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matthew feliss Joined: February 1st 2006
Logged in: June 7th 2010
Logged in: June 7th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
Some Building
Here's some pictures from Brasilia, the capital of Brasil. Oscar Niemeyer designed a lot of the buildings and the layout was of the roads were pre-planned, so the whole city is super organized, supposedly. I didn't understand it, at all. Also it was designed and built in the early 60's with the assumption that everyone would have a car. Oops. To explore the city really well, you need one, and better a local who knows where the hell their going because the roads are not like anywhere else. To get anywhere you have to make tons of u-turns because none of the lanes going opposite directions are connected. But in any case, the buildings were neat to gawk at, and the sky was the biggest sky Id ever seen. The people I met were very friendly, ... read more
im a french clown
Here´s some pictures Ive taken recently...some are from the other night in the Sambodromo parade. I was lucky to dance in the parade as my hosts here happened to be doing it, and invited me along. Its not all that uncommon for a tourist to do it...but I probably wouldnt have if I wasnt invited. And it was such a blast! Basically there are local Samba Schools from most neighboorhoods in Rio, and the parade is a competition with its own sort of stadium. The neighboorhood that my hosts, Rod, Luiz and Andrea, and myself danced with was Rocinha (Ho-see-nya). Its a second tier school, with less funding and sponsorship, competing to become first tier. Only the first place of the second tier competition (out of the eleven or twelve schools) will move on to first ... read more
Hey everybody! I'm heading out the door to the airport in practically 5 minutes. Then I'm in transit on my way to Brazil! Thought I would try and keep up a little blog again to stay in touch and maybe share a little of the experience. Love you all! Talk to you soon :)... read more
Hello from kibutz Lotan! The sun is shining and its another beautiful day. I'm working in the kitchen these days and I've just got off work. Today I made french toast for breakfast and some chinese soy stuff for lunch. We cook for around 50 people, although the past week we have been hosting visitors from the north and so consequently have been cooking double. On the kibbutz most everyone eats in the dining hall, although everyone has their own kitchen as well if they want to cook for themselves. And since we are fairly isolated and the kibbutz shares, most of the food consumed goes through the dining hall kitchen. Things like fruit, veggies and eggs are available to everyone anytime. You just go into the fridge, take what you like, and write it ... read more
Hello to everyone, and sorry it's been a while since an entry. Well I've mad it here to kibbutz Lotan, just 30 minutes north of Eilat, which is on the very southern tip of Israel. The border of Jordan is just two or three kilometers to the east of where I sit now. (Behind the secrataries desk which has the only working computer for volunteers.) The scenery here is incredible. Lotan sits in a valley between two very different and dramatic mountain ranges. The mountains in Jordan are huge and impending, almost purple in the morning. To the west the mountains are more like something you would see in Utah, only more beautiful. The valley itself is barren desert, except for the land the kibbutzim inbetween have successfully coverted into fertile ground to sustain them. Well ... read more
I hope you guys enjoy these new pictures. I finally burned them all to CD so it was much easier to upload them for your enjoyment! But of course my memory card stopped working so no pictures of Ireland just yet...but soon to come. See ya later... PS the weather here is aweful, but the Guinness is delicious; and good for you!... read more
Pretty Old Bridge
Wow, four years of French down the drain. Or it's hiding somewhere deep in the attic of my mind and has stubbornly decided not to show itself. Either way, I don't understand a single word of French! It's terrible. And now, unlike Spain, everyone just reverts to English and I don't learn anything. Mon dieu. On the plus side though the weather is starting to really heat up, and the suns been out quite a bit here in Avignon. Avignon; beats the heck out of Perpignan, that's for sure. The walled city is cool, but of course just filled with expensive shops and restaurants. There's an old palace in the center and you can climb to the top of the gardens in back...very good view of the Rhîne. Yea, I can do the cool little roof ... read more
Roar!
Que Fuerte!, probably my favorite Spanish expression so far. I think literally it means how strong, and could be used for something good that you really like, or something horrible. The weather is beautiful, que fuerte, I was up all night dancing, que fuerte, he left me for another woman...so on and so forth. It´s hard to believe I´ve already been here a month. Well I guess I believe it but wish it weren´t true. It makes me feel like I´ve done absolutely nothing with so much time here, but not true, not true. I´ve soaked up all this lovely Spanish culture. For starters, the fine art of tapas. Tapas are a great inexpensive way to lunch, and also make for a lovely siesta afterwords. You have to scout out the perfect bar, not too crowded ... read more
