Molly's Molly

What Sub Saharan Africa?

2010-04-30T21:18:00.004-06:00

"Sub Saharan Africa...?"

"Yes Sub Saharan Africa" the Peace Corps placement officer told me on April 15th as I was driving the massive work delivery truck to Denver... (focus Molly, don't drive off the road... this is where you will be placed for next 2 and some odd years of your life... big decision... think Molly, think...) "as in anything south of the Sahara Desert?"

"Correct"

"Well then... I guess I'm going to Sub Saharan Africa." (as in I could now be placed in one of the many countries south of the Sahara Desert... my oh my)

"Excellent, welcome to the Peace Corps, look for your welcome packet in the mail."

Africa??? What about Latin America... all the spanish I've been learning... What about??? All the adventures I've had planed out down there...? out the Window...

As it turns out I'll be in Ghana, West Africa... as a Peace Corps volunteer for the next 2 plus years working in the environment sector as an Agroforestry and Alternative Livelihood Facilitator. It all begins on June 1, 2010!

2009-11-15T08:44:00.008-07:00

My oh my... time sure does fly!

Last night I was laying in bed recapping my day... 22 gallons of fresh apple cider pressed in the freezing cold (it was snowing), so we could brew it to make some hard cider... anyways that's beyond the point... I came to the realization that I haven't written in my blog in almost a year (well I'm a month and a half shy of a year... oops).

But no worries I'm back (haha, for the time being at least) to fill everyone in (I'm not sure who all reads this still) on my super, exciting life!

Time to do some back tracking...

April 2009 - Ski season ended with a success. I lost count when I hit 90 days of skiing, but I believe that I got in about 100 days of making turns on the mountain. The last few days at Winter Park we were graced with about 4 feet of fresh wonderful white stuff. Ullr give me my wish and I skied till my hearts content.

May 2009 - With ski season at an end, I moved back to my parents house in New Castle, CO to become that farm girl once again, and learn the family's business. I worked all summer as the farmer's market coordinator for three local farmer's market.

June 2009 - My hair had hit the middle of my back, and it was time for a change. I got the nerve to shave all my hair off. I sent 16 inches of my hair to Locks for Love and the rest went to the trash. So now I rock the short hair and I absolutely love it.

a few weeks after I shaved my head

July 2009 - I hiked my first 14er, Quandry, as well as hiked my second and third 14er. Surprised that I was born and raised in Colorado and had yet to hike a 14er till this year.

August 2009 - Hummm... I think I hit a low in August. Over worked and overwhelmed. I did manage to take the last few days of August off and start off on a 4 days bike trip from New Castle to Fort Collins with my friend Elliott.

Elliott and me on day three of our bike trip

September 2009 - Elliott and I made it safely to For Collins on September 2 just in time for me to spend my 23rd birthday with friends in the Fort. It took us four days and over 200 miles to arrive in our former college town. September was also racing month for me. I took part again the in Colorado Relay. Running 170 miles over 3 mountain passes from Georgetown, CO to Carbondale, CO in 24 hours. And ironically the next day was the Glenwood Triathlon. I took second in my age group and set a personal best in the swimming.

October 2009 - Harvest was in the air, I stared my usually jam making session as well as drying and the fruits produced on our trees and pressing apples and peaches to make some hard cider. Theresa and I set out across the great west and drove to California to visit our sister Tara and meet up with the rest of our family in San Francisco for a family wedding.

The 5 of us together again

November 2009 - That's where I'm at right now... I've been running still, working on the farm, and I'm gearing up for ski season. Landed a job teaching at Snowmass as a kids ski instructor, and I'm more than anxious for the snow to start flying. Cider is still brewing have over 27 gallons of hard cider brewing in the basement. Woot Woot!

Future - I've been accepted to the Peace Corps and now I'm in the current stages of passing legal, dental and medical. As of now I'm scheduled to leave in May of 2010 for somewhere in Latin America to do farm management.

2009-01-01T11:26:00.002-07:00

For those of you that still keep up with the exciting life of Molly, I'm sorry for the delay in writing blogs. I guess I feel that my life isn't that exciting now that I'm living back in the wonderful state of Colorado, but maybe is really is?

I guess I could catch everyone up on my whereabouts though...

When I got back from my summer travels I landed at my parents house and started working on the farm out in New Castle, CO. I managed the farm girl lifestyle for about two months when I decided (actually this plan was in the making when I graduated from college) to up and move to Winter Park, Colorado to get in a good season of skiing. I moved here with one of my really good friends from CSU to put our degrees to use (actually whenever I speak German I'm totally putting my degree to use) and make our parents proud!

So now two months later, I'm living in Winter Park. I'm able to see the ski area from my front deck as well as a beautiful view of the Continental Divide. The snow has been falling, but we are still in desperate need for a good 3 foot dump (but at this point I'll take whatever the sky will give us). I've already put in 24 days of skiing and I hope to get in about 100. Lately I've been spending my days skiing (big surprise, right?) and acquiring awkward tan lines (working right now on my goggle tan line).

Keep thinking peace and powder!

2008-08-17T02:28:00.010-06:00

Dirndls und Lederhosen

Bier und Brezels

Lachen und Trinken

Theresa and I got all dressed up in our typical Bavarian dresses for some Bier und Brezels.

And old friends reunited in Germany
(We all once upon a time studied together in Bamberg, Germany)
Holly, Molly, Danielle

Molly in training

Danielle, Ali, Theresa, Molly

Theresa bringing over some Bavarian Bier und XL Brezels

PROST!!

2008-08-16T04:43:00.010-06:00

After an 11 hour flight to München, I arrived exhausted, but excited to be back in a country where I knew the language (or I could more or less get by), could eat a large amounts of the foods that I was missing (fresh salads, coffee, dairy - milk and cheese, good bread and pizza) and just relax (clean hot showers, comfortable bed with clean sheets and no bug crawling all over them). I was greeted by the smiling face of my friend Ali (we went to CSU together, and she was back packing through Europe after studying in Morocco for the summer and she was currently crashing at my sister's Munich apartment).

Ali and I set off to explore the city (regardless of how many times I've been to München I've never really seen the city other than the Beer Gardens)Here we are with the Olympia Stadium behind us

My friend Holly (From England) and her boyfriendJon met up with Ali and I in Munich for a small Bamberg reunion.

Ali in training for Oktoberfest with Augustiner Bier.

The beer guardens go through a few of these Maßes of beer a night.

My first needle tree in 9 weeks. Just had to give it a hug!

2008-08-15T01:50:00.002-06:00

I don't usually find plane ride very comfortable, especially ones that exceed 5 hours. But on my flight home I realized just how comfortable planes actually are. Yes they do have limited leg space and being 5'10'' my legs usually get in the way of my comfort, but for the first time in a long while I wasn't sitting sideways to get them to cram into the seat in front of me. One leg wasn't awkwardly crossed over the other or stepping on something that was squirming under my feet (yes at some points I had to rest me feet on bags filled with something live.) My butt wasn't going numb and I was free to move about as I pleased. I didn't have to ration my water or my food in fear of not knowing when or if the bus (Plane) would stop. There was no one to bargain for things with, and no squattlet to be used. There was water for me to drink and ample amounts of toilet paper (extremely odd, it took me a bit to also realize that toilet paper can go down the toilet again). I was just feeling a bit strange. Where was the over crowded bus with the girls I was traveling with (they were making their way back to the states, as I was making my way to Germany). Where was the intense heat and humidity causing me to sweat every morsel of fluids out of my body. Where were the locals and the mountain of things that were piled high on top of the bus that looked like it just stepped out of the 1970's. Sitting on this über clean plane, I was feeling a bit out of sorts.

2 months is such a short time to travel to see a country and experience their culture. And yet it takes even longer to get accustomed to the backpackers life, being more or less never clean, wearing the same things over and over again, being on the go and sleeping in the most uncomfortable of beds in some of the grungiest places. But some where along the way it grows on you and when stepping back into a clean a civilized world everything is just out of place. I was finally growing accustomed to the strange smells, the heat and humidity, describing things with my hands in order for people to get what I was saying, cramming the 3 of us into one bed (yes it was usually a double or two twins pushed together). I was getting the hang of bargaining and accepting the fact that everything I own would smell of mold and never look clean. My legs were bound to look diseased from all the strange bug bites acquired (right now it looks like I had a bought with the chicken pox). I had finally mastered using the squatter toilets and how to find my 'Happy Place' when crammed onto the long, over crowded, numb butt bus rides.

I'm going to miss the smiling kids, practicing the new words that we would try to learn and the discovering of new places. I'm going to miss the crazy adventures and the backpackers world (even if we hated being stuck on the 'backpackers loop'). It was a good 9 weeks exploring, learning, discovering, growing, embracing, gaining self awareness, and accepting all that came our way. I know for sure that this isn't the end of my worldly travels and cultural learning.

2008-08-02T05:09:00.007-06:00

A few random pictures from Koh Tao...

Our Scuba Diving Team - "Wet Dream"
(no we didn't come up with that name, our crazy British instructor did) Tobias (from Germany), Avy, Bridget, Molly

Avy and Bridget in the water with Paul (the British Instructor)

and Tobias after coming up from a dive!

Me just kicking it on top of the boat.

The famous "Long Tail" boats that are the mode
of transportation when living on the water

2008-07-29T08:30:00.005-06:00

Day 56...

...Still lost at sea. We drank all the water, and food is running out...

Rather, day who know's what, the sun is finally shining and we are still living the island life in Koh Tao, Thailand. The rain has stopped, the water is an amazing teal bule and about 30 degrees celcious. There are still way to many tourists for my liking, but I'm getting certified in scuba diving... tehehe!

A two day adventure turned in to a 3 day adventure, which turned into wanting to do one dive, and then realizing that we are in the prime location to learn and get certified in scuba diving. So here we still are...

We started the course two days ago, watching the super cheesy PADI movies in the morning and testing our skills on the water and getting to explore the world down under in the afternoon. I can't begin to explain the sea life that I've seen and the colors of the fish when they pass right in front of your mask, the markings that they have and the way they swim about, gliding right on past allowing us to have an even closer inspection, brilliant (testing out my new British vocabulary!). We were lucky enough to see Nemo, which I was told that Nemo fish are rare to these parts of the water.

2008-07-27T06:50:00.007-06:00

ELEPHANT RIDING

Yes, that means that we rode elephants, or just one elephant!!! It was so exciting.

We took it to the river and it threw us off its back on several occasions and dumped water all over us. Rather amusing!!

"Embrace the Journey"

Bridget also did the unthinkable

We are now living the island life, and finding it hard to get off. About 3/4 days ago we landed on Koh Tao, Thailand (I would show pictures, but I have yet to bust out the camera) after 32 hours - 3 buses, 2 trucks and 1 boat, plus a few hours in the we hours of the morning at the Bangkok bus station - in order to get here. We made the decision to get out of the north where we were riding elephants, soaking in hot springs (nice reminder of home) and hanging out with the locals in the artsy town of Pai. We realized that our time is coming close to an end (only a week and a day left) and we wanted to get to an island or two before we are to make our ways home (or back to Germany in my case). So here we are, soaking up the rain on the beach, and about to become certified in Scuba Diving with Padi diving for up to 20 meters!!

2008-07-21T08:00:00.010-06:00

Picture Time...

Just the 3 of us.

Bridget and I about to kill each other in the kitchen...

Bridget and I took a Thai cooking course in hope of recreating the most delectable dishes back in Colorado. We started off with making our own curry paste and the day ended with making some mango stick rice (my new favorite thing to eat), with 5 other dishes in between. We learned the way the Thai's cook, the ingredients they use, and their methods of making the food turn out so delicious.

Live like poetry

Avy did the unthinkable...

Molly, Avy, Bridget
At one of the biggest green tea exports in Thailand

Getting a taste of what it felt like to have the heavy coils around my neck which the women of the Long Neck Tribe are required to wear to stretch out their neck.

The stretching is started from a very young age and at they get older they get more coils. On their wedding day they take the coils off, show their new husband their stretched out neck and gain a whole new set of coils.

Avy and one of the Long Neck Tribe's kid.

We also saw the Big Ear Tribe. The big ears are just the same as the Long Neck tribe, but they just have their ears stretched out.

2008-07-18T01:12:00.005-06:00

Every time I sit down to write in my blog I get a severe writer's block and have a hard time relaying the details of all my adventures and the stories that I have to tell. But while sitting on an overly crowded bus where the southern half of my body is completely numb I can think of exactly what I want to say and how I want to retell my adventures... but then as soon as I find myself in an internet cafe, my thoughts have vanished... we'll see what I can come up with today!

Jumping back to Lao... after the trekking in the remote parts of Northern Lao our 'small' group of five quickly became a group of 7/8 with different people coming and going (we had the Kiwi (Mark) kid for a few days, our English (Timmy) friend for a few more days, then another American (Sam) joined our group and just as the Kiwi was leaving we adopted a Chilean (Andrea) girl). As much as all of us loved staying on the tourist track and seeing all the artsy and European esque cities it was time to see more of the real Lao, where they don't speak much English, have running water in their homes, where every bit of food is made from scratch, and these places are only accessible by tuk tuk or boat.

We found ourselves in Nuang Kuheo, a little fisherman village on the Mekong River. This little fisherman village was divided by the Mekong with the small market on one side and a few random bungalows on the other side. There were few white people, and not much to do but explore the country side, eat amazing Lao food, discover caves, avoid the rats and burn down Bungalows... sleeping in bungalows there are bound to be creepy things crawling all over you in the night. We figure we had a few options to get around this... 1. just embrace it, and accept it for what it is 2. tuck yourself very tight into your bed with no way that anything can get threw the misquito net 3. place the incense bug repelling coil at the end of the bed and hope that it deters not only bug, but rats too, or lastly, 4. live in shear panic and not sleep for the next 48 to 72 hours.

There were three in my bungalow. Michelle and I were tucked very tightly into our beds with the misquito net around us, and Timmy, sleeping on the single bed that had no netting, decided to place the burning coil at the end of his bed in hopes of detouring the rats... the three of us were sleeping as best we could in these 'oh so fancy' bungalows when I woke to not feeling very good with my eyes and throat burning. I asked if there was any chance to open the window, and they both looked at me like I was crazy, thinking that the rats would be crawling in through the window. So I just tried to go back to sleep when Michelle woke about 45 minutes later asking if something was on fire. We all sat up and noticed that our room was completely filled with smoke. It turned out that Timmy knocked his pillow his bed landing on the burning coil and catching on fire. It was smoldering for at least and hour, destroying the pillow and burning through the bamboo mat on the floor, oops. We did some rearranging of the bamboo mats before we left.

It's strange being in a small group now. No more monopoly playing at dinner when trying to figure out who owes what, no more bargaining for two rooms or cramming the 5 of us into one (those were fun times), no more taking over the place with 5 American girls, and no more 5 Coloradoans, so sad, now were just 3.

The three of us have been trying to figure out our next move. Thoughts were flying around of trying to get into Burma, or maybe dropping down into Indonesia or the Philippians, but with only two weeks left we finally decided that it's better to stay in Thailand and explore this country that we have yet to really see.

We crossed the border back in to Thailand with no problems and started more Thai adventures. We made it to a city called Chaing Rai and got back to our challenge of 'blending'... We want to eat where the locals eat, eat what they eat (or something similar), and experience things more on their level. But being a white person, visiting some random town in a country that I've never explored and in a language that I don't speak 'blending' is hard. But we found some noodle shops where the signs aren't in English and to get what we want we have to point and pray that were not getting monkey's brain or somethings crazy along those lines in our noodle soup.

Northern Thailand has more indigenous tribes that have immigrated from the surrounding countries. With no idea how to see these tribes and no other option we hired a guide to take us up into the hills of Northern Thailand where we able to 'see' them (it was more that they are placed on display for the westerners to see and they have no other option of a life but to look pretty and smile for the camera). The tribes were fascinating, but then again I can't get into their heads and understand how their minds work, how they do things the way they do, and the finer details to their culture and customs. All we could do was buy things from them as a means of income and take pictures to show our friends and family what we saw (pictures will be posted later). The first village that we saw was the Karen-long neck. Where they have rings placed around their neck to elongate it starting at a very young age. This is only done to the girls and it is seen as a sign of beauty. The neck tribe that we say was the Karen-big ear. Where their ears are gaged stretching them further than any ear should be stretched. And the last tribe we saw was the Lost Tribe of China. Where this group of Chinese immigrated to Northern Thailand and were hidden away in the hills. Both Thailand and China knew that this tribe was there but yet they did nothing to remove them. In the past few decades the Thai government accepted them into their culture giving them Thai citizenship. It was possible the closest that I'll get to China for a while, but it was like steeping into China, with Chinese looking people, Chinese language, Chinese food, and Chinese buildings. Rather interesting. We ended the day by drinking mass amounts of Chinese green tea over looking a green tea plantation.

Currently I'm in Chaing Mai, the ancient capital of northern Thailand, learning how to cook Thai food, getting dresses custom made, exploring the Wats (temples), buying one to many things in the night market, and doing other random acts... so exciting!

2008-07-14T07:10:00.009-06:00

I've left the relaxed country of Lao and crossed the border back into Thailand where things run on time, aren't so out dated but things are still the same... 'same same but different' (a common phrase over here). Our group of 5 is now down to 3 as two of them make their way back to Colorado. And that gives the rest of us only 3 more weeks in SE Asia, so sad :(

Lao has left a lasting impression on me. The people were so friendly - example...

Last night we were staying in the little town (Haungsa) in the middle of no where and we were the only white people in this town (yes we acquired a lot of looks, especially when I went for a run) and only a few people spoke a few words of English. But at one point I walked into our guest house to buy a bottle of water and there were these Lao people sitting down drinking a beer and having dinner and they insisted that I have a beer with them and share their dinner (regardless that we had just ordered our dinner). But whatever, what they were eating was more traditional Lao and it's always fun to get to know the locals. We found out through their broken English and our nonexistent Lao that they were going to the same town we were the next day and they would be willing to give us a ride in their car. (A real car, not just the back of a truck that is crammed with more people that is can hold going on this winding dirt road that is no more than 30 miles long but takes about 2 hours to drive.) We were so excited (Woot Woot)!! So the next morning we caught a ride with them (Best car ride of my life, my legs and butt never went nunb, there was more leg space than I knew what to do with and there was an "oh shit" bar to hold on to as we went flying around the corners) so we could catch our boat to the Thai border. In the end they ended up saying us about $3.50 and we got there in about half the time. We bought our tickets to take us to the Thai border and we found out that we would be riding in a Speed Boat - Lao Style (an old wooden boat, that was low to the water with no windshield and there was negative leg space with about 5 hours to go wearing out super cool helmet that made us look like we were part of 'Top Gun') When we got on the speed boat we meet another Lao Family. The father had just gotten out of being a Monk for a few days because his father passed away and they were on their way back to Vientiane. After chatting for a bit he found out where we were from, he insisted that we come visit him next time we were in Lao. So he gave us all possible ways to contact him and his family in hopes of us stopping by next time we are on this side of the world.

Bridget, Molly, Avy
Riding in the speed boat "Lao Style"

The scenery was breath taking. The jagged mountains with the low sweeping clouds that engulfed the jungle and the terracing crops. In the valleys between the mountains were where majority of the rice field lay with tiny huts for the families. The villages were small with dirt road that ran though them and the children were always out and about running from one place to the next and jumping in and out of the river.

Here is just one of the many flowers that's in this part
of the world with the rice fields in the background.

This are some of the women from a hill tribe with their children that are on their back to their village after working in the fields.

Monks are a common site over especially very young ones

Akha Tribe

The next set of pictures are from the Akha Tribe that we visited after trek in Northern Lao. The all gathered around us as we ate lunch (we felt so bad about eating in front of them, but we couldn't refuse the food that was being served to us). Most of the men were our in the fields working leaving all the children and few of the women behind. One way for them to earn some money is to see the bracelets and necklaces that they make. So while we were eating they all laid them out for us too see and to buy once we were done eating. The kids were so cute though as they sat around the things that they had either made or their mothers had made. Most of the Moms carried their babies on their back while having there many other kids circle them.

2008-07-06T07:17:00.003-06:00

Time is going by so fast. I'm about to enter week 5 of my travels (in SE Asia and week six in all)and every day is a new and crazy adventure. Every day we are learning more and more about the Lao culture and we have been so lucky to see the country side as we go along.

The bus rides are always intertaining. We are going usually no more that 200 Kilometer and yet they take about 4 to 5 hours to get somewhere. The buses are anything but comfortable and AC is just a funny thought over here (some places have it but it's not worth the extra money to pay for it). Once you get on the bus you are usually bound for 4 or so hours (yes no stopping and if you know me, I have to pee all the time). The drives have been through the mountains on windy dirt roads that are practicaly washed out. It's hrad to catch a nap on these rides or even read a book, but luckly the scenery is amazing and the kids of the villages that we pass always come out running after the bus to say "Sa Ba Dee" (hello in Lao). Most of the time the bus driver plays really laod music that I'm assuming is in Lao, if not Thai. And after about an hour in the bus the music starts to blend together and sound the same (sometimes not to plesent after a 9 hours bus ride). And when they do play English speaking music is usually is one of the old boy bands. (good for a laugh!)

Sticky rice and veggies have become my main staple over here. With banana shakes and fresh mango and pineapple to snack on in the inbetween time. Getting food usually takes several hours, because unlike in America they have at most two cooks cooking away in the kitchens here. So our food comes out individually and usually by the time the last person gets their meal the first person is hungry again. Due to the French influence here we are lucky to bagets and creps, that has given us a little varity to our diet.

Barganing is always a task. They throw down one price and we start at the lowest price that we can, knowing that it is unreasonable, until we work our way to a cost that is good on both ends. But in the end we know that they are still taking advantage of us.

Laung Namtha, Lao

We just got done with a three day two night trek in the northern hills (or I guess you could argue that they are mountains) of Lao. As we started our trek we were all singing "In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight." We lucked out that there were no lions, but rather tons of spiders (huge, about as big as my palm) and leeches. (We had a running count going of all the leeches that were on us (1 point for on the skin and 0.5 point for on the clothes). I lucked out with only having two but others had up to five.)

On our way to Laung Namtha (where we started our trek from) we met a boy from New Zealand and adopted him into our group. So the six of us signed up for a trek hoping that we would come across two more to bring down the price of the over all trek. Eight in all (5 Americans, 1 Kiwi, 1 English Lad and 1 Korean Kid) plus two guides (who were both Lao) and two cooks (2 people from the first tribe for the first night and 2 people from the second tribe for the second night)

We started our trek with exploring an indigenous tribe called Kahamu. And then headed off into the jungle (the mighty jungle). Along the way we learned about different herbs that the tribes use to make tea, and some fresh fruit, and we stopped and ate a lunch that was made from the Kahamu people under a bamboo hut. We had our fair share of rain along the way and we were slipping and sliding in the mud down the trail (I pretended that I was skiing). When we got to our first destination we couldn't (or I guess didn't want to) do much exploring because we were finally in dry clothes and didn't really care to get wet and muddy again. That night the guides, Pon and Jai, brought out a bottle of Lao Lao (the alcohol made from sticky rice) and a freshly made bamboo shot glass and we started drinking (for me though Lao Lao doesn't go down very smoothly and apparently my after face after drinking it is rather entertaining).

The second day of hiking was long, muddy and yet again rainy, but so enjoyable. We were all so amazed by everything that we saw and the guides kept mocking us along the way with our oohh's and aaww's. We ended the trek on the third day by having tea and lunch with the Akha tribe and their Chief. The chief brought out 3 bottles of Lao Lao and by the end of the lunch we were barley able to walk out of there (I think we had about 7 shots of Lao Lao and there was 12 of us to a bottle).

We were able to interact with the Akha tribe more, although they didn't speak much Lao (and it's not like we were suddenly fluent) and defiantly not English, but we bought necklaces and bracelets that they hand made and when we took pictures of the kids they were all fascinated by seeing themselves. I was pleased to see that there was a school in the village, even if it was a one room school house. But three of us went in on buying them books that were in Lao and in English.

More adventures still to come...

(PS I couldn't get the spell check to work, so sorry for all the spelling mistakes, oops)

2008-06-30T04:38:00.011-06:00

It's about time for some pictures, and I finally found an internet connection fast enough to load some. (I hope)

Thailand

Here we are, the 5 of us in Koh Chang, Thailand.
Ella, Molly, Avy, Bridget, Michelle

We rented moto bikes for the day to cruse the island with our new found Thai friend. This picture is from one of our many stops on that adventure.

Cambodia
Angkor Wat... Was spectacular! All the walls had very detailed designs telling stories about the Buddhists and Hindu religions. This is the main Angkor Wat temple. It was built for King Suryavarman II in the 12th century and this was his state temple and city capital.

I'm not sure how many temples there are or how many we visited, but this one was one of my favorites with all the faces carved into the stone.

Most of the temples have become in golfed with trees.

Lao
These are rice farmers from the island of Don Det. Rice is their main crop, but in the highlands of Laos Coffee and Tea are becoming a main crop as well, especially since the government has outlawed growing opium.

This was one of the mose beautiful places on earth. We were in the middle of a rain forest with a crystal clear waterfall crashing down around us. We were soaking wet just standing in the mist from the water fall.

Molly and Bridget from one of the many swings into the river...
Vang Vieng, Laos was like MTV Spring Break (or what I imagine it would be like), but Lao style... Whenever you're up and ready to take on a full day of boozing and cruzing you rent an inter tube catch a ride up the road and spend the day on the river getting tan, drinking beer or 'happy shakes' (a fruit smoothy with any form of an illegal substance in it... mostly weed but they may come with other hallucinogens) and swinging into the river from one of the many bars along the way. All the swings are at different heights and not all the bars are happening. We tended to stop at about 3 of the many bars have a beer and swing into the river 5 or so times. Some of the swings 3 people could swing from at the same time. We've decided that we need to start something like this in Glenwood...

Here are the 5 of us once again after a day of tubing in Lao.

2008-06-25T08:04:00.002-06:00

The 5 of us are getting good at...

Using squatlets (basically a hole in the ground to take a dump)

Learning Lao

Playing monopoly with the money over here (having to divided everything from the room to the food we get and paying each other back)

Smelling (we shower on occasion, but it's more of an effort to get clean than it is to stay smelly and we know that as soon as we steep outside we'll start sweating again)

Packing and repacking all our crap into our backpack

Sleeping just about anywhere

2008-06-25T07:05:00.003-06:00

It's hard to describe what it's like over here. There are so many similarities between these three countries (Thailand, Cambodia and Laos (but it's pronounced Lao)) that I've been traveling through and yet, they are all very different. Thailand is the richer of the three countries. Cambodia is the poorest, and Lao falls somewhere in the middle.

Upon my arrival in Thailand I think I was in more shock than anything with the way the world works on this side of the planet. The smells were different, the language was strange, and the heat and humidity were causing me to sweat like I had just run another race. They were driving on the other side of the road and it was killing me how they try to scam all the travelers out of money.

We then crossed the border from Thailand into Cambodia and that's where the real culture shock hit me. Although we were back to driving on our side (the way we drive in the States) I couldn't stand to see kids begging for food because their parents couldn't provide for them. Or seeing them (Kids around the age of 14) sell themselves to sleazy white tourists that come through. No one at any age should have to be begging for food, and the kids shouldn't be the main source of income for any family.

I left Cambodia on a bad note. After Siem Riep we went back to the capital of Cambodia for one more night before catching a 9 hour bus ride in attempt to make our way across the border to Laos. Knowing that we were in for a long ride Avy and I decided to head out and find a store to buy snacks. But walking alone at night isn't always the smartest thing to do. We ended up getting mugged along the way.

We were crossing a street and some guy came up from behind Avy and grabbed her purse. She resisted and as he speed away we both started chasing him and screaming like a mad men. We saw him throw down the strap to her purse and speed off into the night and we started walking frantically back to the main road that we were walking down. The people that we had just passed came running to see if we were ok and the picked up Avy's broken purse with all its contents still in it. We were lucky enough to have not gotten hur and not have lost anythingt, but we were all ready to get out of the big city.

LAOS

We crossed the border about 4 days ago and set ourselves into Lao time (things happen here when they want to happen and there is no saying when or how we will get to our destination). We made our way to the Mekong River were there are about 4,000 islands. We took a boat (a little piece of wood basically) to an island called Don Det.

This little island was a self sufficient island growing most everything they needed to survive. Having cows, chicken and sheep roam the island and letting the tourists that come through be the main source of income for the islands on this part of the river.

Lao has so far been amazing. The language is similar to Thai and we figure that since we are hear the longest we might try to become a bit more fluent than we were in the other countries (we have basically only been learning hello and thank you, but know we know our numbers and good bye - we are on our way to being 100% fluent!).

We left Don Det and decided to take a "Local Bus" (Local meaning anything and everything shoved into the back of a truck with benches - I think that at one point we had 31 people crammed into the truck, live chickens, fish both dead and alive, bags fulls of crickets and who knows what else along with all our luggage and what ever else the Loations (What Lao people are called) had with them.)

We arrived in Pakse and took the next local bus in hopes to find coffee plantations, green tea plantations and some amazing waterfalls that were suppose to be hidden somewhere around this area. We found some waterfalls but they were off in the distance and everything else we tried led us to a dead end. We took the local bus once again to the next town found a room for the night and realized that we were in the middle of nowhere where ATM's aren't on the corner of every street and we had about no money in their local currency.

We begged with some guys to exchange with us allowing us to have enough to get back Pakse where we could then find a bank (Pakse was a big town in comparison to the place we ended up staying at). The next day we found a driver that took us all over the place showing us the green tea plantation, coffee plantations (where we were able to sample both coffee and tea) and took us to these water falls that were probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen (words cannot describe the scenery here). That night we took a night bus (yes a bus with beds - and no not a good way to get some sleep) on our way to the capital of Lao, Vientiane.

2008-06-19T06:04:00.002-06:00

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Out of the city once again and off to the pride and joy of Cambodia; Angkor Wat. After a 6 hour bus ride on the most uncomfortable bus EVER we arrived in the biggest tourist attraction city in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century for King Suryavarman II and is today the worlds largest religious structure ever built. It was first a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu and then later became a Buddhist temple in the 15th and 16th century. During the Khmer Rouge all religion was banned and the temple was partially destroyed. Most of the Buddhas that are in every temple had their heads cut off or removed from the stone that they were implanted in.

Upon arriving in Siem Reap we bought our overly priced tickets for the next two days to explore the inside world of Angkor Wat. We started by hiking up to the only temple on a hill and watching the sun set on Cambodia. And the next day we woke at 4:30am to get to Angkor Wat before sunrise to see the sun coming up over the temple.

We explored my first of the seven wonders of the World with bike (we rented bikes for a day as a different mode of transportation) and with Tuk Tuk. Stopping at all the various temples along the way that were built for various different reasons during the period of King Suryavarman II. After two and half days of temple exploring we were a bit templed out.

We went back to Siem Reap to give blood (yes, we stopped at the Children's Hospital on the way back to town and all gave blood. For Ella and me it was our first time ever giving blood) and kick it with some of our new local Cambodian friends (they invited us out to the locals bar for night or partying Cambodian style).

Tomorrow catching a bus for a day and a half adventure of crossing the border into Lao!! Woot Woot!

2008-06-19T05:37:00.002-06:00

Phonm Penh, Cambodia

We left the beach and headed inland to the capital of Cambodia, Phonm Penh. The hustling and bustling city was hot and humid but a bit more low key than Bangkok. We stayed on the lake side of the city where most of the backpackers end up staying in a place that left much to be desired. We crammed the 5 of us into one room to pay about $1.60 a night. But there wasn't just the 5 of us in the room. We happened to share the room with some friendly mice (although they ate some of our snacks) and some other strange bugs.

We hired a Tuk Tuk (the form of transportation here) and set off to see the history of Phonm Penh. We started off by going to the S21. One of the concentration camps during the Khmer Rouge that happened in the 1970's. There is so much history to Cambodia that is never taught in the schools and this country is finally starting to get it's feet back on the ground.

Next we went to the killing fields where the did mass execution of anyone with some form of education from knowing a second language to being a doctor. The leader of the Khmer Rouge Pol Pot wanted to turn the country back into an agrarian society. He started kicking people out of the cities and killing anyone one with any higher knowledge.

From the Killing Fields we did something that most tourists don't see - the city dump of Phonm Penh. I'm sure you're all thinking, why the dump? There is a surprising amount of families that live at the dump because they have no money and no other way to get by. And they support themselves from findings at the dump.

We finished up the day all is a state of shock of the history that we had just learned about and the sites of the city that we had just seen.

2008-06-19T04:17:00.002-06:00

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

This was my first real step off the path of western comfort and very eye opening to see the world at a different level. Because Bridget had been to Sikanoukville last year she knew where to go and knew most of the local street kids. We started off right away by hanging out with all the kids. Getting to know them individually and wondering why these kids are working harder than any kid should have to work to earn a small income for their family. Wanting to help out in every way that we could, we spent the next few days just hanging out with them, playing with them and letting them know that there are people out there who care about them and wish the best for them. I brought over a deck of cards, some bubbles and balloons for the kids to play with. It was so heart warming to see the kids eyes light up with these few small toys that they were able to play with. I left everything for them at the Cambodian Children's Painting Project so they can continue to play with some things on a daily basis.
The poverty level of this small town caught me way off guard from the beginning. I knew that it was bad, but seeing it in person just makes it even worse. We went to the market one afternoon and watched as the workers there try to sell something to make a small amount of money, but the market was under tarps that were barely holding together. As the rain fell many of the workers tried to stay dry but with tarps that has more holes than it should they just had to suck it up and hope to stay dry and sell things.
Another afternoon we went to give our donation to Regent School so a child could attend school for a year. We were able to read descriptions on the kids and their families before we made the choice of who to choose (one of the hardest decisions of my life) we were able to see how these families tried to make money and the amount that they brought in per month to support an entire family usually between 6 and 9 people. Very shocking and sad to see them barely scrap by on 20 US Dollars a month.

2008-06-13T03:24:00.005-06:00

Food for thought...

The Street Kids of Cambodia run the streets trying to sell various things, such as bracelets and headbands that they themselves made, to earn a small income for their families (they are so good at bargaining with you, and it's so hard to not buy everything from all the kids). And at night, if they have a sponsor, they are able to attend night school to learn English. These kids are incredibly smart, but with little direction of where to go. There are various programs in Sihanoukville that help these kids get a good nutritious meal a day as well as giving them a safe place to hang out and play during the day and express who they are.
Some other G-wood (friends of ours that also are from Glenwood Springs) are volunteering at Cambodian Children's Painting Project - www.artcambodia.org.

This little girl sitting on my lap has clung to me since I walked in the door at the Cambodian Children's Painting Project. Every time I ask for her name or try to talk with her I get no response, but as soon as I put her down she is clinging to my skirt waiting to be held again. Today I finally got her to sing the ABC's with me as well as count to 50 while clapping our hand and laughing the entire time, but once that was over she wouldn't say anything else. I was told that she is about 10 years old, although she looks to be no more than 5. (it is rather shocking to learn all the little kids ages)
Here is Ella (to the left) and Bridget with some of the street kids that have been sponsored through SCKEF. Most of these kids attend night school to learn English. With a scholarship they will be able to continue their education - check out the website again... kidsofcambodia.org

2008-06-12T02:49:00.002-06:00

Thailand to Cambodia...

The difference was very prevalent once we crossed the border into Cambodia. After leaving our island of paradise, we set off for the developing country of Cambodia. We took a bus from the city of Trat to the border town of Hat Lek, Thailand. Before we even got out of the van, our bags were unloaded and we were told by the guys that unloaded them that they had to take our bags across the border. It all seamed a bit weird. We all took turns watching our over sized back packs as we got our passports stamped and we crossed the border into Cambodia.

We realized that for the guys to take our bags across the border was just a way to scam us out of money, as was when they said that they needed to fill out our paper work for our Cambodia visas. So 25 US Dollars later, and some more change to pay everyone that 'helped' us we were officially in Cambodia.

The paved streets turned into dirt roads and the so-called 'house' that we saw in Thailand turned into little shacks that were barely standing and looked like they were all but rain proof. The amount of garbage on the side of the roads increased and the rain stared to pour. Luckily that cooled things down a bit, but the humidity still lingered in the air and on all of our things. (None of our things have been completely able to dry since arriving in SE Asia).

We asked the Taxi driver to take us to a certain guest house, but once we got there we realized that it was not where we asked to be taken. Yet another scam to get our money (because the guest houses pay cab drivers to bring them guests for the night). Luckily it wasn't that bad of a place and we only were paying two dollars each for a 'clean' bed to sleep in.

Early the next morning we caught the bus to Sihanoukville, Cambidia where Bridget's sister has a Non Profit; Sihanoukville Cambodian Kids Education Fund (SCKEF for short). This non profit works with the street kids of Cambodia helping to get them off the street and send them to school. Please check out the website for more information - kidsofcambodia.org - and possibly sponsor a kid by sending them to school for a year.

2008-06-11T05:56:00.002-06:00

Koh Chang, Thailand

Sea Kayaking, Snorkeling, Moto Bike riding, sun bathing, thunderstorms, new found Thai friends and the biggest spider ever named Edger!

After getting out of the hustling cities, and catching two random buses, getting dropped off in the middle of no where and bargaining our way in the back of a truck to the ferry port of Koh Chang we made our way to Paradise: the second biggest island off of the coast of Thailand. The plan was to stay for only two nights, but once we tasted the food, went for a swim in the warm water of the Gulf of Thailand and got to know the people at the guest house we decided to stay for another night.

One of the Thai guys at the guest house took a liking to 5 American girls traveling together and decided to show us around a bit. Tod (Pronounced Tot) took us to the small islands off the coast of Guest House, teaching us about various things along the way (mainly how to talk in Thai). We went snorkeling with the fish in the teal colored water that surrounded the island and were able to take a closer look at the coral. Getting back to the big island a few of us realized that we fried the hell out of our selves from being out on the water. I guess that SPF 30 is not enough.
We also were able to rent Moto Bikes (mopeds) and cruse to all the off the beaten paths of the island. With only one small accident (Bridget and I crashed within the first minute on the bike, (she was driving) and luckily we had no other problem) we were on our way for the cruse of our live. Going up and down super steep hills, passing big diesel trucks, and holding on for dear life we cursed the island. Tod was kind enough to teach the few of us that had never ridden a Moto Bike before how to drive one (and I can't wait to someday buy one). We were able to see the most remote parts of the island, how the locals live on the island and the other small towns around the island.

The food that we indulged ourselves in was amazing and the view for the patio of our guest house was specular. With the water only a few feet away. We've all been trying to get the ultra spicy food here (yes me included) and we have had some moments of near death with the amount of spice they put in (ok, well I guess just me).

Out side one of the rooms was the biggest spider that I've ever seen and we named it Edgar (we all felt safe when we saw Edgar in his web). Driving along we passed a heard of Elephants and across the street from our Guest House we had monkeys (I guess were not in the hills of Colorado any more).

Last night we crossed the border into Cambodia... a whole new language, different customs, and surroundings to get used to; should be exciting!

2008-06-08T04:54:00.002-06:00

THAILAND

Sawadee Ka (Hello in Thai)

I arrived last Wednesday in the "land of smiles" where I eventually met up with 3 friends from home (Glenwood Springs) and another girl from Colorado. We spent 2 nights in the dirty and over populated city of Bangkok, all trying to adapt ourselves to the strang and new world that we had just entered.
Upon my arrival I was lucky enough to go to a friend of Theresa's and sleep for a bit while I waited for the others to arrive. They took me out for my first "ture" Thai meal. They showed me the streets around where they lived. I took in the city smell, noise and heat that was sudden change from my Colorado setting (Thanks Jon and Tina for everything).
After two nights in Bangkok the five Coloradoians (Not sure if that's how you spell it, but that's how I say it) took a bus to the Sex capital of the world, Pattaya. It's where dirty, old, rich white men go for some pleasure. I was more in shock about this city than anything. The way that the women were flonting themselves at the old guys in order to make some money made me sick. Luckly we were only there for one night and less that 24 hours.
After catching a bus off the side of the road (don't know how we even found the bus stop) and changing to another bus where we almost all died of heat (there was NO AC on this bus and we were basically in a sauna for the next few hours sweating our brains out) and then catching a ride in the back of some guys truck (actually that's how the Taxis work around here) we some how managed to get to a small island off the coast of south eastern part of Thailand called Koh Chang. This island is filled with white sand beaches, an amazing jungle, the best Thai food ever, friendly people, and other crazy backpackers.
After some adventues sea kyaking today and some burnt legs, we decided that this places is pretty amazing and we plan to spend the next two nights here before crossing the border into Cambodia....
More adventures to come.

(Sorry about the spelling errors, we all know I'm not known for my spelling ability and I can't figure out spell check because it's all in Thai, oh well.)

2008-06-03T06:58:00.006-06:00

Life in Germany in never dull. Time was spent drinking beer (in one of the many Bier Gartens in München), riding bikes (Theresa has my old Bamberg Bike (yes the one that I got in two accidents with while studying abroad) and it was great to be reminded of my Bamberg days), buying dirndls (to become true Bavarians), taking trains, modeling with Porsches (at a Friends Birthday Party that was held at a Porsche Garage), steeling another beer maß (I think that makes a total of 4), going to German techno clubs, watching the sun rise (only because we were dancing till 5 in the morn.) and kicking it with my sister Theresa and all her friends.

(Molly and Theresa and one of the many Porsches)

Tonight I'm leave all familiarity and venturing into the unknown; an unknown language, culture and customs. I arrive in Bangkok, Thailand tomorrow afternoon (Thailand time). And I'll be traveling around SE Asia for the next two month. Let the adventures begin!

2008-05-29T05:37:00.003-06:00

DEUTSCHLAND

After one to many flights, and zero hours of sleep I arrived in Germany on the start of my three month adventure through Germany and SE Asia. A few small memories started to flood my mind, reminding me of my previous years spent in Germany, as I walked through the Frankfurt Flughafen; the fact that you have to pay for public restrooms, that it is acceptable to drink in public, and that there is humidity here. I picked up my backpack with the only one thought crossing my mind... I should of listened to my mom (I'll just give my mom that much credit). Made my way to the Bahnhof and spent the next 3 hours sleeping on the train on my way to the true home of Bretzels, Bier, Lederhosens und Dirndls; Munich.

2008-05-24T22:22:00.004-06:00

GRADUATION

I've done it... Graduated from College with two degrees in the College of Liberal Arts; one in International Studies and the other in German. The next step to my life is traveling and becoming a bum. Way to put my college degrees to work!

On Tuesday I'm flying to Germany to visit Theresa for a week and then I'm off to South East Asia for two months!! Woot Woot!!!

2008-03-29T09:19:00.016-06:00

This semester is on the down side of things with only 6 weeks of school left, yikes (I have way to much to get done in the next six weeks in order to graduate)!! But I thought I would stop and update the world on the "happenings of Molly."

Taos, New Mexico (March 7-9)
13 of us loaded up the pop up camper, and three cars, for a weekend of skiing, camping, and Puuush iiiiitttt stories (don't ask where that word came from, but it caused for a good laugh all weekend).

Molly's ski, Ali's Ski, Molly's pole, and Lindy's Shotski

As it turned out, Taos was an all skiers mountain (until I think this weekend or last weekend). So 12 dedicated skiers, and one dedicated shotski (a shot ski is a ski that has 4 shot glasses glued on top so 4 people can take a shot together) skier, made the 6 hour trek to Taos.

Ali, Molly, John, Lindy

The whole group us us, plus a few others...
Molly S, Molly R, Damby, Ali

Us 4 made the hike up to 12, 481 ft to ski Kachina Peak. The view at the top was unbelievable, and the snow skiing down was amazing.

Arcata, California (March 14-22)
Tara moved out to Arcata in November, and with her being so far away I thought I would make my way to visit her for my last spring break of my college career (ahhhhh).

Tara and Molly
(Every night with my sister is a crazy night.)

Tara and the love of her life, Toby

We spent many moments on the beach!!

Molly and Tara

Nova, Tara, Molly, Nahane

My brother and his family happens to only be about 3 hours away in Oregon, so Tara and I road tripped it up there for a night to hang with our nieces and to see my brother and sister in-law.

1987's Prom
I turned back the hand in time to 1987, found some 'interesting' 80's attire, and went to prom with my date Lindy.

Lindy, Molly
(With are fabulous ring-pops)

Molly, Sunny, Lindy, Ali

2007-11-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Again... it's been a while since I've blogged anything. Really my life isn't worth blogging. But I thought I would catch the world up on my 'really exciting' doings...

First I must say "Merry (very late) Christmas" and "Happy (not as late) New Years". I wish the best for everyone in 2008!

Happenings.... Hummmm....

My Grandpa Henry Townsend III passed away at the end of November. He lived to be 91 and simply died of old age. I think it is possibly the best way to go. This brought some unexpected family to town for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them all, but sad to see my Grandpa go.

My mom Sarah, and my Grandpa Henry
at one of the last 'Club Dinners' that I have documented.
Tara and my little cousin Alex

Fall semester ended December 10th, and my roommate Greta graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Anthropology. Congrats Greta!!

Greta, Ilana, Molly

I went to Steamboat for a few days with some friends for some skiing in the fresh pow pow. We were all lucky enough to have comp tickets and a friends' house to crash at, making our few days of skiing almost 'kosten los'.

Katie, Sasha, Molly, Ali, Nick, Corina, Amy
Eric

Theresa flew home from Germany for the Holidays, and Tara drove home with one of her new roommates (although he crashed at a friends house near the slopes to go skiing everyday). It was great just being 5 peas in a pod at the newly remodeled Rumery house (if I had pictures, which I thought I did, I would post them, I guess that will be for the next blog). We went skiing, sledding, and shared some great laughs all being together.

Sledding is a big event in my family. Our driveway has to be simply icy, the temps must be low, and the sled must be working. All three of us pile onto one sled and we make our way down the 'Rumery Luge', crashing into a snow pile at the bottom if we haven't already crashed along the way. We are simply 5 crazy people!

New Years Eve was exciting. Some good friends from high school and I made our way to Aspen for a party. Originally we wanted to go to the bars, but there was about a $50.00 cover to get into the bars and if there wasn't a high cover then there was a minimum drink buy per person. A bit out of a college student's budget.

Bridget and Molly

Lastly my Aunt Sherry turned 80 years old (this is my dad's oldest sister, and yes, my family is VERY spread out). So all 5 Colorado Rumerys and all 4 Oregon Rumerys met up in Seattle, Washington for a small family reunion with my dad's side of the family.

My little cousins,

Brooke and Kylee

Molly, Theresa, Tara,
Kylee, Nova, Nahane, Brooke

Seattle,
from the Space Needle

My last semester at CSU starts on Tuesday... and what's next is the BIG question that is pondering my mind day and night.

2007-11-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

My Life...

I was flipping (I guess you can't flip, but rather scrolling) through my blog the other day, and I realized that I needed to change the name for my blog. "Willkommen in Bamberg" just doesn't seam right, considering I'm not living there... hummmm. But at the same time I can't change it to "Willkommen in Fort Collins" that is just not exciting... I might just have to leave it until I can think of a name that will accentuate my blog.

Sorry for the delay of posting any random happenings in my life. Now that I'm back in Colorado my life is 'oh sooo exciting.' I get up, go to school, do homework, on weekends I work and somewhere in there I'm finding time to do random half marathons, and ride my road bike, and on the occasion I make my way out to the bars, but those nights are either not worth blogging or I forgot my camera giving me nothing to blog.

A few weeks ago (and by that I mean maybe about 6 weeks ago) my roommate got a dog. Ransom as we call him is a German Shepard Husky mix. So beautiful!

Greta and RansomMolly and Ransom

2007-10-11T20:18:00.001-06:00

Live to Run
Run to Live

Colorado Outward Bound Relay 2007
3 Mountain Passes, 24 Hours, 170 Miles

It was time to turn crazy, and run 17.4 miles of the 170 Colorado Outward Bound Relay. My roommate and friend Greta and I were on a team of 10 people, with 2 drivers and 2 volunteers that went over 3 mountain passes from Idaho Springs, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO (my home town). Everyone was required to run 3 different stretches of the relay, my total mileage amounted up to 17.4 miles. My first run was at about 10:30 in the morning, the next one was around 6:30pm and my last one was at 2:30 am. My team, Mountain Madness finished 18th over all and completed it in about 23 hours and 45 min.

Our Team Number

Greta gearing up for her first run
at 7 to early in the morning.

The exchange from Steve to Greta
The exchange from Greta to Alyssa

So strong!

Running up Granella Pass, at dying
(the altitude was killing me)

The end of my fist leg.

Greta and Molly

Fall in the Rockies

Waiting for our next run

The second exchange between Greta and Steve

Run Greta Run!

Right before my second stretch.
After 5 pm it was required to run with a head lamp and a reflector vest. FUN!

The second exchange between Daryle and me

Beyond this point we were either to tired to take more picts,
and/or it was to dark to take more picts.

The race finished in sunny Glenwood Springs, where Greta and I were able to go back to my house eat some hearty food and sleep the day away. So glad that we didn't have to cram back into the Ford Excursion and make our way back to Idaho Springs.

2007-10-11T19:18:00.000-06:00

BIRTHDAY BLUES

September 2, 2007

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me
Happy 21st Birthday dear Molly Rose
Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!
Ross, Molly, Tara, Michelle, Bennett, Greta

Not sure what
Justin, Tara and Ryan
are doing...

Greta and Molly

Kevin, Molly, TaraA familiar face from a different place...
(Remember him from Bamberg?)
Ted and Molly

The Gang

Kevin, Chere, Matt, Tara, Molly, Justin, Ryan, Michelle, Bennett, Ross, Ted

The Bars
(First time in American bars...)

Cheree and Molly
Justin and Kevin
Michelle, Molly, Tara, ChereeTed and Molly
I must not have like the taste of something...Some random people that Tara knows
(she knows the whole world)Strange people that I happen to knowSomeone must be happy!

2007-10-10T15:00:00.001-06:00

My sister Tara happened to be in the right place and the right time (or you could reverse that and say she was in the wrong place at the wrong time) to catch a little bit of the discovery channel. How it's done monkey style.
(also I tried to post this in my Spain post, but I just couldn't figure it out, sorry)

2007-08-28T20:51:00.000-06:00

(I apologize for the tardiness in my blogging, This blog is well over due)

SPAIN
let the Spanish adventures begin...

5 peas in a pod, 5 nuts in a shell, 5 Rumerys in one car
We were finally all together at last and ready for the vacation of a life time. My mom was already in Germany visiting Theresa and me and so why not have Tara and my dad come over for a little Spanish holiday. We found cheep flight to Seville, rented a holiday house in a small Spanish ville about 6 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, got a nice 6 speed BMW (although there is a fun story behind that), and we let the adventures begin.

Vejer, Espania
Where the Rumery's spent an amazing week basking in the sun on the Atlantic Ocean,
enjoying the interesting Spanish food (I was not impressed by the Spanish food), and traveling to near by sights. The Spanish country side

The center of town in Vejer

some painful after moments (not for me though)

How lovely!!

Theresa

A Spanish sunset!

Random nights in our (well, ours for the week) Spanish holiday house

times spent in the BMW
(the BMW was a bit to small for the 5 of us)

GIBRALTAR

One of our many day trips took us to Gibraltar,
the land of the Fish and Chips, Monkeys, on 6 square kilometers.
It was a bit of a culture shock to go from and Spanish speaking country where hardly anyone knows English to this British territory, where hardly anyone knew Spanish.
Tara, Theresa, Molly

Standing on the Rock of Gibraltar looking at Africa.
The Straight of Gibraltar is big naval port with ships going
to and from either the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean.

there were stict rules for holding a monkey
1. to petting the monkey
2. don't actually hold the monkey, just let it walk all over you
Monkey see, monkey do
the newest member to our family

TANGIER, MOROCCO

Another day trip took the Rumery's to Tangier, Morocco
This was my second time stepping onto the continent of Africa,
but the rest of the family's first time.
It was again a different world, not knowing what to expect as we stepped of the ferry
we heired a tour guide to take us around the city for the day.

We weren't entirely prepared for the busy streets,
and the hectic life style of the Moroccans.

BUT

We were able to explore the markets
Not the most appetizing thing in the world.

We had some good Moroccan food
There happened to be these guys playing music for the restaurant,
and they let us all take a turn playing some music.

We had the opportunity to take a ride on some cammels.
Theresa
Mi Mama
Tara
Molly
Mi Papa and Molly Rose
The Atlantic Ocean

Mi Padres

Random Story:
The poor BMW

Since we had this fancy, black, 6 speed BMW, I wanted to take it for a ride on the country side and learn how to drive stick. We'll I was doing pretty good, but my dad kept having me up shit and down shift. Consequently I killed the clutch about 20 kilometers from our Spanish villa. My dad was able to get us back to about 5 kilometers from Vejer, but the tow-truck guy never found us (well he eventually did, but about 3 hours later). The problem was that we were about 2 hours from the airport, and our flight was the next morning at 9am. I some how managed to get the rental car company to have a taxi pick us up the next morning and take us all the way to the airport. It worked out pretty well, but my dad and I spent about 3 house just chillin' with the broken BMW. Good times!!

2007-08-28T20:25:00.000-06:00

I've done it... I've studies abroad (twice now)!!! I can't believe that my second year abroad is over.

My last week in Bamberg was filled with last minute errands, showing my mom around (she came to visit me and help me move my 'stuff' home), packing (I never knew I could collect some many things), cleaning my room, getting jail threats (long story... but in short my hausmeister and I got into a disagreement about how clean my room was (for those of you who really know me, I'm a VERY clean person, and that's what makes this kinda funny) and how I didn't do what he wanted done. There were some harsh words thrown at each other and then he threatened to put me in jail for yelling back at him.) and saying good byes to people that I'd meet along the way.

Things I'm going to miss...
1. Bamberg (the best small university town to study abroad in)
2. The amazing friends that I made along the way
3. TRAVELING
4. Cuatro Gatos Pizza (going there with friends and getting free Cafe Lattes)
5. The late nights/early mornings
6. Drunk/Hungover pizza
7. My favorite Turkish restaurant
8. Speaking German
9. Taking the train
10. Hanging out on random weekends with my sister (so happy that she's moving home)

Things I'm NOT going to miss...
1. My landloard
2. Taking the train and missing my connections
3. The humidity
4. Not having a job

2007-08-07T06:38:00.000-06:00

Oh Bamberg...
Ich werde dich vermissen!

The time has come (and actually has gone) to say good bye.

The beautiful town of Bamberg

The street where my dorm room was.
And the 'great' building that I lived in

The best Pizza Place in Bamberg
(Danielle and I only discovered this place in the last few weeks that we were in Bamberg, and went there several times a week to fulfill our pizza needs)

A list of the Beers in Frankin

(the region of Germany that I lived in)

The famous Treff Punkt in der Stadt

2007-07-23T16:11:00.000-06:00

Na na na na,

Na na na na,
Hey hey-ey, Goodbye

A quick stop for one last amazing Döner,
a group hug,
and a few last minute Fotos on the way,we made our way to the Bier Keller for some sad goodbyes.
(wierd to think that my year abroad is over) Holly, Molly, Danielle
(guess I'm going to have to make some more trips around the world to visit everyone)
Rhi, Katie, OmarCatriona, HollyOne last Amazing Deutsche Bier
(drinking it up while they still can)Jenny, EvaJenny, Shawn
Catriona, Molly, Holly
Omar, Catriona, Ray, and some random German
Holly, Catriona, Molly, ShawnMy favorite Greek Girl!

And we had to cary out the party to our favoite bar...
FäβlaOmar, Danielle, Jenny, MollyI think they'll miss each other.
Oh Canada...My favorite Irish Girl
Jenny, Molly3 out of 4 Sewanee kidsThe boys
Catriona, Molly, MaryAndreas, DanielleBeverly, Molly

Na na na na, Na na na na,
Hey hey-ey,
Goodbye

2007-07-23T15:13:00.001-06:00

Fäβla Stübla
and the nights are numbering down

Ein Konzert
(Danielle and her Base)
Ein Beir
(Ray)(Jesse (who just had to be in the picture) Omar and Jenny)(Molly and Jenny)(Jesse, Molly, Jenny)(Kyle and Jenny)(Hunter)(Jesse and Jenny)(Molly and Jenny)(Molly and Danielle)und, Einen richtigen Gute Zeit
(Ray, Omar, Danielle)

2007-07-04T05:18:00.000-06:00

HAPPY 4th OF JULY

It's amazing to think that I've already been in Europe a year now (how time flys). Things here are starting to wind down. People are down to two or three weeks before they'll be packing up and making their way home. I'm down to a month before I go home to Colorado, and three weeks before I leave Bamberg (one more trip is in the making).

All our final exams are just around the corner (although it feels like they should of been months ago). Next week is the 'big exam week' and then the week after we all still have classes (supposedly we still have lessons) but we all get our grades...
Sonsts, I'm just trying to soak it all in before I go home... eat at my favorite restaurants, get drinks at my favorite pubs and cafes, go for runs on my favorite trails, hang out with my favorite people, and speak as much German as I possibly can! Oh Deutschland...

2007-06-28T15:13:00.000-06:00

Stockholm, Sweden

This time around (I was there last summer for a week to visit Sadie (a friend from Glenwood)) was more of a culture experience rather than a 'see everything you can in a few days' experience. This was 5 days of Molly and Sadie attempting to be Swedish (haha) by going shopping, to the movies, drinking Cider (very potent, but delicious drink, probably my favorite out of beer and wine), trying out the Pedal Boats (ok I guess that's mainly there for the tourists), laying out by the water (on the one nice and sunny day we had while I was there) and celebrating 'Mid Summer' (probably the main reason that I was there, other than of course to hang out with Sadie).

Sadie during our 'Pedal Boat' experience
(we almost got run over several times by other larger boats, it was scary!)

Stockholm at 11:00 at night
(it was maybe 3 hours of semi darkness at night) Hera
(the little Swedish girl that Sadie Nanny's for)

Midsommar
(it was time to let our Swedish side come out)

The were all SO proud to be SwedishOur Ghetto Rigged Tent

So at this point Sadie and I weren't really sure what was going on... We were picked up 8:45 in the morning by a friend of Sadie's all ready for a long (and I mean extremely long) day of drinking, eating Swedish food, swimming, and dancing around the May Pole (I still don't understand why there is a May Pole in June?) on one of the islands outside Stockholm. We all caught the Ferry at 9:30am, were at the island by 10:30am, had camp set up by 11:00am and were drinking by 11:30am. And it was time for some more exciting adventures!

Where we ate, drank, danced and spent most of our time celebrating Solstice. The view from the cabin/house (not a bad view at all) that we were staying at.The boat looked like it was sinking, although I don't think it was.Yes, this is a can of Cider. YUMMY!!!Molly and SadieLegend behind the Flowers: must pick 7 different kinds of flowers and that night put them under your pillow and dream about the one your suppose to be with. (nope, sorry I didn't try it)The May Pole

Legend behind the May Pole and Mid Summer: The May Pole once represented the male organ and afterward everyone danced around it they were suppose to go off with their signifigant other and make babies (again didn't do that one either). Sadie and Molly

I guess that the main dance that is danced around the May Pole is where you hop like frogs, and sing a song about frogs not having tails or ears (or this is what I was told), hummm...

Where things started to get a bit crazy!
Martin, Patrick, DanielThe grilling of the food!Elenor, Martin

Jennifer, Sadie, Molly

Vodka delivery boy
(or at least that's what he called himself)

Skull
(yes, that's cheers in Swedish)

Just put your foot in, it's only about 55 degrees (outside temp) and I imagine the water is a lot colder!

Summer Solstice is supposed to be warm, filled with the most amount of sunlight in the year and what did we have... Rain, freezing, cold weather, and they (the Swedish People) all went swimming, tubing and enjoyed the COLD water. I guess that where Sadie and I lack in being Swedish, we just couldn't bare the thought of being in the water. Oh but don't worry, all you have to do is drink more, and you'll stay warm
(that's what they kept on telling us)

Getting the party started!Martin, (and the night was to long for me to remember the other two's names, oops)

Patrick... please help me up!

2007-06-27T04:31:00.000-06:00

BARCELONA, SPAIN

A reunion was long over due for Gwen and I. (history: Gwen and I went to CSU together our freshman year, and sadly Gwen trasferred to Texas to finish her schooling. So... both of us are in Europe for the summer and we decided that it was time to meet up again, and what a better place than Barcelona?)

24 hours to...

to see Barcelona, tan on the beach, catch op on each other's lives, worry about people stealing our purses, watch out for pick-pocketers, eat some Spanish food and have fun.

Gwen and Molly

Our sexy feet with our matching tattoos!
(back in the day we decided to get tattoos together, haha)
The sights of BarcelonaWe went a strolling down La Rambla

(being extra careful for the pick-pocketers... the night before Gwen caught someone pick pocketing from her, lucky for her she caught it in time, and sucks for them because they actually got caught)

Christoper Columbus

Work done by Antoni Gaudi

Sagrada Familia
Gaudi's unfinished Holy Temple

Whitney, Casey, Valerie, Lauren
(the friends that Gwen is in Spain with)

Laurie, Gwen, Molly

the best street musicians in the world

Randomness in Barcelona

Heidi, Kristi, Molly, Chris, Greg
(I meet up with some random Americans and Canadians for a random night in Barcelona)

Molly, Bill, Chris, Greg, Kristi

2007-06-24T11:30:00.000-06:00

Life with the Rumery Girls can be...

Crazy

Goofy

filled with smiles

white teeth

Laughter

and random moments.

Welcome to life with my sister!
Molly, Theresa, Tara

2007-06-13T04:32:00.000-06:00

TURKEY

It was time to make our way east, to touch Asia. (well... Asia Minor I guess) It was time to see Mosques instead of Cathedrals, and smell spices rather than just fleisch, and it was time to step out of our comfort zone's to experience something new... and what experiences we had!

We became the typical tourists, and cameras in hand, we set out to do it all. With 3 days in Istanbul and 4 days in Olympos, Shawn, Angela, Tara and I did everything from going to a Turkish Bath, to the trying some Turkish Food, learning to deal with hassling from the Turkish people, (that included getting the best pick-up lines ever) and attempting to barter (I'm sure that we still got ripped off). We had the most terrifying car ride of our lives, saw the biggest spiders ever, went to a water pipe cafe, and swam in the Mediterranean Sea. We walked through some ancient roman ruins, the Grand Bazaar, and the Blue Mosque. We made friends along the way and attempted to learn a bit of the language (although I can only say that I learned how to say 'Thank you').

ISTANBUL

The Blue MosqueMosque Sofia Taxim

Ummm!!! Ein Türkisch Döner

Shawn and Tara

When I first saw all these men lined up outside the mosque I was a bit confused, but it turns out that they are all waiting in line to wash their feet before heading into the mosque for one of their 5 daily prayers. Tara and I tried to figure out if there was any rhyme or reason to the time of days that they prayed, but every day the prayer would start at a different time and would last a different length.

The entrance to the Grand BazaarAn assortment of different Turkish spices in the Grand BazaarA small glimps of Asia

Oh the Turkish Bath... Wow, I must say I've never been so clean in my life. We all went in not knowing what to expect. Angela, Tara and I left Shawn at the entrance to the girl's room, went in put our swimsuits on, and found our way to the 'bath.' We walked into this room with a marble platform in the middle. There were also 4 small rooms off this big room where there were a few sinks that you could go and pour water all over yourself, and some random sinks around the wall of this room. A few people were just lying on the slab and one other girl was getting a scrub down from a older topless Turkish woman. So... this is what we signed up for...ok. We laid out our towels and enjoyed the heat that the marble slab had to offer, and kept waiting for what we were suppose to do next. Eventually it was our turn.... we all had a different topless Turkish lady that took us to a different spot on the marble slab. I was told to take off my top and 1. 2. 3. water was dumped all over me and the scrubbing began. My entire body was exfoliated, then covered in soap and scrubbed again, again and again. My hair was even washed. Definitely a must have (although kinda weird) experience in Turkey.

Shawn, Tara, Angela

A Turkish woman making a 'pancake' (no nothing like American pancakes). They were a certain type of dough filled with cheese, spinach or potato. It became the main part of my Turkish diet. A carpet anyone?

Molly

The mosques were plentiful in Istanbul

The Water Pipe Cafe

The Hookahs
Tara
ReadySetIn
and Out!
ShawnAngela and Shawn

The streets of Istanbulthe corn manThe bread manthe muscle manthe fruit man'let the rabbit tell your fortune' man

Olympos
Mount OlymposShawn

Let the beach time begin
Molly and ShawnMollydon't burn Tara Super Star Taraand into the water she goes...Awww!!Nasha (our new found Canadian friend) and Tara

Ancient Roman Ruins
Roman Bath
The Roman Amphitheater
Fortress on the hillside
Olympos Nights
(with our new found Aussie friends)Tara, Shawn, Molly, Angela, Max, Evan
(it was Even's 22nd B-day and we celebrated it in style,
2 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of vodka)Anthony and Tara
Tara and Shawn
Miss Angela
Max and MollyEvan, Molly, Tara
Our favorite little store to buy water, food, and wine
Tara, Molly, Shawn

2007-06-11T06:24:00.000-06:00

Being the good tour guide that I am, I took Tara to see a bit of the night life in Bamberg. We hit the town up on several occasions. 1. for another university party that included one price and 6 different bars/clubs that were there for the partying. 2. after several rounds of drinks went around at Stammtisch Tara and I along with several others decided to go find the best club and show the world our best moves ! 3. we had to hit up the pubs for the 1 Euro beer night and did it German Style.

1 Euro beer night bei Fäβle Stube
Who could pass that up?

Christian and Bev

Kyle, Tara, Danielle

Prost
(some random German at our table,
I'm sure he loved drinkin' with the North Americans)

Kohler, Ned, Omar

Tara, Molly, Omar

Cheers!
(Molly drinking a beer,
I think something is wrong with this picture)

Tara, Bev, Kyle

Let's get this Part Started!

Who: The North Americans
What: A night filled with drinking, dancing, and laughter
Where: Lewinskys, Calimeros, and Green Goose
(Bamberg in General)
When: May 24, 2007
Why: Well why not?Ted, Tara, Molly, OmarMolly and TaraTed, Molly, KohlerTara and DaveThe Canadians
Dave, Danielle, KyleOmar and JohnTed and MollyCaptain MorganTed and Ned
Showing of their table dancing moves!And why not, let's all dance on the table!

Partycipate mal zwei
(5-22-07)
but not without a bit of vorgluhen bei mir!Danielle, Priscilla, MollyMolly, and LaurenSharing the loveoh... the ItalianErinn, Priscilla, BevLauren, some random guy, Mary

Let the dancing begin...Tara, Adam, DanielleTaraSisterly loveThat love just needs to get around!Danielle, and MollyJust a bit more love!

2007-06-10T15:45:00.000-06:00

Sommer Zeit in Bamberg

Tara's 1 month visit included a week long stay in the Frankischen Stadt Bamberg. I became a tour guide once again and showed Tara all the tourist attractions in Bamberg as well as all my favorite spots to hang out, took her to eat some typical Frankisch Food, and drink some typical Frankisch Beer.

'Kleine Venedig'

MichaelsbergThe rooftops of BambergStairway to Heaven, or just another Cathedral

Tara's new best friend
(ok actually some fish that is popular to this region of Germany)

2007-06-10T11:59:00.000-06:00

Regensburg Road Trip (May 20th, 2007)

The beautiful 6 speed BMW
(yes it was ours for the weekend)Our trusty driver, Tara
(Tara was the only one that new how to drive stick,
other wise the task would have had to been shared)Tara reaching 180 KPH
(oh so fast!!)

Regensburg
(Once upon a time, Theresa did a study adraod here ('01-'02). And trying to keep up with her tradition on running the Regensburg Half Marathon every year, we (Sarah, Theresa, Tara and myself) headed to Regensburg for a weekend getaway, and 13.1 miles of running.)
The Regensburg DomThe Donau River with Regensburg in the backgroundMolly and SarahYes the Germans like their CHEESE!
And their fish too!
Sarah and I tried to become Bavarians by trying on Dirndils (The typical dress for a Bavarin Girl, giving them a small waist and big boobs) and crusing the beer tents in Regensburg. Sarah in her dirndil.

Running Time!(How cool is that... our bibs have our names on them?)
Theresa and I weren't the only who ran the race,
some friends from Bamberg decided to join in on the fun.Ready set run...Go Molly Go!Congrats Craig!
Run Katie Run!

2007-05-21T12:24:00.000-06:00

Guess who's in Deutschland???

all 3 RUMERY girls!

For the first time in a year and a half we are all 3 in the
same country, same city, and hanging out together!
Sarah (cousin who came down from Essen, Germany
to hang out with the crazy Rumery girls), Theresa, Tara, and MollyEeeeeekkkkkkkk!!!! let the good times begin!
So they don't forget what each other look like.

2007-05-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

Girls Night Out!

Vorgluhen bei Pauline'sPROST!!

(don't forget to look the person you're prosting in the eye, or else...)
Pauline, Catriona, Molly, TereseTherese, Jenny, Pauline, CatrionaThe Luck of the Irish!5 Wild girls

The way there...
Trying to bike with a beer, not so talented!Waiting to go into the Morph Club in the Rain
(the rain is back)

Morph Club
Time to get our dance moves on.
Catriona, Molly
Dancing our hearts out!JennyPauline, Catriona, Molly

2007-05-03T02:46:00.000-06:00

Genieβing dei Zeit in Bamberg!

Where to find us..
1. at Hain Park trying to soak up some sun rays
2. at any of the cafes eating some Gelato
3. in class (yes we are still going to school)

Jenny and ErinnErinnMollyOmarSun bathing in progressMollyPriscillaShawn and Bev

2007-04-24T08:31:00.000-06:00

Party Party Party...

School is back (starting much later than I'm use too, April 16th)
New exchange students (way to many Americans, but still tons of fun)
More semester Parties put on by the Uni... (Wohoo)

Partycipate

Bev, Molly, Priscilla, JohnShawn, CatrionaKatie, Rhi, Priscilla
Molly, Shawn, AmandaAmanda, Catriona, Bev, Molly

Usi Macht Musi

With a little 'vor gluehen' before the big night...

Priscilla, Monica, Lindsay
Omar, Lindsay, ErinnPriscilla, Monika, Pauline
Shawn, Molly

Let the Party begin...Molly, Lauren, DanielleAndreas, Pippo Keep up the good dance moves...
Danielle, Omar
Danielle, Omar, John, Molly
A little suprised Lauren?

2007-04-19T11:29:00.000-06:00

Liebe Liebe Lieselot...

Wir haben dich vermissed!

Molly, Lieselot, ShawnPriscillaLieselot, PriscillaKatrina, MollyShawn, Craig
Molly, Shawn
Priscilla, Molly, Lieselot
Lieselot, Katrina, Shawn

2007-04-16T12:31:00.000-06:00

PORTUGAL

5 adventures 'North Americans' set off to find where the sun had been hiding all winter long. We were feeling a bit 'good weather' deprived and needed a break from speaking German (haha). So we decided upon the Sunshine, Beaches, Fortresses, Tiny Cobble Stone Streets, Tiled Buildings, and Boat Trips to the Grottos that Portugal had to offer.

With our mode of trasportation, we set off to Portugal!

Lisbon
2 days in Lisbon, Portugal exploring the castle, churches, wandering through the small streets, trying to not die from walking the various hills that Lisbon had to offer, and testing out my Spanish skills (wait... they don't speak Spanish there, I was a bit out of luck but I did my best to learn Portuguese while I was there.)

The 'one train' cable cars A world of tile
Lisbon, PortugalShawn, Katrina, Priscilla, Molly I'm falling... Help

Sintra
Us 5 'North Americans' took a day trip to Sintra, to wander more small, tiled streets, see the castles, and enjoy one of the smaller towns of Portugal.

Yes, that is a castle, the one with the two smoke stacks.
Priscilla, Kartina, Molly

A work of tile

Lagos

Were we were the majorty of our time, soaking up the sun and living the life as a beach bum.

Home Sweet Home!Anglea, Shawn, Molly, Priscilla, Katrina
The beautiful beach town of Lagos.Molly, Shawn, Priscilla, Katrina, Angela
(all with a little glow from the wonderful sun)Where we spent 5 great days of working on our tan,
and swiming in the cold Atlantic Ocean.My new mode of transportation!

2007-03-25T22:30:00.000-06:00

Spring is in the air!! (Hip hip horay, I love the warmer weather)

Spring means...
1. Time to bring out the RV (band new addition to our family) and all the camping equipment.
2. Time to wear sandles (my feet can breath again!), shorts (my legs are way to white), and sunblock (carefull Molly, don't get burnt... Oops!)
3. Time to enjoy the spring sun!

With the RV (my parents named it the Puppy, such an unfortunante name) all packed and ready to go, we... Tara (my other sister) my parents and a friend Marle (former exchange student from Germany who lived with us 3 years ago and was visiting Colorado) left for a weekend trip to Moab, Utah.

My dad and I decided to brave it and run the Canyonlands Half Marathon (13.1 miles) along the Colorado River in Moab (most beautiful run in the world), and my mom ran the 5 miler. Tara and Marle were are support crew (thanks).

The final stretch...

You can make it

The Runners...
Sarah (mom), Molly (me) and Tom (dad)

The support crew...
Tara (sister) and Marle (adopted sister)

We weren't only is Moab for the Half Marathon, we were there to enjoy our wonderful surroundings and the great hiking trails.

Hike 1
(my legs were toast... 13.1 miles and then a 4 mile hike, that's a lot)

Hole in the Rock.

The amazing pictographs.

And look how far up there they are... How did they get up there?

Hike 2...
7 miles, with the best views of the world!

The Colorado River

The Rumery Family
Tara, Sarah, Tom, Molly
(missing Theresa)

Marle, Tara, Molly

Yoga time

2007-03-20T13:02:00.000-06:00

Road Trippin' with...

My Parents!?!?!
3,000 miles, 4 states, 3 people and WAY to many hours in the car.

My parents decided it was time for us 3 (my mom, dad and me) to take a road trip to California (oh no), driving on THE LONIEST ROAD IN THE USA, hanging out with the Relatives, driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, walking in the Pacific Ocean, and driving down High Way 101.

California here we come... (Theresa our favorite song)

Road Trip Adventures...

No cars in sight (I ran down the middle of the road, not something you can do everyday.)

It was SOOO lonely.

I'm not sure what the point was with this tree, but is was like a Mardi Gras Tree, but instead of fine lingerie it was filled with shoes?? I just don't understand who would have a random pair of shoes to just toss up in a tree while IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. My wonderful Parents!!!

The Relatives... In San Francisco

Gavin, Alex, Ellie, Sebastian

(Ellie is the newest memeber to our family)

Aunt Sarah with Baby Ellie

Sebastian and Molly

Henry, Alex,
Molly, Chris

Alex

GavinSebastian

Ellie

Time with the Parents

The Bay Area with the Golden Gate Bridge in the
back ground.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Dad, don't fall!

2007-03-19T12:48:00.000-06:00

FO CO (Fort Collins, Colorado)

A reunion LOOOOONNNNGGG over due!

Ross, Greta, Luka (the dog), Bennett, Molly, Kevin

Justin, Molly, Amy, Hannah

2007-03-16T11:08:00.000-06:00

Home Coming

New Castle, Colorado

8 months abroad, called for a visit home to enjoy the good food, good company, good weather, and the good times.

Good Food: Pesto came in plentiful amount (I couldn't get enough, I was eating it by the spoon full), along with my mom's good home cooking (she is the BEST cook in the whole world) and many other food that I couldn't wait to eat, eat and eat (corn chips, peanut butter, salad with my favorite dressing) YUMMY!!

Good Company: Friendly faces, and a familiar place. Time with friends and family has been filled to the max.

Good Weather: I think I'm enjoying the Colorado sun shine (a long and cloudy winter was a bit hard) and the warm weather a bit too much!!

2007-02-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Karnival, Fasching, Fastnach...

Creativity to it's finest. Blue and Pink hair for the next top modals. Dancing to the top of the world.

Getting out and celebrating one of the biggest holidays in Germany, Theresa and I went to the capital for the festivities of Karnival, Fasching, and Fastnach... Köln and Düsseldorf.

Theresa and I were greeted in Essen (which is near Köln and Düsseldorf), Germany by our cousin Sarah for a big night of celebrating Karnival, Fasching, and Fastnach.

History of Karnival, Fasching, and Fastnoch... Party it up, live life to it's fullest and have fun before Lent starts.

Reversing the Role

Theresa was the 'new and improved' Sydney Bristow

Sarah was a 'Flavett'

I was named 'Forest Ferry Nymph Thing'

It was one big street party!

2007-02-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

I could start a business being your own personal tour guide and maybe even a translator (only for German though)... It's a good thought!

Schools outs (for 2 months)!!! Traveling the world and hanging out with friends has begun.

I spent the last week in Frankfurt hanging out with 'Theresa and Friends' (actually I mean hanging out with friends and seeing Theresa if our paths happened to cross is the late nights or early mornings.)

Relatives and friends of a friend (I know one of those long stories) were in town, and while everyone else had to work, I was set out as the tour guide for the visiting guests, giving them a chance to see the 'wonderful' city of Frankfurt, and some small, cute, and quant towns that were near by.

Eric, Joe, Molly

2007-02-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Verbier Switzerland

Verbier, Switzerland, the home of the steepest ski run (Mont Fort), the longest mogul run in the Alps, and the biggest 'chair lift' (not a chair lift by any means, more a human moving machine called 'Le Jumbo')

Theresa and I thought it was time for some more 'rock hoping' and 'sand surfing', but this time is the Swiss Alps. A 7 hour bus ride with the Frankfurt International Ski Club for 2 days of skiing on the 'nonexistent snow' in Verbier, Switzerland.

The weather wasn't the best (minimal amounts of sun, lots and lots of wind (even causing the lift to close for 30 minutes with 5 from our group sitting on it) and very, very flat light for skiing) but the company was great (9 total in our group).

Eric, Theresa, Daniel, Molly, Joe, Mark

Lon, Jessica, Molly, Theresa, Daniel

This is to just show how little snow there is in the Alps this year... We (Theresa and I) are on the gondola going down the mountain... NO SNOW (the sad part is we just past the half way point where there is normally feet and feet of snow.) Sad story for the Alps this year!

2007-02-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

Is back in business!!In the t-shirt making business.

But no shirt can be perfect

Angela, Priscilla, Molly, Lieselot, Shwan

2007-01-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

My BIG F A T Greek Birthday

Not my birthday (about 5 months late or 7 months early depending on what way you look at it) but the one and only Greek girl in our exchange program turned 22 yesterday.

Poseidon, God of the Sea, graced us with his presence (actually the name of the resturant) and shared with us in celebrating Anna’s 22nd birthday. With typical Greek food, alcohol, music, and dancing, we all started to become ‘experts’ in Greek culture (well not really).

We had a Greek lesson with what different foods were,

how to drink the Greek alcohol (tasted like black liquorish and the waitress just kept them coming),

learning how to do a bit of Greek dancing (the whole restaurant was dancing with us)

and becoming fluent in Greek (ok, only how to sing Happy Birthday).

(We managed to sing happy birthday is 6 different languages, including Greek!)

2007-01-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Walking

in

a

Winter

Wonderland

January 24, 2007

2007-01-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent about 3 hours typing a blog, and trying to make it just right... yeah, well some how I deleted it. That was my sign to quit for the night, get some sleep (I've been a bit sleep deprived lately) and start again today.

At this current moment it's snowing. Last night when I was walking home I counted about 10 flakes (exciting moment in my life) and was ready right then and there to go skiing, build a snowman or go sledding down the Rumery Luge (the best sledding run in the world). Unfortunately 10 flaks don't make the best ski run, can't build Frosty and would melt if I tried to go sledding. So I opted to sit with a cup of hot apple cider and watch the snow fall...

Last weekend was our Erasmus Ski weekend... Minus the fact that there is NO snow and most ski resorts in Germany aren't even open this year (or right now). But with the hurricane weather (not just hurricane weather, actually hurricane Kyrill graced us with its presence) that we were happening to be experiencing we still decided to go on the 'Ski Weekend.'

Adventures of the Weekend...

1. Trying to stay on 2 feet when walking out side...

2. Hanging out and playing cards at our weekend 'pension.'

3. Seeing fairy tale castles... the real Walt Disney Castle…

(friends from 5 different countries)

4. Throwing a surprise birthday in the 'Pent House Sweet' (actually my room that I shared with Shawn and Priscilla).

(allmost the whole 'gang')

5. Singing tons and tons of karaoke... Go Beatles!!!

2007-01-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

I have just jumped back 10 years in time. To the time of no cell phone (or before they were a necessity for worldly communication) and to the time of not having a computer (or having a computer but with out all the gismos that a computer comes with today (i-tunes/windows media player, DVD player, games and internet)). I am as of 3pm today without communication (not good). Cell phone is broken and is in the process of being sent back to get fixed, and I’m still with out a computer (yes I’m at the computer lab typing this Blog, checking my e-mails, dinking around on Facebook, and trying to do some homework)

The cell phone decided to brake last week, and I some how I managed to get it working again but the # key and the number 9 key stopped working. Writing a text message became fun because all words that had a WXYZ in them I couldn’t use or I just had to leave those letters out. So my messages started to look like this… Ho are u? Here are e going and hat time? I happened to run across the same problem in German as well (all the question words start with a W too). Communication just isn’t in my favour right now.