Verona and Europe

wishing i could go back

2008-03-08T19:56:00.001-08:00

I want to go back ... :(

I miss Verona.

GRADES

2006-06-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

I got my grades today ... I am glad I took all 7 hours for credit.

Italian = A++ (yah, that is two plusses...)

Art History = A+ (I am impressed with myself even...)

For that A++ in Italian I even received a gift ... a wonderful white wine from the place we had the 19 kinds of fish (or creatures as I like to call them...).

I will miss Andrea ...

Oh Paris...

2006-06-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am now a savvy Metro rider ... thank you Paris. This is really the only way to travel around Paris and I loved every second of it. The crowds, the smelly people, and the fact I spent 20 Euros. But oh well, I was able to see some impressive art!

We first got into Paris at 4pm. This didn't leave much time for sightseeing, so we met up with the other 2 in our party and headed for the Eiffel Tower (later to be shortened to simply "The Eiff"). Here we climbed 668 steps to the second part of the Tower. I took more pictures than would ever be necessary and enjoyed every second of it. We then headed up to the top by elevator. The view was incredible, and the cool breeze was a nice addition.

We soon headed back to the hostel, ALOHA, and I met my roommates. Seeing as how I booked my room after everyone else on our trip, I had a room with strangers. Here I met a Quebec guy, who I called "Quebec" for the rest of the trip. I also met a couple from Austrailia. I felt bad for them. Their team lost in the World Cup. Poor Austrailians.

The second day was amazing ... we went to the Louvre! It was INCREDIBLE. Words cannot describe the feelings I had as we wandered through this expansive building. We saw lost worlds of Mesopotamia and Egypt. We ventured into Greece. And of course, we furthered our knowledge of Italian Art by visiting paintings done by the great Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Caravaggio, and many more. Even though the day was rainy and cold, I felt a sense of warmth as I listened to the audio guide man tell me all about the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, and the Death of Mary. After Louvre, we decided to head over to Museè D'Orsay. This is an impressionist museum and as equally amazing as the Louvre. I saw works by Van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet. Spectacular.

The third day meant MORE museums! We visited Notre Dame and climbed to the top. The gargoyles were my favorite! They creepily stared out at the city while angels stood behind. The gothic work in France is just incredible. I have expected the Hunchback to jump out at any second and say "Buongiour!" (that is spelled wrong most likely as I did not learn French but Italian!)

We then headed over to the Modern Art museum. For those at Zara's Collision reading this, did you know you see art everyday? I bet not, but the smashed up and totaled car here in France was art. I will show you upon my return! After we left this weird, and yet interesting, place we headed over to see the works of Picasso. I have seen better art by some of the 5 year olds I have taught. But nonetheless, it was Picasso. We saw a guitar made from cardboard, string, tape, and traces of crayon ... hmmm... art? But his paintings were indeed interesting and I thouroughly enjoyed imitating the art and trying to do the poses Picasso so oddly painted.

Paris was by far a good time, but not my favorite. The crèpes were great, especially the banana and nutella mixture! The sugar crèpes were also good, as I tried this while sitting by a pond at the castle in Versailles. A fish tried to eat Megan's toe, but we had fun.

Amazing though, people were starving in Paris when Louis XIV was building this massive home and summer getaway. I hung out with Louis for a bit while visiting, but I did not ask him how he felt about this . . .

We wore jeans and hoodies the whole time in Paris. It was nice. We arrived back in Verona at 3AM. It was hot. Greece will not be cool.

10 days later

2006-06-22T03:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so for anyone who isn't already tired of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" ... try waking up to it at 4:15 AM to an Albanian and his Italian friends butchering it ... needless to say, I have had enough American music while on my trek across Europe.

The past ten days have been quite jampacked, hence the lack of postings. I apologize. I will now bring everyone up to date with all of the interesting and slightly embarrassing stories and adventures I have to share still.

Last Friday brought not only the end of an actually short week, but the end of Italian 101 class as well. We had our final and I like to think I did pretty well on it. But this was not the highlight of the day, no siree.. (is that how you spell 'siree', I do not know...)! We had our first (and last) Verona Gelateria Crawl. Talk about intense. We went to 10 Gelaterias, where we ate 11 different kinds of gelato (my list will follow soon). We started after everyone had completed thier exam, and went for 3 hours, but trust me, this was no easy task. Only 5 or 6 of us, yes I was included in this select few, made it to the end, at which point we had TWO scoops of gelato. It was crazy, but I somehow shoved all 11 scoops into my tiny stomach including 3 cones and a wafer cookie. I couldn't look at gelato for two days.

The List:
After Eight (like the mints and spectacular)
Strawberry
Blueberry (left my tongue a funny blue, and my teeth even more blue)
Lemon (most refreshing)
Melon
Kiwi (too sweet to end on, which I did... ugh, pain)
Pibe (rich chocolate with chocolate chunks)
Ace (a carrot ... yes carrot ... blend with lemon and orange - very good!)
Peach
Nutella
... and one that escapes my memory ... but it was good!

So that is the list of gelatos in one day ... but not the end of the 10 days!

After Friday, our group had a group trip to Venice. Venice would be great ... esepecially if you weren't jogging through the city like we did. Running late with an appointment to catch, jogging was necessary but not fun. We had lunch at a small pizza place where the waitors were mean and the wine was not flowing. Not that I wanted wine, all I wanted was a coke, but when it was not brought to me, I was forced into helping the others finish the wine at the table...

Sunday brought a relaxing day in the mountains, a cable car ride up 6000 feet, and an unforgettable fish dinner. Although, I would not say fish as much as I would creatures. There was everything from shrimp, to mussels, to squid and octopus... I tried it all. It was fantastic. The only thing I must say was far from great were the anchioves --- salty, dispicable little creatures!

The next two days were spent in Rome and the Vatican City. Rome is magnifico! So much history and wonder ... how could the Romans, so unadvanced compared to today's society be such marvelous architects! It baffles my mind and intrigues me so! The Colloseum is huge, but in all honestly, not as beautiful as the Arena I walk by everday on my way towards class! But the other wonders, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain to name my favorite two, are spectacular. The four fountains and the Spanish Steps also leave you in wonder! I have pictures, but unfortunately cannot share with you at this time ...

I imagine the Vatican City and its museums should be amazing and inspiring places ... but unfortunatley for me, only a place of embarrassment! Let me explain! Tuesday I woke up and showered, feeeling a little queasy I thought I was only hungry. After getting a quick bite to eat and hopping on a crowded metro, I began to feel even worse. But I thought that this was from the smelly crowded metro ....

We arrived at the museums, where the line was RIDICULOUSLY long, but only because the museum was not yet open. But standing in the hot sun, I began to feel even worse. The feeling passed, however, and an hour or so later we were in the museum. However, once we got into the Geographical Map Room, all of the queasiness returned .... full force. After sending the other four ahead, I sat down on a bench to recuperate (sp?). A crowd then began to come through, and 20 minutes away from the nearest bathroom, I was forced to empty out (quickly empty out) my only plastic bag, which was home to my new sweatshirt and t-shirt. I then did what I feared the most, threw up IN the Vatican... and with no trash bin nearby and only mean security gaurds surrounding the area, I was forced to carry in hand my clothes, a cell phone, a guide, and a bag of my wonderousness through some of, probably the most beautiful, the Vatican. Fortunately I came to a bathroom and caught up with my group in time to see the Sistine Chapel and Michaelangelo's Last Judgement.

Later in the day, we went to St. Peter's Square and the Basilica where I fell asleep on a stone bench next to an Indian man for two hours. We said not a word to each other ... at least until right beofer he left when he, in a strong accent, asked, "Are you tired?"

So there ends my 10 day adventure ... there a couple days missing, mostly yesterday as all I did was only sleep off the sickness. Now I am back at school and wating for class to start in 45 minutes.

I hope you have enjoyed this long winded story and I will be reporting back after Paris this weekend ... hopefully without the storeis of being sick and vomiting on sacred ground ....

2006-06-12T04:39:00.001-07:00

There will be pictures posted soon ... but for now:

This weekend was spent at Cheese Mountain (Montagna di Formaggio). But you won't find that name on any Italian map because it is really known as Asiago. It was a small town in the plateau of the mountain to which we went to. We saw the process of cheese making and got to smell all the wonderful (absolutely awful) smells that come along with the process. As much as I love cheese, this was a disgusting and stinky part of the trip. Not to mention, the only thing we ate at meals was CHEESE. I've had enough cheese to last me through the summer!

But more than cheese, we also went for a walk into Asiago, where we spent time at a market. I did not buy anything at this market, as it seemed a little sketchy to me! It wasn't that bad, but I really couldn't find anything I really wanted! After that, horseback riding was offered for a small fee. But, me being the baby I am, I decided not to go. I don't really care for horses or having an animal guide me through the mountains of Italy. I've ridden horses at home as well, and I do not really find it that enjoyable. So I chose to cuddle up in my bed and read a nice long book --- Deception Point by Dan Brown. I finished it, and I must say .... if you like Dan Brown, read this book!

We also went to a bar with the program director, Claudio. It was close to our hotel so we walked. When we got there, we split a fire hydrant of beer between 5 of us. It was a good time and we listened to live music --- American music. It was AMAZING! We soon went home however, and fell asleep in our hotel beds. These were not any better than my cement hard bed at my Verona apartment, but it was still nice to cuddle up under the blankets.

Sunday was a great day as well, with a trip to Bossano to look at an old bridge made by one man named Andrea Palladio. I know much about this man because of the wonderous art history class headed by andother Andrea! (this is a man's name pronounced On-dray-a). We also went to a grappa ( a very strong italian alcohol) distellery and learned all about the the process of making grappa. After a long night of drinking with Claudio the night before, this was an unwelcome-hangover ridden adventure for me. But! I made it through and we continued onward!

The ride home was long and boring, but we arrived to warm Verona after a chilly weekend in the cheesy mountains! This is when I made a new friend! I don't know his name, but he is the second cutest kitten in the world! Tiny, orange, and fluffy, I held the kitten all night as it fell asleep in my lap while we watched "The Interpreter." One of our greatest finds has been the local blockbuster, where movies ARE in English and I DID bring my DVD-capable computer! We love movies and its a great way to pass the time.

With a test coming up this Friday, however, movies will not be in abundance this week. But Italian is almost over and I cannot wait to rid of it. Rita, our teacher, is great ... but I would like to focus more time on travelling! As a matter fact, next Monday will bring the first trip to Rome (I will be making two!) I will make sure to post plenty afterwards so you can learn all about the great city of Roma!

On that, I must leave you my amici! I hope you all still love reading my long, boring posts! Keep commenting!

Caffes and Cappucinos

2006-06-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sipping cappucino and sitting in an internet cafe, that is what I am doing right now! I know ... poor me.

We have been in Austria this weekend, and unfortunately return to Italy tomorrow. Not that Italy is horrible, but Austria is great --- not to mention we have AMAZING beds at our hotel! So we spent Friday in Salzburg ... Friday afternoon that is. And as I will mention again below the weather sucked! But we trekked through the rain and cold and managed to visit very beautiful sites. While I couldn't be pictured in front of many of these, I was able to capture some lovely shots of Stefanie and Scott in front of the Pegasus fountain and walking through the Maribelle Gardens! (Okay! And I may have taken a picture of myself too --- happy Dustin??? It's bad!)

Unfortunately (purtroppo), it has been awful weather here however. It has been rainy and cold and I was not the best packer for such awful weather! I had only flip flops and almost lost my toes yesterday in the pouring rain and coldness that engulfed us. But today, after our train arrived in Linz, I found a store with an amazing sale ... shoes for only seven euros! Yes, people ... I can shop! So I covered my feet and to the concentration camp we headed...

There are no words to describe what we saw today. The most overwhelming and atrocious site was that of the crematorium. You read the stories, you hear the horrors, you watch the movies.

But you never never really start to get it until you see it. We walked through the camp in silence ... only talking to find out when we were leaving 3 hours later. This will probably be the most moving experience for me in all of my eight weeks in Europe.

AFTER however! We missed our bus, 21 km from the train station!!! We started to walk, but realized that we would soon be walking on a high way --- bad idea. We turned around and headed for the large "I" for information. Could not find the I and instead called a cab... ugh. Too much money but it was necessary!

And now I am sitting here... drinking my cappucino and writing yet another story of my long excursion. I cannot wait to be home, but at home I would not have experienced what I have thus far. I still have a lot of time and I will still have many stories!

A Rock Concert

2006-05-30T04:20:00.000-07:00

Last night was quite the experience...

Apparantly, the Eagles (you know, the band) are hosting their European farewell tour! One of their stopping places --- Verona, the Arena! So, it is an open-air arena and we had the great idea to go sit outside and take in the music for free. Stefanie, Scott and I went and sat outside the arena, where a man tried to talk the security guards into letting us in becuase, "their american and poor!" It didn't work... but later we went to the other side of the arena where the acoustics were much more in our favor!

We were sitting on a cool night, outside of an ancient arena, listening to possibly one of the greatest classic rock bands ever! Part way through, Christine and I started worrying Hotel California would not be played... but it was their FAREWELL tour, so it HAD to be!!! It was ... but no Desparado....

BUT WAIT! Desparado was played! That's right ... my two favorite Eagles songs, live, and for free! It was the encore song, the finale, the best!

Basically, what more could a girl ask for? Free, live music outside an Italian open-air arena... apparantly Metallica will be here in a couple of weeks, too! Hmm... we'll see about that one...

Outside the Arena Listening to "Hotel California"

The Weekend

2006-05-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Wow... so I have the internet for today! This means what? More pointless blogging by me!

This weekend was an interesting one - kind of. On Friday after class, Stefanie and Scott and I went to the train station to make reservations for our Eurrail tickets and our upcoming 3 day trip to Austria. The original plan was to go to Lake Garda but instead we decided to stick around Friday night. Aldo took us out for a beer and we enjoyed fully (only one, but the beer here is so good you don't drink it to get drunk really!) But because adults are reading this, I'm now changing the subject ....

Saturday Scott and Stefanie went with a few of the others to Lake Garda but I decided to have my lazy weekend. (No, not Lazy Sunday ... although Stef and Scott fully enjoyed my ITunes video of this!). I woke up, eh approximately 12:00 and then wasted an hour just lounging around in bed. I had a cream cheese sandwich for breakfast with a glass of milk and then decided to do something with myself --- something useful. So I showered in our smelly bathroom (we cannot quite figure out WHERE the smell is coming from, but it smells). I got myself all dolled up and went for a stroll on the streets of Verona. I saw nothing new as I strolled the same streets I always stroll .... but I was on a mission! Charge my phone with minutes!!! It took three places, but I finally succeeded, and then I stopped by a pay phone (I know, silly right? I walked all over to charge a cell phone - telefono cellulare - and then I use a pay phone and old fashioned phone card!). Lets just say it is much cheaper to use the pay phones! So anyway, I called my daddy and he was shopping at Lowe's buying railings for the new deck I'll have when I make my return! THEN I called Dustin ... now I have a bone to pick!

First of all, imagine this! He told me that he was probably coming to visit at the end of our trip so I could travel with him while Scott and Stefanie travelled together. I've been super psyched, right? Well I called to confirm his plans and found out the following:

HE'S PROBABLY NOT COMING!!!!

Well, of course I was sad so I went home and napped off my sadness. Needless to say, I'll live. But it was sad.

Sunday was new day and a new adventure. I sat on the bus next to Joe ( a really cool guy with a girlfriend he misses greatly --- we have something in common!). We talked about the situation from Saturday and he understood my sadness, but we both decided to just have fun! We soon arrived at our destination: Mantua! Here are few pictures of i palazzi (palaces) the town center and of a chiesa (church in l'italiano):

In Order:

The Secret Garden at Palazzo Te
Facade of Palazzo Ducale
Basilica di S. Andrea

So these are just three of the pictures. I'd love to showcase the amazing art we saw inside of each palazzo but no photographs were allowed to be taken. Most of the amazing artwork dates back to the Renaissance Period. My favorite room was the room of the giants in Palazzo Te. It was a room where the artist (Giulio Romano) painted a picture of Jupiter (Zeus) and his rage towards the Titans who had dared to climb to the top of Mount Olympus. It was absolutely breathtaking with the entire wall covered in the fresco. The room curved in the corners and if two people stood in each corner and one person in the middle of the room, the two in the corners could conversate without the person in the middle hearing!!!! Palazzo Ducale was impressively large, but not nearly as beautiful as Te in my opinion. Ducale took over an hour to visit and our guide was not nearly as nice as the Te guide (perhaps because of a few of the guys had taken it upon themselves to become wasted during lunch with wine!).

So here ends my weekend. If you are perhaps wondering about the last photo, it is simply a picture of a beautful dome and of a fountain that I liked. We ate pizza at a small restaurant with that view, so the picture was therefore taken! Anyway! This is long and probably boring to most!

Ciao!

Napping

2006-05-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here in Verona, the days are long and the nights short. The sun comes up bright and early and the day is started at 9:00AM. I have breakfast (bread with cream cheese and fruit), fill my water bottle up (34oz), and head off to class around 9:10AM. It is a 20 minute walk from here to class, and luckily I pass the time away walking with Stefanie and Scott. We soon arrive and full Italian immersion after that... NO INGLESE (as Rita says!).

Classe Italiana lasts until 1:00pm and then the day is done... what now? Well, I'll tell you what! Lamb meat! Yes, Dustin, lamb meat. I know I said I would never ever eat a baby lamb (haha), but when Doner Kababs are right there on the way home and only 3 euros, it's a perfect combination. Today, I had Fanta orange drink too - also a delight. But now it is only 1:30 or 2:00 at the latest! I have until at least 11 or 12 at night to use hours away! Yesterday was an attempt at NO NAPS! But that was too tiring and today we tried NAPS!

Needless to say, I was me and I took a 3 hour nap. It was great, I feel rested, and now it's 5pm. Yet, I still don't know what to do now... study Italian - I suppose that would work. Being much like spanish right now though, I'm really not in the mood to study old material (however, it is different and I should... so I probably will!).

I still have pictures to take ... but knowing that I'll be living here for 2 months it's silly to go do that right away. Much like window shopping, I'm window "scenering." There is so much beauty and so much time to take it in, that I'm trying to find the perfect VERONA pictures. Piazza Bra and Erbe will be a must of course, along with Juliets tomb and a picture of me rubbing her boob. If you know anything about Verona, it's that it is the site of where a balcony that "could" be where Romeo cried his famous lines. But in all reality, there are some real references in Verona to Shakespeare's story. No, Romeo and Juliet were not actual people, but the families they were based off of, are thought to ahve inhabited ancient Verona. Whoever goes to visit Juliet, will see her statue is much rubbed on the right breast - good luck of course! Another hot spot, a little restaurant in "Romeo's House." This is where I tried the meats of animals I would never try in the Stati Uniti (duck, veal, horse). The arena is only 5 minutes from here and that will be photographed as well...

Needless to say, there is much left to do - but why do it all so soon! Nap I must!

Internet!!!

2006-05-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I guess I've had the internet the whole time I've been in Verona... oops...

Imagine this:

I now live in an apartment with due rooms (2 rooms) and due banos (2 bathrooms). It is abosultely gorgeous in Italy, with three-four story buildings and many many flowers. It is hard not to talk in a pretend accent and the ice cream (gelato) is to die for.

a view from my window (it's better in person!)

The other night we went out to dinner with Claudio and his girlfriend. She speaks Spanish and I actually was able to translate and talk to her. But the real story lies somewhere else - in the FOOD. So many people probably think of Italy as PASTA PASTA PASTA. Yes, the pasta is everywhere and it is good. But what about HORSE? That's right. I ate horse... I did know it was horse, and even though it would never ever be my first choice I gave it a shot. It was O.K. I was not impressed and I will not order caballo again. However, I will now give veal much more credit (as I will lamb as well ---- okay, Dustin. I will eat at Gyros with you when I return). Nonetheless, it was an interesting night filled with many different kinds of meat and food (except pasta whihc we only had two kinds of).

After the many meats, we all went out for drinks. The bar was something you would imagine to see on E or in a magazine. Blacklights, colorful backgrouds, lit bars... it was incredible - as were the prices of drinks. While waiting in line, one noticed a man holding quite the fruity looking drink ... who would have known the name was as difficult as caiprosca alla frogola? But it was (basically something with strawberries - i think Vodka, as I saw the bartender pour much vodka.). I decided this sounded -- actually looked --- good and ordered it for Stef and I. As I stood at the bar I watched as the drink was made and the bartender took a blue bottle from the shelf --- SKYY Vodka. He started to pour... he looked away.... he talked ... he stopped pouring 3-4 shots later. He shook this with FRESH strawberries and crushed ice and away I drank. It was good, but a bit too much vodka. Soon after drinking Stef and I made a comment about the lack of hissing from local Italian men, to which Scott replied, "I could kick all the Italians' asses if they hissed at you." ... Yay, we have our token man!!!

What a trip ... more to come soon!

2006-05-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

Wow... so I've just got on the internet for the first time! For those of you who were actually checking this thing, sorry about that. It's been quite the interesting trip for sure... So where to start???

LONDON: Missed my flight and had no idea what to do. The lady at the Lufthansa desk, however, was extremely nice and helped me get the next flight out of of Heathrow to Frankfurt. But before that, I was mistakenly told to go down to customs and therefore missed said flight. But while there, I was called "Love." The passport lady was really nice and directed me back ACROSS the airport. I eventually made my new flight and I was on my way.

FRANKFURT: I thought Heathrow was bad, right? Well, try and get through Frankfurt after you've missed yet another flight. I knew I wouldn't make it, but thought it was worth a shot. No, it wasn't. My flight was gone, and then it was to hoping I coudl catch a quick flight out to Geneva. After much misunderstanding and talking, I was finally able to talk to a nice lady who said, "No problem! It's easy!" She put me on a flight and directed me to a gate. When I got to the gate, however, they told me to leave and that I was in the wrong place and had to wait -- my flight didn't have an assignment yet, and I was unable to SIT in the terminal! FINALLY! I was on a plane however, and I quickly took a nap. I woke up to GERMAN and had no idea what was going on. We were still midflight and I asked, "What?" To which I was answered by a glass of wine ... I took the glass, drowsily took a gulp and coughed all over the people next to me (in my sleepy state, I forgot I do not like red wine). Oh well, we landed soon and I went to baggage claim!

SWITZERLAND: The best, easiest place of the trip and this is where my bags were no where to be found! AH! Luckily, however, Daniele was there (She is Mrs. Ames old friend). She talked to the baggage tracing people and we figured out that my bags would be in by morning and off we went. Soon we were at a great restaurant with Daniele, her two sons (one of which used to be great friends with Dustin when they were small!) and their two girlfriends! We had fish, wine, and fun. Kissing on the cheek is how you say hi and bye, and we did. I loved the restaurant and the great food --- although I couldn't eat all of it! We then were in a very small hotel, with a bunkbed and a shower door IN the room. While Scott was taking a shower, I felt the need to stay on one side of the room because as I passed the shower the first time I saw his outline too easily! No worries though, I saw nothing! JUST an outline! Needless to say, showers were taken with care! After sleeping, we got up to a rainy day in Geneva. We still went out and got soaked while taking in the sights.

I'm now in Verona and we've had a great weekend. Today was the first day of class, and I can't wait to learn more Italian. I will have more stories as time progresses, but I must say arriverderci now! Soon, I will be adding more colorful, interesting posts with pictures and such. But just to be on here was a gift in itself!

Ciao!

Addicted to Blogging

2006-05-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm really bored, so what better way to waste time than to blog! I could probably do something like, you know, pack - but that's not fun, so I choose this instead.

I had a pretty good day, spent with my two sisters and their families. I have quite possibly the cutest neices and nephews and what better combination than that of two girls and two boys? Libby and Kaden were quite jealous of their grandma and that was about the cutest thing in the world (they met for the first time today!).

I also got some wonderful news from Dustin ---- he is most likely joining me, Stef, and Scott for our last 10-12 days! This is the best thing I could have been told. Now my only worry (for now) is my shopping list:

Blouses
Camis
Backpack
Black Belt
Alarm Clock (of a travel size)
Little Pillow (the neck kind)
Basic First Aid stuff (bandaids, etc)
Makeup
Fragrance! (haha - what I like to call smelly-good-stuff)
Bra/Underwear (???)
Travel Size Poo/Conditioner/Toothpaste (for the carry-on)

AND... I think that's it. Any suggestions are welcome, of course, however!

Mother's Day

2006-05-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's Mother's Day! My mom is great and I love her dearly. She helps me through and with everything - she's wonderful. Anyway, still anxious - it's even closer to the day of departure now. But! I get to go shopping so it helps.

This is me being a badass and I am one! (sorry that this picture has NOTHING to do with my post, but I had to put this picture somewhere!)

I even get to go with BOTH sisters I think. This is exciting as that has never happened. I'm glad to have them both in my life now, with four wonderful neices and nephews (although it costs much more money at holidays now! haha). Of course, however, I will be out of the country for the first summer that Cheri and her girls are in my life which is very sad.

BUT! I keep telling myself - I will be back, it's not forever!

Anxious

2006-05-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal - how does one prepare for their first overseas flight? How do they navigate the two largest airports in Europe when they have never navigated airports in their own country before? How do they communicate in languages they've never even really heard? Well, they don't do that - but they do learn how to navigate by having common sense I suppose. I will be able to do it, but while sitting comfortably at home in the kitchen it seems too hard. I don't want to do it.

I'm scared and I won't have anyone I know with me in these very large, populated places. If I don't make my flight - then what? I will make my flight that is all there is to it! If children can do it - as I've heard they have before - then I, 22 year old Stefine, can do it. Don't you think? I'm pretty sure it is possible; I like to believe I am a semi-intelligent being with enough brains to read gate letters/numbers and whatever else I need to decipher.

I will be doing this in less than a week now and I still have to shop. I'm not packed! Do I have luggage to pack in? That there is a good question to ask, too. I don't think I do but maybe I can find some or buy some with the money I don't have because I spent that on plane and train tickets and program fees.

But after talking to Dustin, I know that I will survive. He guarantees it - and he doesn't do that very often, guarantee things. I will miss him the most probably - I love my parents to death, but I'm used to being away from them for a month or so at a time. Dustin and I, however, are NEVER apart. That's not an exaggeration. So being away for even a few days will be hard - I already just can't wait to get back and see his face down the way waiting for me (although this time I will most likely not be wearing a white jumpsuit and face mask!)

With that, I leave to go to bed. I will pray that I can do this and have fun. I will miss everyone here at home very much so and I expect a party people. A big party upon my return - understand?