Roadtrip to Jackson

The last leg of my long way home was to drive from New York's JFK airport to Jamestown, NY before continuing on to Jackson, MI.

You may be wondering why I would do this. The answer is because I Love Lucy. Due to the many hours put in watching this vintage show I felt myself to be one of Lucille Ball's biggest fans. So does my friend Dawn. The two of us rented the car together and at eight a.m. in the morning we started our journey to Lucy.

Jamestown is Lucille Ball's hometown and we knew this mostly because of the many references she makes to it in her show. There are many tributes to Lucy there including the Lucy-Desi Museum, her final resting place, and a memorial park.

Dawn and I were the two most appropriate girls to take this trip because for close to two years, while I was away in Morocco, we used Lucy to stay in touch. For nearly two years we had a continuous "I Love Lucy" trivia game going between Facebook messages. We would ask a question from memory, expect the person to answer, and sometimes leave a little personal note at the bottom.We never went more than a couple weeks without contact and this was our own unique way to keep our friendship strong while on separate continents.

I'm not sure the average person could keep up with our challenging game. We met someone in D.C., an admitted Lucy fan who wanted to test the challenge of our game. We doubted him and agreed to lob him a soft question as to not stump him. "What is the name of Lucy's best friend." After thinking for what we thought was too long he answered "Ethel". He said he was just teasing us with the time it took him to answer but we were still skeptical.

Our drive took us across the whole of northern Pennsylvania. We had a long beautiful road ahead of us and miles between exits. We enjoyed ourselves listening to 90's on XM radio where we knew every song that came up.

When we finally made it to Jamestown we had 15 minutes before the Lucy-Desi Center closed. We planned on arriving much earlier. We thought we would stop by the museum, get a little information about the town, then have a lazy evening at the hotel.

Even thought we had 15 minutes until closing the doors were locked! We knocked on the glass door and we were greeted by a woman who seemed half expecting us to rob her. As we started to pour out the details of our trip and the magnitude of our Lucy love she opened the door wider and wider, letting us in. She gave us a map of Jamestown with all the Lucy landmarks. There were all very easy to get to. We decided we would take our tour the next morning.

For the time being we went to Taco Hut just a couple blocks from the Lucy-Desi Center where the woman said there were good margaritas. Afterward we found our hotel and snuggled in for a relaxing, quite night.

Early the following morning we ate our free breakfast and headed off for our pilgrimage through all things Lucille Ball. The stops on our journey were: Lucy's birth home, her childhood home, the Lucille Ball Memorial Park, four murals, several signs with her name, the Lucy-Desi Center, the Desilu Playhouse, and Lucy's final resting place. All pictured below because I am so proud of them!

I enjoyed my time in Jamestown because it was the closest town to Jackson I had been to in a year and a half. After coming from New York City and Washington D.C. the prices of everything were something you could afford on babysitting money! Dawn and I took this trip because we are both so passionate about all Lucy. We felt closer to her spirit by being there among her things and prancing around her hometown.

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Washington D.C.

*Readers please note that I have changed the URL for this blog from alexinmorocco.blogspot.com to alexandracash.blogspot.com. Please take a second to change your bookmark of it. (Because I know you all have one!)

It's nice to be back to this blog, as it has been far too long. Now that I have some time to actually be sitting at a computer for more than a few minutes I will let you back into my life.

I have a lot to say but I won't bog you all down with all this at once. I'll give it to you in installments as I always do.

I took a Megabus for just $1 down to Washington D.C.from New York because it was just so simple and cheap. It was a nice four and half hour ride on a comfortable bus. I added this journey to my plans to reconnect with my three college best friends. Jacqui, Dawn, and Leanne.

Our first night in D.C. we went to the National Mall after dark to see the monuments lit up in their brilliant lights. There is nothing better  than coming home to the country I missed so much than to walk fondly through the monuments of the great people that built this nation.

Myself, Dawn, and Jacqui in front of the Washington Monument

We went on a short tour of the White House east wing. Each room was tended by a member of the Secret Service who had interesting information about each room. Most of them had a sense of humor that I wouldn't have expected by the suit wearing protectors of the President. Most of the tour guides we encountered in Washington D.C. were interested to know where each tour group member was from. I liked this and it helped make me feel unity with the other members of the room.

Jacqui, Leanne, myself, and Dawn outside the White House

 The following day we went to the U.S. Capitol building. This tour was both beautiful and intriguing. Our tour guide was hilarious in her own way and full of interesting facts about this grand and gorgeous building. What I loved the most were the statues dedicated to the many people that made our country what it was. People dressed in many different ways, men and women alike. I noted to Dawn, who had also recently traveled through Europe, that I so much enjoyed seeing statues of Americans, of people dressed in the American way.

Myself and Dawn outside the U.S. Capitol

We ended our college reunion by going to a drag show at a local D.C. gay bar. It took me a lot to get up and get out but I was incredibly glad I did. The four drag queens that rotated their acts and entertained us to the tunes of TLC, Tina Turner, and Katy Perry. It looked like everyone around me was having a fantastic time.

Myself, Jacqui, Dawn, and Leanne enjoying the drag queens

 

 

The trip was short but full and fun. It added to my exhaustion but also added to my experiences and I'm so glad to be free to flow where ever the road may go.

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The good things

I'm finding many things to love about being back in the USA. Here are some.

1. The exquisit smell of dry, dead leaves fallen on the ground. I've walked straight through them every chance I get. 

2. Being able to be friendly to men again.

3. Hearing American English all around me. 

4. Sitting in a Starbucks drinking a red rooibos tea, smelling the thick smell of coffee in the air, listening to "Hark the Harold Angels Sing" by the Peanuts gang. 

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A weighted issue part II (from America)

You may have read a post of mine back in June where I am complaining about my weight. If not you can read it by clicking here.

This issue has come back around in full swing now that I am in New York City, one of the shopping capitols of the world.

I walked to SoHo yesterday and I had three mere goals. Buy a dress for the night before Thanksgiving festivities, some new Victoria Secret underware, and a new pair of jeans. My plan was simple. I found the H & M I was looking for and was quickly like a kid in a candy store. It didn't take much to please me. Nearly everything I saw I thought was beautiful. I picked a few dresses that were a little different style than I originally envisioned myself wearing and took them to the fitting room.

Naively I grabbed three of them in size two and one, just in case, in size four. When I got in the dressing room putting on the size two dress was like trying to squeeze a five-year-old's glove on an adult size hand. Some of the dresses made new shapes on my body that they were never intended to make. I was quickly defeated by the size two dress and then not shortly after by the size four.

Feeling sad and frustrated I had no choice but to get dressed and leave the store having not met my goal. As an added bonus to my moral as I was trying to squeeze back into my pants my fat thighs busted the zipper sending a crucial piece off into the unknown. Nothing like kicking me when I'm down. I walked around with an open fly the rest of the day.

This wasn't the best first shopping experience back in the USA. As I went farthur into my journey I came across another H & M not more than 2 blocks away. (Yes this is New York) I decided I would get off the naive train and grab a six this time. Presto I found my new size. The six fit great and finally I felt better.

The rest of the shopping trip continued that way. I got a great deal at Victoria's Secret. It was the last day of a special promotion. And I got myself a decent pair of inexpensive jeans at Old Navy. I knew I didn't want to spend much on them because I had to buy a size four. And of plan to lose a little weight works, they won't fit me for too long.

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Cash's corner of NYC

This blog is no longer Cash's Corner of Morocco, I'll be changing is as soon as I have the time, but rather Cash's Corner of New York City for the time being.

I'm beginning my 3rd full day back home in America and my trip to New York is proving to be as much fun as I'd wished for. Yesterday I got to cross something off my life list by seeing a performance by the American Ballet Company right here at the New York City Center. The building was breathtaking as well as the dancing.

After the ballet I was so close to Times Square I walked up there. I couldn't wait to go there because I love it so much. I actually had forgotten quite how amazing it is.

I felt amazing walking around the city on my own. Like Alicia Keys says "these streets will make you feel brand new, these lights will inspire you." Now I'm in New York. I was wearing a beautiful outfit provided by my new personal stylist (my cousin Melissa) and I felt like a powerful woman. This is a long time coming.

One of my best friends from high school Allie came over after the ballet. We had a blast discussing the past and catching up. It turned out to be a perfect day.

This post is short but I've had a hard time finding time to write. I hope to find time to write more extensive posts in the near future. But as for now, this is what is going on in my corner.

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24 hours

I'm working with limited Internet access right now, that is why this blog has been so bare the past few weeks. But after 26 months here in Morocco I am at the jumping off point. I leave in less than 24 hours now for my 10 day journey on my way home. Please stay tuned to read of my adventures back in the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

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Ending my service by returning to training

Last week I volunteered to participate in the teacher training of the new group of trainees that arrived in September. As youth development volunteers part of our job is to teach English to Moroccan youth and not everyone who is a volunteer here has much experience teaching English.

Teaching our own language is not quite as easy as it sounds. That is why Peace Corps gives trainees information on how to teach. Breaking down English is somewhat foreign to us as native speakers as we are used to just talking, not giving much thought to what we are saying. There are many things about English grammar that our students want to learn, that we don't even know how to explain.

I spent a week with the training group in Ain Chegag, just outside of Fez. I quickly fit in with the five members training there and enjoyed having lots of laughs with them. I had forgotten just how tiring the training phase of Peace Corps service is. Long days learning language and living with a host family.

In the mornings I sat in on their Moroccan Arabic lessons. I remember how it felt to have to learn a new language from scratch and how frustrating is was to understand nothing.

In the afternoons I went over things like classroom management, lesson planning, and hopefully gave them some tools to use while teaching youth in their own towns.

I mostly talked about my own experiences. Going back to training, the place that I began, was a perfect way to wrap up my time here. I enjoyed sharing my experiences with them. It was a good way for me to reflect on my two years here.

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Tip Tuesday

Stay healthy this winter
1.  With winter around the corner nhs.uk says to drink more milk to keep immunity up. The protein, calcium, vitamens A and B12 keep your immune system strong. Also go for other dairy products to get more milk.

Less stressful Christmas shopping
2. As Christmas presents are beginning to fill the store shelves use this tip from christmas-celebrations.com to ease stress. Shop in stores in the morning hours or late at night. These times in stores are off-peak and will be far less crowded making the rush of Christmas shopping much less harsh.

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