Famous Japanese Maple in fall at the Portland Japanese Garden. Photo cred

November is one of my favorite months when I’m in the states.  Full on fall color and beautiful scarf weather to boot! However, here in Venezuela it is sunny summer-esque weather as usual.  Enjoy fall for me friends!

Around the web:

My friend got a parasite his second month in Venezuela and another friend got one about nine months in.  Here is a good link about keeping your water safe.

It is interview season in the world of international teaching. Many people are great at selling themselves, but what about making the school sell itself?! Here are some questions you can ask to see if the school has a culture and work environment that you want to be a part of.

Apparently there are copyrights for everything (even nature!) so check carefully and get a permit if you ever plan on selling an image of a copywrited place!

I wish I could ride a bike along this lovely “Starry Night” path in The Netherlands this summer: .

The only tattoo I have is one that I got while living in China (see Getting a Tattoo in the Hutongs of Beijing), but I am constantly finding tattoo designs that I like and looking for a tattoo parlor to try out.  This means, it is highly probable that I will have more souvenir tattoos in the years to come (I would love to get something done by KaTa while I’m in Europe this summer!).  Here are some tips on doing it right.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/travel/worlds-best-metro-stations/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/travel/worlds-best-metro-stations/index.html

Books:

Last month I didn’t find any books really to my liking, but I think The Goldfinch is a great one to read! Here are my notes from Goodreads.com, “There were some parts of this book that I loved, and some that I hated.  However, the book was meaty and I could not stop thinking about it.  “Potter” and Boris are fabulous characters with tragic pasts, twisted presents, and semi-hopeful futures.  I have never been hooked on a piece of art, and after reading this book, I am thankful that I’ve been able to avoid such a difficult fate.”

Music

I’ve felt like this from time to time: “Run” by Nicole Scherzinger (I think it should start at about 0:35). It gave me goosbumps toward the end.  She can really belt it out!

I love the message in this song (not so much the beginning sound though): “Can’t Stop the Love” by Neon Jungle

This song would fit right in with my Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz playlists. Perfect for a relaxing Saturday afternoon. “Let Your Hair Down” by Magic!

TV

I’m happy to get my Sunday night (or really Monday since that is when I can actually find it online) drama fix via The Newsroom and Homeland.