Halfway Point

I really cannot believe that I have been here for 7 weeks! It's the halfway point! Some days I cannot wait to be home and I am definitely looking forward to the summer even though I will have to be working all the time to re-pay for this trip! Other days... I never want to leave. People often ask me what my favorite experience has been so far or what is my favorite thing, etc, etc. And to be honest I often find myself struggling to answer them.... I can't say what my favorite thing is or my least favorite thing is. Study abroad is a whole experience in itself. Today, while walking to class... I thought to myself.. How weird is that I have been living in a foreign country for 7 weeks. I literally have not been home for more than 36 hours since January 3rd. It blows my mind sometimes. Before I graduate high school, the longest I had been away from home was when I went to England and Scotland for 2 weeks. Since then, I think the longest I ever stayed at school without going home was 2 months. So by far... this has been the longest that I have been away from home in 20 years of my life. I tend to think I am a strong, independent young woman and able to do a lot for myself and if I want something I strive for it until I get it. Although, sometimes, I really just depend on my mother.

To my mother: Thank you so much for letting me call you today and rave and rant for 20 minutes while it was costing me a fortune and in the middle of your workday. I really do appreciate it and do not know where I would be without you today. I'll admit that sometimes you drive me absolutely crazy and we do often disagree on a lot of things but whenever something gets me down, you're always there. You always agree with me and stick by my side. You have seen me at my highest of highs and my lowest of lows but you have been there for me none the less. Whenever I'm feeling sad or have had a bad day, I know that I can always call you and you'll listen. When I'm sick, you're the only person who knows how to take care of me and listen to me whine and whine for hours about how horrible I feel. But above all, you love me unconditionally. When others have come into and out of my life, YOU are the only one who has always been there for me. I know that you have continually loved me since the moment I was born till this day. I know there were times when you were disappointed in me, or upset at me, or very very angry in my decisions but that didn't make you love me any less. I don't know why this is coming to me but after talking to you today, it made me realize how much I really do appreciate what you do for me and how you constantly believe in me even when I don't believe in myself. I miss you so much!

Country vs. City- I always thought living in the city would be cool and exciting and fun and don't get me wrong it is but it is also noisy, dirty, full of traffic and people. I have decided that I would much rather live in the suburbs and be able to go into and out of the city as I wish to. I have found this awesome park though, about a 10 minute walk from my apartment, it is a huge park. Filled with tons of grass, trees, and walkways and it is full of people walking, sitting, running, skateboarding, and biking. I went for a walk today in the park for about an hour and it was so enjoyable, I just had my headphones in and it gave me a lot of time to think and clear my head. It is a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. I'll give you an idea of some of the things I saw though:
- A young couple making out on a bench.
- A son pushing his mother in a wheelchair.
- These three little dogs were acting all macho towards this other dog and then the big dog just barked and all the other little dogs scattered, it was amusing to watch.
- A man doing squats and lunges.
- A woman doing yoga.
- A little girl rollerblading with her dad.
- A man and wife jogging.
- Old men walking slower than tortoises.
- Speed bike racers.
- An older man sprinting faster than I could ever.
- Then this creepy guy comes up to me and "pretends" to not know any English and asks me for a smoke, I said "No" and put my head phones back in and he proceeds to introduce himself as Matthew, I quickly say No thank you, I'm busy and I moved along on my way.
Its so nice to get away from the city streets and just be able to walk without sidewalks, bicycles, cars, and exhaust fumes. Fresh air is good for you!

On another note, I made it through my marketing mid-term. Tomorrow I have my chocolate mid-term and cultural mid-term which we'll have to wait and see how those go. Then I'm running to the laundry mat to do all my laundry and then we're off on spring break! We got the confirmation e-mails today of the final itinerary and I am so excited! In 10 days, I will have travelled 4,000 km of Europe, crossed 7 countries, and visited 4 major cities! I will probably be broke upon return and have to live off rice but I know it'll be worth it. I hope to be able to blog once more before I leave but if not, then there will definitely be lots to update you on and lots of NEW pictures for when I return. Buona Sera!