tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52363129337148765502024-03-14T12:38:59.973+11:00MY OWN TWO FEETThe running, trekking, walking, and other adventures of Robyn from OzRobyn from Ozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15167429233466788212noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-52177892171855406972019-09-04T19:30:00.002+10:002019-09-04T19:30:18.565+10:00A turning point<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's nearly a year since I last updated this blog. I'll try to do better in future!<br />
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After helping my father settle into his new home in a retirement village in September 2018, which included cleaning out a freezer from his old house ("Dad, are you absolutely positive you want to keep these frozen fish fillets you've had since the late 1970s?"), I returned to the Northern Hemisphere, which is where I now feel most at home.<br />
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I spent four days in Honolulu to break up the long flight. I was last there in 1996, for my first marathon. Apart from visiting Doris Duke's amazing house, <i>ShangriLa</i>, I mostly walked around the city and took photos.<br />
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From Hawaii I flew to Vancouver, to see Sarah and her dog Teddy in Deep Cove. My visit coincided with Bard on the Beach's season of "As You Like It", which was terrific. Sarah's brother Chris started BB some decades ago and it's showing no sign of flagging.<br />
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After a flight across the country to Toronto, I nearly missed my connecting flight to Newark after having a ding-dong argument with a US immigration officer with a power complex. Welcome to the United States ... NOT.<br />
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I only had six weeks back in my regular place on the Upper West Side this visit. It was the usual fabulous mix of work, morning runs in Central Park with friends, lots of films, photo walks, exhibitions (especially Anne Lindberg's "The Eye's Level" at the Museum of Art and Design), a Broadway show ("To Kill a Mockingbird", with Jeff Daniels), the Blessing of the Animals ceremony at St John the Divine Cathedral, Halloween.... There's always lots to see and do in New York, and after spending months there every year since 2009 I now know a lot of people. I didn't get off Manhattan very much during this short visit.<br />
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A couple of days in Dublin broke up the flight back to Europe, which is nowhere near as onerous as flights from Europe to Asia or Oz. I headed straight for the Irish Film Centre. Very disappointed that Foam Cafe has closed. It had the BEST seafood chowder. Bummer.<br />
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I was very happy to return to Budapest, which coincided with Julie and David also being there. Winter was starting, but I got straight back into a running routine with Rio, and caught up regularly with Sharon, Alexandra, Kate (on a visit from Japan) and other friends. I'd moved my stored stuff to Alex's place in the summer, but decided that after the next bout of travelling I would rent a place again in Budapest and create a real home base.<br />
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Following a few days in Debrecen (in Hungary), I spent a week in Kosice and Bratislava (Slovakia) before flying to Amsterdam to have Christmas with one of my oldest friends, Chris, and his family and to have a couple of runs with Maria, who was visiting from New York.<br />
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I'd decided not to spend the coldest winter months in Budapest, because the icy conditions underfoot are hazardous for me, so I flew south to Greece, where, not long after I unpacked and set up temporary home in Athens, it snowed.<br />
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An old friend from our Hong Kong years (Sue) took me in hand during my long stay in Greece.<br />
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Apart from a month back in Budapest in April, I spent about five weeks in the islands (Cyclades – Naxos, Paros, Syros, Mykonos – and Hydra, where I had a great couple of days of walking and talking with an Irish journalist I met in a restaurant) and three months in central Athens. I really like Athens. It's a great destination for a five-day jaunt from anywhere in Europe: easy and fabulous to walk around, with lots to see (street art, street life, relics of the past, museums, great food, reasonable prices). I'll be back. Nice people, too, especially Roula and Joanna. I ran/walked a half marathon on very little training, apart from a couple of runs with the Athens Hash House Harriers and a few jogs on my own.<br />
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While in Athens I met my goal of finishing the first complete draft of my memoir. Yay, me!<br />
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The islands were interesting during the winter off-season. They're not places I feel any desire to return to, except for Syros and its capital Ermoupoli, which is a real, working city year-round and not a tourist town and has an annual film festival.<br />
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Spring was definitely in the air in Budapest during my return visit for April. I'd been having withdrawal symptoms and needed a good dose of it before my time in Greece was up and it was time to return to New York. Miki and I went for a hike up near the Slovakian border and on another day walked around Lake Tata (with Joki the Yorkie), which I want to return to and run around with Rio. Friends Alan and Sue were in town, and Alan and I re-created a photo taken of us when we were maybe five years old.<br />
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May was spent back in Athens and Ermoupoli, before I switched suitcases back in Budapest, saw a perfect apartment to rent, signed the lease, handed over a wad of cash, then flew to London to see Michael and Eddie before returning to New York for June and July.<br />
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Maria and I went down to Annapolis, in Maryland, to spend time with friends Heather and Joe and to rendezvous with Sue and Bob, whom we met a few years ago at a marathon in New Jersey and last saw in Budapest in 2017. We ran a 10K race, but I was very slow. I also spent four days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a Dead Runners Society get-together. That was a blast from the past, with friends made during my first DRS conference in 2009 and since then.<br />
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I didn't run much while in New York, for the first time ever. But I walked hundreds and hundreds of miles, and in the other boroughs, too, not just Manhattan. Street photography is such a passion for me now... I saw many films and exhibitions as well. I love spending time in New York. It's one of my homes, with friends, routines, favourite places, favourite foods. But a couple of months is enough. After that, I start to get twitchy.<br />
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Just before midnight on 3 August, I arrived back in Budapest with an extra suitcase containing books from the stash I've been keeping in New York (including all my printed Facebooks going back to 2007) and the keys to the new apartment where I've now started the next stage of my life.</div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-67832358048892374332018-09-12T16:36:00.000+10:002018-09-12T16:39:17.626+10:00Spring cleaning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm in Rotorua for two weeks to see my father and to make sure he's happy enough in his new living environment. I couldn't come to New Zealand from Budapest (via the film festival in Sarajevo) without also visiting my family and friends in Australia, but it was definitely not my plan A. I'd been down this way for three months not long ago. But plan B reverts to plan A when I reach New York in a couple of weeks. Yay!<br />
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My life has continued to be hugely busy. After two months in Kuching (February and March), I spent six weeks in Hong Kong, staying back at the Helena May where my freelance life started 32 years ago. Around the demands of my workload, I ran with Paul, saw quite a bit of Polly and other friends, caught up on lots of films, and took about a thousand photographs. Photography is my new passion.<br />
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Back in Budapest from late May, after a week or so in Belgium and the Netherlands, I moved into Julie and David's apartment while they are away. I love my routines in Budapest, especially running with Rio, seeing friends for meals and films, and walking all over the city. I took a two-week trip to the UK (Devon, Cornwall, London and Hayling Island), which was so warm and sunny I thought I'd taken a plane to the wrong country. I ran a half marathon in Torquay. Great to see friends Polly (who was visiting), Linda, Peter and Amanda (who came up from Cheltenham so that we could spend the day at Kew Gardens), Michael and Eddie, and Wendy.<br />
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In late July, I went to Switzerland for a trail half marathon from Klosters to Davos. It was also a rendezvous with Maggy from Iceland, Susan from Amsterdam (she and I also ran a half in May in the Netherlands), and Julie, Gill and Chris from the UK. Davos was chocka with ultra-orthodox Jewish families.<br />
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I entered some photographs in an international competition a few months ago and was encouraged by the feedback: my strongest photographs have a narrative or pose a question of some kind. I've set up a Facebook page specifically for my photography. A visual complement to this blog, it's called "Robyn Flemming Photography: My Own Two Eyes". I also now post some of my photographs to a website for sale, and Getty Images has selected four of them for its library.<br />
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I'm making some progress on my book. I imagine a year or more of steady work is still needed to cut and shape it so that it's ready to show those who know about these things.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-91451110464370329992018-02-27T23:14:00.002+11:002018-02-27T23:14:49.102+11:00February 2018 … I'm in Kuching, and all's well<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I haven't had time to update this blog since I was in Copenhagen! I'm based in Budapest but have spent time in Reykjavik, New York, London, Berlin, Florence, Bologna, Rome, Malta, New York again, Warsaw, Paris, rural southwest France, Bordeaux, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Lisbon, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Rotorua, and Oz (Albury, Melbourne, Sydney, Gosford, Ballina, Byron Bay, Brisbane). I'm now back in Kuching for two months.<br />
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Please friend me on Facebook for regular updates.</div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-22315190686368274232016-09-28T22:01:00.002+10:002016-09-28T22:01:56.742+10:00Autumn near the Arctic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For most of the year I've been very happily ensconced in Budapest, for the past two months in an apartment that I'm leasing and not just occupying. There is a profound difference. Budapest is now my home base. I'm still travelling, but Budapest is now my starting point and point of return.<br />
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Since Miki's and my holiday in Portugal in the spring, I've been to Italy, Austria and Spain, and am now in Copenhagen en route to New York via Iceland.<br />
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I had a fabulous time in May travelling by train around northern Italy on my own before spending a few days with Giorgio and Amy near Turin. It's a beautiful country. I spent time in Udine, Trieste, Padua, Venice, Verona, Bologne, Florence ... then Innsbruck and Salzburg. I loved making up my itinerary as I went along.<br />
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In the summer I spent eight days in Barcelona, coinciding with a visit for a few days by friends from Budapest, Jules and David. There is still more I want to see in that part of the world.<br />
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The year has brought new friendships in Budapest and deepening friendships with people I've now known there for two or three years. I love the city and my life there.<br />
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Apologies again for the bare-bones nature of this blog. Facebook is my daily visual diary and I just don't have enough time to do much with this blog along with my other creative efforts and work.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-32971558872995207312016-03-29T05:04:00.001+11:002016-04-08T06:14:51.436+10:00Playing in Portugal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocwNxsPnB1HOu_UriL8-1JpvZ123ksu1tlZ_57S-eKry_KNfNJLAOfGEUupbpzrwqc3klKJc_MlHQxE4CuU3A7XNzw9sfRDYNJORZNGq4V_L-kVjg2y4xulJfp7rlqAkPcbP8fCVVtu4/s1600/Desert+boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocwNxsPnB1HOu_UriL8-1JpvZ123ksu1tlZ_57S-eKry_KNfNJLAOfGEUupbpzrwqc3klKJc_MlHQxE4CuU3A7XNzw9sfRDYNJORZNGq4V_L-kVjg2y4xulJfp7rlqAkPcbP8fCVVtu4/s200/Desert+boots.jpg" width="200" /></a>Somehow, a planned week's holiday in Portugal with Miki turned into just that: a holiday! No work appeared in my in-tray from the day our holiday started until the day I returned.<br />
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What a fabulous destination! We hired a car, so we had the flexibility to see the highlights between Lisbon and Porto, just inland from the Atlantic coast (including the westernmost point of Europe). We covered quite a small area in total, but Portugal gives you lots of bang for your buck and you don't have to drive very far between places worth seeing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miki negotiating a tight turn on the Obidos city wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nazare beachfront from the cable car</td></tr>
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I immediately liked Lisbon. Sintra and its palace were pretty, but we suspect we didn't see as much of the place as we should have. We both loved the walled city of Obidos, where we walked the wall just before the rain started at around breakfast time.<br />
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In Nazare we took the cable car up the cliff-face to an upper town for great views of the town and beach (which looked very like an Australian beach).<br />
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In Alcobaca and Batalha we saw some incredible monasteries, the latter one being my favourite for its very stark, unadorned, soaring interior.<br />
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We didn't have any sightings of angels or virgins in Fatima, where we lit some candles for family and friends. Just outside of the town the next morning we visited some caves that are 100 (or 200?) million years old.<br />
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Mid-journey we spent a day in Coimbra chilling and shopping. I had my best dinner of the trip at an Italian place on the river: seafood risotto. We had been sampling Portuguese tarts every day, but from here on we wouldn't find ones to beat the ones we had in Obidos, Alcobaca and Coimbra.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coimbra, looking up to the university buildings</td></tr>
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We spent two nights in Porto, which we both liked. I loved the steep-sided river and mass of bridges, one of which I ran across. Cable cars and funiculars are popular in Portugal, and we jumped on every one we saw.<br />
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We decided to take the train back to Lisbon instead of flying, which was much the better choice. I decided not to do the Lisbon half marathon that I was entered for. I wasn't trained, the arrangements for the 35,000 runners to get to the start were complicated, and thunderstorms were predicted. But basically, I was just a wuss.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porto </td></tr>
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I lucked out with a Jewish film festival at a great little cinema not far from our hotel, where I saw five films over the two days we spent back in Lisbon.<br />
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Miki was a great travelling companion: even-tempered, flexible and funny.<br />
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Our flight back to Budapest was delayed for three hours because of a strike by French air traffic controllers, but the flight itself (via North Africa to avoid France) was smooth. I was very aware that I felt I was coming home when we landed at 4 am.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-7139544676958805752016-02-26T18:06:00.003+11:002016-02-26T18:38:14.939+11:00Mucking about in Marrakech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkd0WmQqFJs8GcRAAN6RgY915E3qiXLj9CyK466-QKZSgL76y48OBq1Rak35Cbq8oTiT1bquadumY4qUMia4kaK3tZ94wuQUbboGL2Tr8X5Xw7y6Ll24sLwJcJdAjeMpeTJ33nkXZpt60/s1600/Orange+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkd0WmQqFJs8GcRAAN6RgY915E3qiXLj9CyK466-QKZSgL76y48OBq1Rak35Cbq8oTiT1bquadumY4qUMia4kaK3tZ94wuQUbboGL2Tr8X5Xw7y6Ll24sLwJcJdAjeMpeTJ33nkXZpt60/s320/Orange+shoes.jpg" width="240" /></a>The last time I was in Morocco, I broke my right (dominant) arm two hours after I'd flown into Marrakech. That was just over two years ago. This time, I've had more luck. The only damage (so far) has been to my wallet. I came to see friends from Australia who are here for the Biennale – Jules and Yvonne, Rita and Anne – but have also caught up briefly with my cousin Kylie (last seen in Amsterdam in early 2015), photographer friend Alia (New York last summer), online runner contact Ahmed (first meeting), and Abdou, who works with Rita and got me to Casablanca, and then on to my flight to Malaysia, after my arm operation in January 2014.<br />
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It's a spectacular time of year to see Marrakech: perfect temperatures and deep-blue, cloudless skies. I'm not able to take Rita's tour with the others into the mountains. Work eased up for just enough time to enable me to be a tourist for a week in Marrakech during the Biennale art fair, but not a traveller for another fortnight in Morocco. Miki and I are heading off on a jaunt in a couple of weeks and I need to finish up some jobs before we go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjR-Nv0V3ZZgVWziTYyS8L4zdLniYqNrPbPLmSgWAX8TWtn9RTK_fmaz4ohjbweXugrLQlG8_bpLRWxi6MWvgUOBCqG5JFRyyz9hmVRrwMhX2XlGIlFuUd0XHqyZGRlMhLp54R_M0rZn0/s1600/Marrakech+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjR-Nv0V3ZZgVWziTYyS8L4zdLniYqNrPbPLmSgWAX8TWtn9RTK_fmaz4ohjbweXugrLQlG8_bpLRWxi6MWvgUOBCqG5JFRyyz9hmVRrwMhX2XlGIlFuUd0XHqyZGRlMhLp54R_M0rZn0/s320/Marrakech+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After seeing a physiotherapist in Budapest I've decided to keep running so long as my back isn't hurting. I missed the morning chats and laughs with Rio too much. I've had random runs with Barb and Maria, and new training friend Kate, but I'll hope to get back into a routine soon. Just to keep me on task I've entered some events in the US later in the year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighuPdoZfGluNM0AbGublMfBwcVedUoB7a2GI6IAdt2A4uD3DRP69ZVoHTWABdXBuczaOxQH0Q0cX9ICY9rOwPowNw1PbwF5kZZgT-Q6OLI1wPfCAK9VmxpurLCpad7qQ50l0SCcD31F4/s1600/Marrakech+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighuPdoZfGluNM0AbGublMfBwcVedUoB7a2GI6IAdt2A4uD3DRP69ZVoHTWABdXBuczaOxQH0Q0cX9ICY9rOwPowNw1PbwF5kZZgT-Q6OLI1wPfCAK9VmxpurLCpad7qQ50l0SCcD31F4/s320/Marrakech+45.jpg" width="240" /></a>Last month I decided on the spur of the moment to take the train to Pecs, in Hungary, for a couple of nights. I loved it, and ended up staying for four days. I also spent a few days in Vienna, where I got my bearings for the first time. I've also topped and tailed this visit to Marrakech with overnight stays there, in the Museum Quarter.<br />
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A new friend in Budapest is Andras. We met at a screening of the Woody Allen film <i>Manhattan</i>, and film has become our thing. He works in the business as an extra. It's early days in the new year, but things are looking good so far.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-12808753110739192812016-01-02T05:06:00.002+11:002016-03-29T05:52:08.983+11:00A little less rootless<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Last year seemed like a
very long one. I’ve been on the move a bit less than in recent years, but the
start of 2015 feels like 24 months ago, not
12. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times;">A very quick recap: After seeing in the new year in
Budapest, I made quick visits with cousin Kylie (visiting from Oz) to Berlin
(where I had dinner with artist friend Norbert and Marisa from Malta) and to
Amsterdam (saw Susan from New York, and NZ cousin Sarah and Simon) before I
flew back to Asia. In Kuching I spent time with Emily, Min and Sam, Ivy and
Swee, and other friends made in recent years, and had my annual health checkup.
There was nothing wrong with me that wasn’t already wrong with me. I learned
while I was there (staying at the Batik Boutique Hotel, as usual) that my
application for a Hungarian residency permit had been approved for five
years. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span><i>This has changed everything!</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">I spent February, including Chinese New Year, in Hong
Kong, which was busy and fun and felt like home again. It offered up some new
people (among them Joanne, Andy, and Sylvia). Spent time with Polly, Linda (who
was on a visit from the UK), Carol, and Cathy and David. Hiked and ran with
Cathy and Jocelyn. I gave a talk at Women in Publishing, which I helped start
25 years ago. A quick visit to Zhuhai to spend a couple of days with old
Oz bestie, Chris M, and Xiao, who returned the visit to Hong
Kong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>Back to Budapest for three months, March through to late
May, to start taking up my residency. Ran the Vivicitta Budapest Half Marathon.
Spent a lot of time seeing cultural events with Miki, Julie and David. Through
the Budapest Zombie Runners group I met two special guys, Riyadh and Tiago. I
took holidays in Slovenia (where I met the Two Joans in Ljubljana) and with JB
in Croatia (Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, where I ran a race along the old town
walls, plus a hard, hot and hilly half marathon, and met Aussie runners Louise
and Sandra). Visitors to Budapest were my near-oldest friends Barb and Bill,
and Di. Other new Budapest faces were runners Andrea and Robert, Agi, and
Nozzies Karin and
Virginia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">I spent June and July in New York, back in the apartment
beside Central Park where my books are on the shelves and my runner friends are
at Engineers’ Gate most mornings at 5.30. I wrote nearly 300 pages of a first
draft of my book, ran races and saw lots of films. I had a week-long break in
Toronto (to see former Hong Kongers Sarah and Will, and Frances) and Montreal
(where I caught up with visiting Dead Runners Laura and Rob). Chiu Yin
organised a writing workshop with the writer Amy Hempel at Tuxedo Park, where I
met Sheila and Joni. Dominic was in town from
Tokyo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Back to Budapest for August and September. Through
running I met Kristy, Barb and Maria. Many fun morning runs with Riyadh. Saw
lots of Hungarian and other foreign films at local arthouse cinemas. Miki
became a close friend. He and I visited Istanbul for four days. I called in to
see Kadir, manager at the AgoraLife hotel in Sultanahmet, where I stayed for a
month in 2011. Chris H came for a visit from France. Visitors from Oz: Susy,
and Kevin and Simone. Ran my third Wizz Budapest Half Marathon. I started
working on my book again from scratch with Judit, a writing coach in Budapest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">To New York to do final training for an October marathon
(my fifth) in Pennsylvania (Steamtown) with Maria. My time wasn’t my best, but
it was good enough to qualify me for Boston in 2017. New pal Sue also qualified
in her first marathon. I completed the other races I need to do to get entry to
2016 New York City marathon. My 63rd birthday. I continued to work with
Judit on my book. Another writing workshop at Tuxedo Park with writer Laura
Shayne Cunningham, Chiu Yin, Sheila and Joni. Spent time with Liliane from
Lausanne (we met in 2011), Vince from Hong Kong, Fran (we met in Kuching in
2014) and caught up with visitors from Oz: Lynne and Greg, Robert and Merelin,
and Bridget. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>In early November, I returned to Budapest. Ran the Way of
Knowledge Half Marathon (my 38th). Worsening back pain took me to an
orthopaedic specialist who took spinal X-rays and diagnosed scoliosis on top of
the osteoporosis I already knew about. No more running… I’m still getting my
head around what that means. In December I took a weekend break in Zagreb,
during which I left my bag containing passport, cards and cash in a taxi. There
was a happy ending after a very charming Croatian geologist came to my
rescue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>I’m finishing up the
year with a week on the border of southern Hungary and Serbia, checking out
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-20925654208545118882015-10-27T09:23:00.002+11:002015-10-30T12:58:49.517+11:00New York: My work here is (nearly) done<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A very busy six weeks back in New York. I had three main goals: to run my fifth marathon; to earn the final race credits I need for a guaranteed place in next year's New York City Marathon; and to continue making progress with my memoir.<br />
<br />
Two weeks ago, Maria and I spent the weekend in Pennsylvania where we both finished the Steamtown Marathon. Maria had a personal best time (her third marathon), and I had a good-enough time (4:21:37) to qualify for the Boston marathon in 2017.<br />
<br />
In last weekend's 5-mile race in Central Park I placed third in my age group (out of 37) in a reasonable time of 46:23. I hadn't run since the marathon two weeks ago, as I've been sick with a head and chest cold. I have one more race (5K) this weekend. I've done well in it the two other times I've run it.<br />
<br />
I've continued to work by Skype with my amazing writing coach (in Budapest). Judit Kiss is reviewing and commenting on chapters of my memoir as I write them. It's coming along.<br />
<br />
As always, I feel very at home in New York and love my life in my 'hood, the morning training with the 5:30 a.m. group, seeing films, catching up with local friends, and seeing non-NYC friends: Vince from Hong Kong, Fran (whom I met in Kuching), Liliane from Lausanne, and Bridget from Oz. This week there are other visitors in town, and Sunday is the NYC marathon. I'll be out cheering friends who are running it. Then on Monday I return to Budapest for an extended stay, during which time I want to finish my book.<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-59543788424516751732015-09-03T04:01:00.003+10:002015-09-03T04:02:40.261+10:00At home in Budapest <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>BUDAPEST, August 3–26:</b> Hot, hot, hot! Work. Writing. Gyros with Miki at Ararat • Coaching from Judit • Runs with Barb, Kristy and Maria • Runs with Rio • "Son of Saul" • Moved from Jules' and David's apartment to Oliver's (opposite synagogue) • Susy and the big storm • Susy lunch • Jules and David returned • Kevin and Simone at Mazel Tov. Chris.<br />
<br />
<b>ISTANBUL, August 27–31: </b>Holiday with Miki • Hagia Sofia • Blue Mosque • Sufi dancing • Prince's Islands • menemen with simit bread • Pudding shop • Kadir at AgoraLife Sultanahmet. Chris.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-5271181972114070892015-08-02T01:44:00.001+10:002015-08-02T01:49:30.157+10:00Budapest bound<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've had two fabulous months in New York, training with the morning crew (including Susan visiting from Amsterdam), running races (including a Team Championship 5-mile race with the Hudson Dusters this morning) and writing the first draft of my book. I had a goal of returning to Budapest with 100 pages, but I have 280. A serious think about structure will be required once I'm done with the first draft, then the hard work of cutting and moving to produce a second draft. I had some welcome advice from writer Amy Hempel at the first get-together of a writers' group based in Tuxedo Park, organised by my friend CY.<br />
<br />
Each time I come to New York I make a side trip to a new city. This summer I went to Toronto (to see Sarah and Will, and Frances) and then on to Montreal (where I had brunch with visiting Dead Runners Laura and Rob, last seen in 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri). Montreal didn't do much for me, but I enjoyed my second visit to Toronto.<br />
<br />
As always in New York, I've seen some exhibitions and lots of films. I always feel very at home here, but I'm excited about returning to Budapest tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-60034169869634257142015-06-29T07:08:00.003+10:002015-06-29T07:09:20.772+10:00Summer in New York City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been very, very busy writing my book... Finally! I have nearly 200 pages done. I had hoped to be able to use this summer to complete a first draft, and it looks doable. I feel very happy about the way it's going.<br />
<br />
In addition to writing, I've been running with the 5.30 am group and have run four races (one on each weekend I've been back). Last week's 10K in Queens was good for a third place in my age group, but yesterday's 5-mile race to celebrate Pride Week (I was in seventh place) was my fastest-paced run in two years. I now need to start getting some long runs in the bag.<br />
<br />
I've been seeing a lot of films and exhibitions and generally really enjoying being back in New York, and in my neighbourhood.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-71058764829082638842015-06-01T04:51:00.001+10:002015-06-01T04:58:27.911+10:00Manhattan Transfer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tomorrow I'm returning to New York for two months. I'm looking forward to spending time there and getting back into running with the 5.30 a.m. group (including starting marathon training with Maria), racing in New York Road Runner races, and in other ways channelling my inner New Yorker.<br />
<br />
Budapest is turning into a great love. I've had friends visiting, who have also been seduced by the city's charms and very affordable quality of life. I'm expecting an influx of visitors over the next few years...<br />
<br />
Last month I took a mini-break in Ljubljana that included a 'Slovenia in a day' whirlwind excursion to Lake Bled and an amazing cave system. Earlier this month, I had eight days away in Croatia, in Zagreb (Museum of Broken Relationships), Split and Dubrovnik for a two-mile race along the top of the city walls and a hilly and hot half marathon. I was with a friend from Oz, and we travelled around by train, bus and ferry. It's an easy destination in a part of the world I'd like to explore some more.<br />
<br />
Miki has become a very dear friend. Since Julie and David returned to the US for an extended visit, we've spent a lot of time together visiting the thermal baths, hanging out and, lately, running together! We're planning some mini-breaks for later in the year.<br />
<br />
This month marked the fifth anniversary of my departure from Australia on my open-ended journey.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-22010898138708485882015-04-06T00:39:00.002+10:002015-04-07T22:27:28.251+10:00Taking up residence in Budapest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">I've been back in Budapest for five weeks, putting down roots, discovering new networks, establishing routines, meeting new people, making some new friends and setting some new goals. My longest stay previously as a visitor has been a month; this time, as a resident, I'm home for three months. It already feels different. I have no doubt that I belong here. When I first started spending time in New York, I felt that everyone in that city had squished up a bit to make room for me, as if we were all riding in the same bus. I feel that here, too. Obviously without Hungarian language I'm never going to understand a lot of what's going on around me, but I'm finding it interesting to make my way as best I can while I get myself set up with the things I need for my daily life. It's good for me. I'm having to be patient and polite and accommodating, and appreciative of the efforts that other people are making.</span></div>
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I feel very lucky to have met some fun and interesting people, especially through running, among them Andrea and Agi (who are Hungarian) and Riyadh (from Libya). I have a lot of running goals for this year, and I need to be training regularly if I'm to meet them. But even more than that, running with friends is one of the things I most enjoy doing.<br />
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So much of Budapest's beauty and appeal is freely available to anyone who walks its streets. But the city is multilayered, and the building frontages often conceal amazing inner spaces, ruin pubs, art zones, squares, parks, and more. The challenge is to see what's behind those facades (what's <i>inside</i> the square, not <i>outside</i> of it). Becoming a resident is my attempt to do that.<br />
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I'm staying in Jules' and David's apartment in District VII (the former Jewish ghetto area near the beautiful main synagogue) while they are visiting the US. Their friend Miki and his Yorkie, Joki, have become close friends of mine. We've taken to going to the thermal baths (Rudas and Gellert in the past few weeks) and cultural performances together.<br />
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As usual, I'm seeing as many films and exhibitions as I can squeeze in around my workload. Highlights have been the Sylvia Plachy photography exhibition at Mai Mano Haz and the 33rd Hungarian Press Photo Contest show at Robert Capa Center, and the films "Balaton Method", "For Some Inexplicable Reason" (for a second time), "Wake in Fright" (screened by an Australian Film Club), "Salt of the Earth" (about the Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgrado), and a couple of Swedish films (especially "Hotel") as part of a Scandinavian film festival.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-48914960447624209542015-02-21T12:07:00.000+11:002015-02-21T15:39:20.135+11:00A happy new year in Hong Kong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Gbv1uWtf6asjfbayVWbgMZNgRjtBCsCBMkF-mSJO9_P61M2t1Q2FKux8pND9q25zISAdFlwcx_VWC_X8AggVkNANCKRqQu1UAXRzcaSFrVkHOB5REr_g07-O4vGbYyBTreV-JfDsaE/s1600/Pak+Tai+Temple+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Gbv1uWtf6asjfbayVWbgMZNgRjtBCsCBMkF-mSJO9_P61M2t1Q2FKux8pND9q25zISAdFlwcx_VWC_X8AggVkNANCKRqQu1UAXRzcaSFrVkHOB5REr_g07-O4vGbYyBTreV-JfDsaE/s1600/Pak+Tai+Temple+9.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>Pak Tai Temple</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">If I weren’t heading back to Budapest on
Friday, I would stay on here in Hong Kong for another month or two. I think it
has resurfaced as a place I’m very happy to call home for a while. If all goes
well, I’ll return early next year for an extended stay. So, home for me is now
Budapest, New York and Hong Kong: a very nice balance of the old world of
central Europe, and the new worlds of the West and East. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>View across to Kowloon from Bowen Road on a clear day</i></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong is still fascinating, three
decades after my first visit on a business trip <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from Sydney in 1985. I moved up here in 1986,
and left at the end of 1993. I’ve been back to visit half a dozen times since
then, but this time has offered up something quite different: not just the
chance to spend time with old friends who live here (I’ve known Cathy and David
since 1971, Peter since 1987, Polly since 1988) or whose visits
coincided with mine (I’ve known Chris since 1973, and Linda since 1985), or with people I’ve gotten to know on more recent visits (Cathy, Carol and Christopher in 2010
and 2011). I've been fortunate this month to meet some new people who already feel like part
of my cobbled-together family of friends: Joanne, Jocelyn, Andy… At the start
of a new lunar year, I’m very aware of how lucky I am to have all these
interesting, courageous, creative, empathetic, funny, generous and loving
people in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The air quality in Hong Kong and the Pearl
River Delta is appalling. Some days it’s just a grey soup. But once or twice </span>there has been a break in the haze and there have been glimpses of blue sky and
clouds. I don’t know when was the last time there were stars visible at night.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzVhfvvMM81wVPfMwgOaBkJ4FZkPaBvozG75Lj4KwruXyf3oGrNcPB-l5KrOQmbX3d3nyrcT0az0Cc-jzU3Ynmvd3w6iuQFYhTg9Ehr1mS8-lAw1XgdNvo2ifjx2BJmGfL_BOskryGBk/s1600/Night+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzVhfvvMM81wVPfMwgOaBkJ4FZkPaBvozG75Lj4KwruXyf3oGrNcPB-l5KrOQmbX3d3nyrcT0az0Cc-jzU3Ynmvd3w6iuQFYhTg9Ehr1mS8-lAw1XgdNvo2ifjx2BJmGfL_BOskryGBk/s1600/Night+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Chinese New Year decoration at I.M. Pei's Bank of China building</i></div>
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<i>Ferry to Lamma Island from Aberdeen</i></div>
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<i>Reclaimed Central waterfront area</i></div>
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<i>Old Hong Kong, Ching Lin Terrace, Kennedy Town</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2jdeBZ9Przoz8jLcjpDzLszVnXfulPvmzRwf83r7k_RrpOmNCmu-RfOoh3UDTW019XjDCiCzXtazcu66ktIQGLReSBqlI2MjaASan-bNZH8i96Yq_mgv-x6zHcYlb0x6XceJJhqi7hs/s1600/Cheung+Chau+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2jdeBZ9Przoz8jLcjpDzLszVnXfulPvmzRwf83r7k_RrpOmNCmu-RfOoh3UDTW019XjDCiCzXtazcu66ktIQGLReSBqlI2MjaASan-bNZH8i96Yq_mgv-x6zHcYlb0x6XceJJhqi7hs/s1600/Cheung+Chau+8.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Fishing village, Cheung Chau Island</i></div>
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I’ve enjoyed getting away from Central and
doing a walk up in the New Territories with Cathy and Jocelyn, and across the
Dragon’s Back to Shek O on the other side of Hong Kong Island with Polly, Peter
and Sally. Jocelyn has become my occasional running partner along Bowen Road,
where over the years I’ve run countless repeats of the 4 km path that skirts
the hillside and overlooks Central, Admiralty, Wanchai, Causeway Bay and Happy
Valley. I have two half marathons coming up and will need to get back into a
better routine in Budapest.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last week I spent two days in Zhuhai, near
Macau, visiting a very old friend who was visiting his wife. It’s a long story…
The best word I can think of to describe the whole area around there is
“blighted”, but it was fun to spend time being silly with Chris. We went to a
small village where we were a novelty and the local people seemed all to be on
happy pills.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong actually comprises something like
260 outlying islands in addition to Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula
that’s attached to mainland China. Fishing is the traditional industry on the
inhabited islands, and it’s always fun to visit a fishing village for a seafood
lunch. I went with Cathy and David and friends of theirs to Lamma a week or so
ago, and with Joanne and Andy and other friends to Cheung Chau yesterday. I
have many memories of other lunches and dinners in those villages. Hong Kong is
about so much more than shopping. (But I HAVE bought a couple of pairs of
shoes!)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>With Rose and Xiao, my old friend Chris's sister-in-law and wife, Zhuhai District, </i></span><i>Guangdong Province</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ve visited a couple of new temples I
wasn’t aware of when I lived here, one with Sylvia, a local history buff and
head of the Hong Kong Gardening Society, and a former publishing colleague,
Peter. The other one I discovered by chance after a run last week. I gave a
talk at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) to about 20 members of the Women
in Publishing Society, which Polly and I started in about 1990. I’ve been to
see a couple of films with Cathy (“Nightcrawler” and “St. Vincent”). (I’m
timing my visit next year to coincide with the European Union and International
film festivals.) I love that Cath takes lunch to the movies, complete with a
little salt-and-pepper shaker and napkins. Polly and Charlie made a traditional
New Zealand roast lamb dinner at Pol’s gorgeously renovated apartment to usher
in the Year of the Sheep. Her fat cat Cartoon must be on his (her?) eighth life
by now. Christopher invited me for a drink at the FCC, where we talked with a friend
of his from Agence France Presse about property (Chris self-publishes in this
area), scuba diving and publishing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Linda, Polly, Catherine and I had an
unexpected opportunity for a reunion dinner when Linda’s visit to Hong Kong to
see her married son (he was six or so when I last saw him!) coincided with my
visit. We were able to have a couple of long chats, our first since August 2013
when she came up to London from her home in Cornwall to meet me for a two-day
catch-up. Polly has taken me to dinner at the FCC and the LRC (Ladies’
Recreation Club, where she plays tennis). I’ve walked all around the SOHO area,
which didn’t exist when I lived on Old Bailey Street, opposite Victoria Prison,
in the early 1990s. There are new areas being gentrified all the time, with
lots of fabulous cafes and restaurants. The relocated Police Married Quarters
is also now a very groovy showcase area for local artists, designers and other
creatives. The area behind Queen’s Road East is also having a resurgence. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I have seen my accountant and finalised my
accounts for the last two years, done a heap of work, and read some books,
including a reread of “Never Enough”, about the murder of an American Merrill
Lynch high-flyer by his shopaholic wife in 2003, a case that shocked the expat
community and delighted the local Chinese. Nancy Kissel is still serving her
life sentence at a women’s prison here in Hong Kong. I’m talking with two
people here about books they are writing, one about the horseracing scene which
is hugely popular with the local Chinese. I went to a dinner in Hong Kong Park
where I spent a lot of time talking with an expatriate New Zealander about
publishing, dogs, art and many other topics of mutual interest. Joanne and Andy
invited me for a delicious dim sum brunch at City Hall, on the edge of a
wasteland that used to be the seabed in Victoria Harbour. Jo grew up in Hong
Kong in an American expatriate family, went to college in the US and returned
to Hong Kong to live. Andy, a Briton, lives in Thailand. Through Cathy and
David I met Liz and Ian, who divide their year between Hong Kong, Australia,
New Zealand and Barcelona; and Heather and Craig, who have done a lot of
walking in places like Nepal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This has all been in just three weeks! My
visit has coincided with Chinese New Year. It feels to me like something new is
beginning; that I’m entering a new stage of my life. It’s a life I never
imagined I would have and I’m profoundly grateful for it.</div>
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-72522177621423167682015-01-29T22:46:00.002+11:002015-01-29T23:48:03.358+11:00A change of focus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The big news since I arrived in Kuching three weeks ago is that my application to become a resident of Hungary – specifically, Budapest – for at least the next five years was successful! It all happened very smoothly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for me to decide to put down roots in a city in central Europe I'd never thought to visit before September 2013. Now it feels like home. In fact, it will be a base for all of Europe. Being a resident will mean I don't have to keep an eye on day counts within the Schengen Zone, so I'll be able to explore more widely and not have to carry everything I own with me everywhere. I still have a foot firmly planted in New York, but I'll be spending less time in Asia after next month.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5dYB6bljPxhQvLdUo5I22Odg4ZjiPnIH8AkvXZ4P1MNmQ8SQWjuvpqPUUYnhh2QrKmeUm2cqzxjtr17z_4982_xWlQ3g3xZ6UbRHkApgs1U9_qRu-NZC6eidoNBEy8iNkFNyZ0P06cg/s1600/Sarawak+morn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5dYB6bljPxhQvLdUo5I22Odg4ZjiPnIH8AkvXZ4P1MNmQ8SQWjuvpqPUUYnhh2QrKmeUm2cqzxjtr17z_4982_xWlQ3g3xZ6UbRHkApgs1U9_qRu-NZC6eidoNBEy8iNkFNyZ0P06cg/s1600/Sarawak+morn+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's always great to see Min and Sam, Ivy and Swee, Emily and other friends here, but it's not really been a very social visit. My workload has been heavy, and it's been very wet, so we haven't run much. It's been fun to be present for my Friday Night Flicks movie screenings at the Batik, now in its second year. I've also had another complete wellness check: there's nothing physically wrong with me that wasn't wrong with me last year, which is good news!<br />
<br />
Kuching is getting ready for Chinese New Year, with decorations going up all over town.</div>
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-27331635039651559412015-01-11T22:20:00.000+11:002015-01-11T22:33:36.221+11:00Terminal 2B or not 2B?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cuMmUbS3LjorW3tOB4VrHpmDBSrjJFt7-Pltn_ZPV4bv9wxdb_lov22Zwbifv-qRcmCsgeeIjkJdUwr1VK9Vurrq1jaj80HobYmBYqFqR7IUZTuuIAgFMCwndShGra4c1tJJ9BFh0lc/s1600/Budapest-Ferihegy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cuMmUbS3LjorW3tOB4VrHpmDBSrjJFt7-Pltn_ZPV4bv9wxdb_lov22Zwbifv-qRcmCsgeeIjkJdUwr1VK9Vurrq1jaj80HobYmBYqFqR7IUZTuuIAgFMCwndShGra4c1tJJ9BFh0lc/s1600/Budapest-Ferihegy.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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Twice within a week a Hungarian taxi driver asked me if I wanted terminal 2A or 2B at Budapest's international airport. The second trip had long been scheduled: a return to Malaysia; the first was a spur-of-the-moment excursion.<br />
<br />
My cousin Kylie broke her ankle at a very convenient time for me, if not for her! I was able easily enough to change my plans and fly to Berlin to meet her the day her bus tour ended. (She had been one week into her two-week bus-about holiday when she fell on an icy road in Slovakia the day her group was due to travel to Budapest. I saw her there, where she decided she could continue on the tour after I offered to help get her and her luggage from Berlin to Amsterdam the next week. The alternative was to cancel her holiday and fly straight back to Australia... Not fun.)<br />
<br />
So, I flew to Berlin to meet Kylie on January 2. Once she was organised in our hotel I walked over to see my friends from Malta, Norbert and Marisa, who have a gorgeous pad on a street that was once divided by the Berlin Wall. We had a lot to talk about: I hadn't seen Marisa since I stayed with them on Gozo in 2007, and I hadn't seen Norbert since he stayed with me in New York in 2010 or 2011.<br />
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The next morning Kylie and I took the train from Berlin to Amsterdam. This was the challenging part of the journey, but we finally found our seats and got all our bags together in the one place. I then disappeared into my book for the day.<br />
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After we checked into our hotel in Amsterdam we went to a hospital to see what was needed as follow-up to the treatment in Budapest. They basically said there was no point in doing anything until the Monday (it was now Saturday), so I spent Sunday catching up with people: Sarah, a cousin from New Zealand I'd never met (this time on Dad's side) and her partner Simon for a fun brunch at Paper Planes; and Susan, a runner friend from New York, for an exhibition of Vivien Meier's photographs at Foam Museum. Kylie managed to rest her foot and have fun in her own inimitable way.<br />
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Monday morning I had to head back to Budapest, and Kylie went off to hospital where she had an operation and an overnight stay over the next few days, in time to fly back to Oz at the end of the week (yesterday).<br />
<br />
In Budapest I had a terrific meeting with Orsolya and Zsofia from the Hungarian House of Photography to discuss an idea I've put to them and Albury Art Gallery. That night I took Miki, Jules, David and their visiting friends Lori and Ted to dinner. I'm leaving some things at Jules and David's, which is a great help.<br />
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And before I knew it, the taxi driver was asking me yet again if I wanted 2B (or not 2B)...<br />
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I'm now back at the Batik Boutique Hotel in Sarawak, where I have my Kuching routines, including running in the predawn with Min and now also Swee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_0uY2azsvi5w6peTQ4OpNbtXVeTla3l240DMr9viIjVU7eUyriAjSSt0LajO_d4-bCoKgKuS1oM5NghW24Py9ko_LoMcOuxaSg78woLGpxFF5HvFlQ5ulJWWm3rmbDuz1O-PbLSxtN8/s1600/Sarawak+morn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_0uY2azsvi5w6peTQ4OpNbtXVeTla3l240DMr9viIjVU7eUyriAjSSt0LajO_d4-bCoKgKuS1oM5NghW24Py9ko_LoMcOuxaSg78woLGpxFF5HvFlQ5ulJWWm3rmbDuz1O-PbLSxtN8/s1600/Sarawak+morn+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-62126191586129552522014-12-29T01:45:00.002+11:002014-12-29T16:45:27.598+11:00Budapest: A fling becomes a long-term thing...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxN-ByYx72ATB7dcd_OcQGcbbiC8wllvh-548abfLK3XKUNr2V25AmLJYM_rMOK1NlVUgwe04vjI6obGlf9nGgq0E0HJjaBdZ_naSK1rR0EwTaKCfRR4dMvrBsrVBHNcH8DZ_8FaEuZII/s1600/Orange+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxN-ByYx72ATB7dcd_OcQGcbbiC8wllvh-548abfLK3XKUNr2V25AmLJYM_rMOK1NlVUgwe04vjI6obGlf9nGgq0E0HJjaBdZ_naSK1rR0EwTaKCfRR4dMvrBsrVBHNcH8DZ_8FaEuZII/s1600/Orange+door.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I believe in making plans, but I’ve also
learned to go with the flow of my life when events take me in
unexpected directions. Making plans is efficient; being flexible about them is
where life’s surprises lie.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This lesson hit home on day 2 of this year,
when I flew into Marrakech for a planned month-long visit that would include a
half marathon race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was then planning to spend February in Spain and Malta, where I was entered in half marathons in
Barcelona and Valletta, and to visit Cairo for a week on my way back
to Kuching at the start of March. Instead, within two hours of arriving in
Morocco, I had a broken right (dominant) arm after walking into the path of a
cyclist. I had an operation on the arm that night and would be without the use
of my arm for the next six weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There wasn’t much I could do except change
all my plans and follow my gut feeling, which was to fly immediately to Kuching
and gratefully accept the help of my family there: Min and Samantha, and the
crew at the Batik Boutique Hotel, my home in Malaysia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After further surgery in Kuching to insert
a plate in my arm and two months of physiotherapy, I picked up my original plan
and moved to Ubud, in Bali, where I had a very busy couple of months working on
a huge job for a brand-new client that had appeared out of nowhere. Some
friends came to stay for a couple of weeks, which I really appreciated. I was
feeling a bit battered…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I brought forward a planned December visit and spent June and July back in Australia.
That visit didn’t go as I’d hoped, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made a quick visit to my father in New Zealand before heading back to
Kuching for a couple of weeks to take part in the inaugural Kuching half
marathon/marathon. I hadn’t run during the first half of the year, and I
finished the race just on the back of the few runs I had had in Albury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up on the ground at the finish with
leg cramps – a first for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That night I flew to Istanbul, where I
spent a couple of days before returning to Budapest for my third visit in 12
months. I caught up again with new friends Julie and David, who by then had
become old friends. Through them I met Miki and his dog, Joki. I ran my second
Budapest half marathon, which is a fabulous event. I was sorry to leave
Budapest: it was taking hold of my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After flying to Dublin for an appointment
with my hairdresser Carly, I returned to New York and settled into regular
running training with the 5.30 am crew. I only ran one race, the 5K on November
1 from the United Nations Building to the New York City Marathon finish line
the day before the marathon. My time was 55 seconds slower than
the year before. I was grateful it wasn’t slower. It was fun also to spend time
with friends from Albury who came for the marathon. During my two months in New
York I saw lots of films, got to know Pat and Steve a bit better (new friends
from 2013), and worked hard on the project I’d started in Kuching in February,
which dominated my whole work year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In mid-November I spent 10 days in the
South with a very old friend from our Hong Kong years. We visited friends of
mine in North Carolina, then checked out Savannah, Georgia, for a week. I had
thought I would fall in love with Savannah, but it didn’t happen. Instead, I
was feeling a very strong pull to Budapest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">To St Augustine, in Florida, for
Thanksgiving with the family of one of my oldest friends. When I met Barb I was
13 and she was 15. Her family always felt like my family, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back to Dublin for another hair appointment
with Carly and a quick flit to Belfast before flying on to Budapest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Plans were in place to spend a week in
Hungary before returning to Spain: I would be in Valencia for three weeks, where
I was entered in a half marathon, and in Barcelona for about four days to visit
a new friend from New York who spends six months a year there. Accommodation and flights were booked and paid
for. I would then return to Budapest for two days before flying to Kuching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">During the flight from Dublin I realised I
didn’t want to leave Budapest so soon after arriving. I’m sure I would have had a great time in Spain, but it
hit me that I really wanted to stay on in Budapest, and that I could change my
plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was sort of a revelation, like realising I was in love. I
thought about it for two days and then cancelled everything. I moved into an
apartment and gave myself over to this beautiful, amazing city, where I feel
completely at home.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">... So at home, that I’ve applied for a
five-year residency permit. Jules and David recommended a wonderful attorney,
who prepared all the paperwork. I’ll know in a few weeks whether I’ve been
accepted. I’m reconciled to getting only a two-year permit, which I expect I’ll
try to extend later if my life stays on this course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the process of putting together my
application I thought about why I wanted to base myself here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I left Australia nearly five years
ago, I didn’t have a five-year plan. I intended to keep travelling for as long
as it felt right. I hadn’t anticipated that I would feel so at home in Budapest
that I would want to make a commitment to it and be able to call it home for
most of the time that I’m not in New York. I feel a strong urge to set up a
physical home here. But more than that, I want to contribute to the community in some way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PxRmRnrJACoTfz7dwTJCJ2OWBiTn528Sc2ty_2v2fOAeTDzpfjd4wflTIdexX3VJSeAZuVLCDY3fjTqEF2Vj4OgOeB3365ra7J3lG5EAKknl2R09T7bdJZHzQjyiVEF9sx47EO4r3NA/s1600/Green+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PxRmRnrJACoTfz7dwTJCJ2OWBiTn528Sc2ty_2v2fOAeTDzpfjd4wflTIdexX3VJSeAZuVLCDY3fjTqEF2Vj4OgOeB3365ra7J3lG5EAKknl2R09T7bdJZHzQjyiVEF9sx47EO4r3NA/s1600/Green+wall.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have had an idea that might create
something new and of benefit to a whole bunch of people, both here in Hungary
and in Australia. It fits perfectly with my interests, skills and vision, and
I’m incredibly excited about it. The first steps have been taken, but a meeting
early in January, a couple of days before I fly back to Malaysia, will
hopefully start the ball rolling.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1gm0L7TUca10yHMiR_-F7-xWN2K7DkqP2pMWPnxhIMmL8TBBNSqNG-3d26MWc6bgQamD7Zdwrgrsb6ljgvxcOCtr7M6poeou19lEqyOhfb3qN31zGc_I9GYrZpXCmbFzOXydZAba8sY/s1600/Paris+arcade+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1gm0L7TUca10yHMiR_-F7-xWN2K7DkqP2pMWPnxhIMmL8TBBNSqNG-3d26MWc6bgQamD7Zdwrgrsb6ljgvxcOCtr7M6poeou19lEqyOhfb3qN31zGc_I9GYrZpXCmbFzOXydZAba8sY/s1600/Paris+arcade+3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as I thought my plans for the next
week or so were in order, a cousin from Australia arrived in Budapest on a tour
through Central Europe. Kylie broke her ankle in Slovakia on Boxing Day and has
had to reassess the rest of her trip. We worked out a new plan together that will
give her the support she needs after her tour group disbands and also give me
some unexpected opportunities.<br />
<br />
Yes, this year has been all about being flexible as my life becomes bigger than even I can plan for.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-31021518469027493172014-12-09T06:47:00.003+11:002014-12-09T06:47:53.731+11:00An Irish interlude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I now schedule my flights between New York and Europe based around the availability of my hairdresser, Carly, in Dublin. As one does...<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
I also like to see some films at the Irish Film Institute (this visit I saw the German film "Stations of the Cross", the Irish documentary "The Possibilities are Endless" and Bill Murray in "St Vincent") and to catch some theatre ("High Heels in Low Places", a monologue by Ireland's foremost drag queen and "national treasure" Panti; and "Follow" at The Abbey). I also visited Belfast for a day. I would like to have gone up to the mountain that crouches over the city but I had only six hours and it turned into an overcast day with not great visibility. Instead I spent a couple of hours at the Ulster Museum and the rest of the time walking around the city.<br />
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<br />
Dublin is a great stopping-off place for me for a few days. The area around the river is familiar, and I have my routines that I enjoy. From there I'm just a short hop to Europe and Budapest, which has taken a firm hold of my heart, mind and spirit.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-15975655769040627912014-12-02T10:28:00.001+11:002014-12-02T10:36:56.560+11:00A family affair in Florida<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
I spent five days over Thanksgiving with very old friends Barb and Bill from Oz and their extended family in St Augustine, Florida.<br />
<br />
I had cut short my stay in Georgia after a too-close encounter with a ghost at my hotel after Sarah left, and headed to Jacksonville by Greyhound coach a day earlier than planned. The next morning, B&B collected me at my hotel and we drove down to St Augustine, which dates from the 1500s and is the oldest continuously settled city in the US.<br />
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<br />
Thanksgiving was very traditional: family and food. It was great to see Michael and Meg again and to meet their daughter Leni. I stayed a couple of days with Bill's mum Roma, who has moved back to the States from Albury to be around her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I really enjoyed meeting Dianne, Bill's sister, whom I've been hearing about since, oh, forever!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChMCq3I8SfdQPD-1KB_h7WSY4UfXH3m909DQGh4FkZkbao3bSyB8qG5g4E8TAF7gszJ9TLBo9XqhBaKi7wzD6V4riayrpKGCLHBA-hzS9fe0T_7_5P5r43_EBZwNv9S36h_dSruddcBc/s1600/The_Ponce_de_Leon,_St._Augustine,_Florida,_1902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChMCq3I8SfdQPD-1KB_h7WSY4UfXH3m909DQGh4FkZkbao3bSyB8qG5g4E8TAF7gszJ9TLBo9XqhBaKi7wzD6V4riayrpKGCLHBA-hzS9fe0T_7_5P5r43_EBZwNv9S36h_dSruddcBc/s1600/The_Ponce_de_Leon,_St._Augustine,_Florida,_1902.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I spent the last three days at a very cute carriage house right in town, where there was lots to see just walking around. It's a very charming town for a short stay. Lots of pedestrian streets, great buildings, funky houses, proper restaurants, pubs, garden cafes, quality shops, and even an art house cinema where I saw two films.<br />
<br />
Lunch at the gorgeous Cap's On the Water on my last day yesterday with Barb, Dianne and Ron, Roma, Meg and Leni topped off a short but sweet visit.<br />
<br />
I'm now back in New York after flying up this morning. Tomorrow I'm returning to Dublin and Europe. I won't be back in New York until mid-next year, which seems an awfully long time away!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-76023699083764501742014-11-25T10:16:00.003+11:002014-11-25T22:13:42.586+11:00Georgia on my mind...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jMzvynlYRkFKEk-D_y_h_zFASHBoVnn3HlJMs8FL0hAN_e_0fh2ycD_HHeb_dVGrQQP54XyQ16kbFbXJJlELq6F4lZD9acVWc1lnF6BG6gWQkFG4TjrQIbu8eg7ud_hrqp-hjldj4bk/s1600/postcard-savannah-georgia-vintage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jMzvynlYRkFKEk-D_y_h_zFASHBoVnn3HlJMs8FL0hAN_e_0fh2ycD_HHeb_dVGrQQP54XyQ16kbFbXJJlELq6F4lZD9acVWc1lnF6BG6gWQkFG4TjrQIbu8eg7ud_hrqp-hjldj4bk/s1600/postcard-savannah-georgia-vintage.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I thought I was going to fall in love with
Savannah, which would have been a bit inconvenient as I’d then want to find a
spare month each year to live here as a local. Luckily, I’ve liked it enough to
enjoy my week as a southern belle, but not so much that I feel the need to
return. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s a small town if you discount 90% of the city where it’s not safe to stay as a naïve visitor from
out of town. Gun violence is a real problem. Just in the past week there
have been three shootings that have left two kids dead and one
injured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s suggested that visitors confine
themselves basically to the area between Forsyth Park (in the centre of the Google map below) and the Savannah River,
with a side visit to Bonaventure Cemetery. You want to be a NOG, which stands
for "north of Gaston", the street that runs from west to east across the top of
the park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My friend Sarah and I were booked into two
cottages in a lane near the bottom of the park, where we
felt a bit exposed and vulnerable. After two days we cut our losses and moved
to an inn near the river. We then started ticking attractions off the must-do
list for tourists. Once you’ve done that, there’s not much to do other than eat
and shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We saw two vintage Gregory Peck films (“To
Kill a Mockingbird” and “Roman Holiday”) at the wonderful old Lucas Theater,
which actor Kevin Spacey helped rescue. I think it’s a shame the theatre
doesn’t have regular screenings of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, as
I would love to have seen it again here. A high percentage of visitors to the
historic part of town have read the book or seen the film, and it’s become
Savannah’s “brand”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We visited the art museum, a
mansion-turned-gallery and Bonaventure cemetery. A Sunday morning service at
First African Baptist Church was a highlight for me. I loved the music and
singing, the physical worship and dancing, the sense of community and the very
warm welcome we received as visitors from Canada and “Down Under” (as the
pastor called Oz). We pedalled our way around the historic streets for an hour
in a pedal-powered vehicle with a bucks party from Florida, and we walked the
grid that encompasses about 20 city squares complete with live oak trees and
Spanish moss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I’m not on holiday, I also worked each
day from early morning and during some of each afternoon.</div>
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Prior to arriving in Savannah we spent a
couple of days travelling from New York by train through North Carolina, where
I caught up with Dead Runner friend Rietta and my much-missed New York friend
Brigitte, and South Carolina, where I regret I didn’t have time to visit
Charleston.</div>
</div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-76427227388778289022014-11-10T10:09:00.000+11:002014-11-30T12:03:58.706+11:00Where did those two months go?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My time in New York has just whizzed by. At the end of this week I'm heading south for a fortnight with an old friend from our Hong Kong years and to meet up with Aussie friends for Thanksgiving. Di and Frannie, running pals from Albury, were here for the New York City Marathon. We did some fun things while they were here, including a run in Central Park with former Australian world champion marathoner Rob de Castella and his mob of young indigenous runners.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjPxPL8fWQttnvZtCyUtXa9-GdJ753_SROiJZHZaxttHFT3UmRJ9QeWbsWg82AiS_UydbHLLlafk42u4t0S5v9nXTf54_4z7BRm59n7ALOoyDDevlV9UVvTSDsQlkxRyAO37hi9yTir8/s1600/Me+with+Rob+de+Castella,+Di+&+Fran,+New+York,+Oct+31,+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjPxPL8fWQttnvZtCyUtXa9-GdJ753_SROiJZHZaxttHFT3UmRJ9QeWbsWg82AiS_UydbHLLlafk42u4t0S5v9nXTf54_4z7BRm59n7ALOoyDDevlV9UVvTSDsQlkxRyAO37hi9yTir8/s1600/Me+with+Rob+de+Castella,+Di+&+Fran,+New+York,+Oct+31,+2014.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Me, Rob de Castella, Di and Frannie at the Beacon Hotel, Broadway</i><br />
<br />
We also ran the 5K race that ends at the marathon finish line. I was 55 seconds slower than last year, and two places down in my age group (5th out of 106). Not too shabby, given I didn't run for the first half of the year while my arm healed. It was only my third race for the year; the half marathons in Kuching and Budapest were more like long runs, rather than races. Next year is looking like a more normal year, with a marathon in Pennsylvania in October instead of doing NYC for a second time.<br />
<br />
I've gone to see films with Pat and Steve, whom I met last year; and caught up with Ingrid, who was visiting from Santiago; and with Josephine, whom I met at a bus stop last month and who has a Dachshund called Emma. I had a long talk over lunch with CY, who has been a friend since 1986 when we worked together in Hong Kong; and caught up with Selma and Murray, who are in their nineties and still very full of beans. We met in Chile in early 2012.<br />
<br />
My Aussie drag queen/performer friend Glace Chase, whose mum's house was next-door to mine in Albury, previewed a new tour called "The Real Bitches of New York", for which I was happy to be a guinea pig. She was a sight to behold on Madison Avenue in heels higher than I would ever dare to wear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBcGl9eVBkVwC8ddcLeDTRGkMWDapjS2GJguN2l3A9zNT-zyEvuPDZrKthR00TEjgX1-zsFa5qPbrOLfpQLVeLtDadrK2BZLA_dw28kSZOFtMp62elz05NGtIRdOkBIQIYg1u0ECEHHo/s1600/Glace+on+Madison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBcGl9eVBkVwC8ddcLeDTRGkMWDapjS2GJguN2l3A9zNT-zyEvuPDZrKthR00TEjgX1-zsFa5qPbrOLfpQLVeLtDadrK2BZLA_dw28kSZOFtMp62elz05NGtIRdOkBIQIYg1u0ECEHHo/s1600/Glace+on+Madison.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Glace Chase</i><br />
<br />
Runner friend Sun and I checked out the High Line on a gorgeous day just before she started her new job and had to give up being a lady who lunches.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rhyBP35sgX7mkSn5Vf9e5ggwWLxWxIsrIpoLJwtICmVm-ori-JYMILk-RsypBVgNZCS7VuvMD9YrF2gyNLWMhReNPsNmDYjHgiZ9Vp7KxmVXziBfH78lukVtgqfZXBZz3w3M9y1J_gc/s1600/Sun+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rhyBP35sgX7mkSn5Vf9e5ggwWLxWxIsrIpoLJwtICmVm-ori-JYMILk-RsypBVgNZCS7VuvMD9YrF2gyNLWMhReNPsNmDYjHgiZ9Vp7KxmVXziBfH78lukVtgqfZXBZz3w3M9y1J_gc/s1600/Sun+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<i>Sun</i><br />
<br />
Maria, as always, has been an absolutely reliable morning running partner; more reliable than I have been. It's taking me a little longer than I'd expected to get back in peak form. Next year is shaping up to be a focused one for training, so I'm hoping to achieve some new goals. Other (ir)regulars are Lissy, Sarah, Heather, Joe, Sun, Andrea, Stephen, John and (this year) Darleen. I don't get to see Joanne or Marie unless I run on Saturdays, which hasn't happened much during this visit. Maria organised a brunch yesterday, which was fun.<br />
<br />
My film-going dropped off over the last few weeks as my workload increased. I expect to be juggling a very heavy workload while doing quite a bit of travelling over the next few months. I'm not complaining!!!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-24303221215395930992014-10-01T07:18:00.000+10:002014-10-01T07:27:50.098+10:00There are 8.4 million stories in The Naked City. This is just one of them...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOlTrhMbLltuXgWXUHZndCT0RXihWJu7QLM2kxg3fXASIWEuQcFRycrhvlFMbdAGCt5kpOzMEaIrSQrB0tnhA54Hg4KHsuhEfS6sjYeuUJP45BDmFeAyM7e5JLUqAOpTwSC2T_174Q6o/s1600/Editors-Pick-The-Naked-City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOlTrhMbLltuXgWXUHZndCT0RXihWJu7QLM2kxg3fXASIWEuQcFRycrhvlFMbdAGCt5kpOzMEaIrSQrB0tnhA54Hg4KHsuhEfS6sjYeuUJP45BDmFeAyM7e5JLUqAOpTwSC2T_174Q6o/s1600/Editors-Pick-The-Naked-City.jpg" height="115" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm back in the apartment next to Central Park that is my usual Manhattan pad. I love just stepping back into my New York life: the flat, the building, the neighbourhood, the island. I have actually been off-island once since I arrived just under two weeks ago after spending a couple of days in Dublin. I went over to Brooklyn to see an exhibition of high-heeled shoes called "Killer Heels". The rest of the time I've been in Manhattan mode.<br />
<br />
As always, I've been bingeing on films: of those I've seen, I enjoyed Nick Cave's "20,000 Days on Earth" and "Finding Fela" (both with Steve); "Advanced Style" (with Maria); "Pride" (with Pat); "My Old Lady", "The Skeleton Twins" and "Art and Craft". Plus I've seen a fun Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney, and exhibitions of lingerie and dance costumes with Pat at the Fashion Institute of Technology.<br />
<br />
I'm back running in Central Park about four or five mornings a week, though I had to renege on this morning's six-miler when I got a job overnight that needed to be done before my client in Chennai, India, closed up shop for the day. Always terrific to run with Maria and the rest of the 5:30 a.m. crew: Lissy, Sarah, Joe (I haven't caught up with Heather yet), Stephen and John, and last Saturday with Joanne, Marie, Erica and Chris. Also enjoyed a run last week with Dead Runner Michael.<br />
<br />
It's five years since I first spent time in New York (10 weeks in mid-2009). I couldn't have imagined then what a big part it would play in my life. And now I have Budapest in my life as well...<br />
<br />
A place I formerly called home, Hong Kong, is in tumult this week with the Chinese-appointed government locking horns with peaceful student demonstrators. There have been surreal images of tear-gas attacks in Admiralty and Central. Tomorrow, October 1, is China's national day and a public holiday. Many thousands of HK people are already joining the protestors. The events are reminiscent of the student protests that took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Hopefully, the Chinese government will stay calm.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-41972159262790647972014-09-08T00:13:00.000+10:002014-09-08T13:18:00.993+10:00In the zone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEjlHpux7-y8JvN7qApfpibddUk9jPsiKcDqZyRvuEiPPPYQtCwRQEKzxGmE0imR7261hQNkwT-xESXv0MyFfFol6TR3YCLzSmAfNi3HSHICidK_ac4GnxH6lkQj76a-yuiivCdLiLHo/s1600/Budapest+blog+pic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEjlHpux7-y8JvN7qApfpibddUk9jPsiKcDqZyRvuEiPPPYQtCwRQEKzxGmE0imR7261hQNkwT-xESXv0MyFfFol6TR3YCLzSmAfNi3HSHICidK_ac4GnxH6lkQj76a-yuiivCdLiLHo/s1600/Budapest+blog+pic+2.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I’ve been thinking quite a lot about
comfort zones: are they a place or a state of mind? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I think they are primarily a state of mind,
or a state of being, that comes with feeling comfortable within yourself. If
you feel comfortable in your own skin, are at peace with yourself and enjoy
your own company, then this becomes a comfort zone that you can take with you
wherever you go and that isn’t dependent on a physical place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I have been roaming around the world for
over four years now, and as time has gone on I’ve felt more and more that I’m in
my comfort zone wherever I am. I’m not talking about always feeling safe. I’ve
had accidents, and I’ve probably had many near misses of one kind or another. I
try to be very mindful and aware of what’s going on around me, and I trust my
instincts and most of my impulses. Life is a sexually transmitted fatal condition.
Something is going to get me someday. I just hope that it’s not my destiny to
have my life end in an appalling, frightening or painful manner, or way
prematurely. I’m not sure how I got to be the age I am now, and I don’t want to
waste a second of my remaining time. But I’m not going to wrap myself in cotton
wool in a retirement village somewhere and call that my comfort zone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I am in Budapest on my third visit in a
year. I leave in a week’s time. I love the city and the people and my life
here. I love that I’ve had an opportunity to share it with old and new friends.
A part of me is now a Budapestian, if that’s the correct term. I will leave a
part of me here, and something of Budapest will always be with me from now on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I’m headed back to Dublin, where there is a
running network I can tap into, a favourite café and cinema to visit, and a
hair appointment to keep. Then I’m returning to New York, where I have my deeply
entrenched New York life. I feel comfortable in both places. Part of that
comfort comes from the familiarity of the physical place. I like to spend many
hours walking around, getting to know a city from the ground up, so I gravitate
to places that are pedestrian-friendly. I discover my trail, mark my way, find
my own path through a city’s streets. I love routines: going back to places
where I am recognised, visiting cinemas discovered during a previous stay,
knowing where to find roti when I feel like having Malaysian food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">But feeling comfortable doesn’t depend on
my being familiar with a place. I enjoy arriving for a week or a month in a new
place and starting from scratch. It’s fun to search out places where I want to
eat, to run, to see good art and fine films, to sit and watch this new world go
by and start to get to know it.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes I make a connection with a random
person in a new place. We might be standing in the same queue, running around
the same park, drinking coffee in the same café, eating in the same restaurant,
or visiting the same gallery or museum. If we talk and it feels right, I will
ask to see them again. It doesn’t always happen. I don’t ever feel lonely. I
have met many people in this way who have become treasured friends. I’m
grateful for Facebook, which makes continuing to get to know new people so much
easier than email allows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">So, while my level of comfort in many
places may manifest as ease with familiar faces and places, with routines and
the known, it also enables me to enjoy exploring the new and unfamiliar. Either
way, wherever I am, I mostly feel happy, comfortable, safe and grateful. And
it’s that state of mind that I think is my comfort zone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">In the past couple of weeks I’ve made quick excursions to Bratislava, in Slovakia, and Graz, in Austria.
In Bratislava I got talking to a woman from Arizona while trying to get my
bearings at the train station. We spent the afternoon together exploring the
old town and the castle. In the evening I saw the wonderful film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boyhood</i> (with Ethan Hawke and Patricia
Arquette). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHNAVsrRuD-31PBeOX8-IwlE6x_gMOu6MwjIb3ztx6quGy8POkaAmmsPI2NIy2QdIAJ_WGJ8qPtYw8xrlq23LAwvdvGLXrUblXd_BBumArUVCXhRLxgyqoTYlu9lLeKfxWqXY2XewzMI/s1600/Store+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpHNAVsrRuD-31PBeOX8-IwlE6x_gMOu6MwjIb3ztx6quGy8POkaAmmsPI2NIy2QdIAJ_WGJ8qPtYw8xrlq23LAwvdvGLXrUblXd_BBumArUVCXhRLxgyqoTYlu9lLeKfxWqXY2XewzMI/s1600/Store+art.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><i>Store art in Bratislava</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">This week I took the train to Graz to spend
two days with Jackie, my friend of four years from Kuching, who has partnered
up with Austrian Michael who lives in Jakarta and was home on leave. Jackie,
who owns the Batik Boutique Hotel in Kuching where I always stay, is a
powerhouse and an inspiration. I love her dearly, not least for letting me
choose films to be screened each week at Friday Night Flicks at the Batik even
when I’m on the other side of the world. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADClXMDYuDU7wE9Md04MX1EqqiPhT3daZALRwNP_4K8i6HCjB2rFVO9_MznvcfhAEdJ3eotL_KDD_458PgG32k_azJRmG-nNJx3DABxVJYWq_AgfdpMy3OM6Jn3ONaQjcNJb2MQVCc1g/s1600/image-10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADClXMDYuDU7wE9Md04MX1EqqiPhT3daZALRwNP_4K8i6HCjB2rFVO9_MznvcfhAEdJ3eotL_KDD_458PgG32k_azJRmG-nNJx3DABxVJYWq_AgfdpMy3OM6Jn3ONaQjcNJb2MQVCc1g/s1600/image-10.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><i>A courtyard in Graz</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Sue and Neil are special friends from my
time in Albury. We shared seven or so wonderful years of dogs, art, films and
fun dinner parties with a motley bunch of fabulous folks who became our mob.
When Sue and Neil moved to the northern New South Wales coast back in 2008 or
2009, I briefly considered following them. I chose instead to become a nomad. We spent time together in Florence a couple of years ago and this week in
Budapest. It was wonderful to share the place with them and to see it work its
magic on them, too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5g1Eq37_2KHVPZf1LjQ2ZdRdQ4MlR99x12OMVMmoeR7oglJDLJm1ydAhSOQi9ET_S8OB9i7vrWI0FIuOYa8zXtP4y99kDwWHudl7t3PJrOaZWFQ_57KlDwJHGvgUdgDNz0fHAorvEnU0/s1600/Old+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5g1Eq37_2KHVPZf1LjQ2ZdRdQ4MlR99x12OMVMmoeR7oglJDLJm1ydAhSOQi9ET_S8OB9i7vrWI0FIuOYa8zXtP4y99kDwWHudl7t3PJrOaZWFQ_57KlDwJHGvgUdgDNz0fHAorvEnU0/s1600/Old+house.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>Old and new in funky Budapest</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">I have been incredibly fortunate in the
people I’ve met over the years who have become my family. One of the latest additions to the mob is Jules, whom I met in Budapest last year. She and David are now
ensconced here and are my Budapest folk, always open to the idea of food, film,
fun and footwork.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Budapest is a most amazing city. It’s the
end of summer and the place has a great atmosphere. I’ve been running on
Margaret Island, around the streets and in the city park, where next week’s
half marathon starts and finishes. I ran it last year as well. David told me
about an arthouse cinema just five minutes’ walk from my apartment where I’ve
seen about six films, including a few Hungarian ones, in the last couple of weeks, plus a couple at the Puskin and
Urania cinemas. After a bit of a drought in the first half of the year I’m
really enjoying seeing good films again. And I’ve been working. My full-time
job as a freelance editor makes it all possible, which is a comforting thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-17419018699236561792014-08-25T02:44:00.000+10:002014-08-25T02:44:09.208+10:00Just say igen <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Hungarian word "igen" means yes. My life has become about saying yes to the opportunities that constantly present themselves. Sometimes the opportunity might be just the chance to say hello to someone. I did that in the immigration queue at Kuching airport a week ago today when I found myself behind three of the Kenyan professional marathoners who had competed in and taken honours at the inaugural Kuching Marathon. I asked them how they'd liked the race and then ended up having quite a long chat with Cecilia, age 26, a 2:50 marathoner who had taken third place that morning. A week later we are now coach and client, and I have a very daunting training program to follow starting 1 September that is intended to bring my half marathon time down below my personal best of 1:47 (1996 in Melbourne). (I placed 9th veteran woman in the Kuching half marathon with a slow 2:12:56 in my longest run since November of last year and even got a cash prize and a handshake up on the podium.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmsv3t8xHYPL42nX2qspEnMXzsV02Up6ynvmn4xYAVtlYBlYA_0AEjLKaXynt08ODpL7pGjNsSTigYIqRv3XLrZmklHll6UjYEODBeJmAFXGZhPa6j9gL5Lm4Z7EexZlicj8hlOFNoqQ/s1600/Legs+for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmsv3t8xHYPL42nX2qspEnMXzsV02Up6ynvmn4xYAVtlYBlYA_0AEjLKaXynt08ODpL7pGjNsSTigYIqRv3XLrZmklHll6UjYEODBeJmAFXGZhPa6j9gL5Lm4Z7EexZlicj8hlOFNoqQ/s1600/Legs+for+blog.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Support was at hand when I suffered leg cramps following the Kuching half marathon</i><br />
<br />
I keep saying yes to Kuching because of the wonderful people I've gotten to know there over the past four years.<br />
<br />
Another opportunity to say yes was an impulse to call into the boutique hotel in Sultanahmet, Istanbul, where I had stayed for a month in 2011, when I was in the vicinity last week on a short stopover. I was greeted with big hugs and apple tea, and decided then and there I needed to spend more time in that amazing city.<br />
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<i>The Blue Mosque</i><br />
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<i>Pistachio and vanilla pudding from my favourite dessert shop</i><br />
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Now I'm in Budapest again, which is very, very high on my list of favourite places in the world. It's easy to say igen to just about everything the city has to offer: fabulous food, great arthouse cinemas, groovy street culture, wonderful architecture, fascinating history, funky art and design, fun friends made last year, and perfect late-summer weather.<br />
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<i>My local cinema</i><br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236312933714876550.post-51328333785410794382014-08-03T14:24:00.003+10:002014-08-03T19:59:58.626+10:00Excess baggage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One of the real challenges of being a
global nomad is living out of a suitcase. I’m lucky to be able to store some
clothes in New York, which will have been my point of departure and ultimate
destination whenever I’m not there, but I sometimes have to pack for different
climates, different types of activities and differing amounts of time. When I
next unlock the door of the apartment on the Upper West Side where I always
stay when in New York, I’ll have been away for nine months. It’s far too long,
and it requires that I take with me too much stuff.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not overly concerned with having to pay
excess baggage costs; what bothers me is the feeling that I’m being weighed
down by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">things</i>. I need both hands in order to
manage a medium-size suitcase, a carry-on case and a laptop bag. That’s one
hand too many. It limits my options and makes me vulnerable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m now in my fifth year of global
vagabondage and I still haven’t figured it out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Having just spent two months in Australia and New Zealand, I
realise I’m carrying a lot of excess emotional baggage, too. Old hurts
weigh too heavily and serve no purpose in my new life. Even if I haven’t yet
found a way to meet all of my sartorial needs with what I can fit into a carry-on
case, I can try my best to lighten the psychic load I'm carrying.</span><br />
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After a quick visit to Melbourne and Bendigo to spend time with very special friends Martyn and Claire, Barb and Bill, Bill and Sal, and Gordon and Joanna, I’m now happily back in Kuching with my
cobbled-together family of very fit and wacky Sarawakians.<br />
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Robyn from Oz toohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197868137047323307noreply@blogger.com0