A Girl in the World

October 2007

Greetings from Israel

October 31, 2007

Sorry I have been out of touch for so long. We have been very busy here in Israel with all the work activities and also fun activities! We just spent two days traveling to the Dead Sea and to Jerusalem and are now back in Tel Aviv for another day of work tomorrow. The Dead Sea is amazing! It’s the lowest point on earth and is 35 times more salty than the ocean! The water is warm and feels very very oily because of the salt content but you float immediately, without even trying! We spent half a day at the Crowne Plaza resort on the Dead Sea swimming, getting massages and then having a mud festival where we slathered mud all over our bodies. The mud is supposed to be really good for your skin! I got some salt in my eyes and OMG, it hurts!!! You have to run out and splash normal water on it to stop stinging!

Today we went to Jerusalem. It is a spectacular place so full of history! I have a better understanding of why there is such conflict in this part of the world – Jerusalem is THE HOLIEST of places for Christians, Jews and Muslims and they are all fighting for their holy land! We saw the road where the Good Samaritan rescued a stranger, where Mary is supposed to be buried, the room of the Last Supper, the stations of the cross and the supposed site of where Jesus was crucified and rose again! Isn’t it INSANE how all these things can be seen??? It is really an amazing place so rich in history! It makes the places in Paris seem so strange because all of the artists who painted pictures of God were all painting about the things that happened in this place!! We also went to the Western Wall and stuck prayer notes in the cracks. So many stories to tell you about the history of this area!

Our hosts have been INCREDIBLE – the Israeli’s are such amazing and nice people. On Friday we will tour more of Tel Aviv and the holy land of the Bahai faith and then we will see the Sea of Galilea! On Sunday, I’m off to Jordan to see Petra!

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A tribute to becoming Greek

October 22, 2007

I had one of the most amazing weekends ever. Ever. Panos and Maria came to London for the weekend and we had such an amazing time. We laughed till we cried till 3am most nights. We went to work on Friday, had dinner at an amazing Spanish restaurant in SOHO where I lost count of how many glasses of sangria I consumed. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant for more drinks and snacks before heading home. Saturday we had toast on the balcony, walked to the Portabello street market where we had lunch at The Electric. Then we walked through Hyde Park to Oxford and Regent Streets where we browsed Liberty before talking about inappropriate things in a warm coffee shop for an hour. =) We decided to skip the rugby world cup and hung out at home before going dancing at G.A.Y. where I had the most amazing time! We danced till about 2am then went home and crashed at around 3am. Sunday we slept in till noon and heading to South Ken for brunch at Troubador. Then we met Abby in Knightsbridge where Maria and I went shopping at Zara (my favourite!). Then we had coffee with Frederick, walked across Hyde Park to Notting Hill and then sat in a wine bar till about 10pm.

What a great weekend! So open, so carefree, so casual. We wandered, drank, talked, laughed our way through London. So wondeful.

I became Greek this weekend and fell in love with Panos and Maria. We are going to get married! =) haha

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Fascinating read

October 12, 2007

From one of my favourite publications, Psychology Today, this article talks about some pretty cliche truths about men and women.

And a serendipitous real life example that I found in the news today, here.

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Homesick

October 7, 2007

This weekend has been hard in London. After nearly a whole month of go, go, go, all this stillness came as a bit of a shock. I cried a river of tears to Mom last night on the phone. And after an hour, she was able to calm me down. Moms are amazing that way – she drives me absolutely bonkers sometimes but she knows just what to say to make me feel SO much better when things are down.

It has been a weekend of solitude for me. First, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I actually have to take some time to really make my flat feel like home. It is so sparsely decorated that it is starting to really affect my mood. One of the things I’ve come to learn while being away is how inherently artsy and tactile I am. Aesthetics matter. A lot. And the way a room looks and feels really affects the way I feel in it. And so tonight, I resolved to take a day next week to go and get the basics – some tables, lamps and plants. I want to want to come home to this place, regardless of how old and unfinished it is.

This weekend has also been a good time of reflection. This (necessary) downtime has brought me back to what’s important. I miss having a family to visit on the weekends. I miss Bear. I miss home cooked meals and my comfortable apartment. I miss having really close friends to spontaneously hang out with. I miss having a car and knowing a city. I miss knowing little haunts around the corner. I miss sunshine. Everyone here has their own lives – they have boyfriends/girlfriends, plans, families etc. In the midst of all these bodies, in this city teeming with people, concerts, restaurants, shops – London, this weekend, felt like a lonely place. It’s a city of transients – everyone is from somewhere else, always on their way to someplace else. And my life has been like that for months – travel, work, plans, travel, work, plans. And this weekend, having none of that, it really did feel lonely. I was SO close to buying a ticket home last night. So so close.

Anyway, today, I forced myself out to look at furniture. And MY GAWD it’s expensive here. It’s a real mental exercise to stop stop stop converting everything into dollars. It has taken me all day to come to terms with the fact that I will HAVE to spend a small fortune half furnishing this flat. But it’ll be worth it. I want to be excited to come home at night, even if in the end, I’ll likely only spend half of my nights in this flat. It’ll be good to feel like I have a home here for the next 9 months.

It’s Sunday night now. Another week draws to a close. Here’s to a new day, a new outlook. Here’s to a year in Londontown. =)

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To living richly

October 6, 2007

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted. Life has been… crazy, busy, crazy busy. I look back at this blog and remember that when I first decided to create it, the idea of “the Denise project” just seemed so great. But I didn’t really know what that project would be and I was ok to let it unfold slowly, over time. Well, three months later, after living in London all by myself, I think I’m finally coming to terms what this time away is all about. It’s an exercise in living richly.

While sitting at a cafe eating tortilla one morning in Granada with my good friend M, I came to realise just what all this alone time is all about. It’s about experiencing the full spectrum of life. That means eating Spanish breakfasts in little cobble stone streets in Granada, scootering through Mykonos in a bikini top and skirt, running around London during a tube strike, dancing in open discos at 4 am in Athens. It’s about not being afraid to live a life that’s a little different, a little less paved and a little less comfortable than what I’ve always known. It’s about letting go, taking risks and learning to live with decisions that may change my life forever. It’s about grappling with the loneliness, it’s about spoiling myself, it’s about beautiful things, delicious food, impractical travel and opening my arms to moments of pure bliss and chaos. It has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, moments of disbelief and complete awe, it has been sadness and excitement all in one. I am changing, this axis that I am spinning is tilting in ways that I can’t explain but I know that I will be OK. I know that after all of this is through, I will plop down on my couch and say THANK YOU. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing ride. =)

And so, without further ado, below are favourite pictures from my hiatus. Testaments to living a little more richly than the day before.

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