the end is near. way too near.

oh my, so much has happened since my last post. i better start typing.

first off: i have 2 days left in this beautiful place. i am in complete shock. my journal entries from this past week has been one sad thought and tear to another. just the thought of coming home is so sad for me and packing has been even worse. with that said, i have made sure not to sit in the apartment, and have really made sure that i do not waste my time studying when i should be out exploring.

second off: there is some background information that is important to mention before i continue this blog. melissa and christine, two of my roommates, met this guy Chris in the market. i might have mentioned him before, i cant remember. but his mom lives in Seattle and his dad lives here in italy and runs a stand in the market. Chris graduated from Gonzaga and is now living here in italy with his dad working for a few years...he said he needed a break from the USA. haha. sweet life huh?

ok, so the journey begins i suppose with last weekend? on saturday we just hung around here and went out and explored-i got some last minute christmas gifts and ash and i went to the boboli gardens for one last time. it was our last time on that side of the river and it was so sad saying bye...saturday night, chris came over and hung out and we took him to Grom for his first grom trip ever. even an authentic italian found the gelato was the real deal :) he loved it! we got back from grom pretty early so he took us to the irish pub, fennigans, on the corner to grab a drink and just chat. we spent the next few hours learning about italians, talking about movies, and just talking about our lives. it was so much fun. at the end of the night, he asked us if we wanted to go to fiesole the next day for a picnic. DUH.

sunday morning we woke up early and got groceries for our picnic. Chris picked us up around noon to drive us through the tuscan countryside to get to fiesole. fiesole is the next town over from florence, and it is a true small tuscan town. there are vineyards on the hills and the hills overlook the city of florence providing you with the best possible view. it was so nice riding in a car again. the last time i rode in a car was in england with ash and two complete strangers almost 3 months ago! anyways, we got to fiesole and he showed us around the town and where to take the best pictures. after looking, and finding the best spot, we stopped for our delicious picnic! the day does not stop there though...he asked us if we wanted to see more of the countryside...

he drove us to the next neighboring town to go check out the Medici Villa...the villa ended up being closed since it was sunday, so instead i kicked around the soccer ball with some younger kids in a field. it was picture perfect-kicking around a soccer ball, in italy, with cute italian kids! after leaving there, chris took us to another town that provided a quite incredible view of the city again, from the other side this time. it was beautiful and we were literally standing on the edge of a cliff. i cant even describe it. amazing.

the streets getting back into town were so narrow and winding around that christine and i were gripping each other in the car, terrified. chris found this super funny. haha. i have a pretty cool video of the countryside streets, ill try to upload it. on our way back into town, he wanted us to stop at this really cool park outside the city to see yet again, another awesome view. we ended up playing on the playground at the park for about an hour or so before it got too cold and we had to come home. it was such a fun day! when we were getting out of the car, he asked if we wanted to join him to go to the christmas market for dinner-of course we could not refuse an offer like that. we went to the christmas market for bratwursts and as usual, they were delicious along with the bag of candy we got. yummm....

monday i had my first final in cooking class. we had to cook risotto and present it to a panel of 5 judges and get graded on the presentation and taste. ashley and i got A's! wooo! not too much exciting stuff happened on monday-we had laura's potluck dinner for her birthday on monday night. and since i dont really like laura, the dinner was blah. hahaha. no but seriously, our entire apartment was like so ready to leave the dinner before it started. we are perfectly content just hanging out with each other. plus, we had to hurry home to do a MASSIVE clean for tuesday when our landlord was coming to give us our security deposit back.

tuesday was probably the best day/night we have had in about a week or two. i take that back, this past week, specifically with our new friend chris, has been awesome. we have seen parts of italy that we could only dream of seeing and we have gone places that no one other than a true italian would know. anyways, i had my hard exam yesterday morning and did really good. it was awesome. melissa and i went to the oil shoppe (one of the best sandwich places ever) for lunch. its so good that i suggest everyone go before your life is over. haha. we both got the spicy sauce on our sandwich and we were doing breathing exercises on the way home because our mouth was on fire from the sauce. it was hilarious. i only wish that i could put it in words. haha.

i spent the afternoon legit studying. i had two exams today that i needed to study for-one was open note so i didnt really need to do too much with that one. but, i did have my huge art exam today that i really needed to spend the night studying for. SIKE. after about one hour of making flash cards, i decided to take a break and make some dinner. it was pretty good-my cooking has slightly improved. just when i was done eating and getting ready to study again, chris called and asked if we wanted to join him for dart and trivia night at the irish pub. study or pub? yea, pub it was.

we invited ryan to join us and boy are we glad we did. once we got there we realized the teams for darts/trivia were teams of two and we had six people so it worked out perfectly. originally melissa and ryan were supposed to be a team, me and chris, and then christine and ashley. however, the boys tricked us and ended up being on the same team so they could "dominate" us. melissa and i were siked that we were on the same team because we knew we would kick butt. the boys totally underestimated us.

first, i threw our darts and we racked in 50 points. then our trivia question was "in what year did the titanic sink?" coincidentally, melissa and i were watching titanic last week and googled the year it sank for our own personal information. haha. we screamed and shouted "1912" and got another 20 points. after rounds and rounds of battling, melissa and i ended up getting second place out of eight teams in the game! it was so ridiculous-we couldnt help but laugh that we did that good. we only lost to toby and his teammate which doesnt even count since toby works at the bar and brings his own darts. loser. haha. the boys were totally in shock. ryan was wondering how it happened. haha. what did we win you ask? a pint of beer. ironically, melissa and i were the only two who didnt buy drinks at the beginning of the night-i have better things to waste my money on. haha.

the rest of the night we sat around the pub talking with these three british guys we met. they were crazy and so so funny. they were probably in their late 20's and had rented an RV for the weekend to explore italy. ryan and them became best friends while chris, melissa, ash and i talked the night away to chris.

we got home around 2 am-and it was way too late to study. who cares. i set my alarm an hour early to get up and study this morning. my alarm went off and it was so cold in our apartment, so of course i was not getting out of bed. we only get heat 6 hours a day and it is only 30 degrees outside and we have hard floors. it is always FREEZING in here. hahah.

i had my art exam today, and i had enough time in between class to study for about an hour total for it. and guess what? the only stuff on the exam was the exact stuff i studied. it was so perfect. thank you jesus!

after class, chris took us to his favorite sandwich place in florence and it was super authentic. i had a sandwich with spreadable sausage, mozarella, and spicy peppers. it was so freaking good and the best part was we were the only americans in the whole place. thats when you know its real italian. chris would not order for me though-he taught me how to say it in italian and coached me through ordering my sandwich. it was pretty funny.

now, its pretty late, well not too late. but we are having chris over for wine, cake and cards in a little bit. then tomorrow we are taking him to the oil shoppe (our favorite sandwich place) for lunch. its going to be a crazy day tomorrow. i have my last final and i am saying bye to david (the statue) for the last time.

its so sad saying bye to everyone now. all of the teachers have hugged and kissed us all bye and it stinks having to say bye to the new friends that we just made that are flying home to all different states. luckily, i have 2 more days to say bye to my bentley friends. whew.

well, i guess i better get going. sorry this one is so long, there is just so much to catch up on...

i am so sad thinking about coming home, especially after meeting and hanging out with such a cool friend. chris even told us he is going to mope around on saturday when we leave...sad...

this might be my last post until i go home. ill try to do another one on friday, but that is my last day here, so im not sure if i will have time or not.

bye bye florence...almost.

late night writing.

i thought i would share my journal entry from last night with everyone. here goes...

Here it is, 3:30 am and i cant sleep. Well, im sure i COULD sleep if my mind and thoughts would stop racing. I just keep reminiscing on these past three months, how fast they have flown by and how genuinely sad i am to have to go home. I was just remembering our first days here and all that has happened since then. Seems like just yesterday we were walking in our apartment, cracking open the shutters for the first time because it was so hot. And how Ash and I explored with Andrew and Britt on our first day here-we ended up getting lost on Nationale (which is one street over from ours). Haha. And how that first night we all sat on the terrace and chatted. And how we had to sleep in our bra and underwear for a week because it was so hot at night, then jenny gave us her fan. I remember holding my computer out of my window to show my mom "the duomo" over skype-really it was the medici chapels. And i remember having gelato for the first time and thinking it was so good until going to grom. I remember standing on the corner with a map trying to get to Piazza della Signoria for the welcome dinner.

And since then?

I have traveled to 15 different cities and 4 new countries. I have broken up with my first love. I have gone out clubbing and karaoke and loved every second. I have swam in the Mediterranean and hiked from one city to the next. I have made several new friends and found a family away from home. I have climbed the Eiffel tower-and the duomo. I have hiked to the top of the city. I have had the best gelato-in all the world. I have enjoyed eating a pizza-with my best friend-on a bridge-while watching the sun set over the Ponte Vecchio. I have made an authentic Italian friend. I have walked the streets-mapless-and managed to make it home. Heck, now i even know street names. I have flown across an oc

ean, a channel, and several countries. I have rode in a car-with complete strangers-in England. I have laughed. I have cried. But above all else, I have been so happy.

ps. Florence, I will miss you.

days go by..

i am convinced that these days are getting shorter-and i hate it. every night has the same ending of tears as i fall asleep thinking about how i only have one week left. its so sad. i do NOT want to leave it here.

today, i was talking to my mom, telling her how i was on food rations. i have 12 euro left for the next week and have declined numerous dinner dates cause i dont have the money. i wasnt complaining at all-i was just telling her my budget. i am so thankful for parents like mom and scott. mom freaked and told me there is no way that i am going to spend my last week in italy with no money to travel, eat, and go site seeing. so thank you mom and scott for your generosity and the money you gave me so i can live and enjoy my last week!

tonight we are going to climb the duomo to get the most beautiful site in all the city! then we are finishing the night by going to the christmas market at santa croce...ice skating outside the church, and dinner at gusta pizza. i am going to miss this crazy awesome life. it is just too good to be true!

last night we had probably the coolest night ever. seriously. we had our farewell dinner with all the school. the food was incredible. the people were awesome. and the goodbye was sad. the place we had it at was a palace and it was BEAUTIFUL. italy and beautiful in the same sentance is almost a given now. after the dinner, a friend melissa and christine met in the market, chris, came over for a few hours to hang out. he is so much fun! his dad is from italy-and he works in the market working the stand his dad owns. his mom is from america and currently lives back in seattle since his parents divorce. chris went to gonzaga and just graduated a few years ago. so he came over to chat and sip hot coco and tell us the places he wants to take me christine melissa and ash before we leave next saturday. he is going to plan a day trip for us this weekend since he has a car. seriously, italy, why are you so awesome.

the other night, me ash melissa and lauren walked to the new ben and jerry's that just opened in front of the duomo! i couldnt pull myself to buy american ice cream when we are only in italy for another week, so i opted out and walked to grom. it was delicious, like always. after getting ice cream, we walked the decorated streets of florence. they are so pretty with all the christmas decorations everywhere. gahhhh. we finished the night by riding a carosel (spelling?) in front of the giant christmas tree in piazza de republica. it was breathtaking-something you see people do in movies.

i would post pictures, but i am running out of time...

closing thoughts? i started packing yesterday. yes, packing. i was sad to pack, but i kinda got a little more excited about coming home because of it. i was not looking forward to coming home at all before that. i have no idea how i am going to get all this stuff home. i really dont. good thing i got a hiking bag while over here to use as my carry on. wooo.

my family is really going to love their christmas gifts this year, but im not gonna lie, the thing i got for courtney is probably the best. i loved christmas shoping in the market this year...it was so much fun!

ok, gotta run! busy busy busy night.

ps. i have been addicted to the song uptown girl by billy joel. gosh. love it.

fire fall down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpPIKmiMuo

this is literally all i can think about tonight. i love it. and i love the way it makes me feel. you can just feel his presence. check it out for yourself. try turning off all the lights and listening to it. its awesome.

yadda yadda yadda

so just some things that i have had on my mind.

1. i wish i could go back in time to the mid to late 1960's. i want to be the flower child that runs in a long white skirt through the reflection pool in washington d.c. or drive a VW van across the country with a bunch of friends. i want to go to woodstock and listen to all that awesome music for the best three days of my life. if i could go back in time, i would go to the 1960's. there is just so much history its incredible to me.

2. i cant wait to be swept off my feet by prince charming. haha. there i go again, being so cliche. but its true. i can not wait for that day to come. and i cant wait to be planning my wedding with the most amazing guy God has picked out for me. and i cant wait for that day...for the best day of my life. to start a life with my perfect match. woooo!

3. i do NOT want to leave italy. i teared up in bed last night thinking that i only have 13 more nights in this crazy country. this semester has been the best semester of my life. i have grown in so many ways, and i have found me. i am so happy. i am a new person for sure. i have found a family away from home, and we all love each other like brother and sisters. its been a life changing experience and i dont want it to end yet. seems like just yesterday that i was hugging my family goodbye to board a plane leaving the country for 4 months. now, i have traveled to 4 different countries, 15 different cities, and 1 different continent. its hard to believe that it is over...

4. i can not wait to see friends and family over christmas. christmas in florence has been such a beautiful start, but i am looking forward to the christmas music in the stores, present wrapping, hot coco, and family time. its going to be one awesome holiday and i am so happy that i am making it home for christmas!

5. i am super stressed trying to cram everything in these next two weeks. i have 4 papers due, 5 midterms, 2 presentations, 2 farewell dinners and an entire list of sites to visit still. its going to be a crazy two weeks. i plan on packing next monday so i can have the entire finals week to explore the city, go to our favorite places, and have a final goodbye.

today i went to the piti palace and bobali gardens. they were beautiful and it was the perfect way to spend a saturday afternoon in florence. the weather was beautiful, something that we had not seen in like 3 days of freezing cold rain.

i am one happy girl. :)

pay it forward

starting tomorrow, and for everyday until we leave in two weeks, i am going to do one thing special for someone each day. kind of like a pay it forward type thing. im going to start tomorrow by buying the gypsy that lays in front of the duomo everyday, a meal and saying a prayer for her. then, i hope that everyday after that i have the opportunity to serve one person in a special way each day.

stay tuned, ill document it.