Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Oregon Trail

So I've now been in Portland, OR, since last Friday night. My journey here was not as difficult as I was taught by the game Oregon Trail back in elementary school:

Poor Nicole!

I have to say that Oregon was pretty much what I expected from when I crossed into it from California: cow pastures, farms, beautiful forested mountains. And occasionally you see one of those beautifully forested mountains with half of the trees chopped down. It's a pretty jarring visual. I'm sure it has something to do with the reputation Oregonians have for being environmentally conscious.

Also, along the way I could tell why the two Pac-10 schools in the state chose their colors. University of Oregon chose the beautiful green of the trees and fields and yellow of the flowers and sun. Oregon State chose the lovely orange of the road construction signs and cones that peppered about a quarter of the entire drive along interstate 5 from the border through Portland. Of course, UO's uniforms have some weird tire-tread kind of stuff on the shoulders and knees, so maybe both schools are trying to channel the power of interstate 5 with their designs.

Starting with the majestic colors of nature and ending with this? Sigh.

I'll post more about Portland later. This city is amazing. Granted, the rain the past two days is downgrading my opinion of it a little bit, but really, it's a beautiful and fun city. I hope you all are doing well. I'm off to Salt Lake City in the morning.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

On the road again

And the road trip begins anew.
I could have done without the LA traffic...


More posts coming soon.

Location:Wilshire Blvd,Los Angeles,United States

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Guatemala by the numbers

I've been back for 4 days now. Time to review some statistics from my trip:

Nights in Guatemala: 38
Nights in Belize: 3
Hours of Spanish tutoring: 55
Nights in/near Antigua: 11
Nights at Lago Atitlan: 2
Nights in Xela: 8
Nights in Lanquin: 9
Nights in Fatima (coffee plantation near Xela): 6
Nights in Flores: 1
Nights on bus: 1
Nights in San Ignacio, Belize: 3
Episodes of food poisoning: 1
Food poisoning pills taken (Cipro or other): 0
Malaria pills taken: 0
Corn tortillas eaten: 7,875
Pounds of guacamole eaten: 4,309
Beer consumed: approx. 60 liters
Rum consumed: Reply hazy, try again.
Quetzalteca consumed: Ask again later.
Delicious Indian food dinners in Xela: 1
Xelaju Super Chivos home games attended: 2
Jazz concerts attended: 2
Cool people met: 182,360

Friday, April 2, 2010

Things I like about being back in the states

So I am back in California. Here's a quick list of things I'm enjoying:
  1. Family and friends. I love you all and can't wait to see you. Let me know when you can hang out.
  2. Drinking tap water. And San Francisco has very delicious tap water.
  3. Not having to check my shoes for scorpions.
  4. Catching up on some Colbert Report and Daily Show. Delicious!
  5. San Francisco scenery. Beautiful.