Bombogenesis

Wow there is so much snow now its called a bombogenesis. So much snow! I did a little bit of shoveling but since I got the day off tomorrow as well I will wait since it's so late. I worked so hard I had to stop and have a break in the car. Stay warm everyone!!!!

deuces

Gee Willikers!!

I can't believe I'm back in cold cold Boston and working again =(. It even started snowing, good thing i have my multi-purpose mexico hoodie to protect me! Its stamped with the word Mexico right in front so everyone knows where i got it from! My favorite part about my trip? besides the coolest cousins in the world of course, is my beautiful tan. I dunno what happened, I musta fallen asleep but it sure is cool! Now I play all day long with Robbit cause we like to build cars in the back of Harrisons restaurant for fun. One day were gonna race em! when they work... for now we have started a pop up head lights club.
In my spare time i like to see how many hours i can go without sleeping, just for kicks. I also enjoy roadtripping to far far away places for tiny car parts and driving many hours at a time. I wish i knew how to sign this post as myself...
I am very loved by my dear cousins.

xoxoxoxoxoxo
- Justin Ng

Gee whiz

What a crazy month!!! work work work work work work work work, I'm so glad I'm going to Mexico!!! I'm so glad to take a week to relax and enjoy the beautiful culture of this South American continent! Then its off to see my fave cousin amy? for a short while but its good anyways!! OK

xoxo

:)

http://picasaweb.google.com/jess.c.lee/TheHarters?feat=directlink#

Pics

because someone doesn't make their albums public :)

5.21.2008
5.22.2008
5.23.2008
5.24.2008
5.25.2008
5.26.2008
5.27.2008
5.29.2008
5.30.2008
5.31.2008
6.01.2008
6.02.2008
6.07.2008
6.10.2008

and panda

GREECE

Hi gumballs,

How is everyone? Hope you are all doing fine and dandy. So....I went to Greece last weekend! It was really fun and full of surprises, and i definitely want to go back someday, maybe do an island tour or something. I'd only ever learned about ancient greece and greek myths, so i had no idea what to expect of modern greece. I think i was expecting something a la "sisterhood of the traveling pants", of which i've only seen about 15 minutes (because i dont like to look at rory's face) but the in the movie, the island scenery of wherever they were was so exotic and fresh-looking..so i was expecting a vacation paradise with gorgeous greek guys riding around on motorcycles and sweeping people off their feet into the sunset.....yeah, Athens is not exactly like that...hollywood lies...but no matter, i still had a great time and it was a perfect adventure for my friend natalie and me.

We spent a day and a half in Athens, the capital. Athens is cool, we saw the parthenon (temple of Athena, also known as parthena, the virgin), the Acroplis (the big hill where the Parthenon and the Cariotids? Temple stand. The temple is right next to the Parthenon and has 7 lady statues as pillars, very beautiful, though most of the statues are replicas, the originals are in museums. You can see the Acropolis from practically everywhere in the surrounding neighborhoods.), the theater of dyonysus, Hadrian's Arch, the temple of Olympian Zeus (a bunch of pillars in the middle of a park, prolly built about 6 centuries BC), the Olympic stadium and lots of ancient ruins. The city is normal, kinda under construction and parts are a little dirtier. The tourists landmarks are all fenced in, with obscure hidden entrances, and I was the map-navigator, so for a while we were just wandering around in circles, always ending up at the same Acropolis again. The street signs were fun to read, because everything is in the Greek alphabet, with english on the bottom. Most letters are the same, but there's a lot of confusing ones, like their R looks like our P, and their P looks like upright rectangle with no bottom line. At first the alphabet barrier was kind of frustrating, but after three days, i felt really comfortable reading all the signs.

At the Greek parliament on sunday, we saw the changing of the guards, which is a very calm, serious military parade of sober-faced greek soldiers dressed in traditional uniform (white skirt and tights, embroidered shirt, and wooden shoes with big pom pom's). The whole marching band and a procession of 50 soldiers march in front of the Parliament in Syntagma Square with their rifles, and took about 40 minutes just to change the two gaurds who stand in front of the building!! They march funny too, raising their feet to hip level, bending at the knee and then clomping down in big steps.

We (my friend Natalie and I) met a lot of really nice people, everyone speaks english fluently there, and lot of people went out of their way to help us, like this one girl from kenya, Naomi, who gave us her extra bus tickets, (which are only sold beforehand, in the morning, at little newsstands), and escorted us to our next bus stop. When you get on the bus, you have to validate your ticket, like in italy, but no one's really watching, so some people dont do it. But if the bus inspector comes around to check, you'll get fined 60 times the price of the ticket, which is only 50 euro cents. One night we made friends with this nice little old man and the next morning we bumped into him on the bus, and it turns out he was the bus police! Good thing he thought we were pretty and let us go free.


The best part of the trip was our island excursion to Aegina! It is an hour ferry's ride from the capital. We wanted to go the beach on the opposite side of the island, but the bus only runs every 2 hours, so we rented an ATV motorbike!!! I was zooooming around the island at 40 km/h, winding through hills and mountainside and quiet little neighborhoods, buzzing alongside the beeeeeautiful coastal cliffs, with the Mediterranean and its other islands in the foggy distance. From the west coast to east coast of Aegina, it takes about 25 minutes by motorcycle, very small place. In the middle of the island, there's a gorgeous grand church, probably greek orthodox. It’s very colorful, sepia and blue and yellow domes, with carved marble railings and a patio that wraps around the building, allowing a peaceful stroll and a great view of the deep green hills that overlap into the horizon.

We got to Marina Beach, which was not more than a patch of soft, silky sand (but scattered with lots of sea junk), at the edge of an immense blue seascape. We lunched at a little place, Paradise Restaurant, overlooking the sea. I had a plate of fried Greek sardines and fried cheese, saganaki. We relaxed in the sand for a while, but it got a bit cloudy, so we hopped back onto our trusty bright yellow all-terrain vehicle (we named it Bumblebee) and drove to the southern tip of Aegina, called Perdika, where there’s not much but a quiet dock and a row of quaint little seafood restaurants. Having conquered the tip of the island, we drove back to the main port, and sat down for a quick snack before the ferry ride home.

Aegina being a Mediterranean island, the diet here consists predominantly of seafood, and barbequed octopus is quite the popular delicacy. In fact, when we first stepped off the ferry that morning, the first thing we saw was a man smacking a freshly caught octopus to death against the concrete dock, and ever since then, I knew I couldn’t leave the island without trying it. So….I bought a plate (1 barbequed octopus leg, complete with all the crunchy little suction dots) for 9 euros and I have to admit it was pretty delightful. Crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle, really salty (though I guess you would be too, if you lived in the ocean), enticing barbeque grilled smell, nice burnt flavor, and a dash of lemon and olive oil, overall quite delicious.

The food was really the highlight of the trip, I had mousakas (ground meat, potatoe, eggplant and tomato sauce casserole with a bread pudding top), tzakziki (greek yogurt with cucumber shreds and lots of garlic), chicken gyros (the best roll-up sandwich in the world, with grilled chicken, tomato, onion, sauce and French fries inside)….there was an awesome bakery with 25 big baskets of Greek cookies that I went to every morning (raisin, pistachio, s-shaped cinnamon cookies, tons of exotic spices, twisty shapes, circle shapes with banana, orange cheese and carrot flavors…apple tarts, etc etc.)…..and near our hostel (12 euros a night in Pangrati neighborhood) there was a fancy ice cream café on a wide sidewalk, where they serve the ice cream in a frosted wine glass, in a little glass room with crystal chandeliers and red velvet sofas. Oh and tap water is free and tasty in Athens, which is a plus.

Oh yeah, on a completely opposite note, it’s kinda weird, most restrooms have signs that tell you not to throw toilet paper into the toilet, I guess they don’t have the best plumbing. Oki doki, I think that’s about it, thanks for reading about my Hellenic odyssey. phew! your eyes must be tired.

Hope you all have a wonnnnnnnderful day, miss each and everyone of you!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 Hasta Luego!

it's almost friday!!

hehe hurray for new posts!
san is in greece i think??
hope she is having fun.
I made corned beef and potatoes for st pattys day
yummy
and today I signed the offer letter for my new job
so I am officially working for verizon. no biggie.
I can't wait for warm weather to arrive!!

Hi Jess & All the Lee's,

Great editing of photos of Tia Mabel's birthday party. My fave photo of sad Tia Tingo waiting for cake; Oh! and of Daddy Teddy crying over bills (?)
Haha....
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day & I have still 4-5 ft. high snowbanks and melting driveway with ruts and ice. Aah...Spring is this week, tho...Yay!
I've got seeds to plant from Woody to encourage my spirit.
Enjoy more light, Everyone!!!

Love,
Tia Maria
NH

pictures!

yaaay it's someone's birthday!!!


i only came for the cake. where is it already.


looks too pretty to eat...


EAT MORE!!! I COMMAND YOU!!!


yeah the guy in blue doesn't know how to smile


don't cry teddy, it's only a picture...


uncle con mid-sentence


uncle con mid-chew


uncle con mid-burp


yummy strawberry


nathan is concerned about your health...


yay group pic!

Tia Maria in Nuevo Hampshire

hey San!!

Just read your wonderful & informative travelogue. Great writer, you are! sounds so fun.

NH has been snowing for almost every couple of days per week; every week it seems I write another check to Plowboy. My way to save our economy.

BTW how much is euro worth cf. to $1 U.S.?

Be good & stay safe.
eat lots of Spanish rice for us.

Tia Maria

Email from San!!!!!

Merida (accent on the E) was beauuuuutilful! I took the 8am bus from Madrid Estacion del Sur with two friends, Keara and Natalie. The trip was Keara's idea because her Sra. recommended it. I had no idea what to expect, but I'm soooo glad I went, it was really fun! So we got to Merida around 1pm (long bus ride, I slept), and checked into a hostel. We rented a room with three tiny beds and a bathroom for 52 euro, about 17 euro apiece. To enter the town, you have to walk up el Puente Romano, which is a famous bridge that was built in the 1st century BC, when the Romans occupied the Iberian Peninsula. It was renovated again in the 17th century, and it is still in beautiful condition. Merida was the capital of Lusitania a long time ago, and was the most important connection point in the west part of the Iberian Peninsula (which is just spain and Portugal, btw). Merida is now the capital of Extremadura, one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities (much like states in the US). Population 50,000 people (double the population of Belmont). Extremadura, which borders with Portugal, is colder, and thus people eat a lot of cured meat and cold cuts (embutidos y fiambre) to keep warm.

so first we saw the Foro Municipal, which used to be the town's busy center, there is a big Roman concrete and brick wall with statues inside, and Roman statues outside and a some pillars. I think the bricks are from renovations, there are brick patches in a lot of the walls here, the red and off-white combo makes everything look really pretty. Then there is a Temple to the Roman Goddess Diana (aka. the Greek Goddess of Hunting and Fertility, Artemis, the twin of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Latona.) The temple is the only remaining religious structure in the Roman architecture here.

We visited the Alcazaba, which is a Muslim fortress built in 835 AD, when the Muslims ruled Merida for 500 years. It was a long stone wall to keep the Meridians from rebelling. and it is parallel to the Rio Guadiana, which allows a beauuutiful view from the top. There is a small tower in the middle with two underground paths that lead to a well to provide the townsfolk with water. The design and stability of these structures are amazing.

Then we walked to the Teatro Romano, which is a semi circle facing a huge stage and columns with statues of gods and beautiful walkways. There are seven big walls at the top of the seating arena, called the "Siete Sillas (7 seats) that were reserved for kings to sit and watch the theater performances. Everything is very rustic and pebbly, the stones, pillars and paths have been worn and tread upon for centuries and centuries, but even in the remaining crumbles and skeletons of these structures you can see the grandeur and power that once reigned. In the summer, the people of Merida celebrate their glorious history with theatrical productions and fiestas on this very site.

Some 100 feet from the Teatro is the Anfiteatro Romano (the Roman Amphitheater) which is a huge stone ring around a huge arena. Built at the same time as the Teatro, this is where the the public came to see gladiator fights and circus shows. There are side entrances for wild animals and gladiators....I stood in the middle and pictured a lion circling around me...Can you imagine being face to face with a huge wild beast, who's hungry and is about to rip you apart with its teeth and claws....eep!

Well, we heard a big ruckus and drums and a PA system around the corner from the Anfiteatro, so we walked over to the Estadio de Merida, where there was a soccer game Merida vs. Talavera. The man let us in for free because it was half time and we were foreigners. I later saw that the tickets to that game cost 20 euro. I think Talavera beat Merida by 1 goal. When Talavera scored a goal, all their fans went crazy and starting lighting flares in the bleachers! Everyone was swearing their heads off (venga! vamos! puta de madre! joder!) and cheering the whole time and it was a really fun crowd.

Then we went back to Plaza de Espana, which is the current center of Merida. This weekend was the beginning of Carnaval week all across Spain, and Spainiards really know how to have fun! THe whole family goes out dressed in up in costumes (I saw vikings, clowns, mimes, pirates, princesses, policegirls, nurses, nuns, smurfs!, tigers, this dude wearing a chinese jacket and white shorts with the Japanese sun right in the middle of his butt...etc etc) Oh the highlight was after dinner, when we were walking out of the restaurant, there were about 15 old men in Scuba diving bodysuits in neon colors (yellow, pink, blue, purple and green), and they started singing these hilarious songs about the most random things that you could possibly celebrate, like fishing, surfing, pretty women, getting ur drivers' license, and drinking and partying during Carnaval! These guys were in their 50s or more and they looked so awesome with fake sunburns and white goggle rings around their eyes! They were so cool and gave us the lyrics to their songs so we could understand what they were saying haha. Then we strolled around in the open air stalls, looked at some jewelry and these awesome knit and felt handbags, hats and accessories (made from wool, from Middle Ages tradition). I bought a hat and this funny pom pom necklace. then i bought some roast almonds mmm and some powdered figs and one dried turkish apricot. Everyone was really nice and talked to us and made us feel really welcome, like we were all old friends.

Around 11pm the huge tent was full of costumed families dancing and singing along to a live band playing awesome songs - rumba, pop, some saxophone, some pasa doble, etc etc. We danced to the music and watched grampas play with cuuuute little babies and watched grown-ups jump around and do conga-lines. I've never seen such energy like this, and I love how Spanish people celebrate everything with the entire family, all 3 generations.

The next day, we got up at 11 am and had about 2 hours to finish touring the town before the bus came. We first walked to the Aqueducto de los Milagros (acqueduct of miracles), which are these towering pillars of stone that stretch to the sky and carried water from the Prosepina River to Merida. Made of granite and brick, it is a series of three-storied of arches, 75 ft tall and over 2500 ft long. There is an underground conduit that led to a settling tank, that separated the water from impurities. It was also built in the 1st C. BC, during the Roman Empire. The view here was breathtaking and it is mind-boggling to think of how the brilliant Romans designed and built these towering structures.

We walked to the Circus Maximus, which is a huuuuuge wide oval, 90,000 square feet, surrounded by a stone wall. The field was full of tiny white daisies and yellow wildflowers. This is where the Romans held parades- of competing charioteers, priests, religious images and musicians. In the middle of the field there used to be a a long Spina to separate the field into a race track, around which the chariots would race 7 laps. Archaeologists found the remains of grand obelisks and sculptures here, but now only grass and pebbles remain. (The Roman structures were abandoned after Christianity took over) I took a bit of pebbles and petals/ plants from every site that I visited.

We saw the remnants of a Roman House, known as the Amphitheater House, with beautiful mosaic tile floors, and red brick walls, the rooms are very small and square, but they must have once been grand courtyards and gardens and a fountain and a water system. The living rooms and dining rooms, are lined with mosaic intricate floors depicting saltwater fish, hake, grouper, conger eel, red beam, moray and sole. This must have been a very rich home because fresh fish was a luxury in such an inland city. The pathways were all mosaic tile in geometric designs and swirls and arrows. One room had a tile mosaic of a Goddess and a baby. And the adjacent room had three naked dudes treading of grapes to make wine. I think there was a Mausoleum with funeral rooms. The site was only excavated in 1947.

I also saw the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia. Santa Eualalia was a Christian child martyred during the persecution of Christians under the reign of Emperor Diocletian, approx. 285 AD. When she was a about 12-14 years old, her mom hid her in the countryside because the Romans were persecuting Christians, but she ran back to the Roman courts and professed her Christianity and denounced the Roman pagan gods and insulted the Co-Emperor Maximian. Failing to bribe or sway her away from her faith, the Romans tortured her with hooks and torches and burnt her at the stake. She taunted the Romans while they tortured her and it is said that as she died, a white dove flew out of her mouth and a miraculous white snow began to fall, covering her body and proclaiming her sainthood.

The arch of Trajan, is one of many Roman triumph arches built under the reign of Trajan. They don't necessarily celebrate Trajan's military victories, but probably more so his contributions to humanity and civil deeds. When he celebrated his military victories, he ordered his chief architect, Apollodorus of Damascus, to erect columns instead.

Wow ok I better get ready for school tomorrow, first day of Reunidas Classes! (those are classes taught in Spanish but geared for foreign students. We get to visit as many classes as we want to see if we like them, and then we enroll in them. I hope everyone is having a good evening and I miss you all very much.

Amanda you are funny :) im glad you are finished with college essays, what a relief huh? I haven't used a hair elastic in a long time, so I don't have to deal with that kind of non-matching stress anymore lol. Hmm good idea, I think everyone should take Chinese new years off and have a big feast. Mmm I miss home cooking already!

How was the science fair? Robert, how was the semi? What did you wear? He probably wont reply to this email....he claims he reads them, but they leave him speechless, so he doesn't reply hahaha.
Jej can u please print this out for mom and dad, thanks!

well good luck in school and have a great week everyone!!!

LOOOOOOVE,

San

Tuesday

hmmm what's new

i have a new manager at Verizon, although my day to day projects will remain the same for a while...
sandy is having fun in spain and might take a 4-day trip to morocco...
justin has a new job as a security guard...
austin is mean to his friends...
amanda can eat a lot of hot dogs...
robert likes pandas! :)

what is everyone else up to?

Pics

robert's birthday cake



fun with mirrors

tee hee we have a blog =)

Hi i'm in school and the three day weekend is over. =( At least there are only 4 days of school to look forward to. Today in homeroom we filled out index cards with how we wanted our name to be written on our diplomas.

Welcome!

hey guys, just wanted to spread the lee family love and keep everyone connected.
feel free to make any changes or edits - thanks!