Rome, Day 4

Today was really cool, but full of a lot of Drama. We woke up early and checkout of our hotel in Rome. Then we drove for 4 hours to Pompeii and toured around the ruins. It was soooo hot! The tour was long, and hard [lol, yea... Im immature] but very interesting. One of the cooler and more immature things I learned, was that on the streets and walls of Pompeii, they carved out the shape of a penis that pointed to the brothel. I thought that was funny, and even funnier to see. Many of the annoying people from Texas complained that our chaperone (Sasha) went too fast, but I thought he was fabulous. If he went any slower we would have been in the sun way too long and possibly missed our other tour deadlines. Two chaperones got into a fight about weather he was good or not (can we not just agree to disagree anymore?). That is a stupid thing to fight about in my opinion. The fight left high tensions between Texas and Washington for the rest of the day, and I hope it doesn't continue throughout the trip.

After Pompeii, we got onto the buss and headed out for another 2 hours to our new hotel... in Sorento. One word describes this place - Beautiful. Everything from the buildings, to the water, to the beach, to the kittens was beautiful. I supervised the kids when they went swimming, and then we ate dinner. Then we went for a walk, and happened upon a bunch of little kittens! they were so cute and fluffy. They wouldn't let us get close enough to pet them, but we sat for some time and just watched them play with each other. I did manage to pet the mama cat, and she purred up a storm. After we put the kids to bed, us cool chaperones went out to the patio overlooking the bay and drank while the sun set. It was gorgeous.

Tomorrow we will take a boat to the island of Capri. I am really looking forward to it, but am afraid of getting sea sick on the way. Fingers crossed! If I have one regret about this trip, well... its not really a regret, just a wish, it is that I was here with a special someone (for the lack of a better word). Many times thus far on this trip I have enjoyed a spectacular sunset, or amazing piece of artwork, and feel that something is missing. I would like to come back someday with that special someone. On another note, I am becoming good friends with the other chaperones, and we are having lots of fun with these kids.

Time is running out

Sometimes it takes a glimpse of death to appreciate life. RIP Jerry Tennis

Rome, Day 3

I don't know if any day can top today in terms of being crazy (some good and some bad) stuff happening. I started out my day going on a tour of the Vatican City. I saw so many amazing paintings, sculptures, tapestries, frescoes  and mosaics in the museum. the Sistine Chapel was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! I spent 3o minutes just standing there staring at the walls and ceiling. I wish I could have stayed there all day. Everything was so perfect, and detailed, and colorful. It looks cool in pictures but in real life it just makes you feel so alive. I felt blessed just standing in the room. Standing there looking at all the paintings and knowing that Michelangelo hand painted some of it was just a tremendous feeling. We also went into St. Peter's Basilica, which was so breathtaking. All the walls and ceilings covered with gold, and paintings... After that we went into the  Capuchin Church, which is an old church decorated with bones and skeletons of dead people. It was incredible cool and awesome, but at the same time it was very creepy. For dinner we went to an underground restaurant with cool lighting, and a disco ball. the food was fantastic! After we put the kids to bed, most of the chaperones went to the hotel bar and stayed up talking and drinking. 


These things made up the majority of my day, but a few other interesting things happened throughout the day. One of the chaperones got pick-pocketed for 5 euro, another for 100 euro, and my dad for 190 dollars. I guess I am glad that we are able to bring stability into the Italian economy. It just reminds me to stay aware of my surroundings and alert at all times. The group of students and parents from Texas have grown more and more annoying as the trip has progressed. On the bright side, the dislike for them has brought many of us closer together. They always seem to be a popular subject of conversation. I would like to see us just forget about them and enjoy the trip, but many people seem to lack the ability to do so. Tensions and building, and I hope then diffuse before they explode. 


Tomorrow we will leave this hotel and go to a new one in Sorrento. On the way we will stop in Pompeii. I look forward to tomorrow and the great things I hope to see there. TTY2M

Rome, Day 2

It is currently 4:30am, and I am showered and ready to go. I received my wake up call 3 hours too early, and did not have a clock to see the mistake until I was up and showered and awake. Apparently the person giving the wake up call did not set their watch to the right time zone... UK time. At this point, I might as well stay up and see my first Roman sunrise. I do feel much better than I did yesterday now that I have some sleep under my belt, although I would have enjoyed a few more hours. I will write more in the evening when something more notable has happened over the day.

So, the rest of "Rome day 2" was super busy. We started out going to the Colosseum, which was sooooo cool to see in person! Walking in a group of 51 people (half of which are from Texas) is a bit chaotic. These particular Texans are rude, loud, a little stupid, and very immature. Anyway, the Colosseum was the bees knees. Being able to walk in it, and touch the same stone that was there and in use more than 2000 years ago is amazing to think about. Just being there in person, and seeing all the things I learned about in school was amazing. After the Colosseum we went to the Roman Forum for a few hours, and looked at many other ancient ruins of buildings, statues, gardens, and even the death place of Julius Caesar. After that, we went to a place known as the Spanish Steps, and got some free time to shop and explore in Rome. That was a lot of fun! After lunch, I saw the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and a beautiful church that I cannot remember the name of. One thing that kept impressing me was the size of all of these sculptures. On TV or in a book, they are described as being large, but seeing them towering over me was absolute insanity. So far, the Pantheon is my favorite thing I have seen. The dome, and the hole, and the paintings... amazing.

We ended the tour with another chunk of free time, which I spent sitting under a mist machine at a bar, drinking limoncello and eating calamari and prosciutto with mozzarella. It was 95 degrees and we had been walking all day, so I really enjoyed the chance to rest. I signed up for an optional night tour of Rome too. Rome is so different at night. We revisited most of the sights we saw earlier in the day, and I spent most of my time looking at how each piece was lit.. being a techie and all. We returned to the hotel at 12:45am from the night tour, and I am exhausted.

I discovered a sunburn on my face, neck, and arms... I itch. My feet hurt pretty bad too from all the walking we have been doing, but it is totally worth it. I am having some problems with my cell phone habits too. There are certain people (you know who you are) who I am in the habit of texting or talking to on a regular basis. I keep finding myself reaching for my phone to share with them how cool something is, and then I remember that I can't. I would love to come back here someday with a great friend or loved one and share this experience with them.

Rome, Day 1

Today has been such a crazy long day! I was up at 9:00am to get ready for the big trip to Rome. We arrived at the airport early (as any good chaperone does) and waited for the students to arrive. once they all showed up we hurried through  security checkpoints and got to the gate just in time to wait.. for 2 hours for our flight to board. The last time I flew on a flight for an extended period of time was over 10 years ago, so the whole TV in the back of the seat with movies, games, TV shows, and other things was a bit of a shock. They definitively helped to make the flight bearable. I have a notorious history of not being able to sleep on cars, boats, or planes,so the 10 hour flight seemed to go on FOREVER! Thankfully, many games of solitaire, chess, my iPod, and free movies came to my rescue. On the flight, we also got free dinners and breakfast. I was pretty happy with the flight despite how tired I was and how my body was screaming at me to get up and move the entire flight. The 10 hour flight landed in Paris.

This was my first time in France, but I really did not get a chance to see or do anything because I spent 3 hours in the airport just waiting for my flight to Rome. The little flight from Paris to Rome was in some ways worse than the 10 hour flight to Paris. I was already dead tired and this plane of course had no TV or anything to do, so keeping awake was a bit of a challenge. During the landing procedure, we hit some massive turbulence, and my body decided it needed to react in the form of throwing-up. I managed to keep it down (TMI?) and then, I was in Rome!!! 

I was (and still am) super excited just to be here in Rome. The start of this tour however, has not been promising. We were picked up from the airport by our tour guide, and took a 2 hour buss ride to dinner, which, to be honest was not that great. I hope to experience a little better Italian food in the near future. During dinner we met the other members of out tour who were from Texas, and then took an hour bus ride to our hotel. I am writing this [or was when I wrote it] from my hotel room, and it is a bit gross.  It is messy, unclean, poorly constructed, and a bit sketchy. On the plus side, it has a bed, and I am excited about that! During the time I am writing this I have been awake for.... 29 hours, most of which has been sitting on a crowded plane, terminal, or bus. I can only look forward to tomorrow when I actually get to see some cool stuff in Rome! I end this day with the faith and hope that this shitty day of travel will pay off over the next week. [ps: it did]

When in Rome... Blog on Paper?

Here is the deal, I am leaving for Rome in a few short hours. While in Rome I will be keeping a Journal and no computer or cell phone. When I return I am planning on posting my Journal on this blog for you all to read, and by "you all" I mean the 3 of you who follow me : ) Until then, I hope that you all stay safe, and I will too. After that, who cares! TTYL

It's Hard to Keep the Faith, I'm Never Gonna Fade Away

I will be in Rome in 3 days! I am getting pretty excited about it. I have almost finished packing already because apparently I have so little to do this summer that packing 3 days early was a good idea. I have had the blessing of having one of my good friends back in town for the past week. He and I have hung out a lot, and talked about many things. Just being able to talk about life sometimes makes it so much easier to think about it clearly. I have noticed that I act differently around him that some of my other friends. This got me wondering "whats up with that?" When I stop to think about it, I guess I am a little different around everybody. Which one of those is the real me? Am I only me when I am alone, or is it some sort of combination of how I am with everyone put together? I think the real answer to that question is that I am the constant between all my different "personalities" (I know I don't have split personalities or anything, it is just the easiest way to put it). The things that remain the same despite whoever I am with are what make me who I am. All of the aspects of me that change based on who I am with are not important to me, and therefor adapt to fit the people around me. I wondered for a while if this adaptation of sorts makes me a weak person, but I think it just means that I know what is really important to me, and everything else is just sand in the hourglass.