Clueless and Shoeless

You know those short periods when there seems to be a reoccurring theme in your everyday life? Something so minutiae that you wander past it without realizing until it's repeated over and over coming to your realization of it's presence or significance? It happens to me all the time with different things but lately this reoccurring theme has been with shoes. I see it, hear it, and read about them everywhere now. It all started last week when I decided I'm simply just over shoes. I enjoy feeling the different temperatures and textures of the ground underneath the underrated little gems that allow me so many pleasures in life… Plus I don’t have to put them on anytime I want to go anywhere. I've just seen little importance in wearing them. Therefore lately I've only worn shoes when it's needed... I agree it's unacceptable to not wear shoes in certain settings, so that's why I say when it's needed... When I was younger I overheard someone say in Raley's that the shoes a person wears can tell a lot about them. So what if I'm not wearing shoes? Take that society! Anyways, back to my reoccurring themes. First, I haven't been wearing shoes lately. Then I start overhearing people talking about their new shoes. Also I was reading this book called Ishi for my Indians of California class. He was a wild Indian who was basically introduced into modern society… He adapted with everything except he refused to wear shoes. He says “walking on [the ground] all the time, I would wear shoes out, but my feet will never wear out”. I like this mentality. It’s so true. Anyways, I’m amazed to see how many comments I get on my lack of shoes. It really surprises people that I'm not wearing them which really surprises me. The other day on campus one of my friends said to me, "I think I would not wear shoes if more people did it". For some reason this kind of got to me because of how people are afraid of the element of surprise and individuality in society... We're always taught when we were younger to be yourself and to be an individual... But it really seems like everyone is trying to be an individual, which kind of renders the individuality concept invalid. Do as everyone else and be different. Society is so used to following trends and socially acceptable aspects of our culture, that we begin to fear and reject difference. We no longer strive for creativity, but for safety. We no longer strive to achieve, but to stay in the shadows and do as everyone else. We’re so afraid of putting ourselves out there because we fear rejection and want to be accepted at all costs, therefore losing sight of ourselves. We become what society wants us to be while still wanting to be an “individual”. For this very reason I feel the spectrum of individuality, creativity, and originality is diminishing. So take off your shoes before everyone has the same shoes.

Sundance Kids.

The end was drawing near. I had just graduated high school and was trying to make the most of what would be my last Summer in Tahoe. This had been my home for the last 17 years, and as the days closed in behind me I felt myself feeling increasingly nervous yet excited for some major life changes. I was leaving the land of luscious white snow and brilliant blue waters to travel to the mystic land of sun and surf. For most people its the other way around.
Anyways, one Saturday afternoon David, Erik and I set out on a short drive to Spooner Lake to take pictures. We walked around aimlessly for hours snapping shots of time. I remember many details of what happened that day but I do remember it was a lot of fun. But then we got hungry so we went to super taco.

In more current news of life, I've been really busy with... life. I've decided school has a hidden objective to prevent you from sleeping. But school is fun. I'm learning in my Indians of California class about observation. They were able to conclude that the Earth rotated around the sun and could very accurately tell the day of the year just by sitting in the same spot every sunrise and sunset for a year or more. Just sit there and observe the position. I wish things were still like that. I was reading a philosophy article the other day that talked about how in today's society, more is less. We have so many choices and decisions and things to do and people to see that our mind is constantly concentrated on desires and the future that we can't fully enjoy the present. The quality of life is overshadowed by the quantity of "stuff". We're always thinking about the alternative. I found this interesting. I think we should all get up and observe the sunrise and sunset like the Native Americans. In fact I think we should just live like the Native Americans. They seemed so much more in tune with life and nature. And I would like to wear Indian jewelry, moccasins, and feathered headdresses all the time too.

Dreams are for dancers.

You know those days where you just feel really creative and adventurous? I love those days. One day last Spring I had nothing to do and I had that feeling, so I grabbed my 40D and drove with no intended destination. Just drove streets I've never driven. That road looks cool, I'll drive down it. I did that all day and stopped to take pictures of things that looked worthy and interesting. I found this really fun whoopdidoo road, found some cool factory, and eventually found myself in Long Beach. Don't ask why but this is one of my favorite pictures I've taken. I was driving and I rolled down the window and blindly took this. It just looks simple and classic.

Anyways, today was another one of those days, except it was met with great failure. I woke up to rain pounding against my window and remembered my car was at Adam's house. So I waited for it to slow down and eventually walked over to his place. First stop was the art store to get marker paper for my class, and found out they didn't carry it anymore. Second stop was the bank to exchange euros, but found out they don't accept currency after 2. No big deal though. Next I went to Michaels to get art and craft supplies so I could take advantage of my creative energy to make necklaces and bracelets and drawings. After roaming for an hour I was just walking to the check out and... boom! Power outage. So I had them hold my stuff behind the counter. After that I tried going to a thrift store but they were closed. Surprisingly though I had a really good day.

Tall Tales.

So as legend has it in Ireland, a drunk Irishman came home and went into his neighbors door thinking it was his own and slept with his neighbors wife, again, thinking it was his own. His neighbor came in and saw him sleeping with his wife and shot him. So now the Irish paint their doors all different colors so there's no confusion and ultimately, no more dead drunk Irishman. So simple.

Back in the groove

Spring semester of my junior year has officially started this week. After this I will only have 1 more year; 2 more semesters. Italy seems like a distant dream now, and I realize after starting this semester how much I miss it. The good friends, the good times, and the good memories. I'm not saying I don't have that at Chapman, because I definitely do... but Italy was different. Now I'm back, ready to have new adventures, meet new people, and make new memories... while or course still continuing relationships from Italy. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see where things go now that reality is kicking back in.

Meant to be, like milk and tea

"I'm afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning." -Andy Warhol

Filthy Venetian Faces

Venice, Italy

Looking out the window of my color TV

Interlaken, Switzerland

Winter Warmth

Interlaken, Switzerland

ciao means goodbye also

My 4 month Eurotown adventure has officially come to an end. I was excited to be back in my homeland of delicious Mexican food, friendly people, and a language I actually understood, however, after settling into my old American lifestyle once again, I began to realize how much I missed Italy. The weekend adventures to new places, the days and nights spent with good friends, and every memory associated with nearly every day that passed. Everyday was an adventure. I feel like I made the most of it though. Knowing the last weeks were closing in behind me, I took advantage of every opportunity to go to the places that I didn't get to see and doing the things I didn't get to do. And it ended up being the most surprising last couple weeks I could have imagined. Just comes to show that some of the best things come when you least expect them to.

Looking back on the whole experience, it seems like a lifetime worth of memories. Almost dreamlike. Each day that passes I wish I was back sipping on macchiattos, eating margarita pizza, and roaming the European lands with friends. It's hard to put into a short paragraph, even into words how amazing of an experience it was. I come back to America with a new world knowledge and a noggin filled with memories as small as watching Matt bargain in the market and as big as flying thousands of miles to see different countries. It was truly the experience of a lifetime that I'm so thankful I had the chance to have. Until next time Europe... Whenever that may be. I'll miss you for the time being.

Shmirshmari.

More photos to come soon.

Who knew something so easy could be so difficult. Matt and I, as a last hurrah friday-day trip decided to go to the Ferrari museum in Modena, Italy. One would think that the Ferrari museum would be a big tourist attraction in such a ordinary Italian town right? Well... apparently that wasn't the case... at all. After a night of shenanigans, Matt and I woke up later because it would mean a cheaper train ticket. We went to the train station, purchasing our tickets, and began looking for the train. We couldn't find it. We went over to the information desk and asked where our train was only to find out that with 5 minutes till it departed, we purchased tickets for a completely different station. Oops. So Matt and I ran to a different train, barely making it on before it left and it took us to the station we were SUPPOSED to go to. We found our train and ran to it, once again, barely making it on. I don't think I've successfully made it onto a train without at the most 5 minutes before it departed. Go us. Eventually we made it to Modena and went to to information desk to find out where the museum was. Luckily we were able to purchase round trip bus tickets and received the most ambiguous directions ever. Go to second bus stop, get off at main station, get on second bus. Great. After riding the first bus for about an hour and a half, I went up to the driver and asked with my incredible Italian where the main station was. Where I was then yelled at... The bus driver didn't speak english either so I went back and sat down. Eventually we stopped and the bus driver motioned us to follow him and he walked us to the second bus we were supposed to be at. What a sweetheart. After eating some lunch and being made fun of by some Italian hipsters with their shiny puffy jackets and euro mullets. After another hour long bus ride we finally made it to the Ferrari museum, once again, with absolutely no help from the directions we received. We walked around the Ferrari museum for awhile seeing the whole line of formula 1 cars and their road cars, including the new 458 Italia. Ferrari's are like little pieces of art you can ride in. Once we saw all the cars we walked outside and searched for the Ferrari racetrack we heard cars going around at. We walked for awhile and found it, with three 458's racing around at. That would be so fun. It was starting to get dark so we decided to head back to Florence, stopping by the Ferrari store to get directions. Seeing as Modena is the main town and the Ferrari museum is probably their main attraction, I was surprised to find out that no one had any idea how to get back. We walked to the bus station going the opposite way we came and waited for about 45 minutes skeptical if we were at the right place. We ended up talking to this nice Italian guy who asked the bus driver if this was the right bus when it came. Cool! a nice Italian!

Swisserland

More photos to come soon.

Interlaken, Switzerland: probably one of the best trips I had during my eurotown adventure and for so many reasons. Since train and plane tickets were expensive so I decided to go through the tour group Florence for Fun. Thursday night the bus left from Florence and it was an 8 hour trip to the swiss lands. For the first time on one of the bus rides I actually fell asleep and around 3 in the morning I was awoken by head jolting braking and turning and the coldest toes I've had in awhile. I drearily looked outside the bus window to see mother nature giving the land little white flakes of joy. An hour later we arrived at our hostel and I went straight to bed not waking up until 10. After waking up and getting breakfast, Danny, Stefan and I decided we were going to go cliff swinging. We signed up and walked around the town until the bus came and took us up to the canyon. A 40 minute drive in a clutch-worn red van with a cute little lady driving. We got up to the canyon and after being strapped into the harnesses and listening to the deathly screams coming through the canyon of fellow jumpers we made the walk up to the jump area. After a very inconvenient detour, we made it, signed away our lives and strapped in one by one for the plunge. After watching everyone else go it was my turn. Strapped in, I could feel the cold darkening air against my cheeks as I looked down the 300 foot canyon, ironically with excitement and thrill rushing through me rather than fear. Without hesitation I ran and jumped, getting that all familiar rollercoaster rush in my stomach... except about 100 times more intense. Being in a free fall and not being able to breathe, I raced towards the ground as fast as a sack of potatoes would be falling if they were dropped from the same height. Thankfully the rope caught me, swinging me 10 meters from the snowy rocks below and through the canyon at an incredible speed. I swung back and forth until eventually I pulled myself into the side. Most fun experience of my life. That night we celebrated by going to dinner where we drank Swiss beer and I got to try Ostrich. Nom. After dinner I went back to the hostel to get some rest for skiing the next day.

I woke up at 7 the next morning so I could grab the earliest bus and head up to the mountain. With my rental equipment in hand and a belly full of cereal and a strange assortment Swiss foods I walked to the bus station with Stefan, which would take us to the train, which would take us to the other train, which would eventually take us to the mountain. We surprisingly didn't mess up and made every train, seeing some amazing views going through the towns. We took a warm up run, getting used to this new thing called sharp ski edges. Stefan and I met up with this snowboarder from San Diego on the chair and we rode around with him and eventually found the main hill with untracked luscious white fluffy powder that I wanted to bathe myself in. It was amazing. Fresh, light, untracked powder in the Swiss alps all morning. Does it get any better than that? Actually, surprisingly it did when Kevin and I stopped for lunch at the little shack, where we met up with some of his friends. Right place at the right time I suppose. Funny how life works.. Anyways, after receiving remarks about my mysterious mustache and how untrustworthy I am, I separated from Kevin to explore the mountain some more, with that moment on my mind. I ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere and found myself on the complete other side of the mountain by myself with absolutely no idea how to get back to where I needed to be. And apparently the Swiss don't believe in maps. I didn't really care though cause the views from the mountain were incredible. Just as long as I got back to the locker before 4 so I could get my shoes. I skied around aimlessly for about an hour or more and eventually found myself back in familiar territory to see a familiar face. Exactly what I was hoping for, for the last 2 hours. After talking for a bit I rode the chair up to finish the last few runs of the day, and stopping on the last run to admire the sun which was setting beyond the Swiss alps. I wish I had my camera. Next time. When we finished we took the train back to town and went out to paint the town red and help someone with their search for snickers.

The next day I woke up early to walk around town and take pictures, eventually finding myself in the christmas market and all the shops. After seeing my Swiss alps cutie in one of the shops, I walked up and into the mountains and found a hiking trail to I have no idea where, but I went up it anyways. I almost made it to the top until I heard weird animal noises and saw a bush rustling. So I turned around and walked back to the bus and went back to Florence, where I would make the best of the next 2 weeks.

Please Do Not Be Distressed.

More photos to come soon

This past weekend, after having a mid-study abroad crisis, I decided to sign up for a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic. With a total of 4 weeks before I leave, 3 free weekends, and a weekend devoted to studying, I wanted to make the best out of these last 4 weeks as possible. Not that I can move any faster. I bet when I arrive back to good ol' America and have a chance to actually relax, my body will shut off from exhaustion and I will sleep for 4 days straight... Anyways, back to Prague. We left at 8 o'clock at night. On a bus. We drove for 12 hours with a stop here or there and tried to fall asleep. Those buses are probably the most comfortable things ever. I love when my knees are constantly crushed against the seat infront of me. Booyah. We finally checked into our hotel and went on a short walk of the city. It was such a bitchin city! There's huge gothic style churches and castles. It kind of reminded me of Germany, except everyone spoke Czech. The currency there is very strange also. You pay in Czech Crowns, and 26 Czech Crowns equals 1 Euro. So if you want to order a coffee, you would have to pay 100 crowns. Or 400 Crowns for dinner. I thought everything would be really cheap but the only thing thats cheap is food and drinks. A beer is about 1 euro and food is about 3 euros depending on what you get. And apparently it's very rude to vocally order a drink... You have to grab a coaster and hold up your thumb indicating you want 1 beer... Then when you're finished, you have to put the coaster on top of your drink or else they will automatically bring you another beer. Czechs are funny. Anyways we just walked around the city and went to a Czech dinner that night which reminded me kind of Oktoberfest. The next day I went on a free walking tour which was cool because I learned more about the history of the city. And for dinner I had real Mexican food! It wasn't as good as America, but it was an okay version of American Mexican food. Thats about all. The end.

Venice and Balogna

The days are winding down and everyone is going to the places they never got the chance to go to. For us, it was Venice. A trip we've tried planning numerous weekends before. We looked at train tickets and they were about 40 euros each way.. mehhh. So being the brilliant young college students we are, we looked into tickets going from Florence to Bologna to Venice. The tickets would be a total of 20 euros. Nice! Also we would be able to see the infamous college town of Bologna. We left early Friday morning and got to Bologna and checked into our hotel for the night. We left and got pizza at this really good restaurant and then set out to explore the city. Not a whole lot to see but it was fun none the less. We explored and saw some of the towers and the cathedral and much of the town. We then set out to find the college to see if we could meet some people and have something to do that night. Fail. But we did find this really cool Irish bar that we ate at and stayed for the rest of the night. Happy hour is cool. The next morning we woke up early and took the train to Venice. Probably one of my favorite Italian towns. We walked around, saw the Rialto bridge, the cathedral of San Marco (which was hands down the most incredible cathedral I saw in Europe), the Jewish ghetto and a few other places. We rode around on the bus boat for awhile and saw the city. Super cool. Then we went back to Florence. FIN!

You Sound Like You're From London!

More photos to come soon.

Stoked about our Ireland trip, we flew to London. After arriving we took a bus to another airport where we were met by one of Katie's friends named Callum. He took us back to his flat where we proceeded to celebrate and watch the movie "The Boat that Rocked". Funniest movie ever. The next day we woke up and hung out, walking through the town of Steins and got lunch. We then went up to Windsor castle and toured it. We must be super cool cause the queen followed us there... Apparently whenever the flag is up that means the queen is at the castle. We walked through the cathedral and the main part of the castle but were soon kicked out because it was closing. We met up with Callum and took a train into London where we went to Tiger Tiger and met up with some friends. We booked into our hostel and woke up the next morning to explore. Callum played tour guide and took us around all of London and showed us big ben, the London eye, Buckingham Palace, Tower bridge, the Ritz, Harrods, and pretty much everything else there is to see in London. Given of course it was over the course of 2 days. Callum was best tour guid '09. The next day we saw more sites and Matt and I went and got lunch with some of his friends at the original Hard Rock Cafe and boyed around till it got dark and met up with everyone else and we went and saw a movie. Not a great movie, but it was fun anyways. Next day we woke up early and went back to the airport and flew back to Pisa, where we caught a train to take us back to Florence. Great break.

They're Always Stealin' Me Lucky Charms!

More photos to come soon.

Dublin is officially the coolest city I've been to. It's a nice change from Italy because the people are actually nice. I actually thought it was strange when the cashier asked me how I was when I got a water. Even the cab driver was friendly and took us on a shortcut to our hostel so we could save money... weird. When we finally checked in to our hostel we went to a pub and had our first pint of Guinness. It tastes like chocolate. The next day we decided to walk around some more and went to St. Patrick's cathedral and then walked through the Temple Bar area where we had Guinness stew and Bangers and mash at this pub called Quays. We then walked around for a bit more and went to dinner at this place that makes really good kebabs. Then we went around some pubs and listened to live music. The next day we went to the Guinness factory to take a tour... we walked around the building and learned about everything then at the very end we were able to pour our own "perfect" pint of Guinness. First you hold your glass at 45 degree angle with the spout 1 cm from the glass. You pull all the way forward on the lever until your glass is 3/4 full and then close the tap and put the glass aside to sit for 119.5 seconds where you push back the tap to cut off the nitrogen. It's like a science. I even got a certificate for pouring the "perfect pint of Guinness". I'm probably the only person to have this certificate. Ever. We were really nice to the guy who taught us and after finishing our pint we asked how much it would cost to pour another one. He told us to sit down and came over a couple minutes later with 12 free coupons for Guinness. I will end that story there. Later that night we went out with these guys we met in the hostel from France, Australia, Ireland, and South America. The next day we went on a bus to Wicklow and Glendalough where we saw this lake where I ended up slipping and falling in the mud, and the Ireland countryside, and the spot where P.S. I love you and Braveheart were filmed. We also got to see the ancient mid-evil monastery, as well as the "Guinness lake", and the 2 lakes next to that. It was like a lake party. Later that night we met up with the guy who gave us the free Guinnesses where we ate dinner at his place. The next day we explored, had Mexican food for the first time in Europe, and then left for the airport to go to London.

Just Rome-in' Around.

Photos to come soon.

Finally, after a horrible weekend of cramming my studies to take 5 mid-terms in 36 hours, I was finally free. We took a train to rome Thursday night and made it to Rome around 7. We checked into our hostel, which turned out to be some guys apartment he turned into a hostel and went out to paint the town red. We woke up the next morning and did what was called the "Caesar Shuffle" where we visit the Colosseum, the forum, capital hill, the pantheon, the spanish steps, and the trevi fountain. They were probably built by aliens cause they're outta this world! Just kidding... but seriously they were cool! We basically did Rome in a day. We finished out night by going to the Hard Rock Cafe where we had real American food and free water with ice. Crazy. Matt and I split a burger and an appetizer with chicken tenders, potato skins, and buffalo wings (mom you didn't read that). We also had ranch! It's funny the things you take advantage of. The next day we woke up and went to Vatican city and say the cathedral, however, there was about a 2 hour line so we decided to go into the Vatican museum instead where we got to see all this art and paintings done by famous artists including Leonardo Da'vinci. We saw the Sistine chapel which was smaller than I expected but no less incredible. We met up with my friends from Chapman, and we chatted for a bit and went back to our hostel and packed our belongings to head to the airport. We got to the airport and made our flight on time! Time for Ireland!

Chocolateers

Photos and blog to come soon.

Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri

Photos to come soon.

So I have officially decided that it is the photoshopping pictures that has prevented me from updating my blog. So I will write about it, then add photos later. Cool! Sometime in october I went to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. First in Pompeii we walked around the city and say what they excavated thus far. We got to see how they lived, worked, and everything else. It was surprisingly a huge city with streets and crosswalks and a colosseum and 2 amphitheaters. We saw some of the people who died, which was wierd cause you could see their bones in some of them. They probably weren't happy campers that day. Later we went to Sorrento where we checked into our hotel and went to a traditional Sorrento dinner with salmon, some desert, and a rice dish. It was really good. After that we went to this little store where we tried the different kinds of limoncello which is this think lemon alcohol or something. Then we went out and painted the town red. The next day we woke up and sailed on a boat to the island of Capri all while singing "I'm on a boat!". That's actually not true, but I did say that. We took another smaller boat to take a tour around the island and got to see the green lagoon, a famous rock formation and 1 of the 7 wonders of the world, the blue lagoon. Unfortunately due to weather we couldn't go inside. After, we took a tram to the top of the island and walked around and went to this viewing point off a cliff. We walked a little further in search of a beach, which according to our guide was a 20 minute walk. We found a beach but found out it was a nude beach, so we walked for another 40 minutes and finally found the beach where I swam in the Mediterranean sea for the first time. That was neat. We left the beach and made our way back, stopping to get a canoli and some gelato.

History shmistory

I woke up this morning, walked to Italian class, then got some coffee and a pastry since Italians don't eat breakfast. Then I went to my art history class where we proceeded to go to the Santa Croce church built in the 13th century where Michealangelo and Galileo were buried. No big deal.