Nashville, despite the brief time we had, treated us so well.
Your Broad,
Dacy
The drive from Atlanta to Nashville was uneventful, if not a relief. Our previous day in Atlanta had been stressful and unfortunate. It was nice to go to bed that night and just hit reset. By the time we made it to Nashville, the sun was starting to dip down. Ellen had reserved a camping/glamping site on a private plot of land. And I gotta say, as the sun crept closer into the horizon and we drove away from civilization, I started to worry- I didn't tell anyone about this camp site, no one knows where I am, Ellen and I have literally no weapons on us or knowledge of how to take care of ourselves in the wilderness. I could tell Ellen could tell I was starting to freak out. The directions took us farther and farther away from civilization, the darkness stretched deeper and deeper before us, the moon loomed above us in mock knowingness. By the time we reached the dirt road leading to the AirBnB, I was on edge, repeating 'this isn't right, I don't know about this, this isn't right'. It wasn't my most graceful or gracious moment and Ellen handled me well. The owner of the glamping site turned out to be a really nice guy and even though I was still wary of the situation, I started to settle down. It turned out to be such a lovely magical spot. We settled in and then wound our way back down to civilization to eat the best BBQ. You step out of the car and the smell of sweet sweet meat and sauce just surrounds you in an envelope of goodness. Take me back to that! We didn't even have one full day in Nashville which was a true shame. We happened to go on the weekend of the Country Music Awards, so the streets were jammed with drunk cowboy hat and boot-laden men and women. It was sort of a shame because it was so crowded, but also really interesting to witness. Country music is not my jam, so it was sort of amazing being in the thick of a North American culture of which I know nothing. The best part of this leg of our trip was the quiet night we had sitting in front of our glamping tent. No lights, no music. We didn't expect it, but a glint here, a flash there and then all around us: fireflies. It was beautiful, unexpected, and magical. I won't soon forget the way fireflies appear and disappear in bright flashes of electricity. Twinkling stars whose light doesn't have to travel light years to reach us. No pictures because there was just no way for us to capture the beauty.
Nashville, despite the brief time we had, treated us so well. Your Broad, Dacy
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What to say about Atlanta? Well, not much because we honestly didn't experience much of it. I had high hopes to cram in as much as possible in the one full day we had- Martin Luther King Jr. house, Puppetry museum, good food, a nice park. That was all derailed by rental car troubles. Instead we spent our full day waiting for a tow truck, although we did get a chance to grab a coffee at a decent industrial-style coffee shop, check out some fancy art books at an expensive book store, and pick up some little gifts at a stationery store. Decent enough, considering we were confined to one area. I'd like to say that was the only mishap, but it wasn't soon after we were driving away with our new rental car that I realized I'd left my shoes in the car of the nice gentleman who drove us from customer service to our new rental. Phone calls, waiting, frustration, getting hangry....and then driving back to get my shoes. And in the midst of that fiasco, our AirBnB for our last night in New Orleans canceled on us. It's a laughable day now, but at the time I'm pretty sure Ellen and I just wanted to hit reset and start all over. We did get a chance to experience some small piece of Atlanta at night. We went to a place called Ormsby's where there was booze, food, and a lower lever full of games- Ski Ball, Bocce Ball, pool, darts, board games. We took some bad pictures on Ellen's instant polaroid camera and I drew a bad drawing of Ellen and her fave banana burner phone. Weird things to end a weird day. And that's really about it when it comes to what we did in Atlanta. I'd like to go back and try it again sometime.
Next post: Tennessee! Your Broad (in the South), Dacy For some reason I had this vision of what the south would be like- deserted and dusty and old with dry brown landscapes. But I was so wrong. We picked up our rental car and started our drive to Atlanta. Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama to Georgia and it was all gorgeous greenery. The highways are flanked by tall puffy green trees and bushes and wild flowers and there are so many rivers. The trees are dense and seemingly endless. The sky is expansive and never ending and the clouds were a mix of dense cotton balls scattered against light linen. There was so much variation in the sky, so much dimension. We made a pit stop in Long Beach, Mississippi because we just had to visit our sister city, plus we got to take in a southern beach. Mostly, we stopped and took pictures with this sign. And marveled at the brown waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I was driving for a lot of the Long Beach and Gulfport drive so I didn't get to take many pictures, but it was my first experience with houses on stilts. I had never seen them before and immediately fell in love with them. They were magical and dreamy. They looked surreal because it wasn't just row after row of houses, but rather they were spread out randomly and it was a little surprise when we drove past one. I also learned that Gulfport and that area of Mississippi were hit just as hard by Katrina, if not harder, than New Orleans. From what I saw, it seemed to be thriving and rebuilding. I'm glad we let ourselves get sidetracked and experienced something we hadn't planned. In Alabama we stopped for a bathroom break and gas and met a nice dude that was working there. He was talkative and friendly, albeit a tad ignorant. There were quite a few comments aimed at homosexuality and our asian ethnicity, but I have to say, none of them ever made me feel threatened or offended. It felt like he was genuinely coming from a place that had very little real experience asian people. We want to shout 'well in this day and age with the internet and tv, there's no excuse..', but honestly, seeing or watching something through a screen is so different from experiencing it first hand. It was clear this man had no ill will or hatred, just a little ignorant and probably a little clueless too. Even though I expected to experience prejudice and racism during my trip, I encountered nothing of the sort. The more I think about this encounter, the more I'm realizing that maybe I experience racism and real prejudice in Long Beach, CA than in the south. Just like I thought the south would be dry and dusty, I was wrong again. I feel like there's so much more to say about this first leg of our road trip. I wish I'd had the energy/time to write posts as we were going places, but it was such a whirlwind. I have more thoughts about our trip and will post more. I also have film to develop, so pictures to come! Your Broad (in the South),
Dacy Ellen and I arrived at Louis Armstrong airport on Monday afternoon. The airport was about the most calm and easy airport I've been in, with jazz softly floating in the air from speakers behind orange and red panels. We waited for ages for a bus to take us to our AirBnB and had our first taste of that hot humid southern weather. The sweat is immediate, the need to water yourself like a wilting house plant immense. The bus trip from the airport was our first real glimpse of Louisiana. Perhaps most notable on that first bus ride is how easily the buildings and landscape change from very old to modern and back, from run down and ramshackle and boarded up to pristine and shiny and linear in a modern way. There's something quintessentially southern about this place (besides the fact that is literally the south), something that movies and books and tv have told me is southern, but at the same time it isn't something I could pinpoint. It's the homes- stately flat front homes with columns and wrought iron railing and slatted shutters and balconies and gas lamps. It's the trees with their big heavy roots and thick trunks and graceful long limbs reaching towards the sky then bending and bowing back down to earth, with long tendrils of moss hanging like angel's hair. It's the Jazz, which is everywhere, from the airport to the museum to the restaurants, it's piped in on a tinny radio or loud and raucous and live in a dark dingy bar. It's the heat, the humidity, the food, the people. It's the food! We've had po' boys and shrimp and crab meat beignets and jambalaya and fried catfish and fried pickles. Many foods. All delicious. So far it's been killer hot. Nearly all the buildings are heavily air conditioned so there is a continual changing of drastic temperatures. The minute we leave an icy building, the sweat is pushing its way out of whichever pore is closest. The minute we leave a building there is a layer of sweat which will not leave. And then in all our splendid sweat we go into a restaurant or shop where the ac is blasting and that sweat becomes a frosty blanket. And then we do it all over again. Tomorrow we rent a car and we drive drive drive to Atlanta, Georgia where we will eat more food and experience more of the south. I have a ton of pictures on my phone. A ton of pictures waiting to be developed (all of which will hopefully come out since I'm experimenting with expired film). I'll update soon.
Your Broad in the South, Dacy I went on vacation to England in JANUARY and I am just getting around to posting more pictures. This particular day at Botany Bay was a lucky sunny day, but still so so cold. I don't know if my body has ever been more confused than it was being at a beach with icicles for feet! But it was a great little beach with looming white cliffs and a bunch of crazy jellyfish just chillin in the sand. Not sure if they were dead or just waiting for the tide to take them away again. Now that I think about it, should I have been more concerned? Anyway, here are the pictures, which are a little on the blue side for some reason. More to come, as always,
Your Broad, Dacy It's been nearly two weeks since my return from vacation. With jet lag and the inevitable happy/sad of post-vacation life, I've been a bit mopey. Life is tumultuous right now, full of looming changes and big decisions while somehow still feeling static and stagnant. When I look at the pictures below, they remind me of a time when I was possibly at my healthiest, The landscape inspired me to run, I wanted to go out and run just so I could see that bridge, feel the cool crisp air, hear the animals. These pictures remind me that even if I feel static and stagnant now, it doesn't mean I always will. It's possible that within a few months I'll be back by the river, running, inhaling all the beauty, exhaling all the bad. They remind me that not only is it okay to be alone, but it can be downright pleasant. I was possibly at my healthiest because I wasn't distracted by a bunch of things. I spent time really working on myself mentally and physically. Meanwhile, at home, being alone feels like there's a growing bubble in my chest that can burst at any moment. It's funny how perspectives can change. I need to keep in mind how I felt alone abroad and how I feel here. They can be similar, it's just in how I look at things. These pictures remind me that even though certain things are always there (the trees, river, and plants), they are always changing. Even the buildings, though they look as if they are unmoving, static, even those will change with each season. I may feel stagnant, but like the trees, the river, the plants, there are small changes happening to me. Right now. It just might take a while to see or feel that change. It was really nice to visit again and have some good lonely times at the Stour.
Your Broad (No Longer) Abroad, Dacy I should have updated while I was gone. I even took my laptop with me, but honestly didn't use it much at all. There was a lot of down time (like when I laundered all my pants at once and couldn't leave the house till they were dry), but there were also days that just flew by. Most of the time I felt so tired from train rides, walking, absorbing the cold, and being inwardly delirious with happiness. I forgot the simple joy of drinking ice cold water from the tap (and it tastes good!). Or looking out the window into a lush garden (even in winter the lawns are a vibrant green). I forgot how glorious the clouds can be, how open the fields can be, and how good their salt and vinegar sticks are. I forgot how nice it is to not have to add tax to anything- the price is the price and that's it. So easy. I forgot how good the bread is and that they keep their eggs at room temperature. I didn't actually forget any of this, but it was such a treat to soak it all up again. I had homemade scones for the first time (and they were delicious!). I had so many good meals, both home cooked and from restaurants. I walked and ran by the Stour. I took pictures. I saw old friends, made new friends, and got to know friends of friends better. I am spoiled by all the goodness. But now I'm back home and despite the inevitable sadness of vacation ending, I am ready to sleep in my own bed and cuddle my dog. I have pictures from before I left and pictures from my trip. Those shall be posted in due time. Here's just a few for now. Till next time,
Your Broad (No Longer) Abroad, Dacy Finally, the bittersweet last post from my European travels. Copenhagen, you were the perfect end to a perfect trip. I have a more in depth post of Copenhagen with some photos from my phone, so I won't dilly dally here. There is so much to do in Copenhagen that I wish I could have stayed longer. But the time I did spend there was glorious. Good times, great light, gorgeous colors.
From here, there isn't much left of my study abroad trip, but I've been storing away the photos I've taken since being back. I'll continue posting because, at heart, I'm always a broad abroad. Your Broad (Always at Heart) Abroad, Dacy I somehow forgot to post this flyer for a Study Abroad information presentation. Well, here it is now, and there's still time to make it on Thursday. Your Broad (No Longer) Abroad,
Dacy Budapest was incredible. Arriving by train really made me yearn to take an entire Europe trip by train. It was such a beautiful way to see a lot of the country. I hear that taking the train through the Swiss Alps is a gorgeous ride. It's definitely on my travel list. But back to Budapest. The 7 hour train ride from Prague to Budapest was well worth the time and money. No airport security hassle, no hassle at all really! We bought the tickets the day before we left and it was smooth chugging on the train tracks. Glorious countryside, quaint villages, and an amazing sunset in the rain. All ending in a lovely train station in Budapest. I could not have asked for a better train trip. We booked massages at Széchenyi Spa Baths, something I was specifically looking forward to because there is nothing I enjoy more than being in water! We took a mediocre walking tour (perhaps one of the most lackluster of the many I did during my Euro travels), but it didn't put a damper on the amazing scenery. We ate really good Hungarian food, but I cannot for the life of me remember the name. Sad business because it would have been nice to find a recipe online and try to re-create the meal. I suppose I still can, it'll just take more research. Budapest was one of the top places I wanted to visit during my study abroad and it was everything I imagined (save for the serious heat!). We met some really great people on our walking tour and had a great last night. I'm sad to say that after this post, there's only one city left from my travels. It will be sad to post the final update, but I've already got photos from my time back in the States to post. I hope I can continue posting and updating. If there's one thing I learned while being abroad, it's that there is beauty, adventure, and something worth photographing anywhere you go.
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DacyLimFrom Long Beach, CA to Canterbury, England and back. Archives
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