J is for June and July

“Cause I like to be gone most of the time, and you like to be home most of the time.  If I stay in one place I lose my mind.”  Kimya Dawson, Tire Swing

During the school year, students rarely leave William and Mary’s campus.  There is simply too much to do- even though Williamsburg itself can seem a bit stifling, the campus is always bursting with activity.  We owe much of our entertainment to Alma Mater Productions, the on-campus organization that brings musical, comedy, and cultural acts to campus.  They host weekly concerts, stand-up comedy nights, political debates, movie nights on Lake Matoaka and the Sunken Gardens, and more!  I am never bored and often find that my weekends are even busier than my weeks.

I definitely enjoy campus life in the fall, winter, and spring, but I have grown accustomed to summers abroad (Morocco)- or, at least, far away (Texas).  So, in an attempt to compensate for staying in Williamsburg this summer, I have done quite a bit of traveling.  Below are accounts of some exciting weekends I have had in the last two months!

Urbanna, Virginia (June 14 and July 3, 2009)

My family recently purchased a river house in Urbanna, Virginia.  The house was built more than 100 years ago, and it needs quite a bit of work.  Painting and doing repairs on the house have become a weekend hobby for my parents, who love to watch the progress.  When I went in June, we took our boat out on the Rappahannock river and had absolutely beautiful weather!

Urbanna is less than an hour and a half from Williamsburg, so I have had several opportunities to spend weekends wih my family.  Before heading to northern Virginia for a friend’s July 4th party, I spent July 3rd in Urbanna watching fireworkers over the town’s marina.

Montclair, Virginia (July 4, 2009)

My best friend Allison invited me to her home in Montclair (Manassas), Virginia for her family’s annual July 4th bash.  She has a huge backyard, where her parents set up tents and have more food than anyone could dream of consuming.  We ate barbeque and Thai food, played with her baby cousins, and hung out on the dock that extends from her backyard into the lake behind her house.

I had such a blast seeing friends who I hadn’t seen since the end of school and meet Allison’s family and family friends.  One of her neighbors had recently returned home from Kuwait, where he was serving in the Army.

His presence reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to celebrate our country’s independence from the safety of my home state!  The picture below includes Nik (2010), Samanthe (2011), me, Camille (Allison’s sister), and Allison (2009).

Munich, Germany (July 11, 2009)

In May, I spent two weeks in El Progreso, Honduras working for Students Helping Honduras, an international non-profit founded by a William and Mary alumna, Cosmo Fujiyama.  It was my third trip to Honduras, and I was excited to serve on staff as a volunteer coordinator and translator.  During one particularly grueling work session, I was paired with Will, a rising sophomore from UNC, to dig a four foot deep trench for the sanitation system we are installing in a newly-constructed village.  As we worked, we talked, and I soon found out that Will would be studying in Venice, Italy for the remainder of the summer.  I inquired about his travel plans during his study abroad, and he told me that he would like to travel to surrounding countries and cities.  I suggested that he check out Munich, Germany, a favorite city of mine and an oft-visited family vacation spot.  When he said he would like to go but did not have a friend or guide in the city, I spontaneously offered to show him around for a weekend.  This may sound crazy, and it definitely was, but cost would not be an issue.  My dad is a commercial airline pilot, and I am fortunate to be able to fly standby a few times a year for little to no cost.  So, Will and I set about planning this incredible stunt- for Will, one weekend in Munich after an overnight train ride from Venice.  For me, one day (about 27 hours) in Munich after an 8 hour flight from Dulles airport.

So, I arrived in Munich on Saturday morning, July 11 at 7am.  Will and I met at the train station, found our hostel, and began exploring the city.  I have visited Munich a number of times and have seen the major tourist attractions, so I was excited to spend the day in a less tourist-like fashion.  I never had to use a map while we were there!

Will and I walked through the Marienplatz, the main square, all the way to the Englischer Garten, a very large and very beautiful public park in the city.  We took a bike tour, which I have been on a few times since first visiting when I was 12, and we saw historical monuments, as well as stopping at the Chinese tower, a Biergarten in the English Gardens for dinner (see photo).  We had drinks at a favorite bar of mine before heading to Pusser’s Pub, the first American cocktail bar in Germany,where the owner hosted us as his guests.  I had met the owner when I visited Munich last summer- Bill is an eccentric older man (although he insists he is 27!) who is more than ready to tell stories of bartending for the King of Norway and working out with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  We finished up the night at an Irish pub, where there were awesome local musicians playing 80’s jams.

At 11am on Sunday, I was back in Munich’s airport getting ready to return to the United States.  It was definitely an incredible adventure- and I was already looking forward to heading back next summer, possibly to be a bike tour guide myself!

Miami, Florida (July 18-20, 2009)

My last big adventure of the summer was to fly to Miami, Florida with two of my best friends, Allison and Michael, to visit our friend Lamar.  Lamar teaches at Breakthrough Miami, another site in the same program in which I taught last summer in Houston.  I was especially excited to see how his site differed from mine (see “T is for Teaching” blog entry) and how it was similar.

The four of us spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday on the beach, during which time I got completely sunburned.  But the water was incredible, and it was great to catch up with Lamar, who had been studying abroad in Spain for the whole semester.  On the evening of the first night I was there, we went to a famous Cuban restaurant in Miami with other members of Breakthrough Miami’s faculty.  Don’t Allison, Michael, and Lamar look great?

After Allison and Michael flew home on Sunday, I stayed an extra day to see Lamar’s Breakthrough site on Monday.  I met his faculty, who made me feel at home and asked me about my teaching experiences.  I sat in on a number of their

classes, but it was Lamar’s elective that I enjoyed most.  His elective offering this summer is about Spanish culture, and on this particular day, Lamar was teaching his kids about La Tomatina, an annual tomato fight in Buñol, Spain.

As all great Breakthrough teachers do, Lamar had an activity planned to give his kids a hands-on experience to go with what they learned in the classroom.  He had his kids throw tomatoes at him outside in the pouring rain- and they loved it!  The photo to the left shows the aftermath.  Lamar smelled like rotting tomatoes the rest of the day, but anything’s worth it for kids’ education!

The rest of this summer will be spent interviewing students, giving tours, preparing for the LSAT, and getting a jump start on my senior thesis.  My last year at William and Mary begins in a month- unbelievable!

Go Tribe,

Bailey