Thursday, December 27, 2007

December 27th, 2007

Today, December 27th would have been my parents’ 38th wedding anniversary. It is also the day my father, 3 brothers, cousins, aunts, and I spread my mom’s ashes on the land of her childhood farm in West Cork, Ireland. My mom always longed for Ireland, for home; she was West Cork and I don’t think she really ever left... and now she can rest here forever. For those of you who knew her, thank you for being a part of her life. For those of you who didn’t know her, pretty much all the good that I am stems from her, so you knew her through me. To all of you, thank you so much for your support. I could not have gotten through this without you. I miss my mom everyday but I am also grateful for the 32 years I was lucky enough to have her.

I love you all and hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

J

Monday, December 17, 2007

Le Petit Prince, The Muffin Man and Obi Wan Kenobi


This was my third trip on to the continent of Africa and although there is no way to lump the thousands of languages, tribes, and cultures into one, nor to assume to know anything after such a short time there, the whole place feels like home to me. Perhaps it is because people as a species came from Africa or perhaps it is because every country I have visited here has offered me a completely life-altering experience.

Senegal was no different. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting aspects to a vacation in Senegal: sheep outnumbering people on buses and on the street, the constant need to pray to the Sphincter God to help you with control, the chihuahua-sized cockroaches. But there is also the oddly comforting call to prayer five times a day, the wonderfully bulbous baobabs making the place look like a young Fangorn forest or the dream home planet of the Little Prince, the fire of the sunrise over the ocean and the pastels of the sunset over the desert, the friendly and open nature of everyone you meet, the meticulous tea making ceremony designed not only to make good frothy tea but to ensure that there is time for good conversation while it is being made, the fact that waiters assume you are American if you get too excited about ordering a Long Island Iced Tea, the birds who are far more in tune with their magnificent dinosaur ancestry, and the colour everywhere as nobody is afraid to mix and match patterns!


Aman and I had possibly more fun than we deserved, realising that with all we have seen in our young lives we are, in fact, the luckiest (or most spoiled) gals in the world!


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It is surprising even to me that I have never been to London. After 35 countries or so, I suppose I can recognise the pattern that I tend to gravitate to non-English speaking countries and away from big cities. So, being the biggest English city, London was not at the top of my list. Man-o-man, does that list need to change as in one day I fell in love with London. It is seriously the world at your feet. My brothers Conor and Brian met me Saturday morning and we proceeded down to the theatre district to try to see either Ian McKellen in King Lear or Ewan McGregor in Othello (how are those for choices!). King Lear seemed futile, so we headed to the Dunmar to see if there were any tickets for Othello (surprisingly undaunted even after hearing that they were going on EBay for $2000!). During our wanderings, we came across a street called Drury Lane. So, I did what I am sure all of you would have: tried to find the Muffin Man. Sadly we were unsuccessful (even after strategically placing a Starbucks muffin as an offering), so we contented ourselves with some nice shots of the muffin, the Guinness Jacket, and the Drury Lane street sign.


Things looked futile as we reached the Dunmar, the show was sold out and it was unlikely that there would be any tickets returned on a Saturday afternoon. Feeling somewhat whimsical, however, we decided to wait and see. How lucky were we: three seats, pretty much on the stage (in a theatre which held only about 400 people)! I was so close that as the actors entered and exited the stage their cloaks and swords hit me in the knee! At one point, Ewan (who played Shakespeare’s villainous wordsmith Iago brilliantly) was standing right beside me and I could feel the spit as he emphatically delivered his line. Creepy and cool!!! The guy who played Othello, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kiery Knightly’s husband in Love, Actually and, more importantly, the bad guy in Serenity) was also bloody brilliant! To have seen Shakespeare put on by such amazing players in such an intimate setting is one of the coolest things I have ever done!


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My first day in Ireland consisted of this: me faaather picked me up from the airport, took me to a pub he was banned from as a young lad (we couldn’t actually get in so I am pretty sure the bouncer recognised my dad and quickly locked the doors), then to the baptism of my newest cousin, after which we watched Man U beat Liverpool 1-nil in a dreadful game and then Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-nil in a beautiful match whilst drinking Guinness, followed by trips to two separate pubs to drink...wait for it...more Guinness (I figure I’ll drown whichever stomach parasite I contracted in Senegal with Guinness). So, within three hours I had had three Guinness, been to church and watched football; the quintessential Irish experience!


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The Jacket has made appearances at the Atlantic Ocean; in the Sahara Desert; at the two major tourist destinations in London: Big Ben and Drury Lane; and has now made it home to Ireland. I did think very seriously about having my brother take a picture while I tackled Ewan McGregor and forced the Jacket on him, but thought that might be a bit over the top... But you do get to see the Jacket worn by someone other than me on this trip: Aman, my very wee cousin Jessica (who proves that the thing does not actually fit everyone!) and my wee brother Brian. So, enjoy that nice change of scenery on facebook.


I hope this finds you all well and happily getting ready for Christmas.

Love,

Jen

Friday, December 7, 2007

Flying Solo


Barcelona is a city that inspired two men who saw the world from a completely different perspective than that of the rest of us. Who saw the world in fluid, undulating lines rather than straight ones. Who saw the world from all angles possible.


Antoni Gaudi was an architect in the late 19th early 20th centuries who did not build or design structures, but rather seemed to grow them from rock. Sure, I can be awed by a magnificent church or a beautiful theatre, but to be honest, I am generally much more excited by ruins of modern buildings. However, I was absolutely blown away by what Gaudi has done. Every building he created is an organic experience, from buildings that looks like waves swelling on the sea or skeletal complexes filled with oblique and curved angles, to a whole park designed with Hansel and Gretel in mind, to a massive cathedral that seems to breathe and surge with life, with glowing stained glass, columns that look like insect legs, and tangled spires that that heave above the skyline. It was truly awe-inspiring.


And then there is Pablo Picasso, who turned the world of art on its axis by realizing that a painting, while beautiful, is only representing a single snapshot of time; a single snapshot of the subject’s being. Instead, why not try to portray all aspects of your subject at once by looking at them from all angles? Sure, it looks kinda funky, with eyes and noses all over the place and of all shapes and sizes, but if you look at it realising that you are seeing that subject not just from the front, but from the back, the side, below, above… all at once, it truly blows your mind. My immense thanks to EB, a wonderful art guide, for helping me to actually see it all and for putting up with questions like: “Now, why is this art?”


What is most wonderful is that these two geniuses in turn inspired the city, as Barcelona seethes with passion and culture. If you have never been, I recommend it highly!!! If you have been, go back!


On Thursday, EB went back to Korea (I won’t go into how difficult that was for me, but if you’ve seen the penultimate scene in There's Something About Mary, when Ben Stiller is leaving Mary’s house, you’ll have an idea of how I was in the Rome airport) and I have found my way to Dakar, Senegal to hang with Aman (my intrepid and perennial travelling companion who is saving the world one West African city at a time through the Red Cross).


I find my mind awash in languages; Korean, Italian, Spanish, and now French. I invariably say ‘si’ for yes and ‘aniyo’ for no. I am worried that come crunch time, sentences like Dove est el hwajanshil? or Aniyo, je non habla Francais. or Vorrei deux cervasas, juseyo. will come spilling from my mouth. It is all a very exciting and welcome side-effect of being a nomad!


Love you all and hope you're well!

J