International Women's Day

It's wonderful that women have a day to themselves to celebrate being a woman, throughout the world!

Yay!

Um...now what?  I wasn't sure how to celebrate today but since we have this great technology where we can instantly find answers to just about any question we can imagine, I can just search the phrase, "how do you celebrate International Women's Day?" on google and voila!  Everything I ever wanted to know! Well, sort of.  I found other websites asking the same questions but I would recommend going to the source and read all about it on the official International Women's Day website.

On the website, there seems to be a lot of celebrating going on, at least in the virtual world.  The 591 Photography blog decided to dedicate today to female photographers and lucky for me, I was selected among some amazing artists.  I am grateful to be a part of the group.  Now go out and celebrate that special woman in your life!

Teaching American Slang To Teenagers In Sweden (And How To Meet Strangers Online)

If you told me a few years back that my blog would eventually end up in a textbook to teach English and English slang to kids in Sweden, I would have used way more slang words!  I write like I talk (for the most part) and I don't agonize over words to use that would make me appear like I am some brilliant intellectual writer.  Well, I am but that's besides the point.

At the beginning of my journey wandering the states three years ago, I wrote about my feelings, fears and mostly about what I did (if it was interesting enough).  Little did I know that my blog about meeting strangers in real life would end up in print in a Sweedish textbook.

I agreed and licensed my blog for them to use but really didn't know in what context they would use it.  I didn't really care but it was refreshing that they would reach out to pay me for my words instead of just using them or my photographs without reaching out to me first.

They used my blog I wrote on March 19th, 2009 titled "Meeting Strangers Online."  When I write blogs, I don't think too much about it.  I just sit down, write, add some pictures and click on "publish." I don't think about who reads it or where it might potentially go.  I am sure some of you are thinking, "um, yeah...I can tell."

I would have never guessed that someone in Sweden would think it was compelling enough to publish as a teaching tool to young minds.  I suppose in their eyes I fit into their idea of some crazy American lady that would travel around and meet strangers and other crazy people.  If that's what they were looking for, they found it!

 I am glad I did what I wrote about in the blog.  I met people that will be lifelong friends.  Was it a bit scary and unnerving?  Yes, of course!  Most people would tell me that meeting a guy who lives full time in a van would not be the best idea in the world for a solo female traveler (it really isn't so do not think I am telling you do do this) but I did anyway and that wasn't the last time I met up with him.  We hit it off right away and became friends. The same goes for Cat who is a dear friend to me now.

After I wrote this blog, I went on to meet many more "strangers" who are now part of my extended family.  I will write a blog about each one someday.  For now, here are some iphone images of the book that kids are learning from in Sweeden.  At the bottom of each page there is a blue strip to help kids understand what my words and phrases mean like, "creature of habit", "what the heck" (I approved "heck" over the word I originally used), "keep in touch", "hit it off", "branch out", "pig out"  and words like "killer" "Trailie" and "creepy".

The best part is the Q and A at the end of the blog entry. I had to think about some of the questions to see if I could answer them on a blog I wrote years ago.  There is a section to "read and reflect" and then to "reflect and share."  It was a good chance for me to reflect and share as well.  Here are the questions if you care to reflect and share (you can read the original blog HERE):

1. Why was Dave a tad creepy, according to Alison? Would you have met him? Why?
2. Which meeting did Alison seem to enjoy the most? Why? (I don't think I said anything about enjoying one more over the others but I suppose that is up to the reader to interpret.)
3. Have you ever met a stranger in the same way that Alison did?
4. Why are we such creatures of habit?
5. What have you done outside of your routine that has changed your life?
6. Would you travel across America in just a trailer? Why? If you were going, what safety precautions would you take?

I would like to know your answers to the bottom half of the questions.  I guess I didn't think it was a big deal at the time and continued to meet more strangers long after this post was written.  I still haven't had a dangerous encounter but then again, I am pretty cautious on who I meet in person.

I think stepping out of our comfort zone is the only way we will grow as a person and learn more about ourselves and others.  Give it a try if you haven't.  I bet you will be glad you did.

Maine. The Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 Issue

I am thrilled to be a part of Maine. The magazine's January/February 2011 edition.  I interviewed and photographed Ralph Lewis for the Q&A section and was also selected to be featured as a contributor in this issue.

During my travels, I come across some interesting people and have blogged about them along the way.  When I was staying as a guest of Adam and Susan in Bailey Island, Maine, I met and chatted with their neighbors, Ralph and Dolly.  Susan introduced me and told Ralph that I was a photographer and after he kiddingly waved his hand at me and turned his back, he turned right back around with that contagious smile to greet me. A few days later, he came over for a visit and we chatted about what it was like for him to be the photographer for the State of Maine.  He showed me Maine road maps where his photographs were featured and told me tales of the people and things he took photographs of.  I blogged about my time with him HERE. Listening to his stories was such a treat. I asked him if I could come over later that evening to take his portrait and he said, "sure."

I went over later that beautiful fall afternoon to chat with him and his wife, Dolly.  They were certainly a pleasure to be around.  I instantly felt at home with them.  I went back to their winter home a few weeks later to record an interview for the magazine and took some additional shots of him talking about his experiences and while showing me one of the cameras he used. Ultimately, that photograph was chosen by the magazine to use for the feature.

The best part of this experience was getting to know Ralph and Dolly.  I feel as they are a part of my extended family now.  They are so sweet to me...I even received a Thanksgiving and Christmas card from them.

I also enjoyed meeting Susan, the editor of Maine. The Magazine and the people who work there.  I am very thankful to all of them for the opportunity. Each and every staff member was a pleasure to work with.  After falling in love with the state of Maine, this just added to my positive experience in that beautiful state of ours.  I know I will be back.

Musings With Amy In Columbus, Ohio

Amy and I have been online friends for a few years now.  I am not sure how we stumbled upon each other, but she sure does bring a smile to my face.  She writes a very witty blog under the title, "Amy Musings" that talks about her life and stories of her everyday adventures.

She has always been kind to me so I thought I would stop by to meet her in person for the first time.  She's always commented on the photos I take of Max so I think she may have been a little bit more excited to meet Max.

As soon as I arrived, it was as if I went to visit a pal I haven't seen in a long time.  She just moved into a new house so she gave us the grand tour over a cup of tea.  Max had a great time playing with her dog, Maggie and I felt right at home listening to her stories and meeting her husband and children.  We took the dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood and saw several deer on the lawn of a house that almost looked as if they had the popular lawn ornaments that I've seen across the state.  At the house, Max enjoyed watching her pet gerbils and perhaps mistook them for lunch.  He really didn't know what do make of them.  I think he wanted to be friends.

I am so glad I came to visit.  We headed off to an amazing breakfast place in the morning and then we were on our way.  It was a short visit, but one I won't forget.  Thank you for having us, Amy! You can become a fan of her blog on facebook by clicking HERE.