Random thoughts while abroad...

This post is going to be SO random. My friend and roommate while abroad, Abbie, and I talk a lot about our experience while we're here and we make a point that everyone different comes abroad for different reasons, and even if it's for the same reasons, everyone does it differently.

We talk a lot about how our roommates watch a lot of Netflix and I usually do too right before I go to bed. Is that weird? Should I be focusing more on being in the moment and taking every chance I get to walk around Rome? Or should I have a small sense of home and sit and read or watch Netflix every now and then? Part of me feels like I shouldn't be wasting any time while I'm here and another part thinks that it's important to have those moments. After all, I am living here for 4 months.

Do you see what I'm saying? Also, I probably wouldn't be posting so much on the blog if it weren't for my internship. I get SO bored here, but like I said before, it's kind of nice to have this time to scroll through things I've been missing.

Agh, you guys!! I don't want to waste a single second while here, but I also don't want to be go go go all the time. You know??

Anyways... I hope you're all doing really well!

P.S. I my friends here are the BEST. I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to go home and not be able to see them everyday. I got SO lucky you guys!!

Europe pt. 3: Venice, Italy

So... in all honesty, Venice was kind of a shit show. It was beautiful in the beginning! And then 1 person had to go to the hospital because he got some kind of viral infection, then another girl had to go because her knee got all inflamed and she couldn't walk, and then another girl had to go because her room had bed bugs, so she had bites all over her face and they had to move everyone out. It also poured the ENTIRE time - the only time it didn't was when we first got there. It was NUTS.

I'd really like to go back to Venice some time, but only when I know for a fact that it's going to be sunny haha! In all honesty, it wasn't all I imagined it to be. Yes, the water is so beautiful and unique and it's really interesting to be somewhere that doesn't have cars, but it just wasn't that fantastic. It's crazy expensive and you really have to search for places that aren't tourist traps. The food isn't even that good because they can't make pizza like they do everywhere else in Italy since woodturning ovens were banned there.

Maybe it's just because the whole trip went downhill the whole weekend or that the rain really bummed me out, but i wish I had better things to say about the city. It was definitely amazing - no doubt about that!

Have you been? What were your thoughts? Sorry to totally diss Venice. I feel like this post sounded super ungrateful of me, but don't get the wrong impression! It was still an unforgettable and fantastic trip that I'll tell stories about it forever.

Pope Francis

Last Sunday I finally went to see the Pope at the Vatican! It was really exciting because I'm catholic and while I'm not as religious as I should be, my entire family is, so it was pretty amazing that I got to see him and be there. I want to try to go every Sunday that I'm in town! There were so many people and we got there super early, which was good because the line was short to get in, but once we looked at everything we just kind of had to sit for 2 hours and wait for him to come out.

It was so cool! He's such a great person and I'm excited to go back this Sunday and try to brush up on my Italian with the help of the Pope ;)

I also saw this link and wanted to post it - it's a little early, but I thought it was interesting! 19 things to give up for Lent that aren't chocolate. Also, how lucky am I to get to be in Rome on Easter this year?

Listening to...

I thought I'd take a break from posting about HWNDU, what I miss from home, and pictures of travel - haha! Here are some songs I've had on repeat a lot lately. They're all so different, it's so weird.

The Maine - Raining in Paris (thanks to my Rome roomie for introducing them to me!)

Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

Marian Hill - I Want You

Mac Miller - God is Fair, Sexy, Nasty

Cute Whore - White Icing

Panic! At The Disco - Death of a Bachelor

Make Me (Cry) - Noah Cyrus

What about you?? I recently got Spotify premium for students and it ROCKS. I actually had to have my dad log in from home to do it for me because they don't have it in Italy haha! I love being able to download songs and listen to them all the time.

HWNDU

Can you guess what this post is about? ;) I won't go on too much, but I just wanted to post a little something. #HeWillNotDivideUs is back up again! Woo! It's in Albuquerque, NM now. It's kind of a shame, because I was really looking forward to driving up there in May to participate and now I can't. I'm happy the project is still going, though! I feel like the artists will keep it going as long as they can. Fingers crossed for positivity!

Love this photo by @jesree on Instagram!

Out of all the places I've been...

...NYC still has my heart. Weird, right? I mean I guess I haven't been too many places yet. I still have quite a bit of traveling to do! I still get chills when I see a picture of Manhattan though. I just love this city! I'm so lucky to only live 3 hours from the city so I can go there all the time. I always tell myself that all this work I'm doing is just for me to get one step closer to live in New York.

Photo from here.

Crazy how our minds work! Do you have a place like that?

Europe pt 2: Siena, Italy

The first real excursion we went on was a day trip to Siena, Italy and it was so magical! The city is so old and cute. I actually think I could live there for a short time - that's saying a lot because I'm a big city person and Siena is fairly small. It was just so cute and I honestly felt really at home! The main thing I remember from there without looking at my journal are the horse races they do. In the city center, they have a track set up and people from all over come watch the horse race.

So lovely, right?! I wish we could have spent more time there. Next I'll be posting about Venice!

The 'oh shit' phase

So, the other day we had a counselor come in and talk to us about the phases of studying abroad and culture shock. There's the honeymoon phase, followed by what he called the 'oh shit' phase. I feel like I'm definitely still in the honeymoon phase because every time I walk outside I'm super amazed at everything! However, I also am starting to feel down a lot. I realize that I shouldn't- I mean I'm in ITALY for Pete's sake! I just miss home, but even weirder than that, I miss Boston! I really miss my school and my friends and roommates. I'm telling myself it's only for a semester and it'll fly by so I need to make the most of it! I totally am, it's just I've felt more down than normal lately. You know?

Everything is fine, I just wanted to express some emotions! I still do things like watch Netflix, go on walks, and write in my journal. I like to do those just as a way to show myself it's not totally different than being home. I start classes today and my internship on Wednesday! I'm pretty nervous, but I'm excited to get into a routine.

I thought I'd post some pictures of things and moments from back home that I've been missing: 

Nights in my cozy dorm with tea and scrolling through Flickr.

Days of wandering around Boston and shopping at Primark with my friend, Colleen.

My mom.

My roomie at school that I feel incredibly lucky to have in my life.

My adventure buddy, Alexandra, who I wish was here with my every single day.

My cute dog, Charlie.

I hope you're all doing well! Cheers to you on this Monday.

Looking for Alaska

It's been quite some time since I read Looking for Alaska, but I do know it was definitely my favorite John Green movie! Since it was indeed my favorite, I was really looking forward to it booming a movie since Paper Towns and TFIOS became one and were so popular. It's looking like it's not going to happen... but thankfully we have Elle Mills, a YouTuber who created a trailer for it by using clips from other movies. It's actually super good and now I'm looking forward to something that's not real!

Check it out. What was your favorite John Green book?

My Roman apartment!

So... is this real life? I was telling one of my roommates that I'm constantly looking on Zillow and NakedApartments for my future apartment and it was pretty surreal moving into one today. I was walking around taking pictures and so happy with my life! This apartment is literally my dream! And it's in Rome... I mean... so happy. How amazing is that?

So cute right?? Everything about it is totally perfect. I can't wait to cook dinners and chill with my roommates. I love that there are so many rooms and spaces for us to spread out as well. I LOVE IT!!

He will not divide us (still)

Sorry I bring this up super often, but it's something I've really cared about! The idea as well as the art. Did anyone see that they shut down the #HeWillNotDivideUs? It shocked me so much. They took down everything: the words off the wall and the camera itself. I'm actually really upset about it! I was really really looking forward to driving up to Astoria in May when I'm back in the states and just spending a day chanting. Now I'll never get to! It was really reassuring that the livestream was happening for 4 years and it was taken down less than a month after it was put up.

I'm hoping it's put back up sometime in the future after the whole thing cools down a bit. We'll see though. I'm sad about the whole thing but I'm also a little sad at how much it's making me sad haha! It was just really comforting for me to watch. I watched it at home before I left and it made me happy to watch while in Italy because of that reason. I get that it was becoming violent, but it was also really full of positivity and togetherness.

What are your thoughts!

P.S. I moved into my apartment in Rome tonight and it's cute as heck! I'll post pictures ASAP!