The End

"Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it."
- Cesare Parese

Well, this is going to be my last post.

It has been an unbelievable and life changing adventure ... none of which I thought I would be able to encounter. Words can't describe how much I have enjoyed this trip and I can't even to begin to describe my feelings towards everything I have experienced. None of it could have been done though without the amazing backing of my family and friends, and of course the immense amount of strength that I gained from God.

A couple days ago, I was in Barcelona. I went with Elyse and we spent some much needed time in the sun. The architecture of Barcelona blew my mind and I absolutely loved the city. It was hard to leave Elyse though, knowing that I was parting from this new amazing friend and not knowing when I would see her again. That has become the hardest part about traveling for me ... meeting so many incredible people and most likely, never seeing them again. I wish I could have kept all the guardian angels that I came across.

My last trip, and where I am now for a couple more hours, was Salzburg. Salzburg was my Grandmother's favorite place in the world. Perhaps it was because of the breathtaking scenery, the Edelweiss flower she so adored, or even the memories of the Sound of Music. Whichever the case, I had to come to Salzburg to be with my Gramere. I felt her and I saw her everywhere ... in the Alps, in the flowers, in the people, and all throughout the hikes I took through the city. Salzburg was everything I dreamed it would be and I am so saddened that I can't spend more time here. I did stay an extra day though instead of trying to pack in Vienna as well ... so now I just have another excuse to come back to Europe and of course, Austria.

I have so many emotions right now just thinking about going back to Roma for a couple days because that means I am only less than a week away from going home. If any of you have seen the movie Almost Famous you will know how I feel. Remember at the end when William has to go home? You know he doesn't want to leave but at the same time he knows home is where he belongs and he knows it's calling him back. Remember the part when he comes home and just collapses onto his bed because he is too tired to even process what he has just been through? That's how I feel right now. Maybe it's just an excuse to compare my life to my favorite movie but in any case, that's how my life can be summed up right now.

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog. However, if any of you would like some true entertainment, please read my friend's blog. Make sure you start at the beginning because her trip was a semester long adventure as well. www.christineprice.blogspot.com

You are loved and prayed for,
Kaitlin

"Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters wit the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and the bottomless cruelty of human kind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever againbe black and white."
- Mark Jenkins

"At least God doesn't think He's Bono"

Erin go bragh!

Well I am in Dublin ... leaving in a couple hours for Barcelona! :)

I spent about 2 days in Galway, and it was amazing. I loved it. It was a pretty small town along the coast, but it's the 3rd largest city in Ireland. I went on a bus/walking tour that took a whole day. The tour dropped you off on a farm in the Burren mountains. John took us on a tour through the mountains and his farm. He majored in Irish History and came back to his family farm to give tours and help out his family. Ireland, until the 1990s, was mainly a farming country and many families used to be only substinence farmers. It was amazing to just see the country side and the Irish farms. It was beautiful. Green and cows everywhere ... so different from Roma.

The tour also went to the Cliffs of Moher. Holy shit. Beautiful. Just one of those places I never thought I would actually see and the pictures won't serve it justice. The craziest part was watching all of the surfers 200 meters down in some of the largest waves in the world.

On the tour, there was actually a girl from Notre Dame that had been at John Cabot. Neither of us knew we would be in Galway so it was really fun to run into her. I went with her and a couple of other people I met on the bus tour to a pub that night. I had my 2 pints of Guinness and yes, it does taste different and better in Ireland.

On Friday I made it to Dublin pretty early in the day and just walked around the city a bit. I went to the Jameson Distillery (which should be Whiskey History's new headquarters) and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I wish I had more time to explore, but I spent an extra day in Galway which I actually enjoyed a lot better.

Anyways, more to come later. Wish me luck on remembering all my Spanish. The Italian may be mixed in there a bit!

You are loved and prayed for,
Kaitlin

p.s. Sorry, I won't be able to upload anymore pictures on this site and picasa. I am at my quota and they want to charge me money to put up more. I'll show them all when I get home though for anyone that's interested!

"There's such a lot of world to see"

Hello!

Okay, so I am in Galway.
Rome ended on Saturday. It was some kind of cruel joke that my finals finished 5:30 on Thursday night and then I had to leave by noon on Saturday. We had to be out. Went out to dinner both Thursday and Friday nights with the roomies. On Friday, we went to Villa Borghese and had a good going away siesta. I miss everyone already. It was a lot harder to leave than I thought it would be. I left this amazing odd-ball family behind and one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. I am so looking forward to going back before I head home.

Anyways, I left for London on Saturday with Elyse. We made it to London and through the tube without directions from the hostel. Yes, applause is okay ... I will allow it. We saw anything and everything, and the blisters on my feet can prove it. London was amazing. I loved every minute of it. I may have to move back. On one of the nights, one of my family friends, Tom Boyd, took us around for the day and to see Billy Elliot on London's Broadway. It was an amazing show, but as Elyse said, the UK must not have child labor laws for the amount of work those kids must be doing.

Some highlights:
-Minding the gap
-London Eye
-Thames
-Globe Theatre
-Big Ben
-Westminster Abbey
-Trafalgar Square
-National Gallery
-Portrait Museum (with a Dylan exhibit)
-Double decker bus tour
-Tower of London
-London Bridge
-St. James and St. Paul's Churches
-Irish pub
-Abbey Road
-Notting Hill
-St. Jame's Park
-Buckingham Palace - and changing of the guard (yes, Mom, I have video)
-Being broke and loving every minute of it

Today, I arrived in Galway. I traveled all day ... flew to Dublin and then took the 3 hour bus to Galway. Tomorrow I am going on a tour to the Cliffs of Moher. Yes, I love my life too. Also, other funny thing ... they pronounce my name KAtlin. Those of you that know, will understand the irony.


I am home in 2 weeks! Weird!
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now ... "

You are all loved and prayed for,
Kaitlin

Why Can't We Give Love that One More Chance?

Ciao!

I officially only have 2 weeks left in Roma. Where did the time go? Seriously! None of us are ready to leave, and the roommates and I often find ourselves talking about how depressed we are to be leaving. The other day my Macroeconomics professor tried to be funny by saying, "I thought of you kids today. Just when it's really nice out, you kids have your final exams. Spring in Rome is the best." So cruel! We're all trying to absorb Rome as much as possible though ... but our final exams and term papers have perfect timing. I'm just happy that after traveling through Europe, I'll be able to come back to Rome and have a couple of days to take it all in again before heading back to the States.

Last weekend I went to Assisi. It was beautiful. It's in Umbria, just to the east of Toscana. I was able to see St. Francis' Basilica, St. Claire's (which has the cross that Jesus used to first talk to St. Francis), and I hiked up to this old castle. The view was breathtaking ... mountains and fields of green and gold.

In another news, Christine Price was in Rome for a couple of days. It was so much fun to be with her again and experience the sarcastic humor that I had missed so much. I must say, I did enjoy showing her St. Peter's Square and making her eat some of the best tiramasu in the city.

Our Italian class had a really interesting conversation with our Professor (Gina) the other day. Gina, who is from Florence, does not enjoy Rome. She has been really interesting to talk to about Italy because she lived in New York City for 10 years. She loves Americans, she loves our culture, and she misses the U.S. Coming from a classthat is not used to hearing not the nicest things about Americans, it was really refreshing. Gina also told us that she would never date an Italian, and she actually came to the States becaue of her American boyfriend. She shared this commercial with our class the other day, too ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e64NGmNrhg. We guessed that this one wouldn't go over so well back home.

As many of you know, Wednesday was Earth Day. National Geographic actually sponsored a free concert in Rome at Piazza del Popolo where BEN HARPER played. He is one of my favorites so it was unbelievable to see him. Highlight = Ben Harper's cover of Under Pressure. The concert was a lot of fun ... except for the mosh pit that erupted when the crowd went absolutely crazy for an Italian opening act.


















Anyways, that about sums up the past two weeks. Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring weather at home! You are loved and prayed for, Kaitlin

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways,
the point, however, is to change it." - Karl Marx

Earthquakes and Pasqua

Hey all!

So a bit to catch up on. I am sure you are all aware that there was an earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy last Wednesday on the 8th. The earthquake was in the Abruzzo region of Italy, and the neighbor of Rome's region of Lazio. Rome is actually around 117 km away from Rome, and the earthquake could be felt all the way over to my apartment. The earthquake was in the middle of the night and I did not wake up to it, compared to some of my roommates. Over the past week, there have been numerous aftershocks from the earthquake and I have felt a couple of them in Rome. I live on the top floor of my apartment, so when an aftershock hits, it feels like you are on a sailboat rocking in 5 foot ways. It's the most surreal feeling. Everything is okay in Rome though, compared to L'Aquila and its surrounding cities. Thousands upon thousands are homeless and over 200 people have died. It's been a really chilling experience being so close to the earthquake. One of my friends, Matteo, has a family house in Abruzzo and his family had to make a trip to check out their house. There are cracks on the walls and ceilings, and they will probably have to do repairs. John Cabot is doing their part though and are holding clothing and food drives. I scrounged around for a couple of shirts, a toothbrush still in the package, two pair of shoes I never wear, and soup that I had't eaten yet.

On brighter news, I went to Easter mass at St. Peter's on Sunday. So incredible. Mass was at 10:15AM, but my roommate, Abby, and I left at 7AM to get in line. We were able to get seats in the front section and were as close to Pope Benedict as we could possibly be. Mass ended up being two hours long and was said in a multitude of languages. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in seats, standing in the square, and standing along Via della Conciliazione (the street leading up to the Vatican). My favorite part of the day was a little boy yelling, "Ciao Dio!" (hi God) at the beginning of mass. Oh, and of course, the gelato from Old Bridge that I haven't been able to have since Lent began.

Other events from the weekend:
- Going to a restruarant, called "Wanted", with friends. We laughed at the name.
- Seeing the Colosseum at night.
- Napping in St. Peter's Square. Which also means getting scolded by the police.
- Sharing a ginormous chocolate easter egg with roommates.
- Scheduling for my Senior year. Yes, I think I may be graduating on time.
- Talking to Amadeaus (the pizza guy) about how us girls are only here for 1 more month. It was a sad, sad conversation. He still has to take me on a vespa ride ... adding it to the "to-do" list.

Hope everyone had a good Easter.
Buona Pasqua! You are loved and prayed for, Kaitlin

So it's been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened. It's hard to think back and remember everything that I want to share. Here goes ...

My Mom was here for two weeks and came for my Spring Break. It was amazing having her here and I now know that the highlight of this semester was seeing the joy come from my Mom's face once we reached Tuscany. My Mom and I spent the week of SB in Siena and Montepulciano. Siena was everything I thought it would be and more. The highlight of the trip was visiting the scala where the Siena hospital used to be in the 1300s-1500s. St. Catherine of Siena worked at the hospital and we visited the sacristy and chapel she prayed in, which was underground. It was a really moving experience and I am so appreciative that my Mom and I were able to pray where one of my favorite Saints once prayed as well.

For one of the days during the week, my Mom and I took a day trip to Florence. Florence has been one of the places that both of us have wanted to visit, but the day didn't turn out exactly as we planned. My Mom's credit card was not working, it was raining, the top of the Duomo was closed, and the most famous painting in the Uffizi Art Gallery was on a tour. But all my Mom and I could do was laugh. We had a really good time, even with all the ups and downs of the day.

During the second part of SB, we traveled to Montepulciano. Montepulciano is known for it's wine, Vino Nobile. Vino Nobile is the famous wine made in the town by the Contucci family for hundreds and hundreds of years. The Contucci family leaves their wine cellar open for people to look around and taste test, and we were able to meet the current owner ... an amazingly kind, old, Italian man. He had so much joy, so of course, we ended up shipping some of the wine home.

My Mom and I definitely got used to the relaxed atmosphere of Tuscany, so Roma seemed more chaotic than ever once I came back after Spring Break. I was blessed enough to have my Mom in Rome for five days and I was able to show her all of the sites. When we went to the Vatican on Monday, we were able to go on the Scavi tour which goes underneath St. Peter's Basilica where the Pagan Romans had built their necropolis. We were able to tour underground, see the necropolis, and the highlight at the end which was the tomb of St. Peter. It was an unbelievable tour.

On the last day my Mom was here, we went to San Giovanni, which is the most holy site in all of Rome. The church was built by Constantine and was the first church where Christians could worship. St. Helena, Constantine's mother, eventually brought the marble stairs from the palace of Pontius Pilate to the church. The 28 marble stairs are believed to be the stairs the Jesus climbed up and down the day he was crucified. The stairs are now covered with wood, but there are holes where you can peek through to see the original marble, stained with Jesus' blood. People now make pilgrimages to the church and it is required that you ascend the stairs on your knees, while saying a prayer on each step. My Mom and I were able to climb the stairs on our knees and it was unbelievable and humbling experience.

There is so much more I should talk about but it's hard to summarize how amazing the past two weeks have been. I am sure my Mom will have stories for all of you at home as well. Anyways, I only have a couple more weeks of class, but I'm trying not to think about the little time left I have in Roma. Next weekend I am going to Easter mass at the Vatican and I cannot wait.

Hope all is well at home.
You are loved and prayed for,
Kaitlin

GO GREEN!!!

"Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence."
-Papa Giovanni Paolo II

"I know the heart of life is good"

Hi!

Updates from Rome:
Spring Break starts this Friday. I cannot wait! My mom is coming and it will be an amazing, much needed break from classes. In other news ...

As the Romans do:
- My roommate is dating an Italian, Matteo, who I love. He is so much fun and is really helpful when trying to learn Italian. He was appalled that I like to go running outside and that I enjoy peanut butter and apples. Italians also have a hard time saying my name, so Matteo always says, "Ciao Caaaiiilllann!"
- Italy is kind of racist! Was not aware of the extent until I began reading articles, hearing stories, etc. My PoliSci prof recently informed us that Italy passed a law where foreign born and Italian born students cannot be taught in the same classroom during primary school. There is also a lot of tension in the north between Italians and those of Middle East or Muslim descent. The mayor of Torino explained, "We don't want them here, so why would we build mosques?"
- Picture this: 65 degrees, sunny, gorgeous day! I am, of course, wearing flip flops and no jacket. Italians, on the other hand, are still wearing their fur coats and boots!

Italians still entertain me and I find a new reason to love them and be fascinated by them on a daily basis.

Other important things:
This past weekend I was in Paris with my friend, Ally, from back home! Ally is studying abroad in France and we met up in Paris for the weekend. We have both known each other since kindergarten and it was great to be with a friend from home.

On Friday, I left for Paris at 7am and was at the Louvre by 12:30. I stayed for 2 hours (not as long as I would have liked) but saw all the paintings I had been dying to see for so long. Da Vinci in person! Woah! I also went to the Musee d'Orsay which I actually enjoyed more than the Louvre. It's an impressionist museum and I saw all of my favorite artists ... Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse. It was amazing. I cried when I saw Degas' "Tiny Ballerina" in person, which has been one of my favorites since I was little. That night, Ally and I went to the Eiffel tower with a bottle of wine and baguettes. We were very classy Americans.

On Saturday, we had a full day. We headed back to the Eiffel tower again and went all the way to the top. Dad, I really don't think you could have handled it. I was getting nervous on the elevator up to the top. But the view was totally worth it and it was so much fun to actually be at the top of the Eiffel tower! After, we went to the Arch de Triumph. The Arch de Triumph is in the center of a traffic circle where (I believe) 12 lanes merge. There are no traffic lights, no stop signs, and no lanes. It's a free-for-all and was very entertaining to watch. We also spent a lot of time walking around Paris and taking in the sights. We eventually made our way to Notre Dame. I was actually able to go to Confession at Notre Dame (!!) and the Priest had studied in Rome. It was fun to talk to him and he gave me a lot of advice and information that I needed to hear.

On Sunday we went to the Peter-Lachaise Cemetery (the most visited cemetery in the world). It was huge, beautiful, and full of gothic and eccentric tombstones. Ally and I were able to see Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and Jim Morrison's tombstones! I actually saw Jim Morrison's tombstone, which was something I had to do before I cam back to the States. There were also a lot of tombstones dedicated to those that had died at Concentration Camps during World War II. They actually had a tombstone dedicated to the victims of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp, which was the camp I visited while in Germany. Later on Sunday, we went to see Sacre-Coeur and walked around Montmarte. Ally and I even bumped into the grocery market from the movie Amelie!

That about sums up the weekend. It really was an amazing time and I am so happy I was able to go. Probably won't update again for another two weeks, but hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather!

You are loved and prayed for,
Kait


"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with somebody else when you're uncool." - Lester Bangs, Almost Famous

And for all those kids without facebook ... here are my pics,
http://picasaweb.google.com/kait2311/CiaoBella#