Florida 2K13 Old Age Spring Break

On the plane to Flordia to surprise grandma for her 80th birthday. Sounds pretty simple right? 

Our family, crazy as it may be planned ahead. My grandpa told Helen that he was having a party for her at their condo building, and that she couldn't be around, my uncle Jim was going to go in the day before, help with all of the party prep, and then my mom, sisters, aunts and I were going to fly in and surprise her at the party. Cute idea. I feel like I've read a book about it. Seen the romcom. 

Life isn't always a romcom, but it is a postcard. 

While I was at work Thursday it started to downpour, my uncle was already at the airport. His first flight was cancelled, then his second, finally he was supposed to get out very late Thursday night. That got cancelled, and the one and only Teri Jorwic went to get him from the airport, he came back to our house and we tried to get him on a new flight. 5 hours later nearing midnight Nicole finally (after mistakenly booking him on a flight two days later)  re booked his flight for very early the next morning before ours. I sent him a text and planned to drop him at the airport the next morning. We got up and got going, ready having lost 3 trip members to flooded basements. 

We got in the car at 515 and headed to Ohare- the highway was flooded and so were most of the roads in town. 40 minutes later we gave up and went back to the house and all left together with aunt nancy, who didn't have her boarding pass. Matt was driving us, and went all over Chicago trying to connect to Ohare around the flights. In the mean time half of our flights were cancelled, and then re booked so they were all on the same flight out-they were going to make it. 

Nancy and my flight was still on time- miraculously- but was departing in 37 minutes, we were still 10 minutes away from the airport. Meanwhile, grandpa was freaking out and everyone was getting calls about flooded basements and waste water.  We got out of our illustrious carriage at 8:12 for our 8:35 flight. We couldn't get aunt Nancy's boarding pass at a kiosk since the flight was so soon, we got in line and for some reason I didn't push through the line. Fail. 

We got there and he said that since our flight wasn't late there was nothing we could do except for get on the 2:15 flight hours later. Right as I was rationalizing the purchase and pulling out my wallet, our little home girl came up and put our guy in his plate.  She asked if we were already checked in, I had my boarding pass and aunt nancy had been checked in but didn't have her pass (Props Aunt T).  We got Nanus boarding pass and went towards security. 

This time I don't give a single fuck about what people thought. I cut right to the front of the security line, saying I had a flight that was departing in 12 minutes Andy grandma was 80 today. No resistance from the guy at the front of the line, so I made nanu go in front of me who was hilariously cute and flustered apologizing for my lack of fucks given. We made it through security and literally ran through Ohare. So "Home Alone" it hurt. Ohare and all, and of course we were the last gate. 

I must say my trendy four wheel bag came in quite handy. Me and my marathoner aunt made it the damn gate and got on our damn flight. HOLY SHIT. 

Talked to the contingent waiting for their 10:30 flight current ground crew is booking me and nanu a rental car and sending me a list of the cheap wine and other Costco necessities for the party. Lets be real, Aunt Nancy and I are going to tear up that Costco and get it all done. Her 5 foot frame owns a Mini Cooper sized Costco cart weekly, and I've been training to be a house husband since I was 8 years old. 

All more than happy to do it for our Chickie, ill let you know how it goes. 

6 Months Out

It's officially been six months since I left Rome.

For about 4 and a half of those months, talking about Rome made me sad, although I knew how much fun I had, and what an amazing opportunity it had been, but I couldn't help but be sad about it. Sad about friends I missed, unique opportunities I thought I wouldn't have again.

A lot has gone on in the 6 months since I've left Rome. I started a job that I love, that took over my summer that I loved every second of. I became a senior in college, and I moved into an apartment by myself without any furniture, and my (nonverbal) brother outed me at his birthday dinner (long funny story).

Although I was back home, surrounded by those that I love, working in a job I couldn't get enough of, I was always a little sad, low grade depression, I felt like that awkward ball from the depression commercial. I would sit and think of all of the fun I had, doing nothing at all. It wasn't a cute look.

Finally school started, and all of my friends were back in town, and classes started up again, which proved to be a challenge between my already busy work and social calendar, I was able to reconnect with my friends from Roma, and begin to get the hell over myself.

I've begun having a lot of fun, mixed with super boring nights in, asleep by 10:00 because I am le tired. My irrational "depression" finally lifted and I finally started doing things I love again. I randomly walk around neighborhoods, and started remembering what it was like to explore a new area, living in a city of so many. I felt like Colleen was back in my head telling me to do fun things, and get out of the IC.

Thank god I got over it, and am having darn good time, more blogs still to come. Thank god I finally realized that life is still a postcard.

From the Plane: Round 2.

As I look back at my first blog from the plane, I realize what a

little punk I was when I was leaving. I mean, of course I still stand

by my assertion that I didn't need to find myself but to sit and take

the time to think, but everything else about it was just garbage.

Having left, finished studying abroad, and all that comes with it, I

can honestly say studying abroad was the time of my life. MISSION

ACCOMPLISHED: GO ME.

But in all seriousness, Im sitting on a plane home next to some hot

mess girls from John Cabbot who keep screaming through their tears "I

don't know how I'm going to go on" I pretty much feel the same, I just

don't have anyone to cry to, nor am I still drunk from last night.

(I'm guessing from her slider speech, and inside out forever 21

shirt).

I leave Rome having taken more than my fair share of memories. I

didn't say no to anything, I have no regrets and I am happy to say it

was the best time of my life. Although I am going to call myself out

for a few things.

How the hell did I write in my first blog that "I had to make this

experience for myself" having been through it, I know that I had such

a small part in my happiness that it is laughable. The campus, all of

the SLA's, Mike, and everyone I met made me happy, gave me the time

and experiences that made this semester unforgettable.

Ireland; wait, really

We got to Ireland in the late morning flying into Dublin. We got
directly on a bus and headed out for Galway, where we were staying
that night. We got in in the afternoon and got settled in, notably
exhausted from the crazy day of tours the day before and the 8 hours
of travel. We posted up in the lounge and took a lot of advantage of
the hostels free coffee machine. When we finally got out of there it
was dinner time so we walked around saw a couple sights and tried for
more food. We got a recommendation, but it ended up being more
expensive than we wanted. The pound had kicked our asses the days
before. Some locals spotted us very desperate and let us in on their
favorite place, the cellar.

We got there, and were met by Jesse. Quite possibly the nicest person
any of us have ever met. She told us things to do, and recommended
some great beers and food. Plus she was hilarious. I'm jelaous of
people in the UK Becuase they can be completely crude but it's okay
Becuase they have a cute accent and everyone does it. Unfair. Our
dinner went on for almost three hours; turns out you can take the
students out of Italy, but you can't take the Italy out of the
students.

After we went places Jesse and "Patrick" at the hostel told us to go.
We stated at a huge pub whose name I can't remember, I'll check my
bank statement (eeek) and get back to you. It was big, full of Irish
people and had a love band that people were up jiggin to. It was quite
the scene. Then in walks the one and only Anne Bottaro. She happened
to be in town with her family and clearly we had to meet up. It was
great to see her, and to celebrate may day with her; plus she bought
me a Guiness, all things coming up Luke.

To end the night we all went to "the silent disco". It sounded crazy
but ended up being 5 of the best euro I've spent in the last few
months. Everyone got headphones and no music was played traditionally,
there were two DJ's you could select from the  headphones and at least
one was amazing at one time. Wha essentially happened was a rediculous
dance party where everyone was SCREAMING singing along and no one
could hear, but we were dancing together. In other words it was the
best time ever. On the way home we stopped in to SuperMac's; of course
in Ireland I had my first fast food on my trip. Something in my head
said "Taco Fries, those sound amazing" so I got them. Sure, they were
amazing, but holy hell was I embarrassed to be seen with those, woops.
When in Ireland.

The next day we woke up and waited for our tour bus to pick us up for
a trip out to the Cliffs of Mhore. We thought it was a straight shot,
but it ended up being an all day, 10 stop tour of a lot of western
Ireland. Our tour guide Paul was hilarious, always the first to crack
a joke. At lunch, the girls were all shamelessly flirting with the
bartender, and Paul saw. Betsy was in love, and left her number. Paul
called her OUT, he knew Shawn, he was 19, and Paul made sure the
entire bus knew what happened. It was hilarious.

The cliffs were beautiful, something I didn't really expect, and I
can't really put into words. It was a view like none other and again
it was all natural. We made our way back to Galway, and then got
directly on a bus to Dublin where we were staying that evening.

We got in around 9:30 and checked in to our hostel and headed out. We
walked past temple bar, used thier ATM and moved on. We spent a few
hours in a pub talking about how much fun our trips together were, and
how sad we were to go. Betsy, Will and I were heading back to Venice
the next day. Will and I spotted a club below the bar we had been in
and had to go check it out. We said goodnight to the girls after
trying to convince them to come to no avail. We went in and tore stuff
up for a little while, dancing like idiots and making random friends
who were pretty impressed with my knowledge of 2004-2007 rap music. Up
at 4:30am to head to the airport, agh, traveling.

London; Land Of the Queen

Will and I got in to London at two after our emotional morning leaving campus. We took a train in from Gatwick and tried to find our hotel. We had to go check in at a hotel and then we were cabbed over to our rented apartment. After a fail of an hour and a half we found the hotel, and got brought to our apartment. The apartment was pretty big, private, and only a few tube stops from the center of town.

We looked through our guidebooks and realized that during finals we didn't plan anything of this trip and thought we would just figure it out. The lack of language barrier was a welcome change. We headed over to the Soho neighborhood to check it out and get dinner and maybe dance (just a little). We found THAI FOOD and we just simply had to go in. It was good, cheap, and I was into it. We went dancing and headed back wore the tube ended at midnight and went to wait for the girls in

our apartment (I love saying that). They didn't end up getting there until after 4am, and I had to stay up to let them in, the downside of apartment life.

The next morning will and I got an early start while the girls slept in and went over to the tower of London and had a huge breakfast before we went in. We walked in all VIP like with the London Pass we decided to buy. The tower of London was crazy with all of its history of torture and craziness and all of the jewels we saw, although we

skipped the crown jewels. The line wasn't worth it. Then we went up tothe Tower bridge and took in awesome views of London and the exhibitions explained some of the architecture of London. Then we headed down to the Tate modern museum and looked at some amazing modern art. It was so nice to see modern art, something I missed in Italy.

We met up with the girls and walked across the millennium bridge and looked up at St. Paul's. We then went over to Picadilly Circus and got some coffee. Something about the collective exhaustion and new coffee buzz made us all crazy and we literally stood around laughing trying to find a place to eat. We epically failed and ended up eating street fish and chips on Bond street. Woops.

On our second full, and sadly last day in London we were up early to fulfill the itinerary Will had so dutifully prepared. We started by going over to Portobello road, the awesome market street in London. On the way we got off the tube and we were trying to figure out how to get to the market a few streets away. The cutest old British woman came up and asked if we needed help, we old her what we were trying to

do, and she said she would walk us there. This was one of the many amazing interactions with Brits we had. They were all so nice, it was out of control. At the market it took every bone in my body not to buy every vintage watch, piece of crystal, and silver in sight. My already stuffed baggage came to mind and I sadly walked away empty handed.

Off we went to Kensington gardens and Hyde park. On the way Lars (laura) came 6 inches fro literally being killed while not looking the correct way as she crossed the street. I hadn't seen much green space in the city yet and I was shocked by the size of the parks. We walked through just chatting and noting all of the things we loved about

British culture. From the formal greetings, to the super direct Names for things like "way out" and "push chair". The parks were great, we napped in the sun for a hot second and walked our way over to Buckingham palace. We came, we watched, and we saw a brief guard changing (it wasn't that cool, let's al stop lying to each other).

Next, We walked over to Westminster abbey and big Ben, we were on a sightseeing marathon. Will and I flaunted our London Passes again and went inside while the girls napped wit big Ben. It was cool to be within a place where so much history has taken place, and where so many famous people a buried. It's so crazy, Dickens, Darwin, royalty; I mean really London? We get it. U took a lot of illegal pictures, a

skill I've honed in a semester of travel to historical sights, it's really the greatest skill I've picked up woke abroad. That and an amazing taste for a good carbonara and a judgmental eye for wines. We made our way back over to Lieshter square to score a great deal; just wait for it.

We got tickets to see Les Miserables on the west end. I know, it was awesome. Will and I had seen these half price ticket houses all over London before the girls got there and we made the proclamation that we were going with or without them. When they got in town, one of the first things they said was "we want to see les mis" it was meant to

be. The whole trip kind of just worked out like that. Will and I wanted to go to London and Dublin/Galway and so did they. We kind of

booked our own stuff and then ended up being on a couple of the same flights. CRAZAY.

So we went to the ticket store in the tube stop and asked for five tickets. There were five available in the balcony for a ridiculous price as we got on it. We went to get some more traditional fare and coffee before the show; holy fried food London, it started to get a little redundant, and we all proclaimed how much Italian food we can

eat and be really full but not feel as though we are going to die. Score 1 Italy.

The show was obviously amazing, it was on the west end. It was amazing. We went back to our apartment (never gets old) and had some drinks and got to bed early for our flight out to Dublin the next day. Oh London, I never wanted to leave.

That's Not Real

I just left the JFRC. I'm technically an alumni. This is the weirdest

feeling, I literally want nothing more than to stay there forever. At

the same time I cannot wait to go home and see my family and my old

friends that I miss dearly.

As we were saying goodbye to everyone outside the gates before we got

on the buses for the airport I wasn't feeling that emotional, rather

not letting myself feel emotional. Then I saw Colleen and sweet baby

Annie and I managed to keep it together. Until Annie turned around and

gave me her signature side eyes. I stated balling. So many things were

represented by Annie in that instant. Colleen, mike, the whole staff

and so many of my memories and happy times this semester I shared with

her as we watched her grow. It was a culmination of all of the

feelings I didn't want to feel.

 I got on the bus and waited to leave and I absolutely lost it.

It was actually clear that this was over. The place that made me the

happiest I have ever been is now in my past. As everyone boarded the

bus it only got worse, each of the SLA'S came on to the bus and gave

us a little speech, each got emotional (even Bryan) and the feelings

kept coming.

The director came on and told us that a part of the JFRC will always

be with us, and that we each left something at the JFRC. Literally

everyone was crying. Mike got on the bus to offer us a final goodbye

and we tried our best to get it back together for the bus ride.

Fail. As we pulled through the end of the driveway we saw all of the

SLA's and staff standing on top of the huge planter surrounding the

tree at the end of the driveway waving. Everyone again started crying.

Not the guarded cries we had before, but full on ugly cries we could

not control. I'm crying now awkwardly alone on my easyjet flight just

thinking of it. It was the perfect sendoff from the people that made

my semester transformational.

Last Two Weeks in Rome

What a whirlwind. I can vary recall what I've done and where I've

been. I can tell you one thing, it wasn't studying- it was spent in my

now former home; Rome.

I got back from geneva and was immediately met by all of my friends to

get all of the info on what they did while I was gone. That commenced

the largest marathon of going out, seeing, doing, living- that I have

ever been a part of.

I was either hurriedly writing a paper or (barely) studying or I was

out. At night, during the day, from museums to good old villa b. I

refused to waste a second. I honestly can't seem to remember many

specific details of things I did, to you know, brag about in my blog,

but I can tell you it was the most fun I've ever had.

It was like everyone was in a study abroad brochure for two weeks.

Everything we did was an experience no matter how seemingly normal or

commonplace it was. Waiting for the 990 was fun, everything was fun.

So; that was my blog about nothing, you're welcome.