I finally have a few minutes to myself for the first time
since arriving in Europe last week. I just double-checked the date and time,
and discovered it is Thursday, July 10. I honestly thought it was Monday.
Traveling on tour can mess with your head that way.
I guess I’m going to have to give this travelogue in reverse
order, and jump all over the place. My brain refuses to remember the beginning
of this trip. It was too long ago.
Tonight I’m in Timisoara, Romania, a town once known as the
Paris of Eastern Europe. It’s also famous for being the city of roses, and the
first city in all of Europe to have electric street lamps. All odd claims to
fame. But as it turns out, Timisoara is one of my all-time favorite cities.
There is a large town square (piata – pronounced pee-awt-suh) in the center of
town. My hotel is “Hotel Central,” which is conveniently right off this square.
The hotel itself is very clean, but something of a 1960’s stark nightmare. The
bathroom has an accordion door to it, which locks from the outside. What would
you ever need to lock a bathroom door from the outside for?
The hotel has very typical European, tiny, narrow elevators,
designed to hold 2-3 people. I call these the violent elevators. Someone else
described it as “they buck you off.” It’s pretty comical. You squeeze into this
shoebox of an elevator, which is all mirrored on all sides, and go to your
floor. It may or may not actually squarely reach the right floor. But when the
doors open, the elevator gives a violent bump. So far I’ve had to grab the wall
each time to keep from falling over. It’s amusing to watch someone else do it
for the first time.
Which brings me back to last week in Serbia. As I’ve
mentioned, I lived in a floating bar/clubhouse. Each of us that lived in there
have had a rough time getting our land legs back under us. I figured it was
just my Meniere’s Disease doing exactly what I would expect it to do after
living on water, but apparently the other 3 houseboatmates have it too. The elevators
here send all 4 of us into a funky swirly dizzy spell for just a minute. For me
it’s just a very intense Meniere’s attack. I think it’s the violent jolt with
the mirrors, throwing off the sense of balance, and the part where we went from
sea level to high mountain altitudes in one day.
Which brings me to the town before this one. We have been in
Baile Herculane, Romania for the past few days. We drove to Timisoara today.
Herculane (pronounced hair-kyu-lawn) was sort of the Park City or Deer Valley
of Romania. Except without shopping. It had several high end hotels (by
Romanian standards), and some fun history to it. So maybe it was more the Heber
City of Romania? It was way up in the mountains, and simply beautiful. It
translates to the “Bath of Hercules.” It’s the natural springs and cold bath
houses where Isis, Neptune, and Hercules all supposedly came to rest and relax.
In typical Romanian style they’ve built a whole town
around their historical marker, but haven’t bothered to fix up the actual bath
houses. So you can only look at them from the street or through a boarded up door. Very cool marble statues, and nice
cool air. But no springs, because in typical Romanian tradition, they’ve blocked
off the water, to reroute it for some unknown use. So really it’s all a town
about “something cool used to be here, we can tell you about it, but not show
it to you.”
Our experiences in Serbia were, according to my companions,
typical dance tour activities. We stayed with host families, went on a tour of
the city, visited the orphanages, performed with the host dance company, went
to church, had a party with the hosts, and left. Pretty normal stuff for Clog
America apparently.
Our time in Baile Herculane was anything but typical.
Everyone was surprised. We were put up in a 4 star hotel (I even got a massage-
more on that bizarre experience later), ate (for free) in the hotel restaurant,
walked to the performing venue (right next door to our hotel) with was an
outdoor amphitheater, and had tons of free time. We also got a tour from a nice
guide who took us up to a cave and to a zip line.
So let’s stop here and discuss clogging. I’ve now seen the
Clog America show several times over. I’m becoming an expert on this one show. I’ve
also seen Serbian folk dancers, Romanian, Georgian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Turkish,
and a dozen others. (I have an affinity for the “tiny Ukrainian dancers.” They
dress in little ninja costumes and do this cute little “he-man” dance. I love
it. I can’t wait to see it again tomorrow.)
Most of these dances are pretty
similar in style. Men kick, women prance daintily around them. There are lots
of accordions and saxophones. You really can’t tell the difference between most
countries. And after you’ve seen about 5 of these dances, you’ve seen them all.
It can get pretty boring. But one thing is for certain at every show. They LOVE
Clog America. Our team gets up there and does the Charleston, a 50s swing
number, and a bunch of hoedown numbers, and the crowd goes wild.
We’ve come all this way for approximately a 10-20 minute
show every evening. Today we were supposed to be in a parade before the big
show. (I use the term “we” lightly since I’m not actually a performer.) But due
to the rain that never happened. After the parade got canceled, the sun came
out. So the band (and our band is awesome) went in costume to the middle of the
square, and put on a concert of their own. They got a huge crowd all around
them. Romanians were dancing in the square and calling out requests for “Clementine”
and “Susannah.”
Speaking of our band- 3 members of the band are family.
Nate, Adam, and Chrissy Keller are siblings. Their dad, Ivan, is also on tour
with us. I believe Nate and Adam have been on over 10 tours with Clog America,
and Chrissy maybe 5. Ivan is 77 years old. He just likes to see his kids
perform and to travel. He keeps his schedule pretty easy, but he tries to keep
up with the rest of us. He’s a very nice man, and always doing kind things for
everyone around here. Yesterday at the outdoor show in Herculane the team was
presented a trophy from the festival, and the Kellers were acknowledged. Much
to everyone’s surprise, the announcer also acknowledged Ivan, sitting up in the
stands. The crowd demanded he stand up and take a bow. I’m sure we missed
something in the translation, but basically they gave him a standing ovation
for raising 3 talented children. It was really an interesting cultural moment
to see how they honored this father. It was very touching for the Americans to
witness. (Of course, we all adore Ivan, and agree he deserves more ovations.)
My free time is rapidly dwindling, so I'll end this travelogue here. I'll write more about the rest of this trip the next time I'm caught up on sleep and have some free time to myself.
And again, please go visit http://clog-america.blogspot.com and http://instagram.com/clogamerica for more pictures and stories. I'm putting a lot of work into those!
Upon hearing good news I shared with them, two different friends sent me happy dances.
And this one-
(While there is nothing wrong with Jaden Smith and his dad rapping, the good stuff starts right about 1:30 into the video. And trust me, you want to watch to the end!)
I love that 2 different friends sent me these!
As for the happy news?
You'll just have to wait and see.
It has been brought to my attention that I have not been keeping up with a time-honored blog tradition- the happy dance.
In years gone by when certain things had happened in my life (getting a job, dates with certain guys, etc.) had occurred, I posted happy dances. Sometimes I have been coy about why I posted them, sometimes I have not.
Today I am coy.
It has also been brought to my attention that I'm a few happy dances short, considering how happy I am. So today you get a double-header happy dance!!
The Perfect Strangers' Dance of Joy is pretty much one of the best things ever.
But I do love this one as well-
My Spidey sense tells me there will be a few more happy dances in the near future as well. I hope Spidey is right.
I was about to sit down and write about depression and frustrations- something I am all too familiar with right now. I went over to Pinterest (yes, I am addicted) to find a picture or quote about frustrations and depression, and saw this one instead. And there was my answer.
Today, instead of giving in to tears, frustration, anger, and depression like I so very badly want to, I will be strong. Because the other options aren't going to solve my problems now are they?
Today I will focus on writing, applying for jobs, and looking for answers. And then tonight I will crank up some music and have my own little dance party. You can come join me if you want to. The cost of admission is a hug and some chocolate. Please bring copious amounts of both!
I'm Bennett's 2011 Christmas Warrior! Click Photo to Learn More!
Friends, meet Bennett. You and I are about to make a huge difference in this little man's life!
Bennett is a beautiful little 5 yr old boy living in an orphanage in Russia. He has Down's Syndrome and if he's not adopted soon he will be sent to live in an institution for the rest of his short life.
Reece's Rainbow is an amazing organization that helps families adopt children with Down's Syndrome, HIV, and other physical disabilities, by collecting tax deductible donations and putting them into funds for each individual child. Do you know my amazing friends the Riebens with the 5 adopted children (soon to be 7) (and their beautiful biological triplets)? Their adoptions were blessed with assistance from Reece's Rainbow. Since Reece's Rainbow began 5 years ago, over 500+ children and their families have been financially assisted in their adoptions with these grants.
International adoptions can cost more than $20,000, even up to $40,000. There are families who would love to bring these sweet children home, but finding the money to do it is difficult. Every cent you donate goes to bringing Bennett home!
I have signed up this year to be Bennett's Christmas Warrior. Throughout November I will be personally raising money for Bennett's adoption fund. If you donate at least $35 Reece's Rainbow will send you your own Angel Tree Christmas Ornament with Bennett's picture on it! Wouldn't that be a great gift for friends? Donate $35 in their name, and give them the ornament! I know I would love such a meaningful gift!
And I want to add my own little prize to the pot. For each $100 that is raised through my links for Bennett, I will do my very own happy dance video! The donations are direct to Reece's Rainbow, so I won't touch the money or see the names. But if you want to tell me (on your honor) that you made a $100 or greater donation, I will even let you pick the song that I dance to! Just to make sure we are clear- for every $100 that the count goes up, I will do a happy dance video. But if you personally tell me you donated $100 or more, you get to pick the song I dance to.
Are you ready? You can click on Bennett's picture, you can click on his name, or you can click right here to DONATE TO BENNETT'S ANGEL TREE FUND!!!
His total account is currently at $2207.50, with zero from Angel Tree. As soon as the Angel Tree donations hit $100, I'll do my first happy dance!
PS- lest there be any confusion, I am NOT looking to adopt Bennett myself. I wish I were in a position to be adopting such a beautiful child right now. But I am not. Donations to Bennett, go to Bennett. Not to me!
Yes, folks, it is the return of the happy dance! Another vague, slightly informative, and yet full of questions, because I can't tell the interwebs what is really going on, but it makes me happy whatever it is happy dance!
But just a little happy dance, because I think things might get even happier!
Fun fact for you-
Nearly every morning at 7 am Eastern time "Boy Meets World" trends on Twitter (at the same time "Goodnight Twitter" trends too). Apparently somewhere in the world "Boy Meets World" is on TV at that time, and enough children on the 90s see it and liked that they tweet about it.
Me? I was a child of the 80s. "Boy Meets World" was a little after my time. But I did have a roommate (yeah, you know who you are) who loved it and had every episode on VHS. So maybe I've seen a few dozen or so episodes with her...
I very seriously considered posting a video of "It's Friday Night and I just got paid" instead of my traditional happy dance video posting. But yeah!!! I finally got paid! (only 90 days past due!)
Things are definitely looking up and I am feeling much better about a great many things. The window for my 3 month internship in Cambodia unfortunately has closed on me. But there is still a good chance I can go for 1 or 2 months soon. We shall see.
And... drum roll please... I hear very good things from the Peace Corps! Quite literally any day now I could get the phone call I have been waiting for all year!!
What do y'all think? Should I post my very own happy dance (of me dancing) when that day finally comes?!
If you are somewhat new to the blog, this is a HAPPY DANCE post. When something great happens and I can't tell you why, I share a new and different HAPPY DANCE with you!
So get up and dance to the music!!
It is the return of the HAPPY DANCE!! I had something great happen for me, plus I heard fantastic news from some friends! 2 pregnancies, a job, little Rylee is home from chemo round 1, and lots of other fun stuff! Therefore, I think it is time to HAPPY DANCE again!!!
In grand tradition, I bring you a HAPPY DANCE!! (This may or may not be exactly how I really do dance!)
And in keeping with tradition, I'll explain to you what made me so happy some other day.
It has been one heckuva long time since the last time I posted a HAPPY DANCE!!!
I thought today's happy dance pick of Jai Ho, as performed by @rachelhagen and @mickhagen was perfect. First, I love the meaning behind Jai Ho (victory to thee!). Second, it seems appropriate that the little victory or happy thing in my head that I am celebrating is social media/career related, and Rachel and Mick are two people that really "get" it! And while I am at it, let me plug Rachel's Elegance Redefined decorating and design blog, and Mick's company Zinch.com. I "met" this couple via social media, which makes this post today that much more appropriate!
Lots of good things happening today! Let's all do a happy dance!!
Now, if you'll excuse me, my favorite 4 year old has just knocked on the door and wants me to come play "flips" with her. (Where I through her through the air until we are both completely nauseated.) I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon!
Okay, today I am bending my own rules and not posting a true happy dance. But I am posting a song and video that always makes me happy.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please enjoy "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen.
You know you can't help but smile when you hear this song. "get on your bikes and ride!"
Today I will also share a few of the happy thoughts!
1. My taxes have already been filed. Assuming nothing goes wrong, I am getting back a return that makes me smile, and is sorely needed in this month of moving!
2. I didn't just attend my first foster parenting class yesterday. I actually enjoyed it. More on this experience some other day.
3. My "new" computer came back from HP today. Sadly, I did lose all the docs and pics on it, but thankfully there wasn't too much on it to lose yet. The most irritating thing is that since they did just swap out the hard drives, I lost all of my programs I used for work. That is hours of replacements!
4. I had 2 baby girl cousins born today! The little angel babies will get their own special blog post, as soon as I get the final details on who was born first. It must be mentioned though that neither little girl was due today!
5. After 3 weeks of working my butt off doing freelance work mostly came to an end yesterday. I had several major projects all due at once. I will continue working on all of my new clients, but it is nice to have the huge pressure of yesterday finally off me!
Among other things, one of the best reasons for today's happy dance is the birth of Abigail Conklin. My cousin Tami (she and her husband are both regular blog readers) gave birth, AT HOME (on purpose), au naturel, at 5:20ish this evening to a 9 lb, 20 inches little lady. I hear Abigail has cute chubby cheeks! (and at 9 lbs probably lots of chub in other places as well).
There are other reasons to dance for joy today, but Baby Abigail (who was due over a week ago) is definitely the best reason!
I will admit that much like this video, the beginning of my day was nothing like the ending. I debated whether or not a roller coaster today with some open ended questions deserved a happy dance, but I decided if I want to choose to be happy, then gosh darn it, I will be happy. After all, there was a point in the day when the cutest little 4 year old girl I know ran up, gave me a big hug and said, "She's my big sister. Well, no she's my sister's big sister. But I love her like she's MY big sister!"
And how can you not post a happy dance after that?
Make it to at least 55 seconds in, and I promise you'll start laughing.
Oh and one more reason I am happy- it turns out that the person I am stalking, is stalking me back in his own special way. Its a little creepy and ridiculous, but I choose to take it as a good thing.
