Reflections: Taming the Monkey
While in Fiji I became disconnected with everything else, swept up by a new culture, experiences and a sense of endless possibility.

I focused for the first time on myself and the 'now'. Everything that had gone before was wiped from my mind.

I feel I have changed, creating a better understanding of life and a deeper understanding of human beings. I was lacking this clarity before through denial of my own emotions as well as those of others, believing that strength came from dismissal, duty and a 'just get on with it' attitude.

It is good to laugh everyday, but not to use humour to hide from one's true emotions and those of others.

We all look for happiness and success, I understand this now, these are the founding principles of Being and connect all humankind.

Happiness by being present in the Now, with a quietened mind. Successful in anything you choose to do - be that raising children, communicating, breathing - anything.

Everyday should be a mindful affirmation of yourself and a choice to love others. This should never be expected or taken for granted, but given freely through choice.

America awakened my mind,
Fiji unlocked it,
Australia tested it,
Singapore cemented it.

Tame the monkey that is your mind.
Sunday, December 06, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Melbourne
Culture shock!

Cars everywhere, shiny and new. People on phones, rushing here and there. They sound irritable.

Luckily the hostel I booked is lovely, a great introduction into being back on the road. Homey, a little higgledy and run by an elderly man who has lots of great quotes all over the place (I'll have to write some down).

As soon as I arrived I dumped my bags in my room and headed straight back out again on a mission to find food - things I'd been dreaming about on the island.

Dinner consisted of:

Toasted rye bread, avocado, tomato, goats cheese, olives and beetroot dip.

Heaven.

Getting an early night now as it was a late 3am grog session in Nadi last night, another one!
Sunday, November 29, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

Isa Fiji
I have left Fiji.

It was hard to say goodbye to a place where I have met so many fantastic, inspiring and wonderful people.

Vorovoro, the gentle nature of the place. Think about today and enjoy it. Laugh. Make others laugh. Run around in the rain and get wet. Pick a mango, passion fruit or paw paw. Stop, talk to people, share some grog. There is no hurry. Sit in a hammock. Relax.

Jenny you are a sister to my now, thank you for your wise words and strengthening my 'ness'. I'm going to miss you a lot!

Jone, Kini, Nemani, Tale, Pupu Epeli, Api, Penny, Bear, Erya, Tonya, the Family and so many more. Thank you for all the late night grog sessions, music, stories and good times.

From now on I have Pupu's wise words ringing in my ears, 'nothing is hard in this life'. Once you understand this you can let go of little frustrations and niggles, there might be a solution, an answer. Sometimes we try and force a decision before it is ready to be made.

Even though I felt sad about leaving I have come to understand that everything is OK. As Poasa said to me on the island, 'don't cry, you still have life. Fiji will always be here'.

It isn't the end, it's only the beginning. Exciting.
Sunday, November 29, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

October Chief blog - week 4
So what has been happening on sunny, rainy, sunny Vorovoro?

Monday we were excited to welcome 6 new tribe members onto the island, bringing much laughter, camp fires and a fancy dress party with a sustainable theme – costumes had to be made from natural materials found on the island. There were banana leaf butterflies, woven leaf crowns and coconut bras. An island party wouldn’t be an island party without these coconut accompaniments.

Tuesdays Sevusevu passed without a hitch and the village was looking beautiful after all the hard work the tribe put in raking and clearing the dead leaves from the borders and walkways.
On Wednesday our seventh tribe member arrived, getting stuck into island life from the start and he’s been fishing every day since.

It was also Tui Mali’s birthday on Wednesday so Jim and I went to visit him in Vuo taking some presents, a card made from a banana leaf and of course grog. I was taken aback with the beautiful location, stunning grounds and the caves under the escarpment which the house sits on. Tui Mali was really chuffed with the presents he received, signaling this by punching one hand into the other with a big grin and a loud ‘vinaka’.

Friday’s school trip was joyous creating much laughter, games and bright eyed excitement, and that was just the tribe members. The children had been looking forward to the visit as we hadn’t been able to go the previous week.

Saturday saw us celebrate with ‘Bula night’, a party where we all wore our sulu juba and bula shirts. The location was past the volleyball court, along the path and into a clearing looking out to sea. We had candles, marsh mellows, chocolate, stories and a great deal of laughter.
My time here as chief is drawing to a close and I feel privileged to have had this month on the island and unsurprisingly I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to leave any time soon.
Sunday, November 15, 2009 | Category: , , | 0 comments

Chief's Blog - Week 2

Bula sia,

The weather here is on the turn. The sea is warming up, the sun is brighter and the rains are often lingering on the horizon. The sea changes colour from aquamarine to blue, blue to green, green to groggy brown and back to aquamarine all in the space of a couple of bilos on the beach.

On Monday we were invited to Naqai, where boat captain Api lives, for a soli and to celebrate Fiji Day. Each Matagali (family group) had their own decorated celebration area, music and cava and lots of different mekes were performed in the middle. We were settling into our grog, cake and chat when the heavens opened and tried to wash us away. Jone Robinson and Api were quick to the rescue, finding cane knives close at hand; they dug a trench around the celebration area to divert the water. Vinaka na quick thinking. The celebrations continued.

Tuesday saw sevusevu day, where Vilus our latest tribe member presented his kava and became the first Lithuanian on Vorovoro. Tui Mali was much impressed and invited Vilus, or Delusa as he became known, to help him garden the next day down in the village. They were busy all day, working in the hot sun and both agreed that the only way to finish a good days work of this nature would be around the grog bowl on the beach before Tui Mali had to leave.

Friday came and we headed to Ligalevu for the Schools Family Fun Day Soli. It was a day to celebrate; national library week, Fiji Day, Teachers and Diwali. There were speeches, songs, stories and laughter in the church hall as each year group presented their pieces. We were even treated to a fancy dress contest afterwards where Jim and I were the judges. We saw many of the boys dressed as girls, some of the girls dressed as boys and everything in between. We had a magical day.

On Saturday we all headed into town to visit Graham, our sawdust supplier, and have some drinks around his pool and catch up. We were all hesitant to step off the boat however before the dogs had been mollified and introduced to us, none more so than Jone and Tale, who were eyeing up the nearest tree to climb if needs must. After Graham’s we headed to AJ’s for Diwali celebrations.

Driving through Labasa I was amazed to see the number of lights which had been strung up outside most of the houses, it was like Christmas in the UK or America, but without the waving Santas or sleighs and a lot more fireworks happening all over the place.

We were treated to lots of delicious Indian sweets, curries and fireworks, which his 4 year old daughter was extremely excited about, even though it made me nervous to see her skipping around with a box of matches and a bag of fireworks!

We are really lucky to be able to visit so many different people and places and to feel so welcomed. Where else would you get such an all encompassing cultural experiences?

Vinaka vaka levu,

Marama Jessica

Sunday, October 25, 2009 | Category: , , | 0 comments

Chief Blog - Week 1

Bula sia,

The salu salu has been passed on, I am now your new chief blogging from the island and keeping you all informed of life here in paradise.

It’s been a quiet start to year 4, but we’ve been busy on and off the island.

The chickens have a new luxurious home, created from recycled materials. It is a wooden slated affair and looks very chic, the chickens seem pretty impressed. On several occasions since their move we’ve had 6 or 7 eggs from the 5 plucky chickens. Good old Fatty Lumpkin (a larger chicken that I suspect is giving us these extra treats).

We have also dug and prepared three new vegetable beds so we can transplant the overcrowded egg plants and revitalize the gardens. We have a healthy crop of tomatoes and chilies, not to mention the coconuts, pawpaw, passion fruit and mangoes which are just coming into season.

Being a small tribe we have visited the villages on Mali Island several times recently for various events.

We went to Liga Levu to open their new oven, which is the same design as the one on Vorovoro. Jim cut the ribbon and made a speech. We were treated to the ladies meke, a beautiful hymn and salu salus (garland of flowers). We managed to stay grog free on that day, but we went home with a good covering of talcum powder in our hair.

We attended to a soli (fundraiser) in Nakawaqa to raise money for a water pump. We presented our sevu sevu to the chief and then joined the soli in the village hall where there was a cava ceremony, donating of money and lots of tea and what looked like a cake factory in one corner judging by the piled high plates that kept on coming.

Two nights ago we were back in Liga Levu, this time for a soli to raise money for the vicars house and the school. For the soli each woman born on Mali and married into a Mali household donated money and the men prepared all of the food. We had cassava vaka-lolo for morning tea, which is a really tasty sweet treat. It consists of cassava pounded into flour then cooked in coconut milk with sugar to make soft squidgy sticky balls of goodness. The total raised on that day was $2350.

It’s hot. The water in front of me is crystal clear with hardly a ripple; I’m itching to jump in. The bili bili (bamboo raft), made for the 3rd year celebrations, is tethered out at sea and looks particularly inviting.

Vinaka Tribe,

Marama Jessica

Sunday, October 25, 2009 | Category: , , | 0 comments

Tsunami Alert

So what do you do when Jim comes RUNNING back from Tanoa Park with the news that a tsunami is on its way?

I was going for a shortening of breathe, a quick pack and estimating how long it would take to scale peak 3. Jim suggested the compost toilets as a good hide out, but I wasn’t convinced.

I looked around to gauge what team Fiji were doing, what possessions they would take with them. I was betting that Pupu would go for his trusty machete and perhaps the boys would take their Ipods. However, what I saw surprised me. The ladies were busy raking the leaves, Pupu was still making coconut jewelery and Tale was mowing the lawn!!

Api took Jenny and myself aside to let us know that he would look after us. He had a plan. Api said he would go get three life jackets, but he’d be wearing them all while me and Jen could each sit on a shoulder…

At this point I wasn’t really sure what to think. Jim was getting worrying phone calls about Samoa and tsunami warnings and the Fijians were saying not to worry as Vorovoro was surrounded by reefs, a natural barrier.

We put the town trip back, playing it safe. The lawn was still being mown, the leaves were still being raked and morning tea was under way. I felt safe.

Luckily no tsunami materialized in Fiji, but my heart goes out to all those in Samoa who were affected by the earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 | Category: , , | 0 comments

Vorovoro Love

Everyday I wake up and feel a greater connection and love for this island and everyone and everything on it.


Sitting with Pupu making jewellery together as he talked to me about the shell he was using, how his wife had found it and how it had been in his house for the last 20 years. Now he’s using it to make me a necklace – what an amazing gift.


Chilling with the boys on the grog mat each evening, listening to the beautiful singing of Nemani and Tale and joking with Jone Robinson that he’s my long lost brother. Hearing Tonya’s words of wisdom as I’m wondering if another 2am session is wise; ‘don’t think about yesterday, don’t think about tomorrow, only experience today’.


Relaxing in a hammock, reading my book for a few minutes until Poi and Poasa come running to start swinging it until I nearly capsize and then jumping in giggling.
Sharing moments with Jenny BeBe (ne Wavu)in the dark ‘watering’ the beach and counting our blessings.


Laughing with Wati and Kini in the kitchen, sharing naughty jokes and looking after Kini’s little boy Leavi, as the delicious pawpaw curry is simmering on the stove.


Listening to the school children on Mali singing songs, harmonizing beautifully, so much so that I become chocked up and feel my heart expand some more.


There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Vorovoro.

Monday, September 21, 2009 | Category: , | 1 comments

Fiji Catch-Up
I'm a little behind myself on the blogging front - I've been having such a lovely time that I tend not to want to leave the island and come to Labasa to use the internet, so you'll have to forgive me :-)

Here is a quick summery to get back on track and I'll have to fill in the details later:

August 22nd - arrived on Vorovoro

Fell in love with the island and people - extended

Stayed till the 2nd September when everyone had to leave as the island was having a holiday for a week before the next 5 year lease came into effect.

Spent a week on Viti Levu Island in Nadi and Suva chilling

9th September return to Vorovoro for another 2 weeks

10th September - decide I need longer and want to run for Chief

14th September - voting opens and my fingers are crossed

If I become chief I will be on Vorovoro until November!! This is what I came travelling for, not to tick the coutries off my list as I saw them, but to immerse myself in culture, to make great connections and live on a tropical island paradise!

If you want to know where I'll be check out this link: http://www.tribewanted.com/ and then come visit me :-)
Sunday, September 13, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

Fiji - Travelling to Vorovoro
22nd August
I've landed in Nadi! I took a double decker plane from LAX - it was huge.
I slept pretty well on the flight and chatted to my neighbour, an attorney from Davis, CA!
I experienced Fiji time quite quickly - the giant plane was disembarked through a single security scanning belt - it took about 2 hours!

I was planning on taking the bus to Suva to catch my flight to Labasa, but was advised by the coach company that there wasn't enough time. I therefore booked on a separate flight from Nadi to Suva so I could make my connection to Labasa.

I went from the largest plane I'd ever been on to the smallest! It was about as wide as a train carriage and I could see the propellers. Once in Suva I had to wait 5 hours for my next flight which was on a similar sized plane.

In Labasa I couldn't see anyone from Tribewanted there to pick my up as they were supposed to. Everyone was leaving the airport - its very small, a solitary building and airstrip, and an Indian family asked if I wanted to share a taxi with them into town. I accepted this offer as I knew I had to get to the Grand Eastern Hotel to meet Tribewanted and take a boat to the island. Luckily I arrived just as they were about to leave... there had needless to say a mix up with my arrival time.

Fiji is very different to any where I've been before, the buses belch out black smoke, palm trees and banana trees are everywhere and people line the streets in Labasa which is dirty and crowded, but everyone seems really friendly.

After 3 flights and a boat ride I was finally at my destination, Vorovoro - www.tribewanted.com/

Amazing!
Friday, September 04, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

LA
August 18th
Flew to LA - what a concrete jungle it looked from the sky - really bleak after San Fran. I landed and then took the subway to Hollywood and Vine and walked 5 blocks to the hostel which was really nice - but I did have to bring out my ear plugs. I went to the open mic night on my first night and there were some really good singers/guitar players.

August 19th
Warner Brothers Studio Tour!! Amazing.
I made my way to the bus stop and saw two other girls waiting there, so I asked if there were from the hostel and they said 'yes' and I asked if they were going to the WB tour and they said 'yes' so it was great as I could spend the day with them, getting to and from the studio and seeing all the stuff together.

MORE TO COME!!!
Friday, September 04, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

San Francisco Catch-up
Extracts from my journal August 12th;

Day 2: Farmers market & free open air concert at Stern Grove

Day 3: Hayt Street, met up with Lucie from the Ranch and Kelsey & Davis and we went to a wicked Hookah bar and then all went back to Kelseys house and her hot tub.

Day 4: Hike up Mt. Tam in the day and then we all went to Acme, Kelsey and Davis' local bar where they treated us to the dance from Footloose - awesome!

Day 5: Chill back at Alastair's.

August 13th
I went to MOMA (museum of modern art) and thought I had pneumonia today! I happened to take a deep breathe ad heard and felt a gurgling sound! After that the museum was a bit of a blur, but I liked the Richard Avedon & Gorgia O'Keefe exhibits - I ended up walking 6 miles around San Fran after becoming impatient waiting for a street car...so ruled out any imminent health issues!!

August 14th
Today I walked 4 miles, had a Greek salad for lunch made with iceberg lettuce(!!) and visited the exploratorium, although in the end I only had a half hour there before it closed and I could have spent 2 hours at least, plus its more the kind of place where 2 people are better than one.

August 15th
I decided to ignore the cold I had come down with the night before and went to visit the Academy of Sciences and looked at the Aquarium which was really interesting (although I have now snorkeled in Fiji on a reel life coral reef so it's not quite so vivid...) Had a great time sitting in the Golden Gate Park afterwards listening to a live band and reading, bliss.

August 16th
I went to see Alcatraz on this day and it was quite amazing - so much history on the island. I listened to a really interesting talk on Al Capone, about what he was really like and how his voice was actually quite high! It was windy, cold, eerie and unfortunately crowded! I sat in an solitary confinement cell by myself which was quite something and heard the cell doors being opened and closed with large bangs!

August 17th
Last full day in San Fran, met up with Lucie, wrapped some presents and packed.




Friday, September 04, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

San Francisco adventures
I arrived in San Fran at 7am yesterday courtesy of Corbetto who was dropping Felix off at the airport. I took the BART to 16th & Mission streets where Alastair met me with his son Wilder.
We stopped for coffee and then headed to their apartment on Oak & Pierce streets. I have a set of keys which is really cool so I'm free to come and go as i please.

I headed downtown by myself after lunch, walking through a slightly unsavoury part of town by accident (Franklin/Market streets). I hopped on the street car headed for Fisherman's Wharf to escape and got off at the Union Square visitors centre before heading to Pier 33 so I could get a ticket for the Alcatraz tour and City Pass.

Now for the real drama!

As I was leaving pier 22, headed towards 39. three motorbikes mounted the wide pavement and started doing some tricks - wheelies and going round in circles on just one wheel etc. I gathered this wasn't a normal street act by everyone staring and looking a bit shocked. They then got back on their bikes and zoomed off, apart from the last one who pulled a HUGE wheelie without looking and saw the cyclist too late!

The motorbike, a large road bike, crashed into the cyclist, knocking both parties to the ground. Everyone gasped and ran forward towards the scene as the motorbike guy looked like he was getting back on his bike to ride away so someone tackled him! This all happened 10 meters from me! The two other motorbike guys left pretty sharpish at this point.

The cyclist was OK luckily, just some grazing and shock. There were 3 police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck on the scene before too long to check everything out and apprehend the motorbike guy.

I carried on walking at this point and took Stockton st. At the intersection with Lombard street I was able to see the major zig-zag section from a distance, but will visit properly another day. I wasn't too sure where to go, but i figured out a route towards Washington Square Park and then along Union street. I had a feeling that Macondary Lane was around somewhere, which is Barbary Lane in Tales of the City  books, bit couldn't find it on the map as it is too small.

At Jones street i decided that I'd done enough walking so took Jones st south, climbing a very steep hill (all the cars have to park at 90 degrees to the road), but I knew the view would be worth it and it was. half-way up I stopped to take a look and saw Alcatraz island lit up by the sun but surrounded by a sea of fog. Turning back to the steep hill I looked up and saw Macondery Lane!! I simply couldn't believe it.

I plucked up the courage to go up the wooden steps, which are very high and looked rickety, and went along the lane. It is a meter wide cobbled path which is shrouded in an arc of trees, shrubs and flowers - really pretty. There are also apartment houses on each side - I wouldn't mind living in one of those!

I then managed to jump on a cable car back to Union Square and make my way back to the apartment.

It is safe to say that on day 1 I fell in love with the city and on day 2 nothings changed this.


Monday, August 10, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Ode to the Pool and Growlers
The Pool:
The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. A pool with palm trees and a spa hot tub. Gorgeous flowers; reds, purples, pinks, blues. A light warm breeze flutters and the heat is delicious. 
The pool is crystal clear, a light aquamarine blue. Four steps at one end ease the water wary in. Once ensconced in the pool you can swim lengths, perform hand stands or just relax. Heaven.

The Growlers:
Beer. I wasn't a big drinker of this liquid before my travels, some of you might remember me equating it to the smell of the day after a party or even cat's piss on one occasion, but this might have been referring to lager!
I have been converted however by the Davis Growlers home-brewing quartet; Francis, Mike, Andy and Christopher. I have sampled English pale ale, American pale ale, wheat beer, coconut beer, ginger beer and many more besides. I have even harvested hops for future batches of beer and learnt many a trivia fact from the process. Did you know that hops are a sedative?
Thanks guys, I think you  have created a future home-brewer and definitely a beer convert!



Monday, August 10, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

Camping in Siltcoos with Francis, Frank, Felix & Cat
The boys (Felix & Francis) arrived on Tuesday around 3pm at Annie's house to pick me up. However they had been melting in Francis' car for around 5 hours without air con in 40 degree heat!! Therefore with Annie's permission they stayed the night as it was near impossible to get back in the car again after experiencing Annie's gorgeous cool cottage.

We got up at 6:30am and headed onto the I-5 north to Winston and then west to Coos Bay and the coast. We finally settled on a camp site at Siltcoos. It was really nice, they are deluxe camping spots compared to the UK where you get a field. Here you get a mini driveway a picnic table and a fire pit. Although we were primitive campers according to American standards as we only had tents. People here pitch up with their huge RVs (motor homes), 5 quad bikes, car, truck, huge gas BBQ/kitchen!

We went for a walk to Siltcoos Lake, dune running at Jessie M Honeyman's (I know a very similar name to my own!!) and wanderings on Siltcoos beach. Plus we also found a great little bakery 'Sugar Shack' I think it was called, and had to partake of the coffee and doughnuts on several occasions. Yum!!

We wanted to see the huge redwoods on the drive back, but miscalculated the popularity of the camp site so we decided to just do the return journey in one day!! That amounted to about a 13 hour drive and included a huge mountain rage for 3.5 hours and an elevation 3000 ft!! There were tons of gold prospecting rigs in the river we drove by, we guessed someone might have found a nugget or two and everyone else was there for the 'pickings'.

We drove back along the coastal road and then inland towards central valley and Davis, it was a fun drive and we chatted lots and drank lots of coffee too. We got back about 11pm so wasn't too bad.

The next day I was back chilling by the pool. Bliss.



Wednesday, August 05, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Moving on - Road-tripping!!
I've been staying with Kalihi and my nieces at Kalihi's sisters house - or rather her large deluxe house on a substantial plot of land.

It has been really hot here, 40 degrees most days (42.5 today) so we've been running errands in the mornings and then jumping in the pool in the afternoon. Delightful.

Kalihi and the girls left for England today. It was really sad, I've realized that I'm not good with goodbyes. I was the one who cried first - quite silly really as they are moving nearer to where I live, but it was the emotional situation that did it - she was leaving her mum and sister.

Annie (Kalihi's mum) said I could stay at her house for a while which was really nice. It's a lovely little cottage (i say cottage - don't think old Cotswold stone, but modern wooden, air-conditioned, lush place - I'd like to get me one of these) and she is working for the next three days which means I'd have the place to myself.

However the reason for staying on in Ashland (or rather Phoenix where she lives) is that I was waiting to hear from the boys (Felix and Francis Corbett - friends from school) about their proposed road trip north through California, Oregon and possibly even to Canada.

I wasn't sure it was going to happen, but it is and tomorrow!! I don't even know where we are going or anything about it which is really exciting, but I will be in good company. I have everything with me that I might need so I say bring on the exploration and adventure!!
Thursday, July 30, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Travelling
I've been pretty shabby with the blogging recently...

To summarise; Francis Corbett rescued me from McDonald ranch with 3 other girls and took us back to his and Jeanette's house in Davis (near Sacramento). All of us were there until Monday, which is when the other girls left to explore different things.

I visited Corbett until 23rd July, hanging out, chilling and meeting all his and Jeanette's friends. It was just wanted I needed to do after a whole bunch of crazy!

I took the Amtrak train from Davis to Sacramento and then an Amtrak coach from Sacramento to Ashland Oregon. The journey started out really flat and farmland for the main and then turned into mountains and trees! I was asleep for a lot of it though as it was a 6.5 hour bus ride!

Ashland is really nice, lots of boutique type shops, a Shakespeare festival and the people are super friendly too. It was great seeing my sister in law, Kalihi and my two nieces, Rowan and Eliza who I had never met before - adorable! But they all fly to England next week, so my time here is limited, but its nice to help out where I can with some babysitting.

I'm now contemplating my next move - as its all rather unplanned. Do I keep travelling around Oregon (although public transport is diabolical) hitch a lift with Felix and Corbett on their road trip to Vancouver (if there is space) or go to San Fran early and fly out to Fiji early too? Lots of options, no decisions as yet.

FYI - its 40 degrees here!! HOT :-)
Sunday, July 26, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

McDonald Ranch - Wwoofing
Where do I begin? It's a long story!

This place is not what I expected. I thought it would be organised, friendly and nurturing for the children or 'campers' as they are called. However there is no structure or work schedule so with 8 volunteers it feels like they have too many people, or rather don't know how or what to do with us all!

First impressions; dirty, not just farm dirty, but real dirty and smelly.

I arrived on 30th June and saw Linda McDonald, the owner for about 2 minutes, then didn't see her again for 2 days!! In that time I heard lots of stories from the other volunteers about how she is a Jakyl and Hyde character and can be patronizing, irrational and even rude... I tried to wait and watch and see what she was like for myself..but not seeing her for so long or talking to her about what I'd be doing on the ranch kind of slanted this already!

To cut a long story short, I did things like; feed and muck out horses, ponies, goats and chickens. I also milked a goat and generally cleaned her house! There were lots of cats and dogs, which came down from her room into the living room and poo'd on the carpet! Four times in 2 weeks!! There were lots of other brown stains and 'water' marks, so it clearly was happening for a while!

The other volunteers were, Mitch 41 from Seattle, Ken 21 from Connecticut, Saphia 29 from Bolton, Tara 22 from Belgium (she left and got out early!), Sam 18 from Canada and Lucie 21 from France. All very nice, I'm still with Lucie, Sam and Saphia at Francis Corbett's house in Davis.... so how did we get here?

Lucie and Ken were caught smoking outside the ranch, beyond the gate and drive, but on the small wall by the road... drama! Linda came to speak to Lucie and Ken and was totally mad. She started ranting about fires, children and how Lucie had influenced Ken to smoke and now she couldn't trust any of us as we'd known they were smoking but didn't tell her etc etc. She went on for quite a while and said Lucie had to leave and then that she's have to talk to the board or directors.

The next day me and Lucie came back from Santa Rosa, as it was our day off to hear that volunteers can now smoke by the pool area and no one has to leave... rather a quick turn around so we still wanted to clear the air and address her ranting and accusations etc.

This conversation then escalating in 5 minutes to us being the worst volunteers ever and we all had to leave as she's never had so many complaints (she's never had this many volunteers) and it was clearly not working out for any of us!

So 6 of us left yesterday with minimal notice, hence Corbett coming to rescue 4 of us!!

The next day Linda said that I wasn't one of the bad ones... I had a home here in California with them if I ever wanted to return.. a proper head job, we joked that it was like a psychological experiment!!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

Jess Landed at San Francisco
Looks like her plane was a tad delayed by 2hrs 38mins at JFK!



Jess' flight took 5 hours 27 mins and covered 2,582 miles.

Bonus Whatnots:

Listen to Jess' plane flying into SFO:
(Communications between pilot of AA179 and SFO Tower)





Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | Category: | 1 comments

Bye NYC, Hello San Fran
Today is my last day in the Big Apple.


I met a lovely Liverpudlian girl called Laura last night at the hostel - she is also travelling by herself so we got chatting and ended up spending all morning together today, eating at an all American dinner for brunch and then walking around Central Park for about 2 hours
- I reckon we must have done at least 5 miles!



We were chatting together all day - I think we'd both not had anyone to talk to for a while - it was really nice. She's travelling a lot around the US, Hawaii, Oz and New Zealand, but our paths don't really cross again - maybe my last two days in San Fran, but thats it.

I need to update you on yesterday's night tour - I joined a really long queue on 47th and 7th, was asked if I wanted to hold a snake (a man had one round is neck, it was huge and horrible), I declined and hoped the queue would hurry up!

I managed to get on a bus at 8pm ish and headed down Times Square to downtown, mainly going along 5th avenue, and then over to Brooklyn on the Manhattan Bridge. We got to stop on the far side to take photos of the glittering city - very touristy. I managed to get 2 more photos from my camera before the battery died on me (I'll be uploading them soon - they aren't great - general tourist snaps I'm afraid).



We were allowed off the bus at Brooklyn to take the photos so long as we were back on the bus by 9 - well some people were late so we didn't leave till 10 past which meant we got caught in a downpour (its an open top bus with no lower deck) and didn't get back until 10pm. It's really safe though, there are lots of people around and I wasn't really worried. All of the tour guides have been going on about how NYC has been voted the safest big city in America.

Overall I have really enjoyed NYC, but it has to be said that its all a bit hectic and you needs loads of money - especially if you stay in Manhattan like I am. If I ever come back, or if anyone is thinking of going, I'd highly recommend the West Village and Greenwich Village, they are the nicest areas in my opinion - also some of the most expensive!

I'm up at 5 tomorrow to get my airport shuttle bus to JFK and then fly at 9am to San Fran. Once there I'm getting another airport shuttle bus to Santa Rosa where I'll be met at 5:30 by a person from McDonald Ranch which is nice.

New pastures, new adventures xx
Monday, June 29, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Day 4 - by Jess

Jess' route today:


View Jess New York Day 4 in a larger map

Thanks for the post Lee..hehe, it made me smile - no idea how you put the map on there though, you're making my posts look quite plain..tut.

I've been a busy bee again today. I walked to 9th Avenue, down to 42nd Street and then over to 12th Avenue and the Hudson River to catch the Circle Line Ferry - it was 75 mins and went out to the Statue of Liberty again... I thought it did a bigger circle than that, but it came with my 3 day touring pass so I got my monies worth.

Back on dry land again at 12 I walked back along 42nd Street to 8th Avenue and got on the uptown tour to Columbus Circle, Central Park, Harlem, and the upper West and East sides. I got off at Strawberry Fields to see the John Lennon 'Imagine' disc on the floor and eat my lunch - a salad box - and then got back on the tour, went past the Apollo Theatre - everyone was playing Michael Jackson music in the cars and there was crowds outside the theatre to celebrate his life.

The tour then started down the Museum mile, and the only one I stopped at was the City of NY museum (which also came free with my pass :-)

It's now 5:30 and I've been on the move since 9am - every day I get back about this time and crash, but tonight I'm going on the night tour at 8 so I can see the city all lit up with lights - should be ace!!

Tomorrow is my last day here and I'm not sure what I want to do yet... any suggestions?

xxx
Sunday, June 28, 2009 | Category: | 1 comments

Day 3 In The Big Apple
Howdy. This is Lee posting on Jess' behalf.

Jess' route today:


View Jess New York Day 3 in a larger map


I am going to be acting as an intermediary since I kinda nicked all of her internet time chatting (whoops). Therefore I'll be feeding back to you what we've been chatting about over the course of about 20 minutes.

So let's begin no ?

Today Jess has been super duper busy yet again since she has just 2 days left in New York, New Yorrrrrrk before she jets Westward to San Francisco for a month's worth of wwoofing.

She woke early (as she does) and jumped out of bed at like 6:30 (ish) for a spot of breakfast before heading outside to see the stuff, and man did she see the stuff !! She went alllll over the Southern half of Manhattan, starting with the King of the Stuff - the Empire State Building.





Jess fearlessly rode up to the lofty heights of the 86th floor observation deck and stood atop the tallest piece of stuff the city has to offer like a pretty british super hero, taking in upto 50 miles worth of sights *on a clear day (I just checked that), and also getting away from the wafty bin type smell that kinda lingers around in the city streets below (refer to previous post for more info on said wafty bin type smell).

Next up, she took a brief hike Southward 18 blocks (which is just under half a mile) to Union Square where the Union Square Greenmarket is usually in full swing (held Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between 8 AM and 6 PM year round). It is kinda like the farmer's market in Stroud, but with the addition of street performers, people sunbathing, old dudes playing chess, maybe the odd man or two on a microphone telling everyone to repent and possibly another guy on possibly another microphone telling everyone that Swine Flu is a conspiracy - that kinda thing.



Leaving the hustle and bustle behind, she continued a leisurely stroll South into Greenwich Village which Jess describes as "more hippy and all the buildings are lower by law and there are lots of trees... its 'bohemian'". While there, she checked out Carrie Bradshaw's house from Sex & The City (pictured) - and may or may not have walked up and down the stoop outside as if she was Carrie Bradshaw - several times - or at least had an epic inner struggle with the idea (although this is my own opinion and not based on fact).

From there, she swiftly sauntered South-Eastish alllll the way down Bleecker Street which runs diagonally across Greenwich Village ("which there was a market on - it was soooo hot though - 26 degrees or more - and humid")" and then caught the bus over to Ground Zero where the new World Trade Center One (formerly Freedom Tower) is under construction. She says: "They have the first steels in for the tower, you can see them from ground level.".

Still thirsty for more adventure, an eager Jess then took the Brooklyn Bus Tour (sometime before 3pm - which is when the website says the tour runs until) from the nearby Battery Park on the South-West corner of Manhattan, travelling through Camden Plaza, Brooklyn Heights, Old Fulton Landing, and onto the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Next, Jess visited Grand Central Station in East Midtown NYC (the one in that B&W picture you always see at Ikea (pictured left)) - saw that, and then walked alllllll the way back 2 miles West to her hostel, stopping in at a deli to get some well deserved dinner - "a Siciliano Panini". I can't find any images of a Siciliano Panini on Google, but I'm sure it was a taste sensation.

Then she got on the web about 6ish and chatted with moi.

Her favourite part of the day was Greenwich Village.

Tomorrow Jess is going to explore uptown Manhattan, including a ferry ride and a museum or two. Stay tuned...

She sends her best wishes and much love to everyone back home.
Saturday, June 27, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

New York City
It is my second day in NYC and I've been to Battery park, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island - these few places have taken me all day - 11 - 5 at least!

It's really hot and smelly - I didn't prepare myself for the smelliness of this place - stand by a grundon bin for a while and you're kinda close... much worse than London.

I have a 4 bed female dorm room to myself, last night 2 other girls were there, but they've gone now so it's pretty cool - I have air con which is really needed!

I haven't quite got the hang of talking to strangers yet, most people at the hostel keep them selves to themselves - most are in groups. It's OK though as there is so much to see and I'll have all the company I need on the West Coast.

This is a little rushed as the Internet here is $2 for 20 minutes so I have to type and think fast and I've missed loads of stuff that I've seen and done, but maybe a more thoughtful entry will come soon :-)

Love to you all - add comments on what I should see & do if you like :-)

xxx
Friday, June 26, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Heathrow... Ready to Depart
After several teaful goodbyes, at home, at my sisters and then at the airport with Lee, I have cleared security and I'm currently sitting in the departure lounge ready to board my plane... but as usual I am a little early... tee tum!

I am feeling both excited and nervous, it still doesn't seem real after years of planning - although I feel like I haven't planned at all at the same time... just generally quite disorientated!

I am sad to leave everyone, the final 'cold feet' feeling, but I also just want to get there.


Bonus Whatnots:

Listen to Jess' flight as it approaches JFK Airport:
(Communications between pilot of BA117
and KJFK Air Traffic Control)

I have 10 minutes on this for £1, which has ticked by really quickly and I haven't written much... but then I am just rambling.

Love you all

Jess xxxxx

Thursday, June 25, 2009 | Category: | 3 comments

Wwoofing at McDonald Ranch
I have finally got my wwoofing placement sorted (willing workers on organic farms - FYI), but instead of being on the East coast, I've gone West!

1.5 hours north of San Fran is McDonald Ranch where they have an 'animal sanctuary and university for children'. They have horses that I can ride, goats, chickens etc etc and also school kids who come to learn animal husbandry, which is not as my sister thought, getting animals to mate, but how to care for them!

Linda McDonald seems really nice and emailed "I will make room for you if I have to move to a tent myself and give you my room! LOL!" which i thought was nice, hope its comfy :-)

You can find out more about the farm at http://www.mcdonaldranch.org/ and I'll let you know how it goes.

I now have only 2 sleeps before leaving for New York... eee..... 5 nights there and then wwoofing!

Wish me luck! xx
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

International Mobile Roaming
Ever consider getting a special international Sim card so that calling the UK from abroad doesn't involve selling a kidney?

I've just spent the best part of two days trying to figure out; what type of phone I need, who provides the best deal and who is a reliable company... There aren't many/any comparison sites for international Sim cards so it does involve some internet digging.

The type of phone I need is an unlocked GSM quad band (850,900,1800,1900MHz), which luckily I have with my Motorola U9, although I need to get it unlocked. The different bands allow you to use the phone in nearly every country in the world as they will use one of the four frequencies (except Japan which is on 3G, 2100MHz). Yes, i have become quite the phone expert!

I created a spreadsheet with the different countries that i will be travelling to in rows and then added columns with: receive call, outbound call (land line), send text. This then enabled me to add the different rates per country for each provider - a little homemade comparison sheet - bingo!

Because I am going to India I was hard pushed to find a company that charged less than £1.50 to receive a call and less than £2.00 to make a call... a 5 minute call home would end up costing a nights accommodation at that rate (although perhaps everyone at home would be happier as I'd run out of money and be back in no time)!

Two companies stood out for me, they didn't offer any free inbound calls, but I'm not going to Europe (which is the destination for 90% of the free calls offered by other companies) so by paying a lower rate in each country it works out cheaper overall.

Max-Roam and Global Roaming Inc. were the two companies - Global Roaming being the cheapest and subsequently the one I have gone with - fingers crossed because after lots of research I went with a relatively new product and took a gamble!

More to come in 5-7 working days (that's how long it takes to ship the Sim card) and I will then also go online and unlock my phone...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | Category: , | 0 comments

A Ticket to...

1. New York City - 9 days
2. Wwoofing - 1 month
3. San Fransisco - 2 weeks
4. Fiji - 9 days
5. Melbourne
6. Cairns - working my way overland to Sydney
7. Sydney - total 1 month in Australia
8. Singapore (stop-over for internal flight to Thailand)
9. Thailand (work my way overland to Malaysia)
10. Malaysia
11. Singapore - 22 days from landing in Thailand
12. Delhi (catch train to Jaipur)
13. Jaipur - http://www.i-indiaonline.com/
14. India!! - almost 2 months in total
15. Fly home from Delhi







This is my rough itinerary... I am not going to be planning my every move in these countries as that is almost impossible and very limiting.

I can change my flights for £30 so I have lots of flexibility to change and adapt my travel destinations and length of stay somewhere.
Monday, June 01, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments

Pre-Travel Musings

Travel Plan:


View Jess World Travel Map in a larger map


I'm in my parents garden on a gorgeously hot day pondering my future travel... America, Fiji, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India all in 6 months starting on 25th June 2009.

What am I expecting?
I hope to meet lots of different people, see many sights - geological, historical and social and also take time to contemplate me!

I have chosen to do different types of volunteer work along the way.

A practical hands-on month at a farm in America and then a month volunteering for a street children's charity in Jaipur.

Both these experiences I expect will challenge me in different ways and I'll have to adapt to different cultures, peoples and processes regularly. Perhaps qualities such as patience, empathy and tenacity will be challenged and tested as well as other aspects that i can't even foresee yet.

I also hope that these experiences will teach me elements about my own personality so that I can develop and grow.
Sunday, May 24, 2009 | Category: | 0 comments