Cruisin'

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in the Bahamas :) I have to admit I had my reservations about going on a cruise- it seemed a little to packaged and pretty for me. BUT, I am happy to report it was absolutely fatastic! This is a picture of our ship. I went with a group of 15- pretty much a group of Trale's friends from college whom I have infiltrated, one of whom I'm dating. We went snorkeling, sang karaoke, did yoga on the deck, saw lots and lots of fish while swimming (and even an octopus!), and enjoyed a LOT of delicious food.

One of my favorite parts was this little man who played his guitar and sang oldies every night in one of the bars on the ship. Getting away was really great- it helped me realize how much I detest the town I'm living in and inspired me to move! Woohoo. So I'm looking at jobs and pretty excited about the possibilities.

Saying Goodbye to our Visitors

Hello everyone! Has spring sprung in your neck of the woods yet? There are pretty wild flowers everywhere and the hills are all green here. We have to soak it all in and remember it when those hills turn different shades of brown in a few months. We said goodbye to Mom Saturday night and to Grandpa a week before that. It was great to have them visit and we had loads of fun visiting sights around Amman as well as a trip to Jerash. The highlight, for me, was our trip to Jerusalem and beyond. We spent two nights at the same guest house where the whole family stayed in 1965! It was pure coincidence that I reserved there - or was it?! From there took a bus to Haifa where we viewed the Bahai gardens from the top (couldn't go down with our roller suitcases). Then we took a 30 minute taxi ride to a school that Grandpa had read about and wanted to visit. I'll let Grandpa tell you about the school and its history. We stayed a night there and then came back to Amman. It sure was nice to have family here. Know that you are all invited any time you can come! Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Mendoza

Hey everyone!

Here I am in Mendoza, and I am finally ready for climbing the mountain, one of the principle motivations for the trip.
I've been here since the 25th of Jan, and in that time have had two trips out into the mountains camping to get my body and my mind ready for the final trip out to go after the goal of climbing Aconcagua.

The mountains are so beautiful here- so raw and sharp and relatively new. There is no thrill like riding the motor bike out into the hills that surely grow into snow and glacier capped mountains of the most awesome proportion. A real joy for me is the very evident change in climate that I can experience in the course of just one day: from the high alpine regions where the only plants are lichens and the temperatures are generally below freezing, to the high desert plane, filled with all manner of birds, insects, cacti and sage-brush like plants.
The scent of a campfire made with the left behind dead bones of the plants out in the desert is like no other aroma, and the beauty of the first flowers that one sees when coming down a mountain, peaking through the snow sometimes, is really great.



I've been enjoying drinking some pure, clean, fresh-ice-melt water off of glaciers. I've been through the trial of acclimatizing to the high altitude, though this time I took it relatively slow and did not suffer too much.




Mendoza is a nice civilized town, with lots of wine, nice pedestrian-friendly town center, and a fine old cathedral(which is only open in the morning and the evening during the week). I am enjoying being in town to strengthen up before the climb, but I am discouraged and tired by the mundane lives that I see most people living- and equally troubled by those who are just out touring or adventuring, with no higher apparent purpose. Its a riddle of contentment.

In answer to what I do for protection at night- now I am in the city, staying in a hostel, but out in the bush, I have a pretty good camp set-up. I guess that when I get up on the mountain, especially higher up, more than 4500 meters, I will use a stronger tent that I can rent here in town.



mine is the not-so-bright yellow tent kind of by itself to the left in the picture. This is camp "Salto de Agua" in the Cordon de Plata.



Love to all,

Trale

PHANTIIISMO

"He doesn't need that on the outside, he just needs a little sasparilla on the inside"

Hey, it's Karl giving a short update on my life.

The above quote comes from El Phantismo, the comedy our drama department will be putting on Friday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. Mark your calendar now so you don't forget. Did it? Ok. I will be playing Diego, the love interest of Nina but things do get a little complicated. I don't mean to brag, but it's probably going to be the greatest high school play ever.

The snow kept us from playing our basketball game yesterday, leaving us with one regular season game and district play starting next Monday the 15th. You can tune in to watch me online at Clarion Sports.com at around 6:00 p.m. central.

Also, check this YouTube Series out! It's done by a couple of guys in Clarion and can be funny at times.

Thanks for your time and I hope to see you all soon,

Karl