P.S., I Love You

So I haven't given y'all an update in over a week, and while I'm sure no one is all that worried, I like posting because it helps me remember how I spent my semester here! Speaking of which, the semester comes to a close in a month and six days (imagine my pained expression as I type this). I have done SO MUCH in my time here and made such great friends and I do not regret ONE SINGLE THING, so I really shouldn't be sad, but, I think that's exactly WHY I'm sad (if that makes any sense). I've just had so many "how did I get here??" or "is this really my life??" moments this time...not in a bad way...just in the sense that I'm more conscious this time of how lucky I am to have an opportunity like this and I like to acknowledge that as often as possible (typically in the form of probably obnoxious statements like "guys, I just LOVE trains...you can go anywhere and you don't even have to lift a finger" or "I am at the top of a Swiss Alp and I climbed all the way here all by myself" or "I get to walk around in this Disney-esque city every single day and I love it"..yep, I'm a dork). It's not that I don't want to go home (I miss everyone, really I do), but, I really like the lifestyle and attitude here...so much more relaxed, healthier, more fun, more travel and culture-oriented. Bottom line, I like living in la-la land :)

Anyways, here's my attempt at recapping the past 7 days without entirely boring you to death:

Last Monday-lots and lots of productivity...coffee, laundry (my Switzerland clothes were a wreck), essay and application editing, cookie baking, house bonding

Tuesday-gym in the morning, and then I really can't remember after that (the days fly by and are really busy, and yet somehow a week later, I can't recall a single thing I did..., but that's ok, because I DO remember that this past week was one of my favorite so far!)

Wednesday-Coop with Kayla before their 11am class, bbq sauce making (thanks Nanny for the recipe...which I got from you last time I was here, and is as big of a hit this time as last!) extreme adventure in an attempt to find the American store that sells brownie mix (for our American themed house dinner), epic failure of extreme adventure that ended in me walking around Venice for 3 hours, chocolate cake baking, house dinner preparations, house dinner

Thursday-honestly can't remember...probably rested because I'm recovering from a pretty icky cough/cold!

Friday-rested pretty much all day because I was feeling pretty miserable AND the weather was positively revolting...I watched P.S. I Love You with Tom (he hadn't seen it, I'd only seen it once, everyone else went to this really expensive restaurant for Ana's birthday dinner and I was feeling poor and still sick), then Caroline and I played beer pong with the boys who were home (Chris, Tom, Eugene)...very entertaining and enjoyable

Saturday-Kayla and I went to the gym and then on an adventure to find acqua alta (high water caused by frequent rain) and I had such a great time (I really love sporting my rain boots and splashing around in the rain)! I watched P.S. I Love You (again...) and did some organizing and cleaning. Later I made lasagna for a the girls, then a group of guys went to the Casino and banned girls, so the girls went out and had an "I hate boys" angry night, which actually ended in the girls finding the boys at Pizza al Volo and making nice. Oh and I broke a wine glass (by setting it down way too aggressively at Blu)...no big deal...the bartender thought it was funny : )

Sunday-got up after a mere 4 hours of incredibly awful sleep, went to mass with Tom, had leftover lasagna for lunch, then headed to Padova with Kayla and Elizabeth to sight see and shop...shopping didn't really happen because EVERYTHING was closed :( but, we totally plan to go back (it's a mere 30 min train ride away), and the scenery was beautiful and it was just such a great last minute little adventure that kept me from thinking of how exhausted I was!

Today-coffee, laundry, train station (where I spent...oh 260 Euro on my tickets from here to Prague, Prague to Vienna, Vienna to Salzburg, Salzburg to Munich, and Munich back to Venice...so 2nd break is planned at quite a price!), lunch at Pizza al Volo, trip #1 of the day to Punto, Thanksgiving invitation-making while the kids had class, house meeting, gym, Punto trip #2 of the day, gelato plus whipped cream (Kayla decided my mood needed a serious boost), and now cooking dinner

I'm exhausted because of my lovely 4 hours of sleep Saturday night, BUT, I'm finally feeling better (knock on wood) somehow! I have SO MUCH to do before I leave Thursday for the 2nd break and to prepare for Thanksgiving, but, right now I'm in complete and total denial! I've actually been fairly productive today, but, I'm neglecting my one remaining law school app in lieu of hanging out with everyone before we all disperse on Thursday.

PS-pictures are of Kayla and I playing in acqua alta