Live from Halloween celebrations in the US III

Things confirmed by the movies:



- You don't give chocolates/candies then your place gets trashed/pranked/something happens.

- People of all ages dress up, there are people in costumes in every corner, in every street.

- There are so many parties and events it's hard to decide where to go.

- Never seen so many pumpkins...

Halloween is already next weekend!

Man, where does time fly off to? This weekend is homecoming weekend, DC is insane with parties, events and general celebration. Homecoming, if I understand it correctly, means celebrating the return of students/alumni. There are balls, galas, parties and of course, alcohol. And before you have time to recover from homecoming weekend, Halloween is already here.

I haven't been taking my camera with me lately so you'll have to take my word when I tell you that each day there are more Halloween decorations popping up. The supermarkets have an extra aisle for chocolates, pumpkins are seen everywhere, scary and funny costumes are sold on the streets. I think only now do I realize I really am in the States. This Sunday I'm attending a birthday party whose main thing is doing the 'Thriller' choreography. Life is good.

I've recently discovered cupcakes. So far my favorite are the peanut butter cupcakes.

Supermarket

You'd think any Western supermarket would be simple for a Westerner, right? At least that's what I used to think.

Just imagine the biggest supermarket in your country and know that that's a normal size one in states. Then imagine different names for things you knew all your life. Not just different names but different packaging. Different places to put things.

Imagine all that and try and go and shop under 20 minutes.

It can't be done.

This is the main reason why the kitchen cabinet is full of Oreos and apples.

Thai cheetos

I was so excited when I saw cheetos in Thailand! I love cheetos. Then I opened the package...

details that got my attention

Teacher Jesse gets greeted by part of her class.

A chicken approaches the cows... Isn't there a cartoon called 'Cow & Chicken'?

Nice helmet for a construction worker, hun?

The dogs clean up the floor after the kids are done eating.

Breakfast line at the school.

Pass the pen with your feet alone.

First day back at school

First, a word about the rain season: wet. Besides being obvious it's persistent. Imagine never being completely dry. Imagine your clothes smelling like they've been in a basement for the last 3 years, imagine your hair damp all the time, imagine constant rain - or when it finally does stop raining there is still water in the air... Imagine snails at every single spot, walls, floor, you name it. Imagine frogs and toads of all sizes crossing the street, hoping right next to your feet... Imagine all that and you're starting to get the general idea.

Getting to school in this season is also tricky...

But we pass some nice areas. (notice the tiny girl watching us go by...)

We did a treasure hunt, the clues were given after the completion of certain tasks such as pass the water balloon, do a crazy dance etc
Playing pass the water balloon means fun and...

a wet classroom

and wet feet. Those pants and socks were white when I arrived in school that morning...

Me helping my kids build the world's tallest stick tower.

Lunch time. See the size of that pot, I don't know how they manage to cook for 350 kids... This was vegetable and chicken stew with ginger and of course, rice.

I'm back!

First of all, to all of you that donated books: they are here!! yay! Thank you.

Since most kids can't read this level of English we decided to use them as a fundraiser.

The books I had left behind were covered in dust, was I gone that long?

My friend Pi Wee Wah missed me, no matter how hard she hits me. And that blanket was made by her mum specially for me. :)

I missed Thai food more than I thought... This is fried rice with egg.

Boston food baby

Before I let you see the pictures of the nice trip I had here are some that should help you understand why I returned tired and overfed. A bit like Hansel and Gretel after they escaped...

There were buckets of cookie dough ice cream...

Donuts...

Hangin' by the pool with Gibi...

And M & M's mountain...

yes, hard life indeed.

Live from New York

Nobody warned New York I was coming...

I know I should be raving the New Yorkers, the New York buildings and churches, how the skyscrappers cut off the light and how you can only see the sun while walking between buildings or how your neck hurts with all the looking up. Or even how much you can walk in one single street.

Or perhaps I should talk about how when we wanted to go to Staten Island and see the Statue of Liberty we ended up in Governor's island with a 90 year old that had more energy and life than the two of us together.


But really all I want to talk about is the M&M's store in Times Square. If you remove all the little kids running around and add some half naked people it would be my idea of heaven, even the music was great. Yes, I bought tons of chocolates. Life is good.

2nd day in DC: Georgetown and Union Station

Georgetown is a quiet neighborhood in Washington D.C. where you can see DC's oldest building, the Old Stone House:

It was built in 1765.

Yes, the school buses do exist, it's not just a movie prop...

Georgetown's university.

A building in one of the main streets...

Riggs Bank.

My first meal in a dinner. Brownie, icecream and whipped cream.

The spy museum in DC has some nice ideas for ads.

Yes, That's me under the flag. It's not just the country and the buildings that are huge, it's the flag too.

Both photos are outside the Union Station, the train station in Washington D.C.

The train station has a bookstore. 'Nuff said.

Why I love Brussels

A slideshow with comments. Once you see the amount of photos I think you'll forgive me for the lack of posts lately.

If Picasa supported music in their slideshows I'd add this track I found last Friday. It's called Remmidemmi.

P.S. Please let the slideshow load, if after a bit you don't see anything you're probably my sister. I suggest reloading or using another browser.

An afternoon well spent

It sounded too good to be true. First we spend a nice day at the beach. Then the kids cook for us?

You could almost hear the teacher's worries in the air: will it be good? will it be spicy? will I get sick? It turned out to be a delicious meal.Of course after tasting 20 different ones we were pretty full... I forgot the name in Thai but it was vegetables and chicken cooked in coconut milk without tasting of coconut. The tradicional rice went with it. I might not eat rice for a year after Asia.

The small ones did some jewelry for everyone. Some was quite good, one particular one that was given to me was more of Freddie Krugger material but you know, it was done with love. I think.

ANgkor Wat: Ta Prohm temple

I woke up at 5 am in order to beat the heat and the crowds. The Ta Prohm temple is outside of town and I had a uncomfortable motorbike ride there. If you can get a tuk-tuk so you can sit down, my ass did not enjoy that ride.

The jungle has slowly and effectively taken over the structure. It adds to the atmosphere. There are also tons of birds chirping away around you.
This was the only temple I could walk around alone and quietly.

After all the temples and citadels I can honestly say that this one is my favorite. I took a lot of pictures, I prefer it when the trees were taking over the space but not all of the temple is like that.I am very envious of the discovers who got to see this in its prime, or at least when it was more in one piece, engulfed by the jungle.

I suppose this wouldn't be pratical in a real house. It's really a shame.


And because some of you got confuse as how I ate snake and crocodile here is a photo of the grill:
There is coal in the bottom and water boiling to cook the vegetables and grill the meat. It was ok but not my best meal here.