Summer Days Drifting Away But, Ah, Oh Those Summer Nights!

Hey all, I’m back!

It’s been a long summer but it seemed so short because school is already back in session! So to start with, I travelled to Australia in late June/early July on my way home for the summer. For 10 days, I stayed with my host brother, Andres, from Ecuador in Melbourne. Every day we went and did something different and there was even a day I went exploring by myself in the city! Highlights were:

        Sea Life Melbourne aquarium-which happened to be promoting the movie Finding Dory at the time; therefore it was pretty fitting

        Queen Victoria market-an older styled open market with stalls and shops where you can find almost anything. I bought my soccer jersey here.

        National Gallery of Victoria-an art museum which, at the time, featured Edgar Degas. I had heard of him previously but didn’t know much about him at all. What was especially cool was that I saw many of his works that I knew but didn’t know was his. Also on the way here from the train station, Andres and I stumbled upon (what I think was called) the State Theatre. I wanted to go in and see if I could tour the stage or something but we couldn’t find a way in there. Instead, we did come across a mini museum featuring costumes, costume designs, light designs, set designs, etc. So, basically I got to geek out on all these pieces for different shows that have come through that mainstage, some of them are/were really famous designers and/or shows.

        Shrine of Remembrance-a memorial dedicated to the Australian men and women who died in World War I, or The Great War as it is referred to there. The architects were actually soldiers who had returned from the war and their designs were based off of one of the Seven Wonders of the World-the mausoleum at Harlicarnassus to Mausolus, King of Caria in South West Asia Minor. It opened in 1934 and is still in great shape. Below ground in the crypt, my favorite part was a sculpture of a father and son standing back to back which represents the two generations fighting in the World Wars.

        Old Melbourne Gaol-a former prison that was very popular in its heyday. It is now a museum with unique guided tours both during the day and at night. This one, I’d have to tell you about in person as it was, by far, my favorite part of Melbourne. Overall, the important parts are that there used to be executions in the prison until it closed in 1967, they have two guided tours to the court or the holding cells behind the court in which you have to act along, they do night tours (I really wanted to do but didn’t think staying alone in Melbourne until 10pm was a great idea), and it feels way more authentic after 3 or so as it becomes quiet and dark.

       Scienceworks-a museum dedicated to science from way back when until what we are continuing to work on now. This is more aimed towards younger kids but I definitely found this to be really cool as there’s a lot of hands-on stuff to do. My brother and I had so much fun hanging out in one area for about 3 hours but it closed after that, unfortunately. I would definitely go back to see everything else they have.

        St. Kilda Beach-even though I was visiting during the Australian winter, it was not too bad. It was quieter and more peaceful, cold, but still worth the visit. There were still tourists and locals along the beach walking and some had dogs we got to pet. Mostly, though, it was just a nice break to just relax and hang out with my brother and talk with him.

Now after I left Australia, I flew the other way around the world and flew into Los Angeles. I left Australia at 8am on July 3^rd and arrived in LA at 7:45am on July 3^rd while also getting a full night’s sleep. Weird. Anyways, I had about a 10 hour layover in LAX before I could get on my last plane to Omaha so I had booked a personal tour of the city. The tour guide, named Javier, picked me up at LAX (after waiting for me to get out for about 45 minutes) and drove me around the city. He told me multiple times that if I fell asleep he would not be offended. The tour company had packed a small cooler of water and soda for me in case I needed something and Javier also told me we could stop and do almost anything I wanted because I was the only one on this trip-I pay for what I want.

We started off driving through a small cemetery where Marilyn Monroe’s grave is and then drove over the Venetian canals (in LA, of course). We then went to Venice Beach, a.k.a. Muscle Beach, and wandered around before we left for Santa Monica Beach. He left me there to wander myself for about an hour and then we went to Beverly Hills. He showed me a few celebrity’s houses/front gates along the way and explained some architecture and horticulture to me as we were driving across the few blocks. Javier also had me pose and/or directed me to a couple spots where they’re the most common or well-known places for every place we went. For lunch we went to the Original Farmer’s Market and I decided on a Mexican meal since I hadn’t had any real Mexican food in about a year. Anyways, for dessert Javier left me to finish my meal while he went to grab donuts at one of the most famous donut shops there. While he left I happened to meet an older Iowa couple who had won a trip to LA from a radio station. When he returned, we took a short walk through the Grove and back to the car. Javier then took me to the La Brea Tar Pits and left me to explore again by myself.

We then moved on to the very “touristy” things-the Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars are held) and the Chinese Theatre (which hosts many of the movie premieres of Hollywood and has the handprints/footprints of people in front). This was also one of eighteen blocks which the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame is-all those stars with celebrity names. Across the street from where I was standing was El Capitan where majority of Disney movies are premiered and the Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Show outdoor stage is. Lastly Javier and I went to a lookout over most of Los Angeles and to the Hollywood sign. We spent about 45 minutes between the two and then he brought me back to LAX for my last flight. By this time I was dead tired even though I had gotten about 7-8 hours of sleep the night before. However, Javier was great and really catering to everything I needed. Anytime I needed a break or longer time somewhere, he allowed me to do so and when I needed caffeine and/or sugar, he obliged. Surprisingly, we chatted quite a bit in-between stops so he found out a lot about what I do and my life and what I’m interested in. He knew I liked movies and loved theatre and architecture so he explained that stuff more than anything else. I paid him at the end of the tour and left him a really good tip. We hugged goodbye and then I left for the last leg home.

Over the months of July and early August, most of my time was spent travelling between one house and another. I was visiting as many family and friends as I could before I had to leave again. I made a list at one point and I think there were about 20 names on there-which means a different place and a different house. Oi lots of driving. On the plus side, I can still differentiate my driving between Bahrain and the Midwest-which are obviously completely different.

I also took a road trip with a teacher from Bahrain and went out to Washington DC to do some visa work for this school year and so he could go camping on the beaches while I was visiting friends and family out there…and going to my cousin’s wedding! Anyways, beyond that, the summer went by pretty fast and now here I am back in Bahrain and already finished with a week of school. Really the only thing I can say so far of this year is that it’s odd seeing everybody gone that I became friends with but overall, it’s soooooo much easier than last year. I feel like I have gained respect from the students and am more known and I also know more of what I’m doing. Anyways, I should go do some work for school tomorrow so until next time!