The Misadventures of Q & C: part 1

Our Italian adventure is one of the craziest stories ever told (or about to be told right here in this blog) and yet it is 100% true (with a little hyperbole in the use of adjectives). We don't really expect people to believe it because we can hardly believe it ourselves, but here goes anyway...

We got up around 0800, showered in a bathtub with a hand-held nozzle thing and no shower curtain (try that for interesting!). After we got dressed and ready for the day, we headed out to find the bus. It was not that difficult, but we realized after a few stops that we got on going the wrong direction. So, we got off and had to take two busses to get back to where we started. The correct bus took us to the Milan city center, where we needed to catch bus 73, which would take us to the airpoort (where our rental car was awaiting us). However, since we had plenty of time, we walked around the city center for a while. It was really beautiful! There was this HUGE catherdral there and a indoor/outdoor mall that looked ancient, with mosaic floors and glass ceilings! We did not have too much trouble finding bus 73 and we made it to the airport with no hang-ups. Once we got to the airport, however, we had a whole new set of problems. We had not printed out the voucher and could not remember which company we had rented the car from... We checked with 5 different places before finding the right one. We got a little Fiat. It is the most adorable little car. I absolutely LOVE it. It is manual, so Catherine does the driving, which has worked out quite well so far (or course that leaves me in charge of the map and directions...).

We went back to the hostel (we got lost a few times, but eventually made it), picked up our stuff, and headed to Venice. Three and a half hours later we arrived at "The Island" and realized that parking is really expensive because there are no cars allowed on the island itself. So we drove back to the mainland, found some little neighborhood, where we parked the car on the street and hopped on a bus back to the island (more correctly, waited an HOUR in the freezing cold until the bus arrived and then got off to catch a second bus that took us right to where we wanted to go). We wandered the streets of Venice for four hours before we found the hostel we were to planning stay at... unfortunatley, they had no beds available, so we were back on the street again. We eventually left the island and found a place around midnight (that was after some random Italian guy offered us a place to stay at his house, but that is a story for another day). C talked the guy down to 55 euros for the night (down from 80) and he even gave us vouchers for an amazing buffet breakfast. I don't know how she does it!

Ancient glass and memories

Walking along the beach today, I noticed a piece of "ancient glass" (for those of you unfamiliar with the term, it is broken glass that has been in the ocean long enough to have lost all it's sharp edges and take on a frosted look). I picked it up and was disappointed that is wasn't all that antient after all, besides, I always collected it for Grandpa and he won't be there when I get home anyway. My eyes filled with tears at the thought of it. I threw the glass aside and continued walking, but as I walked I continued to think of Grandpa and all the fun times we had together at the beach. I decided I wanted that glass after all. I turned around and went in search of it. I did manage to find it again; this time I picked it up and put it in my pocket. When I was little, I thought ancient glass was actually worth something, now I know that the memories are worth more than anything I could possibly collect.

Memories are just where you laid them
Drag the waters, till the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find
Was it something you left behind
Don't you remember anything I said when I said:
Don't... leave love bleeding in my hands
~ Fuel

What's a girl to do?!

For the past four months I have had very little alone time and no days off. Now I am at a beautiful beach resort and I am going crazy!!! Who knew that relaxation could be a bad thing? I have been looking forward to these days of chilling on the beach, but now that I am here, I find myself online as much as possible, trying to find friends to talk to. One more day of this... not sure I could take any more than that!

Some things are universal

As I walked along the Palm tree lined street in Fahaheel, Kuwait, there were couples sitting on the beach, looking out at the Persian Gulf after the sun had set. Children were playing on a huge inflatable slide, laughing and having fun. And a group of teenage boys were playing a pick-up game of basketball on a public outdoor court. The men who drove by at speeds above the stated limit, honked their horns and called out to my female companion and me. And the motorcyclers still sped around, weaving in between the other vehicles on the road.

As different as the East may be from the West, I have come to the conclusion that some things are universal. Men will speed and gawk at girls, boys will play their sports, children will laugh and play... it is only the women who are different here. The majority wear long black burkas, only eyes shown to the public. They are more shadows and images than individuls with personalities. But even there, I think I may be wrong... because when I made a stop at the ladies rest room, there were a few ladies in there. Under their burkas, they wear make-up and stylish clothing. Behind their veils, they smile and laugh and joke with one another. And of course, they still visit the public restroom in pairs (just like us girls in the West). =P

Going back...

I remember how excited my co-workers were when they were getting ready to go home after completing their time out here. I, however, have been unable to muster up much enthusiasm. For me, going back to the states is not going home. There is only one state out of the 50 that is home for me and that is not where I am headed (unfortunately). One of my co-workers played Chis Daughtry's Home every single day for the ten or so days leading up to his departure. I looked up the lyrics for old times' sake...

I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

Yeah... I'm not really feeling it. =(

Once again, there are just too many good-byes involved. I hate good-byes!

Maa'Salaama!

Two down, one to go

I say it like it is something I am checking off my to-do list or something. The reality is I just can't believe that we are getting ready for our third concert already... it is less than a week away! The last one went quite well I thought. I played rhythm guitar in two of the songs, was lead vocalist on one and backup vocalist on most of the others. I have wanted to be in a band my whole life! I just can't believe it took traveling this far away for the dream to come true.