Legers Abroad

march 06 memories

2010-01-01T21:42:00.001-06:00

Searching for routine...

2007-09-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hi there loyal readers, a moment you have been waiting for...the Africa pics! They are posted below under Legersabroad pics in Africa albums I, II, and III. So now, being back in NOLA, has been an adjustment for sure. Mostly, I have had to get back into the routine of being responsible for domestic activities. Having camped for so long and having my meals cooked for me for almost 7 weeks has

In the air again...just can't wait to get in the air again...

2007-08-14T02:51:00.000-05:00

Hello!I know, I know...I have been absolutely terrible at updating this blog and nobody knows what I have been up to these past five weeks or so...but a brief run through and then I get home I will post some 1,000 pictures or something to tell the story...so if a picture is worth a thousand words then my story will me 1,000,000 words long and that is way more than I can ever write....maybe not

A final post for now!

2007-07-10T06:25:00.000-05:00

So, we have been pretty busy since yesterday since our class began. To give a quick rundown of the weekend, on Saturday we headed back into Nairobi with some newly arrived friends and actually, because it was on the weekend and not as busy, I enjoyed it a bit more. On Sunday it was Meredith's birthday so a group of 6 of us rented two taxis for the day and went out to a suburb called Karen. There

Bummer. (from 7-8-07)

2007-07-10T06:16:00.000-05:00

We found out last night that two friends of ours, a married couple, aren't going to be able to make the trip with us. They actually got caught up in the Heathrow debacle when Terminal 4 was evacuated. They were told their final destination couldn't be guaranteed and were offered a trip back to the US, so they took it. Meredith and I were really lucky to be in Terminal 3 instead. It easily

To be or not to be?

2007-07-07T01:14:00.000-05:00

As I lie in bed, covered by a mini-mosquito net, I am thinking about, of all things, protein. I have been living mainly as a vegetarian for the past 6 weeks or so, and I have been really enjoying it. I thought I would be able to continue here in Kenya. The trip here was easy...Virgin Atlantic offers vegetarian meals. Since our arrival, things haven't been as easy. The food here at the hostel

Men in Suits and other tidbits about Nairobi's city center

2007-07-06T01:37:00.000-05:00

The first part of the city center that we came to must have been more of the business district because my first impression was that there were so many men in suits. They were walking quickly through the city, crossing streets in between moving cars. It was 2:20 in the afternoon, and I remarked to Meredith, "What are all these people doing? Shouldn't they be at work?" So many men in suits.

Up and Away

2007-07-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

So...last post before heading off to Africa. The past few days have been great, just relaxing and spending time with family and the most important person, Travis. It will definitely be hard to be apart from him for so long, but I am sure the time will go by quickly. I'm really excited for this trip. I can't wait just to get there and get moving. I'll try to keep posting throughout the trip

Bek Abroad

2007-06-25T16:04:00.000-05:00

So, for a while, this should be interesting. Our readers will enjoy (we hope) postings from both blogs: this one, and legersathome.blogspot.com. One Leger will be at home, one abroad. I, Bekah, will be the one taking off. In one week, I will be in the air headed to NYC then London then Nairobi, Kenya. Getting abroad, internationally abroad, has been on my mind for a while, and the time is

We're back!

2007-05-28T13:41:00.000-05:00

We've made it back to New Orleans safe and sound. Click on the LegersAbroad Photos link for over 500 pics from our trip! I will eventually caption them all, but for now, just enjoy!

5-21-07 pics...lots of activities

2007-05-23T02:25:00.001-05:00

So...lots of pictures of paddling out and not many surfing pictures. It was tougher than I expected. I ended up catching two waves, but not really standing up all the way. Even Chris said the waves were more challenging b/c they were so constant...it made it hard to paddle out. We are renting boards for the day today and hopefully waves will be easier to handle. Then we went on to Waimea Bay

5-20-07 pics...BEACH DAY!

2007-05-23T01:55:00.000-05:00

This was the scene for beach day. We were at Lanikai beach on the eastern side of the island. It was beautiful and definitely deserving of fun-tivities such as throwing people off of shoulders and frisbee. There were several dogs on the beach and one of them ran in between Travis and Chris for about 30 minutes. He intercepted twice and consequently we have two holes in our brand new frisbee.

5-19-07 pics

2007-05-21T12:43:00.001-05:00

This was the day we hiked down the cliffs of insanity to a rock ledge that stretched out over the water with blowholes in it (where there is a break in the rock that goes all the way down to the ocean so when the tide comes in it blows air and water up). We were the only ones down there except for a local fisherman. It was a really tough hike, I'm still feeling it in my legs, but it was well

more 5-18-07 pics

2007-05-21T12:33:00.000-05:00

This was from when we drove up to Tantalus, which is a state park with a beautiful view. It took us forever to get there, and we ran out of gas on the way back, but it was well worth the view!

pics

2007-05-20T22:12:00.002-05:00

I happen to have an internet connection now so I am going to try to quickly try to upload a few pics from the last two days. These are from 5-18-07, and aren't in chronological order, but all from the same day. Quickly, some of them are from Chinatown. The rest are self-explanatory and will be further explained later, except Gene Ward was our Country Director in Peace Corps and now he is, well..

Aloha!

2007-05-18T02:42:00.000-05:00

Well here's our first post from Hawaii. And posting is yours truly, Rebekah, who has spent the past 24 hours or so sleeping b/c I am SICK! Can you believe it!?! I came all the way to Hawaii only to get sick! Well, hopefully the sleeping and lots of fluids has helped and I will be better tomorrow. Timing is good because our tour guide Chris has been working and the next week he has off so we'll be

webster says...

2007-04-30T07:07:00.000-05:00

Main Entry: abroad Pronunciation: &-'brodFunction: adverb or adjective1 : over a wide area : WIDELY2 : away from one's home3 : beyond the boundaries of one's country4 : in wide circulation : ABOUT5 : wide of the mark : ASTRAY

Not only Hawaii, but also Africa

2007-04-29T10:36:00.000-05:00

Bek and I sat by the pool yesterday. She tanned. There were no clouds. We caught up on our issues of The New Yorker and National Geographic and I read a story from a Kurt Vonnegut collection. We jumped in the cool water after a while.We're both looking forward to surfing in Hawaii. It'll be our first times to do it. To prepare, we've watched Blue Crush, bought beach towels with a male and

Gettin' warmed up

2007-04-27T23:32:00.000-05:00

We are getting warmed up, so to speak, for the trip to Hawaii. The outside temperature here in New Orleans has been around 80 degrees recently and we've already bought pool chairs, towels, fun-noodles for the pool and Bek's bought new swim suits for the pool across the street.We tried it out last Sunday. The sun was out most of the time. That was good. The water was freezing. That was bad.

Hawaii!

2007-04-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

Isn't that how you spell Hawaii!? With an exclamation point? We are heading there on a whim, as they say. Tuesday, May 15, a little over a month away. We're going to visit my brother who's been living there since last summer. It'll be a 10 day deal. When we broke the news to him he said, "Be sure to pack your adventure bags."

Re-entry

2006-05-24T12:35:00.000-05:00

It sounds like coming back down to Earth, re-entry. But that's what Peace Corps calls it when we volunteers head back home. Makes me laugh.Well, I'm afraid this is the end of Legers Abroad, at least for now. Thanks for viewing. I'll still make sure everything works and set up a good photo gallery for all of you who are interested in the Peace Corps. But our adventures are far from over, at least

Writing therapy

2006-05-22T09:09:00.000-05:00

Here's a good one: our neighbors push-starting their red tractor in our front yard.Each day, each hour that goes by brings with it different feelings about what we've done and what we want to do next. I've said, no, I don't want to go back to Timor because it was so hard on us; and then as I was catching my breath thought, but there's so much I left unfinished there. The other day I looked up on

Are you Experienced?

2006-05-19T07:06:00.000-05:00

I've written before about the Peace Corps Experience - the experience you imagine when you think about the Peace Corps. I'm finding that our Peace Corps Experience does not end with the end of service. I'm not saying we're signing up again, though that is a remote possiblity still, and I'm not saying we've been out giving talks and speeches about Timor since we've been back (though we did show

Last day as PCVs

2006-05-11T06:45:00.000-05:00

Imagine us walking around busy Bangkok and riding the sky train here and there. That's what we're doing. Today, this day, Thursday, May 11, 2006, is our last day as PCVs. When the clock strikes midnight, our coaches will turn to pumpkins and we will turn back into normalish people. Except, we will officially be RPCVs. We are trying to work on closure, on emotions. Yesterday an RPCV from PC

Bangkok?!

2006-05-08T07:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, Bangkok. We have found ourselves, all of the Volunteers in Timor, Evacuees.It was a surprise. Most of you have heard about it already, from us or on the news. You can find some info on BBC and CNN. But not all of it is true, so take that grain of salt with you when you read it. We are all safe and have been pulled out because, as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry. The

Timor fali

2006-04-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

We can't really believe it, but we have made it back to Timor after less than 2 weeks away. There were 9 planes involved in this excursion - 4 to New Orleans and 5 back to Timor - and we feel like we just finished an uber-marathon, and finished in last place.It was great (the America part, not the flying part). Seeing our families and friends was so good, though for some we only got to say hi

Amerika fali

2006-03-26T03:43:00.000-06:00

We made it to New Orleans. But when you're on your fourth flight, and the third one was 12+ hours over the Pacific, and you've slept only 2 hours in the last 48, you're not sure you are gonna make it or even what your name is anymore. The good news is that the Qantas plane across the big pond in the west had a tv screen for each seat and you could choose which movie or show or cd or game you

Eu te amo demais

2006-03-21T19:55:00.000-06:00

That's actually Portuguese for "I love you too much." It's a fairly popular song here and I've been meaning to learn it on guitar. All the kids sing all kinds of songs together in the afternoons or at night. One or two guitars and 5 or 6 kids singing their hearts out. Yeah, it's pretty cool. This entry is titles as it is for other reasons, too. We're starting to feel that way about Timor, really

A Few Minor Adjustments

2006-03-20T22:21:00.000-06:00

I stole the title from a Peace Corps book. The humour should not be lost on you. It's a must read, so if you're thinking of joining the Corps or have already signed up ask your recruiter for a copy. If they don't have it get it from your post when you get there. I just recently read it, after 8 1/2 months in country, and it really eased me mind, as they say (they being pirates maybe). It helps to

Ice cream and 2 notes for future ET PCVs

2006-01-31T23:50:00.000-06:00

We just finished off two chocolate ice cream cones. That's a real, real bonus here in Dili. At least once, you got to go to the store around the corner and buy an ice cream cone, one scoop, for 50 cents. It's a must-do. Today we even bought sweetcorn flavored ice cream for a felow PCV. I know.So, the deal is now, I'm heading back to Same alone to clean up a house real good for Bekah's arrival a

The new house and more about allergies

2006-01-23T03:31:00.000-06:00

We just got back the newest pictures and most of them are of the house - the house that gave Bek the allergic reaction. Well, it's the house or something near it, we believe. It's been kind of a downer because we've been so excited about this house and after weeks of work and not a little bit of money, we only got to sleep there a few nights before being "kicked out" by the rash.And TL-4, our

Allergies and A little more about Christmas

2006-01-20T00:09:00.000-06:00

The latest from Same is: Bekah's allergic. To what we're not yet sure. We're in Dili now because we couldn't sleep for the last two nights - Bek because she was scratching her entire body and me because, well, she was scratching her whole entire body - and we needed to see the doc about it and get away from it (both physically and emotionally).At first we thought it could be the pepper we just

Boas Festa du Natal no Feliz Anos!

2006-01-03T19:14:00.000-06:00

Lots has happened since we wrote last, sorry ‘bout that. We actually stayed at site from the time we got back from Thanksgiving until 2 days before Christmas. That was a very long time for us.Things have gotten better, no doubt about that, but still not much going on. The biggest news is we found an empty house to move into and we’ve been cleaning it and fixing it up and buying things to fill it

Girls' Soccer and "Hello Same"

2005-11-24T03:37:00.000-06:00

We are in Dili and after a great Thanksgiving dinner at our boss's house. So, with a full belly I can report that we are doing well and Kuku, as my mom said to me when I was younger, is growing in to her ears. She's looking good and having fun (and getting into trouble and worrying us crazy). Lots has happened since I wrote last. The girls' soccer team we've been working with actually had a game,

Kuku Sira (Kuku and them)

2005-10-31T03:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a Glamour Shot Kuku took at the mall last week. She's a doll, for real. Actually, in this picture she's a little tired after a long walk with us. It was our first walk together and we would pick her up and carry her whenever we saw another dog on the way. Cute.We finally found some pictures from our swear-in ceremony where we all dressed as traditionally as we could. The US Ambassador

Gather round...

2005-10-31T00:30:00.000-06:00

A blurry family photo of us and Kuku - wait...awww! Kuku's making a face! Behind our house we started a garden. This was a rare time when there were three of us in the garden. I actually moved it a little further back so it could get more sun. Next step is to find seeds. Where's Wal-Mart when you need it? This is some of the soccer girls. It seems like Timor is really gung-ho about getting

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

2005-10-30T03:50:00.000-06:00

The title doesn't mean we went anywhere extra special recently, but it just means that it's hard to believe we're here. And now that we've started to settle in more with the family and community, it's easier to relax and smell a few tropical roses.As you could have already guessed, we are in Dili again. We just got in after bumming a ride with a large and very kind retired Dutchman and his much

West and wewaxation

2005-10-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

This little cutie pie is our little host sister, Afia. She's three and she rules the house. I thought it'd be a nice way to start the post by putting the picture of her fo han manu, feeding the chickens.We are on our first break from site here in Dili. We've done a little shopping - Nutella is gold here - and some movie watching and lots of computer stuff while we can. We bought some film to take

Up to date!

2005-10-07T06:05:00.000-05:00

As some know now, as Bekah put it, "Yesterday the clouds opened up and the light shined down on this little District Health Services office and lo and behold, internet appeared." But today I could not open blogger.com so I'm trying the email method. Fingers are crossed. And it's hard to type this way. Quickly, a wise PCV once said the first month at sight is the hardest month as a Volunteer.

Malae, ba nebee?

2005-09-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

Which means, "Foreigner, where you goin'?" And the answer usually is, "Ba ne ba," which means, "There." But today we can say, "Ba Same," because we are going there in just a bit. All of our stuff is waiting to be put on a PC SUV and four of us are heading south to different sights together. The others are going in other SUVs or rented mikrolets (yikes!). Mikrolets are little vans that have two

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2005-09-13T03:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, we become, I can't believe it really, Peace Corps Volunteers tomorrow! The ceremony will be at 3 pm and we all can't wait. It's hard to believe we've finished 10 weeks of training already. It seemed like such a long time at the beginning. Now we are all off to new sites around this little island.We're going to miss our host family, as our most of the other trainees here. We really got close

So far away

2005-09-02T18:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the main thing on our minds the last few days has been the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. We feel our homestate can taken a shot to the heart and we feel the pain all the way around the world. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected. The staff here has been very understanding to our emotional needs and let us stay in Dili last night to watch BBC World News

Still in Dili

2005-08-23T00:18:00.000-05:00

We are still in Dili because Bek got a little kabun moras, stomach trouble. Must have been something we ate, but whatever it was, Bek is now resting it off in the clinic a few meters from me now. I'm in the volunteers' room where there are two computers, a tv and dvd player, lots of bootleg dvds (Wedding Crashers and Batman Begins are here and they're probably still in theaters in the states, am

And they're off! Sort of...

2005-08-22T02:37:00.000-05:00

Aban dedeer, tomorrow morning, we head out to Same for our site visit. That's a week-long stay with our new host family in our new communities meeting with our new counterparts and seeing new things all around. Our group of 31 is being flung out across the country like seed in a field. Two of us were already sent to Atauru Island yesterday because the ferry only goes once a week there. A few

Same!

2005-08-18T01:48:00.000-05:00

Pronounced Sa-may, will be our new home and where you can find us for the next two years. Our APCDs, our bosses, were very excited about it. By the way, they had us all draw numbers to see who would find out where they were going in what order yesterday, and we were first. Yes, they suprised us yesterday by telling us. Great people here. This map from lonelyplanet.com has Same on it. It's south

Tomorrow we will know

2005-08-16T22:56:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we will know where we are all going. We just ate some great pizza (thank you all of you who prayed for that) at an Aussie-run restaurant on the beach. They also take people diving. What a combo.And now, some pictures.The first is Bekah and I in front of the Sydney Opera House. The second is of our host dad being chased by a goat while he's holding his baby. Nuff said. The third is the

A Visit to Venilale

2005-08-09T23:14:00.000-05:00

So, this past Thursday through to Sunday Bek and I stayed with a PCV couple in Venilale. It's about 3 hours East then 1 hour South. We enjoyed every minute of it.We actually went with another couple and stayed in the extra rooms of the volunteers' house. We thought Balibar was beautiful, with it's mountain view, but it paled in comparison. The mountains from Balibar are dry, the trees spread out

No pictures yet, but soon

2005-07-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

We are still alive. That said, let me explain the current, computerless, situation:The entire trainees group was moved into a town South of Dili. This is normal. This is our second step to moving in with a family for 2 years. For these 9 weeks we all live with different host families. The Peace Corps gives them money to cook for us and other things, I imagine. We were all given water filters,

Arrival in East Timor

2005-07-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

THIS IS A SEND ONLY ACCOUNT, PLEASE DOES NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS. THE PEACE CORPS TRAINEE WHO WROTE THIS MESSAGE PLEASE SEND ANY REPLIES TO THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNT ADDRESS. Hello family. After a LONG trip we are in Dili, East Timor. We can’t believe it. Our trip was so long but amazing. We

Ida (One)

2005-07-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

The bags are packed. We fly from here at 7am. Tropical Storm Cindy missed us but our friends in the New Orleans area felt strong wind and rain.We are pooped. Especially me. For the last seven days, family and friends have come by or called to say bye and wish us luck. It hasn't gotten very emotional yet, just happy and excited. Bekah and I feel a bit overwhelmed, not quite sure what awaits us.

Even better this morning

2005-07-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

So things are looking even better for us this morning, according to weather.com. Tropical Storm Cindy is curving to the east, as they predicted. It's no longer travelling NNW, but now N. And it still moving fast, so it's expected to make landfall about Wednesday morning. I'm glad my family from BR and NO is here now, cause they are right in the path. So it's possible that we might get rain

Lookin' Good...

2005-07-04T22:34:00.000-05:00

So now it looks like the storm won't affect us. It seems to be moving pretty fast through the Gulf, and they expect it to curve to the East. Along with that, it is predicted to make landfall Wednesday morning and be past by Wednesday afternoon, so we should be in the clear for the flight. But, and this is a big but...hurricanes are known for being unpredicatable, so who knows what will happen.

Why now???

2005-07-04T17:00:00.000-05:00

Check out weather.com for the latest tropical update, which details a tropical depression moving our way, with projected landfall...Wednesday night or Thursday morning! NO!!!! It looks like we may have to leave earlier to avoid getting stuck in this storm. What a bummer. We'll keep you updated as soon as we find out what's going on. We will call the Peace Corps travel agent tomorrow to see what,

3 Days More

2005-07-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning all. We have been enjoying ourselves to the limit with family, food, drinks and fun. Yesterday we had about 35 people here for a BBQ and it ended up being a beautiful day despite the day's rainy beginnings. After eating we went to Travis' aunt and uncle's house to swim in their pool. Thanks for having us over, y'all! (I know they're reading). Most of the group stayed up late

Ain't no sunshine...

2005-07-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

This was the scene at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, the day of our going-away barbeque! Good thing we're used to rain down here. We've just moved the pit into the garage and the chicken's cookin'!

Lima (Five)

2005-07-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

I burned a few more cd's I wanted to bring with me today and glued Bekah's laptop back together (though we are not bringing it). Let me explain. The cd drive has always been flimsy but recently it started to break off. Today I unpacked one of our bags and found the epoxy glue. I read the directions like a good little boy and fixed the computer up real good. In the process I realized that the

Nen (you guessed it, Six)

2005-07-01T23:18:00.000-05:00

I can not believe it as I write it, but we will leave in six days. The enormity of the situation baffles me, really. It is nearly midnight and everyone else is in bed. Bekah's sister, her fiance' and their two dogs made it here safely and we all enjoyed crawfish etouffee, beer and zinfandel. Some of us then watched Kill Bill Vol. 2. Oh, how could I forget. We also ate lunch at the infamous Mr.

One week = Hitu days

2005-06-30T18:14:00.000-05:00

Look at me, Mom! I can french braid my hair all by myself! I will surely survive in the third world with this skill. But should it be called a freedom braid? Nah...that's silly. We had part II of packing today. We began this morning and immediately had a disagreement about how it should work. Travis' mom and brother saw us argue for the first time (not the first time we argued...but the first

What do DMB and PC have in common?

2005-06-29T20:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight we wined and dined. Eating Travis' dad's steaks is better than eating them at a restaurant! And we had wine from the Pope's vineyard, the Pope himself! We are almost into our last week. In just over a week, we will be stuffing our bags and saying our goodbyes and crying and crying and crying. It's so weird. And I'm not sure if I'm ready for it, but is anyone ever ready to live a world

Eight! (Ualu!)

2005-06-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

Portrait of a Peace Corps Invitee, by Rebekah Leger And then there were 8. Days, that is. We are now halfway through the packing trial, and we have great news! Each of our backpacks weighed approximately 30 pounds! The bad news is they still felt very heavy...boo hoo. Also, we have to measure the dimensions and height + length + width has to equal less than 107 inches (and that's for the two

Sia (Nine)

2005-06-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

Bekah, with her lips stained strawberry sno-cone red, is trying to tell you that we are leaving in nine days. Today we visited our old friend, Good Will, and dropped off some stuff. We got rid of my old computer and filled our safe deposit box with millions in diamonds and an original Picasso. Tomorrow, we test-pack!

Sanulu (Ten)

2005-06-27T18:46:00.000-05:00

This is our bed today after Bekah, that hard, hard worker she is, unloaded all of the goodies we plan to bring. Well, this is not nearly all of it. But on this day, the ninth to last day here, we are done with buying things. One of the last things we have to do is pre-pack our stuff 1) to make sure we do not exceed the 80 lb. weight limit, 2) to make sure it all fits, and 3) because it's

Hello from the Big Easy

2005-06-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

We are in New Orleans now. I know I know...travelling fools. This trip, we are visiting our friend C, who was in Peace Corps Ecuador (we have mentioned her before). We had a busy day. First we dropped Travis' brother off at the N.O. airport to catch a flight to Atlanta. Then we went to the mall where C is working and told her hello. Since she did not get off until 3, we caught a movie at the

Yummy in my Tummy

2005-06-23T13:51:00.000-05:00

I am a food person. I like to cook, and I love to eat. I have all sorts of favorite foods for different moods. I get strong cravings and usually seek to curb them. Some of my favorites: pizza, ice cream, Starbucks coffee (decaf), Coke (also caffeine-free), Doritoes (I share this craving with Saddam Hussein, I understand), fried chicken...you get the picture. Most of the time, my cravings are not

More mail tips...

2005-06-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

Snail mail does take about 4-6 weeks to get to East Timor, so if you mailed a letter now, it would probably arrive 2-4 weeks after we got there. Hint hint...

How to send us mail

2005-06-21T09:23:00.000-05:00

If you readers want to send us anything - letters or care packages filled with lots of goodies - here is the address:Travis and Rebekah Leger, PCVsCorpo da PazCaixa Postal 310Dili, East Timorvia Darwin, AustraliaThis is the address of the Peace Corps office in the capital. We will let y'all know if we get a different address, but this one above should always work. Even a little letter would be

The Louisiana we will miss

2005-06-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about the things I will miss. I remember that while I was in Denmark for a semester one of the things I missed was something I never would have predicted - thunder. It rained there, but I can only remember hearing thunder once.So, I know I won't think of everything I'll miss, but here are a few.This little guy, and many others, live in the ditches on our street.Squirrels live

And we're back...

2005-06-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Well, we have returned from Oklahoma. What a great week. For those who don't know, the Davis/Snider families have been camping at Lake Tenkiller in OK for 45 years now. I myself have been there every summer of my life except for a few in the late 90's. This was Travis' second year to come and his family came for a few days, too. We had a great time. Some highlights of the week include: Travis

OOOOOOOOOO-klahoma!

2005-06-11T07:11:00.000-05:00

We are just about to head out of the house for the beautiful Lake Tenkiller in NE Oklahoma. It's a Snider family tradition. We have had a busy couple of days, getting things prepared for the big trip, the Peace Corps trip that is. When we get back, we'll only have 2 1/2 more weeks of the US. Crazy.Last night we had a kickin' crawfish etouffee, made by Travis' dad. I did take a picture, to follow

Travelling Fools

2005-06-08T20:57:00.000-05:00

So we just got back from Houston. We drove there Monday night, brought Trav's brother to the airport for a 6 am flight, went to sleep, hung out in Houston all day, went to sleep, woke up at 12:45 am today to pick up his bro at the airport at 1:35 am, went to sleep, drove back to Lake Charles. We hit three different bouts of construction traffic on the way back and a 2.5 hour trip took us 4.5.

I found this in my beer.

2005-06-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

What a tiny turtle!

Beignets, the photo.

2005-06-05T18:15:00.000-05:00

As promised...

Beignets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-06-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

Hello from the Red Stick, Baton Rouge, LA, my beloved hometown. We drove here early this morning in able to get here for breakfast. Another Louisiana favorite...we had beignets at Coffee Call. This is a sister restaurant to Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter, and some of you may have been there. It's a bit more famous. The beignets were delicious!!!!!! Oh boy, were they good. I grew up eating

Gotta go to Malibu!

2005-06-03T10:51:00.000-05:00

Malibu Creek State Park, that is! This is where the outdoor scenes were filmed for M*A*S*H. I definitely want to camp there someday! Maybe the Big Fun Club (sorry, inside joke for my siblings) could gather there one day and do a M*A*S*H episode like we did The Princess Bride! I get to be Hot Lips!

The East Timor blog-card

2005-06-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

This is the card we've been passing to friends and relatives to inform them of our award-winning blog.

Seven more days...

2005-06-02T09:57:00.000-05:00

...of work! How exciting. How scary! One 35 more days until we leave, and we are beginning to get busy with preparations. I think it's slowly hitting me now that this is a BIG deal! Two years out of the country and we have so much to get ready! The Peace Corps checklist is helpful, and we have done most of it (except Power of Attorney, which is Travis' duty, ahem). We should receive our Staging

Crawfish Fest

2005-05-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

Today we ate a Louisiana favorite, boiled crawfish, and we enjoyed every one, fully aware that it was the last time for a long time we would be around the little mudbugs. B- For those of you familiar to crawfish, notice that that is a tail in my hand. Those suckers were huge!

Beach and Bums

2005-05-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

We're trying to enjoy ourselves by going on vacation as much as possible before our Peace Corps service. We spent a few days last week in Destin, Florida.

If that's movin' up...

2005-05-30T21:07:00.000-05:00

This is what our apartment looked like three days ago as we were moving out. Today our stuff is in my parent's garage, sun room and our new room. We 're trying to pack it all up nice and neat but as of now we are neither nice nor neat.

Meet the Parents

2005-05-29T18:45:00.000-05:00

We have moved in with the parents. Hey, it's a great way to avoid paying rent. We're going to be spending most of June in other states on vacation, so we decided to spend our here-days with family, yes, rent-free. Bekah and I went out to eat last night as a sort of last-night alone celebration and we cooked tonight for my parents - breaded chicken with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and Bekah's

No hurricane wishes for LA

2005-05-27T10:19:00.000-05:00

B-In my last post, I wished that Florida wouldn't have hurricane troubles this year. That does not mean I want the storms to come here! Nor do I want them to hit the Netherlands Antilles. It'd be great if there weren't any hurricanes at all this year.We should have a few pictures up from our beach trip soon. The trip home seemed very long yesterday, but we made it. I finished reading The Five

Sunshine State

2005-05-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

B- Greetings from Florida. Our mini-vacation has been quite nice indeed! The weather has been great and we found a nice beach. The water is a bit cool upon entering but after a while of frisbee throwing & diving to catch it, it warms up quite nicely. Last night we had dinner with a good friend and her husband. They have a beautiful house here and are doing well. Unfortunately the night was

A big weekend

2005-05-23T11:19:00.000-05:00

B-Just a quick post today. We had a busy weekend with two graduations and a wedding. Congrats to all who passed a milestone this weekend!We are going to Florida tomorrow for a quick vacation. Trav's parents are attending a time share meeting in exchange for two free nights. We are going along for the ride and hopefully to see a friend who lives there.And we have received an email from another

East Timor 5-0!

2005-05-18T10:09:00.000-05:00

B-I'm sorry for anyone who is sad that we're leaving, but since I am extremely excited, I am glad to say that we have only 50 days until our departure for Los Angeles!!!! We got an email stating that we will be in LA from July 7-9 and then depart for East Timor. It's getting closer and closer...boy I can't wait. Last night we discovered what I think is the best food in Lake Charles at a

The days of summer

2005-05-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

B- As South Louisianians know, once it gets hot, there's no hope. There's no chance that we'll have one more "cool" front and enjoy the weather again. Nope. It's the season for sweating. I thought there might be some relief being on a bike compared to a non-AC car, but I was wrong. It's just as bad. True, there is a nice breeze, but there is no escape from the sun. And you can't really wear a

Recent Glamour Shots

2005-05-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

Below are some pretty pictures of us. You will see us opening our invitation. You will see Bekah and our new two-wheeled modes of transportation. You will see for the first time Stanley, our duffle bag who we just dyed from Army Green to black. And you will see a very recent picture of a very hairy-faced Travis playing a very old game - Mancala!No one was injured in the opening of this

2005-05-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

And the father said to the young boy, "These, my son, are Madwagons!"

2005-05-10T14:24:00.000-05:00

Stanley and Bekah.

2005-05-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

Our traveling buddy, Stanley, is sunning.

2005-05-10T14:19:00.000-05:00

I am putting the man in mancala with my PCB (Peace Corps Beard).

One more day has passed...

2005-05-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

B- ...and one more car has been sold! WOOHOO! We are excited to post that we have sold the Civic. What a weight off of our shoulders and pocketbooks. Travis has been successful as a used car salesman, at least I think he has. Some may say that he should have bargained more, that he is a "softie"...but I feel those people don't understand us. 1. We're not about money. 2. We just wanted to get rid

Sold! To the Man in the Funny Hat!

2005-05-08T14:34:00.000-05:00

T - As happens, the post I originally wrote dissappeared as I was posting it, so I'll rewrite what I had using fewer words, as I am too creatively drained to do it again and my time is running out on the internet meter here in the library.First, we got a scare when my parents told us we got a letter from PC. It was nothing but a request for media info. See you in the funny papers.We sold the

DMB, Packing, & Have We Sold the Stanza???

2005-05-05T18:43:00.000-05:00

B - For those that care...there's a new DMB album out this coming Tuesday. It's called "Stand Up". Here is a link for a sneak preview. There is even a song called "Louisiana Bayou" presumably written when Dave was in Thibodaux filming Because of Winn Dixie, which is a great kids' movie. I did miss the Jazz Fest this past weekend, where the band played. My friend who went said it was way too

Counting to 10 in Tetun

2005-05-02T16:25:00.000-05:00

B-Back from Arkansas, now. Right now we're at Travis' parent's house doing laundry and preparing our cars for their selling day. We had vacuumed and armor-alled the insides a couple of weeks ago, but today we washed the outside. I try to be positive, but I really don't think mine is going to sell. If anyone wants a 1990 Nissan Stanza, let me know. If it doesn't sell by the end of the month,

Northwest Arkansas

2005-04-27T09:09:00.000-05:00

B - Greetings from NW Arkansas, where we are on vacation for the week. As Travis wrote, he finished his job Friday. We headed up here Monday to see family, including an aunt and cousin who are visiting from their home in St. Maarten in the Caribbean. It's great to be able to see them. Today we are headed to an art colony where people live and create and sell their work. I've been before, but

Inspired As a Door Closes Behind Me

2005-04-22T10:32:00.000-05:00

T - I have been inspired by PC Invitee Brian Reeves in Florida and, more specifically, his blog. His story is all there. I have been inspired to write today, on my last day as a VISTA. This door is closing behind me (I'll try not to let it hit me on the way out) and Bekah and I are walking down the hallway to another door labelled PCV.Everyday I think about this future endevour in a different

Our PC twins in Botswana

2005-04-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

T - Bekah found this sweet site made by a PC couple (PCC?) in Botswana, on the northern border of South Africa. So far, they are just like us: http://www.botsblog.com/.

So close I can taste it...

2005-04-14T16:09:00.000-05:00

B - The time is near when I will call myself an alumna of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Monday is my last full day. Then I go part-time until we hire another VISTA and hopefully we'll choose one of the applicants we interviewed this week. I assume things will move quickly once VISTA is over.We are excited to be going on vacation to Arkansas at the end of the month. I love vacation.I had fun at

The Weekend

2005-04-11T16:15:00.000-05:00

T - It couldn't have gone better. Well, who's to say, but it did go very well, in my opinion. We met 6 or 7 RPCV's. They all served in Africa except for one who served in Eastern Europe. One couple was there. The guy is our age and the gal one year older. They got married around his college graduation and in a few months were in Africa. Generally, thanks to the RPCV's, we feel a lot more relaxed

fish on the barbie...

2005-04-07T10:05:00.000-05:00

B- Hello and welcome to the latest update. This weekend could not come soon enough! We are headed to New Orleans tomorrow for a fun-packed three days. Tomorrow night, we are lucky enough to be hosting several RPCV's at my sister's house in New Orleans for some barbequed tuna and PC discussions. (RPCV=returned Peace Corps volunteers). Our good friend at Tulane, C, who was a PCV in Ecuador,