FORZA ITALIA

I haven't written in a while...so, I'm going to sum. Budapest was alright. Dubrovnik was beautiful. Split was ugly and boring. Hvar Island was mojitos. Salzburg was likewise beautiful and I've just arrived in Vienna. And, well, I'm one lucky girl. I've arrived on Vienna on the day of the match (taking place in Vienna) of the quarter-finals of the Euro-Cup....Spain v. ITALIA!!! I am beyond happy. I've been really getting into the Euro-cup...we've watched at least 6 matches since it's started and now I get to see a match...almost in person. They have this "fan zone" set up in an area of Vienna where they have giant screens and all the fans watch together, drink, and make a rukus. Sounds fun, right? Well, I'll be there in about 45 minutes, so yea, I'm totally stoked. I love calcio (football...and yes, despite the fact that I am an American I am going to call the sport by its rightful name), I love love love Italia, and I am giddy. I've already bought myself a jersey, a scarf, and a bottle of wine...and it's like I'm practically back in Italia, in Roma, already. Man, do I miss Italia. In all these travels my love hasn't wavered and its still my number one place I've been to thus far.

Pretty much everyone here is supporting Spain, so if you are out there reading this on the day of the 22nd--send Italia some love and hopefully we can pull through.

I'll be leaving Vienna on the 24th for the NEtherlands and then leaving there (its only really a stop over not a real travel destination) on the morning of the 25th, and back in the US for a later dinner that night. I'm all nervous about going home. I haven't been there in over 6 months, it feels foreign, distant. But all the same I'm ready for it and excited to go back to my job of coaching babies how to swim. hokay, so that's it.


FORZA ITALIA!!!

pictures

this computer sucks, pictures are uploading VERY slowly, so I'm adding to this a link to my facebook album which is only half full thanks to the shittyness of this computer. I'll try again with pictures in a few days.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2141683&l=9a4e3&id=6710589

PEST

Hokay, so we are in Budapest right now (well, actually we are in Pest, but whatevsies). So, Barcelona was a lot of fun. We did all the Gaudi's and went inside all the stuff that didn't and then regretted the last time I was there. Going back to Barcelona made me fall back in love with that city. I think mostly I love it for all the Gaudi's, but also the food is good, the people are really nice, and Spain is just beautiful. Now, I think I'm always gonna have Italy as my number one place to be, but I think Spain could easily come in second. I really want to travel around and see more of the country, but hopefully with someone who remembers their Spainish. I got like "gracias", "lo siento," and "hola" down, but everything else I don't really remember. Four years of the language, and I suck at it, that doesn't give me much hope for my Italian. Oh well.

We tried chocolate (their hot chocolate is really thick) and churros and it wasn't as good as I was expecting. Their churros are just like fried dough. And now, I know that in Mexico its just fried dough...but they roll all that in cinnamon and sugar and it tastes bomb, this stuff was kinda icky. One day we also made it out to Velancia, which really made me want to see more of Spain. It's a very cool beach town. We ended up not doing much cos we didn't have much time there and like everything was closed but we did go to a church that claims to have the Holy Grail---and their grail is the only one recognized by the Vatican. Pretty cool. Also a highlight of that day is when we headed over to the beach we saw a large group of guys wearing the Borat-style swimsuit---a one piece with shoulder straps and a thong...IS NICE!!! Our last night there we went to Club Magic, which I had gone to before with my friends when I was there a couple of months ago. It was a lot of fun, but all my clothes reak of ciggarette smoke and bo. gross.

Then on to Lisbon. We weren't there for very long--about a day and a half, so we didn't get a lot done. We went to the castle the first day and a museum. The second day we went to the Oceanarium (where we bought ourselves some pretty cool tshirts), after which we got sushi (which made us feel a bit guilty since the aquarium kept on preaching about how we shouldn't be eating fish and whatnot). And later on watched a calcio match--netherlands v. italy. It was like Em v. me, or at least I thought so, she didn't seem to be ammused. Well, we lost terribly, which was a bummer. While we were watching the game though, two Italian guys came and sat next to us and the waiter would come out and talk to them in Italian--and man, was he being mean. He kept on being like, your team is playing like shit or that guy is a terrible player, whatever. Non me piace, ma I did like being able to understand what he said. The only other highlight of Lisbon was the super fine boy who worked at the hostel desk. Man, if all Portugeus guys look like that, I think I may just have to return. Damn.

Now we are in Budapest, so far we have seen one of the Castles, St. Stephen's basilica, and a bunch of boring landmarks. We are gonna go to the thermal baths tomorrow. I want to go out clubbing tonight cos they are supposed to have an amazing nightlife here, but I'm feeling pretty sick and a bug bit Em on her eyelid so she's all swollen, so it probably won't happen. Oh well. Okay, that's it for now, I'm gonna try to upload some pics, we'll see how it goes.

S

Venezia a Barcelona

So, after Corfu we headed over to Venice which was all kinds of depressing for me. I was so happy to be back in Italy, while simultaneously being upset that I had to leave--and this time for who knows for how long until I will return again. I fortunately had an amazing send-off pizza: mozzerella, brie, and rocket salad...yum. But the last day there everything I ate tasted like shit so I wasn´t so pleased. On our flight out there was a huge lightening storm, and our plane actually flew through the outskirts of the thunderhead. It was crazy close. Very cool and a really special kinda last view of Italy---the lightening above and the fadding lights of the Italian countryside below. I want it to kinda be like an omen, but one of those good ones about me coming back real soon. Meh, maybe I´ll write more later about my feelings about leaving Italy but right now I have 3 more minutes of internet time...so today we arrived in Barcelona--we did most of the stuff I did here last time except that this time I went into the Cathedral and one of the Gaudi´s, and man, I´m happy I did. Pictures to come if internet is ever cheep (maybe in Budapest?)

s

p.s. the spell check in broke---i´m sorry my spelling is BAD.

quick update

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

love,

sarah

p.s. i wanted to put up a pic of you and me when i was a baby but my access to pictures is limited with me traveling around europe and all.

Corfu

So, we are in Corfu and it is beautiful here. It kinda reminds me of a mix between Santa Barbara, Kuaii, and parts of Tuscany. Too bad we only have a couple of hours here. I've been thinking during my travels if I would want to come back and island hop around Greece again, and not getting to see this island sealed the deal. I have to come back. But when I'm 23, so I can rent a car. It's shitty getting around the islands in far too expensive taxis. And at least in Kefalonia they didn't have ATVs.

Okay, so last time I wrote we were in Paros. So the next day we left for Santorini, which was pretty but touristy. We did a "Santorini in one day" tour which kinda sucked. They took us too the lame caldera, up to the highest peak on the island, and a couple of other places. They did do good with two of the places though. We ended in Oia for the sunset which was pretty but would have been prettier if I had been able to get to the viewing spot I had wanted. And also after the volcano we went swimming in the "hot" springs which was fun. They were pretty patchy with their warmth, but it was fun. Except that I then smelled like sulfer for the next couple of days. In Oia we ran into some random kid who just started talking to us. We talked to him for like 3 minutes and didn't think anything of it. The next day on our 9 hour ferry ride back to Athens we saw him, and the 3 of us ended hanging out for the entire ride. He's from North Carolina with his school that has a 3 week class on greek mythology where they bring the kids around to a bunch of islands and all over the mainland. I am jealous.

After getting into Athens we had 4 hours of waiting around on the port until the metro opened, which we took to the trains station and after a bunch of confusion we finally made it to Petra just in time to catch a ferry out to Kefalonia. Kefalonia was pretty, but sadly we didn't get to see that much. Emily convinced me to go horse riding which was alright but I'm sure I'm probably covered ticks now, which makes me all nervous. We also saw two caves that were totally not worth how much they cost. And besides that we just wasted a bunch of money on taxis. It would have been nice to see the whole island and to go to the beaches but as it was we were being f---ed over with the taxis so we stayed put for the most part. I really wanted to go to Ithica too, but it didn't happen. Until next time I suppose.

Then last night we got on a ferry, which took us to the main land where we slept in the station and then took a 7:30 ferry here. Tomorrow we are waking up at some ungodly hour like 5 to catch our 7 o'clock ferry out of here to Venice. That will be a 25 hour ferry ride. I am not looking forward to it. Oh well. I'll try to write again in Barcelona in a couple of days.

PAROS

Hokay so, we are in Paros--an island in Greece in the Cyclides. Its our last night here and then we leave to Santorini. Our last day in Athens we went to the Acropolis, which was pretty cool. But I have really been spoiled with the great ruins in Rome and didn't find then as impressive as I probably would have had it not been for where I was living. I also wish I had known more about the ancient Greeks before seeing the Acropolis. I've read some myths and know some stuff just from studying the Romans, but I want to know more. These past two days in Paros have been SLOW. We are just so lazy. Sleep in to around 12ish, wake up, eat, go sun bathe, eat, walk around a bit, head back to the roome, watch some tv, eat, sleep. and repeat. It is real nice to just move slowly though. I felt that for the majority of the time I was in Rome I didn't get enough sleep. So, I feel like I'm making up for it now.

Internet here is expensive, so I'm gonna go, but I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple of days.

S

Picture time!

We are now in Athens. It's HOT which is a nice and very dramatic change from Prague. We slept in the airport last night so I'm all foggy today. After we settled we headed over to the National Archaeological Museum. Very spiffy. A lot of Greek and Roman sculpture which is pretty much my favorite kind of art at the moment. So I was in heaven. And I had studied a number of the pieces. Now I'm a total nerd, so I get extreme kicks out of all of that. And I walk around looking at the sculptures of gods, emperors, and they even had a nifty Egypt exhibition so gods there as well, and I get all sorts of kicks out of guessing who the sculpture depicts. Yea, nerd. So, when I was only half way through the museum and told it was closing time (not the time it said it was in my guide book!), I was pissed. I missed out on the majority of the Roman emperor busts and half of the Egyptian stuff. I'm so bummed right now. I think Emily was happy that it closed though, so that she wouldn't have to wait around for me to carry on my nerd-dom much longer.

here's some pics from Prague:

St. Titus inside Prague Castle


stained glass inside



view from tower


weird horse thing



i tried to climb it and failed miserably, i suck


Prague Castle/river by night


creepy bone place...some family's coat of arms.

Praha

So, today was my and Em's third day here in Prague. I wish I could say I really enjoyed all my time here---but I can't. The first day was alright. We went to see Prague Castle and walk around Old Town and all of that was pretty nice. It was a little rainy but not that bad. All in all, a good day. The next day we got on a train out to Terezin, a concentration camp in the area that the Red Cross had actually visited when they heard about the atrocities the Nazis were committing. So before they arrived, the Nazi's shipped out like the majority of those who were there to other concentration camps, cleaned everything up, and set up fake schools. This was all so that they could say it was a some kind of retreat. Well, sounds interesting right? I'm sure it is, but we didn't end up there. We ended up in a Terezin, but I'm pretty sure it was the wrong one. We walked all over that town and into the next one and asked a bunch of people (all who didn't speak any English) and ended up going home without seeing any of it. Boo. Oh, and all the while its raining and freezing. A little later we went out to a pub and got beer. I had been told that the beer here is the best in the world, and that even though I hate beer I'd like it here. Guess what? I still hate it. And I couldn't drink about half of my mug. What a waste.

Then today Emily wanted to go to this creepy bone church thing. That type of thing creeps me out, but I figured when else am I gonna be here. So, it was creepy--but not nearly as creepy as the one they have in Rome that my mom dragged me to. The one in Rome as full skeletons, some with there skin still on, and there's some creepy phrase on the ground that says something like, "what we are, one day you will become." Like I said, CREEPY. So this one had no full skeletons, so I could pretend like they weren't someones bones, but it was still nasty. And it has also been pouring all day and its so cold. Neither of us packed for this kind of cold, so we are very unprepared. Thankfully, we will be in warm weather soon (in Greece). Anyways, I'll post some of my favorite pictures on this blog in a couple of days, and if snapfish isn't being as obnoxious as usual, I'll try to post my pictures on that as well.

s

Creta

Hokey so, I realized that I didn’t write before on what I was going to be doing this week. Well, currently I’m in Crete with my mom and older brother, Brian. But before I get to talking about that—let’s sum up last week: finals, finals, finals. Packing up my stuff. Being too lazy to study all that much. Goodbye diner at Bro’s (which is connected with me drinking a bit too much in front of ACCENT and both bumping into my teacher on the way to the food table and calling a friend who was standing next to her a “little bitch”-- good one, Sarah). Trying to go to gelato with Christine and Ingrid only to find that it’s closed and then we were stalked by some creeper. Packing. Going to bed and only getting about an hour and a half of sleep. Waking up super early to say goodbye to Kat and Jess. Finding out some juicy gossip because I woke up super early to say goodbye to Kate and Jess. Going back to bed for about an hour and a half. Packing. Family arriving. Gelato one last time with Ingrid and Anna. Saying goodbye to Ingrid and Anna. Wanting to cry. Packing. Leaving Rome. Wanting to cry. Getting on plane. Wanting to cry. Getting off plane in Athens at midnight. Not being able to go to sleep. REALLY wanting to cry. Getting into airport at Crete at 7 in the morning. Still haven’t slept. Drive into Chania and lie on a beach. Still can’t sleep. Eat. And then pretty much crabby until I finally was able to sleep that night. Damn, that sucked. Okay, so the next day we hung around Chania some more and we planned on heading down south only to learn that the patrol tank drivers are on strike. And all the gas is sold out. BALLS. And so we are stranded here and hang around for the rest of day. Oh, and my camera officially crapped out on me and is broke. So, now not only is my computer being all janky and breaking on me quite often, but now I don’t have a functioning camera. Cool. The next day we woke up far too early and got on a particularly nauseating bus to Samaria Gorge. Beautiful hike and Brian let me use his camera. About the last 3 miles of the hike I realize Brian’s camera is set to the lowest resolution-CAZZO. There goes all those panoramics I took and was hoping to print out. Now if I were to print them they would be all stretched out and pixilated. Then two days ago we stayed in Chania again. We were all so sore from the hike that we didn’t feel like moving much anyways. Mom and I went shopping around town a bit but not much else happened besides lunch and me trying to plan out my fall class schedule. Yesterday we woke up and drove out of town to Rethymno. A pretty boring town. We went to their Venetian fountain which was written up in my mom’s Crete travel guide as one of the highlights, and it was so dinky and ugly and pathetic. Well, we got some decent food and then went to see one of the last traditional filo masters in all of Greece do his thing. And we bought WAY TOO MUCH baklava and kataifi. This isn’t helping me with my whole wanting to loose weight thing. Seriously, I am like 10 pounds heavier than I ever was in the states and I don’t feel comfortable in my own body but at the same time I’m so lazy and unwilling to do what I have to as to loose weight. It’s a conundrum.

Now that the recap is over, let’s get to the nitty-gritty. So obviously I’m upset that the program is over. I think that the whole thing might have been the best experience I have ever had. I tried something completely new and stepped out of my comfort zone, and was rewarded for it. I love Rome and I love the people I met there and I wish I could be back there with all of them So, I’m upset, a bit depressed, and already in a nasty mood for all of this. I just ended what was probably the best thing I have ever done for myself, so no duh everything after this is going to look unappealing, although I will admit, I do look forward to traveling with Emily and hope that this negatively leaves me by then. Now, my mom and Brian are the two people in the family that piss me off the most. This isn’t to say that I don’t love them, cos I actually do love them. But, man, are they obnoxious. My mom pisses me off because she treats me like a child. Apparently even though I haven’t seen her in four months and I’m more or less (less in the money department—but at least I make my own money and don’t expect them to buy me anything other than the necessities) entirely self-sufficient, I still deserve to be treated as if I were 8. I told her how much this pisses me off and instead of trying to change how she treats me to better our relationship, she tried to rationalize why it’s okay to treat me like I were a child (“But I’m your mom…”). Honestly, I don’t care for any of it. I deserve to be treated like an adult and somehow I was ignorant enough to believe that going off to a completely different continent would aid me in gaining the respect I deserve. Obviously, I was wrong. Brian pisses me off cos he’s disgusting. And I feel like I can only blame so much of it on the ADD. He has terrible table manners, not that I have particularly good table manners, but I’m pretty sure my 4 year old cousin behaves better at the table then he does. He asks obnoxious questions, is lazy, and really both him and my mom know how to and seem to enjoy getting under my skin. Hokey, so with the general depression of the end on my time in Rome and the obnoxiousness of my family, I am not a happy camper.

But honestly, I’m upset for more than just this…I feel like I have lost a part of myself. I feel like a part me, the better part of me, was left in Rome. With my family here I am forced back into that little hole I left behind. I’m expected to be a certain way and so I become it. And I hate that person. I don’t want to dwell on insignificant things or hold grudges or be boxed in or be depressed. And this is not to say that the me I was in Rome isn’t the true me. Cos it is—within a certain context. I have been that me before but it is rare. I’m only that me when I’m happy and it has been years since I got to be happy me for an extended period of time. I just want to be happy and be the person I was last week. I sit at the table while we eat and don’t say a word. I feel like there is no reason to. All they talk about, none-stop, is politics. Obama this, Hilary that. And don’t get me wrong, politics matter and all that. But I’ve been abroad. I didn’t stay up with the news in the states, cos honestly, I didn’t care. I paid some attention to Italian news, but only ever read the Yahoo headlines for my US news. And this ultimately is because I don’t care. I don’t want to live in the US for much longer. And even though I am a US citizen and some of this political shit will still affect me while I am not in the states, I am over the US and its politics. Yes, I am jaded, and no, I care not. And so I sit, holding back my tears. I half listen, but mostly I zone out their incessant babble over who is doing or saying what. Now, I would talk. I could force the conversation another way. But where? Every time I seem to mention Italy or traveling they both get a glossed over look on their faces, or feign an “oh, that’s interesting”. They care as little about the last four months of my life as I do about their obsession with politics. But what else have I to speak of? Italy and travel is all I have known for these past months. And so I remain quite. I have nothing to say to either. I have nothing to contribute to either. And it makes me all that much more moody and makes me feel even more so that the part of me that was left in Rome will never be returned.

…depressing, huh?

Non voglio dire "arrivederla"

Man, only four days left and we have finals lame. Oh well, Thursday was May Day so there was no school but I was so depressed I just spent the entire day in bed then on Friday we had Italian finals. I think I did really well. Sadly I cannot speak the language or understand it spoken like at all, but somehow I can read it. Go figure. Friday night some of us went out dancing. I'm gonna miss that in the the states. I don't know if there are a lot of good clubs in Santa Cruz. And I like that when we go to clubs here we don't see anyone we know. It's all new people. And I'm sure that is not a possibility in S.C. Kat's friend is visiting too, so we got to show him the night life which was fun. And man, it's nice to have a guy go dancing with you, cos when some really gross guy came over to dance with me and I told him I wanted to get rid of the guy, he grabbed me so that I would dance with him instead. Then yesterday I slept in late and Ingrid and I went to Santa Maria della Vittoria (a church) to see Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Teresa" then we went to this really cool church, Santa Maria degli Angeli, that has been built into the building of the baths of Domitian. We are both taking a medieval class pretty much solely on churches and this one has a very strange layout so it was fun going there together and discuss it. I suppose it is because it was built into a bath complex. After we walked outside and into a random collection of young people, mostly all wearing punk clothes.

So we walked around and tried to figure out what was happening. Our first clue: a table with a bunch of potted weed plants. Turned out we walked into The Million Marijuana March. It actually happens worldwide, in something like 300 cities during the beginning of May. Its all about decriminalizing weed and supporting it for medical uses. Pretty much just a mass of Italians doing a lot of drugs and then marching from Piazza della Repubblica to the Boca della Verita. We only stuck around for a while and then went home, got some of our friends so that they could see the craziness and came back. But they were all getting ready to march and we decided to go home. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

on our way back to Repubblica.


Then today we woke up and weighed ourselves. Two of my friends and I had a competition going to see who could loose the most amount of weight. I ended up tying with one of them (for first), with only having lost a pitiful 2.2 pounds. It's sad cos I actually lost like 5 then gained it all back when I went to Naples and had 2 pizzas in one day. Then I worked my ass of at lost 3 more then gained that back after a weekend of a bit too much partying and then lost the other 2. So ultimately, I've kinda lost 10, but not really. I really need to loose weight though cos I need to be in bikini shape for my job in a month and a half...and right now I'm about 20 pounds heavier than what I consider bikini shape. Boo.

So, being that I was a winner, I was supposed to get a paid for ride on a hot air balloon in Villa Borghese park. Accent told us about it. We went there and it has been closed for 2 years. Accent sucks. So we went to the lake and went around on the boats instead. On our way there we ran into another girl on our program, Marrisa and asked her to come along with us, so she did. Actually in another boat was two other girls from our program. You think in this huge city you wouldn't run into a bunch of people you know. But we do all the time. And randomly see people in the oddest of places. Anyways, it was really nice. And half-way through our paddling around Danielle (sp?), showed up. Cossella and Kat met him in Italian class (we have Italian students from the university who want to improve their English come talk to us and we talk to them half the time in Italian and half in English). Anyways, so since then we've hung out with him a couple of times ad he's a lot of fun. It's so cool to know someone who is actually Italian. I got to learn a bunch of really cool swear words and he's real honest with us. So we know from an Italian how Italians view Americans (As you would expect, not so highly). Its just a bummer that we only started hanging out with him a couple of weeks ago. I was here for like 4 months before I had even hung out with an Italian...how lame and we only started making friends with some just before we are gonna leave.

Cossella, Marrisa, Mikhail (Kat's friend) all in the boat.

paddling.


Kat and Cossella and Danielle.

Sono triste

The program is about to end and I'm really upset. The other day they gave us a list of 10 or so things that we can all expect to happen to use when we get back to the U.S. And none of them are so desirable. I think the most depressing was the one that said something to the effect of: soon this will all be a distant memory. It will be another page in your scrap book. How sad. I started tearing up. Ever since yesterday I've been in a shitty mood. People are pissing me off, but its more than that. It has to do partly with others, but mostly with me. I think I may just be so upset over leaving that I'm not allowing myself to have fun. Meh.


So, as to an update of the stuff that has happened since the last time I posted. So, I wrote all those damn papers and turned them in. That weekend when I was writing papers everyone else went out a partied and they were all like, "wow, that was the best weekend of my life!" Thanks guys. Anyways, but I was planning on going to the Almalfi coast that weekend. Well, things went a bit differently:

So on Friday morning (we have no classes on Friday) we wake up way too early (I had only 2 hours of sleep) and get on a train to Naples. At Naples we go to get some really bomb pizza and then we got on a train to Sorrento. When we get there it is already like 3 or 4 p.m. So if we were to go all the way down to Almalfi we wouldn't be getting in until late. So we just decided to stick around. All the while I'm nervous about my papers and what not. We were supposed to spend the night, then go to Pompeii with my friends' class the next day, and then head home that night. Instead one of my friends and I decided we wanted to head home to Rome, while the others stayed there--she didn't want to have to spend the money on a hotel in Sorrento, and I really just needed to get home and write my papers and decided I didn't want to go to Pompeii again. So, at like 8p.m. we get to the train station. We barely miss a train and then have to wait around for an extra 40 minutes or so for the next one, so we catch that and get into Naples. By now it's like 10p.m. I could have sworn that when I checked earlier that day there was a train going out at like 10:30...but that turned out to be not at all true. Instead it had left at like 9:45 (if only we had made that first train!) So we are stranded in Naples--like the mafia capital of the world and have no idea what to do. We split up--she talks to the police and I talk to a taxi driver. Between the two we find out that the next train to leave to Rome anywhere nearby is out of a city up north. The taxi driver tells me that the next train to leave to Rome from that place is at 11 someodd at night. All the while I'm counting my lucky stars cos my friend knows Italian a lot better than I do, and so it was all slightly less stressful. So we catch the first train there. We run out of the train when we get there, thinking that we are about to catch the next train--jokes on us. The taxi driver was just trying to convince us to take his taxi and so told us a completely fabricated time. So, now we are stranded in a place perhaps even worse than Naples. And the next train doesn't come until 2:40 in the morning. Naples was crowded--people all around. People make me feel safe. This place was a small little nowhere town (however, my guidebook informed my that the inside of some building there was used as the imperial palace of Queen Ama-whatever in Star Wars). We decide to check out the town, no a lot is there. But thankfully we find a small bar (as in coffe bar) which is open and we order a pizza. However, they are closing and kick us out only about 30 minutes later. So we head back to the train station, which just about is the only thing open at the time. We sit around and play dumb games, read, and talk. The people around us are few, and those that are there don't appear to be mentally stable. People are talking to themselves, others push around strange carts back and forth, another bobs his head around and mumbles under his breath, and around 1-someodd a full on fight brought out between two people. We were a wee-bit uncomfortable. So, eventually we get on the train--get to sleep for maybe like an hour. By now I have only had 3 hours of sleep of the time period of about 42 hours or so. Needless to say, I was grumpy and had the hardest time staying awake--even as I was standing. Forunatelly, I wake up and only nod in and out every few minutes, so we are able to find our stop. We get off--it is now 5 in the morning. My friend says the Metro opens at this time so we head there. Turns out it doesn't open until 5:30. But hell, on a night like this, what is another 30 minutes? So we eventually get on the metro, have to transfer at termini, and then get to our places. It is now 6 in the morning. At about 6:02 I pass out and don't wake up for a very very long time. Even though this experience was pretty shitty, it still didn't even bother me that much. It was a strange adventure to be sure, but ultimately it wasn't that bad.

Some pictures from Sorrento (click to enlarge):
Besides all that, not much has been happening around here. I did however go to another calcio game the other day, Roma v. Torino. And we won. Joy! I'm stressed out over finals and whatnot, but I'm trying to not let it bug me too much. But obviously it is. I feel like I haven't accomplished most of what I wanted to coming here. I wish I had traveled more and just gotten to know Rome and Italy more intimately, but I supposed I have the rest of my life to do such things.

new haircut

here are pics of the new haircut i got on tuesday.

can you tell that i'm avoiding writing my papers?

yet another quick update

so, I've been monumentally stressed out with three papers due next week, one on Monday, one on Tuesday, and one on Wednesday. I don't know how I will finish (or even start) any of these. They are all supposed to be 10 pages long. Right now I have 2 pages on one, 5 on another, and 0 on the last one. Pretty much I'm screwed.

Yet, despite all of this, I will be going to the Almalfi coast this weekend...thus, I think I may just decide to take one of my classes pass/no pass. I just feel like since I'm here I should take advantage of it all. And I especially feel this way cos it's all about to end. And I really didn't live it up enough before now.

My travel plans this summer are set...Emily and I booked it all: Prague to Greece to Venice to Barcelona to Lisbon to Budapest to Dubrovnik (Croatia) to Split to Vienna and then home. It's gonna be crazy.

Lastly, I got my hair cut today. I have bangs...it's a bit crazy. I'll post pictures eventually. I don't really know how much I like it (esp since after they blow dry it I'm always sure it will never look the same way again since I put absolutely no effort into my hair) but before I got here I decided no regrets, so I'm pleased with myself. Oh, and we also went out to an authentic Roman pizza place tonight with an Italian boy we met in our Italian class (they have Italian students from the University come in and we talk with them half the time in Italian and half the time in English), and that was a lot of fun. He taught me all the fun swear words, so I'm looking forward to busting some of those out. Alright, I think that is it and I most likely will not be posting again until my papers are in.

S

I'm gonna miss it here

So, I have less than a month left here and it's really depressing. This has been such an amazing experience and I don't want it to end. I don't want to leave Italy. And I don't want to have to go back to the US and adjust to my old life. I just want to keep my current life going. I'm so serious about coming back here later in life to actually live. There are things I love and things I hate in both the US and in Italy, but Italy has less things I dislike and more things I love. I feel so happy here and I feel like it's just a nice fit. Maybe I credit the country too much, maybe just the people I know here make the experience even better. Tut even though I'm sure they are part of the reason I'm so happy here, I still know that I love Italy itself. Meh.

So, we are reaching the end and have realized how little we have actually done. Like yea, I've been to some amazing countries, but I haven't done much in Italy. I've seen all the major tourist hotspots, but I wanna know here more intimately than that. We have had some amazing times here--like Carnivale in Venice, but I still feel like I haven't gotten as much out of this experience as I could have. Maybe I just want everything. Cos I really have gotten a lot out of all of this, but I want more. I'm so selfish. Well, yesterday we went to Tivoli cos my later class was canceled. We could have spent two days there, but instead only spend like 4 or 5 hours. So he had to decide one thing to do--so we chose Hadrian's Villa. It was so beautiful. I wish we had walked around the town more. And I'm so bummed I didn't take any pictures of the town, cos it is really pretty. Man, I'm gonna miss how easy it is to find beauty here. I mean, I miss the beauty of Santa Cruz too. I miss the beaches and the redwoods, but the beauty here is different....it's not just trees and beaches, it is also the buildings and what not. Obviously, Italy is an older country than the US and so buildings and what not are older, and that's a large part of its major appeal. Little towns still live in many ways, the same as they did centuries ago. Each region of Italy has its own dialect that is totally incomprehensible to all other regions. How cool is that? Like, in Italian andiamo is "let's go", in Rome (Lazio region) it's "namo", and we learned two others yesterday, but I have forgotten. But they were so completely different. It is gonna be so hard when I don't get to live in a place so rich in culture and without this kind of beauty so often.

Well, here are some pictures from by favorite part of the villa in Tivoli:




-Sarah

pictures uploaded

so, i just spent too many hours uploading pictures of all the stuff that happened between the first break and the second. i also uploaded the first two days of egypt, and will do the rest in a couple of days.

Egitto

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! I hope you have an amazing day and I love you.

side note: I added some pictures to my last post.

So...now to update on the rest of my vacation (first two days written about below)...So, after the day where we saw the pyramids we headed by train to Aswan. It was supposed to be like a 9 hour ride, and it turned into a 14/15 hour one. So, we got into Aswan and got to our hotel and then we were told we have 10 minutes until we need to leave again, so we quickly got ready and headed out. Oh, and this time our tour group expanded a bit--now besides me and my friends, there were also three British boys who joined our group. Our first stop was the unfinished obelisk, which was pretty lame. Just some rock partly cut out of a quarry. It was slightly interesting however, cos the ancient Egyptians had cut out the obelisk most of the way before they noticed its imperfection. So, thanks to this, egyptologists were able to learn how they would cut the obelisks from the stone. Also, it is believed that the obelisk was the intended mate for the Lateran Obelisk in Rome (which originally stood before the temple of Tuthmosis III at Karnak), so that's pretty cool, cos I well, I live there. Next we headed on over to Philae. The Temples of Philae were halfway submerged when a new dam was built in the area in the 70s, and when the government realized with the building of the new dam, the temples would be completely submerged, they were all relocated to nearby Aglika Island, which was landscaped to match the original site. Under Bishop Theodorus the temple was converted to a Christian church. Egypt was under the rule of Byzantium (I'm actually learning about all this in class right now!) and so, many of the images of the gods at this and other temples converted into churches where scratched out during iconoclasm. Even though it was cool seeing what I've been learning about, it made me pissed off that they would go and ruin these beautiful images. That night we went out to diner with the British boys. (pic: the temple of Isis at Philae)
The next day we woke up at 3 (after going to bed at 12:30) to catch the bus to Abu Simbel. I slept most of the way there and we arrived sometime around 7. Ramses II built the Sun Temple there and put four giant statues of himself out front to impress his power on the Nubians. On his birthday and anniversary of his coronation, the sun's rays reached deep into the mountain to illuminate the sanctuary in the back. Next to Ramses' temple is the Hathor Temple of Queen Nefertari (his wife). Next the bus took us to the High Dam, but that sounded really boring, and we weren't willing to waste the Euro to pay for it (yea, we are THAT cheap), so we got out of the bus and waited for it to come back. Then back to our hotel to pick up our stuff, and then we headed over to the Nile and jumped on a felucca with the boys, which is a wooden sailing boat that can hold about 10 people, plus a crew of 3. They are only allowed to sail on the Nile between sun rise and sun set, since there are no lights on them. There's a sheet draped over the top, so there is no standing room. We just crawled around the entire day, read books, sun bathed, and played cards. It was all really relaxing AND I didn't get sea sick, which was exciting. When we stopped right before sun set, Ingrid and I climbed up the bank to go pee, and we weren't up there for more than 30 seconds when, out of no where, two guys show up trying to sell us some necklaces. It's like, damnit, all I wanna do is take a leak, and this constant harassment of people trying to sell me junk jewelry for obscene amounts of money never ends. After dark, the captain offered to take some of us into town and so, a couple of us went with. Our captain asked one of the people who lived there if we could use their toilet, and it was just a hole in the ground. Nasty. That night we slept on the felucca. (pics: Ramses II's temple at Abu Simbel, us on the felucca, and sunset over Nile taken from felucca)
The next day we woke up, ate, and then were lead by the captain to a road, a bus showed up and we were told to get in. The whole ordeal was funny. Cos if I hadn't had complete trust in the tour coordinator, I probably would have been freaked out. Even though a lot of people spoke English, many didn't speak it very well and after the first day where the coordinator went over with us what was gonna happen, we were never really told where we were going or what we were doing. We were just passed off from person to person, without any real grasp on what the hell was going on. So, the bus first stopped of at Kom Ombo. There at the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek I was asked to by the ticket guy if I would marry him. I agreed, providing that he gave me my change. So, mom and dad, I guess I'm betrothed. Next to the temple was the Chapel of Hathor where there were some creepy mummified crocodiles in a case, that was pretty cool. Then we headed on over to Edfu to the Temple of Horus, and then on to Luxor. Before entering the area around Luxor, we (as well as all other tourist buses/taxis) were stopped. Turns out that like 10 days prior there was a terrorist bombing in the area, directed at tourists. So, to enter Luxor, all tourists had to go in a police convoy. One police car led the way and another one followed all the buses. We were the last bus, so we also got a police officer in our front seat, holding a very scary and large gun. When we finally got into Luxor, we had an hour to eat and shower, and then headed out and picked up a new tour buddy, Nick and then on to the temple complex of Karnak. It was HUGE. Three separate temples and was built over a time span of 1,300 years. It was really cool and beautiful. After that we hit up Luxor Temple, yet another beautiful temple. There some Egyptian guy tried to buy us off of Nick (the kid we met on our tour) for some number of camels, which was…really funny. (temple of Karnak, jumping pic of Cossella, Nick and me in front of temple of Luxor, Temple of Luxor by night)

The next day my friends and I and Nick first saw the Colossi of Memnon. This large pair of enthroned statues originally stood in front of the mortuary temple of Amenophis III, and are all that is left. They were kinda boring. Then we headed to Hatshepsut’s temple. Many of the images of her were destroyed by the pharaoh who followed her (because she had kinda kicked him out as pharaoh and took it over. But in the images that were left, she was shown as a man, which she used to legitimize her position of power. In 1997, 58 tourists and 4 guards were shot or stabbed to death by terrorists there. The killers nearly got away, but the driver of the car they hijacked deliberately crashed it and then they were chased down by villagers…while it took an hour for the police to arrive on scene. After we went to the Valley of the Kings, where many of the pharaohs were buried (Queen Hatshepsut was the only woman buried there). We paid extra money to go into King Tut’s tomb. I really only paid extra cos I remember my mom telling me about him when I was first learning about Egypt in elementary school and I figured that well, I just had to do it. Funny thing is that Tut’s tomb is very small. He died at the age of just 19 and suddenly, so they didn’t have a whole lot of time to build a tomb. It is actually believed that they just cleared out someone else’s and stuck him in there. Also, he didn’t really do anything with his life, and is really only famous because his tomb had been un-looted and was found as it was when he was buried there. His tomb was preserved because another one was built on top of it. We also got to go into 3 other tombs (there are 60-someodd there but they only let you into a couple, on a rotating schedule to help preserve them). The other tombs were way more impressive than Tut’s, but all of them were beautiful. Then we headed on over to the Valley of the Queens, where the queens and the kids of the pharaoh’s were buried. But only like 8 tombs are there. We ended up going into two of them, and they were pretty cool. That night we caught a train back to Cairo. (temple of Hatshepsut, me at King Tut's tomb, panoramic of Valley of the Kings)

Our last day we took it easy and went to the bazaars and shopped a bit. All in all, a great trip. It was the most different place I’ve ever been. Arabic sounds nothing like any language I’ve ever studied and the culture is much different. Also seeing the extreme poverty there made me realize even more so how privileged I am. We saw people living in cement buildings with the walls broken away and no roofs. I had never seen poverty to that degree or so prevalent, it’s really an eye opener. Also, I realized how lucky I am that for the most part I usually feel very safe, cos even though for the most part I felt safe there, sometimes I didn’t. Like, hearing all the stories of terrorist bombings and shootings and what not was nerve-wracking. But I ended up seeing things that I never even imagined I would see in person, and fulfilled a dream that I’ve had since I was a little little kid. It feels so good to know that I could do all this too. Survive in a country where I don’t speak the language, don’t understand the customs, and no nobody. I don’t know, it made me feel kinda accomplished. I like knowing that I can take care of myself. I’m so happy that I tested my limits, I feel like I’ve grown so much over the last couple of months because I have continually done so.

S

Cairo

So, wow, I'm in Cairo. So, we got here on the 21st and pretty much fell asleep.

the 22nd: woke up earlish, got a good breakfast, and then went to explore the town. We ended up buying a lot of really cool stuff and running into a number of interesting people. One of which, I will now describe. So, we were walking down one of the major shopping streets in down-town Cairo, and this older man (40s) walks by and goes "walk like an Egyptian!" We kinda awkwardly laugh and keep walking. He then introduces himself and told us we were in a too expensive street and that the place with the cheaper stuff is around the corner. So, I'm talking to him and trying to get exact dirrections, and he's like, here, I'll show you. And so we start walking with him. (Right now we all felt a bit iffy about the guy but we were in a crowded street and felt safe enough). So, anyways, as we walk, he kept on making jokes about he knows all the American girls in Cairo and then turns around and points to the skies and said "thank you god for not just giving me one beautiful girl, but 3! (refering to us)....No, I kid! I have wife, and 5 kids". Then he kept on taking my arm and putting it on his as to escort me around. So, after talking to him, he's weird and makes kinda strange jokes, but we like him well enough. He tells us he works at a perfume shop and shows us it. When inside, he let's us smell a scent called Arabian Nights: "This one, makes boys go crazy...makes them so horny!! This is why I have 5 kids. My wife wears it and then 5 kids". Funny stuff. So he's letting us smell all of the perfumes, which are really just concentrated oils and tells us all the uses for them, including for massage. So, I unknowningly get pulled into a neck massage...awkward. Anna busts out her camera to take a picture of this, and he sees it, and instead of keeping with the awkward back massage, he decides to lift me up, into his arms. Wow. just wow. Well, I ended up buying so perfume off of him, which was perfect cos my necklace which holds perfume had spilled. All in all, a wonderful, hilarous experience. The perfume guy:

23rd: So, today we first went to the pyramids at Giza. Very cool. The largest one only 300 people are allowed into a day, so we didn't get to go in. But we went into the next largest one. It was so hot. We were only in there for probably like 10 minutes, but I started sweating within the first 30 seconds of getting in there...mind you we haven't really stopped sweating since arriving, but it was even worse. Crazy stuff. After that we went on a camel ride!! It was super fun. Then on to the Spinx, which was besides being in the pyramid, was my favorite part. It's just so impressive. Then we went to another perfume place (this time arranged by the tour) and what was actually another pyprus place. Then onto the museum. We weren't in the museum for nearly long enough...since we only really got an hour and a half in there, but it was crazy cool. I really want to go back. And we paid extra so that we got to go into the mummy room--creepy. My friends took picture of it all (against museum rules), so I'll get those from them and post them eventually. Okay, got to go, I've run out of minutes on this computer.

<3

So, it's been a while...

I feel like its been forever since I last updated. This last week I had three midterms, one paper proposal, one Italian oral exam, and three site visits. In sum, it was hell. I felt like I was running for like 5 days straight...just too little sleep and too much stress. But even though it was all stressful, I'm still way less stressed here than I am back in Santa Cruz. I don't know--today I went on a site visit to two sites two hours a way and on the bus I thought a lot (and also caught up on a lot of sleep). I realized I don't want to leave here. Not now, and I don't think ever. I had anticipated going through this terrible culture shock, but it's been a really smooth transition. Like yea, there have been two days here were I was super depressed, but that's good for me. I'm always gonna be depressed sometimes no matter where I am, but the magnitude and frequency can vary. I spent far much more time in Santa Cruz or in Orinda being bummed out than I have here. I'm just happier. And I feel truer to myself. I feel down back in the states far too often, and I don't feel like the real me, I'm different. I've missed myself. I haven't felt this true to myself since senior year of high school, except that I also have the added bonus that I'm less depressed than I was in high school as well. I want to hold on to my happiness. I laugh a lot here. And I'm fun here. I don't know, I'm happy here and I'm happy that I have gotten to feel this way again.

Also with being here I've gained some of the independence I've longed for. Yea, my parents pay for my school and my groceries. But I've never spent this much money in my life. It is because I'm traveling (and on the euro, unfortunately) and I don't know, it feels good knowing that I don't need to depend on my parents so heavily for money. So many people on this program are traveling completely on their parents' money. I'd feel terrible if that were me. My parents have already wasted so much money on raising me, my education, and now my living abroad, they shouldn't be wasting their money on me having fun. And eventually I'm going to need to take a loan from my parents, but I'm gonna pay it back as soon as I get the money. Somehow being abroad is different than just being at college. When I went off to college I did feel more independent, but Brian was still there and I don't know, I had someone to fall back on. Here, there is no one. It's all about me. And even though nothing has gone wrong, and if something did got seriously wrong, I have friends here to help me out, I still feel so much more in control of my own life. That's another added bonus to traveling on my own money--I don't need permission. It's liberating, really.

Okay, so now to what's been happening (first in pictures--descriptions below)...


our diner party

Florence
Toga Party!
Giornata Interazionale della Donna
Sancta Sanctum in Saint John Lateran
Temple of Young Jove, Terracina (can click on to see larger)
Tiberius' Grotto, Sperlonga


Okay, so....
1. diner party...already wrote about it last post, I just liked the picture
2. Florence, again. Wrote about it, and got nothing more to say
3. TOGA!!!! So much fun. So, we threw a toga party at our place. And didn't get in trouble for it!! Ingrid made sangria (yes, not Roman, but it's tasty all the same) and we played wine pong. We probably got about 30 people fit into our little kitchen. It got pretty loud though and the guy at the front desk was not happy with us so these really nice girls from upstairs let us move the party up there. Like within 30 minutes of the party moving up there, their apartment is covered in vomit and their toilet is flooding into the hallway. We felt terrible. But seriously, we are all juniors and seniors on this program, everyone should know their limits well enough to not let that happen, for shame. *tisk*tisk*
4. Giornata....International day of women. Celebrated everywhere except the U.S. Yea, we suck. Women are given mimosa (i think that's what they are called) flowers by the men in there lives and go out to diner and what not with their girl friends. Oh, and they get in free to city/state run museums! But, unfortunately, we had midterms to study for so we made our celebration quick--some cookies, chocolate, champagne, and a sunset over Piazza Dell Popolo. It was really nice.
5. Sancta Sanctum. So cool, this chapel was only opened up to the public like 7 years ago or something. The frescoes are amazing, they have this image of Christ from the 7th century that was used in the holy procession performed on Jubilee years (called the acheropita--literally meaning not made my hand because it was believed to have been started by Luke, and finished by an angel---even though we now know the dating isn't correct for this tale) and the relics they claim to have there are impressive--Mary's hair and milk, a piece of Christ's cross, some bread from the last super, and they had Jesus' foreskin and umbilical chord before they were stolen by the Nazis. Even though I don't really believe that these relics are real, I still think the whole idea is kinda romantic, I guess. I know so little about religion, but I'm so interested in it. I wanna know the stories and what makes religious people have such strong faith. I think faith is a beautiful thing. Oh, and also outside of this chapel, they have these stairs that you are only allowed to ascend on your knees--this is because they are supposed to be the stairs from Pontius Pilate's palace...aka the stairs that Jesus climbed during his passion. Pretty cool, huh?
6. Temple of Young Jove. We went there today and wow, we had beautiful views. Not much is left of the temple though
7. Tiberius' Grotto....well, we went to his Villa, of which the grotto is a part. One of the coolest things I've seen here thus far. A great way to spend the day. Beautiful views, by the beach, and it was just so cool. So Tiberius (Augustus' heir and emperor in the first cent AD) had this villa set up which had a bunch of rooms around a central piazza like thing. Most of it is gone. But attached to the villa was a grotto. He used the natural caves already there and just built into them. There is a pool sectioned off which his guests would lounge in--kinda like a spa. And in the center of the water is a platform where they would eat. All within the caves archaeologists found marble statues, in the round, that depicted scenes from the Odyssey. It was all so very cool. It's funny, cos when I took my Classical Rome class freshman year, I was like, "hell yea! I wanna minor in classical studies". And then I reminded myself that I would have to learn either Latin or Greek, and decided against it. But I'm so excited about all that I'm learning (well, minus a lot of the stuff from my women's study class) that I'm kinda thinking classics again. I know it won't happen, but I'd like to take more classics classes, I just think there are no more Roman ones taught at UCSC. bummer.

This week I have one midterm, so way less stress. And then on Friday we are leaving for Egypt!!!! Oh, and tomorrow we are going to a calcio game (soccer), Roma v. Milano. I'm so excited!! Yay, Rome!

Ciao,
Sarah

quick update

1. Our landlord threw a "super big party" (what the sign said) on Thursday with the Swiss Guards. He came on over to our apartment and was all mad at us that we weren't at the party..."why not there? 20 Swiss Guards." Gross, my landlord is trying to pimp me out.

2. On Friday we had a dinner party that was a lot of fun--14 friends. And then after that some British kids had moved in that night, so we went and hung out with them. It was all a lot of fun. We played Kings Cup and in a part you can make up a rule. Their rule was that the Americans had to speak with "the queen's accent". Now, I'm not exactly sure how the queen's accent differs from your regular, run of the mill British accent, but I know I made an ass of myself. Fun stuff

3. I was in Firenze (Florence) this last weekend. I went to the Uffizi this time, and that was awesome, but I still totally prefer Rome over Florence.

4. We booked Egypt!!! I'm really excited!!!

5. This Thursday we are throwing a Toga party and we are trying to get people to (obviously) dress in togas but also to choose a god to be. I'm gonna be Bacchus/Dionysus. Again, excited.

Alrighty, I need to go catch up some reading, hope all is well.

Ciao.

Me piace viaggiare

So, I'm not sure Egypt is gonna happen. We are gonna all talk about it tonight, so we'll see. I don't know, I've been saving up my money for so long, so I feel like I have a fair amount of travel money. But most of my friends haven't saved up nearly as much money as I have, so even though I'm totally ready to pay whatever I have to for Egypt, I don't think they will be. Really it's just the flights that are going to cost so much. It is a lot of money.

But, on a happier, more travel-y note. Emily and I are planning more things! So, we've already booked flights to Prague and Greece and we hope to book some more on Sunday. But right now here is the plan: Prague (May 17-20), Athens (21-22), Greek islands (22-morning of 29th), 29th--ferry to Venice, Venice (30), Barcelona (31- June 2), Valencia (3-5), Lisbon (6-8 or 9th), Croatia (Split & the islands--9th-13), Budapest (14-16), Salsberg (17-19), Berlin (20-23), Amsterdam (24), and fly out of Amsterdam airport early on the 25th. Woah, that's a lot of traveling. And I know its gonna be tiring and that we'll probably end up getting on eachothers' nerves a bit, but I'm so excited. And even though I would love to spend lots of time in different countries to really get to know the place, I learned from the last break that there are some places that I don't need to spend a lot of time in. And so, I'm gonna look at this as a nice sampling of a bunch of different places, so that one day when I'm older and have money, I can go back and really spend time and money appreciating my favorite places. And I figure we are gonna be spending a fair amount of time in both Greece and Croatia, so at least we'll be able to slow down for parts of the trip.

Also, Ingrid and I are talking about maybe after the program ends, but before I head off with Emily (so around the 8-16) maybe heading over to Istanbul and Petra. It's really just an idea, but who knows? Maybe it'll happen.

Gah! I'm so lucky to be here and to just to have these opportunities! I'm lucky to have had a job that made a fair amount of money so I have money to spend as well as have an awesome family who supports me, including my grandparents who were beyond kind and gave me a hefty sum to travel with. I really do appreciate it all so much. Even if I didn't travel at all, I'd still feel so lucky. I live in the Eternal City, dammit, how cool is that?

Ho sonno.

Ciao tutti,

Okay, so an update... real classes started last week and I'm not so pleased. My Ancient Roman Art class looks really interesting, but my teacher talks so fast that I don't have time to write it down, let alone understand what she is saying. I'm going to bring my computer today (since I type faster than I write) and see if that helps, but I know everyone in the class is struggling as much as I am and people have even told her, but I don't think anything will change. My Medieval Rome class is interesting enough but my teacher has a pretty strong Italian accent and can be hard to understand at times. We also are covering so much information that I'm not really sure what I should be taking notes on. Then I have Women in 20th century Italy. The teacher is nice, the material thus far a bit boring, but I'm hoping to bring in my psych background to at very least make the required paper interesting. I want to do mine on what means Italy uses to gender their children, specifically (if I can find enough info) how play preferences act as a means to gender children. As a very basic example-- in the US girls are often given toys such as dolls or play house sets which teach them that domesticity is a part of being female. And my Italian class is alright. It's with the same teacher we had for the intensive Italian and I really like her but I feel like I'm learning less than other classes cos she doesn't really push us. Oh well.

So, it looks like this weekend I will be going to Florence again. I didn't get to go to the Uffizi last time I was there. So, I'm really excited for that. There are so many beautiful pieces there and I studied a couple of them in an art class I took freshman year, so I'm excited to see them in person. We are also planning our next break. I know, we just got back...but the break actually is in less than a month! I don't even know why they planned it like that, but they did. So, right now I'm looking into Egypt. I've wanted to go since I can remember. And even the thought of seeing all those beautiful moments in person is very humbling. I'm researching tours of Egypt since I've been told that traveling around in Egypt right now can be a bit dangerous for Americans. So, if anyone out there has a friend or family who has been to Egypt and knows of any good tour groups, let me know. I'm trying to find a good, but inexpensive package that will take us (at very least) to Cairo, Luxor, Edfu, and sailing down the Nile. So far I think I may have found a couple of good ones, but its really hard figuring all this stuff just from online resources. All the same, I'm so excited. Gah! If this falls through and we don't end up going to Egypt, I'm going to be so depressed. = (

Well, fingers crossed.