In Memory of Casey Marie

Anyone who knows me well knows that there are six of us in my immediate family: four are human and two are canine.  Casey came into our lives in 1994, and then Chloe in 1996, and these two doggies have been important family members for the majority of my life.  My parents got their first dog, Hildy, before my sister and I were born.  Hildy was adorable, and I wish I could remember more about her.  She died in October 1994 at age 14.  I cried a lot when she died, and I was eager to have a new puppy to cheer up our family.  My mom and I found little Casey at the Humane Society.  We called my dad and told him to come meet this puppy, whose papers said she was a lab mix.  “A lab? She’ll be huge! And you want me to come all the way down there? What a big waste of time,” my dad said.

 

Always so cozy and always wearing a bandana. That's how I will remember my Casey.

 

We jokingly quoted that for years, even this summer when we found out that Casey had skin cancer.  It turned out that Casey wasn’t a lab mix; she was a small terrier that perhaps had a great-grandpa lab, my mom said.  Whatever her breed, she was the greatest dog a kid could have ever asked for.  She was my first puppy, and I remember being scared of her as she raced around the backyard to get out that puppy energy.  I called my mom at work one day to ask what was wrong with the puppy.

 

Casey studying with Natalie and I in high school, but also hoping to get some of our popcorn...

 

I was 9 years old when we got Casey, which was the perfect age for a girl to get a puppy; she made me lots of friends!  She was the most adorable little puppy, so everyone at school loved her instantly.  As she got a little older, she hung out after school with my friends and I nearly every day.  As I ran around the neighborhood with my friends, I often had Casey at my side.  “Take your sister! And take Casey!” my mom would say as I ran out the door, headed to the park after school.  She let kids pet her and pick her up and dress her up in absurd outfits.  She was incredibly tolerant and gentle.  If she ever really got annoyed with kids, she would simply run to my mom, who would always protect her.

 

Julie and Casey lounging at the park

 

Our family wanted a very well-behaved dog, so we signed Casey up for obedience classes with Judy Strickland, a.k.a. The Sgt.  She was a very strict lady, but that’s what works!  Casey not only learned how to sit, shake, lay, stay, come, etc., but she also won the agility prize in her class!  She got a blue ribbon for being able to walk on the balance beam, walk over strange surfaces, and jumping over little hurdles.  I was very proud of her and my sister and I made agility courses in our backyard to help her keep up her skills.

 

Casey reading with Jon in Kentucky

 

Because Casey was a real family member, she got to go on a lot of adventures with us.  She went to Kentucky Lake many many times, and she’s also been to Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and probably more places that I just can’t remember now.  I was hoping that she’d make the trip to visit me in Pittsburgh, but it was too late.  Casey became very sick this past week.  She couldn’t eat and could barely walk.  On Wednesday, November 18, my parents decided that she was in too much pain, and that they should put her to sleep.  Although I didn’t see Casey in that terrible condition, I know they made the right decision.  And although I wasn’t there, I can still feel that she is gone.  She was the friend that was always there.  She was full of love and personality.  She had a different bark for every kind of situation, and we understood her language.  Even though we brought another dog into her life, our funny Chloe, Casey still knew she was important.  She slept at my feet for years, and I cried so much when I had to leave her for college.  She always knew what it meant when I had suitcases.  I think no matter how much I try, I can never express how much Casey meant to me.  And I will not fully understand it, either, until I go home for Christmas and experience our family without her.

Casey Marie Barbier Bularzik: October 13, 1994-November 18, 2009.

Danish reunion and a Swedish adventure

My arrival in Copenhagen was how I imagined it; I pointed out things to Jon as we landed, I held back tears as we touched down, and I spent the next few hours saying “I remember this! I remember that!” But what happened to me over the 8 days that we were there, I did not expect. I completely and honestly forgot that I was on a trip around the world, and instead I thought I was back in Copenhagen for good. Four years ago, I spent a semester studying in Copenhagen and living north of the city in the village of Humlebæk. I haven’t been back since now.

four years later, Copenhagen has made huge anti-smoking efforts, like this giant cig that tells you facts about smoking when you push a button

My love for Denmark is clearly a result of my living there; I can’t imagine how a tourist could get to know the country the way I did. So a lot of my feelings for the place are about the way of life, like the quiet commute on the train, the dinging of the bicycle bells, the candlelit dinners, and the billboards reminding people to pay their taxes. Because of this, it was a bit challenging for me to bring Jon and my friend Stephen to Copenhagen, since they wouldn’t be able to match my feelings in just a week’s visit. But I did my best, and we saw the city’s attractions by bike, visited my host family in Humlebæk, and took a bike trip in southern Sweden.

me and my Danish family: Helene, Peter, Cecelie, and the doggies Frida and Emma

But first, we needed to figure out what was wrong with Jon. After a week of a fever, we had to get him to a doctor to make sure he didn’t have a new crazy disease from Asia. And what better place to do that than Denmark, where emergency room visits are free! My incredibly generous Danish friend Jonatan (who housed us for a week) brought us to a hospital and stuck around there for 7 hours with us until Jon was released. Our experience with “socialized medicine” was totally awesome. Jon saw about 5 very attentive doctors, had a million different blood tests done, plus got free X-rays. Everyone at the hospital was so nice, and in the end we still didn’t believe that we didn’t have to pay. Anyway, they decided that his fever was not anything serious, and low and behold it went away a couple days later. But they did perform a minor surgery. Jon is now one of the cool people I know who can say they have gone under the knife in another country! When we first started the trip, he developed a cyst on his left shoulder. It didn’t bother him until just recently, when it got red and sore. The Danish doctors said it was infected, so they sliced him open and pushed out the cyst. I could go into more detail if you like gory descriptions, but oh man, it was nasty.

Jon at the hospital, thinking it was very strange that I took photo documentation

One of the highlights of my time abroad four years ago, and the main selling point for Stephen to meet us in Copenhagen, was my bike trip in southern Sweden and the discovery of Nimis. Copenhagen sits on the east coast of the island of Zealand, and the northern point of that island is very close to Sweden. We took a ferry to Sweden and then found a bus that took us a little further north, to the town of Hoganas. We ended up staying at the exact same hostel that I stayed at four years ago with my study abroad kids. I guess I planned it, but it still shocked me when I got there.

windmill outside Hoganas, Sweden, with the yellow fields we saw everywhere

We rented bikes and followed a bike trail along the coast to Molle, another cute old fishing town. From there, we biked into the woods to find Nimis. What is Nimis? It’s a collection of giant sculptures made of drift wood that people can climb on. It was created decades ago by an artist, then partially burned down, and then the subject of many legal disputes since it was built on state land without permission. But eventually a rich American bought the land and now Nimis can stand without trouble. When I was there four years ago it was raining, so my friends and I were the only people there. This time it was a beautiful Friday, so there were families and school groups making the trek. There are no real directions to Nimis, so you have to follow yellow N’s painted on tree trunks. It’s a fantastic place, and it’s now part of it’s own “nation” that you should really check out (and perhaps become a citizen.)

Jonatan at Nimis, our biking destination

Returning to Denmark taught me one thing for sure: that I have to return more often. I have been to many great cities of the world by now, and I can still say that little Copenhagen deserves a spot on that list. There are some things that can charm you immediately, like the walking streets, the canals, and the gobs of bikes. But the really special things take a bit longer, and I feel so grateful that I was given the chance to get to know them. Denmark makes me happier than any other place on earth, and I think that’s mostly due to the concept of hygge. It’s a Danish word that means something like coziness, but it really means the feeling of warmth when you are surrounded by good friends, good food, good wine, and bright candles. It’s a feeling of contentment that I wish everyone had the chance to feel, and a feeling that I try my best to recreate wherever I go. Jeg elsker og savner Danmark.

Jon, Jonatan and Stephen sitting on a fence pointing to Nimis

Burning up in Prague

Both Jon and I have been to Prague before, but this time we stayed with locals, our friends Nikola and Lucia (and their dog Rotos).  Nikola is a Prague native and Lucia is from nearby Slovakia; I met them in DC when Nikola and I worked together.  Jon and I both loved Prague when we came four years ago, so we took up Nikola and Lucia’s invitation to visit them on our big trip.  It was fantastic to see Prague beyond the tourist sites.  The city is totally gorgeous, beyond the famous castle and old town square.  You can’t walk very far without running into a huge green park, and you can’t wander off the main roads without getting a bit lost in the mass of tiny streets.

it's Prague, and it's beautiful (Church of Our Lady Before Tyn)

In our traditional style of being in countries on holidays without planning on it, we were in Prague for Witch Burning Day.  Sounds spooky, eh?  It’s a day (April 30) where Czechs burn effigies of witches to get rid of cold weather.  They say it all started with people believing that witches kept the nice weather away.  So burn ‘em up!  We didn’t get to the park in time to see them burn the actual effigy, but after the witch is dead everyone gets to eat and drink and play music.  It was one of the many times during this trip where I have wanted a big bag of marshmallows, but when I bring it up to any non-Americans, they remark how gross marshmallows are…  These are the world’s great mysteries.

Nikola, Jon and Lucia imitating a face sculpture on the street

We did revisit some touristy sites, like Prague Castle and Old Town Square.  At the square, we had to check out the Astronomical Clock, which was under renovation last time we were here.  The clock shows the time, sunrise, sunset, date, and zodiac stuff.  Plus it’s beautiful.  We gathered with a crowd of people around the clock a few minutes before the hour.  When the clock struck 6pm, two doors opened and little men passed by the doors (the apostles) and looked at us.  And then…that was it.  “Is that it?” everyone asked.  We opened up our Lonely Planet cityguide, and yes, that’s it.

the astronomical clock in old prague

We’ve visited people all around the world now, and in each place, I can understand exactly why those people live there.  For Prague, especially, I could see how much fun it would be to live there.  I mean, they get to bring dogs into bars!  Prague is also where the story of Jon’s mysterious fever illness begins, just in time for the swine flu scare.  And that story continues in Copenhagen…

Learning how to pronounce Xiamen

(“Sha-men.”) This morning we flew on Xiamen Airlines to Shanghai, and I slept through the whole thing, except for two minutes when I was eating the breakfast dumplings they served us.  One of the things Jon has learned about me over the past six weeks is that I can and will sleep anywhere.  Shanghai is awesome, but I already miss Xiamen.  Here are some photos to show you why!

Can you tell what this pretty restaurant is? Oh yes, it's the most gourmet Pizza Hut you will ever see! Why don't we get these in America?

This is the puppy (with his mom) who lived at the hostel, who I stalked.

The biggest attraction in Xiamen is Nanputuo Temple, a large complex that houses many Buddhist monks.  We showed up thinking it was going to be a peaceful experience, much like the rest of the temples we’ve seen in Asia.  Not so!  There were literally hundreds of people there, all Chinese, carrying flowers and incense like I’ve never seen.  Many of them had bags full of papers and other gifts to the gods.  (Papers represent gifts for the gods in the next life, and they are burned so that they can reach the gods.)  It turns out that one of the gods of the temple had a feast day, so many people came to pray and give gifts.  We were very lucky to be there on such a busy day!

one of the buildings at Nanputuo Temple

Just one of the many piles of bags filled with gifts for the gods

What we loved the most about Xiamen was the slower pace of life compared with what we expected from China.  This was especially apparent on the small island of Gulang Yu, which is just a short (free) boat ride away from Xiamen Island.  There are no cars allowed on Gulang Yu, and it is mostly filled with gardens and green space, along with the required restaurants and tourist shops.

On the edge of Gulang Yu stands Koxinga, a national hero who conquered Taiwan and is now the biggest sculpture of a historical figure in China

Without cars, Gulang Yu is a great place to wander around the narrow streets. Doesn't look like what you'd picture as China, eh?

Our friend who worked at the hostel told us that Xiamen is consistently ranked as one of the top three happiest cities in China.  It’s easy to see why: beaches, islands, adorable puppies, gourmet Pizza Huts, bubble tea for fifty cents, and a huge university with multiple soccer fields.  (We found a soccer ball and played a bit before most of the students woke up!)

I’m back! China China China!

Thanks to tips from friends and some googling, I was able to find a way to connect to my blog while in China.  Now I’m officially in love with China!!!  We have spent the past couple days exploring the small city (meaning less than a million people) of Xiamen, a beautiful island college town north of Hong Kong.  Our trip here was a classic story of lost and confused travelers with good luck.  We were taking an overnight bus from Hong Kong, but we couldn’t find the bus anywhere.  If it weren’t for a very nice English-speaking guy we found one minute before the bus was to leave, we would perhaps still be looking for that bus.  Our trip to Xiamen was fine, but a few miles outside the city, our bus broke down.  Of course we had no idea where we were, but luckily there was an American dude on our bus who lives in China.  He told us everything that was going on and helped us get a taxi to where we wanted to be.  Whew.

We are staying at the Xiamen youth hostel, which is the cleanest and friendliest hostel I’ve ever been to.  There is a super cute puppy here named Beethoven, who I stalk.  We came to Xiamen because we wanted to spend time in different types of areas: huge cities, smaller cities, and small towns.  It gives us a much better sense of what all parts of China are like.  There aren’t many Western tourists here; everyone at the hostel is from another part of China.  We’ve spent our time here strolling around the university and another nearby island, Gulang Yu, which is known for its beautiful architecture and parks.  We’ve also talked for hours with one of the guys who works at the hostel.  He loves how much we love China, and he also loves telling us about the hilarious foods they eat here.  Tonight he gave us a fun description about how to eat monkey brains.

We really love it here in Xiamen.  It seems like the perfect place to come study Chinese, and since everyone here is so nice, the entire city could be your teacher.  Every time we walk into a restaurant or shop, we are greeted with smiles and some long, beautiful Chinese phrase, which we sadly can only respond to with “Ni hao!”  Most of our time is actually spent figuring out how to do things with our very very limited language skills.  For example, Jon needed another pair of pants.  That means figuring out where to go, how to get there, how much it costs to get there, how to ask to try things on and how much they cost.  After all that, we hit the hilarious roadblock of Asian skinny jeans.  Chinese men generally have legs half the size of Jon’s, meaning every pair he tried on was like spandex.  Until today!  We finally found a pair of Jon-width jeans, made in China, of course.

Tomorrow we fly to Shanghai, which will undoubtedly be a very different experience from Xiamen.  I will try to post some pictures from Xiamen as soon as I can, plus start adding photos to facebook, where all of my travel photos will go from now on.  That means Southeast Asia photos will remain on Flickr, but because of their absurd limits, the rest of the trip (Hong Kong to Dublin!) will go on facebook.