From The Beach To The Backwaters

On the cab ride to our next hotel in Alleppey, I have never wished for a seat belt more. I have been trained since a child that the first thing you do when you get in a car is put on your seatbelt. Driving in Doha is not an safe nor easy feat and seat belt safety is not a huge thing. I constantly have to tell my students how important it is to wear your seatbelt but mostly get back a chorus of "they are yucky, I don't like."
Driving in India was even worse- in a different way. Lane dividers seemed to be a slight suggestion. I have seen drivers in Doha decide to just use the lane for oncoming traffic to further their place in the traffic, but only a few times. In India, it seemed like it was just a free for all. The car horn is also used as a "hey, heads up! I'm coming through!" signal, so when you are constantly in the other lane, it becomes a steady string of honks that eventually give you a headache.
While playing the ever fun game of "Spot the celebrity that is clearly not getting paid for this advertisement work" (which included a picture of Michael Jackson on a beauty salon sign- no joke), we wound our way through Kerala to Alleppey where the famed backwaters are located. We eventually made it alive and checked into our new hotel. Read More...

Surfing With A Little Soul

The best part about living in Doha is leaving.




...but not in a bad way.

Doha is still growing and although it isn't quite ready for the mass amount of people that live here, I do really like it. I like when I get to go out to breakfast or brunch at Jones and (sometimes) just wandering the malls with my friends. The rugby club is always fun and getting to watch friends sing on a Wednesday night is a good break to the week.
Even the long car rides aren't so bad when you have good music and good people in your passenger seat.

But, teaching abroad in a place that allows for easy travel and being able to take advantage of this is by far the number one benefit. I have been able to see things that there is no way I could afford to do if I was paying $2,000/ month for a closet in San Francisco. And although I do miss my family and friends and sometimes feel like their lives are continuing on while I am missing out (hello, engagements!!???), I know that what I experience here will continue with me for the rest of my life. 

After only three weeks of work after arriving back from South Africa, I got to set out on a plane to India! Read More...

The Last Days

After arriving back from shark diving, we took the opportunity to take a nap (much needed). After waking up, we ventured out and got one of the most amazing burgers ever just down the street from our hostel. After, we headed out on the back patio and drinking some of our Reyneke wine in cheap glasses from the communal kitchen. Early the next morning, we decided to take a drive down to Camp's Bay which we had heard from multiple sources was an amazing beach. Read More...

Cloud Porn

We headed back to Cape Town after finishing at Reyneke Wines. We quickly checked in to our hostel and had some lunch. We were staying at a hostel that had a bar and restaurant included downstairs so it was nice to get something quick and easy before our next excursion: Table Mountain! Read More...

Wine, Wine, and More Wine

We drove into Stellenbosch after checking out of our hostel in Cape Town. After dropping our bags off, we decided to walk around and explore. We hadn't done much research but we knew we needed to get some wine immediately. Read more...

Neighbourgood

This post should really be dedicated to Chase Mullen and his fabulous photography skills. When I mentioned heading to Cape Town, everyone that I asked for recommendations RAVED about the Saturday market at the Old Biscuit Mill. Unfortunately, we had planned on being in Stellenbosch on our only Saturday in Cape Town. After some quick discussions, we decided it would be worth piling in the stupid little Hyundai and heading back into Cape Town just for the morning. After waking up early and heading in, we arrived at the Saturday Neighbourgoods Market. At this point, my camera went away and I just walked around with my wallet full and my stomach empty. When leaving, my hands were full of goodies and my stomach was full of delicious food. So, without Chase, this post would not exist as I took approximately two photos all day. Read More...

Capetonians Part 1

After a quick flight, we landed in Cape Town! We knew we had picked a good hostel by their lovely choice in cab drivers. We were picked up by Jeff, a very friendly and open man. He proceeded to tell us all about his life and his lovely family. he was thrilled to be picking up Cheryl and Chase and proceeded to wax poetic about married life. But, when he started talking about Cheryl birthing their first child and her changing body, things got a bit weird; as the token single friend, I sat quietly in the back and tried not to laugh. We soon pulled up to our hostel, which at around 9 PM, was completed packed. Little did we know, there was an adjoining bar- which was bumpin. I rolled my suitcase through the drunken crowds to check in. We got into our room with two bunk beds (cozy!) and quickly went to sleep. Read More...