today i am honored to present to you an interview with the gorgeous, highly intelligent and always whimsical miss olivia the great.
i was fortunate enough to meet olivia the first day she arrived on the rice campus for freshman orientation. i was a junior, advising at will rice college, and she was a beautiful, spunky blonde from lubbock, texas. by the time i was a senior, editing the thresher backpage with mark, olivia was a journalistic force to be reckoned with, but it actually wasn’t until i graduated that olivia and i became, as anne shirley likes to say, bosom buddies. we began to meet once a week at empire cafe for delicious half price cake and and even more delectable conversation, and although it’s been a while since i’ve seen olivia’s delightful smile over a slice of hummingbird cake, i still miss those nights dearly.
olivia is equal parts serious and fanciful, a committed journalist who adores toddlers in coats and signs with bizarre english translations. she travels the world and meets fascinating people and tries crazy kinds of food and documents it all on her fantastic blog, which i highly recommend that you read. she is, in short, *amazing*, and i feel so proud to count her as a friend. i’m pretty sure that she’s gonna be wearing pulitzer pants someday, and i can’t wait, cos then we’ll dress up (she loves getting fancy) and have a champers toast with all of her friends and admirers, and then, when we get sleepy time tea, we’ll slip into our jim jams and watch “you’ve got mail” (that’s RIGHT! it’s her favorite movie too! like i said, bosom buddies).
ok, let’s get to it.
so, olivia, what exactly do you do? i think it has to do with weapons.
I do research on some weapons-related things, but I can’t talk much about my work. But it’s not as shady as it sounds! Most of the time I’m just reading really boring stuff on the internet. Sometimes I get to travel, though.
how exactly did you get into this line of work?
I ask myself this question a lot. When I was 18, my plan was to be a corporate lawyer and never leave Texas. Then I majored in Russian, started doing international research, and now I am stuck in a place with constant rain.
as a journalist, what’s the most risky thing you’ve done?
I don’t think I’ve done much that was risky, although I think my parents would classify all of what I’ve done as risky. When I was working for the Thresher, I remember I was really freaked out when I interviewed two guys accused of stealing a lot of stuff from Rice… at a bar. I wasn’t even old enough to drink (legally).
i’ve always admired yr traveling pants. can you list, for the readers, all of the places where you’ve lived?
I’ve only lived a few places, but I’ve traveled in more. I think I’ve lived in Poland Russia, Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), then DC, London and now, outside Manchester (UK). Overall, though, I’ve been to 35 countries, and I’m going to four new ones this weekend (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Malaysia).
which one was yr favorite? yr least favorite?
I really, really loved Sudan, and Afghanistan, but Yemen was great as well. I met good people there, and they had awesome food that was a bit different from other places. Most food there was cooked on a blowtorch. One of my favorites was “salta” (I think), which was, like, meat and stuff, in a cast iron pan, cooked on a blowtorch, and served with delicious bread. There was some other dish I had at a bus stop where you put homemade cheese through an old-school meat mincing-type machine and mix it with peppers and tomatoes. I also loved Syria, but somehow I really like the weirdest countries most.
Least favorite was either Chad, where I had some pretty sketch living situations, or more likely, Mauritania, where I finally got fed up with African sand and almost had an entirely sand-related breakdown.
olivia and her carpet selling friend in afghanistan
since you’re so cosmo, can you share a few of Olivia’s Top Traveling Tips?
My Very Top Traveling Tip is this: find people you know, or people who know people you know, to show you around. Although it might not be cool to cling to them every waking moment, you’ll get to know so much more about a place, and you will have a better time. If I have to go somewhere I don’t know anyone, I ask my friends who they know there, and I make them introduce me.
Probably my Second Top Traveling Tip is to bring a lot of underwear. When I was traveling in Africa and the Middle East for 8 months, I shocked my blog readership by revealing I had 28 pairs of underwear. It was totally worth it, though.
even though it’s exciting to see so much of the world, it also seems like it could be quite challenging and even lonely sometimes. given all of the experiences (positive and negative) you’ve had abroad, what accomplishment are you most proud of? and i mean that in the professional sense AND the personal sense, so i guess this is a two parter.
Professionally and personally, I think the most impressive thing I did was how I learned Russian. I took it for three years at Rice, sure, and I went to Russia for a month one summer. But I didn’t actually speak Russian when I went to Central Asia. I figured I’d give myself a few months to learn Russian, and then start doing interviews. But then actually no one spoke much English, so I started just writing down my questions in Russian and asking them, while recording it. I had no idea what anyone said in response, but I came home every night and typed up the interviews, in Russian, translating what I didn’t know. And I learned Russian really fast because it was quite a painful process. It’s the kind of thing you do when you’re really young and have no shame. I would never do that now, but it’s really the only way to learn.
what do you miss about living in the US (if anything)? do you think you will ever live here again?
I miss Mexican food! I miss a lot of things, like being able to talk about childhood pop culture moments and have other people understand. Mostly I miss family and friends, though; my life is weird without The Blings (my siblings). I’m not sure I’ll ever live in the US again, but I think it might be weird if I didn’t ever live there again. I have a fairly whimsical approach to my future, though. But if I got to take a year-long “sabbatical” from my current life, I would definitely like to go around and talk to my friends all over the US and crash on their couches and hear their stories and record them in some way.
olivia at home with her dad and the blings. i think they were having some kind of fancy dress holiday party.
what country do you think has the cutest babies?
I really liked the babies in Kyrgyzstan, but I think I just spent a lot of time there and actually knew people who had babies there. I like English children; they have that English accent, but they’re children. Somehow it never fails to astonish me when children speak language I am learning, or when they have pretentious accents.
what country has the best desserts?
The Middle East has baklava, etc., but how can you beat Belgian chocolate? I will tell you how you can beat it: good old cheesecake from AMERICA.
olivia smiles, in spite of the lack of cheesecake in kazakhstan.
if you were ever going to write a book (which i hope you do), what would it be about?
Well, my other book is a boring book about counterterrorism, so I definitely won’t be writing my next book on that. I want to write a book about being from Lubbock, but I have some other ideas too.
what is yr secret power?
I remember basically all conversations I have with people, as if I had a tape recorder in my head. This is actually really bad for having a relationship because humans are fluid and do not take kindly to being reminded of their words all the time. On the other hand, it’s good because I can even do it when I’m not paying attention. So if I’m daydreaming and someone asks me a question abruptly, I can rewind about 20 seconds and come up with the answer.
do you sleep in jimjams? what kind?
Yep, but it depends on my mood and also how cold it is. Sometimes flannel pajama pants, sometimes little shorts sets, and sometimes mismatching T-shirts and shorts.
what is yr #1 favorite food?
Mashed potatoes, obv.
what is yr top restaurant recommendation in yr town (or close by). what’s the best thing on the menu?
My town has some
awesomely bad restaurants, but some halfway decent cafes. The best so-called restaurant is the Indian place, but its decor consists mainly of murals painted on the walls; I think they’re from the 1970s.
tell me about yr top area of expertise.
I really like making collage, although I don’t do it as much as I should. Also, my boyfriend says I’ve gotten to be an expert on choosing real ales. This is an important skill in England. And I know the formula for glue, as recited in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and the entire script of You’ve Got Mail.
one of olivia’s super fabulous collages
what was yr favorite item of clothing as a child?
I had this pink and green knit dress I loved when I was a child. I loved it so much, I didn’t even mind when someone in my family (who shall remain nameless) told me that I shouldn’t wear pink and green together because, when they were growing up, “it would mean someone was gay.” I’ve thought about that lately, and really am astonished that such a comment was made.
what do you plan on doing when you’re 80?
I hope to still be traveling, and writing, and also to do the things you can’t normally do when you’re younger. Like, say crazy stuff to people, and tell stories about my life that are part fact, part truth. Mostly, as I’ve said since I was in college, I’d like to have an endless supply of knowledge and wonder.
if you could assemble yr own ocean’s 11, who would you pick and why?
I don’t really know anything about this movie because I’ve never seen it. (I know!) And I didn’t see Ocean’s 12 because I hadn’t seen Ocean’s 11, etc. Anyway I think I would probably pick my siblings, but my sister told me to say Brad Pitt.
what is yr best karaoke song?
I haven’t done karaoke since high school, but my favorite song to sing along to outside karaoke is probably “Notorious Thugs.” Classic.
do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? who?
Josh told me I look like Liz Phair, and someone in my DC law firm said I look like Sheryl Crow. It’s hard to judge the accuracy of these comparisons; I remain skeptical. I don’t think the other two interviewees got this question–can we make them answer it in retrospect?
tell me something scandalous!
I haven’t paid the milkman in 2 months because I’m never here when he comes around asking for money. (My life’s not very scandalous?)
this picture really captures the spirit of olivia for me… i love it.
thank you so much, olivia, for allowing me to interview you. it’s been an absolute delight.
now, let’s go to the NUT SHOP WHERE IT’S FUN!
as always, feel free to ask olivia some questions in the comments section. she’s traveling to asia right now (of course), so she may not be able to check in, but she’ll respond with her characteristic cleverness and whimsicality when she gets a chance!
LINKS
YOU GUYS!!! please watch the video about this lost ducklings story IMMEDIATELY (cue polar caps melting due to squeeness).
dude, there’s gonna be a strong bad game for the WII. BURNINATE (thanks hilary, for the link!).
i am in LOVE with this mutt makeover contest on jezebel. take a look and vote!
if you’re a fan of the wire, check out this interview with snoop, a.k.a. the actress who plays the character stephen king deemed “perhaps the most terrifying female villain to ever appear in a television series.”
feministing has a thoughtful, interesting take on stuff white people like.
olivia sounds like one of the coolest people ever and i immediately added her blog to my list. it’s nice to put a face and some history to her comments on your blog.
also, see you tomorrow! can’t wait!
eden’s secret power is making collages too. and i would definitely have been scared of those guys you interviewed at the bar!
Sounds like Olivia may or may not be Jack Ryan.
Great interview! Olivia, your life sounds very cool! Once, I was going to be a journalist and travel the world, but I realized I wasn’t cut out for it. You have to be really brave to do all that.
I think Olivia is one of the bravest people I’ve ever met, and her travel history is enviable, albeit intimidating. Personally I was delighted to advise her on purchasing antibiotics a la carte during her Middle Eastern adventures a few years ago.
Also Olivia, in the interest of retroactive interview equity, the celebrity comparison I get most often is Tobey Maguire. One of the nurses even yells “Spiderman!” every time I walk onto her unit, which is disconcerting but certainly preferable to “Doogie Howser!”.
All the best on all your journeys! (I would read your blog more often but Xanga is firewalled at the hospitals where I work.)
What an interesting interview! Olivia, your life sounds extraordinary! Thanks for the juicy scoop.
thanks everyone for the lovely comments. my first blog about hong kong is up (with pictures) at http://www.xanga.com/romyolivia. and i really appreciate all the nice comments! also i am not very brave–just to clear that up. i think i have a flawed sense of danger.
I love how she works in “well, my other book..” Oh, Olivia. I can’t wait until we’re almost neighbors again…