what a week!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Sara

i step off the airplane and into the sun. i get asked to put my cell phone away by a familiar accent as i cross the tarmac and enter the sliding glass doors leading to customs, only to realize that i have completely unopened, delicious snacks from portland still carefully snuggled between books and planners and pens in my baby blue corduroy jansport backpack. damn it.

i hate giving up food at international borders. are my dried mangoes and coconut covered cashews really going to cause the end of the world on the other side of this security gate? highly unlikely. are they even going to check the blonde-haired, blue-eyed american girl’s bag? highly unlikely. but alas, i give up the snacks (except the portland chocolate bars and coffee i have brought as gifts).

of course they don’t check anything. i don’t even think they looked at my face while stamping my passport. i miss those dried mangoes already.

the good news is that i am now in a country where it’s hot enough to grow mangoes right now. and in a town with a mango tree in the neighbor’s front yard. what luck!

it has been almost a week since ryan stood embarrassingly waiting for me in the airport with a sad, but cute attempt at a sign reading “sara aka possum” being held by a stuffed platypus puppet. (possum is a common term of endearment in aussieland. their possums are a lot cuter than ours.)

we immediately loaded my bags into his brand new used ute (truck) and hit the bitumen (pavement) for the hour or so drive from brisbane back to ryan’s hometown on the gold coast.

palm beach (or palmy as the locals call it) is your quintessential beach town. salty air and sunshine. surf clubs and local pubs. run down streets lined mostly with one story brick homes that look like they belong back in the 1950s. anywhere you stand, you are always only a block or two away from water. even if it’s just a manmade canal that leads to a salty river and into the ocean.

straightaway, i get the hometown tour. complete with a bite at a cute main street brekky (breakfast) joint, drive through neighboring suburbs to check out local surf spots, and steak on the barbi (barbecue) with ryan’s family, the grants. a family that has an old car that has been passed from son to son to son and ended up as a memento in the backyard. yep, dad, you would love them.

jet lag? what’s that! i think my jam-packed day one might have been ryan’s attempt to make up for the fact that i lost an entire day on my trip across the world.

but then it didn’t stop.

the next day we packed up the truck with camping and surfing essentials and headed to the hippie capital of eastern australia, byron bay.

by midday, we were drinking beers at a beachside pub with ryan’s aunt and her new hubbie. by late arvo (afternoon), we were sitting out amongst the waves trying our best to hang ten. by evening, we were enjoying an amazing meal and live music at the locals only spot. by nightfall, we were curled back up in our natural habitat…a tent on the ground. what a day two.

the next morning, we found a cute restaurant a few minutes out of town since the traffic on the two lane road going back into downtown byron was at a standstill. we lounged on comfy couches drinking our coffee (after finally figuring out that my preferred drink order is a “flat white” in australian coffee-ology), eating our tasty breakfast sangas (sandwiches), and allowing ourselves to drift deep into meandering conversation. ahh the good life.

then onto the lighthouse, the most easterly point of australia. what a view.

oh, and i saw my first wallaby!

then back to the sea for a surf.

then back to the ute (what a beaut) to drive home. sunned and ready for an afternoon nap.

now you might be thinking, sara, don’t you have to do work? and yes, that is exactly what i did on day four.

ryan and i went our separate ways. i stared at my computer and caught up on everything i had been pushing aside. and ryan went to the garage to fix up his truck. it needs a bit of love before we take it on our adventure up north along the east coast and over west to port hedland (aka the middle of nowhere).

but there could be worse things than working in an office like this… (and eating carrot cake for breakfast.)

and then came friday night.

it was ryan’s friend’s birthday party so i was put on the hot seat. meeting the gang. i wanted to make a good first impression, and well, after taking a horrendous spill off my bike and onto the asphalt, i am pretty sure they will never forget the night we met. and currently, my elbow and knee are having a hard time forgetting as well.

please note that yes, i was indeed sober when i ate shit. and please note that yes, later that night i was able to ride my bike home with ease after quite a bit to drink.

day five. hmm. day five did not start until noon. you give up your day for the night sometimes, and friday night left us both a bit worked. however, we recovered just in time to wish ryan’s mom heather a happy birthday and meet steph’s (dale’s (ryan’s brother) girlfriend) mom who was in town from melbourne.

after a quick afternoon stumptown coffee on the back deck, it was time to head back into my couch and television cocoon. see you when day six comes along.

wake up and head to the suburb of burleigh for the sunday arts and craft market. a quaint little row of tents along the beach sporting the usual sorts of knickknacks, clothing, and tasty treats.

after a nice morning stroll, a couple coffees, and a sugarcane juice with ginger, we took a drive with the windows down and tunes up through the valley and took in the rock pools.

then we headed home and hopped into the “skis” for a “paddle.” i was unsure of how my paddling skills would be, but as i sat down in the super skinny, hard-to-balance, semi-kayak-ish boat with ryan’s dad gordon watching from the deck, i was fine.

actually, i was pretty good.

we paddled out of the canal behind gordon’s house and into the river. the salty river. it is still so weird to me.

there are a lot of things that are still a bit weird to me here. like jumping into the left side of the truck and then proceeding to stay in the left hand lane when turning left. like hearing every word shortened to something like brekky or skatey and not seeing a baby in sight. like being the one who has the strange accent. like questioning if i am going to die when i see a massive spider chilling near my open suitcase.

oh, and signs like this…

but i am loving it. and making friends with lots of really cute dogs. and getting a healthy glow (even with SPF 50 slathered on everywhere).

this morning, we woke up at 6am and had a surf before i set up my patio office and began to tackle my monday to-do list.

not too bad at all…

it’s time to go with aussie m(a)n.

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Sara

it was 3am on monday, november 11, 2013. exactly two years prior, i was arriving in portland for the first time in my life. cari the blue cavi packed full to the brim and me unprepared for the adventures and magic that would unfold over the next 24 months.

they tell you to make a wish when the clock strikes 11:11, and believe in superstitions or not, arriving on 11/11/11 must have shifted the universe in my favor because all my wishes keep coming true. wishes i didn’t even know i had.

two years later, on that same fateful day, i sat staring at my computer. flipping between delta and expedia and southwest and the australian government department of immigration and border protection tourist visa information page.

after a conversation with colby and then one with ryan, there was a new adventure brewing. the butterflies in my stomach were starting to emerge from their cocoons. my current vagabonding was not even over. i was in vegas prepping to head to portland for a quick check-in and then off to bishop for thanksgiving and then onto san francisco for a week with three of my favorite women (aunt viv, ruthie, and aunt pupsi) and then home for a cold, hopefully white, chicago birthday, christmas, and new year’s eve.

but then, in my sleepy stupor, i found myself clicking “apply now.” ten minutes and A$20 later, i had a 12 month tourist visa to australia.

shit.

those damn butterflies were having a wwf smackdown inside my belly. was i just tired? was i sick? what the hell was my stomach doing? it is just a visa. it was just $20. i could easily change my mind.

and then, in some sort of out-of-body experience, i was clicking purchase on a delta flight: LAX > SYD > BNE.

fuck.

now don’t get me wrong, i am very excited for this chance to get to know a new, wonderfully enchanting country, so a few of you are probably wondering why the dramatic build up. sara, you always do this. fly by the seat of your pants. but do you fly 7,286 miles to the other side of the world? where it is actually already tuesday?

what most people don’t perhaps know about me is that i am surprisingly anal when it comes to planning. despite my current trend of leaving flights until the very last minute and not alerting my family that i’ll be back in chicago until i need a ride home from the airport, i am a organization freak. i write down things in my planner and create endless lists and will organize your emails or photos into perfectly segregated and color coated folders if you let me.

while average americans spend months researching and planning before they book their once-in-a-lifetime trip to australia, i was giving myself seven days. in exactly one week, i would boarding a plane to the land down under.

bloody hell.

i usually consult at least seven friends and family members before making a big decision like spending up to three months in a foreign country. i talk it out in a million and one ways. weigh the pros and cons. let them play devil’s advocate.

but this time, i didn’t.

now, if you have been keeping up with my blog, you already know why. if you have no idea why i would spontaneously spend an absurd amount on a plane ticket to a foreign country, give up my southwest a-list status, and miss the holidays with my friends and family, i’ll give you one guess. (and then you should probably read my last few blog posts.)

although i get a lot of slack for my inexplicable nature to end up in new cities due to romance, it has served me well and given me a life that will make screenplay writer jonathan west rich one day.

chase a boy to ann arbor and have an amazing educational experience worth every penny of my student loans. chase a boy to grand rapids and build a resume full of respectable real life experience. chase a boy to portland and take the leap into location independent self-employment. yet all these instances were the same: date boy for a year or two, decide to move somewhere new, end relationship almost immediately after arriving in the new setting.

never before have i chased a boy that i have only known for a month to a country on the other side of the globe on a whim (and a hunch). i think my odds are way better with this method.

yesterday i got my hair cut in portland. figured i would clean up a bit after living in the woods for two months and before meeting a bunch of aussie strangers. the stylist was indulging in my silver-screen-worthy tale and adding her own chapter about “her aussie.” (it seems everyone has their own what i am now calling aussie-ism.) she reflected that there is just something about them. this “rugged manliness with a soulful interior” that just captivated her from the moment she met him.

i guess…

we are crazy.

or maybe just i am crazy.

either way, at 6am this morning my buddy luca picked me up.

we loaded my suitcase into his trunk taking bets on if i would have to relocate a thing or two into my carry-on to meet the 50 lb. weight limit. he guessed 45, 47 tops. i said 52. turns out it was 52.5 lb., but she let me check it anyways. with all my traveling, my right arm has become a pretty accurate luggage scale.

awhile ago someone gave me a little booklet about the size of an index card that was titled travel. it is full of quotations about exactly that. it has been in my backpack ever since, but i rarely open it and read it. the other day i did.

“journeys, like artists, are born and not made. a thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will…” – lawrence durrell

one plain bagel with cream cheese and tall blonde roast with cream later, and i am sitting on a flight to los angeles due to “a thousand differing circumstances” not one of which i would change. charly bliss belting out blondie in my ears while my tummy butterflies flutter a dance only my gypsy heart can understand.

see you in the outback.

thank you to do list.

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Sara

welcome to vegas. sin city. crazy shows and gambling galore. but there is another side. a quick drive and you’re at red rocks. a beautiful desert climbing destination.

and what am i doing in this beautiful desert climbing destination?

working.

taking advantage of a warm house with fast wi-fi.

this is not going to be a blog complaining about how i have to work right now. so don’t worry. this is going to be a blog about the complete opposite (or something like that).

i have spent the past six weeks in two amazing climbing areas with limited, if any, access to good wi-fi and cell service. although there were a few instances where i’m sure my clients wished they could contact me without scheduling an appointment, but for the most part, i was able to make it work. i was able to do work in the mornings and nights and climb during the day. i was able to head into town twice a week and crank out some solid hours of graphic design-ing, wordpress-ing, e-newsletter-ing, and social media-ing.

and i am grateful.

it is almost thanksgiving so i won’t steal the thunder of the holiday by writing about all the things i was thankful for this year quite yet, but i am feeling appreciative.

for the past three days, i have been sitting in an uncomfortable, wooden kitchen table chair with no cushion staring at my computer screen. i have woken up and said goodbye to colby as he heads out to climb for the day. i have rewritten my to do list with my pilot g-2 0.38 black pen on a piece of clean, crisp, white computer paper.

there are sixteen clients on the list, and i am grateful for every single one of them.

over the past three years, my life has evolved in a way that i could never have predicted. if you asked me in college what i would be doing after graduation, i probably would have answered – with pure hope in my voice – journalist. i would not have answered traveling around the world as i please while managing online marketing for sixteen wonderful clients all by myself.

now we all know that being self-employed has its pros and cons like anything, but i am glad that i have a support network and clients that allow me to take advantage of the pros. it is great to be able to have them start every conference call with a “where the heck are you today sara?” and not have them care when i answer india. i guess if the work is getting done…

and so, the work needs to get done.

and so, i am currently grounded. no climbing for me in red rocks this time (or very minimal).

‘tis the season for year end appeals and new websites. not to mention the launch of this great new video game from the creator of madden football. and then, not even a chance to breathe before holiday cards and annual report designs start finding their way to the to do list.

but i love it. and i am grateful that i have the discipline to stare at my computer endlessly for three days straight when the weather is gorgeous and rocks await just minutes away.

but they will always be there.

and my clients might not be.

so this is a thank you to all that make it possible for me to do what i do.
to the internet and apple products.
to my accountant (my amazing sister) and my human direct deposit (my loving father).
to my tagline mega mind (my creative brother) and my biggest cheerleader (my optimistic mother).
to mark zuckerberg and matt mullenweg.
to at&t personal hotspot and skype.
to laid back clients and loose deadlines.
to organized clients and firm deadlines.
to word of mouth and two degrees of separation.
to ovaltine chocolate milk and breyer’s chocolate chip ice cream.

thank you.

so, you might now be wondering why i am writing this blog. the answer is yes. i am totally procrastinating. i am staring at my to do list with tired eyes and a mild headache and trying to figure out every possible thing that i can do in order to put off the big projects looming ahead of me for another thirty minutes or so.

so another thank you to everyone who is reading this blog. you are contributing to my ability to live this saradipitous life.

guest blog: if this plaid shirt could talk

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Sara

sometimes i think about all the things i would do if i went and adventured in a foreign country for a year unemployed. but, after hearing all the stories ryan had to tell from his year abroad in north america, i don’t think i will ever be able to match such an epic collection of tales. i might be able to make some money writing his biography one day though. i think it will be titled, if this plaid shirt could talk: the tale of one unbridled bloke.

i have never known someone to get into so many sketchy situations and come out alive, but i’ve learned it’s apparently a grant family trait to always land on your feet. and this little filly is glad that he does.

in honor of ryan’s recent departure from the states back to australia, i am posting a special guest blog. written by the one and only ryan grant.

– – – – –

If I had a blog it would go a little something like this:

I’ve seen bears, heard cougars, hit deer, chased off coyotes, been bitten by spiders, stung by bees, had stare downs with venomous snakes while belaying, and stood in dog poo.

I’ve slept on the ground, in cars, on roofs, in hammocks, in tents, in the snow, in the dirt, on the ground, on couches, on cliff faces, on summits, in the occasional cheap hotel room, and oh, i forgot to mention on the ground.

I’ve marked my territory across a good portion of North America. I’ve peed off cliffs, on cliffs, on cars, out of cars, out of tents, but never in the tent. I’ve even peed in toilets from time to time, like actual flushing ones. I’ve peed on glaciers, into crevasses, into the wind (lesson learned), with the wind, into bottles, plastic bags, the desert, the snow, rice cracker boxes, and laughed so hard on several occasions I think I’ve even peed my pants.

I’ve been trad climbing, sport climbing, aid climbing, big wall climbing, alpine climbing, simul climbing, speed climbing, short fixed, French freed, soloing, rappelling and bouldering – fuck bouldering – sky diving, snow boarding, skiing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, surfing, slacklining, canyoneering, high lining, spelunking, rope jumping, and I got to fly a plane.

I’ve rolled ankles, strained finger tendons, damaged hip flexers, consistently lost skin from knees and ankles, broke ribs, removed toe nails, ripped holes in the soles of feet, lost copious amounts of skin from back of hands (hair will probably never grow there again), almost frostbitten toes, snapped AC ligament, stitches in leg, wind burn, sun burn, cock burn, and rope burn. I’ve suffered altitude sickness, dehydration, and malnutrition more commonly than you’d think. I’ve hit the deck, missed ledges, hit trees, and dodged too many falling rocks to ever consider multi-pitching without a helmet.

I’ve lost cams. I’ve founds cams. I’ve torn gear loops off harnesses, taken core shots to ropes, and now have a helmet that would no longer pass health and safety standards. I’ve lost sleeping bags, snapped tents, snapped a snowboard, cracked bindings, put holes in every single item of clothing I own, wrote off two cars, drowned a laptop, fixed then smashed said laptop, punched crampons through back pack, melted slings, snapped sunnies, blown through three pairs of climbing shoes, and just as many thongs.

I’ve had run-ins with the law, seen the changing colors of Autumn leaves, and spent more money than should be considered reasonable for someone unemployed this long, but I’ve meet the best people in the most amazing locations while having the funnest adventures. I’ve had my attention drawn by a local filly, and now a piece of America may be coming back with me. I’ve scared myself so often that my adrenal gland has now grown larger than both my balls. Oh, and I’ve showered at least a dozen times in the last seven months.

Best. Year. Ever.

talk like an aussie.

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Sara

i have spent the last two days in the car reading the book in a sunburned country by bill bryson. ryan sneakily bought (like a fox!) and surprise gifted me the book upon his departure, knowing that he had sparked my interest in australia and that this author’s style of writing would thoroughly entertain me.

after finishing the first hundred pages, i got the urge to write about my own australian experiences. although i have yet to make the long journey to the land down under, i have just had a month living amongst them.

when you meet an australian – or maybe you don’t, but mark and i do – you become fascinated with their culture (aka taste vegemite) and their vernacular. they are speaking english, yet you’ll be in a regular conversation and all the sudden have no clue what was said in the last three sentences. a string of words form and you stare blankly at the mouth forming them.

“did you just say words?” became a common phrase that i would utter in confusion to my aussie companions.

i figured since i would be spending a month with these blokes, i might as well start trying to learn their language. i came naturally to the mumbling that often ensues when their speech gets excited. i am pretty well known for blurring all my words into one and barely opening my mouth while i do it. so, no problem there.

then there is the complete nonexistence of the letter ‘r’. or rather the sound the letter ‘r’ makes. it was pretty fun since mark and i both have the letter in our names. rrrrrrrrrrrrrr. aussies don’t need that letter. too good for the ‘r’. they just graze right over it when it’s in the middle of a word.

insert time here to practice your best australian accent.

i suck at the accent. i did seem to be way better at it when immediately repeating a phrase after it left their mouths. like a parrot. but left to my own devices, a cross between a pirate and a brit was the best i could come up with. sort of like paul rudd in the movie i love you, man.

but despite my horrible accent and inability to completely disregard the eighteenth letter of the alphabet, i decided to slip into my studious nature and really get a handle on the jibberish that was being spat at us.

so of course, like any good foreign language student, i started a dictionary. anytime ryan or ben would say something completely absurd, i would add it to the list. there was only one problem…

sara: wait, what’d you just say?
ryan: bitumen
sara: can you spell that?
ryan: bit-uh-men
sara: um, so, can you spell that?
ryan: um, no

this conversation happened nearly every single time i learned a new word. ben was able to help me out on some of the words, but in general, it seems as though the spelling is open to interpretation. or at least it is in my australian dictionary. so if you are australian or are an expert in aussie slang, please forgive my misspellings.

now it was hard to get ryan and ben to come up with new words for me to learn on the spot. so, i had to be a patient student and wait for my tutors to slip into their native tongue unknowingly. then, i would pounce! eagerly ask them what the heck a “capsicum” was and proudly added it to my dictionary when they responded “a pepper.” then, i would share the new word with mark who would spend the whole next day using it at hilariously inappropriate times.

i added about sixty words to my australian dictionary over the past month and learned that when in doubt, shorten the word and add an ‘o’ or ‘y’ and you’re probably good to go. so after a month of studies with two amazing australian tutors, i am taking on the challenge. here goes nothing. enjoy.

a story where i attempt to use every aussie word i learned from ryan and ben
by sara schneider (don’t pronounce the letter r)

disclaimer: this story’s plot is going to make no sense.

once upon a time, in a land full of the deadliest creatures known to man (including the drop bears), lived a simple sheila named sydney and her lil’ tacker out in the bush. her daughter was a cute little ranga named adelaide who was always getting into trouble. she took after her dad.

her father was a dodgy bloke who lived in an old combi down by the sea. he laid on the beach all day in dirty tracky dacks and a ripped singlette neckin’ the dregs out of every stubby he could find in his disheveled esky. it’s one thing to sink some piss on the shore and haggle the nippers a bit, but this bloke was heaps of headaches. he was built like a brick shithouse but stumbled stupidly from too much grog.

all those years ago, adelaide’s mother thought the doc was stirrin’ her when she went in for the wog and came out up the duff. strewth. but that’s what you get when you are young and toey, skull too many goonsacks, and get a good root from the first bloke who perves on ya.

she left the doc feeling a bit how ya goin’ but ended up loving the silly duffa once adelaide was in her arms. they left the hospital ready to live a life with no wuckas. sydney hopped in her ute, threw her bags in boot, and checked under the bonnet. with a few cranks of the spanner she was headed back out on the endless bitumen with adelaide wrapped up all starkers beneath her doona taking a kip. such a cute little possum. riggy dige.

sydney raised adelaide to be a wiz in the kitchen. fucking oath she made delicious combinations of pumpkin and pecans (pronounced pee-cans). perfectly flavored spag bol with freshly grown capsicums. filets (pronounced fill-its) and prawns and yabbies on the barbi. amazing chook and avo sangas with a side of chips. just grab a serviette and dig into the best tucker in town.

sometimes adelaide would be a little sooky la la when she thought about her lack of a father, but sydney always knew she’d be apples. when she was younger, she would just let her dink on their bicycle for a fun arvo ride and all would be swell to the max. but today, she had a squize at adelaide’s diary and learned a secret.

“g’day addy,” said sydney in a somber motherly tone. “are you having a win?”

adelaide stared at sydney. she was now almost eighteen and wanted nothing to do with her mother. “i’m a bit of all right,” she responded uninterested.

“i reckon you’re feeling a bit shit hot huh?” sydney said trying to pry a bit deeper. she walked to the fridge, grabbed two toheys, stuck them in a couple of stubby coolers, and handed one to adelaide. she drank in the cold beer and smirked.

“tah. righto, mum.”

“good on ya addy,” sydney scoffed. “you thought you’d get away with it, but i happened to read your diary today.”

“fair dinkum…” adelaide trailed off. she didn’t care at all what her mother knew.

and i don’t care what she knew either because i just used all my words. boom doggle!

if you would like a translation, let me know. i can now be your australian tutor. (oh, and i can teach you all the states and capitals.) however, they do say you always learn a language better when you immerse yourself in the culture and language. maybe i need to do an australian immersion as my next adventure. learn a bit more about the infamous ned kelly and uncle chop chop.

for now, i’ll return to bill bryson’s account of the interesting island we call australia.

catch ya.

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Sara

i’ve never camped for a whole month. settled down in one space to climb. plant myself in the middle of nowhere kentucky without cell service.

it’s over now. not the adventure, but this chapter.

colby and i packed up the car this morning and hit the road again. this time, we’re headed back west. to red rocks in vegas and then onto bishop in california.

but what happened to the past month? i cannot figure out where all the time went. probably into endless fits of laughter, sore fingertips, and late night conversations.

i haven’t felt like writing. i haven’t had the words to put my experiences onto paper. i haven’t felt like letting anyone else in on the world i had created. a space in the woods where i felt safe. where i was surrounded by people who did not question you on anything other than what project you did or didn’t send today. unless you wanted them to…

i found the ones i wanted to know more.

and then my time disappeared.

as it always does.

and then it was today.

but what happened yesterday? what happened the day before? or even last week?

let me make a list of the highlights.

healing the cripple. ryan walked away from a head-on collision with only some aftermath from the seatbelt aka broken ribs. hanging out with our “family” was not good for his ribs. we made ryan laugh so hard it hurt. literally. and here i thought laughter was the best medicine for everything. i am pretty sure his hand grasping his boob during an outburst of laughter is now just a reflex.
the shanteen construction. having a shanty town makes you a local. having a home makes you feel safe. it gives you somewhere to escape the masses when you just want to be alone. or when you want some quiet. walking from the front of miguel’s past the bathrooms across the small bridge along the glow worm lined path down the line of shrubbery and ending at the warm glowing lantern light telling me someone was home.
climbing (rock). that is why we were all there. taking time to problem solve the rock. sitting at the crag cheering each other on. smiling when we finish something we’ve been working on. feeling our muscles give out and the skin on our fingertips disintegrate. feel weak. feel strong. collect a list of your favorite climbs. collect a list of your projects. i got on a 5.11b technical, vertical climb (random precision at the gallery wall) last year when i was in the red. i didn’t get to the top clean. this year, i did. and i did it in the rain. i got on another 5.11b (like a turtle at the bronaugh wall) that i had taken about six whippers on trying to get to the last bolt before the anchors at the beginning of this trip. yesterday, i got to the anchors. not clean, but only one hang. it’s those moments of small satisfaction that make you love the rock even more. make you love the people around you even more. make you love this community even more. and make you want to come back next year.
an australian thanksgiving. they don’t have thanksgiving in australia. weird, i know. this month has been filled with a lot of learning the cultural differences between australians and americans. new words. new foods. new holidays. we wanted to make sure that our two aussies experienced a true american thanksgiving, even if it was only october. and so, we sent lauren and ben to the grocery store and then off to jen’s cabin to slave away over the stove on one of our rest days. i sat on the couch and did work as the boys watched some sunday football. the aussies were rather impressed with my knowledge as i explained all the rules of the game. thanks college. colby and lauren cooked up quite the meal. including homemade pies. we said what we were grateful for. we stuffed our faces. we took naps. it was a success.
the new river gorge. sometimes when you spend a month in one place, you want to visit somewhere else. and since i was with someone who was trying to see as many of america’s climbing destinations as possible before heading back to australia, we rented a car and headed to the new river gorge in west virginia for a long weekend. we were half running away from a kentucky cold front and half just running away. with fall in full swing, the four hour drive was beautiful. the climbing was beautiful. we stayed in a cheap hotel room. i don’t think i have ever been so excited to see a bathtub in my life. endless hot water! and a toilet just steps away from the bed! and the restaurants in fayetteville are actually pretty great. it’s a cute little town with a very big single span arch bridge. and it was a cute little weekend of touring the area with my aussie. giving him several new experiences…like dirty ernie’s rib pit. classic.
family game night. there is nothing better than family game nights. especially when your family is a bunch of immature adults who find everything absolutely hilarious. add in cards against humanity and you have a couple hours of constant laughter. eight people crowded around a picnic table covered with camping stoves and dirty dishes and food particles and toothbrushes. alan, ben, ryan, colby, lauren, mark, steph, and me. mark won. the game was made for him. but to be entirely cheesy…we all were winners that night. there were hordes of climbers a few hundred yards away, but we were in our own little world. laughing our asses off until it was time to sleep.
saying goodbye. this is a concept that doesn’t really exist in my life and i love it. it’s always goodbye for now. goodbye to simeon (until i see you everywhere). goodbye to elodie (until i see you again in thailand? or maybe france). goodbye to alan (until i see you a week later back at the red). goodbye to ben (until i see you a couple weeks later in bishop for thanksgiving). goodbye to lauren and mark (until i see you tonight in a hotel room in tulsa). goodbye to ryan (until i see you again in australia). i’ve always been good at keeping in contact with those who impact me. those that i want to keep impacting me. technology makes it easy to call and email and chat and blog. airplanes make it easy to go hug the people that live faraway. goodbye is no longer goodbye in this world. and so i’m adopting a new australian sign off.