Bienvenidos a Espana

Hola, guys. It's been a while. Isn't it funny when there's so much to say, there's so little time to actually say it? Well, that's how it's been. And limited internet doesn't help either. But, excuses excuses.

Now, I'm in Santander, Spain. It's been a whirlwind trip so far.

We spent two weeks in Turkey for the first leg. I absolutely loved Turkey. The culture, the landscape, the architecture, most things. It feels like forever ago, but here's a super quick cliff notes version.

The first few days we spent in Istanbul. I would have liked more time there, since there was SO much to see. The last day, we met these two guys from the states and all of us headed out to sightsee together, along with our German roommate, Sara. We saw the spice bazaar (meh, kinda touristy), the cisterns (amazing underground labryinth to hold water hundreds of years ago), the markets (actual markets frequented by locals, but carts and bikes will RUN YOU DOWN if you don't get the hell out of the way), and finally we finished our day by sipping turkish apple chai along the Sea of Marmara and watching the ferries chug by. It was a beautiful goodbye to a beautiful city.

That night, we hopped over to Capadoccia. Well, hopped isn't the right word, at all. Walked to a tram, then took a ferry, found the train station, took a night train, walked to a metro line in Ankara, found the bus station, figured out how to buy tickets, took a four hour bus ride, and walked to our hostel. The night train was a ton of fun. Besides almost missing it, getting locked out of our room accidentally, and the train being three hours late (in typical Turkish fashion), it was a wonderful way to see the countryside with AC!

Capadoccia was amazing. It was hot as hell, but the scenery was awesome. We hiked through gorgeous geological wonders, with 3rd century caves dug out with primitive sticks to form monasteries.

Next up was Pamukkale. Beautiful salt travertines sat up the mountain from the village. They are a natural wonder, formed from mineral deposits coming from springs.

From there, Fethiye, Turkey, along the coast. We paraglided the second day, which was stunning. The ride UP the mountain was scarier (in my opinion) than jumping off of it. We defied gravity and a few laws of motion as we narrowly avoided pummeting over cliffs in our top-heavy truck driven by a crazy Turkish man. All of a sudden, I was strapped into a harness, attached to a tandem guide and chute, and we floated off the mountain on a wind gust. That time in the air, gazing down at the breathtaking view, was one of those times when I try to soak in every view, make every second slow down, and realize that I'm here, floating in the air, in Turkey, with great people having a great time.

We popped over to Greece by ferry the next day, to the labryinthine, historic, and tourist-filled Rhodes. Wandering through the cobblestone streets and getting lost (which we did a lot) was the best part of being there.

Santorini. Ah, Santorini. I never thought it would as beautiful as it was. I was blown away. The second day, we took a boat trip for 20 euros and climbed to the top of the caldera mountain, swam in red-water hot springs, and climbed ANOTHER mountain to a small fishing village. After the tour, we climbed YET ANOTHER mountain after cliff-jumping into the clear water. The next day we went on a four hour hike from Thira to Oia, and came back just in time to RUN to the bus station, catch the bus, then catch a cab, catch the night ferry to Athens, catch another cab in Athens at 5:30am, and crash in our hostel's common room. We slept there until 9:30am or so, when we were awakened by the Ferris Bueler soundtrack being played SO LOUD. Athens was great, even though it was a whirlwind trip that went by in a blink.

Now... Spain. I've been here for about three weeks, and I love it!

The times of everything are so weird. Lunch is at 2:30pm. Siesta starts after that, and goes til about 5pm (everything except little coffee shops or restaurants is closed), then dinner usually starts between 9:30pm and 10:30pm. Pinchos (tapas) are awesome! Gelato is awesome. I'm going to come back like 70 pounds heavier at the rate I'm going.

I miss every one (of the 2 people that are reading this)!

Con besos y abrazos!

Merhaba, Istanbul

So Turkey. More specifically, Istanbul.

I love. It's exotic and modern, confusing and dramatic.

Our formal introduction to Istanbul was a series of annoyances. First, after de-boarding our 10 hour flight, we waited in line to buy a Turkish visa, then we waited in line for passport control, then we waited in line for currency exchange. My baggage was extremely heavy and we somehow figured out how to make our way to the hostel, which was, OF COURSE, up a ginormous hill. Istanbul was just like, 'oh, you think you got this, well how about this ONE MILE increase in elevation with a 50 pound pack on your back? ok'. But we made it, albeit sweaty. Then, the Stray Cat Hostel. Such a lovely little hostel with friendly people and friendly cats (no longer stray).

A few observations I've made after a little under 2 days here:

#1: It's pretty damn beautiful here. Mosques, streets, rivers, etc. Beautiful.

#2a: There is an abnormally high men-to-women ratio here (or so it appears). SO MANY MEN. Think "It's raining men", except with blinkless stares and turkish come-on lines. And no abs.

#2b: Lines we've heard TODAY:

"Are you the spice girls?" (there were 4 of us walking)

"Hello angels!"

"Are you from paradise?"

"Hey pretty lady"

#3: "One beer" = "Bir bira" = pronounced beer beera. Thought that was amusing.

#4: Crazy drivers. Like, insane. And pedestrians definitely DO NOT have the right-away. Nearly had my legs taken out yesterday by a very "confident" driver. Luckily, I don't think they understood my curse word that I screamed.

#5: Stray cats. So many, EVERYWHERE. A couple of them just came up and starting sitting with us when we were sitting on a bench by the Bosphorous.

#6: Unique views of America: "Hello, my name is Jessica" ... "OH! Like Jessica Alba!?!"

#7: I like traveling with design students because we sit down random places and sketch.

#8: Public Transportation is SMELLY. I had to breathe through my own smelly shirt to keep from gagging.

So far, we've seen the Blue Mosque, Bosphorous River, Aya Sofya (they're expecting a big earthquake in the next 20 years, and since it hasn't had extreme reconstructions, this 1500 year old mosque will be destroyed. sadness), Bazaar (tourist trap, but very entertaining, if only for the overt attempts of salesman to get your attention and get you to buy something), Taksim square (club and restaurant central. We ahd to climb a HUGE HUGE hill to get there from our hostel)

...ok it's time to go. Must hit up the spice bazaar and take the ferry to the Asian side! This is our last day in Istanbul ... SO SAD.

NEXT UP: GOREME! YAYAYAYAY!

Long time no see

Oh heyyyy remember me? It is I, the traveler (this year, at least). My apologies for sort of falling off the face of the earth, blog-wise.

So, updates? I'm too lazy so I will give you bullet points.

- Finished up my internship in Milwaukee at the beginning of August

- Got the job, yo!

- Moved all my crap out and did a road trip with the lovely Emily and Charlie down to the good ol South.

- (oh yes, these are sub-bullets!) Stopped at a Kentucky Distillery and had some complimentary bourbon samples (yes please!)

- My bike got stolen (wuah wuahhhh...) from in front of the dorm I was staying at in the 'waukee.

- We made many many silly videos with Emily's crackberry.

- Charlie and I smack-talked each other

- Emily and I smack-talked each other

- Charlie and Emily smack-talked each other, and then proceeded to tell each other how cute the other was.

- We stayed in Chicago for a few days, and stayed in Kentucky for two shakes of a lamb's tale.

- Lesson learned: I love Charlie and Emily.

- Spent a couple weeks at home, hanging out with friends and family, and stressing out about what to bring and etc. It was so hard leaving everyone!

- I'm doing a study abroad program in Santander, Spain for three months, starting in September. I am also traveling beforehand to Turkey and Greece.

...more to come... i promise!

Week Four

Week Four Completed. A week of international food, sports, raucous hordes of people, and sunshine.

Tuesday, after a normal day at the office, Jenna, Alli, Lauren and I headed out to get some sushi. Jenna's been on an intensive tour de sushi Milwaukee version the last few weeks, and we were lucky enough to join her this week. I can't say that I'm anything close to a sushi expert, but it was purty darn good. How can you go wrong with some raw fish wrapped in seaweed outside on a beautiful day? That's right, you can't.

Wednesday was uneventful, with nothing to write home about. The usual: watching Weeds on Netflix (what! she's pregnant with a drug lord's baby!?!) and tamales from Trader Joe's.

Thursday I saw Passion Pit in concert at Summerfest for free! Kohls was generous enough to provide all the interns with free passes to this massive music festival that takes place in Milwaukee. And when I say massive, I mean MASSIVE. To avoid the parking nightmare that is Summerfest, me and Alli decided to take the free shuttles leaving from North Street, a nearby street with lots of bars.

This resulted in one of my favorite parts of the week: the drunk bus. We had to buy something from the bar for entrance onto the bus, so we sat outside drinking a beer. It's not everyday that I drink at a bus stop, I assure you. Then the bus rolls up. With beer still in hand, we get on the old-school school bus, with ripped brown plastic seats and "Lamers School Bus" written neatly on the side. There was a man literally barking at girls, girls with indecent skirts sitting on people, arms and heads hanging out of windows, and enthusiastic proclamations of love for Tim McGraw and Sheryl Crow (and I thought I LEFT the south...). Fireworks from the Summerfest grounds in the distant background spurred loud shouts of "AMERICAAAA!!!" throughout the bus. People watching at its best. Especially when I'm stone cold sober.

We got off the bus and entered an even more raucous atmosphere. There were about a million and half people walking around this place. Take the NC State Fair and multiply it by three, and add music stages, and beer, liquor, and cheese curd stands, and you've got the Summerfest (minus the roller coasters). We managed to fight our way through the crowds and get to the Passion Pit amphitheater, when we were somehow found by our friends Steve, Dave and Pat. Because of some serious bus confusion and annoyance with the raucous crowds, we ended up walking home with our new friends and stopping for a break and a local beer on the way home.

Friday came with sleepy eyes. Fortunately, all the interns could leave early from work at 3:30pm for a Kohls outing to a Brewers game. I am not an experienced tailgater, so this was an interesting event for me. Cornhole (I've recently learned that this doen NOT involve corn), a game involving golf balls and string and PVC poles, Miller, hot dogs, Brewers T-shirts, and a general yay-sports atmosphere. Although baseball is inherently boring (in my opinion) the game was pretty fun. Afterward, after a well-deserved catnap, we walked downtown with Alli's friends from out of town and had silly times in a corner booth at Yield.

Saturday morning, er, afternoon, we ventured out for Vietnamese food. After a failed attempt the first time, when the building literally did not exist, we stumbled upon Phan's Restaurant and gorged ourselves with chicken, rice and pork. We met up with our new friends Steve etc at Lakefront Brewery for another failed attempt at doing a brewery tour. With the brewery being booked solid, we decided to just drink along the river in the beautiful afternoon weather. Alli's friends left, and we headed to beach for some R&R with some local beer, scones, and naps. After the naps on the beach, we came back to the dorms for some more naps. You see a common theme, right? Von Trier, the German bar on North Street, beckoned us so we went out for a quick beer and popcorn.

Once again, Alli and I are doing our Sunday ritual. At Roast, one of our coffee shops, blogging and looking at pictures.

I think a Target run and bike ride is in my future. :)

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to my daddy. You are, hands down, the best dad around. I really wish I could have transported myself home yesterday to be with my family for the usual but not-so-normal family get-togethers. I miss you people a lot.

Instead, Alli, Tiffani, Shawnna and I did some quality shopping and eating time. First stop was Urban Outfitters. That store is my vice, my weakness, and my wallet's mortal enemy (Along with Target). So, in normal fashion (fashion! ha!) I got something. These super cute oxford shoes that sang out to me from the racks and demanded that I purchase them. So I had no choice. If I had a nifty iPhone or something I would upload a picture, but just use your imagination.

Then we proceeded to the Public Market, which is a cook's Disneyland. There were spices, meats, cheeses, wines, meats galore, along with lobsters swimming around happily in their death tank. Obviously, I had little interest in being there for the ingredients, besides the aesthetic appeal, since "cook" is a four-letter word for me. And "bake" is too for that matter. [But, Carrie, you would loved this place!]

We had lunch at the Water Buffalo. And no, they did not serve water buffalo, that I know of. Sitting outside in the beautiful 76 degree breeze, alongside the river, sipping a delightfully girly Berry Key Lime Martini, was a great way to finish the weekend.

Today it was back to the grind. In a good way, though. :) Now Alli and I are holed up a cute little coffee shop called Brewed on Brady street.

Peace out, ya'll.

Fun by the Focean

End of another lovely week.

My heart is still aching from putting up my beautiful photo wall. I had ordered a bountiful amount of photos from Snapfish, because what use are they just sitting in my computer, all lonely-like? So I printed them out, and mounted them in my prison cell of a dorm room. 150 pictures ($12! Heck yeah!) of some of my favorite people in the world. As I was flipping through them all, I took a trip through memory lane.

...

Rolling around in the grass at the Court of the Carolinas. Dancing wildly at a Starfucker concert. Chicago. New York. Prague. Colorado. Stoopin on Clark. Eating corn dogs and drinking pabst on our roof. Sparklers on the fourth. Snowed in 2010. Glowsticks. Headbands. Studio late nights. Studio early mornings. Cowboys and Indians. High Life. Biking at night. Helios. Helios late night. Sunday El Rodeo tradition. J-pot. Art to Wear. Suicidal feelings because of Art to Wear. Thing 1. Thing 2. Raleigh. Friends. Family.

...

End of memory lane. I won't subject you guys to my nostalgia anymore. :)

Wednesday night was Focean night. Alli and I headed over to Bradford Beach at dusk to see Lake Michigan, the beautiful faux-ocean (Focean). Armed with Coldstone ice cream and Hefeweissen, we sat down on the cool sand to gaze at the water. Nobody was out, except a few people walking by. Night slowly came, with lights from passing barges and sailboats fading into the mist, and Hall and Oates playing in the background from her iPhone. I still can't believe I've only been here for three short weeks. I feel like I've known these people and this place much longer.

This week Shawnna (the other home art intern) and I have started doing the artwork for our final project. I've been painting apricots, artichokes, corn, flowers, leaves, and other random motifs. So progress continues...

Last night we battled the rain and went to a cute little german restaurant/bar. Complete with huge murals, beer steins on display, and movies from the 60s paying in the background, this place is definitely one of my favorite places so far. The night was complete with a call from Andrew and Emzilla at J-pot.

I have skype guys! My username is jlroush2, so talk to me!!!

We're all jonesing for some good Mexican food, so we're gonna go take care of that now.

Weekend Number 3: Conquered.

It's Sunday. Not quite as "Sunday Funday" as last weekend, which consisted of drinking a wisconsin-amount of beer. Today was a day of marathon naps.

End of weekend number 3.

Thursday: Jazz in the park, a free event downtown. Wisconsians (?) ... Wisconsonians (?) ... gah, PEOPLE FROM WISCONSIN get really crazy about their outdoor activites during the summer. I went with my friend, and he snuck in some wine. Later we met up with my the ladies and went to The Landmark. I swear, there are at least 4 bars here that have the same names as the ones in Raleigh. It's a little freaky. (But they don't have a "Balzac" in Raleigh, for good reason.) But this place was a beautiful little dive bar, including cheap beer, underground location, BOWLING ALLEY, and weird looking regulars.

On that note, there's no SMOKING BAN here. HOW is that possible, when NORTH CAROLINA can have one, when we GROW tobacco, and have 2 to 1 lobbyist to citizen ratio (I'm exaggerating). But seriously, I am so over my hair smelling like smoke ALL the time.

On Friday, Tiffani's husband came into town, so we all went out downtown. We went to the Garage AGAIN. I love that place, but how about a new bar every once in a while? On Saturday, my friend and I went art supply shopping, and then walked around Brady Street a bit. There were a million and half people out, ALL DRUNK, because of the World Cup. I don't understand how nobody cares about soccer until there's an opportunity to drink heavily during the daylight and yell out "AMERICAAAAAA" at the top of their lungs. Men.

Saturday, Alli's friends from Chicago came to visit, and we all went to the Safe House for dinner, which used to be a speakeasy back in the day. There were 10 of us, so we had some time to explore the restaurant before we sat down. That place is CRAZY. You enter through a "secret" entrance on an alleyway, and then you have to give a secret password to get in. If you don't know it, you have to do something ridiculous, likeeee doing the chicken dance. AND once you get in, you realize that there are tvs around showing everyone coming. There are secret and not so secret passageways throughout the underground restaurant, and an elevator with a royal throne inside it. There's a picture of Burt Reynolds in the Women's restroom, with a heart over his man-parts. If you try to lift the heart, a siren goes off outside, letting everyone know. The men's bathroom door opens to a brick wall with a sign saying "Whoa! Out of order" on it. It's a quirky place, that's for sure.

Today was nap day for me. Marathon naps, while trying to sleep through the loud jets flying overhead (There was a mini-airshow at the beach a mile away) And nowww I'm at Rochambo again, gettin caffeinated!

Tomorrow I start my third week at work, and the start of my final project! My managers and I had a meeting outside on Friday beside the pond behind the building. They're such smart asses, I love it. They're obviously great friends, so they bantered about their past halloween costumes, and who acts the most ridiculous, and how the baby of one of them has a flat head and looks like a monkey. (I saw that baby at kohls' onsite nursery/preschool, and it was pretty darn cute) So in the hour and a half "meeting" we finally got around to talking about my final project.

A little background about the intern final project: All of us interns have to do a final project. There are 110 interns in all departments at the corporate office, so projects vary from reevaluating fit in misses intimates ages 31 to 36 (yawn) to redeveloping data analysis programs (double yawn). BUT mine is going to beeee.... [drumroll]... creating a line of home products for Fall 2011 with artwork I create. YAY! So this means that I have to do a crapload of research, which entails looking online at trend and competitor websites, going "comp shopping" (going to competitor's stores), and creating a "story" or mood for my line. After all this I get to play around with hand and computer processes and make artwork. My friend and I went art supply shopping yesterday. There is no joy like entering an art store and looking around at all the beautiful watercolors, pencils, oils, pastels, paper and everything else your heart could imagine, and then NOT having a minor stroke once you get to the register. Ah, how I love you, expense reports.

I have to do the artwork, and LOTS of it, and develop some sort of cohesive line out of it, and apply it to dinnerware (soft and hard, meaning textile and non-textile). Seven weeks from now, all of us lowly interns will have to present our projects in front of our department, our bosses, our boss's bosses, and maybe even our boss's boss's bosses.

Yeah so much for quitting caffeine this summer.