#//but no. the one other person at the station (who's been waiting 20min and has a bus transfer @ the end of the line she's gonna miss now)

[writedisaster]

        the public transit system here can really and truly eat my damp asshole

[kimberley2021]

Day 3 9th August

We now have 13 on the tour from today(max is 21) plus driver and hostess. 3 are from the tour I was part of in the past 2 days and rest joined today. The group joining are a group of 7 people all friends or related and about 30ish age group. Remainder are in the 50- late 60’s ,1 81yr old and a daughter of one in her early 40’s. A very nice group so far so should be a happy trip. Today we left at 0630 and dove to about 2+hrs to a famous Road House on the way to Derby and had breakfast. It was all set up on a lovely shady lawn area and very pleasant. Even able to buy a real coffee at the road house and of course a toilet. Toilets become a real focus when you are driving distance and don’t have control on stops. However of course there is the Bush wee option if desperate😂. The Roadhouse was very busy with road trains and horse carriers,caravans, cars and tourist buses. Took your life in Your hands to cross from where we had breakfast at one side to the roadhouse door! Apparently the horse transport numbers are due to a big Rodeo and Broome races all occurring the weekend we are away.

Seen lots Boab trees and then the Derby Prison Tree and big trough. Here we also filled in our census online as we are out of reception for several days once we leave derby. There is also very little to no access to power for those days so couldn’t charge if we did have acces😂. Then depends on you provider after that.To do it on the night we would have had to travel 30kms do it by paper and drive back and access to the paper versions closed before we got anywhere close🤔.

We then drove to Derby to Norval Aboriginal Gallery. Beautiful paintings and even had someone sitting outside painting. I didn’t succumb to pearls bu did to a beautiful vibrant painting from the gallery! Fortunately I had it shipped home so no extra luggage. Then as I am told everyone who passes through Derby does we went out to the Jetty.

Now on the Gibb River Road with our destination Windjana Gorge where we’re camping.

Just saw some Brolgas which are apparently harder to see in the dry. Then stopped on the side of the road to collect wood for tonight’s fire (no power at the site). Discovered that collection of wood is another task we do every few days. We all went into the Bush dragged it in and then helped pass it up to Sean (Doc) our driver who was storing it on the roof. We turned out to be pretty fast and good collectors.

We went to Windjana Gorge and camped. Very remote and unpowered site again. Your headlamp is definitely your friend on this trip🤣. There were showers and toilets all set out individually but only about 6. This night we had swags and our sleeping bags and could put up our own little tent if we wished. However it was recommended to sleep in the swag under the stars which I did. An unreal experience. Even had a wallaby sniff around me and the swag next to me. We had a bit of a laugh when one of the younger men complained of being cold overnight and turns out he slept directly in his swag, no sleeping bag! We also had a drama when both men lost their mobiles, everyone mobilized and found one still in the pocket of the stored tent and one had been put in his wife’s bag for safety but he forgot to tell his wife🤣. Has become a bit of a joke all trip.

The stars that night were spectacular because no light pollution.

In the late afternoon we went for a walk into the gorge which is incredibly pretty with lots of water and lots fresh water crocs! One pool is ok so we had a swim in that.

We of course had a fire pit fire that night which was lovely as we all sat around had dinner and chatted.

We couldn’t do Tunnel Creek due to a rock fall a few days earlier.

Notes 10th

Notes Bells Gorge

Very rough nearly 3 hr drive there, stopped twice for photos and included a Bush wee,King Leopold Ranges magnificent. Once arrived it is a km walk downhill over rocks and pebbles, very rough and includes a slight water crossing. When you get there a number of smallish pools or upper pools greet you and a big view down to the bottom of the gorge where there is the lower pool and a waterfall. The upper pools are cold but the lower ones are freezing! After all that work to get here all I wanted was a swim! Pragmatism won and I decided to stay at the lower pools, one person went straight back after the walk and the rest went on to the lower pool. The lower pools are freezing, the access into the water is mossy and slippery which is fine getting in but I noted they had some problems getting out. They now need to walk 20mins to get back to me and then we walk the km out. We both got a swim. I have had a lovely time dipping into the water then walking and now under the shade where my back pack is I am sitting on a rock seat I made for myself with available suitable rocks so I don’t have to sit in the sand writing this waiting for them to get back.

More scrambling over rocks and swimming! Very rough roads at time in after dark at Manning River site. Tents fixed but showers and toilets as usual distance away and hot water turned off 8pm along with lights! They turn the generator off! Will see how I go getting to the toilet my usual 4 times. Another 5.30am up breakfast at 6 and walking to Manning falls which included swimming a river and climbing over more rocks! Will see how far I go! Then another walk and swim after lunch!

Wednesday 11th

Freezing this morning and the usual 0530 wake up. Decided not to go to Manning Falls. Not keen on the cross river swim in the cold plus a rocky walk for. Km to arrive at the steep decent to the falls and swim pool and I can’t do those steep rocky descents so would have done all the hard work and no swim! . Also seen gorges and swim holes and another (easier to get to one that doesn’t require rock climbing skills 🤣) this afternoon.

The area of the Manning river here at this campsite is just a few hundred yards walk and is stunning. Wonderful to have a gentle swim and explore and even has sandy white beach! Spent a wonderful morning in the water chatting to people crossing the river to start the Walk to the Manning falls. Probably the most relaxing start to a day yet. We have been going from early to sundown every day and apparently will do for the whole trip! Whole trip is physical activity heavy and along with setting up and taking down camps, helping with meals, firewood and any other jobs. We are up before 0530 every day and finish and to bed between 2000-2100. We have had a fire pit last 2 nights and last night had roast lamb and Veges cooked in The camp oven on the fire. After dinner we usually sit around the fire for a while and get tomorrow update. We also sit around the fire in the period while dinner is cooking and have a drink. Yes we were able to order alcohol at Broome(we paid for it) and it was loaded into the truck in big eskies which we keep iced during the trip! Restriction is that drinks need to be in tin or plastic as the vibration would break glass in the sky and has been known to cause tins to break! We also went to Adcock Gorge (ok but not exciting but a truly terrible road to get into it!) and Galvins Gorge which is spectacular and I got photos of that!

Thursday 12th

Longest drive of the trip from Manning River (Mt Barnett) to el Questro over about 8hrs all bone rattling on the Gibb!

We have done a lot of driving on the Gibb river road and rough in places with some bitumen some graded and some not. The closer you get to El Questro end the rougher it got. It is bone rattling especially after a couple of hour! On the way to El Questro we stopped including at Ellenbrae Station whose claim to fame is its scones and cream! The part of the Gibb going this way was surprisingly winding in parts and the whole area is mountainous so you are going up and then down. EllenBrae is Real oasis and also does a small campsite. Apparently all the stations make their money on the tourism but are Obliged according to the lease arrangements with the state to run at least 2,000 head of cattle all the time. They all do it but just let the cattle run free with pretty much no fences or care unless the cattle prices go up (every few years) then they get them herded by helicopter and employ the bull grabbers(or some such name) who drive fast with a contraption on the vehicle which somehow grabs the bull. Sounds dangerous! The station manager and his wife are friends of Doc’s so they gave us a bit of an over view of life on the isolated stations. We had some drama when we went to leave to discover we had a flat! Doc was laying in the dust getting it done and the wood he had under the lifter thing kept sinking into the soft earth so he had to borrow more from his mate. Then when the spare was being lowered it didn’t come right down and some judicious application of WD 40 was needed. All round quite an effort but at least it was in relative civilisation with shade for us and a toilet! Again we were very fortunate. We then kept on rattling along the Gibb including a side trip the actual Gibb River, photos at Durack River and crossing and photos at the Pentecost. Earlier we had been able to see some recent rock paintings. Also unfortunately we saw quite a few dead cane toads☹️. Also went to Telstra Hill overlooking the Pentecost River. Then I to El Questro which is a pretty slick operation. The company has tents set up here and camp kitchen and the ablutions are very good and prolific relative to other sites and has hot water and power plus our first phone reception for 3 days! I up graded to a bigger tent with power (read lead with power board fed into the tent and into which are plugged a fan and a bedside light! ) It was 38 and stinking hot in the tent but the fan helped as the evening wore on. Real beds as well and a treat after camp beds and sleeping bags. We went out this morning to Zebedee springs which is a hot water spring of 3 pools, rocky and in tropical setting and easy walk in for a change😂. Spent hour or so there and it was idyllic. The off to Emma Gorge which also has Resort facility’s including a pool, restaurant shop and excellent facilities. I decided not to do the hour walk to yet another waterfall and pool when Doc said it is an ankle breaker of a walk. We have clambered over more than our fair share of rocks on the tour to the extent we are becoming part mountain goat🤣🤣. Anyway I opted for a big mug capacino and a wander through the lush gardens, shop and then laying by the pool waiting for the walkers. It was another 38 day and they were hot and exhausted! Felt I had made the right choice. We have since come back to our ElQuestro which is still hot so sitting by the river pool in the shade doing this blog since after lunch. Coolest place to be at present. 5pm we need to order our dinner as it is the cooks night off, so just pay for yourself pub food, then shower, pack for an early start again to leave for Kununurra and on to Lake Argyle which is our next overnight and to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy start as we are leaving so it is a full camp pack up not just for the day so up about 5am to achieve that! Dinner at the pub and pack. The donkey that lives here and roams free was right outside my tent about 11pm!the pub here has live music every night but thankfully stops at 8.30pm.

[blucmoon]

━  ☾ ⊹  ( kim hyunjin, cis female , she/her ) say hello to SHIM YUNHEE, the TWENTY ONE YEAR OLD that seems to have a lot in his hands with HER job as a GAS STATION ASSISTANT! beyond that, they seemed RESPONSIBLE AND LOYAL upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of SELF-DETACHED AND IMPATIENT though. SHE seems to live in a 3 BEDROOM HOUSE in YUNHWA, SOUTH KOREA. anything else to add? oh, yeah! she also USED TO BE A SOCCER PLAYER UNTIL SHE BROKE HER ANKLE MID-GAME AND WAS ADVICED TO NEVER PLAY AGAIN.

stats

⋆ ― full name: shim yunhee ⋆ ― nicknames: yuni / yunee (sounds like yun 2) ⋆ ― age: twenty one ⋆ ― date of birth: january 8th, 2000. ⋆ ― birthplace: yunhwa, south korea. ⋆ ― current location:yunhwa, south korea ⋆ ― living arrangements: hwesakgu, house #3021. ⋆ ― ethnicity: korean ⋆ ― nationality: korean ⋆ ― gender: cis female ⋆ ― pronouns: she / her ⋆ ― orientation: : ) ⋆ ― religion: atheist ⋆ ― occupation: assistant @ gangmoon gas station ⋆ ― language(s) spoken: korean (fluent), english (advanced level) ⋆ ― accent: heavy

physical appearance

⋆ ― faceclaim: loona’s kim hyunjin. ⋆ ― hair: naturally brown, has only dyed it twice in her life. once red for more than half a year when she was a freshman at college and now it’s currently dyed to black. lets it down most of the time without doing anything to it, much preferring it’s natural waves (even though there are many). still, her second go-to style are messy ponytails and buns, followed by half up-do’s. only when tries to exert a little more effort, she either curls it on straightens it completely. ⋆ ― makeup: minimal, only started wearing mascara and eyeliner in college and still has trouble to draw even lines in both eyes. other than that, she applies colored chapsticks in red and pink hues. ⋆ ― eye colour: brown. ⋆ ― gaze: dreamy and pensive, slightly strained, often expressing attentiveness, sardonic irony or melancholy. ⋆ ― height: 163cm / 5'4" ft ⋆ ― weight: 48kg ⋆ ― tattoos: none yet. ⋆ ― default expression: solemn, monotonous but often shows light amazement or full interest when having a conversation that piques her interest. showcases a polite half-smile in an attempt to come across as a trustworthy person, otherwise her gestures are timid and undemonstrative. ⋆ ― markings: scar large scar on her left ankle from a recent surgery, small scratches and some other bruises all over her legs and arms. ⋆ ― piercings: lobe and upper lobe on both ears. double helix on the right one. most of the time in yunhwa she’d cover them by letting her hair down and on those occasions where she feels like having it up in a ponytail or any updo, she only wears earrings on the standard lobe. silver and black jewelry pieces are the things she wears more often. ⋆ ― clothing style: ranges between casual and sport casual. jeans, shorts, graphic t-shirts, loose blouses, oversized sweaters are her go-to when her mother reproaches her about wearing leggings, joggers and sweatshirts too often. whenever she wants to look different and think more about what to wear, she asks yunmi for advice and will most likely go with whatever she tells her with minimal adjustments. she admittedly likes to wear flowy dresses in summer and skirts every now and then, but feminine clothing like that always makes her feel a little out of place and uncomfortable.

health

⋆ ― allergies: none ⋆ ― sleeping habits: 7-8 hours daily, throughout her life in college she developed the habit of waking up really early thus she’s considered a morning person. has more energy in the morning compared to the rest of the day and would often nap 20min-1hour in the afternoon. can easily fall asleep anywhere and most all the time, she sleeps on her side hugging something, which has been difficult to do so after the surgery. ⋆ ― eating habits: not a picky eater but a slow one. likes to take her time enjoying her meals and is usually the last one to finish her food. eats whatever presented to her and always up to try new dishes. has the habit of snacking between meals, though because of her previous strict regimen, her snacks were mostly fruits, vegetable and healthy snacks overall. now, she just eats whatever without caring about the calories count. ⋆ ― exercise habits: used to exercise daily on her own + the soccer practices. now, she has to go twice a week for physical therapy to a hospital in busan. ⋆ ― emotional stability: 6/10 ⋆ ― conditions: lesion - fractured ankle that required her to undergo surgery. ⋆ ― needs: glasses for reading, but wears contacts outside her home. currently wearing a walking boot / orthopedic shoe in her left foot thus she also uses crutches to walk around. however, this doesn’t apply much at home where she completely disregards the crutches and prefers skipping around with her healthy foot or carefully walking with the boot (though mindful of not applying too much weight on her left side.) ⋆ ― body temperature: average ⋆ ― drug use: none. ⋆ ― alcohol use: socially a handful of times in college, med-high tolerance.

family

⋆ ― father: shim junho ⋆ ― mother: jo minha ⋆ ― grandfather: shim changsook ⋆ ― grandmother: hwang moonhwa - deceased ⋆ ― sibling(s): shim yunhee (rooming with her) ⋆ ― pet(s): angora cat, mismatched eyes (deaf of one ear.) ⋆ ― social class: middle class ⋆ ― guardians: overbearing / absent ⋆ ― childhood: uneventful most times, popular in her soccer team

personality

⋆ ― label: the soiled dove ; someone who is sympathetic and full of hope. however, they can also be lost ⋆ ― positive traits: diligent, responsible, thoughtful, generous, creative, sensitive, kind hearted, honest, supportive, loyal, protective, calm (most of the time), polite, trustworthy, helpful. ⋆ ― negative traits: detached, distrustful, distant, stubborn, self-critical, impatient, conflict-averse, difficult to get to know, private, reserved, arrogant, fluctuating self-esteem, harsh, blunt, prideful. ⋆ ― hobbies: reading, playing video games, baking (just started learning how to), building/decorating things out of rusted or useless pieces from her grandfather’s garage or the station (of course, after asking if she can have them), talks to her cat sometimes (she’s convinced yuno understands everything she’s saying, she swears he even nodded once when she asked a question), people-watch, sitting by the beach and watch the sea for hours on end, used to climb over the roof to stargaze (misses this a lot). ⋆ ― habits: chewing the ends of pens, knuckle cracking, muttering under her breath when deep in thought/focused on something, talking to herself, snacking between meals, humming/singing to herself, hair twirling, gesturing while talking, tucking hair behind ears, peeling off bottle labels when anxious/worried, slouching, drumming fingers, rubbing the palm of her hand with her other thumb when nervous. ⋆ ― zodiac sign: sun capricorn, moon capricorn, rising libra ⋆ ― mbti: infp-t (he mediator) ⋆ ― subtype: ni (intuitive) ⋆ ― enneagram: 8w9 (the diplomat) ⋆ ― temperament: melancholic ⋆ ― threat level: moderate ⋆ ― approachability: amiable ⋆ ― anger:  cold ⋆ ― hogwarts house: ravenclaw ⋆ ― moral alignment: chaotic neutral ⋆ ― primary vice: pride ⋆ ― primary virtue: diligence ⋆ ― preferred humor: stand up / wordplay / potentially offensive / absurd ⋆ ― type of drunk: happy / risk-taker (rare) / honest / sleepy ⋆ ― type of cry: reluctant / sniffle / unfazed ⋆ ― type of laugh: chuckle / huff / raucous (rare)

yunhee’s first impression is that of a calm person, gentle in her approach, even a little timid and soft spoken as she first introduces herself. however, these impressions can quickly change the more comfortable she feels around someone and, depending on the situation, she can be loud and blunt from the get go.

has a vibrant and creative way of thinking, something she’s sure she inherited directly from her grandparents. possesses a fine intuition and this has always allowed her to either establish meaningful connections or stay away from people that strike her as untrustworthy or dangerous.  

heavily dislikes routine, monotony, stereotypes, conventionality, strict order, having to follow rules and regulations. she seeks new experiences and feels attracted to interesting and unusual people. this is a double-edged sword, however, for she can take unnecessary risks and be self-indulgent in certain vices for the sake of chasing thrills. can be really reckless and impulsive when feeling stuck and can take poor decisions because of this.

caring nature, the type to try to put others’ needs above her own and help her beloved ones through any situation that troubles them. she’d try to understand their true feelings and often gets protective of them. sensitive and attentive, she tries to maintain the relationships she builds and showcases tolerance to most flaws and weaknesses of others since she has trouble cutting off people that have exhausted her for she grows used to them.  

externally she might seem serene or emotionless even, but in her heart she’s sentimentally predisposed, has bouts of moodiness and melancholy. regrets her mistakes and misfortunes for a long time due being able to recall experiences from the past down to the smallest detail. people can often perceive her to be emotionally blank or poker-faced, but when she’s challenged she can get very angry and passionate.

somewhat unsure in herself, she’s prone to doubt and hesitate in situations where she has to act decisively and doesn’t like to hurry. most likely will try to delay carrying out tasks and finding solutions to problems for an indefinite period of time. she will rarely ever promise something if she’s not able to keep it. on occasions, she knows how to patiently wait and adapt to any circumstances

yunhee will immediately shrink away from confrontations or at the very least try to not make them escalate, remaining quiet through them and hoping for them to be over soon. however, when injustice happens before her eyes, she’s not the type to stay quiet if the affected part does, stepping in if necessary (although with shaky hands, wavering resolution and immediate regrets). aggression and confrontation doesn’t sit well with her and she much prefers to do things her way, peacefully yet firmly.

background (tldr)

⋆ ― yunhee and yunmi are twins. ⋆ ― their parents are still very traditional and close-minded. also worked a lot and were really absent but were also overbearing, wanting certain paths for their daughters like studying medicine or something else. ⋆ ― its thanks to their grandparents that the twins can explore their interests and likes freely. ⋆ ― yunhee spent more time with their grandad, and he taught her a lot of useful things in order to be independent and solve problems on her own. he also taught her what he knows about cars and it’s something she easily absorbed and came to really love. ⋆ ― she used to love living in yunhwa but it soon becomes boring for her. there were a few exceptions to this like a city boy who used to visit and she’d spend all her days playing with him (until he stopped coming) or playing soccer with the other kids in her free time. ⋆ ― noticing this like of hers and how she started growing a little bored of it the more she played with the same kids, her grandfather helped her be part of an all girls soccer team in busan and he’d drive her there 3 times a week for practice. ⋆ ― ever since then she dreamed to become a professional player. ⋆ ― she was given a sports scholarship for a college in seoul, her parents were reluctant and they had to come to a compromise where yunhee would study accounting in exchange to be allowed to be part of the soccer team. ⋆ ― she thought she was leaving yunhwa for good. ⋆ ― yunhee then meets there her childhood friend, kitae, and after a couple of months they start dating (though they broke up in her junior year.) ⋆ ―  in her senior year she got a really bad injury mid game and her ankle was fractured. it was so bad that she had to undergo surgery and the doctor advised her to never play again. ⋆ ― her parents used this chance to bring her back to yunhwa and that’s how she ended up there. she doesn’t go out though, the first months she spends them completely holed up in her room and only decided to go out a couple of days before the festival to welcome the new mayor (edited on feb 27). ⋆ ― however after a couple of months they demanded she got a job. which her grandpa helped her with and landed her one as one of the mechanic’s assistants. this is all because the owner owed him a favor. ⋆ ― she accepts right away, thinking she’d have the chance to help fixing cars but instead she’s asked to sort pieces, make inventory, help for the accounting or work the convenience store. the owner often says it’s because of her injury but she suspects it’s also because she’s a girl. ⋆ ― she’s supposed to go to physical therapy to recover and she allegedly does once every week, her dad or grandpa drive her to busan, drop her off and go to run some errands or do other stuff because she asked them to since she didn’t like the idea of them waiting. however, reality is that she didn’t want them to see her sneaking out to a nearby arcade where she spends the next 2 hours instead of attending therapy. this comes from her fear of never getting better or completely healed, so why trying in the first place right? ⋆ ― wears a walking boot / orthopaedical shoe and crutches in the present (sorry if i often repeat this while we plot or as i write, it’s important for her mobility and stuff)

background

born on january 8th at 12:06am, she’s yunmi’s twin with a difference of eleven minutes and thirty six seconds, something her sister rarely ever overlooks. hand in hand, two girls restlessly run around yunhwa while waving and cheerfully greeting every auntie and uncle they come across. named after the little town, the twins quickly made every street their playground and every building part of their imaginary kingdom. dog-shaped dragons were their pets and the adults who frowned upon them the evil-doers in their never ending fairy tale. at the end of every day, one last enemy remained, one that always tried to command them with “don’t run inside the house”, to control their minds with a “clean up your toys” and, lastly, with the most powerful spell they weren’t able to ever defeat: “time for bed”. mom.

growing up in yunhwa is initially fun, just how youth is supposed to be. full of laughter, getting easily marvelled by everything new and adoring the stories the elderly people eagerly shared with them. her early memories are mostly filled by these along with the ever comforting presence of her sister and grandparents, their parents busy making a living to provide for their little family.

as different as their birth times, one at the end of a day, the other at the beginning of the next one, the twins would grow up having contrasting interests thanks to the encouragement and support of their grandparents, something mom and dad would often frown upon.

while yunmi spent more time with their grandma, yunhee would do so with their grandpa. the old man, once one of the little town’s mechanics, always inculcated in yunhee the habit of being independent and learning to solve problems on her own. starting with childish riddles that would increase in difficulty as the girl grows up to changing a tire right when she turned fifteen, yunhee has always enjoyed the time spent with him and the lessons learned.

however, along the way, yunhwa became something yunhee knew well. a little too well.  every corner, every pebble on the road, every stray dog… every little thing committed to her memory… and, eventually, she grew bored of the routines, the monotony, the same sights day after day.

there was a single exception though, and it was a boy that used to visit yunhwa. a boy a little too shy, a little too fearful and one that immediately made her feel protective towards him despite being a year older. days were spent playing together, her trying to bring him along to play with the other kids but never letting go of his hand whenever he reached for her.

she’d bid him goodbye when time came for them to go back home, and she’d rush to tell her family about the adventures they had. he made her days less boring, but at the same time, whenever he left yunhwa, it made everything fall back into the same tedious routine. this was a repetition each year, until he stopped coming altogether one day.

perhaps the first heartbreak she went through when waiting in their usual meet up place and he never arrived, but then she couldn’t blame him. yunhwa wasn’t a fun place to be in for too long.

another of the few things that were slightly different were the fun soccer matches she’d often have with the kids at her school. mixed teams were made in p.e. and only a handful of girls were part of it. yunhee immediately found joy in the sport, even asking to be part of the afterschool team that her grandfather coached as a hobby.

then again, monotony decided to befriend the sport she adored so much and it didn’t take her long to memorise exactly all of her teammates go-to moves and strategies when playing. she knew exactly when one of the boys would try to trick her into believing he’s going to kick the ball to the right only to kick to the left or how another would pour all of their energy into a sprint to get a headstart towards the goal.

her grandpa didn’t miss the way she’d sigh and stay on the bench, thus asking her what was wrong. not having the heart to lie to him, she told him how she felt and how boring and dull everything was. such words surprised the elder man for they were something an eleven years old shouldn’t be saying nor feeling.

so he talked to her parents, asking them to let her join an all-girls team in busan where he knew competitions and championships often happened. not liking the idea at all at first, they immediately refused, but upon noticing their usually cheerful girl skipping the games and spending her afternoons in her room, they reluctantly agreed.

it was one afternoon that he asked yunhee to accompany him somewhere, which much to her surprise, was busan. she thought it was nothing but a short trip, maybe one where they’d go to a big store of auto parts to stock up her father’s garage for his most recent project. she was excited anyway, always enjoying anything new.

what she didn’t expect was for him to drive her to soccer field where a bunch of girls her age were playing. yunhee immediately questioned him to which he simply replied “welcome to your new team.”

from that day, yunhee became part of a busan all-girls soccer team and her grandpa would drive her three times a week after school to practice. sometimes, her grandma and sister tagged along and she could hear them all cheering her up even if it was only a practice. games were the same, though her grandma made it her goal to make them all matching shirts with her name on it. it was thrilling, really, to be part of something like that and be able to do it outside of yunhwa.

her coach was a really nice woman and always pushed them to give their best on the field. one of the bigger lessons yunhee learned from her was to dream big. and so the girl did. at age fifteen, she had learnt about professional soccer teams scouting players that were part of varsity teams and from there, yunhee made it her goal to become a professional player and her every decision after that was headed in that direction.

she was good at it, too. fast and with a good intuition that allowed her to make calls that were not part of the initial strategy (which sometimes bothered her teammates), but this changed when she was appointed as the team’s captain for the last year before she was meant to go to college. that last year was crucial for her and the whole team, most of her teammates relied on the league’s results and the team’s performance for their future and so did yunhee.

with much effort and dedication, the team managed to won a really important league that granted her a sports scholarship in a renowned university to be part of the varsity team.

it came the time to make a decision on the career she was going to go for, endless possibilities laid in the brochure she was holding. yunhee was initially considering going for automotive or mechanical engineering, but she knew things were too good to be true the moment her parents sat her down to talk with her.

once again, they voiced their dislike for the decisions she was taking and tried to talk her out of being part of the soccer team and studying something so ‘masculine’. they masked this with concern about her getting hurt, but she could easily tell the whole idea just didn’t sit well with them and their traditional values. however, yunhee couldn’t be moved as it was all part of the plans she’s made for herself and stood her ground about her decisions. her mother threatened to not let her go and it was then that compromises had to be made. she was given the option to pick between dropping soccer altogether and study whatever she wants, or study what they think it’s better for her while still being able to play.

the decision was clear when she registered to major in accounting.

this doesn’t deter her from living her dreams and finally moving away from yunhwa when turning eighteen to seoul. the moment she boarded the plane, she made herself the promise to never look back with the sole intention to never return.

unexpectedly, she meets her childhood friend in a party thrown for the freshmen, the same guy that used to visit yunhwa when he was a kid. kitae. it’s surprising to find out he’s part of one of the sports teams (baseball) and it feels natural to pick up the friendship where they left off.

she’s known as one of the rookies to look forward to in the field and she goes above and beyond to get good grades in order to maintain the scholarship (and her parents off her back). yunhee invests herself a little too much in her studies and in soccer, saturating her schedule with practices and studying sessions to the point that she misses a lot of the college life as well as the city.

yunhee ignores this though, thinking that the way she was doing things was normal, only ever having another reference to this who was just as dedicated as she was.

she started dating kitae midway through the freshman year and all the way to her junior year before he unexpectedly broke up with her.

she’s admittedly not the same after this and yunhee starts to push herself to unimaginable limits only to keep herself busy. she started to double her training, even if most was done on her own, and her studies took up most of her night despite having to wake up before the sun came out.

then she turned twenty one, and this marked the beginning of the end: she was in her senior year, meaning that she’d graduate soon and, if she was lucky enough, some professional team would try to scout her for their team. she only had to deliver, win as many games and score as many goals as possible. twenty one was supposed to be the golden age where her dreams became plans and her plans turned into action.

but it wasn’t.

the team was set to have an important match with another school, both having a rivalry that’s gone for decades and it was clear that this match was of utmost importance for everyone. the students who knew her and her teammates, chanted every time they came across them and wished them good luck. the pressure was clear and tension lingered in the air.

the match started and for the first half, her team had a big lead against the opponent. there was energy running through their veins as they were in the locker room discussing their next strategy. yunhee, as the striker of the team, was excited to have scored two goals already and assist in another one. the whole team was confident and comfortable as the second kicked off.

as confident as they were, they failed to realise the other team was growing desperate and more aggressive in their defensive… at some point, yunhee got the ball and was set to score her third goal of the night… but a girl of the other team tried to stop her which resulted in a severe collision between them. pain is all yunhee feels as she falls onto the ground, a yell ripping through the field as she holds her ankle. the game is paused and the referee showing a red card on the other girl’s face is the last thing yunhee remembers before giving into the darkness

she wakes up to fluorescent lights and has to blink a couple of times. she has no recollection of what happened after she passed out and her parents briefly summarize all the events that came after. they told her she had to undergo surgery and that right now they’re waiting for the doctor. yunhee glances at her foot, propped up and the sight is not at all encouraging.

the doctor comes in to share some heartbreaking news, ones that she’s been expecting but it doesn’t make it any easier. she’s gotten her ankle fractured and even when the surgery was successful, she won’t be able to play soccer again. her hopes and aspirations shatter in that moment, watching the doctor leave and her parents share a complicit look that she doesn’t miss. she’s trying to process, trying to think when her mother says something she barely comprehends. yunhee asks her to repeat her words and when she does, anger is the first thing she feels though she conceals it

so she does, without much of a say and suddenly her whole life in seoul feels like a blurred dream. yunhee is back to her childhood room sharing it once again with yunmi and it all makes her feel like she’s regressed. like the last 4 years weren’t real. it’s a bittersweet sensation, the nostalgia always making her reminiscence fondly but the reality of what brought her back the town breaking her heart time and time again.

for the first month, she holes herself in her room and refuses to leave the house. even when they drive her to physical therapy, she finds ways to not go. either by sneaking to other places or waiting in the nearest bus stop until they picked her up again. it’s her little secret and she blatantly lies about her non-existent improvement. she’s good at it and they don’t push it.

however, her parents doesnt like that she’s her days away and even though she still has the boot and makes a million excuses to not do things, they demand she finds a job soon. preferably in the area she majored.

but she doesn’t listen, only complains to her grandfather who now lives with them and he immediately finds a solution. within two days, he comes back to tell her he got her a job at the gas station, the owner owing him a favor and paying it by hiring her. excitement sparkles in her eyes for a second and she notices how proud her grandpa is after sharing the news. always having a soft spot for the elder man, she accepts right away.

now she’s at the station but things don’t go as she expects it. the owner was reluctant to have her there for several reasons, and yunhee knew that one of them was because she was a girl and the other because she was still recovering. still, he honours the pact with her grandpa and keeps her around… only that she’s assigned to sort pieces, make inventory and help with the accounting.

things aren’t exactly perfect, and she’s not all that contented with the current situation, but being out of the house gives her a little purpose.

trivia

⋆ ― she’s really good with kids and when she was a teenager, she used to babysit in the afternoons when she didn’t have football practice. yunhee doesn’t question how or why kids also have an affinity for her, but she thinks it’s because of her grandfather being a casual coach of a small soccer team for years now. she helps him coach occasionally, especially on the weekends and shares  strategies and tactics she learnt in college.

⋆ ― one of the few things she learned from her grandmother was baking and she’s actually decent at it, though she only bakes when she’s sad, stressed or angry. if she gives you a bag of cookies, something’s definitely wrong.

⋆ ― before she started playing soccer, one thing she got really into was reading, especially stories that took place in different countries, either fictional or real. she used to get home from school and read for the rest of the day. when her schedules got a little busier, she’d still try to sneak some reading in between activities. in the present, it’s not weird to see her carrying a book in her bag or hand and she enjoys going to the beach after work to read. her favorite genres are fantasy, romance, science fiction, suspense and thrillers, actions and adventures, crime and mystery basically everything that’s not horror.

⋆ ― their grandfather owned a 1967 ford mustang gt automatic yes, automatic. don’t @ me. that he used to drive around yunhwa with his wife. it was in this car where the twins learned to drive when they were 16 and it’s color is a beautiful teal, his wife’s favorite color. by the time the twins were 18, their grandpa decided to give the car to them. when they talked about their future plans of leaving yunhwa, he offered yunhee to take it to seoul to facilitate things, to which she excitedly agreed after getting her licence. however, after their grandma’s funeral and yunmi’s return, she decided to drive it back so yunmi could use it instead. after all, yunhee had it most of the times parked and rarely ever used it this has nothing to do with having a certain someone driving her around. now that yunhee is in yunhwa too, one thing she misses the most is driving it and has settled to the passenger seat while mimi’s the one behind the wheel.

⋆ ― there’s nothing yunhee wouldn’t do for yunmi. be it become her model, her guinea pig, a confident, a friend, someone to share secrets with, anything. yunhee would go above and beyond to ensure that yunmi is safe even if sometimes that doesn’t translate in the most appropriate ways (like absolutely loathing her exes). it might look like they hate each other by how they constantly banter, but behind all of that, there’s nothing but love.

⋆ ― in college, despite having the scholarship she wanted to make some money and managed to squeeze a job in between her schedules as a barista at a coffee shop within the campus. she saved every penny she made and the first thing she bought for herself was a nintendo switch. she still has it to this day and it pains her that the nearest place to buy physical games is busan. she still orders them online, but they take a little too long to arrive. she has some weird fixation to get physical copies over digital, don’t question her. in yunhwa she doesn’t use it as often, mostly at night before going to bed or on those dull and boring sundays.

⋆ ― she started making things with rusted pieces recently, exactly while she isolated herself when returning to yunhwa. one day she was at her grandpa’s garage and saw a pile of pieces he was going to throw away. yunhee asked if she could use them. from those things, she figured how to make some candle holders and decorated one of yunmi’s notebooks. she found fun in it and now is a regular hobby.

⋆ ― has an irrational fear of never recovering and as conflicting as it is, she’s been self-sabotaging by not attending ayn of the physical therapy appointments, instead sneaking into the arcade nearby to the hospital. update: she’s attending therapy now and they were able to remove the boot after a couple of months, now she doesn’t use neither boot or crutches and only has a slight limp.

⋆ ― she’s known the innkeeper since she was a little girl and the family trusts her enough to leave yunhee in her care. in the present, sira even keeps a room available for her whenever she doesn’t feel like staying home. yunhee calls it a home away from home so if you see her around the inn, that’s is why.

⋆ ― if you ask her what she wants to do with her life, she wouldn’t have an answer. she’s absolutely clueless and doesn’t dare to dream big anymore so she’s just living one day at a time. the only thing she’s sure about is leaving yunhwa and even that, she’s not that confident anymore.

goals

⋆ ― to forgive - yunhee feels it nestling within her heart. resentment that’s one step away from turning into hatred. she knows it’s not the other girl’s fault, the incident was all just a miscalculated movement. admittedly one that cost her the future she’s careful crafted for herself ever since young. one that pretty much forced her to return to the town she so desperately wants to run away from. somedays, revenge seems like a good idea and darker thoughts of how to get back at the girl that fractured her ankle slowly crawled into her mind and made it their home. however, she’s wiser and she’s been taught differently. yunhee wants to forgive the other girl. to forgive her parents for the lack of attention and the many things they’ve said in parental reproach. most importantly, she wants to forgive herself for the poor decisions she’s made. for relying so much in her talent and so little in a backup plan. for pushing herself to unimaginable limits. the process is not going to be easy, but at least she knows where to start.

⋆ ― to forget - yunhee thought, when leaving yunhwa for the very first time, that she’d never go back. she wouldn’t look back at the family she was leaving behind. it was easier that way. the girl didn’t have time nor need to dwell on what once was. she was fine living in the beautiful lie of her life being how it was meant to be. now, she’s back to the little town after kissing her life in seoul goodbye. for the first time, she allows herself to crane her neck and reminisce as she looks at the sea. the waves, the wind and the seagulls being the piano, the cello and the drums of her own personal orchestra as her eyes settle on the sunset. a beautiful view, one the city failed to provide.

there’s a weird sense of nostalgia, but not one she’s fond of. within her longing of the supposedly better life she was living comes the realisation that maybe things weren’t as fantastic as she once thought. something akin to sadness invades her when remembering a certain city boy. one that made every hardship more bearable. one that didn’t fail to present her with little secretive moments amidst the chaotic schedules they both had. she wonders, silently, where he is and what he’s doing.

a heartbeat later, she makes up the resolution to forget. to stop clinging onto the lingering hope that maybe, just maybe one day she’d be able to return as if nothing ever happened. to forget that one day she almost tasted glory and her dreams were within hand’s reach. that she once loved someone so deeply, so selflessly. to forget how he made her feel under his gaze and how she wanted nothing but his well being. how, instead of being self-centred as usual, she’d tried and tried to put his priorities before hers. how it was the first time she’s ever felt that way about anyone.

she’s going to forget it all for the heartbreak she brought upon herself will do nothing but stop her otherwise.

⋆ ― to live - it’s a simple reasoning, one her grandfather always reminds her of. “you need to live for yourself and no one else.” these words stay with her throughout her whole life, they’re a reassuring motto and what often keeps her going. she’s come to compromise with her parents in order to be able to achieve major dreams. still, being given a second chance, a start over, yunhee is not going to let it go to waste. the only problem arises when trying to figure out what’s next. what’s the next big step in shim yunhee’s scheme? no one, not even herself knows, but the little gas station her grandfather used to run is certainly a good way to start figuring it out.

extra

yunhee knows what to expect the moment the doctor enters her room. she can tell by the way he’s frowning at the files in his hands or how he’s going above and beyond to avoid her inquisitive eyes. it’s obvious in the beads of sweat he’s trying to conceal and the abnormally tense smile he’s flashing to her mother.

he briefs her parents on how the surgery went. the girl is only able to understand bits and pieces of all the technical information and she’s not even sure her parents comprehend either despite the attention they’re giving him. they’re just waiting for the inevitable and so is she.

finally, he looks at her, meets her eyes and it makes her wish he didn’t.

“yunhee, the surgery was successful and you’ll regain mobility with proper therapy.”

no, don’t say it.

“but you won’t be able to play soccer again, sorry.”

her heart drops and so all her dreams for the future with it. she’s heard of situations like hers before, they kind of what make up any player’s worst nightmares. for her, they were nothing but far fetched tales. she’d be absurdly unlucky to have her career ruined by something like that.

yet, there she was, watching the doctor leave the room and smile at a nurse as if the information he’d just given her didn’t absolutely shatter her whole world. she’s incredulous, hoping she misheard, hoping it was all a nightmare when her mother breaks the silence.

yunhee looks at her, trying to make sense of the words she’s saying so easily. her parents didn’t waste a second, didn’t give her time to properly process what’s happening while pushing her into something she knows she has no say in. she sees the poorly hidden relief in their faces, her parents have always been painfully transparent.

“what did you just say?” yunhee asks with a frown.

“you’re moving back to yunhwa with us.”

[goodlawdmaude]

Colombia and Peru 2019

3/7 SAN FRANCISCO --> BOGOTA

3/7-3/8

J and I ubered from ASF to airport, got through security, grabbed a drink at the terminal, then waited at our gate to board. Alarmingly, we heard our names over the intercom, but we just had to show our passports at the desk - no problem. A flight attendant on our flight got sick, so the flight needed 9 volunteers to get off the plane. This delayed us, but we eventually got off the ground. Slept some on the flight, had to go through customs in Mexico City, then through security to our gate. It was around 6am and light outside. Jarod resolved to start the day, but I wanted to sleep more. I slept for 30 great minutes on the flight, then watched Bohemian Rhapsody. The third person in our aisle was sketchy: late, on the phone (free WhatsApp), and importing a lot (per his customs form). We got through customs pretty quickly, then grabbed a taxi and made it to our hostel around 3pm. We rested briefly, then went out for lunch—arepas, chaufa arroz con pollo, and a special combo with seafood and rice in a divine yellow sauce. Jarod was starting to feel the full effect of his cold, but we went for a brief walk anyway through the center of town and the Museo de Botero. Lots of street vendors with various crafts and snacks, some alpacas, police with dogs with muzzles, cobblestone roads, sanitation workers in blue jumpsuits, green mountains in the background. While driving, we saw stark constrasts between shoddy roadside structures and the grand skyscrapers just behind them. Roads were paved and nice. We walked back, buying water at a nearby market, then took naps, showered, and went to sleep very early (8pm). On two instances, we were awoken by rowdiness in the hostel. Overall, slept 11(!!) hours.

3/9 BOGOTA-->MEDELLIN

3/9 Bogota-->Medellin

After our long sleep, we ate breakfast (eggs, fruit, bread, homemade jam, pancakes, lots of fruit) at the hostel, then asked reception to call a taxi for us. We made it to the airport and ultimately made it to the gate smoothly (despite one snafu: struggling to follow arrows to find el bano). Flight was super quick, it was hot when we landed, and we grabbed a taxi from a line outside. The ride to El Poblado was pretty green and undeveloped. It reminded me of driving in Costa Rica (narrow, windy roads), but the roads were paved and in better shape. We tried to drop our bags at the airbnb but couldn’t. We grabbed lunch at El Florez a couple doors down—very yummy healthy food. We tried the airbnb again to no avail. We walked around to take in the town. It was very green, hot and trendy - peppered with new-looking bars, restaurants, and shops. Dying of heat, we stopped for lemonades at a restaurant by the airbnb then went to get our key. We got in and hung for a bit--the airbnb was plenty spacious but nothing super fancy. We grabbed a drink at El Jenun(??)--J built his own gin and tonic while i had a fancy cocktail. We walked for a while--through some slightly seedier roads--to a gypsy/fox-themed pizza place for dinner. Grabbed a beer at Medellin beer company and J accidentally ordered a pitcher. Waitresses were scantily clad and hot; there was an old weird white dude who knew them all far too well. We came home, showered, and went to bed around 11pm.

3/10

After sleeping in until 9am, I straightened my hair (big deal) and then we went to El Pergamino for coffee and breakfast. I had a milky delicious chai latte and eggs with tomato and pesto roasted in a little crepe brûlée pan. The coffee shop was super trendy and cute. From there we walked to the Poblado Metro station and found our way onto the metro. It was very hot and pretty crowded but a really nice system. We got off to transfer to a gondola which took us over a poorer area--tin roofs, lots of graffiti, kids and dogs running everywhere. Then we got on a second gondola which took us over a final stretch of town and over a few miles of forest. The view was unbelievable. We were squished in with a Spanish family of 6 who were talking about how hot it was here and elsewhere. We got off and started exploring El Parque Arvi. It took us a while to realize we couldn’t hike the trails without a guide, and we couldn’t get a guide without booking online. We walked around and down the road where there were lots of street vendors and a couple restaurants. We got overpriced mangos. We headed back and went to grab lunch before seeing the botanical garden. There was mostly fast food. We got two empanadas to go and sat by the main area of vendors and performers in front of the garden. We went in, admires the flora, saw some iguanas, then headed out. We intended to walk to Cerro el Volador, but then the area we were walking through got a little sketchy and we turned around. We went to Explora Park--walked through the aquarium, reptile exhibits, and a room dedicated to the mind. By the time we were ready to leave, it was pouring. We ran to a taxi, had some confusion with the address, but made it back. We rebounded out for dinner (kebab house - mediocre) nearby, then got dessert across the street and wine and waters at exxito 

3/11

Woke up *early* 720 to get ready for our free walking tour through Real City Tours. Jarod made breakfast (scrambled eggs and an arepa) while I got dressed. We left a few minutes later than hoped, but hustled down Calle 10 to the poblado metro station and made it with time to spare to meet our guide. He wore a hat and a red shirt and directed our flock of 23 gringo ducklings onto the metro (which Jarod and I had already mastered the previous day), and we took it three stops north to Alpujarra. We got off, regrouped, and headed off to start the tour. It began with a roughly 20min history of Medellin. Julio told us how a big alcohol tax led the entrepreneurial locals to find smuggling routes to bring it into Colombia and how coffee grew well in its fertile soil and was a major export that bolstered the economy. He talked about the rise of cocaine and Pablo Escobar--how he and those over 30 remembered the terror and the violence and danger, but that younger people thought he was good because he “gave houses to poor people.” He talked about how the metro system showed the people that things could be better, and Medellin started its resurrection. We saw the old train station, the main government offices, the plaza of light (which used to be a crime hotspot but is now beautiful, adjacent to a library and the center of education). We walked through El Hueco, taking in the vendors and street scene to a church, empanada (with orange juice), and the Botero museum and plaza. We learned of the Belgian architect who had left his project because of all the shit-talking of the local people; the Paisas said they would finish it themselves... and did so very abruptly without following his complex blueprints. At this point, 4 members of our tour got lost. We walked to the metro stop from whose stairway a grenade had been tossed into a crowd; Julio explained Colombians’ short term memory as a necessity of resilience--and that one grenade wasn’t so bad compared to the volcano that killed 20k the next day. We walked down Junin street (a popular date night spot) and to a plaza where Botero has two bird statues- one that was partially destroyed by dynamite detonated during a concert; the other new to represent triumphing over that evil. There were cool murals of African American faces--allegedly the first freed slave in Colombia who ran away and beat up everyone that came to catch him. This plaza--especially the birds--was really powerful. A strong symbol of all that Medellin went through and rose above. After the tour, we grabbed lunch in the palace in El Hueco (creamed corn soup, salad, pork, rice and juice for roughly $5). We took the metro home and did a Nike workout and I thought I would die. We showered, hung out, then went to El Chagra for a 6-course tasting menu (we actually went for a drink, but were surprised by and obligated to do the tasting). All the dishes were focused on Amazon themes and resources- specifically the giant fish, Arapaima. The first course was a smoking drink that tasted spicy and cinnamony--a bit like fireball. The second was a delicious soup that was creamy and cheesy with yucca crumbs. The third was a potato/fish ball eaten with our hands and dipped in a spicy fruit sauce. The fourth was fish and chaufa rice. The fifth was sausage with fruit preserves and cherry tomato. The sixth was dessert--a brownie-like thing and a fruity ice cream. The whole meal ran 300COP (with cocktails which had a dazzling presentation of liquid smoke and a sandbox.. and tip). Before the final course, a man dressed as an indigenous Amazonian came to our table chanting and we didn’t know what to do. He spoke some dialect and then Spanish and offered us to use his pastes to paint on ourselves. We respectfully declined and he moved on. We went to a restaurant down the street for a drink. Jarod got a shot of gin *sin huelo* loll. The restaurant was upscale with several birthdays happening. They gave us hand towels which they made expand amazingly by pouring hot water on them. We went home to bed.

3/12 MEDELLIN-->LIMA

3/12

We woke up around 730 and did a Nike work out at home. Jarod made breakfast of eggs and arepas, then our taxi came and took us to the airport. When we got there, we couldn’t check in at the kiosk--it said we were on standby. We waited in line and the woman seemed to have some issues, but eventually gave us our boarding passes. We got through security, grabbed El Pergamino coffee/chai, and waited at the gate. Jarod got us sandwiches, fruit, and a chocolate donut thing to eat. We were sitting apart during the 3h flight :(. I read the whole time. We were fed on the airplane and I ate the meal despite being full. We got through customs easily and got a taxi to our airbnb in Miraflores (45min away... And during rush hr). We got keys from our concierge and went out for dinner. We had to wait a bit, but the food was delicious. Jarod are a risotto in squids ink with seafood. I had a pumpkin soup with shrimp, corn, and yucca. I was so full afterward and felt kinda sick but not too bad. Being in Miraflores felt like being in Santa Monica--it was an upscale beachside community with a nice mall. We went to bed HOT and I woke up once with an upset stomach, though it wasn’t too bad.

3/13

7 YEARS!! We set alarms around 730am but didn’t get out of bed until 830 or so. We headed out for a work out- running through several beautiful green parks on the coastline, then plopping in the shade for a circuit. After the workout, we went to a beachside cafe and ordered a coffee and a nutella/banana crepe to share. We stopped at home, rinsed my sunscreeny body, then headed to the mall, Larcomar. We popped into a cafe for parfaits and quiche, then went to the bike rental stand upstairs and got two bikes for one hour. After we paid but before we left, the bike attendant crashed/fell off his bike nearby. The irony was overwhelming. We biked along the beautiful coast, to the Bridge of Sighs, then back up a city street of Barranco. The Barranco main square was beautiful, with statues and beautiful plants peppered throughout the plaza. We rode back, returned our bikes to the attendant who was squirting Purell on his scraped knee, and went home. We did laundry, showered, and got ready for our walking food tour. (Snacked on plaintain chips and beers from the market downstairs while we waited.) A driver with an unexplained passenger picked us up around 520pm. He was very kind and gave us two (hot) bottles of water. We drove through traffic into the historical center, where we met our guide Ximena. We walked to a churro place that had a long line, Ximena scurried to the front, then returned with two churros--one with caramel (apparently an ancient sweet in Lima) or a sweet cream. They were scalding hot. We took them to a nearby monastery, with a gated plaza full of pigeons. Ximena told us that the plaza used to be a common place to sell goods that the pigeons and vultures were brought by the Spanish, and that it was still an important place of worship although only 20ish ppl were a part of the monastery (friars?). We went inside and saw into catacombs full of skulls and big bones. There were no cemeteries, so if one had the money, one would pay to be buried in that sacred space. From there, we went to the center of literature (which used to be a big train station, but now only one train goes and it runs maybe 2x/month). Across the street was the oldest bar in Lima. We went in and ate ham sandwiches with onion (pan con chicharron con sarza) and purple juice (chicha morrada - corn juice with cloves and cinnamon). From there we walked to the main plaza. Xime told us about the history of the buildings--the bell towers of the old church had been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt... the (some politician’s) mansion had been burned down (by ppl who wanted to scare him, but accidentally destroyed it) and rebuilt. It was a beautiful square full of light and life. From there, we walked to a nearby coffee shop where we talked with the brewer of Peru Uno, Oliver. He let us taste two of his beers--a Belgian trippel and an homage to Peru with chamomile and other local herbs/spices. With the beer we had fried bites called tequenos. Oliver was half Peruvian and have Belgian and very focused on sustainable business practices. He was super friendly and cool. From there, we walked a way to find a stop full of people--vendors with their carts as well as big mats on the ground for gambling and big circles around storytellers or dancers. We are mazamorra morada with rice pudding and another sweet rice that was brown from the sweetener. We then had the healing herbal drink emoliente and anticuchos. At each vendor, xime explained the prep in depth, asking the vendor details in Spanish then relaying the answers to us in English. From there we walked to an old bar for “supte artists” where we had papas a la huancaina, yucca rellena (my fave), and chilcano de pisco. People around us were getting TURNT--an old asian man could barely walk, a guy and girl had 8 beers (large) between them, 3 men had 14, and a table of three had a whole fifth of pisco (45% alcohol). Quite full, we struggled through our food. I finished my share, but J did not finish his! We then met our ride (after Xima first approached the wrong car), dropped Xime off, and made it home. During the tour, Xime said the most protested issue in Peru was gender ideology. We went to bed around 11.

3/14

We woke up around 730. I was feeling sicker than I had, but we set off for a workout anyway. We ran for 20min and did a 30min Nike training. We were dripping with sweat. We then headed down our street for breakfast. Jarod’s came with papaya juice and coffee and he got a water--so much liquid to go with his double decker grilled cheese (basically lol). We walked to Kennedy Park which was beautiful with lots of flowers and cats. We went to a supermarket nearby and bought waters, nuts, plaintain chips, and yogurt. We walked back to our place and chilled for a while. We snacked on yogurt and plantain chips during the afternoon, showered, took a nap, and enjoyed the beautiful patio of our airbnb. We watched a little bit of Coach Carter hehe. Then around 6 we set off for dinner at the ancient ruins Huelca Pucllana. It was a long walk during rush hour, but we made it (slightly sweaty) and were seated immediately (in the room not immediately adjacent to the ruins). We got Topeka? Appetizer—4 from the menu for two people--some delicious bread, and our meals (salmon and risotto for me; tuna and veggies and rice for J). We had pisco sours which were strong and delicious. We admired the ruins for a few minutes before walking back down a central strip of park-like walkway. We made it to park Kennedy and stopped for picarones-fried pumpkin and sweet potato dough. I thought we would get one donut, but we got 6, drizzled in syrup. We carried these home, smacked on a few, and packed up. We went to bed by 10pm in prep for our early travel day the next morning.

3/15 LIMA-->CUSCO

3/15

We woke up around 430 and started getting ready. We snacked on leftover picarone and banana, then went to head downstairs at 515. We were stopped by the man next door (Gerard?) who said he owned the building and worked at Cheesecake Factory in gheridelli square in SF and owned a house in Oakland. We talked for a few minutes and gave him the key (a relief to me; I was worried the doorman might not be there for a hand off). The doorman was there and called a taxi for us--though it took a while, our driver spoke some English and warned us (in spanish) about being robbed at gunpoint in Cusco. I slept during some of the ride and was very groggy when we arrived. We got through security and onto our plane smoothly. I slept against the window the entire flight, but felt super weird--and anxious about altitude sickness--when we arrived. We got off and found our way to a crowd of desperate taxi drivers, all in our face asking if we wanted to ride with them. We said no gracias to them all, then realized we did need one. Jarod was haggling with one guy for a 15s ride but he wouldn’t budge; another driver jumped in and said he would take us for 15s. We rode through more modern Cusco into the more ancient part where we were staying. We arrived at our hostel around 10 and sipped coca tea in the lobby while they prepared our room for us. (Very early but convenient!) our room was beautiful and spacious Jarod lay on the alpaca blanket at the foot of our king bed so as not to get it dirty. We hung for a bit, then went down the street for lunch, back home for the bathroom, then out again to the main plaza. A very friendly man outside a different restaurant said “ah hello guys, we have been waiting for you come on in.” We told him we had already eaten and pressed onward, making our way through people pushing massages, trinkets, and art prints at us. The main plaza was beautiful. Green and surrounded by old churches and hills. We went around the shops at the edge--with lots of aggressive vendors and high end alpaca clothing shops. We stopped to buy sunglasses, then went to the Inka museum. We learned about the pre-inkan people who used basic tools and made basic ceramics and relied heavily on llamas and alpacas. The Incas themselves didn’t develop until ~1100 AD (news to me). They too made lots of ceramics and basic tools as well as little sculptures of animals and foods to sacrifice to the gods. The section on Spanish conquest was unclear because all the signs were in Spanish. It seems they put into power lots of Incan leaders who were pro-Spain and then screwed them over. When we were finishing up, it started pouring rain. We waited briefly for it to let up, then hurried home in the rain. We were struggling to breathe pretty often (>11k feet). At home, we got snuggly and took a nap. We found a dinner spot and went there around 5pm lol. Jarod ate alpaca for the first time. The place was empty and the chef was very sweet and cute and fed us aguaymanto which were delicious. The food was really excellent. We did have some comedy with the light above us--she turned it off to set the mood, then a young girl Came in later and turned it on above us without saying anything... we turned it back off, then the chef asked if we wanted it or not. On the way out, she asked for a tripadvisor review which i will happily write. We went to scope out prices of (fake) alpaca products and desserts. We went to a few stores and saw small “alpaca” blankets ranging from 40s--35s. We will go back to buy one or two before we leave. We bought a brownie and slice of chocolate cake nearby, then took it back to our room to feast on in our king bed. We watched some Simpsons in spanish, then read for a while. We went to go to sleep around 10, but I couldn’t sleep. Felt like I didn’t sleep all night--was up thinking. Maybe too much coca tea (inulin is stimulatory).

3/16

We woke to our alarms around 630, but didn’t get out of bed cuz I felt like I hadn’t slept. Finally got up around 9 and got breakfast at our hotel, which was delicious-especially the cornbread. We chilled in our room and prepped for the day, then ventured out. First, we went to San Pedro market. The streets outside were overflowing with vendors selling hard boiled quail eggs and slices of various fruits. Inside the main market place was literally everything. There was a hot food area, a line of juice vendors, butchers bakers, herb-sellers, woven goods vendors, and more. On the far side, we walked down a street lined with shops selling whole chickens (their naked bodies and weird feet displayed prominently). We then found a second, less touristy market place with more hot food, some dye stands, and even a haircut shop. We walked back and stopped for tamales, but didn’t have small enough bills so the woman sent us away. We found our way back to the plaza des armes and sat down for lunch--Jarod got pizza and I got chicken. From there, we started walking (steeply up) to Sacsayhuaman. We found a nice church with a fabulous viewpoint, then continued along the road to the main gate. There was a guard who said the ticket office was closed and we had to buy tickets in the plaza des armes. We were not motivated enough to walk there and back (still constantly out of breath from the altitude), and it was starting to sprinkle, so we headed home. We hung around home until we had to go to our pre-trek meeting. There were two people missing at the start--who came in 20minutes late absolutely breathless. The guide went over the plan for the next couple days. Everyone was young and seemed outdoorsy and ready. This trio of Australians had bought a lot of the recommended items on the packing list. I felt anxious and a little intimidated. We went to inkazuela for dinner, where we are delicious stews and fresh baked bread. A group of maybe 20 annoying Americans came and sat down and were so loud as we were paying. Embarrassing. We went home and packed and tried to go to bed early because we were waking up at 330 for a 4am pick up to start the drive to start the hike for Salkantay!!

3/17 BEGIN SALKANTAY 

3/17 - Day 1 Salkantay 

We woke up at 330, finalized our packing, and waited in the lobby briefly before our guide, Erick, arrived to pick us up on foot. He lived nearby our hotel in San Blas. We waited with him for the van, which didn’t seem to be where it was supposed to be. We got everyone picked up (including 3 bonus ppl who were doing a separate one-day trip. They were Thai but our guide Erick had told us they were Chinese lol.) We drove for about 2h on a windy bumpy road, I tried to sleep, but it was fitfull. When we stopped for breakfast I felt like actual shit and was worried I was getting altitude sickness. Jarod didn’t feel well either. I looked at the trekking route and realized we wouldn’t be much higher than Cusco, and this relieved me. We had a big breakfast (eggs, bread, fruit and yogurt, juice, coca tea), and sat by ourselves while the rest of the group bonded. We both started to feel better with the food and fresh air. We got back in the vans and drove another hour before getting off, sunscreening up, officially doing intros with our hiking group, and hitting the trail. Jarod and I were at the front with the other Americans, Chris and Alex from Buffalo, New York. The Australians, Emma, Ben, and Nick, were in the middle, with the Austrians, Anna and Patrick at the end. The start of the hike required some elevation climb, but then it evened out and we walked along an aqueduct in the mountainside for the majority of the trek. I accidentally called Emma Anna when asking her to take a photo. We made it to camp around 12? We were assigned Sky camps, which were tiny but beautiful glass comes with little twin beds in them after a 3-4ft doorway. I read and fell asleep for 7min before it was time for lunch). Lunch was a huge feast--the food was good but a bit cold. We then rested for half an hour and then hiked up to the lake. It was a relatively short hike, but quite steep. I was very out of breath, but led the charge alongside Chris. Anna and Patrick were lagging so far behind, Erick told us to go ahead and then wait at the half way point. Chris and Jarod and I led, waited for the group, then went on some more. The field we were walking through was full of cows and horses grazing, flanked by giant hills on either side. We walked up and over the top and found ourselves at a stunning blue lake. It was breathtaking, with streams from a snowy mountain running into an aquamarine reservoir. We took some photos, then climbed up a ridge along the side, from which we could see the lake as well as the grassy valley we came up through. It started to rain and we saw a beautiful rainbow in the valley but also needed to hurry back down. Everyone put on our ponchos and took a picture. I got my walking sticks for the way down, and they helped on the muddy parts but made me very slow. Jarod and I lagged behind the group as we all charged down the hill. We made it back, met as a team for tea time at 530, then dinner at 630. They had given us snacks, but we didn’t really need them because we were fed so often and so well. (I still ate my cookies earlier.. because they were delicious hehe). We got ready for bed after dinner around 8. I had a swig if Nick’s pisco before bed, then crawled into my sleeping bag and tried (but struggled) to sleep. I got up at 1am because Jarod was getting up. I hissed after him that I wanted to come to the bathroom, but he didn’t hear me. When I stepped outside, he was standing there. (He has walked toward the bathroom and been startled by a cow and come back loll). After that, I had a very hard time sleeping.

3/18 - Day 2 Salkantay

Started to climb, through some grassy fields, up the “Gringo killer” and to Salkantay summit, where it started raining. Emma had to breathe from an oxygen tank at the top (she had had severe altitude sickness in previous visits), and the Austrian couple took horses to the top to save their legs. On the far side of the summit, our trek got truly miserable. Steep decline. Soaked head to toe. I remember thinking, “Wow, we paid to do this.” We got to our midway lunch spot, where I tried to dry my socks, and we commiserated with our group. Thankfully, the rain let up, and the rest of the hike descended into warmer, more tropical forests. For tea time, they made us a freaking cake. We paid to use a shower and went into our little thatched-roof huts, a tiny space with one large bed. I had a dream that I had no feet (likely brought on by the extreme pain I felt in all of my joints!).

3/19 -  Day 3 Salkantay

Started the trek with Erick painting our faces with berries. By this time, felt VERY bonded with the group. The hiking this day was much tamer, flatter roads, less extreme climbs/drops, and a fun little cart that we rode across a river. We stopped by a coffee plantation and had lunch there. We took a van some stretch of the drive to end up at the trailhead to Machu Picchu. We went out with our group for dinner, and I felt excited but also sad to be so close to the end of our time with them. 

3/20 - Day 4 Salkantay (Machu Picchu!!)

Got up to start the trek to Machu Picchu around 5am(?). It was pitch black, and we CHARGED up the mountain, often annoyed that the people in front of us were not immediately letting us pass them. By the time we arrived at the gate, there were maybe 20 people in line, and we were drenched in sweat but also STOKED to be there. It was pretty chilly and very misty, so we had a few minutes of great visibility, but lots of fog other than that. Erick gave us a tour and some history, then (VERY SADLY) left us. Our group was a little devastated. We explored on our own a little, then headed back down as droves and droves of tourists poured in. We took a bus back and ate lunch (and many beers/pisco sours) at a small cafe while waiting for our train back. We eventually got on a train, which took us to a bus, which took us back to Cusco. We had booked a nicer room so that we could soak up the luxury after some very tough days on the trail. We met the Australians and the Austrians for drinks, and ended up staying up pretty late playing games and chatting with them in a Cusco bar.

3/21 CUSCO-->BOGOTA

3/21

We were awoken at 8 by a mysterious knock. I had some stomach trouble, then came back to bed. We got up at 845 to get breakfast. We ate the hotel breakfast, then went to our room to pack. I was feeling very sad to be leaving, nostalgic for our time on the trail. We packed, left our bags at the front, and went to go buy some “alpaca” blankets. We got two bracelets for J, three small paintings, and two alpaca blankets. The lady told us they were 50s even though we had been to the store before and been told 40, and had seen them elsewhere for 35. Jarod got her down to 40 and we left with them. By now I was hungry and emotional and tired, so I started to tear up over indecision with where to eat. We sat at a cafe and had 11s sandwiches. We went back to the hotel and had them call a cab. We arrived at the airport and checked in, then strangely waited in a room before being allowed through security (not many intl flights out of cusco... seems to require its own protocol). We made it to our gate and onto the plane. I was happy to be sitting next to Jarod (he was K and I was E... but for whatever reason those two are adjacent...) we had steak and vino tinto on the flight ;). We took a taxi home - a man lifted our bags into the trunk then asked for a tip. When we got there, our hosts were nowhere to be found and it was pouring rain. A property manager came out and started talking at us in Spanish very quickly--I think saying that our hosts hadn’t told her anything. She somewhat angrily escorted us outside, and I thought we were going to have to wait there. She then showed us how to work all the locks on the door, then let us inside. We got wine and cheese at the grocery store and snacked on those for dinner

3/22

We woke up around 8 with plans to eat breakfast at home then head to la candelaria for a bike tour at 1030. All appliances rebelled against us. The eggs stuck to the bottom of the pan, and the eggs that didn’t stick barely cooked. I tried to put laundry in but the timer never went down; it just perpetually washed. The toaster oven was a mystery of its own. Regardless, we eventually dined on eggs and arepas, and Jarod got the washer to switch to rinse then dry. We called an uber and got dropped off by the bike shop. We waited in a plaza and chatted with some other travelers. We embarked as a large group and found our way to a plaza with a statue of Simon Bolivar... talked about journalism... then split into two groups and departed. We biked to “the time square of Bogota” and talked about Germans convincing Colombians to drink beer instead of chicha... saw street art and discussed the battle between more/less formal forms... we biked through a neighborhood of mixed architecture and talked about the identity crisis in bogota... we rode to a park and snacked on fruits, then admired a giant map of bogota before riding past more street art (Jarod got a flat as usual), and to a big memorial for those killed in the civil war- tears streaming down the side of a building into a pool of water. We went to a coffee shop and talked some with our guide, Mateo. He talked about working in social services in London and suggested those services weren’t helpful. He showed impatience with others’ inability to learn english. We talked about the education system a bit then started our coffee tour. We biked down a more colorful street--with gov-commissioned art on all the walls. We rode through the red light district to a market for fruit tasting. We then ran across the street and learned how to play Tejo. It was really absurd and fun even though I was bad at it. Then we went back to the bike shop and paid. We got what was supposed to be a light lunch of ajiaco and a tamale to share - it was heavy. We walked to the main plaza and Gabriel Garcia Marques cultural center. We tried to stand outside our lunch spot to get WiFi to order an uber. Instead we went to a cafe and bought banana bread to get  their code. We went home, hung out, then headed to el chato for dinner. The host asked if we had a reservation, which we had a hard time understanding. Eventually we were sat at the bar. We got cocktails, the best order of chips and guacamole ever, lamb (Jarod), and fish with mushrooms (me). When we finished dinner, we went to the grocery store to buy more coconut cookies and then we headed home. We went to bed around 11.

3/23

We were slow to start in the morning. We made breakfast and did some research on Monserrate before calling an uber to go there. The uber got lost in a nearby national park and asked several ppl for directions but apparently few of them were helpful. We finally made it to the trail head and hiked the (very tough) ascent of 2000m. It took us about 50min; we arrived around 12. The view was beautiful but there were lots of ppl- even a mass going on. There were lots of stands for foods and trinkets. On the way down we got queso fresco con fruta. We then walked all the way home, zagging through la candelaria, stopping for bunuelos and empanadas, and then by the park for fruit and carrot cake. There were countless street vendors with hot dogs, coconuts, fruits, cell phone minutes, dried food, etc. We got home, napped and snacked, then showered. We went to Bogota Brewing Company around the corner. The waitress talked to us a lot very quickly and we were totally lost. She then brought us four drinks to try -- we were worried we needed to say something about them but didn’t even really know what they were. We ordered beers and a pizza and reflected on the trip and plans for going home. We went to the store for more coconut cookies, then home. We sat and ate for a little, then packed up and went to bed around 10.

3/24 BOGOTA-->SAN FRANCISCO

3/24

345am wake up - was awoken a little early by drunks in the street. Got ready and Jarod called an uber. Rode to the airport, got through immigration and security, wanted crepes and waffles but couldn’t find them. Had to go to the desk to check in (after hearing our names over the speaker). Alarms were going off while we waited... no one seemed to care.

[newssplashy]

The week was exciting and full of intriguing stories, so guys let's take you through how they all happened.

This week has been full of interesting stories and gist as usual from your favourite celebrities.

From the beginning of the week we got to see sibling rivalry continue, a celebrity graduating from university, even some celebrity claimed to have been attacked by SARS again! As usual, the dragging and calling out game happened during the week.

Ok guys, here are some major stories we brought to you during the week which got a lot of people talking.

1. Paul Okoye responds to brother's insult accusation

 Well, the week began with Paul Okoye responded to the accusations earlier made by his twin brother, Peter Okoye of insulting his family. Paul Okoye while granting an interview with a radio station was asked about his twin brother's latest accusation and he gave a very diplomatic answer to the question.

"These are sensitive questions and the fact that it is sensitive there are ways you will say it and the way you people will just create news out of it. The way you people are lost about this issue is the same way I am seeing the issue too.

"Just understand this, it Is not good for me, it is not good for anybody yes people will tell you that they have been hearing one side of the story and they want to hear my own side of the story, I am not giving anybody any story. I always say this I didn't work hard for twenty years to destroy stuff like that, ok, I don't know, to be honest with you, I don't know," he said.

2. Nina graduates from Imo State University

 Away from sibling rivalry and drama, former Big Brother Naija housemate, Nina during the week, graduated from Imo State University. A very excited Nina took to her Instagram page where she posted photos from school.

"4 years, 62 courses, 8 semesters. Finally, it’s over...I remember 4 years ago when I got admission Always running for lectures chai. No more lectures. No more assignments. No more impromptu Saturday test. Mama, I made it. To you Lord who made this possible. I will praise you forever. You are merciful. You are my Jehova overdo. You are my unchangable changer. I can’t stop loving you. To my parents, thanks for always standing by me. I love you forever. Finally a BA holder...osheyyyyyy," she wrote.

3. Yeni Kuti lays curse on band member who absconded in US

 Another drama that happened during the week was the allegation that a member of Femi Kuti's band, absconded in the US. Just like any caring sibling, Femi's sister, Yeni Kuti, took it upon herself as she cursed the band member, Andrew Aghedo on her Instagram page.

"The face of betrayal. I hope @realdonaldtrump catches you and deports you!!! Deserted band 20mins before concert because he wants to stay in America. BETRAYER Absconded bassist 20 mins before concert! ANDREW AGHEDO! Those who defend you are just like you. You try to destroy other people to get on in life. It doesn’t work like that," she wrote.

4. Jude Okoye says he used to be a bus conductor

 While Peter and Paul Okoye continued to wash their dirty linens in public, their elder brother, Jude Okoye was serving us some motivational goals on Instagram. According to Jude Engees, he used to be a bus conductor in Lagos before things turned around for him.

"DID YOU KNOW....? My first 4 nights in Lagos in 1995 was spent under ijora bridge stranded cos of music hustle. Had to do conductor work route ijora - jibowu every day to survive. #mondaymotivation," he said.

5. iLLBLISS says a gun was held to his head by SARS officers

 The list of celebrities who have been harassed by SARS officers increased during the week, with iLLBLISS as their latest victim. The rapper and music executive made this known on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, on his Twitter page.

"Last night SARS had guns to my head! Lying on the coal tar next to my manager/ what the fk is going on? Searching us for tramadol and....." he tweeted.

6. D'banj continues to mourn his son

 The death of D'banj's son came as a rude shock to everyone both in and outside the entertainment industry. Even though the music star has stayed away from social media since the demise of his son, he came out during the week to write about how he and his family have been doing since the sad incident.

"The past few weeks have been incredibly trying and difficult, but God’s love has kept me and my family going. I can't thank my team enough and the incredible love from you all. May God keep us all. #StrongerTogether'...      " he captioned the photo.

7. Waje has a message for her former personal assistants

 Waje appears to be one of those celebrities who hardly get dramatic on social media but this week, the singer wasn't having any of it as she called out her former personal assistants on Instagram. According to her, you have to work hard to be able to achieve anything in life.

" Dear young people, you have to work! You think cause of the clothes and lifestyle, we hang with our legs and sit with makeup and a smile? It's disheartening. You send me dm's of how you want a job etc. In the last 3 months, I have worked with four personal assistants with everyone complaining that the job is stressful. So you think the job was taking pictures?" she wrote.

8. Mercy Aigbe's estranged husband says he owns her and their son

 The strained relationship between Mercy Aigbe and her estranged husband, Lanre Gentry has continued to be the topic of discussion among tabloids. In a recent interview with PUNCH, Lanre Gentry revealed his relationship status with the actress.

"Mercy and Juwon are my property," he said when asked about Mercy Aigbe's Instagram post during the Father's day celebration. When queried about reuniting with Aigbe after the actress moved out of their matrimonial home, Gentry said he's waiting to hear from the actress as regards dissolving their marriage legally because they are still married according to the Nigerian marital laws.

Ok guys, thanks for reading and staying online to our platform, we hope you continue to do so while having an exciting week ahead.

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News,Ghana News ,News,Entertainment,Hot Posts,sports In a Splash.

[kekoaskorner]

Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“. Now thanks to the advent calendar of Ticketcorner I’m able to go to the festival for 4 days and have some VIP amenities available too. I didn’t know beforehand how grateful I would be for that special treatment.

 VIP area

Day 1

This year the festival started on Wednesday instead of Thursday. But still so many people queued up to get their ticket changed into a wristband. After that they had to wait another 1 ½ hrs to get to the Gurtenbähnli to bring them up the hill. Lucky me I could jump the queue and walk straight in. The VIP area is really nice and on Day 1 there weren’t too many people there either.

Rag’N’Bone Man

First main act was Rag’N’Bone Man who sang again very well. Although I couldn’t really hear that much because of the chatter of the people around me. I really don’t understand how people can spend that much money and waste it on chit chat. We went on to see Nothing but Thieves who were good but I cannot put my finger on what was missing in their performance so that I cannot say: „Ohh I would see them again“.

Nothing but Thieves

Royal Blood was the next act on the mainstage but they weren’t my favourite either so we chilled in the lounge area. Unfortunately it was really cold and windy and very uncomfortable. So we were glad when we could walk over to the tent stage where we saw an amazing Jack Garratt. He looks like a kid who didn’t get what he wanted but God he’s good and he is really funny too! He started to play very famous songs by Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson and then stopped. It was kinda frustrating but also very funny. At the same time Dabu Fantastic a Swiss band was playing the forest stage. Since I knew how good they were I preferred to see someone I haven’t seen before. We only heard the last bit when we had to leave the tent to be early for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Macklemore

As always the two American lads put on a great show and the audience loved them. However I liked them better the last time I saw them at Hallenstadion when they had the full show going. At the end they held their traditional dance off with two random people from the crowd and wow they were really really good. Macklemore said it was one of the best dance off’s they’d ever seen and I have to agree. To finish the night we watched a bit of From Kid who were okay but couldn’t really catch my attention and so we headed home soon after.

From Kid on Waldbühne

Day 2

Pegasus

I was very looking forward to see Pegasus after I’ve seen them a week before on the ferry on lake Zurich. Again they didn’t disappoint. At 3.30 they had a lot of people in front of the mainstage and had them dancing and singing and waving and jumping. They are just an incredible live band! We then headed to a band from Zurich called Faber. They are Swiss but sing in German which is quite special. Next act on the mainstage was Lo & Leduc. I was really excited to see them in their home city at this brilliant festival. They were blown away by how many people turned up. They told us that they played one of the bars, then the Waldbühne, then the Zeltbühne and now the mainstage. It was an awesome 1 ½ hrs set until they finally had to make way for the next act.

Lo & Leduc with Manilio

We heard the last bit of Nemo who is a very young Swiss German Rapper but I really like his upbeat feel-good sound. It was finally time for Imagine Dragons. I’ve also already seen them at Hallenstadion like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the day before and I also liked that concert better than this Gurtenfestival appearance. Maybe it was because I stood in the VIP area and not very close to the stage where I think the people had good fun. Funny enough after what felt like 20mins they turned off the lights completely on stage and for a very long time too. People thought it was already the usual walk off-walk on-encore part but I was like this is way too early. It turned out that it was some kind of power cut as the singer Dan Reynolds couldn’t hear anything in his in-ears. Few minutes later the show went on and like Coldplay’s bell I heard the drum sound in “Radioactive” really clearly for the first time.

Imagine Dragons

To round off Day 2 we decided to see Trust. This band has already very famous band members such as Stress and Gabriel Spahni from Pegasus. Stress was actually singing which is quite different to what he usually does. In the end the tired eyes won and we headed down.

Day 3

Lucky Chops

Unfortunately I had to work on day 3 so I only got up the hill for the 2nd main act Züri West. I thought the crowd would react similar to Lo & Leduc and create an incredible atmosphere but that wasn’t the case. The band didn’t interact with the audience and didn’t sing all their famous hits. Overall everyone was very disappointed. My concert buddy had the joy to see Lucky Chops before this main act. And she really liked them. They’re an instrumental band and good fun!

Casper

We also caught a bit of the performance of LP but we still don’t fancy her live voice a lot. Casper’s set must have been very good because when we reached the main stage the whole crowd did the usual rap/hip hop moves by moving one arm up and down. From my experience Hip Hop concerts have the best atmosphere. We headed to the tent stage next where we saw a German band called SDP. They had a punk rock feel and some very racy lyrics. I quite liked their performance and at one point they had huge beach balls bouncing off the audiences’ hands.

oznor

cof

To finish this evening Fritz Kalkbrenner sang behind his turn tables. He started with: “Hallo ich bin Fritz und ich fang dann jetzt mal an!”. I’ve never heard a funnier start. He continued being funny throughout the set and he seemed very down to earth to me. I realized that his music is not my kinda cup of tea but I did enjoy his set and many other late night party dancers would agree.

Fritz Kalkbrenner

Day 4

The day I was anticipating the most and it turned out to be my favourite day! Somehow there weren’t a lot of people anymore even though it was a Saturday or maybe we caught the best time to get food and found good spots at concerts. Anyway it was a very chilled fun day.

sdr

oznor

We started front row with Saint Motel on the main stage. What an awesome band! They have good up-tempo music to dance to. The saxophone was great but my highlight was when the lead singer walked through the crowd to the sound tower on the other side and climbed up. It looked very funny. Another highlight and a speciality of this festival is the dancing security. You won’t find any grim unfriendly looking security here. They help you in any way they can and even start dance moves.

Veronica Fusaro on Waldbühne

Since Kate Tempest was late we decided to see Veronica Fusaro also a Swiss singer on the Waldbühne. What a wonderful setting. The stage is facing a steep part of the Gurten hill so people can sit down or even stand and everyone can see the artists down there. Veronica has a beautiful voice and good songs – perfect for the occasion, a hot sunny summer day. Close to the end we headed for Kate Tempest on the Zeltbühne – big mistake. We didn’t like her at all. She has a weird way of rapping and her songs seemed to me like she was trying to convince me to join a cult or something similar.

oznor

oznor

Seven was absolutely brilliant. He made everyone dancing, singing and clapping. It was an amazing show by awesome musicians giving their all to us. They visibly enjoyed playing and this is automatically transferred onto the audience. 1 1/2hrs of pure joy! Thank you for that.

Beginner

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Asgeir an Islandic musician but he is supposed to be very good. Next up were Beginner a hip hop combo from Hamburg who have been successful for years. They created a beautiful colourful set on stage and also gave a 110% on stage. What I personally liked was that they were actually promoting the next act Marteria as well. There was no visible competition between them. My favourite words from Jan Delay was: “We need all your energy – oh wait no – you need energy for Marteria too. This is what you’re going to do. Give us all your energy, then load it up again with all those energy stations around this place and be ready to give all your energy to Marteria again.” Loved it J

Death by Chocolate was too rocky for us so we went to see Walk off the Earth. Brilliant decision. They are an incredible live band. We loved their own songs and the covers they did. Awesome musicians who I would like to see again.

oznor

oznor

Finally, the act I was waiting for, took the stage at 12.30pm. Marteria absolutely rocked the 20’000 people at Gurtenfestival. I have no words to describe this. Before every song he said “Alle Hände” and all hands went up. We danced, we sang, we rapped, we jumped, we enjoyed every minute of this 1 1/2hrs set. During his song “Marteria Girl” he asked the guys to take all the Marteria Girls on their shoulders. At that exact moment I knew I needed to find a tall, big strong guy who will join me for Marteria’s concert in Zurich on Dec, 9th 17! J During the last song it was total “Abriss” which you can translate to “Go totally mental”. Marteria took off his shirt and asked everyone to do so as well and swing it above their heads. (Me being a pro I took a scarf with me… Hello I’m still a girl ;-)) During the final final 20 secs he created a mosh pit and on his commando everyone jumped into it.

Marteria is on FIRE

The party went on all night until the sun greeted us with an amazing sunrise which looked like painted by Bob Ross. The clouds turned purple and Marteria’s biggest hit so far “Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind” came true. Just a brilliant finish to a wonderful 4 day Gurtenfestival in Berne with amazing weather. I have to say thank you to Ticketcorner for this incredible prize and to Gurtenfestival for these many special moments with great artists and to my lovely concert buddy.

Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind

  Gurtenfestival in Berne 12 – 15.07.17 Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“.

[newssplashy]

Weekly Recap: A recap of what happened this week in the lives of your favourite celebrities

The week was exciting and full of intriguing stories, so guys let's take you through how they all happened.

This week has been full of interesting stories and gist as usual from your favourite celebrities.

From the beginning of the week we got to see sibling rivalry continue, a celebrity graduating from university, even some celebrity claimed to have been attacked by SARS again! As usual, the dragging and calling out game happened during the week.

Ok guys, here are some major stories we brought to you during the week which got a lot of people talking.

1. Paul Okoye responds to brother's insult accusation

 Well, the week began with Paul Okoye responded to the accusations earlier made by his twin brother, Peter Okoye of insulting his family. Paul Okoye while granting an interview with a radio station was asked about his twin brother's latest accusation and he gave a very diplomatic answer to the question.

"These are sensitive questions and the fact that it is sensitive there are ways you will say it and the way you people will just create news out of it. The way you people are lost about this issue is the same way I am seeing the issue too.

"Just understand this, it Is not good for me, it is not good for anybody yes people will tell you that they have been hearing one side of the story and they want to hear my own side of the story, I am not giving anybody any story. I always say this I didn't work hard for twenty years to destroy stuff like that, ok, I don't know, to be honest with you, I don't know," he said.

2. Nina graduates from Imo State University

 Away from sibling rivalry and drama, former Big Brother Naija housemate, Nina during the week, graduated from Imo State University. A very excited Nina took to her Instagram page where she posted photos from school.

"4 years, 62 courses, 8 semesters. Finally, it’s over...I remember 4 years ago when I got admission Always running for lectures chai. No more lectures. No more assignments. No more impromptu Saturday test. Mama, I made it. To you Lord who made this possible. I will praise you forever. You are merciful. You are my Jehova overdo. You are my unchangable changer. I can’t stop loving you. To my parents, thanks for always standing by me. I love you forever. Finally a BA holder...osheyyyyyy," she wrote.

3. Yeni Kuti lays curse on band member who absconded in US

 Another drama that happened during the week was the allegation that a member of Femi Kuti's band, absconded in the US. Just like any caring sibling, Femi's sister, Yeni Kuti, took it upon herself as she cursed the band member, Andrew Aghedo on her Instagram page.

"The face of betrayal. I hope @realdonaldtrump catches you and deports you!!! Deserted band 20mins before concert because he wants to stay in America. BETRAYER Absconded bassist 20 mins before concert! ANDREW AGHEDO! Those who defend you are just like you. You try to destroy other people to get on in life. It doesn’t work like that," she wrote.

4. Jude Okoye says he used to be a bus conductor

 While Peter and Paul Okoye continued to wash their dirty linens in public, their elder brother, Jude Okoye was serving us some motivational goals on Instagram. According to Jude Engees, he used to be a bus conductor in Lagos before things turned around for him.

"DID YOU KNOW....? My first 4 nights in Lagos in 1995 was spent under ijora bridge stranded cos of music hustle. Had to do conductor work route ijora - jibowu every day to survive. #mondaymotivation," he said.

5. iLLBLISS says a gun was held to his head by SARS officers

 The list of celebrities who have been harassed by SARS officers increased during the week, with iLLBLISS as their latest victim. The rapper and music executive made this known on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, on his Twitter page.

"Last night SARS had guns to my head! Lying on the coal tar next to my manager/ what the fk is going on? Searching us for tramadol and....." he tweeted.

6. D'banj continues to mourn his son

 The death of D'banj's son came as a rude shock to everyone both in and outside the entertainment industry. Even though the music star has stayed away from social media since the demise of his son, he came out during the week to write about how he and his family have been doing since the sad incident.

"The past few weeks have been incredibly trying and difficult, but God’s love has kept me and my family going. I can't thank my team enough and the incredible love from you all. May God keep us all. #StrongerTogether'...      " he captioned the photo.

7. Waje has a message for her former personal assistants

 Waje appears to be one of those celebrities who hardly get dramatic on social media but this week, the singer wasn't having any of it as she called out her former personal assistants on Instagram. According to her, you have to work hard to be able to achieve anything in life.

" Dear young people, you have to work! You think cause of the clothes and lifestyle, we hang with our legs and sit with makeup and a smile? It's disheartening. You send me dm's of how you want a job etc. In the last 3 months, I have worked with four personal assistants with everyone complaining that the job is stressful. So you think the job was taking pictures?" she wrote.

8. Mercy Aigbe's estranged husband says he owns her and their son

 The strained relationship between Mercy Aigbe and her estranged husband, Lanre Gentry has continued to be the topic of discussion among tabloids. In a recent interview with PUNCH, Lanre Gentry revealed his relationship status with the actress.

"Mercy and Juwon are my property," he said when asked about Mercy Aigbe's Instagram post during the Father's day celebration. When queried about reuniting with Aigbe after the actress moved out of their matrimonial home, Gentry said he's waiting to hear from the actress as regards dissolving their marriage legally because they are still married according to the Nigerian marital laws.

Ok guys, thanks for reading and staying online to our platform, we hope you continue to do so while having an exciting week ahead.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/weekly-recap-recap-of-what-happened.html

[kekoaskorner]

Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“. Now thanks to the advent calendar of Ticketcorner I’m able to go to the festival for 4 days and have some VIP amenities available too. I didn’t know beforehand how grateful I would be for that special treatment.

 VIP area

Day 1

This year the festival started on Wednesday instead of Thursday. But still so many people queued up to get their ticket changed into a wristband. After that they had to wait another 1 ½ hrs to get to the Gurtenbähnli to bring them up the hill. Lucky me I could jump the queue and walk straight in. The VIP area is really nice and on Day 1 there weren’t too many people there either.

Rag’N’Bone Man

First main act was Rag’N’Bone Man who sang again very well. Although I couldn’t really hear that much because of the chatter of the people around me. I really don’t understand how people can spend that much money and waste it on chit chat. We went on to see Nothing but Thieves who were good but I cannot put my finger on what was missing in their performance so that I cannot say: „Ohh I would see them again“.

Nothing but Thieves

Royal Blood was the next act on the mainstage but they weren’t my favourite either so we chilled in the lounge area. Unfortunately it was really cold and windy and very uncomfortable. So we were glad when we could walk over to the tent stage where we saw an amazing Jack Garratt. He looks like a kid who didn’t get what he wanted but God he’s good and he is really funny too! He started to play very famous songs by Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson and then stopped. It was kinda frustrating but also very funny. At the same time Dabu Fantastic a Swiss band was playing the forest stage. Since I knew how good they were I preferred to see someone I haven’t seen before. We only heard the last bit when we had to leave the tent to be early for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Macklemore

As always the two American lads put on a great show and the audience loved them. However I liked them better the last time I saw them at Hallenstadion when they had the full show going. At the end they held their traditional dance off with two random people from the crowd and wow they were really really good. Macklemore said it was one of the best dance off’s they’d ever seen and I have to agree. To finish the night we watched a bit of From Kid who were okay but couldn’t really catch my attention and so we headed home soon after.

From Kid on Waldbühne

Day 2

Pegasus

I was very looking forward to see Pegasus after I’ve seen them a week before on the ferry on lake Zurich. Again they didn’t disappoint. At 3.30 they had a lot of people in front of the mainstage and had them dancing and singing and waving and jumping. They are just an incredible live band! We then headed to a band from Zurich called Faber. They are Swiss but sing in German which is quite special. Next act on the mainstage was Lo & Leduc. I was really excited to see them in their home city at this brilliant festival. They were blown away by how many people turned up. They told us that they played one of the bars, then the Waldbühne, then the Zeltbühne and now the mainstage. It was an awesome 1 ½ hrs set until they finally had to make way for the next act.

Lo & Leduc with Manilio

We heard the last bit of Nemo who is a very young Swiss German Rapper but I really like his upbeat feel-good sound. It was finally time for Imagine Dragons. I’ve also already seen them at Hallenstadion like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the day before and I also liked that concert better than this Gurtenfestival appearance. Maybe it was because I stood in the VIP area and not very close to the stage where I think the people had good fun. Funny enough after what felt like 20mins they turned off the lights completely on stage and for a very long time too. People thought it was already the usual walk off-walk on-encore part but I was like this is way too early. It turned out that it was some kind of power cut as the singer Dan Reynolds couldn’t hear anything in his in-ears. Few minutes later the show went on and like Coldplay’s bell I heard the drum sound in “Radioactive” really clearly for the first time.

Imagine Dragons

To round off Day 2 we decided to see Trust. This band has already very famous band members such as Stress and Gabriel Spahni from Pegasus. Stress was actually singing which is quite different to what he usually does. In the end the tired eyes won and we headed down.

Day 3

Lucky Chops

Unfortunately I had to work on day 3 so I only got up the hill for the 2nd main act Züri West. I thought the crowd would react similar to Lo & Leduc and create an incredible atmosphere but that wasn’t the case. The band didn’t interact with the audience and didn’t sing all their famous hits. Overall everyone was very disappointed. My concert buddy had the joy to see Lucky Chops before this main act. And she really liked them. They’re an instrumental band and good fun!

Casper

We also caught a bit of the performance of LP but we still don’t fancy her live voice a lot. Casper’s set must have been very good because when we reached the main stage the whole crowd did the usual rap/hip hop moves by moving one arm up and down. From my experience Hip Hop concerts have the best atmosphere. We headed to the tent stage next where we saw a German band called SDP. They had a punk rock feel and some very racy lyrics. I quite liked their performance and at one point they had huge beach balls bouncing off the audiences’ hands.

oznor

cof

To finish this evening Fritz Kalkbrenner sang behind his turn tables. He started with: “Hallo ich bin Fritz und ich fang dann jetzt mal an!”. I’ve never heard a funnier start. He continued being funny throughout the set and he seemed very down to earth to me. I realized that his music is not my kinda cup of tea but I did enjoy his set and many other late night party dancers would agree.

Fritz Kalkbrenner

Day 4

The day I was anticipating the most and it turned out to be my favourite day! Somehow there weren’t a lot of people anymore even though it was a Saturday or maybe we caught the best time to get food and found good spots at concerts. Anyway it was a very chilled fun day.

sdr

oznor

We started front row with Saint Motel on the main stage. What an awesome band! They have good up-tempo music to dance to. The saxophone was great but my highlight was when the lead singer walked through the crowd to the sound tower on the other side and climbed up. It looked very funny. Another highlight and a speciality of this festival is the dancing security. You won’t find any grim unfriendly looking security here. They help you in any way they can and even start dance moves.

Veronica Fusaro on Waldbühne

Since Kate Tempest was late we decided to see Veronica Fusaro also a Swiss singer on the Waldbühne. What a wonderful setting. The stage is facing a steep part of the Gurten hill so people can sit down or even stand and everyone can see the artists down there. Veronica has a beautiful voice and good songs – perfect for the occasion, a hot sunny summer day. Close to the end we headed for Kate Tempest on the Zeltbühne – big mistake. We didn’t like her at all. She has a weird way of rapping and her songs seemed to me like she was trying to convince me to join a cult or something similar.

oznor

oznor

Seven was absolutely brilliant. He made everyone dancing, singing and clapping. It was an amazing show by awesome musicians giving their all to us. They visibly enjoyed playing and this is automatically transferred onto the audience. 1 1/2hrs of pure joy! Thank you for that.

Beginner

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Asgeir an Islandic musician but he is supposed to be very good. Next up were Beginner a hip hop combo from Hamburg who have been successful for years. They created a beautiful colourful set on stage and also gave a 110% on stage. What I personally liked was that they were actually promoting the next act Marteria as well. There was no visible competition between them. My favourite words from Jan Delay was: “We need all your energy – oh wait no – you need energy for Marteria too. This is what you’re going to do. Give us all your energy, then load it up again with all those energy stations around this place and be ready to give all your energy to Marteria again.” Loved it J

Death by Chocolate was too rocky for us so we went to see Walk off the Earth. Brilliant decision. They are an incredible live band. We loved their own songs and the covers they did. Awesome musicians who I would like to see again.

oznor

oznor

Finally, the act I was waiting for, took the stage at 12.30pm. Marteria absolutely rocked the 20’000 people at Gurtenfestival. I have no words to describe this. Before every song he said “Alle Hände” and all hands went up. We danced, we sang, we rapped, we jumped, we enjoyed every minute of this 1 1/2hrs set. During his song “Marteria Girl” he asked the guys to take all the Marteria Girls on their shoulders. At that exact moment I knew I needed to find a tall, big strong guy who will join me for Marteria’s concert in Zurich on Dec, 9th 17! J During the last song it was total “Abriss” which you can translate to “Go totally mental”. Marteria took off his shirt and asked everyone to do so as well and swing it above their heads. (Me being a pro I took a scarf with me… Hello I’m still a girl ;-)) During the final final 20 secs he created a mosh pit and on his commando everyone jumped into it.

Marteria is on FIRE

The party went on all night until the sun greeted us with an amazing sunrise which looked like painted by Bob Ross. The clouds turned purple and Marteria’s biggest hit so far “Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind” came true. Just a brilliant finish to a wonderful 4 day Gurtenfestival in Berne with amazing weather. I have to say thank you to Ticketcorner for this incredible prize and to Gurtenfestival for these many special moments with great artists and to my lovely concert buddy.

Wir bleiben wach bis die Wolken wieder lila sind

  Gurtenfestival in Berne 12 – 15.07.17 Gurtenfestival is placed in the capital city of Switzerland in Berne on the hill called Gurten. A proper citizen of Berne would call it „Güsche“.