On the bright side, I've been shopping like crazy (with gift cards, of course!). I needed some more light, cotton pants to wear while there, because jeans will get too sticky and are slow to dry, too, if I need to handwash anything. So, the result is a gazillion new clothes. Not going to lie, it felt good to do some clothes shopping after only spending on food, dance gear, and program expenses during the school year.
I also purchased a new pair of shoes and they are glorious. For some odd reason my pair of Teva's weren't featured on the website... They are a pretty chocolate brown with some light blue trim. Teva is a company known for their awesome water-terrain-walking shoes. When I was in my phase where I was doing a lot of research on backpacking, Travel Independent (which is a very comprehensive and totally awesome website on backpacking) mentioned Teva as a good, fairly reasonably priced brand. To quote...
These [Teva] and their type, often referred to as sports sandals and known as a sometimes unpopular icon of the modern backpacker, have solid molded soles and are made from strong modern fabric. They are comfortable to walk in, quick drying, sturdy and often lightweight - the perfect 'shoe' for warm weather. It is possible to complete long trips with only sandals and still do a fair bit of walking. If it's hot at your destination, you're not squeamish about having exposed feet at all times (say after rain in a dirty city) and you don't plan a full-scale trek, go with just sandals.Yeah, yeah --they are those sterotypically nerdy looking velcro sandals. You know what I'm talking about. (If you don't click the link in the quote.) Anyway, a bunch of us in our group going to Indonesia have purchased some sort of sports sandal ... you know, breathable, durable for water and terrain, and comfortable. The downside is that they do look a little touristy-backpackery but, hey, I went for a walk in them today and they are awesome (especially with their "modern environmentally friendly zinc technology to prevent foot odor!") Anyway, this fact shouldn't matter too much; the shoes match many of the clothes I'm taking with me. And besides, I'm going to stick out anyway.
Wow, I can't believe I've rambled this long about hiking sandals. Funny.
Look! A random Bali picture break up the text of my post!- The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge -- Ryan gave it to me around Christmas, but I had misplaced it after Inauguration. And it's super-interesting too. On neuroplasticity.
- American Lion, Jon Meacham -- Need to finish, ahhhh. Oh, Andy J...
- Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi -- It's a comic, actually. About the Iranian Revolution. I've been eying it for a while and gave in today.
- The Great Derangement, Matt Taibbi -- This was another book I have been eying for the last year, waiting for it to hit the paperback. It caught my attention when Matt Taibbi went on The Daily Show last year to promote the book. It's about the fringe groups on the extremes of the left and the right.
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert -- I've read it several times. Might have to take it because it takes place in Indonesia!
- Shantaram -- If Smita let's me take this... It's a gorgeous book. If you haven't read it, please do. Or at least watch the Johnny Depp movie of it when it comes out. It's amazingly written, but a pretty fantastic story when you think it was based off of a true story.
- A Year of Living Biblically -- This will be funny-slash-interesting.
- Sex Lives of Cannibals -- It's a travel memoir about the Pacific Islands. 'Nuff said.
Final shopping note: swimsuit. Some of you reading this may not understand, but I've had the battle these last three years to find a new swimsuit, argh. The fact that I found not just one, but multiple is epic and certainly worthy of note.
Now that I have blathered on about shoes, books, and shopping, I think I'll wrap it up and do some reading. (I would say sleep, but I took a great nap earlier after my walk.)
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