I'm sure it's hard to believe, but the long delay in posting (ok, not that long, but longer than my promise to post once a week minimum) is because I was on vacation in lovely, sunny, humid, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is a beautiful island and it was really nice to get away from the hubbub of life in the DC area, relax, and see family. Yes, it's such a difficult trip to be forced to go to the Caribbean to see family. I don't know how I survive.
Storm clouds ahead of a setting sun on St. Thomas
In any case, this was my second trip to the US Virgin Islands. When I last went about 15 months ago, I took a day trip to St. John, which is predominantly a very green and very mountainous national park. This time, the excursion away from St. Thomas was to the British Virgin Islands. I know they say each island has its own personality, but that seems like a ridiculous thing to say. After all, there are only so many personalities to be had, and with these islands all so close to one another, they have to share that, at least. I, however, admit that I was wrong. Although I have yet to visit St. Croix, the rest of the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands are all very distinct. Which is a good thing.
Some of the rocks on the outskirts of the Baths
The day trip to the British Virgin Islands started off awfully early from St. Thomas, where we boarded our boat. We cruised to St. John to pick up a few more passengers, and then went on our way to Virgin Gorda to check in with British immigration and customs. Yay new stamp in passport! After a short walk around the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour (with a "u" to designate its Britishness, because otherwise the people there have American accents and use the US dollar...), we returned to our catamaran and sailed down the coast of Virgin Gorda to the world-famous baths. Spectacular. Breathtaking. Amazing. Those are the words that come to mind to describe the rock formations and the pools. I unfortunately don't have any photos since it was a 70-yard swim from the boat to the beach, and then a 60-yard swim back, and I didn't want my camera getting wet.
Snorkeling
We then went to Scrub Island where we had lunch, got to play in a pool, and go down a water slide. But that was the boring part. Our next adventure was a short hop to Great Camanoe Island to go snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling, but once I got the hang of how to breathe and not panic, it was super fun. The coral was massive and stunning. We also saw a couple of moon jellyfish (prompting our guide to say: "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy." Finding Nemo if you didn't catch the reference). The guide caught one of the jellies--they're harmless, and this one was old and lacking tentacles--and I got to touch it. Squishy and slimy are the two best descriptors I can come up with, but how often does one intentionally touch a jellyfish without getting stung?
There were also brilliant fish, some massive, around the area. Near the surface swam a group of thin fish with very pointy noises that looked like they could skewer me if they wanted to, but thankfully they didn't. There was also a line of squid that reminded me the underwater worlds in the Mario games where you try to avoid them as you sail through. The squid just swam back and forth in perfect rhythm. I was astounded by just how well the different schools of fish interacted. They swam through, above, below, near, etc. each other, but each school had its own mission and it seemed as if nothing would take them off that mission.
We ended the day at the popular Jost Van Dyke, home of the Soggy Dollar Bar. Another great location, but not much more to tell than that. We returned to St. John and then headed back to St. Thomas, where the day was done. It was an amazing adventure in a short vacation, but I'm glad I got the chance to see a few more islands and their all very different personalities.
A spectacular view from Jost Van Dyke, just because:
And a song that I can't seem to get out of my head caps off this post. I have a lot of other things running through my mind, so there might (no promises!) be a series of rapid-fire posts coming up!
There are two theories of trust out there. One is considered "100 to 0" and says that you trust someone until that person gives you a reason to stop. The other is "0 to 100" and says that people have to earn your trust. I'm in the latter camp. I'm a skeptical person. But that skepticism is often misinterpreted as pessimism, which I'm not. I'm an optimist and want to believe in the best in everything. So yes, I'm an optimistic skeptic...or a skeptical optimist.
That's why I love Jimmy Fallon's newest segment, in which he gets real newscasters to give good news, or news that we wish we would hear. There's a lot of bad news out there and you could be forgiven for thinking that the world is a scary place. From Islamic militants in the Middle East to missing children in Maryland, it's easy to get depressed and retreat to the dark corner of the room. And that's what makes the below videos so amazing. It's hard to pick my favorite news story, but there's no way you don't get into a good mood watching it.
So I may not be the most trusting person out there--I'm still skeptical of your intentions--but I'm optimistic that there's more good than bad in this world and that people in general can win me over. As Lemony Snicket says:
At times the world may seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe that there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough.
Two weeks ago I was helping my brother-in-law saw some branches off a tree and apparently thought my left thumb was a branch. I took a saw to the thumb but it wasn't that deep, nothing that a little water, Neosporin, and a Band-Aid couldn't take care of. Oops.
Two weeks ago I bought a new set of glasses because I figure that after being an "adult" for the last four years it would be good if I finally had a full set of glasses...that all looked the same. Fine, they're not necessarily nice things--it was a set of 16 glasses for $15 from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But they were mine, and they made me feel grown-up. This morning, I broke one of the glasses. It took me two weeks to make my beautiful, wonderful, very nice complete set incomplete.
So if you're reading this, you may wonder why I brought up the story of me sawing my thumb. Well, brilliant me at 6am this morning cleaned up the broken glass and through it in the garbage. Then, even more brilliant me decided to push down the garbage to make sure I was using all the space. And the glass got its revenge by impaling my right pointer finger. I can't have nice things because I break nice things and then find ways to hurt myself with it.
Successfully-built IKEA bed.
I'm in the process of building myself IKEA furniture--at this point a bed an entertainment unit--so I'm scared about what I might manage to do with those given my experience with other things I've bought and done for myself recently. Hopefully the thumb and pointer incidents aren't warnings for the rest of my fingers...my left middle finger is on notice!
There were two videos on my list that had me cracking up recently, but I'll save the other one for the next post. In this one, the baby panda cub refuses to let go of his trainer's leg after being put back. It's such a cute juvenile thing, and a quick search of YouTube suggests pandas are very clingy animals!
A few months ago, there was a thing going around Facebook about the 10 books that stuck with you. I modified it to the 10 books that changed my life, because I felt that it was a similar concept, but much more me...the books that have stuck with me and made me who I am. Facebook stalking tells me that the lists are going around again, so I figured I'd explain my 10 choices. They're listed below in the order that I'm pretty sure I read them.
My Harry Potter Collection
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
This book set me on a journey with millions and millions of others around the world, and I patiently waited (am still waiting?) for my letter to Hogwarts. This book made me enjoy reading and immersed me in a new world with new friends. Seven books and eight movies later, I still love the Harry Potter series and the book that started it all.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
One of the first books taking place in Africa I've ever read, I remember this book tugging at my emotional heartstrings. There was a lot of self-reflection about the value of life and going out and exploring the world. Kingsolver made me want to see the world.
Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth Jackson
I don't think it's a big secret that if I could do anything in the world, I'd be an urban planner. I loved this book because it was my introduction to urban--or, really, suburban--planning and the formation of cities and towns. It truly fascinated me and is a book I still go back and read parts of today.
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Lewis got me enamored with alternate histories. I loved the mind game presence of the book. Even though the book is decades old, the society created has found new homes in many young adult dystopian novels, a genre with which I'm also in love. This book also made me realize just how lucky I am to live in the US and that the US turned out the way it did.
The Count of Monte Cristoby Alexandre Dumas
Potentially my favorite book of all time, I loved the twists and turns and am secretly very happy that every movie version has turned out to be mostly bizarre. I remember reading it in the living room and finding out I only had 100 pages left around midnight and deciding I'd stay up to finish. Then it was 2am and I still had pages left and I kept reading. I couldn't put the book down, and still can't. It's a dangerous book for me to read.
Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jack Diamond
I know many people don't like this book, but I really enjoyed the journeys to places near and far and the exploration of diverse cultures. The focus on environmental factors and humans' impact on the environment fascinated me and was my first introduction to environmental history, which became the basis for my thesis concentration: the history of poverty in the developing world.
Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell
Every now and then a book comes along that encourages you to read more and more and more. This travelogue is one of those books. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book about Bissell's travels in Uzbekistan that I created a very lengthy book list containing one book for each country in the world. THIS book started it all.
My collection of books from my Chasing the Sea-inspired reading list
A Different Kind of War Story by Carolyn Nordstrom
I got into environmental history and, soon after, African history. This book is the reason why. This book also became a theme through three years of college and gave me the topic for one of my theses on the Mozambican Civil War. Some parts of the war are so gruesome that I had to put the book down, but the focus on the people element, especially the children, makes this book an essential read on Mozambique. Nordstrom reminds us that there's hope even in the darkest of times.
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
No top 10 list for me would be complete without a Chinua Achebe novel. This book did for me and my impression of Africa what Sinclair Lewis did for me on the United States. Achebe has an ability I've only felt with a few other writers (most of whom are on this list)--that you are in the story and not just observing it.
Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman
This novel on relatively isolated Jewish communities in New York was a great reintroduction for me into my own heritage. Even though I grew up in a more secular community, I could relate to the topics and the struggles characters went through. It put some of my life experiences back into perspective.
So that's my list of ten. Six are works of fiction, four are non-fiction. With one exception--Harry Potter--all were read for school or class, and were read in high school or college. Harry Potter, however, was a gift to me from my aunt/godmother. In the front, she wrote "Enjoy the adventure!" and boy did I ever. Each book on this list was a major step on my life adventure and helped refine me into the person I am today. I may have initially been upset about being forced to read them for school, but I'm definitely glad I did!
On a separate note, last night I watched ABC's Behind the Scenes of Frozen and it was super cool to see how the movie became what it was. I had already seen the below clip, but it's this post's thing that makes me happy. I love Multilanguage song videos, and this one is beautiful...so many individually great performances. I'm of course personally in love with Idina Menzel (English), as well as Anais Delva (French/Canadian French), Takako Matsu (Japanese), Jelena Gavrilovic (Serbian), and Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg (Danish).
Sometimes when you live right next to something, you take for granted that it's there and never go explore it. I lived in DC for four years and did get around to many of the museums and monuments, but as soon as I moved to Virginia, my tendency to go into the District and play tourist went down drastically. With the parents in town this weekend, it was a fun opportunity to play tourist and do some new things I had never done before
The day began with a tour of the Capitol, my second one. It was fun touring the capital near the 200-year anniversary of the British burning of Washington during the War of 1812. Each state can send up to two statues to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol. When I went two years ago, I was most interested in the New Jerseyans (Philip Kearny and Richard Stockton), but this time I was more interested in the Virginians (Robert E. Lee and George Washington), I guess showing that I'm taking on my adoptive state even more.
Fluttering Flags
The other fun activity I had never done before was go to the top of the Washington Monument. I've always loved the Washington Monument--it has a great view of the mall, and the wind beautifully flutters the 50 (or maybe 56, depending on your source) American flags circling its base. Especially with a perfectly blue sky, or even with a stray cloud here and there, it's a view anyone could get into. But I didn't go to the Washington Monument to stay at the base, so it was really enjoyable to take the 70 second elevator ride to the top and see the AMAZING views. And, it's only been reopen for 3ish months, after it was closed because of cracks discovered during the 2011 earthquake.
The view to the East: the Mall, the Capitol, Prince George's County (MD):
The view to the North: the White House, Montgomery County (MD):
The view to the West: World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Rosslyn, and way off in the distance, Tysons Corner:
The view to the South: Jefferson Memorial, National Airport, Potomac River:
Super cool stuff. The elevator ride down was also really interesting, seeing some of the donated stones from states, cities, and organizations. I hadn't known about those, so it was really neat to learn something new about the Washington Monument in the process. Anyway, every now and then it's fun to play novice tourist in your own city. I'm hoping that next time we get to see a few new places, such as Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon, and Mount Vernon.
To celebrate 'merica on this Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, here's a cover of one of my favorite summer songs:
We ended the day at the popular Jost Van Dyke, home of the Soggy Dollar Bar. Another great location, but not much more to tell than that. We returned to St. John and then headed back to St. Thomas, where the day was done. It was an amazing adventure in a short vacation, but I'm glad I got the chance to see a few more islands and their all very different personalities.
