Maybe we should have stayed in Puerto Rico; it was warmer there
Just kidding. I'm back in the capital with my best friend who's a local here, and after coming here in summer it is weird seeing it so empty by comparison, not to mention actually snowing. Sure, I've seen snow before, but usually in the mountains, and always on the ground already, not in progress. And of course the state I left is the only one in the US that doesn't have snow...
Weirder than DC in winter: Running around being a tourist while back home, Queensland is flooded. It's not even my state and it feels weird. It's gotta be worse for one of my old flatmates who's actually from Queensland; he's had family affected by it but his parents told him to keep going with his tour of the US and stay here as long as he'd planned. I've donated; I just wish I could do more.
Today we went to the Australian Embassy. They've got an art gallery there and right now they've got an exhibition of this Australian painter, Gregory Pryor. Not bad, I guess. My mate claimed he wanted to go to see if everyone at the Embassy talks like me (he's convinced my accent sounds more Australian since we went), but once we got there I remembered what a dork he is about paintings. I don't know why it's such a guilty pleasure for him around someone who's doing a diploma in a fine art.
The rest of our time here, we're hitting up some of the museums we missed in the summer, spending a bit more time in the ones we liked (International Spy Museum!), and of course we're going to the zoo again tomorrow, Pukamon's main request (and by 'request' I mean he latches onto your shoulder and says "ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO" in your ear for ages).
The new TSA restrictions are creepy. Airport security got pretty suspicious of Pukamon when he went through the scanner so they gave me an extra patdown way worse than the one I had flying back from Pittsburgh. If I had the time and money (rental cars and gas are more expensive than flying) I'd drive around the States instead (though this wouldn't have helped me get to Puerto Rico).
Over the weekend we stayed in San Juan with some of my Spring Advantage friends, both Puerto Rican and American. It was awesome to catch up in person again, and it was warmer there than it was in Florida or than it is here in DC, which was brilliant.
One of my favorite parts beyond just hanging out again was when we drove out to Cabo Rojo, where my friend showed us around their famous lighthouse (El Faro, I think) and the limestone cliffs. It was gorgeous.
Pukamon and I don't speak Spanish beyond counting to ten and asking for the bathroom so things were sometimes a little awkward. Felt like when I first came to Japan all over again. Luckily our Puerto Rican friends were careful to never leave us without at least one Spanish speaker around. Work doesn't always turn out that way, so I think I might take a Spanish class when I get home; I know my friend's uni charges slightly less for people only doing a couple of classes.
At least my bad accent (I kind of approach Spanish pronounciation the same way I pronounce Japanese) entertained (well, sometimes appalled) my native speaking friends. And things were a lot less awkward with a piña colada in hand! Thank you, Puerto Rico, for having some sense about the drinking age!
Oh, Hikari-san, I think you would have liked the coffee in Puerto Rico: It was everywhere, it was much cheaper than Starbucks, and it was fantastic.
New York next! Anyone up in the area for hanging out?
Weirder than DC in winter: Running around being a tourist while back home, Queensland is flooded. It's not even my state and it feels weird. It's gotta be worse for one of my old flatmates who's actually from Queensland; he's had family affected by it but his parents told him to keep going with his tour of the US and stay here as long as he'd planned. I've donated; I just wish I could do more.
Today we went to the Australian Embassy. They've got an art gallery there and right now they've got an exhibition of this Australian painter, Gregory Pryor. Not bad, I guess. My mate claimed he wanted to go to see if everyone at the Embassy talks like me (he's convinced my accent sounds more Australian since we went), but once we got there I remembered what a dork he is about paintings. I don't know why it's such a guilty pleasure for him around someone who's doing a diploma in a fine art.
The rest of our time here, we're hitting up some of the museums we missed in the summer, spending a bit more time in the ones we liked (International Spy Museum!), and of course we're going to the zoo again tomorrow, Pukamon's main request (and by 'request' I mean he latches onto your shoulder and says "ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO" in your ear for ages).
The new TSA restrictions are creepy. Airport security got pretty suspicious of Pukamon when he went through the scanner so they gave me an extra patdown way worse than the one I had flying back from Pittsburgh. If I had the time and money (rental cars and gas are more expensive than flying) I'd drive around the States instead (though this wouldn't have helped me get to Puerto Rico).
Over the weekend we stayed in San Juan with some of my Spring Advantage friends, both Puerto Rican and American. It was awesome to catch up in person again, and it was warmer there than it was in Florida or than it is here in DC, which was brilliant.
One of my favorite parts beyond just hanging out again was when we drove out to Cabo Rojo, where my friend showed us around their famous lighthouse (El Faro, I think) and the limestone cliffs. It was gorgeous.
Pukamon and I don't speak Spanish beyond counting to ten and asking for the bathroom so things were sometimes a little awkward. Felt like when I first came to Japan all over again. Luckily our Puerto Rican friends were careful to never leave us without at least one Spanish speaker around. Work doesn't always turn out that way, so I think I might take a Spanish class when I get home; I know my friend's uni charges slightly less for people only doing a couple of classes.
At least my bad accent (I kind of approach Spanish pronounciation the same way I pronounce Japanese) entertained (well, sometimes appalled) my native speaking friends. And things were a lot less awkward with a piña colada in hand! Thank you, Puerto Rico, for having some sense about the drinking age!
Oh, Hikari-san, I think you would have liked the coffee in Puerto Rico: It was everywhere, it was much cheaper than Starbucks, and it was fantastic.
New York next! Anyone up in the area for hanging out?