Finally!
I have figured out how to upload my photos on here. Clink on the links to the right to see my abroad photos!
ENJOY!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Vivere. la risata. l'amore.
So, I stink at blogging. Things have been so wonderfully busy here, that I find it hard to find a time to sit and blog about everything. But I will try to recap in the shortest amount of writing as possible so as to not write another novel about my past three weeks.
The first week of November, my new friend Katie, and my friend Michael from SNC came and stayed with us for a few days. It was really nice to have them here. We celebrated halloween, by making a huge feast. Complete with everything from eye ball deviled eggs, to carmel apples, to bug juice punch. It was so much fun. It was my roommates, plus Katie and Michael, and we just had our own little celebration. We all dressed up and had a dance party and just hung out. It was a ton of fun! Halloween obviously isn't a big celebration here, but we did see many places decked out for halloween which was awesome.
Well November obviously saw the election of a new President. What an experience to be able to be in Italy and wait till 5 am to hear about the future of our country for the next four years. I think the Italians cared more about the election than many Americans I know. So the beginning of November saw some very interesting conversations with many Italians, Americans and friends back at home about voting and what was going on in the States. Of course, I sent in my ballot and took my part in the election. I took a nap for a few hours, before waking up at 3:30am to start watching the results of the election. IT was so amazing. As soon as we found out Obama won, my roommates and I had our own little dancing celebration in our room at the wee hours of the morning.
I think the coolest things about this election, was how many people took part in it. Regardless of who people voted for, so many people, especially the younger generation took their part in the voting process. It was awesome to see so many people actualy make educated choices before casting their votes. Majority of Italians were in favor of Obama here, and there was lots of celebrating around election time. I find that those in Europe are often far more educated about our country and government than so many Americans do. It embarassing how much more they know about my own country than I do. It makes you realize how very much sheltered the U.S. is, and how different it is in comparison to other countries. It was nice to get so many other people's perspectives of our country from the outside.
The first weekend in November, 5 of my roommates and I flew to Barcelona, Spain to meet up with a bunch of our friends from SNC. We met up with Katie and Michael again, as well as two of my really close friends, Jenn and Autumn, and two more friends from SNC. It was so fun to have such a big group of new friends, and old friends together having a blast! Jenn and Autumn study in Toledo, Spain, but they informed us that the langauge in Barcelona is actually different than that of the rest of Spain. It is in a providence named Cataluña, where they have both their own language, and are very independent from the rest of Spain.
So after checking into our very nice hostel, we met up with all of the others. It was so cool, because some were from Spain, we were from Florence, some from London, and some from Germany...so there was the uniting of many countries and expereinces. That night we went to a place called the Magic Fountain. There is a large fountain, with tons of smaller fountains leading up to it. The Fountain gets its name because of the water show that accompanys it. The fountain sprays water and changes color to the rhythm of the music that plays with it. It was an amazing show, and they played many American songs that I love! Afterwards, we decided to get some Mexican food, where I had a delicious burrito. A nice change from all the pasta and bread in Italy. We also had some Sangria, which is a very popular drink in Spain. It was good, but extremly strong. All the drinks here are so strong! I am always the last one to finish my drink.
On Saturday, we woke up early to get tickets for teh Barcelona bus tour that we decided to take. Since we were only there really for one full day, we decided there was no way we could take in all the sites if we didn't take a tour. It turned out to be such a great investment, that we decided to take our own little bus tour of Florence this week! We sat on the top of the double decker bus, which was freezing, but well worth it. Before the tour, there was this cute little man sitting with a chess game outside. My roomate Leah, being the crazy photographer that she is, decided to ask if she could take a picture of him. He said yes, and after that, ended up taking a picture of Leah. He seemed to be waiting for someone to play with him, so while we waited for our bus, Jenn played a game with him. It was adorable.
We stopped and got off the bus at a few markets and did some shopping. It was so fun. I got a reversible purse, which was an impulse buy that I really actually enjoy. We got to see a ton of historical sites which were so amazing. We got off at the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi (Jenna, you would have loved it). Gaudi seemed to be everywhere in Barcelona. To me, it seemed like everything was built or made by Gaudi. La Sagrada was absolutely beautiful. It is not actually finished, and he died before it was finished. The money that people pay to go on tours helps to finish the building of it. I have never seen something so majestic and large.
After the touring, we decided we had to do a quick little shopping spree. So we went to the H and M in Barcelona. Loved it! Anyways, I had been itching all day to go see flamenco dancing. So after talking about it all day long, we decided to go see a show. For 30 euro we went to this beautiful theater, that served us a delicious dinner! We were served Sangria (which was not as stong this time) and Paella. Paella is a traditional spanish dish (that Jenn loves and always talks about, so I knew I had to try it). Anyways, I got the one with seafood in it. Boy was it delicious. That was a night of firsts, because I tried calamari, which I actually really like when i didnt think about what I was eating. Along with that, there was a little shrimp like creature which had eyes and everything on it. I actually picked him apart and ate him all up (it was much like your lobster this summer andrea!). The show was AMAZING. Flamenco dancing is such an art and a talent. After we all attempted it on the street afterwards, I decided I was not meant to be a Flamenco dancer.
The next day, we woke up early to leave for home. It was hard to say goodbye to my friend Jenn, because we have never been apart for such a long time, and we were all dealing with a lot of stresses at that time. I want to say hello to the Seidemann family, and let you all know that I love you and miss you all! So it was hard to leave them, but I will see them soon! Jenn mentioned something in one of her posts that her host mother had said to her. "She was talking about how different fruits have better times of the year as opposed to others. But the second time she used it was when we were having a really good conversation about life, people, places - everything. She told me "cada cosa en su momento" which literally translates to "every thing in it's moment" or which more clearly translates to "everything or everyone has it's own moment."
Jenn further went on with her thoughts about this phrase, which were basically that everything in your life, occurs at a particular moment, for a particular reason. I really loved this because it made me really think about how there have been so many things in my life that I have been blessed with, or that I didnt see as a blessing at the time, that occured at moments when they really needed to happen. It also made me remember how lucky and blessed I am to have all these wonderful expereinces.
So besides school, not much happend during the rest of the week. My friend Michael, invited us all to one of his friends house for a party. So Caitlin, Sara and I decided that we would go. We were a little nervous, as we weren't sure what to expect, because I was only friends with Michael and none of his friends. IT turned out to be an amazing time. We went to Michael's friend, Rafellas house, where they had prepared an amazing party complete with food and drinks for us. We met a ton of new friends. Italian, American, Chinese, German...it was awesome! So we finally met some real Italians and had a blast with them. We all ended up going dancing at our usual club, TWICE.
My roomates and I took a day excursion around Florence. We hopped on the bus that we discovered on our way home from barcelona, and rode it across the Arno River to the other side of Florence. We got off at Michaelangelo's lookout. Its a big look out point where you can see all of Florence. We went to a church called San Miniato. Its beautiful, and was so nice to see with my roomies. We then got ready for a party that we were hosting at our apartment. We had had so much fun with Michael and his friends, that we invited them all over. Michael is quite the social butterfly and party man, and he invited all his friends. We thought he would bring all the same ones over, but as I opened the door and saw about 15 new faces, I was pretty surprised. We ended up having an amazing time. We met a ton of Michaels friends that he grew up with from Eritrea, as well as more Italians and Americans. We had so much fun, and ended up goin dancing again! It was a ton of fun.
This past weekend, I went to Rome on our school's field trip. On Friday, I had to go with my women and religion class around Rome. We began by goin to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Church. It was incredibly beautiful. I love going inside churches! The church was begun in 1605 as a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul for the Discalced Carmelites. After the Catholic victory at the battle of White Mountain in 1620, it was reddicated to the Virgin Mary.
We then walked to the Santa Maria maggiore Basilica. It was so amazingly large. While I am not the biggest fan of large ornate churches, because I believe the money should be given instead to those in need, but I do think they are beautiful. I like simplicity rather than extravagence, but I do appreciate the beauty of these churches. This one was from the time of Pope Sixtus !!! (432-440) and had many ancient mosaics from the period. We then stopped at the Trevi Fountain and made our way to the Pantheon. I hadn't gone in the Pantheon the other times I was in Rome, so it was neat to go in there. Then we went to St. Peter's Basilica again. It was nice to get a different tour and perspective from my professor. I got to see different angels of the church with her. I then met up with my roommates to stay at the four star hotel that we paid a ridic. amount of money for (the school chose this hotel), and we had a typical roman dish. It wasn't very good for what we were paying, and I didnt end up eating most of it since it was pork and I dont eat pork (ick).
Saturday morning we woke up and went to the Vatican Musuems for a guided tour. It was much better than the tour that I went on with Justin, and I learned a lot more, and got to see a lot more than the previous time I was there. We also got to spend a good deal of time In Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. It is increidbly beautiful and overwhelming in there. It is amazing to hear about Michelangelo's story and all that he did in his painting. He is so talented. We then went into St. Peter's again where we saw and heard more in detail about the works of Bernin, Michelangelo and Canova (Jenna, you would have been in heaven). We then got to descend into the crytpts and visit the tombs of the Pope. This was the best part for me. I really loved Pope John II, and I got to stay and pray by his tomb for a minute. That was amazing. The rest of the day, we wandered around shopping and eating lunch and what not. I got this amazing small tapestry of Mother Theresa, that I just fell in love with! We went to a lot of local vendors, and had a wonderful day. We once again had dinner at the hotel, and then just hung out. Leah and I talked for a while and watched the soccer game, before I passed out for the night. The two girls I was rooming with went out for the night, so I was all alone for a bit. It was nice to have some peace and alone time for myself for a few hours, as this is hard to find around here. Don't get me wrong, I love my roommates and my friends, sometimes I just like to catch a quiet reflective moment though!
Sunday, I decided to skip the colosseum tour, and go to mass at St. Peter's instead. This was amazing. I sat through the mass in the Basicila, and that was incredible in itself. The best part was that it was in Latin. While I dont know really any Latin, it was amazing to be there, because I still knew everything that was going on (except for what was said in the homily and petitions), but esentially could follow everything. Thats the best part about the unverisal Church! We then went out into the square, and....I saw the Pope. This was pretty amazing, and Oma would have been so excited! So he came to his little window and said a blessing in Italian, and then in English, German (which I taped for Oma), Spanish etc. It was really neat. Then we decided to go to Roman Forum, where we walked around the outside. Morgaine and I decided we didn't want to pay for the Forum, so we instead walked around the outside, which was equally as beautiful. I had already seen the Forum, so it was fine by me. We ended up discovering a monastary up there, and went in this beautiful hidden church. There was no one in there, except for the people that we could no see, chanting some beautiful songs from the back. I wrote a prayer intention and was able to pray for a bit.
All in all, the Rome trip was the best one of the three times that I have been there. I have had such an amazing chance to see it all.
Today, Sara and her boyfriend Brent, who is visitng her here, went to the Santa Croce church. This church is located just behind my apartment, yet I have never been in it yet. It was incredibly beautiful. It is a Franciscan church, and was very simple, but beautifully large at the same time. It was also awesome, because this is where Michelangelo is buried, so I got to see his large tomb. It is adorned with three angels indicating the three types of work he did, painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was really nice.
This week is going to be filled with small day trips around Italy and around Florence. I am super excited, but getitng sad, as we have passed the one month mark of coming home. While I am excited to come home, I also dont want to leave. I had made so many amazing friends here. Friends from Africa, friends from Italy, and friends that I will bring home with me. Friends that I will see, if not that often, again in America. LAJ, Leah, Morgaine, Sara, Trace, Caitlin, Faith...my roomates, have made this experience so amazing. They are so dear to me, and it will be difficult to leave them, knowing we will never have this same opportunity to be together again in Florence as we have been now. I am goin to be so sad, leaving friends I have made here in Florence, and not being able to just got out and dance with my Italian friends, or invite them over to dinner or a party. That will be difficult. My life is definately changed, and it is goign to be hard to come back to America. I am not the same person that I am as I left. I have grown so much here. I have become a more cultured person. I have opend myself up to so many new things. I have made friends from all over the world. I have grown spiritually. And most of all, I have realized a lot of things about myself while here. I have realized who the person is that I want to be, and how I want to live out my life. And that is something that I will have with me forever. So while I don't want to leave, I know that I will carry this experience with me forever.
I was talkin to my friend Tom from home the other day. We had an amazing talk, about faith, God and growing, and he helped me realize how much I have been blessed with. The amazing friends and experiences I have here. Then I remembered this quote: "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” I am learning how to master the counting of my blessings. I am blessed with so many things. My family amazing parents, my wonderful sisters (Ang, Bay, Em, Miracle, Monasia), my amazing friends from home ( I can't name them all, but I want to thank Nicole, Jenna, Jenn espeically for all the support you have given me these past couple of months), all my friends abroad, my new friends, all the experiences I have been blessed with, the chance to study abroad and travel all over, and all the amazing things God has put in my life. So as my time is getting near to an end here, I just wanted to thank all of you, because everyone reading this has played a part in my life, and allowing me to become a better person. From my extended family all the way to my grade school teachers that I know have read this, I love you all.
Amy
The first week of November, my new friend Katie, and my friend Michael from SNC came and stayed with us for a few days. It was really nice to have them here. We celebrated halloween, by making a huge feast. Complete with everything from eye ball deviled eggs, to carmel apples, to bug juice punch. It was so much fun. It was my roommates, plus Katie and Michael, and we just had our own little celebration. We all dressed up and had a dance party and just hung out. It was a ton of fun! Halloween obviously isn't a big celebration here, but we did see many places decked out for halloween which was awesome.
Well November obviously saw the election of a new President. What an experience to be able to be in Italy and wait till 5 am to hear about the future of our country for the next four years. I think the Italians cared more about the election than many Americans I know. So the beginning of November saw some very interesting conversations with many Italians, Americans and friends back at home about voting and what was going on in the States. Of course, I sent in my ballot and took my part in the election. I took a nap for a few hours, before waking up at 3:30am to start watching the results of the election. IT was so amazing. As soon as we found out Obama won, my roommates and I had our own little dancing celebration in our room at the wee hours of the morning.
I think the coolest things about this election, was how many people took part in it. Regardless of who people voted for, so many people, especially the younger generation took their part in the voting process. It was awesome to see so many people actualy make educated choices before casting their votes. Majority of Italians were in favor of Obama here, and there was lots of celebrating around election time. I find that those in Europe are often far more educated about our country and government than so many Americans do. It embarassing how much more they know about my own country than I do. It makes you realize how very much sheltered the U.S. is, and how different it is in comparison to other countries. It was nice to get so many other people's perspectives of our country from the outside.
The first weekend in November, 5 of my roommates and I flew to Barcelona, Spain to meet up with a bunch of our friends from SNC. We met up with Katie and Michael again, as well as two of my really close friends, Jenn and Autumn, and two more friends from SNC. It was so fun to have such a big group of new friends, and old friends together having a blast! Jenn and Autumn study in Toledo, Spain, but they informed us that the langauge in Barcelona is actually different than that of the rest of Spain. It is in a providence named Cataluña, where they have both their own language, and are very independent from the rest of Spain.
So after checking into our very nice hostel, we met up with all of the others. It was so cool, because some were from Spain, we were from Florence, some from London, and some from Germany...so there was the uniting of many countries and expereinces. That night we went to a place called the Magic Fountain. There is a large fountain, with tons of smaller fountains leading up to it. The Fountain gets its name because of the water show that accompanys it. The fountain sprays water and changes color to the rhythm of the music that plays with it. It was an amazing show, and they played many American songs that I love! Afterwards, we decided to get some Mexican food, where I had a delicious burrito. A nice change from all the pasta and bread in Italy. We also had some Sangria, which is a very popular drink in Spain. It was good, but extremly strong. All the drinks here are so strong! I am always the last one to finish my drink.
On Saturday, we woke up early to get tickets for teh Barcelona bus tour that we decided to take. Since we were only there really for one full day, we decided there was no way we could take in all the sites if we didn't take a tour. It turned out to be such a great investment, that we decided to take our own little bus tour of Florence this week! We sat on the top of the double decker bus, which was freezing, but well worth it. Before the tour, there was this cute little man sitting with a chess game outside. My roomate Leah, being the crazy photographer that she is, decided to ask if she could take a picture of him. He said yes, and after that, ended up taking a picture of Leah. He seemed to be waiting for someone to play with him, so while we waited for our bus, Jenn played a game with him. It was adorable.
We stopped and got off the bus at a few markets and did some shopping. It was so fun. I got a reversible purse, which was an impulse buy that I really actually enjoy. We got to see a ton of historical sites which were so amazing. We got off at the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi (Jenna, you would have loved it). Gaudi seemed to be everywhere in Barcelona. To me, it seemed like everything was built or made by Gaudi. La Sagrada was absolutely beautiful. It is not actually finished, and he died before it was finished. The money that people pay to go on tours helps to finish the building of it. I have never seen something so majestic and large.
After the touring, we decided we had to do a quick little shopping spree. So we went to the H and M in Barcelona. Loved it! Anyways, I had been itching all day to go see flamenco dancing. So after talking about it all day long, we decided to go see a show. For 30 euro we went to this beautiful theater, that served us a delicious dinner! We were served Sangria (which was not as stong this time) and Paella. Paella is a traditional spanish dish (that Jenn loves and always talks about, so I knew I had to try it). Anyways, I got the one with seafood in it. Boy was it delicious. That was a night of firsts, because I tried calamari, which I actually really like when i didnt think about what I was eating. Along with that, there was a little shrimp like creature which had eyes and everything on it. I actually picked him apart and ate him all up (it was much like your lobster this summer andrea!). The show was AMAZING. Flamenco dancing is such an art and a talent. After we all attempted it on the street afterwards, I decided I was not meant to be a Flamenco dancer.
The next day, we woke up early to leave for home. It was hard to say goodbye to my friend Jenn, because we have never been apart for such a long time, and we were all dealing with a lot of stresses at that time. I want to say hello to the Seidemann family, and let you all know that I love you and miss you all! So it was hard to leave them, but I will see them soon! Jenn mentioned something in one of her posts that her host mother had said to her. "She was talking about how different fruits have better times of the year as opposed to others. But the second time she used it was when we were having a really good conversation about life, people, places - everything. She told me "cada cosa en su momento" which literally translates to "every thing in it's moment" or which more clearly translates to "everything or everyone has it's own moment."
Jenn further went on with her thoughts about this phrase, which were basically that everything in your life, occurs at a particular moment, for a particular reason. I really loved this because it made me really think about how there have been so many things in my life that I have been blessed with, or that I didnt see as a blessing at the time, that occured at moments when they really needed to happen. It also made me remember how lucky and blessed I am to have all these wonderful expereinces.
So besides school, not much happend during the rest of the week. My friend Michael, invited us all to one of his friends house for a party. So Caitlin, Sara and I decided that we would go. We were a little nervous, as we weren't sure what to expect, because I was only friends with Michael and none of his friends. IT turned out to be an amazing time. We went to Michael's friend, Rafellas house, where they had prepared an amazing party complete with food and drinks for us. We met a ton of new friends. Italian, American, Chinese, German...it was awesome! So we finally met some real Italians and had a blast with them. We all ended up going dancing at our usual club, TWICE.
My roomates and I took a day excursion around Florence. We hopped on the bus that we discovered on our way home from barcelona, and rode it across the Arno River to the other side of Florence. We got off at Michaelangelo's lookout. Its a big look out point where you can see all of Florence. We went to a church called San Miniato. Its beautiful, and was so nice to see with my roomies. We then got ready for a party that we were hosting at our apartment. We had had so much fun with Michael and his friends, that we invited them all over. Michael is quite the social butterfly and party man, and he invited all his friends. We thought he would bring all the same ones over, but as I opened the door and saw about 15 new faces, I was pretty surprised. We ended up having an amazing time. We met a ton of Michaels friends that he grew up with from Eritrea, as well as more Italians and Americans. We had so much fun, and ended up goin dancing again! It was a ton of fun.
This past weekend, I went to Rome on our school's field trip. On Friday, I had to go with my women and religion class around Rome. We began by goin to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Church. It was incredibly beautiful. I love going inside churches! The church was begun in 1605 as a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul for the Discalced Carmelites. After the Catholic victory at the battle of White Mountain in 1620, it was reddicated to the Virgin Mary.
We then walked to the Santa Maria maggiore Basilica. It was so amazingly large. While I am not the biggest fan of large ornate churches, because I believe the money should be given instead to those in need, but I do think they are beautiful. I like simplicity rather than extravagence, but I do appreciate the beauty of these churches. This one was from the time of Pope Sixtus !!! (432-440) and had many ancient mosaics from the period. We then stopped at the Trevi Fountain and made our way to the Pantheon. I hadn't gone in the Pantheon the other times I was in Rome, so it was neat to go in there. Then we went to St. Peter's Basilica again. It was nice to get a different tour and perspective from my professor. I got to see different angels of the church with her. I then met up with my roommates to stay at the four star hotel that we paid a ridic. amount of money for (the school chose this hotel), and we had a typical roman dish. It wasn't very good for what we were paying, and I didnt end up eating most of it since it was pork and I dont eat pork (ick).
Saturday morning we woke up and went to the Vatican Musuems for a guided tour. It was much better than the tour that I went on with Justin, and I learned a lot more, and got to see a lot more than the previous time I was there. We also got to spend a good deal of time In Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. It is increidbly beautiful and overwhelming in there. It is amazing to hear about Michelangelo's story and all that he did in his painting. He is so talented. We then went into St. Peter's again where we saw and heard more in detail about the works of Bernin, Michelangelo and Canova (Jenna, you would have been in heaven). We then got to descend into the crytpts and visit the tombs of the Pope. This was the best part for me. I really loved Pope John II, and I got to stay and pray by his tomb for a minute. That was amazing. The rest of the day, we wandered around shopping and eating lunch and what not. I got this amazing small tapestry of Mother Theresa, that I just fell in love with! We went to a lot of local vendors, and had a wonderful day. We once again had dinner at the hotel, and then just hung out. Leah and I talked for a while and watched the soccer game, before I passed out for the night. The two girls I was rooming with went out for the night, so I was all alone for a bit. It was nice to have some peace and alone time for myself for a few hours, as this is hard to find around here. Don't get me wrong, I love my roommates and my friends, sometimes I just like to catch a quiet reflective moment though!
Sunday, I decided to skip the colosseum tour, and go to mass at St. Peter's instead. This was amazing. I sat through the mass in the Basicila, and that was incredible in itself. The best part was that it was in Latin. While I dont know really any Latin, it was amazing to be there, because I still knew everything that was going on (except for what was said in the homily and petitions), but esentially could follow everything. Thats the best part about the unverisal Church! We then went out into the square, and....I saw the Pope. This was pretty amazing, and Oma would have been so excited! So he came to his little window and said a blessing in Italian, and then in English, German (which I taped for Oma), Spanish etc. It was really neat. Then we decided to go to Roman Forum, where we walked around the outside. Morgaine and I decided we didn't want to pay for the Forum, so we instead walked around the outside, which was equally as beautiful. I had already seen the Forum, so it was fine by me. We ended up discovering a monastary up there, and went in this beautiful hidden church. There was no one in there, except for the people that we could no see, chanting some beautiful songs from the back. I wrote a prayer intention and was able to pray for a bit.
All in all, the Rome trip was the best one of the three times that I have been there. I have had such an amazing chance to see it all.
Today, Sara and her boyfriend Brent, who is visitng her here, went to the Santa Croce church. This church is located just behind my apartment, yet I have never been in it yet. It was incredibly beautiful. It is a Franciscan church, and was very simple, but beautifully large at the same time. It was also awesome, because this is where Michelangelo is buried, so I got to see his large tomb. It is adorned with three angels indicating the three types of work he did, painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was really nice.
This week is going to be filled with small day trips around Italy and around Florence. I am super excited, but getitng sad, as we have passed the one month mark of coming home. While I am excited to come home, I also dont want to leave. I had made so many amazing friends here. Friends from Africa, friends from Italy, and friends that I will bring home with me. Friends that I will see, if not that often, again in America. LAJ, Leah, Morgaine, Sara, Trace, Caitlin, Faith...my roomates, have made this experience so amazing. They are so dear to me, and it will be difficult to leave them, knowing we will never have this same opportunity to be together again in Florence as we have been now. I am goin to be so sad, leaving friends I have made here in Florence, and not being able to just got out and dance with my Italian friends, or invite them over to dinner or a party. That will be difficult. My life is definately changed, and it is goign to be hard to come back to America. I am not the same person that I am as I left. I have grown so much here. I have become a more cultured person. I have opend myself up to so many new things. I have made friends from all over the world. I have grown spiritually. And most of all, I have realized a lot of things about myself while here. I have realized who the person is that I want to be, and how I want to live out my life. And that is something that I will have with me forever. So while I don't want to leave, I know that I will carry this experience with me forever.
I was talkin to my friend Tom from home the other day. We had an amazing talk, about faith, God and growing, and he helped me realize how much I have been blessed with. The amazing friends and experiences I have here. Then I remembered this quote: "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” I am learning how to master the counting of my blessings. I am blessed with so many things. My family amazing parents, my wonderful sisters (Ang, Bay, Em, Miracle, Monasia), my amazing friends from home ( I can't name them all, but I want to thank Nicole, Jenna, Jenn espeically for all the support you have given me these past couple of months), all my friends abroad, my new friends, all the experiences I have been blessed with, the chance to study abroad and travel all over, and all the amazing things God has put in my life. So as my time is getting near to an end here, I just wanted to thank all of you, because everyone reading this has played a part in my life, and allowing me to become a better person. From my extended family all the way to my grade school teachers that I know have read this, I love you all.
Amy
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