Tag Archives: adventure

Happy (kinda-sorta) New Year!

31 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by in Personal and Fun

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So, I didn’t write a post for the new year since I was out of town, but I’m going to do it NOW!

I am back in New York after 6 weeks away and I am facing what seems like an insurmountable task: I have to build a new life. From scratch.

I always struggle to find things to write about on this blog because I often feel like my life isn’t really exciting or I’m too embarrassed to write about my real opinions and struggles, but I came to a realization recently and the truth is, I have a lot to write about-I just need to gather the courage and be honest. So here’s the latest episode in the life of moi!

I’m sure you’re wondering why I have to build a new life for myself. I’ve told my three closest friends and my mom, but that’s about it. The bottom line is, I did not abide by old adage, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” I put all my eggs and the chickens that hatched them in the same basket and that basket was Riverdale, Bronx, NY. I worked there, I lived there, I loved there, and I spent all my time there for 2 years.

I moved to NYC in 2014 and found an apartment I could afford by myself in the Bronx. It wasn’t rent stabilized and it went up like 5 percent a year. The lease on my apartment on the Grand Concourse was up at the end of August 2016 and I decided not to renew it because they upped my rent to $1300 a month (I know, I know. All you NYCers are going “Whattt the hell? That’s peanuts!”). I know now that I made a terrible mistake, but alas, I have also realized I am apparently not great at making responsible life choices. I was not making enough money to pay that amount of rent living alone and stay on top of my student loan payments, plus the commute to work before I had my car was an hour and a half-so I chose to stay on top of my loan payments and move out.

SN: It was also in Mount Hope which was not necessarily a safe environment for my single self to be staying. I never had any problems but I (and my parents) felt like it was a ticking time bomb before something was bound to occur and it was also not great that I didn’t feel safe to leave my apartment after dark.

img_1721Before moving, I looked for an apartment for over a month, consulted two real estate agents, put up flyers-basically anything you can imagine. Long story short, there were no other apartments anywhere for less than $1300 a month (except in Far Rockaway or New Jersey) and despite the flyers and asking around I was unable to find a roommate during the month. I made a friend last March (the professor who is teaching me Hebrew and Judaica and who I went to Israel with) and we had been casually dating for 6 months. We didn’t really label anything and while the relationship was serious, it was multifaceted and was not just romantic, but also largely academic in nature. He knew about my search and asked me to move in with him. It was a 3 minute WALK to work and the apartment was in a nice building in a safe, clean, and quiet environment. Things were going great, I continued working, I was learning Hebrew and studying Judaism (in hopes of expanding my past scholarship of the subject incase I got into a PhD program), and as far as I knew things were cool. In September we planned a trip to Israel together for December and I gave my boss my notice. I had planned to quit my job because the client I was taking care of had deteriorated and her condition became very difficult for me to handle. Plus, I had a new M.A. and I really wanted to find a career utilizing my existing talents. Little did I know, this wasn’t a permanent or even semi-permanent living arrangement. There is a significant age difference between us and a religious difference, so it turns out that when people in the community found out about the nature of our relationship and about my religious affiliation things did not go over well. Since I am not part of the social/religious scene in the community, I was unaware that things had gone awry until I was informed that I needed to move.

A few days before my last day at work and a week or so before my trip to Israel, some extremely complicated circumstances arose and my friend was told directly that living with me was not right or proper or pious or normal or good due to the aforementioned age and religious differences. Members of the community insulted my character and questioned my motives and life choices (all this without my knowledge). Several people got involved and long story short, they made it impossible for me to continue living there-against the wishes of both my friend and I. It was an insanely unfortunate and heartbreaking turn of events for yours truly and taught me an extremely hard lesson. I quit my job under the impression I would have a place to stay after the trip while I looked for a career. But as fate would have it, within a 3 day period, I was a soon to be 28 year old, going into a new year as a single, childless, homeless, jobless woman with a ticket to Israel, a few college degrees, and not much else.

Needless to say, this reality hit me like a ton of bricks, so after a two-day sobbing fit, I had to put my big girl pants on and get to fixing (while packing for a month-long trip).

In between more crying (again, at this point, still believing I had been dumped out of the blue), I got a second storage room and moved all my clothes, kitchen appliances, bedding, and hygiene stuff in (I moved all my furniture and stuff into storage when I left my apartment). I met with a friend and put out ads on half a dozen apps looking for rentals/roomshares and I started saving job listings.

SN #1: I was unaware of the behind-the-scenes circumstances that led to me being kicked out of where I was living until I got to Israel and investigated and uncovered what happened on my own. From the start, my friend had taken the blame and said he had just changed his mind about our relationship (which made me extremely upset and confused me greatly since things had been going so well), but then when I found out the truth on my own, he explained the entire two month long saga that led up to the atomic-bomb level explosion that occurred right before the trip. I am not really at liberty to give specific details (yet again, people stay steady creepin’ my social networks, haha) but his clarification of the events did help me understand the situation-specifically the socio-economic intricacies of the Jewish community-and after a few days of walking around Tel Aviv together, things were resolved between us. However, despite the clarity and resolution, my situation remained the same, obviously.

SN #2: Also, funny (funny as in mind-shatteringly depressing) freaking story. Back in October (maybe early November, I honestly can’t remember) I took the test for entry into the State Department for the second time. See, you can take and pass the test numerous times before you are invited for an interview. I passed the test in 2010 but wasn’t invited for an interview, so I decided to take the test again. I passed it and was waiting for the results when all this happened. Well, I’m sure you can guess by now, I found out about a week before my return from Israel that I passed the test for a second time but wasn’t invited for an interview. On top of everything else, this kind of sent me over the edge emotionally. My two dream careers at this point (now that I know National Geographic photographer and Oscar winning actress are out of reach) are being a professor (at a private university) or joining the State Department. I can’t seem to get into a PhD program and I can’t seem to get into the State Department. So, not only am I working to build a new life, I also have to find a new dream. And that’s just heartbreaking, y’all!

I found a room rental with a friend of a friend from NYU a few days before I left for my trip (🙏🏻🙌🏻🙏🏻 PTL) and used my last pay check to pay through February. I went home to Texas after my trip to Israel and had another sobbing fest with my mom and my best friends and some tequila which also helped a lot. Then I started applying for jobs. I’ve applied for over 35 jobs so far and plan to keep applying until I find something. While I apply for jobs, my next order of business is to sell and/or donate as many of the things I have in storage as possible. I spent last week cleaning out my second storage room and donated/threw away 6+ bags of clothes, numerous pairs of shoes, an entire kitchen, and an entire office. I need to sell my bed, couch, and dining room table and chairs next. When I got to Israel, I found another more permanent living situation with some new roommates in Washington Heights and will be moving there tomorrow. I’ve signed a lease for 3 months just in case I don’t find a job or it’s secretly a crack-den. Once I find a job, I can start looking for a more permanent living situation and thennn this whole ordeal will be fixed.

I’m so angry and disappointed. I’m disappointed that I decided to trust and depend on someone and in the end both of our lives were turned upside down by external circumstances. It was instantly made clear to me that no matter one’s age or net worth or religion or social network or character, none of us is in control of ANYTHING. It is terrifying. I am very quick to identify my mistakes in situations and let me tell youuu, I have made a ton of shitty mistakes in my life, but I felt like I was making well-meaning and seemingly responsible choices, yet here I am. While I am angry and disappointed, I am equally exhausted. One after the other, from the time I was 17-so, over a decade now-I have loved boys and men that were either incapable of loving me the way I loved them or simply did not want to love me back (I broke a couple of hearts and dated a  few pathological liars too, so it’s been a bundle of fun, of course). I am exhausted. I trusted my gut and did something I thought was good and right and it caused my life to implode. I loved another person unconditionally and have been punished for it. I’m sad that my character and life have been judged and changed by people I don’t know and who don’t know me, solely because of my age and religion. My education didn’t matter, my character didn’t matter, my morals didn’t matter, my personality didn’t matter, my looks didn’t matter, my work ethic didn’t matter, my reputation didn’t matter, the fact that I took care of a woman in the community for two years didn’t matter, the fact I embraced a religion, language and culture that were not my own didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except what a group of people thought about me. What was going to be a fun month abroad followed by an intensive career search to kick off my adult life in a passionate new direction has now turned into a frantic search for a job while living out of a suitcase and renting a bed in a boarding house.

On top of all this, my parents are going through their own challenges with illnesses, career changes, and family obligations (my grandmother in Alabama was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s), so this time around I have to pick myself up and figure all this out on my own. I’m an only child so it’s only natural that I learn to cope with stuff and figure out this life independently of everyone, but I do wish it would have happened a little more gradually this go-around.

Despite the whirlwind of events and emotions, I do feel liberated in a sense. I went through one of these life/emotion/consciousness-shifting events in late 2011/12 and it led me here to New York, so who’s to say where this will catapult me next. Other than the looming anvil that is student loan payments, I am fortunate to have savings and wonderful credit, so as long as I can find a job in a reasonable length of time, everything will be fine.

SN: I started reading the Bible recently. Partly for scholarship and partly to atone or shake off whatever kind of bad juju one of y’all has put on me. If you’re interested check out this site. My friend is an expert of the Bible so it’s been cool to be able to ask questions and get real answers without feeling like a heretic. (The last time I read the Bible at length was in 7th grade at an evangelical private school and asking questions/challenging the teacher’s interpretation/not accepting it as literal was highlyyy frowned upon). It presents the Bible in like 10 formats and also includes commentary, translations, and other versions. I didn’t realize Beersheba was such a big part of the Bible so it makes it even cooler that I was there!

So, my 2017 started off in a heavenly location, with phenomenal people (as I said-this situation was restricted completely to Riverdale-everyone in Israel accepted me with zero judgement and was extremely nice), while I was in complete turmoil internally because I do not know what I’m going to do with my life. I’ll be renting a room and living out of a suitcase for the foreseeable future. If I can’t find a job in the next 12 weeks, I’ll be doing the U-Haul thing while towing my car from NYC to Dallas, which would be a literal nightmare.

I have faith things are going to work out though!

I did make some resolutions while I was on my trip (follow me on li.st):

1. Sell/donate my belongings.

2. Take concrete steps toward starting a career.

3. Minimize/Simplify.

4. Think more carefully before speaking.

5. Start a creative/artistic project (hopefully YouTube if I can ever make time to edit).

6. Put more effort into cultivating friendships.

7. Love someone.

8. Dedicate more time to my mental, physical, and spiritual health.

9. Work at being more patient.

10. Curb the intensity of my emotional reactions.

Check back in because I will be posting updates on my furniture-selling-job-hunting-freezing-my-ass-off-in-New York-in-February-room-renting-crazy life!

Talk to y’all later!

P.S. Need a roommate in NYC? Email me at thatgingeranna@gmail.com

P.S.S. Need an employee? Hire me.

P.S.S.S.  Want a gift from me? Become a patron.

Find me on all the platforms @thatgingeranna

 

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One Down, Three to Go: Tel Aviv-Jaffa!

15 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by in Personal and Fun, Travel

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What’s going on everyone? So, I’ve been in Israel a little over a week. My time in Tel Aviv is over and I’ll be in Mashabei Sade Kibbutz for the remainder of my time here. Rather than writing two paragraphs a day for 7 days in Tel Aviv, I thought I’d go through the week in one post. I have some product recommendations and some bad reviews to dole out too, but anyway, let’s go!
First, I have never in my life had jet lag like I’ve had on this trip! I’ve been traveling long distances since I was in 3rd grade and this is the first time I ever remember it kicking my ass so. For the first few days I would go to bed at 10-11 PM and wake up at 1-2 AM. Now I’ve made it from 10-11 PM to 5-6 AM, but anyone who knows me knows that’s cray cray. I sleep like a champ. I have to nap in the afternoon for a couple of hours and it’s like that coma sleep where you can’t move and are uber disoriented when you wake up. I know by the time I get straightened out it will be time to go back to NYC and I’ll be all messed up again.

My summary for Tel Aviv is this: food, walking, and architecture!

I stayed at the Leonardo Art Hotel in Tel Aviv for a week. El Al provided a deal where you get a week at this hotel with the purchase of your tickets, so, alas, that’s where I was. I’m going to give it a low 3/5. The staff was extremely nice, the breakfast buffet was plentiful, and the views from the hotel and its proximity to the beach afford it 3.
It wasn’t clean-like at all. Especially the restaurant/lobby/bar. I had to bus a table every single time I went down for breakfast. There was ample staff in the restaurant, but everyone was just walking around (“Italian strike” they call it here). They had “No Smoking” signs everywhere, yet people were smoking all over the hotel. It was impossible to get into the hotel. Really tho, my friend is Israeli, from Tel Aviv, and spent 25 years on the beaches in the area and it took him 3 days to figure out a route into the hotel. Ultimately, you have to enter the back side of the hotel from the beach/boardwalk area (there are 4+ levels which you need to know in order to get into the hotel) or go through an abandoned labyrinth under the hotel filled with pee and poop and other such nonsense. It was fine since I was with someone, but I absolutely cannot recommend the hotel for solo female travelers. Had I booked that hotel alone, I would either have had to take a taxi every time I wanted to come or go or be back into my room before dark everyday.

 


If you aren’t on a budget, I suggest the Sheraton or Dan hotels. They are right on Gordon and Frishman beach and are easily accessible. My friend said the standard for cleanliness is different in Israel than elsewhere, so I can’t say if those hotels would be in better shape than the one I was in, but their locations are definitely better.

I’m also giving a failing grade to this dual-voltage straightener/curling iron and hairdryer. I tried each of them with both an adapter and a converter and I couldn’t get either one to work. I have been traveling abroad for about a decade and I have NEVER found any hair styling tools that work on this voltage. It’s a major bummer.
Two things I cannot recommend highly enough: Clark’s Sillian Tino Cloud Steppers (in black and tan), travel packets of coconut oil, LUSH Toothy Tabs, and Dr. Brenner’s castile soap! I have a serious issue with my right foot which has only worsened in recent years. I bought two pairs of the Sillian Tino shoes before my trip and I couldn’t be happier. I also used Clark’s on my trip to Italy and recommend them to everyone.

Day 2: Thursday, 1/8
Day 2 was definitely a highlight for me. I check out the main area around Dizengoff Street, bought some groceries, and walked all around the central area. Tel Aviv is a really unique city in many ways, but the architecture is dominated by Bauhaus style. Most of the buildings are white concrete, but the vegetation is very tropical. It is very reminiscent of southern Italy, parts of the Caribbean, and Greece. It has a very industrial, cold war feel, but it is experiencing a gentrification boom-for better or worse. My friend worked at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art before immigrating to NYC and working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so he knows several of the curators who have stayed on. We were invited to the opening of a photo exhibit by Mark Yashaev and then went down to check out the opening of a contemporary African art exhibit too. It was interesting to see the pieces and the design of the museum. After that we walked around Tel Aviv and got some falafel. I’d never had falafel before *gasp* so I thought it was delicious and the food stall next to the one I got my falafel from was playing Korean dramas! It was awesome, haha! In Tel Aviv their are tons of juice stands everywhere. You can get all different kinds of fresh squeezed fruit juice for around $5 (cheaper than NYC, hey hey hey!) so I went for a carrot juice in hopes it would help me bounce back from all the nastiness on the airplane.

Mark Yashaev “”Only from this suddenness and on”

Anna’s first falafel

Day 3: Friday, 1/9
Thursday was a chill day with lots of walking. I walked the entire Tayelet starting at Gordon pool to Charles Clore park and back. The Tel Aviv coast has been under extensive renovation for several years to create this huge boardwalk called Tayelet with tons of cafes and other activities. There are still sections that are being built, but the main area runs from Gordon Beach past Frishman Beach (so named because they are the terminus for Gordon and Frishman avenues). It was by far my favorite part of Tel Aviv! It is clean, well designed, modern, and laid back. I only went to one cafe in the area, but I have been told the prices are high, so keep that in mind. There are tons to pick from though. Every hundred yards or so there are three cafes and I am quite sure each place has deals on different specialities and on different days. You can eat on the actual beach or up on the boardwalk too. The views are great and if the weather is nice it’s perfect. It’s also a wonderful place to see the sunset and people watch.



When you think about visiting Israel, shabbat should play a role in your planning. There are religious political parties (kind of like a lobby since they have a coalition setup here) in Israel which affect many aspects of daily life, including the certification of hotels and business for use by observant Jews. Hotels and other businesses have to have certain amenities and follow certain rules so that observant Jewish customers can use the business without violating religious law. Obviously, there are millions of secular Jews who do not observe shabbat, but it will impact some aspects of your stay. Most hotels have synagogues (if they have enough observant guests to make a minyan), sinks for netilat yadayim, a candle station somewhere since people lighting candles in their room is hazardous, and last but not least many hotels and restaurants’ food selections are restricted on Saturdays since they cannot maintain a Kosher establishment anddd cook+make money on Shabbat. I don’t know about all of the hotels, but Leonardo Art, Carlton, and Hilton Hotel each followed the rules. Hilton apparently has a boss synagogue if you are in the area and need a place to pray!
Since the hotel restaurant was closed and all of the other places around the hotel closed early too, my friend and I used the Easy app (Israel-Tel Aviv in particular-is a high-tech capital, so I definitely suggest an international plan/Israeli SIM card) to find an Iraqi restaurant, Abu Zaki, that was open on Shabbat. It was AMAZING and they played Bob Marley! I tried two different types of kebab: one with tomato and one with tahini and then they provided complimentary salads, hummus, and pita (think Korean banchan). I met a cool Puerto Rican guy from Orlando who worked for Lockheed Martin on the F-35 project that’s been at the forefront of Israeli news recently. He was super friendly and the restaurant was packed since it was the only place in the area open.


Day 4: Saturday, 1/10
Make sure you book a Saturday in Tel Aviv if you plan to come to Israel! Saturday on the Tayelet was amazing. It was PACKED and there were so many things to see and do. There is a “folk dancing” group that meets every Saturday there and the cafes are bustling. I ventured to Cafe Gordo to people watch. I tried Tuborg beer (I’d say it’s the most popular brand in Tel Aviv-although there are tons of beer places you should definitely try on your stay) and had some French fries while I watched shirtless Israeli men try to Don-Juan their way into the pants of their dates. ‘Twas amazing! I walked to Frishman and back and watched more of the folk dancing. Then headed back to my hotel. Saturday night, I walked to Basel Street and had some AMAZING Italian food at Rustico. My friend has a friend that used to live in NYC and now owns a great bakery in Holon called Lachma. He supplies breads to all kinds of restaurants in the city and is also the captain of the Israeli international baking team (it’s a competitive field!). They just opened a pop-up retailer in Tel Aviv too, so check it out! I tried a hefeweizen brewed by Weihenstephan and some gnocchi with chestnuts. The restaurant was the cleanest place I visited in Tel Aviv, the staff was nice, and the food was delicious. We each got an entree and tall beer and the cost was around 500 NIS, but I would definitely recommend it.


Day 5: Sunday, 1/11

This was my favorite day in Tel Aviv. I spent the morning on Gordon beach, checked out the Ben Gurion house, talked to some surfers (it’s super popular here, so if you are interested check out this place!) and then went to JAFFA!


It is everything you think of when you think of Israel. Old architecture, historical places, a mix of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim places of worship, shopping, restaurants, markets, the list goes on. If you are up for it, you can walk the Tayelet almosttt all the way OR take the Number 10 bus (you buy tickets with cash on the bus here) from central Tel Aviv.

Yafo as it’s called in Hebrew is where the whole Jonah and the Whale thing went down and it was also a headquarters for the Ottomans. The history of the city stretches back to ancient times and it is absolutely worth checking out. There is a beautiful park, a port, a market area, mosques, many different Christian monasteries and churches, and cats everywhereee.

I went into this hummus restaurant-yes, you read that right, they have entire restaurants dedicated to hummus here. It was packed and they offered all kinds of different hummus dishes. I got hummus, pita, and falafel and made my own little sandwich. It was a family-owned place and catered to religious people, so it was interesting to sit and watch the clientele come and go. I was only in Jaffa for a few hours, but I would suggest planning a day trip there so that you can try a few different restaurants and shop.


Day 6: Monday, 1/12

Monday was my last day in Tel Aviv and I made it count. I walked all around the Yemini quarter, flea market, and Shuk Carmel. Shuk Carmel is definitely something to see, it’s a huge market with everything you can ever imagine, but the most popular items are fruits, vegetables, and desserts. If you rent an apartment or AirBnB here, I’d definitely make this place my first stop to stock up on food for your stay. There is Chinese, Mexican, Venezuelan, Arab, American, organic foods, desserts, cheeses, dry goods, etc. at every turn. If you get outside of the market into some of the more residential areas, there are also tons of small cafes and restaurants to try. After Shuk Carmel, I walked to Rothschild Boulevard and got some lunch. This area is poppin’! I am not a club/party goer so I didn’t venture out at night, but I’ve been told that this is the area to go if you want to bar hop! All of Tel Aviv is absolutely crammed with bars and restaurants so it’s definitely worth downloading an app so that you can explore all of the different areas and try the different foods. The beer scene and vegan scene are also huge here (more so than most other countries I’ve visited), so those are also great things to check out! I stoped at a liquor store and got some Arak (Israeli liquor…I plan to crack it open Friday night, so I will update you with drunk Snaps :P) and then my friend went to visit his old office. He worked for the Israeli government in the tax office for a while, so he wanted to visit his coworkers. They had an Ethiopian security guard that freaked out because I had a camera, but the office itself was straight out of a movie. The employees were smoking at their desks, they closed between 2 and 3 everyday, and my friend said the employees were even sitting in the same chairs in the same spot as when he left Israel 30 years ago-like an “Italian strike”, he said. Everyone was nice and it was so interesting to see the similarities and differences between American and Israeli government work.

My new Iraqi friend


Day 7: Tuesday, 1/13

Tuesday morning I left Leonardo Art Hotel and my friend’s nephew drove to Mashabei Sade Kibbutz in Mashabei Sade, Israel. It is near Be’er Sheva in the middle of the Negev desert. I will make a separate post about the kibbutz soon and I also have some day trips planned from here which I will write about. The holidays are coming up, so that will be the next big thing. I also plan to do some interviews while I’m here so check back in this weekend!


All in all, Tel Aviv is a great place to visit. It’s like a middle ground between Southern Europe and the Middle East. Food is number one here and I do wish I had the budget to try more restaurants. It is by far the most foodie friendly city I’ve been to anywhere in the world! While the standard of cleanliness wasn’t the highest, I never got sick or anything so I can’t complain. The beaches and water are gorgeous and I never felt unsafe when I was out an about (except in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater labyrinth under the hotel). There are tons of monuments and historical places to visit, a bustling art scene, and it’s super pet-friendly too. I would suggest renting an apartment (check out Roomster or AirBnB) and chilling at the beach as much as possible. It is vastly different than what one would expect, but it’s definitely worth visiting! I also think it’s a very drivable country/city, so don’t hesitate to rent a car (although, parking is a nightmare).
Also, I’ve posted a TON of pictures on Instagram so be sure to follow me @thatgingeranna
SN: For whatever reason, the videos I record on my Nikon DSLR will not transfer to my iPad/iPhone, so I can’t edit and post them (hence the lack of YouTube videos ;/). Does anyone know how to remedy this? I bought an adapter to plug my memory cards into my iPad/iPhone via lightning, but it doesn’t give me the option to view/transfer video.

Until next time!

Day 1: Interrogations, Tefillin, and Strip Clubs

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by in Personal and Fun, Travel

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יום א

Hey, guys. I’m here in Tel Aviv ready to see stuff and things.

As I wrote earlier today, I’m on a month long stay in Israel!

So, getting here was the MOST hilarious experience I’ve ever had on a trip. The airline I used had a passport control line before you could even check in for your flight.

Apparently, a twenty-something female traveling to a country for the first time with an older man sets off some kind of prostitute-terrorist red flags in their little system because they went hard in the paint.

First, my friend and I went up to a kiosk when it was our turn in line. A young man asked for my passport and asked a couple of questions about why I’m going to Israel (standard stuff). Then he asked my friend why we were together. He said hold on and went and got some older guy. He came and asked me the same questions and then went and got a lady and told her in Hebrew to take me across the terminal to another kiosk.

Now, I’ve seen enough movies and episodes of Locked up Abroad to know if they separate you from people you’re traveling with, it’s about to get cray.

This last interrogator was some intense woman who kept asking me if I let anyone put a bomb in my bag and that innocent gifts can be bombs too.

I now know they then asked my friend where I worked, how I paid for my ticket, if he’d ever met my parents, if I was Jewish, what the nature of our relationship is, etc.

The first guy asked me was if I was a member of a synagogue or church and I said a church so the lady asked me 37 questions about that: When’s the last time I went, did I pay to be a member, what church, where is it located, what religion is it, would anyone know me there. Then they asked my friend where, when, why, and how we met. Then his interrogator and mine kept walking away from their kiosks and comparing our answers.

I have a new passport because my old one expired and they couldn’t understand that. I had to explain everywhere I went with the old passport, the dates and duration of my trips, with whom I travelled and why.

This included day-trips to Turkey and Morocco so I had to give the lowdown on that. Then she asked me all about my job and school and the nature/duration/reason for mine and my friend’s relationship and my financial situation.  They asked each of us more personal questions that made it clear they thought I was either an international call-girl or a terrorist or both and compared their answers again.

Then the lady escorted me to the check in desk and told me we would be intercepted after TSA security.

They followed us all the way to the gate. They intercepted us before we got in line to board as I was exiting the bathroom. They took our carryons into a separate room, made us wait until final boarding was called, and searched each of them by hand (all after the TSA search).

Then, they pulled me into a room alone with three more security specialists and scanned my body, clothes, and stuff. Then they escorted both of us past the line to board and onto the plane.

They did this to two other people on the flight too…I won’t comment on what we did and didn’t have in common.

The plane was a 747-400 that had two stories! I’ve always seen those on TV and in movies but never IRL, so that was neat!

Now, the plane ride was also super interesting. I’d say 90 percent of the travelers were Orthodox Jewish. Now, before I moved to NYC, I thought there were three groups of Jews: Orthodox Jews with the hats and curls, Jews who wore yarmulkes, and secular Jews that just belonged to the culture. Now that I’m not ignorant of the denominations, I know there are dozens of sects and cultural groups. Long story short, I am fascinated and completely naive of Orthodox Judaism so flying with a huge group was interesting. There were a couple of groups of new immigrants and American Christians too.

The food was delicious and all Kosher, of course. Twice during the flight all the orthodox men got up and went through their prayer rituals with their Tallit and Tefillin (shawls and phylacteries).

I was amazed they were allowed to get up and pack and unpack all of their supplies and get in groups and walk around and stand near the exit doors and everything, but my friend said the staff gave up trying to enforce the rules long, long ago.

**Even though it was confusing and embarrassing (like my gingerness doesn’t make me stick out enough), I’m genuinely glad the airline/security and immigration officials take everything so seriously. I’m not being sarcastic or anything like that. It was a hilarious and enlightening experience that I will never forget.**

The flight went by surprisingly fast (as it always does going, but seldom returning) and we didn’t have any issues once we got here. My friend’s nephew picked us up and drove us to the hotel.

I got a few hours of sleep but woke up at 2 AM and haven’t been able to go back to bed.

Side note: It also turns out there are strip clubs here and the window in my room gives me a fullllll, elevated view of the entrance/exit of a huge one called Pussycat. There will be much filming and picture taking of these drunk fools stumbling in and out of here.

Tomorrow my friend has to take care of some business downtown and then I think I’ll go to the grocery store and who knows what else. The hotel is right on the marina so hopefully some beachin’ will take place at some point.

I’m going to attempt to get a couple of hours sleep in the meantime. Catch y’all mañana!

Don’t forget to add me on all the things @thatgingeranna

Waiting for the security specialists to clear my carryons!

40 for 40: Summer 2K15 in NYC!

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Personal and Fun, Travel

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I’m back!

I just had my last class of the semester on Monday night and except for some paper editing, I am done with all of my final assignments. The end of this semester wasn’t nearly as hectic as last semester, thank goodness (no flu, yay!).

I really want to explore the city and do some fun things before I start back to classes in September. I probably won’t get to go back to Texas because I’ve picked up a second job, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun up here.  Keeping in line with my pattern, I am going to start another “40” series. This time I am going to do 40 activities for under $40, in NYC and the surrounding area! I want to do as many free/low cost things as possible, but there will be a few things that I splurge on. I will post pictures of all of the activities on IG, with the tag #40for40NYC. Here are the 40 things I plan to do this summer, in no particular order:

  • The High Line
  • Roof Garden Café and Martini Bar
  • Fort Lee-Korea Town
  • Geocaching
  • Garibaldi House on Staten Island
  • Coney Island
  • Run a 5k
  • Go to a Concert: Willy Nelson 8/12 or Sublime 8/5
  • Rockaway Beach
  • Queens-Korea Town

  

  • Bronx Zoo
  • Self-guided I Love Lucy or SATC walking tour
  • Baseball Game
  • Ellis Island
  • Fleet Week
  • Pride Parade: June 28
  • Horse Race
  • The Polo Bar
  • Giglio di Saint Antonio Fest: August 6-9
  • Italian Film Retrospective: May 22-31

  

  • Dim Sum
  • Wine and Picnic in Central Park
  • Hot Yoga
  • Weekend Trip Upstate (The Hamptons or elsewhere)
  • New York Public Library
  • Empire State Building
  • Brooklyn Bridge
  • Central Park
  • A Farmers Market
  • Natural History Museum

  

  • Comedy Show
  • New Movie+ Write Movie Review
  • Pok Pok NY
  • Real dive bar/pub
  • The Cloisters 
  • Jamestown/Lucille Ball Comedy festival
  • Soccer game
  • Jollibee
  • Jackson Heights
  • Green-Wood Cemetery

This is just a provisional list. I may do more than one activity in a day, some days and other times, I may only be able to fit in one activity the entire week (I’m taking a 6 week class toward the end of the summer). I will blog about the activities as I go along and if any of you have any particular places you’d like me to check out and report back on, leave your suggestion in the comments! Since this is a rigid schedule, I may skip some things and substitute other activities in their place. Other options include: beach camping and fishing (if I can find a buddy that has supplies), bowling (if I can find a group to go with), ice skating, the Montauk light house, more restaurants, more classes/lectures, exploring the Bronx  and Long Island. The goal is to spend less than $40 on each activity. Obviously I don’t have $1,600 to blow on summer activities, but many of these things are free or low cost, so that will allow me to save the allotted $40 or its remainder for some of the bigger activities (weekend trip, concert, Jamestown, etc.).  I will begin participating in #WODW again and also blog about other things here and there. Thanks again for reading, lets get this marathon of tourism started!
What should I do first?!

An Adventurer Adventuring for Adventure’s Sake

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Personal and Fun, Uncategorized

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So, one great thing about being an Army brat is the opportunity to meet so many people that you otherwise wouln’t have the opportunity to get to know.

My dad was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii from 1997 to 2003 and I made several friends during that time. One of the girls I got to know was from Texas and we hung out for a few years when we both lived there. We lost touch, but 5 years later when my dad was stationed at Ft. Hood, she happened to see him at the PX and we were able to reconnect. Several years later when I moved to Texas I was able to hang out with her again and I would go down to her house once every other month or so to catch up. During this time I got to know her older sister a little better and a few summers ago I was invited to her birthday party (you guys may remember that I stayed with her for a week in Aversa last summer, during my Italia in 40 adventure). We all went to a waterpark and I got to meet all of my friend’s older sister’s friends. Over the next several months I went down there several times for other parties and got to know a few new people each time. One of the people I met was a fellow Masters student and blogger, Shelly! 

It just so happens that Shelly aka Shelly’s Cabaret and one of her friends hosts a weekly writing prompt called “Write or Die Wednesdays.” It is open to all bloggers so feel free to link up and contribute! 



Adventure!

#writeordiewednesday



I’ve meant to contribute for months now, but I always worry that I won’t have anything interesting to contribute. 

Today is the day! 

“This week’s prompt is the word ADVENTURE. What has been your greatest adventure? What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done? Have you ever been on an emotional adventure? The writing possibilities are endless!”

While I would have to say that my greatest adventure has been my move to New York, I live for adventure. I’ve always loved hiking and traveling. By the grace of God, I got to take a 40-day backpacking trip to Italy last summer and loved every minute of it-despite traveling alone-and would do it again in a second.

My dream job would be documentary filmmaker or a photo journalist for a travel magazine. I love learning about people and having new experiences whenever I can.

This move to New York has definitely been my biggest adventure because everything in my life is completely different than it’s ever been. While I grew up in an apartment in a culturally diverse area in Hawaii, I was with my family and had a security blanket in my parents and pets. Here in New York I am completely alone, so everyday is an adventure. I never used public transportation (outside of traveling) in my life before moving here, so even going to work and having to map out my route and be able to adapt to route changes and delays is crazy for me. One of the big reasons I chose to live in the Bronx was because I knew it would be a big adventure. I encounter new cultures, languages, and religions everyday. 

Just today I was riding to work and saw a man on his balcony participating in a prayer ritual. He was rubbing his upper body with what looked like an ashen cloth and putting his hands up behind his head. He repeated this process several times before I drove off. I live a couple of blocks from several masjids and I see bearded men walking to prayers every Friday working through their Misbaha as they go along. There are african hairbraiding shops, bodegas, and various ethnic restaurants on every corner.

One of my favorite things about myself is my sense of advendture. A week or two ago, the Write or Die Wednesday prompt asked, “Who are you when you are in your element?” While I have many answers to this question, I would definitely say I am an adventurer at heart and my lifegoal is to go on as many adventures as I can.

I have to admit, when I was younger I was much more adventurous! I was a SUPER tomboy until about 10th grade and I was a daredevil in elementary school. I loved going fishing, skateboarding, building forts, swimming in the ocean, hiking with my dad, driving my four-wheeler…I don’t really know where that fearlessness went, but now I do worry about hurting myself and embarassing myself, which I never cared about in my younger days. I know high school stripped a lot of my self confidence away, so I really stopped trying to live outside the box. I had a crazy year in 2012 and had several of my security blankets ripped away at work and school, so I have slowly been getting back to being true to myself and going on new adventures.

I started Geocaching a few months ago and that has also inspired several recent adventures. It’s a global scavenger hunt of sorts and it is a great way to explore new areas!

Another adventure I’ve started since moving to New York is my job. I am a companion to an elderly woman with memory problems, so that is a challenging aspect of my life that requires adaptation on a daily basis. It’s such an interesting and rewarding job and I’ve been able to meet dozens of people that have really helped shape me as an individual these past few months.

I’m very adventurous in other ways too. I like learning new languages, watching foreign films, trying new foods, and listening to new types of music. I think trying new foods and branching out to different genres of music is one of the easiest ways to be adventurous in your daily life. 

I would highly suggest trying out Tunein and listeing to radio shows from around the world.

One of the best memories I have from a time when I decided to be adventurous was in 2009 on my way to Italy. I was flying from London to Milan and sat next to an older British guy, wearing a bright purple sweater over a red and white plaid button up. We struck up a conversation and he asked me to guess his profession. I guessed that he was a dentist or lawyer and it turns out he was a Reggae DJ. We talked the entire flight and I didn’t think much of it until I got home and Googled him. It turns out that it was none other than David “Ram Jam” Rodigan from BBC1! 3 years later I tuned into the BBC because I heard an advertisement for a Reggae program and he was the DJ! He’s worked with Bob Marley in the past and many other famous Reggae and Ska artists! 

I think a few of the keys to being adventurous are confidence, faith, and openmindedness. You have to be confident that trying new things will lead to fun memories and good experiences and you can’t close yourself off to things that are outside of your comfort zone. I think leaving my comfort zone is the the biggest difficulty for me. Once I make up my mind to leave the house and actually go out on an adventure, I’m never disappointed. Another big part of being adventurous is being able to find the fun in unexpected circumstances. This is a hard one for me too because I am not the most spontaneous person. I like spontaneity and I can roll with it if I am in that mindset, but I do get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. 

Anyone can have adventures-big or small-with a little confidence!

What’s the best adventure you’ve ever been on?