My un-Holiday holiday

Funny when people comment to me that they are jealous that I am on a 4-month "vacation"( or Holiday for all those UK-English speaking individuals). "Oh, is that what this is???" I often ask myself. Because prior to this trip,my idea of a "vaca" consisted of: relaxing, no worries or alarm clocks, waking up in my 1000 thread count sheet bed & goosedown comforter, rolling over & calling room service to bring me up my morning coffee and strawberry covered pancakes. That in no way resembles this trip. I often feels like this excursion is work. I am not allowed to ever completely enjoy one spot because I am always planning the next. I must always research: cities, countries, plane & train tickets, acomodations, visa entry requirements.....the list goes on and on. Uggghhh, it all makes me feel like I need a vacation! ;) To add to the to-do list I must also deal with all my "at-home" stuff--bills to be paid, classes to register for, taxes to file, scholarships to apply for. I often feel exhausted and overwhelmed merely THINKING about it! Guess that is just life , right? Work, work, work. It's not that I am by any means afraid of hard work--I am a Capricorn after all, but sometimes I just want a little break.
Ok, now all you at home reading this may be thinking, "What IS she talking about??? A BREAK? from WHAT?!? But, I guess this is the part in my trip where I am feeling a little exhausted and homesick. It is cold and windy in Santorini today. You know, one of those, I just want to "stay at home, wallow in self-pity, eat icecream & watch a movie" kind of days. Only I am in Greece and can not afford to eat more or my clothes will no longer fit and shopping for new ones is not in my budget, and forget movies-at least not during the daytime. Perhaps I could catch a late film but that would require me to take a bus all the way to the next town which only comes every hour and no one seems to know where exactly to find the movie times or schedule....
Honestly, I think I am just tired. Tired of my clothes, of living out of a suitcase, of missing my friends and family, of feeling helpless(particularly in India amongst such poverty), of not understanding or being understood....
Ok, I will end my one-person pity party. Thanks for allowing it. I will try to not throw another one too soon.....
Love and miss all you all so much :(
Se agapo para Poli

http://www.santorini.net/

Malaysian Waterfalls

Was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where pre-trip the responsible adults in my life expressed their concern of me getting sold into the Malaysian sex-slave system to which the lovely Giulia replied, "If that occurs, at least you will be good for the economy," expressing her faith that I would go for a decent price. Well, that did not occur but had a few interesting experiences:

Arrived in Malaysia from Sydney, Australia late at night. Was planning on staying with a friend from school, Amrit's, family. Miscommunication as to dates occurred & I arrive at the airport with no accommodation but a mirage of taxi drivers & hotel owners offering to "help me out." Tired and overwhelmed, I head to the Internet cafe where I spot 2 other backpackers. For the record, Linus & Johan, could not NOT be spotted here in this Malaysian airport- About 6'2 each, tall, blond & very tan. At the endearing age of only 19, they would become known as my "Swedish Babies." So, we find a hostel that appeared decent online and take the train to town then get in a "specially priced for tourists taxi"(= about 5x the amount that we should have actually paid- I later showed my Swedes that that is what meters were for) and head to our hostel. Well, they called it a "hostel", I do believe 'crack house' could have been a more appropriate term. It was scurry and I was grateful at least i was not alone. One of the other women who was in our room was from England and appeared as if she had been smoking, partying and traveling for at least a few decades. With her incredibly raspy voice she informed me that India was sh*t. This, right after she warned us that she had been the victim of a drive-by robbery-where a man on a motorcycle wizzes by and snaps up your purse. Her backpack straps were actually cut off while she had it strapped onto her chest. We would later learn this a quite regular occurrence and left me terrified of motorcyclists(there are a lot of them) for the entirety of my Malaysia trip.

 Yes, so this was my Kuala Lumpur welcoming party. Whether it was that news, the insanely muggy heat or the gigantic roaches I saw scurrying across the bathroom floor, let's just say it wasn't exactly my most restful night of sleep.

First thing the next day we left our Malaysian hell-hole and headed off to the MUCH nicer Haven Guesthouse run by the very helpful and welcoming owner, Evan. Malaysia was incredibly muggy-the "walk outside for a second and you sweat" kinda heat. For me there were many similarities between Mexico and Malaysia, minus all the writing in Arabic and the Malay women entirely covered, head to toe, in their black garb with barely their eyes poking out to see. Most of the time in Kuala Lumpur was spent walking through the countless shopping malls and outdoor markets in China Town.
Wanting a reprieve from the overwhelming heat and craziness of the city, headed 2 hours out of town to visit the peaceful Buddhist monastery and the waterfalls.

Again, seemed to forget from my Blue Mountain adventure that before one can see the waterfall, you must first get to it. For this trip that involved walking through bug filled jungle and wading through no less than three rivers, one of which I slipped and fell on rocks. But it wouldn't be a "Carolina trip" without me doing exactly just that-tripping and falling (my friends and agent, noticing my inherent clumsiness, have often wondered how I have managed to survive as a model- I often wonder the same thing). But the waterfall was beautiful & was such a nice reprieve from all the smog, heat & traffic of the city.

On my 3rd day there I finally met up with my friend Amrit's aunt & uncle. The kindness and hospitality they showed to me, a mere stranger, still amazes me and reminds me how truly blessed I am.