#books: The Other Way Out

I spent the weekend in three different places: New York, Springfield, and Boston. Only one of these (Springfield) involved actual physical space. I went to New York thanks to Suzanne Collins “Gregor the Overlander” series, where a young boy does battle for good and evil under the Big Apple. I managed a side trip to Boston with Tess Gerritsen, as her lead character investigated a murder from the 1800′s. This may also qualify as time travel, but let’s not split hairs.

Reading has always provided an escape for me. I inherited my mother’s love of books, and it has brought me endless joy. I am the kid who reached for a book, not the TV remote. I continue to be that kid. My pop culture knowledge is extremely limited, as any of my friends will tell you. They have long since stopped trying to explain jokes to me that involve the latest episode of The Office or a long ago viewing of The Goonies (which I finally saw my freshman year).

I am embarrassed to say that I have watched more TV in these past 5 months than I probably have in my entire life. And I don’t even have a TV! Hulu, abc.com and espn3 are highly regarded in my one bedroom apartment, and bookmarked on my mac. It’s disgusting. After being on the computer all day at work, opening my laptop is very low on my priority list.

Luckily, our local public library recently had a sale. As all good thrifters know, Sunday is always the day to go. Why? Bag sale. Fill a bag with as many books as you can stuff in it for $5. I came home with 16. That was two weeks ago and I’ve already read 3. There are also 2 used bookstores within 10 miles of me which will take your used books, and offer you credit for copies from their inventory. If I just so happen to finish a book en route to a destination, I will likely leave it behind for another reader. Paperback where your safety card is supposed to be on the airplane? From me, with love!

Two websites to plug here: 1) Bookmooch, and 2) Goodreads.

Bookmooch is a place where you can list an inventory of books, wishlist ones you’d like to read, and swap with other people. For instance, I recently inventoried Slammerkin and The Enchantress of Florence. Both were requested within a day. So then what? Then it’s off to the post office, sending two books across the US for a mere $2 each. Each posting, sending and receiving earns you points. I send one book, I earn one point. Receiving books costs nothing, and sending books via media mail rarely exceeds $3 for a paperback, even if it goes from PA to CA.

Goodreads is keeping track of everything I’m reading. It also helps me keep track of books I’d like to read, and review books I have read. I’ve read 392 books since I opened my account, and have another 100+ on my To-Read shelf. There are discussion boards, although I don’t use them. There are also First Reads which are giveaways by authors. Authors themselves can keep profiles on Goodreads, and interact with their readers. I’m really just using it as a listing mechanism, but I love it.

So where else am I escaping to? Here are some other titles I’ve read in 2012:

• Dead Time – Stephen White
• The Enchantress of Florence – Salman Rushdie
• Balzac & the Chinese Seamstress – Dai Sijie
• The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein *
• Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins # $
• Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain *
• Eight Keys – Suzanne LaFleur $
• Tears of the Giraffe – Alexander McCall Smith #
• Gregor & the Overlander (4 of 5 books) – Suzanne Collins # $
• The Bone Garden – Tess Gerritsen
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
• Tales from Nowhere – Lonely Planet *

* = recommend
# = series
$ = children’s / YA literature

city mouse, country mouse

Once upon a time …

… in the land of Aesop’s fables the story of these two rodent relatives was created. The posh city mouse comes to visit his country cousin, and teases him about his simple life. The city mouse invites his cousin to his home in the big city to show him how life is bigger, better, brighter in comparison. Over dinner they run into a problem with the neighbors (dogs) and they have to hide to save their lives. The moral of the story is revealed when the country cousin goes home to his country comforts, declaring he would rather live a simple life than live in fear.

Terrible portrayal of the city! What – is the mouse living in Camden? There have been many variations on the story since it was first created. I always thought the story had to do with two people leading separate lives differently but happily. The moral of my version: One size does not fit all.

Well I’m the city mouse. Now masquerading as the country mouse, I set up shop in a one bedroom apartment in a small Midwestern town and I am slowly fading away, far from city comforts. I do have my fair share of noisy neighbors .. although they aren’t dogs, they act like them.

I am plagued by cravings. I crave noise and people and twenty-four hour stores. Mom and pop restaurants, my favorite coffee shop and the people. Where did all the people go?

My students give me the eyebrow of disbelief when I tell them that I am an expert on culture shock. It’s not that they question my authority on the subject. What they don’t believe is that I gave up another year in Europe for some work experience in the cornfields. There are days when I don’t believe it either.

Moving to the Midwest is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It beats moving to Europe, going to college, taking the GMAT (twice). It is isolated and flat, empty and quiet. I have to drive over an hour to go somewhere like Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble. While we do not close for siesta, we are closed on Sundays for religion and rest and inconvenience.

photo courtesy of anormallife-amyemilia.blogspot.com

There are things I do like: the cheap rent, the absence of a highway speed limit. I’ve never been somewhere where I can see for miles and miles over the same terrain. Perched on a mountaintop, sure. Standing in a field, never. The sun rises and sets in the most brilliant colors that blow out the landscape for endless minutes. As a result of this unobstructed view, a sunset can consume you. Literally swallow you and pull down the day with a gulp, and you with it.

I see things in photographs, eyelids like shutters. Red barn and a silo – click. Single naked tree – click. Long empty roads – click. When I see the skyline of Chicago, I could weep. My eyes aren’t open wide enough to catch the lights, the colors, the people. As though I need to stock up on the stimulus before I head back to the stillness. The train ride home is the longest, with the city receding behind me as we move along the tracks.

Being the country mouse has its own luxuries. Uninterrupted cooking and a kitchen to myself. No need to roll up the yoga mat or turn down the stereo. Do laundry at weird hours, walk around in my underwear. Plenty of time to write, read and reflect. I am an only child after all, solitude is important to me.

But .. wow.

Stateside challenge 2012

New Year’s resolutions can be really annoying.

As a friend recently pointed out to me, we learned in business school that goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. You can’t say “I want to lose weight” without a clear direction – you’re only setting yourself up for failure. Whereas if you say “I want to lose 10 pounds in 3 months” you have set yourself an achievable goal, and you can measure your progress against said goal.

So while I don’t resolve to do anything in particular, I think I just might see a new state each month of this year. As a Northeast native, I’ve run up and down the Right Coast for most of my stateside life. The month of March is on hold due to international travel (Nicaragua), but here are the top candidates for Stateside 2012:

courtesy of waistnotblog

1. New Orleans, Louisiana (January)
I started the year off right with a delicious 3 nights in the Crescent City. I tried so many new dishes, my tastebuds could hardly keep up. Except now that I know what a muffuletta is, I’m having a hard time forgetting about it.

2. Madison, Wisconsin (February)
With friends newly relocated to this beautiful place, it gives me an excuse to explore a city I’ve had my eye on for a while. It is also within road trippable distance (to me, 5 hours in a car with a friend is acceptable.)

3. Louisville, Kentucky (May)
Yes, I am bound for the Kentucky Derby this year, with glorious hat in hand. Holly and I decided to take advantage of our proximity to the world’s largest gathering of hats (horses? whatever) and plan a trip in early May.

4. Hawai’i (November)
A very tropical Thanksgiving is in the works.

5. Tennessee
With family nearby and Music City lying in wait, this is also a five hour drive from home.

6. Indiana
It’s two hours away. Really I’m not sure why else I should go there. The Formula One is back in the US, but in Austin TX. The Indy 500 does not interest me. And the NCAA tournament is everywhere but here in 2012. So … ?

7. Michigan
Again, why not? One thing I know for sure is that I will definitely not be going in the winter.

8. Rhode Island
Hoping to take a break in the Northeast this summer and rest my bones / see family in New Hampshire. This year a trip to nearby RI might be in order, along with a Pawtucket game.

courtesy of nationalgeographic.com

Up for Discussion:
9. Pacific Northwest: Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon?
Or .. both. I have a long standing date with the west, and this will be the year I take advantage of it. No, I’ve never been to California either but that feels like less of a mission. And how do I even begin in a long state like that with so much to offer?

10. The land of National Parks: Lots of options here.
Yellowstone (Montana), Grand Teton (Wyoming), Bryce Canyon / Zion (Utah). Hike, bike, jump off a mountain or go canyoning (my personal favorite). I just read a brilliant article in AAA Traveler by a self-defined city slicker who visited several of these beautiful parks. The photos alone make me itch for the mountains.

Have you traveled the continental US? Where did you go?

How Facebook changed the face of Study Abroad

At the risk of sounding like an old biddy, “Back in my day.. (2004) there was no internet.” That’s a lie of course. The world wide web had the globe in its silky grasp, but had yet to slip into every home. I left for Spain without a laptop and went to live in a flat with no internet connection. Not even the whirring, beeping cacophony of dial-up.

I don’t remember this being a life-altering detail at the time. The computer lab at the Center for Modern Language was the size of a bedroom, with three old dinosaur PCs. The hard plastic chairs in front of them were consistently full with a rotation of students, basking in the monitor’s blue glow. I settled for a nearby Internet cafe for my online needs -  which back then were 75% uploading photos and the other 25% sending emails.

Yes, emails. No status updates or tweets or instagram photos of my every waking minute overseas. Just long awaited hellos to friends and family, and the sending of photos to share my travels.

Last year when I visited with my former Resident Director she told me, over a plate of churros, that every host family now had wifi. This blew me away. Every house? What a terrible idea! It reportedly stemmed from a significant list of parents who demanded that their children be awarded the necessity (not the luxury) of connectivity at home. No more walks down to the Internet cafe, and you can forget going online at school. Sit in your señora’s flat with your earbuds in, chattering away on Skype from your bedroom. Almost like you’d never been gone at all.

And you haven’t.

courtesy of gadgetsteria.com

If you spend the majority of your time overseas plugged into your American life, you are missing out. On everything.

Picture yourself a giant: standing tall, straddling the Atlantic. One foot is cushioned in the US – with news of home, drama from school, TV shows and local sports crawling up your leg. Your other foot is perched carefully on the Rock of Gibraltar, scaring away the tourists, not speaking the language and slowly crushing the immersion out of your study abroad experience.

We teach our students about culture shock. Up with the honeymoon stage – joy and bliss abound. Down with the rejection stage – depression and homesickness lie in wait. Then you adjust, adapt, and re-enter. When do you think students are inclined to log on the most? Think of it as a budding relationship. You will gush to your friends about the new and wonderful in fits and starts – you are so consumed by your love that you hardly have the time. Then when it starts to fade, your friends hear countless sad tales and horror stories, so that they soon echo your sentiments: “its awful” .. “how terrible” .. “you must hate it.”

Do you? I didn’t. But living abroad last year there were times when it was just easier to crack the open the mac and Gchat with my mom, or Facebook my best friend about my woes. No longer was it about getting news from home, but a lifeline. I’m in crisis – hang on to me, via this internet connection. Instead of seeking support from those around you in times of need, it is so much easier to reach back to where you came from, and the comforts of home.

Social media is not the downfall of study abroad. If you know me at all, you know its one of my major platforms. I will tweet, post and blog to my heart’s content in an effort to share study abroad with anyone that cares to listen.

Social media is not the downfall of study abroad, but it has changed the way we do things. For the better? Perhaps. But the next big challenge is in the balance – teaching students to be socially responsible with their media (and fiscally, if they tend toward that $700 iPhone bill).

So put your phone down, and close your mac. My blog will be here when you get back. So will your parents, and your cousin’s new house, and your friend’s engagement ring. Disconnect yourself for a while, and you’ll see just what you’re missing.

#NOLA: Worth the weight

The only proper way to kick off a year of domestic travel is to go somewhere new. In this case.. the Crescent City: New Orleans. Better known to some (myself now included, as foodie paradise).

* all restaurants mentioned are listed below the post

wings & waffle

Thursday. With a belly full of chicken & waffles (and my first ever grits) from Breakfast Klub in Houston, Thao & I set out on I-10, to a chorus of text messages from friends and family making sure we weren’t in the epic 40 car pile-up further down the freeway. On the outskirts of the city, we stopped for gas and Thao pointed us toward a nearby grocery / food stand for boudin and cracklin’. A few exits prior, I pointed at a billboard with those very words on it and said: “what’s that?” Turns out I do like boudin (deep-fried sausage and rice balls), but cracklin’ (fried pork fat) is a bit too much.

The weather alone was enough for me: sunny, 65 degrees – all thoughts of snow banished from my mind. We strolled Canal Street and wound our way around the city, eventually heading to Deanie’s for dinner where I tried my first bowl of gumbo (delicious). We walked off our dinner and made our way to Frenchman Street, stopping at Maison for some local jazz. Far too relaxed and full, the night ended early and I went to bed dreaming of food.

jambalaya omelet

Friday. Consulting a 4-page list of recommendations from our friend Patricka, we went to Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe at the Whitney. Settled in a beautiful old bank with big ceilings, a comical mural and heavy leather chairs, I watched our jambalaya omelet being made just a few feet away. Paired with the best biscuit I’ve ever had and two huge glasses of orange juice, I was in heaven. Thao and I launched the first of a record number of meals with a rule: entrees are made to share. Easier on our wallets, and our stomachs.

muffuletta

Late morning was spent on the St. Charles streetcar ($3 for a day pass), taking a trip to the Garden District. We wandered Lafayette Cemetery #1 and soaked up the sunshine among the old stones. A glass of crisp sauvignon blanc and some people watching at Commander’s Palace preceded a life-changing sandwich a few blocks over. I had my first muffuletta at Stein’s Deli on Magazine Street (gracias, Natalie). I don’t care who else makes these things, I’m never going to eat them anywhere else (Apologies, Central Grocery). I should also point out that this is a legit Jewish deli, far from the owner’s homeland of Philadelphia. What’s on this sandwich? Several deli meats, cheese and olive salad on delicious bread. I inhaled mine with Zappe’s tabasco chips and Maine Root ginger beer.

beignets & cafe au lait

Keeping with the theme of famous NOLA food we returned uptown to the well known Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait. Thao kept our place in line while I ran up the promenade to see the mighty Mississippi. Deserted wooden benches were surrounded by piles of powdered sugar, evidence of beignets to-go. CDM has the beignet market on lock – we saw the line ebb and flow around the block every day of our visit.

crab legs

I made room for a praline at Evans (I found I prefer the chewy variety). Walking back on Decatur Street, a promo girl for Sailor Jerry spiced rum stepped out of a silver Airstream trailer (really) and offered to take our photo. We hopped into the trailer and grabbed some props for a hysterical photo and a free drink ticket, which ended up in the trash a few blocks away. The Palace Cafe provided our dinner – crab legs to start, andouille crusted redfish to split and a flaming bananas foster for dessert. The wait staff were eager to please, and split our entree onto two plates prior to serving.

duck waffle

Saturday, New Year’s Eve. Another huge breakfast to start the day, a short drive away. Elizabeth’s Restaurant is compact, hip, and made for hungry people. As a group of three we ordered three entrees, with a side of their famous praline bacon (!) and a starter of boudin. The result was beyond words. Shrimp & grits, crabby eggs and a duck waffle. Duck Waffle? Right. A cornbread waffle with a scoop of duck and sweet potato hash with pepper jelly. Believe it.

cheeseburger po'boy

By some miracle, I was ready to eat again by lunch time after some shopping on Royal Street. We stopped for po’boys at Johnny’s – Thao for the win with a cheeseburger po’boy; my shrimp po’boy paled in comparison. Next time – Mother’s? Street performers were everywhere – our favorite a female duet on Royal, one on guitar and the other on violin. They drew a crowd and played an endless set of Santana and other tunes. A brass band brought me to the door of a shop with their rendition of “Come Together” – brilliant.We gave in to the New Year’s craze and picked up a mask and some beads for the evening. Already the streets were full of drunken revelers, and the noise level on the rise.

balcony view

The real miracle was the fact that we got a second floor table for two on the balcony at Royal Oyster House on New Year’s Eve, without a reservation. We spent our meal joking with the waiter about the parade of humanity on the street below. Down the block a severely packed Bourbon Street bumped along to brass and sirens, while the occasional party-goer stumbled toward Royal Street, weighted down by beads and Jim Beam. The meal itself was perfection: crawfish cakes and the Taste of New Orleans (gumbo, crawfish etouffe and jambalaya). Yet another famous dessert followed: homemade bread pudding. Roll me out to the river.

fleur de lis drop

We rang in the new year along the banks of the Mississippi – not one for a ball drop, NOLA drops a fleur de lis from atop Jax Brewery. Fireworks boomed over the river and the hundreds of people cheering for the new year. The departure down Decatur was an absolute crush of bodies full of glitter and music and, strangely, cries of “Waldo!” heralding the fellow cleverly dressed in red and white stripes, and glasses.

Sunday. A final breakfast waited for us on Rampart Street at the Decadence Shoppe. We went in for coffee and a bagel and ended up with a fierce egg scramble, full of andouille sausage (my new favorite meat) and spices. It breathed life into our sorry souls, and sent us motoring home to Houston where of course … we ate again (duh, Tex Mex).

A huge thanks to NOLA natives and aficionados who provided us with a long list of to-do’s and must-see’s. Once I return to my regularly scheduled gym sessions, I’ll be sure to make a return tour!

–

• 
Breakfast Klub, Houston – 3711 Travis Street
• Deanie’s Seafood, NOLA – 841 Iberville Street
• The Maison, NOLA jazz – 508 Frenchmen Street
• Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe at the Whitney, NOLA – 610 Poydras Street
• 
Commander’s Palace, NOLA – 1403 Washington Avenue
• Stein’s Deli, NOLA – 2207 Magazine Street
• Cafe du Monde, NOLA – 800 Decatur St
• 
Evans Famous Creole Candy, NOLA – 848 Decatur Street
• Palace Cafe, NOLA – 605 Canal Street
• Elizabeth’s Restaurant, NOLA – 601 Gallier Street
• Johnny’s, NOLA – 511 Saint Louis Street
• Royal Oyster House, NOLA – 441 Royal Street
• Decadence Shoppe, NOLA – 806 N Rampart Street