CIAO, FIRENZE!

I am finally back on U.S. soil... but I still have no idea how. The Florence, Munich, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt airports are all closed/ a mess and most of my friends are still stuck in Italy, or other random cities, 3 days after they were initially supposed to leave. It was SUCH a mess in Florence, the 9 inches of snow caused the taxis, buses, trains, shuttles, busses and even the airport to shut down. Friday night I was up until 2:30 in the morning figuring out how I would try to get home, since my Alitalia flight  for the following morning out of Florence had been cancelled. Contacting the airlines was nearly impossible, and when we finally did they were no help at all, so my parents graciously booked me a flight out of Rome with their US airways miles that would take me to Charlotte and then to Phoenix. This was finally all set by 2:30 am, and I proceeded to get up an hour and a half later at 4:00 am in order to drag all my bags 20 minutes in the snowy streets of Firenze to catch the 5:50 am train to Rome in order to catch my flight. I met my friend Amy outside her pensione and we made the horrible walk together, not even knowing if trains would be running that day. The whole way I was praying and praying that we could make it out of Florence, meanwhile everyone else was trying to find a way to the Florence airport to figure out how to get out via plane. While I was making my horrible snowy way to the Santa Maria Novella Train Station, which, by the way, my right arm still throbs from dragging my 60 pound rolly bag all the way there, I had no idea that it was the smartest decision I would make, getting out of Florence and heading to Rome.

So we made it to the train station, which was up and running, and we were so relieved! Almost every train route was cancelled, except our 5:50 departure to Rome. This was the first of very lucky instances that I would come across that day. So we board the train, me amy and my friend Drew who met us at the station, and head to rome, all the while all I could think about was how the rest of the day would go: would the train make it all the way to rome? Would my flight be cancelled? What if that, what if this, blah blah blah. After thinking all these horrible thoughts about my day going all wrong, I decided that the only way I was getting home was if I pictured myself getting to Rome, getting on my plane, and finally arriving in the US. I couldn't doubt that I was getting on that damn plane if it killed me. So when we finally got to the Rome train station,  20 minutes later than scheduled, we jogged with all our bags 15 platforms away where the train to the Rome airport would arrive, only to find that it wasn't there, and wasn't coming. That's Italy for you.. nothing runs on time. Drew kindly asked the train station guy how the HELL we were supposed to get to the airport without the airport train, and he gave us metro directions. I was not a happy camper, but there was no way I was giving up. So we ran to the metro station, bought and ticket, and hoped for the best.

We rode the Rome metro, which is the most horrible and disgusting metro system I have come across in my 4 months in Italy, 10 stops to Pirimade, where the second airport train was supposed to be. We get there and have to lug all our luggae up 3 flights of stairs, because ( of course ) the escalator is out of service. By this time all three of us are drenched in sweat and red in the face, but we found the Billeto machine and got 10 euro tickets for the airport train that was leaving.. uh oh... one minute ago. I told Amy and Drew that I needed to just sprint and see if I could catch the train because my flight was much sooner than theirs, so we said a quick goodbye and I took off to platform 12 to find the train. I get up another 3 flights of stairs to the platform, only to find the train is 15 minutes late. "Of course it is!" I thought. So Drew and Amy catch up to me and we all waited anxiously for the stupid train.

We finally boarded and rode the train 25 minutes to the airport, which was extremely painful because all the while I was watching the minutes on my watch quickly tick away. This is the point where I began to actually panic. By the time I got off the train it was 10:30... and I had an international flight to catch at 11:20. So i resorted to turbo mode, because I knew I had to stick with a positive attitude: I was getting on that damn plane if its the last thing I would do!!!! And, besides, if I didn't I was screwed.

I burst off the train, yelled goodbye to Amy and Drew, and took off down the long corridor, past the out-of-service moving sidewalks, and checked the flight monitor. Amy caught up with me and she was the one to find my flight on the screen and yelled, "Jenny! Terminal 5! Go!!!!" So i took off running down the zig-zagged ramp to the ground level that was apparently the direction of T5, according to the signs. I got to the bottom to find a bus labeled "Terminal 5" parked by the sidewalk. I headed towards it, trying to calm myself, only to see the bus pulling away and closing its doors!! I took off running behind it, while tearing up and still sweating, screaming "NOOOO!!!!" while flailing my limbs in an attempt to get any sort of attention from anyone on that bus. Thank God an Italian man who was closer to the bus saw me and somehow got the bus to stop. I sprinted up to it, dragging all my luggage and myself onto the bus  in a very startling manner that definitely had everyone on the bus staring at me in terror. Luckily, the first people to approach me were two American men, about my dad's age, and they were very nice and gave me a seat and struck up a conversation about my interesting arrival, and we eventually realized I was on the same flight as them, to Charlotte. This was the second of lucky instances I came across that day.

So the three of us made it into the terminal up to the US airways desk where the lady proceeded to tell us "Charlotte is closed. No more passengers. Flight is closed." This is the first time I felt my heart completely drop. So many thoughts went through my head: I have to call Mom and Dad, I'm gonna be stuck here, I have no working phone, I'm never making it home. Then, to my surprise, three more passengers for the Charlotte flight showed up, and after some Italian walkie-talkie-ing, the lady told us we could check in for the flight. It might have been because half of us were Envoy class, including me, but that was only because my parents' miles could only be used for an Envoy seat. For whatever reason it was, we checked in and cut the entire baggage line and security line, which made the other US airways customers very, very upset, and even yell inappropriate things at us, but at this point I didn't care what anyone said or did to me, I was making it on this flight!

After all of this chaos, we got our passports stamped and got on another bus to gate G, where I got off and ran to G14 where our flight was leaving out of, and stumbled into the boarding line with Zone 5, with 5 minutes to spare before our scheduled boarding time. My mind was such a blur at this point that I could not even be sure I was definitely getting on the flight.. after everything that had happened that day, who knew what could have happened next? However, I was very pleased when the next thing that happened was me plopping into my giant, comfy envoy seat, next to the window, and hearing, "Honey, would you like champagne, a mimosa?" Yes and yes. At this moment my body finally became less tense, my mind wasn't quite as frantic, and then the tears that were welling in my eyes for the past 7 hours finally started flowing. What. A. Day.

So here I am, sitting in my parents' kitchen, reliving that horrible day, and still not comprehending how I even made it here. I guess I could call it my Christmas Miracle. or my Christmas Nightmare. Either way, I'm home for the holidays, and couldn't be happier. The only thing is that because of all the chaos that came with getting out of Italy, I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to Florence, or all the new friends I've made. The transition of coming from Florence to the US is such a blur that I can't even decide if I miss it or if I'm relieved to be in America for good. I guess only time will tell. Until then, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and never, ever travel during the holidays. Ciao!

INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND

I just got back last night from my last adventure of the semester. I spent the weekend in Interlaken, Switzerland, a tiny mountain town in between two big, blue lakes and surrounded by the Swiss Alps. As far as scenery goes, this was the most beautiful place I have been so far. The air was cold and crisp, the town was tiny and clean, and the Alps were absolutely breathtaking. Everything was covered in snow, but the whole weekend the sun was shining and the 20 degree weather didn't bother me too much because I had other things on my mind... like CANYON JUMPING!

Interlaken is known for its many extreme sports, differing by the seasons. We were there for the start of the winter season, so a lot of kids went heli-skiing, snowboarding, regular skiing, and sledding. Then there was the scary sports, like paragliding, skydiving, and cliff jumping. I, along with four other friends, chose to cliff jump. I wanted to sky dive but it ended up costing around 450 USD so I didn't think that would fly with my parents, considering that spending that much would put my bank account at a negative number, so I payed much less and went cliff jumping: best decision ever.

We signed up kind spontaneously because, I figured, why come to the extreme sports capital of the world and not partake in any extreme sports? So we had a 3:00 slot on Friday to jump off of a cliff over 300 feet above ground. We signed up mid-morning and had to wait until the afternoon when it was our turn, and all I could think about all day was that in just a few hours I would be flinging myself off a cliff in Switzerland. To say the least, I was freaked out. But 3:00 rolled around and we got in the van and drove 30 minutes through the alps to a pretty remote location where we would be doing the jumping. I expected a big tutorial or demonstration or something, but literally we got harnessed in and hiked 15 minutes up to a giant cliff without really getting any insight about the situation, we just knew we were hiking up to a cliff and then jumping off of it into a canyon. Right when we got out of the van I could see the platform that we would soon be jumping off of, and my stomach dropped. I was totally terrified.

Getting excited to canyon jump!

Getting scared...

Right before I got harnessed in to jump!

We hiked up the cliff and got weighed for the jump, signed a waiver that I was chosen to read out loud (which also freaked me out considering it said things like "I agree to allow these crazy swiss people that I don't even know harness me in and watch me jump off a cliff"), and one by one got in line to jump. My friend Lauren went first and literally got harnessed in and went for it, like there was nothing to it. Such a brave girl! My experience wasn't quite that sudden. When my turn came, after saying a few hail marys in my head I stood on the platform and took quite a few deep breaths while asking myself: "why the hell am I doing this?!?!" But with the help of my friends I managed to muster up the courage and take the leap of faith.... and it was absolutely phenomenal. The free fall lasted for a total of about 5 seconds, and the rest of the way I was swinging through the canyon by the wire, laughing and crying at the same time.  But the free fall was absolutely the best part. I think it was the most extraordinary thing I have felt in my whole life. I can't even begin to explain it except saying that it was pure ecstasy. Right when I got done with the jump I wanted to go again. I absolutely loved it!!!

The rest of the weekend was spent strolling through the Christmas markets, and we also took a day to visit a little ski town called Murren. It had the most amazing view of the alps and was the quietest, most peaceful town I have ever visited. It was right at the base of a chairlift on a ski mountain and it's early in the season so not many people were around, but we found a cute little lodge and ate soup and drank hot cocoa and enjoyed the beautiful view.

The hostel we stayed at was called Funny Farm (I don't know why they named it that) and had a big fire place in the lobby and a giant St. Bernard named Spliff who hung out all day in the lobby. We were supposed to get "free breakfast" with our accommodation but that consisted of bread, jam, and coffee. That's a European youth hostel for ya. But I'm now done with hostels forever, which is so bittersweet! I have a little over a week and a half left in Florence, and I get home on the 18th. Only 2 more days of class, 2 papers, and 2 finals left until I am done with the semester and done studying abroad. Where has the time gone? It's so crazy that I am basically done! I'm really excited to go home though. Mostly cause I really miss Rufus.

More Vienna and Salzburg

While in Salzburg, we rode a tram up to this really cool castle/fortress that looked over the whole city. It was beautiful. I would love to go back to Salzburg in the summer and do the Sound of Music tour, which by the way I was there for the 50th anniversary of the Sound of Music! However, the Europeans think it's stupid that Americans and Australians come to Austria because of the movie. I was chatting with an Austrian and had to tell a white lie and say that the Sound of Music had no influence on my decision to visit Salzburg...

Overall, my trip to Austria was amazing. The markets were wonderful and the city was always glowing with millions of Christmas lights and radiating Christmas spirit! It really made me excited to go home for Christmas and celebrate. I bet you can see why...

One of the main markets in Vienna.

A view of Salzburg from the fortress

WINTER WONDERLAND

Sunday, I arrived home from spending the long Thanksgiving weekend in Vienna and Salzburg. I went with my friend Brittany and we stayed with a friend of hers who is studying in Austria this semester. I had already visited Vienna in the beginning of the semester on opening tour with GIF, but this time my experience was completely different because of the CHRISTMAS MARKETS!

Every year starting in mid-November, all sorts of craftsmen from all countries in Europe flock to Vienna to sell their handmade goods at the several Christmas markets that take over the city during this time of year. There are ornaments, candy, cookies, chocolate-covered everything, loads of coffee and alcohol drinks, trinkets, stockings, advent calendars.. basically anything that is closely resembled to Christmas and any type of chocolate treat are widely available, and they are all amazing. We went to five main markets in Vienna alone, and we spent a day in Salzburg where there were two more main markets. Both cities were entirely decked out in Christmas decor and we were actually there for the first snow in both Vienna and Salzburg! It was literally a winter wonderland. Every sidewalk, every street was lit up and tinseled to the fullest. It was so beautiful and it was impossible to not be in the best mood ever the entire weekend.

Each market had its own unique mug that was distributed with any hot drink that specific market was serving. So when you pay for your drink, you also pay a 2 euro deposit for the mug that it comes in, and when you're done, you can bring back the mug and get your 2 euro back, or you can keep the mug and have a cute and cheap souvenir! I kept one of the mugs from my favorite market, but I already broke it. Hopefully I can super glue it when I get back to Phoenix and be able to use it in our new kitchen....

Salzburg was by far my favorite part of the weekend. We took a 3 hour train to get there, and the ride was so beautiful! It was full of snow covered hills and christmas-tree-looking-pines. I fell asleep for most of it but what I saw was gorgeous.

I have to run off to class, but more to come later.. including lots of pictures. Ciao!

Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow I leave for Vienna and Salzburg for the Vienna Christmas markets and Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. I'm flying on Air Swiss and I have a short layover in Zurich. I'm really excited! And I'm also really excited about not having school until next Monday. Yahoo!

I'm most likely not going to have internet access over the holiday while I'm in Austria, and I thought I needed to make a post about Thanksgiving since I'm not able to be there to celebrate with everyone in Phoenix.

I can remember many Thanksgiving holidays from my childhood, many consisting of games with Uncle Tom and sitting at the kids table with my siblings and cousins. Another thing I remember about Thanksgiving as a kid is wondering why we never held hands and went around the table reciting somewhat pre-rehearsed statements about what we were thankful for that year. I remember actually being kind of upset about it. I thought, they did it in all the movies and Thanksgiving TV specials, so why didn't my family do the same? However, now that I'm older (and wiser) I realize that what makes holidays special has nothing to do with commercialized tradition, or expectations, or presents, or perfection. It's simply about people getting together to celebrate the joy of one another and the joy of the lives we've been given. Whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other significant holiday.

However, even though I've discovered that Thanksgiving with my family is special because of our own quirky traditions (Turkey Trot, Mom bossing me around to help her since Martha is M.I.A. and Cooper is "napping", all cousins expecting money from Uncle Tom) and because we miraculously take the time out of our busy lives to spend an entire day all together, I still haven't lost the desire to share everything that I'm thankful for this year. And while I'm at it, I might as well make up for those years passed.

I am thankful....


For my parents. For the fact that I know they will always be there, rain or shine, no questions asked. They have never failed to encourage be to be all that I can be. For being at every softball game, congratulating every good grade, going along with whatever my passion was at the moment. For supporting my love of music. For giving me the tools and encouragement to seize every opportunity, to dive for every dream.

For my mom, who I know would go to the world and back for me. For always giving me advice, which is correct most of the time, even when I refuse to listen. For worrying about me, comforting me, and always having my best interests in mind. For being there to catch me when I fall. For being a great mom, mentor, woman, and eventually, best friend. And lastly, for that time in high school when you picked me up from a party when I was hiding from the cops in a closet.

For my dad, who never disappoints. For pushing me, always, to do the right thing, not because someone's watching but because I know it's the right thing to do. For always being honest. For driving me to every batting practice, every softball tournament. For comic relief. For teaching me simple, endless lessons that have contributed to my character. For always understanding, for keeping me from getting ahead of myself. For not caring what others think, and teaching me to do the same.

I am thankful...

For my brother and sister. For being role models. For paving the way. For helping me grow up. For setting examples, many of which I learned to follow, many of which I definitely knew not to follow. For taking care of me, giving me advice, for being there when I call. For not ignoring me when you went off to college. For treating me (eventually) like a friend, and not like your little sister. And for breaking Mom and Dad in so by the time I got to high school they weren't strict anymore and I got away with a lot more than you did. (I think we all know it's true.)

For Martha, for being my big sister. For putting up with me. For laughing with me. For laughing at me. For cheering me up, in some way that only you know how. For letting me tag along. For helping our relationship as sisters turn into a friendship. For thinking my stupid jokes are funny. For all your hand-me downs. For being my best friend.

For Cooper, for being my brother. For making sure I stay on track. For sharing things with me: Gonzaga, Basketball, friendship. For never leaving me out, especially in Spokane. For never falling out of touch. For helping me pave my way, for being someone I can look up to. For being proud of me.

I am thankful...


For my family. For all of you. Parents and siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. They say that no family is normal, and mine can definitely attest to that. My family is not normal... it is eccentric, zany, strong, and beautiful.

For my health, intellect, well-being. Gifts given by God, utilized by me, encouraged by my parents.

Lastly, for this journey abroad. For being able to experience so many different cultures, meet new people, make new memories, embark on new adventures. For getting me out of my comfort zone, and allowing me to grow. Albert Camus said, "The most obvious benefit of travel is fear." Meaning that without getting totally out of your comfort zone, without putting yourself in situations that you have no experience in, you won't experience anything at all. No one ever grew intellectually, spiritually, internally, philosophically, by staying in one place. By traveling all over and immersing myself in another culture, stepping outside my boundaries, I am allowing myself to truly grow as a human being. And that is one great gift, for which I am thankful.

I am thankful. 

Four Week Mark

As of a few days ago, I have only four more weeks in Florence. Crazy how fast the time has flown by! I am in awe in all I have done and seen, every part of the last few months has been amazing. I can vividly remember the week before I first arrived in Europe.. frantically rushing around town getting medications, european power convertors, extra socks.. the list goes on and on. And I'm sure my parents remember me freaking out about my luggage weight or forgetting certain things. It all seems so minimal now that I've been here all semester.. I've learned to re-wear my clothes a million times, pack light for 3 day weekends, and blow dry my hair on the absolute lowest power level to avoid setting the hair dryer on fire and blowing a fuse. Learning to adjust to the ways of a true study-abroad student has made me realize how many things at home or even at school in Spokane that I take for granted. That being normal sized showers, free drinking water, and doing laundry more than once a month. But I've also realized that going without these things hasn't been a tragic loss. European hostels and Italian bathrooms have taught me to be okay with not living in the luxury of my parents' home!

I'm off to finish a 10 page paper due tomorrow, and then Wednesday I'm off to Vienna and Salzburg! More details to come.. but I do know it's supposed to be snowing. After this Thanksgiving break trip to Austria with my friend Brittany I only have one more destination on my list, which is Interlaken, Switzerland. It's supposed to be the extreme sports capital of the world, or something of the sort, but ( don't worry Mom) I won't be sky diving because it's 265 Euro.. which converted into US dollars is not a pretty number. But I do plan on going canyon jumping, which is where you jump off a platform 280 feet above ground and literally swing through a canyon while attached to all sorts of support cables. Should be interesting!

P.S. As of today I have only 8 days of actual class left.. but over 3 weeks left in Europe. yikes!

More Rome Pictures!

Group photo on the rooftop of Father Brian's Jesuit house in Rome. 

My friend Allison and I in Rome, about to get on the metro!

Sitting by the Trevi Fountain

Rome in autumn.

The Trevi Fountain