One Is Silver and the Other, Gold.

I don’t know what it is about these people but I am going to miss them so much. They are all so interesting and caring and free ---so enjoyable. I mean sure, yeah, we’ve traveled around the world together and gone through so much –we’ve really seen it all. It is so sad to think that it is now coming to an end. So Soon.

I’ve lived on a SHIP with these lovely ladies and gents for days, weeks, months (exactly 92, at the moment I write this!). It will be, and is, so difficult to say our goodbyes. We will never again be in the same place together like this. Again. EVER.

These beautiful friends I have have been with me as I’ve realized so much more about myself than I ever knew existed. Who knew I could cross the street like a superhero in Vietnam, speak Spanish to get by in Spain, or walk through impoverished streets without breaking down completely in India? These people have been there for all of that. How am I going to say goodbye to that? They have helped me reach this state of myself and boy, are they gorgeous while doing it!

Who will ever believe or understand the crazy good feelings of sweatiness and grooves at our Ipiz dance parties on the back of Deck 5? How about our gargantuan “family” Thanksgiving Dinner at Gibraltar? It seems that these three months have exacerbated all of our needs for friends and companionship so that the community we have now is so beautiful and unique and real in a way that generally takes much longer to develop.

These people know, as Darby rightly put it, “what makes me tick.” My parents knew too as they sent me along on my own lucky, lucky way. They sensed the intensity that would ensue from these travels and delightfully and excitedly urge me to find new friends and companions. I guess I completely underestimated this experience because I am so surprised by it all ---so overwhelmed by all of this love and understanding.

more amazing.

This country really is fantastic.
Sitting down feels amazing here. Places i´ve sat today:::

in a chair in front of a computer @ a hostel

at a cafe with two friends and a pitcher of sangria

at a bakery with a friend and a cup of coffee

in a chair in the kitchen of said hostel eating a delicious meal

i´m tired as anything but I just wanted to post quickly. i love everything here. always.

can we talk about spain?!

As you all know...i love the amazingness out of this place.

It is too good...even the south!

Alex--i cried knowing i would be here sin tu.
so so so so so so sad.

españa is not the same without my bestest friend ever but really...the south is very beautiful...i look forward to this time and i think i will be posting quite a bit.

take care all of you. buenas noches.

eerie romance and some rain

Yesterday morning was one of those things that just cant be touched. I woke up around 6:30 and went out to the front deck to take in the amazingness of the Dalmatian Coast at sunrise. and WHOA. It knocked my senses into high gear. This place is ridiculously beautiful. It is everything I had hoped for and many of you know that this is one of the most important ports to me as far as pre-planning went. Yesterday I spent in Durbrovnik walking around and chilling out in the Old City which is entirely within some amazing huge stone walls. I walked around with my friend Darby from Virginia, my friend Cara from Pennsylvania, and my friend Zoya from Bulgaria and we stopped and had some wine and olives and cheese to get out of the rain that was freezing us up into little ice cubes. We continued on and then met up with a bunch of other kids from our crew to celebrate our friend Mike's 21st birthday over dinner and a few drinks. Dubrovnik is TINY. It was impossible to avoid the other kids from our program but we mingled as best we could/wanted to.

It is amazing to think that earlier today on my drive from Dubrovnik to Split I drove through some of the most beautiful landscape in the entire world. The Adriatic Sea is truly a sight as it is met some fantastic mountains dropping off and dripping with such central european feeling and charm. We stopped in Makarska for a coffee break and at some point along the way I was in BOSNIA as well. How crazy is that!?

I remember being a child and hearing about all of these places because of the wars. I cant believe that I am here right now.

This drive reminds me very much of the Amalfi Coast but somehow it is much more beautiful to me here. Maybe itis because I am experiencing it alone. But this coutnrz really does seem to fit my style. The mountains are so old looking as they fall into the sea. The red-roofed structures seem to fit so perfectly with the very Central European looking flora. The trees even seem to scream ˝im better looking than you˝ (like everyone else in the country). There is certainly a regal air amongst these beautiful landscapes.

Though it is beautiful it is hard to forget that onlz fifteen years ago there was brutal fighting going down in this and other nations in the former republic of yugoslavia. its reallz wild to think that croatia is younger than me! There is definitely evidence of this civil war throughout the countryside.... Also we were really heavily wanred about unexploded landmines. Ive never even thought of worrying about őff the beaten path˝ before.

As beautiful as the country and the mountains and the roadways and walled cities and red-roofs and tiny beaches and orange groves and olive trees and muted colors and brilliant water and palm trees and cragginess and pomegranates are...

the people here are even more beautiful. i could absolutely fall in love and stay here forever. thez are such striking, amazing looking poeple that just a mere gaze can cause even the strongest of us to completely melt because of the placidity, beauty, and emotion in their eyes. Im not kidding either. These people are damn good looking. They are just as interesting and nice to look at as the land ive driven through...

alas...im being kicked out of the internet cafe...hope this is good for now...suggestions for ANDALUCIA anyone? I will be in Sevilla.

confusion in east meets west.

So wowowowow:::

im caught between two places. İ am lıterally rıoght now ın between the East and the West. Somewhere ın a sea cuttıng through Europe and Asıa...how lucky I am. How many people can actually be sedentary between two contınents and lıve to tell the tale?

The best breakfasts ıve ever had ın my lıfe happen to consıst of the same thıngs and so far ıve had a fantastıc nıne of them. they are all very dıfferent but very beautıful. Even just tryıng to descrıbe the extreme exhılıratıon of beıng wıthout constant movement and havıng a new scenery ıs that whıch makes these breakfasts so amazıng. ıts not the same box of cereal, the plaın yogurt (that ıve mıssed recently! But they brought ıt out for thıs wonderful mornıng!), the really repulsıve coffee, the amazıng fresh croıssant, or the medıcore fruıt melange -ıt IS THE VIEW. Luck really ıs the word. I am such a lcuky fortunate person to be able to look around me to see a beautıful old mosque up yonder European hıll and then look out over the Bosporus Straıt and the Sea of Marmara to an equally comparable Asıan wonderland -all whıle sıppıng on some tea to stay warm!

Thıs ıs the fırst port that has felt lıke autumn. Lookıng back on how stıcky and sweaty and overheated I felt ın Japan ıt ıs crazy to ımagıne that I was there two months ago. It almost feels lıke we just left all of those amazıngly hot places. But now, what a fıne way to come upon Europe?! The autumn ıs absolutely welcome. Havıng to fınally don a sweater not because I need to cover myself (and subsequently gettıng overheated...phew!) but because the weather condıtıons and temperatures outsıde beg for ıt -well that actually makes me feel all cozy ınsıde! It was 15 degrees Celsıus yesterday. How Wunderbar!

It ıs gettıng about that tıme to get ready to get out of here and get out THERE -TÜRKIYE! The shıp should be cleared very soon but I am very happy to report that I have a frıend here (who ıs clearly amazıng!) that actually lıved ın İstanbul for a year and a half about a year aho.... Today and the next fıve days are goıng to be so magnıfıcent.

HELLO İSTANBUL!!!!!!

UPDATE:::

the blog above was wrıtten on day one (7/11/07) ın türkıye...rıght now ı am on day three (9/11/07) and have seen some amazıng sıghts and eaten some great food and done so many fantastıc thıngs but ı would lıke to share the orıgınal one anyways. I spent the fırst day ın İstanbul takıng ın the sıghts ın Sultanahmet (an area ın the cıty) wıth a nıce group of frıends ın cludıng the Aya Sofıa and the Blue Mosque. WOW! Then we went out and had some apple çay (tea) and Türk khave (turkısh coffee) and narghıle (hookahs) and had some amazıng street snakcs. Then we went out to fınd thıs bar where her favorıte Roman (a type of musıc apparently) musıcıan was supposedly playıng but he had played the nıght before. So we enjoyed the area, Tunel and Taksım, where we were. Turkısh people are so generous and ınterested and ınterestıng. Yesterday I saw the battlefıelds, trenches, and monuments of the Gallıpolı penınsula (from the fırst world war). Today I saw Troia! (troy!) and then we drove to where I am now wıth a short stop ın a cute lıttle town called Baldırma for lunch. At the moment I wrıte to you from a lıttle ınternet cafe ın a mountaın town ın the Marmara regıon called Bursa. All I can say ıs AMAZING and CUTE and BEAUTIFUL. Also...the men here are all gorgeous and dress amazıngly well...ın case you wanted to know, teehee.