Bonfires and Bacon

Tomorrow I head back to Abu Dhabi for my sophomore year.

The past few weeks have been really nice. I caught up with friends and family that I haven't seen in a while, and slept in as much as possible.

Highlights:

• Bonfires
• Bacon
• Playing wingding
• Seeing family and friends who I rarely see
• Going to Bread and Puppet - this was awesome
• Having awesome theater conversations
• Exploring beaches and rivers
• Driving with the music blaring
• Going to my mother-daughter bookclub
• Managing to pack my bags 30lbs underweight (my master plan of leaving weight and space in my bags worked!)
• Getting my Etihad silver card the day before I fly out

<3

First Sign of Autumn

One of the major things I miss being at school in Abu Dhabi is autumn in Vermont. Simply put, it is beautiful.

The other day when I was driving a single red leaf floated in front of the car. I will still miss the mountains aflame, but it is something.

The first breath of fall.

<3

New Name, New Look

Hello lovely readers!

As you may have noticed, the blog has a new name and new design.

This blog has morphed from just a record of my time in Abu Dhabi to a blog about all of my travels, so I thought this change was fitting.

Welcome!

<3

P.S. All the old posts are here, so this is more of a redesign than a re-do.

Home Depot

Ah, more reverse culture shock.

Although, considering I spend more time each year outside of the US, I am technically an expat. So I have adopted many cultures as my own.

None confuse me more than the US.

I was never intimidated/freaked out by big box stores before spending time abroad. But now a NYC Trader Joe's was almost overwhelming after shopping for a year in small stores like Al Safa.

Home Depot the other day was more foreign than it had ever been.

We were looking to get ideas for new carpet. What I failed to comprehend was why there were so many choices, many of which were the same color. The same color with illogical names such as "Peace" and "Copyeditor".

It was overwhelming and confusing, and another reminder that the notion of 'home' and 'home culture' is transitory and multilayered.

<3

Cooking

One of the reasons I love being home is my ability to cook things.

Things I have made so far:

Sauteed peaches
Grilled brie and carmelized onion sandwich
English muffin pizza
Homemade mac n' cheese

Something I am planning to start for this blog is a series of recipe posts - both the 'real' cooking I do at home, and the dormet cooking that is done at school.

Look for the first set of recipes in the next few days!

<3

Things that Might Make Responsible People Cringe Vol. 4

I have henna'd my hair before, and it turned out to be a lovely copper/red/brown. When I dyed it, I used a Rainbow Henna mix that had other herbs in it to tome down the orange/red factor.

I underestimated how important those other herbs were. Today, I tried dying my hair with pure henna, mixed with coffee and lemon juice (coffee to help push it darker, lemon to help activate the henna).

My hair is a lovely shade of orange right now - thankfully darker than when I first washed the dye out. Then it was a scary clown orange. It is starting to deepen, as henna does, to a more red-orange-brown.

Hopefully it will darken more overnight, otherwise I will layer a mixed henna over it to darken/help the brown notes.

But for now, I have orange-red, short, faux-hawked hair.

<3

Changing

I have just over two weeks until I return to NYUAD for my sophomore year.

Just enough time to relax, reconnect, and reflect on the past year.

My friends say that I have changed - and I knew that, because I don't think you can be away from home, being independant, for a year without changing. My question to their comments is always - "I think I've changed - but what I want to know is if it is a good change"

And I think so. My friends, those who know me best, and who have known me with all of my ups and downs, say that I am calmer than they have seen me. My energy is more relaxed. I am happier.

Adjusting to college was hard - with classes comes independence, distance from home, a new beginning.

As I get ready to start my second year of school, I am excited, like I was last year.

But this is an excitement that holds the knowledge of the challenges I have faced, and those I will face again, and the knowledge that I am one step closer to conquering them.

I am ready for school to start - ready to read, study, perform the RealAD show (so pumped!!!), to intern, learn, grow, and change.

I won't pretend I have everything figured out - quite the opposite. But I am ready (and excited) to keep exploring.

<3

Glory Stories

I missed Pennsic this year because of the schedules of my internships. Because of that, I missed seeing many of my friends who are like family.

So I am going to take a walk down memory lane and recap my own "glory story" from the fighting last year, Pennsic XL, last year's event, the first time I fought heavy list alongside my brothers-in-arms.

It was the woods battle. Unlike woods battles at smaller events, this was my favorite fight of the war. The bridge battles were fun as well, and I realized for sure that I do not like field battles.

Anyways, back to the woods.

It was midway through the battle. The Eastern Army (made up in part by the unit I was fighting with, the Militia), had stalled the Midrealm. I was on spear, a few lines back, ready to fall in when needed.

I made my way to the 2nd line, when Sir Gareth, a knight in our household, saw me and nodded for me to fill in a spot on the front line.

At this very moment, the Midrealm Army decided to charge. I was in the front line, holding off the Midrealm. I was killed, but we held off their charge, and the Eastern Army won the battle.

Another not-so-glorious story of last year was the squeaky golf cart. I had signed up to do a watch shift with one of my friends, and whenever we hit the accelerator on the golf cart, a sound like a dying squirrel was emitted and it took a good 3 seconds for the cart to start moving.

Basically this is a reminiscing post, and a hope that I will be back to Pennsic sooner rather than later.

<3

NY Week 9 & 10

The last two weeks in NY were hectic, but in the best possible way. I am home now, and so here is the recap of my final two weeks (for now) in NYC.

Week 9: I got sick this week. It wasn't fun. I actually had to miss a day of work (though not rehearsal).

But on the weekend I went and saw a play that one of the Theater Mitu company members was acting in - an adaptation on the '60's movie Persona. The acting was really strong, and the storyline/script had a lot of intriguing points regarding masks, art, and identity.

Week 10: There was a wrap-up meeting where people shared moments of their summer. I was reminded once again what an amazing community I am a part of.

Went to a workshop on the play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with the author, Rajiv Joseph. It was interesting to see how the play sounded while being read by an ensemble cast with a mix of accents and genders. This workshop and the prep of reading the play was the first introduction I had to this author, and I like his style.

I got more comfy pants. They are wonderful. And the guy at the market remembered me, so I got a discount without having to barter.

My breakfasts all week were Jamba Juice - they had a 'Happy Hour' every morning.

We also presented the RealAD show to the admin, and to the NY Reality Show cast (who I love). I am so proud of the work we did this summer. We came together as a cast, and I think we have a show which will make an impact and help the freshman out, which is the whole point.

Goodbyes were hard, but they were also more like 'See-you-laters'.

I am happy to be home now, and seeing friends, but I am also getting excited to go back to Abu Dhabi.

<3