If I didn't have papers to write, I would never get anything else done. :-) Fortunately, the prudent professors at Baylor are more than happy to see to it that my productivity levels in all other areas of my life remain high by assigning plenty of these. Right now I am *working* on my term paper for History of Modern European Philosophy class. And also updating, to let y'all know what's "new and exciting in my life" as Sara always demands.
There isn't much going on in my life besides school, really. When I'm not in class or doing homework, I help other people with their homework as a part-time job or teach at Sylvan Learning Center.
That can't be true. Dad came up to visit last weekend to see the Baylor vs. A&M game. I didn't go to the game, but I had lunch with him and Brian and David. It's kind of a shame that I didn't go to the game, though, because this is the first time we have won against the aggies since I started at Baylor, and the last time we will play them before I graduate. I stayed at the dorm because I was going to work on my thesis, although really all I did was sleep all afternoon because I was starting to get sick.
And...before that, Sam had a friend come to town so we made dinner and went to see Quantum of Solace. Boys are good people, they really are, but I don't think I will every learn to properly enjoy action movies. I didn't hate it, but it was probably kind of wasted on me. After the movie we had to go out and celebrate because Sam's roommate got into med school. It's really nice to know people who are achieving things, so that you have an excuse to celebrate while you're still waiting on your own achievements to materialize.
And...after that, Sam and I taught Sunday school at church. It is suprising how intimidating a group of small children can be if you realize you're supposed to teach them something. But it was a lot of fun and I think it went as well as could be expected. Then we went to lunch at someone's house with a big group of people, because the church was doing a meal-in-peoples'-homes thing. It's a nice tradition, really. I love the South.
We're reading Nietzche now in Existentialism. My Intro to Philosophy course ended with Nietzche, and my History of Modern European Philosophy course seems like it's going to end with Nietzche. It's kind of strange, especially at a place like Baylor, that we seem to let him have the final word so often. But I think probably it's really good to end with Nietzche, because it's hard to forget him, so I suppose it makes it impossible to stop thinking about philosophy entirely, even after you take the final. I think he's probably one of my favorite atheists.
It's strange to imagine that a week from today it will already be Thanksgiving Break and Sam and I will be driving to New Mexico for part I of the holiday. It's even stranger to be grown-up enough to have Thanksgiving in parts. And 30 days from now, the entire semester will be over: all the papers written, (hopefully) revised, and turned in; the exams studied for and taken, the applications (again, hopefully) completed, the degree audit with that "magic sentence" turned in.
It's good to remember that once in a while. My goal for the rest of the semester is no longer to make good grades but just to get all the work done. With that said, I should probably get back to it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Oh, it is love. . . and November!
History repeats itself. I am now supposed to be writing another 9-10 page paper for my Augustine class, and finding sweet procrastination in you, O blog.
This month is going to be ridiculously busy, and ridiculously wonderful. I have grad school applications, personal statement to write, about 5 (?) 10-page papers, my 2nd thesis chapter to write and 1st chapter to make longer and prettier, THANKSGIVING in about 4 places (Clovis, Ft. Sumner, Waco, Victoria - yup, 4), as well as the work for my Greek honors contract due and of course, lovely exams, hundreds of lines of Virgil to translate, reading till my eyes start to cross...and probably dozens of my favorite people to spend time with. :-)
Disturbing story time! A little kid at the Halloween party that our church put on was dressed up as a member of the KKK!!! He came up to pick out some ducks from the little wading pool and get some candy and I think I said something like "awww, what a cute little ghost - oh, wait!" It was definitely scary.
The good news to cheer you up at the beginning of this month:
1. As of Tuesday, the election will be over, and hopefully after a few weeks people will stop being ridiculous about it! Hurray!
2. THANKSGIVING is only about three weeks away!
3. Thanks to our sad lil' economy, gas prices have plummeted.
4. It's beginning to look like a lot like autumn, and coffee houses everywhere are turning out warm and cozy flavors!
5. Apparently, I'm a huge slacker, and this usually makes people feel better about themselves. So be comforted, over-achievers! There are achievers everywhere who look up to you without the slightest bit of envy. ;-)
This month is going to be ridiculously busy, and ridiculously wonderful. I have grad school applications, personal statement to write, about 5 (?) 10-page papers, my 2nd thesis chapter to write and 1st chapter to make longer and prettier, THANKSGIVING in about 4 places (Clovis, Ft. Sumner, Waco, Victoria - yup, 4), as well as the work for my Greek honors contract due and of course, lovely exams, hundreds of lines of Virgil to translate, reading till my eyes start to cross...and probably dozens of my favorite people to spend time with. :-)
Disturbing story time! A little kid at the Halloween party that our church put on was dressed up as a member of the KKK!!! He came up to pick out some ducks from the little wading pool and get some candy and I think I said something like "awww, what a cute little ghost - oh, wait!" It was definitely scary.
The good news to cheer you up at the beginning of this month:
1. As of Tuesday, the election will be over, and hopefully after a few weeks people will stop being ridiculous about it! Hurray!
2. THANKSGIVING is only about three weeks away!
3. Thanks to our sad lil' economy, gas prices have plummeted.
4. It's beginning to look like a lot like autumn, and coffee houses everywhere are turning out warm and cozy flavors!
5. Apparently, I'm a huge slacker, and this usually makes people feel better about themselves. So be comforted, over-achievers! There are achievers everywhere who look up to you without the slightest bit of envy. ;-)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Another lovely weekend
Skipping class, feeling good about taking a very stressful exam, reading a novel (the French don't suck at literature after all - after reading so much atheistic existentialism, I thought for a while they might ought to just stay in the kitchen where they belong, but after reading Marcel and Mauriac, I've decided that they are welcome in the library as well*) all afternoon, Crane Scholar's dinner - during which I decided that it may actually be possible to be a good mother and an academic, not that this is important information for me personally, going to a cocktail party for a new friend's birthday, reading aloud with someone, sleeping, tutoring, having lunch with my wonderful roommate, researching for a 10-page paper due Tuesday for my Augustine class, babysitting the most hyper 3-year-old I've ever met, taking him to a suprisingly entertaining children's museum, reading for Existentialism on top of a wooden red fire truck so that he can play while someone and I study, wearing one of my little black dresses that doesn't get out much, having dinner out with someone, drinking cappucino and reading the paper over someone's shoulder, putting off actual paper writing in order to share these recent happy memories with my dear blog-readers.
I love my life so much I have to list it all, which is probably not very interesting, so here's an embarrasing grocery-store moment to make you groan with sympathy for me. I was at HEB, looking for those little tiny cartons of ice cream that come with their own spoon/shovel-like utensils, and out of the corner of my eye I saw two people whom I thought were college-age guys. I'm not conceited but it didn't seem totally unnatural when one talked to me and said "see anything you like?" Guys that age are just friendly, so I said, "oh, no, I can't find the little cute ice creams." And we talked about the relative merits of the pint-sized cartons, which are much bigger than I wanted. At this point I looked up and noticed that one of the "guys" was actually a middle-aged man - the one that was talking, and presumably he was the other one's father, since it's parents' weekend. I walked away thinking it was odd, and several minutes later I realized the guy probably wasn't even talking to me to begin with, but he was probably talking to his son. It's weird how awkward I felt! I just had a conversation with someone who probably thought I was the most self-absorbed person ever. This is what happens when you speak very audibly in the presence of someone absorbed in that most perplexing task of choosing ice cream.
*This was a joke and I have nothing against French people. I have a great-something-grandmother who was from Alsace-Lorraine, held alternately by Germany and France, so there is a very good possibility that I am French myself.
I love my life so much I have to list it all, which is probably not very interesting, so here's an embarrasing grocery-store moment to make you groan with sympathy for me. I was at HEB, looking for those little tiny cartons of ice cream that come with their own spoon/shovel-like utensils, and out of the corner of my eye I saw two people whom I thought were college-age guys. I'm not conceited but it didn't seem totally unnatural when one talked to me and said "see anything you like?" Guys that age are just friendly, so I said, "oh, no, I can't find the little cute ice creams." And we talked about the relative merits of the pint-sized cartons, which are much bigger than I wanted. At this point I looked up and noticed that one of the "guys" was actually a middle-aged man - the one that was talking, and presumably he was the other one's father, since it's parents' weekend. I walked away thinking it was odd, and several minutes later I realized the guy probably wasn't even talking to me to begin with, but he was probably talking to his son. It's weird how awkward I felt! I just had a conversation with someone who probably thought I was the most self-absorbed person ever. This is what happens when you speak very audibly in the presence of someone absorbed in that most perplexing task of choosing ice cream.
*This was a joke and I have nothing against French people. I have a great-something-grandmother who was from Alsace-Lorraine, held alternately by Germany and France, so there is a very good possibility that I am French myself.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Christmas in September
I'm going to a tea party today. It' s a "High Tea" for the Honors' Residential College. At least we don't have to wear our hideous polo shirts; we just have to dress up and shake rich people's hands so that they will know that the students for whom they donate money have learned to dress themselves. I wonder what they donate money for? More tea parties? I shouldn't be so cynical, I know, but all these new events and such that have been added to the living-in-the-dorm experience make me want to re-think what's important to me. I imagine that there is some point to all of this but I certainly don't see it.
I love social things. At least I think I love social things. I am not, in any sense, an extrovert, but I do love people, and I seem to feel the need for "alone" time decreasingly often. (How do you say "decreasingly often" gracefully? "less and less frequently?" "more and more seldom?") I just hate standing around and making small talk. It seems so pointless.
I categorically hate politics. I hate the process you have to go through in order to get into grad school, of having "connections," meeting people just so that they will remember you, whetehr or not you demonstrated anything worth knowing about yourself in that 30 second window of time, asking questions you aren't really curious about in order to appear interested in studying with someone. As if that weren't obvious, if you are applying for the program. It all seems so little based on actual merit. And the same seems true (maybe more true) of the election. It's depressing.
Like secular existentialism. Sartre wrote an essay in which he tried to portray existentialism as a humanism. Who is he kidding? At least Camus is honest about how much the world sucks if he is right. Someone in my Latin class, who is generally a very earnest intellectual about everything, said that she simply hates modernity. I think that's a funny thing to say, but I have to admit that I'm not as patient with it as some people are, and I think the deficiency is mine. I'm glad I'm a Classics major.
I won't tell you what my Christmas present to myself is, since it ought to be kept secret from someone until Christmas, but I bet you can guess what color it is. ;-)
I love social things. At least I think I love social things. I am not, in any sense, an extrovert, but I do love people, and I seem to feel the need for "alone" time decreasingly often. (How do you say "decreasingly often" gracefully? "less and less frequently?" "more and more seldom?") I just hate standing around and making small talk. It seems so pointless.
I categorically hate politics. I hate the process you have to go through in order to get into grad school, of having "connections," meeting people just so that they will remember you, whetehr or not you demonstrated anything worth knowing about yourself in that 30 second window of time, asking questions you aren't really curious about in order to appear interested in studying with someone. As if that weren't obvious, if you are applying for the program. It all seems so little based on actual merit. And the same seems true (maybe more true) of the election. It's depressing.
Like secular existentialism. Sartre wrote an essay in which he tried to portray existentialism as a humanism. Who is he kidding? At least Camus is honest about how much the world sucks if he is right. Someone in my Latin class, who is generally a very earnest intellectual about everything, said that she simply hates modernity. I think that's a funny thing to say, but I have to admit that I'm not as patient with it as some people are, and I think the deficiency is mine. I'm glad I'm a Classics major.
I won't tell you what my Christmas present to myself is, since it ought to be kept secret from someone until Christmas, but I bet you can guess what color it is. ;-)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Don't look at me that way - it was an honest mistake.
It doesn't feel like taking God's name in vain when I say "oh, Dio mio!" partly because it's Italian, and partly I don't think I'm doing it in vain. Addressing God with an exclamation seems like a natural response to what's happening in my life right now.
Summer has been wonderful. I've been working at Texas Roadhouse, which sucks but everything else has been kind of perfect. Except for predictable dissapointments, like the fact that I didn't get as much done as I wanted to on Greek composition and research for my thesis. (But I still have about a week and a half left, right?) I've also been tutoring Latin, making new friends and generally having the time of my life, as is becoming a habit, it seems.
It's just so odd. To be a senior in college, talking about grad school options as if I had a clue what I'm doing or as if I actually believe I'm ready to be that grown-up - to move out of state permanently, to pay my own phone bill, to be completely independent financially, to have a degree, to survive grad school and "pick up" somewhere or other a couple of the modern languages requisite for good scholarship in Classics, eventually to become a "doctor." I took the GRE and while I'm a little bit dissapointed with my Verbal score, overall it didn't completely suck and I may have a chance at getting what I want - which is to study and travel all my life as I have been these past few years and maybe, you know, to have babies (not children and definitely not teenagers, but maybe a couple of babies).
But holy crap. When did the joy of independence in a part-time job and a driver's permit get replaced with this? With writing samples and statements of purpose - as if I had a statement to make about purpose (I'm not Rick Warren, thank you) - and real decisions about where I want to live. It sounds like the college application process all over again, but it's so much more stressful this time. There are a few (okay, mainly just one) other considerations this time that make the whole thing very surreal.
Sometimes I just want to escape. I think that's why I always talk about spontaneity. And on that note, tomorrow I am very un-spontaneously planning to carry out my DLS. :-)
Summer has been wonderful. I've been working at Texas Roadhouse, which sucks but everything else has been kind of perfect. Except for predictable dissapointments, like the fact that I didn't get as much done as I wanted to on Greek composition and research for my thesis. (But I still have about a week and a half left, right?) I've also been tutoring Latin, making new friends and generally having the time of my life, as is becoming a habit, it seems.
It's just so odd. To be a senior in college, talking about grad school options as if I had a clue what I'm doing or as if I actually believe I'm ready to be that grown-up - to move out of state permanently, to pay my own phone bill, to be completely independent financially, to have a degree, to survive grad school and "pick up" somewhere or other a couple of the modern languages requisite for good scholarship in Classics, eventually to become a "doctor." I took the GRE and while I'm a little bit dissapointed with my Verbal score, overall it didn't completely suck and I may have a chance at getting what I want - which is to study and travel all my life as I have been these past few years and maybe, you know, to have babies (not children and definitely not teenagers, but maybe a couple of babies).
But holy crap. When did the joy of independence in a part-time job and a driver's permit get replaced with this? With writing samples and statements of purpose - as if I had a statement to make about purpose (I'm not Rick Warren, thank you) - and real decisions about where I want to live. It sounds like the college application process all over again, but it's so much more stressful this time. There are a few (okay, mainly just one) other considerations this time that make the whole thing very surreal.
Sometimes I just want to escape. I think that's why I always talk about spontaneity. And on that note, tomorrow I am very un-spontaneously planning to carry out my DLS. :-)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Gag me with a teaspoon
Can I just say that Java City has the most horrible coffee in the world? Every time I go there, when I'm here at the library, I end up wondering why in the world I spent $3.66 on this crap, which it should be illegal to give away. If I wanted a lukewarm syrupy mess, I would go suck a maple tree on a nice day.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sexy's Back!!!
So I'm back in the land of the un-magical light. Texas is a pretty awesome place, anyway, though, because there are some pretty awesome people here.
I got back at about 2 in the morning Mother's Day, and in spite of this, I spent all day with my family, cooking Italian food for my mom and playing with my little brother. :-) No jet-lag for me. Monday I started work at MM's and worked there through Friday night. Saturday I came to Waco, which is where I am now, yay!
Summer I'm going to be working at Texas Roadhouse and possibly Dillard's, taking two history classes online through the local community college, studying Greek composition, translating the rest of Catullus' poetry and working towards my thesis, and getting ready for the GRE. So I don't have to answer that question again. Don't even ask where I'm going to apply for grad school. I don't plan on having an answer till next fall.
More later.
I got back at about 2 in the morning Mother's Day, and in spite of this, I spent all day with my family, cooking Italian food for my mom and playing with my little brother. :-) No jet-lag for me. Monday I started work at MM's and worked there through Friday night. Saturday I came to Waco, which is where I am now, yay!
Summer I'm going to be working at Texas Roadhouse and possibly Dillard's, taking two history classes online through the local community college, studying Greek composition, translating the rest of Catullus' poetry and working towards my thesis, and getting ready for the GRE. So I don't have to answer that question again. Don't even ask where I'm going to apply for grad school. I don't plan on having an answer till next fall.
More later.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Oops.
Sorry. I guess I never did finish the spring break story. Well, it was one of the best weeks of my life so far. Let's just put it that way. I love Amsterdam. And Paris. For my birthday weekend I went to Rome, and I REALLY LOVE Rome. Europe in general is beautiful and exciting. Sicily in particular is kind of exotic and gorgeous. And I miss Henry.
Finals are pretty much here, and I have all five in three days, and each is three hours long, and I have effectively wasted this weekend. Or is it wasted? I'm about to leave all of my friends here, so it seems pretty important to spend time with them. I can't believe it's over. When you start something that's going to last 4 months it seems like a lifetime, but when it's over it seems very short.
What have I been doing....(besides school, ya'll don't really want to hear about that)...there was a EuroChocolate festival in Modica last weekend. Don't worry, I bought souvenirs. :-) Modica is an adorable little town in Sicily where they make this chocolate that doesn't melt. Chocolate seems like it's pretty much a way of life for people in Modica, like ricotta cheese is a way of life in Sicily. They even put chocolate in things like pasta dishes and couscous, and they have flavors like "peperoncino," which is red pepper - it's actually really good, I think.
Agrigento was one of my favorite excursions. The second best preserved temple in the Mediterranean is there, called the "Temple of Concord" because no one has any idea to what divinity it was dedicated. The best preserved temple, in case you're wondering as we all were, is the temple to Hephaestus, I believe, in Athens. Or was it Hercules? I'm pretty sure it started with an H.
On my birthday (and on the night before my birthday) I got all sorts of wonderful suprises, which confirms my suspicion that I have the most amazing friends in the world - that includes the ones at home, of course! Brie made dinner, Stefania and Julia made a cake, Maia gave me presents, there was a crapload of balloons and a note on the board when I went into my Latin class that day, and after the puppet show, when we were having tiramisu (which I made myself, and the preparation included beating egg whites stiff - with no electric mixer and no whisk!!) I received a very obscene card, the contents of which should not be discussed online. I love birthday attention. I think it's the only kind I like, actually.
So tomorrow is Julia's birthday and I am going to try Chicken Marsala as a suprise tonight - did you know that Marsala wine is made in Sicily? Probably you did know, but I didn't. I love Sicily.
But I love America, too, and in some ways I think I love it more after being away from it for a while. People are constantly makind unfavorable comparisons between the two countries, but I don't think Italy wins every contest. America does pies waaaay better than Italy, I have to say. Italian pies are almost all crust (and not a good crust, either) with just a thin layer of jam. That would never fly in America. We have real fillings. And Italians don't seem to have a lot of their own music - they listen to a lot of American music (and sing along even though they don't know what they're singing - it's funny to listen to) or sometimes Spanish or Mexican music, (I think, because it's in Spanish) for Salsa dancing. And we have to whole public restrooms thing going for us. Apparently a lot of Italians feel sorry for Americans because they assume that the food is all terrible in America. But really we have some pretty decent American food, and then we have all sorts of other kinds - Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian...who says we are so closed-minded? And I'm starting to like American accents. I really really love Italy, but I refuse to constantly criticize the US just because it's different. Maybe we aren't quite as "cultured," whatever the heck that means, but give us a few more centuries, for crying out loud - we're just a baby country compared to Italy.
I think I'm starting to fit in with the Italians in at least one respect: I talk about food all the time! :-)
Finals are pretty much here, and I have all five in three days, and each is three hours long, and I have effectively wasted this weekend. Or is it wasted? I'm about to leave all of my friends here, so it seems pretty important to spend time with them. I can't believe it's over. When you start something that's going to last 4 months it seems like a lifetime, but when it's over it seems very short.
What have I been doing....(besides school, ya'll don't really want to hear about that)...there was a EuroChocolate festival in Modica last weekend. Don't worry, I bought souvenirs. :-) Modica is an adorable little town in Sicily where they make this chocolate that doesn't melt. Chocolate seems like it's pretty much a way of life for people in Modica, like ricotta cheese is a way of life in Sicily. They even put chocolate in things like pasta dishes and couscous, and they have flavors like "peperoncino," which is red pepper - it's actually really good, I think.
Agrigento was one of my favorite excursions. The second best preserved temple in the Mediterranean is there, called the "Temple of Concord" because no one has any idea to what divinity it was dedicated. The best preserved temple, in case you're wondering as we all were, is the temple to Hephaestus, I believe, in Athens. Or was it Hercules? I'm pretty sure it started with an H.
On my birthday (and on the night before my birthday) I got all sorts of wonderful suprises, which confirms my suspicion that I have the most amazing friends in the world - that includes the ones at home, of course! Brie made dinner, Stefania and Julia made a cake, Maia gave me presents, there was a crapload of balloons and a note on the board when I went into my Latin class that day, and after the puppet show, when we were having tiramisu (which I made myself, and the preparation included beating egg whites stiff - with no electric mixer and no whisk!!) I received a very obscene card, the contents of which should not be discussed online. I love birthday attention. I think it's the only kind I like, actually.
So tomorrow is Julia's birthday and I am going to try Chicken Marsala as a suprise tonight - did you know that Marsala wine is made in Sicily? Probably you did know, but I didn't. I love Sicily.
But I love America, too, and in some ways I think I love it more after being away from it for a while. People are constantly makind unfavorable comparisons between the two countries, but I don't think Italy wins every contest. America does pies waaaay better than Italy, I have to say. Italian pies are almost all crust (and not a good crust, either) with just a thin layer of jam. That would never fly in America. We have real fillings. And Italians don't seem to have a lot of their own music - they listen to a lot of American music (and sing along even though they don't know what they're singing - it's funny to listen to) or sometimes Spanish or Mexican music, (I think, because it's in Spanish) for Salsa dancing. And we have to whole public restrooms thing going for us. Apparently a lot of Italians feel sorry for Americans because they assume that the food is all terrible in America. But really we have some pretty decent American food, and then we have all sorts of other kinds - Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian...who says we are so closed-minded? And I'm starting to like American accents. I really really love Italy, but I refuse to constantly criticize the US just because it's different. Maybe we aren't quite as "cultured," whatever the heck that means, but give us a few more centuries, for crying out loud - we're just a baby country compared to Italy.
I think I'm starting to fit in with the Italians in at least one respect: I talk about food all the time! :-)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Put your reading glasses on, get comortable, and be sure to hydrate - this is going to be a long one.
Spring Break took forever to get here and is going by incredibly fast, as usual. My last class was Philosophy and we got out two minutes late, but who was counting? That was last Thursday. We had a big "empty the fridge of all the stuff that will go bad while we're away" dinner and then after a while we went to "Amo" for salsa dancing. Staying out late the night before you fly to Paris is maybe not the best idea, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
Friday morning I had to shop around Ortigia a little because the funny thing about backpacking around Europe is, you need a backpack for it. I left mine at home because I prefer my Vera Bradley tote for school. We took the bus to Catania early in the afternoon even though our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 5:25 PM so that we could sit around in the airport and people-watch. At about a quarter to five we found our gate and waited. The flight was delayed. Eventually it said that it was delayed two hours. Um, that's a problem. That would mean we would miss our connecting flight from Milan to Paris. And the hostel we had booked in Paris might cancel our reservation if we didn't make it there by midnight. So with our best "Don't Mess With Texas" attitudes Brie and I went to talk to someone. They kept saying that they had called our names to change our flights, we must have left the airport, they couldn't help us, it was impossible. Finally they found a way to get us to Milan that night and a flight to Paris the next morning. The airline would pay for a hotel for us in Milan, they said.
So we flew to Milan. We got there at about 11, and check-in time for our flight to Paris was 7 the next morning, so unfortunately there was no time to see Milan. Plus the airport is about a 45 minute train ride away from the city, apparently? It took about an hour for the people in the Milan airport to figure out what had happened in the Catania airport and to give us plane tickets and a hotel voucher. A bus took us and a about 20 other people who I imagine were having similar problems to the hotel. It was nearly an hour away, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, but we didn't care. It was a "4 star" hotel where we could finally sleep. We still had to pay for the hostel that we didn't make it to, but we figured we were getting a hotel for the price of a hostel.
The next day we arrived in Paris around noon, I think. The airport was very confusing; none of us spoke French and the dictionary I bought had limited phrases and not much of a pronunciation guide, but the people were super nice and most of them spoke English. We finally go the right metro tickets and found our way to the stop where we needed to get off for our hostel. The stop was called "St. Michele / Notre Dame" and as soon as we climbed the steps out of the station, the first thing we saw, our first view of Paris, was Notre Dame. That was a pretty amazing moment. Of course I got a little squeally and jumpy and we took a lot of pictures, and then we went inside, where you aren't supposed to take pictures. It was beautiful. After a while we started to wander around in search of lunch, and our first Paris meal was salty crepes from a street vender, filled with all sorts of cheeses. We sat on the steps of the "Pantheon." After some walking around we got to our hostel and I think I slept for about 14 hours - I was so tired from midterms, dancing, traveling...the next day we saw the outside of the Louvre, which is quite remarkable even if you don't go inside, and we walked down a beautiful street with parks and trees and statues and fountains - I'm not describing it well at all and even my pictures aren't going to express what it's actually like - and then we saw the Arch di Triomphe (I hope I spelled that right). I had a quiche and croissant for lunch but I don't remember what everyone else had. The Eiffel tower was next. The lines were long, it was cold and rainy, my umbrella broke, and the battery in my camera died that night but it was still one of the most exciting weeks of my life ever.
I love Paris. I saw a lot of it from the top of the Eiffel tower, and I want to go back. We waited around so that we could see the Eiffel tower at night. In front of it there is this glass thing that has "peace" written in lots of different languages. I got a picture of the English word with the tower in the background. I think I also managed to find "paz"(Spanish), "pace"(Italian"), "paix" (French?), and something like "eirene" but in Greek letters, so I'm assuming it was modern Greek. That night we stayed in a particularly sketchy hostel. I don't want to freak anyone out, but there was a small blood stain. We were safe, though, of course, and the next day after breakfast and some walking around we went inside the Louvre. The Louvre is shaped sort of like an A that isn't pointy, and in front there is the big glass pyramid that everyone seems to recognize from The Da Vinci Code. That is the entrance. You go down into the basement, basically, to buy tickets and leave your backpack, and then you go into the Louvre. It was overwhelming. There are all sorts of floors and courtyards. It's just huge. You could spend a week in there. All the captions for the paintings and statues are in French, but I could recognize some of the Classical and neo-Classical works and when I looked at the captions I could tell if I had been right in guessing the names of the mythological figures. Practically the first thing I saw was the Venus di Milo. I got dizzy in some places. The cielings were so ornate I could stare at them for a long time. I have to go now...but I'll finish the Spring break story later....
Spring Break took forever to get here and is going by incredibly fast, as usual. My last class was Philosophy and we got out two minutes late, but who was counting? That was last Thursday. We had a big "empty the fridge of all the stuff that will go bad while we're away" dinner and then after a while we went to "Amo" for salsa dancing. Staying out late the night before you fly to Paris is maybe not the best idea, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
Friday morning I had to shop around Ortigia a little because the funny thing about backpacking around Europe is, you need a backpack for it. I left mine at home because I prefer my Vera Bradley tote for school. We took the bus to Catania early in the afternoon even though our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 5:25 PM so that we could sit around in the airport and people-watch. At about a quarter to five we found our gate and waited. The flight was delayed. Eventually it said that it was delayed two hours. Um, that's a problem. That would mean we would miss our connecting flight from Milan to Paris. And the hostel we had booked in Paris might cancel our reservation if we didn't make it there by midnight. So with our best "Don't Mess With Texas" attitudes Brie and I went to talk to someone. They kept saying that they had called our names to change our flights, we must have left the airport, they couldn't help us, it was impossible. Finally they found a way to get us to Milan that night and a flight to Paris the next morning. The airline would pay for a hotel for us in Milan, they said.
So we flew to Milan. We got there at about 11, and check-in time for our flight to Paris was 7 the next morning, so unfortunately there was no time to see Milan. Plus the airport is about a 45 minute train ride away from the city, apparently? It took about an hour for the people in the Milan airport to figure out what had happened in the Catania airport and to give us plane tickets and a hotel voucher. A bus took us and a about 20 other people who I imagine were having similar problems to the hotel. It was nearly an hour away, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, but we didn't care. It was a "4 star" hotel where we could finally sleep. We still had to pay for the hostel that we didn't make it to, but we figured we were getting a hotel for the price of a hostel.
The next day we arrived in Paris around noon, I think. The airport was very confusing; none of us spoke French and the dictionary I bought had limited phrases and not much of a pronunciation guide, but the people were super nice and most of them spoke English. We finally go the right metro tickets and found our way to the stop where we needed to get off for our hostel. The stop was called "St. Michele / Notre Dame" and as soon as we climbed the steps out of the station, the first thing we saw, our first view of Paris, was Notre Dame. That was a pretty amazing moment. Of course I got a little squeally and jumpy and we took a lot of pictures, and then we went inside, where you aren't supposed to take pictures. It was beautiful. After a while we started to wander around in search of lunch, and our first Paris meal was salty crepes from a street vender, filled with all sorts of cheeses. We sat on the steps of the "Pantheon." After some walking around we got to our hostel and I think I slept for about 14 hours - I was so tired from midterms, dancing, traveling...the next day we saw the outside of the Louvre, which is quite remarkable even if you don't go inside, and we walked down a beautiful street with parks and trees and statues and fountains - I'm not describing it well at all and even my pictures aren't going to express what it's actually like - and then we saw the Arch di Triomphe (I hope I spelled that right). I had a quiche and croissant for lunch but I don't remember what everyone else had. The Eiffel tower was next. The lines were long, it was cold and rainy, my umbrella broke, and the battery in my camera died that night but it was still one of the most exciting weeks of my life ever.
I love Paris. I saw a lot of it from the top of the Eiffel tower, and I want to go back. We waited around so that we could see the Eiffel tower at night. In front of it there is this glass thing that has "peace" written in lots of different languages. I got a picture of the English word with the tower in the background. I think I also managed to find "paz"(Spanish), "pace"(Italian"), "paix" (French?), and something like "eirene" but in Greek letters, so I'm assuming it was modern Greek. That night we stayed in a particularly sketchy hostel. I don't want to freak anyone out, but there was a small blood stain. We were safe, though, of course, and the next day after breakfast and some walking around we went inside the Louvre. The Louvre is shaped sort of like an A that isn't pointy, and in front there is the big glass pyramid that everyone seems to recognize from The Da Vinci Code. That is the entrance. You go down into the basement, basically, to buy tickets and leave your backpack, and then you go into the Louvre. It was overwhelming. There are all sorts of floors and courtyards. It's just huge. You could spend a week in there. All the captions for the paintings and statues are in French, but I could recognize some of the Classical and neo-Classical works and when I looked at the captions I could tell if I had been right in guessing the names of the mythological figures. Practically the first thing I saw was the Venus di Milo. I got dizzy in some places. The cielings were so ornate I could stare at them for a long time. I have to go now...but I'll finish the Spring break story later....
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Mi piace ballare!
I didn't realize that it's been so long since I last updated.
I got my first Italian haircut, which turned out to be a party with a razor. We managed to tell the hairstylist that I wanted just an inch or two off, with layers, and the side bangs trimmed. Then he attacked my head. I really hated it at first but now I'm getting used to it. Brie got her hair cut, too, a lot shorter than she wanted, so we were sad all day, but don't think in terms of Audrey Hepburn ala "Roman Holiday" - it wasn't that bad. There are pictures on Facebook, of course.
We went to Mount Etna last weekend, and it was beautiful, and there are pictures on Facebook. I ate horse meat (!) and it was actually really good, as long as I didn't think about horses...especially any from Black Beauty...especially the one that died. Then we went ice-skating. Sicily is not "the island of eternal sunshine" as someone apparently once said. I love winter.
Tuesday night I hardly slept at all so that I could finish a translation paper for Greek, and I skipped what I'm hoping was not a mandatory trip to the market in Syracuse for all the Italian classes, and I got to Greek class (I am the Greek class, really, it's private instruction) and it turns out it wasn't due yet. My Greek homework takes about five or six hours, anyway, and I had this extra assignment on top of it.
Wednesday was my first night of Salsa lessons. It was really intimidating when all the Italians started walking in, but it was so much fun, and we learned Salsa, Meringue, something that starts with a B, and a little bit of Tango. The lessons are twice a week, and we've already paid for the month of March, although now we realized that the taxi to get there is 6 euro each time, so we're going to figure out how to take a bus, instead.
Today two of my classes (Plato and Art History) were cancelled, so I went to the market this morning and bought all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a Basil plant. It's a little bit intimidating to go to the open market by myself, but it's good for me to practice what little Italian I know. Tonight I'm going to make dinner, and it's finally warm enough to eat out on the terrace! I love cooking here. Instead of looking up a recipe, trying to find all the ingredients, and then following the directions, like I do at home, here I just buy really fresh amazing ingredients and then try to think of ways to combine them. Everything seems to go together because it's all so Italian. There is a middle eastern place here on the island, though, and a Chinese place. I'm glad because I'm actually getting a little tired of pizza and pasta. I don't really crave American food, just something not Italian.
The only material thing I really miss right now is the Baylor library. I miss having a good quiet place to study. I'm finding that I actually don't mind living without a clothes dryer or a car. I don't even really miss the internet. Well, maybe sometimes.
Well, that's pretty much my life right now. Spring break is going to be amazing, and I'll write about it soon.
I got my first Italian haircut, which turned out to be a party with a razor. We managed to tell the hairstylist that I wanted just an inch or two off, with layers, and the side bangs trimmed. Then he attacked my head. I really hated it at first but now I'm getting used to it. Brie got her hair cut, too, a lot shorter than she wanted, so we were sad all day, but don't think in terms of Audrey Hepburn ala "Roman Holiday" - it wasn't that bad. There are pictures on Facebook, of course.
We went to Mount Etna last weekend, and it was beautiful, and there are pictures on Facebook. I ate horse meat (!) and it was actually really good, as long as I didn't think about horses...especially any from Black Beauty...especially the one that died. Then we went ice-skating. Sicily is not "the island of eternal sunshine" as someone apparently once said. I love winter.
Tuesday night I hardly slept at all so that I could finish a translation paper for Greek, and I skipped what I'm hoping was not a mandatory trip to the market in Syracuse for all the Italian classes, and I got to Greek class (I am the Greek class, really, it's private instruction) and it turns out it wasn't due yet. My Greek homework takes about five or six hours, anyway, and I had this extra assignment on top of it.
Wednesday was my first night of Salsa lessons. It was really intimidating when all the Italians started walking in, but it was so much fun, and we learned Salsa, Meringue, something that starts with a B, and a little bit of Tango. The lessons are twice a week, and we've already paid for the month of March, although now we realized that the taxi to get there is 6 euro each time, so we're going to figure out how to take a bus, instead.
Today two of my classes (Plato and Art History) were cancelled, so I went to the market this morning and bought all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a Basil plant. It's a little bit intimidating to go to the open market by myself, but it's good for me to practice what little Italian I know. Tonight I'm going to make dinner, and it's finally warm enough to eat out on the terrace! I love cooking here. Instead of looking up a recipe, trying to find all the ingredients, and then following the directions, like I do at home, here I just buy really fresh amazing ingredients and then try to think of ways to combine them. Everything seems to go together because it's all so Italian. There is a middle eastern place here on the island, though, and a Chinese place. I'm glad because I'm actually getting a little tired of pizza and pasta. I don't really crave American food, just something not Italian.
The only material thing I really miss right now is the Baylor library. I miss having a good quiet place to study. I'm finding that I actually don't mind living without a clothes dryer or a car. I don't even really miss the internet. Well, maybe sometimes.
Well, that's pretty much my life right now. Spring break is going to be amazing, and I'll write about it soon.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wet cobblestone and pointy-toed stilettos
I'm back now from Palermo, the city on the other side of Sicily where we went yesterday and stayed last night. I'm going to try to stick to the interesting things in this blog and not explain boring details...
The mall in Syracuse is awesome. I've never shopped so intensely in my life, and I love the way Europeans dress. They are always bundled up this time of year, even on the days when it isn't that cold. The little old men walk around arm in arm and do the double-air-kiss goodbye. The women do that, too, and little kids...
I spent the night at my first hostel and it wasn't bad at all; actually it was really nice; the lady said it was sort of a hostel, sort of a "guest-house." For 19 euro, it was pretty awesome. The heat actually worked there, and it was more than just a space heater, unlike my apartment, and there was a tv that got lots of channels in German. We watched "Ella Enchanted."
I have some homework to do for Greek, Latin, and Philosophy. I'm still working on my readings list, by which I mean I'm still working on compiling the list; I haven't even started reading for it. I hate doing this while I'm abroad. But my other two classes aren't going to be too bad, I don't think. Italian is really fun. There will be exams, a paper, and a presentation in Art History but until then all I have to do is go on the field trips and take notes in class.
The food is really good here but two of my roommates and I have decided to start imposing certain restrictions on ourselves, because there's just a little too much gelato, tiramisu, cannoli, marzipan, and various other pastries and chocolate things that are everywhere. Espresso has no calories if you drink it black like I do, though, so it's my consolation. The custom here is to drink things with milk in them like cappuccinos or macchiatos only in the morning...
I have lots of pictures still to upload onto facebook, maybe I'll try to put some on here, too. I officially love traveling, and I can't wait to start planning my spring break. I'm hoping to find some really cheap flights to some exciting places, although either way I know I need to stop shopping and save for that. I also want to take at least one weekend trip somewhere. I'll tell you the specific destinations once I find out what they are!
I miss everybody a lot. I know I've only been here for 2 1/2 weeks, but it seems longer because it is farther and because I know that it will be for so long. I'm really happy here, though. It's strange because I'm having the time of my life and I'm looking forward to it being over. Having the time of your life can be exhausting, and there are really weird feelings that come when you suddenly leave all of your family and friends and everyone you know, and then make new friends really quickly, and feel close to them and far away from everybody you're used to being close to. It's just weird. I wish I could be with everyone at once. Sometimes I feel like I don't have the time to maintain all my relationships the way that I would like to.
The mall in Syracuse is awesome. I've never shopped so intensely in my life, and I love the way Europeans dress. They are always bundled up this time of year, even on the days when it isn't that cold. The little old men walk around arm in arm and do the double-air-kiss goodbye. The women do that, too, and little kids...
I spent the night at my first hostel and it wasn't bad at all; actually it was really nice; the lady said it was sort of a hostel, sort of a "guest-house." For 19 euro, it was pretty awesome. The heat actually worked there, and it was more than just a space heater, unlike my apartment, and there was a tv that got lots of channels in German. We watched "Ella Enchanted."
I have some homework to do for Greek, Latin, and Philosophy. I'm still working on my readings list, by which I mean I'm still working on compiling the list; I haven't even started reading for it. I hate doing this while I'm abroad. But my other two classes aren't going to be too bad, I don't think. Italian is really fun. There will be exams, a paper, and a presentation in Art History but until then all I have to do is go on the field trips and take notes in class.
The food is really good here but two of my roommates and I have decided to start imposing certain restrictions on ourselves, because there's just a little too much gelato, tiramisu, cannoli, marzipan, and various other pastries and chocolate things that are everywhere. Espresso has no calories if you drink it black like I do, though, so it's my consolation. The custom here is to drink things with milk in them like cappuccinos or macchiatos only in the morning...
I have lots of pictures still to upload onto facebook, maybe I'll try to put some on here, too. I officially love traveling, and I can't wait to start planning my spring break. I'm hoping to find some really cheap flights to some exciting places, although either way I know I need to stop shopping and save for that. I also want to take at least one weekend trip somewhere. I'll tell you the specific destinations once I find out what they are!
I miss everybody a lot. I know I've only been here for 2 1/2 weeks, but it seems longer because it is farther and because I know that it will be for so long. I'm really happy here, though. It's strange because I'm having the time of my life and I'm looking forward to it being over. Having the time of your life can be exhausting, and there are really weird feelings that come when you suddenly leave all of your family and friends and everyone you know, and then make new friends really quickly, and feel close to them and far away from everybody you're used to being close to. It's just weird. I wish I could be with everyone at once. Sometimes I feel like I don't have the time to maintain all my relationships the way that I would like to.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I don't know where to begin...
The showers are hot now.
I have more pictures coming soon.
My classes are awesome. I'm still figuring out the one that is at Baylor, but I think everything just might turn out okay. I have two field trips this weekend, one on Friday and one on Saturday. Saturday we're going to Catania to have a tour of the historical parts, so I'm excited. My roommates are talking about staying the night in a hostel and not coming back with the rest of the group, which the school actually encourages, so that we can spend more time in that city.
Right now I'm in the computer lab. My Latin prof couldn't make it to our regularly scheduled class time so she wanted to have it later...it was supposed to be now, but I guess she forgot. I have some reading for Philosophy I could do in the library, anyway. Tonight at 8 we have another free meal - there's a fish dinner at some hotel, and apparently they're going to teach us something about fish, or how to cook it, or food, or something. I'm excited. And hungry. Tomorrow night is another one of those talks where they tell us how to be safe. This one's just for the women, and I'm pretty sure I know exactly what they're going to say, but it's mandatory. It's amazing the lengths people will go to in order to correct others' stupidity when in reality, I think we all know how to behave at this point. It's only a matter of if we care to or not.
I'm working on my list of things to do before I turn 21, and by working on it, I mean I'm actually accomplishing the things, not just making the list. :-)
I've been smiling all day. I finally was able to buy francobolli, stamps, so I can send mail now.
I have more pictures coming soon.
My classes are awesome. I'm still figuring out the one that is at Baylor, but I think everything just might turn out okay. I have two field trips this weekend, one on Friday and one on Saturday. Saturday we're going to Catania to have a tour of the historical parts, so I'm excited. My roommates are talking about staying the night in a hostel and not coming back with the rest of the group, which the school actually encourages, so that we can spend more time in that city.
Right now I'm in the computer lab. My Latin prof couldn't make it to our regularly scheduled class time so she wanted to have it later...it was supposed to be now, but I guess she forgot. I have some reading for Philosophy I could do in the library, anyway. Tonight at 8 we have another free meal - there's a fish dinner at some hotel, and apparently they're going to teach us something about fish, or how to cook it, or food, or something. I'm excited. And hungry. Tomorrow night is another one of those talks where they tell us how to be safe. This one's just for the women, and I'm pretty sure I know exactly what they're going to say, but it's mandatory. It's amazing the lengths people will go to in order to correct others' stupidity when in reality, I think we all know how to behave at this point. It's only a matter of if we care to or not.
I'm working on my list of things to do before I turn 21, and by working on it, I mean I'm actually accomplishing the things, not just making the list. :-)
I've been smiling all day. I finally was able to buy francobolli, stamps, so I can send mail now.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I'm here!!!!
And I'm soooooooooo tired. It's almost 7 PM here, so its noon there. No sleep for I don't know how long....been here for a few hours...my apartment is AMAZINGLY beautiful....Still have to go through orientation....no internet in the apt, so I'm here in the tiny computer lab at MCAS, I wish I spoke the language, gas not working yet in the apt, cold shower, gorgeous boutiques, soo tired, can't talk anymore....why is no one on skype?
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Just remember, darling, all the while...
Is it just me or is no one posting blogs anymore except faithful Amanda? This won't do - I demand more reading material.
So it's about 58 hours until I take off and watch one of my dreams come true. :-) I love saying that, even if it's cheesy. I've wanted to go to Europe for a long time, and I've wanted to study abroad since I got to college; now it's finally happening. I've been anxious about it for so long that right now I'm just excited. I'm actually pretty happy right now. I have one more day of work, then I get to see Amanda, and then the adventure starts. I'm *almost* done packing - I think I need to go through and kick some things out of my suitcases. And add some other things. My dad bought me some more memory for my camera today, so I'm going to take a crap load of pictures.
I'm going to miss everyone like crazy. I promise to stay safe like everyone keeps telling me, and not to do anything too stupid....
which reminds me, I never did finish that list, but 21 things is a little bit ambitious, so how about 7?
1. See a freaking opera already! Another one of those things, like going to Europe, that I've always wanted to do.
2. Write 21 letters, cards, or post cards. (I like this one because I've already done 11).
3. Write 21 blog posts.
4. Taste 21 different types of wine. (Thank goodness I'm going to Sicily so this will be legal. I've already tasted merlot, chardonnay, white zinfandel, pinot grigio, and champagne, which I think should count, since it's just carbonated wine, right?).
5. Memorize a whole book of the Bible. (I'm thinking 3rd John).
6. Read 7 books by different authors that I've never read before.
7. My DLS. Which, as I said before, I promise is not anything bad.
So it's about 58 hours until I take off and watch one of my dreams come true. :-) I love saying that, even if it's cheesy. I've wanted to go to Europe for a long time, and I've wanted to study abroad since I got to college; now it's finally happening. I've been anxious about it for so long that right now I'm just excited. I'm actually pretty happy right now. I have one more day of work, then I get to see Amanda, and then the adventure starts. I'm *almost* done packing - I think I need to go through and kick some things out of my suitcases. And add some other things. My dad bought me some more memory for my camera today, so I'm going to take a crap load of pictures.
I'm going to miss everyone like crazy. I promise to stay safe like everyone keeps telling me, and not to do anything too stupid....
which reminds me, I never did finish that list, but 21 things is a little bit ambitious, so how about 7?
1. See a freaking opera already! Another one of those things, like going to Europe, that I've always wanted to do.
2. Write 21 letters, cards, or post cards. (I like this one because I've already done 11).
3. Write 21 blog posts.
4. Taste 21 different types of wine. (Thank goodness I'm going to Sicily so this will be legal. I've already tasted merlot, chardonnay, white zinfandel, pinot grigio, and champagne, which I think should count, since it's just carbonated wine, right?).
5. Memorize a whole book of the Bible. (I'm thinking 3rd John).
6. Read 7 books by different authors that I've never read before.
7. My DLS. Which, as I said before, I promise is not anything bad.
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