TravelStream™ news feed for member sojanet on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sojanet en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:01:29 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250888307/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250888307/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250888307/tpod.html Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:01:29 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru

OK, so I have not had the time to update my posts, but I have written in a notebook and will upload the entries whenever possible.The point is, I just returned from none other than MACHU PICCHU! Oh my gosh, I thought I wasn´t going to make it after a series of mishaps, but it happened!  And it was amazing. Yes, I took a lot of the postcard photosñ I even have a picture of me pouring water into the Indian´s mouth.It´s been an action filled 4 days in Peru... we´ll keep going!  Check back again soon!  Thanks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250391986/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250391986/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1250391986/tpod.html Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:12:29 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Ohhh man, I picked up my brother from the airport at 6 in the morning!  Actually, my dad did the driving, and I just munched on McDonald's.  The important thing is that I got up and was moving.  It was a good practice for the day I climb Huayna Picchu.  Hah.  I am kind of freaking out because I have yet to go backpacking in winter weather, and there are so much clothes to pack!  Summer clothes are so tiny and thin that they don't take up much room, but all these fleece jacket, long-sleeved shirts, wool socks, hiking shoes, and scarves are so bulky and heavy!  I don't know... don't blame me even if you see me wearing the same things in all my pictures.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246840621/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246840621/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246840621/tpod.html Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:03:58 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

Before you proceed, I must warn you: this blog may not be as entertaining as last summer's blog, simply because I travel to fewer and closer destinations.  I hope people read and enjoy it anyway!  The first half of my summer consists of my life and internship in Charlottesville, Virginia, as I try to survive in a southern collegetown.  I escape to Washington DC a couple times.  Then I recuperate in Atlanta before traveling to an awesome place that is Peru.  So really, I am all over the place this summer, and please feel free to jump around my posts as you wish.And part I begins here...Last few weeks went by like a whirlwind.I successfully wrapped up my junior year in college (!) two weeks earlier than scheduled.  This week is actually the week before finals.  Yesterday, I had to take 2 finals, give a presentation on my research proposal, and move out of my room-- all in one day!  What was annoying was that the biggest event of the year at my university had to take place over the weekend.  It was really festive with lots of free food and performances by N.E.R.D., The Decemberist, and Estelle.  The Chicago Turkish Festival was also going on last week (you know how much I love everything Turkish), AND it was one of my closest friends' birthday on Friday.  I should have been studying for my finals, but I mean, a star student like me can juggle all those things at once, right?And now it is now all over. I did it.  I had to leave in such a haste because my summer internship at the University of Virginia is starting today (yes, they say THE University of Virginia.  The one and only.  The finest).  Despite the time crunch, I chose this internship because I wanted to check out UVA's graduate programs and spend the summer in a new place.  And most importantly, UVA offered a fat package including housing, travel and meal expenses, and a big stipend.  Whoo.So, Charlottesville, Virginia is where I will be spending the next 8 weeks.  It is a small town with less than 50,000 people.  My friends who will be interning in DC, NYC, San Francisco, and Chicago expressed some mock concerns about Charlottesville.  I have always been a big city person, so I can't say I'm not nervous.It should be an experience.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249428091/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249428091/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249428091/tpod.html Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:15:11 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Atlanta is not a pedestrian city, nor does it have an extensive public transportation.  We do have MARTA, which runs north and south, west and east, and has about 20 stops total.  MARTA is somewhat intimidating (check out this video to see what I mean).  So we decided to drive downtown to check out the largest aquarium in the world (wooo).  CNN and the Coca Cola museum are also fairly entertaining tourist spots.  I always enjoy going to aquariums because I SCUBA dive.  Georgia Aquarium is set up so that you feel like you are underwater at times.  After parking in a questionable $10 parking lot (Laura thought it was a scam because all the cars parked there had out-of-state plates), we flew past the long queue.  Not sure why people don't purchase tickets online... it's so much easier.  The ticket was 26 bucks, ugh, oh well.  It must have been 2 years since I was here last, and I saw several changes, especially in the river section.  I really like the overhead exhibits because they make you feel like you are underwater!  The whale sharks and sea otters are my favorites.We were craving seafood after the 2-hour visit, but we ended up eating burgers.  Then we drove a few blocks north to the High Museum of Art.  While we were at a stop light, we saw tents and booths next to the museum.  Some kind of festival was going on!  The people at the Sunny D booth kept waving to us, so I waved back.  Then the girl brought us free samples to our car!  Delicious!   Once we parked in some expensive parking garage, we stopped by the festival, which we found out was the National Black Arts Festival.  Ok... so there were a lot of wooden carvings, colorful clothes, and jewelry.  The air smelled of delicious BBQ of some sort, and a jam band was playing on the stage.  So fun!  After sampling a bunch of drinks, we realized that the High closes at 5 (it was nearly 4 then), so we hurried to the museum.The highlight was (supposed to be) Monet's water lilies.  I saw one at the National Art Gallery at DC and loved it, so I looked forward to the collection.  Well, the collection ended up being like 3 paintings.  We walked into a large room, turned and saw 2 more paintings, and then... there was a temporary gift shop!  What??  Oh well, I guess you can't expect there to be a hall full of Monet's lilies... but still... even with a student discount, the ticket was like $15!  We expected more!We then saw Atlanta's Louvre collection... and American modern and contemporary arts.  There is something off about the High Museum, something about the placement of the artworks that I cannot quite put a finger on.  For one, there are too many furnitures in the museum, which makes it look like a furniture gallery, rather than an art museum.Laura is quite the art guru and could immediately identify many modern artworks.  We were stroling around when a security guy came and told us that the museum was closing.  Eh.We drank a few beers at a nearby bar called Tap.  By the time we were done, it was around 7:30!  We were supposed to go on a tour of the Sweetwater Brewery!  We figured the brewery has multiple tours and a hopping bar, so we took a cab to the place, which was only like 3 miles away.  But!  The place was shutting down!  What??  Nobody was at the bar except a few employees, who pretty much ignored us!  When we inquired about the tour, they said it ended an hour ago and that there was a private party about to start soon.  They would not serve us anything or offer anything helpful.  It was so awkward.We cabbed it back to the parking lot and drove over to downtown Decatur. It's a charming place.  I've been there a few times for book festival and restaurant and such.  The Brick Store Pub has a fairly nice collection of beers (Laura's a huge fan of nice beer), so we lounged around for a while.  People were not mingling so much as sitting around with their friends and talking.  Thus ended our extremely busy 14-hour day tour... I felt very foreign in the city of Atlanta since I haven't been there in ages.  I kind of felt bad for having to host someone when I am clueless as to where everything was.  Thank you, GPS.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246934119/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246934119/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246934119/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:10:58 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Please allow me to describe my humble life and living situation in Charlottesville, Virginia.  The summer research program I am participating in has 8 interns total.  The vast majority are females from state schools in Virginia or neighboring southern states.  There is one girl who goes to UVA, which is nice.  We all live in an apartment-style housing on campus.  Both of my suitemates have cars and brought truck loads of things, which is also nice, considering that I only brought myself and clothes/shoes/wine glasses from Chicago.Most of this week was spent getting oriented and meeting faculty members and all that jazz.  Now is the weekend!  Time to explore!  The UVA campus- or "the grounds"- is huge compared to my campus.  It has sprawling greens everywhere.  The brick buildings with white columns and roofs make the campus appear very crisp, classy and well-maintained.  The bus system is somewhat confusing but seems very useful in getting around.This morning, the interns and I headed to the "downtown mall" to check out the Saturday farmers market.  There was some music, vegetables, home-made goods and food... not as crazy and plentiful as I had pictured a farmers market.  I got some apples because those were the only fruits available.  We ran into one of the research mentors!  The professor was dressed very casually and shopping for fresh veggies.  Small town indeed.Then we walked around the mall.  It's more like a pedestrian walkway with low-rise shops on either side and some booths in the middle.  It reminded me somewhat of Savannah, GA, in that it has the charming southern atmosphere.  As we browsed through, we got hungry, so some of us got dumplings from a place called Marco and Luca.  The $3 order of freshly fried dumplings dumped on top of soy sauce/sweet and sour sauce... SO GOOD!  Now we are back, kind of chilling in our respective rooms.  I still have to unpack my clothes.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249426380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249426380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1249426380/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:06:57 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

I had enough time to unpack my 2 suitcases and dufflebag before my friend from college came to visit.  She is technically an alumna now and has moved down to Florida for graduate school.  Pulling up in my drive way around 8pm, Laura sported a Florida license plate on her new car.To commemorate our roommateship in Istanbul, we visited one of my favorite places in Atlanta: Cafe Istanbul.  There are 3 major hookah bar/lounge/restaurants in Atlanta.  Divan claims to be "Atlanta's sexiest restaurant", while Ibiza is fancy and romantic.  Cafe Istanbul is the most authentic and laid back of them all in my opinion.  It's a hidden gem located in Decatur, near Emory University.  We ordered a hookah- peach- and got 2 bottles of Efes.  Laura additionally ordered a glass of Raki, a traditional Turkish drink.  We felt the urge to talk to the waiter about our amazing moments in Turkey.  With his overbearing Turkish hospitality, he sat with us for 30+ minutes and invited us to go clubbing with him... uhh what?  I am pretty sure he was drinking scotch at work.Overall, Cafe Istanbul is worth a trip.  There are couples, friends, and big groups lounging around with fun Turkish music in the background.  They also have belly dancing on weekends and Wednesdays.  Try raki if you are into trying traditional drinks- it's not on the menu!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1247970226/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1247970226/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1247970226/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:02:23 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Of course, I was kidding when I said the highlight of my summer was a bottle of Efes.  You guys were probably thinking, what about midnight viewing of the latest Harry Potter movie!? That's right.  Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.  Mary (the intern from UVA) and I bought the tickets a few weeks ago and even got a free song on iTunes.  We made a trip to her friend's house to borrow ties, so we could dress up like Hogwarts students.  We watched all 5 Harry Potter movies over the course of 2 weeks in preparation for this movie.  Ooh yes, I was only too ready for my night with Harry Potter.There were a few things that alarmed me, however.  First, the other 6 interns appeared blase about the movie release.  Now, I have celebrated the release of every HP book and film for the past 8 years with my friends and the rest of the world, so this 1:3 fan to non-fan ratio is just novel and incomprehensible to me.  Second, the only movie theater I have seen in Charlottesville is the old-school one in downtown Charlottesville.  This movie theater was playing several chickflicks but not Harry Potter-- what?  Mary had to call up her friends to go with us to Carmike, a movie theater 15 minutes away from the grounds.  I just don't understand... We arrived at the movie theater around 10:15pm.  We were not sure what to expect since it is Charlottesville, but!  oh yes, there was a line with a couple people dressed up!  Yes, yes!  I mean, the line was not so incredibly long that I could not see the beginning, but it was there.The manager did a pretty good job herding people into several movie theaters.  We were the first ones to go into the third movie theater, and um, the theater was only slightly bigger than some home theaters.  It had no more than 15 rows... all on the same level... whatever, we got center back seats and waited for the movie to begin.  And the epic movie began 12:30am on July 15th.  I laughed out loud, whimpered, screamed, banged my head into Mary's... it was the best!!!  Michael Gambon's performance improved astronomically (I was ready for him to go after the 4th and 5th movies, in which he acted like a bipolar maniac-- the real Dumbedore would never... I had even joined the facebook group "Remember Kids, Snape Didn't Kill Dumbledore, Michael Gambon did").  But Dumbledore was calm and melancholy in this movie, and it was actually hard for me to see him get blasted by Snape (not a spoiler... if you did not know this, you should not be reading my blog).  I adored the flurries of akward teenage moments.  Harry, Ron, and Draco are getting more and more handsome that I am having a hard time choosing between them.  The movie did leave out a lot of stuff, but whatever, this was by far the best Harry Potter movie!  I am so glad David Yates will be directing the last 2 movies.  I can't wait to go see it again at home!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246936322/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246936322/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246936322/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:49:05 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States

I first bought the tickets to DC for the 4th of July weekend some time ago.  Greyhound was cheaper than the Amtrak trains by a few dollars, so I bravely purchased a roundtrip ticket online for $30.  Then after a bad incident at a bar last weekend, I comforted myself by buying another roundtrip ticket to DC for this weekend.  It was $42 but whatever, best decision ever.DC overflows with summer interns every year, so it's not a surprise I have friends who are interning in DC  this summer.  One of closest friends from high school goes to college in DC and is currently working for "an evil pharmaceutical company".  She lives in an apartment near White House!  I have not seen her since winter break, so I was way too excited to see her. The Greyhound bus station was about a mile away from my Charlottesville apartment, so I was going to take the free trolley... but apparently the trolley only goes one way, and I waited on the wrong side.  I ended up lugging my clothing/shoe-heavy duffle bag to the Greyhound station.  I was really worried because the email confirmation said I needed to pick up the tickets no later than 1 hour before departure.  I got there about 30 minutes before the scheduled departures.  The guy at the counter didn't even check my ID or credit card.  The bus did not come for another hour.  Oh, Greyhound.Thankfully, the bus was relatively clean, comfortable, and diverse in terms of passengers.  There were quite a few students on the bus, presumably going home from school for the weekend.The 3-hour bus ride was tedious or soothing, depending on how you look at it.  I reviewed my GRE vocabularly flash cards, listened to music, napped... then I got off at the Union Station, as my friend instructed.  Getting to her apartment was easy enough- I put 5 bucks on a metro card and took the metro 4 stations over, transferred and went another 3-4 stops.  All the practices in Europe must have helped.  My friend greeted me at her metro station!  Yay!She lives in a pretty residential area with 8-10 story apartment buildings and condos.  There are some university buildings mixed in between.  I put down my duffle bag in her one-bedroom apartment and got ready to go out for dinner!  We walked over to the Georgetown area, apparently the hopping part of town.  The M Street is a 2-lane street with shops and restaurants on either side.  Unlike Charlottesville, almost all stores are recognizable franchise shops.  So many young people were out and about!  I am loving the atmosphere already...Yesha asked me what kind of food I wanted, and I unhesitatingly answered, ETHNIC FOOD.  So we headed to a Thai restaurant called Bangkok Joe's (?) near the waterfront.  And believe me when I say I had one of the best pad thais ever!  The peach margarita may have spiced up my taste buds a little bit, but really, awesome food in really generous portions!  Then we strolled along the waterfront, where boats cruised and stylish young professionals drank and partied.We decided to have a chill night by going to a hookah restaurant called Zenobi (sp?).  We had to smoke outside on dingy metal chairs... which was alright.  Apparently there are 2 other hookah bars/restaurants right around the corner, but this one is the best value.  And I mean, we are broke college interns.  The place was pretty packed... smoking hookah brought back memories.  As we caught up and chatted about our study abroad experiences, the night waned... and I slept soo comfortably in her bed.p.s. CONGRATULATIONS to Class of 2009!!!  I will miss my friends a lot... I am so proud of them all for securing jobs/graduate schools/fellowships in this economic climate!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246935102/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246935102/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1246935102/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:47:25 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Allllright, so another week went by in Charlottesville, not without some interesting events.Thursday night, we all gathered at one of the intern's rooms and had a shindig... sorta.&nbsp; Everyone had work to do, so the shindig disintegrated quickly.&nbsp; 3 of us decided to head out to The Corner to check out the bar scene.&nbsp; The Corner seems to be where UVA students hang out (better in terms of location and price).&nbsp; It is not really a corner... but a strip of restaurants, boutiques, and stores.&nbsp; It was fairly lively... We went to Boylan's and hung out for a while.&nbsp; The crowd is overwhelmingly white and southern preppy (polo shirts, colorful khaki shorts, boat shoes, shuffle board, etc).&nbsp; I am sure there are more diverse crowds at UVA as well.&nbsp; Or that's what the tour guide and the intern from UVA said ("There is a place for <i>everyone.")&nbsp; Doesn't bother me too much.&nbsp; I went to high school in Georgia, and my university is nothing if not elite and predominantly white...And Friday, we ventured out to downtown once again for Fridays After Five, a summer concert series.&nbsp; We got there around 7 and the Brazilian band was still playing.&nbsp; There were rows of plastic chairs but a lot of people were dancing in the open space just below the stage.&nbsp; Dancing dancing, like salsa and mambo and other dances I could only dare under influence.&nbsp; We watched amusingly and ran into our program coordinator and some grad students.&nbsp; Small town, I tell you.&nbsp; On the way back, the girls stopped to look at sundresses a street vendor was selling on the street.&nbsp; Seeing their interests (and hesitation), I stepped in and started... haggling.&nbsp; Yep, old habits die hard, haha.&nbsp; Please see my entries from Egypt and Turkey for the development of my bargaining skills.&nbsp; I did bring down the price by 50% while others watched in awe. Saturday morning, the research program had a social event, or an athletic event: rock climbing.&nbsp; Not sure who found the rock climbing center but it was seriously hole-in-the-wall.&nbsp; The instructor (if you can call him that) was kind of wacky in the way serious outdoors people are.&nbsp; I wanted to sign a release form but there was no such... I have never rock climbed before, but I rocked the wall!&nbsp; It was actually really fun!&nbsp; It would be very cool to climb say, Yosemites or something.&nbsp; My muscles are kind of achy now...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1248893192/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1248893192/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sojanet/3/1248893192/tpod.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:20:16 -0400 Adventures in the South: Summer 2009

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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

After a grueling 8-hour journey from Charlottesville to Atlanta, I am here.&nbsp; So let me tell you about the woes of flying out of a tiny airport.&nbsp; I took US Airways because there apparently is no direct flight from Charlottesville to Atlanta (although someone said Delta has one).&nbsp; The plane took off north to Philadelphia, where I waited 3 hours for the second plane down to Atlanta.&nbsp; I purchased internet for $7.99 only to hear an announcement a few minutes later that college students can get free internet.&nbsp; Ay me.&nbsp; Time passed by fast enough as I facebooked and watched Korean drama.&nbsp; When the US Airways lady called zone 2, I was in line (with a zone 4 ticket).You have got to be strategic about your seatings and zone numbers.&nbsp; The trick is to get on board early.&nbsp; I fly at least 6 times a year, and I have been noticing that the new baggage check-in fees are forcing many people to carry on their luggage to save money.&nbsp; The problem with that is, often there is not enough room for everyone's luggage onboard.&nbsp; You need to get on board before others around you in order to secure room overhead.&nbsp; US Airways especially has small overhead compartments, compared to AirTran and Delta.&nbsp; I could not even fit my backpack in the overhead comparment in the first plane, so I ended up having to stuff all my luggage under my seat.&nbsp; Thankfully, US Airways emptied some of the seats because of extra fuelage issues, and I was one of the two lucky people to sit alone.&nbsp; Despite my preference for aisle seats, I now try to get window seats.&nbsp; They tend to board window seaters first, so you are more likely than an aisle seater to get the overhead bin.&nbsp; Also, I try to get seats in the back, so that I can stuff my carry-on luggage in any of the empty overhead bins BEFORE my seat.&nbsp; Long ago, I naively sat in a front, aisle seat and had to store my luggage in the back due to lack of room.&nbsp; Then when we were getting off the plane, I had to wait for everyone to get off before I could retrieve my bag.&nbsp; Never again.&nbsp; Another way to get on board first is to just get in line regardless of your zone number.&nbsp; As a coach, window seater, I am usually zone 3-4.&nbsp; I get in line when they call zone 2 or 3.&nbsp; I have been called upon only once.&nbsp; I just had to step aside until they called my zone number, but whatever, I think it's worth sneaking in with earlier zone numbers.&nbsp; Anyway, that was my whole spiel about how to secure an overhead compartment.&nbsp; 70% of the time, you will not have a problem, but for a frequent flier with 2 carry-on bags like me, it's important to strategize!&nbsp; There is nothing worse than having to check in a bag after you have boarded the plane.I finally arrived in Atlanta at 2pm!&nbsp; My brother picked me up, and I headed home.&nbsp; I could feel the thick humidity in the air.&nbsp; Oh yes, this is Atlanta!&nbsp; My house is everything I expected: clean, spacious, full of delicious food, and oh so comfortable!&nbsp; I will relax for 2 full days, and then my friend from college is coming to visit me!&nbsp; She was my roommate in Istanbul and has become one of my best friends ever since.&nbsp; I will update some entries about doing touristy things around Atlanta.
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