Solid as a Rock

On my recent trip to Spain, my friends and I actually covered three countries and two continents in three days.  We flew into Spain, and then spent a day each in Spain, Gibraltar (which is an English territory), and Morocco.  It was good times, I say, good times.

Gibraltar is home of the Southern most point of Europe, and you can see Africa from its tip.  There is also the famous Rock of Gibraltar, and the equally famous monkeys.  The picture is of me and Mr. Monkey chilling out on the rock.  We had some drinks and talked politics (like how Spain wants Gibraltar to be Spanish, but the people of Gibraltar want it to stay English) before we posed for this picture. He's pretty smart; I believe he got his PhD from Oxford. Or maybe it was Cambridge.  I can never remember.

I was hoping that since we were in an English territory the cars would have to be driven on the left side of the road. Since in Spain they drive on the right side, I wanted the cars to have to switch sides at the border (a la "Wee Britian"--those of you A.D. fans get this joke).  Alas, Gibraltar is one of the few English territories, commonwealth countries, or former colonies that don't drive on the left side of the road.  [The only other two I know of are Canada and the U.S.).  Oh well, it is probably safer that way. All in all it was a great trip.  

Until next week.

Shakespeare Rules

When Kymberly and Justin were in London for a visit, we took a day trip to Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon.  As you probably know, Shakespeare was born and lived in Stratford, and while there we were able to see his birth home.  The city is full of Shakespeare as he is the reason so many tourists come.  The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is based in Stratford, and in the center (or, when in England, centre) of town there is a statue dedicated to Shakespeare. This statue memorialized the tragedies and the comedies, and located in the four corners around the statue are four famous characters, such as Hamlet.  Unfortunately, the city was doing a lot of contruction around the statue, and I wasn't able to to get a great picture of the characters.  The statue itself was not touched by construction, and the picture to the left is part of the memorial.

Many towns in England are on rivers, and you can usually tell because the town is "upon" something, and generally evokes images of quaint little English towns. For example, the town Kingston (which is in London, close to me) is called Kingston-upon-Thames as it is on the River Thames. (So, really, London could be called London-upon-Thames, but the words quaint and little do not exactly fit with London).   The same is true for Stratford, which is "upon" the River Avon.  Interestingly the word "avon" means river in England.  So, the picture to the right is the River Avon, or the Avon Avon (ha ha), in Stratford just across from the Shakespeare statue.

Stratford is quite a lovely little town, and it easy to see why Shakespeare, despite all the fun of various sorts he had in London, always came back home.  

Picture of the Week--Straddling the Hemispheres

Here's the first official Picture of the Week!  This was taken a few weeks ago when my friends Kymberly and Justin were in town visiting.  On this particular day we went to Greenwich, which you may know is the home of Greenwich Mean Time where all time is measured from (though it is called Universal Time now).  This is the home of the Prime Meridian, which means that it is the marker of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. 

For someone who gets pretty excited from little things like state lines (um, that's me), the hemisphere line was AMAZING.  I got to straddle the hemispheres, say "meet you in the Eastern Hemisphere," run from one hemisphere to the other, and talk about that time I was in that "other hemisphere.  So, basically, your typically dorky Sara-stuff.  

Anyway, hope you enjoy seeing me in both hemispheres.  I know I enjoyed my visit to them. 

The Times They Are A-Changin'

New post time!  I know, I know, it happens so infrequently you all thought it would never happen again.  I have been busy finishing up my semester, traveling, and having friends visit.  I guess things are "calming" down, but really I feel like it is all about to change again. And I am a little sad about it. 

Now, to be fair, I usually feel a bit of melancholy in May.  I think it is due to end of school,  graduations, and moving on.  When I worked at USM, the campus always saw a dramatic change in May: it became this quiet peaceful place (where I didn't have to fight for a parking spot). It always took some adjusting to life there without students or faculty around as often.  I am currently going through this again, as I live on campus and it is suddenly silent after a semester full of loud parties. Still, I don't think these are the only reasons.  I think that this year, it is different. Or maybe not different, just more. I feel the winds of change more than I have in a long time.  

I am sure some of it has to do with my becoming a new decade, and all of those old issues that I've already talked and written about, ad nauseam.  I also think that I'm moving into a new phase of adulthood. The kind where you have a career, maybe start a family, buy a house, etc.  I think as more of my friends do these things, while not necessarily making feel like I need to do it, I am realizing that people my age are old enough to do these things.  Like, my peeps, we can be U.S. Senators now. That's a little mind blowing sometimes.  Weren't we just in college? Also, am I now too old to say peeps? [Do not answer that question.]

Also, there is the obvious: I am finishing up graduate school, saying good-bye to the new friends I have made, looking for jobs, moving on, etc.  So, these play into this feeling as well. Still,  I am finding that I am ready to be settled, at least for a little while.  Even if I am only in London for a year, I want to find a flat, and just be content for a year.  I have felt in flux for so long, sometimes I think since I graduated college, that just being at ease will be nice. 

Still, change can be, and has often proven to be, exciting. It is exciting to think of living in London for a year, getting a job in a non-profit, making new friends.  So, while there is that same old sadness, there is also that same old feeling of excitement.  And anyone who knows me, also knows I am emotional, and sentimental, which is how I feel now.  I just can't be any other way.  

So, of course, I'll keep you posted.  I am also going to institute my picture of the week--I've been to so many interesting places of late that I want to show them off. They can also give me something to write about if nothing is going on. The one in the post is from Jamaica--Hope Gardens to be exact. This is Jamaica's Botanical Gardens located in Kingston, next to the UTech campus.  I was excited to get this picture, because I hadn't figured out how to work my close-up feature yet.  I still don't always get that feature right, but sometimes I do, and then you get pictures like these.

I'll start in full force on Sunday, and get a new one up each Sunday. Well, I intend to start that on Sunday, and change on Sundays. You know, sometimes the best laid plans...

Stay tuned.