Festival of the Nations

Humus = awesome

Yummy Greek:)

Where the heck is this?

What can I say, I love the U.K.

View of the park with all the food booths

Classic, probably most familiar with this one!

     One of the great perks of where we live in STL is Tower Grove Park! We live about 2 blocks east of the park and it is an awesome place to go run, play tennis, or just find a shady spot to sit and read or journal. (Ok, so I haven't actually done this last part yet because it's been too stinkin' hot but hopefully the fall will provide time for this!) Anyway, this weekend the park had a huge Festival of Nations where people from all over the city came and set up booths showcasing their country and heritage. Literally, there are people here from all over!! Some of the places where pretty obscure and I couldn't find them on a map if I had to but I'm just amazed I live in such a diverse city.  Being from a small Southern town this is a big deal y'all!! I wish Hace and I could have spent more time at the festival but unfortunately I had work and he had orientation this weekend. However we were able to go by Sunday after church for a little bit.  We mainly explored the food section and made lunch off of pad Thai, and Argentine and Peruvian empanadas. It was delicious!! I was super bummed we couldn't go to the arts and crafts section or watch any of the dancing/musical performances but maybe next year. Here are some photos that highlight the festival and some of the countries represented.

Soulard Farmers Market

Outside the Farmer's Market

A few of the yummy stands...

           Maybe it's because I love history and I am really a nerd at heart, or maybe I just love fresh produce and funky neighborhoods, but whatever the case may be, perhaps my favorite place so far in St. Louis is the Soulard Farmer's market. Now for a little history lesson, the Soulard Farmer's market is the oldest farmer's market west of the Mississippi. It began in 1779 (that's before the Louisiana purchase, when France still owned the land!) The owners of the plot of land were the Soulards and they set aside an area for farmers to come and sell their produce. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 things got a little hairy with the ownership of the land but eventually the Soulard's were able to set aside 2 blocks that were to be used exclusively as a farmer's market, which is what they still are used for today. This market is open year-round from Wednesday to Saturday and things are unbelievably cheap there. Today, for example, I bought lettuce, 2 tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, 4 huge peaches, jalapenos, onion, limes, and 2 avocados for a grand total of $14!!! When you are trying to conserve money you can't get much better than that! The neighborhood is also just really cool. Obviously it was originally a French neighborhood which is evident in the architecture and beautiful buildings and churches. There are also cool restaurant,  pubs, and even a cute gift-shop, reminiscent but far from my beloved plainjane's! We are excited that this neighborhood celebrates Mardi Gras each year with a parade. We will definitely be attending and hope it will be every bit as exhilarating as the Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama where we have celebrated the past two years. All-in-all Soulard is a great neighborhood with cool shops, restaurants, and history. I am so glad we found the nearby farmer's market in our first week here!

STL Zoo

HIPPO!

Caught the elephant eating, score!

Cheetah's, cooler seeing them in the African Safari but you'll do!

Tiger for my Auburn friends

   One of the awesome things about St. Louis is the awesome parks. We live close to Tower Grove Park which is awesome but small in comparison to Forest Park.  Forest Park is huge and reminds me of Central Park (minus all the skyscrapers!) In the park there is a Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum and a place where they have plays.  The great part is, the Zoo and Museums are FREE! With Hace starting back to school full-time we don't have much extra for extravagant outings these days so the park provides several options for fun, cheap dates.  When Missy, Hace's sister, came into town we did some touristy things and also visited the Zoo. This was my second trip to the Zoo but I'm sure it's far from the last.  The Zoo has a pretty impressive selection of animals. Ok, let's be honest, the only other Zoo I have been to is the Atlanta Zoo so what do I really know? But comparatively, it seems legit. My personal favorite are the hippos! They are so fascinating to me because they are huge but swim through the water like champs. Sometimes they do like to fight each other which is entertaining but sometimes I get nervous, haha. The Zoo also has a good number of cats but often they are not out. We did get to see the tiger and I took a pic for my Auburn sister and friends. He's almost as cool as LSU's Mike.  Hace's childhood dream was to be a Zoo-keeper so needless to say, he loves the Zoo.  I'm honestly not a huge animal-lover but he has gotten me more into it. Definitely would recommend the Zoo for a fun outing. Especially with kids!! Friends and family come visit and we promise to take you:)

GUACAMOLE!!

So, many of my friends make awesome guacamole and this recipe is more theirs than mine but I wanted to share it as a great summer-time dip (or football tailgate, dinner party, fiesta, etc!) Basically how I make it is add some basic ingredients, taste, see if it's lacking anything and add more of anything missing. Here are the rough proportions I use:

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 tbspn onion
• 1 small jalapeno
• 1 tbspn cilantro
• lime juice from 1 lime
• dash of salt

Basically cut everything up and mix it together in a bowl and taste it to see if anything is needed. You can refrigerate it and pull it back out for later too. I usually will add some more lime juice to make it taste fresher if I do this.  I serve with Tostitos, multigrain scoops are my current favorite! Enjoy!

Cilantro?

Finished product!

Nelson Mandela's "Long Walk to Freedom"

      As many of you know, I am an avid reader and enjoy basically all types of literature.  This summer after spending 6 weeks in South Africa I became very intrigued by Nelson Mandela and the role he played in ending apartheid. I also fell in love with South African's, their culture, and how loving they are toward outsiders and one another. I was truly amazed by their lack of bitterness from apartheid wounds.  So because of all of these interests I bought Nelson Mandela's biography, Long Walk to Freedom in the airport for the 16 hour flight home.  At 751 pages, I had plenty to read on the long flight home and for the remainder of the summer for that matter! With our move and starting a new job this book definitely took me longer than planned but I finally finished and decided to use it for my first book review!
     On the whole, I really enjoyed the book and am even more intrigued by Mandela and how a boy from the country became a leader in bringing the country out of apartheid and initiating the beginnings of social justice.  Just the fact that he spent a third of his life in prison and yet emerged free of any bitterness or resentment is inspiring.  While in Cape Town we got to visit Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 or his 27 years.  It was crazy to see the confined spaces where the prisoners lived and where they worked in the limestone quarry.  One thing we learned on our tour of Robben Island is that the prisoners educated one another during their time.  They would teach one another whatever subject they knew best. What a wise way to spend time in prison?!
        One thing that is unfortunate is that because Mandela gave his life fighting for freedom for his fellow-countrymen his family definitely got the shaft. He totally owns this in the book and says it is his one regret.  After being in South Africa and seeing the AIDS issue first-hand, I think that this is another area where he could have had some great leadership in exposing the issue and requiring proper education on it. 
         I think ultimately I enjoyed this book because I went to South Africa and was able to understand, or at least had heard of, many of the things and places her referenced.  Unless you are a major history buff or have a love for South Africa too, I probably wouldn't say read it ASAP!! You can just watch Invictus and go to wikepedia for the cliftnotes! I will end with a quote from the book... "But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a glimpse of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my walk is not yet ended" (Mandela, 751).

Hace & I at Robben Island with Table Mountain in the background

Pretty sure this is the where Mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison

Mandela's cell at Robben Island

The main prison at Robben Island

Robben Island from the top of Table Mountain