#Food is fascinating and American food culture is neat!

[pythonmelon]

USAmericans generally have access to a really varied diet. It really depends on where in the country you are what the local cuisine is, there's so much it's hard to cover, but generally;

We benefit from a lot of foods developed by immigrant communities being part of our food culture! Asian-American foods (Chinese takeout is the classic example but there are tons of cultures who brought their cuisine here and combined it with other available ingredients and cultural flavors), Italian-American Food (Spaghetti and meatballs, a lot of other pasta dishes, American-style pizzas), and foods developed in the American Southwest (Tex-Mex style stuff) taken in as part of annexing parts of Mexico. Cuisine from many African and European cultures are also huge parts of food culture, and it's not all takeout! Pre-prepared or mostly-prepared foods are amply available, a result of work culture and technology stuff we have a lot of frozen/instant/microwave foods available.

Bread, potatoes, and pasta and roast meats make up a big chunk of the average diet. Sandwiches both cold and hot. A lot of big complicated salads (both actually veggie based and non) with rich dressings. Casseroles are huge in the midwest and south- they're great ways to combine a lot of cheap and often bland ingredients into something pretty tasty, more than the sum of its parts.

A lot of our meals look so big and hearty because we as a culture LOVE leftovers! If you make, say, a pork roast, a pot of soup, a batch of pasta, a meatloaf- that can last several meals for a family, and be reused a lot of ways. Meatloaf not eaten with mashed potatoes can later be eaten on sandwiches (a lot of our sandwiches come as leftovers), or or leftovers meat and bones go into soups (a lot of soups are also made with scraps). Same goes for restaurants. A lot of our portions are really large but taking leftovers home is common and encourage. One meal out usually makes minimum two meals in reality, often three for some people.

The US food culture, like a lot of places, has a history with a lot of poor folks who had to find a lot of ways to use their food to fullest extent and those things have become ingrained in how we live even when food isn't tight, its in the blood.

We also tend to keep our vegetables to sides, and I'm not entirely sure why. Veggies steamed, stir fried, roasted, etc served with butter or a sauce of some kind are usually how people get vegetables into their meals.

We also LOVE a good big beverage. I do not know much about that one.

But, in sum, we eat a lot of immigrant-developed foods and multicultural options are day-to-day staples, a lot of carbs and meats, a lot of cheap foods made up nice, fried things, veggies-as-sides, prepackaged or pre-prepared meals and snack foods- and most of all, we love leftovers.

Ik there are usamericans following me I have a question for yall , what the fuck do y'all even eat . Like . The typical huge greasy American breakfast has to be an exaggeration but I really can't think of meals that don't contain stuff exclusive to my country and do you guys even have that honestly

[hetalia-club]

I really like your posts where you talk in depth about specific history events and other cultures. I found your Italian American one pretty interesting as I never knew they spoke anther language separate from both Italy and English. I was curious if you had any other fun facts like that.

Yeah I will eventually I'm sure. I do this thing where I pick a random culture and learn a lot about it. Granted it's facts I'll probably have no use for knowing but it's a little hobby of mine I like to do when I'm feeling bored. But they are fun conversation plug ins and it has earned me the 'smart one' among friends and family even if that is complete bull shit because I'm an idiot. I'll often hear something like "what language do *Insert nationality* speak? I don't know ask Brandi she knows". So that is neat I guess. I really don't have the heart to tell them that most of my motivation to learn these things comes from an anime I like.

I'll learn about a culture for awhile until I get bored of it and then switch it up. Right now as I have already stated it's Italian-American culture which has always really fascinated me. Italian-American food is like one of the only foods I eat consistently being a picky eater and all.

But as a side note another American culture I've just started to dive into is Cajun culture. They are a culture located in Louisiana and speak their own language as well. Its parent language is French but the French cannot understand them really maybe a few words here and there. But it would be like someone speaking Old English you wouldn't really understand but you might be able to pick out a few words here and there and maybe grasp the conversation if you listen really hard. Sort of like French Canadian and French. Its parent language is French but it is not the same. Idk if you found that interesting at all. But there is your little fun fact.

I like to wait until I find something really interesting that is worth mentioning. I don't just want to do book reports if you get what I mean (though I easily could).

[blindfoldlove2]

Listening to this song ready to start telling a story, as humans do, about my life. I had just finished cheesy eggs in a tortilla and sat there in my dimly lit living room and savored each bite. In "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman, he had said there was a study where they found that french women find more satisfaction from their food than American women because they aren't multi-tasking while eating. So, in french style, I suppose, I sat there and thought about the particles of my eggs. I closed my eyes and tasted. While I chewed, I looked around at my plants, books, and the skeleton named jinkies whom always makes me happy. The whole act was yummier so I suppose there may be some truth to that with the one trial I have attempted on myself... hardly good data but there I go.

Earlier, I climbed my heart out. There is this pink 12- that I am so close to finishing. I am so passionate about it and I constantly steal looks in between climbs l...I love having a project again. I'm making progress and am already able to climb up and down 8s and 9s. Soon, maybe, I can climb down 10s and 11s like I used to. I've been climbing like a monkey, swinging from side to side while listening to R&B which has been my genre of choice to climb to as of late. I saw Atlanta after my climb and we spent over an hour discussing intelligence, civilization, language, and power structures. It was a delight. I love breaking down subjects with humans. It is rare that I get to do so, though, I will say the Universe has sent me more souls to ponder life's deepest treasures lately. When I have opened myself to what god/universe/creator has in store for me, I have found so many gifts.

I started this new biography called "We Will Be Jaguars" by Nemonte Nenquimo. She was part of the Waorani tribe found in the Amazonian areas in Ecuador and so far, from what I understand in the book, she documents her experiences growing up in the jungle and being introduced to Christian missionaries who brought sickness to her people. I don't really like to read full synopsis of books just like I don't like to read climbs before I climb them. I like to not assume how it will end - sort of with everything in life perhaps. Hearing of this women's experiences is fascinating. She mentions places I've been to and it was neat to imagine the different animal life and her ancestors walking the same paths, maybe, that I did. When I went to Ecuador, I swam in tucked away pools in the Amazon forest near the small city of Coca. I spent alot of time alone in the jungle and with kids talking in Spanish about what their life was like. I remember this one child in particular named Charlie. He reminds me now of Ezra and was so intelligent. He would walk with me and explain different parts of his culture to me. Years later, hearing this woman's experiences is fascinating. She was talking about how she went to this missionary lady named Rachel who would give the girls dresses who would go to church. She wouldn't give you a dress if you didn't go. Before she received a dress, she said she would walk around naked in then jungle in her favorite pair of red underwear. She talked about how her baby brother would feed the monkey near them and how she told him not do so because the monkey needed to learn to feed herself.. and because she liked watching the way the monkey would pull apart insects- I found that last part very wonderful. Why? It's very human and honest.

I'm still reading through my Zen book and scribbling notes on all the pages like this one:

I was thinking this morning, staring out at the dusty white mountains and watching another season change into itself how odd it is that so many years have gone by. I swear it was just 2020 seconds ago and we all wondered if maybe the world was ending.

I've been struggling with aspects of my past and present that I still feel too sore to write about. Some days are better than others but I'm still in a state of shock. I am am allowing myself to feel the feels. I cannot be ashamed of that. I must show up honestly. I won't feel good living otherwise.

Otherwise, I am joyful. This baby inside of me kicks. What a strange thing it is to grow a human!

Off to fart around, literally, and play piano maybe or write a poem.

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

How I Became an Archaeologist

If you had told me when I was 15 that I would spend my life as an archaeologist, I probably would have been pretty surprised. I didn’t grow up knowing a great deal about archaeology or even being fascinated by arrowheads. At that time, I might well have asked what an archaeologist really is and what one actually does. I did get to visit the Parthenon and other ruins while on a trip with my aunt when I was sixteen. Even then, I don’t remember having more than a casual interest in what could be learned from these places. I was more interested in the living people and the new food dishes I encountered on that trip, which was my first trip outside the United States.

From talking to other archaeologists, I’ve learned that there are a lot of paths to deciding archaeology is going to be your life’s work. In my case, what led me to archaeology was anthropology, and specifically an elective course I took in the Fall of my senior year in high school that was taught by a Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts. Until then I had not been a serious student, although I did well enough in school. Perhaps I was slightly bored by most of my courses, but anthropology was anything but boring! It looked at people elsewhere in the world and over great periods of time. Many of these people lived different lives than my friends and I did, and they sometimes thought very differently about what was important in life than people here in the United States. I was fascinated, and, honestly, I particularly liked the fact that the conventions of American society, which to my teenage self were sometimes a little confining, weren’t after all the only sensible way to approach life. That year, as I chose a college to attend, I specifically looked for anthropology programs. I chose Beloit College in Wisconsin, which to this day has an excellent anthropology program.

Initially, I thought that I was most interested in cultural anthropology, but like most anthropology departments in the United States, Beloit required its anthropology majors to take courses in biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology as well as cultural anthropology. These are what are known as the four fields of American anthropology and together, they give us a more complete picture of humans in both the past and the present. Most people focus their careers in one subfield or another, though we recognize the importance of each one for understanding humans, and in most cases in North America our degrees are in anthropology not one of the subfields. In college, I found all these courses more fascinating than anything I had studied before, and I actually became a good student as I explored anthropology. I was learning so much neat stuff! I also did volunteer work in the Logan Museum at Beloit, which was founded at the end of the nineteenth century and holds some pretty amazing ethnographic and archaeological collections. It was there I first became interested in artifacts and learned to clean and care for them. After a college internship in cultural anthropology convinced me that cultural anthropology was not the most interesting part of anthropology after all, I began to focus on archaeology. I was most intrigued by my courses in Mesoamerican archaeology and North American archaeology, which before college had been completely unknown to me.

When I graduated from college, I still wasn’t sure what I would do with my life. I worked for about two years both in social work and as a tax auditor for the IRS, but decided in 1974 to try graduate school in archaeology because I still found what archaeology had taught me about past people compelling. I lived in Chicago, so I enrolled in the Ph.D. program in North American archaeology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

My graduate self in the late 1970s. Photo credit: Phillip Neusius

The biggest shock of graduate school was my professors’ almost immediate insistence that I pick what research I wanted to do. They pushed me to develop an expertise or skill within North American archaeology through my research. It sounds obvious to me now, but I think many beginning graduate students are like I was, lovers of the discipline’s knowledge, but a bit daunted by becoming an independent researcher. Developing an area of focus and specialty skills is part of becoming a professional archaeologist. One reason for this is because contemporary archaeological undertakings rely on teams of researchers, each contributing special skills and knowledge to accomplish the many aspects of excavation, analysis, and interpretation. If you envision archaeology as the solitary pursuit of an elusive artifact or site, you don’t have the picture quite right. Think instead of archaeological fieldwork involving groups of scientists working together to discover and carefully record many different bits of evidence about what the world used to be like and what people did in it. Also think about the many hours these scientists and others will spend not only in the field, but in the laboratory after an excavation is completed cleaning finds, describing artifacts, and analyzing data in order to make meaningful interpretations.

For someone like myself, who loved all aspects of anthropology, not to mention archaeology, and who had only gradually settled on North America as my geographic focus, picking a focus on entering graduate school was a hard task. There was so much that would be interesting to study! However, I did remember especially enjoying a research paper I had done in college on the relatively new interdisciplinary field of zooarchaeology, so under pressure, I told my professors I wanted to pursue this subfield in graduate school. Amazingly, this turned out to be a good choice of specialization for me. I found that I really love to work with collections of animal bone. For me, opening a bag of bone refuse from a site still is exciting. Bone identification work is a little like doing a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces. It is challenging, and it takes concentration and careful observation to piece together what you can. There is so much to figure out about any single piece of bone! What animal is it? How healthy was the animal? What part of the animal’s body is it? Has it been burned or cut? How was the bone buried and changed after the humans were done with it? Then you have to record this information so it can be combined with other observations on the assemblage of bone you are looking at. After identification, making sense of what a collection of the bones means and correlating these kinds of data with other information from a site and region requires careful analysis, but also insight and creativity. To me it is endlessly fascinating.

Besides finding that I liked the work, choosing zooarchaeology was also serendipitous since my professors were looking for a student to work with them on this aspect of a big project they were undertaking in west-central Illinois centered on the Koster site, which was first inhabited more than 9000 years ago and then reinhabited by people right up into modern times. Most importantly the poorly known Archaic Period levels were numerous, well-preserved, and distinct from each other so we could add a lot of new information through our work. For my dissertation I was able to look at the animal remains from levels of this site dated between approximately 8500 and 6000 years ago, which represent how people used animals at that time.

Koster site strata. All those dark layers are from Archaic period camps at the site. Photo credit: Del Bastian, Center for American Archaeology.

Graduate school was intense, but I continued to be fascinated by archaeology’s ability to tell the story of people lost to standard Western history. In those days I was excited to be part of this science that could do so much more than describe and take care of cool artifacts. It was a heady thing to learn that I could contribute to what was known about people who lived thousands of years ago. In later years, I’ve had to think more critically than I did then about what a privilege it is for an archaeologist to learn about the history and lives of other ethnicities. Today’s archaeologists recognize their responsibility to present information about past people for both scholarly and public use in ways that are sensitive to what is considered sacred and private by the descendants of those people. I think this is an important change in perspective, but in the 1970s most archaeologists just wanted to show that people’s stories from the past could be told using the techniques of archaeology. I certainly was happy, if a little naively so, to have found a way to contribute to telling the human story.

If I consider entering graduate school as the start of my professional career as an archaeologist, I have been pursuing this career for more than 45 years! Over the years I have done zooarchaeological and archaeological work in the American Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast working on telling the story of people who lived as long as 9000 years ago and as recently as the Sixteenth century. I’ve worked at several universities, in a small museum, and on small and large archaeological projects in the field of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) doing archaeological survey, site excavation, and zooarchaeological identification and analysis. I’ve written scholarly papers and articles as well as a textbook on North American archaeology. However, beginning in the late 1980s, I spent more than 31 years doing research and teaching anthropology and archaeology here in Pennsylvania at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In this job I taught both undergraduates and graduate students, but, as is typical of university professors, I also spent time doing fieldwork and analysis as part of my research while at IUP. Fortunately, because archaeology is a team undertaking, I’ve been able to involve many students in my research. Working with students in research as they discover what fascinates them has been a highlight of being an archaeologist for me. I’ve now retired from teaching but not archaeology. I’m still working with both physical and digital archaeological collections both through CMNH and elsewhere and writing about archaeology. Who knows what this career still will bring me!

Drawing a profile at the Johnston site with one of my students in 2008. Photo credit: Erica Ausel, IUP Archaeology.

Tracking down a bone identification with one of my students in the Zooarchaeology Lab at IUP. Photo credit: Beverly Chiarulli.

If you are reading this blog because you are thinking about archaeology as either a career or a hobby, I hope you realize that mine is just one story among the many that could be told. Because there are so many aspects of archaeology, people come into it from all sorts of backgrounds and because of all sorts of interests. I think that it is important to remember though that it really is about understanding people and telling their stories through the artifacts and other evidence we find. This is what interested me in archaeology in the first place. Discovering the details of the human story is a giant undertaking. There is no shortage of research problems or work to do, but solving the puzzles presented by sites and collections is both challenging and fun. I’m certainly glad I decided to become an archaeologist and zooarchaeologist so many years ago!

Sarah W. Neusius is a Research Associate in the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Definitions of Bolded Terms

anthropology -the study of humans including the physical, cultural and social aspects in the past and present.

cultural anthropology - the study of the cultural aspects of humans especially recent and contemporary social, technological, and ideological behavior observed among living people.

biological anthropology – the study of the biological or physical aspects of humans, including human biological evolution and past and present biological diversity.

linguistic anthropology - the study of the structure , history, and diversity of human languages as well as of the relationship between language and other aspects of culture.

archaeology - the study of past human behavior and culture through the analysis of material remains.

ethnographic – relating to the scientific description of people and cultures especially customs and beliefs.

Mesoamerican archaeology - the archaeology of the area from central Mexico southward through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.

North American archaeology - the archaeology of the area from central Mexico northward throughout the United States and Canada.

zooarchaeology – a subarea of archaeology involves the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites and investigates the ecology and cultural uses of the animals represented.

assemblage - a collection of artifacts from the same archaeological context.

Archaic Period - a time period from approximately 10,000 BP to 3000 BP that is recognized in most of North America.

Cultural Resource Management (CRM) – an applied form of archaeology undertaken in response to laws that require archaeological investigations.

archaeological survey – the systematic process archaeologists use to locate, identify, and record archaeological site distribution on the landscape.

[pbandjesse]

We are in our next hotel in DC! It's cute! Def not as new and fancy as the one we spent the last two nights in. But it's got charm.

Last night was a little rough for me. I could not turn my brain off and I was struggling. I would be up until 2 and wasn't having a good time.

I was eventually able to sleep but it wasn't good sleep. I was up half the night. But I couldn't even stay asleep in the morning.

James got up and went to run some errands. Deposited the checks we got as gifts. And mailed out marriage license.

I got up and was. Aching. Today was a little tough because I was so sore. And being tired didn't help.

The soda James brought me last night helped me perk up. There was something in my eye though and it hurt a lot and my eye wouldn't stop watering.

So I was moving kind of slow when James got back. I had showered and was mostly dressed. But while I was fixing my hair and starting my makeup I asked when the train was and it was at 855. It was currently 815. If we didn't make that one we wouldn't get into DC until the afternoon. And I didn't want that.

So I focused and did my eyeliner quickly and packed my bag all up. And we were off.

It is about a 20 minute walk to Penn station. And we made it with great time even if my feet hurt.

James went and got us our tickets. It was a beautiful day. And I was excited to take advantage of it. But I was also worried about my energy level. And my pains. I didn't want to be a drag.

But James was lovely. And would make sure I was okay. We did do a lot of walking but there were times I could rest and that let me really hold it together.

We got on our train and we shared my earbuds and listened to the Magnus archives. Which is going to be our new travel podcast. And it was a nice train ride.

We had brought our donuts. And shared my soda. And just enjoyed the fall colors of the changing leaves. I felt very happy.

We got into DC and the first thing we had to do was call the hotel. Can we bring our bags early? Since check in wasn't until 4pm, we didn't want to have to carry them all day or check them at the musuems. But thankfully they were like. Of course you can.

And so we got metro passes and took the subway to get there. And it's a really cool old building. The Ethelhurst building. And the girl at the desk was very nice.

We left our bags with her and sat in the lobby to figure out brunch.

We decided to go to the corner bakery. Which is a chain, and I don't love going to chains on trips, but that is okay. We ended up getting there and basically being the last people to get breakfast before they switched to lunch.

I also got a lemonade and I really liked my veggie scrambled eggs and toast. I did a lot of people watching while James did their basketball fantasy draft. And we made a plan for the day.

We decided to go to the museum of the American Indian. And I ended up loving it way more then I expected. I always love learning about history and this was such a neat place.

We walked there after lunch and shared the lemonade. We ended up walking through a Turkish street fair and I really loved seeing all the stalls and people and food.

Any time we saw a white building we would go "wow. The white house." In an awestruck tone. It was a beautiful day and we are just really happy so it felt easy being silly.

We got to the museum and it was excellent. A beautiful building. Not crowded but there were people. We started on the 4th floor and would work out way down.

The top floor had some amazing stuff with different nations and people and how they place themselves in the universe for each of their own cultures. It was fascinating. I also just loved hearing how their names are pronounced and what different things mean. Also the whole space was just beautifully done.

As we left that floor and went down to the next things were a little heavier. More history and how greed caused the treaties that were made, to fall apart. And how manifest destiny pushed people from lands they owned. It was interesting to learn that there was some actual purchasing of land and agreement to share but that a lot of sales were also done falsely and cruelty. I was already tired and sad and the galleries were dark. But we kept reading. I really appreciated how the musuem labeled wrote out the perspective for each side of each topic. I thought that was a really great way to give things context.

I told James I was really tired. And stoped reading as much. I did read all the signs about the Pocahontas mythos. Did not know she died at 22. Did know she was renamed Rebecca. Didn't realize how much she as a political figured mattered. And how much people clung to her in their lineage even when they shook off the political implications of being nonwhite and passed laws about blood quantum. It was really a great day for learning.

We would go to the giftshop last. I decided I can get one thing from every musuem, within reason. Mostly because the museums are free and I think if you got to go to a museum for free you should support them like that.

So I got a magnet of an alpaca and I would also get a few Christmas gifts. All very reasonably priced.

I thought we were going to go rest. But instead I wanted to stick it out and go to art museum. I wanted to see the recently reinstalled Calder. It's the largest mobile I've ever seen. And I was so excited.

What I didn't know though was that they had a whole Calder exhibit and I was so happy. We would walk around there for a while. And I desperately wanted someone to point out my Calder tattoo but alas, no one did.

That is okay though. Me and James would walk around the contemporary gallery and look at the gift shop. James got to see one of their most favorite paintings, which was a surprise. And I really had a nice time. My body was hurting very bad but I was having a nice day.

We thought we would get lunch there but their cafe was closing for the day. I had read the sign wrong. That is okay. Instead we went through their light up tunnel sculpture and decided we would come back so I can see the John Singer Sargent show and James can walk though the sculpture gallery.

For now it was time to eat.

We walked for what felt like forever, and went to a hip little pizza and waffle place. We sat outside and I really enjoyed my food. And our waiter was very nice.

While we ate I made my next TikTok. For our wedding day. It isn't like the best one ever but I am excited to have these little snapshots of the day. And when that was finished we had a 20 minute walk back to the hotel.

Did I complain the whole time? No. But I did complain a lot. My feet were in so much pain and I felt very bad.

We got back here and got checked in. We are on the 7th floor of a 9 story building. And it's interesting looking. The room is small and a funny shape. There was a very strong laundry soap smell when we got in but it's faded since we came in. The bathroom fan is super loud. So I brought the desk lamp into the bathroom which made James double over laughing.

We laid in bed. I made my next tiktok of our cookout celebration. And I had much more clips for that. I do feel bad that Jess isn't in like. Any of my clips. This is because many of them she filmed. I love her so much for doing that for me but I wish she was in more. I wish I got more pictures with my brother and my mom. But I can only hope that the Google drive James made for people to put their pictures in gets filled and some of those shots will be in there.

I got very cold all of a sudden and me and James got under the covers and I feel asleep hard.

While I was sleeping James took a scooter and went to get us ice cream. So when I woke up dehydrated, in pain, and upset, I was perked up by the ice cream. Love James so much.

After ice cream I took a bath. I washed my hair. I tried the bar conditioner Jess gave me and my hair feels very fluffy. Not great curl shapes but that's okay. The hot water helped my body.

And now we are in bed again. Watching videos. Talking. Feeling good. My feet still hurt but it's not to bad. I hope tomorrow they won't feel so bad.

I also hope tomorrow is just a lot of fun. We are going to the zoo and I don't know what else. There was a chat earlier about maybe going to a hockey game but we will see what happens.

For now. It is time to sleep. I actually took my normal night vitamins and can feel my brain slowing down. This is good, I don't need to be up all night again.

Sleep good everyone. I love you all.

[senadimell]

This may be one of the most fascinating videos I have seen this year. The construction was really neat. I was also intrigued by this line:

“The turkey is the only bird that allows feathers to be taken and it won’t bleed,” Weahkee says. “It has a defensive mechanism to where if a predator grabs the feather the skin will literally open up and release the feather at will.”

(Quoted in “In the Ancient American Southwest, Turkeys Were Friends, Not Food,” in Smithsonian Magazine)

Unfortunately, a few quick searches online only bring up results about butchering turkeys for their feathers or else harvesting feathers from molting turkeys. I don’t have a huge grasp on bird biology, but I was under the impression that most birds molt, so I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock in trying to learn more about the type of agricultural harvesting of feathers Ms. Weahkee describes. I have found a few things, like this paper by William D.Lipe, Shannon Tushingham, Eric Blinman, Laurie Webster, Charles  T. LaRue, Aimee Oliver-Bozeman, and Jonathan Till.

“Previous work by Lipe and others shows turkey feathers began to replace strips of rabbit skin in construction of twined blankets in the region during the first two centuries C.E. Ethnographic data suggest the blankets were made by women and were used as cloaks in cold weather, blankets for sleeping and ultimately as funerary wrappings.

...

“Another interesting finding of the study was the turkey feathers used by the ancestral Pueblo people to make garments were most likely painlessly harvested from live birds during natural molting periods. This would have allowed sustainable collection of feathers several times a year over a bird’s lifetime, which could have exceeded 10 years. Archeological evidence indicates turkeys were generally not used as a food source from the time of their domestication in the early centuries C.E. until the 1100s and 1200s C.E., when the supply of wild game in the region had become depleted by over-hunting....

--Ancient blanket made with 11,500 turkey feathers, in WSU insider

I do find it interesting that the paper cites far smaller number of necessary feathers than the number of feathers that went into Ms. Weahkee’s blanket, especially since her finished results were 2x3 feet and the researchers were calculating a 3.6x3.6 foot blanket. Regardless of why that is, it’s important to note that their study was made specifically with the help of Ms. Weahkee and another experimental archeologist:

Acknowledgments

Chris Hanson, Director of the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, helped provide research access to specimens, as well as work space for two meetings that allowed several of the authors to examine the blanket framework that is the focus of much of the research described here.

Mary Weahkee of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies provided valuable information and insights about yucca cordage and feather blanket production based on her extensive replication experience. Paul Ermigiotti of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center also shared his experience with replicating a turkey feather blanket.

Cristina Bories, proprietor of La Casa de los Gansos in Puerto Varas, Chile, encouraged our use of her video that demonstrates the present-day practice of gathering down feathers humanely from live geese.

(The use of geese here makes me want to better understand turkey domestication all over again. Can you harvest turkey feathers outside of a molting period? Is there anything unique about them compared to other North American birds?)

As for how the feathers were collected, Lipe and Tushingham cited three possibilities: the birds were killed and their feathers harvested; feathers were collected during the birds' natural molting season; or people selectively plucked mature feathers from living turkeys. Turkeys didn't become a major food source in this region until between 1100 and 1200 CE, and even then, they were typically killed before they were a year old—too soon to harvest mature feathers. Furthermore, "Killing turkeys for their feathers is a wasteful strategy, because it removes the possibility of harvesting feathers as a sustainable food source," the authors wrote.

-- How many turkey feathers does it take to make an ancient blanket? 11,500

Lastly, here’s a piece on Ms. Weahkee’s work:

Mary Weahkee, An Archeologist And Anthropologist, Weaves Blanket With  17,000 Turkey Feathers

Mary Weahkee, an archeologist and anthropologist with the Department of Cultural Affairs in Santa Fe, weaved a blanket with thousands of feathers from turkey hunters.

Using a technique that goes back more than 1,000 years, Mary Weahkee weaves turkey feathers around yucca cord. Photo by Martin Perea/NMDG&F

In 2018, Mary Weahkee, an archeologist and anthropologist with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, was asked to try her hand at a particular task that dates back to more than 1,000 years ago: weave a blanket made of turkey feathers.

Weahkee taught herself the technique, the process of winding each feather around yucca cord, by examining ancient blankets housed at museums around the western United States.

Producing this large, two by three-foot blanket took 18 months using 17,000 feathers from 68 turkeys. She tried out the technique twice before, producing two one by one-foot samples a few years ago for the museum at Chaco Canyon and the Aztec Monument Museum.|

“I looked at how the ancestors were creative and patient,” said Weahkee, who is of Comanche and Santa Clara descent. “It’s a labor of love.”

--  “Mary Weahkee, An Archeologist And Anthropologist, Weaves Blanket With  17,000 Turkey Feathers,” in the Los Alamos Reporter

[secondarychristine]

CC - MatPat

Good day to all, and this is my first post in this account, talking about one of internet celebrities, a Youtuber, a content creator, MatPat

Matthew Robert Patrick, also known by MatPat, is an American internet celebrity and is well-known for his content The Game Theorists (or Game Theory) where he discuss on topics such as the logic and the lore of various video games.  His other channel s such as The Film Theorists (or Film Theory) or The Food Theorists ( or Food Theory) are his spinoffs that also discuss about similar subjects in filmography and food. He is also active in another social platforms such as Twitter (MatPatGT), Instagrams (matpatgt; MatPat (GameTheorists), and Facebook (Matthew Patrick).  In 2015, he created one of Youtube’s  live gaming channel, GTLive, and in 2016, he created Youtube Premium Series MatPat’s Game Lab.

He was born on November 15th, 1986, in Medina, Ohio, U.S.  Growing up, he took an interest in fine arts, especially musical theatre. He graduated from college on December 28, 2009, and moved to New York where he auditioned for theatrical roles. After two years of near-total unemployment, he uploaded the first episode of Game Theory.

He first created Youtube account under the name Matthew Patrick13 where he uploaded his performances on stages and singing. He married his college girlfriend, Stephanie Cordato on May 19, 2012 and has one child.  He quitted his job as a stage director and acting business to pursue another career. Inspired by the Youtube series Extra Credits episode “Tangential Learning”, he created Game Theory with the purpose of creating “gaming’s tangential learning experience”.  The Game Theorists reached 1 million subscribers on December 17, 2013, and 10 million in July 2018. Currently, The Game Theorists has 19.9 million subscribers and over 2.8 billion video views. His most viewed video is “Can Gamers SURVIVE the Real Mirror’s Edge?” which has 69 million views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snjhDUQktMs

His first content of Game Theory was uploaded 9 years ago titled ‘Is Chrono Trigger’s Time Travel Accurate?’. The video explained how time travel in Chrono Trigger works. The video has almost reached two million views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLSUuKqH4w

He then expanded to various games, such as Minecraft, Pokemon, Among Us, Portal, etc. He is very attached to video games. But, he took it to another level. He analyses the theories and fan theories in his video. His dedication of researching and gathering data is fascinating for me. The topics might sound trivial, but he manages to pique the interests of audience who have never thought about.

MatPat also holds the Youtube records for the most money donated in single charity livestreams. And his livestreams had many other popular Youtubers such as Markiplier and TheOdd1sOut. Even Scott Cawthon, the creator of Five Nights at Freddy’s, also had an appearance.

I was introduced to his content back when Five Nights at Freddy’s was a thing. Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) is an American media franchise created by Scott Cawthon, which began on 2014 when he created his first FNAF game, Five Night at Freddy’s (1). It quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The success of the video games led to another series of books, a guide book, an activity book and an anthology series. Other than the game mechanic of the player being near helpless, the games also have mysterious stories and plot that are very hard to solve, even to this day. Those complex stories caught the attention of MatPat. The total of his FNAF theories videos is 42 videos (and I think most of his videos cover FNAF). That is only discuss this one particular series, and to be honest I am losing a track of it because it is just that many and complicated for my brain. I think this series succeeded in gaining more audience and being known by lot of people, since the game has been people’s guilty pleasure. People say that the game sucks… ironically.

His first FNAF video was posted on October 23, 2014, goes by the title ‘Game Theory: Five Nights at Freddy’s SCARIEST Monster is You!’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th_LYe97ZVc

The video has reached 26 million. I discovered that there are still many new comments in this particular video. People love rewatching this particular series, because as I said the plot is too complex. So complex it takes 46 videos, and possibly more in the future just to ‘solve’ the mystery. The new game of FNAF is also coming soon, so best be prepared.

The list:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbc0sHjcmje6NCMaJdeLnCWejp5gQuknI

Another things that interest me are the editing and his tone when narrating. He sounds so enthusiastic when delivering his theories. He slips comedies in his discussion and it just makes me love listening to him talk even though I am a little bit confused. I can rewatch his videos whenever I like just to understand what the games all about.

About the editing…. I do not know anything about editing, so I am going to say that the way he deliver his videos is neat and cute. The pictures he uses make it more interesting to see and easy to understand.

This the picture of himself that he always uses in his video. You know when you watch his video. 

---

Move on to his another channel is The Film Theorists where he discuss the logic, headcanons or other theories regarding films and cartoons. The recent videos he posted was movies from Godzilla vs Kong, “Why Godzilla Wins”, and a Disneyplus tv series called WandaVision, “The Secret THIRD Witch Revealed!” I rarely watch this channel, because I rarely watch films. If anything related to films, the videos I usually watch on Youtube are mostly reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFv2T62Frc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaYsHV3rIYk

His third channel is called The Food Theorists. Anything interesting theories about food are all there. But, I never watched food theory so I cannot comment on anything. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHYoe8kQ-7Gn9ASOlmI0k6Q

-----

I can recommend you for those who never heard of this, go watch his FNAF theories. Though they are complicated, they are still my favourites. 

[hetalia-high-school-au-ask-blog]

Introduction!

This is all the information you need to know for this AU thingy!

So this AU is gonna be huge. All the hetalia characters I can think of will make an appearance. Now this will be mature, so if you are not comfortable with DARK topics, do not read it. This is my warning. 

Ships that will be in this (in no particular order):

Alfred x Arthur

Matthew x Gilbert

Ludwig x Feliciano

Lovino x Antonio

Yao x Ivan

Kiku x Heracles

Roderich x Vash

Feliks x Toris

Matthais x Lukas

Berwald x TIno

Emil x Li

Vladimir x Milen

Romeo x Anthony 

Some ships may be added or removed.

World Academy is a school in Washington D.C. It strives to be very accepting and very open, having many different people from many different countries. It has amazing sports programs, as well as art and drama programs. It's a huge school filled with different people, all with different interests. Because of this, the school has many sports from all over the world, such as soccer/European football, American football, and Australian football. The school has the highest grades in the area, and most students are well behaved, thanks to the high discipline by students and teachers.

Now I will give a little blurb about each character in the context of this AU.

Alfred F. Jones(America)- Alfred is an energetic young boy, your classic jock. He is a big sweetheart, with a heart of gold, and would die for his friends. He loves to cook, but enjoys some good chicken nuggets from McDonald's every once and awhile. He is also a VERY big fan of American football, and loves to play with his buddies. Despite being a popular jock, he would never bully someone for anything, especially for their sexuality, since he himself was bi. His life seems perfect, but is there something dark under the surface?

Arthur Kirkland(England)- Arthur is a prim and proper young man, with a bright future ahead of him. He is the student council president, and is feared throughout the school, since he holds the power of a staff member when it comes to punishing misbehaving students. He also has a secret sporty side, not playing on the school's official teams, but for fun on club teams. No one knows about this side of him, and he'd prefer to keep it that way. Very very gay for all the jocks in the school but refuses to admit it.

Matthew Williams(Canada)- Matthew is timid. You could tell from a mile away, if you could spot him. He was shorter than his older brother, Alfred, and is outshined by him in every way. The one thing he had a better grip on were his grades, which mattered very little to his parents. He too had a secret that even Alfred didn't know about, and he knew if he revealed this secret, Alfred would be pissed. Likes to refer to himself as demi, but is more gay than he realizes.

Gilbert Beilschmidt(Prussia)- Gilbert is a very loud and obnoxious boy, constantly harassing both boys and girls about numbers and flirting relentlessly. He hated following rules and would often disobey dress code, and be disruptive during class. Sometimes he'd straight up ditch class and waltz back in the food with no care in the world. He's protective though, especially of his little brother, and who he thinks needs it. He's pansexual, like the entire BTT.

Ludwig Beilschmidt(Germany)- Ludwig is serious and tough, not taking shit from anyone. He is the student council's vice president. He doesn't hold as much power as Arthur, therefore is less feared, but he makes people aware that they shouldn't break rules. He's a hunky man, and attracts many suitors, but he only has his eyes on one boy. A certain art student with a cute curl, and adorable smile. Demi sexual (or felisexual)

Feliciano Vargas(N. Italy)- Feliciano was an art student with an uncontrollable love for pasta. He is a bubbly and happy boy, and is rarely seen without a smile. He is one of the best artists in school and is commonly tasked with making murals and posters for events. He is quite popular for it. His best friends are Ludwig and Kiku, though he feels guilty about Ludwig. He won't deny that Ludwig looked a lot like his old crush from middle school, and kept him around for the fuzzy feeling. Though, he loves Ludwigs company either way. Gay for Ludwig, but doesn't really know yet.

Lovino Vargas(S. Italy)- Feliciano's meaner and more aggressive brother. He is considered by many to be an "evil twin," since his and his brothers personality clash. He does have a few soft spots though. He loves tomatoes, and his love for pasta is almost as big as his brother's. He is outshined a bit by his brother's artistic skill, and his ability to speak to others. It made him feel he was lesser, and he lashed out because of it. He still loves his brother, despite the fact he feels inferior to him.

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo(Spain)- Musical nerd. He loves the classic musicals, and the new musicals as well. Often found singing in the drama room and will no doubt perform any musical song you ask him too. He can play the guitar, and likes to learn his favorite songs and Lovino will play tambourine along with him. One of the happiest and positive boys in school. Pansexual, like all of the BTT, but really likes Lovino.

Yao Wang(China)- Secretary of the student counsel so he is very serious about rules. One of the oldest kids in school, but pretty short. Most people know not to mess with him though, because he takes karate classes, and already has a black belt. He's kind of a neat freak, and wants everything to be perfect. Spends most of the time in the library organizing books and gossiping with the librarian.

Ivan Braginsky(Russia)- Ivan is one of the tallest and scariest guys in school, but is honestly very sweet. He doesn’t try to scare people, but ends up accidentally doing so because he is bad at anything social. He has a few issues, but is genuinely trying to fix himself, and understands people’s views of him. He has a big attachment to his sister, Katyusha, and keeps the scarf she made for him when they were children.

Kiku Honda(Japan)- Kiku is an odd boy. He has a fascination with art and mythology of all cultures. He also values his own life and culture and will happily tell people about it. He is the treasurer of the student council, and is pretty closed off, thanks to his massive love of anime. He tries to not let it bother him too much. His favorite mythology to learn about is greek mythology, since it is so far from his home country and is so different .

Heracles Karpusi(Greece)- A quiet and reserved boy, but incredibly horny all of the time. Often thinks of his friend Kiku in sexual ways, but is often unfazed by it. He quite enjoys these thoughts. He is Kiku’s main source of mythology information, since he himself is greek and they share a mythology class. He hates this guy named Sadik, and has hated him for a really long time because they were an item at one point. He doesn’t like to think about it.

Roderich Edelstein(Austria)- One of the most snobby rich kids you’ll ever meet. He thinks he’s better than everyone else and really only cares about himself. He was the previous president of the student council, but lost the election to Arthur this year. He is still upset about it. Now he spends most of his time playing the violin and piano. At this point he is only concerned about his image to colleges and nothing else.

Vash Zwingil(Switzerland)- Gun crazy, and very protective of his adoptive little sister. He has been in love with Roderich for years, ever since they were children, but has started to hate the person that Roderich has become, but is still madly in love. No one except his sister knows, and he would like to keep it that way. He does get it through to Roderich that he should treat people a bit better.

Feliks Lucasiewicz(Poland)- Very… comfortable with himself. His family is very christan, and he knew he was gay from an early age, and knew his family wouldn’t be supportive. So to give a gainate middle finger to his family, he began to cross dress, and ended up really enjoying it. He often gets mistaken for a girl, and is flirted with. He finds this cute, but usually tells them there’s no point. He is quite desirable among gay boys in his school.

Toris Laurinaitis(Lithuania)- The main writer of the newspaper club, and very shy. He was abducted by Feliks, and has grown a weird crush on him. He thought he was straight for the longest time, but this boy confuses him. He is slowly opening up more because of Feliks, and they go horse riding together a lot. He loves these rides because it’s an excuse to get even closer to Feliks.

Matthais Kohlar(Denmark)- A literal crackhead. He is often caught either in the middle of something bad, or about to do something dangerous. Whether he is always high or just reckless is never clear. He has broken practically every bone in his body, at least once. He is a massive headache to take care of but he's a pure hearted guy who loves his friends. Like this dude should jump off a cliff for the sake of friendship.

Lukas Bindevik(Norway)- Reserved and closed off. He is very mysterious and is often caught talking to himself. He grew up without siblings or friends, and his parents are divorced. He had no contact with his father, and only grew up with his mother, and therefore grew mother-like tendencies. He can be very protective, and is good at talking people through their problems, even with his minimalistic speech.

Berwald Oxenstierna(Sweden)- The tallest and most terrifying guy. He's 6'4 muscular and has this resting bitch face that could strike fear into the hearts of WWE wrestlers. But he is actually a giant teddy bear when it comes to the people he cares about. He's big and buff, his hugs are great. He likes to sing to himself while he's working or lost in thought, and many find this charming, earning him many suitors in the process. He's too dense, and too gay for a certain Finn to realize how popular he is.

Tino Vainamoinen(Finland)- One of the most positive and loveable boys in the world. He is only 5'2, and a little on the cubby side, but he is very confident, not afraid to show off his body. He may seem innocent, but on the inside is one of the most kinky shits. He loves a good pounding and will let you know. He will go into heavy detail about his sex life when he's drunk, making people laugh, or be uncomfortable. He's got his eyes on a certain Swede though. He’s also on the hockey team.

Emil Stielsson(Iceland)- Emil is a new kid. He had lived with his single father since he was an infant, not knowing anything about his mother. His dad never told him. But he came to this school this year. He was very awkward around new people, but found comfort on social butterflies talking to him. He is lowkey kinda emo and is stuck in his emo middle school. He is learning how cringy he had been.

Li Xiao Chun(Hong Kong)- A social butterfly. He somehow ended up being friends with every clique in his school from his broad range of interests and friendly personality. Though he does sometimes get fought over because of just how loveable he is. All the different cliques he's friends want to hang out all the time, but because he has so many friends, his schedule is usually filled. He never fails to make time for his newest friend, Emil.

Francis Bonnefoy(France)- The. Biggest. Man. Whore. He has been with practically everyone in school. Most notably his friend with benefits for 2 years, Arthur. Francis had fallen in love, but Arthur never returned the feelings. He always pressed a bit, to see if there was a chance Arthur changed his mind, but never forced him into it.

Alory Kirkland(N.Ireland)- In college. He’s the oldest of the Kirkland siblings (26). He’s very annoyed most of the time, the simple sound of people talking can make him angry. His little brother, Arthur, is the worst. For some reason that boy in particular could be breathing too hard and it would annoy Alory. He’s so glad to have moved out, away from his loud chaotic family. He loves them but he prefers it quiet.

Allistor Kirkland(Scotland)- The second oldest of the Kirkland siblings (24). He's also in college, but constantly visits, unlike Alory. He’s also much happier and peppy. He was never a role model though, always getting in trouble when he was a kid. But, he was the fun one for sure. He also likes to take his siblings golfing, since that is something that he does love to do. He can get competitive with everyone there.

Reuben Kirkland(Wales)- The most chill of the Kirkland siblings. He’s 22, and will visit every once and awhile. He doesn’t talk a lot, and really only spoke after he turned 16. He and Allistor got into all kinds of trouble as kids. He is an actual role model though and would apologize. When he doesvist, he likes to cook for the whole family, since he’s the one who can do it correctly in their family.

Dwight Kirkland(Hutt River)- He is LOVED by his grandparents and aunts and uncles because he sucks up to them when he’s with them.Because of this he is always sent piles of money, and ends up with about ~1000 dollars a year. He loves to flaunt his money in front of his other siblings and spoils himself with it. This is why no 16 year old should have this much money. They’ll use it on stupid things.

Jett Kirkland(Australia)- The athletic one of the family. He loves to swim, surf, and to play australian football. He has broken too many bones to count and has almost died multiple times thanks to being reckless. Kaelin had to perform CPR one time because he almost drowned. He still continues, even if he almost dies. He is quite dumb and will tag along with Alfred. They have many… misadventures. Let’s hope he doesn't die before he goes to senior year (hes 18)

Kaelin Kirkland(New Zealand)- One of the only people who can keep Jett from actually killing himself. He is a movie review youtuber, and spends most of his time in his basement, researching and recording for videos. He is also lowkey obsessed with sheep. His entire room is sheep themed, and it has caused every friend he’s invited over to laugh and call him cute. He doesn’t like being called cute. Acts older than he is (17).

Peter Kirkland(Sealand)- In middle school(12). He is still obsessed with disney and princes. He is convinced that Alfred is a hidden prince and will try to expose him. Also crushing hard on Alfred. He tries his best to be recognised by his peers, but his efforts are futile, since he just annoys the people around him.He trie ]s to ot let it bother him but he’ll be the first to admit that it did hurt him a bit. 

Wendy Kirkland(Wy)- She is quite aggressive. Jett taught her different ways to pin someone to the floor, and she’ll test these ways on Peter. Arthur tries to stop them, but Jett and Kaelin will make bets on these kids. Wendy always wins, because Peter doesn’t know how to fight back. Other than that, Wendy is very artistic and draws a lot in her free time. She impressed the people around her.

Romeo Vargas(Seborga)- Similarly to Matthais and Jett, he can’t keep himself out of trouble. He got stuck in a tree, and the fire department had to get called to get him out. He may have done this on purpose just to get carried by buff firemen, but that’s unclear. He’s the youngest and most reckless Vargas brother, but spends his time volunteering at the middle school as an assistant, and met Peter and Wendy through it.

Im Yong Soo(S. Korea)- He’s sorta a perv. He can get a little touchy at times, and will constantly flirt with any living breathing human. Kiku finds this annoying,but he knows Soo means nothing by it. He has a tendency to grope when drunk, resulting in a hard slap to the face from Kiku, who was not so nicely touched. Soo apologies\es profusely after he sobered up, knowing that what he did was wrong.

Natalya Braginskaya(Belarus)- Very creepy and has… incestous tendencies towards her brother. She is the one personwho can scare him and is constantly pestering Ivan to date her in secret. She hates Yao’s guts since she knows that Ivan has a crush on him. Thankfully weapons aren’t allowed on campus, otherwise Yao would not be alive. Seriously the girl is unhinged and needs help.

Katyusha Braginskaya(Ukraine)- She’s a very loving and caring big sister, but after a long series of events, she barely speaks to Ivan anymore. She knows he still loves her though thanks to him wearing the scarf she made for him when they were kids everyday. They are slowly working on rebuilding their relationship, but it’s a slow process. She desperately wants that relationship with her brother back.

Sadik Adnan(Turkey)- He absolutely hates Harecles’s guts from some stuff that happened in middle school. They constantly fight, usually behind the school, but sometimes find hospitality while bathing. They have normal conversations in the showers, but are at each other’s throats any other time. He breaks the dress code a lot by wearing a hat to hide his face most of the time, and refuses to take it off.

Gupta Muhammad Hassan(Eygpt)- Selectively mute. He can hear just fine but he doesn't talk at all, preferring to speak over text and emojis. Even then, his monotone personality shows through his texts, where he gives single word responses only. He's very reserved and all that's known about him is that he had something to do with the Heracles and Sadik drama that happened. He refuses to talk about that, text and all.

Lillia Zwingil(Lichtenstein)- Vash's younger sister, and the light of his life. She is very loving to her brother, making food for him every day and seeing new clothes for him in home economics. She also likes to go hunting with Vash, despite her dainty and cute persona, she has a wicked aim, thanks to Vash teaching her. She's also the only one to know his crush on Roderick.

Eduard Von Bock(Estonia)- Hacker man. Well sorta. He likes to work on computers but he'll admit that it's hard for him to work. Not necessarily because he's bad at it, but because his internet is slow. He does his best, but sometimes downloading a file tha tag takes three days only to be told you don't have enough space makes you want to punch a hole straight through the computer.

Ravis Galante(Latvia)- He small and just pushed around by the bigger boys a lot. He is often bullied for his height and shy stutter, and had no way to stand up for himself. He'll begin to speak, but either get shut down or chicken out. So he spends most of his time in the library, sitting in the loneliness. He did like friends, it just made it hard when the entire school hates you.

Gianna Bonnefoy(Monaco)- She's Francis's half sister and is just as flirty. She loves to make everyone around her blush in her presence, either by radiating beauty or making inappropriate comments. Francis will tell her to stop, which is really code for, keep going it's entertaining. She liked to braid people's hair, weather they're boys, girls, or anything in between. If you had hair she wanted to do it up all nice.

Vladimir Popescu(Romania)- Obsessed with everything paranormal. 100% believes in ghosts and likes to go out ghost hunting. He will go to abandoned asylums or hospitals to try and find spooky activity. He can get extremely jumpy and scared when it comes to ghost hunts, and has screamed like a girl on multiple occasions. When he's not doing that, he plays D&D, and is very good at it. He DMs.

Milan Hinova(Bulgaria)- He really likes yogurt. He and Vladimir go on ghost hunts and he is actually very calm. He doesn't believe in ghosts and will brush any sort of paranormal activity off as wind or the state of the building they're in, and is like Vladimir's protector. They'll often record and post videos of these ghost hunts. He doesn't play D&D, but will come to the sessions to hang out with Vladimir.

Anthony Gunner Jones(Molossia)- A sweetheart around his parents and when he's alone, but foul mouthed and angry with his friends. Alfred and Matthew's cousin, who they really like. He will get very flustered and embarrassed if he's complimented, and will punch people in the arms when he feels it's appropriate. He also volunteers at the middle school as a gym assistant, and has a GIANT crush on Romeo.

Thank you for reading.

[seoultraveller]

[A/N: I am kind of writing this for myself (ngl) but I thought it would be interesting to see how something like this plays out. A multi-part AU where the characters are attending university in South Korea. The main female character is black/African-American but that will later become more of a factor as the story goes on. Seonghwa and the MC exchange letters through a book in one of the libraries on campus and without know each other, grow a connection through that. Hongjoong is the classmate and group partner of the MC but has no idea that they are exchanging letters to each other until further on in the story. This part is just a quick introduction to the characters and their overall placements in the story.]

Her Secret Scribe, His Winter Dream (1)

Pairing: Seonghwa x Black Female MC & Hongjoong x Black Female MC

Genre: College!AU

Word Count: 2,885

October 29, 2020 ~4:50am

Waking up at around 4:50am, Seonghwa notices that his textbook, notes, highlighters, and pen are all still neatly placed on his desk. He placed it there with the intent to get some early morning studying in before his shower and a little bit after his shower, just before he left for his first class of the day. He wills himself up from his warm, soft, and comfortable bed to walk to the bathroom to freshen up. On his way to the bathroom, he passes by his roommates partially opened door and takes a peek to see if he made it in last night. Or more like, early this morning. Poking the top of his head through the door opening Seonghwa sees his roommate. There lies Hongjoong, fully clothed, face-first, bag still hanging off of his shoulder, lying on top of his bed, and in the starfish position. All Seonghwa can do is shake his head at his friend, knowing how bad his sleeping habits are and how much is is hardly at the apartment nowadays.

After checking on Hongjoong, Seonghwa goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Then he strips himself of his pajamas and gets into the shower. Showers have always been a bit of a meditative practice to Seonghwa. His average time is forty minutes but there are occasions where he has spent up to 50 minutes or an hour in the shower. He prides himself on his cleanliness, both in how he physically presents himself and the spaces that he exists in (apartment, bed, desk, etc...).

Once his shower is done, he wraps his towel around his hips and then makes his way to the kitchen. There he takes out four eggs, a container of rice, and some steak that he grilled left over from the night before. Next, Seonghwa fills up a pot with water, sets it on one of the eyes of the stove and puts the fire on 8 (one of the highest settings). After dropping the four eggs in the water he rinses his hands off and proceeds to his bedroom to get changed.

Never one to make to much of a fuss of what he wears, Seonghwa puts on an undershirt, then throws on a grey long-sleeved thermal and a pair of black jeans. Long black socks to warm his feet, and he takes out a sweater and a jacket to keep himself warm on his way to class.

It’s around 6:00am by the time he is finished getting dressed and now, he tends to the food that is set out in the kitchen. Reheating the steak and rice, turning off the fire underneath the pot and taking out two of the hard boiled eggs for himself. He puts it all in a bowl that he takes back to his room, and eats at his desk, while going over his notes.

Seonghwa broke up his study time into two 45-minute sessions, which allows him time to prepare a bowl for Hongjoong for breakfast (if he eats it) and make it down to his bus before it pulls up at 8:30am.

Having followed his schedule to a ‘T’ this morning, he was proud of himself for making it to the library before the morning rush and acquiring a desk, with a view, on the third floor before they were all occupied. Instead of pushing himself to study a bit more, since today’s schedule was not Seonghwa’s usual schedule, he decided to write a letter on the off-chance that he can bring comfort to someone during mid-term season. Instead of writing on bathroom doors, or in the dark corner of a desk, Seonghwa decided to write a letter. Writing a letter and stashing it in a random book. It’s getting a bit chillier in South Korea, so although it was a long shot, perhaps he can create a pen-pal through this and maybe even get close and intimate during this period as well. However, that is a very, very, very long shot.

So with romantic thoughts of meeting someone who shares a like mind or sees life from a different perspective, he writes.

“Dear Student that is Enduring Mid-Terms and an Incoming Winter,

We are nearing the beginning of a new month which could mean a fresh new beginning for some. It could also mean nearing the end of something larger, like the semester. I know that it’s mid-term season but I am unsure if it has ended for you. I could only pray that you stay warm as the winter will be harsh as it usually is, but I am sure you knew that.

I honestly thought I would have more to say... but obviously not. I figured a formal letter would be better to connect with someone during this time, then short, informal, and weird messages written aimlessly. Now, I’m getting embarrassed... Sorry.

No one will probably read this so...

With Care,

The Secret Scribe”

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October 29, 2020 ~10:52am

Waiting in a hallway right outside the classroom, she, scrolls through her student email account on her phone and sees an email from her linguistics class. Linguistic Acquisition through Different Ages - LIA 3006. Although she knew, that to pass this class she must complete a project, she totally forgot that it had to be completed with at least one or two other people. A group project... “how despicable” she thought. The email that the professor sent, laid out the regulations of the project and even placed the class in neat groups of two or three. She was lucky enough to get paired with “Mr. Fashionably-Late because Staying Up to Work on My Art is More Important”. As the time got closer and closer to 11:00am, Hongjoong is still nowhere to be seen. She’s just praying that he comes through at least ten minutes into class and not twenty minutes before it’s over. However, she could only pray for such a thing.

At 11:11am on the dot, Hongjoong comes through the door quietly. Chest heaving up and down because he was sprinting through the campus and hallways to make it to class... not too late. She notices him out of the corner of her eye and does a slow eye roll as he tip-toes his way in her direction.

“Was that a look of displeasure on your face? Or are you just containing your excitement to see me?”, he whispers into her ear while trying to quietly slither down into his seat, quickly, while the professor has her back turned.

“You are one minute late past our deal, Hongjoong.” She scolds.

“So you will not share your notes with me from today?”, he asks while giving her a pout.

“There is nothing to share. She is still reviewing the content we learned two days ago before starting a new lesson.” She retorts.

“Why did you roll your eyes then?” He questions again, as if his academics are the last thing he cares about.

“Hongjoong- “, she starts. “If there is something that you two would like to share with the class, please come up to the front.” The professor cuts in.

The look of two deer in the headlights is what can be seen from the professor’s viewpoint. With mouths agape and eyes wide, the two whispering chatterboxes were rendered speechless.

The professor continues on, “Please stop whispering behind my back. Also, I need to speak with the two of you after class.” The two of them shake their heads rapidly affirming their professor’s request.

Their class is currently on the topic of children acquiring their mother tongue and how the brain develops as the children learn how to speak or bring attention to their wants and needs as they grow. A topic such as this excites her all the more because it ties into her study abroad research topic. Learning how to speak amidst all of the culture that one’s language is tied to really fascinates her. Seeing as how her major of study in her home country is Linguistics and she took Korean because of the small intimate nature of the class, she has wanted to do and learn so much more.

As the lecture winds downs to a close for this session, Hongjoong becomes more and more anxious about what the professor wants to talk about before letting them go. Then, he hears the professor harp on,

“As for the email I sent earlier today-“, Hongjoong’s ears perk up. “You will see that for the group project you will have two different options to choose from. It can be turned in as a 10-page research paper, or completed as a presentation. Your groups have been chosen for you, by me. Please consult me if you have any questions on the project or the partners that you will be working with.” After the professor gives her parting words to the class, her eyes fall onto the two little songbirds that had her interrupt her lecture earlier.

With a knowing look, they make their way to the front of the class with a downcast gaze. As if they were to be physically reprimanded. “You know that you two are partners for this group project.” The professor starts. “Hongjoong you must be a reliable partner. I set you two up together because I’ve noticed a great partnership between you two throughout the semester. Your partner is also fairing better than you are this term. You can learn a great deal from her, in fact, you can learn quite a bit from each other. I want you to succeed Hongjoong, and I know you can.” The professor softens her gaze and turns to his partner. “She’ll do everything she can to help, won’t you?” She shakes her head ‘yes’ then looks down again. Then the professor continues to finish, “well, that was all I needed to say. Any questions?” The two students shake their head ‘no’ and bid their professor farewell before leaving the class.

“Buddies until the Christmas break?” Hongjoong says as he winks at her.

“Group partners, more like.” She says back to him.

“Wanna talk about the project over lunch?” He asks.

“Ah- that sounds like a really great idea since we’re both free at this time, but...” she trails off, but then picks up again. “Where are your eating? On campus, or off? Just asking because I figured I should check out a few language and culture books to get some foundation on our project. I’ll meet you wherever you are.

His eyebrows raise at her go-getter attitude. “Sure. Meet me at the small Vietnamese spot two blocks down.”

“Got it.” She winks at him as they break apart.

She has her mind filled with countless ways to approach the project, while his is filled with hunger and images of a big flavorful dish filled with meat and vibrantly colored vegetables.

Before aimlessly searching around the library for what she needed, she looked up the language, literature, and culture and linguistic sections of the library. Literature happens to be in the basement, while language, culture, and linguistics just happen to be on the third floor. So, she sets off for the third floor.

Although quiet, the third floor is warm and the ambiance is calm. Compared to the rest of the library, this is the floor that most people like to be on, and she could tell, because there was not a place to sit. However, her journey to this floor was not for studying but a quick search. So she set off. The part of the library she set off to was a little empty, and not as cramped as the other parts but she liked it that way. The first book she pulled from the shelf had to do with children’s speech patterns and babies recognizing sound. Noticing that there was a folded piece of paper sticking out from the top, she flipped to that spot in the book thinking there might be valuable information on that page right from the start. Nothing out of the ordinary was written on the page. No sticky notes, no annotations or drawings, just words. Next, she took to opening up the folded sheet of paper and to her surprise, it read as a simple greetings letter.

A random letter in a random book. What was the point? Was this fate, or was it meant for someone else? She thought it was cute; with the well wishes to stay warm during harsh Korean winters, and the impending embarrassment of the writer, as well as the writer giving themselves a name. She fell for it. She fell hard. Almost immediately she began having romantic notions of trading love letters to someone in a new environment. However, romantic thoughts quickly left her as she thought it could also be a woman, instead of a man. There is nothing indicating the gender of the writer and she honestly feels a little bad for passing such a judgement so quickly. Her train of thought comes to a halt as she feels the buzzing of her phone indicating a text messsage coming through.

🎧 HJ: should i order ahead for you too?

HER: sure, you’re there already?

🎧 HJ: yeah

what do you want?

HER: something mild. not too spicy.

🎧 HJ: got it

when are you coming down?

HER: actually on my way now. see you in a bit.

🎧 HJ: 😉 😉

She rolls her eyes at his latest text. She puts the letter back in the book, skim a few other book titles, take them off the shelves and makes her way over to the check-out counter.

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Now, sitting and eating in the small restaurant they begin talking about why Hongjoong is late all the time, their interests outside of the classroom, and plans for the Christmas break after the project is done.

Hongjoong reaches for one of the books and questions to himself whether she’s started taking notes already because he sees a folded sheet of paper sticking out at the top. While she is busy eating and busying herself with her phone, she doesn’t notice Hongjoong going through the book. Him being as perceptive as he is, notices that it’s a small note signed by a “secret scribe”. Did she know this was here? He asks himself. In fact, taking a closer look at the writing, the tone feels oddly familiar and so does the handwriting. Or maybe he is just thinking too hard about this. Either way, he tucks the note back in its proper place and continues with skimming through the index and other parts of the book.

Hongjoong brings her attention to him by breaking the silence. “Since you have four books, how about I take two to read and you take two?”

“Sounds good.” She responds. After making her choice of books to take, they set up a time to meet, outside of class, to get started on the project.

She makes her way back to the library, while Hongjoong walks through another part of the campus to work on his music. After making it safely to the library, she struggles to find a spot. Settling for the floor in the basement, she sets off to write a letter to the “secret scribe”.

“Dear Secret Scribe (?),

I came upon your letter by chance for a project but for some reason I feel as if I am imposing. As if I was not supposed to read it and respond, but here I am writing to you anyway...

My writing may look odd and the sentence structure may be weird, but it’s because I am a foreign student.

The weather is not too bad so far, however, I am doing my best to stay warm. The change of seasons in South Korea is very beautiful to experience. Not only can you see it and smell it, but you can also sense it. Does that make sense? Anyway, my mid-terms are over, I only had two. Now, I am working towards finals. The final project that I am working on is for my Linguistics class. Actually, I am a Linguistics major. What are you majoring in? Also, are you a man or woman? I am a woman if you were curious.

I truly hope that you are managing to stay warm and stress free as the semester is coming towards an end.

You’ll Be In My Thoughts,

Your... Winter Student... A Winter Dream

P.S. I kind of need to take this book with me for research, but I’ll keep it here for you until we can agree on a place to drop off our letters... Only if you would like to continue this correspondence... Your Choice.”

With that, she leaves her letter in the book and goes up to the third floor and places it back on the shelf that she took it from. Her heart is racing, but she doesn’t know why. He probably will not respond too quickly, she thinks to herself. “You did your part, now let it go”, she tells herself as she makes her way back to her apartment for study and research.

[the-ham-juice]

10 Niche Interests

Thank you @ma-serannas-vhenan for tagging me! 💜

1. Drawing

No surprise here. I’ve been drawing since I was 5 years old and I suppose I never put the pencil/ stylus down. I don’t think I’m where I want to be yet but I know I can get there if I just keep working. 

2. Field Biology

Oh boy, so my dream growing up was to be a park ranger. Ever since I was four I did weeks-long programs with rangers in my city where I learned about the surrounding flora and fauna. In high school my field bio teacher had to start cutting off my extra credit when I exceeded 120% in the class. I’m a big fucking nerd and could tell you the most random garbage about nature. 

3. House plants

I currently have 17 houseplants in my home (I’m slowly driving my father crazy) and I would love to have more. I’m not so much into the “air cleaning properties” and I am with just nurturing something. I have taught myself how to propagate new plants from my existing ones and love to give the plant babies as gifts! 

4. Haunted places

Ever since I could remember I have loved “haunted” places. Whenever my family would travel so some small town on a road-trip we’d book a stay at local haunted hotels and the like. I live about 30 minutes from the famous Winchester Mystery House too! If you find yourself nearby it’s worth a visit. Creepy shit. 

5.Cryptids

I don’t believe in them but the cultural impact they have is fascinating to me. While some are clearly tied to a specific culture (Native American, Hispanic, etc.) a lot of the cryptids in America just sound like someone was tripping balls. Still the cultural and economic impact of them is super neat.  

6. Food

In my not so humble opinion, food is love. Growing up I was the only kid who had a home cooked meal every day for lunch instead of lunchables and twinkies. Every morning my dad would wake me up with waffles before school and before work my mom would hand-make a bento box lunch for me. I come from a variety of food-rich cultures (Chinese, Mexican, and Italian) and love to teach others how to hecking dish it out. 

7. World building

Okay so this very much has to do with writing but I was trying to narrow it down. I’m a huge DnD nerd and have always loved the work that goes into building settings and characters. My dream is to write an original fantasy piece but I still have a lot to learn before I go for it. 

8. Dragon Age and Wayhaven

Need I say more about this?

9. People

Rather cliche to say but I hate people; however, I find them fascinating. I have worked four customer service jobs since high school including a waitress, barista, winery worker, and book shop employee. I think I could write an entire book about how stupid and entitled people are but some of the dumbest shit I dealt with is also funny as hell. 

10. Symbolism

I fucken love symbolism whether it is flower language or symbolism in tarot cards. Part of my art process is trying to carefully sneak in hidden meanings with well-known or more obscure symbols. 

[wafflesetc]

I’ll be there for you, Chapter 7 (previously)

A big thanks to @kkruml and @missclairebelle for their hard work on this last chapter. It needed a few hands to get it all right. A thank you to @thefraserwitch for always encouraging me. And lastly, thank you to @balfeheughlywed for this prompt. This story has been fun.

Present Day Claire

I could hear my friend’s voice echoing from the conference room out to the nurse’s station.

“Geillis….” I said, finishing my notes for the patients I had just rounded on. “What on earth are you rambling about?”

Just like a massive strike of lightning I saw a flash of red hair right in front of me.

“Och, I was only ramblin’ about that patient down in the ICU.” She smiled at me warmly and rested her arms on the counter. “What is new with ye? I feel like we havena seen each other in ages.”

She was right, my other friend Joe had gone on vacation last week leaving me to not only cover his callbut also my on call shifts— I had worked, ate, slept, and repeated the vicious cycle for almost two weeks. I hadn’t even seen much of Jamie, let alone my boyfriend, Frank, for that matter either.

“Joe’s on vacation.” I rolled my eyes at her and saved the patient’s chart. “I’ve barely been keeping myself afloat.”

Geillis beamed at me. “I hear Dr. Yang is on call tonight… Maybe we can have a girl’s night? Good news, aye?”

Truth was- I needed a girl’s night. I needed to drink a little too much whisky and maybe lose myself on a dance floor for ten minutes before realizing I am way to English to be out there.

“What day of the week is it?” I asked as I pulled out my phone.

“It’s Wednesday, ye ken? Ladies night at The Penny. I just finished shift number 4 in a row, so I am off fer the next three days.”  

I glanced up and saw an eager look on her face. Quickly I opened my calendar and noticed the date. “You’re going to kill me….”

“Where are the two of ye fools headed tonight?” Geillis piped at me, her Scottish accent thicker than usual. When she used that tone with me, I knew she was referring to Jamie.

“Excuse you.” I blurted, standing and squaring my shoulders at her. “For once, it’s not with Jamie but my actual boyfriend.”

“Ye are foolin’ no one, Beauchamp. Ye may be with Frank now, but I give it 3 more months and ye’ll come to yer senses.” She took her fingers and ran them through her long red hair. “But, fine- next Wednesay ye owe me.”

“Deal.” I finished clocking out and headed towards the locker room.  

“SASSENACH!” I heard Jamie quite nearly yell as I attempted to put some mascara on. I had tried, but his voice startled me, and I took the wand and left a trail of black on my cheekbones.

“Bathroom!” I chimed back at him.

I had taken a steamy shower and cracked the door to help some of the steam dissipate. I heard the creak of the door as my large, Scottish, roommate took a step in- one hand covering his eyes.

“Covered, Sassenach?” He asked with a rather large smile on his face.

“Covered. What on earth is it?” I asked turning from the mirror to face him.

“Uh….” Jamie laughed at me, “Ye do ken, that’s no’ how mascara works, aye?”

“Bloody Scot. Yes I know.” I stopped feeling a faint blush in my cheeks. “I was rather interrupted when someone came charging in the front door calling for me!”

“Och.” Jamie said, sitting down on the lid of the toilet, running a hand through his hair.  “Sorry, lass.”

I huffed and turned my attention back to the mirror. “Nothing a makeup wipe won’t fix. But, again, I will ask you, what on earth has you so riled up?”

“Right!” He started; I could hear the excitement in his voice. “I was able to make the deal wi’ that American Whisky company. Colum doesna ken yet, but he’s going to be so excited.”

“Jamie, that’s absolutely wonderful. I know he’ll be so excited when he learns about it.”

“He shall. It means I need to go to Boston for a week in a wee bit, but dinna fash, I won’t be gone too long lass.”

I finished wiping the mascara off my face and turned to him, rolling my eyes. “Just what am I going to do without you?”

Jamie stood, and shook his head at me, walking towards the door again. “I dinna ken. Where are ye headed to tonight?”

“Frank is taking me out to dinner.”

“I see.” Jamie said in a monotonous tone. He never got too excited when I mentioned Frank or went out with him. They had met once or twice in passing at the door, but my best friend never seemed too eager for me to spend time with my boyfriend.

“Yup. Speaking of, black jumpsuit or grey dress?” I asked giving him my best lip pout.

“Black jumpsuit with flats. Ye look like the 9th world wonder in that outfit.”

I turned and walked to him, placing a hand on his chest and kissing his cheek. I let my hand linger on his chest for just a moment longer than was probably socially acceptable—but truth be told, I had a little school girl crush on my roommate. I just didn’t think he’d feel the same. “This is why I keep you around. You’re good for my ego.”

“Anything for ye, Claire.” He breathed as I walked to my bedroom.

“….. And that is what happened to the Jacobites in the Rising of 45.” Fronk finished his miniature history lesson as he took a sip of his wine and went to take a bite of his steak.

“It is most fascinating.” I said, swirling my whisky in my glass. “I almost think it more sad though, when you think about it. The Bonnie Prince Charlie, well he could have been great. He had the name, the cause, and the support of good men willing to lay down their lives for him.”

As I finished my statement, Frank nearly choked. “You do realize, you are English, Claire and not a Scot.”

“I know.” I stammered, taking a sip of my beverage “I just…. It is a rather sad part in Scotland’s history. The English came and invaded, nearly wiping out the Highland culture. It’s almost the same with the English and the Native Americans in America… I don’t know how proud I am to be English. I think I’d rather be Scottish.”

Frank took another bite of his food and shook his head, contemplating what I had just said.

“I just mean… The English were rather barbaric in their conquest of the western world. Maybe it could have gone easier, or more smoothly. I don’t really know what it was like because I wasn’t there, I am not a time traveler after all.”

“Well, I for one… Am proud to be English.” Frank said tartly, taking the last sip of his wine. “Anyways…. Claire.” He continued, clearing his throat.

“Yes?” I said softly, with a smile tilting my head to the side, slightly happy for the change in conversation. “ What is it?”

“We’ve been together for almost 8 months now… I was thinking…”

My stomach dropped and I reached for my whisky, taking a large gulp. I was nervous for where he might be taking this conversation.

“Take a breath, darling, it’s not that question yet.” Frank laughed.

I smiled and nodded. “Alright, go on.” I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.

“I was just thinking, we both have long hours and odd jobs and see each other very rarely at the moment… I was wondering, I know your lease ends in just about two months. Maybe we could look for a place, together?” He finished and sat up straight in his chair.

I laughed and shook my head. “You want to move in with me and Jamie?”

It was Frank’s turn to choke. “I was not referring to you and Jamie—I meant the two of us.”

“Oh,” I said, as the words registered, “You mean, move in together?”

“Yes.” He said, blatantly.

“I…. Can I think about it?” I said honestly as the ball in my stomach knotted. I had seen Frank’s apartment—he was neat and did not live in clutter—and was sure he would pay his share of the rent no problem. I was sure he’d take the garbage out or never leave things in the sink.  I was also sure that he wouldn’t leave me encouraging post it notes on last week’s take out, or that he wouldn’t fight me over the last carton of ice cream…. The real question I had to face was could I live somewhere without Jamie?

[180abroad]

Days 146-147: Salt, Cemeteries, and Castles (Krakow, Part II)

Our last day and a half in Krakow was (mostly) much more pleasant and lighthearted than our morning in Auschwitz. We saw amazing salt sculptures, a magnificent castle, and--yes--a sobering cemetery.

Our morning Auschwitz tour included an afternoon tour of the famous Wieliczka salt mines near Krakow. We were dropped off in Krakow with an hour or so for lunch, so we headed over to a nearby Costa Coffee to recover.

The Costas in Krakow are an interesting departure from the ones in the UK. The comfortably generic coffeehouse décor is the same, but the food is fresh and local--unlike the somewhat mass-produced-feeling fare in the UK. We each had  a ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich (fresh-made, not packaged) with blessedly cool iced coffees. I also sprang for a slice of “forest fruit” tart with raspberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, and apricot. An unusual combination, but very tasty.

Stepping reluctantly out into the summer heat, we made our way back to the tour office and joined up with our group bound for the salt mines.

The trip out of town was a bit hectic. There was a bike race going on, and one of the streets cutting across central Krakow had been shut down. Our driver hadn't known, and we ended up stuck in a one-way side street with our bumper to the crowd-control tape. After calling back and forth with home base, our driver decided to just park the van and wait for ten minutes or so until the racers passed. He opened the van and several people hopped out to join the sidewalk spectators.

Jessica and I stayed inside the air-conditioned van. The exhausted part of me that was still reeling from the morning's trip to Auschwitz secretly hoped that the trip would be cancelled and we could head home for an early evening. But thankfully that didn't happen. It was a long, tiring excursion, but we both had a good time and saw some impressive engineering and incredible blue-collar artwork.

Tours into the mines had to be strictly timed for crowd control, so we had a few minutes to use the bathroom and chug some water. A misting station had been set up to help people stay cool.

Finally, it was time to enter. We took the stairs, and they seemed to go down forever. When we finally stopped descending, we were 64 meters--almost 20 stories--underground.

A huge source of wealth for the country since the Middle Ages, the salt mines are a source of national pride in Poland. The mirror-smooth, crystalline caves made of 90% pure salt are beautiful and fascinating, as are the surviving wooden cranes and other bits of old mining technology. But the obvious focus of the tour is the art.

For the past hundred years or so, the salt miners occupied their free time by carving strikingly intricate and well-realized statues. There are statues of contemporary folks, historical heroes, and religious icons. Looking at the distinctive style of the statues, I can’t help but think that the art designers for the Lord of the Rings movies could have taken heavy inspiration from these statues when designing the aesthetic of the dwarven art and architecture.

There are also a healthy handful of chapels. Like the Welsh slate miners, the Polish salt miners were intensely religious and God-fearing. But rather than make do with cramming as much church as possible into their off-days, the Polish salt miners filled the mines with churches that they could use every day.

And of course, everything from the ceiling to the floor was carved from the salt.

The crown jewel of the tour is the jaw-dropping St. Kinga Chapel, whose expansive walls are lined with remarkable recreations of iconic Christian art.

And, of course, the centerpiece within the chapel collection is a strikingly lifelike statue of the late Pope John Paul II. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Cracovians are absolutely nuts about their homeboy John Paul. To be fair, though, the adoration was pretty well earned. After so many centuries of being seen as a second-rate nation by the rest of Europe, for this deeply Catholic country to finally have a pope chosen from their own people must have been a point of transcendent pride and validation.

Anyway…

After an interesting hour or so touring the mines, it was time for us to queue up at the exit. The tour had taken us  a further 71 meters underground, down to a depth of 40 stories. There was no way we were going to be climbing back up. Fortunately, there was an elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator wasn't especially big or especially fast. So we had to wait.

When it was finally our turn, I foolishly thought that our long day of walking was nearing its end. But it wasn't. The walk from the exit queue to the elevator proved comically long. It felt almost as long as the rest of the visit put together. Some of us started joking that the tour was just a ruse and that around the next corner would be a group of guards ready to escort us into our new lives as indentured miners.

And then the dinosaur attacked. (Not really, that was earlier. Apparently there are several overlapping tour routes, and at one point we stumbled across part of the kids' tour.)

But eventually, one of the turns turned out to be the final turn, and the promised elevator bore us up into the setting sunlight--a quarter-mile walk away from the building we'd entered through.

I’m glad we got to go to the salt mine. But if I had to pick one mine in all of Europe to visit, it would still be Llechwedd slate mine in Wales. The Wieliczka salt mine tour was heavy on wowing visuals but light on actual information about the miners themselves, which was what made the Welsh mine tour so impactful for us.

On the ride back into town, we passed right by the flat we were renting. As tired and footsore as we were, we each anticipated the 15-minute walk back from the tour office in the muggy evening air with dread. As if on cue, however, the driver pulled over to drop another group off at a nearby hotel. Jessica and I hopped out with them and gratefully strolled the half-block back to our flat. We threw some frozen pizzas in the oven and watched Disney's The Princess and the Frog, which I'd never seen before.

The next morning, as we left our flat to spend our last day in Krakow, I stopped to take a picture of a construction sign that had been amusing me since we first arrived.

Before I go on, let me admit upfront that this says a lot more about me and my ignorance than it does about the Polish language or anything else. Throughout our trip, we've seen a lot of signs in a lot of languages. And for the most part, they all fell into one of two categories. Either I could at least sort of understand them based on context and linguistic similarity or they were completely unintelligible.

But with Polish signs, my first reaction is not "I understand this" or "I don't understand this," but rather, "Am I drunk right now?"

Anyway, our first stop of the day was a sober-yet-uplifting continuation of yesterday's themes: Krakow's Jewish neighborhood of Kazimierz.

The neighborhood--originally a separate walled town--was named for 14th-century Polish king Kazimierz the Great. It was Kazimierz who first opened up Poland as a haven for the Jews being oppressed throughout Europe (and whose likeness we'd seen enshrined in salt the day before). Poland's Jewish population didn't exactly have an easy time of things over the centuries that followed, but they were at least usually relatively safe.

In the center of Kazimierz's Broad Street ("Ulica Szeroka"), a monument honors the 65 thousand Jewish Cracovians who were murdered by the Nazis.

We visited the Remu'h Synagogue, which houses Krakow's Old Jewish Cemetery. (As a man, I was asked to wear a yarmulke while I on the premises, and I happily obliged.)

We were mainly interested in the cemetery, but we visited the synagogue first. It was remarkable. The Synagogue dates back to 1553, and it has been beautifully maintained and restored. You can even still see the original 16th-century frescoes adorning the upper walls.

Thanks to our guidebook, we also learned a bit about traditional synagogue design. Like Christian basilicas and Islamic mosques, synagogues face east toward Jerusalem. At the front of the synagogue is the ark, where the scrolls of the Torah are stored. In Orthodox synagogues like this one, the speaker stands in an ornate cage in the middle of synagogue, facing east along with the congregation. (In Reformed synagogues, the speaker stands in the front and faces the congregation.)

Outside, we learned about Jewish cemeteries, too. (Or at least the ones in Eastern Europe.) Unlike the neat rows of Christian cemeteries, the Jewish graves have a somewhat more organic organizational aesthetic. (This would be much more evident at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague.) Most of the headstones were covered in small stones, which visitors place as a token of respect. We couldn't read the headstones, but some were clearly more notable by the mountain of stones placed on and around them.

Near the synagogue still stands the gravestone of Moses Isserles, the 16th-century rabbi who founded it.

For us, though, the most striking feature of the cemetery is also one of its newest--the walls. During the Nazi occupation, many of the Jewish graves were desecrated and smashed. After WWII, the caretakers did their best to restore the cemetery as much as possible. And as a memorial of the Nazi atrocities, they used the unsalvageable fragments of smashed headstones to line the cemetery walls.

Stepping back onto Broad Street, we found the place increasingly lively with visitors. Many were Jewish Americans, but there were plenty of diverse groups from around the world. This is the "uplifting" part of the "sober-yet-uplifting" thing I said earlier. For all the effort that the Nazis did to erase other cultures from the world, it was the Nazis who got erased. The Poles and the Jews are still right here where they've always been.

Near the Remu'h Synagogue is a bronze statue of a kindly looking man sitting contemplatively on a bench. The man is Jan Karski, a Catholic Pole and one of the first people to publicly speak out against the Nazi extermination camps--a charge so unimaginably heinous that the rest of the world didn't want to listen.

At the bottom of Broad Street stands the 14th-century Old Synagogue, the oldest Jewish building in Poland. It and the surrounding courtyard are conspicuously sunken below street level. It was built this way on purpose because medieval laws forbade Jewish buildings from standing taller than Christian buildings. So in order to make it as big as they wanted, the Jewish architects had to build down as well as up.

As fascinating as Kazimierz is, and as much as we no doubt would have enjoyed visiting inside the Old Synagogue and visiting all the other historic neighborhood sites, we had other things we wanted to get to on our last day in Krakow. So we bid farewell to the charming Jewish neighborhood and headed back north toward Wawel Castle.

The castle is huge and beautiful. Again, we didn't have the time or energy to justify buying a ticket to go inside, but there was plenty to see just wandering around the grounds, which were open to the public. Including the massive, Florence-inspired central courtyard.

Like the Palatine in Rome, Wawel Castle is built on top of a hill where an ancient Polish tribe is said to have lived. And as with the wolf-raised twin founders of Rome, Krakow has its own deliciously outlandish origin story. According to the legend, a fiendish dragon set up shop in a cave at the base of Wawel hill. The dragon demanded a weekly tribute of cattle, and if an offering was not made, the dragon would feast on the tribespeople instead.

The dragon was finally defeated by a clever cobbler, who fed the dragon a lamb stuffed with explosive sulphur. The dragon devoured the tainted lamb and was overcome with a thirst so great that he dove into the nearby Vistula and drank until he exploded.

King Krakus, the mythical founder of Krakow, was so impressed by the cobbler's ruse that he let the boy marry the princess and become the next king.

Today, a seven-headed metal dragon at the base of Wawel Hill spews a gout of flame every five minutes or so.

Leaving the castle behind us, we wandered back up to Market Square, where we had an early dinner at one of the touristy open-air restaurants. We're pretty sure it was actually the same Italian restaurant that Jessica ate at on her last night in Krakow eight years ago.

Given the prime tourist-trap location, I expected it to be a bit of a frivolous splurge--a celebration of our having successfully survived our first stop in Eastern Europe. But it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly affordable meal. In that way, at least, Krakow's Market Square is very much unlike the Italian cities it was built to emulate.

And we enjoyed a local Polish cider. A bit tart, as I recall, but not at all bad.

We headed back to our flat, but our day was far from over. We wouldn't be staying at our flat this night. We wouldn't be staying in any flat this night.

We would be taking the night train to Prague.

Next Post: The Night Train to Prague

Last Post: Auschwitz

[beyerwilder05-blog]

Red Dead Redemption two Is The Video Game Embodiment Of The Great American Novel

The original Red Dead Redemption is a fascinating, instructive point in the evolution of video game publisher Rockstar Games. This additional level of depth that's added to the globe and its inhabitants did often give me a sense of conflict when playing the game, but in a excellent way of course. See, you're not specifically taking on the role of the ‘good guy' in Red Dead Redemption two, so you can anticipate Red Dead Redemption 2 download to do a lot of things that are not precisely sort. This is some thing I've accomplished a lot of in games like Grand Theft Auto in the past and it really is anything I've in no way worried about that a lot, so I thought it'd be the identical here. Time and once again I was struck by how seriously this game's writers took their characters, themes, and subject matter. Abstract or no, Red Dead 2's America is still a nation reeling from the Civil War, where women are not allowed to vote, and where Native Americans and their cultures are being systematically eradicated. Every little Red Dead Redemption 2 download thing in the major narrative is treated with acceptable weight and humanity, and never did I encounter a lapse into the sort of haphazard satire and 'śeveryone sucks'ť cop-outs embraced'”by some of the exact same writers!'”in Rockstar's depressingly misanthropic Grand Theft Auto series. Though initials on the mini-radar beckon you to progress the story as is trademark in Rockstar titles, almost everything you do in-game feels like it carries weight. Even the individual favours asked of Arthur that don't have any bearing on the group's wellbeing really feel like they are worth seeing by way of. Performing very How to Download Red Dead Redemption 2 good by your fellow man in Red Dead can net you a spoonful of honour which can be beneficial in currying favour with these cut from finer cloth who may well look down their nose at a cowboy like Arthur. It is an sophisticated morality gauge that actually has the stones to enforce repercussions on the player. On the entire, Rockstar don't do negative games. From Midnight Club to Bully, by way of all the GTA editions and covering the original Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar are synonymous with quality. But their most recent infant, that of Red Dead Redemption 2, is their most ambitious project yet, one that blows the juggernaut that is GTA V out of the water with a script that doubles previous how to download red dead redemprion 2 efforts, and functions a lot more than ten times the quantity of custom animations noticed in the huge San Andreas adventure. For any individual who has played GTA V will know, that is a lot of script and a ton of animation. Every action and selection that the player makes as Arthur ends up affecting the way that other characters perceive him out in the planet of Red Dead Redemption 2. From violently shooting up neighborhood sheriffs or robbing civilians, to giving help to a woman out on the road following where i can download red dead redemption 2 her horse has died, the Honor system not only serves as a way to indicate the path that Arthur is taking morally — regardless of whether he's a ruthless outlaw or a more compassionate cowboy — but also has a lot more tangible effects on the game's globe on a larger level. Anything comparable can be stated of a lot of the realistic” characteristics that had been hyped prior the game's release. Stuff like getting to cook your food, consume properly, clean your weapon, shaving, wearing proper garments and so red dead redemption 2 download on., are all neat, but never ever felt super important either. You can safely ignore most of that stuff for a lot of the game and barely even notice. Properly, except for the occasions exactly where your beard starts to appear way too considerably like a skilled baseball player from 2018 Shave that ASAP. Red Dead Redemption two is the result of the refinement of a genre that Rockstar Games is the master of, and it should not be missed by anybody who has any interest in video games, Westerns, or compelling stories with equally compelling characters. There is not one particular how to download red dead redemprion 2 report that could possibly cover the scope of gameplay that is offered in Red Dead Redemption two with the nuance it deserves. As with any video game, it's the gameplay that genuinely matters although, and Red Dead Redemption 2 excels there, as well. You are going to locate your self engaging in all manner of activities all through the game, from shovelling manure to robbing banks. At times you will employ stealth to achieve your purpose other instances you will go in all guns blazing. Really usually red dead redemption 2 license key download have a decision amongst a single Red Dead Redemption 2 download or the other. The game's story balances its high-octane moments very nicely, interspersing them with missions that create your expertise of the planet and its characters, giving specific events far more effect when they play out. And while there is 1 section of the game that ultimately devolves into a protracted firefight, its sense of urgency propels you along until factors can lastly get back to standard. Red Dead Redemption 2 also involves Red Dead On-line, although the multiplayer element is not available at the moment and will enter Beta at some point in November Rockstar did not reveal considerably about it however Red Dead Redemption 2 download, but right after playing the single player I'm confident that the slower pace of Red Dead Redemption two, if maintained in multiplayer, could be really properly suited to attract even these who disliked GTA Online's typically chaotic action. Red Dead Redemption two puts you in the shoes of Arthur Morgan, a extended-serving member of Dutch Van Linde's gang. Right after a robbery goes incorrect in the town of Blackwater, the gang finds themselves on the run in the snowy mountains, and with camp morale at an absolute low thanks to the death of some of the gang members and the deadly weather where i can download red dead redemption 2 conditions, items are not hunting too sweet.

[sydneyadventures]

Guide to Tulum, Mexico

Tulum is a beautiful place that is definitely worth a visit. There is so much natural beauty, great food and a relaxed atmosphere. It was the perfect 5-day getaway. 

About Tulum

Tulum has an interesting setup that we didn't quite understand until we arrived. We knew that there was Tulum town, and Tulum beach, but we underestimated how segregated these two areas are. They are NOT close! 

I'll start with Tulum beach: it's a beautiful beach - white sand, sunshine, and blue water. However, it’s a private beach, so you cannot access it unless you are staying at one of the expensive resorts along the strip, or are visiting a resort as a day guest. To do the latter, you need to spend a required minimum on food/drink, and this ranges from about USD $35-200 per day (and it’s pretty easy to achieve that minimum, because everything is very expensive).

On a map, the Tulum beach strip looks like a walkable area, but it really isn't. It's a tight dirt road surrounded by thick trees, and the road is VERY busy with cars. There's no sidewalk. All the hotels are all tucked deep into the wooded area, and there aren't any storefronts to explore.

We stayed at a resort on the edge of Tulum town called CoCo Hacienda (see Accommodations below), which has a sister resort called CoCo Tulum on Tulum beach. If you stay at the Hacienda, you can use the CoCo Tulum beach access if you spend a minimum of $35USD. We went there, parked in their designated lot, did a quick beach stroll and left, so we didn't end up paying… but I think if we had stayed any longer someone would have caught on. The only other time we spent in the Tulum beach area was when we went for one nice dinner at a place called The Kitchen Table (see below in the restaurant list).

Then there’s Tulum town: there is one main drag along a very busy 4-lane road. It's a much more walkable area, as the street is lined with many bars, restaurants and storefronts. It's touristy, but has character. The busy road does make it less intimate than I was expecting, but some of the smaller side streets are more quiet and quaint. Our whole time there, we were not able to find parking along the strip, so we always ended up parking at our hotel and just walking. The prices are about a third of what you'd pay for anything in the beach area, which is a big plus! We were happy with our decision to stay in town where we had better access to food, drink and shopping, but it did mean that we didn't have much beach time. 

Overall, the beach area is the place to be if you want a resort-style vacation, where things are cozy, luxurious and relaxing. Tulum town is the place to be if you want to experience more culture and excitement. I wasn't disappointed that we didn't spend too much time at Tulum beach… I'm not much of a beach person anyway, as I prefer to explore.

Getting Around

We rented a car to get from Cancun airport to Tulum, and used it to get around while we were there. Having a car was super convenient for visiting cenotes, the ruins, and getting to/from our accommodations, but it wasn't very useful for visiting the town as parking is very limited. 

We were told that renting a bike is a good way of getting around Tulum, but I would disagree with this. It s HOT outside, and nothing is very close by.  For example, we were told you could bike from the town and the beach, but it was wayyy farther than I had expected. It would easily take more than an hour of biking along a busy dirt road, in 30-degree humidity, with no sightseeing along the way - just trees. I wouldn't recommend this. Biking around town is definitely doable but we found it was feasible just to walk everywhere and not have to worry about bike parking. 

NOTE: Get Pesos!

The biggest mistake we made was not bringing pesos with us to Mexico! We were told that you can easily get by using American dollars and credit cards, but I think that is probably only true if you stay at the beach area. In town and at attractions (cenotes, ruins), pesos are needed. It was a struggle for us to find an ATM to take pesos out. You can pay USD in town, but the exchange rate they’ll offer you is totally off, and you’ll definitely end up loosing money. 

Things to do

Cenotes

Many cenotes can be accessed in the areas surrounding Tulum. They are unique freshwater basins that often have caves associated with them. 

We visited three cenotes: 

Grand Cenote: my favourite! A stunning combination of open water and caves. The water is crystal blue, and there are lots of turtles. You can swim through a cave to get from one side to another, and there are lots of stalagmites and bats which was very neat. Busy with tourists, but not overwhelmingly so. (pictured in the photos above and below)

Carwash Cenote: a big, wide open cenote. Great for swimming, and has a little wooden platform you can jump off of. Good visibility for snorkelling, with some little fish and small turtles. Not the most unique, as it is more like an open pond than a cave. Cheap entry fee, not too many people. It’s called Carwash cenote because apparently the locals used to use it for washing cars, because it’s big and open. 

Cenote Calavera: a small cenote that has a big rock opening, as well as two smaller rock-holes that you can jump through. Once inside, it is just one big round cave, and there were also bats here. I didn’t see any turtles in this one. The best part about this cenote is the jumping feature. Relatively busy, and since it is a small area, it seemed busy even with not that many people. 

The best way to get to cenotes is just to drive to them, they all have available parking spots, but don’t leave any valuables in your car as apparently break-ins are quite common. At all the cenotes, we would rent a locker for our stuff for a few pesos so we could both go swimming together without worrying about our things. 

Bring a snorkel from home if you have one! (you can also rent them at the cenotes, or buy a pair in town). 

Tulum Ruins

Visiting the Tulum ruins is a great way to get a little bit of culture and history on your trip to Mexico. Getting there was a bit confusing, but if you follow the signs in town you’ll eventually get to the pay-parking area from the main road (the road from the beach area was closed when we were there). Before you get to the entrance to the ruins, you’ll walk for a bit through a touristy area with shops and restaurants, which we actually enjoyed. There are lots of traditional Mexican decorations and day-of-the-dead statues. 

The Tulum ruins themselves are quite neat, and there are signs along the way explaining their cultural significance. We didn’t do a tour, but if you’re a history person, I’d recommend doing so, because I’m sure there is a lot to learn that we probably missed. There are a lot of iguanas in the ruins site which are fascinating to watch. The ruins also have a beach where you can go swimming, so bring a bathing suit! It was hot while we were walking around, so the swim was a nice relief. 

Restaurants

Burrito Amor - a hip little burrito place with outdoor seating at the end of the town strip, close to CoCo Hacienda. We went once for dinner, and another time for breakfast burritos. The vegan burrito was unreal. 

The Kitchen Table - a beautiful spot on the beach strip. It has a treehouse vibe, with wooden furniture, beautiful lush greenery, and candle-lit ambience. The food and cocktails were spectacular, and the desserts were even better. They were great about accommodating our allergies as well. Perfect for date night - quite pricey though! (photo below)

El Camello Jr. - amazing seafood! This place is a hole-in-the-wall/local favourite with so much character. When we first arrived I thought it looked a little sketchy, but it had 3,000+ reviews on google, so we figured it was worth trying - and I’m super glad we did, because we loved it! The coconut shrimp was amazing, the ceviche was some of the best I’ve ever had, and it all paired perfectly with their mango margaritas. And they give you a mountain of chips and salsa for free as a starter with any meal. We went back twice!

Pasito Tun Tun - we just went here for drinks, but we loved the vibe. It has a cool back patio area, and great margaritas. 

Encanto Cantina - We stumbled into this place for lunch while walking by, and I’m super glad we went in. The back patio area is a dream - a beautiful garden with furniture made out of old recycled goods. The decor is so unique and beautiful. Incredible mezcal cocktails, and great tacos. I had the vegan oat tacos and loved them. (photo below)

Accommodations

We stayed at two beautiful places: CoCo Hacienda, and the Mot-Mot Jungle Birdwatching Villa. 

CoCo Hacienda: CoCo Hacienda is a beautiful hotel in Tulum town. 

Pros: It is on the edge of the strip, away from all the busy bars and restaurants, so it is quiet, relaxing and secluded. The restaurant has a reasonably-priced menu - we enjoyed two delicious breakfasts, and took advantage of their cheap beers in then evening. We also got massages, which were in an adorable open-air hut on the property. The grounds are absolutely stunning - lush greenery, two beautiful pool areas, hammocks everywhere, and a cute patio area near the restaurant. Everything is clean and comfortable, and the staff are absolutely lovely. It wasn’t very busy, so we felt like we were the only people there.

Cons: it’s a bit of a walk from the hotel into town, but only about 10 minutes. In my opinion, it’s worth it to be farther out to enjoy the beauty of this place, but if you really want to be close to the action, then this is not the hotel you’ll want to stay at. 

https://cocohacienda.com 

Mot-Mot Jungle Birdwatching Villa: An entire house that we rented on Airbnb (link below). This place was INCREDIBLE! It’s quite far out from Tulum town, so you definitely need a car to access it. Although it seems to be in the middle of nowhere, it’s actually a part of a gated community area that feels very safe and secure. The house itself is beautiful, but what really makes it special are the outdoor areas - a back patio with a cozy hammock, a front patio with two swings, a rooftop patio with a grass-hut breakfast bar, and lastly, a big lookout platform that brings you above the trees. The bedroom has massive windows, so it feels like you’re sleeping in an aquarium of trees. One morning we awoke to two beautiful yellow birds sitting right outside of our bedroom window!

We did a little nature walk on the roads in and around the area, and although we saw signs for wildlife (pezotes, monkeys, and even jaguars - eep!) we didn’t see any big creatures. We saw and heard many beautiful birds, though! And despite being quite deep into a wooded area, there were miraculously very very few bugs - not even mosquitos! This place was a bit of a splurge, but definitely worth it. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/30587949?locale=en&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1573698796_wtTTKNxvDX%2BgzqH2&source_impression_id=p3_1576512902_JGU0YM%2BVb8k4H0EA 

[midnightuglystepsister]

(/ω＼)ﾟ.+(〃ﾉωﾉ)ﾟ.+°50 More Interesting Questions

Rules: fill this out and tag at least one person you’d like to know more about! Or just fill it out! Or don’t! Answer only some of them! Make up your own questions! “What kind of requirement is that”, you ask? A reasonable one! Who am I to tell you what to do? Anything goes!

tagged! by @kakihoden Thanks so much :D

1. What kind of food can’t you stand?: Really spicy food. I can’t do it bruh I cannnnn’t

2. If you could choose one minor inconvenience to never have to deal with again, what would you pick?: minor...inconvenience, hmmm...I guess to have a longer battery life on my phone, like....i can heavily use it for more than a day and still be good lol. 

3. Have you got any useless talents?: I uh, acting? It’s useless because I have stage fright now so I only use it for evil. Like, pranking someone. 

4. If you could be really really good at one thing, what would it be?: being proactive

5. Name a few people you think are extremely good-looking: there are a lot but I will list the /obvious/

Matsumoto Jun:

all of Arashi actually

GD

TOP

CL

ok i should stop but there’s a long list of these hahaha

6. What was your favorite way to pass the time as a kid?: watch TV, play video games, write stories, make comics

7. What is something you’re proud of?:  I’m proud of Arashi bc they’re a bunch of good guys that went through so much and now they’re successful and still humble and i have a lot of feelings im a proud arashian

8. What’s one character flaw in people that you just can’t tolerate?: Entitlement. Seriously, cut it out. esp amerikkka, and then there’s my older bro

9. Do you consider yourself to be more of a leader or a follower?: Both. At first, I let people lead, but if they can’t lead properly, or that no one is stepping up, I will take over.

10. What kind of student are/were you?: Pretty average I think. In the Philippines, I was average af, but I was outgoing and had a lot of friends. Then I moved to the US, and the education was much....uh lower? I was suddenly the smartest in class, and teachers favored me, and people hated me, but I just did my work. Then, I got older, I wasn’t as outgoing anymore and I just stuck to my group of friends and stayed quiet in class. Went back to being an average student also.

11. Butterfly effect question! Has there ever been a seemingly minor decision you’ve made (at the time) that ended up having a profound influence on your life?: Idk? I guess when I first started drawing? I didn’t think I was going to take art as my career at first.

12. Name your most irrational fear/aversion: People/Socializing? I stay at home to avoid socializing with people lol. I mean, I have social anxiety, so yeah

13. Are there any fictional characters you find especially relatable?: yes~ There’s always going to be relatable characters.

14. If you drink, what kind of drunk are you? Alternatively, what sort of person are you at parties?: I don’t drink alcohol. I hate the taste of it. At a party where I don’t know people? I find a nice corner and stay hidden. Probably on my phone at all times. At a party where I am friends with everyone? I speak to whomever is beside me. At a party with people I know and don’t know? I desperately stick to the people I know and only talk to them.

15. Do you fall in love easily? Or does it usually take a long time for you to trust someone?: I don’t think I have fallen in love. I’ve had crushes ofc. I have trust issues, I don’t trust anyone 100%.

16. Would you rather have one close friend or 100 casual friends?: one close friend

17. Do you consider yourself to be more of a slob or a neat-freak?: Man...in the middle? I can be a slob in my room, but I can’t stand messiness anywhere else? And at one point, I do clean and organize my room, so idk.

18. Describe a place (imaginary or real) that you would find incredibly cozy: a quiet area around nature. Like greens, or beachy, or just blue skies. Basically a Ghibli setting.

19. Do you have kids? If not, do you want them someday?: I don’t have kids and don’t want kids. I grew up caring for lots of kids, and I’m actually pretty good with them. I just don’t want one of my own.

20. What was your favorite book as a child?: I had a lot. I would seriously go to the library often, and borrow a giant stack of books. And the librarians knew me and never question me about being able to read all of them by the due date. They even had a limit of books you can borrow at a time, but they made me an exception hahaha. But I guess my first real obsession was Harry Potter...and then A Series of Unfortunate Events.

21. Name one thing you just don’t get what all the hype is about: lol yes despacito, fidget spinners, bottle flipping, and jake paul hahahaha

22. Name one thing that you think is tragically underrated: artists. Yes, I know there are many successful artists, but even now I hear stories of these successful artist getting ripped off, or getting low offers.

23. If you had to be glued to a person for a month, real or fictional (who you have never met), who would you choose?:  Real: Ninomiya Kazunari from Arashi. Because we both like to play video games and are very indoors-y lol. Fictional: Nico Meier from MidCin. Just think he would be really fun to hang out with, and his cheeriness will be contagious.

24. What’s something you’d like the chance to do someday?: Have my own art exhibit? And to also travel.

25. Do you typically speak your mind when you have a controversial opinion? Or do generally prefer to not rock the boat?: I’m straightforward, and will speak my mind on things I feel strongly about.

26. What’s the dumbest fad you’ve been caught up in?: I don’t think I’ve ever got caught up in a dumb fad.

27. What’s something you thought was cool as a kid/adolescent, but now cringe at yourself for?: I used to RP in real life with friends when I was a kid hahahahahaha hahbshasahahah ahaah

28. What’s a trait you consider to be very admirable?: Confidence. I admire confident people so much, and I wish to be confident and not this hot mess of self-hate.

29. Is there a particular kind of item people always tend to give you as gifts? (For instance, people always get you things with ducks on them because you like ducks, etc.): It varies on what these people know about me. For instance, I have one friend that gives me things from animes I like, another would give me art supplies, another would give me skincare products/makeup, my bro and his gf would give me shoes/handbags. It honestly varies on which of my side I show to each person.

30. Do you speak multiple languages? Which ones?: I speak Tagalog, English, I’ve taken classes on Japanese, American Sign Language, and trying to learn Korean and Mandarin.

31. Would you rather live in the big city or the countryside?: Can it be somewhere in the middle? ^-^; Like suburbs? lol. But if not, then big city.

32. Has there ever been something you were certain you’d hate, but ended up loving?: hmmm....I used to hate sushi when I was a kid. Now I eat it like 3x a week.

33. Do you mind being the center of attention, or do you prefer the spotlight to be on someone else?: It depends. In a big place with lots of strangers, I prefer the spotlight on someone else. In a group of people I know, then I want to be the center of attention. Ijustwannafeellovedlol

34. Favorite holiday?: Christmas.

35. Are you a more go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you need to have things planned meticulously?: I go-with-the-flow, but I’ve had instances where the flow was super messy and I got irritated and planned out the thing.

36. Is there something you loved so much you wish you could forget it and experience it all over again? (A tv show, book, series–anything.): Going to Hawaii to go to an Arashi concert lol

37. What hobbies do you have?: Drawing, playing video games, watching videos, listening to music, singing, playing with the dogs, writing, eating, traveling

38. If you could have a superpower, but it was only mildly useful, what ability would you want to have?: mildly useful...like it doesn’t work fully? Or it has some kinda flaw? I guess....teleporting? Like, my ideal teleporting kind of superpower is teleport anywhere in the world, but I guess if this is only mildly useful, then I can only teleport within a mile radius or something lol.

39. Something people are always surprised to learn about you: My age. Like, legit, every. single. time I say how old I am, everyone gets a shock. People think I’m waaaaay younger than I am lmaaaao.

40. Something that took you way too long to figure out: Not to have high expectations.

41. Worst injury you’ve had?: I don’t get injuries bc I avoid them lmao.

42. Any morbid fascinations?: uh i dont think so

43. Describe your sense of humor: self-deprecating humor, dark, sarcasm, and perverted humor.

44. If you had to be born in another era/place, which would you choose? I wouldn’t change my birthplace or year, bc every year or place has it’s shittiness. But if I /HAD/ to...I guess Japan? I have always liked their culture, aside from a few negative things from it. 

45. Something you are irredeemably bad at: sleeping, having motivation

46. Something that sucked but you’re glad you went through: Losing a few friends/my fam getting scammed, because I’ve learned something about people from it

47. Would you rather have a really godawful ugly tattoo in a place that is only slightly inconvenient to conceal with clothing (upper arm, thigh, etc.), or the coolest, most beautiful tattoo ever in the middle of your face? (Neither tattoo can be removed or concealed with makeup, and the ugly tattoo will deeply offend anyone who sees it.): Ugly tat, bc I can conceal with clothing.

48. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?: Realist, but borderline pessimistic

49. What would be the most flattering compliment someone could give you?: when people say I’m funny and witty. I was also strangely happy when someone said that I would have made a really handsome guy lmao. 

50. Something you feel people often misunderstand about you: Sometimes people find me scary, though sometimes I can be--when provoked, usually it’s just my face and my silence

Tagging: I want to know more about all of u, so if you do it, please @me! 

[schlenanigans]

Sundown on Cape Town

[JANUARY 30, 2019]

Howzit ma brus?

What a whirlwind few weeks in the Mother City!! I cannot believe my time in Cape Town already came and went. Between spending half the last weekend in the Winelands and the other driving down the Cape to see the southwestern-most point of Africa and the PENGUINS at Boulders Beach (along with some of the best fish & chips EVER), the time flew by, but man did we have a good time! 

I realize that in my last post I did a very poor job of laying out exactly what I am doing, for those of you that I did not explain it all to in person :)

Remote Year is the name of a company that offers 4- and 12-month itineraries around the world. I was picked by my company to choose an itinerary; I was given 4 options and the one I chose was here in Africa and Europe… the company has many itineraries going in different areas at once, both 4 and 12; mine is a 4-monther called Kuungana, which means “connect” in Swahili…. and did I mention there are 50 of us? We did our first month here in the Mother City, head next to Marrakesh for 5 weeks, followed by 4 weeks each in Lisbon and Valencia. Each group has a Program Leader accompanying them to all the cities on the itinerary; our mama on Kuungana is Jen, a wonderfully bubbly and funny Aussie who has been living the nomad life for 4 years and been working for Remote Year for over 2— she rules. Once you have completed a program, you can jump into any city where there is a group and take advantage of the activities and resources that RY makes available to their newly christened Citizens (what they call folks who have finished a program). Obviously, I am already making big plans to figure out where I am going in May once my run with Kuungana has ended.  

But I digress. With the whole setup of Remote Year, you truly do feel like you have an entire network in the city you find yourself, and there is always someone willing to go find a new restaurant or explore a new neighborhood. They encourage everyone to get to know EVERYone, which is actually kind of nice, as you find yourself able to talk to anyone in the group and have shared interesting interpersonal experiences in close proximity. And did I mention there are 50 of us in the Kuungana fam?  It’s also interesting to learn bit by bit about what people do for work and how they form work habits in a remote environment. Some people are adhering strictly to their American work hours; others are not working at all. Some of use hang in the workspace til 11PM, others are early birds knocking out their tasks in the early morning. Today we actually had an “UNconference’, a quick event where everyone presented one slide about what they do, like to talk about, can offer to teach other, and want to learn from others…it was such a neat opportunity to understand how people got here, but also get an idea of the great resources available when you bring together a group of gifted and talented people, to see what other ways we can work and learn. Everyone is so eager to help, it is pretty freakin rad to see.

I have already gotten really close with my “tramily”— my travel family (an RY term, not mine)— and it’s pretty interesting to reflect upon the relationships forged in the first month, both with the other Remotes and with the folks on the city teams and who work for Remote Year. Obviously, I am already making big plans to figure out where I am going in May once my run with Kuungana has ended.

As my month in Cape Town came to a close, I found myself reflecting on the time warp… it feels like I just got there … and now I have already left. I was so sad to be leaving “so soon”… but I am also filled with excitement and anticipation at what this next stop brings. January has been a true emotional rollercoaster— mostly highs, a couple lows, with a little stress in the mix to keep me honest. It feels like Cape Town was sort of a holiday, one on which I had to work, but also one on which I went NON.STOP. Seriously, no sleep. So, it will be nice to chill and spend a little more time alone and reflecting…. this whole journey is one of the crazier things I have had the opportunity to do in my life— and I have had a lot of crazy opportunities— and I am determined to squeeze every last drop out of the experiences; I remain unbelievably grateful. I have met amazing people, seen amazing sights, learned a lot about South Africa and its history and people, (hit some pretty rad parties,) and found myself feeling so at home and in love with the place. I was SO not ready to leave, and I already can’t wait to go back. (And I am still convinced I will marry a South African…)

I know I promised to be good about sharing, through photos and more…. This month I did not do a good job on ye olde social media; but I hope you all know that I have been living my best life, enjoying the moments to the fullest, and feeling incredibly blessed to share every second with people that I love, whether I knew them before getting here or met them upon arrival. Having Kristina and Nadia and Kelsey from home be around to get a glimpse into what this whole thing is (and drive convertibles down the coast of Africa while on a carrot cake tour for the ages) has been so special and SOOOO fun. I said it before, I’ll say it again: this is a life-changer.

🇲🇦Next stop: MOROCCO!!!! 🇲🇦

We left Saturday for our new home in Marrakech— two ~9-hour flights and a 3-hour bus ride away. The whole group of us traveled together (kids’ stuff—reminded me of Plexcon, traveling with a big ol’ group—we. got. this.). This city around, we are living in the same apartment complex (we were split across two here in CT), with new roommates, 25 min from the famous Medina marketplace and 20 min from our workspace, which is in the hip, up-and-coming part of town. Our city team here is a married couple from Marrakech and from our exposure thus far, they are sweet and knowledgeable and lovely and very enamored with their home (they both served the military, she as an engineer and he as a pilot, and they are amazing tour guides). So far it looks like the opportunities for doing unique, awesome things are vast and varied; I have already signed up for a leather workshop, a cooking class, and a heritage tour of the city (this one starts in about 8 hours)… camel rides on the Sahara are also on the table, and I already just know the shopping is insane.

On our first night (Sunday) a small group of us went “for a quiet dinner after our 25 hours of travel” and ended up sitting in a beautiful Moroccan restaurant for 3.5 hours eating delicious food, listening to live music, which was then interrupted by a show complete with belly dancers and women gyrating and shaking with trays of candelabras on their heads…. all followed by shisha (hookah) brought to the table after dinner…to accompany the most insane salted caramel dessert ever. Another wonderful, memorable, completely unexpected welcome to our new home. This morning we went for a traditional breakfast in the marketplace and had warm flatbread with eggs and khlii, a fermented meat mixed in, with the most delicious mint tea ever…. For about $3.60. YES.) The food does NOT disappoint here.

Morocco has already proven different from Cape Town in many ways; from the slower pace of activities organized by RY (orientations, etc.) to the dynamic of the workspace (pic above), as we share it with a whole bunch of entrepreneurs and remote workers who are not associated with RY. It is not as fancy schmancy as the one in CT, but we do have a delightful rooftop deck with reliable internet where we can work outside for the few hours that it is warm enough in the sun. (YES, it’s cold here. Really cold.) They do have some educational meetings set up for us to learn about language and culture, which is awesome to help us navigate the city, and—surprising to many—it is actually safer for us to walk around at night here than it was in Cape Town (albeit much more psycho drivers here!). I was at the workspace til late tonight and walking after 11 I wouldn’t have dared back in CT; here I feel fine walking with just one other girl the 20 min back home. (Which reminds me, I had my iPhone stolen on my very last night in Cape Town….unfortunate, and I am not proficient with the backup android I am using, so my photo quality has really taken a nosedive...)

☝My new home sweet home for the next 5 weeks!

Morocco promises to be pretty amazing; it is exciting to be in a place I have never been before and that is so completely different from really anywhere else I have been. The culture here is such an interesting mix of histories and the way Moroccans view themselves as a nation is fascinating, given how different it is in the rest of Africa, the Arab nations, and Europe. I am so excited to walk around, exploring, getting to know a new place, and to meet the people and eat alllllll the food.

So, month one down in the Mother City! We will be here in Marrakesh for 5 weeks, followed by 4 weeks each in Lisbon and Valencia. Again, please reach out if you have any questions about any of this— even if it's about being new to juggling time zones or what I have been eating. It’s always fun to hear back…. And I am amazed if you made it to the end!