amalthya | Entries tagged with travel

There is a little man on a moped who patrols the sidewalk along the beach, and his little moped has two little vacuum cleaner hoses. He vacuums up the dog poop on the sidewalk along that beach. Not trash. Just Poop. That is his job.
I'd thought that the fact that there is a Cannes Bentley here that sells nothing but Bentleys to the elitists of Cannes was indicative, but I have to say that walking past the Hello Kitty Victoria Couture shop really opened my eyes.
All the people who drive here seem to know one another, and make a point of dangling out of their car/bus windows to greet one another at intersections. Whoever said the French are unfriendly needed to be more specific -- they're unfriendly to the non-French.
Every single advertisement for food has a disclaimer that food makes you fat, and you need to exercise in order to be healthy. I wonder if it undermines the corporations, who strive to convince you that "Twix is delicious!!" while a little scroll bar, white on black, tells you sternly that Twix is naughty and full of fat. mangerbouger.fr
There are an exceptional number of very hot young girls here. Very hot, and very young. I would imagine most women coming here would be intimidated by it. But I noticed that there seem to be no hot women over 25-30. Clearly, the only rational explanation is aliens. Aliens have come to France, stolen the hot women to breed hot alien hybrids, and left nothing but the ugly French women who live past their 30s.
There is porn on regular channels on the TV. And because channels seem to duplicate themselves, it's actually on 3 channels. The same thing. During the day, it's usually just women undressing very slowly, on repeat. There's even porn on Sundays, and it's quite funny to scroll past the channel showing Catholic mass and end up on Porn.
Often times, it's dubbed over American porn. Who dubs Porn? Can you imagine that on someone's resume?

Job Experience
Voiceover Artist, Chocolate Hood Pussy 12, Skank #2

Special Skills: Convincing French Orgasms (Ooo la la!)
They port the strangest American shows here. They've got Law & Order: Criminal Intent except it's called NEW YORK. They also seem to be fond of Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and, of all things, Nip/Tuck. All dubbed into French.

The funniest thus far has been Les Simpsons which is not only dubbed into French, but the VO actors are clearly hired for their similarities to the original family's voices. They're nearly all dead on -- the Homer, Bart and Lisa especially, but the Marge just CRACKED me up. First of all, Julie Kavner sounds pretty unique, but this woman trying to do some sort of Kavner impression, in French, was too much. Most of the supporting cast sounded completely weird and foreign.

Current Location: Cannes, France
Current Music: Carey - Joni Mitchell

Maybe it's because I'm hungry, or because I'm not used to being in the hotel by myself, but

bigrob left this morning and it feels so strange to be in Cannes without him!

Today I walk into town and mail my postcards, perhaps also walk to the train station and buy my roundtrip ticket to Monaco and my one-way to Florence.

See, the thing is, perhaps 2 weeks is really too long for one town. I've literally walked from one end of town to the other. So it's perhaps good that I go on Wednesday.

I'm so used to/proud of my ability to travel alone.

But I am. I'm lonely. ::sigh::

Saturday 8:09 pm
Saturday, May 26th, 2007

One of the things you take for granted is the still life of Africa. You look onto the horizon here and see the silhouettes of mountains against the blue of the sea. It reminds me of Nyiragongo, and Congo, and Lake Kivu.

But at night -- that pitch darkness, despite the life on the mountain, is somehow reassuring. Things are still, serene...

It was so shocking to see the mountains bordering the Riviera lit up and sparkling and rimmed with glowing roads and houses and activity.

I'm reminded of sitting on a veranda along Lake Victoria in Uganda, watching the complete tranquility and the small, quivering dotted lights of the intermittent fisherman, nightfishing (though being careful of the shrieking eels).

Today after the rainstorm, I was surprised to look down and see a snail, moving quickly across the wet cement and blending in completely were it not for its little orange-tan shell. I'd always thought that snails moved slowly -- of course that's the old joke -- and while I'd seen giant jungle snails in Kenya, they usually didn't move at all.

But this snail was resolute, and there was a certain elegance to its movement, that although he was obviously undulating and propelling himself across the ground, his little antennae stretched out in front of him. What do snails even eat? I realized I didn't know.

I found it even more interesting than my current book (I'm a biologist for a reason), One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, which I borrowed from

bigrob since I didn't have another book to read. I'd never read it before and I should update it on goodreads per

lauren_lief's example.

Current Music: I Am A Little Explosion - Self

I have to say, still reeling from the fun of yesterday. I expect that one of my new backup-jokes-for-any-situation will be my impersonation of those screaming Spanish girls in the video I posted last night.

I also had a hilarious morning, sorting through the photos I'd taken from arm's length away to see if I'd gotten any stellar prizes. I'll steal from my conversation with

mgrasso and say that it was like playing Where's Waldo, except that "Waldo" was George, Brad, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, Elliot Gould, or Angelina.

Is that Andy Garcia's profile? Or maybe that's the back of his head?

I think that's the bottom of Angelina's dress in the lower righthand corner!

Oh, see past that guy's arm in the foreground? That's Bai Ling!

And yes, I'm aware that it's completely silly, but I don't care. Nyeh!

Also, the new photos are up. I'm just tagging and noting the famous people in each one. Enjoy the Where's Waldo!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Pigeons Cooing

Friday, 12:45 am
May 25th, 2007

There are some days that just make the Cannes experience. They're the celebrity-riddled equivalent of going into a Nile Crocodile pit and helping check a croc's stitches.

Of course, these are superficial and involve Brad Pitt, but they are no less of an experience when compared to the whole of the beast.

Holly and I decided yesterday that we were going to see the Ocean's 13 premiere. We thought that getting there 2 hours ahead of showtime would give us adequate space to situate ourselves in good celebrity-photographing areas, but of course we were wrong.

The day was spent staring at people's asses. Not lovely toned/liposuctioned celebrity asses, but the asses of people who are far from celebrity, and who spend their days on their 10 foot stepladders, keeping the little people from seeing the stars.

... And it was wonderful. Crowded, smelly, surrounding by Denim Underpants, Holly and I braved every bit of discomfort for the chance to be excited and girly for a day. I had been feeling tired and sluggish earlier in the day, but really, the chance to see a big Hollywood premiere movie at Cannes is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that you simply. don't. pass. up.

And we did it! Taking photos and video, yelling at people who attempted to elbow their way in, kicking, screaming, become deafened by the screaming of others -- we did it all. After it was done, we felt like we'd been through the trenches together. I decided to take video instead of photo on my camera, because I wanted to remember the whole experience.

And then, for the first time, I enjoyed Cannes at night. Holly and I went and had a nice dinner, and then wandered around, riding the carousel, catching Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Houson (sp?) rushing into the theater late to see Ocean's 13.

Honestly, sure, I didn't have a badge, so I didn't get to see films. But today was such a Cannes experience that I will never forget. And hopefully, thanks to my video and photos -- neither will you :)

Now, off to sleep I go! Will write more in the morning.

EDIT:

Check the video of my afternoon:

Current Location: Cannes, France
Current Music: It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Duke Ellington

There's a moment where you look around, and everything around you is just so beautiful that it nearly breaks your heart that you'd never be able to capture it on film.

Everything just syncs together in your mind -- a tune wafting through the air, and the brilliant blue sky emblazoned in the stillness of the water as the tide gently laps the sand.

The sand and sea were the same color, and one could barely distinguish one from the other. There was a thin band of yellow-blue that could barely separate them at the horizon, silhouette by the enormous yachts that sat serenely still on the surface.

And I was so happy.

Today was a wonderful day -- I finished writing the last of my postcards, and I'll go to the post office (which I discovered today) and mail them out tomorrow. I spent the morning with Lloyd Kaufman -- founder/owner of TROMA -- and responsible for such classics as The Toxic Avenger and their new film -- Poultrygeist. Funnily, my mother saw my photos on Flickr and reminded me that I'd played with their daughter at the Junior League as a child and that she was friends with Lloyd's wife Pat. So, that was fun, walking around and talking to him.

Eventually, he needed to go into somewhere that required a badge. Despite my ability to sneak past security early in the day, the Badge Fascists stopped me, so we exchanged mobile numbers.

I then walked over to the beach to have some lunch -- I found this place that was right on the beach and ate a delicious salad. They had chaise lounges also - same as Africa, charging me for the use of the mattress/towel (a nominal fee). And then I sat, writing postcards and sunning myself.

I've never considered myself much of a "beach person" -- I can't imagine that most people from the New England do -- but I'll say that being here definitely acclimates me to the possibility! I did get hideously sunburned without realizing it on my walk to the festival.

But I also met a nice girl from LA and we plan to go and ogle the stars tomorrow at the Ocean's 13 premiere.

It's always amusing how English speakers bind together in foreign lands.

More funny musings:

Dr. Scholl has lost his European medical license. In France, he's just Scholl.
They have pharmacies everywhere that have Durex condom vending machines outside.

I'm getting continually excited to see

infd, Charles and Yenni in a couple days in Florence. I need to go find out about my train situation to Florence, but of course, tomorrow is Celebrities Day.

Current Location: Cannes, France
Current Music: Pictures of You - The Cure

Tuesday, May 22nd, 1:56 am

I'm feeling completely, utterly happy right now in one of those manic-type excited states. No, I will not drink European soda again.

But I might do some more sit-ups, just for the hell of it.

Just being here, in France, is thrilling. I'm contemplating all the things I will do tomorrow.

I just needed to make note of that :)

Current Music: Are You A Hypnotist?? - The Flaming Lips

Monday 6:54 pm, May 21st, 2007

One of my absolute favorite things about traveling is doing the things in the city of choosing that would ordinarily seem completely plebeian. For example, today I walked through the town of Cannes on my way to the grocery store. I love finding the things in different countries that don't change -- and honestly grocery stores seem to be one of them. As I wandered through the aisles, no one had an idea that I was a foreigner. As I selected my fruits and veggies, I reveled in my cultural anonymity. I even managed to camouflage myself as I went to the cheese counter.

Of course, I pronounce everything in my head first. As I walked through the parking lot, I giggled at a van that had a big dusty back window in which some person had scrawled "wash me, please!"

Honestly, I feel almost guilty when I come to another country and do touristy things. I love acclimating into the local swing of things.

Some things are definitely different. So many people have dogs, but no one seems to be looking for dog-appreciation. You can see a cute dog and smile at the owner, but they don't even notice. I always feel like Americans are cruising for dog-reassurance.

Seeing funny old men out on their balconies is quite something too, with their reddened, leathery skin and hairy French chests. It's so natural.

And yes, ladies sunbathe topless. But when they do push-ups next to their pool chaise, they apparently put on bikini tops. Seriously.

French supermarkets are wonderfully nature-conscious. They don't have plastic bags. You must buy this woven plastic bag. It's sturdy, and costs 59€ (probably about a dollar). You're welcome to bring your own bag, and I'm sure after spending a certain amount of money you'd eventually bring your bag back. But what a wonderful practice to be endorsing! I wish that Whole Foods, at the very least, would start it. Ah well.

And with that, I scurry off to enjoy the rest of the ~~day~~ night!

Current Music: Gettin' jiggy wit it - Will Smith

Sunday May 20th, 10:31 am

I've been itching to email my two French professors to let them know how well I've been doing with the language while here in Cannes. Of course, there are still funny cultural idiosyncrasies -- or just plain idiocy.

A LOVER!

A LOVER!

What's that you say? I read this on several billboards and posters all over town. With phone numbers under it. My my, these French ARE cheeky! With their naked-bottomed post-shower-lotion commercials running on repeat...

...then you realize that it really says A LOUER - meaning, of course, FOR RENT.

I've been doing a considerable amount of exploring since I got here. I don't remember enjoying France this much when I was here in 2002 with Justin, but this trip has been a fair bit more independent for me, a fact that I'm reveling in.

The hotel itself is gorgeous -- Chateau de la Tour -- and I've been enjoying room service and the pool. The first day I was here I sat out reading His Dark Materials by the pool and roasted my legs foolishly. Additionally, whoever heard of a cold water jacuzzi? `

I asked the maitre d' about the cold jacuzzi, in my confidently bad French, saying,

The water in the jacuzzi is cold!

MD': Oui?

Is it always cold?

MD': Oui?

Oh, the French. I won't say my opinion has been totally changed regarding French. Of course, the people themselves are still rude. Oh so rude!

I spent the majority of yesterday standing with the paparrazzim waiting for ___???_____. Things I've neglected to bring to Cannes:

My 10 foot stepladder
My 4000mm zoom lens
My parasol for celebrity-waiting

Silly me. So no, I have not seen any celebrities as of yet -- but I've taken lots of photos and hopefully tomorrow I'll head down to the beach. I also succumbed and bought some fresh (?) Camembert and a baguette. May I just say though, that Frommageries (cheese shop) smell AWFUL. I nearly walked out but the cheese, it held me in its Cthulhu thrall. And I bought some. And it was delicious.

Oh, mopeds are everywhere here, and I saw a couple both dressed literally in black tie, riding mopeds. In evening gowns!

I'm also reminded that really, the architecture here is not unlike that of Congo. In fact, if Cannes was dirtier, I'm not sure that they'd be distinguishable at all.

And for now, that's all! Hopefully I can plug in downstairs in the hotel and send this off to the internets.

Current Location: Cannes, France
Current Music: Mary - Scissor Sisters

I had absolutely the funnest night last night, first with Lana and Matt Z out at dinner, and then at the Thursday night bar.

I'm eating some lunch, and then heading to Maryland to see well, everyone I can, and I'll write more later, but why do so many boys on campus have scary emo Fall-Out Boy hairdos?

Also, check the photo blog for photos from last night, and for photos of

stephantravels' cake :)

Okay, off to Greyhound!

Current Music: Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

Saturday 11:16 pm

When one is being visited, it's just impossible to keep up with the normal routine of things. As a result, I watched the videos I took on my camera on the 21st today. Fabulous, by the way, since it's the first gorilla footage I've ever gotten, and I'll put it online, well, probably when I'm in the US!

Wow!

Anyway, having my dad and Ruth here has been SO strange and yet awesome -- sort of like mixing two different soups into one bowl and still ending up with something (mostly) edible. I have so much to write, and it's 11:20 pm and I feel like if I put it off any longer I'll just start forgetting things and I'm so torn! Sleep!? Blog?!

I'll try to get down what I can now.

My dad and Ruth spent Thursday in Entebbe and were scheduled for the 9 am boat out to Ngamba on Friday. Now, I scheduled them on the speedboat because my dad gets horribly seasick and the canoe keels backwards and forwards. I've almost been sick on it, so I can't imagine that my father wouldn't.

What I don't count on is Ruth's new metal hip. She'd had it replaced in December, and we're out on the lake, in the speedboat, when it suddenly starts to hail. Snake, the driver, is rushing to get everyone rain slickers and pants, but it's sort of too late. The worst part is that the lake gets really rough and the waves are getting huge, and the boat is smacking up and down on the surface of the water.

Which, well, really hurts for Ruth and she's screaming and I'm fretting and feeling terrible for her and everyone on the boat is freaking and everyone is getting pelleted by hail and Don W, this guy who used to work for the Kampala US Embassy, is being the Army Champ and somehow keeping everyone sane. I started wondering whether I wasn't suddenly transported to some dramatic storm movie, because I'm just praying the boat will go faster, but also slower to avoid slapping the waves, and I'm not sure everyone will actually make it to the grand finale.

We do, of course, make it to the island in one piece and man am I relieved. Stany and Don help my Dad to get out of the boat and we head off to the island. My dad seems convinced that they have a dryer on the island for his rain-soaked clothes, not quite understanding that a) it's Uganda and b) the island is in the middle of a lake and runs entirely on solar power.

Did I also mention it's full of chimps?

I will say that being back on the island again was just totally heavenly. All that bad mojo from before I left? Gone. It felt like calm relaxing home again, and Stany was there, and the chimps all seemed HUGE. Clearly my perspective has been skewed ;)

My dad and Ruth seemed really pleased, and the tented camp is nice, and wow, everyone was just sort of tired and sore and stressed so the island quickly alleviated all that.

The food was delicious and Don came and ate with us, regaling my dad with Army stories much to his glee (he was in the air force). Don is pretty cool, and fun and I was glad to have him there. Eric was on the island too, so getting to see him before he heads back to Australia (possibly for good) was fantastic.

Stany decides after the crazy rainstorm of the morning that perhaps my folks should see the chimps that afternoon instead of super early on Saturday morning. They already had the chimps in the holding facility to work on the fence, so getting out the appropriate chimps wasn't going to be a huge endeavor. So, we did that.

The sun was setting over the lake, and I couldn't help but be constantly reminded of my first time in the play field with Stany and Ben. I was so apprehensive and amateur and this time, I ran in and started playing with Ndyakira straightaway, tumbling and biting and tickling and just feeling totally expert and at ease.

My dad sat up against the termite mound and scritched chimps that came over, but Ruth was full on grooming/playing with Baluku, which made me giggle. He seemed SO much bigger than the last time I saw him, and well, he suddenly had balls (male chimps don't actually get big jangly-dangly bits til they start seriously maturing).

They were really strong too, but everyone was just playing and grooming and having such a good time that it seemed sad that we had to leave.

The extra-funny part was that the fence hadn't been turned on when we entered, so suddenly Mandy looks out and Bili, a 5 year old female, is like, OUT of the enclosure and wandering down towards the camp and the tent for muzungu visitors to eat. I was out of the enclosure taking photos and I see her heading into the "A-Frame" as the eating tent is called. I RUN down the hill (not easy in rubber boots) and I see Nelson, the camp manager, running with his arms flailing above his head like some sort of silly cartoon.

It's not a huge deal, because all the chimps who are allowed with visitors/Forest Walkers are friendly chimps (well, duh) but having them get out is still not ideal.

I come into the A-Frame and there's bad little Bili, with her arms around the biscuit tin, stuffing her face with a guilty look. [biscuits = cookies]

I cough at her and hold out my hand and she comes over, and I pick her up [crap she's heavy] while still holding onto the cookie tin. I see too that she's pulled down the tin of Drinking Chocolate, but wasn't able to open it. Cookies and Chocolate? Biscuits and Ice cream? What a dirtbag chimp :P

I'm holding her and MacAnthony (one of the caregivers) comes over and takes her back to the holding facility. I run back up the hill (sans biscuit tin) and everyone is laughing, wondering where she is and they laugh especially hard to hear about the biscuits.

Eric comes up and is like "what happened?" and I tell him. Don corrects me laughingly, and is like "No, Bili didn't get out! This facility is secure!"

"So you ate the biscuits?" I ask.

"Yes," says Don. "I stole the cookies from the cookie jar."

Eric laughs and decides to come into the play field since, for all his time on the island, he's never just gotten to go in and chill with the [big] kids. So there's just a big bunch of us, chilling and playing and having a wonderful time. Yoyo was dying to untie/eat my dad's shoelaces, so we had to stop that.

Overall, though, it seemed like both my dad and Ruth were just blown away, and I was just honestly so proud of my dad, since he really didn't let the Parkinson's stop him. He couldn't sit upright unaided, so we propped him up against the termite mound. I'm sure he was sore, etc etc, but he just took it all like a champ, grooming Yoyo contentedly.

We did eventually finish up -- Don brought in his digicam, but has one of the new memsticks, so I'll get the photos from him in DC. It was still fun to be able to take photos from WITHIN!

Finishing up, [actually, I am way too tired, since it's now 11:40 pm. I'll try to finish this tomorrow once I reach the safari lodge]

Current Music: Overdrive - Katy Rose

Sunday 3:46 pm

I'm sort of glad that I had my mental "goodbye" yesterday evening, because the new day of Sunday feels so strange, having a third person here.

The chimps seem to be responding too. I'm a snuggle mother -- calm, relaxed, grooming -- and I don't really play hard and rough with them -- I'd prefer if they played with each other. Not only does it save me potentially lost fingers and thumbs, but I feel like it's a more natural interaction for them.

Liz is wonderful with the chimps, but her approach is much more of a rough and tumble playing one. I'm obviously not sure if the chimps reflect that change in their behavior, but yesterday, Etaito had tons of calm moments where he'd come to me for some grooming.

Today, though, he's on a tear and I've received more bites today than I have in the last two months. Hard ones too. My normal tactics of hooting to show that it's hurting isn't working either. He's so angry. Does he know?

If anything it's making it easier to go, but at the same time it makes me slightly reminiscent for the time when it was "just us" and I didn't feel so out on a limb.

... So to speak.

Liz and I had a nice lunch at the Hotel Nyira. My dad called with Skype and finalized things for his trip here -- Wednesday!!

Anyway, it does feel like I'm "handing over" today and I almost just wish that it went faster.

I've also talked tons with Liz about "the life" out here, and seeing her intensity and self-started projects and disinterest in any sort of "real" life (whatever that really is) makes me wonder whether, for the long term, if this is what I really want.

Sure, Delphine had a Brad. Rita has a Jeremie. But 90% of the other people out here have absolutely sacrificed love, family, children, to live this path. Maybe it's my incredible love for the chimps, but uh, I really know that I want children (I almost just wrote "chimps" ... hehe)

And a family. I don't have this intense push to save everything, or everyone, or initiate projects on my own. Do I absolutely love being here, and making a difference? Yes. Without a doubt.

Either way, this last week has been really illuminating. And now, it really is time to go.

Current Music: Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

Friday 7:57 am

It seems incredible to think about, but each of the chimpanzees has gained 2 kilos since I arrived.

bkleber went through my photos -- from Week 32 backwards -- and commented on how the chimps already look twice the size now that they did 3 months ago. Which is so exciting!

I might replace my favorite time from "feeding" to "first thing in the morning" ... I woke up this morning, before the drums AND the sun, and went to get the sound of the drums on audio.

But the chimps were awake! Already! It was so funny to see them all there, sitting up, looking bewildered, sticking their heads out of the mosquito net, their sheets rumpled and their hair messy. Okeysha has some of the worst bed head ever, and it's not helped by the fact that she can't really comb it down. So she runs around most of the day with bed-head.

I went to empty my trash in the pit, and all three chimps jumped up onto me. Usually I have one chimp, maybe two, but three is officially TOO heavy. I'm rather glad I never had to make a run for it! Especially with 6 extra kilos...

Kanabiro on my back decided that, first thing in the morning, she had to pee. Of course, she didn't get OFF my back, and, as part of some karmic retribution for making fun of her for peeing on herself, she peed all over the back of me. Ack! I did remove her before I became saturated, but I did still have to change my clothes. So I'm back to my falling-down jeans that Etaito seems fond of attempting to pull down.

Having the chimpanzees at the crack of dawn is sort of funny, because they're not really quite awake yet... All three of them were sort of sprawled on my lap in various stages of awake-ness. Moving was very optional, and lots of yawning ensued. I of course could empathize since it's always nice to wake up but sort of loll in bed before actually getting up...

I'm sure saying this is sort of like beating a dead horse, but I'm constantly amazed by their little individual quirks. When Kanabiro eats maracuja (passion fruit), instead of opening it up and sucking out the seeds, she punctures it, quick suck, removes it from her mouth, turns it over, and repeats this little "dance" over and over again. She ends up missing half the seeds inside, and Etaito usually comes by later and picks up the husk, opens it up gets the leftovers.

When Okeysha rides on your back, she likes to lift her leg over your right shoulder and put her head on your left. Sort of like she's a chimp stole. Sometimes she'll wrap her arm around your neck too, strangling and breathing her constantly congested snorting right in your ear. hee hee.

When Kanabiro rides on your back, she feels like a backpack, because she secures herself very solidly and digs her feet in right above your hip bones. Sometimes I can feel her nibbling the ends of my hair, or the hairs on the nape of my neck, which tickles.

Etaito often gets tired of riding and decides he'd rather stand on your head, jump off, and grab onto whatever he can. Most often hair. When you're a Congolese man with a shaved head, this isn't much of a problem. Thankfully, I have plenty of hair to lose but I certainly won't for long at this rate.

I did finally get video of Etaito running bipedally, which is honestly one of the funniest things one can see. He holds his arms out to the side to balance himself, and sort of wobbles back and forth. I shouldn't laugh. It probably hurts his feelings!

Anyway, Liz is coming tonight at 5 pm. ... Yea.

I'm thinking that perhaps when I leave Monday that I'll go through Ruhengeri and spend a night there instead of in Kisoro... I'll check with Chris. Wow, it really is a countdown now!!