Life in the Fast Layne

Hello! I wish I had written this post immediately after I had returned from Thailand but I suppose I'll just have to go from memory. Though there were some unfortunate parts of my trip (missing a flight from Hong Kong to Okinawa and having to buy a new one for $400) it was an amazing 10 days. My friend from high school KC and I met up in the Chiang Mai airport and headed to our Air BnB in the city's center. The room was quite simple but it had all the amenities we needed (air conditioning!!!) and the location was incredible. I would definitely recommend staying inside the walls of Chiang Mai if you can. I really liked Chiang Mai. It's just busy enough to be entertaining but not too overwhelming. We got multiple massages for under $10, spent a day playing with elephants, lounged by the pool, hit up the Sunday night market (hello souvenirs!), visited a few temples and took an incredible cooking class.  From there we headed South to Koh Yao Noi, a small isla...

Holy moly! Can you believe I've been here for 5 weeks?!? I really like living here. You can't really beat the weather and the scenes are just beautiful. I miss some of the luxuries of home but those thoughts are usually drowned out by a beautiful sunset or some awesome Indian food (who would have thought?) Basically every time I explore I find a new beach prettier than the last.  No, this isn't Indian, it's Okinawan Soba (buckwheat noodles in yummy broth) and it's delicious. On another note, I used my first "squatty potty" today. Slightly challenging but not horrific I must say.  Hopefully I'll post more but I'm not making any promises.  Off to bed!  Cheers!

Hi there. These first 10 days have been a strange combination of calm and chaotic. I'm thankful that the Navy has given me copious amounts of time to get my life together here on the island. In my free time I bought a car. Meet Amelia. She's very light pink.  And I've been hanging out with the other 5 new nurses. But most of all, I've been enjoying the wonderful sites. The sunset from the stairway to my apartment. The building on the left is the hospital. 150 yard commute to work, can't complain! A beautiful Sunday along the sea wall. Cheers!

Hi there! As you may have assumed, I made it all the way to Okinawa! The trip was horrible. Not to complain, but a plane of about 20 crying babies for 36 hours...ugh. Stay tuned for a "What to expect on an AMC flight" post. Anyways. Time for the good stuff. I got in on Friday night and my awesome sponsor picked me up from the airport and took me to Chile's. Yes, Chile's was my first meal in Japan. But believe me, anything besides airplane food or a Kind Bar was a great change of pace. She then dropped me off at my new apartment on base. I walked in my room and took a long awaited shower. I then realized that I didn't have a towel so I walked around to air dry a little and went to bed wet. After sleeping for 10 hours, I woke up feeling refreshed and surprisingly not jet-lagged. Sid took me to the Japanese phone store (I'm loving my iPhone 6s!), the BX (like a Walmart on a military base), the grocery store on base and the internet store to get internet f...

So, if you haven't already heard, in about 16 hours, I'll be hopping on a plane headed to Okinawa, Japan. How am I feeling about that you ask? Oh don't even get me started. Excited, terrified, ready, not ready and in denial all come to mind. I'm preparing to fully embrace my new surroundings but I have a feeling that there will be some things that I'm going to miss. 1. Trader Joe's and Costco You all know I'm a foodie so this shouldn't surprise you. I know that there will be many new culinary experiences but I think I'm going to miss things like dried mango, almond butter and Costco pumpkin pie. (Seth, that last one is for you) 2. American Shopping Malls Another no brainer. I love to shop. Yes, I know that I can order things online, but that just doesn't replace going into J.Crew and touching every item in the store. 3. Speaking the local language  I'm really excited to experience a new culture and language but I'm also awa...

As I begin to wrap up my trip here, here are some thoughts about the wonderful city of Santiago where I've spent the last 3 weeks. 1. I find the city to be very much like a Latin infused New York. It's very corporate, there are a lot of universities, the public transportation is easy and reliable and there are plenty of places to eat and shop. Besides the fact that I don't understand what anyone is saying, it feels a lot like the States here. 2. Chilean food is not so good. I find it to be a bit bland. Luckily the food scene in Santiago is excellent. There's great Peruvian, Italian, Japanese, and of course gelato. Chileans love ice cream, it's everywhere. Lomito: shaved pork, melted cheese, avocado. Yum. Dulce de Leche from Emporio La Rosa, ranked in the top 25 ice creams in the world.  3. The people. The people here have been extraordinarily nice to me. From the cab driver from the airport that called the hostel instead of just leaving me on the sid...

This past Sunday I utilized multiple forms of public transportation (a major accomplishment for me) to take a little trip to the Chilean coast. Arriving in the middle of Viña del Mar without a map was a little disorienting but after a quick stop into an internet cafe, I safely made it to the Street Garden Hostel. After dropping my stuff off (and acquiring a map) I began to explore the city and immediately fell in love. I'm a sucker for beach towns and this one was no exception.  Gotta love the Pacific Ocean! Unfortunately, it's almost winter down here so I wasn't able to swim but it was still nice enough to take in the sights.  Tuesday I took the metro to a neighboring town, and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Valparaiso. This was a major world port until the Panama canal was built. Now it is a bit dirty and run down but is bursting with street art.  The view from Cerro Alegre Just a sampling of the street art in Valpo Since I only brought...

For all of you non-Spanish-Speakers, that means, "I'm lost." I have been lost 4 times in the last 24 hours. It's really quite ridiculous. In fact, last night, I got so lost that I was on a corner with a map and a nice British woman came to help me. Kind strangers are my saving grace these days. During my wandering, I have come across some excellent sites. My first Chilean Sunset I suppose they have these everywhere now, it's a bridge where you put a lock with the one you love. A mural from down the street. The art here is fantastic. The view from the top of Cerro Santa Lucia. I wish it would rain so there would be less smog! Yesterday I went on a walking tour of the city and I met a few English speakers. We met up at a recommended wine bar last night and then today for some excellent Peruvian food. I must say, raw fish still scares me a bit but the ceviche was excellent.  Mixed Ceviche for lunch!  Besos xx

So after 25 hours of traveling, I finally arrived at my hostel at about 7:30 this morning. Since I was so tired, I decided to let myself sleep until 10:30 before going to explore the city. I walked for about 2 hours and bought a couple of groceries so that I could make myself lunch. Later in the day, I decided to try to find a real grocery store. I got directions and started walking and found a giant outdoor market instead. To be honest, I really wanted to go to the grocery store to find peanut butter, but the market was so enthralling that I decided to shop there instead. I'm sorry this is blurry but it's just too good! This is the giant market that I stumbled upon. I guess I'll just have to go back for another photo! After picking up 5 apples, 3 giant bundles of lettuce and some bananas for less than 3 dollars, I decided that would get me through the next couple of days. To be honest, not knowing Spanish is a real struggle. People have been really nice in helpin...

Yes, this blog is about dead. In so many ways I am over it but there's something about it that I really like. So I'm going to do trip updates through it and see what happens from there. Tomorrow I'm jetting off to Santiago, Chile. The trip is going to take about 20 hours and then the adventure goes from there. I don't have many set plans so we'll see where the wind takes me. Wish me luck!

This post may be almost 2 months late, but I couldn't skip it. The year of the Hill House was too important. As many of you already know, last year was my first year living in a house without my parents. I lived with 5 other people (Meredith, Tyler, Travis, Joe and Eddy) in a 4 bedroom house very close to the Big House. The house was small, and not in the best condition, but that didn't stop us from having some extraordinary times. I think the best way to explain the house is through pictures from the year. First, meet the housemates: Tyler Travis Ed Joe Meredith Now welcome to the Hill House: Here's Meredith in the living room the day we moved in. The couch looks lovely here. It didn't stay like that for long. Here's our room on the rare day that both of us had our sides clean. This is a more realistic representation of our room... We hosted several events at our house. Including: My birthday party Travis ...