Okinawan Sloth

HEY all you!

Last week I went to Okinawa with everyone from IES. Okinawa is the southern-most island of Japan; it's tropical and beautiful and more humid than anywhere I've ever been before. I can't believe I thought summers in DC get bad...
We were there for 4 days, and while IES way over planned activities during the day, I had 3 of the best nights of my life. We got to do some pretty cool stuff during the days though, like glass-blowing, Okinawan-painting, and even playing an Okinawan instrument, the sanshin. So overall I really don't have a single speck of a complaint.
Our hotel was on the beach, but they told us we were not allowed to be on it past 10pm. So what did we do? We walked around a big rock to the next section of beach, about 30 seconds away! It was me and about 10+ guys swimming in our clothes, drinking in the ocean, and basically just being ridiculous. It was pretty funny being the only girl, because a lot of them got way too drunk and decided they could tell me everything from their personal lives. I learned about a lot of people that night! One guy ended up gashing his face open though, and another guy pissed and bled on his futon, and then slept on it. So overall it was..... interesting, to say the least!
The second night got even better. Instead of drinking the overpriced hotel booze, I walked to the nearest convenience shop in the rain with 6 guys, and it ended up being about 40 minutes away. The rain turned into a downpour, so we stopped under and asian-style gazebo type thing. This is the night of the cell phone pictures on facebook, which many of you have probably seen and been very confused by. Well, on this phone you can take pictures of kanji, and it translates them. But we started taking pictures of everything, like our faces, etc. and seeing what it had to say. Basically, it got everything spot on! It told us about truth, beauty, the future, the universe! One guy called the japanese girl he had just broken up with and proposed to her. It was intense. It was the most religious experience I've ever had!
Nothing could top that night, but the 3rd night was definitely up there. Again, the long walk
for alcohol. Again, the gazebo. Erica was with me this night, along with five guys. We had some really great talks, and then.... started making songs. First it was some tapping of the table, some clinking of cans, then it was humming, whistling, then tribal screams and dancing and jumping around, and then someone started rapping about Lee-San, the most amazingly adorable woman who works for IES. It was so much fun that I can't do it justice in a description. Then we went down to the beach, watched a far off lightening storm, drank some more, made some more songs, danced a bit. I ended up stumbling back to the hotel at 5am.
I was ready to never leave.
BUT, the day we flew back it was my friend's birthday, so luggage and all, we decided to go out in Tokyo. We went to an izakaya with a few people, and met up with someone's friend, this Japanese guy who speaks English with a Mexican accent. Everyone headed home except me and the birthday boy, who decided to chill with this guy and meet his friends. Well, I'm so glad I stayed, because I got to smoke in Japan! I don't know if any of you realize how lucky that is... it's incredible! We smoked in a karaoke room in Shinjuku, and then went to a club in Shibuya. It was the perfect ending to my island adventure.
So, I've been a very happy sloth!
I guess many of you are back in the states / heading back soon, but I'm only just beginning to have midterms! Crazy, huh? Well this is way too long, but I miss you all and can't wait to hear about everything you've been doing.
Here's a HUUUUGE HUG!
-Kyra

Shalom!

It’s been a while since I wrote. My family came to visit for 10 days and we traveled all over Spain. The day they left I flew to London and saw Larry and Cheyenne for a few days. London was great but definitely made me spend more money than I have. I arrived in Israel a little over a week ago and it’s been great so far. Eiad moved in with me and I just relax a lot, see friends and go out. Last night I went to a show by this jazz singer (she does more than jazz now, but still got the groove), she went to school with one of my friends but she became famous on TV last year so now she’s becoming a big deal but she’s only our age. It was a really good show. I also have been looking for a job.. it’s actually going relatively well. I found a job for 3 weeks in July (which pays pretty well) to work at a day camp in a nature resort. It’s pretty funny because the resort is actually a place by Jerusalem/ Arab villages where they try to show how things were done in biblical times. It’s nothing religious but they try to maintain things the way they were thousands of years ago and grow trees and plants that grew back then. So since I know nothing about that I have to learn a lot now.. I’ve been reading a lot about pomegranates, figs etc. pretty funny but I think it should be sweet. In the meanwhile I also need to find a job until July and after but so far haven’t found something that I really like. I got a job to work in a hotel in Tel Aviv but I rejected it last minute because they wanted me to do night shifts also. But I’m not too worried, I’m sure I’ll find something sooner or later so in an impulsive move I decided to change my flights back to London and the U.S to August. I’ll only be back in the States on August 18^th! Damn!

That’s about it for now.. please keep updating and tell me what you’re doing/where you’re living for the summer. I miss you all very very much.

Holler back sloths!

Tut

Summer Sloth

Oh MAN everyone is having such adventures! I can't wait to hear more stories and see all the pictures when all my sloths are back in the land of the obese and ignorant. I just got back to Murrysville on Friday and I feel as though I will waste my whole life watching television for lack of anything better to do. It rains, I don't have a car, and I hate everyone I used to know from high school. At least my family is pretty cool.
Fortunately, this is a temporary situation. My family and I are going on a sweet vacation to Central America and then I will be back in DC for the Summer!! I'm going to move back around June 24th to live in the Claridge House (25th and K) by myself. So far, I don't have many commitments as every internship I applied to turned me down. But at least I'll be away from here! Make sure to holler if you're in town or if you want me to come visit you!
Hugs and kisses all!
Sam

I am a little baby (sloth)

So im like crying (actually balling) right now as im writing this. I just had to say goodbye to my host family and i got too emotional. I am going to miss them so so so so so much and they honestly made this semester something completely different. They had my family for dinner today which was actually very cool and enjoyable. I was quiet stressed out before they came over because frankly my parents can be too much but they were really cool and chill and both families loved each other.. but yeah I'm really going to miss Spain. Although it originally wasn't my first choice to study abroad I have truly fell in love with everything about it, it's amazing how in only 4 months I got so attached to a place.

Well
okay
now that i killed that topic i'll move on

so tomorrow morning im going with my family to Andalucia, the province in south spain and then we'll be going to barcelona. im pretty stoked. Then im going to london for a few days where i'll be seeing ma girl chey chey and larry. i'm very stoked. BUT THEN i'll be going to Israel which i've been waiting for since i left it 9 months ago. for that im super stoked. but seriously i cant wait to be back in dc and see you all. I have really realized that you guys are the best and reading everyone's posts always cracks me up.

now im going to bed. im sorry its been a retarded post, i am high and tired.. and emotional haha.

adios chicos

tut

This Sloth Hates Finals

Hi All!!!!! I'm taking my last two finals this week, one tomorrow which I have yet to start studying for and one on Wednesday. The Wednesday one is going to kick my because it is Greek and naturally studying abroad, I have negative brain cells now.

I'm leaving Edinburgh on Thursday and just when the weather starts getting better, it's much less depressing here and people are actually outside during the day. So with leaving Scotland I have been reflecting on how I feel about this whole thing, and I came to the conclusion that Scottish people are depressed drunks with an identity crisis, it is really quite sad but it makes them loveable at the same time. There are those regular homeless people I walk by everyday, whose only companions are there starving puppies, and I will miss them. I'll miss watching the bum fights and fearing for my life everytime I walk home at night through "the rape park". Last week my friend found someone jerking off as she was walking home through said rape park. And I will defintely miss the Scottish NED's. NED's are a very rare breed of British trailier trash. NED stands for "Non-Educated Delinquents" and they roam the highlands of Edingburgh in white tracksuits and fake burberry hats, the women are usually pregnant and smoking a cigarettete with scruchies in their hair and exposed gut, I think you get the picture. And last of all I will miss "fanny pack", she's my flatmate. An endearing Canadian girl from Cornell majoring in Linguistics, she is the epitome of a nerd, I didn't think people like her existed, but I was clearly wrong. She is allergic to almost everything, has terrible asthma, and is a hypochondriac and germophobe. I find myself just sitting in silence studying her behavior. She eats the same dinner everyday, couscous with a banana and a non-flour treated bread and a glass of herbal tea. She goes to bed by 10 every night and wakes up at 7. Her clothes consist of khakis, a polo, high socks, and orthopedic shoes. She is the most interesting person and I love talking to her, last week i learned about her "gastro-intestinal nastiness", I just sit in awe because I'm just amazed by the geeky shit that comes out her mouth. Well anyways, I guess I'm getting a bit nostaglic about leaving and I really am just putting off studying.
I'm moving to London on Thursday, and that has been a disaster and a half. I don't have a job yet, I can't extend my visa, and worst of all Timmy got deported. Well not really, but we went to Paris and something went wrong with his new visa and he got arrested and put in a holding cell by immigration, after which he had to leave the country and fly home to Australia. So he's been in Australia for a month now and we're still not sure when he's going to be able to come back, another two weeks hopefully. Well with that being said, I now have an empty flat to move into with no furniture and no Timmy :(

Melissa I'm totally down to join this book club, I read the Red Tent though, really good book, It'll be a good reference for when we write the History of Flow.
I love you all and miss you terribly xoxooxx

Cheers,
Cheyenne

p.s. I took an adderral 20rx last week and got cracked out by myself in the library, it was amazing yet lonely becuase you guys weren't there so be cracked out with me.

Bon Voyage Emily!

Having Emily in DC has been bitter sweet. I know that she can be a little much some times... a lot of the time. But, she was constantly willing to smoke a cig, talk about Obama, DJ, give invitations to the cape, fill the bucket and deliver aderall. She definitely made the semester unique. So, all of our worries about issues with her assimilation into our group of sloths can be no more.... She got into NYU, so, if you are a sloth who knew Emily.. wish her well! She's got a great heart and hopefully NYU will be the place where she grows up a little.
love to all!
-Katie

9:30 PM Gelman Library-2 unwritten ten page papers

(I had to throw in a blast from the past!!)-This describes how lonely we feel on campus.






Well, heres what we do without our sloths. hang out with kids, in armpits and with parents.
ps. that's gyawu teaching my dad to do the electric slide.

So here Gyawu and I are. Finals seem to be over for everyone except for us and we are stuck in the library. Gyawu has a 10 page paper due tomorrow and mine is due on monday, but I'm convincing myself its due tomorrow because I don't want to be here by myself this weekend. Life has been pretty boring for us, finals have taken over and our lives consist of gelman, sleep and drugs. We are the only sloths left in dc, and all of our eggs are in eachother's baskets. These eggs need to be spread out and incubated in different sloth baskets, so ya'll better get home soon and safely.
Gyawu and I are sitting here trying to think of what's going on in our lives and sadly it is very hard.
We are going to try and get in shape together this summer, mama houle is going to give us some tips.
We are also going to study for the lsat and gre... we'll see how that goes.
I also want to start a book club, if anyone is interested in joining. The first book I want to read is The Red Tent. Are there any suggestions for good books??
Gyawu is working for the school this summer, in the housing program. Which means univeral access to all dorms! (YEAH) and it also means that Gyawu has to be at work at 7:15 am 5 days a week.
I will be working for a law firm as the human resources intern, 9-5 on monday through thursday. Which means tons of weekend trips. If anyone wants to go back to Jacksonville all are welcome!
Also Gyawu wants me to inform ya'll that my new nickname is Dutch Mama. (he just told me that its fitting because I look like a little dutch boy) but I like it because I roll mad dutches!

anyways-- tons of sloth love from claws-sloth and dutch mama-sloth! We miss you dearly!