geography in scotland

what a nice looking geography department at the university of edinburgh--such a scholarly location. i feel like studying here would really inspire me. given the title of this blog, i thought it was only appropriate to share this photo that my good friend megan, a fellow geography fan, sent from her studies in edinburgh.

why didn't the geography programs i attended look this inviting? the geography department at colgate was in the basement (with no windows), and the geography department at university college dublin was in one of those concrete 80's buildings.

but this place? wow!

this just didn't make sense.

oh, the life of a tourist. these gentlemen were playing SCOTTISH bagpipe hymns in a ROMAN amphitheater in jerash, JORDAN. they were playing the hits--it was beautiful to listen to--but didn't seem to make sense. we heard the sounds of the muezzins calling prayer in the town next to us, yet in jerash, it was time to please the tourists with bagpipes. interesting.

when was the last time you saw the sunrise and the sunset in one day?

before a few weeks ago, the last time that i actually noticed that i was awake for both a sunrise and a sunset in the same day was in august 2004. i was driving back to the east coast from los angeles with liz, katherine, and durban, and i was driving through las vegas when the sun rose. we also saw the sun set before we pulled into breckenridge, colorado, where we were calling it a day, for the driving at least. for some reason, it was a truly memorable day.

at the end of september, tim and i went down to bristol, rhode island to sail with his parents for the weekend. on the first day of the trip, the boat was moving well before the sun came up--and we were anchored in the great salt pond in block island (which is surprisingly small, considering) to see the sun set. truly everyday events. but we hardly notice for the most part. i usually realize that the sun has risen when i can't see where i'm going because of the glare!

sunrise--bristol, ri

sunset--block island

a perfect day...

it's been quite a spring and summer. as the leaves are starting to change colors and it is becoming necessary to wear a heavier coat, even during the day, i've been thinking about how my summer began this year. i had been on crutches for a very snowy january and febuary, and at the beginning of march, i finally got the orders from my wonderful doctor that i was good to get walking! what a relief!

before the grass even turned fully green, some good friends planned a trip to the wineries and vineyards in northern virginia--just an hour or so from dc. we had a wonderful day sipping good wine and celebrating the beginning of spring (very early in the year, i might add). we didn't do the normal "wine tour," but chose one nice spot and spent a few hours there chatting away. it was absolutely perfect.

here's my favorite shot from the day. i still can't think of a better way to spend a saturday.

some of my favorite northern virginia wineries:

http://www.barreloak.com/ -barrel oak winery

http://www.piedmontwines.com/ -piedmont*

http://www.threefoxvineyards.com/ - three fox

a different perspective...

i will probably work in an office environment for a long time. hopefully someday, i'll get a window and permanently move out of cube land. no, i'll never be a farmer. that's for sure. i'm certainly not cut out for that line of work. even though i do love the idea of it.

but this poem, by wendell berry, which a friend of mine reminded me of a few years ago really resonates. not all of it, but some parts. i'd copy the entire poem directly here, but i'm not sure if that is allowed. although, at this point, i don't know if anyone reads my blog to turn me in!

http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC30/Berry.htm

what do you think?

a child bride in sudan

i read this story in the new republic a few days ago and it keeps coming back to mind. this story goes beyond the statistics, political-foreign-policy speak, and tells the story of one girl in sudan, who was married at 11 years old. in my job, i've been trained to try to find the "success stories" in international development...but these stories are important (and incredibly frightening at the same time) too.

http://www.tnr.com/article/world/78104/child-bride-in-sudan

it's not thanksgiving yet....

but i'm feeling very grateful for my wonderful friends and family today. and maybe this is more of a "tweet," but it's easy to forget how truly lucky we are.

sailing in cairo

i'm on a roll with all of this boat talk--i guess i'll keep it coming! i went to cairo for work last year, and the hotel we stayed in was right up my alley--directly on the nile, and pictures of fellucas at sunset on all of the promotional materials in the hotel. we even had nile views from our conference room! i was hoping to get out on the water all week. on the last day of our conference, i finally walked across the street with some co-workers, negotiated with a boat owner, and jumped on a felluca. i'm sure the negotiation was a prolonged process, at is it everywhere, but in my memory, it was quick and easy. we had no wind--none at all--but it was still a wonderful way to end a long week of work in the busy city of cairo. the owner pushed us upriver with an oar, and we floated back down. at least i got some good photos of the fellucas!

and speaking of boats...



i thought i'd share these photos of my former office on the potomac river. before this job, i could have never imagined walking across a dock everyday to get to my desk. it was just such a unique work place that it is worth sharing. just looking at these photos brings that wonderful seasick feeling right back to me!

the kitchen--or should i say galley-- and workspace..

my old desk- on the upper deck of the boat...

the view that i used to see every day---helicopters and all!

giving this a second try...

i've always wanted to have a blog, but never thought i had the time or energy to put into it. i am fortunate to have a few days to myself this week, and have decided to give this another shot. i've taken so many photos over the past few years, and they're all stored on my hard drive--i haven't even printed any of them. i hope that i can share some of the "best shots" and the stories that go with them through this blog.

i love the adirondack mountain region in upstate new york. when i was living in washington, dc, i dreamed about the cold sleeping nights, the sunsets, sailing on lake champlain, saranac...the list goes on. tim and i were able to spend the summer of 2010 at camp dudley in westport, ny--it was a great way to transition between the working world and returning to graduate school. after working on a boat on the potomac river, i had no problem transitioning to our new "office" at the boathouse in westport.

we (and often, some good friends) frequently drove across the lake to watch the sunset over the adks from vermont...and then drove back to the ny side to see the moon rise over vermont. not a bad way to end a day! what do you think?