From down under to Pura Vida, now the land of ABBA

The past month has been a bit up in the air.  OK, well, actually the past 2 or 3 months have been that way for me.  Let me 'splain...no there is too much.  Let me sum up.  Buttercup is marry' Humperdinck in little less than half an hour.  Oh! wait....thats my other life....

Still it might be too much, but I will be brief.  After deciding to take a job in Sweden, I finished my 2 other jobs at the university and quit the job I took with Idaho Game and Fish.  Quitting IDG&F was a different experience for me.  Ive never quit a job like that in the middle of work - but it was either survey for woodpeckers or move to sweden and study wolves/moose....hmmmmm what to do?

Kobe the tool man

After the confusion regarding the entry visa into Sweden and being given the choice of arrival date in August I immediately booked passage to Australia with super excitement to meet my nephew for the first time. 

Oscar, Alejandra, me

Then on a whim (after booking the australia trip), I decided that this would be the perfect time to head down to Costa Rica because I had friends there and 2 of those guys have the same birthday as me.  What kind of a world is it when you meet a guy from Puerto Rico and a gal from Nicaragua in Moscow Idaho who are all about 2 years apart and study the ecology of the landscape AND are born on the same day?  

I didn't plan out either trip.  I didn't really do much besides focus on finishing my jobs in Idaho and packing my stuff into a storage locker.  I did try to pack for Sweden but after looking over my suitcase of the things I was bringing - I realized I will freeze and need to repack.  So, here I am in my last few days before moving to Sweden trying to digest the past month or so of activity.  I will be leaving all that I know and is familiar (again) to experience a culture and society foreign to me.  I do not think it will be as big of a culture shock as India was, but there are still drawbacks.  For instance, expectations about what is familiar like foods.  You go to a completely foreign place like India you can't assume a bag of Doritos will taste like a bag of doritos in the USA.  If you can even FIND doritos and then are willing to pay the $8 for a bag, it may taste slightly different.  However, if you go to some place you assume is similar - like Australia (or Sweden) and see a bag of Doritos - I guarentee you they will NOT taste the same and you will be severely disappointed.  In India, you have to find something else, you have to be bold, adventurous and curious - in Australia I found myself forgetting that I wasn't in Kansas anymore and so when I bit into a sausage roll the taste was so unexpected it became unenjoyable.  The same thing happens more often with tomato sauce of any kind.  I do not like ketchup in anyother part of the world so far and pizza can be a real gamble.  So, stay away from what you think is familiar and you will discover all new flavors to enjoy.  Thats how I ate potatoes without "gagging" in India....For those of you who know me, this is a big deal.  I might ramble about this later....For now, Ive a few days left and then Im off to Sweden for a while. 

Little sisters - who knew theyd be cool

So, my friend Natalia had her little sister visiting this past month.  Now, this could be a combination of many things...but for the first time in EVER I enjoyed being around a teenager.  To the point of actually wanting to hang out with her.  She was fun, super fun to embarrass, creative, and intuitive.  Now, it could just be that Nebai in her own right is just a great human - or it could be that I am growing up more - or not caring as much.  I got a kick out of embarrassing her when I took her to the Lentil Festival.  This is apparently the 3rd largest festival for lentils in the US...or something silly like that.  It could have all fit on a high school football field.  None the less, Free Lentil Chili and free lemonaid is a perfect way to feed a 14 yr old when you (the adult) have no cash.  I felt kinda bad when she purchased shaved ice for us to share...but then I felt kinda cool.  Mooching off a 14yr old!  Im 2x her age and she was buying me things...ha ha ha haha

The best part was getting her a big rubber diaphragm from the Planned Parenthood booth.  Of course, I had to have a talk with her about these things and how this was meant to be a beer coozie and not use for sexual activities.  Then I realized she was 14 and she shouldn't be using it as a beer coozie either...so we talked about that too.  Gosh!  Id make a great big sister!!  Oh yes, my shame gets worse because not only did she buy shaved ice, but she also purchased Indian Flat bread because shed never had it before.  Again, I was without cash....so I got her a balloon and some stickers to make up for it.  Fare trade no??  Sex education, Alcohol education, stickers, balloons, and a beer coozie diaphragm!  I can't wait to meet my nephew!