Sooo yeah, we missed our flight to Barcelona. First flight either of us has ever missed. Here's how it went down...
We woke up this morning, ate breakfast at the hostel, packed up, checked out, and stored our luggage. We had about 5 or 6 hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport, so we visited the Louvre museum (Mona Lisa is surprisingly smaller than expected), climbed the stairs to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, bought a few souvenirs, and picked up some more yummy quiche and pastries from the patisserie.
By and by, we swung by our hostel to pick up our luggage and made our way to the train station. Destination: Charles de Gaulle airport. Unfortunately, the platform we were supposed to leave from had rescheduled to a completely separate section, which we got lost trying to find. After some friendly directions, we found and boarded the train. While sitting there waiting for it to leave, we realized that perhaps we just might not make it to the airport in time. The ride took about 30 minutes, plus an excruciatingly long 15-minute walk through the station/airport to get to our gate. Our flight was leaving at 6:25pm, and check-in strictly ended 40 minutes prior. Well, it was 40 minutes prior when we pulled in to the station, where we promptly took off for our gate...in the wrong direction. Due to a mounting suspicion which led us to ask a worker where EasyJet was, we raced back the other way, mentally cursing our 3 layers of coats, sweaters, scarves, and long johns.
By the time we FINALLY reached our section dripping with sweat, it was 6:00. We were told at the ticket counter that the guy's "associate will help you at check-in for gate 7." After getting lost again trying to find check-in for gate 7 (wasn't it check-in where we were just at??), we breathlessly requested check-in again, only to be told that it was too late. The next flight, she calmly told us, didn't leave until 7:55am the next morning, and we needed to pay another 52 Euro each for the schedule transfer. Say what! I'm pretty sure we only paid 48 each for the original tickets. We ignored protocol and somehow ran past a guard and to our actual gate check-in, where we were again told very unsympathetically that we were just too late. This said with a disgusted raised eyebrow as she eyed our sweaty faces. No pity for the poor and weary? No, not a single sign of sympathy. Defeated, we went over our other options and decided that any other flights leaving earlier would just be too expensive; waiting it out was our best option.
So we've staked out a spot near the only plug-in we've seen and settled in for the long, promising sleepless night on the one trip we've taken without our pillows or travel sleeping bags. Not even any chairs without armrests to stretch out on. No rest for the weary. On the bright side, we paid about 10 Euro to have 24 hours of internet, and we have plenty of movies and TV shows to watch. No promises on our moods tomorrow though! I guess we'll find out.
For now though, we're going to go explore this huge airport and see what interesting things we can find for the next 9 hours....
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Bienvenue à Paris!
Church went well on Saturday. We arrived without getting lost, listened to an Italian sermon, listened to Italian singing, Italian children's story, Italian announcements...you get my point. We managed to get in and get out having only spoken 3 words to two different people: "I speak English." There must have only been about 100 people there, but it was still nice being in a church atmosphere, language barrier or not.
Monday morning we flew out to Paris without a hitch after figuring out the metro/train system to the airport. Once there, we realized our mistake of not really figuring out the details of how to get to our hostel from the airport...for that matter, we didn't really know the details of getting into Paris from the airport! A map and 17 Euros each for a 2-way ticket into Paris later, we realized that this city would slightly break our bank.
Nevertheless, after our expensive 30-minute train ride, we found our hostel...a huge, modern place right on the river with huge windows and a hopping common area. We took advantage of the nightly dinner special for 6 Euros...which turned out to be HALF of a stuffed pepper (it was really good though) and a salad generously flavored with vinegar. This wasn't very filling, but it sufficed. Since we were tired from our all-day journey to Paris, we opted to turn in early and do our sightseeing the next day.
Nature decided it hated us the next day, however, and proved it by raining and shoving a cold wind in for good measure. It had been sunny and clear the day before. :( But we made the best of it and gritted our teeth through the weather misery as we visited Notre Dame, the Louvre (which happened to be closed that day), Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. It was nice to actually go IN these things this time, as Lydia and I were unlucky enough to either go on a day they were closed, or not have the money to pay to go in.
In the afternoon we opted to take a much-needed nap and go back out in the evening for some necessary Eiffel Tower night shots. It proved to be a great decision, because we were graced with no rain and warmer air. The tower was gorgeous in all it's nighttime majestic-ness, and we even splurged and paid the 9.50 Euro to go to the 2nd level (the 3rd level was closed for maintenance). Unfortunately our previous idea to eat at the restaurant there was squelched when we looked online and discovered that it was outrageously expensive. I'm talking up to 85 Euro for a STARTER item. The full course meal was no less than 200 Euro. We wrinkle our noses at full meals that are more than 10-15 Euro, so this wasn't even really up for discussion.
Nevertheless, it turned out to be a great night, and we finished it off by a good yet simple meal from a near-by patisserie.
Pictures will be arriving at the photobucket site in hopefully just a couple days!
Monday morning we flew out to Paris without a hitch after figuring out the metro/train system to the airport. Once there, we realized our mistake of not really figuring out the details of how to get to our hostel from the airport...for that matter, we didn't really know the details of getting into Paris from the airport! A map and 17 Euros each for a 2-way ticket into Paris later, we realized that this city would slightly break our bank.
Nevertheless, after our expensive 30-minute train ride, we found our hostel...a huge, modern place right on the river with huge windows and a hopping common area. We took advantage of the nightly dinner special for 6 Euros...which turned out to be HALF of a stuffed pepper (it was really good though) and a salad generously flavored with vinegar. This wasn't very filling, but it sufficed. Since we were tired from our all-day journey to Paris, we opted to turn in early and do our sightseeing the next day.
Nature decided it hated us the next day, however, and proved it by raining and shoving a cold wind in for good measure. It had been sunny and clear the day before. :( But we made the best of it and gritted our teeth through the weather misery as we visited Notre Dame, the Louvre (which happened to be closed that day), Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. It was nice to actually go IN these things this time, as Lydia and I were unlucky enough to either go on a day they were closed, or not have the money to pay to go in.
In the afternoon we opted to take a much-needed nap and go back out in the evening for some necessary Eiffel Tower night shots. It proved to be a great decision, because we were graced with no rain and warmer air. The tower was gorgeous in all it's nighttime majestic-ness, and we even splurged and paid the 9.50 Euro to go to the 2nd level (the 3rd level was closed for maintenance). Unfortunately our previous idea to eat at the restaurant there was squelched when we looked online and discovered that it was outrageously expensive. I'm talking up to 85 Euro for a STARTER item. The full course meal was no less than 200 Euro. We wrinkle our noses at full meals that are more than 10-15 Euro, so this wasn't even really up for discussion.
Nevertheless, it turned out to be a great night, and we finished it off by a good yet simple meal from a near-by patisserie.
Pictures will be arriving at the photobucket site in hopefully just a couple days!
Friday, January 29, 2010
This and That
I have successfully gotten up-to-date in my photobucket albums, so peruse away! I've discovered that I can only link each individual album to my blogs, so I think it's just better to find them yourself as I described in my last blog.
Well, after 4 days of getting up early and going to bed late, I am officially exhausted. However, I have felt very accomplished. I am currently fully packed for our trip next week, and I hope to get some much-needed rest before then. I studied some today, did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned, and am now relaxing by reading Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door"....2006. I found it humerous to see that apparently an ant perished back then.
The man next door keeps listening and singing to Christian songs that I haven't heard in years and had forgotten even existed. Right now it's "Father I Adore You" in English. Sometimes I sing along...I mean, it's loud enough. Often he can also be heard shouting--turns out he's apparently practicing a speech, which makes me wonder if he's a pastor. It sure sounds like a sermon. But I hope he's not Adventist because there's only one SDA church in Milan and I don't want my ears boxed tomorrow if I can't understand what's being yelled at me.
Speaking of church, 3 people all found and gave me the information for the same church...so thank you! From those 3, I was able to find the church name, service times, and location. It's an easy metro ride away. I have to admit I feel awkward going to a church where I won't know anyone OR understand anything being said. Maybe they'll have translation devices. Either way, I've felt like a "Badventist" for having not gone to church since we got here (although we were away traveling all but one time). So it will still be nice to go since we know about it now.
Last night was interesting, but not really in a good way. Wednesday night we went to an aperitivo with Shane's classmates again. It was a crowded, noisy place but had good food. Last night a few others were going to a different one called "Royalto", a luxurious, white, fancy place with 7 buffets and servers, all underneath a humongous crystal chandelier. (But still only 8 Euro for a drink and all you can eat.) It took us 3 switches on the trams (a system we hadn't yet tried) and a long frigid walk to get there. Once inside, Shane's classmates were nowhere to be seen, and all the empty couches were reserved. We were told we could sit at the bar, but it was full too. On further exploration, we discovered most of the buffets (consisting of 1-2 dishes each) contained meat we didn't care to experience, so we opted to leave. As we left, we saw his classmates coming in, but based on the food selection, we left anyways. The trip back was slightly horrid due to the outside temperatures. You don't get the semi-comfort of being underground when waiting for trams, and we usually had to wait up to 10 minutes. Seemed to me the night was more frigid than most. To make a long story short, we trammed, walked, and metroed all the way home, looking for other aperitivos along the way with no luck. By the time we reached home it was nearly 10pm...we had headed out around 7. And we still hadn't eaten. We ended up going down the street to an "Old Wild West" restaurant, where we ate a good ol' American meal of burgers, fries, and "Old Wild West Peanuts" out of the shell.
Thank you to everyone who emailed me about my blog! I enjoy your comments. However, for future reference, that gmail address is only in existence because it's required in order to have a blogger account, so I rarely ever check it. My primary email is ashelle_troyer@hotmail.com, and I check it daily . Or you can post comments on the blogs themselves--those go to my hotmail address too.
Paris and Barcelona start on Monday, so if you're itching to have a souvenir from there, let us know soon!
Well, after 4 days of getting up early and going to bed late, I am officially exhausted. However, I have felt very accomplished. I am currently fully packed for our trip next week, and I hope to get some much-needed rest before then. I studied some today, did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned, and am now relaxing by reading Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door"....2006. I found it humerous to see that apparently an ant perished back then.
The man next door keeps listening and singing to Christian songs that I haven't heard in years and had forgotten even existed. Right now it's "Father I Adore You" in English. Sometimes I sing along...I mean, it's loud enough. Often he can also be heard shouting--turns out he's apparently practicing a speech, which makes me wonder if he's a pastor. It sure sounds like a sermon. But I hope he's not Adventist because there's only one SDA church in Milan and I don't want my ears boxed tomorrow if I can't understand what's being yelled at me.Speaking of church, 3 people all found and gave me the information for the same church...so thank you! From those 3, I was able to find the church name, service times, and location. It's an easy metro ride away. I have to admit I feel awkward going to a church where I won't know anyone OR understand anything being said. Maybe they'll have translation devices. Either way, I've felt like a "Badventist" for having not gone to church since we got here (although we were away traveling all but one time). So it will still be nice to go since we know about it now.
Last night was interesting, but not really in a good way. Wednesday night we went to an aperitivo with Shane's classmates again. It was a crowded, noisy place but had good food. Last night a few others were going to a different one called "Royalto", a luxurious, white, fancy place with 7 buffets and servers, all underneath a humongous crystal chandelier. (But still only 8 Euro for a drink and all you can eat.) It took us 3 switches on the trams (a system we hadn't yet tried) and a long frigid walk to get there. Once inside, Shane's classmates were nowhere to be seen, and all the empty couches were reserved. We were told we could sit at the bar, but it was full too. On further exploration, we discovered most of the buffets (consisting of 1-2 dishes each) contained meat we didn't care to experience, so we opted to leave. As we left, we saw his classmates coming in, but based on the food selection, we left anyways. The trip back was slightly horrid due to the outside temperatures. You don't get the semi-comfort of being underground when waiting for trams, and we usually had to wait up to 10 minutes. Seemed to me the night was more frigid than most. To make a long story short, we trammed, walked, and metroed all the way home, looking for other aperitivos along the way with no luck. By the time we reached home it was nearly 10pm...we had headed out around 7. And we still hadn't eaten. We ended up going down the street to an "Old Wild West" restaurant, where we ate a good ol' American meal of burgers, fries, and "Old Wild West Peanuts" out of the shell.
Thank you to everyone who emailed me about my blog! I enjoy your comments. However, for future reference, that gmail address is only in existence because it's required in order to have a blogger account, so I rarely ever check it. My primary email is ashelle_troyer@hotmail.com, and I check it daily . Or you can post comments on the blogs themselves--those go to my hotmail address too.
Paris and Barcelona start on Monday, so if you're itching to have a souvenir from there, let us know soon!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Photobucket Link
I realize that my link to the photobucket pictures isn't working. I haven't yet found the correct url to link it to here, so instead you can do it the manual way or wait until I figure it out.
- Go to: www.photobucket.com
- In the images search box at the top type in "AshelleT"...it will say that no matches were found, but at the bottom it will give you the option of going to the profile: ("Are you looking for the Photobucket user ashellet? Click here to see this user's profile")
- Once there, I think it's easiest to click the "All albums" view because I've arranged them in chronological order by which vacation period.
Accomplishment
The past two days have been very productive. Yesterday I got up around 7:30am, made Shane and I a cup of Italian cappuccino, and saw him out the door to class. I made him take the computer with him so I would be forced to study. It's a magic formula. By the end of the day when Shane got home around 6pm, I had:
Today I got up around 8, went grocery shopping (which included a 30 minute walk), studied half of another chapter in my book, did another load of laundry, did last night's dishes, ate, and made polenta for tomorrow's breakfast. It's only 1:00. Can I say I'm proud of myself? Ok. I'm proud of myself!
On another note, our trip is postponed until Monday because Shane has seminars to go to tomorrow and Friday. I guess that means we'll finally be scouting out a church this week. Cross your fingers that we find it!
We've also started scouting around for souvenirs for our families (parents, grandparents, sisters, and my friends Andi and Luis--we don't really have the money or space for anyone else) so if you fall into those categories start your wish list and help us out with some suggestions!
I am still in the process of uploading pictures to photobucket, but here is the link and you can keep checking back, as it will eventually be up-to-date. http://s997.photobucket.com/home/AshelleT/allalbums
Now, back to studying!
P.S. We were informed the other day that our "urinal" is actually a bidet. Whoops. Although who would want to use it rather than a good old-fashioned shower or wet wash cloth, I don't know. To each his own...
- Finished the chapter in my study book that I've been snailing through for the past 2 weeks
- Did 3 loads of laundry
- Washed a huge pile of dishes in the sink
- De-cluttered the apartment
- Put clean sheets on the beds (and made them)
- Scrubbed the bathroom, kitchen table, and counters
- Swept and mopped the entire apartment
- Sat down with a Rick Steves guide book and wrote out sightseeing spots and tips for our future visit to Amsterdam (which promises to be....interesting)
Today I got up around 8, went grocery shopping (which included a 30 minute walk), studied half of another chapter in my book, did another load of laundry, did last night's dishes, ate, and made polenta for tomorrow's breakfast. It's only 1:00. Can I say I'm proud of myself? Ok. I'm proud of myself!
On another note, our trip is postponed until Monday because Shane has seminars to go to tomorrow and Friday. I guess that means we'll finally be scouting out a church this week. Cross your fingers that we find it!
We've also started scouting around for souvenirs for our families (parents, grandparents, sisters, and my friends Andi and Luis--we don't really have the money or space for anyone else) so if you fall into those categories start your wish list and help us out with some suggestions!
I am still in the process of uploading pictures to photobucket, but here is the link and you can keep checking back, as it will eventually be up-to-date. http://s997.photobucket.com/home/AshelleT/allalbums
Now, back to studying!
P.S. We were informed the other day that our "urinal" is actually a bidet. Whoops. Although who would want to use it rather than a good old-fashioned shower or wet wash cloth, I don't know. To each his own...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuscany get-away
I've been silent lately due to an impromptu weekend in Florence! We originally were going to take our Tuscan siesta during Shane's one-week break (starting at the end of this week) but when we found out that Ryan, Jane, and Kristin were all going this weekend, we decided a group trip would be fun. I found out about this on Wednesday evening. It wasn't until close to bedtime that I found out we were leaving the next day, not Friday.
Now, for those of you like me who tend to commence packing a week in advance simply because it takes you that long to convince yourself you haven't forgotten anything, the thought of packing for a 4-day vacation that you leave for in just a few hours is a bit daunting. I mean, I still had laundry to do just to have clean socks, and you know how long our laundry system takes... But my excitement for spur-of-the-moment adventure overrode my fear of forgetting something important, so I took on the challenge and had 3 loads of laundry done by the time Shane got home from a meeting the next day. That's when he informed me that we had tickets for the train leaving in 1 1/2 hours. What! I forgot to say that I also like to leave a clean house behind when going on vacation, and this time it just wasn't possible. I did at least get our beds made and the dishes washed.
We boarded our train and discovered that Ryan, Jane, and Kristin were only three compartments down from us. We wished we could sit with them instead of the Asian woman and man in our compartment. By the middle of the trip we were really wishing that when the man opened his mouth to answer his cell phone. Within seconds, the entire compartment was filled with a horridly sour, almost sewer-like stench...from his breath! You think I'm exaggerating, but it was so bad Shane had to discreetly put his face in his shirt, and I'm pretty sure I gagged once or twice. This was a 3 hour trip to endure. Blessedly for her, the other girl slept the whole way.
Once in Florence, we actually had to catch a smaller train to get into the heart of the city, which involved running up and down stairs, missing the first train, and hopping on a second one just before it departed. This all kind of put me in a bad mood, because I was the only one with a rolling suitcase rather than a backpack. How was I supposed to know there would be 4 sets of stair races?!
Ryan, Shane and I found our hostel and agreed to meet the girls for dinner later, as they had different lodging. I was disappointed they weren't staying with us. We ended up going to a quaint little restaurant with good food and a friendly waitress, where we took our time eating and socializing. I was so happy to finally be around girls! It's a rare opportunity these days.
After eating the girls went home and we went on a picture mission of the bridge.
I love Florence. The main streets are touristy and fairly wide, but when lit up at night they have a strange, quiet peacefulness about them, like how snow muffles sound. I wish I could live there instead of Milan. (But that's why travelling is so nice, right?)
Our hostel was nice but nothing special. It consisted of a twin bed and a king bed...which we discovered was actually two twin beds pushed together. Normally this would be fine....you each technically have your own bed and plenty of space. But, read on. The bedding on this "bed" was appalling in it's scarcity. It consisted of a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and the thinnest bedspread ever--made for a twin bed! The "fix-it" technique was to turn it sideways to cover both beds...but it only came up to the waist! Eh, no problem really. Shane and I had our own travel sleeping bags that were quite warm. So I gave the extra blanket meant for our bed to Ryan, whose noisy cot looked a bit sparse as well. In hindsight, I regret that generosity, because my little sleeping bag and a sheet did not do the trick. What made this problem worse came when we discovered that during the night, the two beds slowly trundled their way apart. Once again, normally this would have been fine, but try sharing bedding while this is happening. It gives new meaning to the phrase "stealing the blankets."
"Honey, you stole all the blankets last night."
"Well, no, actually the crack stole them. I never had any."
I might be exaggerating a bit, but it really was annoying, as it pulled my fitted sheet off, left me with inadequate, crooked blankets, and opened a crack wide enough to swallow me during the night. It didn't help that Shane slept on the far edge of his bed, dragging the covers with him. I couldn't help but long for my warm comforters in America, which are big enough for three people but are all for me. (I have to admit it's the one thing I dread about married life--having to share my covers.) Meanwhile, cozy Ryan and oblivious Shane snored loudly in peaceful slumber as I shivered and shook my way through the night.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Sadly for me, we couldn't get ahold of Jane and Kristin. Turns out that dinner the night before was the one and only time we saw them the whole weekend. :( We spent our day sightseeing, visiting the Uffizi art museum (first attraction we've paid for) and climbing the steps to the top of the duomo (second attraction we've paid for). The museum housed hundreds of paintings by famous artists, as well as what had to be hundreds of naked men and topless women statues. That really gets old after a while. Weren't clothes already in style back then? I have to admit I got a little bored at this museum, as it's just not really my type of art. Although it was fun seeing a few paintings I'd studied in History of World Art class. I snapped a few illegal pictures of those.
The climb to the top of the Duomo was exhausting yet hilarious, as all you could hear was the echo of panting and helpless gasps of fatigue coming from unseen tourists both above and below you. Not meant for those with heart disease or claustrophobia.
The climb was totally worth it though. We were lucky enough to get there when the sun was setting, and the view was gorgeous.
For supper we went to an aperitivo situated right beside the river. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and romantic, right down to the candles on the table and the huge windows to take in the view. Ryan was embarrassing by busting out his huge TRIPOD and camera to take pictures of everything from our food to the other guests sipping drinks. So much for peaceful and romantic. But I'm sure he got some great pictures, and I'll probably be jealous.
The food was the opposite of the bill--small. Apparently it was fancy enough to not believe in large bowls of help-yourself-pasta. Instead they served bite-sized selections of quiche, tortellini, fresh vegetables, and seafood. That's one thing I hate about being here, is not knowing what I'm eating half the time. I ate a really good ball of something I thought was vegetarian, then found out it was a crab cake. Since I claim to be 75% vegetarian, only eating chicken and occasionally turkey, this revelation grossed me out. Also, they put pork or ham in everything. Nevertheless, I ate my fill of what I could and was able to leave happy.
The rest of our time in Florence consisted of minor sightseeing and another aperitivo, where I accidentally ate squid, or something equally nauseating.
We walked along the river...
...and I saw a painting that I loved. Don't ever show your interest though. That hand holding the painting belonged to the painter who was in the process of haggling me over buying it so much that I finally just walked away. Too bad though; he offered it to me for 15 Euro. I probably would have been willing to pay 5, since we're kinda broke. Some day I'll come back with money and decorate my house with gorgeous Italian art.
We opted to take off early Sunday morning to stop in Pisa before heading back to Milan. Not much to see besides the tower, but we had fun taking cliche touristy pictures and eating at a little snack shop before catching the train home. (I don't have pictures edited of Pisa yet, but they'll come soon.)
Our next adventure begins this Friday and lasts for a week! Destination: Paris and Barcelona. I'm excited to be going to Spain, a new country I've never been to before. This time we are also flying instead of taking a train. Hopefully it works out well.
For those of you who don't have a Facebook, I am in the process of uploading all my travel pictures to a photobucket account. Hopefully I can finish it within the next couple days and post the link to it in my next blog.
Also for the non-Facebook users unable to see my announcements, if you would like to receive automatic emails of my new blogs, email me at ashelle_troyer@hotmail.com with your email address and I will add you to the list. :)
Now, for those of you like me who tend to commence packing a week in advance simply because it takes you that long to convince yourself you haven't forgotten anything, the thought of packing for a 4-day vacation that you leave for in just a few hours is a bit daunting. I mean, I still had laundry to do just to have clean socks, and you know how long our laundry system takes... But my excitement for spur-of-the-moment adventure overrode my fear of forgetting something important, so I took on the challenge and had 3 loads of laundry done by the time Shane got home from a meeting the next day. That's when he informed me that we had tickets for the train leaving in 1 1/2 hours. What! I forgot to say that I also like to leave a clean house behind when going on vacation, and this time it just wasn't possible. I did at least get our beds made and the dishes washed.
We boarded our train and discovered that Ryan, Jane, and Kristin were only three compartments down from us. We wished we could sit with them instead of the Asian woman and man in our compartment. By the middle of the trip we were really wishing that when the man opened his mouth to answer his cell phone. Within seconds, the entire compartment was filled with a horridly sour, almost sewer-like stench...from his breath! You think I'm exaggerating, but it was so bad Shane had to discreetly put his face in his shirt, and I'm pretty sure I gagged once or twice. This was a 3 hour trip to endure. Blessedly for her, the other girl slept the whole way.
Once in Florence, we actually had to catch a smaller train to get into the heart of the city, which involved running up and down stairs, missing the first train, and hopping on a second one just before it departed. This all kind of put me in a bad mood, because I was the only one with a rolling suitcase rather than a backpack. How was I supposed to know there would be 4 sets of stair races?!
Ryan, Shane and I found our hostel and agreed to meet the girls for dinner later, as they had different lodging. I was disappointed they weren't staying with us. We ended up going to a quaint little restaurant with good food and a friendly waitress, where we took our time eating and socializing. I was so happy to finally be around girls! It's a rare opportunity these days.
After eating the girls went home and we went on a picture mission of the bridge.
I love Florence. The main streets are touristy and fairly wide, but when lit up at night they have a strange, quiet peacefulness about them, like how snow muffles sound. I wish I could live there instead of Milan. (But that's why travelling is so nice, right?)
Our hostel was nice but nothing special. It consisted of a twin bed and a king bed...which we discovered was actually two twin beds pushed together. Normally this would be fine....you each technically have your own bed and plenty of space. But, read on. The bedding on this "bed" was appalling in it's scarcity. It consisted of a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and the thinnest bedspread ever--made for a twin bed! The "fix-it" technique was to turn it sideways to cover both beds...but it only came up to the waist! Eh, no problem really. Shane and I had our own travel sleeping bags that were quite warm. So I gave the extra blanket meant for our bed to Ryan, whose noisy cot looked a bit sparse as well. In hindsight, I regret that generosity, because my little sleeping bag and a sheet did not do the trick. What made this problem worse came when we discovered that during the night, the two beds slowly trundled their way apart. Once again, normally this would have been fine, but try sharing bedding while this is happening. It gives new meaning to the phrase "stealing the blankets."
"Honey, you stole all the blankets last night."
"Well, no, actually the crack stole them. I never had any."
I might be exaggerating a bit, but it really was annoying, as it pulled my fitted sheet off, left me with inadequate, crooked blankets, and opened a crack wide enough to swallow me during the night. It didn't help that Shane slept on the far edge of his bed, dragging the covers with him. I couldn't help but long for my warm comforters in America, which are big enough for three people but are all for me. (I have to admit it's the one thing I dread about married life--having to share my covers.) Meanwhile, cozy Ryan and oblivious Shane snored loudly in peaceful slumber as I shivered and shook my way through the night.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Sadly for me, we couldn't get ahold of Jane and Kristin. Turns out that dinner the night before was the one and only time we saw them the whole weekend. :( We spent our day sightseeing, visiting the Uffizi art museum (first attraction we've paid for) and climbing the steps to the top of the duomo (second attraction we've paid for). The museum housed hundreds of paintings by famous artists, as well as what had to be hundreds of naked men and topless women statues. That really gets old after a while. Weren't clothes already in style back then? I have to admit I got a little bored at this museum, as it's just not really my type of art. Although it was fun seeing a few paintings I'd studied in History of World Art class. I snapped a few illegal pictures of those.
The climb to the top of the Duomo was exhausting yet hilarious, as all you could hear was the echo of panting and helpless gasps of fatigue coming from unseen tourists both above and below you. Not meant for those with heart disease or claustrophobia.
The climb was totally worth it though. We were lucky enough to get there when the sun was setting, and the view was gorgeous.
For supper we went to an aperitivo situated right beside the river. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and romantic, right down to the candles on the table and the huge windows to take in the view. Ryan was embarrassing by busting out his huge TRIPOD and camera to take pictures of everything from our food to the other guests sipping drinks. So much for peaceful and romantic. But I'm sure he got some great pictures, and I'll probably be jealous.
The food was the opposite of the bill--small. Apparently it was fancy enough to not believe in large bowls of help-yourself-pasta. Instead they served bite-sized selections of quiche, tortellini, fresh vegetables, and seafood. That's one thing I hate about being here, is not knowing what I'm eating half the time. I ate a really good ball of something I thought was vegetarian, then found out it was a crab cake. Since I claim to be 75% vegetarian, only eating chicken and occasionally turkey, this revelation grossed me out. Also, they put pork or ham in everything. Nevertheless, I ate my fill of what I could and was able to leave happy.
The rest of our time in Florence consisted of minor sightseeing and another aperitivo, where I accidentally ate squid, or something equally nauseating.
We walked along the river...
...and I saw a painting that I loved. Don't ever show your interest though. That hand holding the painting belonged to the painter who was in the process of haggling me over buying it so much that I finally just walked away. Too bad though; he offered it to me for 15 Euro. I probably would have been willing to pay 5, since we're kinda broke. Some day I'll come back with money and decorate my house with gorgeous Italian art.
We opted to take off early Sunday morning to stop in Pisa before heading back to Milan. Not much to see besides the tower, but we had fun taking cliche touristy pictures and eating at a little snack shop before catching the train home. (I don't have pictures edited of Pisa yet, but they'll come soon.)
Our next adventure begins this Friday and lasts for a week! Destination: Paris and Barcelona. I'm excited to be going to Spain, a new country I've never been to before. This time we are also flying instead of taking a train. Hopefully it works out well.
For those of you who don't have a Facebook, I am in the process of uploading all my travel pictures to a photobucket account. Hopefully I can finish it within the next couple days and post the link to it in my next blog.
Also for the non-Facebook users unable to see my announcements, if you would like to receive automatic emails of my new blogs, email me at ashelle_troyer@hotmail.com with your email address and I will add you to the list. :)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Happiness (and apartment pictures!!)
Perhaps it's because I'm living in a foreign, unfamiliar country in a less-than-homey apartment, or maybe it's because I really haven't had any friends to hang out with ever since I graduated from my PTA program 7 months ago, but I've found myself thinking a lot lately about how much a location can affect my happiness.
I've lived in a lot of great places throughout my life, not the least of which is San Luis Obispo, my current "home." (Even though I actually don't have a house to go back to after this.) But every time I've sat feeling blue, trying to think of where I've been the happiest, one place always seems to jump to the head of the line. That place is...ready for this?.....Loma Linda, California. This is where I spent a mere 15 months completing my PTA degree, but I can honestly say that every time I think of it, I feel sunny inside. I just can't get that feeling out of my head! My classmates or others who may have been there for a long enough period of time might be wondering if I'm losing my mind. Could I really be homesick for this dry little Adventist-run town? Yep, I sure can.
Now, I realize that maybe my happy feelings are derived from memories I have of the people and classmates I shared all my fun times with. But all that aside, I think it's more than that. And for my own justification as well as my oddly high level of enjoyment for making lists, I chose to list the pros and cons of settling down in Loma Linda.
PROS:
1. It's almost always sunny there, which REALLY affects my mood
2. Nearly every morning when I woke up, I felt happy, which is kinda rare
3. Almost no rain! or terribly cold weather
4. Because I have memories there, it makes me love it even more
5. I'm already familiar with the town, so I'll never feel out of place
6. The mountains are 1 hour away, and the ocean is 1 hour away--what more could you want?!
7. There are palm trees
8. There's a hospital right smack in the middle (a very good and prestigious one, I might add)
9. I'm Adventist, and it's an Adventist-based town
10. If I chose to move there, there's a church school for my kids to attend, as well as a university, if they so choose
11. If my kids do attend the university there, I'll know they're getting an excellent education
12. It's a college town, thus there are always new people to meet and make friends with
13. There's a healthfood store there with all the "veggie meat" I could ever want!
14. There seem to be PTA jobs aplenty in the area
15. LA is only 1.5 hours away
16. Vegas, my favorite city, is only 3 hours away
17. I already know my favorite places to eat, stores to shop at, and fun things to do
18. I do still have some friends in the area, which would really be nice
19. I think alumni are still allowed to use their huge all-purpose gym and swimming pool/sauna
20. One of my favorite churches of all time is right next door in Redlands
21. It's in California, which is like Texas (my second favorite state), only better
22. There have been studies proving that the people who live in Loma Linda live longer
23. It's a very low-crime town
CONS:
1. Traffic is terrible
2. It can get miserably hot
3. Although it is low in crime, San Bernardino, one of California's highest crime towns, is right across a bridge
4. Shane might not have as much luck finding a job in engineering as me
5. My friends ARE mostly gone--it won't be as fun as I remembered or hoped
6. I won't be college-aged for much longer, so those new friends are more scarce than I think
7. No snow in the winter; I do enjoy having a Christmas that actually feels like one
8. Taxes in California are terrible
9. Housing expenses are a nightmare
10. It's smoggy
I dunno, I think the pros outweigh the cons don't you?? I'm sure there are more cons that I could think of. Feel free to tell them to me, because I don't think my chances of living there are very high, and I need to start changing my mind. I guess the next best thing is SLO, a nice little home, and my decorating skills. :)
BTW, I finally got the apartment cleaned and took pictures the other day. Lazy me is just now getting them posted. So enjoy!
1. Our kitchen, consisting of a tiny sink, a tiny washing machine, an average sized stove and oven, and an average sized fridge. Oh, and a microwave that also is a toaster. The room you see in the background is the bedroom--the only other room other than the bathroom.
2. The kitchen table, our front door, our drying rack, and the bathroom door to the right. And those are our prized free wines, which we've decided to give away to nice neighbors and friends.
3. Another view of the kitchen/bathroom door. Don't know why we didn't take out the trash before taking these pictures...
4. The bathroom, consisting of a toilet AND a urinal. When I sit normally on the toilet, my knees touch the wall. I think Shane actually has to sit sideways. Haha! (But I really don't know, so I shouldn't spread rumors.) I post these bathroom pictures because I know my family wants EVERY detail. :)
5. The shower, which thankfully gives a nice, hot soothing spray and not a cold trickle. 
6. Looking in from the door--my bed and desk, and the window that looks towards the front of the building.
7. Both the beds, and our coat rack. We also each have a little nightstand.
8. My desk, where I (attempt to) study each day. The lights in this room (since the main one is burnt out) consist of 3 lamps, and only 3 plugs. 
9. Our rather large closet and Shane's desk. And apparently I just can't take straight pictures. 
10. The view out our bedroom window of the street market in front of our building every Saturday and Tuesday, all day.
11. And the view the other direction, towards the Garibaldi train station, which is between here and those "skyscrapers." And once again, I can't take a straight picture.
I've lived in a lot of great places throughout my life, not the least of which is San Luis Obispo, my current "home." (Even though I actually don't have a house to go back to after this.) But every time I've sat feeling blue, trying to think of where I've been the happiest, one place always seems to jump to the head of the line. That place is...ready for this?.....Loma Linda, California. This is where I spent a mere 15 months completing my PTA degree, but I can honestly say that every time I think of it, I feel sunny inside. I just can't get that feeling out of my head! My classmates or others who may have been there for a long enough period of time might be wondering if I'm losing my mind. Could I really be homesick for this dry little Adventist-run town? Yep, I sure can.
Now, I realize that maybe my happy feelings are derived from memories I have of the people and classmates I shared all my fun times with. But all that aside, I think it's more than that. And for my own justification as well as my oddly high level of enjoyment for making lists, I chose to list the pros and cons of settling down in Loma Linda.
PROS:
1. It's almost always sunny there, which REALLY affects my mood
2. Nearly every morning when I woke up, I felt happy, which is kinda rare
3. Almost no rain! or terribly cold weather
4. Because I have memories there, it makes me love it even more
5. I'm already familiar with the town, so I'll never feel out of place
6. The mountains are 1 hour away, and the ocean is 1 hour away--what more could you want?!
7. There are palm trees
8. There's a hospital right smack in the middle (a very good and prestigious one, I might add)
9. I'm Adventist, and it's an Adventist-based town
10. If I chose to move there, there's a church school for my kids to attend, as well as a university, if they so choose
11. If my kids do attend the university there, I'll know they're getting an excellent education
12. It's a college town, thus there are always new people to meet and make friends with
13. There's a healthfood store there with all the "veggie meat" I could ever want!
14. There seem to be PTA jobs aplenty in the area
15. LA is only 1.5 hours away
16. Vegas, my favorite city, is only 3 hours away
17. I already know my favorite places to eat, stores to shop at, and fun things to do
18. I do still have some friends in the area, which would really be nice
19. I think alumni are still allowed to use their huge all-purpose gym and swimming pool/sauna
20. One of my favorite churches of all time is right next door in Redlands
21. It's in California, which is like Texas (my second favorite state), only better
22. There have been studies proving that the people who live in Loma Linda live longer
23. It's a very low-crime town
CONS:
1. Traffic is terrible
2. It can get miserably hot
3. Although it is low in crime, San Bernardino, one of California's highest crime towns, is right across a bridge
4. Shane might not have as much luck finding a job in engineering as me
5. My friends ARE mostly gone--it won't be as fun as I remembered or hoped
6. I won't be college-aged for much longer, so those new friends are more scarce than I think
7. No snow in the winter; I do enjoy having a Christmas that actually feels like one
8. Taxes in California are terrible
9. Housing expenses are a nightmare
10. It's smoggy
I dunno, I think the pros outweigh the cons don't you?? I'm sure there are more cons that I could think of. Feel free to tell them to me, because I don't think my chances of living there are very high, and I need to start changing my mind. I guess the next best thing is SLO, a nice little home, and my decorating skills. :)
BTW, I finally got the apartment cleaned and took pictures the other day. Lazy me is just now getting them posted. So enjoy!
1. Our kitchen, consisting of a tiny sink, a tiny washing machine, an average sized stove and oven, and an average sized fridge. Oh, and a microwave that also is a toaster. The room you see in the background is the bedroom--the only other room other than the bathroom.
2. The kitchen table, our front door, our drying rack, and the bathroom door to the right. And those are our prized free wines, which we've decided to give away to nice neighbors and friends.
3. Another view of the kitchen/bathroom door. Don't know why we didn't take out the trash before taking these pictures...
4. The bathroom, consisting of a toilet AND a urinal. When I sit normally on the toilet, my knees touch the wall. I think Shane actually has to sit sideways. Haha! (But I really don't know, so I shouldn't spread rumors.) I post these bathroom pictures because I know my family wants EVERY detail. :)
5. The shower, which thankfully gives a nice, hot soothing spray and not a cold trickle. 
6. Looking in from the door--my bed and desk, and the window that looks towards the front of the building.
7. Both the beds, and our coat rack. We also each have a little nightstand.
8. My desk, where I (attempt to) study each day. The lights in this room (since the main one is burnt out) consist of 3 lamps, and only 3 plugs. 
9. Our rather large closet and Shane's desk. And apparently I just can't take straight pictures. 
10. The view out our bedroom window of the street market in front of our building every Saturday and Tuesday, all day. 
11. And the view the other direction, towards the Garibaldi train station, which is between here and those "skyscrapers." And once again, I can't take a straight picture.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Socialization & Singing
I haven’t written lately because I got out of the mood somehow. But now, after a lovely relaxful weekend, I am back.
Friday proved to be the best day I’ve had ever since we got to Milan. It started out with me dressing like the locals do—an extra-long shirt that serves as a dress, paired with opaque tights (which are also very warm) and matching stylish boots. I had been wanting to try this out ever since I got here, but until a couple days ago didn’t have any tights. The goal of the day was to go across town and do some major shopping at a grocery store Ryan told us was pretty cheap. Thankfully, this time Shane was with me. We set out for the metro, and 5 minutes into it I realized that I really should have dressed like the locals in the form of FLAT boots, not high heeled ones. Especially considering I had spent the better part of the past two days in bed and not on my feet. But I marched ahead, determined to get back into shape the way I used to be when I walked all over town in Poland…in high heels.
Unfortunately, Shane only knew the general area of the store, not the location, so we ended up walking quite a ways trying to find it. Of course, this put me and my runny nose, cold body, and throbbing feet in a less than desirable mood, and I finally insisted (or maybe snapped) that we return to Ryan’s place to see if he was in the lobby to tell us where it was at. He wasn’t, but the guy at the front desk was kind enough to show us on a map. Turns out it was in the same spot we had been earlier. We probably walked right by it.
I’d have to say it was worth the trek. This store had the cheapest produce I’d seen yet, and we also found baking powder, among other rare American items. Not to mention they had regular shopping carts, not just the little plastic baskets that roll and never seem to be big enough.
Perhaps the cart wasn’t a blessing, because we had only brought 3 large shopping bags with us, no backpack. And we had a lot of heavy things. But we loaded them all up and Shane graciously carried the heavier ones on our long journey to the closest metro. Now that was a killer. Our fingers lost their circulation and Shane’s index finger didn’t regain it until two days later. My feet felt like they were on fire, and my nose chose that time to run incessantly. We finally made it back to the apartment, and once there I was incredibly happy for our trip; it filled up our fridge and cabinets more than they had been yet.
For supper we were supposed to meet with some of Shane’s classmates at an aperitivo, which is a bar/restaurant where you buy a drink for about 8 Euro, which also gives you access to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I opted to change my outfit for this occasion, since we had to walk a little ways past the train station to get there. My feet were still burning even after taking my boots off for a few hours.
We found the building easily, and had to walk around it before we found the side entrance to the executive lounge where we were supposed to be. Upon entering we discovered that we were the first ones there. Shane hated that, but we found the two spots reserved for the class and waited. This particular aperitivo turned out to be a plush lounge consisting of bench seats similar to large beds with tons of pillows on them, and large round seats surrounded small tables to eat on. Talk about “lounge” literally! I decided I was in love with it and want a room in my house to look similar. The ceiling was made out of sheets, there were candles all around, and the atmosphere had a very relaxed feeling.
Eventually the classmates showed up and we all dined to our heart’s content. Even though we were happy with the food, we were told that it was by far not the best, compared to other aperitivos. All of Shane’s classmates spoke English of course, and were very friendly. We spoke for a long time to a friendly American girl who has traveled all over, knows the ropes of the city, and gave us some good tips.
After a couple hours of eating, socializing, and lounging back on the comfortable pillows, everyone started to make their way out. Jane, one of the 2 women there from Shane’s college in the US, decided she wasn’t ready for the night to end and wanted to go downtown. We decided for the sake of socializing that we would go too, and it ended up being a group of 7 that traipsed down the streets, a couple of whom are hilarious and made us laugh nonstop over funny tales of living in Italy. We ended up stopping at a little restaurant with outdoor tables, and I had a cup of really good hot chocolate. I couldn’t help but think that this was the most fun I’d had since we got here. I loved the company—people who were funny and full of life. It reminded me of my PTA classmates, who I miss dearly.
Alas, all days have to come to an end and Shane and I walked back to our apartment full and happy. The plan was to head to church in the morning, which we had yet to try to find. Unfortunately that night I couldn’t sleep though. I tossed and turned until 5:30am, when I finally got up and got online to pass the time. Around 6:15 I went back to bed, only to toss and turn some more until 8am, when I finally fell asleep. Well. We didn’t go to church that morning. It turned out to be a very boring day because of that. On a bright note, I did get to call my parents over skype, using the new microphone we bought Friday.
Sunday
Today I was awakened to what is becoming a very familiar song played by the man next door. Only this time he had decided to accompany it in a very loudly singing voice. Normally I wouldn’t have minded, but it was so loud that it penetrated my earplugs. I kept thinking, poor Shane, if it’s this loud to me, it must be really loud for him! Soon after this I heard him rustling around in the kitchen, so I knew it had driven him out of bed.
I finally got up and checked my email. Nothing. Shane had a meeting with his classmates over a project and decided to take the computer, so I had no choice but to be computerless and, ugh, study all day. I put it off by trying to mend my holey gloves, only to discover that apparently I took the needle out of my travel sewing kit and never put it back. Great. That makes one more thing I brought that is completely useless to me here. I don’t think I ever mentioned that list. Our phones no longer give us the correct time since we’re out of the US, our electronic translator’s unique batteries are dead, the adaptor we need for the outlets here is broken, and now I can’t use my sewing kit. We keep discovering more things we had that are useless to us here that we could have left at home and saved luggage room and weight.
I actually ended up having a great time listening to music with Shane’s expensive noise-cancelling headphones while I studied, and I actually got a lot studied. Hm. Maybe Shane should take the computer away more often.
After Shane got home and we ate dinner, we were sitting in our room when our neighbor’s extra loud music came on again. This time it was Christian music, as usual, but in English. And he was singing at the top of his lungs. It was so loud that even my music through my headphones was no competition. Normally I wouldn’t really mind, especially since it was music I liked, but Shane couldn’t concentrate on his studying and I couldn’t concentrate on this blog. Finally I decided to go over and talk to him, since it was obvious at this point he spoke English. He came to the door with his little boy on his shoulders. I explained to him the problem and he said he hadn’t known anyone lived there. He was very friendly and asked all about what I was doing here and where in the U.S. I was from. I could see his smiling wife in the background, and I wondered about their frequent yelling fights. He promised to keep the music down and encouraged me to feel free to knock on the wall if it ever got too loud.
How nice. We have an English speaking neighbor beside us and above us.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Predictions
My sickness has played out exactly like Shane's did. He was even able to tell me what to expect next. Yesterday he asked me:
"Have you gotten a runny nose yet?"
"Yes."
"Is it to the point where you blow it and 2 seconds later it starts dripping again, so you're constantly blowing it?"
"No, it comes about every 2 minutes."
Not 4 hours later, I was constantly blowing my nose. Then the sore throat went away, and I got a sinus headache, as Shane had. Last night I used a nasal spray to keep me breathing easy overnight, and Shane said, "You'll be congested in the morning." Sure enough, I woke up this morning all congested to the point I can barely breathe and when I do I sound like I'm breathing my dying breath. Shane seems to be doing fine now other than occasional needs for a kleenex, so I'm hoping that tomorrow will be my freedom day.
I looked in the mirror today and saw with disgust that I have the typical been-in-bed-for-a-week-dog-sick look. The one where your hair has a permanent cowlick in the back, no residual makeup on whatsoever, an unattractively gray pallor, chapped lips, and droopy eyes looking dead and gray, like you just experienced the loss of everything you own.
I never even woke up when Shane got ready and left this morning, and since I'm such a light sleeper usually I can't help but wake up, even though I wear earplugs at night. But I woke up thinking he was out in the kitchen on the laptop since it was so quiet, but no, the laptop was still beside my bed. Suspicious, I got up to go see. No Shane. Upon looking at the time, I saw that it was already 10:30! He leaves the house by 8:15, and I'm usually up by that time. Apparently I was really knocked out.
I've almost got the piles of laundry on the floor done. 2-3 more loads today I think should do it. I have a feeling once I'm done we'll just have to start all over again though. We also need to buy some fabric softener. Clothes that have to get hang-dried inside tend to have that starchy stiff feel, and it kinda takes away my joy of having clean clothes.
I'm not sure what to eat today, because really the only things we have left to make a full meal out of are potatoes and pasta. We had pasta last night and potatoes the two nights before. I blame this lack of variety on the fact that I cannot seem to find baking powder to make things from scratch. For that matter, I can't find a lot of things. Their diet here is really quite simple: different kinds of pastas, pizza, and different kinds of breads. Often you will also see sandwiches resembling Subway's, but just with meat and maybe cheese inside. What a boring diet! I mean, even Poland had a lot more variety, and we were able to get most of the things we wanted quite easily. I can't even find a yellow cheese here.
I had better stop trying to avoid studying and get back to it. I think I might actually be able to make my goal for the week even with being sick. :)
"Have you gotten a runny nose yet?"
"Yes."
"Is it to the point where you blow it and 2 seconds later it starts dripping again, so you're constantly blowing it?"
"No, it comes about every 2 minutes."
Not 4 hours later, I was constantly blowing my nose. Then the sore throat went away, and I got a sinus headache, as Shane had. Last night I used a nasal spray to keep me breathing easy overnight, and Shane said, "You'll be congested in the morning." Sure enough, I woke up this morning all congested to the point I can barely breathe and when I do I sound like I'm breathing my dying breath. Shane seems to be doing fine now other than occasional needs for a kleenex, so I'm hoping that tomorrow will be my freedom day.
I looked in the mirror today and saw with disgust that I have the typical been-in-bed-for-a-week-dog-sick look. The one where your hair has a permanent cowlick in the back, no residual makeup on whatsoever, an unattractively gray pallor, chapped lips, and droopy eyes looking dead and gray, like you just experienced the loss of everything you own.
I never even woke up when Shane got ready and left this morning, and since I'm such a light sleeper usually I can't help but wake up, even though I wear earplugs at night. But I woke up thinking he was out in the kitchen on the laptop since it was so quiet, but no, the laptop was still beside my bed. Suspicious, I got up to go see. No Shane. Upon looking at the time, I saw that it was already 10:30! He leaves the house by 8:15, and I'm usually up by that time. Apparently I was really knocked out.
I've almost got the piles of laundry on the floor done. 2-3 more loads today I think should do it. I have a feeling once I'm done we'll just have to start all over again though. We also need to buy some fabric softener. Clothes that have to get hang-dried inside tend to have that starchy stiff feel, and it kinda takes away my joy of having clean clothes.
I'm not sure what to eat today, because really the only things we have left to make a full meal out of are potatoes and pasta. We had pasta last night and potatoes the two nights before. I blame this lack of variety on the fact that I cannot seem to find baking powder to make things from scratch. For that matter, I can't find a lot of things. Their diet here is really quite simple: different kinds of pastas, pizza, and different kinds of breads. Often you will also see sandwiches resembling Subway's, but just with meat and maybe cheese inside. What a boring diet! I mean, even Poland had a lot more variety, and we were able to get most of the things we wanted quite easily. I can't even find a yellow cheese here.
I had better stop trying to avoid studying and get back to it. I think I might actually be able to make my goal for the week even with being sick. :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sentimentality
I woke up today feeling worse than yesterday. Sore throat worse and the beginnings of sniffles and congestion. Great. I can tell I won't get much studying done today because the simple thought of it makes me feel worse. However, I said I was going to push myself and I will. I promise I will crack a book for at least an hour today. It's the least I can do while lying in bed. It would be nice to have a soothing cup of Throat Coat tea too, but I wasn't smart enough to act on the memory of how much you crave the things you can't get here.
Unable to sleep late, as usual, this time because breathing hurts my throat when I sleep, I stayed awake (but in bed) and cleared out the clutter on my laptop. Not only on my laptop, but in my life. I have a tendency to keep emails, MSN conversations, poems, or anything relating to either really good or really bad times in my life. Every once in a while I enjoy reading back over them, don't ask me why. I guess I get a fresh perspective on the situation, or I want to make sure I handled myself well (hindsight is 20/20), or sometimes they've even become funny. Either way, there were several negative ones I was hanging on to that I just didn't need to keep around. So I deleted several of them, and with that felt a sense of freedom from the past.
It's amazing, the things you run across that you have forgotten about. I discovered old poems written over heartbreak, hilarious stories from college, and an extensive list of the small things in life that make me happy (which I'm tempted to post here some day). Some of those things, such as the poems, I keep simply because I'm proud of my writing skills, poignantly precise from the depths of my sorrow. Others I keep because I'm just a very sentimental person, and whether happy or sad, some of those things are just too hard to throw away yet.
Which made me think. Why do we (I'm sure I'm not the only one) hang on to things that remind us of the sad times, the angry times, the bitter times; the old relationships or the broken friendships? Is it because behind those bad times there were also happy times that we want to remember? I think that's my reason for it. Especially in the case of ended relationships...amid all the bad in the end, there was at one point in time something good. But still, why do we hang on to the past if we've truly moved on from it? Have we moved on or are we still hurt/bitter/sad over it?
If you go to my house, you will find two rather large boxes FULL of memories of one kind or the other. Notes from highschool friends, sweet letters from old boyfriends, even candy wrappers from my hugest crush when I was 15. Lame, I know. I'm amazed at the things I've chosen to keep throughout the years...most of them relating to the guys throughout my life. And at the same time I feel kind of guilty. I keep memories of old boyfriends, yet I am happily planning a future with the guy I plan to marry. Is that wrong of me? Does that somehow say that I'm not letting go of my past? That I'm not fully over someone? That I want to keep their memory alive whilst on the arm of my future husband? Will Shane see it that way? I think that deep down I've questioned this; somehow felt guilty but at the same time justified.
And I've come to the personal conclusion that no, it's not necessarily wrong. However, it does have conditions. Only you can decide how you feel about the past and the people that were in your past--it's up to you to decide whether or not those memories are harmful to your present. For most people I think that by keeping memories like that you are simply fondly remembering who you were and who has been a part of your life. Why else do we keep diaries? Every once in a while we enjoy going back to read about how our life used to be back in the day. For me, it reminds me how simple things were, how carefree and trivial my "huge" problems really were at that age. Maybe it's a way to escape the stresses of this current life and remember a time that wasn't so complicated...young, carefree, "in love"...I think it's normal to feel bittersweet about those days. Men may disagree, but for a woman anyways, I don't think that's so abnormal. And I don't think it means we are unhappy with our current life if we feel bittersweet about the past. They were, at one point in time, the things we laughed or cried at, the things that shaped our days. Memory is a powerful thing--it can bring back emotions we never knew still existed. That's why it's up to each individual to choose to keep or discard things depending on it's affect in your present life. And do things now to make the present something you would want to look back on with fond, bittersweet memories too.
When I go back through those boxes, there will be tons of things I will throw away. (Those candy wrappers for instance.) But there will be several things I will keep, to remember the things, times, and people that shaped my life and my future.....which, I think, will be a very good one. :)
Provided, this is written by a girl who is a lot younger than most, so my "past" is referring to the high school/college years. This was my way of sorting out my thoughts by way of rambling them into a blog, but I would love to hear your opinions on the subject.
Unable to sleep late, as usual, this time because breathing hurts my throat when I sleep, I stayed awake (but in bed) and cleared out the clutter on my laptop. Not only on my laptop, but in my life. I have a tendency to keep emails, MSN conversations, poems, or anything relating to either really good or really bad times in my life. Every once in a while I enjoy reading back over them, don't ask me why. I guess I get a fresh perspective on the situation, or I want to make sure I handled myself well (hindsight is 20/20), or sometimes they've even become funny. Either way, there were several negative ones I was hanging on to that I just didn't need to keep around. So I deleted several of them, and with that felt a sense of freedom from the past.
It's amazing, the things you run across that you have forgotten about. I discovered old poems written over heartbreak, hilarious stories from college, and an extensive list of the small things in life that make me happy (which I'm tempted to post here some day). Some of those things, such as the poems, I keep simply because I'm proud of my writing skills, poignantly precise from the depths of my sorrow. Others I keep because I'm just a very sentimental person, and whether happy or sad, some of those things are just too hard to throw away yet.
Which made me think. Why do we (I'm sure I'm not the only one) hang on to things that remind us of the sad times, the angry times, the bitter times; the old relationships or the broken friendships? Is it because behind those bad times there were also happy times that we want to remember? I think that's my reason for it. Especially in the case of ended relationships...amid all the bad in the end, there was at one point in time something good. But still, why do we hang on to the past if we've truly moved on from it? Have we moved on or are we still hurt/bitter/sad over it?
If you go to my house, you will find two rather large boxes FULL of memories of one kind or the other. Notes from highschool friends, sweet letters from old boyfriends, even candy wrappers from my hugest crush when I was 15. Lame, I know. I'm amazed at the things I've chosen to keep throughout the years...most of them relating to the guys throughout my life. And at the same time I feel kind of guilty. I keep memories of old boyfriends, yet I am happily planning a future with the guy I plan to marry. Is that wrong of me? Does that somehow say that I'm not letting go of my past? That I'm not fully over someone? That I want to keep their memory alive whilst on the arm of my future husband? Will Shane see it that way? I think that deep down I've questioned this; somehow felt guilty but at the same time justified.
And I've come to the personal conclusion that no, it's not necessarily wrong. However, it does have conditions. Only you can decide how you feel about the past and the people that were in your past--it's up to you to decide whether or not those memories are harmful to your present. For most people I think that by keeping memories like that you are simply fondly remembering who you were and who has been a part of your life. Why else do we keep diaries? Every once in a while we enjoy going back to read about how our life used to be back in the day. For me, it reminds me how simple things were, how carefree and trivial my "huge" problems really were at that age. Maybe it's a way to escape the stresses of this current life and remember a time that wasn't so complicated...young, carefree, "in love"...I think it's normal to feel bittersweet about those days. Men may disagree, but for a woman anyways, I don't think that's so abnormal. And I don't think it means we are unhappy with our current life if we feel bittersweet about the past. They were, at one point in time, the things we laughed or cried at, the things that shaped our days. Memory is a powerful thing--it can bring back emotions we never knew still existed. That's why it's up to each individual to choose to keep or discard things depending on it's affect in your present life. And do things now to make the present something you would want to look back on with fond, bittersweet memories too.
When I go back through those boxes, there will be tons of things I will throw away. (Those candy wrappers for instance.) But there will be several things I will keep, to remember the things, times, and people that shaped my life and my future.....which, I think, will be a very good one. :)
Provided, this is written by a girl who is a lot younger than most, so my "past" is referring to the high school/college years. This was my way of sorting out my thoughts by way of rambling them into a blog, but I would love to hear your opinions on the subject.
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