Weekend Thoughts: Odyssey in Greece

It is truly a tragedy that Greece has been in such bad shape for the last four years. The country still has so much to give in natural beauty, the study of our mother civilization, and (of course) food! Hopefully they'll soon realize that with tourism as their number one industry, rioting will not solve their economic problems. Here is my tribute to that wonderful country, which I hope will find peace again so that you can all make your own Odyssey!

October 2

The school kicked off our class trip to Greece with our very own Olympics. Dressed as gods with wreaths on their heads, the professors looked down as we ran in races, came up with group chants and songs, and made human sculptures with shaving cream. Apparently 2008 is "too soon" to make jokes about the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.

October 3

By late afternoon, buses had brought us to Bari, on the eastern coast of Italy. St. Nicholas is buried there in a grand basilica. At twilight we headed onto the ferry Piraeus that would take us to Greece. My friends and I had a blast wandering the corridors, getting lost, and sitting in the darkness of the stern deck, watching the waves churning and leaping in our wake. We danced late into the night at the ship's disco, ordering kamikazes and arguing about who came from the best state. Plenty of smokers lounged in the bar, which probably contributed to me having a bad cold for the rest of the trip (As I said when I started this half a year, sickness is definitely a theme of my Rome Semester).

Weekend Thoughts: Weddings and William

Time keeps getting away from me...but I promise I'll write about Greece soon!

What's keeping me so busy?

"Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."

Well, maybe not that swamped. But I do have my wedding to arrange, my fiancé's birthday to celebrate, Peru letters to translate, marriage prep books to read, a new job at a newspaper that eats up most of my time, and mountains of laundry to do.

Welcome to the world of adults! Despite some evenings when I'm frustrated by the little I am able to accomplish, I'm having the time of my life! I hope all of you are having a wonderful October as well, and getting some reading done on this rainy Saturday.

Until I get back on track, have a Pincorrect! (This post will tell you what a Pincorrect is.)

Rome Week

What happened to September??? Honestly, I can't remember a month ever passing that fast. And whatever happened to Rome posts every day? Well, a week ago I was asked a big question, and all thoughts turned to this:

Siena: City of Surprises, Part 2

Back to Siena! Talking about that little town will seem so peaceful after a busy weekend.

Here's what happened:

Friday. My brothers and sister and I went out for our quarterly Nick's-home-from-college lunch at Pei Wei. Then we stopped at a Halloween Warehouse (yessssss) where we tried on just about every hat they had. The boys dragged us to some video game store next door, but fortunately Claire and I found this.

It kept us very entertained.

Siena: City of Surprises

It's a rainy day here, which is perfect for a story about Siena! I admit that I'm enjoying watching the rain make rivers down the driveways out the window, rather than having to step in all the puddles. Not up to my usual adventurous self today...the rain is being very nap-inducing.

So, let's have a story about an adventure! On long weekends at the beginning of the Rome semester, my classmates went as far as England and Germany, but I ventured a little closer to home. Jamie, Deborah, and I joined Claire on her trip to Siena, a small medieval city north of Rome. Siena was one of my favorite trips that I made without the school, and this lovely city was full of surprises.

Rome: Pagan and Pious

Those who died on September 11th, those who lost their loved ones, those heroes who worked to save others, and all Americans are in my prayers today.

Today I want to remember two fantastic days in Rome. September 10, 2008, was our class trip to the Capitoline Museums, where we saw the stone monuments of Rome's history and mythology. On September 11, we spent a warm and dusty morning harvesting grapes in the vineyards, then rode into Trastevere to visit the church of Santa Cecilia.

Weekend Thoughts: Pompeii

I'm playing with the idea of a "Weekend Thoughts" recurring post where I give a few quick ideas. Hopefully everyone is spending time outside in this gorgeous weather rather than Interneting, so I'll make this short for all of us. Besides, I really don't have that much to say about Pompeii!

Although we experienced amazing things--Greek temples, warm beaches, lost cities, and the nightlife of Southern Italy--I feel like I had an entirely fulfilling time there. In other words, I don't regret not doing something, nor do I feel like I missed out on an event.

This is connected to my Half a Year, a Whole Life posts in two ways: first, regret is a whole lot easier to write about. You've got all the deep emotions that make the memories stronger. As in, I know how wonderful Rome and Venice are, so I regret not going to certain places often enough. Second, Regret is going to be a big part of this Half a Year. I regret a LOT of things from the Rome Semester--things like not going into Rome enough, not going on that extra weekend trip, not exploring more those nights in Greece. I regret those things that I failed to do.

The Spanish Steps

There are several things I could have written about in today's Rome post. I might have described what it's like to ride Rome's buses and subways.

You learn to be pushy.

I could have given another take on what to do when the metro breaks down.

However, I've decided to recount the day I went to the Spanish Steps. I mainly remember how sunny it was, how bright the sunset was on the church facades, and how the domes of the city were in shadow.

St. Peter's and Pizza

After a few exhausting yet awesome days in Dallas, and a Labor Day weekend where I blissfully did NOTHING, I'm back and ready to write.

If you just showed up and am wondering why I'm writing about Rome.

So, Rome from August 29th to September 4th...I'll just spill out the memories in bits and pieces. If you want to compare how I remember the events now, to how I thought of them then.