Welcome, Spring

Ah, Spring. Mother nature awakens, spreading light showers to dazzle the fertile soil and an eager sun to warm the hills. Either that... or ice-cold rain pelts down on us under grey skies and 35 degree weather (as is the current situation).

I've been back in Elgin for the past few weeks. I was really sad when I got back. Honestly, I think I was a little depressed for a few days. I guess all the flak I've been getting from people to have a firmer direction in life finally caught up with me. I realized that I was still living with my parents, didn't own anything, hated my job, had about six friends, just came from a "paradise" climate to a cold wasteland, and nothing was going to change for at least a few months.
Bummer...

Well, the circumstances are the same, but I am feeling better about myself. I talked to my sister and she told me to wisen up and remember the good things about the Midwest, the things she misses. Secretly, I wanted her to come and see for herself how miserable it was here. Then I went to Wal-Mart and unexpectedly realized what I'd been missing.

The greenhouses were open! The seeds are ready to plant! Everything grows in the summer! Odd to find it at Wal-Mart, but I'd completely forgotten one of the most critical things about Spring: it isn't about the weather. The weather is still horrible. It's about the anticipation. Everyone knows Summer's coming and is preparing for the wilderness to explode into a mass of green foliage. One thing people living in the tropics don't understand and won't understand until they experience it is the immense anticipation one gets from Spring after living through winter, especially one abnormally cold as the last few months.

So I've been scavenging the local stores and bought a plethora of seeds, ranging from sunflowers to pumpkins, and I'm actually going to follow through with it. It's been about five years since I've had both a backyard and Spring weather and who knows when I'll have this again, so I'm taking advantage of it while I can.

(Reenactment)

I know what you're thinking. Basically not much has changed since Hawaii, I'm just feeling better because I distracted myself with vegetables. Yes, that is exactly what has happened. I wonder how long this will last.

If you hear of any avaiable, cool job/volunteer opportunities, let me know!

waterfalls...

Today was great. My cousin and I climbed a mountain and dove into a few waterfalls in the middle of nowhere (AKA La'ie Falls). Both of us like to take pictures, so we stopped dozens of times to take flattering pictures of each other. Ironically, only one of these was posed. Can you guess which one?

You can see La'ie in the background of this picture. This is about halfway up and already it is a long way down. Yes, we did walk back to the coastline. Oh, and this was posed.

Hawaii Sun

My pilot cousin came out to visit this weekend and since then I've been having a blast. Everyday has been filled with lots of sun, water, beaches... basically what one imagines a Hawaiian vacation being. I planned on going back home sometime this week, whenever I can get a standby ticket. However... I just checked the weather report and supposedly it will snow there tomorrow with a High of 36F. You know when you're in the sun all day, and your skin almost burns but instead just darkens, and later that night your skin is still warm to the touch from the sun? That's what I feel like right now. It's great. Tomorrow we're going to hike up the mountain behind my sister's house and try to find a waterfall to swim in. I kind of don't want to go home.

jump.

We went SCUBA diving today by two shipwrecks. It was awesome. We swam in and out of the hull of the ships, with tons of fish, an eel, lots of sea turtles, and a few sharks. During the second dive, a submarine filled with tourists went by and we waved to little kids inside.

After, me and my cousin went to the beach and had a few drinks while the sun set and some surfers caught the last waves before dark.

Surfing

Well, things have a funny way of turning around. I went surfing today! ... More or less. I got up, but Ikaika (my brother-in-law) called my longboard a "moving sidewalk." That's pretty much what it was. Getting up on a longboard isn't hard. Paddling to get past the surf is, if you're not used to it. Maybe if I was remotely in shape it would have been easier, but I'm not at all right now. I've decided I'm going to start working out again. Here's a picture:


Also, as I was getting this picture off my sister's camera I found these other ones. I thought they should be shared with the world.

Look at this girl! She wasn't posing. She was just excited to see the show.

This is a picture of my nephew from Rachel's camera. Notice the green grass. That means this picture was taken almost a year ago and it's still on her camera. Oh well. I thought this was a nice one of the boy. There's so few pictures where he actually looks presentable.

Wake-Up Call

Location: Hau'ula, Hawaii

This morning I ignored the "tranquil" call of the rooster outside my window and decided to wake up a bit later, perhaps after 6AM.

I ended up waking to this:
"Oh Gross! Pepe* made dukilau** in your room! That's why it smells!"
*my sister's dog
** hawaiian slang for "poop"

I can tell today is going to be a beautiful day.

Florence - turned a new leaf

So I understand Florence now. I overheard the owner of my hostel telling a new resident about the city. "This is a city of museums," he said. "You have to go to at least two or three while you are here." When I made the previous post, I hadn't actually stepped foot in any of them yet. That was a mistake. Unfortunately, I left Florence after only seeing one.

Perhaps it's for the best, though, because now I left wanting to go back. I know there's a lot in that city I haven't seen, and now I have a completely different opinion of the city in general. Florence is and has been a city of travelers. Whether they're merchants or tourists, travelers have flocked to this city for centuries, which is fascinating in itself. In all these museums, you read about the paintings and where they came from. During the Renaissance, all of the artists knew each other and met and worked in these cities that are famous today. Some of the greatest art in the world was created in this city and much of it still rests here today.

I saw the Statue of David and was extremely impressed. First off, it's huge, much bigger than the pictures show. I don't understand how one person could have carved it on such a large scale. There are veins that run down his arms and hands. I never realized that before. But altogether... there was something strange about him. You read that his hands and head are large in proportion to the rest of his body and you can see it immediately when you look at the whole statue. His hands are huge. But, somehow it works. It should look odd, but it looks extremely balanced and perfect when you see it. He is supposed to look pensive and calm. It was his innocense that defeated Goliath (which was inspiration to the city at that point in history for some reason). I wonder if that has to do with his hands and head. By having large features and a small body, that may remind us of youth.

Anyway, it was good to see. The museum that housed it was small, but the artwork that was in it was awesome. There were huge paintings, most of which I really enjoyed.

Did you know that the lily is a symbol of purity, which is why it is traditionally placed in most "L'Annunciazione" paintings? So when I was making fun of that painting of Mary before [link], asking why the angel would have brought flowers, I was actually jabbing at something that obviously follows the tradition of the time. The flowers weren't placed in there to be part of the scene, but where placed as a neccessary symbol instead.

Needlesstosay, I have a much more different oppinion of Florence than I did yesterday. It just goes to show that you should never judge a city until you really understand why it is the way it is. There are good aspects to every city, sometimes it just takes a bit longer to find them.

More Florence

Happy Valentine's Day!

I spent the day wandering around the city. Strangely, I've heard more American accents today, just on the streets, than I have since I was in the states almost a month ago. I think this place is a hub for Californians. I'm not sure why.

Ah... Florence. I have a confession. If you are in love with Florence, please stop reading now and move on to the next blog.

I'm not really enjoying this city. I've really tried to enjoy myself, but today I... sort of lost it momentarily lost it. It was too much. There are too many people, everywhere. Yes, I know it's Saturday (and Valentine's day), but it's February! It's supposedly busier during the summer. I don't know how. Every turn I take, there's a group of people chatting loudly in American English. Every pretty part of the city is crawling with them. Every site has a constant flow of people moving in and out of the building. It's a pretty city, but I enjoyed Rome quite a bit more.

Today I wanted to see the Statue of David and then The Birth of Venus. I also wanted to see the Duomo, which this city is named for. That was the plan.

I went to the museum the Statue of David is in. There was a line, probably about 200 feet long to get inside. I wandered to the front. Surely it had to be cheap. It's a very small museum with only one major work of art (however major). It was about US$10 to get in, plus the wait. US$10 bucks is not a lot of money, I know, but it's the idea behind it. This is a major work of art that is mandatory to see while in this city. Yes, they can charge that much because it's the Statue of David and people will pay anything, but seriously, what kind of museum exploits major works of art to make a small fortune? Ten bucks, multiplied by a steady stream of tourists all day, pushing their way in. Do you have any idea how much money that little museum is making? There was at least two thousand dollars, just in the line I saw. I understand charging enough for maintenance and renovations, but strictly making money off a work of art that you did not create but simply own is ridiculous. To get into the Vatican Museum costs about US$20 and there were herds of people clammoring to get in. I don't think the Pope realized how much money he was making when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, but at least that money includes admission to several other museums, which usually aren't utilized by the visitors. It was the same deal with the Taj Mahal (US$15 goes a long way in India) and the Colosseum (which was free up until a few years ago). There are so many little gems in each of these cities. There are free cathedrals all over and cheap museums with amazing works of art. Why do so many people flock to the major ones?

Nevertheless, I really want to see the Statue of David, and will probably go tomorrow morning early when there will hopefully be no line. I really like marble statues and it is perhaps the best marble statue in the world. But I shall glare at them as they take my money. That'll show them.

Note: I know many of you will say, "Just spend the money. Who knows when you'll be there again?" And I will spend the money. The problem is that most of it is already spent and I'm in debt on my credit card. Now you ask, "Why did you go to Italy when you had no money?" My ticket was US$90 (tax included). How can you not go to Italy for so cheap when you have time and enough money to get by? Eh... I'll manage. I guess I'll be subbing for a few weeks when I get back to the states. Welcome home.