New Job

So I started a new job about two weeks ago, which means I officially have two.  The first one is still per diem, so the hours are iffy and only happen here and there.  The new one is full time, cooking on the line, in a fairly busy seafood restaurant.  It’s challenging, but that also makes it rewarding.  I’m picking it up rather quickly, and loving it so far.  Both of my jobs are places where I can excel and that I feel I’m appreciated.  Plus they both have benefits, which is super rare to find as a cook.  I’m finally in a place where I can start saving up travel money again, and I’m pleased beyond belief.  The timing is pretty good, as I have finally worn through my savings after being only sort of (if at all) employed since the beginning of December. 

There is another new development that is a bit more personal I won’t discuss on here, but which does a great job keeping a smile on my face.  It’s too early to know what this means as of yet, but I will see what happens!

In my last post I mentioned that I wasn’t sure what kind of plan I should work on in terms of traveling after some of the ideas I had kinda fell through for various reasons.  Some comments from friends have kinda made me solidify a concept in my head.  I’ve decided to travel without a plan.  Why bother looking at what I’m going to do when I go somewhere?  Instead, I’m going to save up some money and go be with my true love : India.  She’s been calling to me every day since I left, and I think it’s time to go back.

Happy New Year

My New Years resolution is to get out of here.  In the fastest, most efficient manner possible.

I’m currently weighing my options, and trying to figure out what makes the most sense, but I’m not sure that I want to commit myself to a new job at this point.  It seems my best bet is to quickly sell my things, put my personal effects in order, and just leave.

So far, hitting on the radar is Central America or Malaysia.  Although going back to India is, of course looking very attractive as well.  In the next few days, I will probably be making a decision to go for one or the other.  Unless an amazing opportunity comes up in the meantime. 

My original plan of driving through to Panama I’ve abandoned, because after more research I see that it’s not practically possible.  A lot of countries require a large deposit of money when you drive in, and sometimes you won’t get it back when you leave.

Russia is not likely at this point because the jobs teaching English require a TEFL certification, and spending the requisite $1000 for that when I’m unemployed is a big risk I’m not willing to take.

I have never heard back about the Tanzania job, so I guess that is out as well. 

Bigger and better things, and onward to an amazing 2014!  My next adventure starts now.  I can’t wait any longer!

Curveballs

Life can be strange sometimes.  For a couple of reasons, I am having some serious doubts all of a sudden about whether or not I will be able to pull off my plan of teaching in Russia.  For one thing, I hadn’t considered that 2014 is the year they are hosting the Winter Olympics, in the city of Sochi.  That might make it difficult to get a job over there.  For another, I just lost my job, and will not be able to enroll in the January class, because it would be prudent to hang onto my savings money in case I need it for rent.

It’s sad, and a bit stressful, but I know I will be okay.  There are several options for jobs out there, and I have a very good resume.  I am confident that I can find work in a timely manner.  It’s just unfortunate that 2014 likely won’t be the year for a Russian adventure for me.

It’s not all depressing, though.  I met a very interesting contact earlier today who seems very interested in potentially hiring me as a game cook for the eight month tourist season in Tanzania, starting in May.  One potential adventure seems to fade away while another one pops up in it’s place!

I will be polishing up my resume tomorrow and sending it his way by Friday.  He said he is also interested in forwarding it to a chef friend of his, and perhaps I can find some work that way.  This chef is quite accomplished, and has had cooking jobs in many places around the world.  One of these two contacts could turn out to be a great opportunity for me, and I’m sure I can learn a lot from either of them.

If the Tanzania goal works out, the timeline for that will be even earlier for my expected departure date to teach in Russia!  Wish me well, one way or the other.

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Russianification vs Westernization

This is a topic I have been thinking a lot about in the last few days as I prepare for my eventual move.  I’ve been watching a video blog called The Real Russia.  It has been interesting to me to see “Westernization” at play so heavily.  The guys on there have sung the praises of Coca Cola, KFC, McDonald’s and scotch whiskey.  A lot of the more traditional, even the modern traditional, clothing has gone away in favor of jeans and beenies (toques for my Anglo and Canadian readers).

Obviously, this trend has been exacerbated a lot by marketing from American companies trying to sell their products overseas.  A lot of Americans say that marketing to other countries and cultures is a form of cultural imperialism, and to a point, it can be.  Bear in mind however, that the reason these products have been embraced to the degree that they have is that the people there have a genuine interest in learning about our culture.  I would say that making a statement to the effect that people from other cultures shouldn’t be buying our products and hanging onto their old ways is in itself cultural imperialism.

For the entirety of the history of human civilization, people have been influenced by their neighbors, adopting things that they consider to be beneficial.  The only difference is that now you can get the same effect from those who live far away as well.  While the so called “Western” countries may be pushing things onto other places, it isn’t as if this is a one way pattern where we are completely untouched.  English has adopted many words from Hindi during the time of British rule in India, people in the US have a crazy obsession with tacos and (at least on the west coast) Asian culture.  I move that it is not cultural imperialism when something from one place gets adopted by another, but it IS if somebody tries to make a judgement that these newly embraced things aren’t inherently part of that culture.  Who are we to judge whether Coke is important to Russians?  Obviously it now is, so just deal with it.

There are two ironies here.  The first is that due my close proximity to my best friend’s family from Ukraine, I have spent most of my life trying to learn more about Russian culture, and now want to move there and become a part of it.  The second is that while Russians are getting into thing from the US, and other western countries, it was only 100 years ago that they were imposing their own culture on those around them.  During the days of the USSR, there was a policy of Russianification.  Indigenous languages, music and folk dress were frowned upon, sometimes downright outlawed, in the other member states.  Their comrades in the rest of the Republic were expected to look, dress, act and speak Russian.  Which is why my friend’s family came from Ukraine, but it was Russian culture that made a mark on me.  When they moved here, people in Ukriane didn’t speak Ukrainian, and their traditions were almost lost to time.

Things have changed considerably.  Ukraine has been slowly reviving it’s old ways and language, and the same can be said for the rest of the former Soviet states, also known as the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).  Russianification is a much clearer example of cultural imperialism than westernization.  So which one is better, and which is worse?  That is a question for you to decide for yourself, if you must.  Me personally, I think it’s just a fact of history that places change and evolve.  Sometimes it is decided for them, and other times they make their own choice.  

I have no qualms that I’m not going to be seeing a lot of Russian men walking around in those fuzzy hats and big boots that have become stereotypes for them.  My goal is to see modern Russia for what it is, and not what I expect it should be.  I am also aware that unless I learn how to cook it, or get invited to people’s houses, I will not be eating a lot of the local cuisine.  Russians, as a rule, do not like to go out to eat their own food, preferring to make it themselves at home.  Dinner at a restaurant from what I’ve learned to expect, is most likely going to be fancy Italian.

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I Hear It’s Cold!

Man, as winter has started coming on here in the Pacific Northwest, I am really starting to miss the warmth and energy of summer.  For some reason, it seems colder than in previous years, though I can’t imagine that’s actually the case.  So far in my travels I have only ever gone somewhere warmer than my own home.  Throughout these trips, I think my body has learned to deal with the heat a lot better.  My first trip to Japan, I found the temperatures to be uncomfortable and draining, and this was in the springtime.  From there, the vacations just got hotter and hotter, until it finally peaked in India two years ago.  I was dealing with 35-39 degrees Celsius (95-100 Fahrenheit) weather with 90-95% humidity.  Obviously this wasn’t during the hot season!

Anyways, in the last few days, there has been a tiny voice in my head saying, “If you don’t how cold it is here now, perhaps you should re-consider going to live in Russia.”  Deep down, I realize that it isn’t really related to the weather conditions over there.  These doubts stem from some underlying fear of leaving my old life behind, and starting over in a strange place.  The cold is definitely going to be a challenge, and will require a lot of adjustment on my part.  The challenge aspect is one of the things that I am looking for, though, not something to be scared of.  I’ve been fighting off the fear as best I can.  Snow and biting wind is really only one of many challenges that I will have to deal with over there.

Let’s face it, Russia is certainly not an idyllic place to go.  It is cold, doesn’t exactly have the greatest relationship with my own government, and the people at times can be rather abrasive.  These are just some of the challenges I’ve thought of.  For each one, though, there is an exciting positive aspect.  Russians have been dealing with cold weather for millenia, and have developed ways to combat and deal with it.  It will take me some time to learn their wisdom on this aspect, but it will happen.  While our governments don’t have a very good history with each other, the citizens of Russia from my understanding do not have a problem with people from the US, and in fact are a bit fascinated by my culture (a good and bad thing, yes, more on that on Monday).  Yes, Russians can be abrasive, but they are a very friendly, warm and kind people when you get to know them, from my extensive personal experience with them.  Each bad thing has it’s trade-off.

It’s also not the safest place to drive, but they have an excellent, extensive public transportation system that is also quite inexpensive.  I looked it up, and a tram in Moscow costs only 80 cents US!  What I need to do every time these fears and doubts pop up is remind myself that combating these thoughts is exactly why i want to have an extended trip as an expat!

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Getting My Head in the Right Place

You guys don’t know this about me, but I’m an avid reader.  Well, I recently ran out of books to read.  When that happened, I started going through old books, and re-reading them.  Last week, I got to the point where there were no longer any books in my collection that I was interested in re-reading.

Then suddenly it dawned on, and I felt really silly for not thinking about it before.  There is a library close to me, and since I just moved to a new county recently, it’s a library system I’ve never played around with.  So I headed over.  On the way there, while I was trying to decide what kinds of books I want to check out, it hit me that I should get stuff that will help me stay inspired and prepare for my Russia trip.

After getting my new card, I started wandering around the travel, language and world cultures section.  The selection at my local branch was surprisingly lame, but I managed to find a number of great stuff to reserve at other locations in the system.  They are on their way to me, so that is exciting.

I did manage to find a few gems.  One is a book called “Practical Nomad” which is a book designed for people who are interested in planning either an Around The World trip, or some other form of long-term travel.  So far, I’ve come across a few pieces of advice I have read in several other books before, but a decent amount of it is new and fascinating.  I’m only in chapter 3, so I’m sure there will be many things new to me later on.  They also had a book & DVD combo for learning Russian, which should come in handy.  I haven’t opened it yet, but will probably do so tomorrow morning.  Another one which is pretty fun is a CD from Rough Guides about Russian music.  It’s primarily folk stuff, but I like it quite a bit.

Completely unrelated to the preparation of my trip, I also came home with a sampler of Salsa music from around the world.  That was fairly interesting.  Every band on the album is genuinely Salsa, almost like they came from Cuba, except that there was some really subtle slight difference in each one.  There are groups from India, Senegal, Greece, Scotland and Japan as a few examples.  The Indian song was my favorite.  Surprisingly, there weren’t any distinctive Indian instruments in use, but they rock it out a little bit with some distorted guitar solos, and sing in Hindi.  That was the only band on the compilation that didn’t sing in Spanish, and the Japanese band’s Spanish sounded surprisingly Here like a native speaker.  Although Japanese and Spanish pronunciation is extremely similar, so that probably wouldn’t be too hard to pull off.  It still impressed me!

Here’s that book if anybody is interested in checking it out : The Practical Nomad

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Cyber Monday

Today is the best day of the entire year to get a good deal on airline tickets.  This is relevant to any of you who are considering taking a trip somewhere, though most of the best deals pertain to things within the US.  I myself am debating whether or not to buy one.

In a realistic light, I imagine that my Russia adventure won’t actually get underway until next September, when the next school year begins.  Like I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I am now past due for going somewhere new (one should have a new adventure at least once a year, and it’s been over a year since I got back from New York), and I am getting a bit stir crazy.

I’m off to look at what kinds of deals I can find, and maybe later I will be posting that I am on my way somewhere new.  We’ll see.

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My Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was epic for me.  I attended three different celebrations, ate three dinners and was able to spend time with good friends, family, extended family, and make new friends!  Who could possibly ask for more?

The very first dinner was with my mother, her boyfriend, my brothers and my grandmother.  As a professional cook, it is generally my job at family parties and functions to prepare the meal.  Frankly, I love to do it, it’s not an obligation.  One of the great benefits is that my mother is willing to fund the dinners, and I can pretty much cook whatever I want.

Our spread

This year, I chose to go a little bit outside of the bounds of the traditional turkey day dinner, and in fact didn’t even prepare a turkey.  I opted to go for a mix of various European dishes, mostly German.  The main dish was sauerbraten.   For those who aren’t familiar, it is a beef roast that is first pickled in red wine and vinegar, then braised.  The pickling liquid becomes the braising liquid, which is then made into a sauce after the addition of sugar, golden raisins and crushed gingersnaps as the thickener.  It also includes bacon in the final sauce.  I have been wanting to try it for a very long time.

Sauerbraten

Rotkohl

To go along with the sauerbraten, I had two more German dishes.  One was rotkohl, which is a common side for sauerbraten.  It is braised red cabbage.  I braised mine in red wine with apples, red onion and allspice.  The other was kasespatzle.  Spatzle is a German egg noodle, and kase means cheese.  So you layer the noodles with cheese and bake briefly in the oven.  I used a mix of Jarlsberg and Gruyere.

Kasespatzle

Gnocchi!

I prepared two other dishes, one which is traditionally Italian and one that is inspired by the flavors of Spanish cooking.  The Italian was a potato gnocchi (yes, I made the gnocchi, it was not store bought) with a rich butternut squash cream sauce.  Super simple (6 ingredients, including the spices), but really it doesn’t need anything else.  Next I roasted a red bell pepper (capsicum for my anglo readers) on an open flame, sauteed some green beans in garlic and shallot, mixed them together and added some orange juice.

My Spanish inspired green beans.

I was not the only one who made food.  My mother prepared a cornbread and an interesting dish consisting of mashed carrots, orange and mint.  I had suggested it might be nice with a bit of cumin, but she forgot.  Oh well.  One of my brothers made devilled eggs and the other was my kitchen helper for the day.  It was all washed down with a very nice sparkling white wine from France called Blanquette de Limoux.

After some hanging out, chatting, and a game of Cards Against Humanity, it was time to head to dinner #2.  This one was at my father’s house with his wife, her mother, and a family that they are friends with.  Besides my dad and I, everybody was Polish.  So I was a bit surprised when I arrived and discovered that dinner was a very traditional Yankee Thanksgiving spread.  There was a whole roasted turkey, and a turkey breast (they both tasted a bit different, due to the seasoning), some stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, a delicious vegetable salad I couldn’t really identify (it had cabbage), spaghetti squash with goat cheese and a green salad with a garlic vinaegrette.

This was really cool for me for two reasons.  It has been many years since I’ve been able to spend time with my dad and family for Thanksgiving, and I am really glad I was able to this year.  Also, the family that was there were some really neat people.  Their grandmother was visiting from Poland.  The older daughter is sixteen and has an incredible wanderlust.  She is driven to see the world, and has a pretty neat goal of breaking the world record for the most citizenships (which is currently five).  Her more immediate goal after college is to teach English in China.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun things to talk about with each other.  Apparently, I was the first person she had ever met that is as into travel as she is, though I’m sure I won’t be the first.  It was fun and inspirational for me to be able to encourage her and offer her advice.  I learned that there are a few countries out there that you can become a citizen after living there for only five years, including Argentina and New Zealand.  Perhaps after Russia I will begin work on becoming a dual citizen myself.

After that, I went to my third Thanksgiving dinner.  It was with my youngest brother’s best friend’s family.  They have a Southern background, so it was a mix of classic Southern Thanksgiving dishes.  They had a whole smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing, savoy cabbage cooked with pork, collard greens (simmered with ham hock, of course), corn casserole, green bean casserole.  There was more, but I’m afraid I can’t remember the rest.  It was all wonderful, but my favorite was the cabbage.  Those of you who have been reading me regularly are probably starting to get the idea that cabbage is quite an obsession of mine (In fact, I’m quite enamored with that entire family of vegetables, known as brassica : mustard, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, turnips, kale and many more)!  There were several pies available for dessert.  I noticed a pumpkin, sweet potato and a coconut cream.  At that point,  I just did not have room to be able to indulge in sweets.  By the time I arrived, everybody else was done eating and were just chilling around the house chatting and having a good time.  Almost everybody there had an extreme passion for cuisine, so we basically talked about food for the majority of the time I was there.  I made the comment at one point that the only thing as much fun as hanging out with food people is hanging out with travel people.  My hosts were both, which of course is the best of both worlds!  I was sent home with almost two gallons of homemade wine.

To add onto my list of things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving that I posted yesterday, I would like to say I am greatly pleased to have been able to spend my entire day with close friends, family and extended family, and especially to meet new friends as well!  Essentially, I am thankful for having the best Thanksgiving that I’ve had pretty much ever!

In a way, you could say that I took a few trips throughout the world this Thanksgiving.  I went to Germany through food, to Poland through discussion, and to the Southern part of the US through both food and hospitality!

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Russian Preparation

It’s kind of odd.  My plan of teaching English in Russia is one that I didn’t put any thought into, and is something that I had never really considered before.  Those of you who have been reading my blog religiously will know that the reason the thought came to me is that I had thrown a dart at a map (hypothetically, through an online app).  Regardless of how much time or thought was put into this concept, it has really hit home.

I am very serious about doing this, and of all the possible ideas about travel that have currently been hypothetical plans have been set aside.  In January, I will be taking an English certification course (made possible by my best friend Alex!), and from there I will be applying for jobs in Russia!  It doesn’t really matter to me where in the country I end up.  Wherever it is, it will be an adventure, and one I have craved for a vast  majority of my life.

In order to get ready for my trip to the largest country in the world, I have been watching a video blog on Youtube about Russia entitled The Real Russia.  It has been immensely entertaining and educational.  It’s good to know what I am getting myself into.  So far, there has not been anything that makes me want to reconsider.  I have never felt such a strong drive to do something as what I feel about this decision, so I’m running with it!  Despite how silly it was that I came to this decision the way I did.

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The Last Several Years

I’m very sorry for the silence the last several days.  Truth be told, I’ve been feeling fairly down, and just didn’t feel like posting.  Life can sometimes be very tough for me recently in Seattle.

You see, a vast majority of my best friends live out of the country or out of the state, and this is a circumstance that has been going on for many years now.  Yeah, I can sometimes chat with them online on Facebook, or get a nice, quality conversation with them on Skype for 20 minutes or so.  When one of those two things happen, it is an amazing experience for me, and it makes me very happy.  Or at least until the conversation is over, and then oftentimes, I’m left feeling very sad for what is missing in my life.

I had a wonderfully rare opportunity tonight to speak with my friend Brian who is living in Beijing.  He studied Chinese in college and participated in a study abroad program at Sichuan University in Chengdu.  While he was there, I took advantage of the opportunity to go and visit him, and it was such an incredible trip.  I had a guide who knew the city and the language, who wanted to show me the REAL China, and not the kinds of crap that tourist guides will usually try to make you deal with.

Nowadays, he is living in Beijing, and has become sort of a celebrity over there.  He has been competing in local dance competitions, and apparently has been blowing away the competition.  He has always been an incredible, and compelling man.  Whatever he sets his mind to, he excels at.  I miss him terribly.

We discussed the possibility of meeting up in Mongolia while I am teaching English in Russia.  It will likely take me AT LEAST until next summer to be able to do that, but I’m sure it will be an amazing experience.  He talked about us hanging out in a yurt and drinking horse milk and milk tea together out on the open plains.  I told him I would love to try marmot, and he agreed that he would be willing to share that with me.  Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of things we can do there, but really … I don’t need much more.  To see a new place in the presence of an old friend, that’s really all that matters.

Part of why I want to get out of Seattle is to see my good friends around the world, who have left in the name of adventure.  Their stories are inspiring to me, and Brian is really only one of many.  I hope someday to share all of their stories with my readers, but for tonight, just take his to heart.  And please realize, that is a major part of why I want to go explore.  Exploration is great, but the motivation is so much higher when you feel lonely when you’re at home.

Sorry to be a downer tonight, but hopefully you’ll get something positive out of this..

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