Just Can't Wait to Get on the Road Again...

All of my photos can still be found at www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell

You don’t realize what a following your blog has until you don’t write for nearly a year and everyone wants to know what’s happened to you. So just for the record yes, I’m still alive; yes, I’m still travelling; and yes, the blog is back!

To backtrack a bit, I was living in Manchester, England until May of this year and I absolutely loved it. I think Manchester is one of those cities that grow on you over time – I liked it better when I left than when I arrived, and I was genuinely sad to leave. The holiday season was a lot of fun there, as well. I decided to teach my English housemates about Thanksgiving, but when I sent Dave out for a turkey he came back with… a chicken and a duck! Apparently turkeys are hard to come by in the months before Christmas, so we decided to have a multicultural Thanksgiving. Between that, the shockingly bad candied yams (dubbed the marshmallow pie) and the fire in the oven, I think my English Thanksgiving was a huge success! I got to go home for Christmas and see my family for the first time in six months – it was great! And I’m happy for my family to visit me whenever they want (that’s a direct hint, guys). We had a New Year’s party with a lot of friends from work who are mostly foreign, and thus got to celebrate the New Year in two time zones. We watched the Spanish celebrations on TV at 11, when I learned that their tradition is to eat 12 grapes at the 12 strikes of the clock. I’m still not sure why they do it, but it was funny watching them all trying to stuff their mouths full.

And even though I didn’t get to travel around the UK as much as I would have liked, I did take a couple of side trips. I spent a weekend hunting for Bankys in his hometown of Bristol with my friend Ben. If you’re into that kind of thing, Bristol is a great city for street art. And I also spent St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin with my Brazilian friend Clarissa. I’ve been to Dublin about five times now (and was quite proud of myself for getting around without a map), but this was like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Clarissa took me to a pub where strangers bring their instruments and jam, Irish style, and we saw impromptu parties in the streets with bagpipes and drums. And in the parade were none other than the Shorecrest Scots, my high school band!

Just as the weather started getting nice in England it was time to move on, and I flew down under to Melbourne, Australia just in time for another winter. Shared flats are a bit hard to come by in Melbourne for travellers, but there’s an abundance of travellers’ houses, with anywhere from about five to 25 people living in them. Privacy is not easy to find in Melbourne, but isn’t that part of the adventure? That’s what I told myself anyway… My first three months were spent sharing a house with about 12 other people in an area called Caulfield – it’s a good area, but nothing happens there. It’s boring. So I spent my last month and a half living in St. Kilda, which is arguably the coolest suburb of Melbourne. We had a hard time getting a count of the people at the Ghost House, but our estimate is about 22. We call it the Ghost House because it’s haunted by a man who was killed there when the house was a brothel – sometime between now and the doctors surgery it was 100 years ago. Obviously, the house has a pretty cool history and lots of good stories to go with it. When I wasn’t being haunted, I was working at two steakhouses in the city: The Rare Steakhouse and Squires Loft City. Definitely check them out if you’re in town – it’s the best steak in Melbourne.

I have fallen in love with Melbourne, and I’ll definitely be back, but after nearly a year of working when I’m meant to be travelling and two winters in a row, I was starting to get stir crazy, depresses, irritable, and lots of other things I don’t care to be. And so it was time to hit the road again.

I’ve found myself in Sydney couchsurfing at an amazing house on the harbour (the ferry to town picks me up from the backyard) with a great host named Alex, and I get to see my good friend Christina who I travelled with for three weeks last year, and who came to Manchester for New Years. I’m loving being a tourist again and I’m loving the weather up north – I almost have a tan again! Now that I’m moving again my adventures will be a bit more varied and I’m sure I’ll be more inclined to write regularly again… hopefully…

Home is where you put your bag down

Again, all of my photos can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell.

My blogs seem to be coming less and less frequently, but I’ll try to work on that! I never did meet up with my friend in Northern Ireland thanks to miscommunication on both our parts, but I spent a great week in Belfast! I spent a lot of the week being lazy and not doing much, bit it is one of those cities with a lot of recent culture and loads of things to see. Belfast is known for its murals, painted to memorialize “the Troubles” that were widespread in the north until very recently - many of them have sayings along the lines of “lest we forget…” as a reminder not to let history repeat itself. All the murals are really detailed and well painted, some with quotes or poems on them, and most of them are memorials to specific people who died during the Troubles. I don’t really know enough about the Troubles to be able to tell, but locals can usually tell right away which political party or religion painted the murals by their style and content. Belfast still seems to be known for the violence that once plagued it and I was asked a few times while in the city if I felt unsafe, but I have to say I didn’t at all. I think it’s a really vibrant city with a lot to offer. I also met a lot of great people in the hostel I stayed at, but I hung out most with Chris, an “extreme medic” (for lack of a better term) from Dublin and Bernard, a local from Belfast. I think the three of us are all a bit nerdy on our own, but we really brought it out in each other. A lot of our time was spent in the basement of the hostel playing games like 20 questions and guess who.

A word of advice to everyone reading this: if you feel a UTI coming on, don’t wait to go to the doctor! Another word of advice: if you feel that the infection has moved to your kidneys, DON’T put off going to the doctor because you’re too busy browsing the flea markets, no matter how good the markets are! I flew from Belfast to Berlin where I was meeting my mom, and kept telling myself I could wait till Monday (this was day 3 or 4 of the infection), but by Sunday evening I felt like I had a vice on my bladder and was getting a kick in the kidney every time I moved, so it was off for hospital visit number two of my trip! Luckily this time the doctors spoke English well enough to tell me that the infection had “walked” to my kidneys, and the urologist knew English well enough to scold me for waiting until the middle of the night on a Sunday to be seen by a doctor. The nurse I had was a really nice guy, but one of the first things he told me was that he was the rookie of the hospital, so I can’t say I was surprised when it took him three tries to catheterize me, or at the bruise that attempt number one left on my arm. After a long night, though, I got my antibiotics and pain medication in time to be on a flight to Budapest 6 hours later.

By the time my mom and I got to Budapest I was feeling loads better, so we spent our first day exploring Castle Hill on the Buda side of the city. We didn’t go into the castle, but we did have coffee at the castle café, with an amazing view of Pest over the river. The next day we went to one of the famous Hungarian Baths, which was more than worth it! There were at least 6 or 8 pools inside, all at different temperatures, and some with different minerals and healing properties. There were also three outdoor pools, which is where Mom and I spent most of our time. One was just a regular lap pool, while the two others were thermal heated pools. One of those was just meant for soaking and relaxing, and the other one had jets that came out of the floor and a round bit in the middle with a current that pushed you in a circle - it was a lot of fun! Everyone says that the baths are the highlight of Budapest, but I the best part for me was definitely the caving! Apparently there’s caves all through the hills surrounding the city, and you can take tours through them where they dress you in coveralls and helmets and everything. It’s definitely not something to do if you’re claustrophobic, but if small spaces and tight fits don’t bother you, it’s absolutely something worth doing. It is a workout, though, and I was feeling it in my whole body for about three days afterward! The tour lasts about 3 hours, and they have you crawling, climbing, diving, and slithering through what would be pitch black rocks if it weren’t for the headlamps on our helmets. Our last day in town we went to a different bath, just to experience more than one, but I think we were really spoiled with the first one! There were only indoor pools at this one, and not as many to choose from. And the people watching wasn’t nearly as good as the first one either! We did have a minor brush with fame in the city, too! We were using Lonely Planet's Budapest guide in the city, which has a picture of local buskers on the cover. While eating lunch in an outdoor cafe and listening to buskers in the square, we suddenly realized that the music we were listening to was being played by none other than the men on the cover of our guide book! So it wasn't quite a Hollywood moment, but we were excited.

From Budapest we flew to Athens, where we only had one day, so we didn’t get to see as much of the city as we would have like to, but we made the most of it. We took a tour in a train (the type you see going around fair grounds and things) that briefly showed you some of the main sights, and we got to get off at the Acropolis to explore a bit. We didn’t go right up to it, but we did climb a nearby hill that gave a fantastic view of both the Acropolis and Athens, which I reckon is better anyway. But the wind on the hill was like nothing I’ve ever felt before! You had to be careful when you were standing on top of the hill and had to brace yourself at times so you wouldn’t fall over! The ferry we were meant to take to Mykonos the next morning was cancelled because of a windstorm that was sweeping the country, but we did catch one later the same afternoon. What we didn’t know until after the fact, though, was that the ferry we were on was only one of two ferries that made it to Mykonos that day, out of 17 that were meant to arrive. The poor ferry staff were running around handing out sick bags to everyone.

We stayed in a bungalow at a campsite in Mykonos called Paradise Beach, with a restaurant and it’s own private beach, so it was easy not to leave, but we did manage to pull ourselves away long enough to go exploring. Our first full day we spent most of the time lounging on the beach, which we didn’t realize until after we arrived was a “clothing optional” beach. The majority of those who opted not to wear anything, though, were men over 50, and the occasional woman. You could spot the naked tourists right away, though, by their Oreo tan lines! We met a local man at the beach who insisted on tanning right next to us (even though there were dozens of free lounge chairs) who walked around wearing nothing but a sheer leopard print scarf tied around his waist, and wore an, um, interesting bit of jewelry that I could have happily lived without ever seeing. We went into town that night for dinner and while we were looking at a menu outside a restaurant, two GIANT pelicans wandered up and just stood there like they were reading the menu with us! Then they walked into the restaurant with a third pelican, straight into the kitchen like they owned the place - I got the impression they were regular guests. So of course we stayed there, if for no other reason than to be able to say that we’ve dined with pelicans. And the cats! Apparently all the islands of Greece are known for their abundance of (surprisingly well fed) stray cats. There were a few wandering about while we were waiting for our food, and I made the mistake of petting a couple of them. Then as soon as my dinner came, I was suddenly every cat’s new best friend! It was hard, but I did manage to resist their best “I’m cute and pathetic; feed me” faces. The city center of Mykonos was originally set up to confuse invading armies, and they must have done a good job! There’s absolutely no rhyme or reason to it, with narrow winding paths and stairs that randomly go up or down. If you know the general direction you want to go, you might eventually end up at your destination.

Our next stop in Greece was Santorini, after a much more pleasant ferry ride. We stayed at a small hotel owned by a doting couple who always made sure you had whatever you wanted and who gave you coffee or homemade wine every time you came into the lobby. Mom and I took a tour our first full day that took you by boat all around the island and made a few stops along the way. Santorini is shaped kind of like a crescent moon, with a small island in the center that is actually an active volcano - that was our first stop of the day. You could climb up to the top of the volcano, which gave an amazing view of the main island, and you could see smoke and steam rising out of the cracks in the volcano. The smoke was very sulfuric, making it yellow, so the rocks around where it came out of had a yellow/green tinge to them. We also stopped at a “hot spring” which was actually just an area of volcanic rock where the water was much more shallow, making it warmer, where you could jump of the boat and go for a swim, then to a tiny little village for a delicious seafood lunch. The beach at the village also had pumice stones floating in the water which you probably aren’t supposed to take, but we were tourists - we didn’t know any better! Our last stop was on the northern coast of the island in a village called Oia (pronounced ee-ya) to watch the sunset over dinner. Most of the ports in Greece are at the bottom of cliffs with steep roads or paths leading up to the villages, so driving is only occasionally an option to get up to the top. The other choices are either walking, or riding a donkey. I’ll never ride a donkey again, but it was fun and I’m glad I did it, even though I think my donkey was suicidal! The path leading up is a series of switch backed staircases that the donkeys ran up, and mine kept getting as close to the outer edge as he possibly could! I’ve learned that I’m definitely not a fan of riding donkeys, but at least now I can cross it off my list of things I’ve done. Most of the beaches in Santorini have black sand, but there’s one beach known for it’s red sand, and one known for it’s white sand. Mom and I never did make it to the white beach, but we did go to the red beach, which was quite small and not so crowded as some of the others. That could be because you had to climb up one side of a cliff and down the other to get to it, but I thought that part was fun. Mom wasn’t so keen on the idea.

After four days in Santorini Mom and I spent our last night together in London, where all we did was wander around town a bit and do some shopping on Portobello road. After a tearful goodbye the next day, Mom flew home and I took the bus to Manchester, which due to lack of funds is my new home for the next few months. My first two weeks were spent in a hostel, where I met some great people who had also just moved to the area - Jesse and Kristal, a couple from New Zealand who are based in Manchester for now but are in the midst of traveling around the world, and Javier, Jaime, and Oscar, three guys from Spain who are here to improve their English. The five of them all got a house together, so now I have friends in the area to go visit. My friend Laura who I met at the Tent in Munich also lives in the city, and she got me a job almost right away at a sandwich shop in the city center. It was only part time, but it was enough to get me by until I found a full time job - I now work as a waitress in an Italian restaurant called Pesto with Javier and Jaime, and a lot of other cool people. What I love about Pesto is that there are 22 nationalities working there, so even though I’m not traveling at the moment, I still get to be around a lot of international people which helps to relieve my itchy feet a bit. I’m living in a suburb of Manchester at the moment called Chorlton, in a house with three other people, all from the UK. In the picture from left to right, my roommates are John, Dave, Tom, and their friend Sam. I don’t mind living in a house full of boys, and they are surprisingly clean, but Kristal and I tend to commiserate over how both our houses smell of boys. They’re good guys, though, and I’m glad I found housemates who aren’t slobs, or crazy, or both.

So here I am, back into the working world and saving money again until I can afford to go somewhere else. But on my list of things to do before I die (which, as nerdy as it is, is an actual list of things that I keep with me) I can now officially cross off living in another country, and I am enjoying myself, so I can’t complain.

Love Is Everywhere!

LIKE ALWAYS, MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell. I know I haven't written in a really long time, But I did say in my first blog that I make no promises as to my consistency! After Prague I went to Bratislava, Slovakia - it's a beautiful historical city, but really small. I did get a free private tour, though! I was out in the town center and met a guy originally from Nigeria who grew up in the UK. He's been studying history in Bratislava for two years, so he took me all around the city and actually knew most of the stories behind all the sights. And as far as random nights go, I think Bratislava holds the title so far! A group of about 12 of us went to a shisha/"chill out" bar one night and just as we were getting ready to leave a waitress and bartender came out and put a giant loaf of buttered bread with chopped onions (a Slovakian thing, I guess?) on our table and gave us each a free shot. Next, a guy wearing wooden clogs came around and served everyone pickled sausages out of a wooden wagon! We saw a sign that we think explained what it was all about, but of course it was in Slovakian so we still have no clue. But that just adds to the randomness, I guess! My next stop was Ljubljana, Slovenia (pronounced loob-lee-ana), where I met a group of about six guys travelling the heavy metal festival circuit through Europe. Ljubljana is another small historical town really only known for it's palace. The great thing is part of the palace is open through the night, so you can get great views of the city and the mountains in both light and dark. There was a beautiful lightning storm one night, too! It had been so hot before that I was just excited to see rain again. I also found another artist squat turned bar, similar to Tacheles in Berlin, but the artists didn't live there anymore. There was a small stage inside for live bands, but most of the tables were outside, among the art. The outer wall of one building was all done in mosaic using broken dishes, bottles, and jars, and also had a miniature David-like sculpture. The other buildings had all different styles of decoration: painting, sculpture, graffiti, mosaic - you name it. I didn't stay long in Ljubljana before moving on to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, where I had my first couchsurfing experience! There were two people who lived in the flat, and three of us were surfing there, so there were lots of people to meet. While we were there one of the other surfers and I met up with two local girls who had previously surfed with him. They showed us all around the city before taking us out for a traditional Croatian lunch; it was more or less a kebab, but still really good. Later I took myself to see the new Harry Potter movie, because I felt like I was missing out - I still haven't read the new book yet! I took a night train to a beach town called Split and didn't realize until I got there that I'd left my wallet at the train station in Zagreb - I don't recommend that anyone do that. I did lose my debit card but luckily I still had my credit card, so it was only a minor hassle. I stayed in a great little guesthouse while in Split, where my roommates were a Chilean girl, three turtles that live in the garden, and a baby lizard who hung out on the wall by my bed. I did a bit of sightseeing in Split - the city center is built inside the ruins of the old castle and castle walls. For the most part, though, I sat at the beach and didn't do anything worthwhile with my time - which is exactly what I had gone there to do! I moved on from Split to Munich, Germany, where all my plans changed completely, and still are changing! I was going to stay for about a week just to relax a bit, but once I got to the Tent, an ex-hippy commune turned campground just outside the city, I quickly decided to stay for three weeks. I met some of the most amazing people there, lots of whom were staying the whole summer, or at least a few weeks. Almost immediately I met an American named Sarah, and two Lauras - an English one and an Australian. There were loads of cool guys there, but I think we all kind of missed having "girlfriends" so we all got pretty close. Then there's Dominik, a legend at the Tent. He was born and raised in Germany, but fancies himself Irish. He speaks fluent English with a perfect Irish accent, and knows most Irish folk songs better than the Irish do. For some reason even he can't seem to explain, he's fallen in love with the Irish culture. He's the type you either love or you hate, though - he's a punk with a red mohawk who wears a kilt all the time and comes off as pretty extreme. You can't help but be friends with him, though! We had a campfire every night and nearly always someone had a guitar, and I got to introduce s'mores to all the non-Americans! While in Munich I was able to get a job handing out flyers for the free bike tour, which was great because it gave me something to do during the days and put a bit of extra cash in my wallet. If anyone's going to Munich soon, ask me for the spiel about how great the tour is! Of course I did some sightseeing as well - Munich especially, but Bavaria as a whole has a lot of really interesting history. I'm finding I like Germany more and more every time I learn something new about it. Aussie Laura and I made a day trip to see Neuschwanstein Castle - the famous one that the Disney castle is modeled after. We didn't go inside, but we hiked all around it and saw lots of gorgeous views of the castle and the surrounding area. We were also able to hike to the bottom of a waterfall flowing straight from the Alps. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but when we filled our bottles, it really was the best water I've ever tasted! My favorite place in Munich, I think, was the Death Park. It's a children's park near the campsite that children should never be allowed to play at! All the toys spin or rock or swing or do something to make you fall off them - it's near impossible to leave the Death Park without a wound and a story to go with it. One of my last days in Munich I woke up with no plans, but feeling a bit drastic. By the end of the day my hair was black and purple and I had a shiny new nose piercing! I'm not really sure what happened - it started with purple tips for the Love Parade, and one thing just let to another. I'm quite happy with my changes, though. When it was finally time to leave the Tent I couldn't believe the time had gone so quickly - I'd just gotten there! But now I had someone to travel with: an Australian named Christina who'd been at the Tent for about a week. She came with me to the Love Parade in Essen, Germany, where this year's theme was "Love is Everywhere". That was their way of flipping the bird to Berlin, who's been trying to get rid of the parade for years. Essen was also my second couchsurfing experience - and it was even better than the first. We stayed with a guy named Gunther, who showed us all around the city and introduced us to some of his friends. I don't think this year's Love Parade lived up to the reputation it had in Berlin, but it was still absolutely fantastic! We got there early and people watched until the music started, then we walked the parade route for a while dancing behind all the different floats. There was nowhere to sit down (Essen's one major flaw that Berlin didn't have), so Christina and I went home to rest for a bit before going to the main stage for the final show. We hadn't been meeting many people until we got the idea (or rather, stole the idea from two German guys) to make a Free Hugs sign, and we were suddenly so popular! We met lots of locals to dance with for the finale, which was a great show. Blue Man Group even made a surprise appearance! After being in Munich my plans to stick to Eastern Europe fell through, so Christina and I went to Brugge, Belgium after the Love Parade. My first time travelling everyone told me I had to go to Brugge because it was so beautiful and amazing. It was beautiful, but I think my expectations were a bit high. I found it pretty small and touristy; Belgium is famous for it's waffles and fries, though, so of course we had to indulge in he local delicacies. A group of us from the hostel did meet some locals while there, and a few of us got a (pretty bad) tour of the city that consisted of things like "this is where I went to school till I was 8" and "this is the intersection where I fell off my bike and broke my arm once." After two days in Brugge, the next was Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, which so far is one of my favorite cities. It's a student and artist city, with so much see and do! We spent an entire day going to different art galleries and quirky shops. We even attended an art show opening party, but didn't feel posh enough to stay long. We spent another day exploring the city looking for street art - and there's heaps to be seen! We found a few different "series" of stickers that we followed all over town, and we saw spray painted shoes hung up all over the city! They were all brand new k-swiss shoes, that had been painted black and were strung up on signs, posts, bike racks, or whatever else they would stay on. Naturally, I stole a pair as a souvenir. We also got to see a skateboard/BMX/breakdancing competition, which was something random and out of the ordinary to do. Christina and I came to Amsterdam the other day, where we're staying at another campsite outside the city, and have been searching for more street art. Tomorrow, though, we go our separate ways! She's still decided between France and Spain, and I'm flying back to Ireland (but to the North this time) to visit my friend Damon, who was a staff member at the Tent - I just can't get away from my Munich friends!

Happy Birthday to Me!

AS ALWAYS, ALL OF MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell
I've always said that Prague is my favorite city, and it's still up there on the list, but it just lost it's title to Berlin. This was my third time to Berlin, and every time I go I find something else to do and learn something new about the city. I took a bike tour one day that shows you all the "major" tourist sites and there's so much culture and history, but it's all so recent! You can talk to people who remember when the wall fell and you can still tell the difference between east and west Berlin. I also took an alternative Berlin tour, which I think is something everyone should do if they make it to the city. It shows you so many things you would completely miss otherwise! We saw a lot of local graffiti artists - did you know that Berlin has both the longest (Berlin wall East Side Gallery) and the biggest (Tacheles - google it) graffiti canvases in the world? We happened upon a punk protest/sit-in (in case you ever need to know, the first step to world wide revolution is beer) and saw the Turkish slums - they literally live out of Soviet trucks and vehicles that had been abandoned! And almost next door the Space Beach that I always tell people about is a Reggae beach called Yaam that's way better than Space Beach! There was so much more I wanted to see, too, that I didn't get the chance to. That's ok; it just means I'll have to come back again. I got to Prague the day before my birthday sick as can be - with seriously red and swollen tonsils, a pounding headache, and a fever that was sending me from hot flashes to chills and back again. My first two days, including my birthday, were spent lying in bed feeling sorry for myself. I did make it to the hospital my third day, where I was seen by a very nice nun who spoke no English whatsoever. With the help of charades and an interpreter who was "not so premium with the English" (if you've ever seen or read "Everything is Illuminated", he reminded me of that guy) we determined that I had strep throat and did manage to get me some antibiotics. Since then, Prague has been grand, but it has lost a bit of it's magic for me, I'm afraid. I decided to officially change my birthday this year to Friday the 13th, and my new friend Suzanne came out to help me celebrate. The plan was to start with a quick drink at a bar called the Shadow Cafe across the street from the hostel and then go to the town square, but when have I ever been one to stick to my plans? We ended up meeting a group of English guys over on holiday, and one of them was celebrating his birthday, too. After a few drinks at Shadow, we moved on to Cafe Ujezd, the bar two doors away, where we stayed for the rest of the night just having a good laugh. When we realized it was getting light out, Judge, Gaz, Laurie (3 of the Brits), Suzanne and I walked down to Charles' Bridge for sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful - and that's the only time you can see the bridge empty of tourists. But of course, that's when my camera had to die on me - I'll have more photos once other people send me theirs. I have been seeing the sights while I'm here, but it's been ridiculously hot so much of my days are usually spent lounging in the shade at the park or with my feet in a nearby fountain. The old town square is really beautiful, and the astrology clock is worth seeing - all these figurines come out and dance around, and a skeleton tolls the bell. It's actually a bit underwhelming, but when you think of it in the context of how technological it was for it's time, it really is quite impressive. Tomorrow I'll be going to see the bone church just outside of Prague - a church who's inside is decorated with the actual bones of 40,000 people! Then it's off to Bratislava in Slovakia! I haven't a clue what there is to do there, but i"ll let you know when i find out!

Green Acres is the Place to be...

ALL OF MY PICTURES CAN STILL BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell. I have more photos, but I've run out of uploads for June - the rest will follow in July.
So I don't think I'll ever live on a farm, but I'm quite enjoying my stay here at Ardagh Castle Goat Farm. Don't let the name mislead you - all that's left of the castle is a stack of stones almost completely overgrown with grass. The property is still gorgeous, though, with your typical Irish rolling green hills. My host is a great woman named Judy who manages the farm only with the help of WWOOFers like myself; how she does it is a mystery to me. Aside from caring for 8 female goats, 1 to-frisky-for-his-size male, and 3 "kids", she also makes cheese from their milk, keeps chickens, a boarding kennel, and rents out a cottage (a converted dairy cow stable) to holiday makers. On top of constantly being busy, she has to retrain and put up with inexperienced workers every time a new WWOOFer comes in. I wouldn't have the patience for it all!
Judy's house is a beautiful one that had been abandoned for over 20 years before she took it on as a project - inside she found old furniture, lots of garbage, and a shrine to the pope amidst a chimney full of crows, a house full of sparrows, and a balcony full of honey bees. Over the next 2 years she turned it into a livable place and working farm again. In the picture you see, the house on the left is Judy's, the small building in the middle is the creamery where the goats are milked, and on the right is the cottage that used to be the cow shed. To the right of this is the vegetable garden and the tiny white building almost covered by the hedge is the chalet where I sleep.
Mornings and evenings are spent milking goats and walking dogs - both more time consuming than you would expect. The days are filled with whatever else needs to be done, be it battling the stinging nettles in the garden, or mending hay racks; and I can muck out an entire goat shed in no time flat! I also get to trap magpies - as cruel as it sounds, I quite enjoy that job only because I know what a nuisance they are! And the trap is the greatest invention I've ever seen! I was the only WWOOFer my first week here, which can get a bit lonely working during the day, but since then a Frenchman named Laundre has come and this week we're expecting a full house - a Spanish guy, 2 French girls, and a German couple. I mistakenly made the comment that there won't be anything to do and in return I got a list of projects to be finished this week. That will teach me to keep my mouth shut!
I walked down to the Lough Ine (pronounced Lock Hyne) on my last day off; it's a saltwater lake that meets the ocean over a narrow rapid. There's a giant hill you can hike up for an absolutely fantastic view of the area. On 2 sides all you see is ocean and rolling green hills with farms and cows. The sailboats on the water look like little toys that are barely moving. Another great place to go is Cape Clear island, a 45 minute ferry ride from Baltimore. It's a tiny island with not much to do - you don't need more than a few hours, but it's worth seeing. It's got great walking trails and beaches comparable to some in Seattle (you Californians would still call them fake beaches), and the views are incredible. Overall, South Cork is a quiet are and the people are great. Again, Not the type of place I think I'll end up, but perfect for a quiet holiday.

Oh how easy it is...

ALL MY PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell

How easy it is to re-adapt to the traveller lifestyle. It's a constant whirl of new people, new places, lots of sights, and exhaustive amounts of walking - all while running on as little sleep as possible to stay on your feet. I love it!

New York in 12 hours really isn't very interesting. I definitely want to go back, but once airport and transport times are factored in, I had just enough time to glance at one sight before dashing off to the next one. I started in Times Square after meeting another Seattleite named Ralph on the subway. He kept claiming to know this great breakfast cafe but it didn't seem to exist, so we settled on bad omelets instead. Other than shopping, there's really nothing to do in Times Square except to marvel at the number of people that can fit in such a small place. I was able to nap in Central Park for a short while, which was much needed - I hardly slept on the plane at all. I also got to see ground zero, which was kind of eerie. I could picture people running through the streets I saw on TV and couldn't even imagine what it must have been like. The monument they're building is going to be called the Freedom Tower - who's surprised? I'm not anti-American in any way, but aren't we going a little overboard on this whole freedom-this and freedom-that name thing? Maybe it's just me, but I think it's too much.

I got to the hostel in Dublin at 9am, but I couldn't check in till 2, so I ventured out in the same pajamas I'd been wearing for 2 days, counting down until I could shower. When you start to smell yourself, you know you have a problem. If you don't know much about Irish history, it would be worth reading up on - or rent the movie Michael Collins. I visited Kilmainham Gaol, which started out as the first (unsuccessful) rehabilitation jail in Ireland, but eventually became the place where most political prisoners were held, and a lot of them executed. I know almost nothing of Irish history and I thought it was a really interesting place to be able to see. Being as this is my third trip to Dublin, I've already seen the sights I want to see and this time around I've done a lot of lounging around at St Stephens Green and meeting other travellers. I love to sit and people watch, especially when you get snippets of conversation - you can sit and ponder what they're actually talking about. My favorite snippet I've caught so far went exactly like this: "ok so now this vagina has balls..." hmm the jokes that could be told...

Anyhow, my roommate Lucy and I went out on a pub crawl the other night, where we met 4 guys from another hostel - the Canadians Richie, Gorp, and Rouie (rhymes with Louie), and the Californian George. It was Brazil night at the last bar we went to - there was a band playing traditional Brazilian instruments, but it was still dance music, and a kind of bad DJ with a hat that made him look like Kevin Federline - I tried to steal it but he wouldn't let me keep it :( I'll dance with anyone who wants, but only if they don't touch me - I need my bubble and I wasn't getting it at this place. Finally I got sick of pushing people away, so I jumped up on the stage and danced with one of the band members. He tried to teach me a Brazilian dance, but I think I just embarrassed myself in front of a bar full of people. I'm cool with it though because who else gets to say they learned to dance to Brazilian music in an Irish bar, embarrassing or not!

Tonight I'm venturing to Trim in county Meath to visit my friend Yvette - and Yvette is always a good time! I get to go to a real Irish pub - not the mainstream touristy pubs you find all over Dublin. And after that, it's off to the goat farm! Wish me luck and I'll let you know how my adventures in cheese making go.

Cheers!

Welcome to my blog

So I feel like I should be starting my blog by now, much like I feel like I should be doing a lot of things I haven't yet in preperation for my trip. I'll most likely end up procrastinating with a lot of things I shouldn't, but half the fun is the last minute decisions, right?

People ask me if I'm excited for my trip, and my answer is always 'of course I am!' Then people ask me if I'm scared, and my answer is always 'not at all.' In reality, though, I'm scared shitless! I don't know what I'm getting myself into, or what's going to go wrong, but the thought of regretting not doing what I've dreamed about for years scares me more than anything else. How many people have you ever heard that said "man, I wish hadn't spent that summer in Australia!" or "volunteering in Africa - that was a waste of my time!" So off I go, to meet whoever I can meet, and experience whatever I can, and become really aware of the world around me. I know that I'm going to have great times, and I also know that there will be days when I want to sit down and cry and catch the next flight home - but that's all part of the adventure.

I don't have much to say at this point, but now I've established my place to tell people about my adventures - I make no promises, but I'll try to keep it updated reguarly.