Thursday, July 21

Catchup (Ketchup)

It has been a long time since we last met. Sorry. I had even forgotten when I wrote my last post (April?! What?!).

Word of Warning: I may have forgotten some events. Oops...

Here is a short summary, in bullet points, of my last two months:
- Paris: traveled there to see my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and Cousin Fiancee. AMAZING time, but did not eat nearly enough croissants. However, I did stay with a sweet couchsurfer from Iowa, walked around Paris, gave directions to two New Yorkers looking for the Jewish Area, ate AMAZING food, drink champagne, visited a Culinary supply store, went on a chocolate tour, and saw the Eiffel tower during the day, at night, lit up, from the river and even went up it.

- Almunecar: explored the city and the surrounding area, made a MILLION cookies, say goodbye to friends, miss one Good bye party (dont worry, my students were nice enough to throw another- only a few tears, but lots of goodies), went to another Good Bye party at the Grifos, said goodbye to MissiSippi and Jabeque.

- Last Spanish Weekend: my friend Rosa was nice enough to let me come visit her in Almeria! I definately need to return there. The beaches were amazing (clear, warm, sandy - Pictures to come), there is alot of Civil War history, a castle, fortified cathedral (one of a kind), a huge desert and Mini Hollywood.

- The Return to Minnesota: self explanatory, went via JFK and met a really nice Spanish-Minnesotan family on the plane. The father was from Sevilla and told me to watch out for the guys there, that they tend to marry Minnesotans.

- Vermonster Wedding: After much see-sawing, I got my ticket to see my old roommate Lindsay get married!  Stayed in the Stowe Motel with Richmond folk, was able to visit friends that I havent seen in ages, get dressed up, walk in high heels and have fun in a barn.

- Toronto: After bumming around in Minnesota for a bit, renewing my Drivers license before the State shut down, I did a short trip to the country up North (however, Toronto is South of STP). Caught up with old friends, walked SO much around the city, cooked dinner, drank at Einsteins but did not get to Dance Cave or Shake a Tail. I guess I have to move back there!

Now the blog is somewhat up to date. As I am writing this, I am at MVO (Multi-Village Orientation) in Bemidiji, where I am being trained to be a baker and counselor for an English Language summer camp. Today I successfully baked 32 loaves of bread (Vienna and Wheat bread), some rolls, Tator tot hotdish, the beginnings for baguettes and only burnt myself once!

These campers just might survive the summer! Now only I have to survive the heat.