cracking the egg

I AM A COLLEGE STUDENT!

2010-09-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have come to a simultaneously delightful and terrifying conclusion.

I happened upon my perfect school by chance.

From when I first knew I'd be coming to Tufts, I kept discovering cool things about the school that catered to me, like the combined degree program with the Museum School, the Personalized Performance Program for personal training and dietetics, their world-class a cappella groups, and a huge volleyball department, among other things, but it wasn't until I got here that I knew I'd picked correctly.

...and therein lies my issue. I think I worried about this too much in the first few days, especially when people asked me why I chose Tufts, but it bothered me a little that I ended up choosing them, basically, because I didn't like any of the other schools.

So, yeah, LUCKY FREAKING ME.

I love it here :)

P.S. I will be trying to post more, keep y'all updated on collegiate, Jumbo life. I am considering starting a new blog, which is nice 'cause it's refreshing (and I can make a shorter url, ugh), and 'cause it's fun, but it also may be a little inconvenient in terms of following me around the interwebs. Let me know what you think.

Bump and Grind of Chicken

2010-05-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

An addendum to my earlier frenetic ponderings about the origin of the band name "Bump of Chicken" - they were in junior high, right? Tell me right now, without thinking about it, in the first 50 words you learned in your foreign language class, how many of them had violent or sexual connotations?

...that's what I thought. Within my first two weeks of Japanese, I knew how to say "pedophile," "to blow up/cause to explode," and "set my loins on fire." Valuable knowledge, that (which has since been forcibly evicted from the recesses of my memory, against my will).

In any case, does it not make sense that one of the few action verbs they knew to replace "attack" was...bump?

Well, at least a little more sense. In theory.

It still has my vote for most ridiculous band name.

ahem.

2010-05-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

For me. Ignorable, since it's irrelevant to the larger story. Well, not for me, but you know.

CURRENT MUSICAL OBSESSIONS:

Beyonce, Listen (and really just Beyonce in general)

Rachael Yamagata, Be Be Your Love

Coldplay, The Scientist

Ray LaMontagne, Trouble

Michael Buble, Haven't Met You Yet and I'm Your Man

Hellogoodbye, Oh, It Is Love

Stevie Nicks, Rhiannon

Theory of a Deadman, Not Meant To Be

Carole King, I Feel The Earth Move

Andrew Johnston, Pie Jesu

Kara DioGuardi, Terrified

Anything else I can belt. Hey Jude is in there somewhere, too, even though I always mix up the lyrics.

...I'm sure there are more. But there always are.

HI!

2010-05-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Well...hello again. I shall tell you all in advance - this will have nooooo organization. Somewhere in between a stream of consciousness and a glorified list. But, it's 10:30 at night, so I feel like I can be forgiven (not that this is a really foreign hour for me, but whatever).

So, let us begin.

I am currently, courtesy of YouTube, listening to Bump of Chicken's new hit single, "Happy," and loving it. Everyone look it up, yeah? The lady at Tower Records in Osaka recommended it, and added that it's particularly well known since the band was popular before the new record. I thought about buying the CD, but figured I could try and find it on iTunes when I got home, instead of buying a two-track disc for ¥1000 (about $12). Anyways, it's actually a really great song. I hate excessive repetition, but they make good use of rhythmic repetition, with a lot of chord variety and a wicked lead singer.

...now then. On to the real point. What the mother of Elvis is up with their band name????

I did a little digging, to see if there was some logic behind the insanity. Really, I wasn't expecting much, 'cause did you look at that name? What on Earth could that be referring to? I thought the lady at Tower had really bad pronunciation or something, or mebbe that she was just screwing with me, until I saw the display (side note: I just noticed the final lyric of the song, repeated...repeatedly, is not just "happy," but "happy birthday," for whatever reason, which, with a Japanese accent and the tune of the song, comes out something like, "hahp-ee, bahs-dey"). In any case, this is what Wikipedia had to say about THAT.

'They organized the band when they were in junior high school, so it was where this funny name came from. They wanted to mean "The coward's attack" as their band name, but they did not know how to say that sentence in English properly. They have used "chicken" instead of "coward", and "BUMP" instead of "attack."'

...okay, not helpful. Does everybody else not get this, too? Mebbe they just ran the Japanese version of the Wikipedia article through Google translator. We all know how helpful THAT is.

Random funny thing: in Japanese, Bump of Chicken is pronounced "Bahm-poo Oh-boo Chee-keen." I love this language.

NEW TOPIC (the song ended, and my enthusiasm ran out)

I'm having a wicked fun time working out the functional, non-translatable differences between Japanese and English. I'm not talking cultural nuances, or even normal usage that becomes insulting in translation (e.g.: "you" is あなた "anata" in Japanese, which is used only to underlings, insultingly, or occasionally as the equivalent of "hubby," for whatever reason), but something faaaar more basic - level of specificity. That is, having something in English where the item is similar enough to warrant using the same name, but we give it a new name anyways, and vice versa.

Example number one: In English, no matter where you've been blocked into, at what point you turn, or what kind of dunce cap you're wearing, a corner is always a corner. However, in Japanese, there are at least two distinct words for corner, dependent on whether you are on the inside or the outside of the 90 degree angle. That is, you turn a かど kado, but you hide in a かたすみ katasumi.

Conversely, in English, there are separate words for not only the legs and feet of humans, but the paws, claws, and talons of animals. However, in Japanese, legs are あし ashi, feet are あし ashi, my host mom's cat's feet and legs are あし ashi, a bird's feet are あし ashi (though there is a separate name for nails/talons), and they even use あし ashi to refer to, you guessed it, fish fins.

Hmmm....off to seek inspiration for more random blubberings.

Mebbe I shall talk about the wonder that was the Osaka subway system, the portrait I painted and gave away in exchange for mine being drawn (twice!), or the squid I dissected in Noto, and promptly ate (nooooo cleaning, that's right - deLISH). But, later.

Much love, signing off,

Egg

P.S. I want to make sure you all know that I think Google and all its affiliated gadgetry is genius. It's pretty hard to transmit sarcasm by blog, and I wanted to make sure that if any Google execs swing by my blog, they'll still be willing to hire me and let me eat at my desk and take naps and bring my dog to work.

Obscenely brief update, #1

2010-04-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

...I just noticed that my last post was from Christmas Eve: NOT OKAY. I was in India for two and a half freaking months and I couldn't post a dang thing? What's wrong with me?? Anyways, I'm in Japan now, and I'm using somebody else's computer, so I'll be brief, but I want to get the updates started.

1. India was amazing. And gory. And horrifying, and socially difficult, but totally worthwhile.

2. I LOVE JAPAN. Really. I love that everybody's so polite, I love that the language is simultaneously so complicated and so simple, and I love the food.

3. ...more later, yeah? I gotta go to language class, day four!

Stuff...

2009-12-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS (just about)!

Check out my flickr account!!! I've posted soooooooo much stuff, and I will post more there. TAKE NOTE OF THAT: for large scale stuff, I'm going to post on flickr from now on (though since it takes so long to load, I may still post on my blog when I'm not at home), so make sure you're checking that out periodically!

www.flickr.com/photos/rachaellee/

I can't believe I'm already almost leaving again...

Going home

2009-12-14T04:01:00.000-08:00

At London Heathrow right now, how it all began, but in reverse. I'm so excited to be home! Just 12 more hours to go, and I'll be with my familials!

Alan ideas - 5 seconds.

2009-12-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

Nude self-portrait...of a previous life?
Homemade tortillas on hot plates + "Project Runway"...and the chaos that ensues
Song compilation...

There once was a mom from Nantucket
Who threw up her guts in a bucket
She's not really a mother
Kids are only a bother
But she needed to marry to duck it
(deportation)

SCANNED DRAWINGS!

2009-12-02T03:43:00.001-08:00

Treat today! I had time before ensemble, so I scanned most of the (better) sketches from my book. I don't know why two of them are black and white, but I think the quality is generally pretty good. Most of them have notes on them detailing what they are, but I can say that generally, they're from life, from statues, from my head, or from figure drawing. Some are unfinished, some are notes or assignments, and many are just for fun. Anyways, enjoy!

Update!

2009-11-26T02:29:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, yet. It's just that life is pretty hectic right now, what with the countdown to the final week and the exhibition, finishing up paintings, trying to squeeze everything out of three hours of printmaking a week, and all this tiresome self-exploration. I thought, though, that as a reward for waiting so patiently, I'd post some more art. As yooosooal. I am, however, including a few charcoal drawings (photographed as they hung/hang on the wall of my studio), and I'll throw in more drawings (from my sketchbook) when I figure out what the heck is wrong with this dumb scanner.

1) Portrait assignment - in two 40-minute sessions, get enough of a baseline face to finish the portrait sans model. I actually mostly finished it in the sessions, but had a lot of small tweaking to do afterwards. Thank you, Charlie Umhau!

1.5) Portrait of Charlie - detail. I actually changed a couple of things after I took the pictures, but they're pretty subtle.

2) Portrait, not assignment - from a picture (see below) of Gramma Yvette from May 1978. NOTE TO ALL: THIS PAINTING IS NOT UP FOR GRABS. Sorry, but I had all along known that the painting was created, and thus reserved, for Grampa Dan. It's currently at the frame shop - I'll pick it up on Thursday, and ship it off to Houston. But DON'T TELL! I don't think he knows. Dad might have told him, though.

2.5) Portrait detail. I love the tiny cutout of baby Daddy's Daddy pointing at his mom (actually out over the water, but this is better).

2.667) Portrait - this is the picture I painted from. Yes, it doesn't look like her, and yes, that's okay. I may have to try again, though.

3) First posted drawing! Sketch with charcoal (shadows) and chalk (highlights) on gray paper, for figure drawing. Emphasis on maintaining the midtones.

4) Drawing in highlights with white, from figure drawing. More practice with tonalities.

5) First saved drawing, from second class. Drawing the form as geometry, 101.

6) From a couple classes in - practice in foreshortening.

More later!

Signing off,

Egg

eBay.bidz.com.gr...Rachael style.

2009-11-22T00:51:00.000-08:00

ALL RIGHTY! Here's the deal. Everybody should know, by now, that familials get first dibs on my art. To that end, we're going to have a little bit of a bidding war, to see who wants which art pieces, whether that be a painting, a poem (written in pretty handwriting, and mebbe illustrated?), a photograph, or some other tidbit from my time in Greece. That way, when I send out my artwork as Christmas/Hannukah gifts, I'll know people are getting stuff they're actually interested in. I will also provide, upon request, more thorough explanations of my inspirations and/or the locales in which I painted/wrote/whatever.

NOTE: I shall be gradually posting more and more photos of paintings, and mebbe even more photos of...um, photos. So, there will be more and more choices.

SO, on this post, under "comments," I want people to say how much they're willing to pay for the art. Now, I have a strict "family doesn't pay" policy concerning art, so you can imagine I'm not looking for money. I'd like to hear what you're willing to give me in terms of, oh, "I bid two hugs and a pretty flower," or "But, I bid two hugs and a picture of your cute lil' cousins!" If you don't care what you get, I'd like knowing that, too, or even, "I just want a painting, I don't care which one!"

We shall see how this goes. I mostly want to see who wants what :)

Bidding will start at "I'll tell you I love you!"

Moozik.

2009-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

I've been compiling a list of music I want to get. It's either stuff I discovered while here, usually by way of a classmate, or stuff I rediscovered, loved, but never got around to actually acquiring. Soooo, I wanted to transfer the list from my notebook to the blog, since I don't always carry my notebook, so I can't always add to there. I'll write them as I think of them, or as I find them, or as I look in my notebook and copy them down.

Eddie Vedder - esp. "Into the Wild" soundtrack
Chocolat soundtrack - esp. acoustic
Lliam Storms - bloody genius, that one <3
Eels - esp. "It's A Beautiful Day" and "I Don't Need Sleep"
Madredeus - Antologia
Slightly Stoopid - "Closer to the Sun"
Joni Mitchell - "My Old Man"
Nina Simone - "House of the Rising Sun"
Simon and Garfunkel - ...more.
Hartman/Gillespie - "You Go To My Head"

Quotable ideas

2009-11-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

I shall add to this as they come up, but lots of people here have lots of interesting things to say. Keep in mind, my having posted them, does not mean I agree with them, but only that they intrigue me.

The problems you face on the canvas are the problems you're facing in real life right now. (Jane)

All ideas are stolen. (Monique)

Never date anyone - when you break up, you inevitably lose stuff. Often, much more than you'd think. (Bryony)

You can't love anybody else if you don't love yourself. (Cori)

What wound did ever heal but by degrees? (William)

"Style" niche

2009-11-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

I refuse to find my personal style. Jane mentioned this. Find your own style, and you become convinced that must be how you create art, you begin to copy yourself, and all your creative energy drains away in the face of your need to conform to your own skill set...or so you believe. I revel in my competitiveness, and my inability to attain satisfaction. I am developing the ability to know when to stop, to know when a picture is good enough - that is, when, despite my own continuing frustrations, I can know the rest of the world will find my art adequate. However, I have no desire to suppress my competitive instincts to the point that my ego bloats, and I can no longer learn from my colleagues. I stare at Chris' gorgeous landscape, and immediately the painting which, only a second ago, I had been quite proud of, becomes a kindergarten project, not even worthy of attention. Almost instantly, my self-preserving psyche kicks in, reminding me that he thought my painting was beautiful, and that my belief in his superiority is nothing more than a chance to learn. I'll see Jules' tomato, and wonder at the insufficiency of my own pomegranate, before remembering that she loves her tomato no more, or even less, than I love my pomegranate, and I look at her painting with new eyes, analyzing her skills to see what I can learn from her, what I can draw from her experience and personal techniques. Not a single one of my paintings looks like the other, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If they ever make an art book of my work, only the signature will tie the pieces together.

And even that changes day to day.

To one of the most magnificent women I have ever had the pleasure to know.

2009-11-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

Gramma,

I will miss you terribly, every time I think of spitting from heights, applying to college (or law school), making candles, or empresses. I love you with all my heart. I will sing for you, wherever you may be, be it heaven, limbo, or flying among the stars. I know without a doubt that you lived a life worth living, a rich life full of fun, good family, and unending love, both given and received. I want to thank you for always wanting to see me, for asking about me whenever you talked to my Dad, who I know you loved to no end. I want to thank you for every goofy story about my dad, daddy's daddy, and great uncles, and for teaching me about what it means to be a powerful, self-confident woman who knows who she is, embraces it, and embraces everyone around her, just as fully. I truly admired and admire you, and seeing you was and will always be a joy.

I miss you already.

All the love I can give,

Rachael

The world is full of awesome things.

2009-11-15T08:35:00.001-08:00

I just found this site. I love it.

My new goal is to read one thing from it every two weeks, at least.

It's a good pick-me-up :)

[and helps to see the good in little stuff...which is one of my favorite things]

1000 Awesome Things

Oil Painting, round two!

2009-11-14T01:35:00.000-08:00

1) Still life (assignment no. 1) - Earth palette (black, white, burnt sienna, yellow ochre) plus ultramarine blue, later on. First of two constantly infuriating still lives, but I think it turned out okay.

2) Still life (assignment no. 2) - more Earth palette. Still infuriating. Same vase, totally different look. Confused about own style. Irritated by canvas folds. Eventually, Jane told me to "not even look at them anymore." Moved on.

3) Fourth impressionist piece - experiment in painting landscapes, painting more from life. Difficulty in fixing the painting post-facto after having left the beach, with the picture vaguely in my head, but no desire to return to the actual scene and the impracticality of a windy cave for painting. Love the water and the clouds, though. Heavily edited.

4) Second impressionist painting - redone foray into impressionist painting to ensure it wasn't a one-off success, beginner's luck, whatever. It wasn't, and I still love it. Painted stylized tree...not a really exciting topic, but fun, nonetheless.

4.5) Picture of impressionist tree, or Shawn's "hugging tree."

Do enjoy, yes? More soon - I'm in love with this new still life splatter thingy I did, but just finished it, so neeeeeed to photograaaaaaph.

Signing off,

Egg

Oil painting, round 1.

2009-11-12T01:11:00.000-08:00

'Tis time for the first round of Rachael's painting postings!

1) Experiment in construction - i.e. can I make a painting in strips? Answer, yeeees, but it'd be more practical to cut an already painted canvas up. We'll see how it looks off the stretcher.

2) First attempt at painting the night sky - semi-impressionist style, but faaaaar too light, so will be trying again, soon.

3) Reflection assignment - paint something, anything, that involves a reflection of some sort. I taped a yellow plastic Christmas ornament on the top of my easel, and painted the reflection of my studio behind me. Very satisfying, and a cool memory, to boot!

3.5) Reflection assignment - detail.

4) Impressionist assignment - paint something from life in the impressionist style, which emphasizes optical color mixing, and texture, among other things. Look it up, it's really cool. My favorite painting yet!

4.5) Impressionist assignment - detail.

4.667) The front door of the school, which is what I painted for the Impressionist assignment! [Also viewable on the website, aegeancenter.org]

More later!

Signing off,

Egg

Mostly for my wonderful family members, but in honor of all veterans...

2009-11-11T11:43:00.001-08:00

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!

With love from Greece,

Egg

More Grecian pictures!

2009-11-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

These pictures are all from the first few hikes, specifically the first and third. Somehow, I always end up on the odd-numbered hikes, and miss the ones in between...

Happy Birthday, Arno! (plus some pictures of my art!)

2009-11-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

...better pictures of my paintings coming, I promise. And mebbe more poems, or prints, or something, but they're less exciting.

...

2009-10-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

"Artistic" portraiture

2009-10-31T01:39:00.000-07:00

RIGHT. So, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures (love Saturdays, Happy Halloween, by the way), and I've decided that first, I shall post what I want to post, which means I shall post the portraits I took, which are easily among my favorite pictures. THANK YOU, by the way, to my parents and my loverly Aunt Sandy and Uncle Fuzzy, because I am now the delighted owner of the best point and shoot camera on the market, with more gizmos and gadgets than I can handle, a delightful feel, and unbelievably gorgeous picture quality. Enjoy!

Impression of an artist

2009-10-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently, and this was news to me (I didn't know there was a name for me), I'm a "natural Impressionist."

Let me start over.

Yesterday was the best day.

First of all, it was a Thursday, which automatically makes it amazing, because oil painting is my only class, and it doesn't start until 1, so I get to sleep in. Monday through Wednesday I have classes starting at 9 every morning. Thus, waking up naturally at 10:30 was a great start.

Second, and this is where it gets interesting, we started a new painting. Usually, this means a fair amount of stress. We have to make sure our canvas is ready for class, we change the palette slightly to accommodate whatever the assignment needs, and, critically, we suddenly have another painting in progress that we have to fit into our mindset. For me this is particularly difficult, since I have trouble ever saying a painting is "done," since I can always see flaws that need to be fixed. Jun and Jane both had to tell me to let go of our first two still lifes, to move on, and to "not even look at them." Thus, starting a new painting is usually more a cause for alarm than excitement. The one thing we had to look forward to was the color change - though a change in palette is usually just hard to keep track of (think, "did we use ultramarine blue on the first or the second still life?"), we were finally switching to a prismatic palette, which meant we'd no longer have to fake greens and blues with black, white, and yellow ochre, but we'd get to see rich, vibrant color again. What a delight!

It came to light that we'd be doing a painting in the "Impressionist" style, which, summarily, means loose brush strokes, lots of texture, lots of optical color mixing, more opaque colors and layering (and thus less "glazing back" and "scumbling up," not that anybody really understands those terms) and less of a realism requirement. From there, styles of impressionism vary from artist to artist, meaning we'd finally, FINALLY get to paint a painting how we wanted the painting to look, and less how the still-life items appeared photographically...if that makes any sense. It made me happy, anyhow

I immediately decided to paint the front door of the school. The actual front door - the nice peachy-white one that appears on the website, not the one all the students actually use to get in the school. Its coloring is wonderful, it's got cool plants next to it, and it's outside. Really, honestly, drawing from life.

It only took about five minutes for me to realize that type of painting was what I'd been missing. I was terribly paranoid that Jun or Jane would come out and tell me I'd been doing it wrong, but I was having such a wonderful time that I found it hard to believe that enjoying myself could be the "wrong way" to do anything art-related.

Let me be brief, since I think this is dragging on.

I have never had so much fun in this oil painting class as I did yesterday.

I started and finished the painting over the course of four hours.

Nothing else I've started is done.

I have found my oil painting calling, as it were.

More impressionist painting is ready to spill out of me. I just need subjects :)

I'll post a picture of my first impressionist painting ever, very very soon!

Signing off,

Egg

Mmmm

2009-10-29T03:02:00.000-07:00

One more poem. A happier note, this time. I wrote this waiting for possibly the most delicious mushrooms I've ever eaten. Unfortunately, and ironically, this time, eating them essentially by themselves, I felt a little ill afterwards. But, the poem still stands.

dinner at Albatross

these mushrooms...
I'd fly back to Paros for these mushrooms.
Rich, like homemade risotto,
stretched to fill endlessly numerous
smiling,
happy bellies.
Spicy as on-the-house mystery cocktails
served with love
by our favorite bartender.
Sweet like fresh-baked pastries,
better than any mechanical wake-up call.
Rewarding, like timeless views of wild slopes after perilous climbs.
Hot as crowded dance floors, packed
with art students
letting loose.
these mushrooms...
I'd swim back to Paros for these mushrooms.

Compensation

2009-10-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

Since I'm posting so rarely, I thought I'd let you in on what I'm doing, a little. Sooooooo I'm going to post some of the poetry I've been writing. I'm going through it in our seminars, but I'm still iffy on how good it is, so let me know. I'll post some of my drawings when I get John to fix the scanner, and I still haven't gotten a chance to download my pictures, but they're coming, too.

Labels. Part II.

don't you dare think you know me,

not when I cannot know myself.

Ask me, I dare you, how I feel about the plastic coffin
innocently waiting on the counter
mocking me that I cannot control myself without its contents.
Tell me that it's all genetics, that it's just a disease, or that,
"You're still yourself, despite everything."
Don't lump me in with the rest
I hate that I hate myself for this
And love the good
even as the bad
tears me apart.

"Cycles," you call it.
I will be who I WANT to be, cycles be damned.

Identity

"I understand," you say.
I've heard that before.
You who stare from behind sterile desks
framed by inconsequential scraps of vacant gothic print
proclaiming that you understand me.

A word
or a list of them,
more like.
That's what I've been reduced to.
Give me my identity back
Allow me my own words
And I'll tell you what I think of your clean cut
form letter
"diagnosis"

All in.

I
Rachael
sarcastic
snide
desperate
Rachael
talking
asking
never telling
Rachael
have a secret.

I wonder
sometimes
if the people around me
classmates
quirky
open
loving
classmates
given a magnifying glass to my soul
walked through those scenes which gnaw at my insecurities
like a hyena gorging on a meatless bone
Delighting in my pain,
If I were to point them out
could you see what I am hiding
or why I fear
I've already let it out?

Doctor out the door.

Confused.
That's how she feels.
walking out the office
stamped with the label she expected
wanted, even.
Maybe she thought she'd feel better,
being different.
But what if being different
comes with a name that proclaims you're the same as somebody else?

Labels. Part III.

Twenty-two people combine
To one single image
A compilation,
if you will,
composite puzzle pieces
[fit poorly together
as a landscape, painted
by one who has never set foot outside]
that is how they see her
...or so she believes.
But how to distinguish reality
from a fabricated projection onto already richly colored canvases
So hard to find the truth when the mind
convincing in its terrified insistence
screams that the people around her
cannot be trusted,
that they judge, even as they kiss and soothe.

I don't know what to think.

I judge you.
It is the way of all humans, isn't it?
So maybe,
perhaps,
just a little bit,
it is not so strange
outlandish
or even,
dare I say it,
paranoid
to think that
if I tell you
one by one
that this gaping flaw is more than skin deep
you won't love me anymore?

Butterfly panic.

too much
too soon
too little
too late
wrong place?
wrong time?
hug unwelcome
restrained hoped-for kiss
not that word
not that tone
running, rerunning
fix this
change that
why didn't she?
why couldn't he?
flowing and abrupt
apologies, uttered or wished
please don't hate me.

Mail me things. This isn't a request.

2009-10-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

JUST in case anybody gets a strange urge to send me a letter telling me how much they miss me, or telling me to write them more letters, or really anything (including chocolates, presents, euros...), I will get all mail sent to:

[ME]
c/o The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts
Paros 84400, Kyklades, Greece

Signing off (and loving you all very, very much),

Egg

SCHEDULING!

2009-10-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

I thought it'd be relevant to let you all know what classes I'm taking, and what my schedule looks like, so you know what I'm doing and whether or not I'll be accessible, or conscious!

Classes, etc.:

Vocal Ensemble
Figure Drawing
Printmaking
Oil Painting
Art History
Writing Seminar, a la Carter
Greek Literature
Draw Club
Introduction to Modern Greek (has yet to start)
Yoga (starts tomorrow morning!)

Schedule: [...all of which, by the way, is taped up in gigantic bold font on my apartment wall, so I don't really have to remember most of it]

MONDAY

9 am - Monday meeting (schedule for the week, iron out any group confusions)
10-12 am - Figure drawing
3-5:30 pm - Ensemble

TUESDAY

7:30-8:30 am - Yoga (still being officially scheduled - it may move or grow)
9-12 am - Printmaking
1-5 pm - Oil painting
6-8 pm - Greek lit.

WEDNESDAY

9 am - Draw Club! (draw for an hour. whatever you want)
10-12 am - Figure drawing
3-5:30 pm - Ensemble

THURSDAY [love Thursdays - short, just like in high school]

1-5 pm - Oil painting

FRIDAY

9:45-some late and variable time - "Friday hikes"

SATURDAY and SUNDAY

FREE!

...generally, at least, this is my week. Factor in homework, self-imposed and otherwise, hanging out with all my loverly buddies, wandering the island, going to the beach, and trying really really hard to cook for myself consistently enough that I don't completely bankrupt my parents by the end of the trip with eating out, it's a pretty packed schedule. Thus far, I LOVE IT! I'm taking every single class I've enrolled in because I want to, and for no other reason than that. If I decide to, at any point, I can withdrawl from a class, but they're just so much fun so far!

Signing off,

Egg

just a treat :)

2009-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Since I want some feedback, 'cause I don't really write poetry much...or ever...I thought I'd post the poem I wrote yesterday in a fit of inspiration, or boredom, or frustration, or something. Anywho, enjoy. <3

Labels. Part I.

I imagine that I can see it in your lips
Pity, confusion, disgust in a strained smile.
I hear whispered wonderings, covered
With a forced laugh or a hollow,
"How are you feeling?"
I know,
I think,
that you would believe
You know why I read what I read,
why I say what I say,
why I am what I am.
It all makes sense now, doesn't it?
I am so much tidier, identifiable with this name that is not mine
Plastered across my face.

Note to self:

2009-10-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

What I am going to work on posting:

Scanned drawings from my sketchbook
Pictures downloaded off my camera
Poems and stories I've written, just for the hell of it
Brief overviews of city-by-city, what we did in Italy and Athens
Generally, how I'm feeling about the trip, and goofy notes and "stuff you didn't know"

Much love,

Rae

Aaaaalan!

2009-10-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

I wrote a couple stories, I promise! They're in my notebook, and I'll copy them up in a couple of days. They kind of suck, but I'll post some of the other stuff I wrote, as partial compensation.

All the best,

Rachael

Apologies, and updates.

2009-10-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

...I know it's been an age. I've been on Paros for a week already, and Greece for a good week and a half, so you've all missed the full month I lounged (okay, sprinted) around Italia. Pistoia, Roma, Firenze (Florence), Pisa, Sienna, Venezia, Prato, and Lucca - I am truly spoiled. For a brief overview of what the heck I did for such a long time in , since it's hot in this computer room and I promised my dad I'd finish my college essay, I'll explain the purpose of cutting our Grecian work time down by a full third.

In most basic terms, the entire point of the "Italian Session" is to give the art students (read: me and 22 other afficionados, from 17 to 30) a chance to cram in as many of the world's great art pieces into their heads, so as to give a) context to the techniques we study and materials we use, b) inspiration for what works we may choose to pursue, and c) appreciation for how art developed and shifted focus from the Romanesque age through Baroque (in Italy), and through the rise and fall of the Greek and Roman empires in early Greece.

To summarize:

Over the past month and a half, I've seen at least three hundred "Madonna and Child"'s, a few hundred "Crucifictions," and more "Annunciations" and "Adorations" than I care to consider.
I have seen what made Donatello, Cellini, Brunelleschi, Giotto, Michelangelo, della Robbia, Ghirlandaio, Masaccio, Botticelli, Lippo Lippi, and a multitude of other artists famous and memorable, and had a chance to form an opinion on every single one.
I've been in more churches than I can keep track of, which makes more sense when you know that in the time periods we predominantly studied (1200s - 1600s), everyone showed off their wealth by contracting art pieces to display in their local church.
I've stared intensely at enough gorgeous nudes to no longer feel self-conscious about loving the human form and anatomy, and creating art that reflects that.
I've discovered more about myself personally and what kind of person I want to be (as well as what kind of people I want to surround myself with) than I anticipated, a process sped along by such experiences as intensive heart-to-hearts with my Italy-roomie, Chelsey, being almost tipsy in Venice, after three tequila shots and a "rum and coke," breathtaking concerts of operatic and symphonic music, bodily dragging one of my friends back from a bar, drunk out of her mind and a good half a foot taller than me, and loving "unimportant" art and feeling apathetic towards "revolutionaries," even as my art history professor tries to tell me what pieces I should care about and why.

I'll post more later, I promise. There's tons to say!

Signing off,

Egg

And so it begins...again. I already used this title, didn't I?

2009-09-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings from London's Heathrow airport! I've got to say, this keyboard I'm typing on is testier than the ones I used in Ecuador, where it took or group some 30 minutes to find the "@" sign.

In any case, that's not the point. So far, the travel portion of the "trip" as a whole has been...interesting. Can you tell that's a euphemism? When I checked myself in last night, I elected to stick with my window seat, assuming that, flying to Europe, I'd have a blast gazing out the window for whatever portion of the nine hours I was not glued to the TV screen on the seatback in front of me. Unfortunately, I was more glued to the wall than anything else, gazing at nothing as I tried to get comfortable around the, well, fairly inconsiderate guy in the middle seat who'd apparently decided that, as the poor recipient of the least-desirable seating position, he was going to monopolize both armrests, which, by the way, included, by way of his profound elbow-leaning proclivities, repeatedly changing the channel I was watching, and occasionally inadvertantly shooting the volume up. Aside from discovering (once again) that I'm mildly claustrophobic, and more prone to panic attacks than I thought, perhaps more distressing was the fact that my TV was..."effed up." When I got on the plane, it was working fine, turning off for the safety demonstrations and whatnot, but with a large variety of delightfully exciting-sounding movies, and plenty of TV shows to look forward to. After the TV's had been mysteriously shut off for about 45 minutes, I asked a flight attendant what was going on, to which he replied that they were "resetting" the system. For what, I don't know, but after they came back on, everyone was suddenly limited to 25 channels playing approximately six different shows, television and movies mixed together, on a continuous loop with a variety of subtitles arbitrarily available. I realize I sound overly bitter about such a mundane thing, but I have what I believe to be two very good reasons - first is that I just got off a NINE-HOUR flight. I was sort of hoping the amenities for such a leap would be a tad bit more functional. Second, and this is a derivative of the first, I was on a 747. That's right, Dad, my first time on a 747, which, by the way, is quite impressive in First and Business Classes, and the Club Executive whatever section (which was predominantly composed of seats facing backwards. Really. WTF?), but was a little disappointing in regular old Economy. I suppose this shouldn't be too surprising, but did I mention that there was no fan/air conditioning for little old me crammed in the corner? Yes, Daddy, I know I'm being annoyed, irritated, and whiney, but I haven't even gotten to the most frustrating part.

Security.

I think I can honestly say that today was the first day where Sea-Tac security came out on top. They very kindly and graciously, with little or no fussing, checked my film and photo paper by hand, so as to not make it go through the x-ray, and though it took an age and a half, it wasn't really a bother, and it made me feel quite satisfied. Here at Heathrow, on the other hand, I was told about six or seven times, in answer to the question, "Could you please check my light-sensitive photo paper and film by hand?" that, "Ma'am, the x-rays won't hurt anything less than 3200 ISO!" Now, first things first - THAT'S NOT WHAT I ASKED. Seriously, are they listening? I KNOW the freaking schpeil, I KNOW you don't actually give a rat's ass about my equipment, but could you please LISTEN TO THE FREAKING QUESTION? It took some two minutes for the guy to actually say, "oh, no, sorry, we're not allowed to check anything by hand," which, frankly, is bullshit. I walked by two agents checking bags by hand on my way out, but whatever. I've done my research, you know! Yes, it doesn't hurt the film or the photo paper the first time, but the effect is cumulative - four times through the machine, and ISO 00 film gets just as damaged as ISO 3200...

FIVE HOURS LATER, EDIT: I HAVE ARRIVED IN ROME. WHO THE FUCK CARES HOW I GOT HERE?

Italy and Greece and "muffa"

2009-09-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

At my dad's behest, I shall now serve you all a nicely spiced, well-marinated platter o' links.

[This is, by the way, a direct connection to the post, "Trip numero due"]

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Greek and Roman collection

The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, Paros, Greece - Italy/Greece session 2009

Pistoia, Italy - as seen by Google Maps

Paros, Greece - as seen by Google Maps

Signing off,

Egg

Galapagoose. Or something along those lines.

2009-09-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

...it just occurred to me that, since I already did an (albeit less focused) picture post from the Galapagos, I'm really likely to repeat photos, an unfortunate event made even more likely by the fact that I'm too tired, right now, to go back through the ones I already posted and check. So, I'm cutting this photo-post short with the promise that I'll input my (largely pirated, via the loverly "groupies") pictures from the Andes later tonight.

Signing off,

Egg

for alan. notes.

2009-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

HAH! I actually came up with a few ideas, though none in 5 seconds, so I'm getting a bit more inspired. I desperately need a nap, then I'll come back and give it another go.

Moer peekturs.

2009-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more Ecuador pictures, to keep you interested, and to prepare for the flood of Italy/Greece pictures to come! So you know, I'm filling this post with Amazon pictures, and the next post with some more Galapagos, particularly our time doing community service. I'll get to the Andes soon, I promise! They're worth it.

[This last one isn't from the Amazon, it's our guide from hiking in the forest in the Andes, but isn't it a hoot?]

It should be noted that I am bowing to the will of my poll, and posting more pictures of places (and, notably, the stuff we do in those places), since that's what y'all want. Otherwise, I'd post more pictures of my travelmates doing amusingly goofy stuff. Because I loved it. I'll throw it in from time to time, to give you more info about the...feel of the trips. But places it is!

WAAAAAAAH!

2009-09-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

...IT'S COMING!!!

Oh. em. gee.

I'm packed (all but the carry-on), I'm purchased (all but the art supplies, TBP in Italy), and I'm prepped (all but mentally), and it's almost time.

In less than 48 hours, I will be on the ground in Roma, Italia.

Oh my freaking god.

Trip numero due

2009-08-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hello hello, good people of the world. I just decided that it would be not only prudent, but pertinent, to write a brief blog concerning what I shall be engaged in over the next three and a half months (I leave Wednesday. Dear gods, save me.). I cannot believe that in less than a week...maybe I shouldn't do this now. I have to go clean my room.

...

Sorry, don't worry, I'll give you something to work with. Three and a half months in Italy and Greece!

Okay, here's the deal.

On Wednesday, September 2nd, I catch an evening flight for London, Heathrow, from where, in the early afternoon the next day (they better have in-flight movies), I will catch my flight to Rome. For that night and the night following, I will stay in a hotel hopefully nearby the train station, getting a little bit of practice "surviving in a foreign land." I am not allowed to be at the villa in Pistoia before the evening of the 5th, so I'll have a lot of time. Here's the wicked cool stuff we'll be doing on our three weeks in Italy - two nights in Venice, three nights in Rome, some wonderful amount of time in Florence, and the rest of the time at our villa. Doesn't that sound idyllic? Please don't be jealous - I don't even think I'll be able to understand how wonderful all this is until I actually experience it. I already know my parents are ridiculously amazing for offering me this.

On the 30th, we travel to Athens, where we stay for three days before taking a boat to Paros. There, we out the rest of the stay creating wonderful art and basking in the glory of the majestic land we are inhabiting. Not to mention marveling that we're sitting on the island from which the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, pulled almost all of its Roman exhibit. Whew.

I'm sure I'll add more detail later.

Signing off,

Egg

Pictorals! part dos.

2009-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

MORE Ecuador/Galapagos pictorals!

2009-08-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have decided, because I want to, that I will now post a bunch of underwater photos (and some generally pre-underwater photos). Because they're cool. And pretty. And I feel like it (I already said that, I know). I may deviate a little bit into generally watery pictures, but they should be mostly consistent, including pictures of the only penguin we saw, and the lighter period of white water rafting, i.e. before I fell in, not to mention more than a few shots of swimming with sea turtles and sea lions!

Sooooo, here you go! Keep in mind, I mostly didn't take these photos, since my camera is not underwater-safe, and all the ones I did take were with other peoples' (mostly Michi's) cameras.

Enjoy, and note that I take requests for picture topic posts :)

for alan. attempt number one.

2009-08-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Alan challenged me an age and a half ago to come up with a plot idea in 5 seconds and write a story out of it. I know I had some good ideas, back when the challenge was set, but they've (unsurprisingly) fled since he presented the concept, and I'm attempting, for the first time since then (sorry sorry sorry!!!) to redeem myself. We shall see how the first try goes.

"walking along, minding my business, through the woods."

so, i was walking along, minding my business, through the woods, when a tiny bird came and smacked me in the face. i could hear strange rustling sounds throughout the forest, and, as an apology for so rudely colliding with my best feature, the bird informed me that all the animals of the wood were fleeing from the impending nuclear holocaust (apparently, this is not only predictable, but out-runnable). i asked the bird if i should be fleeing, too, and he promptly replied, "no, dr. manhattan, you're the whole problem."

[disclamer: i was just watching "watchmen"]

...okay. that was lame. really really. not even clever. so...let's try again. 1...2...3...4...5...

...

what happens when a sphere travels through flatland? it appears as a flat circle steadily growing larger and smaller, right? so, by an extension of logic, a four-dimensional object moving through three-dimensional space would appear as a three-dimensional object in an abnormal state of fluxuation, right? (assuming, obviously, that the fourth dimension has to do with space, and not time.) i'm pretty sure, then, that every single rat i've ever had the pleasure of owning was actually a four-dimensional object, or possibly spy, cleverly disguised as a three-dimensional innocent.

...lost my train of thought on that one. and that wasn't even really a story. mebbe you should just skip this post altogether. it's coming out to be a bit of a "trial run."

okay. let's do some brainstorming.

5 second plots:

man murdered by sister-in-law as revenge for sister sleeping with sister-in-law's husband. s-i-l belatedly realizes that sister was sleeping with the right guy, and she just killed her husband, her brother-in-law's twin. (sort of csi meets comedy of errors. blegh.)

ah HAH! art imitating a possibility of life - father drops dead from aneurysm over worrying about child getting into a good college, wasting time, etc. child does fine in life. (sorry dad. this one is dumb.)

like the geico stack-o-money, professional photographer's camera comes to life and begins berating him for his photographic subject choices.

...i think my brain is on shutdown already. i'm having trouble being very creative. right now, i'm just derivative.

OH i should do something about the xkcd characters coming to life...think, nerd-sniper meets playing chess on rollercoasters-er. or something. but gods know i'm not nearly as clever as that guy.

more later. i'm working on it, i promise!

ATTENTION! GLARING ERROR!

2009-08-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

I just realized that the entire basis of a) the name of this blog and b) the name which I basically always use to sign off my posts have not yet been explained. Has anyone seen "March of the Penguins?" You remember the part where the parent penguins are trading off holding the egg between their bellies and their feet, and waddling around with it? My parents saw that, and saw me.

I am their egg.

And thus, in sprouting my (flightless?) wings and soaring out into the world, I am "cracking the egg."

So yeah. I thought you might want to know.

College visits! (...round...some large number)

2009-08-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my dad (what a nice dude), I don't actually have to write a blog post on what we did in our week on the East Coast! I might add a few points, for clarification or just to throw in my opinion, but these are his words :)

Let’s see:

Sunday – travel

Monday – Tufts…hotter than all get out (a record day in Boston)…Tufts is good but not great. Rachael will have a good experience if she goes there. We visited our cousins, Jim, Mac and Winston Berkman. Winston is a senior at Tufts and we helped him by building Ikea furniture for his off-campus apartment. Jim took us back to our hotel and described his experience at Harvard to Rachael. She and I become more interested in Harvard.

Tuesday – Another record-setting hot day. Yuck. School of the Museum of Fine Arts (plus a visit to MFA also). Wow! It’s very impressive, but probably overkill for Rachael. She loves art but this looks like too much of a good thing. Awesome dinner with the Berkmans.

Wednesday – Hot hot hot. A short jaunt through MIT (excellent!) and then to the information session at Harvard. It’s a winner! Of course nobody goes to school there because it’s impossible to get admitted. Still, it’s very much on Rachael’s radar.

Thursday – up early and drive to Providence to visit Brown. Brown’s big selling point is no core curriculum requirements. That turns out to be not quite as wonderful as it sounds. The majors have bigger requirements than at other schools. The school is beautiful but we come away not so excited. Back to Boston through nightmare traffic to catch an evening flight to Chicago.

Friday – University of Chicago day for 100 or so potential applicants. A welcome session, campus tour, admissions staff presentation, and a studen panel. It’s all well done and the school comes off excellently. Rachael wants to attend. Afternoon at the Museum of Science and Industry, including the Harry Potter exhibit.

Saturday – Museum of Surgery in the morning. Trepanation anyone? Millenium Park later. Then deep dish pizza in the late afternoon. Rachael’s buddy from the Galapagos trip (and her mom) travel 3 hours to Chicago to see Rachael (and Harry Potter). We shopped on the Magnificent Mile with them. Very nice!

Sunday – home at last!

tidbits

2009-08-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly cover a few bases, throw out a few "notes-to-self," as well as notes to others.

1. Sorry for not posting more Ecuador pictures - I promise they are coming, though many of them are stolen from my groupmates. I would have commented on the earlier ones individually, but inserting pictures does odd things to the post, and everything was just far too complicated.

2. To Daddy's Daddy - I chewed through Stiff on my trip to the East Coast. LOVED IT! Just about to start in on An Unquiet Mind, but currently working on American Gods and Anansi Boys via Mom's suggestion. There are so many fantastic books in the world! (And not enough time to enjoy them all)

3. To Gramma Joan - Dad and I test-drove the High Sierra hardbacked suitcase on our trip to Bahston. That thing is a black hole! It's going to be seriously hard to keep my packing light, but I'm sure I'll manage (with my father to "help").

4. More comments on the college visit trip are pending, but for the moment...Tufts is okay, I could go there and be happy, but I'm definitely applying to other schools; the School of the Museum of Fine Arts is pretty amazing, but I'm iffy - the 5 year program is wayyyyy intense; I still love MIT; Harvard is basically Yale, but in Cambridge instead of New Haven (whoot!); Brown is not what I thought; and U of Chicago is the coolest school ever.

5. More later!

Signing off,

Egg

Experiencing the Ring (around the rosy)

2009-08-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

My parents have been repeatedly insisting that I write up a post concerning my weeklong operatic adventure, and my mind has been repeatedly letting that same request fall by the wayside. However, this morning, my parents pointed out that on last Sunday's FRONT PAGE was, yes, you guessed it - a picture of me. Not that I was actually credited or anything, only Seneca, our program director and leader of the backstage tour where we were photographed, is actually mentioned in the caption, but there I am, front and center on the Sunday cover of the Seattle Times. Okay, front and bottom right, but same-diff.

Back to the point. "Experience the Ring" was a one-week intensive on Richard Wagner's legendary (news to me) "Ring of the Nibelungs" four-part series. I signed up on a recommendation from my opera club advisor, Mr. Bliss. He insisted that the $100 program was a steal to see the whole cycle, no matter that we would actually be seeing the final dress rehearsal of each, since he paid $650 four years ago for nosebleed seats. At his urging, I actually scored even more of a discount, since my early signup gave me one of the $50 scholarships, meaning that removing the price of the libretto we received as part of the program ($13.50 retail) and the probable cost of art supplies ($3-5 per person), we saw each opera for less than nine dollars, which, given the superb quality of Seattle Opera's rendition of the Ring Cycle, paired with the knowledge that this year's Ring has attendees from 49 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 23 countries, makes this whole program the deal of the century.

The first day of the program, I thought I'd signed up for an extra week of IB English. Having spent the last literary year predominantly in the study of drama, with Shakespeare's "Hamlet," Anouilh's "Antigone," and Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," opening the program with three consecutive powerpoint lectures nearly gave me a panic attack. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad they gave some context for Wagner's life, and comparisons between his music and later leitmotifs (character themes) were certainly intriguing, if sometimes fluffy, but the whole thing suddenly felt like a very very painful mistake. Besides, having nearly thirty girls in a room together to talk about anything seems like a bit of a bad idea. Apparently all the boys (except Seneca and John, half of our brave team o' interns) chickened out this year. Four years ago, the program was 50/50, but whatever. I love my opera girlies, now.

The week was divvied up between opera discussions pre- and post-watching, generally informational lectures on Wagner, Bayreuth, opera, etcetera, and a general, overarching "project" everyone did, which could be anything from typographically pretty-fying the name "Wagner" and sketching an accompanying portrait (Annie), translating an aria into French and singing it (yeah, Amy!) or moulding a vaguely obscene sculpture out of clay to fit a small theme noticed early on in the first opera (that was me). The pre-operatic plot summaries were frustratingly detailed, leading me to find more than a few of the slower scenes exhaustingly slow. I can't deny that I fell asleep a couple times, which most likely came from a combination of late night post-opera not-sleeping and the frustrating predictability of the operas, as a result of our interns' minutely detailed explanations. What, I wonder, gave them the idea that analyzing the opera before we actually saw the opera would add to our enjoyment? I would liken the problem to listening to someone talk about a movie you haven't seen - ineffective and a little frustrating, and completely lacking the enthusiasm the storyteller is hoping for.

Overall, the operas themselves, a legendary part of the history of the art itself and staged beautifully, were both impressive and intriguing. I'm glad I did the camp, and it's worth noting that it got me onto the front page of the Sunday Seattle Times (yay for being a young operagoer!), if only anonymously, so my parents think it was worthwhile, too.

Somebody asked me which opera was my favorite. "Das Rheingold" was probably the prettiest, and perhaps the most mythological, which I loved. "Die Valkyrie" had the most widely known music, and some of the coolest costumes. "Siegfried" was the comic relief play, which definitely catered to my interests (funny, clever, and legendary), and "Gotterdammerung" had set design and manipulation to rival the best I've seen at Seattle Opera. Frankly, I have no clue. I loved tidbits from each one, but mostly, I'm just glad I got to see them. What an awesome way to spend a week!

Signing off.

Lifeworks posts

2009-07-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

My mom suggested (quite brilliantly) that it would be a good idea to post the blogs that I wrote for our group blog on here, for you all to read. The url, if anyone is curious about the rest (which are kind of disorganized) is http://www.lifeworks-international.com/blogs/allblogs.php?k=07updates&page=2&id=311. Wow.

Whitewater Rafting! 21 Jun 2009

Author: Rachael (writing as Sherlock Poirot)
Location: Rio Toachi and Blanco
Today started like any other day - a hot cup of java and a quick scan of the newspaper. I wuz lookin' for this dame, I think Cher's the name, who'd been kidnapped out her families noses. I wuz told it would be a doozy, but when I realized I'd be looking for her at the bottom of class 4 white water rapids, the whole story got a mite stranger. I was game, for a higher price. The fam threw lunch in the deal, and I was in. Too bad they couldn't 'a told me 'bout the treachery of my boatmates - we flew over a big swell and it pushed me out. Sure I was drowning, my only thought was, "I hope I still get paid."

Beaten, Bloodied, and Beaming 3 Jul 2009

Author: Rachael
Location: Rio Napo, Amazon
There's a certain amount of irony in not having water in the rainforest. Really. But, I suppose since it was at the end of the day, I shouldn't complain about my not-a-shower until the end of the post.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Like usual.

Then we woke up.

Also, like usual.

I will admit to skipping breakfast. I said the food would make me nauseous, which was technically true, but it was also true that I was tired, and had finally gotten comfortable in this darned humidity.

When Megan and Michi came back to the room, I heard our "facilitators" had been arguing about who would have to stay behind if I was still sick. Needless to say, I was immediately, if unhappily, guilted into attendance, at whatever cost. Hector told us the night before that our outing would include a hilly hike before lunch and a delightful day of being further squashed by the infinitely superior football skill of small children we were constantly at risk of squishing under our big toes. The largest kid barely came up to my elbow, but kicked harder than a mule with a mosquito on its bum. And for whatever reason, they always aim their kicks at our body parts...today alone, Christine, Tierney, and Calder were all tripped, my not-tan calves were turned purple from bruises, and Adam was quite dramatically (and effectively, in terms of defending the goal) emasculated.

I suppose I skipped a bit. You know, that whole hilly part I mentioned, during which I learned that light blue t-shirts show sweat extremely effectively, mud has almost no traction, and my basket-weaving skills leave something to be desired, not to mention that I need to run some more stairs, since the trek up to the treehouse deck at the peak of our hike left me more than breathless, and it was taken at a far slower pace than the one at which Monsieur Robert usually drives me. To be honest, it was a bit of a letdown. We climbed up the whole bloody tree to see one bird (which I actually couldn't find) and listen to Eddie ask Emily what she thought would happen if termites ate through the boards we stood on. Hearing that the second group of mock-birdwatchers saw a plethora (I've been wanting to use that word in a real sentence since the 5th grade!) of birdfowl that appeared immediately after we left confirmed that the group literature discussion at the bottom of the tree was definitely the best part of the pre-lunch day.

Returning to Sumak Alpa and the mahhhhvelous time we had hanging out with small, cute soccer pros - it's definitely worth mentioning that everyone in our group can now shoot a traditional blowgun and throw traditional spears, if poorly. Hector is really really ridiculously good at using such violent implements, but he did hunt when he was younger. Granted, this is the same guy who claimed that he carried around a machete to discipline our group, and that the claws he wore around his neck were his mother-in-law's fingernails, so who knows.

The day ended with a delightfully extensive "appreciation" session, which culminated in a group guffaw at Eddie's shrieking cackle. I don't know whether I'm disappointed to leave the beauty and novelty of the Amazon, not to mention the simple magnificence of actually being in such a legendary place, or whether I'm just delighted to be leaving the humidity and the bloody freaking tarantulas, and the tiny, evil mosquitoes. It will be nice to shower with water again, too. For a rainforest, there is a lot of emphasis on the lack of fresh water. Ironic, then, that my dysfunctional shower forced me to bathe with bottled water. Tomorrow is another day. At least I'm clean, if not totally rinsed, and if all goes according to plan, I will be flying back to Quito tomorrow afternoon with a brand new machete in my backpack. See you soon, mom and dad!

It is time.

2009-07-27T23:11:00.001-07:00

I'm finally responding to the countless familial (irritated) requests for pictures.

In chronological order, I shall begin with our arrival the first night, and the tour of Quito, keeping in mind that pictures I post are not always taken by me. Thanks to Michi, Christine, Megan, Calder, Dan, and Roberto, from whom I will be stealing more than a few snapshots.

Pictorals!

2009-07-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm in the mountains. And I can't breathe. And it's worth it.

2009-07-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Written Sunday, 5 July, 2009, on a computer that doesn't like blogger.com.

I'm in the mountains. And I can't breathe. And it's worth it. Every single second is beauty personified, I'm buying more alpaca sweaters than any one person (or 4-5, to be more accurate) could sweat through in their life, the views are breathtaking, and I woke up this morning to a gorgeous sunrise. The altitude is severely impairing my movement skills, since what little fitness I had has gone out the "we're 10,000 feet in the air" window. Still, the hike we did today was awe-inspiring, and riding in the back of produce trucks as they bounce down cracked dirt roads was an experience in and of itself. Considering the whole of my trip over the last, oh, 17 days, is it already?, I have decided to give all who read this a little insight into my experiences by way of personalized notes. Enjoy :]

To Mamaw,

My gorgeous tree of life/tomorrow has not left my neck once since you bought it for me, save for during the two minutes I ran through security at SeaTac Airport...none of the Ecuadorian metal detectors even notice.

To Gramma Joan,

On that same note, I did in fact beep and get pulled over going through security at SeaTac, so I think we can say for sure that their security is irrationally tight. More seriously, I certainly inherited your travel bug, and the incredible experiences you've had constantly inspire me to seek more out of my time here, and make me more and more excited for the adventures I have yet to experience. I also thank you truly and profoundly for the gear you bought me - it's serving me extremely well, and certainly easing my way as I travel.

To Gramma Yvette,

I have made sure to spit from every relevant height I come to, including off the edge of a beach into white water rapids (into which I had earlier fallen), off the top of a massive Amazonian hardwood tree, off more than one clunky Ecuadorian transport, and from the top of the Andes Mountains onto the most beautiful view I have ever witnessed.

To Gramma-Gramma,

Every haggling skill you ever taught me was put to best use in the Zumbahua marketplace yesterday, dragging the price of lovely handknit alpaca sweaters down from $20 to $12, for example...now, if only you'd taught me Spanish, too, I'd not need to drag Michi along as translator!

To Tutu,

I walked through an Andean market yesterday. Eddie asked for help finding a reasonably-priced shawl for his grandmother, and knowing how well you could have sewn the garments there gave me incentive to view the quality with a more critical eye.

To Papa,

Every moment I was in the Galapagos, I was thinking of you and how much the incredible atmosphere of the islands reminded me of Hawai'i, and also of how much I can't wait to go there with you. To that end, I'd love to come back here to the Andes with you - we could hike slowly together, luxuriating in the intense views and sitting in the hot tub to chat. (Gramma can't come - she'd hate the cold :] )

To Momma,

I have missed you CONSTANTLY, and never moreso than when I was goofing off and just enjoying life, whether it be trying to not fall out of our canoes in the Amazon or finding every flimsy excuse to pick up and pet the tortoises at the Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos. My mommy-sickness was particularly acute, too, when I got sick, and longed for you to pet my head and bring me Gatorade. I made a playlist on my iPod to listen to while I slept that reminded me of you, and I can't wait to come home and see you.

To Daddy,

With the friends I have made, I've had conversations about everything from physics to Bioshock, and every conversation reminds me of you, and how much delight I can find just by being around you and spending time with you, whether it be by video games, chatting, or just periodically sneaking a glance at your computer screen over your back in the office. I've bought you every interesting turtle and tortoise I can find, and I can promise you that I tried very hard to smuggle out a baby for you to raise, but they're distressingly organized at the research center...but you still scored :]

To Grampa Steve,

I must be honest - I have not yet cracked either of the two books from you that I brought on this trip, but more than anything else, that's a testament to how interesting everything has been. Besides, since I'm constantly trying to find to sneak in some reading, I am always thinking of you and how much you'd appreciate the amazing things I'm seeing. There are also more than a few people in my group who could use some banging over the head with the Scepter of Truth, but I'm trying to hold my temper, and laugh at them silently like I know you'd tell me.

Ahhhh right...also, since you collect knives...well, it's not really a knife...I bought you a machete in the Amazon.

To Grampa Dan,

As I trek through this magical land and consider the ways my horizons have been broadened and my perspectives are shifting, I hope beyond hope that I can one day emulate the magnificence of the life you have lead, and I hope that perhaps I can find something in myself worth writing down, as you do so well.

Much love to all, and I'm absolutely delighted to be home now, where I can FINALLY post this in the comfort of my own squishy desk chair - the flights home were agonizingly long, and I almost missed my connection from LAX to Seattle, but all is well, and I've slept so well the last few nights that you might call it blessed.

Signing off, and most likely staying that way until I finish solidifying the rest of my year,

Egg

Back "home."

2009-07-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from back in Quito, Ecuador! I (we) arrived with a heavily diminished supply of clean clothes and a heavily increased supply of bug bites. I cannot tell you how delightful it was to walk into the Hostal Posada del Maple, drop my bags on the floor, flop onto the couch, and look up at a completely tarantula-free ceiling. I will not miss the bugs, nor the humidity, but the simple majesty of the area was simply breathtaking. Example: just being on the river itself was awe-inspiring - the movies really don´t capture the sheer massive width of the Amazonian rivers...and we weren´t even on the Amazon itself. The Rio Napo did not disappoint, and I couldn´t have asked for a more satisfying experience of the Amazon. My Spanish is even now improving! Granted, I´m starting from zero, but still, it´s really cool. I would recommend checking out my blog post on the lifeworks blog (http://www.lifeworks-international.com/blogs/allblogs.php?id=311) for more details, since I´m wimping out on my narrative skills right now.

I will admit that the people in the group are rapidly separating themselves into the people I do and do not like, but overall I´m truly enjoying the whole experience.

Ecuador is bloody MAGIC! It´s so cool here!

More later, and much love,

Signing off,

Egg

Random cover-all updates :)

2009-06-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

As already mentioned, the Galapagos were really really ridiculously beautiful. To entirely understate it. I am forced to use the past tense in that highly eloquent statement because, unfortunately, we flew back to Quito this morning. I am writing now from the relative comfort of our lovely Hostal Posada del Maples (which, as it turns out, does refer to the multitude of maple trees outside). My Spanish has improved, if marginally, but it was virtually nonexistent before this trip, so I´m pretty happy with my progress. It helps that one of our guides is Ecuadorian (perhaps the only native in the area with blonde hair and blue eyes - as he says, "the mystery of genetics") and one of my fellow students is Puerto Rican, so we have much encouragement to practice our speaking skills. To give you some gauge of my ability, the owner of the Hotel Castro, where we stayed in Puerto Ayura, Santa Cruz, had a young baby daughter, max two or three years old. I had exactly zero clue what she was talking about. She was pretty good at gesturing to or petting the relevant topic of conversation (often me), but the language was beyond me.

Anyway, I´m (thankfully) less of a basket case than I´d expected - I miss home terribly, and the day we spent shoveling and sorting garbage made me want to cry, but overall I think I´m holding up pretty well. My roommate Megan is "counting the days until she gets to go home," Michi talks constantly about how inadequate the beaches at home will be, without sea lions decorating them, and you can tell everyone else is a little homesick, but the stuff we´re doing is really quite incredible. I spent five days living on a BOAT, for crying out loud! It took me the full first day in Puerto Ayura to lose the sensation of constant wobbling and swaying. Tomorrow morning we leave for the Amazon Rainforest - that in and of itself sort of makes by brain short out. Apparently our activities will include dining on guinea pig and fishing for piranhas (did I spell that right?), as well as the requisite community service working at a school. I´m actually quite excited for everything, except the vague possibility of falling out of a boat, and the obvious abundance of bugs we´ll be living with.

I bought a ridiculous amount of gifts, though only for the ´rents and my g-parentals, and I´m having serious trouble keeping my clothing clean. We finally got to do laundry...the day we worked at the recycling center. So our delightfully ripe-smelling work clothes didn´t get washed. The clothes from cleaning tortoise pens did, though, which is certainly a good thing - my pants were drenched in poo by the time I was done. It was definitely up there with the coolest things I´ve ever done - EVERYTHING we did revolved around skirting miniature piles of adorably shy tortoises. We even got to work with the tiny, less-than-a-year-old palm-fillers! Wonderful. Daddy - I tried to steal you a baby...I´ll show you what I got when I get home. Customs was much less investigative on the way out, but the penkeeper did notice my efforts. I think the constant cooing might have had something to do with how obvious I seemed.

In any case, I´m having a grand 0ld adventure, and I definitely know I want to educate myself properly so I never have to work at a recycling center (didn´t even have to wait for the Japanese farms, Dad!), so the trip is valuable in more ways than one. We had an interesting discussion the day after the trash sorting about "what community service is," which partially culminated in the group realization (facilitated by meeeeeeeeee) that the community service we would be partaking in while on this trip would have overall small significance, and would thus be more about self-growth and education. We all know the guys at the recycling center would have done our work in much less time, honestly!

Love and kisses, for all I miss,

Signing off,

Egg

The Enchanted Islands!

2009-06-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Oh wow. These past four days have been full of surprises. I sort of didn´t believe Dan when he said that, as cheesy as it sounds, the Galapagos are truly "magical," as if they were not of this Earth, but boy is he right. I´ve swum with sea lions, turtles, and sting rays, watched baby sea lions suckle their mothers and fluffy baby blue footed boobies squack for food. I´ve seen rainbows fly from blowholes, male tortoises fight over water, and beaches overrun with crabs and sea lions alike, many covered in invasive flies gradually consumed by curious mockingbirds. I´ve snorkeled, swum, jumped off the top of a boat, eaten bananas off the tree, and some of the most delicious food I never expected. Many of you may be disappointed that only very few pictures of my time in the Galapagos will be forthcoming, at least from my camera, as I have been so enjoying the beautiful sights that I don´t want to muddy them by way of inadequate pictures. Don´t worry - many of my friends have snapped lovely pictures, and plenty of me, that I´ll be making use of.

I know this is an uncharacteristically short post for me, and I promise I´ll continue adding, but I need to go explore San Cristobal now :) .

Much love,

Signing off,

Egg

Well.

2009-06-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

So...I was in a boat.

then...

...well...

I wasn´t.

It was about that fast, too.

But I´ll get to that. I think first I should briefly finish up our day yesterday, since it was a lovely experience, to be sure. Like I had mentioned, it was predominantly focused on group bonding and city touring, so it seems appropriate that the most memorable points of the day occurred while doing those two things. Our most ambitious and ahhh...cozy activity was called the "Human Knot." I´m sure at least some of you have tried this, but it involves shaking the hand of two people across a circle from you, not letting go, and then attempting to resolve the blob into a new circle, of sorts. Being the clever and well-bonded teammates that we were, we managed to create the most complex, unsolvable Human Knot any one of us had encountered - that´s right, Dad, an impossible puzzle. Turned out we´d somehow formed two interlocking circles that didn´t seem to intersect, but it took us about an hour and more than a few tumbles down the hill to figure that out.

My favorite part of the city tour, aside from the fascinating colonial history our brilliant guide, Gloria, flooded us with, came nearer the end. Part way through the tour, we stopped at one of the first religious retreats in South America - the Church of San Francisco, located, unsurprisingly, in San Francisco square. Now, I´m pretty sure that was the name, but don´t quote me on that, since most names were given in Spanish, and with a particularly thick Spanish accent, so I can´t be positive. I´ve just been mentally referring to it as the "gold cathedral," since absolutely everthing inside the main hall was covered in gold leaf. Exquisite paintings of prophets and their prophesies lined the pews, and huge depictions of heaven and hell lying on each side of the entrance. Everything in there absolutely shone. Huge skylights allowed what little light there was that late in the day to be magnified by the gold detail, and the whole church felt...pure.

The second cathedral we hit was known only as the basillica, and was constructed in a less Spanish, more gothic style, which, according to Gloria, meant it was far less popular than the gaudy beauty of the first church. For me, the style only increased its appeal. My personal Everest reared its head when we neared the top of the conventional towers. By crossing a rickety wooden bridge balanced precariously on stone framework, eerily similar to an image from Indiana Jones, we were given the chance to climb up a steep, narrow metal ladder to a balcony on the top of one of the basillica´s spires. Truly, I thought this a feat in and of itself, until Dan asked if anyone "wanted to go higher." Pardon? Higher? Unfortunately, knowing myself well enough to understand that I would regret it forever if I didn´t take the chance when it came, I steeled myself and followed my groupmates up a second and third set of metal ladders. I believe with every fiber of my being that I climbed Quito´s Diamond Head. 127 steps seems small compared to however many we climbed with 9300+ feet of altitude stealing our breath away. And truly, what a magnificent view. I think I saw the world that day.

Now then. Having recounted how lovely the architectural relics of Quito, Ecuador, felt, especially when placed next to their antique stone counterparts, less beautiful but no less impressive, I´m sure you all are dying to know what gave me the limp in my left leg that makes the three flights of stairs to my room achingly slow.

We were told last night that today, we´d be white water rafting. Having only seen pictures, I was fairly excited, but less than enthused about the rumored 3 hour drive to the river. Turned out the drive was easily one of the best parts. We were exposed to parts of Ecuador, both inhabited and not, that took my breath away. From rickety shacks constructed with only the workd "shelter" in mind, to fog-shrouded valleys lined by mountains sewed into patchwork by arboreal seams, I felt like I´d stepped into a world from a tropical vacation brochure. The views at once made it harder and easier to believe I had actually come to this far away dreamland.

HOLY GEEZ! Okay, it looks like I have 3 minutes to finish this, as well as our group blog post, so MORE LATER.

I fell off the boat in the rapids, almost drowned (or so it felt), and was gallantly rescued by our fantastic tour guides. However, I ended up with some strange scratches on my calf and a huge bruise/muscle cramp in my left thigh, which has been bugging me since. I also drank approximately enough water to last the rest of the week, assuming it was at least marginally safe. Sorry, more details later! It makes a great story - I see a movie deal forthcoming.

I still feel like a tourist, but I get the impression that feeling will fade a little when the manual labor sets in.

Good night, and goodbye, for at least a couple of days - tomorrow morning, bright and early, we leave for our boat in the GALAPAGOS!

Signing off,
Egg

And so it begins...

2009-06-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

It all began with the most uncomfortably fidgety redeye I´ve yet been on, for both me and the two people I was sitting by. Somehow managing to squeeze enough sleep out of my Seattle-to-Dallas leg to not fall asleep during my two-hour layover, I ended up in Miami four hours before my scheduled takeoff. After about an hour of random snacking and unsatisfying lounging on wobbly airport bench-chairs, I somehow accidentally walked by a group of people with a strangely familiar "AQ" symbol on their shirts...none of them were in the same shirts, and they all seemed vaguely uncomfortable with each other, so I was pretty sure I´d found my group, confirmed when an extremely peppy redhead introduced herself as Kelly, the first of our three staff members. I was in.

I slept extremely well on the Miami-to-Ecuador flight, so I can´t tell you much about that, but customs was definitely more interesting anyways. After an hour in the immigration line, during which Megan constantly repeated how scary looking the officials were, all of whom were wearing sterile surgery masks (presumably to ward off swine flu), and most of whom were wearing strangely eerie blue, sheet-like gowns and hats, and Eddie tryed to convince me that his hand cooler was filled with Cuban Growth Hormone, insurance against him being short for the rest of his life. I still don´t know if I believe him.

Unfortunately, though eleven of our twelve group members made it through customs with no more trouble than understanding the heavy accents of the immigration and customs officials through their masks, Cheryl (Shinyu), our resident Chinese national, was held up before the baggage pickup for lack of a visa or visa waiver stamp. Megan, a Canadian national, and Michi (short for Michelle), a Puerto Rican national, were fine to enter without prior embassy contact, it appeared that Cheryl was going to be sent back to the U.S. before our trip had even begun.

After about an hour and a half of waiting, we found out that the immigration officials were going to keep Cheryl overnight to try and contact someone of some relevant importance to find out something critical to something else. Or something like that. We ended up heading to the hotel without her, with the meagre promise that our leaders would be able to go back to the airport to stay with her, even if for only a short time, and an uncomfortable communal feeling of loss, of not having really met Cheryl before we lost her, as well as well-expressed feelings of sympathy and fear.

This morning we received the delightful news that Cheryl would, in fact be able to join us, after an exhausting amount of extra travel. She would fly back to Miami, obtain a visa waiver stamp from the local Ecuadorian consulate, and fly back to Ecuador, getting in at about 9:30 tonight. I´m sure I´m not the only person who felt extremely relieved at these news - I no longer had to feel guilty about having a good time.

Getting back to me, and my loverly gap year of loverlyness (I love you, Daddy!), most of today was spent with sort of typical group bonding activities and a fair amount of overarching touristyness. After a light breakfast at our fantastic hostel, we took a bus (our own, way cool) up to the top of a hill where a huge greenhouse overlooked most of Quito. From this amazing vantage point, we could see everything from the only active volcano in Ecuador (slightly obscured by fog, but whose last eruption occurred only ten years ago) to the massive statue of the Virgin Mary on top of a mountain which I couldn´t pronounce even if I were taking Spanish (why the heck does everyone talk so fast?).

Crap, okay, I´m running out of time. We have to go back to the hostel. Hmmm, group bonding on a hill, yummy Ecuadorian lunch, neato city tour, and here to the internet cafe. More later, I promise!

Signing out for now, gotta go eat pizza and engage in more group bonding!

Adios,
Egg