hi again!
so dad tells me that my last blog sounded a bit panicked... oh yeah, that's because it was, haha.
you guys must've prayed pretty flippin hard because today i hopped on a bus to galway, and almost immediately upon my arrival received a phone call from a salon. they offered me a three week term there because they had some people on holiday and sick at the moment, but i am secretly hoping to convince them that they need me for longer. it is one of the best salons in ireland, and i am excited to start work tomorrow!
after the three weeks, who knows, but i know God's got it. thank goodness, since i obviously can't funtion without a regular nervous breakdown. aha.... ha.
righty-ho then, so i'll leave you be, but just wanted to let you know the current state of affairs is not so dire as i probably made it out to be.
love you all, and have a good night!
becki

hello there!
currently posting from dublin, ireland, i am working to combat rising stress levels. i am currently searching for a job, and it is not as easy as one may think. i know, i know, there's a recession- no one thought it would be that easy. not to mention my two travel partners have left me for canadia. i had a few angels yesterday, people who came and encouraged me just at the right time so i didn't have a complete breakdown. but hey, if you think of me, pray for me please!!
ireland itself is great.... dublin is a cool city with loads of history. and there really are pubs everywhere. there's live music too, especially fiddling, which obviously warms the depths of my little heart to a degree i can't express.
we spent the weekend on the west coast in galway, with friends aoife, cliona, and company. i met these fabulous ladies in new zealand two years ago and it was so crazy and wonderful to see them both again! they both made us feel like home, so welcoming!
we also got to take in the aran islands, old, epic irish countryside with the worlds best guiness, shaggy horses, stone fences, and wrinkly old women. we climbed to an old fortress where we could walk to the edge of the cliffs and look at the booming ocean below. we cycled all around the island, a good way to see it, but challenging, as there were these unfamiliar rises in the landscape. i believe they are called hills, and once i discovered how to actually adjust the gears on my bike, i could finally stop walking it every other mile. derek misjudged his brakes and took a little spill as well, but don't tell him i told you. it was a bit funny though.
anyway, internets closing down, so remember how much i love you all and please remember me in your prayers.
peace,
becki

beunos noches!
i am currently posting from our hostel in seville, spain.
as i sit here i can feel i distinct pain in my back that i acquired while reminding myself how profoundly unathletic i am.
yesterday we went skiing/snowboarding in the sierra nevadas. need i say more? it was amazing!
i haven't skied in about a decade but decided that i would probably be better at it than smowboarding, and would rather enjoy myself than spend my one day on the slopes sliding down the mountain on my head. so i remain whiplash-free, thanks to the good Lord, but somehow still managed to stab myself in the back with both ski and pole as i wiped out, landing back on my skiis, and continued to sliding at torquing speeds down the hill. i know, it's hard to picture, but if you are familiar with my athletic abilities it is not actually that surprising. when i finally plowed to a stop, i somehow had snow packed between my sunglasses and my eyeballs, as well as every other possible orfice it could squeeze into.
on my first run, i knew there was trouble when karlene and i took a turn onto the one we thought was marked "green" and i noticed blood on the ground. and not just in one spot. then i noticed the red markings along the side of the run, and the men on the snowmaking machines, noticing my obvious lack of skill, started yelling "very steep!" . at one point i noticed a brown spot on the snow and thought, now there's someone who can sympathze with me. just kidding. anyway, slow and steady might not win the race but it seemed to get me down the hill in one peice and so i am still here writing.
all this falling barely gave me time to admire the other snowboarders. their skills, i mean.
but alas, by the end of the day i daresay i was keeping pace with the 5 year olds. woo!
anyway, derek and i just returned from a flamenco show we went to watch. wow! how you can keep an intense beat with high heels and clapping i don't know, but it was awesome. i will obviously have to practise up before coming home to show off my spanish flamenco skills.
hope this finds you well and lovely, write me lots i love to hear from you
love becki

hola!
this is becki reporting from... spain!
we just spent the weekend in the spanish countryside somewhere between the towns of benferri, orihuela, and la matanzas (literally translated "pig slaughterhouse"). after a few winding roads and about 500 lemon trees we arrived at paradise, more commonly known as the home of my cousin ang and her husband ingmar, and their cuuuuuute little man kodhi.
they were amazing hosts, taking us touring through nearby towns, the beautiful (albeit cold) mediterranean beach, hiking us through the mountains in their backyard, and letting us pick fresh oranges.
the land around their house is filled with lemon, orange, olive, and almond trees, and the pesky "weeds" that grow are things like wild daisies, lavender, thyme, and rosemary.
we got to experience true easygoing spanish living, with siestas, tapas, and meeting the local quirky characters. karlene got to fulfill her baby-coddling obsession as well, though she probably could have done without the cats, haha.
the best times were spent just chatting about life in general and getting the downlow on all sorts of plans and dreams we have...
everything is pretty relaxed around here, this is first place where we have not had to run anywhere- simply because its nearly impossible to be late! it has been beautiful weather the entire time here, and i have decided i am going to move to spain. so thats that i suppose.
anyway, in light of all that, i hear its rather chilly in canada and i want to send my warmest sympathies, hehe.
i love you ALL! and hope this finds you well and wonderful.
adios for now,
becki
ps. i would also like to take this opportunity to boast that i am the proud auntie of little Christian Peter Ezekiel Wolgemuth (tenniel and chris- i hope i got the name order right). so hooray and congratulations guys!

okay! so here we are in italy! .... for one more evening.
we began our italian experience by doing- what else?- eating pizza. so delicious! and we knew it was legit because all the other people in the restaurant were yelling in italian and did not look like tourists.
we went on a walking tour of rome and saw the pantheon, the collosseum, trevi fountain (which, by the way, i tossed a coin in to ensure i will be back in roma), as well as other historical wonderful things that i cannot remember right now. all finished off by a fantastic gelato, of course.
we stayed at a hostel where we met a bunch of friends and went the next day to the vatican city with them. we saw the big basilica and climbed to the top to look out over rome, and also went to see the sistine chapel and different vatican museums. didnt see the pope though. darn. we finished our day of vaticanism by going dancing until 4am- the icing on the proverbial cake, you might say! what a fun night! derek and i got a little lost getting home but after wandering the seediest parts of rome we managed to find our hostel ;) dont worry mom.
we went to cinque terre, which are five villages on the seaside, built up steep hills and known for their production of wine, olive oil, pesto, limoncello, and other wonderful things. we stayed in teh village of riomaggiore for night and went for the most fantastic italian meal, complete with idyllic views, great conversation, and amazing cinque terre wine. perfecto!
we also spent a day in florence, a pretty city, before going to the tuscan countryside to spend the night with another couchsurf host named maria. she grew chestnuts and played the tuba. she also had a phD. she and ricardo were interesting and good hosts!
today we are back in rome before departing for spain tomorrow... so next time we write it will be in spanish! just kidding. not really that funny, never mind.
anyway, thanks SO much for still emailing and thinking of us, and sending birthday wishes even though i suck at writing back!
i love you ALL! and wish you a wonderful evening!
love becki

oops! hello again... sorry that this little blog has been SOO long in coming!
computer time has been limited, and (probably unnecessarily) complicated during travels so i apologize for the lack of blog action!
it has been almost a month since i last wrote and telling you everything would be impossible so i will try to highlight:
-we went to athens, greece, where we couchsurfed with a funny and very hospitable guy named stefanos. he took us out for an amazing dinner, and also for my birthday...
- we took in sights like the acropolis and the parthenon, mars hill ( where paul brought the gospel to athens), temple of zeus, and giant ancient ampitheatres (the odeon perhaps?). so much history!
-gyros. need i say more?
-we went to the island of santorini and ran about 3 km to catch our boat. derek lost patience, karlene lost chocolate bars and socks, and i lost my breath and nearly my life as i tried to keep up. when we finally arrived at the ship and they didnt leave for another 25 minutes, no one said anything. not a word.
santorini was AMAZING though, as we rented a car and just cruised around and looked at the spectacular scenery, hiked around a bit, made friends with dogs and fishermen, and had the most hospitable hotel hosts ever. they picked us up from the el-cheapo ferry at 4am in the rain and gave us a room for free that night, breakfast included. so wonderful!
we drove to the tip of the island to experience the world- famous sunset over the cliffs and just as we found our perfect lookout point and the sun started to sink over the horizon... it clouded over. derek responded by honking the horn and shouting angrily at the sky, followed by us nearly dying of laughter and many lovebirds being shocked out of their sunset-viewing positions.

that was greece! i mean, obviously only a small part of it. i wont even get started on us waiting for buses that were on strike, eating gyros, shopping in plaka, drinking rachonminov, being entertained by a spanish friend who made derek and i giggle all evening... all in all a wonderful greek experience!

this just got really long so ill put some italy highlights in another post.
check ya later