Mi Mancherai, Italia

"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back?" - The Return of the King

In 2 days I will be on my way home to the states, and this quote pretty much sums everything I am feeling.

Some of my friends just left this morning for the US, and it is taking every ounce of me not to sink into a stupor and complete heartbreak over leaving a place filled with so many amazing experiences. In the past few weeks I have traveled to Rome, Montesilvano (south of Italy) for a completely Italian Christian conference, and I just got back from Munich, Germany a few days ago.

It's difficult trying to balance the flood of emotions I am feeling right now in the midst of juggling packing, finals, saying last goodbyes etc. The closer I am to returning home, the more I am beginning to realize how much I have changed since coming here. I see the world in a different light. I have gained a broader sense of the world, experienced different cultures, picked up a different language, and developed a better understanding of myself and people in general.

For one of the first times in many years, I needed time alone to explore and figure myself out. I loved meeting friends but realized an ever greater need for self-discovery and refocus. In a society that is so defined by (and at times overly-dependent on) relationships and community, I have learned in Italy the beauty and enriching experience of simply being alone with my thoughts. Me, myself, and I. And I do believe that time I spent alone has made me a better person- more confident, more independent, more aware, more passionate, more understanding, and more loving.

Looking back I realized that my posts have grown increasingly more reflective, but perhaps that is appropriate. I have finally learned to see Italy beyond the tourist bubble. It is more than simply breathtaking landscapes, incredible food, the renaissance culture, castles, cave jumping and postcard-worthy paradises. Italy is a unique culture comprised of a people so rooted in their history. Florence is like any culture; flawed and ugly in areas but also heartwarming and so captivating in others. The prowling men, poop on the streets, expensive water, and chaotic traffic I won't mind leaving. However, it is becoming increasingly more difficult coming to terms with the fact that I am leaving a culture so rich with art, history, and tradition. I will miss the ability to walk everywhere in the city past ancient buildings, delicious pastries and cappuccinos in the morning/gelato in the evening, I will miss the ability to travel around Europe and experience different cultures. I will miss the opportunity to practice speaking in a language that is not my own, and most of all, I will miss all the local Italian friends that I have made here.

The generosity with which many Italians have welcomed myself and my American friends has been astounding. Despite our broken Italian, I have made many Italian friends with whom I can happily exchange cultural differences and similarities over a cup of coffee or a plate of risotto. The beautiful truth I have learned from Italians here is the fact that even though we may have language and cultural barriers, the universal language of love, laughter, friendship, and kindness is almost never misunderstood. We are all human, capable of being loved, being hurt. We all have similarities and stories to tell. Che bella verità ho trovato! 

Love love love these girls

My Italian fellowship

And more people!

Ruth and I braving the wind in Montesilvano Beach

Miss this girl Laura already!

This will probably be my last post in Florence, given the amount of things I have to do before I leave. I have so much to say about my travels for Rome, Germany, Montesilvano etc, but at this time I don't think I can bring myself to reflect on so much just yet. My heart is torn between my love for this city/people and my excitement to see familiar friends and faces back in the States.

In some ways I am nervous about coming back a changed person, but at the same time I am excited to pick up a new chapter of my life. I am glad to say that in retrospect I have no regrets whatsoever about Italy. I have traveled to 5 different countries, adapted to a different culture, learned to speak conversational Italian, discovered a local Italian community/fellowship, dramatically improved my cooking (one of my proudest achievements :3 ), became a better artist, eaten tons of good food; the list goes on and on. I'm at a loss for words for my experience here, so I guess I'll end this last post in Florence with a few pictures from the past four weeks.

Pretending to Renaissance classy at the coliseum in Roma

Visiting a good friend Jakob in Munich!

Drinking amazinggg hot chocolate in La Cite- a local hipster coffeeshop

Going to miss wandering around olive groves and the rolling hills of Florence

Grazie, Firenze per tutti

Con tanto amore,
Kayee

Muggles in London

Dear world, 

Hello from some thousand miles in the European sky! I am currently typing up this entry as I am flying home to Florence from London. 

I am gradually growing more and more aware of the little time I have left here. I am starting to think about preparing for my departure on the 20th of December. Without realizing it, I had already planned trips for all of my weekends up until then. In other words, I have no more Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in Florence- a thought that is both heart-wrenching and thrilling at the same time, because I will have no more lazy weekends to enjoy, but more traveling means more adventures! This past weekend I went to London, next week I will be going to Rome, then southern Italy for an Italian Christian conference, and I will be in Munich three days before I head back to the states. It's going to be a crazy month and I find myself hoping that I will somehow survive this crazy schedule in the midst of finals/packing. But I am also so, so excited! Maybe its the go hard or go home mentality that I picked up from USC :) 

London was an amazing city, and I'm so glad that I decided to travel here with my friend Ruth Le and Alex Lopez when I did. Out of all the cities I had been to, London was most similar to the United States culturally, so it was a good beginning transition to prepare myself for home. It was strange to see so many familiar stores and chains again, such as chipotle, KFC, and my personal favorite, Starbucks! Another shocker that I had was realizing that I could understand what everyone said and had no trouble at all communicating because you know, everybody speaks English in the UK. It's an obvious statement but having close to no language barriers was like taking a gulp of fresh air after speaking broken Italian/Spanish/sign language for three months! I kept going into museums or metro stations expecting to find street signs and information plaques written in a foreign language. 

Bringing holiday cheer from Londra! (Note the starbucks)

Call me maybe?

Big Ben and Parliament!

So, London was also another city I fell in love with. Being a huge Harry Potter nerd also heightened my excitement because I would walk around the city half convinced that everything was made of magic. I'll admit that I was definitely hoping to catch a glimpse of a wandering wizard or witch. Besides Harry Potter, I had forgotten how many of my favorite stories and films took place in london, like V for Vendetta, Peter Pan, Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, and Mary Poppins! I'm not sure if I enjoyed London or Paris more. Paris was certainly more beautiful but London was so festive with the Christmas decorations (there were TONS of advertisements for Dreamwork's new movie Rise of the Guardians,) and the locals I met were always so jolly and friendly! Maybe it was because the British have a much better impression of Americans than the French do. And to top off the weekend, my friends and I got matinee tickets to see the London musical for Les Miserables- one of my favorite books in the world. (I might have cried a little.) I would absolutely love to live here for a year or so if the cost of living did not do so much damage to my bank account. 

Stumbled into the world's oldest mystic and occult bookshop- I probably could have been shopping for Hogwarts

I couldn't leave London without visiting platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross!

SANDMAN!

Post-Les Miserables in the Queen's Theatre

"To love another person is to see the face of God." - Victor Hugo

High tea/Christmas tea

had to have my share of scones and clotted cream

because I am the princess of Buckingham palace

As much as I loved traveling around Europe and getting a taste of different cultures, the United Kingdom was a good break for me. I was so incredibly happy walking around Covent Garden with my tall holiday toffee latte from Starbucks, and purchases from the local sweet shops while looking at English teas and gawking at the huge Christmas tree in the plaza. It reminded me of a combination of Paris and New York city with a dash of British flair/humor. Perhaps it's the holiday spirit of London and the sound of English speakers everywhere that is gently tugging at my heartstrings and reminding me of christmas at home. I wont deny that it was extremely difficult to leave london because i had grown so attached to it in only 3 short days. But, the thought of my upcoming trips in the next few weeks makes it hard to be too sorry. I still have about three more weeks of more art, more learning, more seeing, and more adventures and traveling! 

goodbye, magical London!

And we're about to land so I think I'll end this here before the flight attendant lady yells at me. 

Con tanto amore, 
KE

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Where do I even begin? It’s been more than two weeks since I returned from my fall break where I toured Paris, Barcelona, and Milan with a group of friends. Since then, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting on my time here because I am now officially more than halfway through the semester in Florence. The thought of returning back to the states so soon is quite a sobering thought, and I am gradually beginning to see how much my time here has changed and shaped me. Italy is teaching me how to grow up.

But first... fall break! I think I could spend forever talking about all the little adventures I had in Paris, Barcelona, and Milan. Paris was by far my favorite because it is such a gorgeous city-I can see why everyone is so in love with it. I loved the little bookshops (especially the Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore), the quaint little areas... everything is so filled with history, art, literature and a sense of refinement and poetry. Contrary to the "stuck-up" French stereotype, many Parisians whom I've met here were very friendly to me despite my inability to speak French. Granted, some still had a bit of an arrogant air to them, but the city and atmosphere of France is so beautiful that I'm not sure I can blame them for being so proud and protective of their culture.

Breathtaking view of the Seine river- this may have been the moment I fell head over heels in love with Paris

stained glass windows in the Sant Chappelle Cathedral

Shakespeare and Company books!!!! (Ruth took these in secret :) )

Me about to explore my favorite little place in Paris (they have a piano!!!)

Ruth and I in front of the Bastille

Oh you know, just chillin with Mona Lisa

Moulin Rouge apparently is still up and running

Notre Dame and Quasimodo hunting

and of course, I have to put an Eiffel Tower picture in here

trying to stay warm in front of the Louvre

Barcelona was also an amazing city with wonderful architecture and great nightlife. I stayed there for Halloween (and dressed up as an American Indian). That night, we almost made it to the club until my friends and I got distracted by the sound of the Mediterranean ocean nearby. So, obviously, we ditched the dancefloor and ran barefoot towards the ocean in our Halloween costumes! I spent Halloween night frolicking around the Barcelona beach dancing as a little native American, which was clearly a better evening than any club in Europe could have given me. The rest of Barcelona was also equally as amazing, we saw a bunch of the Gaudi architecture all over the city, and I couldn't help thinking that I was walking in a huge gingerbread/candy land. Apparently this is where Disney got the inspiration for their newest film: Wreck-it-Ralph! So cool. Our hostel was also incredible and made half of our experience because coming home to them every night felt like coming home to family. So if anyone ever goes to Barcelona I wholeheartedly recommend staying at Hostel One Sants- they are some of the sweetest people ever. I did get quite a shock in Spain though because people spoke Spanish as well as another dialect called Catalan. It's definitely not the same as traveling to Latin America or speaking spanish Los Angeles! Even though I was in Spain, the foreign words of the Catalan language still made me feel like I was in a different country. 

Beautiful Barcelona

secret: that dress was 3 euro

Parc Guell, aka Gingerbread city

La Sagrada Familia- please note the funny little fruits/vegetables in the architecture, they were my favorite!

Halloween in Barcelona!!! p.s. the man baring his chest was one of the Hostel Staff joining our little party

Finally, after Barcelona my friend Lindsey and I spent a day in Milan before heading home to Florence (it's strange that I'm able to finally call Florence home). We spent most of the time in the Design Museum of Milan and ended up sketching a bunch of people around the city. It was a pretty chill day, since we were already pretty traveled-out.

Playing mirror games in the Design Museum

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Today is the day after election day (but by the time I post this it will probably be even later). It’s strange though, the first election that I participated in was spent in Europe. I found it surprising to see how many Italians (and other non-Americans) cared about the election. Watching the election from Europe was especially significant to me because it meant that I am reaching the age where it is my turn to start taking part in shaping the world. The responsibility and weight of carrying the future is slowly being passed down to my generation--and I was experiencing it in the midst of a different culture. It’s a very exciting, yet humbling and frightening thought. 

Being in Europe, and planning/traveling around fall break especially has further reinforced the concept that I am no longer a clueless 16-year old traveling with her parents—letting them figure out transportation, budget, etc. I am booking trips, exploring Europe independently, learning about others and myself and realizing that with every passing day, I am gaining more responsibility as an adult. I’ve learned that traveling takes quite a bit of courage, risk, curiosity, flexibility, and level-headedness (is that a word?). There are so many instances where you run into strange and unexpected situations: people get lost, trains close early, the airport is too far away, and everyone is speaking in different languages. These were lessons that no amount of studying at SC could have taught me.

being silly in the olive groves of Fiesole

Even though I came to USC as a “young adult,” I know now that the atmosphere of being surrounded by my peers, professors, and mentors spoon-fed me in many ways. Room and board; mentorship; assistance with financial, medical, and other needs were provided and readily available to me. However, being in another country such as Italy means that most of the time, I’m left on my own to figure things out. Thus, my sense of independence, time-management, flexibility and critical thinking has strengthened considerably while abroad. I know that many of my friends here have discovered the same growth in themselves.  

And what else? I am trying to get the most out of my month left here because time is going by so fast. On one hand I am so excited to go home, but on the other, Florence is also becoming such a familiar and welcoming place to me. Lately I’ve been learning to make the most out of every Florentine day I have left to spend, but also cherish the memories I have in Los Angeles. I’ve discovered that sometimes it’s the moments in the past that can bring out the richest experiences of the present.

"not all who wander are lost"

Con tanto amore,
Kayee

Bisous and Besos from Europe!

So this will be a quick post before I knock out in my awesome hostel in Barcelona, Spain! I am currently in my fall break so I have a whole week to travel and explore Europe with some friends. I have already visited Paris (we stayed there for about four days) and I arrived this morning in Barcelona and had quite an eventful day!

It's so interesting being in another country other than Italy, although I must admit my head is reeling from the constant change of languages within the past few days. In less than a week I have been speaking in Italian, English, Spanish, mandarin and Cantonese (with some Chinese vendors or tourists I met) and very, very, very little French. It was quite a struggle realizing that instead of "grazie," and "buon giorno" I had to say "merci" and "bonjour", and now that I'm in Spain it's taken me a while to switch off my Italian mode and get back into speaking Spanish. I hadn't realized how much Italian I had picked up until I found myself struggling quite a bit to remember how to talk in Espanol.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect for fall break, but so far I have been loving every single moment of it from the second I stepped off from the beauvais airport into Paris. From then on every day since has been absolutely magical. I think Paris is the first city that I have really fallen in love with. Being able to walk through the crisp autumn air of the city, having dinner by the seine river, finding the original Shakespeare and co. Bookstore,  visiting countless museums for free because of my student visa (including the louvre, orangerie, and musee D'Orsay) among many other adventures felt like a complete dream. Paris is hands down the most stunning city I have ever been in, I might has well have been living in a painting. (Also, the stereotype about Parisians all being stuck up was not true for me at all, I was fortunate enough to meet many friendly Parisians who were very patient and amused with my 10-word French vocabulary)

I think may be in danger of falling in love with Barcelona as well, although both cities are very different. I am loving the food, architecture, and the festive culture I see everywhere. Tonight my friends and I were able to go to see a Flamenco performance, have unlimited sangria, and have a tapas (dishes of selected Spanish foods). Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the night ;) One of the first shocks that I got when I came here though, is that the main language in northern Spain isn't Spanish, but Catalan, a certain dialect that is a cross between Spanish and French with a little Italian thrown in. For example, instead of "salida" which means "exit" in spanish, you would say "sortida" in Catalan. It's a mix between "sortie" (french for exit) and "salida". Apparently,  a lot of northern Spain had a lot of influences from its surrounding countries, so it seems quite different from the stereotypical Spain that we think of. I'm also not sure what I was expecting about Spain since the only Spanish-speaking culture I know is from Latin America, so to hear and experience Spanish in a very European-style is extremely fascinating to me.

And before I leave, here is a beautiful picture of notre dame in Paris,

A spanish choir was singing that day

as well as the street view of Barcelona from the hostel I am staying at:

hoy esta lloviendo!

Hopefully I'll be able to find the time to post more updates and more pictures :) sending lots of French and Spanish kisses to everyone, bisous and besos!

Buenos noches!
Kayee

Adventures in Southern Italy: Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and Vesuvius

Positano, Italy

It's been quite a while (almost a month, in fact) since I've posted anything because I've been so busy studying, traveling, and learning more and more about Italian culture, but its been such a crazy adventure! My apologies for having slacked on this quite a bit. Everything is going by so quickly and my days are so packed with activities that sometimes I feel like I don't have time to think. So I guess I have this blog to thank for making me sit down at least once in a while and reflect on my experiences here; I'll try to update this blog more frequently with shorter posts from now on. This one will just be a little longer to make up for my absence :)

I'm currently writing this blog post on my way back from the Amalfi coast with Euroadventures. Most people on the bus right now are sleeping or watching the movie that our tour guides have put up-Gladiator. Although I have seen the film before, watching it as the southern Italian hills roll by the bus window is quit a surreal experience. While Russel Crowe urges his horse on through the forest in an attempt to save his family, I can't help comparing the settings with the rolling hills and mountains that I'm currently traveling through. I don't think I'll ever see Gladiator in the same way again after living in Italy.

View of the Italian countryside on the way home to Florence

Quiet towns

So far, I have been in Italy for over a month, and the beauty of this country still continues to amaze me. Amalfi was one of the best trips I've had here so far. I felt like I was living some luxurious life that I had only seen in movies. We went to the island of Capri, had cruises on boats while drinking wine, beer etc., went cliff jumping (I jumped off a 49 foot cliff and still have the cuts and scrapes to prove it) saw the Blue Grotto-one of the wonders of the world- and simply relaxed and sketched on the coast of the Mediterranean sea.

bellisima Positano

booze cruise #1

frands :)

actually the scariest 2 seconds of my life

our Euroadventures group!

The best part of the Amalfi coast though, was taking an independent trip to Pompeii and mount Vesuvius with a couple of friends. My biggest regret about the trip was that I didn't have enough time to explore the ancient city of Pompeii because I'm pretty sure that it's the coolest place I've been in Italy thus far. Wandering around (and getting very, very lost) in such an ancient city was unreal.

It's quite humbling to walk into old houses, stand in the center of old coliseums, and stroll through the streets of these ruins and realize that the thousands of people who lived here long ago were so similar to me- and yet were completely annihilated in a matter of hours. While Positano, Capri island, and Sorrento were breathtaking, Pompeii held the most meaning for me because it was a dead city with so much natural beauty, history, and tragedy. I almost felt intrusive walking through the houses, stables, bakeries, and temples that once would have been so intimate and personal. Even though the place was bustling with tourists, the place felt eerie- for me the presence of death and the destructive power of nature still lingered heavily in the air. It's one of the most intriguing places I have ever been.

one of the many, many streets of Pompeii

me being really excited about the temple of Apollo?

the coliseum was strangely beautiful and peaceful for a place that was once filled with so much death

I wasn't lying about Pompeii being huge- we probably stopped 15 people to ask for directions!

Before we left, my friends Ruth, Steven, Tiffanie, Alice and I managed to find the mummified corpses of the victims of Mount Vesuvius. To see the bodies frozen in gestures of utter despair, or sometimes- peace, was difficult for me to take in. I can't even begin to imagine the overwhelming fear and hopelessness they must have felt to realize that they were about to die. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

After Pompeii, my friends and I decided that we couldn't leave southern Italy without seeing Mount Vesuvius, so naturally we decided to take our own little adventure/bus ride to the legendary volcano.

The gigantic military-like buses that hauled us almost all the way to the top of the mountain

View from looking over the volcano- you can see almost the entire coast of southern Italy

oh you know, just walking above cloud level

Feeling incredibly small next to the giant crater (it's probably twice the size of the USC campus at least)

Sitting on the edge of the crater, no big

Out of breath from literally RUNNING down Mount Vesuvius to catch the last bus, and very happy that we made it!

That's probably enough writing and pictures for now, but I will do my best to update more regularly and with shorter posts! I still have a lot more that I can say but I will save that for another late night in Italia when I don't feel like doing homework :)

Con tanto amore,
Kayee