For just a Moment...

Forbidden love told through age old

Tales, gives some hope,

And some fear

Pulled in by something

I can't quite explain

He brings a light to my world

As if all things cruel were gone.                                                                                

The world seems perfect,

For just a moment.

Hope is tangible,

For just a moment.

All fears subside,

For just a moment.

                                                                                                                           

But memories fade, and people

forget.

For just a moment I can feel the

world returns, but as change passes

The age old tale a Romeo and Juliet

returns.

The fear

The cruel

The wicked.

For just a moment.

-a child's poem

                                               

 For just a moment

                        

                                                                                                                                       

Fortune Cookie!!!

After having dinner at a thai food restaurant, I got my fortune-cookie!!

"Not every soil can bear things. Be practical."

                                                                                                                                                           -Saturday, September 22nd 2012-

Just a poem..

Where I'm from

I am from the sugary                                                          

and bitter grapes .                                                                            
From the warm,
salty spring waters
lapping at the shore.
I 'm from the sun wanted sand
and heated pebbles.

I am from the
sweet smell of my house,

from freshly washed bed-clothes.                
I am from maroon leaves
and brown bark of
the towering Beech tree
looking like a secret
world from the grass.

I am from breaded chicken
and from scrumptious salmon.
I am from rich pie and delicious cider,

fresh from a farm.                                                                          

I am from loving parents
and grandparents,
from laughable siblings,
and from caring nannies.

A child's poem....                                                                                                                       

Poem of the day...

A slash of Blue—

A sweep of Gray—
Some scarlet patches on the way,

Compose an Evening Sky—

A little purple—slipped between—

Some Ruby Trousers hurried on—

A Wave of Gold—

A Bank of Day—

This just makes out the Morning Sky. 

- Emily Dickinson -

Something..somewhere.. randomly..

Yesterday, on Monday, September 17th 2012, I went out for a walk and do some research for classes and courses at the community college. While I was on the bus, I noticed a poem of Pablo Neruda on a wall with bold and colorful letters ...

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/N/NerudaPablo/17Idonotlove.htm 

Saturday, September 15th 2011

Barbeque on the beach!!!

After the childrens' activities and some errands, spontaneously, my host family suggested to have our dinner on the beach!!!

Destination --------> Golden Gardens Park

We prepared the food, got into the car and left!!!

There, the scenery was beautiful; the sea and the trees behind!!! There were many people who had the same idea, apart from a group who had different purpose! They had made a circle and danced in the rythm of american-native music!!! I was wondering what they were celebrating for, so I went to ask..

I learnt that they were celebrating the "Ocean Healing" in a Drum Circle!!!  Our little trip came to an end by watching the sunset!!! :D

Ημερολόγιο Αισιοδοξίας - Τhe Diary of Optimism

Πέμπτη, 13 Σεπτεμβρίου 2012

"Έχεις σκεφτεί ποτέ να γράψεις ποίηση; Τετράδιο, μολύβι και έξω στη λιακάδα στο πιο συμπαθητικό στέκι της περιοχής. Τα λόγια θα 'ρθουν από μόνα τους."

Με μια μικρή αλλαγή!! :

"Έχεις σκεφτεί ποτέ να γράψεις...; Τετράδιο, μολύβι, ΚΑΦΕΣ και έξω στη λιακάδα στο πιο συμπαθητικό καφέ της περιοχής. Τα λόγια θα 'ρθουν από μόνα τους." ;)

In English

Thursday, September 13th 2012

"Have you ever thought to write a poem? Notepad, pencil and outside under the sunshine at the most friendly and cozy place of the neighborhood. The words or thoughts will come...."

One small change!! :

"Have you ever thought to write down.....? Notepad, pencil, COFFEE and outside under the sunshine at the most friendly and cozy place of the neighborhood. The words or thoughts will come...."

The first meeting with the au pairs in Seattle!!

Saturday, September 8th 2012

The first meeting with the other au pairs in Seattle and I couldn't wait to meet them!

Our meeting was arranged to be at the 5th Avenue Theatre. The purpose of each meeting is to seeing the other au pairs, talking, discussing & having fun! Our Area Director thought that it would be fun to watch the famous 80's movie "Grease" starring with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John!

What made it different and funny (!!!) was that we watched it with interaction by singing, sighing, dancing and many more!

                                        

Hahahahahahahahahaha 

A New Beginning!!

Saturday, September 1st 2012

Being an au pair is not always fun and happiness, but also it has difficult times.. Therefore, I moved in Seattle,  Washington.

My flight to Seattle was at noon, with a stop in Phoenix, Arizona! So, after a 6-hour-flight  (approximately, if I had went straight through, it would have been 3,5 hours) I landed-off to Seattle.

Behind the Scenes

1. The drunk lady who was sitting next to me from Arizona to Seattle. She was a nervous flyer and while we were landing-on, I heard her doing : AAAAAAA!!!! (but not loud! She didn't get embarrassed to the others passengers) and holding  my hand! When we landed-off, though, she only cried after the plane had stopped moving... :/
2. From the plane, I could see the forests and the houses between them. The port, the Space Needle, the Lake Washington. So beautiful!! Afterwards, I saw somewhere that Washington is called as the "Evergreen State", because it's raining a lot, but it's snowing rarely!!!
3. I would say it's an alternative city! There are very interesting people!

Sunday, September 2nd 2012

A quite day, I would say!! After having breakfast, we went for a walk at the closest park, and then for shopping - bying necessary things for the household and me.

And later in the afternoon, we went to the house of another family for dinner! We had a great time!!

Monday, September 3rd 2012

Labor Day !!!

The childrens' grandparents, the kids and me, we went for a trip to Hood Canal where the house of a greek-american family is located. The kids and I had a blast!!! But let me tell you few words for the Hood Canal.

 Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,^[1][2][3] of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.

 Hood Canal is long and narrow with an average width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and a mean depth of 53.8 metres (177 ft). It has 342.6 kilometres (212.9 mi) of shoreline and 42.4 square kilometres (16.4 sq mi) of tideland. Its surface area is 385.6 square kilometres (148.9 sq mi) and it contains a volume of water totaling 21 cubic kilometres (17,000,000 acre·ft).^[3] Hood Canal extends for about 50 miles (80 km) southwest from the entrance between Foulweather Bluff and Tala Point to Union, where it turns sharply to the northeast, a stretch called The Great Bend. It continues for about 15 miles (24 km) to Belfair, where it ends in a shallow tideland called Lynch Cove.

 Along its entire length, Hood Canal separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. The U.S. Navy's Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor Annex, is located on the eastern shore of Hood Canal near the town of Bangor. Hood Canal has several internal bays, the largest of which is Dabob Bay. Most of Dabob Bay is a Naval Restricted Area, and is used by the submarines stationed at the Bangor Base. Quilcene Bay is an inlet extending northwest from Dabob Bay. Near the north end of Hood Canal is Port Gamble, a bay and a town of the same name.

Several rivers flow into Hood Canal, mostly from the Olympic Peninsula, including the Skokomish River, Hamma Hamma River,Duckabush River, Dosewallips River, and Big Quilcene River. Small rivers emptying into Hood Canal from the Kitsap Peninsula include the Union River, Tahuya River, and Dewatto River. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_Canal

                              

To get there, we had to catch up the ferry (a 45-minute-trip) to Bremerton city, and from there to Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula.

There were many things to do!

1. Collecting oysters, shells and crabs! The beach was full of them. We had to walk carefully in order to not break them.
2. Going for crab-fishing!!!According to laws, it was the last day that anyone can fish crabs. The excursion was amazing! The whole coast was full of shells and above the houses, you could see only the forest! The catch of that day was 7 crabs!!!
3. The kids wanted to try out water skiing, so they wore their bathing suits and life jackets, and climb on it. I accompanied them by being in the boat. They couldn't stop laughing and smiling.
4. After the water skiing, we went for swimming at the pool. Unlike the ocean's water, the pool's water was warmer. The kids were trying to figure out many ways not sinking by using the noodles.
5. Ice-cream time!! The kids were very happy when after the lunch and dinner, they ate ice-cream as a treat!
6. Tree-house!! We saw a tree-house that the family built. It's about a full-equipped tree-house with two bunk-beds, heat and TV!

End of the trip...It was time to go back home since everybody was tired!!!

            

VACATIONS Part 4 - The Final Part

Thursday, July 5th 2012

Le Musée Rodin - Jardin

Since I am an European citizen and between 18-25 years old, I can visit any museum that I want for free; or as the French say "graduit".

After my visit to Louvre, the next one was Le Musée Rodin - Jardin, which is close to l' église des Invalides. The museum consists of the garden (jardin) and two buildings, the Hôtel  Biron where the main exposition is hosted, and the main building (reception, bookstore etc. ) where another exposition is shown.

I started with the garden. It's a very beautiful garden where at some parts there are rose bushes, sculptures of Auguste Rodin, a woodland area and a fountain with a small pond giving the feeling of tranquility and serenity. Then, I went into the Hôtel  Biron, a building with two floors (ground and 1st floor) where the sculptor's best-known works are; they were made by marble and bronze. One room is dedicated to his lover Camille Claudel. Now, at the area of the visitor lobby, there is a room in which many exhibitions have been hosted. This time, the name of the temporary exhibition was "Rodin, La Chair, Le Marble". Sculptures that impressed me:

1. Le Baisser (The Kiss)
2. La Femme-Poisson (The Woman-Fish-----> the face of a woman with her mouth wide-open just like a fish in the water)
3. La main de Dieu (The hand of God)
4. Le jour et la nuit (The day and the night)
5. Psyché et l' amour (Psyche and he love)
6. Jeux d' enfants (Childrens' games)
7. Diane (Diana-goddess)
8. La main du Diable (The hand of Devil)
9. L' âge mûr  (The age of maturity)
10. La Vague (The Wave)
11. Le Sommeil (The Sleep)
12. La Porte de l' Enfer (The Gates of Hell) 
13. Le Penseur (The Thinker) and
14. La Valse (The Waltz)

Saturday, July 7th 2012 & Sunday July 8th 2012

Weekend-off! It's a chance to visit many places.

First stop: Notre-Dame        Bad Thing: Rainy Weather!!

Looking at the Notre-Dame, anyone can notice that the three entrances with the roman-style arcs are decorated with human figures. This fact impressed me while I was waiting to get into the church. As getting into, I admired the vitreaux with the saints' figures and then Le Trésor de Notre-Dame (The Treasure of Notre-Dame), a separate room with objets d' ancien régime. Afterwards, inside the church, there was "une exposition photographique : Thérèse de Lisieux ou la brulûre d' amour?".

I was ready to leave when I realised that I hadn't climbed up on the Towers of Notre-Dame. Going up was a LOOOOOOOOOOONG ADVENTURE! Where shall I begin? The queue was LONG and I had to wait for 2,5 hours. Furthermore, while I was standing, it started pouring cats and dogs. Finally, it was my turn to go up! TIP: If anyone wants to go upstairs, he or she has to be in a good shape, not being afraid of heights and not having heart problems since the only way is climbing up a 400-spiral-staircase!

What impressed me?

• From the top you can see les Gragouilles  (the little monsters and if you don't understand, you can watch (again) the "Esmeralda"-Disney movie!)
• The view!!!! For one more time, I caught myself with my mouth wide-open admiring the view. La Seine, la Tour Eiffel, la Montmartre etc.

More places that I visited were Panthéon, Jardin du Luxembourg, Centre de George Pompidou, La Place de la Bastille.