great wide somewhere

Simple.

2009-07-28T17:13:00.007-05:00

Today I listened to the rain.Now, to say something like that is simple, sure, but have you ever listened to thunder rolling in? Smelled the approach of a storm?Today wasn't my first time. In fact, I do this a lot. Getting away from the pointless worries and needless babble of every day life and every day people is something I try to do as much as possible - especially after returning from Italy.

My Thoughts

2009-04-22T03:44:00.007-05:00

Here I am, sitting, looking at a panino, iced coffee, and less than a month left in Firenze. The cafeteria is full of students and teachers, alike, chatting about their trips this semester...past and future; talking about home, and what they're going to do first when they get back.I'm torn.On one hand, I love this place...mostly. There are, inevitably, things about a place that one doesn't

2009-04-01T11:12:00.027-05:00

March 30, 2009 "When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life. I see so much magic though I missed it at the time." - Jaime Cullum Where have I been?! Not only have I seemingly forgotten about my blog-writing, but apparently I have fallen off of the face of the earth as we know it; not emailing my family, uploading pictures...nothing!The truth is, I’ve been having some ‘me time’. In fact, I’ve

"like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can't read..."

2009-03-10T06:37:00.016-05:00

March 7th, 2009 An uphill trek had led us there; the top of Cortona. I stood in awe at the beauty of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. It was a wonder to me that people live in such a place. From my personal experience with seeking out diversion, it seems to me now that should I ever live in such a place I would become jaded in very little time. It has already begun to

--

2009-02-16T05:58:00.011-06:00

Monday, February 16th, 2009Sitting at my table, reflecting upon my week...I find that I have forgotten to tell you readers about my new plan. No, it's not a new plan for world domination - I've already tried and failed miserably and my ego is still mending - it's my plan for this here blog of mine. I've decided that, rather than write a post for every single day that passes, I will only post if I

My Roman Vow

2009-02-10T08:00:00.009-06:00

Sunday, February 8, 2009Last day in Roma. The girls and I woke up around 10am as we had to be out of Hostel by 11. We had planned to see the Catacombs, but the ones that didn't charge entrance and that were on our way to the train station closed at noon on Sundays for siesta and didn’t reopen until 2pm. Sadness. We all packed what few bags we had and handed in the room key. Saying a sad goodbye

Epic

2009-02-10T06:52:00.017-06:00

Saturday, Febuary 7, 2009 We woke up late today. After being out until 1am this morning and then not going to sleep until 3, I dare say we needed it. We lunched at the same restaurant where we had the phenomenal pizza bread yesterday. We all got pizza and I downed an excellent cappuccino. Then we departed - in the rain - for the sights of the day, the first of which was to be a Tomb Memorial.The

Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun...

2009-02-10T04:19:00.005-06:00

Monday, February 9, 2009 My lamplight fills the room with a kind of pallid splendor. So much has passed since my arrival in Italia, yet it has been just barely two weeks since I’ve arrived. This morning I awoke in a bleary state at 8am to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. When I actually woke up, at 8:15am, I readied myself for my 9am Italian class. As my roommate

Perpetually late.

2009-02-09T07:08:00.024-06:00

Friday, February 6, 2009 On this fine morning, at the wee, tiny, not-supposed-to-ever-be-seen hour of 5am, I awoke to commence Adventure Roma. Of course I hit the snooze button. You know you’re tired when you get out of bed and walk across a freezing cold tile floor just to hit the snooze button and fumble back to the warmth of your mattress – which, if you’re me, looks more like the nest of

Bruschetta (pronounced Bruce-kehttah)

2009-02-09T07:06:00.008-06:00

Thursday, February 5, 2009I woke up to a cloudy sky and wet ground. It was raining again. I had set my alarm for eight am, but found it particularly difficult to rise that early with no class ahead of me today. I rolled out of my lovely warm mess of covers and stretched out my sore body. There is most certainly something to be said for walking everywhere with a heavy bookbag slung over your

Meditating on Symbols

2009-02-09T07:04:00.015-06:00

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 This morning two men came to our flat, an old but newly renovated space, to install Internet. For some reason the installation for our flat was more difficult because of its location. I didn't ask for specifics. They gave us a free trial 48hours which was nice. I was considering paying to have internet…until they said that it was 96Euro/month. Too steep for a

Totally raw.

2009-02-04T07:40:00.024-06:00

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 It is 3:20pm, and I have just met my upstairs neighbors…kindof. I was laying on my bed studying my Italian when I happened to look out and up to see two guys in their kitchen, looking at me and talking animatedly. Hilarious. I waved at them and they waved back. I’m sure it is the start of a wonderful neighborship. I don’t have class until 6pm on

The creamiest vanilla gelato money can buy...

2009-02-04T04:17:00.020-06:00

Monday, February 2nd, 2009 Today was the first day of class at Lorenzo de’Medici. The weather was chilly and rainy. My choice of clothing: skinny jeans, sloucho boots, t-shirt blouse, sweater, pea-coat, winter scarf. I made the wise decision to pack my bag, lay out my clothing, and shower the night before, so when I awoke at 7am to MetroStation’s ‘Shake It’ blasting from my cell-phone, I was

Watch where you're walking.

2009-01-31T04:06:00.018-06:00

Ahh at long last I can say that my screen saver is actually a photo of the hills of Firenze that I have taken myself. The glory is insurmountable. With my first step off the plane I knew that this would be an amazing place and an amazing experience, but really had no idea just what I was in for. Of course the emails and Facebook messages are streaming in, ‘How was your flight?! What’s everything

Pre-Departure Pondering

2009-01-22T17:58:00.029-06:00

I've had all semester to get used to the fact that I'm leaving. In all honesty I've had a countdown going in the back of my head since October. But it fails to escape me: the nagging, incessant surge of emotions that make me feel as if I've gone insane. Excited, thrilled, happy, to be escaping the numbing culture of my home country. Sad, lonely, depressed, to think of the time I will miss with my