First up, DC.
It
has been a relaxing couple of weeks. Met mom in the airport and the
couple of days we were in Washington DC, we were mainly playing
tourists, driving and walking around and did a little
pre-Christmas shopping. Went to see the White House and Capitol and walked around in the parks and historical locations.
MEXICO!
After a couple of days in DC, we flew to Mexico! It is so beautiful.
Went to Playa del
Carmen. It is over-crowded with tourists but nearby places are so beautiful. Another reason for coming here is that
our family friends live in this town. So at first we stayed at a
hotel and took different excursions. Near Riviera Maya, there are
different nature parks. Huge, more or less natural and exciting. For
example: Xcaret, Xel-ha and Xplor. Xcaret reminds a little of a zoo.
But the animals, butterflies, birds.. basically all the flora and
fauna is presented in as natural environment as possible. There also
is a small archeological site and the old village of mayas. Also, as
Mexico is known for the "cenotes" - the secret underworld
of Mexico. We went to swim in the underground rivers. My favorite
part was the 2 hour long performance at the end of the night, music,
dancing, history and culture mixed with performance. Xel-ha is called
the worlds biggest natural aquarium. Most of the park is a lagoon
(not man-made but a bay in an ocean, and rivers going inland), where
one can go diving or snorkeling and see the beautiful coral reef and
the colorful fishes. Also can jump off the cliffs, which gives such a
liberating feeling! The moment you run and jump and realize there is
a pretty long way down feels amazing. Also some more water
attractions, for example, could swing into the water with a rope or
try to climb up the cliff, or try to cross a river on two ropes, this
turned out to be pretty hilarious as me and Tony (Megan's friend –
the girl we were visiting) were competing, who manages to cross it
first, it ended with both of us miserably falling into the ocean.
Xplor,
its the newest park here, but on the oldest ground, they think the
caves there were there 65 million years ago. The coolest part of the
day were definitely zip-lines. To fly above the trees was pretty damn
good! Not
to mention that all the parks had a lunch included. (Which most
definitely served as a dinner as well, as it was unlimited buffet of
Mexican cuisine, which is absolutely delicious).
As
I needed my dose of culture, we one day went to Xichen-Itza, where is
the archeological park and we heard all about the history of the
Mayas and Aztecs and saw one of the biggest temple-pyramids. Later
visited another natural lagoon and cenotes and ended the tour in
Valladolid, which is a very Mexican small town, not too many
tourists, went to some art galleries and parks and had another great
dinner.
Christmas
was calm and not christmasy at all, but the New Year was pretty cool.
We went to my moms old friend Aime's house, there were many people,
most of them speak solo in spanish, have had a lot of practice here,
back in the States, I'm gonna take advantage of my spanish-speaking
amigos and practice some more! After midnight we went out with Megan
(Aime's daughter) and her friends to a sports bar and after some
random people gave us tickets to a beach club, ended our night there.
They don't have fireworks in Mexico. Just a bunch of firecrackers
thrown around everywhere. On the 1st of january here started an
electronic music festival on the beach, the whole 5th avenue (the
main street for tourists) reminds more of a festival area than a
town. The real Playa del Carmen is so different from the tourist
area, I'm so thankful for Megan and her family for showing us that.
To mix things up a little I got myself some adventures, being too
confident and driving to a wrong town.. it sure was an adventure,
coming back in a mini-van full of workers who just ended their
evening-shift in some plantation.
Once, I helped Megan at work, she is teaching english to some kids, it was
such a good day, that is something I would love to do one day for a
longer period of time. I was asked if I miss home today, referring to
home I right now think of the States and the people there, which does
not mean I don't love Estonia, it means I'm not ready to go back just
yet.
Not
long ago I was terrified of flying, then, for quite some time I just
didn't like it, now I am pretty much fine with it, but the planes
don't seem to like me.. karma? I really could write a book about my
flying adventures soon enough. Flying back to the states: we arrive
to the airport in Cancun and our flight is not listed, not just on
time but not on the timetable at all, there was no real information
booth and the people we asked didn't know, they advised us to go to
the line of united airways anyways, the line was long, in the end
there were several others going to Washington and we later discovered
there still is a flight, just an error in the system, it was hell of
a delay. Got to the plane, another problem, the oxygen masks didn't
work, we had to wait for a mechanic. Once he came he fixed the
problem mostly, only two of the masks of the flight attendants did
not work, so they needed to sit at the back of the plane, we were
kind of in the back too, the last row where they needed to sit
consisted of families with young children, so they
asked us to switch places, we waited
some more, finally got the permission to go, when some child needed
to go to the bathroom, then one more, another after another, there
went our turn to take off, when we were finally almost taking off,
the flight attendant remembered there is still one kid in the
restroom. She had forgotten how to unlock the door. We were sitting
next to an old couple, who had an excellent sense of humor, and the
situation was tragi-comical. Thank god it was a calm kid and they
talked her out quickly and we were able to go! Arrived to Washington,
rented a car, showing my mom a bit more of DC and then Morgantown.
MORGANTOWN with mom!
The
warm feeling that comes.. like being home! Showed my mom the town that's special to me, the campus and took her to the some lovely food-places. After a couple days drove her to Washington Dulles
airport by our rental car. Gave it away there, after ALMOST getting a
speeding ticket and ALMOST running out of gas. Sent my mom to
the plane, as her bags were too
heavy, she had to repack twice! It was such a lovely holidays with mom, safe flight and see you soon!
DC adventures.
After
several traffic jams made it to DC city centre, grabbed some
street-food and headed to the metro when a random guy outta nowhere
grabbed my hand. It was snowing, it was cold, dark, I was packed in
my scarf, wearing headphones and being in my own world.. not noticing
anything going on around me. He claimed someone just stole his bag
and I was the only witness. He started shouting and made a scene on
the street. I was exhausted and getting angry. From somewhere police
came, luckily they noticed he was a little nuts and told me to go on
and they would deal with him. Managed to find my way to the Greyhound
station. As I had time and was bored I made a mistake of reading
damnyouautocorrect.com. Started laughing alone, which attracted the
attention of a creeper who started talking (flirting?) and didn't
wanna leave any more. When I finally got rid of him I found watching
tv-series a safer choice.
In
the bus fell straight asleep, but less than an hour there was the
first stop, a lot of people came in and I had to scoot over to the
window seat and let a guy sit next to me. He surprised me by asking
if I actually can listen music from my phone. He explained that he
has spent the last 12 years in prison and just got released today. I
didn't know what to say. In half an hour, there was another stop and
he woke me up by bringing me coffee. After that we started talking,
and he turned out to be a very interesting person. We talked about
music, movies, life, politics, passions, dreams.. everything. Early
in the morning in Pittsburgh went to have breakfast in the town as we
had 3 hours. Coming back he asked me if I want to hear some of his
stuff (He was writing music, singing and rapping, had a band once and
wants to continue now and release an album). Of course I said yes,
expecting he is gonna play me a tape, instead, he started singing on
the crowded, busy street. Not quietly to me, but loudly, performing.
It took me as a surprise. He is actually really good. As I promised
to be brutally honest and gave him some feedback in my opinion, I got
to hear a lot of his music later on. It was definitely one of the
most unexpected bus-rides I have had!
MORGANTOWN
Finally
back at Mo-town, spent the day catching up with people and as Jack is
leaving the next day, we are going out to continue our fun
traditions. Morgantown I have missed you!
Besides
the people, the thing I have missed the most is the spontaneity of
this town. The nights never go as planned, but always we end up
having a good time. I'm kind of in love with I-House and the town
more than ever. Long lunches, just chatting and catching up with
everybody.. going out every night.. going to couple of interesting
classes. Meeting new people, even discovered a new bar/club tonight.
I'm so glad I decided to stay in the US and take that risk, how ever
everything is gonna turn out, it is already worth it.
Another
snowstorm hit us, it is cold and snowing hard, making plans to go
sledging soon! It is a perfect staying in weather.. We have all just
been chilling downstairs in the living room and watching series the
all day. My voice is completely gone.. okay.. I can talk, barely and
it sounds weird. (Except the mornings, then I can just nod, somebody
already suggested giving me a note-pad so I could reply, otherwise
they can put whatever words to my mouth). I've been drinking a lot of
tea with honey these days, and now I'm sick of it. Made coffee with Chris for a change, didn't have instant coffee nor a coffee-maker, so
we started boiling it old-school, actually came out decent.
Had
a delicious late lunch/early dinner with Amir, Laura, Mercedes and
Ayah in a new sushi-place Volcano. And a bit Skins' like-night after
on. It was crazy fun! Can't believe Tito woke up round 7.30 saturday
morning.. Watched "HIMYIM" on tv, now I really want to
start watching it, even have all the seasons, all I need is time.
Round
ten went to KA frat party with Krasimir, the vibe wasn't the best,
met with Carmen and Emnet in I-house and decided to go to Cellar for a little. Nobody felt like it's gonna be a good night, but in the end
it turned out great.. Met a lot of people who I hadn't seen in a
while and time flied.. Quick "breakfast" and hookah to end
the night, and somebody stole my leather jacket. It was old and not
so expensive, but I need to buy a new one as it is getting colder and
colder.
My
last day in Mo-town Ash baked cookies and banana bread and I-House was
crowded with visitors, spent the morning discussing serious topics.
Decided to go to the cinema to see "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of
Shadows". At first we were talking about it with Krasimir and
Emnet. In the end half of the house wanted to go. Krasimir said it's
no problem for him to drive twice. By the time he got back from the
first round, there were some more who wanted to go, so in the end it
was 6 of us in a car that barely fits 4, it really is small (a fiat,
but size-wise something between a Smart and a Mini). The movie was
great, I mean it was a little slow in the beginning, but once it got
going.. tjaaa, the special effects were awesome, there were some
moments that took u speechless and well Robert Downey Jr.. cannot not
love him! After dinner it was time to say good bye for a while and
Chris drove me to Pittsburgh, it took some time to figure out where
the new cheap Megabus is going from and off
to NYC.
Moved to NYC!
First
week of NY was insane, it definitely takes time to get used to the
big city way of life. The people I'm living with are lovely, we have
our differences, but it's manageable. The place we're living is not
the best, but we are moving on wednesday. Our training sessions on
the other hand have been awesome, also the classes taken from BDC or
Peridance. And the classes I have taught in Brooklyn have been great
as well. My kids are incredibly adorable and they know what they are
doing. I love to be so busy again and I hame missed dancing! I feel
all my muscles hurting, it has been about 5 hours of training every
day. In a way it is a lot to take in, the people I am training with
are really and have been a crew for several years now and I haven't
been training almost at all for the past half a year, but I couldn't
be more thankful for the opportunity. A friend of mine had to go to
Europe for a couple of months on family-business, she asked me to
give her dance classes in Brooklyn and take her place at the crew she
was in, I knew some others from the crew and thankfully the ones I
didn't know were also on board with the idea.
Apart
from dancing, Couchsurfing is awesome. Met many great people
through it. Went to a photography museum with Donovan (Netherlands)
on friday and at night to a concert in Greenwich Village. Jonathan
Wilson was playing in Mercury lounge. Small venue but an excellent
concert. His music is great as was the atmosphere. The band
themselves got really drunk on the stage and smoked weed, something
strong, sniffing hard enough the whole crowd could have got high.
Saturday,
met up with Talha (India) and Aga (Poland) in Queens. She celebrated
her name-day. Eastern-European thing. Went to her friends place in
Manhattan, at first it was a house party. Polish food, wine and
drinks and a lot of chill people, most of them if not all of them
were couchsurfers. Before midnight headed to town and ended up in a
strip club as Talha had some free vouchers.
I'm
really getting attached to my kids, as are they to me, besides
teaching also volunteered to spend time with them a couple of times a
week to help them with homework and so. And all our trainings and
dance-classes, have already learned so much new.
Met
Ofer (Israel) through CS. He is a club-promoter in NYC and invited me
to a rooftop party at Gansevoort Park hotel, a luxurious, hip
downtown hotel. The club is on the 20th floor, can imagine the view.
He put us on the guest-list, which meant free entrance and a cocktail
(the regular tickets started from 50 dollars). The club was
beautiful. Were at the upper lounge and had a balcony. The music was
fun and the people I was with were great! Enrique (Philippines) and
Daniel (Poland) totally surprised me with their dance moves. Around
3.30 we headed to our own after-party at Daniel's place with Aga,
Enrique, Alejandro, Gaby (Usa) and Talha. He lives on 5th avenue,
next to Rockefeller centre, on the 30th floor, which means even a
more incredible view. Had some drinks and as everybody was really
hungry, Enrique cooked some omelets! 5Am – perfect time for
breakfast. Daniel can be really deep.. he made us all think about
what is the most important. When I was finally walking home it was
dawn, a bit past 7. Clear sky, sun rising behind the skyscrapers..
Made me feel so grateful of everything!
Went
to see SYTYCD auditions in Brooklyn. Alicia (Usa) and Allen (Usa)
from our crew competed. Alicia made it through! Congrats girl! She
got us tickets to the auditions. I've been a fan of the show for
years, it was amazing to see it live. Loved the simplicity and
natural feeling of it. Took place at some warehouse in Brooklyn. The
judges were sincere. Tyce Diorio, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy.
Their comments were wise and felt passionate. Nothing fancy, nothing
fake. A show with a heart. And the talent was pretty damn good!
On
wednesday it was our moving day. From Harlem to Brooklyn. Oh it was
an adventure. Kyle (Usa) couldn't get off work, so he couldn't give
us a ride. The boys were all away, so me, Alicia and Joanna
(Norway/Usa) had to manage on our own, it's not that we have that
many stuff, but we had a lot of bags, and everything that could've
gone wrong, did. Somebody tried to steal my bag, Ali's suitcase broke
down, we went off in a wrong stop and being all stubborn walked
couple of blocks for no reason, which was a little my fault, but hey,
I am not a native New Yorker here, as 2 of my companions were! In the
end we made it and I guess it is just something to laugh about. The
place looks good. Inside not outside, we were a little creeped at
first. (Not to tell, all the doors in that neighborhood look exactly
the same, that same night, or should I say morning, when I was coming
home I had no idea which door was mine.. I think I tried to open a
couple of them before I got to my own). It's a share-house. Besides
us 8 there live 7 more people and two cats. They instantly liked me.
Whenever I sit on the couch downstairs, they come and sit on my lap
and be all cute! I'm sharing a room with 3 girls, and it is even
smaller than our previous apartment.
That
same day met with some cool couchsurfers in "Mad Hatters"
sports bar at Lower East Side to watch Barcelona vs Real Madrid
soccer game. Barca won, had to celebrate. Went to Astoria, Queens, to
a fresh seafood market. They cook the food there. It was cheap and oh
so delicioso! And it all led to some wine and watching videos at
Mario's (Usa) place, where Kristin (Philippines) also joined us.
After that to Williamsburg, Brooklyn (which probably is my favorite
area of NYC). First to a cuban bar to try the best mojito I have ever
had, then to listen to some live band and to finish the night with a
falafel in a small fast food place. Muslim food which tastes great!
Thursday
evening attended my first NYC Couchsurfing weekly meet-up. It is held
every week in Central Bar, Lower East Side. I'm real glad I started
using CS. International people from all over the world guarantees
lots of fun and diversity.
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