I'm Leaving the Country AGAIN!

Last semester, as I settled into the vicissitude of life I asked myself...how can I make the most out of this 4-year PhD journey? The destination was clear: a PhD credential, and the journey was yet to manifest. You see, I believe we manifest our journey through life, the reality we choose to live, and the experiences we have. Hence, I began researching international research opportunities (of which I was surprised to find so many). I could not resist a few opportunities, so I threw my name in the hat and let fate takes its course. Just last week I was offered (and accepted) an opportunity to live and study at Oxford University for six months. In July, I board a plane with insipid airplane food and fly over the Atlantic Ocean destined for the Queen's country, England! Here's the deal: I will work with the UGA/Oxford study abroad program as I pursue a few research projects with an Oxford professor. Of course I make it sound like the decision to take the offer was a no-brainer, which it was from a very personal (and irrational) perspective. However, from a rational perspective there were copious logistical issues I deliberated on (missing a semester of academic coursework, moving again, assessing the financial situation, winning the support of my professors, and coming back to Athens without a campus job). In the end...my motto, "Jump and the net will appear," prevailed! So, book your flights!

For me, this is a dream come true; to reside and study at a medieval European University that has tradition, rituals, and history that dates back to the 13th century. Oxford has been referred to as the 'themepark for academic geekhood'. Am I on the path of becoming an academic geek? To be continued...

Whirling Dervishes Swirl through Athens!

Living in the armpit of America, we have to get as much "outside" culture as we can. So, when we heard the exotic dervishes were coming to Athens, we quickly purchased tickets. In their white flowing skirts, pointy hats, and soft-soled black shoes, a group of whirling dervishes gracefully swirled their way around the stage. The evening started with chant-like relaxing sufi music and then the whirling dervishes whirled with their eyes closed for over 45 minutes. The kinetic energy of the "whirling" sends the spinning men into a meditative state of spirituality. The performance was amazing and I have to admit during the sufi music I dipped into my own meditation, as the music just sent me to my breath. The whirling dervishes were founded by Sufi poet Mevlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi in the 13th century. Rumi was a lover, a romantic, a humanitarian and his poetry reflected those values. Here is one of my favorite Rumi poems (just in time for Valentine's day!):

The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for
you, not knowing how blind that was. Lover's don't finally meet somewhere. They are in each other all along.

Doctoral Students Get Their Disco On...

Doctoral students are expected to synthesize complex theoretical academic articles, think critically, write coherent papers, conduct original and thought-provoking research, and speak intelligently on numerous topics. Honestly, sometimes my brain just gets tired. Yet, as I become more socialized into this way of living, I have realized that blowing off steam is rather important to the well-being (and my overworked brain.) So this is how I survive: a simple glass of wine with good conversation and laughter, yoga, or celebrating Sarah's 30th birthday...DISCO style. With gold accessories, disco fuzz, butterfly collars, and flared pants we danced (and punched) the night away. Only to wake up with headaches and more reading, synthesizing, and writing to do. Oh, the life we live!

It Only Took 7 MONTHS to Receive my European Master's Degree!

Last week I received a voice mail from my apartment complex, "You have a package, please come by and pick it up before 6 p.m." With a big smile on my face, I strolled into the office at 5:57 p.m. They handed me a lovely package from Universtitetet I Oslo...and the angels started singing. Ahhhhhh, my European Master's joint-degree, finally! You see, this simple piece of paper has not only seen the world, but was a personal labor of love. In November, I was summoned--by my classmates--to write a formal letter of complaint to the University of Oslo for not sending out our diplomas in June...or shortly thereafter. After many emails with the figureheads in Oslo, they finally got the ball rolling. I still do not understand what the issue was...but it sounds like there was some bad blood among the individuals who were responsible for coordinating the diploma production. Since this was a joint-degree, three signatures and "stamps of approval" were needed from three different university officials, in three different countries (Norway, Portugal, and Finland). And, so the adventure began...the diplomas went on a sojourn. Somewhere along the signature journey, the diplomas stopped off in Chile (yes, the country in South America). Why, you ask...I'm only speculating, but I think it had something to do with the long line of incompetency. Anyway, I am sitting here with my beautiful European joint-degree in one hand and a glass of wine in the other...reflecting on the amazing two years in Europe and how much I miss my HEEM family.

A REAL Southern Step Show!

Last night we went to the annual UGA step-show competition. Stepping is a form of musical performance which uses the body as an instrument, everything from stomping to clapping to spoken word. It is quite amazing to watch the complex dance rhythms performed in solidarity. Stepping began back in the early 1900's as a schoolyard competition among the black sorority and fraternity members. Today, it continues to be a tradition in the black sororities and fraternities on campuses, especially in the Southern nation states. This year three sororities and three fraternities competed, which I thought was a rather small number. You see the percentage of black students at UGA is not in line with the national average. In Georgia, 28% of the population is black, whereas only (approximately) 6% of the UGA student population is black. Hence, the black greek system at UGA is small compared to what you think it would be.

An Email Message on January 20, 2009--INAUGURATION DAY!

I sent this email to one of my dear friends after watching the U.S. 44th Presidential Inauguration:

"Guess what...we have a black (bi-racial) president!!! Is that not the coolest statement ever??? I never thought I would be able to say that in my lifetime. Damn, it feels good to be an American today (a bit emotional, but a damn good feeling). As I watched and listened to Obama take the oath I could not help but reflect on the civil rights struggle and how far this country has come, and how many lives have been lost to cross the deeply-seeded racial barrier. (Sure, in this racially divided country, we still have a long way to go, but this is unequivocally a step in the right direction.) Also, my tears fell upon the baggage which carries my American identity. I concede that I am a bit jaded by the anti-American sentiment I experienced while living abroad. However, today I actually felt a bit patriotic; a feeling of which I had no prior comprehensive. Today...I understand what patriotism is and how it feels. Incredible."

As I was reading Yoga Journal, I saw these ads with Obama doing yoga...I could not resist posting them.

I am a Traveler (Stuck) in Georgia....

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller.

I have decided to become a traveler/tourist in this place I call home...Georgia. So, today I launched this new perspective with the annual Indian kite festival--a festival celebrating the change of seasons--held at the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Indian Mandir in Lilburn, Georgia. I was expecting a tiny temple with a few deities (gods), and what I discovered was much more grand and delicious to the eyes. Over 80,000 Indians reside in the metro Atlanta area, and this Mandir was built by the hands and volunteer hours of many in this community. The Mandir opened its doors in 2007 and was built in 17 months; this is no small feat when you experience it up close. Over 34,000 individual pieces of Turkish limestone, Italian marble, and Indian pink sandstone were hand-carved in India and shipped to Georgia. Then, volunteers pieced it all together like a beautiful 3-D puzzle. The festival included ambrosial (yet spicy) Indian food, hot chai, and copious amounts of paper kites. The whole scene was quite surreal...the hum of a foreign language, colorful kites flying high in the blue sky, the smell of cardamon in the air, and the spectacular Mandir sparkling in the backdrop. I kept asking myself, "Am I really in Georgia?"

A Road Trip to New Mexico & Arizona

My father is what they call a "snowbird"...a retiree who flies south for the winter (literally). After the holidays, he packs up his SUV--golf clubs, tennis rackets, and beer--and heads down to Phoenix, Arizona (in the southeast of the U.S.) for 6 weeks of sunshine. This year, I decided to take the road trip with him, as my father is my travel hero and it is always such a blast traveling with him. Plus, I figured it might help curtail that travel bug that causes utter restlessness.

Here is how it went:
Day 1: We drove 385 miles and stayed overnight in Santa Fe, New Mexico and enjoyed hot tamales, as my father's eye progressively got redder and redder. "What's up with the red eye?"
Day 2: We drove 330 miles and spent the night in the mountain town of Flagstaff, Arizona where snow had piled up on the sides of the streets. We enjoyed an art walk in the historic district as my dad's eye gushed out lots of liquid and a few styes formed under his eyelid. (SEE PHOTO...ick!)
Day 3: We drove through the INCREDIBLE red canyon of Sedona--the color of my father's eye-- before pushing on to Phoenix.
Day 4-5: In Phoenix we met up with my sister and brother (yes, it was a family affair), hiked Pinnacle Park with the saguaro cactus and spent time with old family friends. Luckily, there was a Dr. in the group who looked at my father's eye and said, "Yep, looks like raw meat, but it shouldn't fall out."
Day 5: Fly to Atlanta! Say goodbye to my father who had gained a bit of whiteness back into his eyeball.

Reconnecting with Childhood Friends!

A blast from the past! Spending time in Colorado is always exciting because 1.) it is "home"--where my heart is--and 2.) I get to spend time with all of those people in my life who have known me through some of my best and most awkward moments (i.e. big hair phase in the late 1980's-early 1990's ). The advent of facebook has made reconnecting with old friends much easier. Lost are the days when calling up an old friend by a land line was all the rage. Now, reconnecting is as easy as typing in a name and stepping into the shoes of voyeurism. This year, through the help of facebook, a group of us rebellious high school friends (a.k.a. "Party Brat Pack" (PBP)) convened at a local watering hole for some catch-up time and a few strolls down memory lane. (FIRST PHOTO) Lots of laughs were had and the love within our group was just as strong as those crazy days at Rangeview HS.

I also had a chance to reconnect with my youth tennis coach and all of my summer tennis camp buddies (SECOND PHOTO: here is a photo of my childhood tennis buddies: the Weimer kids, Walker kids & Connolly kids).

Then, after a road trip to Arizona, we spent time with another family that I grew up with...the Hlavka's. (THIRD PHOTO: My sis, Cory (the cool chick I always inspired by when growing up) and me.) It does not matter how much time goes by, there will always be a genuine connection with these people who helped shape my youth.

Happy New Year (with hats)!

Ringin' in 2009 was done in true Colorado style! My dear friend Brent (from my CU-Boulder days) hosted a New Years Eve hat party at his mountain house in Breckenridge. A few of us went up early to enjoy a day of rest, relaxation, and winter sports before the craziness ensued. After a lazy morning of yoga, lion's breathe, and lots of laughter, a few of us strapped on our snowshoes and headed out into the sunny winter wonderland. The Colorado mountains recently got dumped on...so, as Liz would say, "safety first!" No snowshoeing across avalanche slopes, but that did not stop us from having an "extreme" snowshoeing experience (breaking trail, walking across a rock field, and being whipped by gale force winds.)

Then, HOT TUB, a delicious dinner, taboo, charades, fire, snow, fireworks, worms, mezcal, and the rest of the evening was history...Happy 2009!

Bring on 2009...After Reflecting on 2008!

Through the years I have learned that reflecting on where you have been and life's blessings is an honorable way to ring in a new year. This past year has been quite a ride...yet, I would not choose to live my life any differently.

Top 10 Memorable Moments of 2008:
1.) Rang in 2008 in the cozy village of Aveiro, Portugal (see photo) as I packed up to move to Oslo, Norway for the last semester of my European Master's degree program (where I got (temporarily) married to my thesis.)
2.) Skied Zermatt, Switzerland and skied across the border to Italy for some ambrosial minestrone soup.
3.) Voted in the FIRST global primary in Oslo, Norway. How cool is that?
4.) Received a PhD offer to the University of Georgia which led to an Easter trip to Georgia for a campus visit and a quick trip home to Colorado. Accepted the offer and completed the first semester of PhD life. Woohoo!
5.) Ate my way through the beautiful Paris, France and took the train to Strasbourg, France where I attended a conference at the Council of Europe.
6.) After divorcing my thesis, I threw on my travel shoes, drank beer and ate chocolate in Belgium with my dear friend Marijke.
7.) Traveled Morocco where we made our way through the Atlas mountains, boarded down the sand dunes, rock-climbed, and got a stomach bug (Fred) that would stay with me for months to come...
8.) Traveled Eastern European (Slovenia, Hungary, Czech, Austria) with my cousin and went on many adventures...naked saunas, canyoning, and yoga in the Julian Alps.
9.) Namaste! After returning to the motherland (USA) in June I lived in a yoga ashram in Colorado, attained a yoga teaching certification, and began teaching at Rubbersoul in Athens, Georgia in the fall.
10.) Historic presidential election...all I have to say is OBAMALISCIOUS!

EPIC Ski Adventure!

Since my brother and I no longer live in Colorado, we were hungry for time in the snowy Rocky Mountains. So, the family rented a mountain condo in Winterpark, Colorado for quality family time in the evening and serious ski madness during the day.

The snow gods were very good to us, as we got over 10 inches of champagne powder...ski heaven! There is no feeling in the world that equates to flying through powder down the mountain steeps. The evenings were filled with hot-tubbin', games (charades and spoons), excellent cuisine, and plenty of Irish cream, and wine.

Reflections of PhD Life & Things I Adore!

Even though I still had a concluding paragraph to write for my final paper of the semester, I boarded the plane--departing to Denver--with a warm smile not only on my face but also in my heart. To say this semester kicked my butt would be a gross understatement. Readjusting to life in the U.S., in no other place than the conservative South, was a challenge. Not to mention that I was thrown into the rigorous life as a PhD student, where reading 500 pages of literature and writing 20 pages in one week is completely normal. Despite the competition, bastion of male dominance, and intense socialization; I am alive and kicking! You know...challenges in life make you cherish the things you love the most: skiing, family, friends, laughing, yoga, wine, and an international perspective. And, the next three weeks will be all about those things I adore the most.

Here are a few things I love about Christmas at my parents house...Raven (the queen kitty), Christmas cookies (frosting them with dad & eating them with the family (my brother is the cookie monster on the left!)