New York City - Part 3 of Holiday Home

The last part of my trip was to New York City. I have a couple of friends who live here and a few friends that just happened to be in town while I was here. This was more about seeing good friends than about seeing NYC but I still got to do tons of cool stuff.

We took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

My friend from University, Liz, moved to NYC two years ago. I flew from Ohio to NYC with her and she kindly let me stay at her place. I also have a friend that I met in Japan, Sara, and she put me up for a few days as well. Not to mention, Kate from the UK, flew in just to see Sara and I for the weekend. Jen and John happened to be in NYC for a friend's wedding and Janelle and Hugh were doing some sightseeing before embarking on a tour of Asia. And Emily ventured far from Poukeepsie (sp?) for the day to see us. It was a great time and can only be expressed in pictures.

A view of Manhatten from the boat.

Janelle giving those classic Japanese peace signs. A habit hard to shake.

Liz, Sara, Janelle, and Hugh.

Ellis Island.

Times Square. Commercial but nothing compared to Tokyo.The American Natural History Museum, aka, one of the greatest places in the world!

We saw a special exhibition on snakes and lizards and I think due to my glasses making me look smarter, one of the volunteers explaining stuff stuck to us like glue! (but so totally worth it!)

The shell of this turtle is huge. I wish they were still this size!

Sara, Kate, and I stood in line for the Colbert Report and got in!! We saw the legend in person! Fantastic.

Emily, Kate, and I took a stroll through Central Park. Because Kate is British, she was loving the sunshine, so we chilled in the park for some of the afternoon. Good times.

A lovely view of Central Park.

Home in Ohio - Part 1of Holiday Home

Once a year, every year, since I started living abroad, I have visited home and this year was no different. Of course, I was motivated to come by the prospects of being in my friend's wedding, getting to eat my way through New York City, and seeing my family.

Tyler and Me

I spent the first week back in good ol' Medway, Ohio with my Dad. It was as usual. I went shopping, visited the family, etc. I also went through all my old things in the back bedroom and thought of what it would be like to have this stuff out of boxes. And of course, I got to see one of my nephews, Tyler. He is my brother's son and two years old. He didn't know what to think of me but hopefully he had a fun few days of being spoiled!

Being in Ohio this year was like a breath of fresh air. The contrast of Ohio and Moscow are huge. I liked seeing all the green grass, the traffic moving quickly along, the friendly smiles, and excellent costumer service.

But being at home also makes me realize every year why I don't stay. Many people don't understand how wonderful their lives really are and don't appreciate the things around them. They live in excess and eat way, way too much food. I know that if you haven't left the United States then it is harder to understand why I am writing these things. I just don't want to get caught in that same trap. It appears that people in Ohio just sit and eat. The motivation/ambition factor is really very low. Don't people want to make their lives better? I understand there are obstacles and difficulties, but you gotta keep your eyes on the prize and look past that. And I won't accept that people's goals are to just live above poverty and shop at wal-mart, even if they aren't motivated by the same things as me. There are other kinds of motivation that lead to success. But I realize that my negative thoughts do not apply to everyone in Ohio, perhaps just to the people closest to me.

After that little rant, I would like to say there is no other place I would rather live than the US. But when I come back, I am going to bring back the things I have learned from Europe and Asia. Things like; don't waste your resources, there is never a reason to be impolite and rude, and taking an interest in things you don't understand can lead to amazing experiences.

The Wedding - Part 2 of Holiday Home

The mascot of my trip home, Bailey, the Wilder's dog. This is how I found him in the morning when I came downstairs!
So if you talked to me at all this summer you probably heard me mention that I was going to a wedding several times. I probably told you about the dress, what we were planning for her bachelorette party and etc. Needless to say I was excited! And finally the big day happened.


On August 30th, my friend Suzanne and her boyfriend Robb got married. The wedding was in Cincinnati at an old movie theatre. It was a great time. I knew that hanging out with the Wilders would be one of the best parts of my trip back to the states. So here is just small sample of the pictures taken at the wedding.

Liz, Suzanne, and Me before the bachelorette party. Liz was excited because she got to wear her beautiful beaded dress. And Liz and I picked out Suzanne's dress, surprise surprise! This is Liz, Suzanne, and Me dressed up for the rehearsal dinner. We ate tons of food and drank great wine at this restaurant called Bella Luna in Cincinnati.
The happy bride and groom.
The wedding party. Also, I got to see great people at the wedding. Andrea and Dave came and it was so nice to catch up after almost 4 years! And then I got to meet Cody's fiance Dana. They are such a lovely couple.

Dave , Me , and Andrea

Dana and Cody