Trees = Love

In Germany there is a great tradition of men showing their love for their woman in May. On May 1st, considered May Day, men go out into the woods and try to find the tallest tree, typically a beech tree which is the most popular native tree to Germany. The taller the tree, the greater your love for the woman. The tree is then brought back to the village or town, decorated with streamers of beautiful colors and a sign that has the woman's name on it. It's typically done in secret by a love interest and delivered the night before while a hint to who the person that placed the tree is left on the girls doorstep. The tree is supposed to stay up for the entire month of May. While walking around old town - altstadt - we saw many of these trees attached to the beautiful houses. My goal is to find one that says Sami!

Dragons, Whales, and Bees, oh my!

We take the subway to get around everywhere

My time in Germany thus far has been brilliant! We spent yesterday wandering around the city, attempting to get our bearings. Although I find it hard to identify particular things about the way of life in Germany that differ from the U.S., we were able to see part of the old city of Bonn yesterday and enjoy the traditional architecture and great street food! The school we are attending the program through hosted a barbeque for all the students that are here in Germany through their program, we met lots of very nice people--many from Texas. We looked past our Texas stereotype and were actually able to enjoy their company. Since many of them have already been in the city for a few days they showed us around the old part of the city and particularly important...pointed out all the good bars. Here are some pictures from the city of Bonn -

Drachensfel Castle Ruins

This morning we woke up for our hike of the Siebengebirge Nature Park. We took a boat called Moby Dick to the town at the base of the mountain. The park is named for its seven mountains, Siebengebirge translates directly to seven mountains. There is a large castle at the top along with ruins of a castle that was built in the 1880s. Siebengebirge is the first protected natural area in Germany. The hike was not too challenging at the beginning but as we reached the top my legs were feeling the burn! Reaching the top, however, was well worth it. You could see all of Bonn and even into Cologne, which was probably 40 miles away. Here are some pictures from our hike -



View of the Rhine River from the top of the mountain



I knew I was in Germany when...

I have arrived in Germany! Despite some complications with my flight due to my own stupidity leaving the States, I arrived with ease! I flew straight in to Frankfurt and took a train to Bonn, Germany. I hadn't planned my train travel from Frankfurt to Bonn and was delighted to see how easy it was to book the ticket and hop on the rail!! Once arriving in Bonn, I walked around for about thirty minutes trying to find the office of the school we were at...turned out I walked by it about ten times. A nice gentleman by the name of Boris - I knew I was in Germany when...the guys name was Boris.... - took me to our hostel. All of my classmates were sitting around ready to go explore the city. I dropped down my bags and joined them for my first taste of Germany!! We went to the supermarket to purchase breakfast and lunch items for the next week or so, went out to dinner near the Universite', and went to a biergarten on the Rhine River, enjoyed the sites and good beer!!

I don't have many pictures yet, so I'll humor you with some of my first experiences in Germany:

-Even the shopping cart requires a downpayment. Most things cost money for temporary use including a pint at the pub or the shopping cart at the grocery store. You pay 1 Euro to be able to use the glass while you are drinking your beer, then you get the Euro back when your finished with your glass.

-When walking around comtemplating whether you should ask for help with directions, just ask, nine times out of ten they already know you are lost.

-It's true all the furniture in Germany is straight out of Ikea.

-I've already seen at least three castles and they all seemingly grow out of the ground. Epic.

-Little hot dogs at the grocery store are called Smiley Dots.

-What do Germans recommend as the best food to eat you wonder? Italian.

That's all I have for my first ten hours in Germany but hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pictures to share :)

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness!

To the land of castles and good beer.

I'm heading off on my European excursion! I can't believe the day has finally come. If you are interested in where I'll be spending my time here is a link to a google map showing where we will be. If you have any suggestions on things to do, places to see, beer to drink, food to eat, things to buy, please let me know!!

View Tour de Europe in a larger map


And some pictures of some of the things we'll be seeing:

Stay tuned for real life pictures!!

On a great weekend.

The past few weeks have been filled with celebration and lots of family time. This weekend was no exception! We all took the trek to Maryland to celebrate my sister-in-laws graduation, earning her PhD in Clinical Psychology. A lovely crab feast on the Chesapeake Bay was held to celebrate. We all enjoyed mounds of Old Bay covered blue crabs, National Bohemian beer, volleyball playing, kayaking, and smiling faces all around. Congratulations to Linda for her hard work and thanks for having us all there to celebrate!! Here are some pictures from the par-tay.

And of course, what would a family gathering be without some silly pictures:

Next up on the weekends agenda, Warrior Dash!! The Warrior Dash commences my three 5K's to finish this season. I'm proud of myself for my attempt, but I can't say I was the most competitive contender. Although, we DID have tons of fun...and in my book that's what it is all about.

We ran through mud, jumped over fire (although I jumped over the short part of the fire...don't judge), ran through more mud, climbed a tall cargo net, crawled through the mud in the dark, slid down a water slide, drank beer, ran through even more mud, crawled under barbed wire, and ran through EVEN MORE mud...all in all having a great time. I haven't seen the official pictures from the race, but here is our before and after pictures. I highly recommend it to anyone who really loves to get muddy!!

Preparation

As I prepare for my upcoming B-I-G adventure in Europe....only one more week...EEEeeeEEe, I found this really cool website to help hone my picture taking skills (via How About Orange). Although I know the basics, it will be really cool to share some breathtaking pictures of all the beautiful places we'll visit on our trip - so I'll need all the simulated practice I can get.

Check it out!

End of an era.

This weekend marked the (almost) end of an era. I have finally finished my master's degree, well, mostly. I still have to get through one class over the summer, and then I'll be done my master's degree. Despite the additional class, I was still about to walk at graduation this past weekend. It was so great to commence two years of hard work, good people, and lots of writing through this rite of passage called graduation. Dr. Olsen, one of my favorite professors from my undergraduate career, gave a witty speech including many quips about what to do to shape your future.

Although I know I deserved to be there just as much as everyone else, it was a very proud moment to see some of my favorite students to walk across the stage. There is something different about getting your undergraduate degree versus your graduate degree, maybe it's just that I've grown out of getting this type of recognition, it sure was good to see those once awkward students walk with their heads held high across the stage.

To celebrate graduation, my family rented a beautiful little beach house on Carolina Beach called "Big Blue." It was absolutely perfect. Great to spend time with my family enjoying the sounds of the sea. I thought it would be really nice to treat them to some of the delicacies that reside in Wilmington including Lewis's strawberries and blueberries, shrimp, and Britts donuts! Yummmy. I wish all weekends could be like this.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness!!

Idle Hands make pretty things.

Now that school has been officially over for more than a week, I find myself struggling to stay busy through the day. Sure there is work and I have some side projects going on, but what about the time that I typically spent either studying or in class? Although last week I was basking in my freedom and vegging out whenever humanly possible, this week I'm yearning for things to do, papers to write, books to read, tv shows to watch, miles to run....you get the point. Then I remembered there used to be this little part of my life called crafting.

I guess I didn't remember how much I missed using my hands to create something new and cute and fun in just a few short hours. I've been keeping quite a long list of new ideas and tutorials to try out. So for the past few days I have been CRAFTING!!

Having seen a tutorial for an adorable necklace I decided I would make JUST ONE.

Then, another, and another, and....you get the idea. So tonight I spent 98.5% of the evening gluing small pieces of fabric to other small pieces of fabric to make these masterpieces. And boy are they CUTE!

Enjoy!

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness.

P.S. If you are interested in owning one of these I would love to make one for you, donations are accepted.

Me Mere

Since it's mother's day in all, I have to give a special shout out to my mom, Janet. She is the best and has worked her hardest for the past 28 years to provide a loving, happy foundation for my brothers and I. As a single mom for most of my upbringing, my mom worked hard to provide for my brother and I, often referring to us as The Three Musketeers through those trying times. Now that our family has grown she is the glue that keeps us all together.

In her honor I'd like to share eight things I love most about my mom (since it is May 8th and all...)

1. I don't know when my family decided to do this, but since my nickname is spelled S-A-M-I, both my mom and grandmother made the executive decision to change the spelling of their "names" to M-O-M-I and G-R-A-M-I so we could all have a special common name bond.

2. My mom supports me in most everything I do, but most recently I have really appreciated the support she has offered me in my journey to the Peace Corps. You see, when I applied for the first time about three years ago it was a tough subject...even though it was an easy decision for me it was harder for my family to swallow. But this time around my mom is really excited for this opportunity for me. I'm so lucky to have a mother who so fully embraces my dreams and is so open to helping through all the ups and downs that come with them.

3. As kids, my older brother and I both hated one type of food--for me it was stuffing (bllleehhh!) and for him it was mashed potatoes. But for some reason my mom could NEVER get it right. And for some reason I totally treasure that my mom, although she doesn't always get it perfect, she tries really hard to remember all the things that we do and don't like. I think I've been through a million and one phases of things I won't eat...american cheese, meat, mushrooms....now I'm pretty open to anything which makes mother happy :)

4.If there was anything I cherish most about the things that I inherited from my mother (matched for #6 and #7), it is her innate creativity which has been passed down through our family. My grandmother was a china-painter, florist, and an avid crafter; my grandfather a woodworker, builder, and all around do-it-yourself-er; and my mom a creative expert with her wine making, t-shirt printing, model clay shape making, and painting. Although sometimes I tease her for taking a completely fine t-shirt and embellishing it with the latest stencil, I admire her ability to be creative and am so glad I inherited it as well.

5. My mom is so open to talking about ANYTHING. Our talks are sometimes the best therapy and couldn't be substituted for late night conversations with anyone else. There is something about the bond you have with your mother and their ability to make you feel important again when you've reached the lowest of lows, or their ability to make you laugh at yourself when you've really done something stupid, or just make you feel better when you didn't do something as well as you thought you would. My mom totally puts the icing on the cake for this one.

5.5 Speaking of cakes---my mom made the BEST cakes for us when we were growing up. Ummm soccer ball cakes, dolphin cakes, I'm drawing a blank on some of the others but....I promise you, they were awesome!

6. In the age of helicopter parents, my mom taught

me the value of being independent. What an invaluable thing to learn growing up. I see parents these days who do the craziest things for their child like call the ACE office and tell us how we brought a comedian who was offensive and we were polluting the minds of our students--ummmm aren't all comedians mildly offensive and isn't your child old enough to decide that for him/herself and isn't there a little thing called audience responsibility...really lady (of course I didn't say that to the women, but COME ON!!), but I am fortunate to have been taught to take responsibility for myself. If I want to go to school--figure it out. If I want to open a bank account--figure it out. If I want to run away to a far away country--my mom would have a stern look at me, right between the eyes, and say "Sami, you better figure this one out, cause I'm not coming to Timbuktu to save you." So thanks mom!!

7. Ever since I was just a wee one my mom has worked with animals. She and my stepdad make their living training and breeding dogs (insert shameless plug for Weller Kennels here). But my mom's love for animals extends way beyond that. The things my mom looks forward to in spring is the return of wildlife to their property including swans, geese, and baby chicks. As kids we had a pretty spectacular fishtank and many different varieties of frogs, at one point we had a hampster, and probably at any given point between 4-9 dogs running around the house, oh yeah, and a few cats in there too. Anyways, my mom loves animals, and I love that about her. And if you ever need something to brighten your day, check this part of their website out for the cute puppies they have running around.

8. And last but not least - at least for this list because I'm pretty sure I could probably go on forever - my mom totally invented the 24 hour Dunkin Donuts rule. The premise is if you don't eat your share of the Dunkin Donuts box within 24 hours, they are TOTALLY up for grabs. She is genius, I swear, and probably mitigated thousands of fights between my brother and I over donuts.

Hope you enjoy. Love your mother...even if this is what your family gathering photo shoots end up looking like :)

Inspiration for the day.

Source: imgfave.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Fences

I have been saving these pictures I took around town to share some deeply embedded history of my town and its roots in ironworks. Turns out, I can't find anything....so I'll just share these pictures of all the fences. I've lived in the downtown area for a number of years now, and I still find a new design every time I go walking. It's just amazing. I always wonder what the significance of the design is, or if they even have a meaning besides just wanting to look pretty.

There are simple fences and complex fences, big fences and small fences, high fences and low fences, sharp fences and dull fences, open fences and closed fences...and just about everything in between.

Hope you enjoy this little piece of my town.

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness!

Inspiration for the day.

Friends are Grand.

Sometimes we take for granted the amazing friends that we have. I am probably the most guilty. But I was so gently reminded when I arrived home yesterday to a package sitting on my doorstep--with my name on it. I thought to myself, I can't remember ordering anything....let alone having the money to even think about ordering anything. But when I opened the package it was a lovely book from the one and only, Sheila Kitchen. It was a picture book of all of our adventures driving across the country last summer.

For those of you who don't know, Sheila was my roommate for three years and such a dear, dear friend. She was accepted into a PhD program at OSU in Corvallis and so she packed up all her bags last August and invited me along for the trip. It was so great to spend those bittersweet memories together.

If anyone ever has the opportunity to drive across the country,

please do yourself a favor, and GO!!

We did it in two weeks and did so many fantastic things. We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopped in Knoxville for some delicious pizza, stayed the night with an old friend in Nashville, drove through the beautiful Kentucky countryside stopping at the Maker's Mark factory for some whiskey, drove through the plains of Indiana and watched some CRAZY thunderstorms on the way to Chicago. Stayed two nights in Chicago with a new friend and excellent tour guide, stayed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and moved quickly along to Rapid City checking out Mount Rushmore and the Badlands (soooo cool!). Next we moved on to a breathtaking drive through Yellowstone National Park staying in the interesting Idaho Falls. We went white water rafting down the Yellowstone River, and saw countless animals including a momma grizzly and her two cubs, elks, bison, crazy looking birds, etc. Moving on to the idealic Couer D'Alene, we enjoyed a delicious greek dinner, street festival, and sitting under the stars in North Idaho, we thought to ourselves what could be any better than this? Almost done our trip, we stopped to stay in a really cool hostel in Seattle and enjoyed the delicous food (we picked a North African restaurant) at the public market, amazing shopping, and a great New Pornographers show! Sheila started to get nervous at this point as we reached Oregon and we knew we'd have to part....but we drove down the Oregon Coast, through Astoria, stopping in Cannon Beach, Newport (SEALS! YEA!), and then finally Corvallis. We decided to get the keys to Sheila's apartment and then take off again, not wanting to accept reality. We headed to Portland, had Voodoo donuts and stood in line with Weird Al Yankovic, did the shopping thing, walked around, and ended my time there with a beautiful drink date with a dear old friend whom I haven't seen in forever (Love you Jinell!!).

As I think back, I don't understand how to I got to be so fortunate to have great friends and great memories to go with them. I'm looking forward to my adventures this summer but I am happy to have that little drive across the country in my back pocket. Thank you Sheila for my beautiful gift!

Meeting Rosie D.

Today I had the opportunity to share lunch with the Chancellor (Rosie D., if you didn't know) of my university along with other students who excel in leadership and public service. So many inspirational people in one room, and I got to sit there along with them. What a great way to end out my last few days of graduate school. The luncheon was help for those of us who participated in a program called, Chancellor's Challenge, where you document all the leadership and public service activities that you participate in throughout the year. If you reach a certain number of points, you get the opportunity to share lunch with the Chancellor.

I was a little nervous about the opportunity thinking that most thing like this end up being pretty awkward, but Rosie really proved me wrong. She was really willing to hear what we all had to say, answered questions about our concerns with the university, looked for our input towards making the university more public service centered, and told us stories about the history surrounding my university.

It was all in all, quite a delightful experience. I told her that I was concerned about the amount of recognition that graduate students receive in comparison to undergraduates, I felt having been both at this university I was qualified to say something about it. Also, we discussed some of the budget issues and how we feel it in the classroom. It is so important for the chancellor to take the time to meet with student leaders on campus to talk about things like that as it is a new viewpoint she probably does not hear very often.

I was proud to share my next steps in life in joining the Peace Corps. There really couldn't be a better group of people on campus to share this information with as the Peace Corps is quite an esteemed service opportunity that most don't have the will to take on.

As I finish up my last few projects and wait to turn them in, I'll reflect on opportunities like this, where I really felt like my voice was heard.

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness!