back from Italia.

wow wow wow.
just got back yesterday from my interterm trip to Italy.
my soul is still swimming with all that my eyes saw, all that my mind learned, and all that my heart felt. (photographic proof soon to come)

now i'm sleepily resetting my brain to school mode this next coming week and am preparing to look through all of the images i took while i was over in that beautiful country. i might have an art-attack while looking over them. and then may also have the sudden impulse to run back to the airport and catch the first flight to Florence that I can find/sell organs to afford.
but i'll probably refrain. probably.

my heart is so full, even though my mind and body are so weary.
that right there, is a feeling of great accomplishment.
ciao ciao.

tomorrow.

tomorrow marks the last time i will drive back to school for spring semester.
this may seem like a silly thing to get sentimental about, but here i go.

this is the last time i'll drive sleepily after a blissful christmas holiday back to california - rested and ready.
except this time i get to have an italian hiatus before embarking on the semester. which still hasn't fully digested in my mind yet, but im starting to pull my head out of the clouds a bit and realize that on sunday i will be getting another stamp on my passport. (!) i think my camera may be more aware of what's happening at this point than i am.

this is the last week that ill complete final registration, scour amazon for cheap textbooks, move back into my apartment and say hello again to my dear friends.

this is the beginning of the last familiar cycle in my life.
after this semester is over nothing is certain.

makes my fingers tingle a little just typing it.
but God is good, im a tough cookie and ive got some great experience under my belt.
i should probably be more worried than i am, but taking things in stride is my specialty.

now its time to pack up my life, crank up my jeep and say farewell to my beloved hometown, until next time. crazy.

n o v e m b e r r r r .

i love november. 

its one of the most pleasant months. 

in 4 weeks i will be in this very spot, hopefully with another enormous leaf like this.

my soul is happiest when it's a little chilled, when i'm with the ones i love, 

and when i'm breathing deep the change of seasons. 

O R E G O N, come quickly please.

i get to go b a c k.

the reason i haven't been posting like a madwoman about this already is because it is just now sinking in.

i have been blessed with the opportunity to trounce around Italy for 3 weeks with the Biola art department this january. so beyond pumped.

since we will be returning to many of the places that my family and i visited on our last trip, it will give me an opportunity to revel in every scene without having to feel like a mega tourist.

and now after 3 years of studio arts and 5 courses in art history... i'll know what i'm looking out and appreciate it a whole lot more and understand its context. and on top of that, one of my favorite professors in the art department & his wife are leading the trip so each conversation will be dripping with their insight & knowledge of art history.

i'm such a nerd because i legitimately can't wait for them to lecture the living daylights out of each painting. mmm. and i also can't wait to walk the streets of Italy, eat my weight in gelato & pasta, soak up all the pretty people/places/things, journal, photograph and be completely freezing in the middle of winter but not have a care in the world because of where i will be and what i will be experiencing. can't w a i t. can't wait.

that one time at Salvation Mountain.

this is extremely long, i don't expect you to read it in its entirety. but if you do... you will probably be real glad you did, just sayin. hands down most ridiculous 24 hours of my life.

disclaimer: this is a true story. literally no exaggerations or fabrications. also thank God for the iphone.

it all started with me and christina wanting to go on an adventure over labor day weekend when literally a l l of our friends were out of town, busy or working. we thought about the beach, we thought about the city, and then we thought about salvation mountain... and stopped thinking, and went.
when i say stop thinking, we kind of really stopped thinking. we may or may not have lost all forms of common sense because we thought it sounded brilliant to leave in the evening, drive 4 hours, sleep in the back of my jeep, wake up the next morning and explore. right? easy enough. wrong... we were very wrong.
here is what happened and what turned into the most adventurous and hilarious experience of our lives.

so we decide to leave at around 7 after having dinner, getting gas and boba (duh) we were headed down the 91. a couple hours later when all the street lights were gone and the roads were out of control, we started to realize that this was real life, and really foolish, but of course kept going anyways.
our original plan was to pull off on the side of the road and park it for the night. after realizing that all the towns had less than 3 stop lights, were a stones throw from the mexico border, and were legitly filled with tweakers and nightdwellers... we started to pee our pants a bit.

we planned then to pull into a campsite and just park there, but naturally they were all closed or make believe because we found no campgrounds.
when we stopped at Ski's Inn (aka Skeeze Inn) to ask for directions in Bombay Beach, we were greeted with three very inebriated mexicans who then proceeded to ask us if we wanted to "let us follow them to the campsite." When that didn't work they straight up asked us if we wanted to party. After we rolled up our windows and sped off while they were running after our car.... we decided to look for a hotel, ha.

After checking out one hotel that was $50 and-a-prayer to stay alive-a-night, we asked a cop where the next closest/safest spot would be. After basically telling us how stupid we are, he gave us a couple cities to check out down the road. So off we went, i hope he at least got our plates in case our car was reported abandoned. I bet he's still giggling to himself, ha.

So here we are, its almost midnight, bouncing down the 111hwy, not sure where or if we will sleep, we pull into Calipatria Inn a few miles down and the office was closed, so we couldn't stay there. Pretty freaked out, tired, hungry and in desperate need of some bathrooms we just parked. After we parked and sat for a few minutes we thought, "Hey... let's just stay in the car here, its well lit and were surrounded by tons of cars." Deal.

Good thing that was the plan all along because n o w we were prepared. We pulled out our laptop, movies, candle, blankets and animal crackers. Livin the life. Even though it was 101 degrees at midnight and it felt like we were sleeping on the sun's back porch - we were parked and we were gonna sleep. Two happy campers. Still feelin kinda sketchy, I called one of my good friends at home to tell him where we were ( so at least someone would know our last location if we got snatched ) and he was on top of it in seconds, looking up where we were, how far it was from big cities and even devised a plan B for us if we got busted at the inn parking lot. We both felt instantly calmed and apparently just needed a boy to tell us that we would be safe if we stayed smart and should just chill out, because we did.

Since it was a million degrees, we had to sleep in our underwear and even then lost 10 pounds in sweat (which we later gained back in doughnuts), we woke up at the crack of dawn, 5am by both the sun and some noisy hunters slamming their doors and rustling about. We were then very aware that we were sweaty, in our underwear, and surrounded by strange men with guns. So as soon as they shipped off we peed behind the jeep and left.

Pumped that we actually made it through the night, we were blazing the 111 once again, on our way to meet Leonard and the Mountain. Once we got there the sun was on its way up, so we laid down with the trunk open, sleepy eyed and being wafted by the hot breeze, we watched the sun come up behind the cross on Salvation Mountain. Coolest moment I've had in a long while. Then we drank our Arizona tea and Hostess doughnuts, got dressed and walked across the street to see the mountain.

Right when we got there Leonard greeted us, gave us a dvd and a whole bunch of freakin postcards and magnets (which are now a l l hanging in our fridge), and he chatted us up for a few minutes, being as looney and kind as can be. He then insisted to show us around himself in his precious old straw hat and paint covered clothes, that man is a beast. For the next half hour Leonard chatted us up about the Mountain, how he made it, his tire trees, the kids that come see it and the fact that "if they get enough people to talk nice about it, congress will make it a natural treasure, and keep it around for like 500 years - it'll be fine, touch it, its tough as a boot. it'll be real nice, we can get can public restrooms and make it look real good."

Leonard = champion.

Then he told us to take the yellow brick road (like literally 8 times, his marbles may be entirely lost). So we did, walked to the top, and sat on the crest of the mountain and marveled at what the heck had happened and was happening. Then we ventured back down the mountain, paparazzied that place up, explored, talked, and giggled. Leonard had left for a bit, so we were the only ones on the mountain, probably the only ones for miles. It was crazy, and rejuvenating. After chatting some more with Leonard we were on our way (it was only 9am, which felt so insane). We took a jumping pic or two by the sign and hopped into my steaming hot baked potato of a car, we drove over to slab city and explored a bit. After walking on top of an old army bunker, we heard some door creaks, fan blows, and saw drillings and got the eff outta there, literally sprinting to the car. That's when we were ready to head home.

On the way out we thought oh hey, let's stop by the Salton Sea right? Wrong. That place looked and smelled like the dump. So we didn't swim in it leisurely as we intended, but we were there, which was good enough for us. Our ipods were real dead at this point, so we listened to adventures in oddessy tapes as I tried to pry my eyes open. After a stop at In-n-Out, caffiene, and lots of giggling about the day later, we were home. And passed out on the couch for three hours. S U C C E S S. Best day ever, you now understand our need to massively document every detail.

Also: "yeah sure, we'll party with you, we'd love to get raped," KOA closed till october?, peeing/screaming in hilarity behind the jeep, the painted vail/fear of cholera, ultra paranoid about the hunters, 3 hrs of sleep, flicking granola bar into christina's bra, "what's the difference between a crackhead and a tweaker? crackheads will steal your shit and bounce, tweakers will steal your shit and help you look for it," getting checked/insulted by border patrol, giggling/yell at Leonard, madly searching the iphone at all hours, nip slip in in-n-out bathroom, bonding like crazy... friendship heightened.

all my bags are packed im ready to go...

but i'm really not ready to go.
i hate the end of summer. always. every time. never fails.
yes, there's always a part of me that's excited to get back to school, friends and my whole life there... but it never ceases to suck leaving my cozy home and cozy hearts.

even after four years, i still haven't adjusted to packing & unpacking my whole life in the back of my jeep biannually.

even after four years, i always get homesick after my parents leave me with all my possessions and life continues back home while i have to start from scratch again.

even after four years, i always forget how blessed i am to be part of my family, and how much i miss them when i am gone.

even after four years, i'm still not used to being a student... but i also don't want to get used to being a graduate and grown up like the rest of the world 9 months from now. hmm, problem.

well, i suppose its time to face the music.

left to do:
- one last dinner at my grandparent's house
- tetris-pack the crap out of my jeep
- finish my l a s t anthropology class
- say farewell to my beloved oregon until november

readyyyy? go.

i want i want, i need i need.

to T R A V E L

I need to dip my toes in a distant shore.

I need to breath deep the foreign air.

I need to be horribly confused by a street map.

I need to eat gelato for 2 euros.

I need to wander happily, with no concern for getting lost.

I need to converse with the locals and giggle with passerby's.

I need to take photos, lots and lots of photos.

I need to sip cappuccino and people watch at a corner cafe.

I need to buy useless trinkets so that whenever I see them I will be reminded or that time and that place where I bought it.

I need to scratch my name in a tree or park bench so I have another reason to come back (and search for it).

I need to buy cheap wine that tastes just as good as a spendy US bottle.

I need to laugh, make memories and revel in new opportunities.

I want I want, I need I need to travel.

best. weekend. ever.

no, i'm not exaggerating. 

i think it really was one of the best weekends there ever was.

here are some (not nearly all, but some) reasons why...

the company. 

these girls, among other fine friends MADE the weekend.

so many giggles.

the beach. 

because well... look at it.

the food. happy hour tacos, wedding buffet & endless justifications that calories eaten in love and celebration don't count. 

(which they don't).

my [21st] birthday.

i will never, by choice, have a birthday in america again. 

it's just waaay to relaxing when you're on vacay.

these guys made sure i was a happy girl all day long. 

lots of love & so fun!

oh, and not having to buy a drink all day was pretty sweet too.

the pool. 

three pools. two happy hours. one swim up bar. you do the math.

the dancing. 

jampacked dance floor from start to finish. so quality. 

including dancing the macarena in a fountain and jumping in the ocean. perfect.

the wedding. 

such an act of worship, the Spirit was definitely present.

beautiful, tearjerking, simple and exciting. so great.

and of course, these guys. 

it was such a crazy joy explosion to celebrate these two. 

still can't get over how epically fantastic it was. love you two & again, congratsss!

Mexico has been ruined for me forever because of this weekend. 

I don't think much can top it.

I also don't think I'm gonna get used to no happy hours, no beach, no $5 tacos and fiestaing for a while... 

Yikes. It was suuuuch a good time.

things on my list lately.

post grad travel bliss.

this little creature.

summer adventuring.

lounging in the most exotic of places.

antiquey things.

soaking up each moment before its gone.

________________________________________

in other news:

this is how committed i am to the purity of my trail mix.

survival of the fittest [clearly the nuts & chocolate]

- there are only 8 weeks left of this semester.... 8! ridiculous.

- it feels like summer here, which is causing me to get HARD CORE spring/summer fever just in time to be unmotivated before midterms.

- i get to see lauren & brandon next week [woot woot!]

-all i want to do is nap and lay in the sun, neither of which my schedule allows for.

oh spring break... why are you 3 weeks away?

exotic lodging lust

i would like to go to Spain just so i could stay at this hotel.

im freaking out over how great it is.

sneak a peak... and freak.