Adventures with Christie

El Chaltén - Leg 4

2010-01-31T15:49:00.004+09:00

El Chaltén is my kind of destination - no crazy traffic, pollution, congestion, crowded sidewalks. Founded in 1985 to settle land disputes with Chile, the population is a mere 600 in the off-season, and 1600 in the high season, while we were there. The small, simple cottage-style homes and shops keep it real, with the people of Buenos Aires choosing Calafate, the larger, more populated city 2 hours south of El Chaltén, as their vacation spot. Fine with me! El Chaltén has still managed to maintain its charm; it seems to be reserved for the hard-core trekkers, rock climbers, and people who can´t sit still - like us!
4:30am - arrived by bus to El Chaltén
5-6am - watched the sun rise over the cliffs and hills surrounding the town and illuminate the peaks with a pinkish tint
7am - eat a yummy breakfast
10:30-1:30pm - Rosario drove us out to her family´s estancia (ranch), where we met our 4-legged galloping friends, Sandy, Obelique, and Gan, and our guide, Rubén. A beautiful sunny day, and no broken necks despite our failed efforts to suppress our laughter. This made it very difficult to stay on the horse, but we managed.
1:30-4pm - met Rosario´s husband, eldest daughter, Rocío, and youngest daughter, Pilar, with whom we visited and asked cultural questions while they grilled our dinner of lamb on an open spit.
Returned to town, and I crashed for most of the rest of the evening!

New Year´s Eve: More relaxing day that included massages for Kir and me, naps, journaling, and sharing mate with a couple people in our backpackers common area. Dinner with Karina, then a New Year´s Eve party in a barn outside of town, complete with live local ska bands, balloons, a disco ball, and LOTS of people.

New Year´s Day: 3 hours of sleep, followed by a 14-hour hike including a zipline across a river, a Torre Glacier hike with cramp-ons, and even a 30-ft. glacier climb!

I was sad to say goodbye to El Chaltén early the next morning, partly because it reminded me of home (except that my hometown is not surrounded by majestic mountains, peaks, cliffs, and towered over by glaciers), and partly because we had yet to catch up on our sleep since 2009 (the 31st, that is). However, it would be a few days before we would have a chance to refill on rest.

Pics!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065175@N02/sets/72157623311318808/

The Looong Road to Patagonia

2010-01-29T20:08:00.006+09:00

For some reason, one of my favorite parts of traveling has been the public transport, like the numerous overnight hard sleeper train rides in China. "Why would you love the neck cramps and lack of leg room, Christie?" Everyone has a destination, a mystery, experiences and adventures from their preceding legs of their journey, a purpose, a personality, an outlook, an attitude, and over extended the hours, one learns these things - or imagines them - about those around them.

In Argentina, our chosen mode of travel: the bus, or omnibus, as they are called in Argentina. Bariloche to El Chaltén, 1200km, or 750 miles, 30 hours, not counting our unexpected 5-hour "layover" in the Perito Moreno bus station. While researching transportation options from Korea, I called TAQSA and encountered a less-than-pleasant agent who I found was telling the truth when I asked her questions about the seats:

"What are the chairs like?" "Plastic."
"Do they recline?" "A little bit."

Short, sweet, and not exaggerated, either way.

When we boarded the bus at 9pm, I began the trip with an uneasy feeling, mainly due to the imposing sign that said "Do not take your shoes off of your feet." Seriously?! OK, maybe it was for our best interests, here in our tight accomodations in which we were chained for the next 30 hours, more or less, but come on! I felt like a prisoner inside as we arrived at about 11:30pm at a gas station in the next town and I gazed at freedom through the fogged glass, where one of our drivers seemed overly cheery in signaling back to me that I could not get off the bus. About 15 minutes later we stopped at a restaurant... now, why couldn't he have indicated that before I used the bus bathroom in the dark??

The next morning when we stopped at another town at 6am for breakfast, the bus drivers, our fellow passengers, everything looked brighter. In fact, later on while camping out in the Perito Moreno bus station for 5 hours, we actually engaged our bus driver in a game of Hearts amidst the backpackers, packs, and luggage.

On our bathroom break in Bajo Caracoles, population about 50, we met the shopkeeper and Jorge, the mechanic, who was a pleasant older man to talk to for a portion of our time there. Mechanics would be critical in an area where very few cars pass. EArly on in our trip, actually, we stopped and a group of passengers helped the drivers push another car until it started again for its two occupants.

So, why 30 hours? Well, about 2/3 of the trip was on gravel road, which lulled me to sleep quite well, to the annoyance of Kirstin and Stephanie. After the spectacular sunset over the nothing, ruled by sheep and wild guanacos, camelid animals that reminded me of deer, 4:30am crept up and before we knew it, we were in El Chalten.

For more photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065175@N02/sets/72157623280723046/

Spanish teachers in South America - Leg 2: The Road to Bariloche

2010-01-25T21:03:00.002+09:00

Christmas Day enroute to Bariloche: Across the flat green plains and past the families celebrating the holiday in their swimmers and across the flat barren Pampas and under the full rainbow and over the extensive blue glacier lake and up and down hills, 20 hours west and south of Buenos Aires (deeeeeep gasp of air), to BARILOCHE we go!

That's right, and we sang Christmas carols, or "villancicos", all the way!... OK, although believable for me, I promise I DID NOT sing all the way - could you imagine how much longer it would take to walk to Bariloche? And I would have missed out on the view from my front row second-floor the snack, lunch, and breakfast of crackers and jam and dulce de leche and spreadable cheese. (Actually, we were very fortunate to be served on this bus trip.)

So, what did we do upon arrival at 11am to the porteño's (residents of Buenos Aires) favorite vacation spot?? Well, first we asked ourselves, "Did this bus spread its wings and fly to Austria or Switzerland while we were sleeping?" due to the chalet-like buildings and cottages. Then we cabbed it to our homey Greenhouse Hostel. THEN we enjoyed a scrumptious belated Christmas Eve dinner - for Dec. 26 lunch. Trout, steak, grilled veggies (very welcome after all of the bus crackers and bread) in a restaurant all to ourselves, overlooking the rough blue and white waters of Lake Nahuapi and the Andes Mountains on the opposite shore.

On a hike to a waterfall and lookout, we befriended Tamara (Jordanian working in Madrid) and Betina (porteña) and dined with them that night. Dec. 27, my first rafting trip, down the Lower Manso River with a boatload (two, actually) of New Yorkers, Canadians, twin Aussie brothers, a Dutchman, and an Argentine-born Korean, too! Argentina is truly a country of immigrants, just like the U.S. Rafting was great - except, am I supposed to keep my eyes open when we hit the rapids?? I struggled with that, but I kept rowing, no worries!

The next day was our running/relaxing/walking/self-guided chocolate tour/people watching day. Among the people we watched were many, MANY stray dogs napping in doorways and squares, people selling pictures with their Saint Bernards, and dozens of different student groups sporting matching attire while celebrating graduation with the customary trip to Bariloche. That night: the mother of all bus trips - 30 hours from Bariloche to El Chalten. "Christie, how could a bus trip possibly last 30 hours??" Stay tuned: my pictures in the next segment will explain!

More pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065175@N02/sets/72157623102722981/

Spanish teachers in South America: Leg 1 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010-01-17T21:15:00.006+09:00

Buenos Aires - a capital city that surprised me in terms of how green it was. Buenos, Aires - our introduction to Argentinian beef (oh, the steak sandwiches complete with egg, ham, lettuce, tomato, and a slab of steak that hung halfway off either side of the bread), vos instead of tú, the sing-song accent and intonation, the Argentinian zha instead of the austere y and doble ll, the mate social tea-toting and -sipping culture, and TANGO. While far, far, far from capable, I was dazzled by the music played by the tango orchestra of strings, piano, bandonians, and singer, and how others "walked" across the old wooden floorboards so gracefully in the milonga, or tango dance hall.

Kudos to Juan, our guide for our bike tour of southern part of the city the day after our 30+hours of travel.

Kudos also to Buenos Aires and all other Spanish-speaking countries for drawing a line between family time and work; thanks to their commitment to observing Christmas Eve traditions of family dinners, we enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner of soggy pre-packaged sandwiches, water, and Oreo cookies in a convenience store, the only public establishment open within probably 20 blocks or so of our hostel, except for the cathedral, where we went after our feast.

Kudos to those persistent pigeons who managed to shat on Kirstin's shoulder while we were resting for lunch at an outdoor Italian restaurant (I strongly dislike pigeons).

Kudos to the theater-turned-bookstore, El Ateneo, for holding the attention of these three Spanish teachers for 3.5 hours and being a magnet for our Visa cards, requiring us to buy a small carry-on suitcase to cart our purchased resources for the remaining 2 weeks of our trip. (Teachers love books, movies and music!)

For more pictures, please visit my Flickr site. (Yes, I managed to pare down my pics to a mere 41 favorites... for Buenos Aires. More to come!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065175@N02/sets/72157623102347841/

80s no-rae-bang night!

2009-12-13T19:25:00.002+09:00

OK, so some definitions first:
no-rae-bang = literally "singing room", complete with 2 mics, 2 tambourines, neon lights, couches, large books of songs in various languages (with a substantial English section)

One night, while returning to school from a staff dinner on a no-rae-bus (that's what I said), some fellow staff members and I recognized the need to have an all-out, full-on 80s dress-up no-rae-bang night. All 80s music, all blue eye shadow and big hair. Well, here's a bit of the evidence... funny how much we did not stand out - the 80s look has returned full-force here in Korea. Long live Bon Jovi!

Christmas in South America or Bust!

2009-12-13T19:18:00.000+09:00

Yep, that´s right, this Christmas I, along with my two fellow TCIS Spanish teachers, Stephanie Liebe and Kirstin Erickson, will begin our 31-hour+ voyage to Argentina and Chile, two of the four Cono Sur (Southern Cone) countries waaaay down south. What are our plans? Hablar muchísimo español, eat lots of red meat a parrilla (grilled), read some Borges and Cortazar in Spanish on some loooong bus rides, dance the tango, ice climb on a gargantuan advancing glacier, trek, go white water rafting, and absorb all that I can of the culture, history, and language that I can so I can return and spew it back to my students (oooh, perhaps “spew” is too graphic… what I mean is, “share”)! WHOOHOOOO!!! Oh, and of course, in true Barrigar fashion, taking a ridiculous number of pictures. 
The itinerary:
Dec. 19-20: 9am depart Daejeon, Korea via airport bus for Incheon Airport > Tokyo Narita Airport > Dallas/Fort Worth Airport > Buenos Aires Airport
Dec. 20-25: Buenos Aires (La Recoleta to see Evita Peron’s burial site among others; tango dancing; colorful neighborhoods; museums; parrilla!)
Dec. 25, 1pm: depart on 19-hour bus ride to San Carlos de Bariloche, in the western Lakes District of Argentina, at the foot of the Andes
Dec. 26-28: Bariloche - white-water rafting (Kirstin was a guide in Colorado!), driving around the picturesque countryside
Dec. 28: depart at 9pm for a 30-hour bus ride south to El Chalten (north of El Calafate)
Dec. 30-Jan. 2: El Chalten – ice climbing and trekking on the Perito Moreno glacier, trekking through the Andes, eating parrilla, ringing in the New Year in the Andes, etc. etc.
Jan. 3: (last) bus ride from El Chalten to Punta Arenas, Chile – see penguins!
Jan. 4: 7am hopefully fly from Punta Arenas to Santiago, Chile
Jan. 4-8: explore Santiago, possibly hit the beach near Valparaiso, or see Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western hemisphere
Jan. 8: depart Santiago > Dallas/Fort Worth > Tokyo Narita > Incheon > bus to Daejeon
Jan. 10, approx. 10pm arrive back in Daejeon, hit the hay, and wake up to teach the next morning!
I have promised my brother that he will see pictures before June 2010, so stay tuned!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

Cross-country 2008

2009-05-24T10:32:00.002+09:00

Our motto for cross-country season 2008 was "To be feared." Our opponents are fearing us more and more as our team gets stronger and deeper with every season. Both the boys and the girls teams finished 4th in our KAIAC conference this season. This particular picture was on our first pre-meet Fun Friday practice. In the spirit of fear, we jogged out for practice with our faces painted, chanting "To Be Feared, To Be Feared." I'm not sure it had the desired result - instead, I think they were afraid of their coaches' sanity more than pumped for the next day's opening meet... A valiant and fun effort, at any rate.

Please visit fellow coach Meredith Bird's flickr site for more pictures. I don't have many of my own, since my attempts at photography during meets inhibits my ability to cheer, scream, and jump up and down to my fullest capacity. (thanks, Meredith!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/merraberrabird/2906525944/in/set-72157607587852553/

Spanish field trip!

2009-05-24T10:14:00.004+09:00

As one can imagine, the opportunities for authentic Spanish field trips in Korea are few and far between; however, the 20th Century Latinamerican Art Exhibit at the Korean National Museum of Art in Seoul warranted a daytrip up to Seoul on November 7. My Spanish Department parnter-in-crime, Kirstin, and I enjoyed a beautiful fall day with our 10-12th-grade students and artists like Kahlo, Rivera, Botero, Otero, Bracho, and Siquieros, among others. The museum is located inside the walls of one of the three palace grounds in the capital city, so we left the Latinamerican art inside the museum to enjoy the fall colors surrounding traditional Korean architecture. ¡Fenomenal! Our Friday in Seoul culminated with lunch at On the Border in Seoul, where we conversed en español over tortillas y salsa, burritos, tacos, y enchiladas. ¡Riquísimo!

October 20, 2008 - dinner with friends

2009-04-27T22:22:00.004+09:00

Mrs. Jung is the amazing high school secretary at our school. Ange and I like to get together with her when possible - which isn't very often, crazy-busy school at which we work! She has such a huge heart and, no matter how hectic it is in the office, she is always willing to help out a teacher or answer a question.

This particular evening we went to a kalbi (Korean pork bbq) restaurant with her daughter and Kirstin, my fellow high school Spanish teacher. A great evening was enjoyed by all!!!

Happy 30th to me!

2008-09-22T21:39:00.002+09:00

So, 30, 30 years old! Not bad, not bad. Tired of the 2 in my age, let's move on with it, eh? That weekend was our staff retreat in Kyongju, near the east coast of Korea. Dined at Bennigan's with some friends, listened to the waiters and waitresses sing "happy birthday" in Korean with guitar, dancing, and spirit fingers! I decided the 30th should be honored with a celebratory dance complete with jumps, hence one of the pictures in front of Bennigans. :) Oh, and it's customary to take many pictures of oneself in Korea, so my friend, Jen, went a little camera crazy.

Two days later, on Tuesday, my friend, Jaci, threw a surprise birthday party for me! It was really nice, we all visited and ate snacks, laughed, and of course I had to do a few more jumps! Good times! Check out the pictures on my flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065175@N02/

Lunar Break H4H, Tagaytay, Phillipines

2008-05-04T16:29:00.003+09:00

What a great trip with twelve amazing students and three other inspiring teachers! Over the course of the week, every kid grew in one or more of the following ways: their work ethic, their gratefulness and appreciation for their health and what they have, their realization that there is more to life than tests, cellphones and the SAT, their compassion, their maturity, and, most importantly, their relationship with the Lord, seeing His love in others and spreading His love.

Of course, as usual, there are hiccups along the way, like getting to bed early and being able to be at breakfast on time. However, a couple mornings of sprints up the steep 50m hill inspired a miraculous improvement in punctuality (these kids love having a cross-country coach on their trips).

On my second Habitat for Humanity trip to the Phillipines, I was fortunate to be on the trip that was returning to the same area where I had been two years before - Tagaytay, 2-3 hours north of Manila. This time we stayed at an apartelle across from a spectacular view of the Taal Lake and the Taal Volcano. Precioso! Even more precious are all of the smiling faces of the Filipino people, their relaxed, laidback attitudes, and their love for laughter. Our hosts, H4H members Bugs, Delly, Joelle, Zernan, and Paul - or, should I say, "the 1958 Phillipines Olympic Volleyball Team," as they humbled called themselves on our day at the beach - demonstrated this attitude along with a love for life, for people, and for singing karaoke (rock on!). I can't wait to return!

By now you all know better than to just expect a spattering of pictures...
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.c1ugsai3&x=0&y=-qd3gx3&localeid=en_US

Christmas 2007-08 Leg 2: Thailand

2008-05-04T16:10:00.004+09:00

Our Christmas trio hopped on a plane from Phnom Penh headed for the sandy beaches of Phuket, Thailand. After a Dairy Queen treat in the Bangkok airport (just don't see DQ in Korea!) before our connecting flight to Phuket, we settled into our hotel room in Karon Beach and went to enjoy the first of many delicious Thai meals (well, except for when Tiffany and Ange got sick - then nothing was delicious). We met up with friends and colleagues from Korea for a couple of days before Tiffany and I took off for an overnight snorkeling tour of the Similan Islands, a chain of 9 beautiful islands in the Andaman Sea, with the whitest, most powdery sand my toes have ever felt among them! Quite a production with speedboats everywhere during the day, but when the daytrippers left, the island was serene and quiet. We camped and managed to avoid seeing the python that others saw when trekking to the nearby beach to see the nocturnal chicken crabs. Ironically, we had opted to search for a different empty tent, since ours had many holes in it. After hearing about the python spotting and watching rats run across the pavilion floor that night, I still didn't have the most restful sleep, but it was much better than it would have been if we had stayed in the more "air-conditioned" tent!

We definitely enjoyed this relaxing leg of the trip before returning to Semester 2 of this school year!

Enjoy pictures at this link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.3zsd3m3v&x=0&y=-paqiem&localeid=en_US

Christmas 2007-08, Leg 1: Cambodia

2008-05-03T12:12:00.005+09:00

The Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), an open patio-style bar/restaurant with heavy leather wingback chairs, dark wood stools to match the thick wooden columns, and framed black-and-white photographs of life 20 and 30 years ago, as taken by those who used to frequent this establishment after a hard days work, both physically and emotionally. I couldn't help but imagine this place, overlooking the Tonle Sap River from its second-floor view, 30 years ago as Cambodia's borders opened and journalists and photographers from around the world came to record the footprints of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's mass genocide of their own people. Phnom Penh must have been virtually abandoned at that time, aside from some remaining revolutionaries, the Vietnamese who led the invasion into Cambodia, and the news correspondents; during Pol Pot's regime, the city's population was reduced to the bare minimum government workers and leaders, as everyone else was sent out to the countryside to complete their agrarian responsibilities. For most, it was inevitable that they and their families would eventually be sent to Tuol Sleng to be tortured and forced to confess to irrational and paranoid accusations of treason against the regime before being shipped off to the Killing Fields, where pieces of victims' clothing still litter the ground today.

The 5-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap provided us with a glimpse of life for the typical Cambodian. For the grand majority, every day seems to be a survival game; most huts had a few animals, and a small garden. The land was dry, mostly due to the season and to the fact that people cut down most of the trees to sell the wood. Survival.

Speaking of survival, our next destination before leaving Cambodia was Angkor Wat, the wonder of the world that survived a couple of centuries under the rule of the jungle, unknown to man until rediscovered in the mid-1800s. A source of pride for the Cambodian people, perhaps because the survival of this man-made marvel epitomizes their resilience in spite of their turbulent past and their certain survival despite the still-long road ahead of them - this sprawling city of great temples, many of which are still intact despite the huge bayon roots seemingly wanting to crush the walls to no avail.

All in all, the Cambodia experience left Tiffany, Ange, and me wiht a desire to learn more - and a determination to bring a leash for one counterpart who happened to lose her group in Angkor Wat while taking pictures... who could that be???

Paste the following link into your browser to check out my pictures!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.4cza6ok7&x=0&y=-b6dbxa&localeid=en_US

Korean Wedding

2007-11-11T23:02:00.000+09:00

A friend from my church, Insik, got married on October 6. This was a big deal, as he is the lone son of 6 children. His family is very dear to me; I go to movies with his older sister, Inok, and I go to the fruit market or have dinner with Insun and Inson and their children. Insun tells me which fruits are in season and which are not, and she tells me what is a good deal and what is not at the market. Of course, every time I see them, they hand me a bag full of apples, mandarins, and Asian pears or persimmons!

Last Lunar New Year, I spent a weekend at their parents' home in the countryside. They made me feel like a member of the family - and they really enjoyed the apple pie I contributed to the feasting! Not typical food for them. They remind me a lot of my family - they sit and talk and laugh together.

Nikole and I attended the wedding with other Korean friends from our church.

Steps to attending a Korean wedding:
1) Enter the door of the wedding hall (where often more than one wedding is taking place at once, in different rooms) and go to the counter for your wedding party. Hand over your envelope of money and receive your meal ticket.

2) Enter the large dining hall with your ticket, and line up for the LONG buffet line that includes all kinds of meats, sushi, several kimchis, salad, soups (rice porridge and pumpkin soup, normally), and desserts (rice cakes and fruit). Sit down at a table, usually next to people you don't know, who are guests of another wedding party.

3) Eat your food before the wedding begins.

4) Try to get a seat, or just stand at the back of the hall and chat during the ceremony.

5) Listen to the recorded fanfare as the groom, then the bride with her husband, enter.

6) Parents are seated at either side of the bride and groom as witnesses to the wedding

7) Smoke, bubbles, or colored lights may initiate at various moments of the ceremony

8) Bride attempts to not smile, and she keeps her gaze down so as to not run the risk of giving birth to a girl instead of a boy as the first child.

9) Opt to leave before the ceremony ends, if you have other pressing engagements, or want to eat more food

10) Couple bows to both parents

11) Pictures ensue after the ceremony - families, then all friends. A female friend is "chosen" to catch the bride's bouquet for the picture. She stands in front of the group of friends, with everyone looking on (Hint: choose a friend that can catch so several photos do not have to be taken)

12) Everyone leaves

Somewhat cookie-cutter and procedural, but to me still just as special to see a good friend get married. Hurray!

Check out the pictures!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.bbfp1pi7&x=0&y=434ynt

Chuseok in Okinawa, Sept. 24-28, 2007

2007-11-11T22:54:00.000+09:00

I finally made it to Okinawa, one of the southernmost islands of Japan, to visit my cousin, Shannon, who has now lived there for... 3-4 years with her husband and family. I was blessed to spend time with her and her newest son, Sammy, then only about 3 weeks old, and her 2-year-old son, Caleb. Shannon took me on a few outings, but the best part of the visit was just chatting with her and playing with Caleb. We had some good chats, didn't we, Shannon!

She also took me to the PX, where it was exciting to buy things like scented candles, greeting cards, and Cherry Coke! Yes, it's the little things.

Check out pictures from my trip. (I forgot to get a picture of Shannon and me! Tsk-tsk!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.2ywr5yzj&x=0&y=77z9qv

Birthday Girl

2007-09-06T23:07:00.000+09:00

Well, I've caught up with my three aunts - 29 years old! One group of students took me to a coffee shop for dessert (anything to get out of class!), my cross-country gave me notes, a piece of cake, a birthday hat, and doused me with water from our water relay (Fun Friday!)! Unbeknownst to me, a colleague snapped this picture while watching our Fun Friday relay day. I was modeling correct form (can't you tell??) for the backwards kick race... however, I seem to resemble a streaker in a cock-eyed hat who forgot the key step to streaking! Other than that, the photo is a fairly good representation of Coach Barrigar at cross-country practices - mouth wide open shouting something, at times comprehensible, at times not!

Friday night my fellow head coach and soon-to-be mommy, Jaci, held a birthday party for me, complete with snacks, cupcakes and ice cream, and good friends. On Saturday and Sunday, Ange, Chantal, Roni, Kirstin, and I made a run for Seoul, where we shopped, ate exotic foods (too exotic for some), and danced la salsa. ¡Increíble!

I'm ready for that next birthday - BRING IT!!! (but not right now... I can wait the required amount of time!)

Enjoy more birthday pix:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.2xorn4uf&x=0&y=-gwuxue

Back to the grindstone (and cross-country course)

2007-09-06T22:51:00.000+09:00

After a 2-month stint back in the States, Christie is back in Korea, and has been for about a month. Crazy how fast time flies! One moment I'm awaiting my connecting flight to Flint from Detroit, eagerly anticipating my return home to family and friends, then before I know it I'm seated for another 15-hour flight back to Asia. (Of course, 2 1/2 of those hours were spent rather leisurely in first class, as I was bumped up for the first time in my life from Tokyo to Seoul! WOW!)

It feels good to be back, although being back at TCIS equals constantly having something to do. Still, in returning to this warm community and in the faces of my returning students, a sense of belonging struck me.

The rainy season has decided to linger longer than normal, and suddenly last weekend we went from hot and humid rainy days to cool rainy days - the cool that usually occurs in November! On my rainy walks home, I recall with a smile on my face the same sort of walk home last spring, when in the midst of the dreariness and grey, a Korean food delivery man on his motorcycle, raingear head to toe, passed by whistling a cheerful tune that might as well have cleared the skies above his treadmarks! I keep hoping to see the same delivery man again one of these dreary evenings on my way home!

Despite the weather, our grueling practices, and our yelling, Jaci and I, along with our new asst. coaches, Meredith and Emily, still have aroun 60 kids coming back to cross-country practice day after day for the past 4 weeks! It's incredible! Our first meet is Saturday, and I'm very excited... although I must retrieve my voice before then! The ability to pace myself running does not necessarily mean I can pace my vocal strength. Of course, when I go singing the likes of "Flashdance" (with choreography) or "Dream On" at the no-rae-bang (singing room) with friends on Friday nights, that doesn't exactly help my condition! (sheepish grin)

I will try to be more regular with my blog updates... enjoy!

April in Korea

2007-06-03T09:43:00.000+09:00

Yes, I've been rather bad with the blogging this... semester. Catch-up time! Here are some pictures from the cherry blossom festival April in Korea, where I went with the Ham family, a special family from my church. It was nice to go to a park and not feel like we were in the middle of the city! Saw a no-rae-ma-dang music competition, with the traditional clothing, drums, and my personal favorite, the hat-streamer-spinners (I'm sure that is the exact translation) :) It was a beautiful Sunday that included music, culture, and many Korean families and couples wandering around the different booths and snacking picnic-style on ra-men, jja-jjang, kimchi, and sweet potatoes, to name a few options.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4zp3vcn.647jjx8r&x=0&y=-yt6bbw

Marathon results and the next destination... tomorrow morning

2007-03-23T22:56:00.000+09:00

Well, here are my results from the marathon. My goal was to run 4:15-4:30, so I reached my goal and kept a pretty steady pace! I was back to walking with my usual gait by Wednesday - only two days of hobbling!

471 (?? total place, I'm sure...) :)
Christie Barrigar (7390 - running number)
08:20:43am Start Time
08:49:19 5K
09:17:44 10K
09:46:12 15K
10:17:12 20K
10:47:18 25K
11:17:51 30K
11:50:22 35K
12:21:24 40K
10:24:15 Half-Marathon time
04:14:01 Total Time 42.195K

I really felt like running (strangely enough) on Wed., Thursday, and Friday, but I've been too busy with the end of the 3rd quarter, and getting ahead on my graduate classwork, since we have now begun spring break (March 23-April 1).

For spring break, I am headed to Bangalore, India, with four colleagues and a fantastic group of 8 students. We will be spending the week at an orphanage there with more than 100 precious children from Bangalore and even from northern India! We will play with them, make crafts (my duty was to plan crafts), sing and dance, and hold a vacation Bible school over the week. I'm so excited!!

I have a lot to catch up with on my blog, from Lunar New Year weekend, which I spent with friends from church at their parents' home in the country, to my weekend in Hong Kong for a conference. Unfortunately, my pictures will not load onto my blog at this moment, so I'll have to send them another time! I PROMISE!

The Seoul Int'l Marathon!

2007-03-18T21:13:00.000+09:00

Well, I made it, although my lower body is NOT very happy with me at this moment.

Today, March 18, after training since the beginning of November, I ran my first marathon... and probably my last... It went very well, though! Although expecting the jitters I would equate to waiting in line for a monster rollercoaster with a dual sense of excited anticipation and fearful dread, I felt none of the latter. We - April, Virginia, Mike, and I - woke up and headed down to the starting line, which was a 15-minute walk from our hotel. Energetic Koreans were leading aerobic warm-ups for the participants, energy gels and shorts were for sale, as well as traditional Korean snacks (for pre-race??) such as bondeggi (silkworm larvae) and processed fish on a stick). I passed on that. Fireworks started the race at 8am, then approximately half an hour later we crossed the starting line and passed the statue of famed General Yi SungShin, officially beginning our race.

So mind-boggling that 23,000 runners reigned over so many main roads in Seoul! It was a pretty flat course that ended in the Olympic Stadium (awesome!). I felt great for most of the race with the exception of the last couple of kms (but hey, it's the last couple of kms!). Of course, I didn't walk through the water/gatorade stations located every 5 km (3 mi.) after the 30-km mark because I didn't think my quad muscles would allow me to start running again. I'm eager to see my splits and my official final time.

However, the best part of this marathon for me was the fact that I didn't fret about my finish time. Although I wanted to run it between 4:15-4:30, I saw the race as a sightseeing tour of Seoul by foot and enjoyed the many traditional Korean drumming groups that entertained us along the way, as well as the favorite cheer, "Hwa-ee-ting!!!!" (Fighting, Korean-style) I didn't even wear a running watch. Quite a step for me to not be competitive with myself and set high expectations. In the end, I think I met my goal, or even surpassed it, but the official results are not yet posted. My guess for my final time is about 4:05-4:10. WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!! I must say, we had an amazing fan club - Sally, Kirsten, and Jaci, Mike's wife and my co-cross country coach, who had been training with us up until 2 months ago when she found out she was pregnant (hurray, but what timing!). I think they should get medals for being the best cheerleaders of the day and ambassadors of goodwill!!

Pictures to come! And, with this post, I hope it's a start to catch up on the past three months, which include a trip to Germany and Austria, Lunar New Year holiday in the country with a warm and inviting Korean family from church (that spoke little English - an adventure!), and a weekend in Hong Kong for a Spanish conference (ole!).

To bed I go, with hopes of being able to get OUT of bed tomorrow morning!!

DEUTCHLAND AND AUSTRIA

2006-12-21T23:55:00.000+09:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Exams are finished, grades are in, the first semester has come and gone. What does this mean?

Christie's off to Germany and Austria! That's right, I took up my friend, Ros, on her invitation to visit and travel with her over the Christmas holiday. Ros and I taught together at Indianhead, my first school here in Korea, and she is now teaching in Dresden, Germany. I'm looking forward to traveling again with my Aussie friend! Also, we will have the opportunity to spend a few days with my Spanish friend, Paco, who will be my skiing buddy on Christmas Day in Innsbruck!! I've skiied in Michigan... how different could the Alps be after not skiing for four years???!!!! (Let's hope I don't follow my brother's lead with international injuries... OH! Sorry bro, are you reading?!) CENSOR, CENSOR

Anyway, here is my itinerary... kind of hazy after New Year's:

Dec. 22: arrive in Munich at 5pm
Dec. 23: travel to medieval Rothenburg by train to see the last day of their famous Christmas markets
Dec. 24: back to Munich to meet Ros, then onward to Innsbruck
Dec. 25: skiing!!! Merry Christmas! Yodel-eh-ee-who!!
Dec. 26-28: Salzburg, where I will sing all songs from The Sound of Music as many times as possible while prancing around the city and its surrounding filming sights
Dec. 28-30: Vienna, where we will hopefully be able to catch a concert
Dec. 31: train back to Dresden for New Year's Eve with Ros' colleagues
Jan. 2: Ros returns to school... and I will soonafter head to Prague for a couple of days
Jan. 4-8: Day trips from Dresden, perhaps an overnight to Berlin...
Jan. 9: back to Munich to see the city and Neufchenstein Castle (I love castles!)
Jan. 11: back to Korea...

So, there you have it, expect pictures and stories to come at the end of this journey! Enjoy the journey, as my family and friends back in the States are always with me, on my mind, on these trips!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Always thinking about you!

Love,

Christie

Kimchi-making time!

2006-12-21T23:25:00.000+09:00

KIM-JANG: the span of time (approx. two weeks in November) when all married women in Korea get together with the womenfolk of their family - or of their church, in this case - to make the year's supply of kimchi. What is kimchi, you ask?? At it's most basic, fermented cabbage with oodles of red pepper powder, garlic, salt, sesame oil, radish,... and I think that's all...

Having lived in Korea for almost four years now, and having acquired a taste for this potent Korean staple that emanates from your pores for the rest of the day and night, I decided that I could not let another year pass without taking part in this annual event. So, I took a personal day and helped with my friends, the women at my church!

The entire process took about 5 hours - mind you, I attend church with some very experienced kimchi makers who have this down to a science! The kimchi was packed away in plastic tubs large and small, and either left outside sealed tight or placed in the kimchi refrigerator (YES, this is necessary unless one wants ALL of the food in his/her refrigerator to have a kimchi taste and smell) to let time take its toll on the heads of cabbage.

Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch prepared by the pastor's wife. Good times!!!

"Thanksgiving dinner" at church

2006-12-21T22:48:00.000+09:00

I have found an amazing community at the church I have been attending the past eight months. With the exception of about five to ten of us teachers from the school that attend, everyone else are Koreans, most of whom only speak Korean. In the past month the church purchased headsets so we can listen to the sermon while sitting with the rest of the congregation instead of huddled in the back, listening to Jen's translation (she's the pastor's daughter and speaks English, as well as her brother, Jae).

Anyway, every Sunday at noon, after the service, we all go upstairs and enjoy a Korean lunch together. Well, one of my fellow teachers suggested loudly that we prepare an American lunch for everyone sometime. She said this with the pastor's wife in earshot, and she LOVED the idea!

ME? Well, I loved the idea of paying back the community somehow for their kindness. However, preparing a meal for fifty people for the first time was not at the top of my list. I first wanted to help them prepare a few meals, to see how much food they needed and just get some experience cooking for a mass of people. The next Sunday, however, Pastor's wife approached me and asked if November 18 would be alright for us to prepare this meal (she approached me about it because I am the oldest of us foreigners that attend the church - that's how it goes here, I was responsible).

How did it go? We all worked as a team, half of us in charge of desserts and my half in charge of the main course - 6 shepherd's pies, 5 baked spaghetti, and garlic bread. It turned out pretty well! They liked it, although I think the shepherd's pie with its rosemary flavor was a bit bland for the Korean taste buds. We cooked all of the pies and spaghettis in mine and my neighbors' ovens in my building, which is all staff apartments (the church kitchen does not have ovens, since most Korean food is prepared on the stove). In the end, it was fun! When will we cook next??... don't ask, please!

Pins and Needles

2006-12-04T22:09:00.000+09:00

My marathon training for March 18, 2007 in Seoul was off to a rocky start back at the end of October; I had been suffering from a stubborn left knee for the last couple of weeks of our cross-country season. Runners do not take it sitting down when an injury arises and warrants rest and recuperation. However, I knew that if I wanted to be able to run with Jaci, my co-cross-country coach, and April and Virginia, two other colleagues that work as dorm RAs, I better allow my knee the chance to get well.

Then I remembered what I had been waiting to try since arriving in Korea: ACUPUNCTURE! Where better to take advantage of the centuries-old form of medicine right here in the area of the world where it originated!! (How blessed am I that three years had to pass before I would need a doctor!) One of my cross-country athletes, Dennis, who had also been suffering from a knee injury, visited an acupuncturist and, a week later, came back to train and eventually become our #4 runner! I decided I had better give the pins and needles a try.

I arrived at the clinic and was seated with as diagnosis form that included questions ranging from my age to my alcohol intake to various details regarding my "feces," as well as questions about my muscle, joint, and bone "symptoms." The nurse took my blood pressure then stood me on what was labeled a "body composition machine," on which I had to grip a silver-plated handle in each hand as the screen's bar graph slowly crept up to... well, some point that must have meant something to the nurse, but nothing to me. Next she sat me at another machine my feet again on metal plates, holding two metal rods with a strap around my forehead. I felt a bit like Frankenstein, only not strapped to a table (yet) and no metal rods poking out of my neck... was that a heavy-duty form of acupuncture the Doctor was trying on the big guy, come to think of it?? Hmmmm, let's nevermind that. Anyway, the machine began scribbling frantically on a chart with red, blue, and black pens, marking a picture of the human body and creating bar graphs on the sheet of paper. FASCINATING!

How pleasantly surprising it was to sit down with the doctor one-on-one for about 20 minutes while he asked ME questions about MY body rather than just looking at a chart or down my throat and in my ears for five minutes before diagnosing me and sending me out to pay the hefty bill (as occasionally happens in Western medicine these days). Granted, some of that time he spent sweating profusely as he struggled to recall the necessary English for his questions.

He next led me into a different room where I laid on a warm marble table/bed (actually, hard marble beds are quite popular here in Korea, and people spend a lot of money for the "luxury"). The doctor placed a heating pad on the stubborn left knee before proceeding to quickly stab six small embroidery-size needles into me - right palm, wrist, thumb, inner elbow, right foot, and lower right shin. He vigorously twisted a few of them as if tuning an instrument. After the subtle pinch, I felt nothing. He also focused a heating lamp down over my feet as if they were a burger and fries up for an order.

As I laid still for twenty minutes, I couldn't help but marvel at the age-old treatment. How did he know EXACTLY where to position the needles? How does that particular place on my palm, leg, or elbow affect my heel or knee? And how did the pioneers of this ancient medicine discover it? Thousands of years have passed since someone in the old Asian countryside, at a loss for any other cure, decided that perhaps a swift poke, or series thereof, would at least distract the patient from the original pain. However in doing that, he hit the jackpot - or pressure point - and was healed.

My attention was unpleasantly snapped back to the present by the modern Western music playing above me; how can one consider the incredulity of the mysterious "needlework" with Jamiroquai's 90's hit "Virtual Insanity" rudely interrupting my reverie among the scholars and early Chinese doctors??

The last three treatments included a two pulsating patches that tried to jumpstart my knee, a quick chiropractic session, and a waterbed massage.

For two hours I underwent these various treatments and paid a trand total of $10. CRAZY! Pennies in comparison to the cost of 5 minutes with the chiropractor in the States!

After a week and a half that totaled about 5 visits, my knee pain disappeared... of course, I haven't had the chance to go back in the past two weeks, and my knee's stubbornness has returned, which means that I must return to ancient China... in my mind, at least, while I lay upon the nice warm, marble bed!

EVERYONE GO TRY ACUPUNCTURE! If you keep your eyes closed, you'll forget that there are needles dangling from just beneath your skin! :)

Cross-country season

2006-11-01T21:56:00.000+09:00

Our cross-country season officially ended on Saturday, October 21, at our KAIAC tournament. I have no pictures from that meet, by then having accepted the fact that I cannot cheer to my utmost AND take pictures. Besides, whenever I have tried to multitask, I forget that my trusty Canon is strapped around my neck, and it's probably not too good for my camera to accompany me on my speedy scrambles from view/cheerpoint A to point B.

Our numbers overshot sixty in our first weeks, but they slowly dwindled to fourteen girls and twenty-six boys. Still great numbers, in Jaci's and my opinion! We had fantastic weather throughout the season. I didn't have to even pack my blue winter hat for any of the meets, and I never once had to wear long pants to practices or meets. Super!

At every meet as well as at practice, I counted my blessings for being able to spend time running with these kids. Over the season we saw kids assume their leadership positions as captains; learn that there's more to being a member of a team than running fast; gain confidence in themselves after realizing that they can do much more than they think they can; form much-needed friendships; make me laugh; drool on each other on the bus rides to and from meets; and have FUN running! I love having the opportunity to get to know the kids outside the classroom, and that they get to know me is... well, fun for me, perhaps scary for them. :) Yes, I do seem to be on a constant freakish runner's high!

Anyway, I'll be posting more pictures of the kids on ofoto. Oh, and I have decided to train for a marathon in March in Seoul along with my fellow coach, Jaci, her husband, Mike, and April, another staff member. Hurray?

Holy Cow!

2006-10-18T22:52:00.000+09:00

The moo-moo fiasco began on our first night in Bali, in the van enroute to our villa from the airport. In our excitement over FINALLY arriving at our destination and having caught the first sunset glimpses of the paradise around us, the four of us were quite chatty with our driver. He, in turn, was explaining the sights we passed and answering our questions about the scenes we were passing. One scene was actually a Hindu ceremony at one of the many temples populating the sides of the road. We inquired about this, and he mentioned that this week marked a very important Hindu ceremony that his village would be celebrating all week. We expressed interest and excitement about this, all four of us curious and eager to learn about the people and the religion here, so he suggested that we all go together, that he would show us the ceremony.

Due to our continued inquiries into this week's momentous Hindu occasion, three days later we dressed in traditional Balinese batiks, thanks to Nyoman's friend who graciously lent us the clothing. Why? To attend what Nyoman repeatedly referred to as simply "the ceremony" at his temple back home in his village on the shore of beautiful Lake Batur and at the foot of the Mt. Batur volcano.

Despite the touristy markets he took us to along the way, as well as the buffet restaurant that probably cost as much as three days of meals in our villa ($15), we were still positive and hopeful about this opportunity to learn more about Hinduism. Also it was important to Nyoman, I believe, so I'm glad we went so he could partake of this "ceremony" with his old neighbors and friends. Unfortunately, in our stupefied, dazed state of Bali vacation relaxation, none of us thought to associate "Hindu ceremony" with "holy cow," let alone contemplate what they do with the holy cows...

When we finally did speak up and ask, "So, Nyoman, what can we expect to observe during this ceremony?", our driver replied by dropping the unexpected bomb - FIVE cows would be sacrificed during this ceremony. FIVE (5)!! Stunned into a moment of silence, we exchanged uneasy glances that asked, "Did we understand him correctly??" After all, it was not uncommon for us to mistake Nyoman's words or hear him unclearly, due in part to his accent, the blare of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" from his love compilation CD, and his seat in the front of our van. We promptly asked for more clarification and details about how this was done; however, the response was unclear. We gathered that the cows were drowned in the lake. Something to do with a rock. Were they killed first? Were they hit over the head with a rock? No, no... that would result in killing, and they were not killed before going into the lake. The rock was tied around their necks, then they were drowned. Our questions ended for the time being, basically because Nyoman seemed not to know how to answer them.

The ensuing silence (apart from Celine, that is) allowed our imaginations (and fears) to fill in the gaps of this ritual we were going to observe . Would they round up the cows on a raft and push them off in the middle of the lake with the rocks secured around their necks? Now, cows may not be the smartest animal - though the most sacred - but how are the lucky citizens in charge of the logistics of this cow-drowning going to coax these five cows into the depths of Lake Batur?? Throwing some hay or even some carrots into the water will not be convincing enough to make them cannonball themselves into their sacrificial deathbed, will it? If left up to us, we could have spared some of our rum or tequila to loosen them up a bit (even some 40-proof arak, if they were partial to strictly Balinese products), then take them for a walk out to the lake "to cool them off." Would they be drunkety-drunk-drunk enough to take the last few paces to their deaths in the deep end, though? Hmmm... that method, although tasty in the last moments of the cows' lives, needs some more thought.

Angela, the resident farmgirl, expressed concern about the panic factor. Any living being has a sense for danger, especially life-threatening danger. How would a huge animal like a cow, fattened real-nice for sacrifice, react to a rock being tied around its neck, followed by a push into the water by those lucky cow sacrificers? Most likely more than just the cow would end up in the water. Is that the intent, perhaps - to give a little something extra? OK, enough senseless speculation, Christie. Honestly.

The ride from lunch to the village was a quiet half-hour, zigzagging down the hillside, into the ancient volcano, among the volcanic rock, which was far beyond its five o'clock shadow with its dry grass growing atop to provide a splash of color to the landscape.

The four of us were silenced by our thoughts, concerns, and imaginations, vividly pre-enacting the events to transpire during this ceremony. Becca spoke up for all of us, informing Nyoman that we wanted to observe from a distance, from the back, not up front. We imagined the Hindus, in their elation over our presence and interest in their rituls, placing us on the raft with the five cows so as to get the best view. Angela was cringing at the horribly traumatic sound and sight of a cow thrashing and struggling against imminent death. Then we began to wonder if WE were the ones to be sacrificed - four whiteys dressed in Balinese batiks of the finest order for the gods. After all, everywhere we went, the Balinese admired our clothing, asking where we bought it and how much we paid. Was this all a conspiracy? Lastri and Weni and Pipin fatten us up with the deliciously filling Balinese meals back at the villa, Nyoman's friend generously offering her batiks for us to wear, thereby winning additional favor from the gods, and Nyoman basically tying the rocks around our necks. Goodness! How could we not have seen through this scheme?!

In the end, however, we arrived too late for the cow sacrifice. Bummer. With the encouragement of the worshipers in the temple, who insisted that we walk around and take pictures of their holy place, that "it is your temple, too," we wandered around and observed. Later we followed Nyoman from the main temple to a smaller temple on the edge of the lake; while he prayed inside the temple, the four of us faced the calm, blue waters and said silent prayers for the five cows at the bottom of the lake. Poor guys! During our long return trip to Ubud, Nyoman quenched our religious curiosity by answering our numerous questions about Hindu beliefs; however, we failed to acquire more details about the holy cow sacrifices until our return trip to the airport on our last night , at which point we were able to gather... well, perhaps I'll just let you inquire about the graphic details if interested. What I will say, though, is thank goodness we were not considered holy whiteys!

Beautiful Bali

2006-10-13T06:31:00.000+09:00

My friends - Becca, Angela, and Ashley - and I have been trying to believe that we were actually in scenic, green Bali only a week ago, relaxing in the sun with our books or journals, marveling at the scarcity of tall buildings, concrete, 4-lane roads, expressways. What was left? An abundance of green - banana trees, rice fields occupying terraces stepping high above or far below the narrow, optimistic 2-lane roads in places, bushes that engulf whole walls with a beautiful natural wallpaper, beautiful flowers that emit heavenly scents, and, of course, PALM TREES, still one of my favorites!

Particularly after the adventures we experienced to finally arrive on the tropical island of Indonesia, which echoed the old Candy/Martin movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Bali really did seem like heaven. Our travels from Korea to Nagoya, Japan, by train and plane, followed by our unexpected detour by train to Tokyo Station and, eventually, by taxi to Narita Airport, Japan, amounted to about 14 hours of travel and a night's sleep of three hours on those comfy airport benches before awakening at 6 AM to the pitter-patter of little Japanese heels scurrying to their posts for work. But, hey, we boarded a plane for Bali at 11 AM on Saturday!

The people were the most rewarding part of the trip, with their limitless daily allowance of warm kind smiles. We split an unbelievable villa on a hillside outside of Ubud complete with four employees - a cook, Lastri, expecting her third child in about four months; a maid/cook, Wenli, who also did our laundry; Pipin, a soft-spoken guy our age, originally from Java, who was basically in charge of the villa while the German artist owner was gone; and Chandra, the older groundskeeper with whom I immediately felt a bond through our incredible affinity for high-fives and the thumbs-up. Lastly, of course, we have Nyoman (which means "3rd child" - the Balinese name their children according to birth order), who was our funny, charismatic, and borderline creepy (flirtatious with Ashley) driver. He had a great sense of humor that allowed us to joke around with him and be sarcastic without it going over his head. Common Nyoman phrases included the following: "Are you happy, Christin (what most people called me there)?"; "No problem!"; "Whatever you want, boss?" We tried not to let this go to our heads. :)

Our last night, we invited the above five to eat dinner with us to show our appreciation for their kindness and hospitality that seemed to reach beyond what one would expect of cabin or villa staff. They humbly accepted and were rather surprised - during dinner they shocked us with some stories of how previous villa guests have treated them. How could anyone be so rude to such wonderful people? That night was probably my favorite - to sit and enjoy the DELICIOUS Balinese food and coffee prepared by Lastri and Wenli WITH the cooks and other staff.

Other Bali experiences included a monkey forest where memories of my last encounter with wild monkeys, on Gibraltar, came flooding to the forefront of my mind. I observed their monkey business from a distance... Another day we enjoyed a long drive to the Tulamban divesite where I dived a WWII shipwreck and a reef wall, both resembling mature underwater gardens, just without the scents, while the others snorkeled. We did some shopping, our villa located outside the Balinese town known for its traditional handicrafts. It was so nice to not see the golden arches, Starbucks, or KFC for an entire week! We also experienced a rip-off, being told that we NEEDED to take a boat to a secluded beach and snorkeling cove, only to find that it was a 5-minute walk from the port where we left... tsk, tsk, tsk. However, WE WERE IN BALI, so nothing could bring us down from our... Cloud Nine villa!

More later, including an excerpt from my journal about our day that included a Hindu ceremony at our driver's village near a volcano and five sacrificial cows... it's a little something I like to call "Holy Cow!"