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hyukmoon · 3 years ago

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Class trip.

Synopsis | you're a teacher going along on a trip for a week with your class and a colleague you despised for a good amount of time now. Things turn around and you don't know what to think about him anymore.

Teacher!Xiaojun x Teacher!gn!Reader

warnings | kissing is the most rated things happening in this, all over awkwardness from you, terrible humor, pretty much just fluff and a there's only one bed situation

word count | 2.2k

things to note | this is the first thing I wrote here, so I'm open to constructive criticism, also [P/A] means prefered form of address bc you're a teacher and all that (not proofread yet)

Let’s preface this. You never really wanted to go onto this trip. You genuinely loved the children in your class, but to go onto this trip for an entire week seemed to be a compromise in the least. Neither were the other teachers your preferred ones nor was it your say where the class trip was going to take place. To be honest, you even found the colleague you were going with a bit annoying.

“It can’t be this bad, you might even enjoy it there. Our fellow colleague is pretty to look at and the worst that could be happening on that trip is that one of the children puts their finger into a pencil sharpener again.”, your friend Yasmin and also, teacher said. Your tired face was working, she shut up. Of course, your fellow colleague was incredibly handsome.

You would and could never argue against that, yet every time you heard their kind and expressive voice you felt like you were blinded by the sun. He just seemed to exude everything you lacked. It is not that you weren’t a good teacher, every time you were out of breath or already done with everything only half through the day, he almost smiled compassionately at you sometimes even winked for that matter.

Xiao dejun, who also went by Xiaojun was the topic of your discussion, a man that handsome you wouldn’t be able to make up in your dream and smart enough to make up for every “inconvenience” you faced with him.

Well, he was that smart to bring you coffee every morning into teachers lounge, share his chewing gum with you and sometimes write you notes if you seem stressed. “Jeez, what’s your problem in the first place? I’m kinda sure he is into you. Every time he looks at you, he literally has heart eyes and bringing you coffee every morning? Please.”, she rolled her eyes at you.

“I don’t think so, I just subbed some of his classes a few times. You know how nice he is.”, nervously you now shy away from looking into Yasmin’s eyes.

Xiaojun didn’t like you, you would feel terrible if he did. Tweaks of shame overcame you; this trip was not going to work out.

Fully packed and all over suspiciously you started counting again the fourth graders on the bus while also having a very good view of the chocolate brown hair of the teacher going along on the field trip. This time his hair didn’t fully cover his forehead, his glasses eyeing you as well. Suddenly his hands tapped on the seat next to him. Heat rose up to your cheeks gradually making it harder to move forward to sit next to Xiaojun. “Mila’s parents called me, she’s sick so don’t worry about her. Just sit down [Y/N], I brought some tea.”, he smiled while pointing at his thermos can. “Uh, sure. I have some cookies with me if you want.”, the last sentence closely sounding like a question as you quietly took the seat next to him.

Not only were you now stunned about the fact that there was a possibility for him to view you in a light like this in spite of you being so passive towards him in the past. Yet there is still the lingering feeling far, far up in your head that you were only imagining things and Xiaojun read everything wrong. “Are you feeling well? We can also sit farther in the front if you feel better there- “, he worriedly stroked your shoulder. “No, it’s completely fine. Just fine.”, you interrupted his ramble and put up your mouth into a cramped smile. His eyes returned that favor, crinkling up into a smile as well.

The bus drive didn’t take as long as you might have thought, your counterpart on the excursion was more than enough to keep you on your toes. Casual glances along a few accidental brushes over your hand kept you in your seat. Now counting again all the children in the lobby of the youth hostel you anxiously eyed Xiaojun again. The amount of children matched up, so your job was done for now, you were most likely only seeing them for dinner. The only thing to do for you now was to go up to your room and contemplate how to not have a physical reaction every time your favorite colleague called your name. Very obvious, you had of course no crush on him or anything like that. He was just blessed with beautifully shaped eyebrows and a voice that could make the worst words you knew sound like a ballade. You moved up from the hotel lobby with some of the grade schoolers to the elevator.

"[P/A] [L/N], do you think when I make Lasagna with my mum it’s the same as cake?”, Xia, a girl from Xiaojun’s music class asked while her classmates giggle about her question. A few loud no’s were to be heard with the occasional high pitched laughs from her friends. “That is a very good question I have never thought about before”, you stopped for a second, what exactly does it mean to be a cake? It is still baked in an oven with layers and contains the tomato sauce as frosting? “I am pretty sure it is. Even though I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow though, I am not a baking expert. I promise I’ll look it up for you, yes?”, you were pretty content with your answer. “Hmmm. Okay. They wanted me to ask.” Xia answered while pointing at the three boys in the back of the elevator which earned her some distraught faces from her classmates. The familiar sound of the elevator bell ringed. “Anyways, if you have as burning questions as these please come to me or …, we’re happy to help. Also, if you feel homesick or sick, I’m always in my room, just knock.” As soon as the last syllable was said stormed the children to their respective rooms and left you there looking at their body shaped dust cloud remembering the cartoons you watched at their age.

You walked down the long corridor towards the light brown lacquered door which showed in golden numerals written the 420. Your shoulders visibly sank down, finally you were able to take a nap. The door opened and closed maybe a millisecond later. Seeing a wide back heaving some shirts on to the rooms ear chair made you catch your breath. His glasses missing and his usually kempt hair was now chaotically drifting across his forehead into separate directions. More importantly though, he was most likely about to put on a fresh shirt, and you stood across the dark brown carpet in the door with a perplexed face.

“Sorry!”, you yelled and closed the door to just sink down with it in your back. Xiaojun packing out his suitcase along his pullover wasn’t what you were expecting to after talking about lasagna and wanting to fall asleep for at least good 30 minutes to then decide if it’s worth it to start to watch a movie. Yet you were barely discussing the fact that he was in your room. Neither did it make sense nor were you able to really comprehend the situation right now.

The door opened and you jumped up onto your feet. “[Y/N]? Why were you in my room?”, Xiaojun quiet voice slid through the gap of the door. “I swear there’s an explanation to this. I think they might have given me the wrong keys or something like that, I didn’t look at you or anything-”, he interrupted your nervous chatter to push the door open and face your confused state. “It’s fine, we’ll figure it out together.”, the usual quirky smile you normally saw when he was trying to cheer up one of his students appeared on his face. Your breath stopped at the together while a comfortable warm feeling churned in your stomach.

“Then let’s go downstairs and work it out with the staff!”, he gifted you another wink which not only gave you the final confidence to grab onto his arm before heading again into the elevator but to for the first time give him a wink back.

“The school only booked one room for the teacher. I can’t really do that much about it, most rooms are already full and other guests will arrive tomorrow, so I’m very sorry for the inconvenience.”, the hotel worker returned to the computer in front of them. “What are we supposed to do now?”, you sighed and gazed at the visibly pondering man. “Honestly, no idea. There isn’t much we can do, so I guess we could talk about it in my room?”

The walk to his room had to be filled with an uncomfortable silence, neither you nor he were able to say something that made the current situation less painfully horrendous. Almost as if the newly gained confidence left your body, you didn’t even dare to make more than an unfunny joke about your nonexistent room or more like transferred room for another alone soul. His room was already coddled with the scent of freshly washed clothes along his close to quiet cologne. “So here we are.You take the bed and I’ll sleep on the ground.”

“This is so inappropriate, dear god.”, you started to sigh again caressing your temples. “Also, no, please take the bed, the school probably forgot to book another room because I said yes to this trip so late.” Even though Xiaojuns throat seemed to struggle a bit with his next proposition, it was still loud and clear what he said. “We can also share the bed... We’re two grown adults.” He laughed awkwardly; you were pretty much speechless.

“Yeah, of course. Two adults. Nothing to worry or think about.”, you tried to brush off any thought you could possibly have about your opposition. No thoughts about his warm breath in your neck while holding you loosely in his sleepy state to waking up to his beautifully messy bed hair in the morning.

“I’ll take a shower if you don’t mind, some of the children were kinda fussy today and I just need a few minutes.” You nodded and unpacked your suitcase, followed by changing into some comfortable shorts and large shirt.

The second you were done; you sank into the still cold sheets of the large bed. He didn’t make you wait for him very long, barely noticeable however his eyes rested on you when he entered the small apartment again.

Neither did it take too long to sit along with you on the bed. “Are you sure you’re comfortable with us doing this?”, his soft voice hit you unexpectedly. “I can also sleep on the floor, or we switch everyday to do it.” You shook your head simply and crawled up the bed to make yourself comfortable under the duvet. “I’m so tired, just don’t steal the blanket, okay?”, barely able to keep your eyes open you sank even more into the mattress.

You really thought it would be easy to sleep next to him, yet the thought of holding his face in your hands didn’t leave your mind. Even asleep he had a stunning presence around him. “[Y/N]? Do you like me?”, Xiaojun turned around to see your surprised expression. “Of course, I do. I just thought that because you were so good at everything, you did all of these things just to spite me.”, you quietly confessed. “[Y/N], I wanted you to like me. You’re a wonderful teacher and I really admire you. You’re so funny with the other colleagues and generally so, so gorgeous.” Xiaojuns eyes lingered on your lips. They stayed there.

“Can I kiss you?” You nodded. His lips brushed softly across your bottom one. You took the opportunity to gain closeness to his warm side before shifting your hands onto his back. Slowly you began to pepper small kisses along his jawline resulting in a small whine from his side. His hands started to wander across your waist to rest on your lower back and pull you in even closer.

Not a lot longer after he started to skim your neck with his teeth. You rested your head now in his freshly scented neck. Again, his lips on yours moving over to just behind your earlobe, nipping on it and breathing into your ear: “Do you want me to continue?” Still resting his soft lips on your ear goosebumps rose up your spine. Waiting for another hint of pressed lips against your skin your arms lethargically crawled up and grazed his cheeks.

“Ah right, the children.”, your voice hitched he was still so close to you. “We could discuss this maybe on a date?”, he looked almost hopeful when his dark and strangely staring eyes met yours in the dim lit room.

“Us kissing and almost doing the deed? Sure. I’m much better at physical presentations though.” You pressed a delicate kiss against his lips. “Since when so provocative?”

“You bring it out in me.” “I’m glad it’s me and no one else then.”, he smiled into the kiss he gave you now. Not long from this you actually found the peace and quiet to fall asleep in his embrace.

#wayv xiaojun #wayv #wayv fluff #wayv x reader #wayv scenarios #wayv fanfic #xiaojun #xiaojun x reader #xiao dejun #xiao dejun x reader #wayv oneshots #xiaojun wayv #xiaojun fanfic #xiaojun scenarios #fluff #xiaojun fluff #xiaojun x y/n #xiaojun x you

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asweethistory · 5 years ago

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Castles of the Loire Valley

Devil’s Food Chocolate Cider Ice Cream with a Strawberry Syrup Swirl

I Ate a Baguette at Bluebeard’s Castle (written for my Food Memoir Class)

We set up outside the crumbling battlement, on the banks of the La Crûme river. It was overcast, but not raining, although the tall and thick dark green grass was damp from some morning drizzle. The students spread out, and my best friend, Rachael, and I got comfortable, resting on a slight hill. Opening up the bags our host mom had handed us earlier that morning, we found one long baguette, some cheese, a tomato accompanied by two tiny salt packets, a small orange, and a full-size lavender-wrapped Milka chocolate bar. Even though neither of us actually ate the tomato, since being American we weren’t prepared to even conceptualize eating one as if it was an apple, I can taste the salt and acid as if I did. We knew our lunch made everyone else with their simple sandwiches jealous.

We crunched on baguette ends, watching white swans swim slowly past us. Trees hung towards the water, their branches doing what I wished I could do with my limbs. It couldn’t have been much more than 60 degrees, but the cool grass, low breeze, and gentle water made me feel like it was a carefree summer day. I wanted to roll down hill into the swatches of green and blue.

Our backdrop was Bluebeard’s castle, Château de Tiffauges; partly in ruins, it was situated less than an hour drive from our home base, Nantes, France. It didn’t seem anymore formidable than any other medieval castle in the countryside, but in 15th century France, Gilles De Rais, who is more commonly referred to as Barbe-Bleue, bluebeard, did many horrible things within its walls. Before lunch, we took a tour of the castle that focused on the preservation of medieval war machines, archery games in which we didn’t take part, and a short silhouette animation, which briefly explained, in terms appropriate for a younger age range, Bluebeard’s barbarism. So we were able to lunch with no real sickly feelings.

Years later, I learned Bluebeard had been a knight who had fought in the same battles against the English as did Joan of Arc, had been awarded Marshal of France, and became incredibly reckless with his fortune. He built his own chapel and produced a 20,000-line play that required 500 extras, the costs of which necessitated the sale of some of his properties. Bluebeard sought to learn about alchemy and evocation, the art of rousing spirits, in order to save the state of his finances. After many failed attempts to summon a demon named Barron at the 12th century Château de Tiffauges, Bluebeard offered a child as sacrifice. A trial in 1440 revealed that Bluebeard had begun assaulting and murdering children during the spring of 1432. For eight years, Bluebeard, with the help of his cousin and body servants, abused, wounded, decapitated, disemboweled, and burnt the remains of over 100 children. Only under the threat of torture did Bluebeard confess. Charged with murder, heresy, and sodomy, Bluebeard was executed by hanging and burning.

As an eighth grader, I was bused up to the gates of the castle centuries later. This was the first excursion we took in the ten days we had in the country. By selling pizza and bags of chips, we students had raised half the money we needed to go on the trip. This journey to France was the first of three similar trips I’d take with my school between eighth grade and high school graduation. Each one brimmed with memories, but this first one, spent mainly in and around Nantes, included many independent firsts: First mushroom galette eaten outside on a cobblestone street, first Moroccan meal at a restaurant that included lemon sorbet served in the shell of the largest lemon I had ever seen, and first time experiencing a five-course meal.

This extraordinary meal, a couple days after the visit to Bluebeard’s castle, concluded our trip to Clisson, a picturesque town with a lovely river, parks, and Gothic architecture. We were told to meet at 5 p.m. at the fancy restaurant, and in the time before that a group of us left to explore. Rachael and I, a couple other friends, and French teacher-turned-chaperone stopped for lunch at a place with a balcony overlooking the water. We all ate spaghetti alla carbonara and drank cider purchased by the chaperone, who explained that it hardly had alcohol in it. Then we went off on our own — walking under bridges, crossing lime green trimmed lawns, and brushing up against climbing lilac wisteria. My modest point-and-shoot camera failed at capturing the light, sunshine, and subtle warmth of the day.

We passed by the 13th century Château de Clisson. Old looking but prettier than Bluebeard’s, we knew nothing of it, but its presence seemed to follow us wherever we walked. Perhaps its palpable aura was due to Jeanne de Clisson, whose third husband, Oliver de Clisson IV, was the wealthy owner of the Château bearing his name. Jeanne is rumored to haunt its grounds. After Oliver was executed without publicly demonstrated evidence, Jeanne decided to come after the French King. She not only raided castles, massacring those who resided there, but she also employed three warships, whose flagship, black with red sails, was named My Revenge. As a pirate, Jeanne, known as “The Lioness of Brittany,” hunted French ships, burned French villages, and aided British forces. All I knew though, lying beneath her castle’s gates as the waters of La Sèvre Nantaise passed languidly below, was peace.

Just as the sun was setting, we joined the rest of the students outside of a two-story stone home. As we waited the boys plucked snails off a low wall and taunted us. “This is going to be our dinner,” they said. “They harvest them right here. Why don’t you try one now?” Dinner did include escargot, my first, but it also included shrimp in puff pastry, a vegetable pasta dish, salad, a cheese course, and dessert, which for me was a large individual serving of crème brulee. Rachael had a whole apple tart to herself, although the crust was very, very thin. It was difficult to walk back to the bus.

III

The next day was lighter. Traveling west towards the coast, we reached Pornic, a seaside village. Clear water lapped at the stone walls beneath us, as I licked a cone of the freshest strawberry sorbet from a roadside stand. The smooth pink was refreshing and cooling, although the day wasn’t particularly hot. There was a sense of excitement being so close to water for us land-locked teenagers from New Mexico. The town itself was refreshing in a way, then, and our experience was continuously sweet. At a small restaurant nearby, my friends studied a menu that had no English translations. I could only pick out one ingredient on the crêpe list: pomme de terre, which means potato but literally translates to apple of the earth. The language barrier held firm and instead of the expected potato-filled pancake, Rachael and I received crêpes filled with hot cinnamon-scented apples. As eighth-graders, though, we of course welcomed dessert for lunch.

Continuing our exploration of the town, we walked the opposite direction from Château de Pornic, a symbol of the town closed off to visitors. We were more interested in the twisting and turnings of the old city’s streets anyhow. Originally built to defend the port, for a time, the castle was also known as Château de Barbe Bleue, one of Bluebeard’s many properties. It was in his procession until the time of his trial when it was confiscated. Its next owner, a lord, also lost the castle, this time due to the French Revolution. It lay in disrepair until the 19th century, when the architect François Bougoüin restored the building in the more Italianate style of Jeanne’s Château de Clisson. Having wandered a while, we stopped for something to drink. Outside of a bar with the castle high up in the distance, I tried, much to the horror of those around me, diabolo menthe, a bright emerald peppermint soda. It tasted exactly like toothpaste in the most enjoyable way. Another first, in another town with an enigmatic antique castle.

#loire valley #castles #bluebeard #jeanne de clisson #pornic #French History #ice cream

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teacher-lavin · 5 years ago

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Waking from History’s Nightmare: Baldwin & Joyce (Part Two)

The Threat

Two weeks after school ended for summer, I had told a group of much younger teachers, “The students I teach have saved me much more than I ever saved any of them.” The next evening, the phone rang late. Muffled crying, then: “Lavin, I don’t know what to do. My mom is threatening to kill me and then to commit suicide. What should I do?” It was Candela (name changed here, another short story with a moral....). Overwhelmed, I told her to call her older sister and ask her to meet us at Burger King.

James Baldwin’s views of teaching and James Joyce’s deep encounter with language play both pertain to the tale.

First Baldwin:

“The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions,”

Baldwin delivered this claim in his Talk given in a New York City library to a group of majority white educators (October 1963). He roots his discourse within the mind and heart of the student, particularly the African American student, wishing teachers to know the student’s psyche as: her or their or his or The child’s internal struggle. Therefore, Baldwin poses the questions as if within an imaginary stream of consciousness resonating within in the student’s mind. He postulates further,

“. . . [the student will] say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his identity” -- James Baldwin, Talk To Teachers (1963).

Baldwin assumed, I decided, that the child’s coming to terms with big questions is a process whose uncertainties demand companions, and that accompanying a child or a young adult who is asking these big existential questions is the teacher’s role.

Rewind Three Months Earlier: The Library Excursion

“Candela” told me about three months earlier that she was taking the bus to the Jesuit university on the other side of town after school. She was seventeen that year. Her mother signed a permission slip. Our high school had no library. Candela had complex questions about our readings: James Joyce’s fiction, James Baldwin’s essays, Gloria Anzaldua and Frantz Fanon’s writings and Adrienne Rich’s A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far. I wanted her to experience a library as she restlessly interrogated how and what she would write.

For that purpose, I had met Candela’s mom just the week before Candela’s library escapade at the end of her shift from midnight to 7:30 a.m. cleaning the elementary school two blocks away. Mrs. Cartagena (name changed), a small fiercely determined Cuban woman told me that she “was losing touch with her daughter” (my translation). She cried. She was exhausted. I stayed until her tears allayed, and she said she hoped the library would broaden her daughter’s horizons.

Because I’d taught for decades at night as an adjunct professor in the Jesuit English department, I knew lots of librarians there and phoned ahead to set up Candela’s visit. The University’s library is a weird mix: extensive collection of James Joyce criticism and Irish history, and a wonderful offering of contemporary poets from across the panoply of world cultures and languages. It goes deep.

The morning after her visit to “Hawk Hill” (local term for the Jesuit tower looming almost ivory over West Philadelphia), Candela had more questions than before her trip across town. “So, what is Poverty Awareness Week?” There were signs around campus advertising a week of awareness devoted to homelessness and world hunger. “I was in heaven with the books, taking them off the shelves, reading, then finding more and more and more?” She added excitedly, “Your friend, the librarian, showed me a book by Edwidge Danticat, signed by the author. Imagine that: Danticat actually must have held it in her hands. I felt like I went around the world, no lie, Mister.”

Then, Candela paused and said, “Hey, if they really want Poverty Awareness, why don’t we just invite them over here?” She laughed an ironic laugh.

The Threat,

--Fast Forward Three Months, Burger King

We met about thirty minutes after Candela’s tearful, frightened call, the three of us, Candela, her older sister (fictional name, Marisela) who had left her home twenty blocks away and her own three children with a neighbor (her husband was working nights) and me. We replayed through tears their mother’s threats and her delirium. Marisela said that we must call 911, report the incident and the troubling words kill and suicide and that their mom would be detained, by the police and placed on meds. After about ten days she would be released. This had happened before. Marisela would sign the papers.

Candela said that would be brutal, heartless and inhumane. Marisela countered that there was no alternative. Then, Candela said that she couldn’t bear thinking of her mom confined in that cold, clinical environment where no one would understand her. Marisela said that there would be Spanish-speaking nurses and assistants. Candela dissented, “But translation has to have nuance. It has to have sensitivity to the words and their meanings. It has to be dialogic.” Marisela looked perplexed. Candela explained, “I learned this all from James Joyce. Nobody gets mom’s meanings the way that I do.” Candela’s point came literally from our class. And, then, she cried and quoted her favorite line from Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, “Can't hear with the waters of. The chittering waters of. Flittering bats, fieldmice bawk talk. Ho! Are you not gone ahome?” And she added in her own words, “That’s so much more than Good Bye.” Candela said that she needed to make sure her mom understood everything that had happened before she brokedown and everything that would follow from that point. Anything less, would be “a violation of the sadness of her story and of the sadness of her life.” Again, Marisela looked perplexed. A very shaky pause ensued, “Spontaneously, Marisela hugged Candela and repeated over and over, “Candy, I’m so proud of you, baby.” Together, they decided to call 911 and to be there with their mom and to accompany her and to do the translation whenever and wherever possible, in person, the two of them.

If Baldwin’s distillation of the point of education brings teachers into a dynamic relation with the profoundly personal context within which students take risks and grow intellectually, his statement of the “paradox” of education, later in his essay, poses another problem of which we need to be aware. His terms inform the occasion,

“The Paradox of education is precisely this -- that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated .... The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it -- at no matter what risk. This is the only hope society has. This is the only way societies change” - James Baldwin, Talk To Teachers (1963).

So much of what we do as students and teachers and family members and neighbors and co-workers is caught within the paradox that James Baldwin articulates as an admonition to “examine and try to change” society’s forms wherever our perceptions pose poignant questions and uncertainties. Candela and her sister, Marisela, revealed Baldwin’s wisdom to me as well as an assurance that bringing students literature in all of its complexity is crucial to acquainting them with complexity so that they can distinguish what they want to believe and how they want to live.

Candela came away with deep convictions about nuance and dialogic sensitivity to meaning. That’s where she felt and honored profound responsibilities to her mother. Isn’t that when words are most crucial, when we discern how they create meanings and, thus, relationships? It’s no surprise that Candela continued growing and became an extraordinary leader in her community. That will be another story.

Our work, however, as students and teachers, is to keep that conversation alive with the integrity we learn from Baldwin responding that “Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them” James Baldwin, A Stranger in the Village, 1955.

#James Baldwin #James Joyce #Curriculum #education #Latinx

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ltwilliamhavers · 7 years ago

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Byrock Lake Summer Camp

its time for another rosawatts fic, i guess. lol.

thank you anon for sending this in!! i was excited to use these emojis bc theyre actually MY favorite emojis!! however. this fic probably isn’t what you were expecting like. at all. lol it was the only way i could think to connect these emojis!! this could also be considered a ‘platonic’ rosawatts fic technically? bc theres nothing romantic in this fic just btw

also just an fyi for this fic- people named charlie and traci are mentioned in it! traci is eva’s canon sister (who i headcanon as older than her) and charlie is eva’s twin sister who i like... completely made up. charlie isn’t canon lol. just lettin yall know. (she’s also in another one of my fics)

one last thing! this fic is a little more than 5k words, and word counter says it should take about 20 minutes to read so you should probably settle in if you do plan on reading it. anyway thanks for reading this mess until here lmao

It had been a very hot and humid summer at Byrock Lake Summer Camp. It wasn’t even summer yet, per say, since it was only nearing the beginning of June, but it was reaching the point of the year where it’s temperatures are the highest ever. It’s located in such a place that makes it feel like summer weather even if you’re visiting in the middle of December.

Summer heat brought all the other summer related consequences along with it. Sunburns, headaches, along with lots and lots of bugs. Spiders ran rampant along the grounds, setting up camp in almost any corner they could get too. Fire ants nests were found almost everywhere along the grounds, barely five feet apart from each other. Mosquitoes seemed to appear almost out of nowhere, completely destroying anyone who had forgotten to put on bug spray. The smell of bug repellent was abundant everywhere you stepped in an attempt to try to get all of the insects under control.

Byrock Lake, at the very least, had semi-decent cabins. They looked like log houses, except a lot smaller, and each group’s cabins were all located within ten feet of each other. The boys’ cabins were at the top of the hill; the girls’ nearer the bottom. These cabins also had no means of modern air conditioning, all that was used were old fans that made so much noise that there’s no way anyone could fall asleep with them on.

This is where thirteen year old Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts were going to spend two weeks of their precious summer vacation.

The reason that they had been sent to this summer camp together was mostly for a band get together. Every year, their school’s band director tries to get the entire band group on some sort of excursion together so that they could all spend some more time together, and get to know each other better outside of school. The band director, along with the school, always chooses one of the cheapest summer camps to send all the kids to so that they could pay it all off immediately. The parents don’t have to pay any money to send their children on these trips, so there’s virtually no reason for the parents to not send their kids.

On the entire three hour bus ride to Byrock Lake, Neil had barely taken a second to breathe in between his sentences, complaining about their destination.

“I mean, Eva, come on! How can you be even slightly optimistic about this place? It’s going to be hot and sweaty and so gross! For two weeks! That’s, like, basically an eternity!”

Neil, sitting on the side closest to the aisle in the seat he’s sharing with Eva, has turned his body sideways to face Eva head on as he complains to her. Eva stays quiet, politely listening to her friend go on and on about this summer camp.

When Neil finishes this last sentence, he huffs loudly and crosses his arms, still facing Eva. She looks at him blankly, not giving the thick-glassed boy next to her the reaction he’s looking for. “How do you even know this place is going to be bad? You haven’t even seen it yet.” Neil looks at Eva incredulously after she says this. “Eva, really? Have you not heard about past band members talking about this place? It’s horrible! There’s bugs everywhere.” He says this last one with his arms waving around, trying emphasize the word everywhere.

Eva rolls her eyes at Neil. “Then wear bug spray.”

Neil ignores this comment, and continues. “They don’t even allow electronics! Can you believe that? How are we supposed to have any kind of fun without video games?” He turns to the side, pouting and crossing his arms again. Eva raises an eyebrow at him. “Wait, I thought you told me you brought your GameBoy along with-” she says, before she’s quickly cut off by Neil shushing her loudly and placing one of his hands over her mouth. Eva lowers her eyebrows, glaring at him. Neil takes his hand away when he knows she’s done talking.

He leans in closer to her, speaking in a half whisper. “Are you kidding me, Eva? You can’t announce that! There’s teachers sitting at the front of this bus! I don’t want this to get taken from me. Not again. My parents would be pissed.”

Eva half smiles, thinking about the last time he got his GameBoy taken away from him. He had brought it into class one day, aiming to play it while they were taking a test, and asked Eva to ‘cover for him’. She just rolled her eyes and didn’t say anything when the teacher started making her way towards Neil. It got taken away for almost a week.

She moves past the fact that Neil has attempted to smuggle his GameBoy into their summer camp get together, and starts trying to encourage Neil. “Well, I don’t think it’ll be all that bad. Besides, my mom said that it would be fun.”

Neil glances over at her. “How does she know?”

“What?”

“Did Traci and Charlie go?”

Eva looks at Neil with a look of confusion. “Neil, if Charlie went, she’d be on this bus right now. We’re in the same grade. Also, she’s not even in band. Why in the world would she be on this trip with us?”

Neil ignores Eva’s quips at him. “Well then, how about Traci?”

“I think this whole thing was started after Traci left middle school, so… no.”

Neil sighs loudly, and slumps himself down in his chair. “Then your mom lied to you.”

“Don’t call my mom a liar!”

“Besides, my parents didn’t bother to entice this summer camp to me. They knew it wasn’t going to be that great- they just signed me up for it and shipped me off.” Neil looks down at his feet. “I think my dad just wanted me out of the house.”

Eva looks at him, not knowing what to say next. Neil’s home life had always been a touchy subject with him. Anytime she’d try to bring it up, Neil would immediately shut down or try to change the subject with a joke. She never knew what to say when he brought it up.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Neil still slumped in his seat, looking at his feet, and Eva had busied herself looking out the window. The dark green trees outside had gotten more and more abundant, and the amount of commercial buildings outside had decreased. It was obvious that they were getting closer to wherever this summer camp was.

“We don’t even get to go swimming.”

Eva looks over at Neil in surprise, not having expected him to start up a conversation again. He’s still looking at the ground.

“Well, this place is called Byrock Lake. It literally has the name lake in the title, and we don’t even get to swim in it?” Neil glances up at Eva, as he starts going on another tangent. “I mean, I think it’s the least that they could do. It’s going to be way too hot there.”

Eva smiles, glad he’s back to his normal self, not dwelling on his life at home. “Maybe you could sneak into the lake to go swimming. I wouldn’t put it past you.”

Neil looks at Eva, and smiles. “Yeah, maybe I will.”

She looks taken aback at Neil’s response. “Neil, I was- I’m joking. Don’t do that. You could get kicked out.”

Neil rolled his eyes. “Oh no, I could get kicked out? Of this lousy summer camp which is one of the last places I want to be this summer? Oh, how horrible. I can’t even imagine.”

Eva was about to say something about how angry his parents might get if they got a call saying that Neil had gotten kicked out of Byrock Lake Summer Camp for trying to swim in the lake, but decided against it. She didn’t want to bring up his parents for no reason. She decides to just elbow Neil for his sarcasm, and Neil laughs.

A teacher at the front of the bus stands up, and all the kids instantly go quiet, including Neil. As much as he might talk about breaking the rules, he’s too straight laced to ever actually do it. As all the students direct their attention at the teacher, he starts talking.

“Alright, kids, we are approaching Byrock Lake Summer Camp. Please make sure to exit the bus as quickly as possible, and grab all of your belongings from your compartments. The school is not responsible for any items lost because you left it on the bus. As soon as we are all ready to go, your group leaders will take you to your cabins so you all can set up. Feel free to ask your group leaders for instructions afterwards.” He takes a quick scan over all the students once he had finished, and then turns around to sit in his seat again. All the kids start talking again, and Neil groans in his seat.

“Man, I can’t believe I got Mr. Castells as my group leader,” Neil pouts, talking about the scary-looking man who had talked just a few seconds ago. “You got Mrs. Noel! You are so lucky, Eva. She’s so nice. I wish I had gotten her.”

“Well, I don’t think it would make any sense for a girl group leader to stay with the boys.”

“Eva, I wasn’t being serious.” He says, turning around again to face her. “I just meant… man, I wish I had gotten anyone but Mr. Castells.” Eva laughs. “Better not say that too loudly or he might hear you. You wouldn’t want him to take away your GameBoy, would you?”

“Eva! I told you to be quiet about that!” Neil says flusteredly, through clenched teeth, as Eva laughs.

The bus then quickly slams on the breaks and almost every kid hits their head on the seat in front of them. Neil, due to the fact he was sitting sideways, was slammed forward and fell into the tiny space in between his seat and the seat in front of him. Eva busted out laughing at seeing her friend stuck haphazardly in a small space. His face turned red from embarrassment, and quickly picked himself up out of the space as the other band members started leaving the bus, Eva still laughing at Neil’s mistake. Neil mumbles to her to knock it off, too embarrassed to say anything comprehensible to her.

“Alright, smooth guy, get a move on,” Eva manages to say in between fits of laughter. Neil quickly stands up, not looking at Eva, and they make their way off the bus, making sure to mumble a quick ‘thank you’ to the bus driver so that Mr. Castells doesn’t yell at them.

Once they get off and grab their duffel bags from under the bus, the bus driver quickly speeds off back onto the road, leaving all the kids behind. Neil sighs beside Eva. “Man, this is horrible already and I haven’t even been here for a minute yet.” He glances at Eva, and then spins around to follow the rest of the group. As Eva joins him, she can’t deny that she thinks he’s right. She can already feel herself start to get sweaty due to the immense heat in the area, and she can hear the cacophony of buzzing mosquitoes in the surrounding area.

“Oh, and another thing!” Neil angrily says to Eva, as she catches up and starts walking besides him. “The boy’s cabin is at the top of the hill! I have to lug this whole duffel bag up a hill, are you kidding me? You have it so easy. Your cabins are at the bottom of the hill.” Eva giggles at Neil’s exuberant manner of complaining. “Oh, get over it. I think you’re gonna be fine.”

“That’s what you think,” Neil says. He starts acting as though his bag is weighing down on him, and he’s struggling to carry it. “Oh, Eva, I don’t think… I can make it… this might be the end for me… this duffel bag is just way too heavy to carry up a hill…” Neil says, speaking as though he were a tired, old man, which makes Eva start laughing. Neil lights up when he sees that Eva finds his shenanigans funny. She turns to Neil, eyes twinkling. “Alright, old man, hurry up. I don’t want to get left behind by the group.”

Eva turns around and starts walking, smiling as she hears Neil yell, ‘Hey!’ behind her, and his footsteps running to catch up with her.

* * *

Sat down at one of the cheap tables the camp had bought for it’s barely air-conditioned dining area, Eva had been eating her dinner in a plastic tray, sat down with her other band friends. She kept quickly scanning the dining hall, wondering where her best friend had gone off to. She didn’t think that he’d just sit without her, but it was definitely worrying her as an option.

Her fears were quickly put to rest when she saw a quick movement to the left of her and the loud clack of a plastic tray being set down. She looked over, and saw Neil quickly taking a seat next to her. The other people at the table glanced over him, but quickly turned back to their own private conversation.

“Neil? Where were you? I was worried you sat down without me.”

He turns to look at Eva and puts on his mushiest voice that he can muster. “Aww, Evie, did you miss me? How sweet!” Eva immediately rolls her eyes. “Nevermind. I take that back. I wish you had sat somewhere else without me.” Neil fake pouts at Eva, which draws out a small smile from her. Neil, satisfied, moves the conversation forward.

“So… you don’t wanna know where I was?”

“I literally asked you where you were when you sat down.”

“Oh. Well, I wasn’t listening.” Eva sighs at him, and Neil continues. “I was playing my GameBoy!” He shows her his GameBoy discreetly under the table, where he was holding it, showing a Pokemon battle screen.

Eva looks at him with a deadpan face. “That’s really what you were doing instead of coming to the dining hall?”

“Yes, Eva,” he says, pressing the yes as though it was obvious that this was the most important thing in the world. “Anyway… I need to ask you something,” Neil says, as he shoves the GameBoy into one of his pant pockets. Eva looked at him cautiously. “Well, when you phrase it like that, I don’t know if I want you to ask it.” Neil waves his hand in a dismissive way in front of her face. “No! It’s nothing bad. It’s just… I want you to stay up kind of late in your cabin tonight. I wanna show you something.”

“That’s not a question.”

Neil lets out a drawn out groan. “God, Eva, just- will you stay up late in your cabin tonight for me? I would like to show you something.”

Eva smiles and crosses her arms confidently. “Thank you. And… I don’t know. Won’t you get caught? Because you’re sneaking out of your cabin, yeah?”

Neil rolls his eyes. “Pssh. I’m not scared of getting caught.” Eva glares at him with this obvious lie. Neil pretends like he didn’t see. “I’m not in the cabin with Mr. Castells, so I’m gonna be fine.” A whistle blares near the entrance to the dining area, and all the students look over to see their group leaders standing by the door. Mr. Castells starts waving the students over, and most of the kids start standing up to leave. Eva and Neil stand up with the rest of the kids, heading over to their respective leaders.

“Just, promise me you’ll be up, okay?” Neil says hurriedly, as he starts walking towards Mr. Castells.

“Uh, yeah, Neil, I’ll try,” Eva responds, and then turns around to get into the line in front of Mrs. Noel. She turns to the other line where Neil is, and he gives her a thumbs up before they start walking in different directions towards their cabins.

* * *

Sure enough, at around midnight, Eva hears a knocking on her cabin window. She quickly jumps, having just been starting to doze off. She was starting to think that Neil had been joking about meeting her at her cabin, or maybe he ended up chickening out. But sure enough, when she looked outside the window, she saw her thick-rimmed glassed, light brown haired friend staring at her through the other side. Eva stares at him, astonished. Neil simply waves back at her with a toothy grin. He then waves the universal gesture for ‘come forward’.

Eva leans closer towards the window, and Neil puts his head on his forehead and shakes his head, obviously sighing. He then leans towards the window and points to the direction of where the door is. Eva then understands- Neil was trying to get her to come outside.

She quickly throws on a jacket over her clothes- even though the days might be sweltering, the nights can feel like they’re freezing- and tiptoes outside as to not wake any of the others. Once she gets to the door with little to no noise, she makes her way to where Neil was standing. When he sees Eva, he cocks his head to the side. “Eva. You thought that gesture was ‘get closer’, and not ‘come outside’? Really?” Neil says, in a hushed whisper so that no one inside of the cabin can hear them. Eva looks downwards, embarrassed. “I didn’t know what you were trying to insinuate! You weren’t saying any words, it was kind of difficult for me!” Eva responds, in the same whisper as Neil. “Besides, I can always just go back into my cabin.” Neil’s eyes widen at this threat. “No no no! Don’t do that. Please, this is important to me.” Neil gives her puppy dog eyes when he says this, and Eva just laughs and rolls her eyes.

“Okay, show it to me.”

Neil looks at her, one eyebrow raised. “What?”

“You said you wanted to show me something. Where is it?”

“You’re going to have to follow me to come see it.”

“Wait, what?” Eva said, a little too loudly, which was quickly followed by a shush from Neil. Eva starts again, now in a whisper. “You don’t have it with you?”

Neil sighed. “It’s not really a thing I can just carry with me, Eva.”

“Okay, well how are we supposed to walk around in the dead of night?”

Neil flashed his toothy grin as he held up an incredibly bulky flashlight. “I came prepared. Come on, Eva. How’d you think I got down here?”

Eva gave up, and let Neil win the conversation. “Fine, okay. Lead the way.” Neil smiled at her, stepped onto the dirt road in front of the cabin, and once they were a safe distance away from the cluster of cabins, they turned on the flashlight.

* * *

The area they were walking seemed even darker than it would’ve been originally. The surrounding brush around them was so dense, and the trees around them so tall, that they could not even see the sky. There wasn’t even a star to light up where they were walking.

Eva started shivering next to Neil. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Absolutely positive,” Neil responds confidently. This does not help Eva’s fears in the slightest, as Neil has told her this multiple times in the course of their friendship, almost every time having him totally and utterly confused as to what he was actually doing.

Eva glances at him, not trusting him even a little bit, but finds Neil facing forward and marching towards their destination with an aura of confidence around him. Eva looks forward, too, doubting her earlier suspicions about Neil having no clue where he was leading them.

The two of them continue on their way, Neil still smiling, obviously excited for their end goal and Eva, next to him, shivering in the cold forest. Eva side eyes him as they make their way down this dirt trail, the only light source they have a small, bulky flashlight. She tries to start conversation, so that she doesn’t have to walk through a dark forest in dead silence.

“This place better be good,” Eva says, half joking, trying to get a reaction out of her friend. He chuckles and glances over at her.

“Oh, trust me, it’s pretty great.”

“Good enough to get caught and kicked out of a summer camp for?”

Even though Eva can’t quite make out Neil’s movements in the dark, she can assume that he rolled his eyes at her remark. “Eva, please, you need to stop worrying about that so much. I know your mom would have a hissy-fit, but I’m sure she’ll get over it eventually.” Eva thinks to herself that she wasn’t scared about her parent’s reactions, but Neil’s. He continues his train of thought. “Besides, we aren’t going to get caught. None of these counselors care enough to go out in the middle of the night to go catch some kids.”

“They’re camp leaders. Not counselors. They aren’t getting paid for this,” Eva says, stifling a yawn throughout her sentence.

“I think that just proves my point even further.”

Eva is about to say something else to Neil, trying to keep the conversation going, when she suddenly feels a drop-off and feels like she’s falling through space and time. She looks down and realizes that her foot had only gone down only a few inches than what she had expected. The air around her immediately seems to warm up, and it seems just a little bit lighter than the forest before. She looks around her and realizes that they have exited the forest.

“Hey Eva, watch out, there’s a drop off there,” Neil says with a monotone voice.

“Wow, thanks for the heads up. I really appreciate it,” she replies as Neil snickers.

Neil steps closer towards her, stepping down the drop off with no reaction, unlike Eva before him. “Alright, close your eyes.”

Eva spins around quickly. “What?”

“Just close your eyes!”

“I don’t think I trust you enough to do that.”

Neil sighs. “Eva, come on.”

“How am I going to walk through this place if my eyes are closed?”

“It’s dark enough already that I don’t think you closing your eyes will be much of a difference. Besides, I’ll guide you,” he says, finishing on a note of what felt like true sincerity to Eva. She gives up, sighing, and looks back at Neil. “Promise you won’t do anything bad?”

“Jeez, Eva, do you really not trust me that much?”

Eva glares at him until he answers the question.

“Fine, fine. I promise I won’t do anything weird. Does that make you feel better?”

“It does,” Eva says, smiling, and closes her eyes. She feels Neil grab her forearm. “Alright, I’m just gonna try to lead you. It won’t take that long.”

The next minute or so consists of Eva, blind, wandering through a dirt trail with only Neil to guide her. She trips over rocks and small branches multiple times, and Neil tries to convince her multiple times that this place will truly be great. Even though it didn’t take very long, it felt like an eternity to Eva who had to wander blindly.

“Okay, we’re almost there,” Neil said, still trying to calm Eva’s nerves about where they were headed. “It’s gonna be great. Just… step up a little bit.”

Eva follow’s Neil’s directions and kicks her foot up way high, and her foot hits something, which quickly causing an ‘OW!’ from Neil’s direction.

“Jesus, Eva, not that high! You just kicked my leg,” Neil yells, and it causes Eva to start laughing. “Christ. I’m gonna have a bruise there tomorrow.” Eva keeps laughing at Neil’s exaggerations. “Alright, Eva, this time, only put your foot like a couple inches in the air.”

Neil manages to get the blind Eva up onto the area that he was trying to get her to go. Instantly, Eva can feel the feeling of wood planks beneath her and the soft swaying of the area they were standing on. Eva smiles, taking a guess at where they were located.

Neil continues to grab her forearm, and leads her a couple steps forward, once stepping behind her and positioning her shoulders to face a certain way. Eva continues smiling. “Can I open my eyes now?” She hears footsteps moving beside her, and Neil answers, “Yeah, in just a second, hold on.” Eva looks over to where she expects Neil to be standing, her eyes still closed. “Do I get bonus points if I’m able to guess where we are?”

She hears Neil sigh, a ways behind her. “No. You don’t get bonus points. No guessing.” She hears a few more cautious footsteps, getting quieter, so she can assume Neil is walking away from her. “Okay, Eva, open your eyes!”

When she was finally able to open her eyes, she just expected to see Byrock Lake, but in the dark and she’d barely be able to make out the water. Only part of her prediction was correct.

Yes, she was standing on the pier to the infamous Byrock Lake, but it was so much better than she had imagined. In the sky, the stars were so bright that they looked lighthouses at the far end of the sky. There were more up there than she had ever seen in her entire life. The entire sky looked like someone had taken white paint, and splattered a dark black canvas with as many dots as they could manage. She could only see stars in the sky- the moon that day had been a new moon. Eva took a few moments just collecting in her brain the image of the beautiful starry sky, before she had looked down at the water.

Byrock Lake was reflecting everything that Eva had just seen in the sky. The water was pitch black, but the soft rippling of the water allowed it to easily reflect the starry sky. The stars in the water looked like they were moving and spinning around, like a galaxy over millions and millions of years. Eva gasps out loud and covers her mouth with her hands.

“Oh my god, Neil, this is…” she says, not finding a word to describe what she sees before her.”

“Pretty great, huh?” he says, walking up from behind and then taking his place to the left of her. “I knew that you would like it.” He looks over at Eva, who’s still entranced by all the beautiful stars in the sky and the ones that looked like they’re trapped in the water.

Eva takes off her long sleeved jacket- it had gotten warmer when they had exited the forest- and is left in her Byrock Lake Summer Camp t-shirt that all the students were directed to wear on their first day. Eva sets down her jacket, and makes her way closer to the edge of the pier, Neil still watching her movements. She kneels down at the edge of the wooden dock, and placed her hand on top of the water, touching the stars from above. The water feels warm as she plunges her hand into the lake. Her hand quickly seems to disappear, due to how black the water is, and more shining stars take the place of where her hand used to be.

Neil eventually walks over to where Eva is kneeling, and continues to stand as she looks into the dark abyss. “It looks like a liquid galaxy,” Eva says, moving her hand around in the water, disturbing the surrounding area of stars. Neil laughs. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way you could put it.” He continues to stare at Eva for a few minutes, before rolling up the hem of his pants and taking off his shoes, setting them on the dock. Eva looks up at him. “What are you doing?” she asks, but gets no response as Neil sits down at the edge of the dock, legs leaning off which go into the warm water. Neil puts his hands behind him, holding him up, saying nothing. Eva quickly realizes what he was doing, and does the same. Soon enough, they’re both sitting at the end of the dock, looking out on a sea of stars.

“How did you know about this place?” Eva asks, looking over to her left, still seeing Neil staring off into the distance. He smiles. “My grandpa took me here once.”

Eva stares at him, eyebrow raised. “On the whole bus ride up you were non-stop complaining about this place.” Neil laughs. “Yeah, well, when I went with my grandpa it was just us. I didn’t have to go along with a hundred kids that I barely know and eat sub-par food for two weeks.” Eva looks back at the water, internally agreeing with him.

“We always loved to go stargazing. We’d try to go to many different places to see a different view.” Neil laughs. “Well, the stars don’t look all that different, but the different environments surrounding you can always be a fun change.” Neil looks over at Eva, who is now the one still staring out onto the lake. “I sat on this dock for hours when I saw all of this. Amazing how much of the sky is covered up by pollution, huh?” Eva voices her agreement.

They sit there on the edge of the lake for a little while, Eva swinging her legs, messing with the ripples in the water, and Neil seeming perfectly content with not moving at all. Eventually, Neil speaks up, a smile on his face. “Hey, Eva?” She doesn’t look up at him, still to entranced by the sky above and in front of her. “Yeah?”

Before she even has a chance to fight back, she feels a pair of hands on her back, pushing her forward. “Wait, wait, wait- NEIL!” Eva yells quickly, just before she’s pushed tumbling into the lake in front of her. She quickly swims up back to the surface, wiping the wet hair out of her eyes and spitting out water that she accidentally inhaled. “NEIL WATTS, I SWEAR TO GOD-” Eva starts to yell, but when she looks up, she can see Neil setting down his glasses and backing up to the end of the dock. He starts running full speed towards the lake. Eva’s eyes widen.

“Neil, no, I swear, if you splash me I will-” Eva starts, but not before Neil yells excitedly, jumps off the end of the dock as far as he can, and splashes in only a few feet away from where Eva was swimming. Eva immediately wipes the hair out of her eyes again, and opens them to see Neil Watts swimming beside her, a wide toothy grin on his face and his hair, usually combed right down the middle, all swept back by the water.

“I hate you. So much,” Eva says through gritted teeth, glaring at Neil who was still smiling at her. “Oh, come on, Eva, that was fun!” He glances at her, a little worry showing on his face. “You’re not gonna get out, are you?” Eva smiles a little bit at how worried Neil got. “Well, the damage is already done, I guess,” she says, with a fake melodramaticism in her voice.

Neil looks at her, surprised by her answer, and grins widely.

Eva smiles back.

#lmao this one is....... long........#to the moon #finding paradise #rosawatts #neil watts #eva rosalene #my writing #i know this one wasnt very shippy but i hope yall liked it anyway!!

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smokeybrand · 4 years ago

Text

Into the Wild

When i was a kid in the 6th grade, we went on a field trip to Sly Park. It was one of those overnight, weekend, excursions into nature for hands-on learning. Being a poor ass black kid from the ghetto, this weekend trip was the closest thing to summer camp I'd ever experience. I hated it. I hated every f*cking minute of it. I'm not an outdoorsy kind of guy. I don't know I you know this about me, but I'm a little bit anti-social and a lot bit anti-nature. I hate fishing. I hate camping. I hate hiking. I hate hunting. I hate pooping in the raw. If there's no indoor plumbing or PlayStation, I don't want anything to do with it. I don't care for any of that. Also Bigfoots. These are my experiences trapped for three days, in my personal hell.

Sly Park is in the mountains of California. We all had to pile on a bus at, like 9 am and drive for three hours to this desolate as place in the middle of an old growth forest up there. It was cougar country. I know that for a fact because, when we got there, we had to sit on the bus for an extra hour while the sheriffs hunted down and shot one in the f*cking face. That was day one, hour zero. We hadn't even made it to orientation yet and mountain lion murder. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

That night, we shuffle into our cabins and choose bunk-mates or whatever. It was weird because there were f*cking sixteen-year-olds in charge of us. Who does that? Where the f*ck were the actual adults? I don't know if you know this about boys but, if you gt a bunch of us together, we kind of devolve into this Mad Max-esque, might is right, violence based society. Anyway, it was a bunch of dudes in this cabin running around playing grab ass and punch out. It was the gayest sh*t ever and I was done with it before it started. If you're going to tease a dude for wearing tight-whiteys, I feel like you got some sh*t to work out, yourself. I just sat in my bunk, drowning out the noise with the tacit tones of Az Yet and No Doubt, on my off-brand Walkman,.

Eventually, when it was time for lights out, the teenage overlords of our little lord of the flies troupe, told us not to the leave the cabin for the girl's hut or whatever because of the wild animals. No sh*t, dude. We all watched a mountain lion get it's sh*t pushed in the second we pulled up this morning. I didn't plan to go outside during the day, let alone at night when I can't even see sh*t. The f*ck is you saying? And, as if to drive my int home, our cabin got swarmed by bats that night. N*gga, wat.

You had to do some sh*t for learning or something because this was an educational trip, That we had to pay to go on. School had us hustle candy bars for a seat on that bus, it as ridiculous. I sold three boxes, pocketed the money for two, turned in the one, and was on my way. Each day was broken up into activities. I only remember two. The first was shelter building. These motherf*ckers broke us up into groups, led us into the f*cking bush, and told us to build a shelter with what we could find. I'm 11. I'm not a farmer. N*gga, i was just doing math worksheets, the f*ck you mean build a cabin? Need I remind you that, not only was there a wild ass cougar at your front door, yesterday, it had to be killed before we could even get of the bus and you got us out here exposed, in that motherf*ckers territory, talking about tepees and sh*t? Word? There were three of us in my group and we ended up just leaning a bunch of sticks on the side of a broken tree. Our shelter was whack, yo. We just wanted this sh*t to be over and back in a place with doors and deadbolts. The counselor tried to clown our effort but we were like, "N*gga we don't camp. We ain't survivalist. We sixth graders, you prick! Motherf*ckers is just trying to grasp integers and exponents, not f*cking brick work.”

Since everyone sucked at shelter building, we had to take the long hike back. That was an option that the asshole in charge decided to inflict upon us, literal children, because we're not f*cking carpenters. Tacked on an extra hour so we only had, like five minutes for lunch. It was f*cked up. The food was the only thing i liked about that place. I have an affinity for sh*tty food and it doesn't get much more sh*tty than school lunch. I miss crispitos and those round pizzas with the four pepperonis. And chocolate milk. I f*cking loved those Crystal chocolate milks. They had these catfish nuggets that were dope and unlimited chocolate milk. I was f*cking that milk up, man. They also had bomb ass cornbread and pancakes. Sh*t made me mad we couldn't get that mess at school.

The second activity was the killer hike. Now, this thing was infamous. It's infamy had been drilled into our heads for our entire elementary careers. Sh*t was seven miles, one way, downhill. It was f*cking treacherous. A dude i knew actually fell of the side around mile two. Half of it was like traversing this narrow path with sheer drops into manzanita and death, on either side. He was saved before plummeting to his oblivion, but he lost a Jordan to the cruel nature gods. Dude had gone out the day before so that sh*t made it back to us quick. We spent the entire night before trying to figure out how to get out of this bullsh*t. We didn't come up with any ideas. We resolved ourselves to death. That morning, we all lined up where they killed that cougar, and the counselors hyped everyone up with the promise of a surprise at the end of the hike. All of a sudden everyone was super hype to go on nightmare march. F*cking surprise better be incredible. It already cost one Jordan XI.

I walk this seven f*cking miles, looking at my idiot classmates and peers enjoying themselves, and I'm just straight up visibly morose. Like, quietly, aggressively, seething. Someone asks me what the f*ck was my problem and i ask him how does he think we're getting back to camp? I could see the gears in his brain clicking, slowly putting the sh*t together. Dude got wide eyed and immediately got as morose as i was. We had to walk that seven miles back, all f*cking uphill. No one had put that together. These f*cking idiots were running downhill, talking about surprise this and surprise that, and I'm just like, "Yeah, stupid, you're gonna get a surprise alright."

So we get to the end of this hike and the surprise is; a waterfall. It was a waterfall and a little stream with kind of a mild current. Everyone was like, the f*ck? The counselors tell us we can swim and the entire f*cking class jumps in. I'm just standing there, hot. Counselor looks over and says, "What's the matter? you don't want to get wet?" No, b*tch, i can't swim. I just walked seven whole ass miles, in this California summer heat, just to WATCH someone else, have fun in the water. AND we still have the seven mile trek back, all uphill. F*ck, you! While everyone is splashing about, the counselors tell us there's gold in the stream and everyone starts looking. I can't, because of the drowning, so I just have to watch everyone engage in a literal treasure hunt. A girl I know finds an actual gold nugget. She took the deep dive and came up with the booty. We later found out it was worth about six hundred dollars in 1996 money. Bro, I blew a f*cking gasket.

I don't really remember what else happened, it was like twenty-five years ago, but I do remember having a bad time. It was the worst, for all of the reasons. Cougar murder, all of these unnecessary hikes, incredibly minimal interaction with the girls during the day, stupid boy hierarchy during the night; It's just counter intuitive to everything that I'm about. I don't know how kids do summer camp. I was only out there in a facsimile of that sh*t for three days and couldn't get on the bus home fast enough.

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jacks-tracks · 5 years ago

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Saigon

The 13 hour bus ride was actually 16 hours long, leaving on time at 11 pm, and crossing Cambodia in the night. Probably safer in the dark as headlights showed the oncoming traffic, and the day time fleets of motorcycles all went home. The “flat” seats were reclined to 30 degrees, padded, and made for people 5 feet tall. My feet slid under the seat in front everytime the bus braked, and I would weasel my way back up the incline, drop off to sleep again, and awake with the next slide. And it was not a through bus, but stopped in Phnom Pen to change to a day bus, and load a bunch more people. Both buses were spacious, double seats on one side, single the other, with the night bus double decked by bunk beds. Little blankets, bottle of water, a tasteless bun.. luxury! 3 hour layover in PP, totally boring like all bus stations, trying to stay awake to guard bags, despite having taken a “U Dream herbal pill”. More flat land, more overcrowding, one hell of a lot of rice. We did cross the mighty Mekong river, as wide as the Fraser but slower and muddier. The Vietnam border was better organized, only 1 hour to process all the passengers. And so into Saigon (aka Ho Chi MInh city) at 5 pm. Endless urban sprawl, but we left behind the drifts and mounds of plastic, all kept clean here. I even recognized some of the places from last trip, but soon swept past them to a new area closer to the river where the bus stopped curbside and dumped us all on the sidewalk. Yes Saigon has sidewalks, not all filled with pushcarts and vendors. Indeed some walkways were 20 feet wide and posed an impossible temptation to the motorcyclists, who simply jumped the curb and barreled along the cement. Bit brain dead, but I changed some money at a dealer, and found the bus office had a travel agent. Now most travel agents are hacks who sell packages and tours. This fellow actually knew how to book buses and planes, spoke good English, and spent an hour getting my ongoing tickets. Absolutely no train seats, and all the buses were full, no tickets at all. Against my principles I had to buy a plane ticket to Quoy Nhon. Got my cheap red eye flight to Manila in February, and a train sleeper ticket from Hue to Saigon at the end of this run26 hours but lower berth with a window. So I do get a train ride after all. My own efforts to buy tickets were stymied by having no printer to produce a pass, and no phone to show the ticket on. I am the last person in Asia to not have a phone, and for tickets and pictures it would have been a good choice.

Saigon is safe but the sex trade is hot. Next to the agents stand five scantily clad women had blocked the sidewalk and were literally grabbing passing men. No takers while I was there, it was early, but the travel agent assured me that sitting there long enough he saw everything possible happen on the street. I’ve been hit on by some girlyboys, and called to by dozens of massage girls, nearly walked into a place falsely labelled a barber shop( the lady barbers were in night wear), and seen some blatent come ons. I do not approve of sex for sale, degrading women. It’s quite normal here with women fromfarm villages coming to town for couple of years to put kids through school and support familys. Laughable to see middle aged white guys with 20 something girls holding hands as they amble along, he with a blissful smile, her checking her phone on the off side lining up the next pigeon.

Taxied to my hotel ( the agent got me a “Grab Car”) Asian version of Uber, and could not find the correct Soi(alley) but I got out a hoofed till I found the entrance, a little paved path between buildings, lined with closed shops, and tiny hotels. Mine had a code lock door, no staff, and a coded lock box for the room key. Lovely little room, maybe the nicest yet. AC, hot shower, big window on second floor, very quiet, TV, fridge and nice queen size bed, all for $14 US. A brief excursion back to the street got me a french roll filled with chicken salad, and so to bed, exhausted. My plans to tour the parks the next day were overeaching. I did find a cart on the street selling Pho, that delicious chicken soup, noodles sprouts and cilantro slurped on a tiny stool right on the sidewalk. The couple selling the Pho did a terrific business with office workers lining up for take out, motocyclists driving up to get soup in a bag, and what I thought were dozens of flashily uniformed security guards, who actually were the guys who park the motorcycles in 3 deep packed rows outside the businesses, for a parking fee of course. I wanted a hait trim but the shop across the alley from my hotel was permanently busy and the “barber shop” was selling more than a trim. After a lunch baguette I found a legitimate salon and got my split ends nipped off. I bought some takeaway for the next days travel, wandered the side streets, overarched with big leafy trees, and got lost in a maze of alleys. My internal compass works and I found the Main drag in a bit. Seemed a short day, still sleep deprived, so early night.

More Pho in the morning(repeat customer gets bigger bowl, still $1.50), the packed (crammed ) my packs and taxied to the airport 3 hours early. Did I say that everyone in Vietnam goes home fotr Tet? Well half of them were at that airport! One hour toget checked in, through surging crowds, pushing grannies, and squealing children. My flight gate got changed 3 times, was 1 hour late, and surprisingly I and My bags mad it to Quy Nhon. As I’d hoped there was a shuttle the 20K to town, and a toothless pirate on a cla

pped out Honda bike rocketed me to my destination. We nearly got blown off the longest bridge in Vietnam, gale force winds, coughed into the gas station on fumes ( I paid for the gas) and thanks to good online directions found the beach here.

This really is the little fishing village at the end of the road, maybe 6 tourists in a town of 500. The hotel is right on the beach, almost no English spoken, but plenty of goodwill. I have a 16 bed dorm to myself ($5) hot water, AC,power at my reading light, and after 9 just the sound of the surf. AHHH! So for 2 days i have been eating delicious seafood, piles of tropical fruit, and doing my onward trip planning. With Tet this weekend all stops, so I will lay over till next week. The staff invited me to a cermony here. Table laden with food, offerings and joss sticks. The all women staff brought in a guy to do the service, and he burnt the paper money, old bills, and joss sticks.Poured oil and high test booze on the flames(in a bucket), whoosh away goes the old, and room is made for the new and good fortune. A brief prayer, and we ate the food(practical). I thanked them profusely for including me.

My twice daily beach walk collects a string of little kids, and saying Hello. We trade names, giggle and carry on. Even the dogs are friendly. Of course I say hello to everyone who will meet my eye, and try my fractured Vietnamese. Hilarity. Caused a stir when I went to the morning market and bought fruit and veg for the layover. Shy women, cheap food, good variety. I even found little packagesof yogurt! So all’s well, Beach time....

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tinypeanutmentality · 7 years ago

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Nowy Targ or New Market is the largest as well as oldest community in the Podhale Area. Including 798,319 getaway rentals 120,038 locations in 225 countries and regions. It's reorganized right into distinctive areas that make it simpler to discover details kinds of tales. The bus vehicle driver with the longest job in the world owned greater than 2,000,000 miles as well as is a delighted World Record holder. Choice eligibles with a 10 percent or even more special needs are placed on top of the listing, as well as thus achieve the highest possible ranks. Lorsque cette fonctionnalité est activée, une vidéo issue des recommendations est automatiquement lancée à la collection de la lecture en cours. Banter on wszechstronny i uniwersalny, a jego specjalnością jest nie specjalizowanie się. Near the church, in the town it is additionally a restaurant, as well as takes its pizza place. Exec Order 13562 Recruiting and Hiring Students and also Recent Graduates dated December 27, 2010, authorized two brand-new excepted solution employing authorities and also consolidated them with a modified Presidential Monitoring Fellows Program to develop the Pathways Programs for pupils as well as recent grads. You could rent out a nice house in the hills, which is brand new as well as smelling fresh. Oferta jest dedykowana dla dwóch osób np. pary bądź przyjaciół, które chcą pochodzić po górach i komfortowo wypocząć po całodziennych eskapadach. Dr Bob Page discovered this treeatment while creating his NEOPAR PARVO vaccination. It is abundant in meat, especially beef, chicken and pork (depending on the area) and also winter veggies (cabbage in the dish bigos), as well as flavors. They just uploaded a 360 excursion of one of their lesser-known parks, and also the scenic tour is comprehensive enough to allow you get away with acting you have actually been there. The trainees could appreciate gorgeous views while checking out the institution windows. Enter your e-mail address as well as we'll resend your verification. Anna's hill hut is one of one of the most stunning locations we have actually remained! This provides the visitor with several possibilities for experience as well as various tasks, whether you delight in the mountains, lakes, rivers or the beaches you will certainly locate something that suits you. They give my brother a knighthood - honor him - and can not even offer me an instagram account. The village already from next year will certainly lead cycling course around the Tatras, which can be gotten to on Slovakia. They were identified throughout the 5th yearly Saint Mary's Follies at the Bayfront Convention Center. Beloved individuals, we are pleased to invite you to our new site. A rally was held Thursday with lobbyist demanding justice for a little girl located dead in her own residence last April in the far southwest suburban areas. Kelly is instilling procedures to make certain that the president has the information as well as evaluation he has to choose," claimed White Home press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Cisza spokój a jednocześnie Swoboda mieszkania wraz z pięknym widokiem na góry. Authorities say Green eliminated his daughters, Koi, 5, and Kaleigh, 4, last September by carbon monoxide gas poisoning by leaving them in an auto with the engine running. You'll see Top Stories, Trending Stories, Included Stories, topics you have an interest in, and also a lot more. Jamestown, New York Police Department's function location will stay closed until further notification because of Thursday morning's flooding, it introduced Friday. He is also reworking exactly what were as soon as free-flowing White Residence conferences. Please note that e-mail distribution might take up to 10 minutes. Individuals in this region are particularly renowned for their oscypek, a cheese made from a mix of cow's and sheep's milk, their music, and their ski inclines. Such best location of our premises and also its small cost make the tourists willingly choose it rather than villas in jampacked Zakopane. Among those difficulties is right here in Erie Area. Equifax claimed Friday that its leading information and also protection execs were retiring, efficient promptly as the company reels from its disclosure last week that it endured a substantial data breach possibly affecting 143 million people in the U.S. Zawsze miły w rozmowie, dagadujacy sie, nawet jak zgubiłem się, bardzo szybko wskazał mi właściwą drogę. KAYAK belongs to The Priceline Group, the globe leader in on-line travel & associated solutions. An Erie guy accuseded of shooting an additional man during an argument, will now encounter trial. News is designed to be lovely to look at as well as simple to utilize. Anna and also her partner are really hospitable hosts and also aided us out a whole lot. Muszę powiedzieć ze to jeden z najładniejszych/ najczystszych/najprzyjemniejszych miejsc z pokojami do wynajęcia od Nowego Targu do Zakopanego. This is the resources of the region, and also host to a dynamic market each Thursday. Next off, the assaulter gets the device's MAC address, which is an one-of-a-kind identifier of that particular gadget. What ever museum you run, you could advertise it on Nowy Targ Travel as well as Tourist Guide at no cost. Both news media and public can discover crucial information about updates, signals as well as occasions that impact lawful immigration. Discover how your regular monthly credit card repayment behaviors might be influencing your credit rating - in means you could not know. When you place 5+ Acca's, with the Acca Jacker all 10Bet Consumers can obtain a 10% -60% Acca Reward! Hefty Russian assaults reported after rebels attempt to block Syrian government quote to take back critical border going across. Gromada Zuchow 'Biedronki' - ladies and also children 7-11 years. An abnormally large quantity of basin background information was obtained by incorporating the illite-smectite data from wells as well as from the present erosional surface area of the container. No. When approving applications for Pathways placements for which they are conducting recruitment, agencies need to give public notification (using USAJOBS and/or information on the company's site). Bor na Czerwonem - a reserve in Nowy Targ where the secured Drosera rotundifolia, Mountain Pine as well as Black Grouch grow. Polish food (Polish: kuchnia polska) is a design of food preparation as well as food preparation originating from Poland. OPM will certainly alert the company as well as the handicapped expert of its decision, with which the firm needs to abide. Literally environment-friendly and referring to two songs utilized FALSE:: ERROR: UNSUPPORTED ENCODING mountains. The community is not an important location to see, however it supplies a home window into the transforming world of Polish culture. The cottage is 2.5 km offroad as well as only a skilled podhale chauffeur and an equipped cars and truck might get there in the snow so we left our car at Pawel's house and also he drove us to the cottage. Nonetheless, the working with firm has to make sure that all such criteria are specified in the agency's Pathways MOU with OPM, the task possibility news, as well as the participant contract. Podhale belongs of the historic district of Lesser Poland ( Małopolska) with its resources in the Royal city of CRACOW. Here on SofaScore livescore you can locate all MKS Cracovia Krakow vs MMKS Podhale previous results arranged by their H2H suits. Have a critical employment technique based on labor force preparation for loading Pathways placements. Partager sur Facebook Tweeter Google+ 31 partages. Its folklore was brought there primarily by Polish settlers from the Lesser Poland area further north and also partially by Transylvanian settlers in the 14th-17th centuries throughout their migrations. We'll make use of the exact same guidelines and also requirements for all user-generated web content, as well as for the home reactions to that content. Systems papers have to be severe concerning experimentation either on actual systems or simulations based upon traces from actual systems. Greater than 1 million individuals last month claimed they 'd recommend to their family and friends. An Intern NTE resembles a momentary employee as well as is not qualified for a promotion. Literally hill optimal or ridge tune from Podhale, Poland. Inscrivez-vous, restez connecté à vos centres d'intérêts, et recevez des mises à jour en temps réel. MKS Cracovia Krakow MMKS Podhale live score (as well as video online live stream) starts on 17.9.2017. Any such settings should be determined in the firm's Pathways MOU, and described on the Pathways Individual arrangement. He included that this venture is various from Facebook's initial material play because Snapchat is mobile just. The last regulation intends to boost hiring initiatives, offer clear paths to Federal internships for trainees from secondary school via post-graduate institution as well as to occupations for current graduates, and to provide purposeful training as well as career growth chances for people who are at the beginning of their Federal solution. In addition, because the Bluetooth process has high opportunities on all operating systems, exploiting it gives virtually full control over the device. Like many cities and towns Bristol will certainly have some significant issues that require addressing - a couple of outside doormats is not one of them, or something on which to fritter the neighborhood taxpayers' cash. Ruszamy z nowymi promocjami na bilet poranny i wieczorny. Zajęcia prowadzone w celu polepszenia ruchomości, mobilności i elastyczności mięśni, więzadeł i stawów oraz zwiększania możliwości ciała. Suivez plus de comptes put accéder aux dernières actualités qui vous intéressent. Nowa Biała to jedyna spiska wieś na lewym brzegu rzeki Białki, a ta według geografów wyznacza granicę między Podhalem a Spiszem. This will certainly permit you making one of the most of your account with customization, plus obtain access to commenting devices, unique games, the possibility to win amazing football rewards and much, a lot more. An excellent base for company journeys to numerous interesting areas. I attach great significance to deal with nature and ecological way of living and also healthy eating. In the semifinals Cracovia won 3-0 versus GKS Jastrzębie while Nowy Tag advanced defeating 5-3 champ GKS Tychy. CIĄGLE ZMIENIANY TRENING, WYKONYWANY NA WYSOKIEJ INTENSYWNOŚCI Z WYKORZYSTANIEM RUCHÓW FUNKCJONALNYCH. The popular weather condition application and also information money making firm Reveal have actually issued a joint declaration after safety scientist Will Strafach found proof that AccuWeather was still sharing Wi-Fi MAC address information with Reveal even after users opted out of sharing place information by means of the application. Selon les premières constatations, les trois affaires n'ont aucun lien entre elles. Dameyon Massey, 19, was arraigned Tuesday morning and required to jail on $100,000 bond. Maintain you from opening up a new account, making an application for a work, renting a house, or getting insurance coverage. Register now to begin obtaining breaking news notifies on your desktop computer. The paints were developed by the Young Poland landscape musicians: Leon Wyczółkowski - writer of one of the most gorgeous and also most genuine paintings and prints depicting the Tatra Mountains; Jan Stanisławski, that - captivated by these mountains - repetitively returned to the Tatras and also organized outdoors paint sessions for the pupils of his landscape course", as well as Stanisław Gałek - Stanisławski's student as well as a musician applauding the appeal of the Tatra Mountains, who came from the younger generation. Mr. Zittel had actually worked extensivley Stage and with nationwide excursions. Miami Warm takes an aid from Golden State Warriors to help pets after Irma. We'll have to see and also wait exactly what type of scripted videos Break generates. I like the people and I look forward to seeing Kate and Liz on the routine bases. Those that such as skiing or snowboarding may do so on the slopes in Nowy Targ (Zadział and also Długa Polana Ski Centers), or go to the close-by Bialka Tatrzanska (regarding 15km) or Kluszkowce (concerning 20km). We are continuouslying engage with the White House, federal government regulatory authorities, lawmakers, and courts all over the world relating to the value of safeguarding consumer data and security. There are additionally straight trains to other significant cities of Poland, consisting of Warsaw, Zakopane, Poznan, Gdansk, Katowice, as well as Szczecin. Słowacka defilada zwycięstwa w Zakopanem odbyła się przed gen. Agreement with the instructor was terminated by common arrangement. After getting your freeze request, each credit scores reporting business will send you a verification letter containing an one-of-a-kind PIN (individual identification number) or password. The Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle would serve as a base of operations for a variety of years, while with the efforts of Chester Zwolak and also Alina Kisluk, a 100 acre ranch would certainly be found as well as secured in Franklinville. PMFs assigned from the courses of 2010, 2011, 2012 (appointed by January 24, 2013) are covered by the PMF guidelines in place before the Pathways Programs guidelines.

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annoyingcherryblossomnight-blog1 · 7 years ago

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Breathtaking Australia Holidays

Australia is a student's delight with its engaging surroundings and amazing actions. Increasingly, travel merchandise should provide something other than easy worth for cash to draw tourists pursuing deeper, more satisfying functions. Sydney is among the most stunning Australian cities and in consequence has change into one of many major travel locations in Australia. This large continent which is break up into 6 states and 2 territories covers an area of some 7,617,930 sq. kilometres or 2,941,299 sq. miles. Yet another activity that it's best to do throughout your Australian vacation is to participate in a wine tour. This visa Australia program is geared toward these wanting to dwell in Australia in retirement. Plan you water supply in line with the time and distances you'll journey: an hour should equal a liter of water. Happily, it is attainable to find low-cost two-method airline tickets for the price range conscious vacationer. At all times remain crocodile clever when touring to northern parts of Australia and at all times maintain the previous information in mind to avoid any tragedies or loss of life. Be you a young family, a pair or a busy company traveller, a Casino trip in Australia will exceed your already high expectations with the unparalleled opulence of the Casinos surrounded by the relaxed culture and gorgeous Australian environment. The scenic beauty of the place makes you understand why Australia vacations are so valued and particular. If and when you find yourself already issued a working holiday visa then you can be allowed to remain in Australia for not more than twelve months. As an example, the 'Queensland Coaster Package deal' contains travel between Brisbane and Cairns as well as a number of excursions. Full time students want to show a student ID card. With many waterfalls, vegetation and fauna; the adjoining mountains and National Parks are to not be missed in any respect. Even in case you you are not into journey you can have a wonderful time on a safari, it is secure to exit with these guys they know the best way to take excellent care of you. Don't leave bags unattended in automobiles, public locations or clubs. If you are extraordinarily fortunate, you will attend one of many world-famend operas, or take part in particular backstage excursions. For example, a one-day journey to the Nice Barrier Reef can price 230 AUD whereas a two-night sailing journey around the Whitsunday Islands can price upwards of 540 AUD. Nearly all the Australian casinos have unbelievable encompassing venues allow you to stay in nice accommodation, dine within the improbable eating places, and be entertained by the world class leisure on offer, all beneath the one roof and you might be sure to seek out one thing to titillate your senses 24/7 as a result of Australia just doesn't sleep. There are few destinations on the planet that can combine the thrill of successful big in the Casino with the wonderful shoreline and relaxed environment. These embrace Artwork gallery of NSW, Australian museum, Museum of Sydney etc. The most well-liked and cheapest solution to travel is to drive yourself. That is the place a crocodile would be ready for a chance to assault. However some travellers don't want the trouble of hiring a car. Furthermore with a working holiday visa you possibly can take on temporary employment only and you can not work for more than three months for anybody employer. This city is the primary entry point in Australia for most individuals. Australia has been on the forefront of those developments, and journey travel is now one of many quickest-rising journey market segments in that country. An accident resulting from a non-covered activity isn't going to be paid out for by the insurance coverage firm. Persons carrying cash, vacationers check, 'financial instruments' of $A10 000 or extra in foreign currency should make a declaration with the Customized authorities. That is to just be sure you don't become too established in a single location for the reason that major function of your visit is tourism and never employment. The entire backgrounds are deserts filled with extraordinary places. If you happen to like to savor some good wine, then vacation in Australia will never leave you disillusioned. There's a required number of factors to your VISA software to be accepted and this could range from 100 - 120 dependent of the precise visa kind utilized for. Most will require you to be staying at pre-booked venues which may not be applicable for the coed traveller. A scenic flight tour can fall below journey, cruise and days tours additionally. Australia is the sixth largest country on the earth and most major airlines fly to its a number of cities. The current monetary climate, with many college students having to depend on pupil loans, parental support, holiday jobs or personal savings for their financial fluidity, largely dictates and limits simply what may be achieved in this regard and there are a variety of ploys and methods that are commonly used to make the money go further or, to have a look at it another method, to permit the same money let the coed go further! Spend time talking with your fellow campers to seek out out about any hidden 'gems' they've found on their travels - you will meet people going each instructions. Wear thick soled and long boots when walking around the Australian bush and high grass. Folks from some international locations might even find Australians drive on the 'improper' facet of the highway! Australia is the perfect vacationer vacation spot for all. A on line casino trip in Australia is the proper selection for you next family holiday vacation spot. Different tourism services like day excursions, scenic flights and cruise are just a few to mention to achieve a memorable vacation. Furthermore, you need to don't have any children and your function of visit in Australia should not be for training or financial causes but for journey alone. Your On line casino trip in Australia additionally means when you do not wish to, you by no means have to leave the complex. In order for you adventure this is the place to go, it's nearly as you are within the film. You will have to have a student visa if you wish to examine in Australia for greater than four months. Another state that you ought to go to throughout an Australia holiday is New South Wales. Happily, Australia is an amazing vacation spot for even small price range travelers, corresponding to college students. This means that it's important to comb by as a lot choices as potential in order to give you one of the best flight for you and your family on your vacation to Australia. cheap flights perth to singapore Finest identified Howard Park Wines owned by Burch household. Cairns is likely one of the best sightseeing and journey travel destination in India which is thought for its superb pure beauty and resources. The summer time months (December to February) are typically the most popular for visiting coastal areas similar to Sydney and Melbourne, while winter (June to August) is an effective time to explore the Pink Centre. Despite its particular climate you'll find several locations the place they'll produce wonderful quality wines. If you happen to're trying to rent campervans in Australia, rental charges differ considerably and are more expensive in peak journey times. In case you are going on a visit where you will not be bringing your laptop with you, it's essential to discover a secure place to store it. For example, once I went to New Zealand, I saved mine with buddies who have been renting a home in Melbourne. Reductions in different fares can be found for students. With Greyhound Australia bus journey, that is potential. Voted as probably the most livable metropolis in 2011, Melbourne is a major tour destination in Australia. Be notably vigilant at evening within the busy tourist areas of Sydney like Kings Cross, down city George Street, Hyde Park and Centennial Park. A person can apply for a visa online or by a journey agent. You'll also find some 'RV pleasant' cities have dump points available together with water to fill your tanks. With their school ID card, they will get an International Student ID Card (ISIC, ). Possessing this provides many advantages like reductions on airfare, rail and bus fares. Academics qualify for the International Trainer Card which prices the same price and provides the same advantages. Some worldwide students like to gather these coins and generally commerce them with other buddies. When you don't drive, find some other technique of traveling, corresponding to bus, prepare, airplane; all besides hitch - mountain climbing. From Brisbane to Darwin traveler meets numerous wine areas. Summer time vacationers can enjoy fishing, climbing, and mountaineering whereas ski lovers could have the time of their lives in the Victorian Alps throughout winter. Bus travel can be handy for other causes, too. Air tickets have to be booked after receiving a legitimate visa and after organizing necessary documents. There have been various incidents of harassment, robberies and assaults (together with sexual assault) on overseas vacationers. The itinerary nonetheless will put together your group for ideas like, how a lot you are going to spend, the issues you need to deliver and the way much time you'll want to allocate from one place to a different. With the intention to qualify for this kind of visa, you need to have obtained a suggestion of a place at an Australian instructional institution or college for that matter. Some tour packages additionally fly over the grasslands and different locations of scenic beauty. However be warned, it isn't as straightforward to search out free wi-fi in Australia as it is within the states and many locations in Europe. However it could actually get difficult to walk alone within the park without finding different tourists. Melbourne is by no means to be missed when travelling to Australia. It is one of Australia's most acknowledged vacationer spots. Excessive on the listing of genuine Australian outback adventure journey locations therefore are Central Australia and the Northern Territory, far north and western Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Combine that with the welcoming and friendly locals and you're set for a once in a life time vacation. The conductor on board offers priceless information in regards to the vacationer points of interest you may wish to see. You can apply for a range of visas, together with tourist visas and dealing holiday visas, however you should achieve this before leaving home. Strolling excursions are around 50 AUD and day journeys to wine areas are between a hundred and fifty-200 AUD. The three Berth / three individuals sleeping campervans are ideal for a small household, or for 3 buddies who wished to journey together with the comfort of an residence. Crocodiles can launch out of the water; never stand on logs overhanging water and at all times keep your legs and arms inside a ship when fishing. For a wondrous investigatory trip hop a tourist bus and examine portions of the outback. Located near Melbourne, this place will be loved by individuals of all ages. A large portion of Australia is roofed with deserts but nonetheless there are plenty enough locations to make Australia a sizzling journey destination within the World. Pretty beaches of Gold Coast are out of the atypical for surfers and people who love beaches. With conventional outside recreation, the first attraction is the specific setting: with journey travel, nonetheless, vacationers are attracted primarily by the actions provided. And while you're profitable large in your favorite recreation your family can take within the sites, from the gorgeous capital cities to the plush tropical rainforest. For those who have no idea on how to surf, there are surfing instructors that will happily give classes to people who need to study the game. There a variety of houseboats operating out of Echuca, ranging from the small and easy camper fashion houseboats to the luxurious Echuca 5 star lodging choices with function reminiscent of ensuites, trendy totally geared up kitchens, laundry facilities, air conditioned and spa baths. It is common identify, the Saltwater Crocodile, is often known as the Estuarine Crocodile and 'Saltie'. Everyone wants to travel on a price range, to reduce their bills while maximizing on their experiences. Luxurious Australia travel does not have to be costly - way of life in Australia comes as a given - it is the lifestyle on this part of the world, so add just a little luxurious into your Australia travel with a few of our strategies.

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roconnor-uschinastrong-blog · 8 years ago

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Two Stories...

((Student Ambassador Submission))

By the time I turned 17, I spent six weeks of my life in the People’s Republic of China over two trips. The first was with the Global Young Leader’s conference (not language or culture based, but we did plenty of cultural excursions and a main point of the conference was about cross cultural communication and successful collaboration and cooperation), and I traveled from Beijing to Hangzhou, then to Shanghai, to Xi’an, and then back to Beijing. My second trip was spent exclusively in Beijing, however, and was focused on cultural immersion and improvement of Mandarin skills. I could go on and on describing every little “funny thing” I noticed in China, from menu and sign translations to comments made that would be “out of place” for a westerner to make but was normalized in Chinese culture. I could talk about squat toilets for several minutes straight. But I want to share two stories about my time in China. One is light hearted and even funny looking back, but the other is actually a little heart-wrenching.

So on my first trip with the GYLC, I was one of 77 students from all over the world. I befriended a Mongolian girl from Ulaanbaatar, I’ll call her H. So everyone was at the Forbidden City, and we were told to meet at the North Gate at 4:00. It is important to note that we were in the middle of the Forbidden City, not near the north side of it where we can exit. So we were given our free time to wander and H and I walked around and talked for a bit. When it got close to 4 we decided to head to the North Gate. We weren’t sure where it was, because we weren’t provided with a map or any directions to the North Gate beyond our tour guide saying “over there” and pointing vaguely. Now H doesn’t speak a lick of Mandarin, and at this point I had two years of formal study under my belt. I go up to a guard and ask “北门在哪儿?” (where is the north gate), and he gives me a basic direction. H and I move through the Forbidden City, to the rock garden near the true North Gate, and I ask another person “北门在哪儿?” And he points me in the same direction.

We get to the North Gate, the exit for the Forbidden City, and we notice that our group is not their. H and I conclude that they might be outside the Forbidden City, due to crowding or whatever, so we decided to go out of the palace in search of everyone else. We see nobody. We try to go back in but a guard extends his arm indicating we are not allowed to. I begin calling the numbers they gave us for emergencies on the name tag. H doesn't have an international plan on her phone, but I did so my phone which was dying slowly is our hope at communication. I call the Beijing Friendship Hotel where we were staying, and they said no GYLC was staying there (imagine my excitement to hear this). I call the program leaders with no avail. Many numbers, with and without country codes being dialed, would give me the dial-tone or I would hear an automated woman say “对不起，” (Sorry) to which I knew the call failed. I felt really bad because I dialed the number for one of the program leaders and each time somebody real would pick up and answer in Mandarin. So I would say “Hi it’s Rhiannon and H we are outside the palace by the North gate where are you?” to which I heard an aggravated man just go “什

么” (What?) and “这是谁?” (Who is this?) over and over. I called him about six times. Poor guy.

So we walk up to the police tent were we see near a bunch of tour buses. I try talking to the police, who are looking at each other the whole time trying to make sense of my broken Mandarin, while lighting their cigarettes and looking to H. When we came to a dead end in that conversation, H and I walked away and tried another round of calling numbers. I even called the

company that issued my visa in an act of desperation. Unfortunately, the woman who picked up said that she couldn’t help me unless she knew the name of the person who signed off on my invitation letter for my visa, which I did not know. After an apologetic goodbye, H and I were back at square one. We go back to the North Gate and talk to the guards and they say they can’t help us. We go back to the policemen and they go on the phone with the aforementioned guy who I unintentionally harassed thinking it was the program leader.

H and I feel defeated. My phone was on 10% at this point. It was roughly 4:40 PM, and H and I are sitting on the bluestone lining a police/guard shack type thing outside the gate. I look up and say, “It is time to call my mother.” Despite the twelve hour difference, I knew my mother was a night owl like myself and thank goodness she was. She picked up, and my first words were, “Mom, I’m okay, but..” and I proceeded to tell her the story. I figured she’d be able to make a call or two (it turned out to be closer to five) to help H and I out. A few minutes later, with my phone on 4%, the program leader who I tried calling so many times rang my phone. Turns out, they were at the North Gate for the section of the palace we were in and not THE North Gate. In our defense, they never specified which North Gate.

The wisdom I bestow onto anyone who may come across this is always make sure you have access to a phone in whatever country you’re in (be smart about data plans of course), have a reliable connection in your home country in case your go-to(s) on your trip cannot be accessed, and most importantly: know a handful of key phrases to use in case of any issues, especially in emergencies or separation scenarios, in the language of the country you’re visiting. In the instance my mother didn’t pick up her phone, we would have had to work more with the police and guards with a pretty intense language barrier. If it weren’t for my few years of learning Mandarin, that situation would have gone from a large inconvenience on the GYLC to an outright emergency.

My second story is a lot more serious but at the same time bittersweet. On that same trip, I went to Xi’an. One of our excursions was to the Sun Village for the Children of Incarcerated Parents outside the city. The Village was set up in the late 90s by a woman who used to work in law enforcement for children who have a parent (or both parents) incarcerated. Children who have parents in prison often are homeless, beggars, get involved in crime themselves, and are put in poor situations. Xi’an is a second-tier city, so it still holds a lot of economic importance in China but does not yield nearly as many tourists as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc., and poverty is more apparent (though this is very true if you venture outside of a city center or any rural area in China). On our way to The Village we would look out the window and see poor farmers selling watermelons and other fruits on the side of the road in the late July sun. We get off the bus and we are shown a little film about the Sun Village, its origins, and how it helps the children.

The Village guarantees an education for these students through middle school, but there are oftentimes instances of kids going to high school, vocational and tech schools, and sometimes even pursuing post secondary education. It relies on donations and its garden, which produces fruits and vegetables for sale, and it doesn’t receive funding from the government. In effect, the children who were shunned by society for the actions of their parents are taught self sufficiency and discipline. The Sun Village sets up visits and phone calls to the parents so a relationship is not lost, and every now and again a parent is released and the child(ren) can return

home. A shred of opportunity that is much needed in China (and many other places in the world) has been running for about twenty years now and helped many children who would have been lost in the slums of Chinese society.

We got to tour around the Village, see the dorms, classrooms, washrooms, and the garden. It is an impressive facility however it is obvious that it isn’t receiving copious donations. The facility is running fine to my understanding, however lack of temperature control and other things that schools and boarding schools take for granted in the West were not too noticeable or in abundance. We got to meet some of the children and anybody who knows me knows I’m not quick to run to babies, toddlers, or young children, but these kids completely warmed my heart. Being one of two students from GYLC who spoke some Chinese that was also in Xi’an, I was able to talk to them and play with them on a more connected level than many of my peers. When I got home, I felt so inspired to help out. Just because it’s China, it doesn’t mean that everyone born into a certain way of life has to confine to it to the degree some people may thing, and it doesn’t mean that the need for organizations such as the Sun Village are any less needed. In fact, to sponsor a child for a year, it is only about 5000 RMB (or 730 USD). For the same amenities outside of a city like New York, it would be way more costly.

I got to see the gentrified China, the historically preserved China, and a glimpse into more of a ‘real’ China on my first trip to the PRC. I proudly boast my experiences as some of the best of my life, and it’s important to reflect and realize what really may be behind what I was seeing. H and I in the Forbidden City was a funny and annoying experience, as we took something too literally and screwed up some scheduling for the day, but had it not been for the resources at hand (my ability to at least communicate a little bit in Mandarin, having a cell phone with an international plan), the story would have ended a lot differently. The Sun Village is a shred of hope, however it brings to light a very concerning problem not often thought of by westerners when they think of issues with China. While the world is becoming networked and connected, we cannot forget our neighbors over the Pacific who are struggling.

#projects

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canaryatlaw · 8 years ago

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Okay it's late and I need to get to bed because I'm doing like a million things tomorrow but today was pretty good. Dragged my ass out of bed when the alarm went off and went to work, where I was greeted by my supervisor raving about the start of the motion I had worked on on Tuesday. He was like, "you're only in your second year?? You're such a good writer!!" and I was like 😭😭😭 actually haha cuz I mean like, objectively I've been told I'm a good writer in an academic context to not be surprised by him saying so, I know I'm a good writer, but like, it's just that I worked so damn hard to get here, because learning legal writing sucks, and I worked harder at LARC last year than I have at any academic project before in my life because I will figure this out, dammit, so to have someone whose been at this job for like 30 years now (he was the supervisor when last semester's supervisor was interning) to be like gushing about my writing was like really heartening. It was just really good to hear and made my morning that much better. So on that note I went to my office and wrote the rest of the motion. Really half the work was done for me because I had the memo another attorney wrote about the on point cases, and they probably found points I wouldn't have thought to search for, like in the notes of the 1996 amendments to federal rule of civil procedure 43 (not making that up, it was a real thing). So that of course was majorly helpful. But like, it jus felt easy for me at this point to pull out the points and IRAC the crap out of it (IRAC is the basic argument structure of legal writing, I won't bore you by breaking it down because trust me, you'd be bored). I finished with it by lunch and sent it off to my supervisor while I ate (and read fan fic). I walked across the office a few times checking if my friend from last semester had returned, the lady whose office was across from mine, because when I started back up last month she was on a Costa Rica trip for like 3 weeks but she was supposed to get back on the 31st but she wasn't there, the light was on and the sign saying she would be back on the 31st was gone so I'm assuming she's been in there at some point, but didn't really see anything indicating she was there today, so I'll have to keep checking. It's literally the other side of the building, with the longest hallway known to man haha. While I was walking back from doing that my supervisor was going down to court, and since I was more or less out of work to do I joined him. I still have to order that birth certificate, but I haven't seen the paralegal I'm supposed to ask to show me how to do it since I was asked to do so on Tuesday, so I can't really do much there. Court was interesting, when I first walked in there was a TPR going on, no bio parents present and the PD for them long defaulted, but the state still had to prove its case of course so they were up there talking to the DCP to establish that the moms been MIA since the case came into the system basically. The kid was just an infant, 1 year old, and when they went into best interest they called the foster parent of course, who was the maternal aunt, sister to the mom. Apparently she's had the baby since she was 3 weeks old, and when the ASA asked if she loved "the minor" (because they always ask that) she was just like "yes...so very much" and my heart just basically melted on the spot. Seeing foster parents testify about how much they love the children that have been placed with them and are getting up there to say they want to adopt this child always warms my heart, it's good to see that there are at least some happy endings, even if the kid might have problems down the line. This kind of situation is ideal really, where the kid doesn't have any trauma from getting ripped away from the parent and shifting environments, and as long as she wasn't drug exposed at birth (which is a very real possibility when babies come in that young, but there are other possibilities as well) the baby should be able to go on and live a happy, healthy, normal life, and that's just so heartening to see. So that made me smile of course. Then there was an adjudication proceeding by stipulation, and I think it was the one I was asked to do some research on for dependency cases, where the mom had refused to pick the kid up after a psychiatric hospitalization, which of course makes me immediately suspicious of the parent, but as the case played out it was apparent the mother really made every attempt to get this kid the help he needed, and only left him there after he had chased his 6 and 8 year old sisters with a knife on multiple occasions and repeatedly said he was going to kill them because he wanted to be an only child. Yeah......there's probably some merit in that situation. So they got a dependency finding rather than neglect, but everyone was fine with that because the facts spoke for themselves. The last was an uncontested TC, odd case of a woman bringing her 5 year old son to the police department saying she was homeless, schizophrenic and bipolar, had been off her meds since September, had been kicked out of every shelter for refusal to follow the rules, and couldn't care for the kid anymore. Oookay. Well the no questions asked kid drop of thing ends around 30 days old, so this gets pulled into the system. The odd thing is that she was supposed to be going straight to a psychiatric hospitalization but was instead basically MIA from that point on and the DCP couldn't quite reach her, so they went by stip and it was an easy TC. During it, my supervisor was going over the rest of my motion at the computer, and I was showing him how to email it to himself so he can pull up his edits on his computer upstairs (lol). He continued to be impressed with made me smile. In other need somewhat related to my legal writing skills, apparently the school finally folded in the situation with my sister's best friend, this is after the last conversation was "our title IX 'expert' (who was not a title IX expert but a religious freedom lawyer like I called from the second they said they had one) says we're fine" and they were going to proceed with the expulsion, and my dad basically called bullshit on them and wanted to see the memo written up by the lawyer, and either there was some other change of circumstances or they realized they were screwed because there's literally no legal authority they could cite to support their position (I know, I checked) and I had just pulled up a case that literally destroyed any religious freedom argument they could've made lol. So they folded and are letting her stay in the school and go on the spring break missions trip with the missions team which I knew was a big deal to her so I'm happy about that. And I may have gotten a little more than a little satisfaction from knowing the school and their religious freedom lawyer just got their asses handed to them by a second year law student (even with them thinking it was a 40 years of experience lawyer, but was actually his daughter writing the argument) and finally felt like justice against all the bullshit I've seen them pull over the years and was FINALLY able to put a stop to. Like, you don't even know how satisfying that is for me after 13 fucking years of them doing awful things to their students and being completely powerless to stop it. So that was good. Anyway. After that the day was over, and I had to go on my little planned excursion back to my kickboxing gym for the first time since breaking my wrist there in July. So I took my normal bus just up the street a bit to the blue line stop, then took it one stop east to the stop for my church and the gym. It was funny, because I didn't really know if anyone would remember who I was because I'd only really been going there for a short time when I broke my wrist, but oh boy, did they know haha. As soon as I walked in like two trainers were like "Rachel!!" and wanted to hear about all of how I was doing, then of course I started talking to the owner who also wanted to know these things, and they all made sure to say they were glad I was back, so that was nice. So I got it set up to have a 10-class card that's good for 10 classes over 6 months, with me planning to do one a week (with obvious interruptions when necessary, but shouldn't be an issue) so I was satisfied by that. I figured I'd start next week when small group starts, and I'd stop by on my way to church Sunday to get a locker and drop my boxing gear there because somehow I get the feeling the sheriffs would not like me trying to get some boxing gloves through security at the courthouse 😂😂 as if they need a reason to dislike me any more. So now that that was set, I headed back to the blue line and took it further east then back west, intercepting the bus again further up its route (because the bus goes north to south and the blue line is a giant sideways V) because that was quicker than going back west and catching the bus there, even though it feels a little counterproductive to go further east to ultimately go west. But ah well. I got home around 6:20, not bad, and made dinner and such for a little while before turning on the tv, which ended up being a rather productive tv night that I hadn't planned, lol. I knew Powerless was premiering at 7:30 and I wanted to watch that, and that Riverdale would be on at 8. I apparently forgot that half hour tv shows were a thing and just thought it was weird they would start at 7:30, and got like halfway through before realizing it would end at 8, lol. It was really cute though, made me laugh out loud of several occasions, so I think that's a winner for now. Riverdale was good, I'm still kind of feeling out their world since I have no familIarity with it, but I continue to love Veronica and otherwise be very curious as to why they set it in the present day when it's ridiculously obvious they want to live in the 50's. The part about Jason's murder and Cheryl's involvement (look at me actually learning character names!) has me very intrigued, and I spent like half of it yelling at Archie to stop being a dumbass and go to the police what he knows, which may or may not be relevant anymore. So we'll see where that goes, but it gets a thumbs up for now. At some point during that I realized Training Day, another show I had wanted to watch was premiering at 9, so that worked out perfectly. Now, full disclosure: the sole reason I was interested in this show at all was because Katrina Law was in it and I like her and would like to see more stuff that's she's in. I knew it was based off a movie, but I've never seen it so I was going in blind, and it was kind of.....meh. It pretty much struggled to keep my attention for the episode, trying to thread together too many plot points and shove in too many characters to keep track of. Katrina's character was cool of course (although it's still so weird to hear her talk with a normal American accent) but she was in way too little of it for my liking. I might at least watch next week's, give it another chance to see if it improves, but I'm not really holding my breath. Now, it's like I have this whole little routine for Thursday nights....too bad this is the last Thursday I'll be at home to do any of it, because starting next week I'll be at kickboxing and then small group, lol, so any show I decide to stick with will be relegated to dvr like pretty much all my other shows currently lol. And yeah, that was basically it and damn it's even later now. Tomorrow is the PILA auction after a full day of running around doing like 3 different things, and of course I'm supposed to be volunteering for it, so that should be interesting at least. Sigh. No rest. Anyway. Goodnight my lovelies. Happy Friday.

#daily journal #February 2017

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travel-blog-incitysearch · 3 years ago

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Austria

Austria's ski resorts are known to everyone - it has the snowiest slopes and the best slopes. The glittering Vienna and the lake region of Salzburg, castles, museums, and attractions await you. All about Austria from Tonnie Turisme - visas, tours, maps, and hotels. Austria is a country whose every corner has its own "tidbit" for tourists. Fans of opera, sightseeing and architecture go, of course, to the Austrian capital Vienna, fans of classical music - to Salzburg, and to the purest lakes and hot mineral springs tourists go to the charming Carinthia. Fans of modern art will find their own in the "cultural" city of Austria - Graz, and lovers of beautiful scenery and crystal clear lakes go to the foothills of Salzburg, where the famous son of Austria Wolfgang Amadeus once lived. For "idle" vacationers Austria has prepared excellent resorts, the ratio "price-quality" is reasonably considered one of the best in the Alps. In addition, Austria makes a strong claim to being a "classic European ski destination for the professionals". There is every reason for this: the quality and diverse hotel base, rich "après-ski" (which sometimes lacks in other European countries), and, of course, a huge number of well-groomed slopes, by which Austria is ahead of the Alps. At the same time, most of them can hardly be attributed to the "warm-up": they require skiers with good skills. In addition, the country has a lot of glaciers, which means guaranteed skiing, regardless of the weather.

Regions and resorts in Austria

The capital of the state - Vienna, the city elegant and solemn. It circles travelers in the sounds of the waltz, impresses by the beauty of temples, palaces and squares, beckons aromas of strudels in cute coffee houses. In the city of Strauss and Mozart in general, much is connected with art and music in particular: Vienna Opera, Konzerthaus, the Burgtheater, the Volksteater are true architectural masterpieces, worthy of attention, even if you do not have the chance to go to the play or concert. Even more stunning are local palaces and castles: Schönbrunn, Belvedere, Hofburg, Kreuzenstein. Complement the aesthetic palette of excursions to museums: in Albertina, you can admire the graphics, in Liechtenstein - the princely household items. The second-largest Austrian city is Graz with well-groomed parks, baroque palaces, and original modern art objects. The heart of Graz is Hauptplatz square, the symbols are the famous Clock Tower on the Schlossberg mountain and the majestic ducal castle, built in the 15th century. In general, the architectural image of the cosmopolitan city, which managed to be the residence of the rulers several times in its history, is very eclectic. Innsbruck is known for its amazing alpine scenery and popular ski resorts with modern infrastructure. And everything here breathes Tyrolean culture: the souvenir shops are full of hats and suits of leather and linen, recognizable at a glance. The Swarovski factory and the museum dedicated to the legendary jewelry can also be counted as peculiar sights. Go skiing is possible not only in Innsbruck, but also in many other resorts. Mayrhofen is equally good for young people (the nightlife here is bright), and for families with children. Zell-am-See is suitable for beginners: there are excellent schools with professional instructors and easy slopes. Serfaus is a resort with impeccable service, modern ski elevators and cozy family hotels.

Climate

The country has a temperate climate, transitional to continental, strongly dependent on altitude. Winter is mild with frequent snowfalls, the coldest winter month is January, the temperature in the valleys falls to -2 ° C, in the mountainous areas - to -14 ° C. Summers are warm and sunny, with the hottest months being July and August (around +25 °C, on some days above +30 °C). Comfortable summer temperatures prevail in most parts of the country from early June to mid-September. In the Alps at night is very cool, and in midsummer Vienna can be exposed to strong easterly winds. On the lakes of Carinthia in summer the water gets as warm as +26 ° C. There are two distinct tourist seasons: summer (July-August) and winter (Christmas). The best time to visit Vienna is early fall and late spring. Ski season at most resorts lasts from November to mid-April.

Visa and customs

Austria is a member state of the Schengen Agreement. A visa and travel insurance is required. Import and export of currency is not limited, but the amount over 10 000 EUR must be declared. Duties are not imposed on tobacco products in the following quantities: 250g tobacco, 50 cigars, 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos (optional). Standards for alcohol: 1 liter of spirits (over 22%), 2 liters of liquor (under 22%) or sparkling wine, 3 liters of beer and 2 liters of any wine, except sparkling. You may take into the country bottles of perfume up to 50 ml or eau de toilette up to 250 ml. Importation of foodstuff is also limited: the customs officers allow not more than 0.5 kg of coffee (or 200 g of coffee extract), 100 g of tea (or 40 g of tea extract), 1 kg of meat and 15 kg of vegetables or fruits. Prices on the page are for November 2020. Particular attention is paid to imported souvenirs: their total value may not exceed 175 EUR. An exception - souvenirs entering the country through the borders with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia: the allowable amount in these cases is reduced to 70 EUR per person. Animals are allowed in only with EU passports (in German or English). Weapons, ammunition, explosives, psychotropic and narcotic drugs are prohibited. Out of Austria can take out up to 1000 cigarettes, 200 cigars or 1 kg of tobacco (optional) and up to 250 ml of perfume. There are no restrictions on wine and liquor, but you should note that you can bring into Russia only 3 liters of alcoholic beverages, regardless of strength. Amounts of 10 000 EUR and more must be declared. The weight of your personal luggage can't exceed 50 kg and its total value - 1000 EUR. Using our convenient service you can choose a travel insurance in Austria with the required parameters (including insurance against covidence, zero deductible, etc.) and at a minimum price. Tax free For tourists who do not have EU citizenship, Austria has a Tax free system: if you make purchases over 75 EUR, you can get back 13% of VAT. To do this you need to take a receipt with your passport data and a full list of purchases, show it together with the goods to customs (tags must be saved), get a stamp, and go to the Cash Refund. Keep in mind: the queues and paperwork at the airport may take an additional 30-40 minutes.

Transport

You can travel around the country comfortably, quickly and inexpensively by train: rail transport is well developed here. It is not surprising that buses in Austria play an auxiliary role, for which they have earned the name "Post Bus". There are few long-distance routes, and the main function of buses is to take passengers to railway stations. On average the trip costs 1,30 - 5,30 EUR. It's better to take a single ticket "bus plus train" from the beginning to the end - it's cheaper than if you buy tickets separately. In Austria there is a rail pass that works according to a peculiar principle - you can choose the point of departure and move from there to any direction for a distance up to 150 km for only 9 EUR. Fast long-distance trains include EC (EuroCity), IC (InterCity), D, ICE (InterCity Express). Regional trains are called E and R, suburban trains are called S. You can check the schedule and pay for tickets on the website of Austrian Railways. Public transport within cities Public transport in most cities in Austria is represented by buses and streetcars, less frequently - trolleybuses. Vienna has the U-Bahn subway, and high-speed trains S-Bahn also run in Graz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Tickets for public transport from 2 EUR can be bought at the Vorverkaufsscheine ticket and pre-sale ticket booths, as well as at tobacconist's kiosks. Special option for tourists - preferential tickets valid from 1 to 3 days (20-30 EUR). You can't catch a cab in the street - you can "vote" till you're blue in the face, no one will stop. When going long distances it is better to negotiate the price with the driver. If the cab driver is obliged to give the receipt, if this rule is ignored - do not hesitate to call the dispatcher.

You can call a cab by phone from a hotel or restaurant, or find one at special parking lots at railway stations, in large city centers and at the airport. The fare within the city is specified on the counter (standard tariff - 1,50 EUR per 1 km); the additional fee for boarding is approximately 5 EUR. Tipping is not obligatory but is welcomed (in an Austrian discreet way). Trip from Vienna airport to the city center costs from 33 EUR, from Salzburg airport - 30 EUR. Bicycles for rent can be found in railway stations: one hour ride costs from 5 EUR, daily - from 25 EUR. The CityBike system works in Vienna: there are about 100 bike stations all over the city where you can rent a two-wheeled vehicle in a few seconds (in the first hour the service is absolutely free, in the second hour it costs 1 EUR, in the third hour - 2 EUR).

Communication and Wi-Fi

To always stay in touch when traveling in Austria, it is more convenient to register a local SIM card. It is better to choose the services of any of the largest operators in the country: T-Mobile, A1, Orange, BOB or Telering. The first three are the "sharks" of the market: their quality of service is at the highest level, but the prices are appropriate. BOB and Telering have lower prices, but you should be prepared for surprises like "network unavailable" at the most inopportune moment. "Sims" of Austrian operators are sold in company stores, branch offices, electronics stores and large supermarkets. Their average cost is 10-30 EUR, for international calls you pay from 0.50 EUR per minute. You can top up your account in Tabak&Trafik stores - the minimum amount to pay is 10 EUR. Another way to contact Russia is to call from a street payphone. There are payphones in both large cities, and in villages, many have detailed instructions in several languages. Pay phones accept both coins and special Telefonkarte cards sold at post offices, kiosks and stores. One minute of talk costs from 0,17 EUR, the most reasonable rates are on weekdays from 18:00 to 8:00 and at weekends (discounts may be as much as 33%). You can also call Russia from the post office: it will be even cheaper than from payphones. Free Wi-Fi in Austria is a usual thing: it is available at airports and railway stations, in shopping malls and cafes. Free access points can be found almost at all ski resorts. Internet cafes cost 2-5 EUR per hour of connection.

Hotels in Austria

Austrian hotels and other accommodation facilities can be divided into several types. Tour operators usually assign the typical city hotels for "excursions" - in general, they are at the same level as throughout Europe. However, even in the "five-star" Vienna sometimes happens unpleasant surprises: small rooms, unsightly view from the window. Hotels of the same category can differ significantly in level, so operators usually offer a limited number of checked options. The hotels at the ski resorts vary from family hotels to chalets. Pensions are widespread: two- to three-story cottages for 6-10 rooms (the most economical variant), as well as "four" of a good level. Apartments in Austria - a phenomenon not common, and the so-called "hostels" as in France, is not at all. For rest on the lakes mostly book hotels 4 *, "five" and "three" is not much, but there are inexpensive private pensions. Generally speaking, one should not count on VIP-service on the lakes, as the rest there is more rural than elite. However, there are some advantages: hospitable attitude to tourists with children, private beaches, good half board. Most hotels have restaurants, bars, gyms, and saunas, often have swimming pools.

Local currency

The monetary unit of the country is the Euro (EUR). 1 EUR equals 100 eurocents. Current exchange rate: 1 EUR = 88,8 RUB. Austrian banks are open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 15:00, on Thursdays from 8:00 to 12:30 and from 13:30 to 17:30. Exchange offices at the stations are open until 22:00. You can also buy currency in post offices, hotels and travel agencies. The most unprofitable rate - at airports and train stations: there tourists are often charged an additional surcharge. In general, the currency is better to stock up in Russia: the standard commission for transactions in Austrian banks is 3%. Large hotels and almost all stores accept the most common credit cards: Visa, American Express and MasterCard.

Safety

The crime rate in Austria is extremely low: it is safe to walk in the cities and provinces even at night. In case of trouble, the vigilant police will immediately come to the rescue. The only thing you should be wary of is pickpocketing, which is becoming more frequent in railway stations and other places where tourists congregate. There are no major infections in the country, even the water in the faucets and street fountains are so clean that you can drink it without worrying about the consequences. The main dangers lie in wait for tourists planning to explore the Austrian nature. The first and most common is landslides and avalanches in the mountainous areas. There is no need to panic: the main thing is to follow the advices of employees of ski resorts and stay in safe areas, as the tracks and villages are built in such a way as to best protect tourists. On some mountain roads rockslides are possible, but the Austrian public utilities and police do not sleep: the dangerous areas are timely fenced. The fines for free riding are 70-100 EUR, for driving on toll roads without paying the toll - 120 EUR, for smoking in wrong places - up to 10 000 EUR. When skiing you may have symptoms of altitude sickness or hypothermia, but the chances are minimal: almost all the trails are laid at an altitude of up to 3000 m. If you do get a headache, chills, drowsiness and loss of sensation in the extremities, you should immediately change into dry and warm clothes, drink hot tea and seek medical advice. Sometimes ticks can be found in the woods, but basic precautions such as closed shoes and tight clothing are enough to protect against unpleasant consequences. If the insect does manage to bite you, you will need a visit to the medical center.

Lakes of Austria

In summer the main flow of Russian tourists goes to Carinthia lakes, where the water gets up to +26 ° C. The lakes of Salzburg are more "decorative", cold Alpine. Go there mostly individuals who want to spend time in silence and spectacular scenery. Tourists who have decided to relax on the lakes of Austria, will be alone with ideal pure nature (the water in the lakes - drinkable purity, and large crowds of tourists is not observed even in the peak season), to taste the air, fed with grass and coastal freshness. There are no beaches in the usual sense of the word on the lakes. Most often it is soft grassy lawns with access to the water on wooden piers. If the beach is owned by a hotel, mostly sun loungers and umbrellas are free, if the beach is municipal, the entrance will cost about 3-5 EUR.

Cuisine and restaurants in Austria

Good (and plentiful) food in Austria is easy. The imposing symbol of Viennese cuisine, the enormous breadcrumbed veal schnitzel, is certainly a sight to behold. It is usually served with vegetable salads, as is the no less popular meat on the bone. Also worth trying are the fried chicken "bachhun", boiled beef with apple horseradish "tafelspitz", omelette "kaiserschmarrn", cheese soup, dried ham and goose liver "nockerl". The classic desserts are Austrian-style: the famous apple strudel, rum cake, soufflé "Salzburg Nockerln", arme ritter white bread baked in an egg with jam and sugar, pancakes and chocolate cake "zachertorten". Glüwein (not to be confused with mulled wine, though similar: a hot drink made of red wine and water in the proportion 3 to 1 with cinnamon and spices), wheat beer "Weissbier", lemonade with herbs "Almdudler" - national non-alcoholic drink - are all worth tasting. And, of course, coffee: merchant - strong double espresso, ferlengarter - weaker, melange - with milk and whipped cream, einschpenner - double mocha in a tall glass. Austrians are mindful people in a good sense: if a tourist has stayed at this hotel or eaten in this restaurant before, he is likely to be remembered and given increased attention. Menus in eateries are mostly in German, much more rarely - in English. Somewhere at ski resorts are starting to meet menus in Russian - for example, in Sölden. In many restaurants or hotels the service charge is already included in the bill, but, nevertheless, in Austria it is customary to tip 5-10% of the order. The Read the full article

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