Home Sweet Home

Sorry for abandoning all my faithfull readers, home was a little hectic! But a good kind of hectic!

The day after I arrived home I decided to be organised and write things in my agenda and sort out my mail. On doing that I checked whether Kezia, who I would be going to Paris with in July, had supplied me with a flight number so I could write that down too. Good thing I did because while checking on that I found she flew in in June and not July. Yikes! Change of plans. I had about two days to get myself into gear to go to Paris! (Doesn't my life suck? ;) haha)

So on the 10th I picked up Kezia form the airport after visiting my grandparaents who I hadn't seen in a really long time, and whom I'm glad to say are still up and running (just not running as fast as they'd like to be, but reallY!).
Kezia walked into the airport with abag just about her size and it reminded me of the first year of highschool where we always made fun of THAT BAG running of with the kid!
It was so good to see her though!!
We went to my house for the first night so I got to show her our house and it was really strange to have someone from Hawaii with me on the other side of the world! Makes me want to visit her and Amy and everyone elses homes too! So interesting! We walked out to the Rhine and enjoyed the amazing weather that had decided to visit our country. We drove out to make sure she saw the neccesary windmill (because you cannot pass though our country and not see one) had dinner, talked, talked... Slept.
Then we went to Paris at 9 the next morning but as HAwaii time prescribes we did pretty well leaving at 9:30 or so. It was quite a long ride as Kezia doesn't know how to drive stick! (Kezia I'll teach you next time! and Amy do you know how because we plan to take you with us!!) but it was good fun and great to drive her somewhere instead of the other way around. (In Hawaii she ends up to be the one driving as she is one of the few with a car and she is too nice to say no).
Paris was great! Wasn't there long enough, but that means I get to go back sometime?? Kezia and I walked around Paris by day and visited all the big attractions, the Sacre Couer, the Louvre, the Notre Dame and of course the Eiffel. The last by night with the guys.. or well, with Cyril and Cycy. Vincent came to meet us downstairs with his girlfriend Fang. It was really good to see them all again and really strange to see them in their "natural" setting instead of in HAwai'i at the beach! Haha they were Frenchmen after all. LOL.
I struggled through a whole couple of sentences in French while we were out there and was surprised that all those words were still in my head somewhere. They must have tought me something after all! *grins* It really does make a difference in France when you are attempting French.. and maybe the fact that we were both blonde and pretty?? (the last I derive form the fact that we got called that severla times a day, you didnlt think I was that vein did you?) helped us too...
I can tell you it got us to the top of the Eiffel for free, and got us discount on the metro passes and I got a free Keychain.
We went to diner a couple of times and Yanncik decided t pay us the honour of his companionship a couple of times too! Tibault never showed :( maybe he was afraid we'd make him speak english again.

On Kezia's last night (she went home anight before I did) we got taken on a surprise boat tour and we got to see Paris by night from the River.. uhhhm the Seine. (Please let me be right!) It was quite amazing, the company as wel as the view ;)

When I came home my dad was home too! (Just flown in from Mali) :D Parents really don't change much.. they only grow a little older.
I got myself a job as.. lo and behold.. a scarecrow! 5 -10 am: sit on a field and make sure there are no pigeons that eat the test companies different varieties of colliflower. Not bad at all.. I managed to read a whole book already: The Birth of Venus which was quite interesting and which had been calling out to me since I got it for Christmas! Thanks Bart, Megan!
I managed to do a decent journal update and, well.. I scared a couple of pigeons. You won't be surprised that by day 4 I indeed looked a little like scarecrow.. windswept hair, slightly tired and, haha packed in layers of clothes! Brrrrr

I also managed to do some art since I got home! two pieces on my ArtAttack page. Of which I cannot get the link ot work so.. One I started in Hawai'i but never had the peace of mind to finish and the other one is a watercolour sketch from my journal. LEAVE COMMENTS!!!

Yesterday I went berrypicking with my Dad and later my brother joined as well. We picked two big buckets full of black currants and red ones. Yum! Took a lot of ants and lice with them but it felt very much like being home. "So.. show me the berries?!"
"Uhhhmmmm.. we, we..... we ate them! :)"But we got dinner anyway! Pfew..

Quote: "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you."
Music: Ma Liberté, Georges Moustaki

London/Heathrow ---> ALMOST Home

Rant, rave &*(!)*£*$(!!!!!!
So I'm stuck in Londen where I'm trying to stay awake to get rid of the 12 hour jetlag even though it feels like 3 in the morning!
I was walking around the airport where everything is mighty expensive and where I really donlt want to buy anything even if I could carry it, to stay awake. Half an hour, I can do it! Then I looked at the board and it said: delayed, so Now I'm pissed... I mean, being delayed in LA is one thing, but being so close to home and then not getting there is actually really frustrating, and that after the typical Londen-Heathrow customs which take forEVER!!! Newayz..

Last night, ot actually that would now be two nights ago.. Amy decided seeing as we couldnlt get hold of the french guys by phone or msn that we should just drive by, because when am I going to see them otherwise?? it was quite a mission because they live up in this apartmebnt where you canlt get into and in which the buzzers donlt work. If you live on the 11th floor that si the only floor you can stop at. So we convinced this girl who lived on the 16th floor to let us up and we tried to take the fire exit stairs down. This was a good idea untill we realised that all the doors wre locked form the inside, so we got to walk down 16 flights and ended up outside again.
Next I tried to sweet talk the guard in letting us up, he could come with us if he wanted and then I could knock on their door. If they wern't there we would ome down with him. Well he was not allowed to let us in.. but he could go up there and knock himself, so that is what happened... we got lucky and could hang out for a little bit! YUSSS!

Before we went out there, I had had a good bye dinner . Awwww! I was sent to my room by an 8 year old (Emilie) who with her sister cut out some pictures and organised the night and made the table. We played a game (if you were lucky we got three different coloured stickers and we would win the grand prize!!! and I got a little card as wel as her sister and her mom. Mine said: we will miss you, see you next year! The one for her sister wished her luck with her first year at school and her moms I'm not sure, but moms are something you just canlt skip.. right?
*reminds me of when I was in Ethiopia and I made cards for all the visitors that we got when my parents had a party or something. I just sat around at the door for everybody to come, the amount of patience you have for those kind of things at 8!*
So that was really adorable! Though I feel terrible that I forgot the candy lei that I got (however I'm sure the kids don' t mind)

We dropeed Iris off earlier that day, also a bit of a wierd sensation as time flew by so fast it was hard to come to the realisation that it was really time for her to go. So yeah, see you in a year or so... :( But we had an awesome time!
Then Linda had to run some errands and while we were at Ross I decide ot buy a new bag as both of mine look like they might not make the journey home! uhoh! so I bought a cheap one so at least the smallest one could be raplaced and I had something to do whe I got back: Re-pack my bag!

I slept two hours before O life at 4:45 yesterday when Amy came to pick me up and drive me to thr airport. I obviously had to finish reading: My Sisters Keeper before I left. Defenitely recommended reading.

Okay my time is almost up! (bloody £3 for 30 minutes of internet)
Love you all!
See you soon!

Turtles!!!

So there is a whole bunch of pictures and I promise I'll put them on Ringo, but these two I just had to share with you all! The first one is me gazing at a turtle (or actually trying very hard to stay down long enough for Iris to take the picture!!! LOL
The second one is Iris, absolutely exhalted that she could hang out with the sea turtles here!!!
It really was quite amazing and the pictures turned out very well!
We have been showing them off to everyone who had time to see them... So Proud :)

It is our last couple of days on Hawaii, I'll be going home soon and Iris will be going on to discover the rest of the world. I've been looking at pictures from where she is going and I cannot help but be jealous! It is just sooo amazing!

Just spent about 3 hours at the beach, soaking up the last bits of sun before going home to where it will be cold and dreary. Although I will get to sleep under a thick duvet! Hmmmm snuggle up with my cat! NEwayz... I spent the first hour bodysurfing and it was great. Iris wasn; to convinced because it got rather shallow at places and she didnlt feel comfortable with that. Well call me crazy but when I'm on wave... I get lifted above and beyond life. IT's such a rush, especially here where when you catch a wave you can actually press your hands on the water and it makes you go up and you can see everyone ducking under the wave and the approaching shoreline!!! Whoa! you should all come and hang out!

Okay, got to get ready now, a little waterpolo with Britt, a shower at her house and then to the Artwalk in China town! Dinner.. hmm we'll see about that later.
Hope I can get hold of Amy before we go...!!! AMYYYYY!!! Laterz.. Almost home!

Music: Kinderen voor Kinderen, Krokodil als Huisdier
Quote: "Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…" -Ralph Waldo Emerson