May 19, 2010
FINAL OPPORTUNITIES to see S.O.U.L 2010 in concert!
Tuesday May 25, 2010
Redeemer Methodist Church 7pm (FREE)
20571 Vernier Rd., Harper Woods, MI
AND....
FINAL PERFORMANCE
Thursday May 27, 2010:
Stout Middle School 7pm (FREE)
18500 Oakwood Blvd, Dearborn, MI
Please come see what the team and I have been up to for the past five months!! You'll be missing something GREAT if you don't! :-D
May 17, 2010
On a scale of 1 to 10 you are an 11.1...officer.
After NYC we spent another couple weeks in New York and New Jersey. Fairly low key weeks...amazing host families....we saw the Lake George area and the Adirondecs (sp?) in New York - a really beautiful area. I got pulled over by a New York State Police Officer...interesting fella - told me basically right off the bat that he wasn't going to give me ticket (probably largely due to Zuly's beautiful eyes and impeccable blinking skills) for going 70 in a 65. he then proceeded to ask a host of questions about SOUL, and where the singers were from, and when I would be in the state next since I was from Michigan...blah blah blah, AND THEN he tells me to wait one more moment and comes back to the car with an "equipment malfunction form". Huh? Apparently you can't pull people over in New York without giving them some sort of citation. So he fills out a form for me that basically says my speedometer was broken and I was unable to tell how fast I was going - and he also filled out the bottom part which is meant to be filled out at a dealership to say that I have had the faulty equipment repaired. He hands me the form and says all I have to do is mail it in and then everything will be fine since he already filled it out...oy vey, tons of sense that makes, eh? ooo! Wait....not in Canada quite yet.
OH CAAAANADAAAAAAA....oh border crossing time eh?
I don't think I have been this nervous in a long time even though I was doing absolutely nothing wrong...I have just heard so many order stories about border crossing including some that came from previous SOUL tours...I'm not smuggling immigrants officer I swear! Annnnnd of course I had myself all worked up for nothing - piece of cake...took about 15 minutes total. Passports please. So, one from the US and none of the others? That's correct. Ohhhh...my family is originally from Estonia!...okay I'll need you guys to pull over to the side and check in with immigration to make sure the Visa's are all in order. In and out of the line...no problemo, phew! I am really happy there were no problems...but on the other hand, that certainly didn't provide for a very interesting story eh? Anywho, off to Niagara Falls! A beautiful site at night although it was a bit chilly for us. It had been SUCH a long time since we had a chance to go out that after Zuly and Steve decided to head back to the hotel...Teele and I decided to discover Niagara Falls nightlife...which is not bad I tell you, not bad at all! We danced I would say for at least three hours straight at a really cool nightclub. We met a group of guys outside after the club closed who were out for their friend's bachelor party...they provided some the best laughs I have had in a while! One told us that on a scale of 1 to 10 we were definitely 11.1's...which somehow wasn't quite as flattering as it should be...why can't we be 20's, huh? anywayyyyy entertainment at its finest...guys at a bachelor party. I also experienced a little culture shock of my own: I ordered a medium coffee from Tim Hortons and then proceeded to argue with the lady that it was not my order when it was ready..."Um, I ordered a medium..." - "That is a medium" - "THAT is a medium??" The medium was so tiny!!! I'm sorry if it sounds ignorant or what have you...but I say, you definitely get more for your money in the states. Niagara Falls was just a one night stand though...a break in a long drive...so after returning to our hotel room around 5:30am we woke up at 8:30 to drive the rest of the way to Toronto and grab some lunch before meeting our new hosts. The singers performed at a coffee house event and a church service and then today we had a chance to be tourists downtown Toronto which is a very nice big city! The one thing that stood out the most to me was how clean it was! We did some shopping and watched some great street performers including an artists who creates masterpieces on the sidewalk with chalk...and I mean amazing!! Steve and I also saw a guy who was quite possibly the most intoxicated person I have ever seen...walking around in the middle of the day....on a Monday. Oh dear. We did a lot of Subway riding again...I just have to say again how much I love love love public transportation!! It's just so convenient, and easy, and cheap not to mention better for the environment and probably much safer because not so many people are on the roads!...Hey Obama Administration - maybe now since everyone is really angry with the oil industry, particularly BP for spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico - it would be a good time to focus on mass public transportation and an infrastructure to support battery powered vehicles! Oh wait, I forgot...government officials usually don't make changes...they just like to talk about it a lot.
Tomorrow we move on to Waterloo, ON for a performance at a university and then...drum roll please!...We are driving back across the border into Michigan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is crazy to me. There have been times where the tour seemed to drag But for the most part it seems like we all met as team for the first time yesterday..and now we are going to be back in our home state with just under two weeks left. Honestly...I am dreading it ....saying goodbye to my new family is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But I also am really looking forward to seeing my original family and friends that I haven't seen for five months!!! I think the next couple weeks will surely prove to be an emotional roller coaster.
Countdown to The Netherlands: 26 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peace, Love, and Maple Leaves. <3 Jackie
OH CAAAANADAAAAAAA....oh border crossing time eh?
I don't think I have been this nervous in a long time even though I was doing absolutely nothing wrong...I have just heard so many order stories about border crossing including some that came from previous SOUL tours...I'm not smuggling immigrants officer I swear! Annnnnd of course I had myself all worked up for nothing - piece of cake...took about 15 minutes total. Passports please. So, one from the US and none of the others? That's correct. Ohhhh...my family is originally from Estonia!...okay I'll need you guys to pull over to the side and check in with immigration to make sure the Visa's are all in order. In and out of the line...no problemo, phew! I am really happy there were no problems...but on the other hand, that certainly didn't provide for a very interesting story eh? Anywho, off to Niagara Falls! A beautiful site at night although it was a bit chilly for us. It had been SUCH a long time since we had a chance to go out that after Zuly and Steve decided to head back to the hotel...Teele and I decided to discover Niagara Falls nightlife...which is not bad I tell you, not bad at all! We danced I would say for at least three hours straight at a really cool nightclub. We met a group of guys outside after the club closed who were out for their friend's bachelor party...they provided some the best laughs I have had in a while! One told us that on a scale of 1 to 10 we were definitely 11.1's...which somehow wasn't quite as flattering as it should be...why can't we be 20's, huh? anywayyyyy entertainment at its finest...guys at a bachelor party. I also experienced a little culture shock of my own: I ordered a medium coffee from Tim Hortons and then proceeded to argue with the lady that it was not my order when it was ready..."Um, I ordered a medium..." - "That is a medium" - "THAT is a medium??" The medium was so tiny!!! I'm sorry if it sounds ignorant or what have you...but I say, you definitely get more for your money in the states. Niagara Falls was just a one night stand though...a break in a long drive...so after returning to our hotel room around 5:30am we woke up at 8:30 to drive the rest of the way to Toronto and grab some lunch before meeting our new hosts. The singers performed at a coffee house event and a church service and then today we had a chance to be tourists downtown Toronto which is a very nice big city! The one thing that stood out the most to me was how clean it was! We did some shopping and watched some great street performers including an artists who creates masterpieces on the sidewalk with chalk...and I mean amazing!! Steve and I also saw a guy who was quite possibly the most intoxicated person I have ever seen...walking around in the middle of the day....on a Monday. Oh dear. We did a lot of Subway riding again...I just have to say again how much I love love love public transportation!! It's just so convenient, and easy, and cheap not to mention better for the environment and probably much safer because not so many people are on the roads!...Hey Obama Administration - maybe now since everyone is really angry with the oil industry, particularly BP for spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico - it would be a good time to focus on mass public transportation and an infrastructure to support battery powered vehicles! Oh wait, I forgot...government officials usually don't make changes...they just like to talk about it a lot.
Tomorrow we move on to Waterloo, ON for a performance at a university and then...drum roll please!...We are driving back across the border into Michigan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is crazy to me. There have been times where the tour seemed to drag But for the most part it seems like we all met as team for the first time yesterday..and now we are going to be back in our home state with just under two weeks left. Honestly...I am dreading it ....saying goodbye to my new family is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But I also am really looking forward to seeing my original family and friends that I haven't seen for five months!!! I think the next couple weeks will surely prove to be an emotional roller coaster.
Countdown to The Netherlands: 26 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peace, Love, and Maple Leaves. <3 Jackie
April 29, 2010
My Oh My, How so much can change in so little time
Washington D.C. was amazing...a city I have been to only once and already know I love. It is such an empowering feeling knowing that you are standing in the hub of your countries decision making city. As we SOUL members have become professional crammers...we saw as many possible landmarks in DC in 8 hours as humanly possible. The Smithsonian, The Capitol Building, The FBI building, The Washington Monument, The Lincoln Memorial, THE WHITE HOUSE....which I would like to take a moment to talk about. You can't fly to another country from a US airport without being subjected to thorough security checks, including but not limited to questioning, metal detectors, confiscation of personal hygiene products, and the occasional strip search - yet do you know how close you can get to the White House without any security checks at all?! The freaking house where the President of United States of America LIVES?? Yes Barack, Michelle, Sasha, Malia, and even Bo...you can practically stand right in their back yard separated only by a wimpy wrought iron fence that stands about six feet high and has 5 inch spaces between each bar....makes zero sense if you ask me. As I was standing...in the back yard...taking pictures of the White House, there was a guy with a strong accent standing next to me doing the same thing and commenting to his travel mate "I have traveled a lot...and I don't know ANY other country where you can get this close to where the President lives..." And as Teele mentioned for example: The US Embassy in Estonia is more protected than that!! Oh! And don't forget that since 9/11 you can no longer take tours of the inside of the White House....but you can take a lovely frolicking tour of the gardens on the grounds with massively large groups of people at a time and take pictures on the front porch. Well I guess it is helpful that they had one security guy dressed in all black standing on the roof in broad daylight...he really blended in with the WHITE house...Oh dear.
This is just something I found to be ironic...but overall I LOVE WASHINGTON D.C. Teele and I also visited the "Newseum" which was the most interesting and amazing museum I have ever visited...I wonder why it was so interesting to me? hehe They had everything from a memorial to journalists who have lost their lives reporting the news and a 9/11 news coverage memorial...to an interactive news room where people could experience things like the ethical dilemmas journalists face on a daily basis and what it is truly like to read breaking news from a teleprompter. My favorite part about this is seeing how difficult it is for some people...right after they say something like "Well how hard can it be?"...uh huh! It was really cool to me too, that the Newseum staff updates these shadow boxes EVERY day with a copy of the front page of nearly every major newspaper...in the WORLD. We also saw a "4D" movie about the history of journalism...what is 4D pray tell? Well it is 3D along with moving seats, puffs of air, vibrating floor, etc. It was really cool!
Also in DC....I think the biggest challenge SOUL 2010 has had to face....As many of you may have heard, SOUL has said goodbye to it's 4th singer, Makly Prophete from Haiti. Many people automatically think tragedy when they hear this news - so I just want to clarify that indeed Makly and his family are okay and his departure from the SOUL tour was unrelated to the earthquake.
Being in a management position, this is one of the most difficult situations I have ever had to deal with. This is a job where it quickly becomes difficult to separate the personal from the professional...when you spend practically 24 hours a day with people for five months you develop unique relationships that I have come to realize are equivalent to relationships you share with members of your own family. To lose one of our members...a part of our family...has completely changed our group dynamic and quite frankly changed our job quite a bit. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately the best one I think for the success of SOUL 2010. Although we miss Makly I am happy to say all things considered, the remaining members of our team are adjusting quite well and have been delivering outstanding presentations and performances as a trio.
Next Stop: New York City...talk about making the most of your time! Although I have been to the city many many times before...it never ceases to amaze me...and there is ALWAYS something new to see! Cramming for the group included: The Statue of Liberty, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Grand Central Station, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Central Park....WOW. I am glad for the singers that they were able to see most of the key landmarks...however, this type of sightseeing in a city like NYC is exhausting! What else? I did some minor shopping I couldn't afford, but also that I couldn't help. Teele and I received free tickets to an Owl City concert in which we attended and didn't actually see Owl City perform because they took too damn long to take the stage and they were wasting our precious opportunity to experience NYC nightlife...so we left. hehe The concert venue was really cool and the opening band wasn't too shabby, but it was going to take too long and there were too many pre-teens with their moms there. We are young and we felt old...that's how you know it's time to change the plan! We went to Adrian's Manhattan apartment (World Youth Choir friend of Teele's and now random acquaintance friend of mine!) I did see an opera for the first time, with Teele, that Adrian performed in at Juilliard..and I have to say it was above and beyond my expectations. It was Dialogues of the Carmelites and it was an amazing performance!! And Adrian still did a great job even though we kept him out until 5am Latin dancing at a Cuban bar and eating street meet on the Subway with some random kid whose friends drew a penis on his arm and then left him to sleep on the the train all night. haha fun times! I also saw a GIRL, who looked younger than I do on the subway with her husband and their little boy and she had the largest most obnoxious yet gorgeous diamond wedding ring I have ever seen in my life and a I took a picture of it, but the picture is on my cell phone - so unless you have access to my cell phone at some point...I won't be able to show you.
Now we are in New Jersey. We worked all day today at a private boarding school called the Pennington School...It was really nice...reminded me of the Cranbrook School in Michigan. We had a really good day and joined the host teacher after school for some delicious Gelatto. After work Teele and I returned to our hotel room and we were so tired we decided to take a nap before going out tonight. We laid down around 5...now it is 2:35am...we just woke up about an hour ago...and now we are starving because we slept through dinner so we are out to venture off and find a lovely greasy American midnight snack.
Countdown to The Netherlands!: 42 days :-D
Love, Jackie
This is just something I found to be ironic...but overall I LOVE WASHINGTON D.C. Teele and I also visited the "Newseum" which was the most interesting and amazing museum I have ever visited...I wonder why it was so interesting to me? hehe They had everything from a memorial to journalists who have lost their lives reporting the news and a 9/11 news coverage memorial...to an interactive news room where people could experience things like the ethical dilemmas journalists face on a daily basis and what it is truly like to read breaking news from a teleprompter. My favorite part about this is seeing how difficult it is for some people...right after they say something like "Well how hard can it be?"...uh huh! It was really cool to me too, that the Newseum staff updates these shadow boxes EVERY day with a copy of the front page of nearly every major newspaper...in the WORLD. We also saw a "4D" movie about the history of journalism...what is 4D pray tell? Well it is 3D along with moving seats, puffs of air, vibrating floor, etc. It was really cool!
Being in a management position, this is one of the most difficult situations I have ever had to deal with. This is a job where it quickly becomes difficult to separate the personal from the professional...when you spend practically 24 hours a day with people for five months you develop unique relationships that I have come to realize are equivalent to relationships you share with members of your own family. To lose one of our members...a part of our family...has completely changed our group dynamic and quite frankly changed our job quite a bit. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately the best one I think for the success of SOUL 2010. Although we miss Makly I am happy to say all things considered, the remaining members of our team are adjusting quite well and have been delivering outstanding presentations and performances as a trio.
Next Stop: New York City...talk about making the most of your time! Although I have been to the city many many times before...it never ceases to amaze me...and there is ALWAYS something new to see! Cramming for the group included: The Statue of Liberty, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Grand Central Station, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Central Park....WOW. I am glad for the singers that they were able to see most of the key landmarks...however, this type of sightseeing in a city like NYC is exhausting! What else? I did some minor shopping I couldn't afford, but also that I couldn't help. Teele and I received free tickets to an Owl City concert in which we attended and didn't actually see Owl City perform because they took too damn long to take the stage and they were wasting our precious opportunity to experience NYC nightlife...so we left. hehe The concert venue was really cool and the opening band wasn't too shabby, but it was going to take too long and there were too many pre-teens with their moms there. We are young and we felt old...that's how you know it's time to change the plan! We went to Adrian's Manhattan apartment (World Youth Choir friend of Teele's and now random acquaintance friend of mine!) I did see an opera for the first time, with Teele, that Adrian performed in at Juilliard..and I have to say it was above and beyond my expectations. It was Dialogues of the Carmelites and it was an amazing performance!! And Adrian still did a great job even though we kept him out until 5am Latin dancing at a Cuban bar and eating street meet on the Subway with some random kid whose friends drew a penis on his arm and then left him to sleep on the the train all night. haha fun times! I also saw a GIRL, who looked younger than I do on the subway with her husband and their little boy and she had the largest most obnoxious yet gorgeous diamond wedding ring I have ever seen in my life and a I took a picture of it, but the picture is on my cell phone - so unless you have access to my cell phone at some point...I won't be able to show you.
Now we are in New Jersey. We worked all day today at a private boarding school called the Pennington School...It was really nice...reminded me of the Cranbrook School in Michigan. We had a really good day and joined the host teacher after school for some delicious Gelatto. After work Teele and I returned to our hotel room and we were so tired we decided to take a nap before going out tonight. We laid down around 5...now it is 2:35am...we just woke up about an hour ago...and now we are starving because we slept through dinner so we are out to venture off and find a lovely greasy American midnight snack.
Countdown to The Netherlands!: 42 days :-D
Love, Jackie
April 17, 2010
What does Mother Nature have against us?
We left Florida yesterday and now we are in Washington D.C. and IT IS COLD! grrrr. But! We did have a great week in Clermont, FL. I took Teele on her first jet ski ride and she learned how to drive it as well...and I took Makly on his first REAL jet ski ride...their sound effects were enough to brighten my day for a week :-P hehe
We met several teachers at Clermont Elementary school that I think define what education should be. Dedicated and truly determined to do everything in the student's best interest...teachers that genuinely care about their students and their lives and their experiences...so thank you for that, and you all know who you are!
Many of the kids this past week had us laughing out loud...
*Zuly's instrument is called a "Cuatro". She is counting out loud in Spanish with the kids up to the number four so they can learn the name. Then she holds up the maracas and asks them "And how do you call these?" and a kindergarten student yells "CINCO!" as confident as ever....
*Zuly is trying to teach the kids how to roll their "r"'s by telling them to imitate the sound of a motorcycle engine...we just keep getting voom voom voom instead rrrrrrr!? (Other singers: "They don't have the rolling "r" sound in English...")
*I am selling t-shirts at an evening concert and a kid comes running up to the table (he's probably 7 or 8) and grabs an adult extra large t-shirt and starts screaming at me about how he wants it. I reach out to grab the t-shirt and tell him he will have to wait and come back with his parents...he proceeds to play tug of war with me and literally hangs from the t-shirt.....my face I'm sure was priceless (Something along the lines of expressing "Where are your parents and why on Earth did they let you out of the house today?!")...and Steve and Teele had the privilege of witnessing the whole scene...thank you guys for the back up...haha.
Through our wonderful connections at Clermont Elementary we also got to visit Walt Disney World! We went to magic Kingdom first and watched a parade of pretty princesses and handsome princes and then road some rides. Then we split up and Teele and I visited Epcot...Ya know, we created our future in a time machine and traveled around the whole world in just three hours...SOUL tours can do amazing things for you I tell ya....Talk about using your time wisely ;) Annnnnd Zuly, Makly and Steve liked Disney so much they went back again later in the week! I think they literally saw everything.....I'm glad they had the opportunity and had a great time!! :)
Friday after school we embarked on the longest SOUL drive in history I think...a total of 15 hours between two days...Being in the car for that long together can make you goofy... And I think some of the best people watching and random life experiences can happen at rest stops...officially. For the SECOND time on this tour, Teele and I found a ladies bathroom...a single ladies bathroom....one door....no stalls.....with two toilets set right beside each other. And (this is probably too much information but I will give it to you anyway because it makes the story better...) we had to go so bad, we used them! So we are laughing and when we exit the bathroom Makly and Steve are still in line for the men's room. We explain why we are laughing and Steve walks towards the women's bathroom because he wants to see this - and I say "oh but Steve, you can't go in there!"...annnnd the guy working behind the counter proceeds to make the "psht" noise as in, uh it doesn't matter! and says "Oh yeah he can...it's probably better anyways". Turns out some kid had a volatile accident in the men's bathroom and it was inhumane to force anyone else to use it. So after Teele and I used the double toilet...so did the boys! It's kind of a weird and gross story, but I can just picture this being a great scene for a movie.
We stayed at a hotel in Savannah, GA last night...which makes me kind of sad because we heard so much about what a nice and pretty city it is...and we were only there basically to sleep :( Oh well...we did have a lovely continental breakfast that provided us with a great laugh to start off the day. Zuly see's a waffle machine but doesn't know how it works and so she calls me over and says "Okay Jackie you are the American here...show me." The hotel employee over-hears her say this and proceeds to pretty much make the waffle for her...and he says "When it's done it will beep at you." Zuly looks confused and says "what? beep?" and he looks her right in the face and says "Yes, it will go 'BE BA BEEE BEEEE BEEEEEEEP'" when it's done. It was the best impression of a waffle machine beep I have ever heard! It kind of reminded me of a scene from the most recent Alvin and the Chipmunks movie...which I saw with Miss Kristen Henderson and I think she is the only person who it will understand why, hehe.
Now we are in Washington D.C. and we get to be tourists all day tomorrow!! I think this is the thing I have been most excited for on the entire tour...I am really looking forward to it!! I am just bummed that I lost my camera charger, so i won't be able to take any pictures on my own camera :(
Countdown: 56 days till The Netherlands!!!
Peace, Love, Capitol Building! ~Jackie
p.s. I spent 5ish hours thoroughly cleaning the SOUL train inside and out this past week during my time off because I am officially a workaholic and now it is covered in bug guts. wahm wahm wahmmmmmm.
We met several teachers at Clermont Elementary school that I think define what education should be. Dedicated and truly determined to do everything in the student's best interest...teachers that genuinely care about their students and their lives and their experiences...so thank you for that, and you all know who you are!
Many of the kids this past week had us laughing out loud...
*Zuly's instrument is called a "Cuatro". She is counting out loud in Spanish with the kids up to the number four so they can learn the name. Then she holds up the maracas and asks them "And how do you call these?" and a kindergarten student yells "CINCO!" as confident as ever....
*Zuly is trying to teach the kids how to roll their "r"'s by telling them to imitate the sound of a motorcycle engine...we just keep getting voom voom voom instead rrrrrrr!? (Other singers: "They don't have the rolling "r" sound in English...")
*I am selling t-shirts at an evening concert and a kid comes running up to the table (he's probably 7 or 8) and grabs an adult extra large t-shirt and starts screaming at me about how he wants it. I reach out to grab the t-shirt and tell him he will have to wait and come back with his parents...he proceeds to play tug of war with me and literally hangs from the t-shirt.....my face I'm sure was priceless (Something along the lines of expressing "Where are your parents and why on Earth did they let you out of the house today?!")...and Steve and Teele had the privilege of witnessing the whole scene...thank you guys for the back up...haha.
Through our wonderful connections at Clermont Elementary we also got to visit Walt Disney World! We went to magic Kingdom first and watched a parade of pretty princesses and handsome princes and then road some rides. Then we split up and Teele and I visited Epcot...Ya know, we created our future in a time machine and traveled around the whole world in just three hours...SOUL tours can do amazing things for you I tell ya....Talk about using your time wisely ;) Annnnnd Zuly, Makly and Steve liked Disney so much they went back again later in the week! I think they literally saw everything.....I'm glad they had the opportunity and had a great time!! :)
Friday after school we embarked on the longest SOUL drive in history I think...a total of 15 hours between two days...Being in the car for that long together can make you goofy... And I think some of the best people watching and random life experiences can happen at rest stops...officially. For the SECOND time on this tour, Teele and I found a ladies bathroom...a single ladies bathroom....one door....no stalls.....with two toilets set right beside each other. And (this is probably too much information but I will give it to you anyway because it makes the story better...) we had to go so bad, we used them! So we are laughing and when we exit the bathroom Makly and Steve are still in line for the men's room. We explain why we are laughing and Steve walks towards the women's bathroom because he wants to see this - and I say "oh but Steve, you can't go in there!"...annnnd the guy working behind the counter proceeds to make the "psht" noise as in, uh it doesn't matter! and says "Oh yeah he can...it's probably better anyways". Turns out some kid had a volatile accident in the men's bathroom and it was inhumane to force anyone else to use it. So after Teele and I used the double toilet...so did the boys! It's kind of a weird and gross story, but I can just picture this being a great scene for a movie.
We stayed at a hotel in Savannah, GA last night...which makes me kind of sad because we heard so much about what a nice and pretty city it is...and we were only there basically to sleep :( Oh well...we did have a lovely continental breakfast that provided us with a great laugh to start off the day. Zuly see's a waffle machine but doesn't know how it works and so she calls me over and says "Okay Jackie you are the American here...show me." The hotel employee over-hears her say this and proceeds to pretty much make the waffle for her...and he says "When it's done it will beep at you." Zuly looks confused and says "what? beep?" and he looks her right in the face and says "Yes, it will go 'BE BA BEEE BEEEE BEEEEEEEP'" when it's done. It was the best impression of a waffle machine beep I have ever heard! It kind of reminded me of a scene from the most recent Alvin and the Chipmunks movie...which I saw with Miss Kristen Henderson and I think she is the only person who it will understand why, hehe.
Now we are in Washington D.C. and we get to be tourists all day tomorrow!! I think this is the thing I have been most excited for on the entire tour...I am really looking forward to it!! I am just bummed that I lost my camera charger, so i won't be able to take any pictures on my own camera :(
Countdown: 56 days till The Netherlands!!!
Peace, Love, Capitol Building! ~Jackie
p.s. I spent 5ish hours thoroughly cleaning the SOUL train inside and out this past week during my time off because I am officially a workaholic and now it is covered in bug guts. wahm wahm wahmmmmmm.
April 10, 2010
Caught in my own silly game
A lovely day off today was...slept until noon, when was the last time I did that?!!! ahhh the singers and I were also joined by our hosts at a lovely and crowded beach on the Gulf of Mexico :) Yeah life is goooood. Did you ever play the game of attaching money to fishing line and waiting for random people to grab it before yanking it away? My friends and I used to do that when we were younger. Today Teele and I were walking along the shoreline when I interrupted our conversation to say "Hey! There's a dollar!" and I went skipping over to pick it up...Just as I was bending down to grab it I saw it start to move and immediately heard a group of teenage boys start laughing. Yeah, I got served. But it pleasantly provided us with a good laugh as well! haha
One of our hosts here is the proud owner of a certified service dog named Lady, a beautiful and delightful Tebettan (sp?) Spaniel. She's a small little dog with a huge personality and I am totally in love with her! Also, the singers performed at a senior living center yesterday evening and we were joined at dinner by a couple who met each other there...Neill (yes with two "L's") is 91 and Jan is 85...neither of them look a day over 65...and they are more in love than a pair of giddy high school sweethearts! Seeing those kind of fairy tale-ish stories in real life is so refreshing to me!
My annoyance of the day: Makly, Teele, Steve and I are lying on the beach - our hosts (who mind you are all retired women) literally just left us to take a walk by the water, when a police officer comes up to ask us what is in our coolers, implying that we were trying to sneak alcohol onto an alcohol-free beach. He continued to explain that they check very thoroughly and blah blah blah. He asks if we are sure there is no alcohol in the cups - Teele says "Yeah, do you want to try it?" He say's flatly "no." Meanwhile there are at least 20 other groups of people around with coolers and cups that he paid no attention to. Yes we are young, and an odd looking bunch together, but c'mon people. Either check EVERYONE upon entry to the beach or don't check ANYONE. Singling people out is just a big-headed way to exercise your desire for power and prove your lack of self confidence if you ask me. And by the way...we were drinking V8 juice and Pomegranate juice.
I suddenly feel a little better about my job search overnight! I talked to my cousin (fav cuzzo em, love youuuuu) today and she gave me a great new website to check for job listings and I found nearly 20 listings throughout the country that I am more than qualified for! woo hoo! Looks like I have a lot of paperwork to work on here in the near future.
Tomorrow we have a program at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bradenton and then it's off to Disney World to find our inner child!!
April 9, 2010
I know, I know
Things have gotten hectic once again - and not to mention now, during our time off we are constantly tempted by the beautiful spring weather and Florida sunshine....it always seems to sound much better than computering. Last time I wrote I was sitting in a library and now I am sitting in the Freedom Villiage senior living center in Bradenton, FL. Since my last post we have hit two college towns - Florida State University and University of Florida, rivals! That by the way remind me very much of the rivalry between MSU and U of M...interestinggggg. I only experienced FSU nightlife though which I can attest to being great. You cannot beat a $10 wrist band that covers your drinks all night long. This was also the night that Teele and I ate McDonalds...TWICE - enough said. We also visited Waculla Springs with our hosts in Tallahassee....A beautiful natural spring and nature preserve where you can take a boat tour and observe incredible animals in their natural habitats including alligators, a variety of tropical birds, BIG turtles, and the famous gentle giants: Manatees.
We then stayed in Micanopy, Florida in the most amazing house I've ever been in. All five of us got to stay together with our awesome host Jeff. We fell in love with the home and grounds which they also use sometimes to host events such as retreats and weddings - you can see pictures at www.baylaurel.biz. CHECK IT OUT! It is unbelievable. Although we had a crazy busy schedule during our stay there - our time we could be at home felt like we were in a relaxation oasis. Also while there, Zuly and I attended a lecture with Jeff given by a journalism professor at U of F. The title of the lecture was along the lines of "Living in a world of anti-social social media". It was very interesting to me to notice the difference in opinions in generations in regards to the benefits and disadvantages of the internet and social media. I'm sure you can tell by the title of the lecture what the main idea was - very interesting indeed.
After Micanopy we had a short journey to Gainesville where I met my future self in my host. I stayed with Jean and Tony, and Jean my host mother is absolutely gorgeous in her 70's, she and Tony were full of life and personality, they had a beautiful home and two rightfully spoiled mancoon cats...I couldn't have enjoyed myself more with them and I can only hope in my future I am as much like Jean as possible - if you read this, you are my new real-life idol!! :)
The singers and I have visited many more high school's than usual, recently it seems - which has been a refreshing change. That was a random insert, but I wasn't quite sure where to mention it although I know I needed to.
So now we are two days back at work - before this the singers and I enjoyed 7 exquisite days off on beautiful and historic St. Augustine....Am I making it sound too good to be true?...it was!!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach...yes I am tan! One of our hosts was a marine biologist at Marine Land and she was able to get us passes to go visit and meet the dolphins there...magnificent animals, they truly are...and so cute! We took a trolley tour of St. Augustine and saw Fort Matanzas, and we also received special passes for a Freedom Trail tour that focused on the history of The Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine which was extremely interesting! We saw many homes where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed for example, and one of the places he was arrested as well as the homes of many other key name in American Black History. We also enjoyed a few fun nights out with a variety of live music and dancing - and the gorgeous weather just tied it all together perfectly, like a bright pink bow!
Now we are trying to get back into the working swing - oy vey. It is 8:00p.m. now and I left the house this morning to begin pick ups at 6:30a.m.and it started out as a rough morning...with the wrong address and a slightly unexpected 3 hour program...but throughout the day...aside from being utterly exhausted, things have gotten better and tomorrow, we have another day off! Woo hoo!
My parents are in the process of moving out of their house back at home and thankfully moving my stuff along with them for now for me...I know they are feeling the stress and pressure of moving and organizing and I wish I could be there to help! Love you guys...keep your chins up! I am really missing my parents, and my dog :( And also job hunting for after the tour has had me stressed in recent weeks....but other than that life is good :)
Also I just found out that after the tour I will be able to go and visit The Netherlands and a few other places in Europe thanks to Mr. Kevin Groothuizen!!! I will be overseas in 57 days folks, and I am completely ECSTATIC!! Thank you Kevin!!!!! :-D Can't wait!
Well that is the best recap I can do for now on the past few weeks in which I have totally slacked on my updates here...we will be enjoying the Florida sunshine for about another week and a half and visit Disney World on Sunday! Yay! After Florida we will head to the nations capitol, Washington D.C. which I am also really looking forward too!
Tata for now! Love, Jackie
We then stayed in Micanopy, Florida in the most amazing house I've ever been in. All five of us got to stay together with our awesome host Jeff. We fell in love with the home and grounds which they also use sometimes to host events such as retreats and weddings - you can see pictures at www.baylaurel.biz. CHECK IT OUT! It is unbelievable. Although we had a crazy busy schedule during our stay there - our time we could be at home felt like we were in a relaxation oasis. Also while there, Zuly and I attended a lecture with Jeff given by a journalism professor at U of F. The title of the lecture was along the lines of "Living in a world of anti-social social media". It was very interesting to me to notice the difference in opinions in generations in regards to the benefits and disadvantages of the internet and social media. I'm sure you can tell by the title of the lecture what the main idea was - very interesting indeed.
After Micanopy we had a short journey to Gainesville where I met my future self in my host. I stayed with Jean and Tony, and Jean my host mother is absolutely gorgeous in her 70's, she and Tony were full of life and personality, they had a beautiful home and two rightfully spoiled mancoon cats...I couldn't have enjoyed myself more with them and I can only hope in my future I am as much like Jean as possible - if you read this, you are my new real-life idol!! :)
The singers and I have visited many more high school's than usual, recently it seems - which has been a refreshing change. That was a random insert, but I wasn't quite sure where to mention it although I know I needed to.
So now we are two days back at work - before this the singers and I enjoyed 7 exquisite days off on beautiful and historic St. Augustine....Am I making it sound too good to be true?...it was!!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach...yes I am tan! One of our hosts was a marine biologist at Marine Land and she was able to get us passes to go visit and meet the dolphins there...magnificent animals, they truly are...and so cute! We took a trolley tour of St. Augustine and saw Fort Matanzas, and we also received special passes for a Freedom Trail tour that focused on the history of The Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine which was extremely interesting! We saw many homes where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed for example, and one of the places he was arrested as well as the homes of many other key name in American Black History. We also enjoyed a few fun nights out with a variety of live music and dancing - and the gorgeous weather just tied it all together perfectly, like a bright pink bow!
Now we are trying to get back into the working swing - oy vey. It is 8:00p.m. now and I left the house this morning to begin pick ups at 6:30a.m.and it started out as a rough morning...with the wrong address and a slightly unexpected 3 hour program...but throughout the day...aside from being utterly exhausted, things have gotten better and tomorrow, we have another day off! Woo hoo!
My parents are in the process of moving out of their house back at home and thankfully moving my stuff along with them for now for me...I know they are feeling the stress and pressure of moving and organizing and I wish I could be there to help! Love you guys...keep your chins up! I am really missing my parents, and my dog :( And also job hunting for after the tour has had me stressed in recent weeks....but other than that life is good :)
Also I just found out that after the tour I will be able to go and visit The Netherlands and a few other places in Europe thanks to Mr. Kevin Groothuizen!!! I will be overseas in 57 days folks, and I am completely ECSTATIC!! Thank you Kevin!!!!! :-D Can't wait!
Well that is the best recap I can do for now on the past few weeks in which I have totally slacked on my updates here...we will be enjoying the Florida sunshine for about another week and a half and visit Disney World on Sunday! Yay! After Florida we will head to the nations capitol, Washington D.C. which I am also really looking forward too!
Tata for now! Love, Jackie
March 15, 2010
Spelling correction: Thibodaux - and moving right along with 'the spring breakers'!
In my last post, turns out I was spelling 'Thibodaux' incorrectly - so my apologies for that :) And our busy week in Thibodaux ended swimmingly with a dinner for international students at my host Raj and Leena's house. Good food, good people and fun times. We played "Big Booty" for the longest period of time in the history of the game I think...we played so much that I had a bruise on my thigh from keeping the beat...oops! And Saturday morning on our way out to Florida I stopped by New Orleans to pick up my two hooligan children Makly and Teele before continuing on the journey. hehe
We are at that point in our journey - the point where homesickness creeps up on you. If you think about it...for six months, we sleep in a different bed every 2 or 3 nights, every time we want to take a shower or get dressed we must dig through a suitcase, you never know how long it will take to rinse your hair in the shower because of the differences in water pressure, each house has it's own noises at night wether it's the water heater or air conditioner or the ghosts of previous residents...There are just so many things you never think about at home, but become very noticeable when you are away from home for long enough. We discussed this as a group and realized we need to be there for each other more now than ever...
One helpful thing! We are now in Valparaiso, FL where the sun is shining, it's warm, and our week here is relatively free! We get to go to the beach and to a nature conservancy tomorrow...and we've been invited to go out on a boat to celebrate St. Patricks Day on Wednesday so that should be fun!
I find it amusing that the residents here in Florida use the term "spring breakers" to describe college kids here on vacation from other states. I have heard the phrase "They come in droves" or "the spring breakers are crazy" and it's just funny to hear kids basically my age described as a sort of different species. This is actually something working in our favor though because since we have almost the whole week off, we are looking for fun things to do, and because it is spring break for many universities, there is a lot going on down here in the sunshine state!
Boo on you American Health Care system. I am currently uninsured because I am no longer a student, I am not employed sull time, and I don't make nearly enough money to purchase insurance. I went to fill a perscription today and 28 pills cost me $44.00. If that isn't rediciulous, then I must be the only person out there who isn't a millionaire...and I know that is not true, therefore I have come to the justified conclusion that it is indeed rediculous. There were also two people in front of me in line who left their perscription at the counter because they were shocked by a price they just couldn't afford. Yes Obama, it is time for a change...so where is the change??, we have seen nothing yet. I know that the President is no where near soley responsible for dealing with our corrupted health care system - that is just something else that has been on my mind a lot lately...politicians who make promises they can't keep! ANYWAY....
As I mentioned before my friend Kareem (Kirky's boyfriend!) is safely home from being overseas with the Army Reserves! I am very happy and thankful for that...Welcome home Kareem!
I have another interesting story...that I'm afraid must remain an inside joke...but let's just say that I had an experience with the team the other day on our way to Florida that as Zuly would say, has proven angel's do exist...haha! Good for me!
Sunday was awesome here in Valparaiso...We perfomed at the Unitarian Church and then had a beautiful lunch at our new friend Elaina's house which is right on a bayou of the Gulf of Mexico!! It was gorgeous...and after that we went to a marina where there is restaraunt/bar. We spent the evening there...watched the sunset on the Gulf...ate good food...I tasted raw oysters, and they were gross (to me)...and we listened to some great, live rock and oldies music and we also performed including myself! I played drums and even sung a little bit :) As my momma would say "Go on with your bad self!". It was a great tropical night off complete with Landshark...Thank you Makly for driving! :) I would also like to thank my mom and dad. When the band was taking a break a woman came up to me and said "Young lady, I have been watching you and wondering, how do you know the words to every single one of these songs? I know some of them are 40 or more years old..." My musical knowledge can be attributed largely in part to the exposure to music my parents have given me from a very young age!! Plus, I LOVE oldies...let the good times roll!
The singers are performing right now...as I type...at the Mary Esther Library in Florida and I must go now because they are almost finished and we are going for dinner after this at Chilli's!
Best! Jackie
ps. I love the fact that my dad can text now - and the other day he sent me a text that said "love you JJ". I love this for a couple reasons...JJ are my initials and a nickname my Grandpa Dolan gave to me which I loved being called! That text just made me smile :-D
<3 JJ
We are at that point in our journey - the point where homesickness creeps up on you. If you think about it...for six months, we sleep in a different bed every 2 or 3 nights, every time we want to take a shower or get dressed we must dig through a suitcase, you never know how long it will take to rinse your hair in the shower because of the differences in water pressure, each house has it's own noises at night wether it's the water heater or air conditioner or the ghosts of previous residents...There are just so many things you never think about at home, but become very noticeable when you are away from home for long enough. We discussed this as a group and realized we need to be there for each other more now than ever...
One helpful thing! We are now in Valparaiso, FL where the sun is shining, it's warm, and our week here is relatively free! We get to go to the beach and to a nature conservancy tomorrow...and we've been invited to go out on a boat to celebrate St. Patricks Day on Wednesday so that should be fun!
I find it amusing that the residents here in Florida use the term "spring breakers" to describe college kids here on vacation from other states. I have heard the phrase "They come in droves" or "the spring breakers are crazy" and it's just funny to hear kids basically my age described as a sort of different species. This is actually something working in our favor though because since we have almost the whole week off, we are looking for fun things to do, and because it is spring break for many universities, there is a lot going on down here in the sunshine state!
Boo on you American Health Care system. I am currently uninsured because I am no longer a student, I am not employed sull time, and I don't make nearly enough money to purchase insurance. I went to fill a perscription today and 28 pills cost me $44.00. If that isn't rediciulous, then I must be the only person out there who isn't a millionaire...and I know that is not true, therefore I have come to the justified conclusion that it is indeed rediculous. There were also two people in front of me in line who left their perscription at the counter because they were shocked by a price they just couldn't afford. Yes Obama, it is time for a change...so where is the change??, we have seen nothing yet. I know that the President is no where near soley responsible for dealing with our corrupted health care system - that is just something else that has been on my mind a lot lately...politicians who make promises they can't keep! ANYWAY....
As I mentioned before my friend Kareem (Kirky's boyfriend!) is safely home from being overseas with the Army Reserves! I am very happy and thankful for that...Welcome home Kareem!
I have another interesting story...that I'm afraid must remain an inside joke...but let's just say that I had an experience with the team the other day on our way to Florida that as Zuly would say, has proven angel's do exist...haha! Good for me!
Sunday was awesome here in Valparaiso...We perfomed at the Unitarian Church and then had a beautiful lunch at our new friend Elaina's house which is right on a bayou of the Gulf of Mexico!! It was gorgeous...and after that we went to a marina where there is restaraunt/bar. We spent the evening there...watched the sunset on the Gulf...ate good food...I tasted raw oysters, and they were gross (to me)...and we listened to some great, live rock and oldies music and we also performed including myself! I played drums and even sung a little bit :) As my momma would say "Go on with your bad self!". It was a great tropical night off complete with Landshark...Thank you Makly for driving! :) I would also like to thank my mom and dad. When the band was taking a break a woman came up to me and said "Young lady, I have been watching you and wondering, how do you know the words to every single one of these songs? I know some of them are 40 or more years old..." My musical knowledge can be attributed largely in part to the exposure to music my parents have given me from a very young age!! Plus, I LOVE oldies...let the good times roll!
The singers are performing right now...as I type...at the Mary Esther Library in Florida and I must go now because they are almost finished and we are going for dinner after this at Chilli's!
Best! Jackie
ps. I love the fact that my dad can text now - and the other day he sent me a text that said "love you JJ". I love this for a couple reasons...JJ are my initials and a nickname my Grandpa Dolan gave to me which I loved being called! That text just made me smile :-D
<3 JJ
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