Ah, Roma. Il mio amor.

So, I love Rome. It is now my #3 city on list of favorite cities Ive been to (behind Oia and Doolin). P.s. if the punctuation and stuff is a little off on this post, it is because this is an italian keyboard. Very difficult to get used to all the buttons. Anyway, we are now in Rome. But to be brief in stating what we have done so far:Last night after checking into our apartments our professor took us into the city center to help us get oriented. We then went to the Trevi fountain and then the Spanish steps and enjoyed some Gilato. This morning we headed to the Colosseum, Roman forum, the imperial forum, the column of Marcus Aurelius, and the Pantheon. Highlight so far: the Pantheon. AMAZING! I mean, the outside is cool, but when you walk in, the adjective we came up with was "awe-inspiring." It was so cool with the domed roof with the oculus at the center and the coiffured ceiling with the polychroming all over inside. Mmm, I love me some good coiffures and polychroming. But really, amazing. We ate lunch in a cute little restaurant near there and I had a pizza margherita and a Coke Light. It's been a good day. Now we think we are going to head over to San Pietro and the Vatican just to sneak a peek. I'm not sure when I'll be back to this internet place, so I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about next time. I still have yet to find the time and place to upload pictures. If you are on facebook, I put some up there if you want to see some of these things I'm talking about. Love you all! Hope you are just as great as I am. :)

A REALLY great day.

First of all, I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE FORBES! I love you mama and you are the greatest in the world. Love you lots.

So, I'm kind of mad. Because I forgot my camera cord when I left for this internet place. Not cool. But I did manage to get this video up from our FHE activity last night. We hiked to this monastery at the highest point of Athens right as all the city lights were coming up. It was SO cool and fun. And windy. I am loving Athens more and more every day.

Today was quite an amazing day. We went to this monastic church outside of Athens at the monastery of Daphne. And they were doing restoration work on it so it was completely covered in scaffolding. I didn't think they'd let us in, but our awesome tour guide Kosta talked them into it. So in small groups we climbed the scaffolding and came within just feet of the gorgeous Byzantine mosaics in the dome and crossing of this church. I wanted to cry I was overwhelmed with how cool that was. Nobody gets to get that close to mosaics like that. They sparkled with the gold pieces that were the entire backgrounds. I can only imagine what it would have been like in that churches glory days, with the entire ceiling covered in these gold sparkling mosaics as the sun came in through the windows. It was so amazing. Then we hopped back on our bus and drove to Mycenae, an ancient citadel where it is believed Agamemnon resided. I think he's the king that went over to Troy to claim Helen back and started the Trojan war. The lion gate and beehive tombs were definitely the highlights there. Then we made a stop at this gorgeous coastal town that I think was named Nafpoli. It used to be the capital of Greece until King Otto switched it to Athens. We ate our lunch there and chilled by the water until we got on the bus to head to the ancient theater of Epidavros (I think that's what it is called?). I definitely had to do the jerk and the reject moves there. And some italian kids were singing songs. We were going to sing the BYU fight song just to test out the acoustics for ourselves, but we ran out of time. But that was awesome. After a gorgeous bus ride a long the coast, we are back in Athens. Tomorrow we'll be hittin' up the National Archaeological museum and the new Acropolis museum. Very excited for those. I'll try to not forget my camera cord next time. ha! Love you all!

I have arrived!

Hello family and friends! I am in the city of Athens, Greece! Last night after I arrived at my hotel I met up with some girls in my group and we got some food and sat in Syntagma Square and people watched. Then we watched the changing of the guard at the Parliament building right there. That was an interesting experience. After a good night's sleep I had a great time on my first day! Today first thing we walked to the Acropolis about 10 minutes from our hotel. That was an awesome sight. I had been there before but they've done a lot of renovating since I was here last and it's looking really great. Loved it. Then we climbed Mars Hill just below the entrance to the Acropolis. That was where Paul preached to the Athenians in Acts. We read the verses from Acts that took place here and that just added to the greatness. I like that I'm here with BYU kids. We're awesome. Or something. Then we went through the Agora which is just below Mars hill. That was like the main civic center in Athens. Very cool. Then we went to the market place and I got some Greek olives and dried apricots and some Pita bread for lunch tomorrow. That was fun going through the open air market. That's one thing I definitely love about Europe. So we're havin' fun so far. I'm going to try to post pictures next time I come into this little internet place. Love you all!

The time has come.

Welp kids, the time has come. I am leaving for Europe today. I am SO excited! I will admit, there's a little bit of nervous in there, but that will go away as soon as I'm standing on the Acropolis in Athens I'm sure. I will be posting pictures and experiences as often as I can. Love you all! Happy trails to you until we meet again. :)

Lil sis is 17!

My little sister is turning 17 today. Hence, this post is dedicated to her.

Dear sister: there are so many reasons I am glad you are my sister.

First of all, you're a babe. I'm glad I have you for fashion advice and for the occasional clothes borrowing/exchange that we have going. It's really great.

I loooovvveee your taste in music. Whenever I come home it's great to get a whole new load of music that is guaranteed to be loved. Also with music, teach me to sing like you??? You're an amazing singer and I love it when I get to hear you sing and play the piano and all that great stuff. Love love.
You're just reeeaaallllyyyy pretty. That's all I have to say about that.
I love it when we go on trips with mom and dad, because we like to play tricks on them (remember when we put a bunch of fruit in their bed on our cruise?) together and make movies and do Rick Steves impersonations. We have a grand ole time.

Love you lots sister! Happy Birthday! I hope it is a great one.

Also, I love this song. And I give it to you on your birthday. :)

Nearing the end... Approaching a beginning

It's been a rough semester. But I think I survived. I have one more final then I'll be in the clear!

Speaking of in the clear, let's hope the volcano ash over Europe clears up. I'll be reeeaaaallll upset if I miss Athens. I will. Mother nature, you've been warned...

In the case that the volcano ash clears and I get to leave on time, I will depart SLC on Saturday evening and arrive in Athens Sunday evening. Pray for clear skies!

Blah blah blah-g.

Here's another blah blah blah-g folks. I have a lot to say. So bear with me.

It's Thursday. The 8th. Which means 15 days until I leave on my dream trip. Excited much?!

I love the songs "Eet" and "Your Ex-lover is Dead." They're on my playlist. If you have any suggestions of music that is similar, let me know. I need some good music.

I was awarded a talent scholarship today! It feels great to know that someone is recognizing my hard work and acknowledges it. I feel honored.

Also, I feel honored to have been elected the new President of Club Style. I love my club and I can't wait to serve the people in it as their next President. So exciting!

Our showcase on Saturday was a HIT! I think they said we sold just about 500 tickets. That's a lot. We're kind of a big deal.

We're performing at the Unforum on Tuesday in the Marriott Center. They asked us to perform Single Ladies... oh boy. It shall be fun.

Mom, dad, kait, col, and ash are going to all be in the Caribbean soon. Lucky. I need sunshine and a beach.

I love springtime. It was sunny today and I got to hang outside for a little bit. Loved it.

I get to watch Col and Ash's puppy for the week! I'm so excited. She's so cute. Let's hope my landlords don't catch me... ha!

Finals start next Friday! I'm nervous. It seems like there is so much to do to prepare. Gah.

I reaaalllyyy like the show "V." My friend got me hooked. It's very interesting.

I am in love with The Last Song. I LOVED that movie. If you haven't seen it yet, go! It was great. Loved it. Cried in it. But it was just so great.

I want to live in NYC more and more everyday. If I ever get into grad school, hopefully that's where I'll be headed.

I just love art. And my professors that teach me about it. Everyone of them is just brilliant. I hope their brilliance rubs off on me some day. I wish everyone could just come and sit in a class with me. I don't know how someone could not love it.

Why am I always thirsty lately?!

I wish I had time to read a book of my choice. I have way too many that I want to read and no time to do it! Hopefully I'll have time this summer.

I have my car back! Leo is back and lookin' better than ever after getting injured in a nearly fatal car accident. Kidding. It wasn't nearly fatal. But he is back and lookin' good.

I want to go volunteer in Africa.

I want to go volunteer in India.

My roommate is probably doing that this summer. India. She did Africa last summer and said it was an amazing experience. Lucky.

But I'm all good for this year because I'm going to Europe for 2 months. Which is plenty.

I want to go camping.

I want to go hiking.

I want to go hiking then camping. In the mountains.

I want to go camping in Moab. And biking. And jeeping.

I'm tired. So I'm now going to bed.

That is all for this blah blah blah-g.