I get my last two vaccine shots tomorrow morning (Japanese Encephalitis and Hepatitis A /B), and then I’m done with my inoculations for SE Asia. Phew. All these medical consults and inoculations are costing me upwards of $800.00.
! ! ! OUCH ! ! !
If the shots to the arm don’t hurt you, the price tag will!
I guess I know how I’ll be spending my “government stimulation check”. Nothing stimulates quite like a needle. 
No pain, no gain.
Adventure on, and wear those Scooby Doo Bandaids with pride!
Kristen
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No…really.
I have Typhoid fever in my fridge!
The oral vaccine (Vivotif) contains a live but weakened strain of the Salmonella bacteria that causes typhoid fever. This is the first of many vaccines that I will need to take before my journey to SE Asia.
Typhoid fever remains a major health problem in the developing world and continues to cause disease in Europe and on the American continent. Increasing resistance to antibiotics in recent decades has hampered efforts of clinicians to cure typhoid fever, indicating that typhoid fever will remain a major health problem for the foreseeable future.
I am slowly beginning to understand just how healthy North America is compared to the rest of the developing world, and how lucky I am to have my health. This I will not take for granted.
Adventure on,
Kristen
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Travel minus one month…and, yes, I’m counting!
On my next adventure I’ll be heading to Southeast Asia. I just bought my airline ticket, but other than that, I have no definitive plans. I hope to make it to the following countries:
Readers, let me know if you’ve been here, and if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to add a comment on this blog.
Adventure on,
Kristen
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Happy Earth Day, everyone!
In honor of the day, I thought I’d post a few photos of some of my favorite places in the world. It’s a big, beautiful world, and I feel so lucky to have seen so many parts of it.
What are some of your favorite spots on this earth? Add a comment!
Adventure on, and let’s keep Mother Earth happy! Do something green today!
Kristen
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Tomorrow, April 18th, is Record Store Day across the United States. It is a day to celebrate and remind the public of the culture and unique sense of place that record stores provide to our communities.
I worked at a record store in Chicago for years (kudos to Rolling Stone Records, “Chicagoland’s Superstore”), a job I hadn’t really applied for so much as fell into. See…I was trying to get a job for a friend of mine from Ireland who was visiting Chicago for the summer. Since she sported punked-out blue hair at the time, I thought…well, they’d probably hire her at the record store, where piercings and dyed/spiked hair were all the rage. While there, we both filled out applications…and they called ME back for the job! (My friend…get this…got hired at a bank! Ha!)
Much to my mother’s dismay in my taking the job, she was correct in stating that I’d “never save a dime” working there. But…did she not realize what incredible discounts I would receive? How I was able to order any import that I wanted? How I could get my friends steep discounts? And how this was WAAAAAAAAAY more important than saving money for college tuition (that’s what my other two jobs were for)?
The first time I ever entered this record store was with my brother, who, at a young age, was already totally into vintage jazz and musicians I had never heard of. We used to skip out on church and go to what we dubbed the “10am Sunday Mass at Rolling Stones Records”. My brother would hide our purchases in the trunk of the car, while I ran into the “real” church to grab that Sunday’s pamphlet (proof enough for my parents that we had been to church). The hour time line was perfect. Thus, music became my religion…the record store my church. AMEN!
Some highlights of my time at Rolling Stones:
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show performers who came in every Saturday night, dressed like the characters, and singing/acting out to the soundtrack that we’d put on for them
- Michael Jordan coming into the store and delivering new Nike Airs to all the guys who worked there
- The staff throwing me a Going Away party when I left to study in Ireland for a year…complete with renting out an entire nightclub just for my friends and setting me up with Lemmy’s from Motorhead phone number in London to call “if I needed anything while I was in the U.K.” (Yeah, right!)
- I cannot even count how many free concert tickets I received…
Ah…those were the good ol’ days! A record store was a real DESTINATION. A place to hang out with fellow music lovers, and to feel at home. A place to be inspired and to learn something new. Don’t get me wrong…uploading an album from iTunes is fine. But don’t forget to support your local independent record store.
If you’re in Seattle, check out the following record stores, where you can catch some discounts and great in-store performances:
Adventure on down to your local record store and buy yourself a “licorice pizza”!
Kristen
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(Seattle, Washington) The Dalai Lama is in Seattle for a 5-day gathering called “Seeds of Compassion“. Both spiritual leader and head of state of Tibet, His Holiness arrives in Seattle at a critical time, especially after protests in San Francisco during the Olympic Torch’s global tour, its one and only stop in North America.
According to the Seeds of Compassion web site (http://www.seedsofcompassion.org/), the event will explore how to nurture and empower children, families, and communities to be compassionate members of society.
There is a concert tonight featuring Dave Matthews, who is well-known for his commitment to social, environmental, and charitable causes.
Let’s all try to remember to be compassionate today…while we travel…and in our everyday lives.
Adventure on,
Kristen
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(Seattle, Washington) Seattle will have its own Major League Soccer team starting in 2009. Woohoo! The new name was unveiled today during a news conference at the Space Needle, and will officially be called Seattle Sounders FC.
In a rare show of democracy in sports, the new name was generated by write-in votes (82% of the nearly 15,000 votes cast), with none of the 3 finalists (Seattle Alliance; Seattle Republic; Seattle FC) as winner. The people have spoken!
“It was a groundswell,” majority owner Joe Roth said. “I think it’s a great start for the franchise. It’s a great start for us as owners to trust the fans, to show that we are about democracy in sports and set up situations in which fans have rights that they don’t have with other American sports teams.”
We have rights, people! We have rights! Rah Rah Shishkoombah!
Check ‘em out: Seattle Sounders FC
Now, if only electing our political candidates was as easy…
Adventure on,
Kristen
(Photo courtesy of The Associated Press/Elaine Thompson)
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(Belfast, Northern Ireland) The World Championships of Irish Dance, which this year took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has just wrapped up. While many people in America associate Irish dancing with The Lord of the Dance-type spectacles, Irish dancing has been alive and well for decades before anyone ever heard of the name Michael Flatley.
For serious Irish dancers, this is the top-notch event of the year. I can’t even begin to describe the dedication, preparation, and training the dancers at this level have.
This year in Belfast, there were more than 4,000 competitors from all over the world. If you are interested in seeing the results, you can check the following web site: http://www.clrg.ie/english/home.php
For someone who grew up Irish dancing (I started before I knew how to read or write at age 5, and continued on as a teacher of my own Irish dancing school until just a few years ago), I can attest to the positive influence it can have on one’s life.
My very first time on an airplane was flying with a team of dancers to compete in a competition, known as a “feis“. And, my first ever trip overseas was to Dublin, Ireland…where I competed in my first World Championships. My team took second place, and it was one of the best moments in my life. It is what prompted me to study in Ireland for a year during college, and to later work for the Irish American Cultural Institute in NYC. It was the beginning of my life-long love of travel and hunger to learn about and share in other cultures. It taught me that dedication and sacrifice are necessary in order to make your dreams a reality. It is WHY I am a travel writer & photographer.
So, to all of this year’s competitors…I hope you had fun, and may your experience lead you to great success in your future!
Now…about those costumes and wigs! (It was not like that back in my day!)
Dance on,
Kristen
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This may not be Hollywood…but Seattle has her fair share of stars.
Although more well-known for its rain than its movie stars, today is a different day.
Rain = no. Movie stars = yes.
And, since this movie is called “Traveling”, I thought it apropos to write about on my travel blog.
I went down to Pike Place Market, as I often do, to have lunch. First off I noticed a lot more people than usual, and secondly I noticed all the camera equipment, lighting, rigs, walkie-talkies, and other stuff required to shoot a film (sunglasses apparently being high on the list). Wow, this industry employs a lot of people!
Turns out I happened to know one of those people…a camera person…so was able to be “on set” and chit chat with the body-double of Jennifer Aniston. The other actor on scene was none other than one of my all-time favorites: Aaron Eckhart! (Anyone else love “Thank You for Smoking“?)
I did find it ironic that they had to wet down the streets in between shots to deliver the sheen necessary to replicate the “typical” (or should I say “stereotypical”) Seattle setting.
Check out my friend (and photojournalist extraordinaire) Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s photos here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/354713_traveling12.html
Adventure on (Take 2…and…cut!),
Kristen
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Just recently I received my Irish Citizenship, which means I can now become a member of the European Union. This has been quite a journey for me. I first tried applying for dual citizenship back when I was studying in Ireland during college. Since then, it has been well over 10 years of gathering paperwork, working with the Chicago office of records, getting things notarized in dingy Dublin offices, obtaining letters from country priests in the west of Ireland, and submitting everything, including an ugly mug shot, to the San Francisco Consulate. And then waiting almost a year to have my application approved. I have to give credit to my younger sister, who currently lives in Galway, for helping to round up the necessary paperwork from her end.
Next stop: applying for my Irish passport. No more waiting for that last-minute, expensive Brazilian visa! (See my previous post.)
Now…I can’t wait to inform my boss that I’d like to be paid in Euros. Hahahahaha!
Adventure On,
Kristen
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