Allora, I'm going to move on to something I have decided to do on the 8th of every month while I'm here; and that is, go through my original checklist of things to do in Europe and see how much I have accomplished this month and how much I have left to do.
I'm doing this mainly as a break from this massive Italian grammar/vocab packet I need to do for tomorrow, but it's something that should be done regardless (this applies to both subjects, so take it as you wish).
Here is the list, posted way back on December 16, but with a few accomplished items crossed off and annotation where necessary:
- Go to Croatia. *Booking in progress.
- Go to Germany. *Probably won't be able to afford this.
- Go to Ireland. *In the early planning stages.
- Go to any other country I can go to. *Greece is booked.
Get a touristy photo of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.Eat authentic Italian pasta.Drink authentic Italian wine.- Take a Beatles tour of England.
- Get a photo of me crossing Abbey Road.
- Take a Harry Potter tour of England.
- Get a photo of me at Platform 9 3/4.
Strike up a conversation with a local.Try to read an Italian newspaper.- Spend a day just people watching.
Follow a road just to see where it goes.- Visit all of the major Italian cities.
Visit Dante Alighieri's house.*This was a let-down. It's not so much a shrine to Dante as a house-turned-museum dedicated to everyday life in Italy at the time of Dante. But obviously they love Dante here, so I'm always happy to come around a corner and see a bust or sculpture of the poet looking at me or a quote from La Divina Commedia carved into a wall.- Swim in the ocean.
- Actually see an ocean.
- Stay in a hostel.
Attend an Italian youth group with Jess and Katy.- Go to an Easter service in a church older than the United States.
Appreciate the fact that I can be in anything older than the United States.Get lost without panicking.Do something 100% spur-of-the-moment.Grocery shop in an open-air market.- Make one purely selfish and frivolous purchase.
- Hang my laundry out to dry over the street. *This one I may have to axe from the list because it is illegal to do in our building. Perhaps I will get the chance somewhere else. But as you've probably seen from earlier posts, I do hang my laundry to dry over my bedroom.
- Not lose/ruin any laundry in the process. *So far, so good. But I won't check this off until I'm safely back in the States.
Watch the local news (I do this everywhere I go, but it will be particularly good in a foreign country).*We interrupt this news report to bring you porn. Have a great evening.Learn about international communications (duh).*If defining "media" six ways to Sunday counts, I'm golden.Learn at least enough Italian to get by.*Communicating with locals is easier than I thought. Communicating with Gloria... not so much.Learn about art.*This is a work in progress, but I have learned a great deal already, so I'll check it off.- Live out of a backpack for a weekend.
Go to a pub.*Checked off in several cities.Take more photos than I know what to do with.*Again, work in progress.- Blog every (?) day. *I have already failed in this, but I blog every week, so that's something.
- Remember to keep my feet off the frescoes.
- Spend Valentine's Day in Paris (I'm looking at you, Katy). *This wasn't a very serious idea, so I'm okay with letting it slide.
- Not lose or let anything bad happen to Katy Welch because I promised Sarah. *I tried. Sort of.
There you go. I feel semi-accomplished with this. And since this list is a lot more vague than I remembered, it shouldn't be difficult to finish. Which means I should probably start a new list...
To close, here's a picture of the most delicious strawberries I've ever eaten in my life. In the words of Jim Sturgess, "red, juicy, sexy" indeed.
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