Two things happened to me today that I found worth writing about as the day is ending and I'm full from pesto pasta.

1. I got a piece of pizza from this place I've been wanting to go to all term that is on my street. It was more of a phyllo dough crust and it had a bottom and top crust which housed mushrooms and cheese. It was some of the best pizza I have had here: salty yet savory because of the phyllo dough and just enough cheesy to make it melty. Just talking about it makes me want to go back and get another slice.

But that is a pretty boring story. What made it interesting was that on the way out of the shop, I tripped on a cobblestone and it fell onto the cobblestone street. I was in front of a restaurant and a few people even groaned for me. I looked at it on the ground filled with depression and picked it up to take a trash can around the corner. But as I approached the trash can, I realized I just couldn't do it. I rationalized that I have probably eaten dirtier things in my life without knowing it and proceeded to eat the whole thing.

I don't regret it.

2. I went for a long run into the country side and was so caught up in the moment of that run I had to share it. My senses here are constantly being tested for their capacity; I see things, touch things, hear things and feel things but most I smell these gorgeous aromas.

The road was narrow asphalt and wasn't very busy. On either side were views of the Tuscan patchwork landscape of vineyards, olive groves, forest and houses. On the immediate side of the road were grassy knolls with gardens mixed in and large villas with beautiful gates and long windy roads. It was simply the most pictuerese run I've been on.

The best part about it though - and about Siena right now - is that all of the honeysuckle is blooming. For 5 miles all I got to smell was honeysuckle flowers and I was struck by how incredibly lucky I am to have studied abroad, but mostly to have studied abroad in Tuscany.

I think about all of the things I've done and things I'm going to do in my life and I know that this trip has been the most influential event of my life so far and will probably be one of them at the end of my life as well. It has changed me in so many ways and my perspective of life and the world will never be the same. I will return to Eugene and be stressed and go to school, work, eat, sleep and do all of this things again but something about them will be different. Even the mundane will be different and that is because I am different. I feel my desires for career, relationships and my relationship with myself have been tested here yet I feel more confident than ever in what I want out of life and who I am.

Baby went down to Amsterdam...

On thursday night we left for Amsterdam and for once we weren't flying Ryanair! We were shocked at the leg room available and the fact that snacks were passed out during the flight. We took advantage of the free wine and beer and passed. It's become the thing to take pictures of each other sleeping because somehow we always end up in the weirdest positions with the strangest facial expressions. This particular picture left me with the worst crick in my neck and got Mary and I some strange looks from the family across the isle.

We got in pretty late and because we needed to get up early for the Anne Frank house, some of the girls went to bed and the rest of us explored the area and got a snack to eat. The night is beautiful in Amsterdam with all of the lights reflecting off of the canals.

We stumbled upon an asian grill and I was in heaven. I never thought I would say this but I don't know if I can eat another piece of pizza. Actually, give me a week and I will want one, but when we are finally given variety we tend to go nuts. Throughout the voyage to Holland I ate:

-indonesian food that was so spicy we were all sweating but absolutely delicious

-fries fries fries with all different types of sauces (mayonese, ketchup, curry)

-a delicious hotdog drowned in relish because aparently Italy doesn't believe in pickles

-shoarma which is this shaved roasted meat with a garlic and chili sauce in a pita

-dutch apple pie

-a strawberry tart

-cheesecake

-a salmon sandwich

-and a lot of apples that my economical side brought along for the trip

It would be an understatement to say that I was full the entire time I was in Amsterdam.

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But anywho, the next morning we went to the Anne Frank House which was a mixture of an eery atmosphere, depressing and devastating emotions yet extremely moving. You get to tour the entire building that they hid in for two years, which was a storefront with a secret attic and back part. It was incredible to hear the stories of not only Anne but her whole family and the people who aided in helping them. I had no idea that the two men who were in charge of the building, business and hiding them were also sent to concentration camps although they survived. Anne's father is the only one out of their entire family and the other family that was hiding with them to survive. We left feeling a little gloomy but also in awe of a family with such courage and strength.

We went on the search for Dutch pancakes but instead came across Dutch apple pie which OH MY GOD was absolutely delicious. It was served with fresh whip cream that was so thick you could hold the plate upside down and it would stay. We finished and walked into the center of town only to stumble upon a men's beach volleyball tournament, definitely the weirdest thing I have seen in Europe so far. They had literally poured sand into the middle of the city center and had a DJ playing hip hop and techno = so strange.

From there we went to Vondel park where I could stay for hours; it was so beautiful and there were people covering almost every inch of green. There was music and food and laughter and babies and couples and enough bikes for everyone that goes to the University of Oregon...twice.

That night when we went out we met an English cricket team and they might be the funniest group of guys I have ever met. They had this deal called "wild card" that was like the ultimate truth or dare. There was a pot of 100 euros and if you didn't complete whatever the dare was you lost your money. One guy had to slowly take his pants off in the middle of the dance floor and I looked over right as these girls around him were slowly backing away from him - scared - and all of his friends were dyeing laughing. Another guy had to get down on his knees and act like he was looking for something on the floor for 15 minutes.

The next day we went to the I Amsterdam sign and after taking some classic pictures, and fighting people to take those photos, we headed over to the Van Gogh museum. It was one of the coolest museums I have ever been too. They had it arranged chronologically so we could see his progression as a beginning artist, a troubled man and then right before he committed suicide. After the museum we went back to the park because we loved it so much. Mackenzie's cousin lives near Amsterdam so we met up with him and because one of his friends owns a boat, we got a free tour of Amsterdam via the canals. We boated to a local microbrewery and got to hang out, listen to a live band and enjoy some Oregon style microbrews.

I thought Amsterdam was going to be a run down, drug infested city but I fell in love with it. It had much more of a village feel with the beauty of the canals, architecture, delicious mix of food, and great people. The Red Light District was funny to go through but it was such a small section of town and in no way reflected all of Amsterdam. I could go back and I know that I will someday.

The travel home was absolutely crazy; my biggest fear is crashing in an airplane and I woke up to being in the middle of thunderstorm with literally, thunder outside of the airplane. It was absolutely terrifying. But alas, we made it home and despite us all being on separate flights we found each other in Florence and without fail we ran into each other, running to catch buses and trains.

Beauty and Love

I haven't written in forever so here is a summary of my life in the past three weeks:

I hit a new low (or high, its matter of perspective) yesterday when I tried lard for the first time. Not disguised in the pasta or salami I eat, but literally straight lard. We went to a famous butcher, Dario Cecchini, in Panzano in Chianti who is quite the character. As you walk in there is opera music playing and you are greeted with a glass of wine and free samples of salami, olive oil and salts, and of course the lardo. This is cured lard with spices and the particular kind we had was used as a spread on bread. It was pretty delicious but one taste was enough; I could hear my arteries screaming as I swallowed.

My spring break consisted of Barcelona for four days and Dublin for three. It was a crazy week of no sleep and meeting wonderful people. I realize a little more everyday that these travels, and this trip is all about relationships. We met a guy from England named Harry who ended up hanging out with us everyday in Barcelona. We had two guys from Boston take a picture of us on the top of Gaudi's park and we ended up walking around together and talking for a while. Then randomly saw them again in the middle of Barcelona. The odds? Low, yet you get this feeling that people come into your life for a reason when events like that occur.

Another student we met in Rome on the Spanish Steps has been studying in Dublin and when we were there he was able to show us around. We continue to make aquaintances with people we may or may not ever see again but the warmth we have felt from even their brief encounters is a memory I will always have.

I have seen monuments and amazing architecture - Gaudi's Sagrada Familia is by far the coolest building I have ever been into - but the things I will always hold dear to my heart are the people I've met along the way. And then there are the girls on this trip. We have experienced so much together that we joke how we know all of each other's stories...but it's true.

We managed to sit in the rowdy section of a Siena soccer game where ladies got in for only 1 euro...because it's Italy. We celebrated a birthday at this beautiful jazzy tea room where we danced to Frank Sinatra. I got caught in the dragon contrada's parade during the picking of the palio contradas. I have finally made it in with the baristas at the coffee place I go to every morning. Luca is the man who works in the afternoon and told me I go in there enough I should probably learn his name. The woman who works in the morning knows my order by heart and always laughs when I ask for two shots of espresso. I met a man at the market this morning from Arezzo who had all of his salami and pork products for sale. He gave me enough samples to count for lunch and when I finally bought only a 2 euro package of meat, he didn't care, and gave me his card. I walked behind two old women holding hands because not only were they best friends but they were holding each other up, and probably not just physically.

In Dublin, I broke off from the group and walked along the Grand Canal for a solid hour, thinking about my life and this trip. I looked up just in time to see a tree in front of me covered in flowers and trinkets and signs with sayings about friends, family and love. I automatically assumed it was a memorial to someone who had died, like in America where there is a memorial on the side of a road. But as I searched and searched the tree for some sign of reason I came to realize the only reason it was decorated and celebrated was just because. People were celebrating love together at this common tree with no other purpose than to make someone else smile.

Studying abroad makes you realize a lot about yourself and others. You see who you want to keep in your life and what things will make you happy. I've learned that happiness is something all too often taken for granted or replaced with other things. I've learned that people and connections and relationships are what make this world go around and that those experiences are what I truly want out of life. I was sad for a while thinking that I only have 6 weeks left in Europe before I realized that all of life is an adventure, wherever you are. Your attitude determines so much in life and as long as I can have adventures, have those relationships I want and love something - whether or not that is a person, a career, or something else - then happiness will always be there. I told Mackenzie my dad's saying: that a person needs something to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. We all agree that this trip has solidified the reality of that statement.

Jenny gave me a book before I left that I have re-read a lot while being here. It's called "As a Man Thinketh" and she told me how inspirational it was. Proving once again we are soul mates, reading it was one of the most inspirational things I have ever experienced. The entire book is dedicated to showing how one thinks determines their reality. Positive thinking means a positive life; circumstance is a product of your mode of thinking. It was a great book but one chapter stuck out the most to me. It was about a certain group of people in this world sometimes cast as useless and unrealistic...the dreamers. The people who contribute beauty to a world that is already beautiful but that is often lost on those who don't take the time to look for it.

"The dreamers are the saviors of the world. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish."