If I spoke Croatian, I might better understand if there are as many words in their language for the blue-greencolor of the water here, as the Inuit's have for snow.
Bees are the most fascinating animals! and brilliant to boot. Whenever I look at my friend Casey and say "Tell me something interesting" (Which I feel like I do alot more than what is kosher), 9/10 times he tells me something he learned while beekeeping.
Did you know that if being attacked by bees, it is advised to run in a zig-zag to escape the bees b/c they tend to only fly in straight lines. "a beeline"--get it?
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Blue Water of Croatia!
Croatia: beautiful! or at least the small part of the coastline that I've been able to experience the last 4 days. We arrived into Dubrovnik, Croatia with only 1 day between Italy and Croatia...it was a fast turn around of mind, body, and soul. But, somehow 1,000 of us poured out o
f the ship and were able to manage it w/out a hitch.
Being here so relatively soon after the war (1991-1995) was something that I was really looking forward to. Not remembering much about a war that occurred while I was in high school, it was all essentially new knowledge to me. One of the most visible things about the war on Dubrovnik is all of the red rooftops that were replaced after the rest were bombed out. There are very few yellow/brown rooftops in the city, which signifies all the damage that the city endured.
The city itself is really charming to look at. Everything is completely revitalized post-war and it is a cruise ship destination now. Apparently about 700 cruise ships dock at this port per year! The old part of the city is surrounded by a fortress/wall that people can climb on and walk around to get the best view of the historical part of Dubrovnik. There are alleyways upon alleyways in this part of the city, connecting cafes, shops, and homes. Very quaint and very cute. I wandered and wandered, looking, viewing and seeing the old part of the city, trying my damnedest to respect and understand all of the history that has happened on the very stones I was walking on. Maybe I should have hired a tour guide.
Nevertheless, this port has been amazing fun! Islands and beautiful, BEAUTIFUL crystal clear green-blue water is their biggest tourism draw. (There is no industry here--tourism being the main income.) I rented jet-ski's the first day and island hopped for 8 hours, climbing in and out of coves to snorkel, swim, hike and finding great tiki bars to watch the world go by. It was awesome! and I day that I will never forget. I was exhausted by the end of it, but so very happy.
I also took a ferry to an island with an established National 
Park on it and rented bikes all day, which allowed for multiple stops to swim and covering much of the park via 2 wheels. The day ended w/ the best octopus salad that I've ever had in my life!
Also, I went and visited a humanitarian organization in Dubrovnik that really impacted on me. It was started after the war to help women transition from a socialized system to a capitalist, mainly with jobs, skills and mental health (loosing brothers, fathers, husbands & sons in the war). One of the most heartbreaking things that I learned was about the ethnic cleansing that happened to the Croatians by the Serbs. The men would be killed and all of the women & girls were captured and put in essentially "rape camps" where they would be gang raped daily to impregnate the women with serbian blood. Needless to say, the PTSD that followed is still present today. This organization offers/offered services such as counseling for this, along with needs they identify at the time.
We had a long chat with a Croatian woman working for the organization about how she fled Dubrovnik and passed by the coastline on a boat watching the bombing and smoke from a distance. Her family was still left here and she knew they would die. It was a very emotional discussion for her and our group, as tears were shed by both parties as she imparted her story
on us. The war suddenly came alive for me.
On a lighter note, I had my first 2 days of port call towards the end and it was .... interesting. I am continually amazed by what these kids think is an emergency and how much they depend on 'Mom' at home. Calling home for stumping a toe & splitting toe-nails, crying hysterically over a scraped knee b/c a scar would be there, to coming to the clinic for anything imaginable that tylenol & neosporin would handle just fine! I'm learning alot--mostly to keep my mouth shut!
For another view of some of the same stuff, you can read Casey's commentary on our time in Croatia at
http://hudetz.tumblr.com/
f the ship and were able to manage it w/out a hitch.
Being here so relatively soon after the war (1991-1995) was something that I was really looking forward to. Not remembering much about a war that occurred while I was in high school, it was all essentially new knowledge to me. One of the most visible things about the war on Dubrovnik is all of the red rooftops that were replaced after the rest were bombed out. There are very few yellow/brown rooftops in the city, which signifies all the damage that the city endured.
The city itself is really charming to look at. Everything is completely revitalized post-war and it is a cruise ship destination now. Apparently about 700 cruise ships dock at this port per year! The old part of the city is surrounded by a fortress/wall that people can climb on and walk around to get the best view of the historical part of Dubrovnik. There are alleyways upon alleyways in this part of the city, connecting cafes, shops, and homes. Very quaint and very cute. I wandered and wandered, looking, viewing and seeing the old part of the city, trying my damnedest to respect and understand all of the history that has happened on the very stones I was walking on. Maybe I should have hired a tour guide.
Nevertheless, this port has been amazing fun! Islands and beautiful, BEAUTIFUL crystal clear green-blue water is their biggest tourism draw. (There is no industry here--tourism being the main income.) I rented jet-ski's the first day and island hopped for 8 hours, climbing in and out of coves to snorkel, swim, hike and finding great tiki bars to watch the world go by. It was awesome! and I day that I will never forget. I was exhausted by the end of it, but so very happy.
I also took a ferry to an island with an established National 
Park on it and rented bikes all day, which allowed for multiple stops to swim and covering much of the park via 2 wheels. The day ended w/ the best octopus salad that I've ever had in my life!Also, I went and visited a humanitarian organization in Dubrovnik that really impacted on me. It was started after the war to help women transition from a socialized system to a capitalist, mainly with jobs, skills and mental health (loosing brothers, fathers, husbands & sons in the war). One of the most heartbreaking things that I learned was about the ethnic cleansing that happened to the Croatians by the Serbs. The men would be killed and all of the women & girls were captured and put in essentially "rape camps" where they would be gang raped daily to impregnate the women with serbian blood. Needless to say, the PTSD that followed is still present today. This organization offers/offered services such as counseling for this, along with needs they identify at the time.
We had a long chat with a Croatian woman working for the organization about how she fled Dubrovnik and passed by the coastline on a boat watching the bombing and smoke from a distance. Her family was still left here and she knew they would die. It was a very emotional discussion for her and our group, as tears were shed by both parties as she imparted her story
on us. The war suddenly came alive for me.On a lighter note, I had my first 2 days of port call towards the end and it was .... interesting. I am continually amazed by what these kids think is an emergency and how much they depend on 'Mom' at home. Calling home for stumping a toe & splitting toe-nails, crying hysterically over a scraped knee b/c a scar would be there, to coming to the clinic for anything imaginable that tylenol & neosporin would handle just fine! I'm learning alot--mostly to keep my mouth shut!
For another view of some of the same stuff, you can read Casey's commentary on our time in Croatia at
http://hudetz.tumblr.com/
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Fruit Groves & Italian Lessons in the Fields. Italy at its finest!
Italy was awesome! And so not a typical "Italy" vacation...which is why I loved it. Instead, I 
chose to take a bit of an "off-the-beaten path" approach and spend all my time on an organic farm, learning Italian, relaxing, eating wholesome, fantastic meals straight from the garden, and sleeping in a tent. Italy, huh? Yep, you got it.
It was so fun to meet up w/ an old friend, Giovanni, and after 9 years of not seeing him! We met years ago in Pisa and have kept in touch since. 9 years melted away instantaneously as we spent about 2 hrs. wandering around the Colosseum and eating gelato together. I dearly love old friends!
Rome is always amazing to me, but I was ready to go the next morning. Casey & I were up early to catch a couple of trains to the small town called Sora, where our farm stay was located.
We got there and I felt like I immediately shifted into "Stephanie" gear.
We camped out in the fruit groves, under a plum tree that we ate off of everyday, played w/ donkeys, rabbits, and pigs. The family spoke very little English, which was
awesome b/c as we worked in the fields with Giuseppe, we had our own impromptu Italian lessons. There was lots of relaxing, reading, late night vino sessions, and 
wonderful food.
Several other volunteers were working there for long stints and had a rhythm of their own that we fell into. Our first night, we had a party under the moon at a 300 yr old farmhouse w/ no electricity . 2 Austrian guys are living there to start a farm of their own. They totally live off the land w/ the natural rhythms of the
sun/moon to guide their day. Showers constructed of bamboo and handmade clay ovens are just 2 cool ways they make an old farmhouse in the Italian countryside work for them. (needless to say, I'm equally impressed & jealous.)
I spent 3 nights on this farm and loved it all. I worked in the fields, drank amazing hand pressed family wine & spumoni (sparkling wine) from the grapes in their fields, visited with a local cheese monger and got a huge hunk of his fresh goat's cheese, went running in the countryside, enjoyed lingering Italian meals in the night and basically got my groove back.
Here is Casey's version of our story.
While working on the ship is fantastic, coming back from 4 days of at the farm was really
overwhelming for me. 750 students plus gobs of faculty/staff that wanted to know details of our time, repeating story after story, listening to everyone's travel tails, I was
spent by 10:00. As Dad always says, " I was out of words"! I had to put off
telling many of my stories until the next day b/c I was exhausted from just
the interaction required for so many people! ha. Unexpected but so real at the time.
Speaking of stories:
When I got off the train in Naples and was catching a bus from the station to the port, I was pick-pocketed. (Naples is notorious for this!) Now...I would like to consider myself a pretty apt traveler. I feel like I'm always in control and never would be susceptible to such mishap, but I was. It was on a crowded bus and shady Italian men were crowded all around me. I had my hand tightly on my purse and for 2.2 seconds reached to give the bus driver directions to the boat, reached back and my purse was unzipped. It all happened rather quickly and before I knew it, the bus doors were closing and a man stepped off right at that time. Without consciously deciding to do so, I pulled the doors apart and chased after him. I pushed him and hit him w/ a bag of cereal boxes and drew attention to us. After a bit more pushing and me yelling "Give it back", he threw it at me and walked off. I won! and got my wallet back, plus debit card, which I was the most worried about.
I was very proud of myself and now feel like I can put "Can defend myself from being pick-pocketed" on my resume!
Croatia is next!!
chose to take a bit of an "off-the-beaten path" approach and spend all my time on an organic farm, learning Italian, relaxing, eating wholesome, fantastic meals straight from the garden, and sleeping in a tent. Italy, huh? Yep, you got it.My first day in port, I took the train to Rome and spent the whole day seeing it again. I was lucky to have lived in Italy one summer in college & backpacked through again several years later, so all of the big sightseeing spots were covered. I did, however, aim to seem them again with more "mature" eyes, so a day was spent seeing as much as my 2 feet allowed. We covered the city from one end to the other, which was nice. Now I feel fully refreshed w/ Rome and Mom can be happy 
that I "enjoyed the sights" as her email instructed me to do.
that I "enjoyed the sights" as her email instructed me to do.
It was so fun to meet up w/ an old friend, Giovanni, and after 9 years of not seeing him! We met years ago in Pisa and have kept in touch since. 9 years melted away instantaneously as we spent about 2 hrs. wandering around the Colosseum and eating gelato together. I dearly love old friends!Rome is always amazing to me, but I was ready to go the next morning. Casey & I were up early to catch a couple of trains to the small town called Sora, where our farm stay was located.
We got there and I felt like I immediately shifted into "Stephanie" gear.
We camped out in the fruit groves, under a plum tree that we ate off of everyday, played w/ donkeys, rabbits, and pigs. The family spoke very little English, which was
awesome b/c as we worked in the fields with Giuseppe, we had our own impromptu Italian lessons. There was lots of relaxing, reading, late night vino sessions, and 
wonderful food.
Several other volunteers were working there for long stints and had a rhythm of their own that we fell into. Our first night, we had a party under the moon at a 300 yr old farmhouse w/ no electricity . 2 Austrian guys are living there to start a farm of their own. They totally live off the land w/ the natural rhythms of the
sun/moon to guide their day. Showers constructed of bamboo and handmade clay ovens are just 2 cool ways they make an old farmhouse in the Italian countryside work for them. (needless to say, I'm equally impressed & jealous.)I spent 3 nights on this farm and loved it all. I worked in the fields, drank amazing hand pressed family wine & spumoni (sparkling wine) from the grapes in their fields, visited with a local cheese monger and got a huge hunk of his fresh goat's cheese, went running in the countryside, enjoyed lingering Italian meals in the night and basically got my groove back.
Here is Casey's version of our story.
While working on the ship is fantastic, coming back from 4 days of at the farm was really
overwhelming for me. 750 students plus gobs of faculty/staff that wanted to know details of our time, repeating story after story, listening to everyone's travel tails, I wasspent by 10:00. As Dad always says, " I was out of words"! I had to put off
telling many of my stories until the next day b/c I was exhausted from just
the interaction required for so many people! ha. Unexpected but so real at the time.
Speaking of stories:
When I got off the train in Naples and was catching a bus from the station to the port, I was pick-pocketed. (Naples is notorious for this!) Now...I would like to consider myself a pretty apt traveler. I feel like I'm always in control and never would be susceptible to such mishap, but I was. It was on a crowded bus and shady Italian men were crowded all around me. I had my hand tightly on my purse and for 2.2 seconds reached to give the bus driver directions to the boat, reached back and my purse was unzipped. It all happened rather quickly and before I knew it, the bus doors were closing and a man stepped off right at that time. Without consciously deciding to do so, I pulled the doors apart and chased after him. I pushed him and hit him w/ a bag of cereal boxes and drew attention to us. After a bit more pushing and me yelling "Give it back", he threw it at me and walked off. I won! and got my wallet back, plus debit card, which I was the most worried about.
I was very proud of myself and now feel like I can put "Can defend myself from being pick-pocketed" on my resume!
Croatia is next!!
Some Familiar Faces
I've been asked several times what my roommate looks like....Nikki, here she is.And, also what the MD looks like....Milt, here he is. 
They both are alot of my world this summer!
They both are alot of my world this summer!
Monday, July 6, 2009
An Italy Video that isn't mine...
...I'm behind the times (already) with updating my non-published (YET!) blog, so I thought I'd pirate a copy of a video made by my friend Casey. We did Italy together, so essentially mine would look the same except more me & less him, but you get the picture. (no pun intended.)
Casey, my travel partner extraordinaire, has this knack for "documenting" our journey. "I PLAN the trips, and he DOCUMENTS the trips." It works well for us. I haven't figured out a better way yet to post this video, so for now go to the website & see Italy through his viewfinder!
Casey, my travel partner extraordinaire, has this knack for "documenting" our journey. "I PLAN the trips, and he DOCUMENTS the trips." It works well for us. I haven't figured out a better way yet to post this video, so for now go to the website & see Italy through his viewfinder!
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