Where in the World is Linda?

2009-05-25T11:10:00.001-07:00

She has a slight resemblance to me when I was little.

2009-03-14T00:32:00.001-07:00

How bout a big smooch!

2009-03-01T21:43:00.001-08:00

Come on there's no way this doesn't make you smile.

Winter

2008-11-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

The nights are getting colder and the snow is starting to fly! It's time to find a winter time blanket and hide inside.

Frog Legs

2008-09-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Apparently eating frog legs is a delicatessan. Not sure where, but we had to try it for ourselves. Of course they just tasted like a weird version of chicken.

My Crazy friend Aaron likes to play with frog legs and talk to them.

Why I talk to homeless people.

2008-09-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

As we were sitting on the steps of my friends porch a man with the longest beard I have ever seen approached us. He asked for a glass of water and said that he was having chest pain. He appeared to be homeless and missing a few screws as many homeless are. Being that I am a future nurse I asked him about his chest pain and all the other health questions you would expect for this. This opened a flood gate of conversation. My friends quickly disappeared inside, not willing to bother listening to the crazy man on the street. I on the other hand spent the next 45 minutes conversing with the man. He was not entirely homeless. He was an ex-vet in Utah receiving treatment at the V.A. hospital for heart problems. He told me that instead of only taking one of his pills he took four because it was better. Being that I just did a clinical rotation at the V.A. I was a bit more intrigued to help the man. He told me he lived off $15 a week. That's incredible cause I probably spend that in a day. He rambled on about things I did not understand, but it didn't matter because I believe just talking to someone made a world of difference. I talked to him about his medication and how it was important to take it as prescribed. He read me my horoscope and then thanked me for my time and skipped on his way. My friends think I'm crazy for spending the time to talk with him. Maybe I am, but I find it interesting to talk to a complete stranger about their life and how they ended up where they are today. Ex-vets are especially good for stories and are appreciative to those that are willing to take the time to listen. You never know why someone is the way they are. It doesn't hurt to take the time to lend an ear every once in awhile, even if you can't understand what they are saying.

Yes, Hot French men I will go with you to buy chocolate.

2008-08-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

So long story short. I ended up in Chile after booking a flight at 2:30 in the morning. I won't even explain cause it's just another one of those things I do without thinking too hard. Anyways, so here I am hitchhiking from the ski resort Termas de Chillan, a beautiful little ski resort 5 hours south of Santiago. After unsuccessfully holding my thumb out and having not one, but two different trucks of guys pass me without stopping, I realized that Chillean men must be gay or I'm completley hideous. I decided I might as well hike back down to the cabin I was staying in when around the bend in the road came a truck full of men. They stopped and offered me a ride. They were professional snowboarders from France shooting the 2010 billabong catalog. There photographer was fluent in english and very easy on the eyes. The snowboarders were pretty damn hot as well. They asked if I were traveling alone and I said, " Sometimes you just have to travel alone or you'll wait a lifetime waiting for someone to go with you" The beautiful french photographer, with his great white teeth and charming smile replied, "That's right you don't need some stupid man to hold you back." I didn't say anything about men, but apparently traveling alone implies you are single, which I am, but that is besides the point. So as we are driving down the mountain engaged in conversation about traveling the world they ask if it is okay if they stop and buy chocolate. They seemed to have run out of chocolate at their condo and they love chocolate so much. Is this seriously happening? Hot and love chocolate! MMMMMM! The rest of the story is a secret. Ya right, they dropped me at my cabin and I never saw them again, but oh the thoughts in my mind.

M'embrasser déjà!

Have I gone even more crazy! I think so but life wouldn't be fun otherwise.

2008-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

So after taking a nice trail run through the mountains today I thought about how nice it would be to do mountain marathon. Little behold when I got home from running in the front page of my newspaper there was an advertisement for a half mountain marathon in Utah. So I decided to check it out. Now I am stoked on getting in shape to do two trail runs on August 16 in Utah and one in Bend, Oregon September 27. So now I need to get motivated to run every day and stop eating cookies. If getting in shape and having an awesome time doesn't motivate me, maybe the cash prizes for the top runners will. So I looked up this video to get pumped up and I realized I am nothing like these people. This is going to be tough!

On a quest to sweat.

2008-07-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

Now that I have finished my first semester of nursing school I have a few weeks to regroup and try to get my insanity back, and loose the 15lbs I've gained from my constant study eating. Therefore, I am on a quest to find a sweat lodge to detoxify my mind, body, and soul. I have always wanted to go to a traditional native american sweat lodge. I have heard of medicine men that attempt to heal a person through detoxifying the body through a ceremonial sweat. I hope to find one in the west and am even considering taking a road trip to Vancouver, B.C. to not only enjoy the beauty of Canada, but also to partake in a sweat lodge. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I'm finding it difficult to locate a place that performs these ceremonies. If not I will remain in Utah and just backpack and camp for a few weeks till the insanity begins again.

Life of a nursing student

2008-07-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Some days I wake up and wonder what I'm doing. Other days I wake up and wonder what the hell I'm doing.

2008-05-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! I finally figured out how to retrieve my password so I could post some random, unimportant stuff. I officially started nursing school today. After 8 years of traveling, working as an archaeologist, being a wildland firefighter, unemployed, homeless, bum, I am finally on my way of to achieving my goal. The next year of my life will consist of clinicals, school, clincals, school, homework, crying, stressing, wishing I were somewhere else, library, crying, and having a good old time learning new things. Congrats to Jess and Kate for finishing nursing school. I will hopefully be right there with ya in a year.

Tree climbing

2007-10-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were a child and you like to climb trees. I never thought about actually climbing a tree with ropes and rappaling down. Yesterday I had the great opportunity of trying it out with a friend of mine. It was such a rush and amazing to get to the top of the tree. Similar feelings to rock climbing, yet different because when you get to the top of the tree you have branches to sit in and chill out. There are even people that bring hammocks and sleep out in the tree over night. I think I just found a new sport that I need to buy equipment for.

HAAA!!!

2007-09-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

Approximately 7 weeks left to go before I am officially laid off from the fire world. It's slowing down and getting boring. May be leaving for Idaho this week to get on some of the big fires up there. Who knows though because things change daily in this line of work. I still don't know about school. I was feeling optimistic before, but as the weeks go on and I hear nothing about my placement I start to think about what I will do next. I have no where to live and no job come november, so if I am not in school the question is where do I go? If anyone has any great ideas let me know. I'm still praying I will be in Denver by January, but things never go as planned in my life. I'm afraid I will take off to another foreign country for the winter if I am not in school. Not that traveling would be a bad idea, but I'm broke and I need to fight my traveling addiction. I need intervention cause I'm already looking up flights for far away places. I'm ready to finish my nursing so I can move to the destination of my choice and buy a house. I can always go back to Archaeology, but I know where my true passion lies. Help I'm going mad!

I'm a bad blogger

2007-09-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of firefighters from New Mexico and I at a fire in the Boise National Forest.

I haven't had much time or interest in posting anything for so long. I thought I may try and post something for those who care. This summer I have been living near Moab, Utah working as a Wildland Firefighter. It's been a hell of a summer and I'm ready for it to be over. I am waiting to hear if I can start my nursing clinicals in January. I really hope that it works out because I'm ready to finish and start having somewhat of a more stable life. I know that this doesn't sound like me, but I've been living in my truck for over a year now and I starting to feel like a need a home.

I went to Telluride, Colorado this weekend to do some mountain biking and I officially have found the place of my dreams. I have been there one other time and immediately fell in love with the place. My hopes of moving there were crushed when I found out how expensive the place is. After visiting for the second time I am now determined to find a way to move there. I camped in the most incredible spot in the San Juans and went mountain biking. I think that the San Juans are by far the most incredible mountains I have been to. My new plan is to hopefully finish nursing school within the next year,move to Telluride, get a job at the hospital, meet a rich man with a house in the mtns., and become a ski bum. Until then I'm living in my truck in the Abajo Mtns. until about the end of October and fighting any remaining forest fires that should come about.

Some inspiration for the day.

2007-04-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

With enough determination, no goal is out of reach. Determination carries you past seemingly insurmountable obstacles and makes things real that were once considered impossible.So how do you create and maintain sufficient determination to take you where you want to go? How do you keep the power of determination working for you? To maintain your determination, you simply must remember it. For as powerful as your determination can be, it is nothing more than a concept in your mind. As long as you can keep that concept of determination at the front of your mind, it will work for you. As long as you can remember, with passion and with clarity, the what, why and how of your determination, it will carry you forward. When the challenges come, remember that you are determined and you will be. Though your determination won't solve your problems for you, it can keep you going long enough for you to solve them yourself. What things in your life do you truly wish to change, to improve, to create, to accomplish, and why? Sincerely answer that question, and you'll discover plenty of determination within yourself. Keep that determination in mind as each moment goes by, and you'll accomplish whatever you choose to accomplish.

What's next

2007-04-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

After spending 6 weeks in India I have arrived home safe and sound. I've lost 8lbs from a sickness I acquired while there, but I'm feeling better now. It has been quite an adjustment being back and I'm having many mixed emotions. The culture shock coming back to the States was worse then actually being in India. I feel I have somewhat recooperated and am now ready to start the next journey in my life. My whole perspective on life and what I plan on accomplishing in mine has completely been altered from my experience. Well I guess not completely, but I definetly have some new ideas as to what I would like to do. There is a dual masters degree program at University of Washington that I plan on applying for in the Fall. I would be able to enter directly into a masters in nursing program even though I have not quite finished my BSN. I would spend one year finishing my RN, and a second year focusing on Public Health. I am also able to add my own component of study to the degree; which I plan on focusing on medical anthropology. I would love to continue working in International Health Care. The program is rated #1 in the nation and so I really need to beef up my application in order to get in. It's also a very expensive program so I need to get residency and hopefully get some scholarships. Until then I am studying for the gre, learning more spanish, trying to gain more health care experience, and make some money to pay off some debt. Tomorrow I start a three week contract job with PIII, Associates, an archeaology firm in Utah. They have some short term projects and were kind enough to hire me on as an archaeologist to help finish them up. After I finish my work there I will be starting a job in Southern Utah working for the BLM. I'm going to be working as a wildland firefighter on an engine crew of 4 males, 1 female (me). I have absolutely no experience fighting fires, but I always wanted to try it for a summer. I was hired on for my EMT as well as my archaeology experience. There are archaeological sites everywhere in this area and they need to make sure prescribed fires aren't harming them.

I have to pass a pack test in which I have to hike 3 miles in 45 minutes, with a 45lb pack on my back. I've been hiking and climbing to try and get in shape. I wasn't too out of shape, but being sick from India really took a lot out of me. Bought some new boots for fire that I will break in working for PIII cause my job there requires hiking all day long. It's great cause not only do I get to hike to prepare myself for the rigorous job of fire fighting, but I get paid to do it.

A few pics of patients in villages. Still working on uploading the rest to snapfish.

Checking Lung Sounds on 8 year old boy from one of the villages in Himalayas.

At Than Gaon Clinic

Beer, Proof God Loves us.

2007-02-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving really soon for India and will be having a stop over in Munich for a day. Germany is a beer lovers paradise and since I'm from Germany I fit in perfectly. Haven't quite decided what I'm going to do while I'm there, but I'm guessing it could include a brewery tour. I thought I may going skiing in Austria for the day, but I don't think I have time so I may just drink beer and eat brats all day. I've already been to Munich before so maybe I'll hit some of the highlights I missed last time. I may go pay my respects to my Opa (grandpa) who is buried in a nearby town. Meine Deustch ist nicht so gute weiterhin. Gern haben trink bier!

Pics of India.

2007-02-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

A few of the local children in one of the
villages I will be working in.

Where I will be sleeping

Herbs used in Traditional Indian Medicine

Broke, but still traveling.

2007-02-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

So, I've been road trippin for the last two months and I'm still jobless. I'm so broke and figured the most logical thing to do would be of course go on another adventure. First, I started off by leaving my job in Mexico to do a one month EMT course in Jackson Hole. It was an awesome experience and I met some crazy, insane, fun people (friends for life). After Jackson I went up to Montana and visited some friends in Bozeman, Missoula, and Whitefish. Thanks to Mark, Kate, Jess, and Bryan for letting me be the girl on the couch. I went up to Fernie, Canada after Whitefish to do some skiing. It was by far the best snow I've seen this year. I've skied about 13 resorts and the snow has been horrible everywhere. That just means next year will the best year ever (or I'm going to keep telling myself that). After Montana I went on a girls ski trip in Colorado. Thanks to our sponsors Mel, Dickie, and Joe we were able to ski, sleep, and eat for free. I had such a blast and can't wait to make it an annual trip. Then I went to Tahoe to do some rock skiing with some old EMT buddies. Thanks to Kelly for letting us invade her space. Now I'm back in Utah for the moment. It feels like Spring and I've never seen Utahs Mtns so bare in my entire life of growing up here. Since the snows not great I decided I was going to flee the country. I started researching different opportunities and I found an internship in India doing clinical rotations with some Indian doctors. I applied for the internship and just found out that I got it. I will be leaving in a few weeks and I'm still in shock that I'm actually leaving. I will be in Northern India close to the Himalayas. For four weeks I will be doing rotations with numerous doctors in various clinical settings. I start out in a big city hospital and then I move up into some small villages that don't have access to medical care. The basis of the internship is to learn traditional medicine and how I can incorporate it into Western medicine. I'm really excited to learn how to use herbs, yoga, averyuda etc.. for healing. I'm a firm believer that there are some natural methods that can help disease. Not that I'm completely against Western Medicine, but I think there are other ways of treating disease besides stuffing pills down everyones throats. Now I'm just trying to find a flight to New Delhi and gather medical supplies. If anyone wants to donate to my cause it would be appreciated. I can always use BSI. Anyways, this is a really long blog, but I never blog and Kate said I had to.

Mountain girl leaves the desert.

2006-11-06T10:25:00.001-08:00

The time has finally come for me to leave this deseret behind. I will be leaving next week and rushing back to the mountains in hopes of sitting on a chairlift by the weekend. Can't say that I'm sorry to leave this place, but it has definetly been a different experience I never thought I would have. I don't have anywhere to live or a job, but I guess I will figure things out after Jackson Hole. I will be in Jackson for a month and then who knows maybe back to Montana or possibly move to a Buddhist Monastery in Thailand. I've been sending out my resume to different archaeology companies in Alaska. I'm hoping to work in Alaska for the summer and then maybe spend another winter at a ski resort or maybe backpack across India (it changes daily). I think after taking a year off I will be ready to finish my nursing clinicals and try to be an adult. Who am I kidding I will never be an adult. Hope to see all of my long lost friends soon and enjoy an adult beverage on a ski slope somewhere. Kate you wouldn't believe what hard core skiing they have down here.

The Game Trail Ski Trail on Ski Apache

You think once you graduate you don't have to study anymore. Wrong!

2006-10-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Verisimilitude- the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
Who uses words like this? I'm becoming more aware of my lack of vocabulary as I study for the GRE. I can't believe some of the words they want you to know for this test. I'm taking the GRE in a few weeks so I am trying to study hard, but am realizing that this test is going to be a huge challenge. I'm applying to graduate school, and still hoping to finish my nursing. I'm still in Texas working hard for 4 more weeks. I will then be leaving this place and hope never to return again. After, I will be going to Wyoming for a month to do a Wilderness EMT certificaiton. After this, who knows where the road will lead me. Hopefully to a mountain covered in light, fluffly snow.

Dead people

2006-10-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

So this is the real reason I went to Peru, to examine mummies and skeletal remains dating to 500 A.D.. Some of you may think I'm sick and twisted, but I find it to be quite fascinating to try and figure out what happend to these people. I hope to return and continue researching.

skiing in patagonia

2006-08-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

So my whole trip to Peru has been completly crazy, since in how I am no longer in Peru but in Patagonia. I never imagined a place that could be so beautiful. I skiied my ass of yesterday at resort called Catedral and am really sore. Its amazing how only a few months away from the slopes will really get you out of shape. I´m looking forward to the upcoming ski season. I´ve had a really great eye opening experiance here and can´t wait to see everyone back home, and definetly there will be some long phone conversations explaining everything that has happend. I also went kayaking with a guy from England and another guy from New Zealand today. I am in Bariloche, Argentina, which is in Patagonia. It is called the lake district and they aren´t kidding with the name. There are mountains and lakes for miles. I think I want to move to South America for a ski season. Whose coming with me?

Peru

2006-08-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

I´m in Cusco, Peru right now. The whole trip has taken an insane turn in a direction that I can not explain right now. I will have to explain to everyone what happend when I get home. I am taking an extensive spanish language course here and also volunteering with the street children. I have done a bit of traveling, but will probably be returning back to Utah early than expected because of some unexpected occurrences. Lets just say that life never turns out the way that you expect it to. It always throws little detours along the way. It seems like my life is one big obstacle, but maybe this is the way it was meant to be. I will talk to everyone when I get back to the states.

hola!

2006-07-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

Just finished my Spanish class. I'm not quite fluent, but I definetly learned some conversational skills. As you can tell from the picture I had some interesting characters in my class. The class started out with about 25 people and by the last day there were five of us, me being the only female. I'm off to Peru this week so I probably won't be posting anything new unless I can find an internet cafe that allows picture uploading. E-mail will be a great way to stay in contact if anyone feels the need.
Hasta Luego!

One more perk of living in the desert.

2006-07-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

There are teranchelas all over the desert. I'm constantly walking over them and their homes. Kind of creepy, but they are not as bad as the cactus and acacia thorns that are embedded in my legs. Also not as bad as the rattlesnakes, but you won't see me getting close to them to take a picture. Work has been challenging because one of my bosses has been a complete jerk to me, but I'm trying to stay positive. Some men don't know how to work with females. I leave for Peru in two weeks so it should be a nice break from this place I call home.

2006-07-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

I had to get out of the desert for a few days and see some mountains, so I went to the Telluride Blue Grass Festival in Colorado. This is the huge tent city I camped at. It was a blast and everyone I met was so awesome!

Just another day at work.

2006-07-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

I got taken over by the army.

How do you know you live in the armpit of the country?

2006-06-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

1. Nobody speaks English.
2. Sometimes you don't get water and when you do it's brown?
3. It's 120 degrees!
4. It never rains.
5. When you see rain clouds in the sky it's really just pollution.
6. The crunchy thing in your sushi roll isn't a vegetable, it's a cockroach.
7. There are 100 flights a day leaving, but only one flying in.
8. You look like you have a great tan, but really it's just a layer of dirt from the sand storms.
9. You have three deadbolts on your door, but you can still break in.
10. You think there is an earthquake, but really it's just the neighbors stereo.
11. Nobody throws garbage in a trash can.
12. People keep asking you why on earth you moved there.
13. When driving down the freeway you see billboards that say "Make sure your child is really yours, get a DNA test."
14. Rexburg, Idaho is starting to look like Maui.

2006-05-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Graduation! Wow! I cried the whole time because the ten year plan only took me eight.

2006-05-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

The scenery I look at everyday. This is the Chihuahua Desert in southern New Mexico where I hike for ten hours a day.

Since the military does testings out here we always find old missiles.This is a piece of pottery. Typically this is what we find everyday.

2006-05-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is an oryx, an african antelope. They were transplanted in the desert by the military. I kind of feel like I'm on an african safari when I see one.

Das ist me!

2006-04-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

What's happening this summer?

2006-04-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

I'll be working on an archaeology project in Acari Valley, Peru. We will be excavating a cemetery dating to around 500 A.D.. My job will consist of examining the skeletal remains and determining sex, age, and hopefully tell if they had any diseases. Keep posted for pictures.