consulting with me (during which time I made sure everything was plugged in, connected and turned on), still no dice. <br /><br />Her (both of our's really) plan was to use a PowerPoint from last year to introduce quadratics. Remember, this is the Monday morning after a 3 week break. So it was either leave her hanging to wing class sans technology or bring her class into my room and squish the students all together. We went with the latter and it was actually a great lesson.<br /><br />However, it really made me realize how dependent upon technology in the classroom we are becoming. I had my first formal observation in the weeks before break and one of the comments I got was on how well I used my SMART board. While I don't feel as though I'm doing anything revolutionary, it is hard for me to imagine teaching without it. It's easy to save all my lessons as pdf files and then post them online for students to access (the perfect solution to "what'd I miss?") While teaching it's easy to go back and say, "Remember this? We talked about it <10 minutes ago>, <yesterday>, <last week>." Beyond that, I find my lessons are much better prepared because I can create an outline in advance that gets filled in as class progresses.<br /><br />Today I had students looking at a "Deal with the Devil" type problem where the devil offers you $1000 today, but at the end of the day he takes $100 commission leaving you with $900. Tomorrow though, he'll double your money (giving you $1800) but will also double his commission and remove that at the end of the day. And the question was, would you take this deal for a month? By day 8 the numbers start to get big. And I would immediately turn to a spreadsheet to help with the calculations. But this class I was working with all groaned and said that they "hated" it. And then told me that they would just type the numbers in rather than having the spreadsheet make the calculations. These students are 16/17 years old! I'd assumed that they'd be comfortable with entering formulas by the time they got to me. But I guess not. And I guess it's up to me to turn their hate into love.<br /><br />By the way, at the end of day 10 you're left with zero dollars. So remember, it never pays to make deals with the devil.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-47986949869414526932011-01-08T16:30:00.003+03:002011-01-08T16:34:32.589+03:00CleaningI hate cleaning. It's just not how I want to spend my time. However, I want a clean house. I've taken care of it myself since I moved in in August, but my one and only 2011 goal is to find a house keeper, preferably to come once every two weeks primarily to dust and to do my floors (I hate, hate, hate vacuuming and mopping). My neighbor's were having their window's washed and I jumped on the man to have him come do mine (to my credit, I don't own a ladder so I couldn't do the tops myself ever) and he's now coming every six weeks. <br /><br />I'm taking applications now if any of my 5 readers would like the position. ;)Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-27710004305899536302011-01-06T18:51:00.003+03:002011-01-06T19:18:03.314+03:00Winter Holidays 2010I left a really snowy Amsterdam <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329900636/" title="Snow!!! by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/5329900636_8fd9502820.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Snow!!!" /></a><br />and was one of a very few flights to get out of Schipol, but I got out because I was headed to Asia. There were so many people stranded that weekend though. While I was there, they shut down all the transfer desks, telling people to check the monitors and if their flight was leaving to go to the gate, otherwise they were to call or check the internet. Friendly, right?<br /><br />First stop, Kuala Lumpur and the Sheraton Imperial. It was fancy pants, and you all know how much I love fancy pants hotels. Here's the view from my window:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329901306/" title="View from KL Sheraton by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5329901306_420fb5e088.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="View from KL Sheraton" /></a><br /><br />Then I headed off to Brisbane to meet up with my Moscow friend Lydia. She's living inland from there in a town called Toowoomba (emphasis on the "woom"). It's set up in the hills and for summer, it was a bit cool.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329791364/" title="Lydia and I by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5329791364_8ae796eb63.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Lydia and I" /></a><br /><br />We also toured a bit and I got to see some chickens with furry feet:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329807290/" title="Furry foot chickens! by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5329807290_8500e48543.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Furry foot chickens!" /></a><br /><br />And we also went to look at Christmas lights:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329204085/" title="Australian Christmas Lights by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5048/5329204085_36dd273d49.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Australian Christmas Lights" /></a><br /><br />In the second photo, those are Lydia's clothes I'm wearing. Turns out that when leaving Amsterdam it was too icy to unload the luggage and hence there was no space to load any new luggage. Yet somehow it was not icy enough to take off... I got my bag 4 days into the trip.<br /><br />And just in time for us to head off to Rainbow Beach where you find the Carlo Sandblow. Named after one of Captain James Cooks's ship mates. It's a huge expanse of sand that is spreading. It's also part of the Great Cooloola Walk, which is a 5 day, 90 km walk that would be awesome to do sometime.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329289585/" title="Carlo Sand Blow by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5329289585_0291be3969.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Carlo Sand Blow" /></a><br /><br />We spent the 2 sunny days on the beach:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329905784/" title="Rainbow Beach by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5329905784_23eda43bf5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Rainbow Beach" /></a><br /><br />Turns out it's very common to drive your 4wd on the beach, park and sit by it all day. While I prefer my beaches without cars, we did it one day and it sure was nice to have a bit of shade. Australian sun is hot!<br /><br />I spent a lot of time knitting (perfect rainy vacation activity) and hanging out with this little guy, the grandson of some of Lydia's fiance's friends:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329295397/" title="Blue Cowl by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5169/5329295397_2f3bcb7389.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Blue Cowl" /></a><br /><br />I made two skull snowflake hats:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329908500/" title="Deathflake hat by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/5329908500_c36b14e1b9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Deathflake hat" /></a><br /><br />Once the rain stopped, I was actually glad we had the rain. Because when it wasn't raining, it was hot and humid. I've said it before, but I'm a terrible southerner as I hate the heat. But, on the nicer days though, we were out and about. And I got to see some wildlife in the wild:<br /><br />A cockatoo:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329913988/" title="Cockatoo by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5329913988_441a1b3c9d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Cockatoo" /></a><br /><br />A dingo (sorry it's blurry, it's taken from the car) (also, don't joke about them taking babies, apparently it's still a touchy subject and there are still people who don't believe the story!)<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329910414/" title="Dingo! by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5329910414_8b2fc08772.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Dingo!" /></a><br /><br />A wild turkey:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329235049/" title="Wild Turkey by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/5329235049_e3ecb9867e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Wild Turkey" /></a><br /><br />And best yet, a koala just hanging out in a tree in Noosa:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329220123/" title="Koala! by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5329220123_43750e0efa.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Koala!" /></a><br /><br />I'd like to spend more time in Noosa, hiking and on the rocky beaches, but it was crowded, so I'm glad most time was spent at Rainbow.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329923868/" title="Noosa by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5123/5329923868_98b8f63ca1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Noosa" /></a><br /><br />Returning, I had an overnight flight back to KL. Landed at 6 am and departed at midnight for another overnight to Amsterdam. However, the layover at KLIA was not bad at all. For just 60 USD, I was able to get a hotel room for 9 hours with access to a sauna and steam room. To lay down flat and sleep for 7 hours, it was totally worth it. They also have a street food restaurant that's cheap (for airport food) and an affordable spa where I spent an hour having a facial. Plus upon checking in, I was able to pay a totally reasonable amount to upgrade to business class. For a 13 hour flight, that was the best decision I've made.<br /><br />And now I'm back in rainy Amsterdam. However, given the choice, I'll take 31 F over 31 C any day!Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-68161245105117636352010-12-16T18:50:00.001+03:002011-01-06T18:59:51.713+03:00Zwarte PietRemember how I told you about Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Piet, here they are on a cookie.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329269991/" title="Sint and Piet cookies by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5089/5329269991_3a8277eebd.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Sint and Piet cookies" /></a><br /><br />Doesn't really look like chimney soot on the Piet to me ...<br /><br />And here I am at school with Sint and some Pieten:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329251189/" title="Me, Sint and some Pieten by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5329251189_e4af66c37c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Me, Sint and some Pieten" /></a><br /><br />The celebration at school was interesting. The Piet go around throwing small gingersnap like cookies, most of which end up on the floor and the children follow Sint around. It's definitely festive feeling, but all the cookies everywhere being ground into the carpet bothered my need for cleanliness and order.<br /><br />Afternoon classes were canceled so that students could give each other secret santa gifts. The fun part in this was the wrapping was as important as the gift and also each came with a poem about the recipient which were at times brutally honest. I really liked that tradition though, makes it really personal.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329252029/" title="Gift Wrapping by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5329252029_aac0be7f6b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Gift Wrapping" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329863570/" title="Gift Wrapping by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/5329863570_5a44eacefa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Gift Wrapping" /></a>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-48582743938297437572010-12-06T18:34:00.000+03:002011-01-06T18:50:39.257+03:00LuxembourgBack in early December I went off to Luxembourg with Ian. He worked there for 3 years and this was our trade off for me taking him to Moscow. He and 2 of his good friends from there showed me an all around great weekend. And though they call it Suxembourg, I loved it.<br /><br />Everywhere you look, it looks like you've entered into a fairy tale. There are castles on hill tops:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329876224/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5329876224_d66c18a407.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329769338/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5081/5329769338_b7f74fac3e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br /><br />By castles, I of course mean banks. (Really, every time I asked, "Wow, what's that?" The answer was always, "A bank." and never "That's where Rapunzel/Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty live." Tragic, I tell you.) For this is a town/country built on managing other people's money.<br /><br />It's a town where you can walk everywhere, even if it was perilous due to the ice:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329263903/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5329263903_1e6d378e85.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br />(that's Carmen, my hostess with the mostest)<br /><br />There was also random, funky art. Like the blue lady:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329264739/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/5329264739_58a01deda4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br /><br />There were also Christmas markets with hot wine and cookies:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329266115/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5167/5329266115_65f428dbdf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329879546/" title="Luxembourg by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5329879546_f654fbe4ae.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Luxembourg" /></a><br /><br />And that weekend was the international festival, where we each bought a bottle of Canadian Maple Whiskey:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5329269195/" title="At the Canada booth by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5329269195_d01a3a25a0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="At the Canada booth" /></a><br /><br />It was an awesome weekend. And I don't care what they say, I love Suxembourg.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-59105192190222268872010-12-02T21:24:00.002+03:002010-12-02T21:35:53.694+03:00MunichDid you know that you can go surfing in Munich? The city has created a "wave" that runs all the time in a glacial fed river that runs through the English Gardens. Did I mention it was snowing when I arrived? There were 5 people surfing when we walked by:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5227032454/" title="Surfing in Munich by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5227032454_114d0da2d8.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Surfing in Munich" /></a><br />Careful, they might be insane.<br /><br />Ah, here's one where you can see the snow and surfing better:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5226412733/" title="Surfing in Munich by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5226412733_90c9fd4696.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Surfing in Munich" /></a><br /><br />The main reason we went was to go to the Christmas markets. I think we went to three of them before I caved in and went home to lay in bed and moan.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5226282979/" title="Christmas Markets by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5226282979_d5b786f2bc.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Christmas Markets" /></a><br /><br />There's a beautiful cathedral right in the center of the old town:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5226275395/" title="Munich by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5226275395_916668acf0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Munich" /></a><br /><br />I don't actually have any more pictures to share. I'll try to get more when I head to Luxembourg (tomorrow).Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-45030665950058246992010-12-02T19:40:00.003+03:002010-12-02T19:42:40.962+03:00Thank you, antibioticsWell, I no longer feel like I have the plague. <Phew><br /><br />Of course, seems like ~everyone~ at school is sick, so hopefully I'll get healthy and stay that way.<br /><br />It snowed like crazy today. Really unusual this early apparently. It's beautiful and secretly, I've got my fingers crossed that we'll have a snow day tomorrow.<br /><br />A woman just walked by wearing a dead muppet. Seriously, I'm not sure what other creature her coat could have been made of. <br /><br />I'll be back with less rambles and Munich photos shortly.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-43552759413904979942010-11-30T22:23:00.002+03:002010-11-30T22:28:24.582+03:00Go away, damn it!I've been sick now for 18 days. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and though Dutch doctors are notorious for not prescribing antibiotics (something that I am really happy about actually, I think those things mess with your system in bad ways), the doctor brought it up before I did. Her guess was sinus infection and based on the way the sinuses in my forehead feel (like they're pushing out from the inside), I'll agree. Today was day 2 of the meds and I can't say I'm feeling on the mend. Hopefully going to bed now, at 8:30, I'll wake up feeling like I have the energy to take a shower. Just couldn't manage it today.<br /><br />But I did start in on a new show... Nathan Fillion (Mal from my favorite show Firefly) is in a new series called Castle. Apparently it's on its (notice the correct use of it's and its) 3rd season already. And it's Law and Order minus the boring court parts plus funny. I'm really enjoying it.<br /><br />Oh, and in the meantime, I've also been down to Munich for the German christmas markets. When my energy returns, I'll post photos. It was lovely. Even if I did feel like doodoo the whole time.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-56433357507947911672010-11-20T11:05:00.003+03:002010-11-20T11:22:29.083+03:00Dutch ChristmasYesterday Sinterklaas (also known as Sint Nicolaas or just Sint) and his helpers, the Zwarte Piet (black Pete), arrived into Ouderkerk via boat. Why did they come by boat? Well, because he's coming up from Spain (duh). And why are his helpers black? Well, some would say it's the soot from coming down the chimney (but then why isn't Sint black as well), some will say it's because they were originally Moors, I wonder if it has anything to do with the Dutch history of colonization... Whatever the reason, this is happening all over Holland. <br /><br />And what exactly is happening, you may be thinking? Well, Sint and his helpers are arriving all over the Netherlands on different days of course because they have to go from location to location. And they are met with parades, families singing songs and children dressed as Sint and Piets - these completely in black face (I'm not kidding) (ever see the book Little Black Sambo) (I find it offensive, the Dutch find it offensive that I find it offensive).<br /><br />I've digressed, they've arrived so that they can check to see who's been naughty (in which case you might get stuffed into a sack where Sint or Piet will pretend to kick you) or nice until present delivery day - December 5th. All this checking time, roughly 3 weeks, you leave your shoes by the fire (radiator) in the hopes of finding treats in the morning. Mmm, candy in my shoe, yummy.<br /><br />David Sedaris does a great job of describing this bizarre holiday in his reading "6 to 8 Black Men." You can read the essay <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1202-DEC_SEDARIS">here on Esquire</a> or listen to it via YouTube - this is video 1 of 3 and you don't really need to look at the video. He starts talking about Christmas at 3:38 and then Netherlands specifically around 4:30:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sbJpRLhaSqs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sbJpRLhaSqs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-56165832718484640372010-11-20T10:51:00.002+03:002010-11-20T11:05:38.267+03:00First visitor!One of my cooking friends who I first met through the CookLight (magazine) bulletin board back in 2000 and then met in real life in 2001 just came out from Portland for a visit.<br /><br />For those of you who've been to Portland, she brought with her Stumptown coffee and VooDoo doughnuts. They make a bar doughnut with maple glaze topped with bacon. Yeah, it is as decadent as it sounds. Go look at their <a href="http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php">menu</a>, it'll make you want to go to Portland.<br /><br />She also discovered <a href="http://www.koanfloat.nl/EN">Koan Float</a> (careful, the website has really annoying music). Remember those sensory deprivation chambers of the 1970s? Being barely born, I, of course, don't, but sure I've heard of them. Well, that's what Koan offers you. A chance to float around in your own little pod of very, very salty water. Amanda landed (11 hour flight), dropped off her luggage and then headed straight into the city to go float. She says it was an awesome way to start her trip. I returned with her a few days later to try it myself. And yep, it's hippy, err, cool and it is relaxing. We determined 45 minutes is the optimal float time. We tried for an hour and got bored at the end.<br /><br />We had grandiose plans of heading off to Mastricht or Delft, but there is so much to do and see in Amsterdam, that we stayed. Of course, this is for the best because this is also when I started to really feel bad. But Amanda was a trouper, coming home early with me and twice (TWICE!) she cooked dinner for us.<br /><br />So here are her tips:<br />1. No need to bring cycling gear. No one wears it, you'll look like a dork.<br />2. When Em tells you to get off the train at Spui don't panic because you feel like you've been on the train too long and get off 5 stops too early, it'll make you late for your float.<br />3. There are many good (unhealthy) Dutch snack foods, but it's hard to define a Dutch meal.<br />4. Bring a pair of low/no heeled boots. You'll want them for the weather, cobble stones and fashion.<br />5. Bring a warmer jacket than you'll think you'll need and some sweaters.<br />6. Bring some Emergen-C (that's just for me though)<br />7. Bring plenty of room in your suitcase because there is a lot of cute stuff here.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-52309493157339597832010-11-18T23:58:00.002+03:002010-11-19T00:05:39.717+03:00What I've been up toMan, it's been a while since I posted. In the meantime, I've gone to Moscow and back for October break. Here's my Amsterdam friend (yes, just a friend) Ian at the Kremlin<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5113884397/" title="Kremlin by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1206/5113884397_4cb61099b1.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Kremlin" /></a><br /><br />Here he is reflected in some really creepy record covers at Garage - a pretty cool modern art museum in an old bus depot:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5114423408/" title="Garage by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1071/5114423408_d20e2f1fdd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Garage" /></a><br /><br />They've removed the scaffolding from the facade of the Bolshoi Theater.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5113760417/" title="Bolshoi Theater by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1410/5113760417_f72d5a6bbb.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Bolshoi Theater" /></a><br />It's still not open, but we did go see the Bolshoi ballet perform, something I never did while living there. It was amazing, but as always, a bit too long with the excessive number of pas de deux. We saw Sleeping Beauty and some how there were 4 extra couples who danced - Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, Puss in Boots and um, someone, Cinderella and her Prince and another couple that I can't remember. Bizarre and completely unnecessary.<br /><br />I also got the chance to go inside a Dutch green house:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5092980635/" title="Inside a Dutch Green House by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5092980635_057852377e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Inside a Dutch Green House" /></a><br /><br />So many plants, and all machine operated. You would not believe.<br /><br />I've been home sick the past two days and have been knitting like crazy - love it when these spurts happen. Hoping to finish a birthday set for my mom and get it shipped off next week. Oh and grades are due next week. I hate this time of year.Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-59691087183316773782010-11-02T21:31:00.003+03:002010-11-02T21:32:42.774+03:00Sumo BackgroundI've switched the background of my gmail account to be sumo and this image popped up today. I ~love~ it. Whoever designed this background makes me laugh on a daily basis.<br /><br /><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/images/2/5/ninja/cv_scene_sumo1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 904px; height: 217px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/images/2/5/ninja/cv_scene_sumo1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-91326906816243218302010-10-10T23:05:00.002+04:002010-10-10T23:17:13.573+04:00UtrechtI wandered around Utrecht today taking pictures. I know that it's a small college town, but I didn't really get that feeling. Well, I got the small town feeling, but not the college town part. <br /><br />It was really pretty:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5068023491/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/5068023491_e5d6513827.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />And really sunny, making for some great shadows:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5068007953/" title="Shadow Play by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5068007953_64b67717ed.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Shadow Play" /></a><br /><br />And some great non-graffiti<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067982527/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/5067982527_2ccfebeea0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067971291/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5067971291_7926e93cfb.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />Being the Netherlands, there were of course bicycles and canals:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067949273/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5067949273_1966f87f17.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5068544768/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/5068544768_57b6965e85.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5068530956/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5068530956_96cf4d6560.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />Occasionally there was the feeling of fall:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5068489716/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/5068489716_1c6ea7f384.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />But also memories of Paris with flying butresses:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067838465/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5067838465_2010108ec7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />And gargoyles who cover their ears:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067749235/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5067749235_731b1c6201.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />And random spitting lions:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5067700319/" title="Utrecht by Traveling Em, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/5067700319_35ec41186c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Utrecht" /></a><br /><br />Can you tell I had a great day?Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-18185460200596080432010-10-03T22:56:00.001+04:002010-10-03T22:56:25.780+04:00Last weekend<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5030229403/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5030229403_4713920f7f_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingem/5030229403/">Prague</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/travelingem/">Traveling Em</a></span><br clear="all" /><p>I went to Prague to visit D & S and their kids. We did a walking tour of the city and in the old town square there's an astrological clock. It dates back to 1410. That's 600 years, people. It was awesome. Of course, I have no idea how to tell the time, but it will also tell you the phase of the moon, the season, etc. It was super geeky and awesome.</p>Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9991996.post-26007874179887944882010-10-01T18:05:00.002+04:002010-10-01T18:08:42.309+04:00The Russian ConsulateSo I went down to the Russian Consulate today because I'm going for a visit in October with one of my new friends. Foolish to return so soon perhaps, but I miss my friends. <br /><br />Anyway, I wasn't scheduled to teach classes until 12:30 and, according to their website, they start accepting applications at 9 am. So, even though the consulate is in the Hague and far enough from Hague Central Station to make the trip over an hour each way, I thought I'd make it back in time.<br /><br />But in true Russian fashion, I show up and there are loads of people waiting and all the blinds are closed on all the windows. At 9:50, they open 1 (one!) window and every queues. I finally get to the front and they have the info from Moscow, but the forms they had online for me to fill out were not correct for this type of visa. So I have to go fill them out, front and back answering questions like where I went to uni, parents' full names and whether I have weapons training (seriously). I get back in line, finally make it to the front again (by this point it's 11 and I know I'm not going to get back to work in time and have already started sending frantic texts.) THANKFULLY she accepts both forms for me and Ian. Since he didn't sign the second, she kept his first as proof for the signature. Then I have to go to window 3 to pay. Of course, window 3 is just where you get the receipt, you actually pay in window 4 and for Brits it's 35 euros, for my USA passport it was 95! Bloody hell. And then I'm told I can come back anytime after Oct 8 to pick it up between 12 - 1; right, because that's convienent.<br /><br />So I leave and finally make it back to Hague central station, take a train to Schipol (Amsterdam's airport) and from there a 40 euro taxi to work to make it 20 minutes late to my class. I should have just come on my old visa! But it seems as though all is going well and next Friday, Ian and I will get our passports back.<br /><br />TGIF! (which we have every Friday in our staff bar)Traveling Emhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973924965960467776noreply@blogger.com0