Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Seattle Livin'



Originally, I started posting emails from prior trips abroad, attaching some pictures and reminiscing of the good old days with no restraints, no worries (other than where to sleep and what type of curry to have for dinner) and good times.



However, my father so eloquently told me it was "old news." Thanks, Pops. So what am I doing now exactly? After spending almost 5 months of the last year traveling the world, I decided I would expand my US horizons and move to Seattle, the coffee, garage music, rainfall capital of the world.

I've spent many-a-weekend up here in the past, trips from Eugene during college, visiting my old college roommate... and I guess I was (and still am) dating a guy that lives here... He's kind of important too. He looks like this:





(His face isn't stuck like that, I promise.)




I love the Pacific Northwest with my whole freaking heart. Why? Portland and Seattle go down on my list as two of the best cities in the US. Why would I say that? Well... the people, the greenery, the EPIC summers without extreme heat and humidity, the outdoorsy culture, the local music encouragement, and not to mention, the Thai food is about as close to Thailand as you can get (minus the whole, 18 hour flight situation). I strongly believe that if the weather was better, everyone would live here. This stormy overcast clouds that loom over the city roughly 9 months out of the year are actually what weed out the yucky people. Yes, the yucky people. Traffic is bad enough, let's not add the Yuckies.


Ok, Seattle Awesomeness Rant is over. Moving on: After five weeks of job searching I have to come to one very important conclusion: If I was sent to hell in the afterlife for wrongdoings during my time here on earth, my punishment would be The Perpetual Writing of Cover Letters (most likely with no response). My super nerdy friend, Sophie tells me she would be perpetually scraping popcorn ceilings... fair enough. So during these five weeks of non - response emails and applications, I walked door to door with a stack of resumes, landing a job at Louisa's Cafe and Bakery on Eastlake. Halle-fugging-luiah. This super cute place (full of croissants, scones, and other delectable, Bobbi-expanding items) has been my saving grace for the last month and a half, keeping me sane as I continue the search towards something I am seriously passionate about doing. In the meantime, I'll continue to get all hopped up on caffeine and eat cookies, its what I do best in life anyways. :)


Let's thank my mother for making me take the "Bobbi's Place of Work Picture" when they were here in February.

























Monday, March 22, 2010

Thailand ~ December 2007

Hey Team!




So this is most likely the last email I'll be writing before I headhome to the freezing coldness of the USA. At least I will be returningwith a tan (which I will probably only retain for a solid 2 weeks...blast).



We spent about four days in Ko Toa (an island next to Ko Samui and KoPhan Nan) enjoying the sun and the beautiful scenery. It was by farthe most aesthetically pleasing island we have been to so far. It isknown for diving but we didn't end up getting to go. Maybe in Ko PhiPhi, you never know!





The last five days we have spent in Krabi and the beaches aroundthere. We randomly met up with some English friends that we traveledwith in Vietnam. We saw them drive by in a taxi so we had to chasethem down, yogurts in hand and all. A valiant effort. :) I have beenloving the last few days here in Thailand: massages, amazing food and waaaay too many coconut shakes. My time here has been amazing and itwill be so weird to leave T and Kaelin. It's weird to spend 24/7together and then leave them, quitting cold turkey. Withdrawals are tocome I'm sure... :)


So I'll be home soon and will be in touch and all! I'll be laying lowfor a couple days to recover from jetlag and traveling in general soif I don't pick up your phonecalls right away, don't be offended. I'll probably be enjoying a peppermint mocha and enjoying the Holiday spirit.


Love you all and I'm excited to see everyone soon! If you actually read all these emails then I am impressed, I rarely read group emails anyways. :)






Peace and Love!

Bobs

Sihuanoukville ~ November 2007

Hey guys!

We are now in Sihnuakville, Cambodia. On the beach! This is a great beach town and we are staying in little bungalows. I love our new place! It has a pool table, hammocks, a movie room, bar/restaurant... one of the places you only need to leave to get to the beach!




Therese' has already decided to extend her trip 3 months and stay here to work and volunteer at an NGO after volunteering in Phnom Penh. Will she ever come home? That's the real question. :) We are going to a restaurant tonight called the Snake House. There are live snakes in cages all over the restaurant and even in the tables that you eat at. Creepy? I think so.


I have to run so I'll write again soon! Love you and miss you guys lots!

Bobs

Nha Trang & Mui Ne ~ November 2007

Hey all!
We are really enjoying Nha Trang! The sun came out yesterday so we went for an island cruise. It was so nice to jump in the water, snorkel a little and chow on some pinneapple. We were all exhausted last night though and I fell asleep around 11.




Although I'm not a huge Vietnamese food fan, I had the best meal of my life last night. It better have been though, it cost me almost $15! That's like my whole budget for a day... We went to a restaurant with the freshest seafood (caught that day, if not still swimming) and they bbq it out front of the restaurant. I got the grouper and it came with rice, steamed vegetables and this crazy sauce. The fish still had the face and tail and all... he looked like he was screaming at me... I didn't really appreciate that part. It was crazy though.




Tomorrow we are off for Mui Ne, about 6 hours south, and then Saigon for a couple days before we have to leave Vietnam (my visa ends on the 3rd). That's the game plan so far! Its going to be a nice day so you'll find me at the beach! :)


Love you guys! Good luck to Casey in fireland.



Love,

Bobs



Ps. GO DUCKS!

Luang Prabang ~ October 2007


Hey everyone!




We arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos yesterday evening. So far I'm really enjoying this town. It is a little touristy but it has some cool things to do around here.








We went to the Kuang Si Waterfall today and climbed up near the top. The view was insane and we ended up soaking wet, covered in mud and sunburned... pretty standard.










Tomorrow T and I are going on an all day trek that starts at 8:30am and then we get back around 5. We will be hiking through three different villages and then ending up in waterfalls. It should be pretty cool. Don't worry Mom, lunch is included. :)






I'm really enjoying my time here. The people are so nice and helpful and the children are so adorable, I might adopt one. That's pretty much all for now! We are trying to figure out how to get to Hanoi, Vietnam. That's the next stop on our map. Besides we better get there before our visas run out. It may involve a 30 hour bus ride... bah. Nothing a little Dramamine can't handle.



Peace Out Team,

Bobs



ps. I was sleeping on the bus yesterday and a cockroach jumped on my head. I picked him up and threw it onto the foot of an english bloke in front of me. He stomped it to death, and needless to say, I didn't feel back about its sudden death. Ick.

Laos ~ October 2007

Hey all!



We got into Vientiene, Laos yesterday morning and its so nice to be out of Bangkok. Vientiene is the capital of Laos but only 200,000 people. It was pouring rain yesterday (like terrestial Eugene downpours, only they last for hours) but you still run around in shorts and a tank top. The guesthouse we stayed at was really nice and actually provided towels, a luxury now. :)



We are leaving for Vang Vienne today, about 4 hours north of here by bus. Buses are fairly comfortable but are slow and tend to break down. Oh well, they are cheap afterall. Apparently Vang Vienne involves kayaks, tubing and beer drinking. Hopefully we won't be stuck there for too long. :)





Oh yeah, Therese' and I went to take money out of the ATM yesterday and in attempts to do the conversion in our heads, we took out $11 US instead of $80.... we graduated from college.



I'm having an awesome time so far and I love hearing from everyone! Later alligators!



Love,

Bobs






Annie- stop running, I'm not joking. Or you will end with 84751798156 stress fractures instead of two.

Everyone in Eugene- enjoy the Fall, I miss the colors! (and cold weather, dear god)

Everyone in Canada - it's 85 degrees here, suckers

Couples Retreat in Colombia... Update #1

Hey guys!





Yes, the feet are in that picture as a size reference to how freaking big that moth is.


Coyle and I managed to land in Bogota around 430am Saturday morning. Thank you to the Cranky Croc hostel for not cleaning our room until 10:30. So awesome, thanks. We slept all day and cruised around the city, trying some arepas (cheesy pancake situations) and drinking coke (the soda kind) in bottles. Bogota was a pretty cool city, but we were ready to hop on the night bus and get over to Medellin.

We are now here (Medellin), got in around 615 this morning. The bus ride? One of the worst I've had in SA. Meaning that Coyle's first impression was a bus ride with the driver flying around turns at 85kms/hour, freezing, sliding around, no sleeping. It was super shitty. Speaking of shitty, you will have to hear the story of his bathroom adventures on the bus after he's had a couple beers. So goddamn hilarious.


We got to the hostel this morning and slept until about 2pm. We've been cruising around the city since, trying to get our bearings and finding grocery stores to cook some delicioso pasta this evening. Eggs for the morning, should be good times. Tomorrow's main agenda is finding an ATM and finding a bar that plays the ducks game on Thursday. We are flying to Santa Marta on Friday (no more night buses for Mr. Coyle), to make sure we are in town to catch that game.


I'll keep you guys updated! GO DUCKS! :)





Love you!
Bobbi


ps. I need a Dco's sando, pronto.