WARNING: another long post coming at you... I think this is just going to be a general trend for my weekend trips. Sorry.
Sunday, September 28, 2008.
So at 9:27 pm Kayla, Jenny, and I boarded our train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. At the time, we were not sure how to pronounce that, but I am almost certain now that it is pronounced "Lub-lana," as in silent j's. Who knew j's could be silent? Kayla and I downloaded Law and Order:SVU episodes for our iPods and switched, so our train flew by! We were on the front part of an overnight train to Budapest, so we got off wayyyy before the train terminated. Even so, it was about 2:00 am when we got off and we tried to navigate to our hostel. Luckily we were only about a 2 minute walk from the train station (the man at the train station gave us directions in meters... I cant even do directions in feet/miles, I dont know what he was thinking). It was also about the time that we got off the train that we realized that we had NO idea what language was spoken in Slovenia. Oh goodie. It sounded Russian-esque, but it certainly wasnt anything that I could understand.
We found our hostel to find 9 other people SNORING and dead asleep. So we had to make our beds and get ready for bed in the pitch black dark and be super quiet. Did I mention that our hostel used to be a jail? Well it did. We opted for a NON CELL room, but even then, it was literally box springs on the floor of this attic. Special. I had a delightful nights sleep and woke up ready for our day of exploration. We had breakfast at the hostel and left to walk around. Directly outside our hostel is what we will call the "alternative lifestyle neighborhood." Please see pictures of the graffiti covered walls. All the colors, though, were actually pretty! We used our map to find ourselves some castles and such. One of the castles had a tower we could climb up, which was AMAZING, because the view from up there was UNBELIEVABLE. We came down and found a SLOVENIAN MARKET!!!. It was at this point that I realized I LOVE THIS PLACE! There were little clothes booths, and a TON of fruit and vegetables. I got some peaches which I promptly ate--they did NOT disappoint. We wandered around a little and found a restaurant that looked good (they had no cover charge and free water! Take that, Italy!) My sandwich had practically an entire chicken on it, it was so big, but DELICIOUS.
We continued to walk around and found a tennis complex where we sat for a while watching people play. It was so nice and lovely! We read that there was an opera and a ballet in Ljubljana so we were going to try to find it, but we could not for the LIFE of us find the building, so we decided a big fat NO on that one. Then, guess what, we were hungry again, so we ate dinner! We went to a Slovenian restaurant which probably wouldn't be that memorable were it not for 2 key things. 1- our waiter lit some candles for us on our table and left one on the sideboard-like piece of furniture next to us. About 3 minutes later, the sideboard is on FIRE because he left it under one of the shelves. I moved it just in time, but another waiter walked by thinking that it was ME who lit the fire... 2- we had some DELICIOUS apple pie for dessert!! :) Our waiter also always replied to our "thank you's" with "thank you for you." We thought that was funny!
We went back to our hostel after that--we were BEYOND pooped!!! We were the first ones in bed (ironically after being the LAST ones the night before...). We were sitting around chatting when one of the other guests came in and changed clothes, etc. He threw his towel over one of the beams and cleaned up his stuff etc... We got in bed, and one of my bed neighbors (Kayla and Jenny were together in a corner and I was next to a couple and some rando guy...) asked me if I smelled anything. I told her it smelled like a campfire, but we just assumed it was the party that was going on outside our hotel (we never did figure out what they were celebrating). Anyway, about 10 minutes later, people are screaming FIRE because the towel was draped across a LIGHT BULB and caught on fire. Genius. Apparently we were not having good luck with fires that night...
The rest of the night was uneventful, but we got up early the next morning and took the bus to Lake Bled in Bled, Slovenia. It was really beautiful! When we got there we grabbed some lunch at a pizzeria and I made friends with our waiter. Apparently, the pizza I ordered was called "fat girl" (in my defense, it was mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil...I mean, really?!) He was quick to tell me that, but reassure me that I was NOT fat... thank you, Borris (that is what we named him). When I got up to pay, he told me that I was tall, which I already knew... OHHH BORRIS...
We walked around the lake which was such a nice stroll and BEAUTIFUL views! On the way back we saw a rowing regatta--COOL!! We took the bus ride home, then played cards/read in our hostel until our train back to Venice at 2:22 am. That means we arrived in Venice at 7:30 am--about 2 hours ago, so I am prettttty tired! But, I LOVED Slovenia!!!
Midterms are next week--BOO, so that means studying this week. Or at least PRETENDING to study...
MISS YALL!
xoxo
mckin
PS They speak Slovene! :)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I forgot to mention...
I forgot to mention 2 things...
1- When I was walking around yesterday during Eugenia's practice I ran into an old man wearing a WF hat! I stopped him and asked him if he knew Wake Forest (expecting him to clearly say YES) and he said no, he had no idea what I was talking about. I pointed to his hat and he told me that some friend of his gave it to him, he had no idea what it meant. Typical... I explained to him that it was my university, but he didn't seem that interested in what I was saying.
2- A girl yesterday asked me IN ITALIAN for directions. The fact that I had NO IDEA where she was trying to go was of no moment to me. The important thing is that she thought that I looked local enough to know where I was going!!! YES!!
1- When I was walking around yesterday during Eugenia's practice I ran into an old man wearing a WF hat! I stopped him and asked him if he knew Wake Forest (expecting him to clearly say YES) and he said no, he had no idea what I was talking about. I pointed to his hat and he told me that some friend of his gave it to him, he had no idea what it meant. Typical... I explained to him that it was my university, but he didn't seem that interested in what I was saying.
2- A girl yesterday asked me IN ITALIAN for directions. The fact that I had NO IDEA where she was trying to go was of no moment to me. The important thing is that she thought that I looked local enough to know where I was going!!! YES!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
La mia vita favolosa
Thursday, September 25, 2008. Guess where...
Dear Friends,
I am very sorry that I left you hanging on one of the most interesting weeks of my life (well, "you" being the select few who actually read this...). Let me just give you a quick run down of my days...
Monday- I believe when I left you last I was anticipating my first day of babysitting (mostly because I had not yet told her I would be gone 3 of the remaining 8 weeks I am here... whoops). I met the mom, Giovanna, at her apartment with the older daughter, Eugenia, and the father of the younger daughter, Emelia. We walked to Emelia's school, picked her up, then took Eugenia via Vaparetto to her gym for gymnastics practice (she goes there four times a week!! INTENSE!!) The mom had to show me around so I would know what to do on Mondays and Wednesdays. We played around in i gardini that are close by, then went back home. Emelia and I played until about 6:15 when I had to go BACK to the gym to pick up Eugenia. I was really scared that I was going to get lost, but I didnt! By the time that we got back, it was 7:30 and time for me to leave. I pretty much floated home, I was so excited that I was BABYSITTING IN ITALY!
Tuesday- Another regular day of classes, then off to babysitting! I knew what to do for Mondays and Wednesdays, but Tuesdays Eugenia gets out late and doesnt have gym, so the mom had to show me what to do on Tuesdays (pick up Eugenia and her friend Bianca and bring them back to the apartment). The girls played with my hair and told me that I was as beautiful as a "princepessa." I loved getting to hear them talk in Italiano because I could actually UNDERSTAND them!! It is funny to hear 7 year olds jabber on in every tense imaginable with ALL of the irregulars, while I struggle to conjugate the easiest verbs in the present!
Wednesday- We don't have class until 11:00 am, but I made plans to meet up for coffee with the cousin of two families for whom I babysit back at home. I met him and his fiancee in San Polo (I had never been there before either, and was terrified of getting lost and being late. I didn't even have his cell phone number to call if I got lost...) I was there on time! and had no trouble finding the place! We sat and chatted. I got back to the house to find TWO packages from Mommy! Granted, they were clothes that I already own, but I was so excited to have some warm clothes! Then I babysat. Berta, the other babysitter (I am not sure why they need 2...) and I took Eugenia to the gym and played with Emelia at the park. She and I sat there for almost 2 hours talking in mostly Italian, but a bunch of Spanish in there too about the differences between American and Italian food, grocery stores, etc. It was great because her first language is Spanish and mine is English, and neither of us speaks very good Italian, so it was fun to try to communicate with her!
Today we had a debate in Italian and it was so fun! We argued nord contra sud. Obviously the south won... coke, chick-fil-a, bbq, sweet tea anyone? :) Tonight Jenny, Kayla, and I leave for Slovenia! I am not sure what we are doing there, but we are going and we are going to have a ball!!
More to come on the trip later!
xoxo
mckin
PS- When I was on the Vaparetto yesterday taking Eugenia to the gym, I saw the Vaparetto boy... haha.... ohhhhh my life....
Dear Friends,
I am very sorry that I left you hanging on one of the most interesting weeks of my life (well, "you" being the select few who actually read this...). Let me just give you a quick run down of my days...
Monday- I believe when I left you last I was anticipating my first day of babysitting (mostly because I had not yet told her I would be gone 3 of the remaining 8 weeks I am here... whoops). I met the mom, Giovanna, at her apartment with the older daughter, Eugenia, and the father of the younger daughter, Emelia. We walked to Emelia's school, picked her up, then took Eugenia via Vaparetto to her gym for gymnastics practice (she goes there four times a week!! INTENSE!!) The mom had to show me around so I would know what to do on Mondays and Wednesdays. We played around in i gardini that are close by, then went back home. Emelia and I played until about 6:15 when I had to go BACK to the gym to pick up Eugenia. I was really scared that I was going to get lost, but I didnt! By the time that we got back, it was 7:30 and time for me to leave. I pretty much floated home, I was so excited that I was BABYSITTING IN ITALY!
Tuesday- Another regular day of classes, then off to babysitting! I knew what to do for Mondays and Wednesdays, but Tuesdays Eugenia gets out late and doesnt have gym, so the mom had to show me what to do on Tuesdays (pick up Eugenia and her friend Bianca and bring them back to the apartment). The girls played with my hair and told me that I was as beautiful as a "princepessa." I loved getting to hear them talk in Italiano because I could actually UNDERSTAND them!! It is funny to hear 7 year olds jabber on in every tense imaginable with ALL of the irregulars, while I struggle to conjugate the easiest verbs in the present!
Wednesday- We don't have class until 11:00 am, but I made plans to meet up for coffee with the cousin of two families for whom I babysit back at home. I met him and his fiancee in San Polo (I had never been there before either, and was terrified of getting lost and being late. I didn't even have his cell phone number to call if I got lost...) I was there on time! and had no trouble finding the place! We sat and chatted. I got back to the house to find TWO packages from Mommy! Granted, they were clothes that I already own, but I was so excited to have some warm clothes! Then I babysat. Berta, the other babysitter (I am not sure why they need 2...) and I took Eugenia to the gym and played with Emelia at the park. She and I sat there for almost 2 hours talking in mostly Italian, but a bunch of Spanish in there too about the differences between American and Italian food, grocery stores, etc. It was great because her first language is Spanish and mine is English, and neither of us speaks very good Italian, so it was fun to try to communicate with her!
Today we had a debate in Italian and it was so fun! We argued nord contra sud. Obviously the south won... coke, chick-fil-a, bbq, sweet tea anyone? :) Tonight Jenny, Kayla, and I leave for Slovenia! I am not sure what we are doing there, but we are going and we are going to have a ball!!
More to come on the trip later!
xoxo
mckin
PS- When I was on the Vaparetto yesterday taking Eugenia to the gym, I saw the Vaparetto boy... haha.... ohhhhh my life....
Monday, September 22, 2008
Not exactly Lenox, but it'll do...
Monday September 22, 2008. Venice (I guess I could stop writing this because I have yet to post in another city besides when I was in Greece...)
Yesterday was one of the most wonderful days that I have experienced since I have been here! I woke up FULLY rested and without my alarm clock around 8:45, got up, checked my email and got BACK in bed until about 9:30! I LOVE GETTING BACK INTO MY BED AND LOUNGING!!! I finally got up for good and had a leisurely breakfast. The house was really quiet because most of the house was still out of town. I then brought my nite nites and laptop upstairs and watched a movie on the comfy couch (with a few skype interruptions with Mommy!). Then I had a delectable lunch of leftover pasta. By this point I was STILL in my pjs--the mark of an EXCELLENT morning!! I finally got dressed and ready for the day around 1:00!
Rhianna, Laura and I left for Vicenza, Italy, a little town about 45 minutes away for a shopping extravaganza. They had all sorts of stores there, clearly nothing like my fave shopping back in Atlanta, but it was cool! I mean there was no JCrew... It was interesting though because all of the sizes are different. They had shirts in sizes like 42, 44, 46 etc and jeans in S, M, and L. Who knew?!
We came back here in time for dinner (we didnt want to have to pay for an out dinner) and homemade cookies that Jenny made! I had more than my fair share... oops. I then watched my SECOND movie of the day with Kayla on the big projection screen and hopped in bed. What a GREAT DAY!!
Today is just a normal Monday. I got a lot of catch up emails from friends back at school and home which was GREAT to hear what everyone is up to! AND I START MY FIRST DAY OF BABYSITTING TODAY!!! I am really excited (and a tad nervous!!). I forgot to tell her last time that I am going to be out of town for almost 3 weeks, so I hope she doesnt hate me...
Alrighty, miss yall sooo much! If anyone has extra money hanging out, they should just pop on over here for a visit!!! ;)
xoxo
mckin
Yesterday was one of the most wonderful days that I have experienced since I have been here! I woke up FULLY rested and without my alarm clock around 8:45, got up, checked my email and got BACK in bed until about 9:30! I LOVE GETTING BACK INTO MY BED AND LOUNGING!!! I finally got up for good and had a leisurely breakfast. The house was really quiet because most of the house was still out of town. I then brought my nite nites and laptop upstairs and watched a movie on the comfy couch (with a few skype interruptions with Mommy!). Then I had a delectable lunch of leftover pasta. By this point I was STILL in my pjs--the mark of an EXCELLENT morning!! I finally got dressed and ready for the day around 1:00!
Rhianna, Laura and I left for Vicenza, Italy, a little town about 45 minutes away for a shopping extravaganza. They had all sorts of stores there, clearly nothing like my fave shopping back in Atlanta, but it was cool! I mean there was no JCrew... It was interesting though because all of the sizes are different. They had shirts in sizes like 42, 44, 46 etc and jeans in S, M, and L. Who knew?!
We came back here in time for dinner (we didnt want to have to pay for an out dinner) and homemade cookies that Jenny made! I had more than my fair share... oops. I then watched my SECOND movie of the day with Kayla on the big projection screen and hopped in bed. What a GREAT DAY!!
Today is just a normal Monday. I got a lot of catch up emails from friends back at school and home which was GREAT to hear what everyone is up to! AND I START MY FIRST DAY OF BABYSITTING TODAY!!! I am really excited (and a tad nervous!!). I forgot to tell her last time that I am going to be out of town for almost 3 weeks, so I hope she doesnt hate me...
Alrighty, miss yall sooo much! If anyone has extra money hanging out, they should just pop on over here for a visit!!! ;)
xoxo
mckin
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again...NEVER
Saturday September 20, 2008. Venice (JUST BACK FROM SAN MARINO!)
After an uneventful day of class on Thursday, I took the afternoon off. As in I napped ALL AFTERNOON. It was deeeeeeeee-lightful! I finally got up in time to make dinner, watch Tom Cruise in Cocktail with Rhianna, and then pack for my trip the next day. All in all, the day was a success!!
Friday, I woke up right before my alarm (5:40 am, by the way...). I think I was afraid I was going to oversleep so I didn't sleep well--most of you know this is VERY out of character... I got up, showered and finished packing up my bag. We were packing "light" which clearly included an extra tri-delt tee shirt, BOTH night nights, enough purell for an entire army... Can you picture it now?
We had to rush to the train station for our 7:20 train because I had to validate my Eurail pass (stressful, but only because I made it so...). After a BRISK walk to the station we made it on the train perfectly! The train ride was uneventful. I tried to read my book for our literature class, but I fell asleep every 10 minutes, so I just gave up on that. When we got to Rimini, our destination, we got off the train to find RAIN. WHAT IS WITH THE WEATHER THESE DAYS!?!? We pulled out our directions to the hostel and were on our way. Bus #11 to stop 24, then they were number 25. Sunflower Beach Backpacker's Hostel, here we come!! We found the hostel with little difficulty. From the outside, I was...skeptical to say the least. Other than Greece, I have never been to a hostel, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The woman who greeted us at the door was very nice and spoke about 5 different languages. The hostel had free linens, free internet, free breakfast, comfy couches, free showers, lots of books, tables and chairs, free wifi... etc. It was REALLY COOL! It had pretty wall colors, and I just loved it!!! I kinda didn't want to leave the hostel (and the increasing DOWNPOUR outside wasn't helping...) We checked in early and left our stuff while we went to find lunch. While we were there, Zach, a boy from the house who was in Madrid for the weekend, called to tell me that the night before they ran into some sorority sisters of mine!! CRAZY!! In all of Europe...
We stopped off earlier than we wanted to because the rain was just getting tooo bad. I had an umbrella and a rain jacket, but that can only do so much. I had a DELICIOUS mozzarella and tomato sandwich (and a few bites of Jenny's nutella and whipped cream wrap...). We decided to head back to the hostel (YESSSSSSSS) and wait for the rain to die down a tad. Around 2:00, we decided that the rain had subsided enough and we ventured out. The hostel gave us a free map that had 4 "monuments" of Rimini on it, so we went on an adventure to find them. They seem to be spread out across the WHOLE city, so I was concerned that it would be a LOT of walking in the rain, but turns out, Rimini is about the size of Westminster's campus (ok, so maybe slightly bigger), so it wasn't too bad (don't get me wrong, that Askew to Turner walk can be a KILLER in the rain).
We found a few really cute buildings, a castle, some pretty windows, flowers, etc. Check out my pictures and you will see pretty much EVERYTHING I saw! We found a place for dinner after about 45 minutes of walking. Apparently Rimini-ians only eat at cafes, because we could find almost NO real restaurants. After dinner, we even had trouble finding gelato places and that is just NOT ok. We went back to the hostel and fell asleep with NO problem around 9:45 pm. Without a doubt the EARLIEST I have gone to sleep in Europe.
The next morning, we got up, ate our free breakfast, checked out, and headed for San Marino. The teacher in me is coming out: let me give you a little lesson on San Marino. San Marino is a COUNTRY completely land locked in Italy. If you have looked at a map of Italy a thousand times, you STILL probably missed it. We were going to the CITY of San Marino, conveniently located in the COUNTRY of San Marino. It is smaller than Atlanta, yet a country. Interesting. Anyway, they have 3 famous towers there (which we were too cheap to pay to go in, so we only have pictures from the outside) that we hiked around and found. I was in my flip-flops though because my regular shoes were STILL SOAKED from the night before. GROSS. We found some pretty postcards--I bought 2 to send home, but had to write them THERE because the San Marino francobolli (stamps) only work in San Marino. It seems obvious now, but it was quite a concept while we were there.
We saw everything we wanted to see, so decided to take the earlier bus back to Rimini, and then the earlier train back to Venice. We could get back earlier, and eat dinner back at home which would save us money. YES PLEASE!!
We got on the train, but I was slightly disappointed that we had not made any new friends on our trip. Do not fear, the trip was not yet over. A girl came and sat next to us on the train and she was studying just like we were. Granted, she was an ITALIAN student, but we shared the woes of studying etc. I was happy that I had not gone an ENTIRE weekend without making a new friend!!
I think that Rhianna and I are going to Vincenza tomorrow to go shopping. I have not bought ONE THING while here not counting food or other things that were unavoidable. As in NO SOUVENIRS. We must change that and FAST. Don't worry, Daddy, I wont spend TOOOO much. AND I'll have an income come Monday!!
Okie Dokie. Ill tell you all about my shopping adventures later!
Love yall!
xoxo
After an uneventful day of class on Thursday, I took the afternoon off. As in I napped ALL AFTERNOON. It was deeeeeeeee-lightful! I finally got up in time to make dinner, watch Tom Cruise in Cocktail with Rhianna, and then pack for my trip the next day. All in all, the day was a success!!
Friday, I woke up right before my alarm (5:40 am, by the way...). I think I was afraid I was going to oversleep so I didn't sleep well--most of you know this is VERY out of character... I got up, showered and finished packing up my bag. We were packing "light" which clearly included an extra tri-delt tee shirt, BOTH night nights, enough purell for an entire army... Can you picture it now?
We had to rush to the train station for our 7:20 train because I had to validate my Eurail pass (stressful, but only because I made it so...). After a BRISK walk to the station we made it on the train perfectly! The train ride was uneventful. I tried to read my book for our literature class, but I fell asleep every 10 minutes, so I just gave up on that. When we got to Rimini, our destination, we got off the train to find RAIN. WHAT IS WITH THE WEATHER THESE DAYS!?!? We pulled out our directions to the hostel and were on our way. Bus #11 to stop 24, then they were number 25. Sunflower Beach Backpacker's Hostel, here we come!! We found the hostel with little difficulty. From the outside, I was...skeptical to say the least. Other than Greece, I have never been to a hostel, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The woman who greeted us at the door was very nice and spoke about 5 different languages. The hostel had free linens, free internet, free breakfast, comfy couches, free showers, lots of books, tables and chairs, free wifi... etc. It was REALLY COOL! It had pretty wall colors, and I just loved it!!! I kinda didn't want to leave the hostel (and the increasing DOWNPOUR outside wasn't helping...) We checked in early and left our stuff while we went to find lunch. While we were there, Zach, a boy from the house who was in Madrid for the weekend, called to tell me that the night before they ran into some sorority sisters of mine!! CRAZY!! In all of Europe...
We stopped off earlier than we wanted to because the rain was just getting tooo bad. I had an umbrella and a rain jacket, but that can only do so much. I had a DELICIOUS mozzarella and tomato sandwich (and a few bites of Jenny's nutella and whipped cream wrap...). We decided to head back to the hostel (YESSSSSSSS) and wait for the rain to die down a tad. Around 2:00, we decided that the rain had subsided enough and we ventured out. The hostel gave us a free map that had 4 "monuments" of Rimini on it, so we went on an adventure to find them. They seem to be spread out across the WHOLE city, so I was concerned that it would be a LOT of walking in the rain, but turns out, Rimini is about the size of Westminster's campus (ok, so maybe slightly bigger), so it wasn't too bad (don't get me wrong, that Askew to Turner walk can be a KILLER in the rain).
We found a few really cute buildings, a castle, some pretty windows, flowers, etc. Check out my pictures and you will see pretty much EVERYTHING I saw! We found a place for dinner after about 45 minutes of walking. Apparently Rimini-ians only eat at cafes, because we could find almost NO real restaurants. After dinner, we even had trouble finding gelato places and that is just NOT ok. We went back to the hostel and fell asleep with NO problem around 9:45 pm. Without a doubt the EARLIEST I have gone to sleep in Europe.
The next morning, we got up, ate our free breakfast, checked out, and headed for San Marino. The teacher in me is coming out: let me give you a little lesson on San Marino. San Marino is a COUNTRY completely land locked in Italy. If you have looked at a map of Italy a thousand times, you STILL probably missed it. We were going to the CITY of San Marino, conveniently located in the COUNTRY of San Marino. It is smaller than Atlanta, yet a country. Interesting. Anyway, they have 3 famous towers there (which we were too cheap to pay to go in, so we only have pictures from the outside) that we hiked around and found. I was in my flip-flops though because my regular shoes were STILL SOAKED from the night before. GROSS. We found some pretty postcards--I bought 2 to send home, but had to write them THERE because the San Marino francobolli (stamps) only work in San Marino. It seems obvious now, but it was quite a concept while we were there.
We saw everything we wanted to see, so decided to take the earlier bus back to Rimini, and then the earlier train back to Venice. We could get back earlier, and eat dinner back at home which would save us money. YES PLEASE!!
We got on the train, but I was slightly disappointed that we had not made any new friends on our trip. Do not fear, the trip was not yet over. A girl came and sat next to us on the train and she was studying just like we were. Granted, she was an ITALIAN student, but we shared the woes of studying etc. I was happy that I had not gone an ENTIRE weekend without making a new friend!!
I think that Rhianna and I are going to Vincenza tomorrow to go shopping. I have not bought ONE THING while here not counting food or other things that were unavoidable. As in NO SOUVENIRS. We must change that and FAST. Don't worry, Daddy, I wont spend TOOOO much. AND I'll have an income come Monday!!
Okie Dokie. Ill tell you all about my shopping adventures later!
Love yall!
xoxo
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I love my life!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008. Venice.
I apologize for the proximity of posts, but I just had to update my last entry! I was disappointed yesterday afternoon that I didnt exchange email addresses with my new friend that I met in Santa Margarita, but it didnt matter, because she looked me up on facebook and messaged me--so now I have an American friend in Venice!! YESSS!! We are going to try to get our groups together sometime next week which would be SOO fun!
Then at 7:40, I went to go meet up with the family for whom I might be babysitting. I knew RIGHT where their house was because of the 2 hours I spent looking for it earlier in the day! I buzzed in and they gave me directions to take the elevator etc. I have NEVER seen an elevator like this. It was TEENY!! and I didnt know how to call the elevator either, and was afraid that I might accidentally call the police or fire alarm instead (it looked like what we have for fire alarms...) Anyway, I finally get up to their apartment--which was BEAUTIFUL by the way--and meet this precious family that I already love! They have 2 girls who both do gymnastics. The little one wouldnt talk to me in English until I had her convinced that my Italian was WAYY worse than her English. As it turns out, I am going to work there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3:30-7:30 playing with them, taking them to the gym, talking to them in English etc. I AM SOO EXCITED! I was worried that it was a huge time commitment (and it IS) but I figure that spending 12 hours a week with an actual Italian family is way more cultural than sitting around playing never have I ever with 19 Wake Forest students--not that I dont LOVE doing that, but I think while in Italy, I should find every way to embrace this culture!! So I WILL!! Plus, a little income never hurt anyone, right?!
I got back and everyone was going out. So clearly I went. We got all dressed up (let me tell you, I was in my TARGET dress with my hair back in a pony tail barrette, nothing to be impressed with) but I did make a friend on the Vaparetto (public water bus system of Venice). We are not exactly sure what his name is, but I think we are going to get coffee early next week. Well see how that goes... Dont worry Mommy and Daddy, I will make sure that someone is there with me. ;)
Now I am off to class. Again, this whole Study part of Study Abroad keeps getting in my way. Ill have to work on that.
Love yall
xoxo
mckin
I apologize for the proximity of posts, but I just had to update my last entry! I was disappointed yesterday afternoon that I didnt exchange email addresses with my new friend that I met in Santa Margarita, but it didnt matter, because she looked me up on facebook and messaged me--so now I have an American friend in Venice!! YESSS!! We are going to try to get our groups together sometime next week which would be SOO fun!
Then at 7:40, I went to go meet up with the family for whom I might be babysitting. I knew RIGHT where their house was because of the 2 hours I spent looking for it earlier in the day! I buzzed in and they gave me directions to take the elevator etc. I have NEVER seen an elevator like this. It was TEENY!! and I didnt know how to call the elevator either, and was afraid that I might accidentally call the police or fire alarm instead (it looked like what we have for fire alarms...) Anyway, I finally get up to their apartment--which was BEAUTIFUL by the way--and meet this precious family that I already love! They have 2 girls who both do gymnastics. The little one wouldnt talk to me in English until I had her convinced that my Italian was WAYY worse than her English. As it turns out, I am going to work there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3:30-7:30 playing with them, taking them to the gym, talking to them in English etc. I AM SOO EXCITED! I was worried that it was a huge time commitment (and it IS) but I figure that spending 12 hours a week with an actual Italian family is way more cultural than sitting around playing never have I ever with 19 Wake Forest students--not that I dont LOVE doing that, but I think while in Italy, I should find every way to embrace this culture!! So I WILL!! Plus, a little income never hurt anyone, right?!
I got back and everyone was going out. So clearly I went. We got all dressed up (let me tell you, I was in my TARGET dress with my hair back in a pony tail barrette, nothing to be impressed with) but I did make a friend on the Vaparetto (public water bus system of Venice). We are not exactly sure what his name is, but I think we are going to get coffee early next week. Well see how that goes... Dont worry Mommy and Daddy, I will make sure that someone is there with me. ;)
Now I am off to class. Again, this whole Study part of Study Abroad keeps getting in my way. Ill have to work on that.
Love yall
xoxo
mckin
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lost? Me? Never... OK, well maybe just a tad.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008. The city with no directions, Italy.
Since I last posted, some big things have been happening. Well not BIG persay, but bigger than my usual nap, eat, work, skype routine. Sunday morning, I tried out a church in Venice! It was an Anglican Church, which I had never been to, so I dont have much to compare, but it was interesting. It was funny, though, because I didnt know where the church was. I printed out directions and spend maybe 20 mins looking around for it earlier in the week, but never found it. I was hoping that Kalya or Elizabeth would be able to help--I knew it wasnt that far because they said they were near the Accadamia bridge, same side as we are. When we left, though, it was POURING and we stopped along the way at a owning to wait for the rain to pass, and we had a chat about how dedicated we were to finding the church, when we looked up and saw "St. George's Anglican Church." I have pass by the church EVERY time I leave the house and never knew it was there! CRAZY!! The actual service was different. There was one part where we prayed for the Queen, and I thought to myself.. what queen?! Then I remembered that the Anglican church was the Church of England that Henry VIII essentially formed so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. (hows that for some history from the NON-history person?! I just hope that is right...) Anyway, history lesson aside, it was interesting. I am going to try their "more contemporary" service that they have on Thursday evenings.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Grocery store run and lots of cuddling. It was a dreary day and I wanted to be in my pjs in my bed! Monday was just a regular day of classes. After class we had a house meeting where David, looking DIRECTLY, at me asked all members of the house if anyone would be interested in babysitting for a family that has 2 girls. They lived in New York for a few years and want their girls to continue learning English. My hand SHOT up! I had been looking for an opportunity like this!
Today, I got the phone number of the family and called. They want to meet today!! I needed to go to the train station, so I thought that I would find their house after that. On the way to the train station, I saw a girl sitting on a bench with a Duke shirt on and a Duke hat, so I stopped and asked her if she went to Duke. Logical, right? She looks up at me like she is going to tell me in VERY FAST Italian that she has no idea what I am talking about... but she didnt! She is indeed a Duke student (as was her friend sitting next to her) and they are studying for the semester in Venice! We told them that we hang out in Santa Margarita a lot, and to stop us if they ever see us! I love this place!!!
So I finally got to the train station to buy my tickets for this weekend to Rimini and San Marino and got in the wrong line TWICE before they told me that this train didnt require reservations, all I needed was to validate my Eurail pass. Cool. 45 mins DOWN THE DRAIN. So then I walked back towards Casa Artom to find this house. I walked for over an hour trying to find number 401. If you know anything about Venice, you know there is no rhyme or reason to the numbering system here, so every time I would get close to 401, it would jump to like 1352 or something. I was SO frustrated. I finally found 399 where some men were talking and asked them in PERFECT (or as perfect as I can be...) Italian where 401 was. They gave me directions IN ITALIAN and then I found it!! It is conveniently enough about 4 minutes from the house yet took me over an hour to find. This was my first TRUE Venetian getting-lost-story! And I couldnt be more proud! :)
So I am going to eat tonight here at the house, meet this babysitting family, then perhaps meet back up with the group who is going out! Fewf, what a day!!
love love love!!
xoxo
mckin
Since I last posted, some big things have been happening. Well not BIG persay, but bigger than my usual nap, eat, work, skype routine. Sunday morning, I tried out a church in Venice! It was an Anglican Church, which I had never been to, so I dont have much to compare, but it was interesting. It was funny, though, because I didnt know where the church was. I printed out directions and spend maybe 20 mins looking around for it earlier in the week, but never found it. I was hoping that Kalya or Elizabeth would be able to help--I knew it wasnt that far because they said they were near the Accadamia bridge, same side as we are. When we left, though, it was POURING and we stopped along the way at a owning to wait for the rain to pass, and we had a chat about how dedicated we were to finding the church, when we looked up and saw "St. George's Anglican Church." I have pass by the church EVERY time I leave the house and never knew it was there! CRAZY!! The actual service was different. There was one part where we prayed for the Queen, and I thought to myself.. what queen?! Then I remembered that the Anglican church was the Church of England that Henry VIII essentially formed so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. (hows that for some history from the NON-history person?! I just hope that is right...) Anyway, history lesson aside, it was interesting. I am going to try their "more contemporary" service that they have on Thursday evenings.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Grocery store run and lots of cuddling. It was a dreary day and I wanted to be in my pjs in my bed! Monday was just a regular day of classes. After class we had a house meeting where David, looking DIRECTLY, at me asked all members of the house if anyone would be interested in babysitting for a family that has 2 girls. They lived in New York for a few years and want their girls to continue learning English. My hand SHOT up! I had been looking for an opportunity like this!
Today, I got the phone number of the family and called. They want to meet today!! I needed to go to the train station, so I thought that I would find their house after that. On the way to the train station, I saw a girl sitting on a bench with a Duke shirt on and a Duke hat, so I stopped and asked her if she went to Duke. Logical, right? She looks up at me like she is going to tell me in VERY FAST Italian that she has no idea what I am talking about... but she didnt! She is indeed a Duke student (as was her friend sitting next to her) and they are studying for the semester in Venice! We told them that we hang out in Santa Margarita a lot, and to stop us if they ever see us! I love this place!!!
So I finally got to the train station to buy my tickets for this weekend to Rimini and San Marino and got in the wrong line TWICE before they told me that this train didnt require reservations, all I needed was to validate my Eurail pass. Cool. 45 mins DOWN THE DRAIN. So then I walked back towards Casa Artom to find this house. I walked for over an hour trying to find number 401. If you know anything about Venice, you know there is no rhyme or reason to the numbering system here, so every time I would get close to 401, it would jump to like 1352 or something. I was SO frustrated. I finally found 399 where some men were talking and asked them in PERFECT (or as perfect as I can be...) Italian where 401 was. They gave me directions IN ITALIAN and then I found it!! It is conveniently enough about 4 minutes from the house yet took me over an hour to find. This was my first TRUE Venetian getting-lost-story! And I couldnt be more proud! :)
So I am going to eat tonight here at the house, meet this babysitting family, then perhaps meet back up with the group who is going out! Fewf, what a day!!
love love love!!
xoxo
mckin
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Not a post for the faint hearted: CINQUE TERRE
Sunday, September 14, 2008.
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. In the words of every Westminster teacher, "I have a lot of information to cover, and not enough time to cover it." So here goes...
Wednesday night we went to dinner for Elizabeth's birthday. It was a nice little restaurant on the other side of the Accadamia bridge. Our waiter was kinda cookey; instead of going around and asking everyone what they wanted, he went through the menu and asked everyone to raise their hand for the item they wanted... anyway... after that we went to the casino. We got all dressed up and walked the FORTY minutes it takes to get there, but it was a beautiful night! We had to give them our passport and they entered in all the information into the computer. I didnt realize that they were also trying to take my picture, so my picture that they now have on file for Elizabeth McKinley Kane is one where I am looking away and frowning... They require you to pay 10 euro to get in, but they give you a 10 euro chip when you enter. I waited a long time to invest my money, but after Rhianna made SEVENTY FIVE euro and Ana made 50, I thought I was destined to win. WRONG. The minimum bid was 10 e, so when I put mine down and lost it, I was finished. A few of the girls and I left early and headed back home because we had class the next am... whoops...
Thursday we had normal class (minus music because David lost a bunch of music that he needed for class. I hate it when they cancel class on me ;) ) but our Art History class had a visit as we do EVERY Thursday. We went to St. Marks Basilica. I had been outside to see it when Katie and Eli came, but we decided to be cheap and not actually enter. Good thing, because our teacher apparently has ALL the connections. We got in for free AND avoided the line. Once we were in there, she took us to all of the places where normally people have to pay to enter plus some places that people cannot enter at all! If you havent seen it, please google it, because it is AMAZING! The whole ceiling is mosaicked with GOLD LEAF tiles. I could go on and on, but I wont. Suffice it to say, it was beautiful and amazing.
We came directly back to the house after that because we were leaving for CINQUE TERRE!!! Side story:: As we were packing up final things, the house keepers were DEBUGGING our house. Im not kidding. Apparently, some people picked up FLEAS from a train and brought them back to the house. So while we were gone to Cinque Terre, the house was being exterminated... Back to my original story. Now, I didnt know anything about Cinque Terre before this weekend, so let me give you a little back ground. Cinque Terre is not actually a CITY, it is the collection of five towns (thus cinque-five terre-lands. If you care for more information, check this site). Anyway, we were going to the southern most of these five little towns, Riomaggiore. We booked 3 apartments because there were 17 of us going--16 house people plus our student adviser, Jenny. We had to check in before 8:00 pm but we were NEVER going to make it there with the train we had (15:43 because our class lasted until later than the previous train) so we had to send Jenny ahead. This meant that I, MCKINLEY KANE, was in charge with getting all 16 of the rest of us to Cinque Terre. Super. We had to go from Venice to Bologna to La Spezia to Riomaggiore. Luckily, everything went according to plan. Our La Spezia to Riomaggiore train was a tight connection, but we ran and made it! I was laughing THE WHOLE TIME, though, at the image of 16 college students running with luggage across the La Spezia train station. A random guy on the train told us we wouldn't need tickets. I was meant to simply ask him if he was positive about this and asked him, "Are you the conductor?" Apparently, though, it came out like I was trying to put him in his place by saying, "Are YOU the conductor?!" as in, what kind of authority do you have to say this? Everyone laughed at me, story of my life...
We got to Riomaggiore late Thursday night and met Jenny. I couldnt really see anything because it was dark, but I could tell that the town was SO cute! It was on the coast and went, LITERALLY, directly up. AKA lots and lots of stairs. Everyone got settled into their apartments and we met up for a VERY late dinner.
Friday morning, Kayla, Jenny, Elizabeth and I got up semi-early and went down to the little town for breakfast. I had the most wonderful chocolate brioche ever. We then met up with some other people in our group and around 100:00 am began one of the most STRENUOUS experiences of my life. The five towns of Cinque Terre are connected by a hiking trial--an eight mile, hilly, stair ridden, dirt/slippery rock path. It started out nice and easy with a paved path and an overcast sky, but by the time we were in the fifth town, it was HOT and there were switchbacks with stairs etc. I wanted to curl up in the shade and take a nap. We finally got back to our room around 5:00 pm. It was an amazing hike once we were done and absolutely worth the sore EVERYTHING I had the next day. I have so many pictures of it, so PLEASE look at them!
We met up with the group again for dinner and ran into some Auburn guys (one of whom was from Lassiter High School!!) who wanted to hang out with us. Dont worry--we were tooooo good for them :) We were hanging out after dinner, when Ana and Rhianna called (they went back to the fifth city for dinner) and told us that there was a train strike. Yes, that is right, a TRAIN STRIKE... So that meant that Ana and Rhianna were stuck in Monterosso until the train strike ended and the panic began because we were supposed to leave Saturday afternoon around 4:00. We decided to get to sleep and get up early the next morning to figure out what was going on and what we needed to do.
So....Jenny, Elizabeth, Kayla and I got up and went to the train station. They told us that there was a train leaving for La Spezia in about 4 minutes, and then ONE LAST one for the day leaving in an hour. It was maybe 8:30 at that point and no one else was up. We had to get everyone up, packed up, and apartments cleaned in an hour. Mission Possible? I thought not. But we did it. We crammed onto the train to La Spezia. Once to La Spezia, we had to sit around and wait in LINE AFTER LINE to figure out how to get back to Venice. After an hour or so we decided that our best bet was to go from La Spezia to Pisa to Florence to Venice because that way we could use the tickets we already purchased (we were supposed to go from La Spezia to Viarregio to Florence to Venice) and those trains were among the few confirmed. So we went to Pisa and got to see the tower!!! There really isn't much in Pisa besides the tower, so it was nice that we no longer had to waste a trip there! I also bought some pink sunglasses from a street vendor while we were there! After seeing the tower, we still had a few hours before our Florence train, so we stopped off at a pizza place where we met the SKETCHIEST waiter ever. We finally escaped from that back to the train station and got on our train. The trains from Pisa to Florence and Florence to Venice were uneventful except that we essentially LAUGHED the whole time. I think this group of people just has too much fun with each other! Good thing there is no such thing as too much fun!
When we got back to Venice, our lovely city decided to greet us with rainy and cold weather. Thanks, Venice. We took the Vaparetto back to the house because we were so exhausted. It took us over 12 hours to get home!! I showered, hopped into my newly debugged bed, and was asleep within 15 minutes.
SO that was my weekend. Thank you for reading the whole thing (if you even did...) Please look at my pictures! They are really fun and beautiful!
xoxo
mckin
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. In the words of every Westminster teacher, "I have a lot of information to cover, and not enough time to cover it." So here goes...
Wednesday night we went to dinner for Elizabeth's birthday. It was a nice little restaurant on the other side of the Accadamia bridge. Our waiter was kinda cookey; instead of going around and asking everyone what they wanted, he went through the menu and asked everyone to raise their hand for the item they wanted... anyway... after that we went to the casino. We got all dressed up and walked the FORTY minutes it takes to get there, but it was a beautiful night! We had to give them our passport and they entered in all the information into the computer. I didnt realize that they were also trying to take my picture, so my picture that they now have on file for Elizabeth McKinley Kane is one where I am looking away and frowning... They require you to pay 10 euro to get in, but they give you a 10 euro chip when you enter. I waited a long time to invest my money, but after Rhianna made SEVENTY FIVE euro and Ana made 50, I thought I was destined to win. WRONG. The minimum bid was 10 e, so when I put mine down and lost it, I was finished. A few of the girls and I left early and headed back home because we had class the next am... whoops...
Thursday we had normal class (minus music because David lost a bunch of music that he needed for class. I hate it when they cancel class on me ;) ) but our Art History class had a visit as we do EVERY Thursday. We went to St. Marks Basilica. I had been outside to see it when Katie and Eli came, but we decided to be cheap and not actually enter. Good thing, because our teacher apparently has ALL the connections. We got in for free AND avoided the line. Once we were in there, she took us to all of the places where normally people have to pay to enter plus some places that people cannot enter at all! If you havent seen it, please google it, because it is AMAZING! The whole ceiling is mosaicked with GOLD LEAF tiles. I could go on and on, but I wont. Suffice it to say, it was beautiful and amazing.
We came directly back to the house after that because we were leaving for CINQUE TERRE!!! Side story:: As we were packing up final things, the house keepers were DEBUGGING our house. Im not kidding. Apparently, some people picked up FLEAS from a train and brought them back to the house. So while we were gone to Cinque Terre, the house was being exterminated... Back to my original story. Now, I didnt know anything about Cinque Terre before this weekend, so let me give you a little back ground. Cinque Terre is not actually a CITY, it is the collection of five towns (thus cinque-five terre-lands. If you care for more information, check this site). Anyway, we were going to the southern most of these five little towns, Riomaggiore. We booked 3 apartments because there were 17 of us going--16 house people plus our student adviser, Jenny. We had to check in before 8:00 pm but we were NEVER going to make it there with the train we had (15:43 because our class lasted until later than the previous train) so we had to send Jenny ahead. This meant that I, MCKINLEY KANE, was in charge with getting all 16 of the rest of us to Cinque Terre. Super. We had to go from Venice to Bologna to La Spezia to Riomaggiore. Luckily, everything went according to plan. Our La Spezia to Riomaggiore train was a tight connection, but we ran and made it! I was laughing THE WHOLE TIME, though, at the image of 16 college students running with luggage across the La Spezia train station. A random guy on the train told us we wouldn't need tickets. I was meant to simply ask him if he was positive about this and asked him, "Are you the conductor?" Apparently, though, it came out like I was trying to put him in his place by saying, "Are YOU the conductor?!" as in, what kind of authority do you have to say this? Everyone laughed at me, story of my life...
We got to Riomaggiore late Thursday night and met Jenny. I couldnt really see anything because it was dark, but I could tell that the town was SO cute! It was on the coast and went, LITERALLY, directly up. AKA lots and lots of stairs. Everyone got settled into their apartments and we met up for a VERY late dinner.
Friday morning, Kayla, Jenny, Elizabeth and I got up semi-early and went down to the little town for breakfast. I had the most wonderful chocolate brioche ever. We then met up with some other people in our group and around 100:00 am began one of the most STRENUOUS experiences of my life. The five towns of Cinque Terre are connected by a hiking trial--an eight mile, hilly, stair ridden, dirt/slippery rock path. It started out nice and easy with a paved path and an overcast sky, but by the time we were in the fifth town, it was HOT and there were switchbacks with stairs etc. I wanted to curl up in the shade and take a nap. We finally got back to our room around 5:00 pm. It was an amazing hike once we were done and absolutely worth the sore EVERYTHING I had the next day. I have so many pictures of it, so PLEASE look at them!
We met up with the group again for dinner and ran into some Auburn guys (one of whom was from Lassiter High School!!) who wanted to hang out with us. Dont worry--we were tooooo good for them :) We were hanging out after dinner, when Ana and Rhianna called (they went back to the fifth city for dinner) and told us that there was a train strike. Yes, that is right, a TRAIN STRIKE... So that meant that Ana and Rhianna were stuck in Monterosso until the train strike ended and the panic began because we were supposed to leave Saturday afternoon around 4:00. We decided to get to sleep and get up early the next morning to figure out what was going on and what we needed to do.
So....Jenny, Elizabeth, Kayla and I got up and went to the train station. They told us that there was a train leaving for La Spezia in about 4 minutes, and then ONE LAST one for the day leaving in an hour. It was maybe 8:30 at that point and no one else was up. We had to get everyone up, packed up, and apartments cleaned in an hour. Mission Possible? I thought not. But we did it. We crammed onto the train to La Spezia. Once to La Spezia, we had to sit around and wait in LINE AFTER LINE to figure out how to get back to Venice. After an hour or so we decided that our best bet was to go from La Spezia to Pisa to Florence to Venice because that way we could use the tickets we already purchased (we were supposed to go from La Spezia to Viarregio to Florence to Venice) and those trains were among the few confirmed. So we went to Pisa and got to see the tower!!! There really isn't much in Pisa besides the tower, so it was nice that we no longer had to waste a trip there! I also bought some pink sunglasses from a street vendor while we were there! After seeing the tower, we still had a few hours before our Florence train, so we stopped off at a pizza place where we met the SKETCHIEST waiter ever. We finally escaped from that back to the train station and got on our train. The trains from Pisa to Florence and Florence to Venice were uneventful except that we essentially LAUGHED the whole time. I think this group of people just has too much fun with each other! Good thing there is no such thing as too much fun!
When we got back to Venice, our lovely city decided to greet us with rainy and cold weather. Thanks, Venice. We took the Vaparetto back to the house because we were so exhausted. It took us over 12 hours to get home!! I showered, hopped into my newly debugged bed, and was asleep within 15 minutes.
SO that was my weekend. Thank you for reading the whole thing (if you even did...) Please look at my pictures! They are really fun and beautiful!
xoxo
mckin
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
And 800 euro later...
Wednesday September 10, 2008. The BEST city in the world (Venice! duh)
SOO We leave for Cinque Terre, Italy tomorrow afternoon and I AM EXCITED!! It is my first traveling adventure! I, somehow, got put in charge of the tickets, though, so that makes me nervous. Especially since I had to pay for them all. This brings me to my first real predicament of this trip. A few of us went to the train station the other day to buy the tickets and I put them all on my credit card, and at 12 people times 60 euro per ticket, that is a WHOLLLLLLE lotta money! (Dont worry, I hunted everyone down until I was paid in full!) Anyway, when I went back yesterday to buy my tickets for my October break travels, my credit card was rejected. Oops. When I called the credit card people when I got back, they said it must have been a problem with the train station's machine. I guess we will just have to see... I did get the tickets though, which means that I now have EVERY leg of my trip planned out, even with hostels!! I am much less stressed now!
Wednesdays are our "late class" days, so we went out last night to Santa Margarita (again...) and it was SO FUN! I resisted the temptation of gelato for the FIRST TIME since I have been here! It was especially hard because the day before I had THE BEST GELATO since I arrived here. It was caramel which is surprising, because I usually lean towards the sugar based fruity ones and not the creamier ones. But it was DIVINE. Anyway, we came back at a reasonable hour, but then stayed up talking in the hallway. So much for my plans of catching up on sleep...
I got up early this morning anyway and did laundry and went for a stroll. A very productive morning if you ask me! I decided to go to the LEFT of the house for the first time! (We always turn RIGHT out of the house, I had never been left!) I walked around and found a pretty church and got to see a lot of good people watching!
Last weekend (I am not sure if I wrote about this earlier...) the boys went to the casino while the girls had a girls night out! Much to the boys' dismay, we ACTUALLY had fun without them! But they have now decided that they are having a casino "date function." The frat boy lives on... So anyway, that is what we are up to tonight. Let me tell you that my "date function" attire is limited from my 44 lbs of clothes that I brought. Ill just have to make due!
Thats all I have for now!
xoxo
mckin
SOO We leave for Cinque Terre, Italy tomorrow afternoon and I AM EXCITED!! It is my first traveling adventure! I, somehow, got put in charge of the tickets, though, so that makes me nervous. Especially since I had to pay for them all. This brings me to my first real predicament of this trip. A few of us went to the train station the other day to buy the tickets and I put them all on my credit card, and at 12 people times 60 euro per ticket, that is a WHOLLLLLLE lotta money! (Dont worry, I hunted everyone down until I was paid in full!) Anyway, when I went back yesterday to buy my tickets for my October break travels, my credit card was rejected. Oops. When I called the credit card people when I got back, they said it must have been a problem with the train station's machine. I guess we will just have to see... I did get the tickets though, which means that I now have EVERY leg of my trip planned out, even with hostels!! I am much less stressed now!
Wednesdays are our "late class" days, so we went out last night to Santa Margarita (again...) and it was SO FUN! I resisted the temptation of gelato for the FIRST TIME since I have been here! It was especially hard because the day before I had THE BEST GELATO since I arrived here. It was caramel which is surprising, because I usually lean towards the sugar based fruity ones and not the creamier ones. But it was DIVINE. Anyway, we came back at a reasonable hour, but then stayed up talking in the hallway. So much for my plans of catching up on sleep...
I got up early this morning anyway and did laundry and went for a stroll. A very productive morning if you ask me! I decided to go to the LEFT of the house for the first time! (We always turn RIGHT out of the house, I had never been left!) I walked around and found a pretty church and got to see a lot of good people watching!
Last weekend (I am not sure if I wrote about this earlier...) the boys went to the casino while the girls had a girls night out! Much to the boys' dismay, we ACTUALLY had fun without them! But they have now decided that they are having a casino "date function." The frat boy lives on... So anyway, that is what we are up to tonight. Let me tell you that my "date function" attire is limited from my 44 lbs of clothes that I brought. Ill just have to make due!
Thats all I have for now!
xoxo
mckin
Monday, September 8, 2008
A weekend in Venezia
Monday, September 8, 2008. Venice.
I would consider this weekend to be my first "true" weekend, because I just started to feel at home here. We had to stay in town because we had to get some paper work done which was silly, because it shot the whole weekend for 2 hours in line at the post office. Such is life...
Friday we went to Lido, which is the beach off of the coast of one of the Venetian islands. It was really fun, but HOT!!! The sand was more fine than any sand I have felt in the states and the water seemed saltier too! We played in the water and soaked up the sun! Karen and I left earlier than the rest, came back and showered/read/cuddled. It was a good day!
I was in the group of students that went on Saturday to get our papers, and on the way back Laura (the Italian woman who is in charge of the house) treated Rhianna, Kelly, and me to breakfast at a little cafe. She told us all about the new bridge about to open in Venice. This is a big deal because there are currently only THREE bridges that cross the canal, and they are about to open this fourth one. I think we are going to the opening of it, but Laura was telling us it wont be that big of a deal because the opening has been postponed for so long so many times. Apparently there were some problems with the contractor etc. Anyway, it was very interesting.
On our way back, we passed through our favorite piazza, Santa Margarita, and got some bread at this little bakery. We spoke with the woman in Italian (well, more like she corrected our Italian) but she was so nice! And I bought the most WONDERFUL bread for only trentatre centessimi (that is thirty three cents)!! I love this place!
Rhianna and I also ventured into Venice with the intentions of getting lost. For those of you know know me well, this is not a difficult feat even in ATLANTA, none the less in a city I dont know as well. Anyway, it seemed that every store owner was out to get us. They hated us. My shoe size made them mad. I wanted to touch the shoes, they got mad. We tried to bring our food into a store, they got mad. Notice a trend? We finally escaped unscathed, but we found our adventure for the day!
Then Sunday was the Regatta Storica! Some people who actually had MET Venetians since we arrived invited them over, but I just hung out with the people in the house. David also had some friends that were staying here, and they were delightful to visit with. They have a son in Laughlin's class, so we talked all about the qualms of freshman year. Back to the regatta. It was AMAZING! There was a parade first that went by, then a few heats I guess is the right word? Anyway, the Accadamia bridge was PACKED and we just got to look out our window! (see my new pictures in the "Venice-More" album! The boats were BEAUTIFUL!!!) In fact, there was a racing boat parked at OUR dock for about 20 mins before the parade and we made friends with them! Ana even GOT ON THE BOAT! We feasted on the food that everyone prepared and watched the boats go by. It was so relaxing and wonderful!
I also found, but have not booked, my plans for our first 10 day break. I am going to Munich for Oktoberfest, then back to Berlin with Mer, to Salzburg by myself for the Sound of Music tour (dont even get me started on how excited I am about THAT!!!) and then meeting back up with Mer in Vienna. It should be stressful but AMAZING. I just need to book my hostels and trains.
Ok, thats all for now!
miss yall!
xoxo
mckin
I would consider this weekend to be my first "true" weekend, because I just started to feel at home here. We had to stay in town because we had to get some paper work done which was silly, because it shot the whole weekend for 2 hours in line at the post office. Such is life...
Friday we went to Lido, which is the beach off of the coast of one of the Venetian islands. It was really fun, but HOT!!! The sand was more fine than any sand I have felt in the states and the water seemed saltier too! We played in the water and soaked up the sun! Karen and I left earlier than the rest, came back and showered/read/cuddled. It was a good day!
I was in the group of students that went on Saturday to get our papers, and on the way back Laura (the Italian woman who is in charge of the house) treated Rhianna, Kelly, and me to breakfast at a little cafe. She told us all about the new bridge about to open in Venice. This is a big deal because there are currently only THREE bridges that cross the canal, and they are about to open this fourth one. I think we are going to the opening of it, but Laura was telling us it wont be that big of a deal because the opening has been postponed for so long so many times. Apparently there were some problems with the contractor etc. Anyway, it was very interesting.
On our way back, we passed through our favorite piazza, Santa Margarita, and got some bread at this little bakery. We spoke with the woman in Italian (well, more like she corrected our Italian) but she was so nice! And I bought the most WONDERFUL bread for only trentatre centessimi (that is thirty three cents)!! I love this place!
Rhianna and I also ventured into Venice with the intentions of getting lost. For those of you know know me well, this is not a difficult feat even in ATLANTA, none the less in a city I dont know as well. Anyway, it seemed that every store owner was out to get us. They hated us. My shoe size made them mad. I wanted to touch the shoes, they got mad. We tried to bring our food into a store, they got mad. Notice a trend? We finally escaped unscathed, but we found our adventure for the day!
Then Sunday was the Regatta Storica! Some people who actually had MET Venetians since we arrived invited them over, but I just hung out with the people in the house. David also had some friends that were staying here, and they were delightful to visit with. They have a son in Laughlin's class, so we talked all about the qualms of freshman year. Back to the regatta. It was AMAZING! There was a parade first that went by, then a few heats I guess is the right word? Anyway, the Accadamia bridge was PACKED and we just got to look out our window! (see my new pictures in the "Venice-More" album! The boats were BEAUTIFUL!!!) In fact, there was a racing boat parked at OUR dock for about 20 mins before the parade and we made friends with them! Ana even GOT ON THE BOAT! We feasted on the food that everyone prepared and watched the boats go by. It was so relaxing and wonderful!
I also found, but have not booked, my plans for our first 10 day break. I am going to Munich for Oktoberfest, then back to Berlin with Mer, to Salzburg by myself for the Sound of Music tour (dont even get me started on how excited I am about THAT!!!) and then meeting back up with Mer in Vienna. It should be stressful but AMAZING. I just need to book my hostels and trains.
Ok, thats all for now!
miss yall!
xoxo
mckin
Friday, September 5, 2008
Dear Venice, I love you. Love, McKin
Friday, September 5, 2008. Venezia!!
As Laughlin just informed me, "McKin, you haven't posted on your blog in a while..." So I thought I'd send out a little update. I guess I haven't posted because there is not much exciting going on. Well, I am in VENICE, so everything is exciting, but you know what I mean.
I am getting to know everyone in the house pretty well which is really fun because so many of these people I had never before even SEEN, none the less met (pretty strange considering Wake is only 4000 undergrad...). We play games all together a lot and have a family dinner AT LEAST once a week. I have even started convincing people to cuddle with me/play with my hair etc while we are hanging out talking. Sparknotes version: these people rock. We have fun AND talk about serious stuff. And we all can relate everything back to Wake. I cant wait to be walking to the Pit one day when I get back and run into one of my Venice housemates!!
With classes starting and all, I am starting to wish that I was here for a semester long VACATION instead of semester. It just doesn't seem right to have to study when there is so much of Italy/Europe to explore! Even just in Venice, there is so much uncharted territory (well, in my eyes. It is of course all charted to the Venetians...) We sometimes go for walks and have NO idea where we are going. We find cool places that we will never be able to find again. And then we just follow the signs back to Accadamia/the Guggenheim. POOF, hey Casa Artom! As bad as I make the classes seem, they really aren't that bad. We had our first music test and dont worry, I got a 99. Great, now the expectation bar is set high, way to go McKin... I think I am really going to enjoy our Italian class, too. It meets three times a week (two days a week LESS than the Italian 153 class back at Wake!) and one of those days we just sit in groups and talk! YES. I love talking! Granted it is in Italiano and I know all of 10 words, but it is still SO FUN!
Mommy sent me a package that I got the other day and opening it was like CHRISTMAS, but perhaps better! Since I only got to take one suitcase, I was running low on clothes. Everyone else got to pack like 3 suitcases, and I only got one (this is where you feel sorry for me). Anyway, I opened up the box to see all of these wonderful clothes of mine! It was maybe even better than Christmas because everything was the right size and right color! haha. If anyone else wants to send me a package, they should feel free to do so. WINK WINK.
Anyway, this weekend we have to stay in Venice because we have to get some paperwork completed to say that we are residents here. Since we are staying here this weekend, we might as well explore Venice even more, yes? We went out last night to Santa Margarita (one of the main piazzas near our house) and hung out, but not too late beacause half the group had to get the paperwork to the post office EARLY the next morning (as in this morning, Friday AM) even though the rest of us are not going until Saturday morning. (If that last part didn't make sense, don't worry--it really isn't that important...) So today we went to Lido, which is a little island south of "the fish of Italy." Look at a map and you'll see what I mean. It was really cool to be at an Italian beach, but I didn't stay too long because it was SO HOT! Now I am back here, showered cuddled up on the couch and contemplating a nap. ...who am I kidding, no contemplation needed. A nap WILL happen.
The Regatta Storica is taking place this Sunday. I am not sure exactly what it is, but we are having a house party here, so I like it already. We are talking about going to Cinque Terre (pronounced "Chin-quay Terr-eh." Again, I am not sure what that is, but it is only 5 euro to get there and less than 30 a night to stay! SIGN ME UP!!
Ill try to keep posting as often as I can, but things are getting busy here with school etc. Love yall!
xoxo
mckin
As Laughlin just informed me, "McKin, you haven't posted on your blog in a while..." So I thought I'd send out a little update. I guess I haven't posted because there is not much exciting going on. Well, I am in VENICE, so everything is exciting, but you know what I mean.
I am getting to know everyone in the house pretty well which is really fun because so many of these people I had never before even SEEN, none the less met (pretty strange considering Wake is only 4000 undergrad...). We play games all together a lot and have a family dinner AT LEAST once a week. I have even started convincing people to cuddle with me/play with my hair etc while we are hanging out talking. Sparknotes version: these people rock. We have fun AND talk about serious stuff. And we all can relate everything back to Wake. I cant wait to be walking to the Pit one day when I get back and run into one of my Venice housemates!!
With classes starting and all, I am starting to wish that I was here for a semester long VACATION instead of semester. It just doesn't seem right to have to study when there is so much of Italy/Europe to explore! Even just in Venice, there is so much uncharted territory (well, in my eyes. It is of course all charted to the Venetians...) We sometimes go for walks and have NO idea where we are going. We find cool places that we will never be able to find again. And then we just follow the signs back to Accadamia/the Guggenheim. POOF, hey Casa Artom! As bad as I make the classes seem, they really aren't that bad. We had our first music test and dont worry, I got a 99. Great, now the expectation bar is set high, way to go McKin... I think I am really going to enjoy our Italian class, too. It meets three times a week (two days a week LESS than the Italian 153 class back at Wake!) and one of those days we just sit in groups and talk! YES. I love talking! Granted it is in Italiano and I know all of 10 words, but it is still SO FUN!
Mommy sent me a package that I got the other day and opening it was like CHRISTMAS, but perhaps better! Since I only got to take one suitcase, I was running low on clothes. Everyone else got to pack like 3 suitcases, and I only got one (this is where you feel sorry for me). Anyway, I opened up the box to see all of these wonderful clothes of mine! It was maybe even better than Christmas because everything was the right size and right color! haha. If anyone else wants to send me a package, they should feel free to do so. WINK WINK.
Anyway, this weekend we have to stay in Venice because we have to get some paperwork completed to say that we are residents here. Since we are staying here this weekend, we might as well explore Venice even more, yes? We went out last night to Santa Margarita (one of the main piazzas near our house) and hung out, but not too late beacause half the group had to get the paperwork to the post office EARLY the next morning (as in this morning, Friday AM) even though the rest of us are not going until Saturday morning. (If that last part didn't make sense, don't worry--it really isn't that important...) So today we went to Lido, which is a little island south of "the fish of Italy." Look at a map and you'll see what I mean. It was really cool to be at an Italian beach, but I didn't stay too long because it was SO HOT! Now I am back here, showered cuddled up on the couch and contemplating a nap. ...who am I kidding, no contemplation needed. A nap WILL happen.
The Regatta Storica is taking place this Sunday. I am not sure exactly what it is, but we are having a house party here, so I like it already. We are talking about going to Cinque Terre (pronounced "Chin-quay Terr-eh." Again, I am not sure what that is, but it is only 5 euro to get there and less than 30 a night to stay! SIGN ME UP!!
Ill try to keep posting as often as I can, but things are getting busy here with school etc. Love yall!
xoxo
mckin
Monday, September 1, 2008
Getting into the swing of things...
Monday, September 1, 2008. VENICE!
My first weekend in Venice was GRAND!! Eli and Katie were here and I loved getting to play with them! We all got to visit Piazza San Marco and see the pigeons which was really cool because it is one of the most famous things in Venice. I didn't touch the birds, though. They were dirty and I was scared of them... We also walked to the Rialto bridge and took too many pictures!
Earlier today Eli and I visited the Guggenheim Museum which was really cool. There were some AMAZING works of art (and we got in for free because the house has passes!! Gotta love those perks!)
I wish I had more to report, but it was a lazy weekend with lots of hanging out and walking around. Class is about to pick up, and I am not sure that I like the "study" part of "study abroad..." I hope my GPA can handle the rest of this semester!!
Email me, skype me, call me! I want to know what is going on with everything with everyone else!
Miss yall!
xoxo
mckin
My first weekend in Venice was GRAND!! Eli and Katie were here and I loved getting to play with them! We all got to visit Piazza San Marco and see the pigeons which was really cool because it is one of the most famous things in Venice. I didn't touch the birds, though. They were dirty and I was scared of them... We also walked to the Rialto bridge and took too many pictures!
Earlier today Eli and I visited the Guggenheim Museum which was really cool. There were some AMAZING works of art (and we got in for free because the house has passes!! Gotta love those perks!)
I wish I had more to report, but it was a lazy weekend with lots of hanging out and walking around. Class is about to pick up, and I am not sure that I like the "study" part of "study abroad..." I hope my GPA can handle the rest of this semester!!
Email me, skype me, call me! I want to know what is going on with everything with everyone else!
Miss yall!
xoxo
mckin
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