In Forbes / Priprave v Forbesu

In Forbes we start with towing pilots. I catch a little cold, so my nose is running, but I will survive. During the day I am being a ground support and later, if there is some more time, I go to refresh myself in the swimmingpool. The summer at Forbes is hot, that s why I am drinking as much water as possible. I also went for a little flight with Steve in a dragonfly to cool down.

Every day there is more people at the airfield, that means more work for me, but as long as they are making nice launches  I’ m happy. Yesterday some more ground support came. Peoples I‘ve already met last year. And it was good to meet them again.  We were celebrating New Years Eve with a nice dinner in a local hotel and then finish it in the park across the road.

V Forbsu je vroce  in suho. Cez dan sem delala kot starter. Malo sem se prehladila, ampak mi ne bo hudega. Popoldne se poskusam ohladiti v bazenu oziroma nafehtam kaksnega tug pilota da me zategne v luft. Zaenkrat se ni sledu o moji opremi, ki jo bi lahko uporabila v Forbesu. Je pa tudi res, da je vsak dan vec dela in posledicno manj casa za letenje. 

Zaenkrat sem bila na startu sama s parimi tug piloti in sem imela res veliko dela. Na sreco je prislo se nekaj zemeljske pomoci, tako da bo sedaj lazje. 

Novo leto smo praznovali v hotelu, zakljucili pa s penino v mestnem parku. 

Going to Forbes / Proti Forbesu

At Moyes factory pilots  are slowly starting to show up. I was looking around the factory when my Aussie phone rang. It was one of my favorite hang gliding pilots Belgium Jochen Zeischka. We planned to travel together to Forbes, driving Vicki' s car. Idea was to go on 28^th, but we agreed that we should leave already the same minute... :) Maybe stop at the beach, eat smth and play a tourist. Idea was great, only the car… I promised to drive Vicki’s car down tomorrow but she might need her car today?  We felt like two teenagers asking mum for her car. She agreed and we went on the road right away.  Perfect solution for all of us.

We were already training how to be a good tourist at last World competition in Sigillo, that is why we knew exactly what to do. Having a great drive over Blue mountains, stopping at theThree sisters and eating Thai and trying not to hit kangaroos while driving.

We arrived to Forbes late and realized we don’t know where we are gonna sleep. We tried our luck at Motel but everything was full because of a Jazz festival.  At the end we found a hotel with millions stars at the Forbes airport. We found an old mattress for Jochen, scared the spiders off, took it on the top of a little tower and talk until we felt asleep.

In the morning we bought breakfast in supermarket and eat it with a life jazz performance in the park. Life is good.

Medtem ko sem stikala po tovarni Moyes, ki izdeluje zmaje me je poklical prijatelj Jochen. Ze dolgo nisem srecala enega mojih najlubsih pilotov Belgijca Jochena Zeischo.  Alfa in omega Moysove tovarne Vicki sem obljublila da bom odpeljala njen avtomobil do Forbsa. Idealno za Jochena, ki je potreboval prevoz. Ko sva se srecala sva dobila idejo, da bi lahko odsla na pot kar to isto minuto. Pocutila sva se kot dva najstnika ko sva prosila Vicki, ce lahko njen avto odpeljeva en dan prej.

Brez oklevanja nama je predala kjuce in ze sva odsla na turisticno voznjo cez Blue Mountainse proti Forbesu.

Ustavila sva se pri turisticni znamenitosti Three sisters, si ogledala izdelke od Aboridzinov in vecerjala v Tajski restavraciji. Ko se je zvecerilo sva morala upocasniti voznjo in spremljati kenguruje, ki na cesti delajo grupne samomore...

Ko sva prispela v Forbes  sva ugotovila da nimava prenocisca. Poskusila sva v zasedem motelu in zaprtem hotelu, na koncu pa se odlocila za hotel pod milim nebom na  vrhu majhnega opazovalnega stolpa na lokalnem letaliscu, kjer bo potekala tekma.

Zajterk sva pojedla na  trgu, kjer so kot nalasc zaceli z Jazz festivalom. Celo mestece se giblje v ritmu Jazza, midva pa uzivava v anansovem soku, avokadu in mangotih.

Zivljenje je lepo.

Back to Australia / Spet v Avstraliji

I am in Australia again, this time for the World hang gliding competition. I didn` t write my blog for quite a while, not because I didn`t travel but ... well I don`t even have a good excuse. I got the hint I should write my blog more offten so I am back at Gmail...
Christmas airplanes were nice, I had 3 seats to sleep on, so I was resting most of the trip, eating not too good Christmas airplane food and thinking about my loved ones I left alone for Christmas. We did have a great Christmas market in my village before I left. Where we did a fire dance show, my friends were singing and local people were selling their home made products.
My boyfriend took me to the airport in Vienna, it was the cold winter day, but when I came out in Sydney, it was a Summer day. My friend Thea picked me up and then I went to explore Maraubra bay beach. It is nice to see Aussie`s way of celebrating Christmas and boxing day. Having picnics at the beach, surfing, running, biking and enjoying the summer.
Happy holidays to everyone, no mather where you are.

Spet sem v Avstraliji, tokrat zaradi svetovnega prvenstva v zmajartvu. Za to, da nisem pisala bloga nimam nobenega pametnega opravicila. Ker pa sem dobila namig parih prijateljev, sem se odlocila da spet zazenem Gmail.
Bozicni letalski poleti so bili super. Kar na dveh letih sem dobila po tri stole, tako da sem se dobro naspala. Za razliko od lanskega leta, ko se je zraven mene na polovico mojega stola razlezel en debeluh.
Pred mojim odhodom smo naredili zabaven bozicen trg v moji rodni vasi. S prijatelji smo pripravili ognjeni shov, eni so peli nekateri pa prodajali svoje domace izdelke.
Na mrzel zimski bozicni dan me je fant odlozil na Dunajskem letaliscu in v dveh dneh sem prispela do poletne Avstralije. Najprej sem odsla na sprehod do Maraubra beach. Lepo je videti, bozicno vzdusje, piknike, surferje, kolesarje in sprehajalce, ki uzivajo v poletju.
Vsem zelim lepe praznike.

Winter time in Slovenia

Ljubljana in Christmas spirit

Little Christmas market in my home villige Smartno

Summer time at Maroubra bay.
 

Say cheese - Reci sir

Back in Europe, trying to get work, but also enjoying free time at our mini farm and with all my toys like Spicy, kayak, rollerblades, bicycle … 

Some people think I can last longer under water then at home, because I didn’t stay at home not even for a week. But it was Austrian open and I had to go there to meet friends. It was shitty weather, so I decided to do the tour to Austria with bike, leaving my hang glider Spicy at home. At first he wasn’t too happy about it but then he realized he wouldn’t fly, only got wet …

Next week my parents went on holidays, my sister to conference in Germany, so they were happy I am back to take care of our animals and vegetable garden.

I milked our goats almost every day, having some troubles at first, but they are willing to cooperate if you feed them - corrupted furred species. So I guess they got too much corn, but I got their milk. Big thanks to my friend Anze that milked them when I went flying. From all that milk I made cheese, butter, yogurt – kefir and ghee.  And yesterday just for fun some apricot jam. 

Yogurt-kefir with fruit, butter, panir with spices, apricot jam and cheese

Končno nazaj v Evropi. Poskušam najti kakšno službo, vendar pa tudi uživam z mojimi igračami, ki jih nisem mogla uporabljati sedem mesecev. Zmaj-Spicy, kajak Gringo, rolarji, kolo ...

Doma nisem zdržala prav dolgo, saj sem morala iti na zmajarsko tekmo v Greifenburg. Do Avstriske meje sem se zapeljala kar s kolesom, nato pa me je do Greifenburga peljal prijatelj, ki je šel tudi tja. Vremenska napoved je bila slaba, tako da sem se odločila da svojega zmaja Spicyja pustim doma.

Naslednji teden so se moji starši odpravili na dopust, zato sem morala skrbeti za našo malo kmetijo.  Skoraj vsak dan sem pomolzla naše kozice. Ker so visoko podkupljive sem jim v zameno za mleko dala več koruze kot jo navadno dobijo. Iz vsega dobljenega mleka sem izdelala sir, skuto, kefir , ghee in maslo. Včeraj pa še domačo marelično marmelado.  Najlepša hvala Anžetu, ki me je zamenjal, da sem šla lahko letet na Kovk. 

Flying, bycicling, kayaking

 

Going back to sLOVEnija. / Nazaj v domaci kraj

I got used to hanging around Wallaby ranch. Also when the weather is not flyable had lots of fun.  One day I went bicycling with Jim and we saw many different animals: alligators, snakes, hawk, owl that was eating a snake, armadillos, turtles and differed birds. Well, now I know for sure that swamping in Florida is not a good idea. When not helping Jeremy cooking I was chilling in AC room swimming in the pool or laying on the trampoline, two times I even forced my lazy ass to go running.

Sometimes it was enough just to enjoy spectacular Florida storms, hanging out in the hanger or at the West site drinking beer, watching TV and chilling with friends. Yes, life is beautiful at Wallaby ranch.

But it was time to go home, so I packed my stuff and went to the hangar for the last blessing from the boys: Paul, Eric, Jeremy, Jim and Oliver. Steve left few days earlier... In the morning I had some troubles getting up, and boss Malcom gave me some pills to forget the headacke that I nourished from the last night.

Oliver took me to the airport and I was lucky again. Sleeping on both flights and woke up for breakfast already in Europe. Not to mention I had 3 sits just for myself, so sleeping on the plane was very comfortable.

In Munich I went on the first train that stopped and when it was already moving I tried to figure out if it is the right one. I was lucky again, some people told me when to go down and I was on my way with another one to Ljubljana. 

 

Sem se kar navadila na Wallaby ranč. Zadnji teden vreme ni bil ravno najbolši za letenje, tako sva se ne dezeven dan z Jimom odpravila kolesariti. Dobro naju je napralo a videla sva veliko različnih živali. Najbolj me je presenetila sova, ki je letela s kačo v kljunu.

Kadar nisem imela dela v kuhinji sem ponavadi izležavala ob bazenu, v klimatizirani sobici v hangarju ali pa v dnevnem prostoru ki ga imenujemo West site.

Prišel pa je dan slovesa, tako so fantje vklopili zvočnike in mešalko, hladilne torbe smo napolnili s pirčkom in vinom in se podali na skoraj celovečerno poslavljanje.

Naslednji dan me je Oliver odpeljal do letališča in na letalih sem spala kar na treh sedežih in se zjutraj zbudila v Evropi.

V Munchnu sem ko teliček stopila na prvi vlak in se kasneje spraševala če je sploh pravi. Domačini so mi povedali katero postajo moram iztopiti in že sem bila na novem vlaku za Ljubljano.

Moj praded / My grand grandfather

My great grandfather came to America after being tortured, imprisoned in two different concentration camps and managed to escape with one of the ships. Four of his sons were brutally murdered while fighting against communism.  His wife Polonca stayed alone at home with the children. After a while she was able to join him in the promise land, taking his two sons Pavle and Joze. My Grandma, their daughter got married and she stayed in Slovenia.

My Grand grandfather Anton Kosir was a romantic soul. He liked to act in the theater, write poems, work on the farm and cook. But I didn’t know that he put all his history in lyrics. Now I have them and I am enjoying reading it. They are describing his life and relations to God, country and family. Poems are heartbreaking especially the ones that are talking about his four sons, starvation and misery of the war.

I can’t believe that after all this shit that happened to my family, they still passionately believe in God. But I guess when you are left somewhere without anything, the only thing that is left is hope.

Rest in peace Anton Kosir and thank you for the poems.

Poems

Moj praded je zbezal v Ameriko, po tem ko so mu partizani ubili stiri sinove on pa je “odsluzil” svoj vojni dolg v dveh koncentracijskih taboriscih. 

Zena Polonca se mu je z dvema sinovoma pridruzila kasneje. Moja stara mama, njuna hci, pa se je porocila in ostala v Sloveniji.

Veckrat so mi povedali da je bil mojpraded pravi zabavljac in nezna dusa. Da je rad igral v vaskih igrah in teatrih. Nisem pa vedela, da je svojo gnev prelil na papir v obliki poezije.

Moji sorodniki so mi dali kopije njegovih pesmi. Ena od njih je spodaj.

Pocivaj v miru praded in hvala za pesmi. 

  

SLOVO  

Anton Kosir

Prve dneve majnika,

 Otroci, mama je doma.

So prišli fantje po slovo,

Predno zdaj v svet gredo.

Stirje bili so vojaki,

Sinovi moji vsi junaki.

Premoc velika je prisla

In vojska se je umikala.

Franci reče ji tako,

Kako je meni zdaj hudo.

Tako težko Vas zapustim,

Za tebe mama se bojim.

Prisrčno jo Albin objame,

Poslavlja se od dobre mame,

Oh ljuba moja mamica,

Kedaj se zopet vidiva.

Še Vinko, Tone jokata,

Ko mamico objameta.

Tako si znala nas ljubiti,

A zdaj se moramo ločiti.

Še pred mamo pokleknimo,

Da blagoslov od nje dobimo.

Je vse štiri pokropila,

Jim križ na čelo naredila.

Naj BOG vas čuva božja mati,

Saj bili njuni ste junaki.

Zgodi naj Božja volja se,

Trdno v njo zaupajte.

Če pa nas nazaj ne bo.

Ne jokaj mama se zato.

Saj dobro veš ti mamica,

Da borci smo za Kristusa.

Borili smo se za resnico,

Za vero dom in za pravico,

Zato ti naj ne bo hudo,

Če se nazaj ne vrnemo.

Pa kmalu so se vsi vrnili,

Neusmiljeno so vse pobili.

Zmetali so jih v Kraške jame,

Le spomin nanje ostane.

Resnična zgodba.

                                                  

Back to the roots :) Cleveland fun

My uncle John is from Cleveland and a pilot for US Airways, he arranged standby tickets for me. Because I have never traveled on buddy pass before, I asked flight attended at the gate what should I do. She suggested that I sit and wait to be called. So I took out my computer, went on facebook and enjoyed some bird watching on Decorah eagles. I forgot about the time and when I realized it was too late, I missed my flight! I swear they didn’t call me!  I was so very lucky to get the next one to Charlotte.  When we landed my connecting flight was already boarding. I ran like crazy, almost knocking down a little kid. I was still able to meet my uncle at the gate and we both rushed to get the next plane. Inspite of our haste I was told there were 5 people waiting in the standby line before me. We finally managed to get to Cleveland. We made a camp fire in front of his house, tested some beers and talked long into the night.

Next day we went to private airport and took the Clipper for a ride. John let me launch it and I zig-zagged into the sky.  We landed at Classic Jet center where we took another plane called the Seabee, with the idea to land on water. After flying we went back to his place and assembled some old hanggliders that he had in his garage.  One of them looked ok to fly. Maybe side wires needs to be changed, but it looks like I have a new old glider in the States! It surly looked much better than Spajk (old Sting glider I flew in Australia).

I had only two days time with my relatives from Cleveland. We were cycling, making s’mores, visiting bars and restaurants, cheering for  Mihelca’s Matt and Toncka at Cleveland marathon competition. I was very happy that Annie and her husband Matt joined us too. She lives in Pennsylvania. 

The next day we went flying again. This time Toncka was able to come with us too. We landed on the water and we had a great time at Mintor Marsh beach and made some crazy low passes at Pristava. He let me fly it most of the time.

Like usual, I couldn’t just go when it was the date to go, so I extended for one more day. We went to visit my uncle Pavle’s factory Pako. American dreams coming true. They are making parts for airplanes. He has something like 300 employees and they are just opening another place. I was astonished by the precision and tests they have to make. I took a lot of pictures, but something went wrong and I lost them all! I guess I will just have to go to factory again.

In the afternoon we went flying, again. Because cloud base was too low we were flying low and John let me land the Seabee on the water by myself. I was scared as hell, sweating, blood pressure and heart beat went up even as I landed perfectly. I can’t find a word that would tell you how excited I was. Looks like I have to get some work, so that I will be able to get myself a pilot’s license! 

 

Sorodnik John iz Clevelanda je pilot pri US airways in mi je zrihtal stanby karte. To pomeni da se lahko vkrcaš na letalo če je prost sedež. Prvi let sem zamudila, saj so mi naročili naj počakam, da me pokličejo. Tako sem sedela pred vhodom v letalo in brskala po spletu. Zgleda da me je internet dobro odnesel, saj ko sem se spomnila da je čas odhoda, je bila čakalnica že prazna. Vkrcali so me na drugo letalo, ki pa je bilo pozno, tako sem hitela da sem ujela povezovalni let do Clevelanda.

Naslednji dan sva šla z Johnom, po nase Jančkom, na privat letališče kjer sem prvič vozila avijon Clipper. Cik cak po pisti in v luft. Če je kdorkoli videl ta vzlet od zunaj si je najverjetneje mislil da je pilot pijan. Pristala sva na naslednjem letališču kjer sva vzela letalo, ki lahko pristane na vodi in se šla igrat z njim.

Imela sem samo še dva dni da se družim s sorodniki. Tako smo šle kolesariti z Mihelco in Tončko, obiskali še ostale sorodnike in ob večeru pekli smorse na kamp ognju. Bila sem zelo vesela da se nam je pridružila še Annie in njen mož Matt. Saj živita v Pensylvaniji, okoli šest ur vožnje iz Clevelanda. V nedeljo smo navijali za Mihelčinega moža, še en Matt, in Tončko, ker sta tekla na Clevelandskem maratonu. Vsega skupaj 20.000 tekačev.

V ponedeljek sem spet preživela odlepljena od tal. Tokrat je z nama odšla tudi Tončka. Večino časa sem lahko jaz vozila Seabee, razen, ko je Janček pilotiral nizko nad krošnjami dreves in pristal v vodi na plaži Minor Marsh beach. Teta Polonca nam je pripravila hladilno torbo polno senvičev in ostalih slaščic tako da smo jih po končanem letenju pojedli v senci Seabeejinih kril.

Kot ponavadi, tudi tokrat nisem mogla oditi, zato sem izlet podaljšala za en dan. Obiskala Pako firmo, katero je ustanovil očetov stric Pavle in bila presenečena nad velikostjo podjetja,  preciznostjo izdelave, nadzora ki ga opravljajo in inovacij. Izdelujejo dele za avijone, ki jih prodajajo za vse možne trge. V Italijo, Nemčijo, Japonsko ...

Popoldne sva z Jančkom spet zapregla Seabee in tokrat mi je dovolil da sama pristanem v vodi. Bilo je nepozabno. Moja naslednja želja je izpit za avijon.  

Wanna be @ Wallaby

So, I came back to this awesome place called Wallaby ranch. “Welcome home” made a big smile on my face. Everyone who knows me very well, knows that my favorite thing in life, most essential thing, is food. Another most essential thing, makes you human is flying right? Anyway, I smuggled myself in the kitchen where Jeremie and I prepare some awesome stuff. Every morning we have breakfast at 10:00 which usually involves eggs, meat, fruit, jams, breads, yogurts and smoothies with herbs. Well crepes, pancakes, oats with frozen mangos or berries, porridge, sausages, we can t help ourselves sometimes we just go wild. Lunches are pretty wild too. Today (american mothers day) we are having stuffed duck, prime rib of beef, salad, asparagus, fruit salad and yorkshire puddings.  Not to mention the ice cream…

It looks like I will be heavy enough for Spicy when I return. After breakfast we usually take the gliders out of the hanger and go flying. I was totally shocked the first time I heard someone is not going to fly because his glider is not assembled … Come on, lift your lazy ass and do the 15 minute job!

But sooner or later you recognize that life is much easier if you are lazy. Well, it is hot and humid here and a body needs some rest. There is a swimming pool, trampoline, golf cars, and bunch of other gliders already in the hangar.  

I fly falcon and I really don t like to drift down wind with weak thermals. They take me away from my nest and I have to fight my way back into the wind to get home. Not willing to land out in another swamp, or even worse a tree. I am very careful as of late. But I am enjoying my airtime a lot.

One day the guys wanted me to teach them some Slovenian swear words. But we don’t have them! When we are swearing we are using English. Shit, fuck or other Bosnian or Serbian words that I am not pointing out right now. As much as I thought I had no Slovenian curse, the sentence “three hundred hairy bears” came to mind.  They love it! Three hundred hairy bears are echoing all over ranch. So, do not smash yourself with a hammer because you will have to use the bad bear swear!

When the night falls over Florida, we sit in the hanger where tug pilots, tandem pilots and other ranch hands are playing rock music, drinking beer and chilling. Life is beautiful at Wallaby ranch!

 

Po tekmah sem se vrnila na Wollaby ranch." Dobrodosla doma" so bile prve besede šefa. Na srečo se ni težko počutiti doma. Kdorkoli me dobro pozna,ve da se moje življenje vrti okoli hrane. Že stari mami sem bila podrepna muha, ki se smuka okoli praznih loncev, da se ne poglabljamo o vseh dobrih kuharjih s katerimi sem si drznila preziveti dan ali dva v kuhinji. Tudi tukaj me nihče ne podi ven, da ne omenjam da so količine, kvaliteta in dostopnost hrane včasih objestne.

Vsako jutro ob 10 00 z Jeremijem  pripaviva različne obroke. Ponavadi vsebujejo meso, jajca, zelenjavo, smoothie in sadje. Če sva dobre volje pa palačinke, parjene kosmiče z zmrznjenim mangotom in borovicami, klobasice, v jajčka ovita špinača s sirom...

Najverjetnje moj zmaj Spicy ne bo več stokal zaradi nezadostnih kilogramov, ko se vrnem domoL. Po zajtrku se odvečem do hangarja kjer so sestavljeni zmaji. Potegnem ven falcona in se pripravim na vleko. Letenje ni panoramično kot pri nas, Dama ravnina. Sedaj pazim, da ne pristanem v kakšnem močvirju ali še slabše na drevesu. Za towing se sto procentro  99,9 posto skoncentriram in sledim dragonflyju, ko pa se odpnem , upam da je v dviganju. Tam se osredotočim na steber ki me odpihne z vetrom.

Ker sem ponosna na slovenščino in dejstvo, da nimamo originalne kletvice sem fante naučila prekletstva  tristo kosmtih medvedov. No, ne izgovorijo v slovenščini, samo je pa sigurno najbolj prilubljena kletvica na ranču.

Ko pade mrak se  vsi zberemo v hangarju, kjer so pospravljeni zmaji, zvočniki, mešalka in piloti ter wallaby družba igra rock muziko. Jaz ponavadi špilam rep od kobre.

Včasih je zajeban ki vidš da si zlomu noht na pistaciji, k je sploh nis hotu...