Recent news

Sorry I haven't written in forever, I've been so busy and such with traveling, midterms, maintaining sanity and saving money. So my flatmate, Elli, from Finland has her best friend Hannah staying her with us for the last month until mid-december. She fucking rocks. Since we are the only single girls in the house now we stay up all night watching movies, drinking and telling stories of drunkness, cancer walking (that's what they call crab walking ha!) and her drunk grandpa. It's going to be sad when she goes, at least Elli decided to come back after winter instead of staying in Finland. I went with friends to gay bars because I thought it would be funny, but it stopped when I realized that out of all the people I was going with I was the minority... you know, it's rough being straight haha. Also we all had a lot of shit to do before midterms so gay adventures stopped.
Jack and Daniel came up two weekends ago, which was incredibly. I love Jack so much, he's my little boy haha. We are going to travel together this winter which should be interesting: Brussels, new years in Amsterdam, then Berlin. Last weekend my random friend Daphne whose from France, studying in Sevilla for the semester came up here to visit with her boyfriend. So much fun... I'm really glad we became friends. We met at my house in the valley this summer, she stayed for a week or so... not exactly sure on how that happened ha! But, you know... we always have frogs at our house over the summers. My dad has a lot of friends from France. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to Sevilla with David to visit her and I'll also go to her house for x-mas. Next week Switzerland. I'm going to stay with my mom's friend just outside of Geneva and then couch surfing in Bern and Zurich, should be fun. What else can I say. Things are going really well here definitely not ready to go home. So many travels planned, it's great but bad for the wallet. Celebrating the end of two weeks work for one class and midterm with a bottle of whiskey... which I haven't had in a long time, I know it's weird for me. Slightly overwhelmed with all the shite I gotta do. My heart is settled and I feel great, got off the meds and working to just explore myself. I've been writing a lot, definitely miss CCS in that aspect. I suppose that's all for now.

Monday night bars

Down at the dive bar
Down at the dive bar
A round of beers
A pack of smokes leaning against the wall

Confessions of lust,
A need to get laid
Stare at my tits, why don’t you?
Awkward feelings breed sarcasm
For the one girl in the dive.

Did you fuck him?
Of course I did. It’s your turn
To buy the beer

Nice going, but you can’t be
Exactly like us.

Why would I want to
be like
you?

All women do,
Nietzsche said so.

That’s out of context.

Ok back to my life: Chelsea and I went to this bar last night and spent the whole night hanging out with these old british people who were totally smashed, dancing, and singing way off tune. Apparently I joined a band called Burning Ice. This chica from Tennessee wants to jam with me now, she's lived here for the last five years going to law school only to quite and become a teacher. I told her to fuck law school and be a rock star. She's hilarious. We also met this really cute 30 yr old from Worschester (spelling?), Britain. He was really cool as well and we just got smashed and Chelsea and I swooned at his beauty. We also befriended the bartender, this Swedish girl named Frida who is really cool and gorgeous, despite the name. Over all the night was a success and really odd. The true alcoholics come out on Mondays, and who knew they'd be British! Chelsea and I are planning on giving Frida a ring on Wednesday and do it all over again, except she was working and we were smashed. Good times Chels... sorry for being ridiculous and thanks for letting my drunk ass pass out at your flat. I could not have made it back to Eixample from Born... too fucking far.

On another note... the poem above is inspired by my guy friends who insist that Nietzche is god, but god is dead! Oh I'm so clever jajaja. Ok bad joke, bad joke... apologies.

The Pros... and The Cons

Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for: what the hell happened in Italy? This whole trip has been so even-handed it's ridiculous.
Pro: Laura and I met at the train station in time to catch our train to Girona.
Con: Laura had no money whatsoever. Her american card was blocked and her spanish one had no money. So I had to pay for her until she could find a way to access her acounts
Pro: We checked in on time and the line wasn't a bitch like it usually is for Ryan Air.
Con: My plane ticket fell out of my pocket and we spent awhile looking for it. So annoying because that has never happened to me and I travel a lot and the plane was 20 min. from leaving.
Pro: The airport was able to get a new ticket for me and the plane waited for us.
Con: We had no way to contact anyone because I had not minutes on my mobile and Laura didn't have a phone. We were also too stupid to work the Italian pay phones and my mobile was also out of batteries.
Pro: We were able to charge my mobile at this area with tons of pay phones and a computer. Laura called Alvaro, our host, and he told us how to get into Rome because we were in Ciampino.
Con: Laura misunderstood an Italian and we took the wrong train one stop down and had to wait an hour in Casabianca otherwise known as buttfuck nowheresville.
Pro: We finally made it into Rome and caught the bus to Mancini to meet Alvaro. We didn't pay and it was ok, because I guess the Romans never pay for trams and buses anyway. Alvaro made us pasta and we had a minute to relax before bouncing off again.
Con: When we got to the train station the train to Lago Vico had already left so we had to wait an hour for the next train.
Pro: Alvaro bought us gelato which was fucking amazing and we spent the whole train ride playing hangman in different languages. We also got another Italian to join in! So random.
Con: Once we got to Vitterbo I had to piss like a race horse and had to pop a squat by the train station while waiting for some other couch surfers to pick us up. It was also incredibly cold and I only had a sweater for the night.
Pro: When we got to the lake we met all these awesome couch surfers for the CS Halloween party. 35 euro for meeting great people, an awesome dinner and a cabin on the lake. The dinner consisted of appetizers of bruschetta, artichoke paste on toast, beans on toast, and some meat appetizers that I didn't eat, obviously. Then second course was this awesome pasta with funghi (mushrooms). The meat eaters had meat or some crap in it as well. Main course for me was these awesome cheeses, potatoes, and grilled vegetables (everyone else was jealous because their meat was gross or something. Parmesian is heavenly Laura and I ate so much this weekend. Dessert was coffee and cookies. We partied all night with fairly good beer and shitty rum and made really great Italian and German friends in costume.
Con: We froze the rest of the night because Laura and I only had a sheet and a towel to sleep with and it was fucking cold. I got ill and was numb the entire night.
Pro: (picture left to right: Enzo, Stefano, Flavio, Valentina, Alvaro, and in the background is Emanuela.) Flavio, who organized the whole event, took us all on a wake around the lake and afterwards we all caravaned to this small town whose named escapes me. So awesome, we walked around and saw this old amphitheatre and church. Then we left to another lake to try to get lunch, but everything was closed because of All Saint's Day. But the lake was beautiful.
Con: I was starting to feel really ill and walking that much without eating was a little painful.
Pro: Emanuela drove us around Rome stopping at this beautiful lookout point, where we saw a view of the city. Orgasmic, despite me being ill. Then we went to the Olympic Stadium and saw the track field and statues with covered up penises.
Con: At this point I was dying. So I made everyone go home, because it was around 7 and I hadn't eaten and was moving all day. Also we had to wake up early for the Vatican.
Pro: Before going back to Alvaro's, Laura stopped at an ATM to see if she could withdraw and she was able to! She then paid me back the 80 euro she owed me. The next day we made our way to the Vatican at 8:45 to stand in the massive line. It was kinda fun because I was reading about Roman history and Laura and I had some good conversations.
Part one of the infamous Con: I decided to walk the line of the Vatican to see how far we had to go. On my way back I got accosted by two rude police officers. They asked if I was working or whatever and I said no. Then the one who couldn't speak English started sticking his grubby fascist hands in my backpack. I got really nervous because I've heard of fake cops stealing cameras from tourists and also real cops putting drugs in tourist bags and then arresting them. I asked him what he was doing and asked if what he was doing was legal. Neither of them said anything except for un minuti and tranquilo. They took out my notepad which had random quotes in it. Also a page of Laura's tally of what she owed me. Then the cops told me that I couldn't walk in the direction I was walking. At first I believed them, thinking I was supposed to walk in the direction of the line. Then, other people were walking the same direction as me and I told them that others were walking that way why can't I? The English-speaking cop only said that I couldn't be there and that the next time he saw me "We will take you down to our station". I said I was merely a tourist who wanted to see the Vatican and was walking back in line to my friend. My clothing attire was fine too. I was completely covered except for my hands and head.
Pro: So I stomped back to Laura, who I was actually able to find after a few circles, angry as sin and told her what happened. She was just as confused as I was. I said I was going to spit at them if I saw them again. We continued in the line and the cops where there! I told Laura and she wanted to take a picture of me flicking them off. So she did, but when we looked at the picture it was just my hand. So I said that I wanted to get a picture of them for kicks and handed her back her tour book so I could take a picture.
Part two of the infamous Con: The cops saw me taking the picture and one of them grabbed me by the arm and the other one took my camera. I asked them where they were taking me and they wouldn't answer. They threw me into one car and then another. I kept asking and finally one cop said that he would explain everything soon, which he didn't. Before we got to the station we had to stop so Italy cop two could buy some cigarettes. Once in the station they put me in a room. They kept coming in and out and saying stuff that didn't make sense or asking for my license. One other guy peered through the door and started speaking Italian. I said non capici italiano. Then he said some more stuff, in italian, I said, "what?" Then asshole cop one said something and then they left. Meanwhile, I'm freaking out and getting teary-eyed because I thought I was going to get kicked out of EAP because I'm not allowed to get arrested or they deport me. Then I was thinking that if they didn't, my parents would take me back regardless. I decided not to let these pricks get the better of me so I sucked it up and only shed a few tears (outside of their presence). I think they were pissed that I wasn't scared of them. They came back and asked me why I took a picture of them. I said that I was angry and wanted a souvenir. They made me delete the picture and gave me my camera back, thank god! Then they told me that I wasn't allowed to be in the Vatican and I asked why and they didn't answer except for saying, "We told you before." Then they asked if in the US cops are cops allowed to search you. I said yes but not without them telling you why and what for. They said that they did and I said that they didn't and then they tried to explain really choppily and I just said whatever it's been done what now. They searched my things again and were pretty pissed that I didn't have my guide book. I said it wasn't mine and I gave it back to Laura so I could take the picture. They soon left and came back with some forms and said sign or firma or whatever. I looked at them and asked what it was and all they said was yes. Then I said that I didn't understand and all they said was yes, sign. I wasn't able to leave unless I signed. So I did and they gave me a copy, which I had no clue until that night what it meant. They let me go and said that if they saw me in the Vatican again they 'd arrest me.
Pro: I went back to the Vatican to find Laura. To no avail I jumped the queue and zipped through the Vatican.
Con: The Vatican sucks. I didn't enjoy it because I was pissed off. Every room was crowded to the point where you really couldn't see anything at all. My camera died because of the bastard cops using up all the battery making sure they look hot in my photo or whatever.
Pro: I must admit that the Sistene Chapel is fucking amazing! So gorgeous, but still, crowded. I mucked around the city by myself. Shortly after leaving the museum I ran into some American tourist and they gave me their map, which was really nice of them. Luckily, Laura and I were supposed to meet at Piazza Spagna at 2-2:30 so I went there at around 1:30ish because I saw all that I wanted to see up to that point. While waiting for her. I had the most cliche American in Italy experience ever. I met a cute Italian who didn't speak any of the languages I did. He bought me coffee and took me on a moto ride all through out the city. So I got to see Piazza Venezia and the Coleseum and other parts of the ancient city on a moto! Then we stopped in a park and smoked some hash and hung out a bit. I felt so much better than I had before. He took me back to Spagna at 3:15 and his friends invited me out that night. I was over it and had other plans, but eh whatever... I'm always a bitch like that to boys I don't care that much about. I know, I should work on it.
Con: Fucking camera! No battery so I could not capture some of the awesome memories. Also after walking around the city so much alone made me a little lonely. I went to an internet cafe to see if Laura had sent me anything. I had so much time before 9, which is when we were supposed to meet Alvaro in Trastevere. It was dark and I was in some shady areas so I decided to go early to Trastevere to see if I could find some cool people to hang out with. After all, I was entitled... I saw all of Rome in one day!
Pro: So in the Piazza by the church I saw these guys playing guitar and singing and I was totally stoked on it. They were really good. So I stopped and listened and they kinda gave me some funny looks, but I was thinking whatever, I want to listen so fuck off. They were actually really cool and we spent a lot of time singing and talking. Laura soon found me there which was great. I told her what happened and asked her to translate whatever it was that the cops gave me. The italians looked at it and started laughing and telling me that the Vatican cops are generally retarded and that I shouldn't pay it. Pay? So they gave me a ticket for 103.30 euro for being an obusive tour guide without authorization! Insanity. We exchanged e-mails and they parted. Laura and I proceeded to buy and drink mass quantities of wine while waiting for Alvaro.
Con: Freezing and Alvaro was late. Laura wanted to show pictures but couldn't find her camera. It was nicked! Poor thing. Slightly accosted by drunk idiot that wanted our wine.
Pro: Awesome dinner of pizza, wine, veggies for real cheap. Met up with some American students studying in Rome, while waiting for our bus.
Con: My money fell out of my bra so I became very poor :(
Pro: Went to Valentina's show... so rad. She sang with a group of people while others were doing interpretive dance. Afterwards we went to a bar and hung out with all our new CS friends. They helped a lot trying to sort out my ticket. They appologized for their country profusely which was sweet. Laura picked up this guy who turned out to be an off duty cop and he said that he never saw anything so ridiculous and told me to go to the embassy to get rid of it and that I shouldn't have to pay.
Ok, I'm so done with writing now. The rest of the trip was pretty cool. We met Laura's hot friend in Pisa and his cool friend from England. What a weekend!

Italy

Couch surfing... I love it. I met so many great people on Tuesday at the CS party by the lake in Rome. Really awesome people. We had dinner and talked a lot with everyone. Wednesday we walked around the lake and toured a little of the countryside seeing an amphitheatre. Pretty fucking cool. Yesterday was the most odd day ever. Rome is beautiful and all the people are nice except for the cops! I got arrested... yes, I know, Alyse got arrested. I leave some suspence for you all, because I am at an internet cafe and cannot really spend more money here. But it is actually fucking ridiculous what happened. More to come, I promise. Tomorrow: Pisa. Woo!