Keeping it real

Last Wednesday I was in London for the Social Impact Trek to meet a bunch of socially minded businesses and with a happy hour at the end of it. This networking event consisted of some of the presenters from throughout the day, social entrepreneur alumni from the ISEP program, and several INSEAD alumni who had social impact connections. The conversations would start out with small talk and usually lead to discussion around social impact, ending with an exchange of business cards. Then one small talk with an alumni stopped me in my tracks. "Did you like INSEAD?" (expecting the usual 'It was the best year of my life' answer).

"Not really. It felt fake."

After the notion of thinking he was a disgruntled person who didn't make the most of his time at INSEAD wore off, something sunk in. With this accelerated lifestyle, where we're trying to accomplish so much in 10 months (absorbing a whole new kind of knowledge, finding our dream job, and establishing meaningful relationships), is it perhaps fake? Many of the alumni at this event didn't necessarily have their dream job (or any job, for that matter) and couldn't really identify whether the knowledge they had was acquired from INSEAD or elsewhere. Most importantly... this made me question the relationships we make here. We so badly WANT to make these connections that will last a lifetime, but never before have I had a social life that has depended on a deadline. Everything we do at INSEAD is based on deadlines -- 2.5 weeks to acquire the knowledge because of finals, 2.5 weeks to establish friendships with those not going to Singapore, 6 months to find a job, 6 months left to make other meaningful friendships/relationships. With the time pressure on, are we being real to the circumstances or just pretending?

A fellow INSEADer told me the other day that he felt "empty". We're on a high coming in, so any time this rollercoaster pauses for just one second, we look down to realize how far off the ground we are and question if this is where we want to be. There are so many expectations we have about our time here (even before we got here), sometimes the reality makes us impatient about whether we've met them yet. Are we trying to force ourselves into a certain expected form of happiness?

In a way it's comforting to know I'm not the only one feeling like this. While the highs are high, any slight dip feels like a low (what's with the rollercoaster metaphor, Nadia??), so on the nights I'm not actively engaging with people and creating those bonding experiences, I can feel alone. And sure, there's fake-ness out there, but I think every one is just trying to cope with this time pressure and handling it in different ways. Mr. "It-felt-fake" probably just didn't give the circumstances a chance (or so I'm going to tell myself).

So I'm choosing to set myself outside of the deadline restrictions. While it looms in front of us, time here is not quantifiable. It seems unfathomable to make great friends in such a short amount of time, but the experiences so far have exceeded expectations to what is possible. While this is not a normal pace, this isn't a normal place. What's important is that in this accelerated lifestyle to not lose sight of who we came here as and just be real. Let our vulnerabilities down a little (what do we have to lose?) and enjoy the ride.

*end cheesiness*

An educational field trip to Lisbon...

This past weekend our "undefeated" rugby team (of 60+ players) were going down to Lisbon for some matches. Having never been to Portugal, I thought I'd tag along as an unofficial cheerleader... except I never made it to the games because I was busy being a tourist (sidetracked, sorry!). I know what you're thinking. "Oh, Nadia, another weekend debauchery trip. Shouldn't you be focusing on your studies?" I did. I learned a lot of business related things this weekend that are applicable to my classes. Here are a few...

Ethics:

• If the bathroom ceiling of your AirBnB property caves in on itself, it is the ethical responsibility to upgrade the guests to an even nicer apartment in an even better location. However, for these said guests to then arbitrage their trip as a "calm and quiet girls trip" when the opposite is true, might not be as ethical...

Organizational Behavior:

• Power of Influence: It only takes one person yelling "GRENADE!" to cause an effect of 90 people seeking shelter under tables in a restaurant
• Group decision making becomes easier when everyone else is in a stupor and will follow like sheep... to the next bar

Accounting:

• The total cash flow of a night in Lisbon needs to be adjusted by Capital Expenses of Alcohol, Cab Rides, Late Night Food, and depreciation of one's own body
• The Balance of your wallet from the night before and the morning after never seem to balance out perfectly. Adjust the statement by including a "Period of No Memory" clause.

Economics:

• There is a segment of people that are less price sensitive to the cost of a ride in the tuk tuks given their valuation of the experience :)
• At some point in the night, girls and boys reach a Nash Equilibrium where they have don't have a benefit by changing their strategies unilaterally... (credit goes to Caitlin for this one)
• Given unlimited Supply of good food, Demand increases until it reaches the equilibrium point of Full Stomachs and Complete Lethargy
• While the demand of Pasteis de Belem is high, it's worth the massive line
  
  

  

  
  

Statistics:

• 
  While the supposed population mean is 29, with a sample size >30, the sudden perceived age seems to be 18-22 (with a 95% confidence interval)
• There is a positive correlation between the time of the night and amount of dance-offs. However, a negative correlation between time of night and amount of cash left in your wallet (and amount of quality sleep)
• The probability of finding 90 people in striped shirts with berets and red scarves is actually quite low, once variables such as Level of Intoxication are factored in

Finance:

• The net value of Bifana at 4am is very great given the discount rate alcohol has on your body.

So there you have it. See? I'm learning.

But seriously, Lisbon was great. Lots of good sights, good food, good people, good times. Also got to hang out with Jon Lu who just happened to  be in Lisbon at the same time for a conference!

Now to start studying for finals...

The beginning of something beautiful

We started with a blank slate. I can't think of many times in life that this happens -- everyone being on the same level, all being equally vulnerable, and having all the power in your control to be the person you want to be with the future you want. I look at my calendar and count the days... Exactly 7 weeks since I walked onto INSEAD's grounds and the doors were opened to a world I had yearned for.

Backtrack to 1-2 weeks earlier. I was scrambling to get all the last minute things done and organized before leaving the wonderful city of Cincinnati, where I had built my personal empire of the life I wanted until then. In Cincinnati, I became a grown up. Here I learned to live on my own, be responsible, get up early enough to make it to work by 8 (usually...), buy my own condo and car, create a business, and proactively make the best friends one could find in this town. And with their amazing help and support, I was able to depart from Cincinnati, albeit in a somewhat disheveled form. I know what you non-Cincinnatians are thinking... "Cincinnati? Really?" Really. I fell in love with my Middle-of-Nowhere City and its people and could not imagine a better past 5 years. Thank you!

Then there was the Trip of Hell. Flying out of Chicago, 7 hour layover in London, flying to Milan, waiting at the bus station for 9 hours, a 15 hour bus ride (with many, many stops) to Paris, and finally the train ride to Fontainebleau. And this all with 100 lbs of luggage. Since joining business school, I've learned about Opportunity Costs. The savings weren't worth it. Neverdoingthatagain. #endfirstworldproblemrant

As for life in Fontainebleau, it's as idyllic as it can get. You know the opening scene to Beauty & the Beast with Belle singing "Little Town"? Sometimes I burst into those lyrics while skipping through the cobblestone streets, passing the bakeries, chocolate shops, butcher, and cheese stores. Men with baguettes, ladies in heels with babystrollers, old people walking their tiny dogs. I live a scenic 35 minute walk away from school. I had considered getting a bike (this is where my old friends will freak out and scream, "HOLY CRAP, NO, NADIA! DON'T DO IT! YOU WILL DIE!"... and you are right. So I decided not to.), but love the walk to remind myself daily of where I'm living and loving it.



School life has been intense. A whole new lifestyle that I've never experienced before. In college, I studied to get by, to pass the test, and the next day I would forget almost everything. I'm here to actually WANT to learn and retain knowledge for a job that I hope I will love. My days are filled with professors with funny accents, trying to find an available Break Out Room to do my homework in (but distracting myself with the internet instead), getting my tea fixes in little paper cups in between classes to help stay awake (I really need to get a reusable bottle...), counting the number of times the German Finance professor says "Hokay!", a spread of class notes I try to organize at my locker, fighting with the printers in the Library, eating delicious cheap cafeteria food (surprisingly, I'm not being sarcastic), becoming loopy after spending hours on homework with my work group, and unwinding at one of the many bars that INSEADers decide to take over.

And then there are the weekends. Time to catch up on work, catch up on sleep, catch up on life outside of INSEAD? Nope. We go to ridiculous parties at chateaus, we go to Oktoberfest in Munich, we go wine tasting in Bordeaux, we go champagne tasting in Champagne, we spend 48 hours at entrepreneurship bootcamps. This life is addictive and I can't stop. And in these 8 weeks, I've been lucky to have had 4 friends come visit me already :)

Only about 9 months of INSEAD are left... I'm already getting sad about that. I feel like I'm on the brink of it all... new friendships, new experiences, new life. Yesterday I committed to going to the Singapore campus for January-July. I know this is what I wanted, but as I was on the application page, I hovered over the "Submit" button for a while. Will my Singapore experience be as great as the one here? It's almost hard to imagine. I've stumbled upon something so beautiful.

Still so many things to do! Lisbon this weekend, exploring more of France, a Social Impact Trek to London, seeing the Northern Lights, maybe a trip to Morocco, Corsica, Egypt, Barcelona... And the homework and tests...

I hope I can stay afloat :)

Holy motherload of changes

Ack ack ack... I'm way behind on this. One of the purposes of keeping this blog was to help me remember my travels and now as I sit here, I'm already forgetting the travels that have happened since the last entry...

But I don't have time right now! Why? Because I'm a full time student and still figuring out this crazy lifestyle :P And I have a quiz tomorrow that I should  be studying for, so should stop distracting myself (How did I get on this site in the first place?!).

But I'm in France now. Living. And loving it. And was in Bordeaux for fun last weekend. And had a crazy ridiculous travel experience of how I got to France in the first place. And before that, I was in Atlanta at one point visiting Ryan. And maybe other stuff that I can't remember now...

All that has got to wait for now. I'll be back! Au revoir!

A gelato a day...

After my stint in Germany, I had some business to take care of in France aaaaand then just vacationing in Italy, since I'm already on that side of the pond...

*4 Days in Paris & Fontainebleau*

Since I'm moving to Fontainebleau for school in the Fall, wanted to go check out my future living situations and take care of rental contracts and whatnot. After the 12 hour bus ride from Munich (14 hours, actually, with multiple stops and having to change buses in the middle of the night... whaaaat? That's what a 15 Euro bus ticket gets ya. Guess I can't complain), I met up with Kim & Guillaume in Paris. After the start of a romantic affair, Kim moved to Paris to be with her guy for a year. They live in an adorable apartment in the city where I had the honor of gracing their couch while I stayed with them :) After meeting up with some fellow INSEADers starting with me for lunch, we walked around and ate French pastries and sweets (the reasons I'll get fat while I'm studying there...). Didn't really do anything touristy this time around, but was more in the mood to hang out with friends anyway. Also met up with Frederic and went wine tasting on a boat in the canal with his friends before a nyummy Cambodian dinner! 

Headed to the train station to catch a train to Fontainebleau, and after the ticket machines not accepting my money and the ticket office being closed, I was advised to "just go" because they were on a strike anyways and there wouldn't be any attendants. Hmm. Oh Europe and their strikes. Got into Fontainebleau late and after realizing there were NO buses or taxis available, I approached the only person there who gave me a ride to where I needed to be (after negotiating on a price for a bit). I show up at the house of INSEAD students where I would be staying and am greeted with friendly welcomes and wine -- it's "Italian Week" after all... i.e. more excuses to drink wine. In whatever state they were in, they gave me wonderful advice of the do's and don'ts at INSEAD ("DON'T go to THIS bootcamp, but DO go to that one", "DO try to take the class with THIS professor", "DO get a car", "DON'T sleep with the professors"). Ha. Either way, great sneak peak into the life I will be living in about 2 months time. I think I need to prep my liver...

The next morning I headed out to the INSEAD campus to check it out. A little drizzly of a day, but nothing a raincoat couldn't handle. I was impressed by the facilities and the openness of the place. Ran into a few students I had met the night before and felt comfortable roaming these halls -- good feeling :) Afterwards, I headed into the main part of town to go talk to my new bank. Passed the local bakery, butcher, pastry shop, cafes, and got excited about living my life in such an idyllic little French town for a while. After the bank, I strolled into the Palace of Fontainebleau, which was home to many French monarchs (including Napoleon) since the 1600s. Ridiculously impressive, including its gardens and lakes. Living here while going to INSEAD would have been suitable ;) However, I then went to see where I would ACTUALLY be residing -- cute little 2 bedroom apartment and met my lovely landlady, who knows NO English. The place comes furnished, but imagine me trying to ask whether I'd have to bring my own bedsheets (a lot of arm waving, drawing out a bed, enacting being asleep and pulling the covers...). I then waited 2.5 hours at the train station for the train back to Paris (damn strike...). All in all though, I'm glad I got to go see what Fontainebleau was like and cannot wait to move there!

Back in Paris, we got some Mexican food (legit, too!) and ate at the edge of a canal. Preetty sure this was the location of where Amelie was skipping stones, too (anyone?). Watched Marie Antoinette (how fitting) and called it a night. The next day I had a flight out of Beauvais (note: RyanAir, this is NOT in Paris...).

*5 Days in Cinque Terre (and Pisa)*

Cinque Terre had been on my bucket list since I first heard about it from Lynn and Jimmy. "Villages on cliff coasts", "no cars", "breathtaking", "hiking between towns" were all used in describing it to me and adding to its appeal. Flew into Pisa and spent the night there (had some amazing gigantic sized pizza) and caught the train to Corniglia, where our rented apartment was for the next few days. Corniglia is the third of the 5 villages and, in my mind, the perfect one to overnight in -- less touristy: it doesn't have easy access to beaches and isn't as picturesquely scenic as some of the other ones, therefore also quieter and cheaper. It's also located at, what feels like, a bajillion steps up from the train station, so always a nice hike up ;) Bought some pasta, pesto, and prosciutto and ate our dinner on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean and 2 of the other villages.

The next morning we set out in one direction and hiked to Vernazza and Monterosso. Beautiful hike. Granted, out-of-shape-me had to catch my breath a few times with all the upward hikes and steps, but worth it. Passed some amazing flora, creeks, waterfalls, vineyards. Made our way passed a couple of old time towers and down into the village that lies at a harbor: Vernazza. The colorful boats being docked at the little harbor with the bright painted buildings in the background just added to the magnificence of this picture. First things first, I had to get my gelato fix (not lying in my title...) and then got some delicious seafood prawn for lunch. Next town up was Monterosso, perhaps the busiest of the villages because of its pristine black sand beaches. Here we found ourselves some beach chairs and an umbrella and treated ourselves to some beach as reward for all the hiking. Then ate more gelato... and took the train back to Corniglia. Back there, got some mojitos at a bar where all the locals ended up to unwind.


The next day the plan was to hike the other way, to Manarola and Riomaggiore; however, our path soon got blocked by "no trespassing" signs... which we decided to ignore. And this is where it happened. Since our path was blocked, we went down to the beach area and climbed some boulders to get to the other side. Slippery boulders. And so I slipped and fell into the Mediterranean with my phone in my pocket. Any pictures here on out were taking with Gearoid's iphone... We then ran into a half hanging bridge, which we pulled ourselves across from and were more than halfway to the next town when we finally ran into a construction worker that was fixing up a landslide. A "tsk tsk" and a waving finger indicated we had reached our end and had to turn back around. So close. Went back to the train station and took the train there instead. Manarola is the 2nd smallest of the villages and dazzling as it hangs off the cliffs. Got our lunch and of course some gelato before heading to Riomaggiore, where we relaxed our muscles on the hot stone beach before heading back to Corniglia for the night.

Made our way back to Pisa (slowly) the next day because we had an early flight out of there to Catania in Sicily. On the train back, we passed some mountains with what looked like were covered in snow. That seemed weird... Oh. Salt mines. Makes more sense. 

*4 Days in Sicily*

Rented a car in Catania and made our way to our hostel (I have excellent co-pilot skills ;)). Fun place, right next to the daily fish market and center of town. THIS is where the stereotypical hand-waving-yelling-burly Italians come from! The fish market was a scene to observe -- fish getting tossed around, early vendors bidding on the catch of the day, and every type of edible (and not so edible) fish you could think of. Catania itself was a surprise to me (granted, I'd done NO research on Sicily) -- big town, beautiful old buildings, amphitheaters, ...and excellent gelato. And arancinis! Delicious fried rice balls with different yummy matters inside (meat, or mushroom, or pistachio,...). Since we got in early and are typical tourists, we wanted to squeeze as much as possible into the day, so we headed south to Ragusa, Scicli, and Modica (all recommended by the hostel receptionist for being quaint cute towns... and Modica being famous for chocolate, so obvious stop for me). We arrived in Ragusa during siesta time (is it called 'siesta' in Italy too?) so the city seemed deserted. Good for people-less photo opps though as we wandered by churches, parks, cheese shop (wine infused cheese was delicious!), and ate gelato. Next stop: Scicli, the smallest of the three. Laid in between hills and valleys, there were dwellings IN THE HILLSIDE! BLEW my mind -- the most exciting thing I'd seen all day. I mean, how cool is that?!?! Last and most important stop was Modica... for the chocolate. Checked out L'Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest chocolatier in the area that has been using the same recipe since the 1800s! Had some of ALL the samples, then bought a bar of the orange peel infused chocolate. Nom. 

To counter all the gelato and chocolate, we hiked Mt Etna the next day. I won't lie. I think I'm seriously out of shape with how pathetically exhausted I felt starting to climb that thing. I could blame it on the bad shoes (no traction, not hiking shoes), but in the end... 80% me. Worth it though. Got to the top to see the active crater with sulfur gas spewing out. Oh and on the way up, there were ladybugs EVERYWHERE! Millions! Burrowed in the black volcanic ash. Quite cool. Being covered in volcanic ash, sulfur, and dirt (and my shoes carrying half of the volcano in them), we headed to Taormina -- a popular tourist destination perched on a hill overlooking the ocean (picturesque, naturally). Walked the cobble stone streets lined with fancy retail shops and cafes and then headed back to Catania for the night.

Next day, drove to Palermo. While we hadn't received the best reviews about Palermo from friends and locals (a bigger, more industrious city), it definitely still has character too. While this may represent the tougher, "dirtier" side of Sicily, we got to experience some awesome street food prepared on grills out in the open (stuffed intestines, meat on a stick, etc.), and found out that the cheapest way of getting booze at all hours of the night is not by going to a grocery store, but knocking on an old lady's shutters and getting big bottles of beer for a euro (no tax). The city's got its fill of cultural establishments too: grandiose theaters, palaces, and archways. A fun city to walk around and eat in.

Off the western coast of Sicily, lie 3 small islands, called the Egadi islands. We drove to Trapani, then took a ferry to the biggest of the 3: Favignana. Beautiful coastlines and the limited use of cars made this a relaxing spot for a beach day. Waters were turquoise blue and clear. Afterwards, we made use of the 5 Euro happy hour drink specials that included free snack buffet (uh, free dinner!) and then took the ferry back.

The next morning was a scramble. RyanAir, you can suck it sometimes. And here's why. We both had early morning flights out of "Palermo", but after following airport signs that were taking us to an airport called Falcone-Borsellino, we decided to turn back around towards Palermo. After all, google maps was showing there WAS an airport right next to the city. Turns out it was a private airport. RyanAir, Falcone-Borsellio is NOT Palermo. So we went back that way. Gearoid was cutting it uber close, so he jumped out in time to catch his flight while I looked around for a gas station to fill up the tank for the rental car (my flight was an hour later). In the end, all worked out. But seriously, RyanAir. Stop pretending.

*2 days in Bergamo & Milan*

...On that topic of RyanAir, I flew to "Milan" because my flight back to the US would be from there 2 days later. Didn't fly into Milan. It was Bergamo. An hour north of Milan. However, for once, RyanAir redeemed itself in its surprise of airports-that-aren't-actually-where-they-say-they-are because I fell in love with Bergamo. A couchsurfer from there had invited me to stay (he was hosting 4 other people) and so instead of heading straight to Milan, I decided to stay a day and night. Best decision ever. Wandered into the old town, which was laid out with its cobblestone roads (I have a thing for cobblestone roads) and old buildings and castles with flowers in all colors flowing over its edges. The smell of jasmin was everywhere in that town. Cafes, parks, and the botanical garden were filled with meandering people enjoying the scenery. In the old town center with its churches and palaces, were two museums free and open to the public: the archaeological museum of Bergamo and the natural science museum. I checked out both. Wandered the streets some more, going in and out of various shops -- cheese, chocolate (duh), pizza, gelato (duh again). What a time not to have a camera on me... every 5 seconds I wanted to take a picture, but at least this forced me to breathe in the moment. 

The next day I headed to Milan and, besides the grand central train station and church in the center, I wasn't all too impressed. Big city, less character. Still a good way to wind down the trip though. Ate gelato ;)

The hostel I stayed in was a clusterfuck. They charged me 4 Euros extra for bed linens. When I said I could sleep in my sleeping bag, they said that wasn't an option. Mold in the bedrooms, paper-thin walls (yay for hearing the couple in the room next to us all night long), bathrooms were the epitome of disgusting, and since I didn't have a phone, I had to rely on the front desk guy to wake me up at 6am. That didn't happen. Thankfully I barely slept, so I got up at 5:30am and when I left at 6:05, he was still hard asleep and snoring at his desk. Ha. Oh well, we all need those experiences to tell good stories later ;)

When I got back home, I weighed myself. I weighed the exact same as when I had left. Either I hiked too much or I didn't eat enough gelato...

Family, friends, and fun in Munich

My awesome cousin Anne was getting married to an equally awesome Sebastian in Munich and that's more than reason enough to go there. The initial plan was then to stick around Europe afterwards until school started in August, but mini anxiety attacks were telling me I needed to go back to Cincy first and enjoy the summer there before I left :) Of course once in Europe, it'd be a shame to not travel around a little...

*5 Days in Munich*

My first time in Munich and had always wanted to go. For my first night here, Anne had insisted I stay with them even though they were in the midst of planning a wedding <3. I got in around 10 and since Anne wouldn't be finished with work til 4:30, I took one of those Free Walking Tours to get my tourism on. 3 1/2 hours of cool information and walking around the city, as well as making friends with Mandisa, a fun South African :) Churches, monk history, Nazi history, brewery history, we got it all.

Met up with Anne and after dropping off my baggage and enjoying drinks on her terrace, met up with their friends for dinner (had the most giant schnitzel ever) and went to a concert. Of course wonderful people have wonderful friends ;) Having flown in that day after 13 hours of travel, I felt a little wobbly at the concert and my eyes kept wanting to close despite the good show. We came home around midnight and I crashed hard.

As true Bavarian style, Anne and Sebastian made sure to have Weisswurst and pretzels for breakfast. Nom. Bring on the high caloric food. I'm on vacation.

Headed to my CS host (Patrick)'s place, who showed me a fantastic time in Munich with his friends. First day we lounged at the English Gardens, met up again with Anne and co. at a biergarten, then headed to a bar and a student party. ..it was a 5 am kinda night. Haven't done one of those in a while.

...Except then again the next night: Anne and Sebastian's wedding celebration (they had gotten officially married on the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany). Got to see and catch up with my family that I hadn't seen in a while, meet cool people, and danced the night away until, you guessed it, 5 am. When I headed back to Patrick's, it was already surprisingly super light out. Helped me not getting lost.

For the friends and family that were still around the next day (and weren't still recovering), brunch was held at noon. I felt half alive at that point. Headed back for a much needed nap before meeting up with people again for dinner, the last of the wedding related festivities :) After another typical Bavarian meal (Schweinsbraten with sauerkraut and knoedel), we topped it off with a couple of beers and called it a night.

The next morning I was able to meet up with Michael, my brother, who I hadn't seen in a couple of years! Every other weekend he flies back home to Hamburg after working in Augsburg and taking the train to Munich, so we met at the train station and caught up over breakfast and drinks.

This was definitely a family-filled vacation and I loved that I got to see so many of my relatives in such a short time. I don't get that opportunity a lot (yay for weddings). Hopefully once I'm in France, I'll be able to visit them more, and likewise, hope they'll come visit me.

Patrick took me to the bus station and just as the bus was about to take off, Anne shows up on the bus! She had come to deliver shot glasses that they had engraved for the wedding that not all the guests had gotten. Super sweet of her, I can't believe she did that <3

So now I'm on my way to Paris on a 13 hour bus ride (ooy). Get to see Kim again and take care of some business for school while I'm there. Then it's off to Italy for 9 days! More updates to come :)

Mom & I go Country, Rock, and Soul

A few years ago, my mom and I started a tradition of marking things off her bucket list for her birthday each year. This year's item was: Experience the Music in Nashville & Memphis.

Mom flew into Nashville on a Tuesday, where I picked her up after my drive down from Cincy and dropped off our stuff at Ralph's, who we'd be staying with for our time there. Ralph was my neighbor my last 2 years in Austin, who ventured to Nashville (with a pitstop in Cincy at one point ;)) for bigger and better things :) Then first things first: BBQ time. Headed to Wild Horse Saloon for some brisket and pulled pork buns and thankfully left just before they were going to start making us do two-step on stage ;) Went back home, met Ralph's wonderful roommie Jim, and then they took us out to 5 Points for some great live music and cheap beers!

The next day before we headed out to do our touristy sightings, our musical trip became even more complete with Ralph's drumming lessons. Note: I can't multitask. Apparently. Then headed to the Grand Ole Opry... whiiiich, honestly, kinda a disappointment. 1) New mall-like building (there's actually a mall next to it), 2) You're not even allowed to go inside without a ticket to a 'spensive show or a $30 "tour ticket", and 3) tours were cancelled that day for a private event anyway. Pshh. So the highlight was rummaging around their gift shop. Dissatisfied with THIS Grand Ole Opry, we realized what we were looking and hoping for was the Ryman Auditorium, where the Grand Ole Opry radio show FIRST debuted in this once-congregation-hall. Bam. Way more impressive. THIS was where all the country stars became famous and it became known as the "Mother Church of Country Music". 

We hit up Broadway st, and after getting ice cream and shakes at Diana's Old Time Sundae Parlor, deciding not to spend more money at the Country Hall of Music Museum (we only had half an hour left anyway), we plopped ourselves down at Tootsie's, got some beers, and listened to a red-headed country singin' gal and some impressive fiddle music. Too bad I forgot my country boots.

We had promised the boys dinner for their hospitality, so we hit up Kroger, and mom made her famous chilli dinner for them (enough to feed 8). Another night of good quality late night chats, then we hit the sack.

Our last day in Nashville, the boys joined us to the Belle Meade Plantation, which is known for owning horses that spawned many of the famous Derby winners. We toured the mansion and its grounds, tasted their wines at the winery, then headed out to Memphis. Crazy rain storms hit us while we were driving, where I think I was drifting more than my wheels were on the ground. Eek. Got to our hotel in Downtown Memphis and thankfully we had bought a bottle of champagne prior in order to toast to mom's birthday at midnight :)

The next morning we make our way to see the Peabody ducks. Cutest. thing. ever. For the past 50+ years, there's been a "duckmaster" that leads the ducks from their "penthouse" to the elevator to the fountain in the lobby. Adorbs. We then make our way to the Rock n Soul Museum, which besides all the information and history on the music, had a collection of old time jukeboxes since the 1930s. Neat!

Then... it's Graceland time. What my mom's been waiting for ;) The mansion itself is pretty modest (compared to today's lavish mansions) and you get a good feel of what Elvis was like at home. In the end, he was just a small town boy who wanted the best for his momma. Well... and then owning over 40 cars later. And 2 planes. After Graceland (and its many many exhibits -- kinda has that Disney feel to it), we hit up Sun Studios -- where it all started for Elvis, BB King, and so many others. This was my favorite part of the day. It's riveting to be in the same space where prior "nobodies" recorded their first songs. So cool.

For dinner, we ate at a Chinese restaurant where our waiter was Balinese and mom got to practice her Indonesian (and I got to understand about 50% of it!), and then headed to Beale st for some more live music. However, we didn't stick around too long... being a tourist is exhausting, so we called it a night ;)

On our way back to Cincy, we spent a night with mom's old childhood friend in Clarksville, IN, and were spoiled by them. More birthday celebrations and then the next day headed home!

We took a one-day break, then headed to Berlin, OH with Kris & Maria for Amish country. Turns out it's not so Amish after all. Amish women driving cars, cheese factory with electricity and machines, and hardly any buggies. Whaat the hell. *Disappointed in the unfulfilled stereotypes*. Oh but still a fun time with friends. ...And we stopped at a vineyard on the way home, so that helped ;) 

My Destination's "Biggest Baddest Bucket List" Travel Competition

Here's where I make a complete fool out of myself. Vote for me please! :D

                               

Retirement Trip Close-out

Tonight marks 2 weeks since I've been back from my trip. It always fascinates me how fast everything goes back to "normal" and I just cue in to this rotating wheel of society that's of course been running without me :) Hello freezing weather. There's some faint memory of me being on a beach not too long ago ;)

So quick recap of the end of my trip, and well, everything... 

Bali. The honeymoon destination. I feared it would be too commercial. Too many foreigners. Ruined culture.

Wrong.

One reason probably being that we steered clear of the very touristy areas (Kuta, Nusa Dua) and got the amazing opportunity to stay at my mom's friends' vacation home a little off the beaten path in Pecatu. Kelly joined us after a day (3 countries total of Kelly time!) and we all fell in love with the island... the abundance of green rice fields, the coffee plantations, the artists' shops, the Hindu influence and temples, the monkey forest, the various types of beaches, the food...

We also pampered ourselves by taking mom's friend's advice on a hotel called Abalone Resort. Pa.ra.dise. Located on a black sand beach with scattered fishing boats and Nusa Penida in the distance, we were given the "apartment" with 2 pristine bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, and kitchen. And there's an infinity pool with cabanas. Oh, and we were welcomed with "Abalone Special" drinks. We had booked for 1 night. We ended up staying for 2.

All in all, a perfect way to end the 2.5 month trip. Relaxing. On the 25th, Kyle and I took a flight to Jakarta and then parted ways. She traveled with me for 2 months in Asia... and I gotta say, the best travel buddy I could have asked for :) Thanks for being awesome. (I miss you!)

So now that I'm back, people have been asking me, "What was your favorite thing?" A near-impossible question to answer ;) But I'll try to simplify it as much as possible to what my favorite thing was about each country...

• Ireland -- The vibe (Er, maybe I should say "craic"). These people know how to have a good time.

• Netherlands -- Family & friends (no brainer here ;))

• Istanbul -- The sights. One city has so much history and amazing things to see.

• India -- The colors. There's color everywhere... the houses, the clothes, the food...

• Cambodia -- The people. They're friendly and honest (something you don't find in a lot of developing countries. Scratch. Any country.)

• Thailand -- The beaches. The most beautiful ones I've seen, ever.

• Indonesia -- The food. Mostly for nostalgic reasons, but I also think I got the most variety here. 

And, of course, over all... all the amazing wonderful friends, new and old, along the way...

I miss it all though. I want to go back. And not in a "Oh, it'd be nice to visit again one day" kind of way. No, I wanna go BACK... be there, live there. Mission Get-My-Ass-to-Live-in-SE-Asia has started. 

School starts in August. They recommend being there a month beforehand. My cousin gets married in Germany in June... I'm thinking (if it's both financially feasible and NOM-business feasible), to just hang out in Europe after the wedding til school starts. That gives me 2.5 months to absorb as much of Cincy and its wonderful people as possible, sell/lease my condo, sell my car, figure out visa crap and housing stuff in France, get a loan (freakin' A, B-school is expensive!), and try to squeeze in some US last-minute trips if possible. Impossible, you say? Maybe. And maybe the cause of why I'm feeling sliiiightly overwhelmed. It'll all work out.

It always does :)

The Motherland

We arrived in Jakarta on Chinese New Year's Eve close to midnight and were welcomed with fireworks all along our taxi drive to our hostel. We left early next morning to catch the 8 am train to Yogyakarta... While this is in no way a substantial time in Jakarta, I was hoping to recognize SOMETHING in those few hours... Some glimmer of what I recall as some of my favorite years of my childhood that were in Jakarta. Granted, my memories include my best friends' houses and my elementary school, not the banks and high rise buildings in downtown Jakarta. So as I looked out the train window (which, btw, super nice train complete with cheap lunch service delivery, good way to travel in Indonesia), nothing stirred a familiar memory of this city.

However, as we got out of the city, the rice fields with workers wearing the typical cone shaped hats appeared and the lush green landscapes with palm trees and banana trees. Not to sound dramatic here, but something hit home. A part of me is FROM here and belongs here, these are the people I look like. This is my country.

As we spent the next few days in Yogya with our host showing us around, more familiarities showed up: the Indonesian words my mom uses in her daily language, like barang (baggage), adu! (goodness!), kasian (poor thing), and more (which makes me miss her); Indonesian foods I remember fondly (nasi goreng, soto ayam, sate, babi kecap, krupuk, etc.); and slowly some words and phrases were coming back to me. Not in any way where I could hold a conversation with anyone, but just that I would smile when I caught a word or two while others were conversing :)

In Yogya, we went to Borobudur (buddhist temple), saw a Ramayana dance at Prambanan (a Hindu temple), got to "teach" English to young kids at our host's school foundation (adorable!), went to one of his senior centers, and ate at a lot of great local restaurants. This is the country where I'm waking up ALL of my taste buds.

Next we headed to Malang, to be in proximity to Mt Bromo, the volcano we wanted to visit. Malang was the best choice ever (thank you, Kyle). We stayed with THE nicest people there. Richard and his family treated us like family, giving us one of their bedrooms (!!), feeding us, and taking us around EVERYWHERE! More than family, we were being spoiled :) Firstly, Richard picked us up from the train station at 5 am (we had taken the night train from Yogya and had planned to wait a few hours until a decent time) and after a nap, took us around the city with his friend on their motorbikes. The next day we went to Sempu Island with their friends and hiked through the jungle to arrive at a most pristine lagoon. Day after, trip to Batu waterfalls and the Eco Green Park (fun, even though it rained buckets), ate durian (yesssssss!), and then got picked up near midnight to catch the sunrise at Bromo. Did I mention the whole family was wonderful? The dad drove us to the bus station, despite the traffic, and leaving them felt like leaving our family (mom even gave us boxes of baked goods she made for us). Richard and his sister waved us out as our bus departed. I hope we see them again :)

We are now on our way to Bali, the last trek to our whole trip... I won't lie, I'm sad this trip is ending. Two and a half months really flew by and we experienced SO much. India feels like years ago and don't get me started on Ireland (that was THIS trip??). We have one week left here, then back to the US (with a small 2 day stint in Ireland). The kick off for NOM is the day after I get back and I'm excited to immerse myself in that again, especially since Sally has been doing all the work since I've been gone (thanks, Sally!). Even though I don't have a job I'll be coming back to, I'll be staying busy, which I'm looking forward to :)

Ok. So, Bali for one week. We're staying at my mom's friends' vacation home (SO nice of them!) in a more remote part (bring on the relaxation!). Planning to soak up as much of this while I can!

Wats Wats & More Wats

People had warned us about the ordeal to cross the Cambodia-Thailand border, but what's a backpacker trip without experiencing the real deal?

The plan was to take a bus to the border, walk over, grab a tuk tuk to the train station, and do the last leg to Bangkok by train. We left our hotel in Siem Reap (the same one Maria had stayed at almost exactly a year ago!) at 6:30 am to wait at a pick up point at 7. We got transported from one location to another and were finally underway on bus around 9. The border took more than 2 hours of waiting in the sweltering heat (insert nice little mental image of Kyle and I dripping with sweat), so by the time we crossed the border, there was no way we'd catch the train at 1:45 pm. Finally got put into a minibus that flew over pot holes like crazy and seemed to stop at every other gas station and made it to Bangkok around 7 pm, where we got dropped off at the skytrain to find our way to our hostel. Success!

[Two] nights in Bangkok. A short stint there, but nothing but extraordinary. Thai people are super helpful. Every time Kyle and I pulled out our map, an elder Thai man would come up to us and ask if we needed help and gave us suggestions of where to go. Two out of those 5 times, we were shoved into cheap tuk tuks after the elder man negotiated a cheap price with the driver (note: if you travel to Thailand, drive with the government tuk tuks... Way cheaper) and taken our merry way to a bunch of attractions. It just so happened that it was a special buddhist holiday while we were there so we got to go into a bunch of wats that are usually not open to the public :) So many wats. I think we saw 5 in one day. Very cool. (Towards the end... "another wat, another Buddha"). Went on the backwaters of Bangkok, ate street food in the back alleys, and saw more wats. The second day we were resting up from a day of walking in Lumphini park (where the Thai like to group exercise) when I noticed everyone had stopped dead in their tracks. A second later the national anthem started playing and after it was over, people resumed their jogging. Interesting, and weirdly twilight zone-ish. Apparently this happens everyday at 8 am and 6 pm. One can even be arrested for not stopping during the song because it's disrespectful. Good thing we stopped walking too. We made a quick beer stop at Patpong, I got pooped on by a bird (that's lucky, right?), and then we caught the night train to Koh Tau.

We arrived in Koh Tau at 11 am after the train/ferry (the latter of which the people's  nausea on either side of us couldn't handle). Met up with our French host and during our 4 days, met half the French community of Koh Tau ;) It was the night before my birthday and the Frenchies decided to help me celebrate. Thank you, Kyle, for taking care of the aftermath :) Our last full day on Koh Tau we went diving and snorkeling. Best.diving.ever. (Well, of the 3 places I've been to, but this IS considered a diving paradise). Saw stingrays, turtle, lionfish, baracuda, and other creatures whose names I can't remember :P

Koh Phangan is where we reunited with Kelly :) For the couple of days we were there, we balanced our big habit of eating a lot with a LOT of hiking. A larger island than Koh Tau, but less touristy and more habitable (whereas everyone on Koh Tau was a scuba instructor and an expat).

Two days later, we made our way to the west side of Thailand: Krabi. Definitely a more family friendly destination (and honeymooners for that matter) and understandably so... We took a boat to Railay which so far has my favorite soft sand beaches surrounded by giant cliffs.  We treated ourselves to a nice hotel with AC, got upgraded (again, my luck ;), and scoped out the beaches on this peninsula.

Our last day in Thailand we spoiled ourselves with some Thai massages. Oh my God. These ladies worked their full muscles into our bodies, it hurt, but felt so good. Knots? Gone. A very intimate back cracking experience...

Twelve hours of travel (another 6 hour layover in our favorite airport: Singapore, where we explored the butterfly garden and koi pond) and now we're in Indonesia, the motherland :)