Leaving for Italy tomorrow!

I can't believe I'm writing this-- I leave tomorrow for my 2 week trip through Italy and Greece!! I have most of my research done on my location in Venice-- Santa Maria Della Salute, a Baroque Cathedral erected in the late 1600's in thanksgiving for Venice prevailing through the plague of 1630. And we're trying to work out taking a water bus to get a tour of the grand canal at sunset on the first day we get there. I reallllly hope that works out! If not, Mom and Crystal: we're doing that!

I'm generally ready to go, although I just found out that we can only bring one 50 lb bag(no personal carry on item)-- so I'm gonna need to re-adjust my pack and try to safely fit my camera in there... It's gonna be interesting living out of a backpack for 2 weeks for the first time, so when you see pictures and I'm wearing the same clothes the whole time you can just laugh at me.

This weekend wasn't that eventful, I mostly relaxed for the first time-- which was awesome! I got a little bit of school work done, but mostly I tried to mentally prepare myself for this trip and reflect on all my time in Prague so far.
The most notable thing last week was probably going to a ice hockey game with the two rival prague teams: sparta praha vs. slavia praha. Of course I rooted for the underdogs/team with the coolest name: SPARTA! One of the guys in our group, Garrett, explained the basic rules of the game, and we got really into cheering for our team. Unfortunately... we lost a bit of momentum in the final period and ended up losing.. but it was still really fun.





When I did go downtown this weekend I mostly just tried to go to new neighborhoods and I photographed a lot. It's been hovering around 45 degrees for the past week so walking around a lot was a bit cold, and coffee breaks were very necessary to warm up-- unfortunately I've come to find that there is pretty much no such thing as drip coffee in Prague, only extravagent lattes served in skinny clear glasses, often topped with whipped cream... and yes, that means whole milk. They're also relatively expensive, around 60-75 crowns (around 4-5 dollars) which is pretty similar to the states, and considering beer is about 25-35 crowns in a cafe (around 2 dollars) and around 12-20 crowns in the grocery store (1-1.50 dollars) so, your choice of beverage is pretty much made for you... and Prague doesn't have the highest intake of beer in the world for nothing. Yeah, that's right, they beat Ireland and Germany.



It's finally fully setting in that life at CNU and at home is carrying on without me, but I'm suprisingly fine with that. Of course, I miss the people, and the overall comfort of having a support system around me, especially in an unfamiliar place-- I've talked to many of you about my friendships here, and while they are fun, and I generally get along with everyone here, it is difficult to establish a real spark in any of these relationships and there are moments where I wish certain people from back home or school were here so that I could just feel understood.-- But hey, this is why skype is the greatest thing ever! And I think this is not only a real test for me, getting through this by myself, and growing through my adventures, it's a test for all my relationships back home with friends and family-- and it's wonderful to think of the immense love I have in so many of you, and I can't thank you enough for that reassuring thought in times where I feel like I am alone here.




It's funny because the latest film we watched for our sacred communication class called "blow-up" (a 1960's film about a photographer) really relates to this for me. It was all about reality vs. perception and whether anyone can distinguish the lines between these two. For me, there have been many moments here when I wonder what the heck kind of wack perception the people around me are in when, for example,they don't notice certain aspects of the city, or completely miss the point of a film after we watch and discuss it in class, or just seem to be taking this whole opportunity for granted... and this is a perfect example of where I need to grow and possibly expand my own perception on reality haha.
But all in all I don't regret coming here in the slightest, and I can already tell it's one of the best decisions I've made. And it's only just begun!
(although, i do realllly wish i had been there for the t.digs + scamper camp out!)

I'll leave you with some lines from the second film we watched called "Wings of Desire"/"The Sky Above Berlin"-- it's a German film, which America destroyed with creating the movie "City of Angels"(which we also watched and it is awful! Some of the girls here got on my case for laughing at the end while they were crying, but if you've seen the movie, and know me at all, you'll know why). The story lines are somewhat similar: based on an angel who wants to discover what it is to be human, but they take on completely different interpretations of what this means. Anyways, wings of desire is now one of my favorite films of all time and I STRONGLY recommend that everyone watch it if you haven't seen it. It's truly one of, if not the most romantic films I've ever seen, and not in a sappy love story sort of way --its about an appreciation of life and understanding what it means to yearn and long for a connection with someone, and then learn to love them.

This is one of the Angels, Damiel, talking about his envy of humans:
"It's great to live by the spirit, to testify day by day for eternity, only what's spiritual in people's minds. But sometimes I'm fed up with my spiritual existence. Instead of forever hovering above I'd like to feel a weight grow in me to end the infinity and to tie me to earth. I'd like, at each step, each gust of wind, to be able to say "Now." Now and now" and no longer "forever" and "for eternity." To sit at an empty place at a card table and be greeted, even by a nod. Every time we participated, it was a pretense. Wrestling with one, allowing a hip to be put out in pretense, catching a fish in pretense, in pretense sitting at tables, drinking and eating in pretense. Having lambs roasted and wine served in the tents out there in the desert, only in pretense. No, I don't have to beget a child or plant a tree but it would be rather nice coming home after a long day to feed the cat, like Philip Marlowe, to have a fever and blackended fingers from the newspaper, to be excited not only by the mind but, at last, by a meal, by the line of a neck by an ear. To lie! Through one's teeth. As you're walking, to feel your bones moving along. At last to guess, instead of always knowing. To be able to say "ah" and "oh" and "hey" instead of "yea" and "amen."


I thought those words were very powerful and really got me thinking about appreciating life and living as much as I can!
And thanks to Becca bear for this lovely picture from the Little Grill that also serves as such a reminder <3





I'll be out of contact for the next 2 weeks, but i'll update this as soon as I get back. I may be able to check E-mail(and probs facebook) at some of the hostels, so it would be lovely to get some updates from you all as well while I am away.
Send positive vibes into the sky while I'm traveling, please!

Live well Today!
Hugs and Hugs,
Amanda