New Travels Ahead

Been a while since I talked about serious travel here, a lot of speculations and what not. But this isn't speculation.

I'm off to New Zealand at the end of this year, tickets are booked and everything. I head out on the 29th Decemeber and fly into Christchurch, where I'll bus down to Queenstown for New Years...Gonna be some AWESOME partying there. Can't wait for that.

So I'm planning on spending 4 or 5 days after NYE in Queenstown, then I'm planning on walking/riding/hitching/skateing/jumping/crawling my way to Auckland (via the south Islands west coast, first off, then see where I end up). I've got not return ticket, so I have no date that I have to be anywhere for anything (except new years). Which means as long as I've got money, I'll be in New Zealand! My guess is about 3 - 4 weeks. Maybe more, maybe less (I doubt less).

So that's that. You're all welcome to come join me at any time over there...if you can find me. NEW YEARS IN QUEENSTOWN = YOU'RE ALL INVITED!



In other news, got a massive raise at work today, that's nice.
Started Uni a few weeks ago, that's nice also.
Training is going good, and classes are great, that's very nice.

Eliot OUT

UPDATE

THIS IS ONE.

Planning trip to london mid-next year.

Training good.

Everything good.

this is an update.

Trainadingaling

Didnt have work this morning so I went out at 9ish for some training in Belco woo woo.

Worked on a lot, but concentrated mainly on my turnvaults (split step style, getting really fast, confident and fluid on both sides which is great) and also on my climbups (which still aren't great, but I improved hugely today). I found that with climbups its all just a matter of transitioning from the vertical momentum of the kip seamlessly into the pushing motion of the arms. If it isnt seamless then it is much much more difficult.

So yeah, had some awesome trianing this morning. Was going to go for a swim but ended up finishing building a vaulting horse for PK class instead, which is just as beneficial. It works like a treat!


Also trying to arrange a meeting with the traceurs in canberra to have a chat, and try to organise some consistent, weekly training. Not just for Parkour but general fitness also. Will see how it goes, I'm not sure too many people will commit to even coming to the meeting...

Training Update

Ello all,

Been doing a lot of Parkour training recently with my host brother, he is getting into it which is good, forces me to train more!

Today went out, been working reallllly hard on my landings, and they ahve improved amazingly, much much better, more accurate, softer, more control. Way better. Also been doing a fair bit of tree climbing which is fun, and working on my rolls, so thats all good. Want to concentrate more on my climbups though, they are well shit.

So anyway, been training parkour at least three days a week for at least an hour, hour and a half.

Today went out and was approached by one guy who asked if we were doing Parkour, and hey presto I am back to teaching! Taking him out tomorrow morning for a relaxed session, teach the basics to him, but he seems really keen, and is into the real parkour, not the flips. Which is really refreshing to hear and see.
Really good for me as well because it means more practice to get qualified as an instructor when I get home. Also it means I will get out training more if I know I am meeting someone, more incentive to keep pushing. And I'll get us doing some hardcore conditioning drills as well.

I'm excited about the possiblities arising!

If I can do one thing in this country, and that thing is to set up a new Parkour community that understands the true Parkour. Then every time I have felt home sick, every time I have missed my family, or my girlfriend, every time I have felt pain or sadness here, it will all be WELL worth it.


Anyway, enough written wanking.
Afterwards we went to work on our climbups...or atleast I did a few, they sat down, one had a smoke (lol), anyway, me and this other guy started having a bit of fun fighting. The guy isnt the best fighter, he thinks he is way better than he actually is, which is where he fails badly, trys stuff he really shouldnt (like back spinning kicks lolollol), so we started fighting, pretty hardcore at some times, I took a fair amount of hits, but none of them were strong, none of them made me think twice about them. This was either because I managed to either block or move with them enough to stop the full impact, or the guy just isnt strong and has no power behind them...

I didnt get that many hits on him, but when I did, I hit him hard, got a few good kicks in there, few good punches, unfortunately all my punches to the head were pretty bad. But I learnt a lot, I repeatedly kicked him in the shins and thighs a lot (something I learnt from watching Muy Thai, Thai kick boxing) while we werent in a scuffle, wore him down, it really pissed him off and yet he never learned!
I am slowley getting rid of my bad taekwondo habits, Im getting in there, closer, using my hands more. But the main thing I learnt today, is that I have to take more risks, I am too scared of getting hit, which restricts me. I don't move in, so I can't get close enough for a hit to the head. I've got to get rid of that fear, but I have to remember to pick my entrances, go at the right time.

Anyway, I learnt a lot, I tried a lot of different techniques, different methods, found many very useful.

One thing that was nice, is I was constantly dodging his hits without even thinking about it, I don't know whether this was just luck, or whether it was me...But I hope it was me! He had a lot of big hooks, big and slow! They were easy to dodge. I was using mainly straight punches, the technique I learned from reading a little bit about Wushu theory and methods from an interesting man.

Anyway, I'm done. Looking forward to training this guy tomorrow.
Chao chamos!

The time is NOW....approximately

Reading some of Thomas' blog again, looking at the photos he took while in Asia...I had a revelation.

I'm sick of thinking up grand things to do, grand adventures. It is time to actually take a step to do them! I'm not going to say now something like "therefore, I will ride my bike from Madrid to Jerusalem" or anything like that...I'm gonna wait and see how we go, see what I want to do when I return to Australia.

Some things I would LIKE to do (in terms of adventure)...
- One day I want to ride to Sydney
- I would like to ride to Melbourne
- I would like to ride from Canberra to Perth
- I would like to ride through Tibet and rural china
- I would like to ride through Europe.


Those are just some ideas, I think Canberra to Sydney would be a pretty good one, and not too difficult, one to train with. Then move up to Melbourne, and of course Perth last!

The main difficulty with Perth would be carrying water during the dry stretches. But amazing country sides.

Anyway, we will see how long this lasts eh, hopefully I keep this frame of mind, lots of adventures to be had!

MovNat, Methode Naturelle, y Erwan Le Corre

Ok well some interesting training advancements this week, yesterday me and David (my host brother) went out for some parkour training, which I enjoyed so much, it was so good to get out training again.
That night I read an article about Erwan Le Corre's new training system, MovNat, the article was very inspiring, and I decided to try some old Methode Naturelle techniques (different to MovNat). Don't get me wrong, what I was doing was NOT Methode Naturelle, I just took one principle from it, which is continuous work. Not stopping at all for the duration of the session.

So today, David and I went for some more training, but this time using the above technique. We set off to the park, and once we started we didnt stop. We sorta did our own things though. Started with a jog around the block, and got to some courts, basketball and Soccer. Surrounded by Big stair-like seats. So we did some balance work, running up and down the seats, climing over the fence, Jumping through holes in the fence, climbing around the soccer goals, etc. etc. Really good workout. I moved on to some trees, lots of tree climbing, dropping down out of them, climbing up, running between branches, that sorta stuff.

Kept following the path, playing in trees as we went. Jogged back down to the main park and did some more parkour-like movements, sprints with jumping, vaulting, precisions, balance, etc. etc.

We then finished up with some fighting drills, starting with 10 forehand jabs, then 10 forehand jab followed by backhand jab, then we added a different attack each time and repeated 5 times. Great fun. We then ran back towards the house, first while runnign doing some quick play fighting, defending myself while running backwards, him attacking running forwards. Good fun! Umm yeah, got to the house, was buggered.

Went up to a wall did some climbups. Then we just sat at the top of the wall, watched the sky become as dark as the sillhoueted (spelling?) mountains. Very relaxing, then stretched out before heading home. All up, over an hour and a half of continuous exercise.

I'm now exceptionally tired.

I think I will continue training sessoins like this, but perhaps I will mix these sessions with less intense technical sessions. I am beginning to move away from parkour specifically, and more to well rounded approaches. Like MovNat. I wish to talk to Erwan more, but it is difficult. I must go to Brasil :)


MN names ten different forms of movement: running, walking, moving on all fours, balance, climbing, swimming, defending, jumping, lifting and throwing.

In this session I trained: running, walking, moving on all fours, balance, climbing, jumping and defending. A fair effort I think :)

Love that spirt! - Day ¿? +2

I love the spirit of this Venezuela,
The happpiness, the passion for life,
I love the carnavals held afuera,
Street dancing without call for strife.

I love the Australian spirit of mates,
Chilling out, surfing, and beer,
There is nothing about the bush that I hate,
The wild is always near.

When I look out my window I see mountains and jungle,
The city weaved into el bosque,
But the trees arent the same, they just dont compare,
To the wonders of my own homeland country.

I can drive on the the coast for an infinite time,
Lay on the beach and breathe the sea air,
But the partying culture, and musical rhyme,
Is nothing compared to what's here.

People cringe and contrast, try decide which is better,
But I could not think of each one as lone
They both have their ups, they both have their downs,
But to me I just call them home.

The Long and Winding Road - Day ¿?

Well it has been a long time since I updated...not through lack of activity, but I have been keeping a hand written journal instead. I am going to make another post about Parkour and training, and in this post about everything else.

Some interesting progressions with the exchange experience, I have chosen to shorten my program to 6 months, which means I will be returning late June. This is for a few reasons, the main reason is to concrete my place in University, there is always the chance that I won’t be given my Year 12 certificate while I am here, and returning 6 months early gives me flexibility to do a few classes if I need to, or if University is completely out of the question, I can look into doing a CIT course to link in to University, or another option. Some of the other reasons include; I hopefully will be able to stand for State Representative for ACT parkour, I will be able to save some money for my University fees, build up to restarting parkour classes, and generally just prepare for the next few years. I mean, if I remain here for the full 12 months, I arrive home in Late December, then I have to prepare for uni, get a job or two, get back into the Parkour classes, and generally get back into the swing of things, and I would have next to know time for that, and that is assuming I get into University.

Anyway, long story short, I have decided to return early, I have my reasons, and I believe it is a much better option.Something I hear a lot here, demasiado, is that I should go out more. Perhaps...I should...I DO spend a lot of time in the house, or just in the suburb. For many, perhaps most, being an exchange student is all about getting out, partying, having fun, making new friends, etc. etc. That is the primary focus.But I have found it a much more internal journey, of course I don’t mind partying, fun and friends, of course, and of course it is an inner journey for all exchange students on some level. But they are in the backseat, for me this is a mental and spiritual journey. And the amount of progress I have made already...Well If I was to return tomorrow I would be happy with my experience. However, the extra time will concrete the things I have (and still am) learning.

The time I spend in the house is spent studying my interests, learning, discovering things about myself. It’s all bettering me, and broadening my knowledge and understanding of myself and the world around me.So, no matter what the people say, my exchange experience is being lived to the fullest, just in a less obvious way, a way that many around me cannot see.

Anyway, I am done with writing here, on to Parkour (in the following post).

God I love Parkour

I really do.


Anyway, recent training: I spend monday, wednesday, friday conditioning, tuesday and thursday I rest, but I jog on those days. Saturday complete rest, Sunday I test myself with various methods including the beep test.

I have written out a few goals, currently my physical goals are:
1. 5 muscle ups one after the other, (without rest).
2. 5km jog minimum consistently with ease.
3. 10 pistols each leg with GOOD TECHNIQUE.
4. 20 landings 3 times per week.

These are fairly modest goals, and so very achievable.
But after having a conversation with Chippa, I went away with a new, big, priority goal, which entails lots of different components: By 2010 I will be a fully qualified APA instructor.
This added a lot of goals relating to Parkour both mental and physical, my new goals are based on old instructor requirements that I am aware of, when more information is available, I will change my goals as neededPhysically;
1. 5 muscle ups
2. 20 rolls (10 both side, concrete)
3. 10 arm jump to climbup
4. beep test lvl 13

Knowledge:
1. Parkour history, influences, development
2. What is Parkour?
3. What is FR and LDD?
4. What is the purpose of the APA?
5. How dangerous is parkour? Is there a likelihood of injury?
6. How does the principle of volume vs. intensity work?
7. Why do we warm up dynamically?
8. Why do we stretch after training?
9. What different methods can we use to train ourselves?

And I have to be able to explain each point orally and on paper.

The next part is just another part I think is important to know, and you must know it if you want to teach:
I must be able to orally describe each technique found on the Parkourpedia and describe them on paper.

This goal also includes the necessity to travel to Melbourne when I return, probably for a week or so to get qualified and also to see how their classes run, train with those guys who have a lot more knowledge than me, learn.
I will also probably try to head to Sydney more often, specifically to their instructor trainings.


So yes, that is what I will be and have been working on here. I have pages and pages of notes in my book about techniques, how to perform them, etc.



So today’s training: Headed out training PARKOUR solo for the first time. Usually I just condition. I was out for about 2 hours, and worked only on landings and rolls.

Found a good little precision, the landings being concrete walls no more than 4 cms wide, and the two walls being about 7 feet apart. So not big, but not so small I can step between them. I stood there and said I will land on the balls of my feet 10 times in a row. Off I went, bang, landed balls of feet, bang, landed balls of feet, whoops missed. Restart. I finally got to ten in a row, that was all good. But I wasnt worrying whether I was sticking the jump or not. So this time I said to myself, "10 more, MUST stick the landing." And just before I went, I thought "fuck it, why not make it 20." And off I went.
I would jump, land, turn, and think for a while, then go. I couldn’t make it past 3 or 4 in a row before I would not stick it, or not land on the balls of my feet.Until I just stopped caring about the numbers. It stopped being BANG wait wait wait, 2 BANG wait wait wait 3 etc., I just jumped, turned, jumped, turned, jumped. I was over thinking it. It wasn’t long before I hit the 20 with ease. And my landings improved tenfold. Next time I go out I will do that again.

So finished my landing work, moved on to rolls. I was only there to do 10 rolls each side. But that took me a long time....I would roll...then take 5 minutes to overcome the pain. Rolls have always been my weak spot, and I stupidly avoided training them. When push comes to shove and I need one, it is fine. But to drill them, I just cant do it! But enough of that, time to perfect them.
By the end of it, one shoulder was much much better, the other....Much much...more swollen. More practice. Hoorah more pain! But, the more I practice, the less pain in the future, so, I gotta get through it.


Anyway, hopefully I will get out training there more often. I have conditioning to go to soon, so Eliot OUT.

Chavez, Si!

Tonight, Hugo Chavez has won the people.


Tonight, with 54% in the preliminary count, Chavez has abolished term limits.

Some say Chavez is turning into a dictator, some say he already is one, some say he is a socialist savior. I have my views which are likely to change as I have only been here 1 month of 12. But for now I think it is wise to keep those views shared with only a select few.

When the announcement was made fireworks sounded off in the distance from my house, I stepped outside to watch.
The boom of the fireworks echoed of the hills surrounding my suburb which is accross the road of a poor area.

Children accross the road paraded red flags, and flags of Venezuela, blowing whistles and dancing in the street. Cars drove up and down sounding their horns and turning their car alarms on (Yes apparently, you can drive your car with the car alarm on! I did not know that...). Cars and Motorbikes continuously passing with the flags of socialism.
For them, a night of celebration, for many others, a night of greiving, it is quite possible people will leave the country. I do not know, but it is a grand victory for Chavez.

The first man to congratulate the President was his socialist commrade, Cuba's Fidal Castro.

" "Dear Hugo, congratulations for you and for your people for a victory that, by its size, is impossible to measure," Castro wrote, according to Chavez.

"This victory is also yours, Fidel, of the Cuban people and of the people of Latin America," responded Chavez, a leader of leftists in the region. " "



For the month I have been living in Venezuela, politically, everything was building up to tonight. Today a vote was held, si or no. The vote was to abolish term limits, which would allow Hugo Chavez (the President of Venezuela for the past 10 years) to stand again at the next election, and continue his desire for a new socialist republic.


I see a very interesting time ahead this year. I am lucky to be in this country during this time, and to witness this, and decide for myself whether this man is positive for the country.



" "The doors of the future are wide open," Chavez told the crowd shouting "victory, victory, popular victory!" "



http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/409322/1/.html

Day 41 - Horizon

It has been a long time since I updated this, I have been very busy.

Well, some amazing things have happened recently. But I will talk about only one.

On Friday myself and all the other exchange students in Venezuela headed to Caracas, why? Soon we would be jumping on a bus and leaving for Caraou.

I got up at 6 am and jumped into the shower. After, my dad and I got into the GT Mustang and headed for the lower side of Valencia, where I could find my bus. My dad dropped me off and left, and off I went to the station.
When i got there, I met a man from Trinidad and Tobago, who works at the university as an English teacher, he talked to me for a while, invited me to come along and participate in a study he is conducting, and then we parted ways, on to my bus. 2.5 hours later I arrived in Caracas.

Jumped out, grabed a taxi to the YFU office. I met all the Exchange students, 15 of us, from all over the place, Germany, Estonia, USA, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark. All spoke English. So we waited for everyone to arrive, I introduced myself (they all knew eachother from trips before I arrived), I had some lunch, and we jumped on the Bus to our destination. The drive was very beautiful, past beaches, towns, but most of it I was talking to Joosep, from Estonia, and Paul, from Germany. It was difficult though, as the bus was very loud. Lots of loud reggaeton. But it was nice, as we got closer we were heading through lots of jungle, winding mountain roads, very few people, far from the cities. It was great.

Anyway, 5 or so hours later we arrived at a little place in the jungle, surrounded by mountains. Got our bags, headed to our rooms which had an interesting smell. Me and Joosep grabbed the beds upstairs, and Paul and Reider (from Norway) were downstairs. So yeah, we chilled out for a bit, chilled in Hammocks for a while, then did some activities for YFU and ate some awesome food. Later we had music, and they tried to get everyone dancing but no one was really feeling it, so I walked between the cabins and the area wiht the music for a while talking to different people, we sung happy Birthday for Laura. Afterwards, me, Paul and Joosep went to our room, I jumped in bed and went to sleep, paul and Joosep went to talk in the girls room. Later Joosep came in and woke me up! Paul came up and we started talking...Although it was more they talk and I occasionaly did, the first day was very intimidating and I was feeling a little shy. But by 4.30 and both of their cigarette packets were empty (seriously...the house was cloudy...my eyes were burning) we threw in the towel and went to sleep.

Rise and shine its 7am! Got ready, we were told to be ready to eat at 9am, but...that is venezuelan time, so of course our coordinator didnt get there untl 9.30 or 10am...Early really...Had Arepa breakfast. Yum yum yum. I was feeling really good that day, really happy and not shy or intimidated at all! We did some YFU activities, then headed to the beach, so we got in the cars, I jumped in the boot area of the 4WD with Paul and Joosep, and off we went. When we got there there were plenty of people, mainly fishermen, a poor town, but not in poverty. We jumped in a boat, and then we left for our beach. We arrived to quite a small but pretty beach, unloaded, and jumped in! The water was quite cold, but very blue and clear. The water was about the same temperature as in Australia. So I was fairly used to it. We chilled out on the beach, talked, swam, covered people in sand, sunbaked, sang and played guitar, usual stuff! Then we headed back to the boat and back to Caraou. When we got back we chilled for a bit before doing more activities, eating. Then we walked up to the hotsprings in the jungle, which was a beautiful walk, but we ended up going past the hot springs to a swimming hole with a beautiful waterfall...But it was freezing and got dark quickly, so we didnt stay there long. But the walk back was nice, quiet, the sky was amazingly clear, it was beautiful, and the lights of fire flys light spontaneously throughout the jungle, outlining the path which we were to take.

So we got back, chilled out some more, I think we all wanted to pretty much do what we did the night before and just chillout. And thats what we did! Me, Paul, Joosep, and now Reider (from Norway) and Viola (from Switzerland) all just sat upstairs chilling out and talking. This night was much better for me, as I was feeling really comfortable, relaxed, it was nice. So we chilled, talked for hours and hours until Viola couldnt handle the cigarette smoke anymore and left, then us guys talked more until 4.30 about everything. So eventually we had enough and went to sleep.
In the morning we would have our last day.

The sun rose, and we were woken by the sounds of pots banging and a singing Venezuelan...Haha good times. We all got ready, had breakfast, packed our bags, put them on the bus after doing some more activities. We all got on, driver turned the key. Rarararararara, nothing. Bus was broken down. So UNFORTUNATELY we had to stay another 2 hours, and UNFORTUNATELY I missed my bus from Caracas which UNFORTUNATELY meant I had to stay another night and missed another day of school :D Very unfortunate indeed. I was ecstatic. Eventually they fixed the bus, and we were on our way. Saw some typical south american culture on the way, passing through a poor town, the locals were gathered in an alley way, fantastic typical south american music, and a few people dancing salsa in the streets! It was awesome! Kept going, except for one stop to grab some food and go to the bathroom and a cool, lively, but poorish town.
We got into caracas late, said our goodbyes, then myself, Paul, Joosep and Laura (Germany) went to get a taxi. We jumped in and all headed to Lauras house in La Hatillo, a stunningly beautiful place, that took my breath away.
Laura had school in the morning so she went to bed quickly, but me paul and joosep who were sleeping outside in Hammocks and on the porch floor sat down and talked more about everything, Joosep eventually got tired and went to sleep, but me and paul grabbed beers instead and kept talking. We covered almost every conceivable topic from politics, marijuana, religion, lots and lots of stuff. Well the time was 5.40am and we had to get up at 6.30, so Paul decided a little bit of sleep is better than none at all and went to sleep. But I wasnt sleepy so I stayed up and took photos of the sunrise. And funnily enough, I was the least tired in the morning when the others woke up!
So we showered, had breakfast, said thanks to Lauras fantasticly kind host mother, and headed off to Caracas. On the edge of a magnificantly fascinating barrio we waited for a taxi.
Got to the Bus station, bought or tickets. Pauls bus was at 10.30, so we said goodbye to him, and off he went.

Me and Joosep decided to look around Caracas for a while, jumped on the Metro and went to Parque Carabobo, not a very nice area...We needed a lighter, but the only guys that had one were these gangsters, but we thought what the hell, the worst that happens is they rob us, and thats probably going to happen eventually anyway. So we walked up, Joosep talked to them in Spanish, they figured out I was not from there though, they pretty much demanded money, which I was obliged to give them! I only had 2 bolivars in my pocket (like 50 aussie cents) so it wasnt to bad. But an interesting experience, basically we were passively robbed! I am glad it happened though, because now I do not fear it happening again, I know what to do. It is fine. No longer the unknown. So anyway, we headed back to the metro station and went back for our bus...Hung around, mistook Portugese for German, then jumped on our bus (which turned out to be the same one funnily enough!). Bus trip was tiring, but we talked most of the way, arrived in Valencia, said or goodbyes, and off I got!



All up it was a fantastic time, best I have had since getting here, and I have come out of it a very different person, more confident, and much happier with how everything is.
And thats the end of that chapter!

ELIOT OUT.

Australia Day Training

Well it was Australia Day not long ago, it was a great day. Had lots of fun throughout.

Anyway, I got home from school at about 5pm, and I went out training at aboutttttt 5.45. So I jogged up to the oval, there were lots of men doing work up there.

I began with a quick warm up.

Started with some pullups.

4X5 ring pullups (Close, inside grip)
3X 25 meters lunges
3X10 feet raised pushups
3X5 Pistols each leg
2X20 'bicycle' style sit ups
2X10 Windscreen wiper things

Did the odd muscle up, I find them much easier now, but they were hurting my shoulder, so I stopped at 2.

Then, out of ideas and with sore muscles I decided to re-visit my taekwondo training and I thought, what is the use of being strong, being able to get away, if you can't stand and fight. I'm not going to always be able to use Parkour to get away. There are times when escape is not possible.

So I ran through some drills. I remembered my old training, at the elite classes. We'd run through every kick, without stopping. 10 each leg. so 20 of each kick, no rest.

Now...I'm not as good with my technique as I was so This is how my drills ran;

1X10 each leg: yup chuggi (In English, I do not remember, only In spanish)
1X10 each leg: Dolio Chuggi

REST

1x10 each leg: Side kick
1x10 each leg: Axe kick

REST

Horse stance;
Warmed up my shoulders with a 10 mid punches each hand, 10 head high punches each hand.

Ran through some drills with fore hand jab, back hand jab, from the side, uppercut.
10X forehand jab
10X forehand jab + back hand jab
10X forehand jab + back hand jab + Side
10X forehand jab + back hand jab + Side + uppercut


Then ran through the first pattern three times, working on correct technique, making sure punches were from the hip, right height, making sure I returned to the same spot at the end.



Anyway, buy this time it was around 7pm, so I stretched out, and headed home. All in all a good near-2 hour session. V. happy.

On Saturday, we went into the city for Parkour, started out at a park, did some muscle ups, some other stuff with bars, was very fun. Then went and did some tricks stuff, worked on my backflips, round offs, handstands, palm spins, aerials. Then we randomly bumped into two other guys that apparently did Parkour as well, so they agreed to show us around the city and show us the spots. So off we went, first place was a small spot, small cat to arms, small cat to precision (well, small but it was high, which made it harder than usual), I did my parkour training, they did...Their 'parkour'. It was good. So we walked around, found some more spots. Had good training all around. Lots of walking.
Anyway, we're training parkour more later in the week so that'll be good.


I have training tomorrow at 5am, should be fun, but I should get some rest now.

Eliot OUT.

Interesting............

Interesting things today:

1. I bought a mandolin, and maybe a ukelele soon because they're dirt cheap. But it's in the US so it wont arrive for like a month.

2. I heard multible explosions which I have no idea what they were, they may have been fireworks...but why in the middle of the day =\

3. I laughed at myself ordering a chocolate bar in spanish at a bar.

4. I realised, through and through, I aint in Kansas anymore.

5. A random kid walked into my room and started talking Spanish to me. I told him I didn't speak spanish...and he just kept going...

Day 17 - Excrement Catapult [kills millions]

Thoughts:

Why is it that humans are programmed to be infactuted with things that expel excrement.

Why is it that no matter how many times you utter "no hablo espanol" most people seem to forget within a minute or two.

And why is it that people assume you have a choice to learn the language or not when in my situation.

And on that topic, I'll expand a bit. Almost every person I know keeps telling me to learn spanish quickly! Everytime someone says that to me, I wonder, what is it inside them that makes them thing I'm not trying to? I've been here for two weeks, and they assume I should already speak spanish? Crazy!

So anyway, it's been an up and down week. Again, but that's how it is here, take each day/hour/minute as it comes. School is the most boring thing I've had to go through, ever. So I just sit there listen to much or read my spanish dictionary. Despite it being so boring, it really sucks the energy out of you, realllly.

So I'm missing Australia a lot, and not specifically anything, or anyone, but just familiarity, being somewhere I feel comfortable, somewhere I know the customs and the norm. That's homesickness and culture shock at work. And at the moment, I'd love nothing more than to go home. But, I can't be that weak. People have faced things far worse than this. The worst part about this however is that there is no direction. I have no direction, I'm not working towards anything, there is nothing for me to concentrate on except communication. And that makes it hard, no specific goal but to 'assimilate' I suppose.

But what ever, I'll just have to...yeah, what ever! Take it all in my stride.



Eliot OUT.

Adapt, Improvise and Overcome - Day 12

Finally I got around to taking some pictures!

Well, again it's up and down, up and down here, I've been feeling homesick a lot recently, missing small things from Australia, the people, but I'm feeling good now. I expected to feel like this, I'll get over it so it'll all be good :)



On Language...
Language is the hardest thing about living here, without speaking the language I can't communicate effectively (obviously) which makes it hard to make friends, learn at school, everything. The ahrdest part is when you're trying to communicate with someone else who doesn't speak english, you see them get frustrated, you get frustrated, it's just frustrating! But, it can also be funny! And it's such a rewarding feeling when you understand them. I'm learning a lot and I'm learning fast. I'm starting to be able to pick up words in sentances, so I can tell what they're talking about, the subject, but I can't yet put the whole sentance together and understand what the message is.
Language is also the most tiring thing here, when you have to constantly concentrate one what people are saying (and people talk a lot!) it is very tiring, the nicest thing to do is go home and listen to some australian music with australian accents! Very refreshing!




On Family...
Well, it's different :)
In fact everything about living in this family is a new experience, and that goes past the different culture, now I have to share a room, I have younger siblings, different customs, everything! But they're really friendly, the kids are nice, they try to help me learn spanish, and make fun of the fact that I can't roll my r's very well :P My Mum, Alba, she's so nice, always cooking! But she cooks great food, and she tries to talk to me, we went to the shopping mall together and she talked with me on the way, and I understood almost all of what she was saying! We had a laugh about it all! And my Dad, Javier, he's really nice as well, he talks to me in english which is nice, he tries not to translate too much which is both helpful and frustrating :P It's something he's gotta do though! I've gotta learn! And next week he'll be in the USA so he wont be there to translate for me at all! And he has two beautiful Mustangs, one that I know my Aussie Dad and Pete would LOVE!


On School...
At the moment school is so boring! Because I can't learn anything as I can't understand anything! But we just sit around and chill for a lot of it, talking (often in english :D), laughing, being gang attacked with questions from curious venezuelans about Australia! I think I'll really enjoy class once I can understand what the teachers are saying, because they're interesting subjects. History, Philosophy, Economics, those sorts of things. But of course it's from a different perspecitve, Venezuelan History, Venezuelan economics etc.
School is useful to learn spanish as well, although so many students speak english, or at least a little bit.
But yesterday in Castellano (Literature class) the teacher (a really good teacher) made me read out a description of the assignment and then I had to try and figure out what it meant. So I read it out, which helped with pronunciation, and then I figured out what it said, I got it exactly! A lot of the words are alike in english, so if you just join the dots, you can see the picture! Or at least you can see the relations, for example, a Pen is called a boligrafo, to be hungry is to be hambre, so it is ok. Of course...there are other words like cosquilla which means tickly which look nothing like the English words!
So yes, school is good and bad, but either way it's a new experience and I'm enjoying it!



On Friends...
At the moment I'm sort of being pulled between two groups, one is the 'alternative' group, they're really really friendly, I really like them and they're a bit like my aussie friends, and the other group is more of a 'jock' group, they're nice as well! They're really loud though :P And Vicky, who's in that group, helps me so much with my spanish, she's really friendly. Neither group is better than the other, but once I can understand more I'll probably make a decision and stick more with one group. My old aussie friends are sort of a mix between both, not AS alternative as the group here, and not AS 'jockish' as the other group here.
Yesterday a second guy, Diego, came in, his now in my class. He's from Colombia and he's so awesome. He loves the John Butler Trio (which no one else knows of here)! He likes Jazz and music in General, he seems to be pretty interested in History and politics, he likes Parkour, and yeah, he's just a pretty awesome dude. I'd love to talk with him more. He told me a lot about Colombian history with the FARC and the drug trade, and how it's really something Colombia is trying to solve, because internationally that's how they are seen.
Last weekend, me, David, and David's neighbourhood friends went up to the oval to play some grid iron (american football), that was so much fun! It was funny seeing them trying to explain me the rules and plays in Spanish! But yeah, we had loads of fun, and I scored like half of the touch downs! :D And afterwards we ate fresh lemons from a wild lemon tree growing next to the field. They're a good bunch of guys really.




Anyway, I was going to list a load of things that are different here just for curiosities sake for all you guys reading, but I don't think I will do that, at least not right now. Maybe later if people want me to.

Tonight I'm going to a BBQ/Party thing at a friends house which should be fun, my first party! They're going to try and teach me to dance to reggaeton, which is a very popular type of music here, it's like reggae, sped up, and mixed with R&B, and apparently the lyrics are very dirty and the dancing is like, and I quote, "having sex with clothes" (to which I replied, "awesome!"). Anyway, tonight should be fun!

Hahaha earlier today my Dad, after having just read my facebook, made the comment that everyone was calling me gay! I think he must have been a little worried :P Because homosexuality isn't tolerated all that much here, at least, no where near as much as it is in Australia, so I had a fun time trying to explain that among friends, especially my parkour buddies, we use the term 'gay' just as a slang sorta word, not specifically for homosexuality! Thank god I have a girl friend eh?!



Anyway! Keep watching this space for more updates and for more pictures visit my facebook page here! Missing you all! MWA!

Eliot out.



Oh, p.s. if anyone knows when emily gets home from Natinols, chuck me an email or something and let me know!

Update soon! - Training Update

I've been pretty busy with school, and I haven't updated because I want to wait until I have a couple of photos I need, so keep an eye out! I'll probably do one tomorrow night or something but everything is all good, going well!

Ok, so as for training, I'm not really doing straight parkour, I'm going to be doing more conditioning and fitness work while I'm here, I've been running every day (except yesterday, was my rest day) and strength work most days also. So I should come home tank and fit!

The only worrying thing is my family aren't the healthiest eaters....Like tonight...We had burger king for dinner :( And I can't drink water here! NNNOOOO!!! It tastes like dirt, and I'm pretty sure isn't healthy. I'll try to stomach it...but if it makes me sick...I'll have to put up with nestea or something...Although...I do have water purification tablets...I'll just use those. But seriously, it tastes exactly like dirt.

Development - Day 5

5 days in, much has changed. I am no longer in Caracas, I no longer live in a apartment, I am no longer feeling...Comfortable, I now have 2 brothers and 1 sister and way more.

I was starting to feel 'at home' in Caracas, and I was starting to get along with and talk to Sophie, a German Exchange student. On the other hand, I was tired of the mother who was just another rich snob (there are many here), she wasn't even Venezuelan!

But regardless, I've now moved to Valencia, another major city. I'm in a house here, it is very small, but it is very nice. I share a room with my 16 year old brother.
First thing we did when we got home, myself and David went to see his friends, they are loco! All really nice guys, but crazy...Ironically I felt much safer in Caracas then I do when I am with them!
It was incredibly hard and frustrating for all of us, I couldn't understand them, they couldn't understand me. It was hard. A couple of English speakers came along, which was a huge help, but the others insisted on talking to me in Spanish! I guess I will learn quickly.

So we all hung out for a few hours, I showed them some flips (which they insisted on calling parkour) and taught them a few vaults and such. We went to the movies afterwards, there were 8 of us, in one 5 seated car, no one bothers with seat belts here, but the way people drive? Seatbelts? Cars should be built with roll cages and eject buttons! None the less, we got there alive! For ages we hung out waiting for the movie, still trying to communicate, and being...Relatively successful considering the circumstances. Watched the movie "La platano" or The Marsh, it was a 'scary' movie, but the acting was shocking so it was quite funny.
After, we went to get food, the girls ate but most of us didn't yet, we hung around, by this stage I was absolutely exhausted, physically, but mainly mentally, and just didn't bother talking much, except to the English speakers.

6 of us jumped back in the car and went to get some hamburguesas and Nestea Icetea, which EVERYONE drinks EVERYWHERE. the hamburger was massive, beef, chicken, bacon, egg, lettuce, plain chips (!?!?!), and loads of other stuff. The Nestea tasted like dirt (it doesn't usually, just from this one) and I'm pretty sure something was not right, had wicked travel sickness afterwards. Anyway, went home afterwards, chilled for a bit, then went home with David.

As you can probably tell by the lack of detail, I'm absolutely exhausted, so much has happened since day 2, and probably as much as everyday has happened today.
I'm tired.
I'm going to sleep.
Thus concludes my first day feeling homesick/culture shock.

Impressions - Day 2

Venezuela;

My plane arrived just as the sun came up over all the hills. I walked outside with a guide and we walked to the car. At 6am in the morning, the weather is warm and refreshing (I'd guess 20 degrees).

To my right were mountains covered in Jungle and barrios, houses piled on top of each other, you cannot see where one house starts and the other ends. To my left was the ocean.


We jumped into the seat belt-less car and began the trip to a temporary host family (as my other one is currently holidaying in Mexico) and headed for Caracas. The roads are crazy. There are no lines, no speed limits, no one indicates. I am told there are traffic police, but they are all corrupt, they pull you over? Pay them a little money and you're on your way, this is the norm. Culture is amazing.

We drove past hills, the soil was the richest brown I've ever seen, the growth was beautiful and green, and the weather was clear, but humid.
My guide, Rafael, spoke beautiful English, but with a strong American accent. At age 17 he was an exchange student in Holland. He had interesting insights and stories. I listened to his stories and watch the scenery as we drove on through the hills and approached Caracas.

The city is extraordinary. Downtown, Rafael would tell me, was a mere 20 stories high. Skyscrapers meet barrios. Houses piled on top of houses, their washing hanging from the windows, roof tops collapsed into the house, litter everywhere.
A beautiful mess.
Organised Chaos.



As we drive around the streets graffiti is everywhere, but not the familiar graffiti of home, slander, tags, sometimes art. Here, everything is political. "Vote PSUV" and "Viva Chavez" is tagged across the streets. It is unfamiliar, this extreme patriotism, something I have never seen, I can only compare it to the Cronulla riots. But that was hardly patriotic, just...passionate.

We circled the confusing, chaotic streets searching for the apartment block where a temporary host family lives.

7.am

After circling the streets we pull up outside a small, red brick apartment building. Larger buildings surround us, so much that I can hardly see the extended city and hills. Rafael calls the host family, we woke them up. While the mother is on her way done, Rafael points out the large mountain behind us. "People have written songs and poems about that mountain" he says.

My host mother came down and opened the gate to let us in. "Buen Dia". We said our goodbyes and thank yous to Rafael, and she lead me into the elevator. It is a short ride to her apartment, protected by locked cage doors and barred windows. She led me into a large, stone room. Huge. Granite floors everywhere. Straight to sleep for me. I stayed a sleep until 3pm.



When I woke a Spaniard was on the couch watching TV, and two German exchange students in the kitchen, both spoke English, one guy, one girl. They were sitting with the host mother, she is from India and is married to a Portuguese man, and her daughter, Venezuelan born.
In the one house we had 1 Spaniard, 2 Venezuelans, 2 Germans, 2 Portuguese, and of course 1 Australian. Languages include English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Deutsche, Hindi, and more. Crazy.


We talked, and ate, they were all very kind to me. I talked a lot to the male German Exchange student, he told me about the city, his experiences here, the politics here, lots. But he had to leave that afternoon, to where I don't know, but he was only there temporarily. I would have liked to talk with him more. The father is not here often, he leaves before I wake up, and gets home around 9pm.

Anyway, I'm tired of writing, today I did not do much, but I tasted some new, strange, nice things!

Will keep you all updated.

Hola de Venezuela!

Hello all,

First post from Venezuela! my plane landed at 6amish and it is now 4pmish here, I am very tired and jet lagged, so I wont write much.
It is very beautiful, green, hilly, humid.

Perfect for Parkour!


Chao!