Roma!

Although it is the end of March, I felt before my memory is filled with old age and dementia, I would write about my trip to Rome this Spring. Ah, just magical (as Alyssa would put it). No big deal, "monumentally pre gamed"....Trevi Foundtain, the Pantheon, you know the usual? That was a typical night...just roaming Rome (no pun intended) with boxed wine costing close to one euro that was NOT like Franzia..no bag slapping necessary. Well, the minute I was off the plane, Alyssa (the greatest host /friend ever) met me and greeted me with the greatest sense of warmth and compassion to let me enter her exciting new life in Italy. Wow...the sights, the smells, the food, the people, the drinks, the LOVE- just indescribable. Typical sunday morning started with some crack coffee...I'm almost out...too addicted ...so sad :(...anyways, yes then...went to the Vatican, saw the Pope, listened to him speak his insightful words in many languages (including English). Feeling empowered, we go off to galavant and explore the city ( which had begun the moment I stepped off the plane and did not end until I was back in Vermont). So much self-exploring and exploring with Alyssa and some of her friends including Lo (shout out :)!) . .. espeically to our last night at the authentic restaurant, that was just PERFECT. Gelato I miss you so, towards the end of the trip it was a twice a day occurrence to have some gelato. It was perfection in a cone.

In conclusion: Italy- a place of beautiful people who may seem rugged on the outside and so loud and full of life, are the sweetest people. . . I think one night I compared them to Fererro Rocher chocolates. Roma- a city of smiles and celebration (not to mention Carnival was going on all week - which was full of amazing spectacles and parades!), a city of history and ancestry, a city that brought me back to Vermont with the clearest mind ever. One place, so much beauty and culture- makes me want to explore all the cultures our world has to offer. Great people are everywhere, we just need to find them, some of them are right under our noses and we may not even know it.

Procrastination is Key!

Snowy Saturday in Burlington (Two weeks ago)

Ah yes procrastination, the college student's guide to life . I should be doing a research proposal, BUT I am too into the hype machine right now...Diamond Message's "Liquid Summer." The track and title just make me want summer tremendously....

Either way it is nights like this that really make me evaluate my life, which I do all too often. My issue is I love spontaneity and doing things in the moment, but I think too much of the future in doing so. Is the future something that should not be planned at all? Should I just be rolling with the punches (which happened earlier in kickboxing which totally kicked my ass) or go with the flow? I do not consider myself neurotic, but sometimes I just look forward to so much and believe I will accomplish it all eventually, I don't think there's anything wrong with that!

Current status : Nine days until Rome :) I am so ridiculously excited to see Alyssa and galavant the stone cobbled, ancient streets of one of the world's most epic cities.

Tomorrow: Thursday, get shit done day.

Friday: I get to see Keller (long lost Amiga livin' in the boonies)..and it's the beginning of the weekend ! Wooooop.

Also, this past weekend, went home to MA, saw Steve Aoki, shit was EPIC. Danced my pants off with Pho & visited dear old Becca afterwards. I love being home. I always feel like such a kid, rewound back into time with friends from Preschool/Kindergarden. Strange how our bonds have stayed so strong over the years, and it is people like them that will never leave my side...and I know that for a fact.

Nice n' sweaty after dancing and being pushed and shoved for a couple hours.

Happy Hump Day !

Sunday Funday

Flannel & 40sFiesta -Last weekend

Hello hello!

Sundays, the worst and best day of the week! I love being relaxed on Sunday nights, but waking up this morning with the worst anxiety about the day's/ upcoming week's chores does not solve anything. No reason to fret I suppose, because stuff will get done if one wants to get stuff done, and guess what? The stuff did get done! Laundromats-- one of the most interesting places you could go to. The vast array of people you run into and meet. One week I met this carpenter from Florida. He was probably around 70. He opened up my eyes to the things I am complaining of now just are of nuisance. He really put into perspective that once you put your mind on something, you can totally do it! I have 100% belief in that saying. What stops us? Life's hardships? Yes of course, we run into obstacles almost everyday. Whether these obstacles are small or big....they are there that is for sure. Are we going to live in these obstacles and sulk? Heck no. We cannot do such a thing; time is precious and too short to waste. We need to act now. This brings me to my recent infatuation with Couchsurfing and WorkAway websites. Ahhhhh...the joys  of traveling, adventuring, and experiencing what the rest of the world holds for a human from New England. Speaking of traveling...Italy is now on the list for places to travel that is actually happening! I am visiting a friend in Rome over Spring Break...very excited :) ...especially after just watching "Eat, Pray, Love."

Goodnight World .

Music

What is it about music, dance, and moving your body that makes one SO happy? ENDORPHINS ALRIGHT that's definitely it. AH I LOVE IT. John Lennon & the Beatles, Bobby Blue Bland, Amy Whinehouse, ahhh musica i love you and never leave because you make me so happy. African dancing, first timer here- do it ! It is amazing. Four months left....

Peace and Love .

Xia Shang Han Bla bla bla....

Pho in VT on her last visit in April I believe

Although I care deeply about the Chinese dynasties, note my sarcasm, there are other regions of the world I wish Cor 330 was focusing on this semester. I guess this may be beneficial in the future. Of course, being knowledgeable of various cultures is highly important for our improvement in communication with one another and how we interact as human beings, BUT Chinese history is definitely redundant and I hope it gets a little better as the semester goes on. It's pretty rediculous the amount of work I have already invested in the second week of classes....but now I have a job to not JUST do school work all the time (even though I do partake in social activities-time to time...). I am a"Reading Buddy/Tutor" at the O'Brien Community Center in Winooski for kids at JFK Elementary :) I am super stoked on that.

Today is a snowy day in Burlington, parking ban is set for tonight...means we'll be getting lots of inches through the day and night! Which I like because it is beautiful :) but driving is a mess. I am SO excited for my best fran in the whoooolewideworld aka my sister from another mister Phooooo to visit on Thursday ! Shit is gonna be wild. We are going to have the craziest adventures, as we always do. Life is good...peace out people.

Gettin Back into the Swing of Things

Photograph taken in April 2010 at Leddy Park Beach in the North End of Burlington

Ahh Sundays...woke up:

Made tofu scramble with veggies,
Enligsh muffin with melted blueberries,
and a nice swig of coconut water- YUM.

I love Sundays so much. It is the day to really relax and do whatever you want, even if you have stuff to do..everyone deserves a relaxed day. Although this semester has just begun, I am pretty overwhelmed by the amount of things I am asked of in many of classes. Oh well, either way- I will do it, because I choose to. Also, I need a job, hopefully the interview with JFK Elementary will go well tomorrow.

Today is a sunny day in Burlington, very very cold, but sunny :) I LOVE when the snow glistens from the sun in the dead of winter, it is such a beautiful sight. Although many trees and plants are dull/dead because of the brisk weather, the sun suddenly brings life to everything, including people. Sun is proven to improve moods and increase happiness. The sun coming through my bedroom window is just lovely and is making me excited to go for a run...indoors, in a dusty gym of course...reason for that being is, well I'm a bit of sissy when it comes to running in the cold. My lungs burn while my limbs freeze...eh not my most ideal moment. Although I did it more last winter and years before that, I have yet to embrace the cold and do my exercise routine outdoors...maybe one day soon!

Only thing I got going on today is the first meeting of the semester for the trip to Bagamoyo, Tanzania that myself and fellow Champlainers are taking in May. Cannot even express my excitement in words! Currently, I am living vicariously through my friends studying abroad. Looking through Facebook photos, hearing stories of their adventures, while I lay snuggled in my bed in chilly Vermont. It makes me happy in a way I'm here right now. . . even in the typical "boring" state that many say Vermont is, I beg to differ. The nature here is breathtaking, and if you have not been to the Burlington area, I highly recommend it! Whether you like the mountains for winter sports, or summer hiking, they are amazing in every season.

I've met some interesting people and have had some great memories here in Vermont, and I am ready for 2011 to bring many more. This year I have a feeling will be much better than the last, in that it will hold many more travel opportunities, while many things are up in the air. Also, Senior year will begin this fall, and that means I am that much closer to graduating! I am excited and impatient, cmon I'm a Sagittarius...so I need to step back, look closer at what is going on here and now, and really appreciate all the things I have right now going for me.

This does not stop me from looking far into the future though. California is definitely up there in my top places to move to after I am done here in Vermont (for the time being of course). Welp, I'm off.  Lets get ready for this week's forecast of a whopping Zero Degrees.

Tata

Jambo 2011

Four days of 2011 and only today do I feel a change coming along. 2010 for me was probably the best and worst year. Lots of ups and downs, but I'm trying to focus on the positive either way. Today, according to my brain and horoscope, brings about a new cycle of change for myself and fellow Sagittariuses. Well change as in starting this blog I guess is good start, even though it resulted from my procrastination of going to the gym. Well, actually I started this because, well....I got too much going on my head and I need to write it down, but I want to share some of these thoughts with others because maybe, just maybe someone else is on the same crazy page as I am? Who knows...

Today I am still stuck in Massachusetts, although I "choose" to, some circumstances, have prevented me to leave yet. Either way, I am hoping to finally get back on the road to Burlington, VT tomorrow morning. Spring semester begins in less then a week, and I am super excited. This semester is definitely full of more luck with professors and classes. Fall 2010 was not my best semester at school, but I blame some classes for that, one in particular...cough Research Methods cough. Well good thing that class continues into this semester...

Along with that I am taking Ethics in Human services, Women in China/Half the Sky, Science and Society in China, and a course in Substance Abuse. I'm pretty excited to begin this year fresh with a new perspective on some things in my life. Cheers to a new year my friends!

Here is the view from a friend's 3rd Avenue apartment in NYC this past New Years Eve.