Chicago, Illinois

Well hello. I doubt anyone is reading this anymore so this is really just for myself to read a little later. Well I've been in Chicago for almost 2 weeks now. It's been quite an adjustment. I had that direct flight from Dublin, which I didn't sleep on, and then just jumped into everything. I've been incredibly fortunate that Ben and his roommate Dave, now my roommate, decided it would be easier and more beneficial to all of us if I just moved in with them. So I've taken residence in their former guest/music room and I now have a place to live, and a good one at that. I think the 3 of us will all be good roommates. So far it's been working out great. Ben is the cynic, Dave is the idealist and I'm the realist. Dave and I can gang up on Ben and make fun of him when he's being a little uptight, Ben and I can gang up on Dave when he's being a little too out there and unrealistic and the two of them can gang up on me when I'm starting to be a little too goofy or ridiculous. We were talking about this some at dinner the other night and Dave made a good point. See part of the reason i moved out here was because I thought it would be fun to live in a new awesome city while in my 20's. Just working and going with friends and stuff. Dave pointed out that not only are the 3 of us doing that right now but we're all in a good and similar situation to be doing that. We're at similar points in our lives that brought us together at this time. Plus we're all pretty open-minded and like to go out out exploring and doing different social things. It's a good situation for all 3 of us to be in.

There have already been a lot of events going on since I got here. It was a good time to arrive socially that is. When I got here on Monday October 20th we just went out and got a couple of drinks. That Friday Dave and his band Modern Conversation had a show that they invited some people too. We went to that and then went out again and had a good time. The night after that Ben and I went to o costume party with out friend J.P. Ben was a 70's character, I was Dr. Doug and J.P. was beer man. All very good costumes. There were a lot of people involved in the improv scene in Chicago there and I got to meet some cool new people. Then on Monday the 27th it was J.P.'s birthday so we went to a dollar beer night and just kicked it there for a bit. Once again, I met some more people. That Thursday was Ben's celebration for his birthday and we went out and got some drinks and dinner and hooka and such. Then Friday was Halloween. We ended up going to this party in Chinatown which is on the south side of Chicago with these people Ben and Dave new well. I had a really good time there. The people were friendly and some of the people there I knew from meeting previously so that was pretty cool. It was one of the 1st parties where I wasn't just meeting fresh brand new people. I still didn't know them that well though, but cool people nonetheless. There was a lot of booze and I probably had a bit too much. I was tired and I accidentally fell asleep on the El train on the way back. Ben thought I was right behind him until he realized I was still on the train. I woke up at the last stop and had to get my way back down to where we were though. It all worked out though ad we met back up. I ended getting into this bar for free and skipping the $10 cover charge. That was lame so I left and just went back to bed.

Then yesterday I went to this local bar just to watch the Oregon vs. Cal game. Oregon lost, which sucked, but sitting next to me was this nice woman named Christy who started talking with me. We talked for a good while in between watching the multiple games that were on. She was a local and a regular so she introduced me to some of the bartenders and it was cool to just go out and meet someone new on my own. Last night though we went to another, and hopefully final, costume party. Ben and I went and we met up with this guy in Dave's other band, a Beatles cover band, named Daniel or George Harrison. We talked with him some and met some girls who were in town from Michigan for the weekend. We ended up getting there numbers before we all had to leave. They work in the dorms at this small liberal arts school in Michigan, Adrian college, and were heading back today. Although we texted some back and forth and are facebook friends already so I'm very confident that we'll probably end up meeting up with them again at some point. Chicago is like the hub for this region of the States so they'll probably be back at some point soon.

After all this though there's still more. Dave has another concert tonight back in Chinatown and Ben and I will be going to that. Tuesday is election day and it looks like Barack is going to win. He's making his base in Chicago and he's already rented out a big ass park for people to come and "celebrate" at where he'll be giving a speech. They're expecting a million people to attend and you can bet I'll be one of them. After that it's my birthday on Saturday so we'll go out and do something fun then.

So while all this is going good it's still quite an adjustment. I'm doing a lot of fun things and I have a good living situation with guys I know well. I am out meeting people on a regular basis so I'm not just sitting at home doing nothing. It's still tough though. Meeting new people when you're brand new to an area is always a challenge. It's something that just takes time to feel like you've got some good friends you could hang out with. I'm also missing Oregon and California a lot. I know people out there, I like it out there and I'm comfortable out there. Plus as cool as I think Chicago is I've always kind of pictured going back to the west coast in the end. Only time will tell but that's just what I always thought. Hell I miss traveling too. I didn't think I would at first but I met a lot of great people there and would know people in just about any area I went too. I'm already going back to the bay for Thanksgiving and I'm trying to put something together in December to go to Oregon. I think going back would help me want to be back in Chicago as well. That's how it was before when I moved to Oregon. I needed to leave for a little bit to want to get back to there. It will be good to see people I haven't seen in a while and I'll probably end up thinking about how it will be good to get back to some of the things I like here in Chicago. Also I think getting a job would help that out. I could have done a little more as far as job searching goes but I was still kind of adjusting to just being back and not being on the west coast. I've already had a couple of interviews and they'll take a little while to hear back from. So if I get those then it'll all be good but I really shouldn't be depending on those. I've got two more applications that look promising that I'll be sending off with cover letters tomorrow. But getting a source of income would help me adjust even more so.


Basically, and I've said this before, this is a major transition period on my life. From just graduating college and trying to find a job in "the real world", to picking up and leaving an area that you love and enjoy, to moving to a brand new city in a brand new area where you barely know anyone and having it all coincide directly after you finished traveling and backpacking around Europe by yourself it is a lot to deal with. I knew it would be a lot to handle and in some ways I was really hoping it would be, because when I come out on the other side it will all have been a fantastic experience that I know I will have enjoyed. It's just a lot for me to deal with right now. But I'm a pretty strong willed confident person and I know it's going pretty damn well so far. It's just hard to silence that self doubt and second guessing. I've gotten better at doing that now then 4 years ago but it'll always be there. I just gotta keep truckin through. Things could be worse thought and I am enjoying myself. So if anyone reads this, this is how I'm doing and this is how I'm adjusting. Peace out.

-Doug

Dublin, Ireland...One Last Time

Well I left on in Krakow last time. After I was done writing the last entry a little bit of a fiasco happened at our hostel. See we were in a hostel with what appeared to be a family of Russian's who were out of a home. In general the hostel was full of people that did not speak English but were giving us weird and rude looks all the time simply for having dinner and laughing some. I guarantee you we were not being offensive. So at 1:30 am one of these Russian guys came in and turned on the bright ass lights, waking me up. I was pissed at him already because he had been rude and was quite cranky as well. So I reached over and turned of the light. he came back and turned it on and then said something to me in Russian. I pointed to my clock and all the people in the room and then he just went ballistic. He started yelling his ass off in Russian. I don't know what pissed him off with my logic, especially since he only turned the light on to take off his pants and shirt. So I just said that I didn't speak Russian and put my head down while he was yelling to himself with the lights off. We were ready to leave the next morning.

After that was Auschwitz during the day. It was a very powerful place to say the least. It was a bit surreal for me. I don't think the weight of everything fully hit me. I know that Mariel felt it though. The first camp, Auschwitz 1, was just a holding camp. That one was a bit more informative and quite frankly had a lot of tourists. The death camp, Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau, was something else. Less tourists but it was just absolutely massive. You couldn't believe how many people they were holding there all at once. And the train tracks running into the center of the camp and right to where the gas chambers use to be was very eery. One good thing, in my opinion though, was that there was a large group of Israeli students on a mission trip walking through there no problem. They were all wearing Jewish star clothes and many of them had Israeli flags that they were waving everywhere with pride. To me it was very significant that they were able to do this in what used to be one of the worst places possible for them to be anywhere near. It showed how far things have come since that time and the opportunities that they now have. Also kind of a big fuck you to the Nazi's parading through their camp that used to a tool of fear and a deadly weapon for them.

After that we took a train to Prague. We didn't get in until late that night and just passed out. We woke up and just had a day of wandering around Prague basically. We walked through the Old Square, the Jewish quarter another popular strip and had a damn good Czech lunch with 2 beers each. That was one thing that was awesome about traveling with Mariel. She was always down to sit down and chill out with a good beer multiple times a day. So we took full advantage of that. We came back and went on a pub crawl that night. Oh Deary it was wild. We showed up at 8:00 and the deal was you get free drinks at this first bar for a while before you head out. So I knew that I had to take full advantage. They gave us a shot of absinthe to start off. Mariel didn't want hers so I had it as well as mine. They had shots of mixed cranberry and vodka and free beer galore. I had plenty of both. We started talking with this Kiwi named Chris who was traveling alone and had a good chat with him. Mariel made out with him, which was good for her because he was a good chap. That lead me to start talking with some people from this group of students from the University of Florida who were studying aborad for their graduate school program and all traveling around a little bit beforehand. Mike and Amanda are the names I remember but there about 6 others that I was chattin up as well. I started talking with them by asking if I could join in on their game of quarters and Mike was very happy to oblige. Him and I talked about SEC footbal and he told me that they gave the PAC-10 no respect. I said that while it's not as good as the SEC surely you must give some temas some respect. He did not. I was a little angry but then he poured me a beer and it was all good. I also started talking with some dude from Colorado for a while and we had some good ass talks. I spilled his free shot so I offered to buy him another. I did and we talked and I guess all the tour guides though I was gay and making a move on him. Mariel had to explain that I'm just like that sometimes I guess.

Anywho I woke up quite hungover but also feeling quite fantastic. I walked back to my hostel because I did not end up at my hostel that night and met Mariel for breakfast. We then walked around all day across the Charles Bridge, up by the castle and in this awesome park that had a great view of Prague. We got a cheap lunhc because we were low on Korun's and it ended up being a hefty plate and pretty damn good. It re-energized me. We walked back and just took it easy that night. We met these 2 Canadian ladies traveling around and talked with them for a bit. They were cool but once again low on funds and beat from partying last night that we just stayed in on a Friday night in Prague. We woke up, got breakfast withe the Canadiens and went for a little walk to start the day. Then it was time for me to leave and catch a flight to London. Mariel and I said goodbye and hugged it out, then I hopped on the metro and got the airport in fashionable timing.

I decided to go to london because there are some dirt cheap flights to London, I know some people there and I had a night to kill so I figured why not Saturday night in London with some friends. The customs person was giving me the 3rd degrre because I didn't have a printout of my flight out of London and she thought I was going to stay and work for some reason. I stayed with my two friends Kim and Becca that I met on the bus trip in Ireland. they let me crash on their couch and we went out and had a damn good time. My other friends that Pat and I met in Italy when we traveled last year Pete, Darsh and Ben all came out and met up with us. Darsh had to get home early but that didn't stop him from having a couple of beers before he left. Ben, pete and I drank...and then we drank some more. We all talked about our adventures last time while traveling and what we were up to at the moment. Sounds like they're doing just fine. Kim and Becca got quite drunky as well. I bought them a drink and all of us a round of cheap shots that to be honest were quite harsh. Ben and Pete ended up leaving so I stayed with Kim and Becca and we drank some more. There's pictures of me lifting them up, biting their head, and giving granpa kisses and them loving every moment of it. There are also pictures of us on our crazy bus ride home at the top of one of those red London buses. We kept the party going on that bus. Then we went to a party at their neighbors house where I had a long ass conversation with their friend Pete and this 38 Welsch man about women. I don't know how the Welsh guy got there. Kim and I watched Lost in translation but I was asleep pretty fast. I also got my hand got in the futon when we folded it open. It didn't hurt at all thought for some reason.

I woke up and woke Kim up by acting just plain silly. She made me coffee and the 3 of us sat and talked for a bit. After that I had some time to kill so I said buy to the two of them and told them that when they come to Chicago, because they are from Ohio and go by Chicago from time to time, they are more than welcome to stay and that we would paint the town red, white and blue. Then I took the underground to Big Ben, The Parliament Building, Wesminster Abbey, St James's Park and Buckingham Palace. Walked by all of them for a while and had a good sit down thinking session at the park. I walked back and got a good ass burger with a coke for damn cheap and startedmy trek to Heathrow airport. From there I caught a flight to Dublin. Let me tell you the pilot looked like they were drunk or something. I've flown on a lot of planes and this was one of the sloppiest take off's and sloppiest landings as well. She kept swaying back and forth having one side of the plane go up and then down and shaking all the overhead compartments as soon as we were in the air from the ground and right as we were desending about to touch down.

Other than the plane though Dublin has been pretty good. I think it's very appropriate for me to end my European excursion back in Dublin. It was interesting taking the bus into downtown and comparing how I felt last night to when i first arrived in Dublin nervous and confused as hell. Same bus ride and it showed to me some of the changes in me and my viewpoints I've been through and what I've been able to do since I've been out here. I stayed at the same hostel, Kinlay House, as I did last time when I took the bus tour. The bus tour I took ended on a Sunday and guess what day it was. When i arrived I the receptionist was one of the people I had gotten some drinks with before and she told me that the tour guide, my buddy Dr. Kev, was out back having some drinks with his other 3 day tour that just ended. I walke outside and he promplty told me to sit down and have a drink once he was over the shock of seeing me. I had a couple of pints of Guinness and we talked about my travels, our bus tour, the tour he had just been on, Chicago (which he may be traveling to soon) and what the bus driver Dave was up to. I also started talking with some of the people that were just on his tour for a little bit as well. After he left though it was time for me to go because I wasn't going out on a complete bender the night before I had a flight back to the States. So that's where I am now. I have a flight straight to Chicago in about 5 hours and then I'll just be getting set up there.

It's weird because for a good amount of time I've been thinking that it'll be fun to get back to the States and get going in Chicago. Although I've continue to have fun and make the most out of each place that's what I've been looking forward to. Although this morning and even last night some I was also very sad to leave. I've had a fucking awesome time and I've been meeting up with a lot of people that I know here. I don't feel to disconnected from the States and I know people all over here that I could easily be incredibly good friends that I would hang out with regularly. I was talking with Kevin and it sounded like it wouldn't be out the question for me to get a job at the hostel here in Dublin and possibly with the Shamrocker bus tour company. but alas, I have a flight, responsibilities to get to and a life to get to in the States that I like and enjoy. More so than last time though I don't feel like I'll land and it will be as if I'm finally back. I feel like I'll land and just continue on with what I've been doing...living life. I'll just really miss the people that will be quite a distance away and straight up the adventures that are waiting around the corner. However, there are plenty of adventures ahead and life always presents adventures if you keep your eyes open. Mostly I just can't figure out exactly what this journey has been for me. It wasn't just Europe that was nuts but that's what I'm focusing on. it's also been Boston, Vancouver, the bay area, leaving Oregon, leaving the West coast, graduating from college, evn the road trip with the bro's and now Chicago. I basically just need some time to reflect and think about all this stuff. I do know that I've put a lot of thought into my decisions and so far when I take well thought out chances the experience ends up being good for me and something I appreciate and am glad that I did. That's especially been the case so far and I hope it continues.

Krakow, Poland

So that Friday night in Berlin we worked some shit out at the internet cafe and then painted the town red, white and blue. We really just went to the Wombat's Hostel bar but that's a pretty damn good bar and it was also the Wombat's bar in Munich that I had such a wild time at. We got a couple of beers at the internet cafe because it was a joint cafe/grocery store. The bar was on the 7th floor which was the top floor and it had a great view of the TV Tower which is in Alexanderplatz. We got some drinks up there, I played a vicious game of ping pong with a Danish man (I also whooped Mariel with ease but grace) and we talked to this Irish woman after we had had a few and just could barely make out what she was saying. She had a heavy southern ireland accent and she was just chatting away. that night Mariel woke up to our Asian room,ate from brazil (????????????) ass naked at 4 in the morning in our room. Later on he was on standing on my bed right next to her face on the top bunk because he was "trying to look at her clock to get the time". I slept right through this of course.

We woke up and got a good breakfast at the hostel for 3.50 Euro and jacked a bunch of sandwich stuff so that lunch was free later. We walked by the TV Tower, this market where I bought a German beer glass with a lid, this awesome park called Tiergarden with amazing fall leaves. We walked up this monument which is symbolic for all of Berlin, went to Hitler's former bunker. they had a Holocaust memorial that had sloping hills with different sized pillars to represent the uncertainty and confusion for jewish people during that time and afterwords. We saw where the Berling wall first came down, the government building (where I almost got in trouble because I had my knife on me when i entered and it's technically illegal to be carrying around in public in Germany). There was a political march that just didn't quite seem right hearing everyone yelling in gemran for a political cause and then the book burning memorial on our way back to our hostel. We did a lot of stuff. Then we painted the town red, white and blue again that night. We met our new roommate who Mariel decided to name "Jafar" because he had crazy/wild black hair and didn't speak much English. We got a drink and then mariel quickly made friends with some Jews from Israel. they though she was a JAP (Jewish Americna Princess) at first but then they realized that she was hard core. We drank with them for a while and then I made some friends with these 2 Aussies and we just had a little party going in the Wombat's again. The Asian/Brazialian guy was there and he was acting a little wierd to Mariel again. I think he had a big old crush on her but she wasn't even slightly interested. That night "Jafar" gave Mariel quite the scare so she slept with her knife open. Silly goose. I slept through another fiasco where he got up and looked out the window for a while and then our other rommate Alex stumbled in at 6:30 am to pack and leave. I slept like a baby.

That Sunday we walked down to the East Gallery which looked like an awesome museum but ended being a long as pasture of the Berlin wall with lots of graffiti art and tagging on it. Mariel and I wrote our names on it but also wrote our pretend German names on it (Hans and Gitl). She was a little upset because she had to go to the bathroom so we had to walk the to a restaurant instead of the bathroom at the museum which I had promised. Whoopsiedaisy. We then walked through what looked like the middle eastern neighborhood of Berlin. All of Berlin is incredibly international so it was awesome to see these different communities of people around the world. We had Thai food the first night for dinner and Japanese the second night. After a stop for our free lunch again thanksd to Wombat's we walked to the German Jewish Historical Museum. We talked about life and relationships and what we plan to do after we're done with our time in Europe. The Jewish museum was a very impressive museum. It started with some Holocaust victims personal items that were found with a brief description. An artisitc architect from Poland designed it and he had some interesting things throughout. He designed the building with empty rooms that were all concected in certain points to represent but couldn't be reached to represent the absence of Jews in certain parts of German culture throughout its history. The museum really wasn't just about the Holocaust. It covered everything from the 1200's on and while it covered the Holocaust didn't put any extra focus on it. Mariel already knew most of the history but I learned a lot of facts tha gave me a better understanding of Jewish culture in Germany and really a lot of Europe as well. We walked back by Checkpoint Charlie (which was the American part of the Berlin Wall) but that was kind of a joke as far as being informative and interesting so we barely spent any time there and went back to our hostel. We took a night train to Krakow and just had a little giggle fest the probably annoyed our neighbors but made Mariel just go crazy with laughter.

We got to Krakow that morning and dropped our stuff of once we found our hostel. The conversion rate in Poland is quite in our favor so we went and got a huge but delicious lunch for about 2 hours in the Jewish neighborhood of Krakow. We had perogi (which I kept caling paella accidently even though they are 2 completely different things) which is a Polish dish and awesome. It's a potato dumpling filled with eather meat, vegetables, cheese, dessert, or whatever combo you want. I had the the double cheese one and Mariel had the cabbage and mushroom one. We split a dessert platter of them which also rocked and we washed it all down with some good Polish beer. We ventured into a synagogue which looked to be orhtodox and Mariel explained some of the interest aspects of this synagogue to me. We went into the cemetary and I was required to where a kippa (yamaka-esque) because all men are. We left and took a little break, refresher. We took care of trains, cooked some food and went out to the Jewish area again to get a drink at this pretty damn cool jazz club. there was dead rat right on the street that we and the people next to us watched people get freaked out when they saw it and a middle aged guy accidently step right on without even noticing. Yeah Krakow!

Today Mariel and I got up and had some free breakfast like usual. But we went out and saw the sights today. We went to the Wawel castle which is the main tourist attraction and housed Polish royalty for centuries. They had a lot of interesting archaelogy and apparently a dragons lair which is how Krakow got it's reputation. We wanted a good old lunch again so we went to the Jewish quarter and just ended up at the same restaurant. This time we got different types of perogi and had a vodka apple drink which is supposed to be very Polish. I also sipped on a shot of good Polish vodka. We walked up to the Old Town after that which was surrounded by a wall because it used to be the barrier to outside forces. They had some absolutely beautiful chuches and a gorgeous center sqaure. A market with some very tempting things for sale. We stopped for a bit and got a beer and some beet soup (Mariel's new favorite dish) and on the way back to the hostel we saw an accordian band which rocked. Mariel also loved them and I was considering buying their CD. After a souvenir vodka stop we got some food for tommorow and came back and had some dinner. We would have gone out tonight but we're getting up early tomorrow to go to Auschwitz and Mariel has some family ties there so it will be a serious day all around. Then off to Prague and sleep that night and we are going to paint Prague red, white and blue the whole fucking time! So that's that. Mariel and I have just been cracking goofy jokes that really would probably make people question our sanity if they could understand us. Some of it is mildy offensive, some of it is incredibly offensive and some it makes no sense because we are just saying obscure phrases or making wierd noises. We have named ourselves Hans and Gitl and we talk with silly German accents. We also say "Oh Deary Me" like Mrs. Doubtfire. These are just some of our little shenanigans. So that's Krakow.

Berlin and Before

Well I´m in Berlin, Germany right now but a lot has happened since then. First of the rest of The Black Forest. Well I pretty much did what I said. I just relaxed, got some correspondence done and went on some hikes. The second day I was there I went on a shorter hike where I ended up walking by an some sort of elk confine where there was a family of elk and one beast of a father. he had some massive horns. The last day there though was the best. I didn't have to do any internet stuff so I just went on a long ass hike that was about 25 kilometers at least without stopping. I intended to stop at certain points but I just ended up continuing. I didn't go to that other town Schitalch I just walked a circle around Freudenstadt basically, just a fat circle. I walked by some smaller villages and through a lot of forests with fall leaf colors of dark to light orange, dark to light yellow and a whole array of green. The map they gave me was a bit tough. I really had to use my direction skills with this thing. It was harder to navigate through the Black Forest then it was in Venice or in Amsterdam. Either way though it was pretty sweet. I walked by an awesome lake and trudged through a little bit of what looked like an off trail path that was a shortcut through a region. When I got back I was limping a little because of my blisters. The hostel wasn't serving dinner and I didn't feel like walking into town so I just bought like 6 of their candy bars for dinner because I hadn't eaten since breakfast. It was like the day after Halloween as a kid all over again.

Then I moved on through Switzerland to Torino, Italy. It was a marathon train day with 4 trains so 3 changes that took 12 hours. It was still pretty sweet though. After walking all day I just relaxed and looked at the scenary. Switzerland is beautiful and I'd been there before but not through some of the center parts that I went and the Swiss Alps are just an amazing view. I also went down by Lake Como and the Ticino part of Switzerland which is just like Italy. That area is gorgeous. It was cool to see the landscape change as well. I talked with a Romanian couple on the first rain about Gypsies, Romania, their kid, parenting and what type of work they do. I talked with 3 people from Chicago on the 3rd train, one of whom was living in Basel Switzerland for the last 20 years. We talked about sports, traveling, Basel, life and they gave me some damn good tips on Chicago. I also got to finish Barack Obama's book which was pretty sweet.

When I got to Torino there was some train issues but I was still able to meet up with my good friend Lauren who is an Au Pair there. She just met me at the station and we walked towards my hostel and then she went back to her host/employer family's house. The next day we met up and just walked through the center of Torino with all the squares and stuff. We stopped and talked a lot and just had some fantastic talks the whole time we were there. She showed me the Mole which is the main monument building there and we went back to her place for coffee and an afternoon snack. Then she had to pick up her kids at school and so i walked to meet them because they were extremeley excited about meeting an American guy. they had never met one and asked about how tall and big I was before I got there. then I walked through the old district of Torino, got some gelato and went back to my hostel to take care of shit. Lauren and I got drinks that night but nothing serious.

The next day we did a lot of the same exploring. Went to a park and a fake Mideveil castle. But first we went out to a big old Italian lunch with her other American nanny friends (Tiffaney the Mormon, Lindsay the crazy cool one, and Aubrey the international traveler/lifestyle) and just had a good ass lunch. I had the pesto pasta with the chicken dish later and orange cake. they had fancier names but I just don't remember. When Lauren left I took that opportunity to go to this dope cafe I found that was what I think a North African theme and great outdoor seating. then I walked through another part of town that she hadn't even been too and along one of their rivers which was great. The walk was awesome and Torino is beautiful It didn't seem like it at first but it has this homey feel. plus they have great monuments all over the place that are beautiful. After that I was invited over to her house for an Italian dinner cooked by her host mother Patricia (who was abosultely awesome and spoke fluent English as well). The husband Alfonso couldn't be there but the boys Filipo and Rugie were. It was a great meal and I liked those two kids. Reminded me of my cousins and I definitely got some throwing them around on the couch play time in. I helped Lauren put them to bed but then earlier in the day Lindsay said she was pheaning for a drink so Lauren had to stay in while Lindsay, Aubrey and I went out for drinks. We just had a couple but it was a good time. I accidently dropped a serious that's what she said line.

The next day Lauren and I met up again. She came to my hostel this time and we went back to the city center. We didn't even go anywhere we just sat and had another great talk for a couple of hours. She's and old friend of mine and we did a counseling group together in high school so we know each other very well and can have very serious conversations with ease. I really enjoyed not only catching up but spending time with her. I left and went to Florence (but not before Lauren gave me a luch that she packed for me) just for the night to meet up with my friend Mariel who I am traveling with now. I went to her host parents house, because she is studying abroad, and had another bomb ass Italian dinner. It was huge and they hate leftovers. they spoke just a little English but they were very friendly and with my Spanish and Mariel's translation we communicated very well. We talked about politics, the US economy and what I'm doing with my life. It was cool and Mariel and I set up lodging for the rest of our trip. We're in Berlin, going to Krakow, Auschwitz and Prague. She also snuck some laundry for me. My hostel was dope and I would've stayed longer but alas I wasn't there to sightsee. Plus I was there a year before for 5 nights.

Mariel and I went to the Pisa airport way earlier then we need to and let me tell you it is a blast traveling with her already. When we hang out we just act incredibly goofy around each other all the time. I can't explain it, it just has to be seen. There's nothing intellectual (or crude) about our little jokes but we find them hilarious and many times nothing even needs to be said. It's nice traveling with someone at this point and we'll have a lot of fun. She had some credit card problems but that all got sorted out so now we're just gonna paint the town. I'm gonna head out now because I can't wait any longer to have some fun in Berlin on a Friday night so peace out ya'll.

Freudenstadt, Germany...The Black Forest

Here I am in Freudenstadt. First though Oktoberfest. Well that shit was crazy, and I didn't even go that crazy at the actual Oktoberfest tent areas. First I arrived and just thought I'd walk around there and check it out. It was pretty nuts and just a fuckload of drunk people with some families as well. There were tons of rides like at the state fair that people were riding left and right. All the bright lights of a fair as well, and the rides look pretty damn fun. I came back, sat down at the bar to have my free shot of Jaeger (that was the name of the hostel) and started talking with the guy next to me when the bartender decided to give everyone at the bar a free shot of tequila. The guy next to me was named Mick from Australia and we basically became running mates for the next 2 nights. Our hostel bar was pretty cool and we talked with a couple of Canadien guys there, but when they left to go on a night train we though we'd head out to the actual Oktoberfest. We walked outside and within a matter of seconds 3 drunk Canadien women walked by and started chatting us up. We decided we'd roll with them and that got us about one and a half blocks before we turned around and headed to their hostel bar which was right next door, before a stop off for a shot of Jaeger at our hostel bar. This Wombat's hostel was one of the nicest hostels I've seen with and outdoor type relax area INSIDE and their bar was just a damn good and wild bar. I barely remember being there and somehow I woke up in my bed. I haven't blacked out like that in a while and when I asked Mick about it the next morning he said that he kept buying me beers and shots because he felt like it and that I was keeping the party going for him. So at least it was because a drink was placed in my hand constantly. I didn't puke or anything and I do remember bits and pieces. Plus this guy Mick is more innapropriate than I'll ever be. I did start talking to some girl in (I think this is how you spell it) liederhosen and assumed incorrectly that she worked at Oktoberfest, and she was not too happy about that. But I remember my hangover more than anything.
I took full advantage of the coffee and bread breakfast that morning and then Mick and I headed out to see a little bit more of Munich then just beer. We ended up walking all over the town without trying to. Southwest to Central East and then up to Northwest. We saw the downtown central area and ended in the old Olympic Park area which was amazing. Great park and still beautiful stadiums. Right next to the BMW museum and factory as well. Mick and I talked about travel and family a lot. He met his lady while traveling in Asia and they traveled for 2 months together. She was from England and at the end of that he just said well you want to come to Sydney and give it a try. That was for years ago and now they're engaged witha 7 month old daughter. They were in England for a couple of weeks visitng her family and she agreed to let him get away from Dad and husband to be responsibilities for 3 days so this was his time to pursue as he said was one of his passions, drinking. He's a good guy who was just making the most out of the little freedom he could muster up and he knew what his responsibilities were. After walking around though we were pretty beat and I was still feeling the effects of last night so we decided to just take the metro back. We got separated for a bit because Mick assumed I had taken a nap and he wanted to get to drinking more. So he left a little early and ended up slamming down 5 liters of beer at the beer tents over a period of a few hours. I just made friends with this Indian (the country) dude who is an engineer for Haliburton at their branch in Cairo, Egypt. We hit up the beer tents ourselves but unlike Mick I only had one liter. I came back and talked with some of the people in my room before heading down to the bar. I figured I should make the most out of it, my hangover gone at this point and I knew I was just going to be recouping for the next few days. Who should I run into there but Mick who called me over to buy me a drink and a tequila shot.
We went straight over to Wombat's after that and had another wild night but I didn't black out this time. We met these other Candian/Aussie dudes and dudetes and had some drinks with them. One of the guys got dressed in his friends liederhosen (I think) and looked like a drag queen. Then he took it off and was in his underwear. One of his buddies came up and gave him such a severe wedgie that it ripped his underwear in the back. He decided the only reasonable thing to do was just take of his underwear in the middle of the bar and the thing is it wasn't even a problem for anyone. he put his clothes back on though and it was basically just a giant party. I remember getting home and talking with my roomies Aleisha from Brisbane and Kelly from LA before bed and I woke not in the best shape but better than before.
Now in the Black Forest my plan has been just to recoup and go hang out in nature for a bit. So far I've done all that. That guy David in Luxembourg reminded me that some people go from city to city with no plan as to where they're going to sleep because they like the adventure of figuring it out along the way. The rest of my trip is basically booked so I thought I'd take his view on it here and so I arrived with no destination. I got off the train, got some info and food, went straight to the information area in the middle of the city, got hostel info, b lined it to the hostel and got the perfect hostel for what I'm looking for. I had my own room last night and it looks as if that will continue and all i really want to do is just relax, organize, do some simple vacation things, sleep and see some nature. I've managed to do that so far. I slept a lot this morning. I made a list of things to do today and I've gotten a lot done. A couple of hostel bookings, shaved, showered, reorganized my pack, took care of a lot of correspondence online and posted my resume online at Monster.com as well. I also got a short hike in for a couple of hours. Tomorrow I'll do some more errands and relaxing as well as another short hike. Then On sunday it looks like I'll be able to do a long 28 kilometer hike to the next city, look at that place and then take the 20 minute train back. Then through Switzerland off to Turin, Italy to meet up with my friend Lauren.
I know I was just writing about partying a lot but Oktoberfest helped cement certain things now for my partying habits. For a long while now I've known my level of content with crazy ass partying has been declining. I was generally figuring after this trip I was going to stop going wild like that with such frequency anyways. At Oktoberfest I just fully felt that while I enjoy having drinks with friends and always will I've done enough crazy drunken things in my life at this point that I don't feel the need to keep pursuing that part of my life. I always thought, "Do it now while you're young and it's still a blast" or "You don't want to look back and think that you missed out on that part of life." Well I can say without a doubt that I have not missed out on that part of life. It wasn't just the hangover though, it's been a slow decline. I kind of viewed the trip as a last harrah to these crazy days and I actually thought Oktoberfest might have that effect on me. Plus this whole summer I've been planning things out but working evenings at a restaurant meant I'd get done with work right when people were going out and I didn't have to be at work until 5 or 6 sometimes the next day. This isn't to say that I'll never be drunk again or that I'm going to change my life or the person I am. I will always like going out with friends, I'll be going out while in Europe and back in the States and I will have more wild and crazy adventures. I just don't feel this desire to pursue the wildest party adventures anymore. After 6 years of that stuff I think I can say I've been there.
That aside though I had a nice litte moment while on the hike today. I stopped and had a good German beer under some covering. Just one and just because there's almost always room for a good beer. The Black Forest is beautiful and I was just sitting there enjoying my beer, looking at the scenary and thinking about life. I'm glad to be in Europe and it feels really good to have worked hard to get here and feel like I'm making the most out of my situation and opportunities in life. I always thought it would be awesome to see all of Europe when i was growing up more than any other place and by the end of this trip I'll really have seen a whole lot of it at such a young age. But I'll be glad to get to Chicago and start building something up there. I also always thought it would be awesome to live in a big city where it snowed in my 20's and I'm going to go do that too. Plus even though I'm on vacation and all right now it's been a pretty long break. Not just Europe and my time in the bay and Canada but also the summer. Like I said I was out just having a good time for the whole summer in Eugene. Going to different events and not really having to work that hard. I also went on a kick ass road trip and really just had the exact last 4 1/2 months that I wanted. But there's a certain satisfaction that comes with some good hard at the end of the day or the end of the week or just towards something. I'm feeling that now but I want to knuckle down and just get to work on setting up my life in Chicago. I want to get a job, find a place that I like, get back into the gym and work out mode, explore/get to know the city/ midwest area and start socializing with people that I'll hang out with in a week or more and proably become good friends with down the line. I'm gonna make the most out of my time here but I want to make the most out of the next step in my life as well.
Well that's that. I'm kinda tired right now and I don't feel like editing this so that's your loss. Hope everybody is well and I'll talk to you all when i get back to the States (or online before that).

Oktoberfest

Dear Lord...............

Heidelberg, Germany

So I've arrived in Germany. One of the first things I did was grab myself a good pint of pilsner from the bar at the hostel I was at and it was good. Heidelberg is a great city. It's got this old quarter, where my hostel was, that has some real traditional buildings and what not. they have a massive castle at the top of the city with some amazing gardens as well. i went up there one day and spent a lot of time there. They also have a philospher's walk, as it's called, with a fantastic view of the city on the other side of the river that the castle is one. Yesterday I walked up there and took my time. I was eating some food, drinking a beer and readin my book the whole way.
Since I met that guy David in luxembourg he kinda sparked this fire in me to try to go out and meet new people. Just to take more initiative and talk with people more at first because that's what he had been doing for a couple of months. So in Heidelberg that's what I've been doing. the first night I struck up a conversation with 2 Americans who eneded up leaving but then I started talking with this Australian woman named Christina for about 2 and a half hours. She was pretty cool and we talked about politics and social work for a while. The next night I talked with another Australina named Emma just about traveling and what not for a while. Then the bartender about good German beer. The third night I talked to these two guys from Chicago about, guess what Chicago, and different cultural aspects between the U.S. and Europe as well as career prospects. One of these guys grew up in Heidelberg but moved to Chicago for a while. We also talked with this Brazilian woman for a while who was in my hostel but was also about to start studying in Heidelberg for her graduate degree in international medicine. After they left I talked with these 3 Asian girls who were studying in Berlin and 3 American dudes from Texas. So it's been a bit more social but Heidelberg was very relaxing as well. I got to sleep in every day and the prices they offered the food from the bar to the hostel goers was pretty damn cheap. And the food was damn good German food.
I find that just when I think I'm in some sort of groove some new idea or concept about how to travel comes my way and makes me try something new or completely abandon the way I was traveling/living before. Although, as much fun as I'm having I think I'm ready to get to Chicago and just get settled in some. I don't think I'll do another trip like this in a year. In time but not in a year from now. But no worries, I'm in Munich and in Europe now and that's something to be pretty positive about. I am definitely having a good time and I know there will be a lot more parts in the trip in the near future that should be pretty fucking awesome.

Luxembourg man

So, here I am in Luxembourg. I`m at a point in my trip now where things are starting to pile up and you just need to push through it. I have a few knicks, cuts and blisters that are wearing on me. I left my pocketknife in Paris and I`m just kind of soar from walking amd moving all the time, but that`s all part of the game. Soon I`ll just be used to it and it won`t be no thang. otherwise though I`ve been doing a lot. I moved on from Bruges to Liege, Belgium. Liege is the biggest city in Wallomia which is the French speaking part of Belgium and i happen to know two people there that are technically my second cousins through marriage. their names are julie and Laura and I just crashed at Julie`s place. They were really nice and showed me around a lot. We would call each other family some and Julie kept fooling me with her fucking sarcasm. they were calling me Doogy. Julie´s roommates all spoke little or no french so it posed an intersting but cool challenge communicating with them.
I liked Liege a lot. It was kind of like the Eugene of Belgium actually. I had lots of frites and other Belgian specialties. There was one point where Julie bumped into me on the street while I was sitting with a chocolate waffle and chocolate all over my face. hanging with them was really cool and made me think about random family connections and just the importance of family in general. I`m used to being around a bunch of my cousins because I`m the oldest of 10 but I don´t really have any that are my age so it was interesting to get a brief view of what that`s like. it sparked more of a desire to look into my own family heritage some. I don`t know much about it but what I do know I find very interesting.
No Luxembourg though. It is absolutly beautiful here. Incredible nature and architecture as well. It`s very quiet and peaceful. I`ve mostly just been relaxing, walking and taking in the views here. Last night though I met this guy in the hostel and we just talked about traveling, women and life for an hour and a half. Then we got a couple of drinks, talked about that for another hour and a half and realized that we hadn`t even exchanged names yet. then these Irish women in their 30`s started taking pictures of David and me so we took that as an opportunity to make a move. Within 5 minutes we were promptly shut down. It was good times though and we laughed about it on the walk back. Tomorrow I`m off to Heidelberg, germany and then to oktoberfest which should be crazy.

Peace out ya`ll

In Bruges

Hello everyone,

Well I am in Bruges. I had a plan of staying at a hostel here for 3 nights and maybe doing a day trip somewhere or something but at the last minute my parent's friend's daughter Julie e-mailed me and said I could stay with her in Liege, Belgium. that's the biggest city in the French part of Belgium and just south of Brussels. So I'm going there today and I'll stay with her for 2 nights and then on to Luxembourg. I'm just going to skip over Brussels because there are other places that I want to see and I'd rather see some of the smaller Belgian cities. Plus i talked to this guy last night that had just been in Brussels and he said it wasn't that fantastic. Nice city with things to do but it's not a gem or anything.

This hostel has already been better than the last one. I met this Canadian guy Josh right of the bat who works in graphic design in Toronto. I also met this couple from NYC. The guy runs a small business where he makes custom furniture for people and she handles all the legal work. plus people in the hostel room have just been friendlier to chat with. Yesterday when I arrived here I walked through town to the hostel and just chilled for a little bit. Then I went on a walk through the town before it got dark for a couple of hours. Got some frites, chocolate and beer. I came back and they have a happy hour at the hostel bar right below us so me and the people mentioned before sat for a little bit and had some drinks. Then the couple retired to bed and Josh and I went out to this hidden bar where only locals go. It didn't even look like there was anything in the alleyway but it was packed with people. They gave us recommendations on beer and chatted with us. it was a good crowd. We left early though because we knew we were getting up early.

So here I am. It's the morning and I'm eating breakfast. It's cool that I'm only staying one night though because a lot of the people that I've met here either decided to stay one night (because they thought it would be overun with tourists, like me) or last night was their last night. That's what makes the traveling a lot of fun is the people you meet and then the things you go out and do or see with them. That's why Amsterdam wasn't thrilling for me. So before I hop on the train a few of us are going to walk up the spiral tower in the center of town and maybe go to this museum briefly and then I'm out. No deep revelations this time. I've been to a few cities now and so I'm really into the traveling groove of moving around and taking in as much as you can. You sacrifice sleep, great quality food, your health a bit but it's all worth it. I have these fat blisters on a couple of toes on my left foot because it's bigger than my right foot. With all this walking around it's been putting some stress on it but that happened last time. I just need to build up a calus. Other than that though it's all grand man. Later.

Amsterdam, Netherlands #2

Hey so I'm still in Amsterdam. It's my last night here and I'm kinda ready to go. The hostel I got stuck with ended up not being that great. They don't have a kitchen and a social area in general. So I haven't really had a chance to meet anyone too interesting. My room is about a 20 person room and a few of the dudes have some chronic snoring issues that are keeping people in that room up at night. Especially this one guy. I feel bad for the people sleeping right next to him because I always see them sleeping in until late the next day. I've been trying to stay pretty positive though. I've taken this time to just relax. Sleep in, plan some stuff, and do the slower paced things that can be relaxing on vacation.

As soon as I got in I did some internet stuff and then I went to just get a beer. As I was grabbing a seat and old Dutch couple asked if they could join me and I said sure. The husband ended up being a professor at a University in The Netherlands and he had given speeches at Stanford and Berkeley so we compared the education systems and culture of the U.S. and Europe. He bought me my beer and some cheese. Then a Canadian dude named Greg in his 30's joined us. He had just been in Belgium and gave me some good advice on things to look for in Belgium. On Saturday I just walked through the Eastern part of Centraal Amsterdam and then beyond. I got as far away from right downtown as I could. I sat by a big canal and read my book for a while. I had a cannabis lollipop that I bought at a street market and sat in a park on the southern part of town and finished my book. I also got a pretty damn good sandwich for cheap and just enjoyed some time outside in the sun.

Then today I woke up early and ate some "space cake" then went on a 7 1/2 hour trek through the Western and other Southern parts of the town. there was a lot more happening over there. First I walked into a church that was having a massive book fair inside it. I almost bought another book but I have plenty with me. The church was gorgeous and most of the books were in Dutch. Then I walked and found a giant ass cheese shop with hundreds of different kinds of cheese. I got some bread and cheese. As I was walking to find a place to sit a 500 person rollerblade parade just cruised past me with some techno blaring. I later stumbled onto the 5 block long Sunday market/fair of the Westerpark district in Amsterdam. I walked some more and found Vondelpark, the park for all the locals. It was packed with people but clearly all people from Amsterdam. I sat by the tame river next to a tree. On the otherside there were other people doing the same. There was also a BBQ with Arostifarian guys playing hacky sack with a soccer ball. Some old white dudes clearly just walked up and decided to join in and they were all just hanging out and having a good time. I sat and read the first two chapters of Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" while drinking a beer. I found an all you can eat vegetarian falafel place that Pat and I found in Barcelona last year and I went to town there for about half an hour.

It's been rather quiet in Amsterdam for me, which I wouldn't have expected, but I've been able to chill out. I'm ready to go on to Belgium and with this other stuff that I've been booking. It sounds like I'm gonna have some more fun stuff to do ahead. It's definitely been good for me to not go get hammered for a few days and much less spendy. It has made me appreciate the process of meeting interesting people while traveling more and it's made me realize how I like to book things for traveling moreso as well. It's also made me appreciate the things that I have back in the States more and it's been kind of good to be reminded of them.

No serious regrets though. Amsterdam is a gorgeous place. The canals here are everywhere but it's really the first Midevil town that I've ever been too. It has a sort of cold dark feel that I'm not that down with but the biking culture is amazing. Any college town that reps there bike culture doesn't have shit on Amsterdam. There are certain streets where you never see any cars but just bikes and the occasional moped. The people riding bikes are all riding cruisers and have on normal clothes. They're just people getting errands done. I've been here 3 days and I can already distinguish the difference between the sounds of bikes, mopeds, small cars, trucks, public buses and trams in a split second without even having to turn my head. You have to look for all of these at once from different directions when you are crossing major streets.

Well I'm off to bed soon. It's been a long tiring day and I want to get up and get moving early tomorrow. Later.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hello again. Well I am in Amsterdam right now but I will get into that later. So here's what happened in Paris. Like I said I went out that night with the California girls to the student drink special and the cost wasn't that special. It was 5 Euros a pint which is expensive but apparently extremely cheap in Paris. Fortunately these lovely ladies knew all about the drinking beforehand process so we all got cheap bottles of wine and downed those before and on the way to the bar. It was full of international students and we all just partied the night away. Several of the girls had massive hangovers the next day. I did not though and it was a fun time for sure.

The next day I woke up and took my time in the morning but I ended up going for one of my now coveted walks. This is where I just walk all over the city from destination to destination. That way I see all the tourist spots but I also walk through the little alleyways that are of the beaten path and burn some carbs. I walked through the Latin Quarter and found some awesome cafe's and little eateries. I was on a budget so I couldn't stop at all of them but I still peered in and saw all the locals going about their ways. I went to the Panthenon first and from there they have a great view of the Eiffel Tower. As soon as I saw that I said, "Fuck it, I'm B-lining it to right there." I didn't B-Line it but I came pretty close to. I went a couple of blocks out the way to see a few more sites that were on the way but my destination was clear. The Eiffel Tower is just one of those monuments that you always heard about and I wanted to get to the top. I also got distracted by the tour guide who saw me wearing my San Jose Sharks t-shirt and he stopped his tour to shoot the shit with me about hockey for 2 minutes. When I got to the Eiffel Tower it was a mob scene. It took forever to get up there and some of the tourists were just plain obnoxious. It was still totally worth it though and the view from up there is amazing.

I then went to the Louve to meet Allie, her friend Julie and Cassandra. Allie, Julie and I went and got falafels but Cassandra went home because she had quite the spending spree in Amsterdam. These falafels were pretty damn good. And we just chilled out that night. Some of the girls did homework while I was fooling around on the internet. There was talk of P.S. I Love You but alas, it didn't happen. Regardless though it was just a lot fun to hang out with Allie. I barely see her anymore and it was fun to meet some of her friends from UCLA and meet up with her after a day of events and just kick it or go out and tear the town up. Plus staying on her floor is free and that certainly helped the pocketbook.

The next day, yesterday, I had another walking tour of Paris. First I walked by the Bastille monument on the way to Notre Dame. It was pretty cool but honestly I enjoyed the fresh croissants I had on the way more. Then I walked to the Louve and got an eclair on the way there. The Louve is amazing. It wasn't just that there's an enormous amount of artwork there but I spent 3 1/2 hours there which 1. is more time then I like to spend in museums 2. is not nearly enough time to see a good amount of everything they have to offer and 3. is so amazing that I wanted to spend all day there. That's not typical for museums for me. I get worn out. The Mona Lisa is a mad house. No one is there really looking at it and appreciating it. Everyone is trying to take a picture of it with their zoom. I just took a picture of the mob crowd surrounding it. It's the only time in a museum where it's perfectly ok to be incredibly loud.

I continued on up to the Basilica de Sacre Couer. I stopped for coffee and relaxation and I had a tomato, brie and baguette sandwich. Delicious. After that the walk was great. I entered the northern part of Paris where there were next to no tourists and it was an international community. People from all different parts of the world were there but they were just living there. It might have seemed a little run down for Paris but I thouroughly enjoyed it and felt safe the whole way. The Sacre Coeur was beautiful. I have to go back at some point. There are people playing great music on the steps out front, the architecture of it is amazing, you get an unbelievable view of Paris and inside the actual building it was one of the most calming spiritual places I've ever been to. Outside I sat and chilled with people who were just relaxing for 20 minutes and I spent even longer sitting inside looking at the ceiling. It was one of my favorite places so far and definitely a place I HAVE to go back to. The crypt and the dome are fantastic as well.

It really made me think about what exactly I was doing on this trip and what I was doing with the last trip in relation to this one. I realized that on the last one I didn't really know what I was doing. I was looking for more self confidence, new experiences, meeting people from different backgrounds and places and pursuing something that I had always wanted to do but I didn't really know it at the time. Now I wouldn't say I know exactly what I'm doing but I think I have a better idea than before. I'm looking to establish more independence, have a few more wild times because I'm starting to lose the energy for all of this crazy shit I do sometimes, make more great connections with people but also establish a certain peace of mind. I'm always thinking and being analytical (to a fault sometimes) and there's something rather soothing to me about doing what I'm doing and enjoying it. A sense of accomplishment in making the most of the opportunities I have at hand and knowing/finding my place in this whole spectrum of things. Not just traveling either but with the move to Chicago and all the changes that are going on in my life right now as well. It's interesting but at least for the moment I feel like I know what I'm doing moreso.

After that I hustled back to Allie's for dinner then a bunch of us went out to what one of the locals deemed as the hottest club in the city. It was pretty crackin. That disco in Ireland was nothing compared to this. There was a wild ass party going on, the bouncers were rough and serious about letting people in but it was worth it. They were handing out cowboy hats so I snagged one up and danced the night away in that. Once again with little sleep though I got up and hopped on my train to the next city. I napped, read and talked with the people sitting next me on the ride to Amsterdam. I had heard of a hostel called Bob's hostel where they don't take reservations so you can just walk up and get a bed. I strolled into the living room area and there were tables of people lighting it up in many different ways but people were just chillin, talking, having a good time and not being lethargic at all (the way it should be). I thought, "Alright I can get down with this place". I strolled up to the front and requested a room but was promptly denied because they were all filled up. Fucking Bob's. Well I strolled around Amsterdam with my pack looking for a hostel for a couple of hours. I stumbled into the Red Light district where everytime I'd walk by a window they'd see some young dude with a giant pack and a travel book and start tapping at the glass like crazy calling me in. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it and when I saw one window coming up I started to get ready for that same treatment but the woman was absolutly hideous and that put my arrogant ass in it's place. Don't worry though, I've got enough things on my regretful resume and I don't think I'll be putting paying for sex on it. I finally got settled in this other hostel and I'm liking it a lot so far. Good vibe, a little spendy but great spot and I can finally crash out now for a little snooze. So I'll talk to you all later.

Paris, France

So I am in Paris right now staying in Allie Swislocki's study abroad flat. It's pretty sweet but I'll get into Paris stuff later. For now I'll finish up the part of my time in Ireland (which only got better and better). So I left off with that wild night that I had in Dublin. After that I ended up having another wild night without even wanting to. I met these two Canadian guys in my hostel and we got to talking while we had a couple of pints. Then we were leaving to head back and crash for the most part when one of the guys, Trevor, decided to offer to help these two crazy drunk Irish people take a picture. They ended up getting us into the most elite club in Ireland (I shit you not) because the woman of the couple runs all the PR for people in Dublin and used to have a really popular TV show in Ireland. You can only get into this place if you're well known by people or have guests. We were the guests. There was a local rugby columnist, the chief editor of the magazine "The Dubliner", an Irish newscaster with his prostitute, an Irish soap star and an unbelievably wealthy American guy from Chicago who lived and did business in Ireland. The American guy and I bonded talking about politics (Barack Obama) and how the Irish don't understand American politics like him and I do. There was a table that was always reserved for Bono at all times in the off chance that he might show up because he is a regular there, but apparently he had quite a wild night there just two days earlier. There were also several Irish versions of the LA blonde ho who goes after the rich lonely guys who will by them expensive things. I got to talking with one of them for a while and got busy with her a little later, and I didn't even have to buy her a drink. I got her to get one of the rich guys to buy some extremely expensive champagne for her and then she poured us two glasses and turned her back to him. LOL!!!!!! It was so fucking funny and she thought it was hilarious too. She was actually a first officer for a plane company in Ireland I can't remember. She called me her American boy all night in response to that hit song that I can't remember. But goddamn alcoholic Irish women are a handful. I don't think we'll be seeing each other again.

After two hours of sleep I got up and went on a bus tour through southern Ireland. It was pretty touristy at times but completely worth it, and still not nearly as touristy as you'd think a bus tour would be. The people I met on the tour were amazing and we made all these great connections in such a short time. There was the tour guide Kevin, or as we called him towards the end Dr. Kev because we had an incredibly sarcastic conversation where he helped me sort through my feelings in front of everyone on the first night while we were a few pints deep. We figured out that it was ok for me to have feelings and express them. The driver Dave had a role in Braveheart as one of the guys who lifted up his kilt to moon the English and Dr. Kev and I decided he was suffering from little spoon syndrome on the first night of drinking. Next to me was Katie the Scottish nurse. She was a good sport the whole time while Dave made fun of her voice for sounding like Mrs. Doubtfire. "Oh Deary". There was Naill the chill hippie dude with dreads from Sydney who could rock the guitar. He also had a dirty rag handkerchief like Pat that he would use and put back in his pocket. Jen, the other Aussie from Sydney who had been traveling for 6 months and had quite the passionate kiss on the dance floor with a silly, but apparently cute, Irish man. She also walked around a wedding with her dress tucked in her underwear for 3 hours or so before anyone told her. Two Americans in front of me that were living in London but from Ohio (Kim and Becca). I yanked Kim out of the street when she was standing close to the middle because she didn't want to step in the mud even though a car was coming. She didn't get hit by the car or mud on her feet. A canadian mother and daughter (Kim and Megan) who would not stop asking me about my love life and pointing out that I looked like Ben Affleck. Joel and Brandi, the engaged couple from the LA area and Joel was fucking nuts when he got some drink in him. It was fun to say the least.

We met in Dublin but then went to an ancient monastic city on the Shannon River, then the cliffs of Moher (which were breathtaking and then we settled down in the small town of Doolin which had 2 stop lights and 4 pubs. We also went to a whiskey distillery where Joel and I popped our hands up immediately when they ask for tasting volunteers at then end of the tour. Doolin was a typical small Irish village in the countryside and it was beautiful. It was made more beautiful by getting many pints of Guinness that night. The next day we went to Dingle (a small fishing town) and the Dingle peninsula which was beautiful as well. It was cold and foggy but that didn't stop us from running down to the beach and dipping our legs in the water. I splashed just a little bit of water on the girls (some things will never change) but they got me back and I also climbed up on the giant rocks barefoot. We had a quick Irish coffee before we left to go to the Kerry mountains and take in the views. Dave drove off without Jen deliberately so she'd have to run after the bus. We all had a laugh and she was a good sport. Then we stayed in Killarney and had a nice dinner that night where we heard an authentic Irish story telling session. We then went to this Irish club with an Irish band. Then Naill and I were lead into the back with the girls we were with. All of the sudden the lights went dark, smoke started pouring out of the room, colorful lights were flashing. they had a giant disco floor in the back and the girls shouted "Oh my God let's go dance." So Naill and I danced out there with them for about 2 hours or so and Katie and I almost got kicked out for trying to put her on my shoulders. When we got back Naill kept shining his light on the girls while they were changing for bed. It was tasteful and the next day they were not offended. They all thought he was hilarious for it.

The next day we went caving, kissed the Blarney stone at the Blarney castle, went to the Rock of Cashel and got back to Dublin. Those of us that didn't have to leave until the next day went out and got blasted on last time in Dubin. Joel showed up having slammed down 5 beers in an hour beforehand thinking we would all be drunk but he was way far ahead of us and hilarious. He had a discussion with the bartender about how much head (beer foam) he was getting and how he wanted some head from him but not too much head. I had to give the girls grandpa kisses before I left so there was plenty to go around. I had been sleeping through my alarm some on the trip for periods of time that were over an hour but I didn't think it would be an issue this time. Well I'm pretty sure I slept through it again that Monday because I woke up and it was set correctly but it was well past when I needed to get up so I missed my flight to Paris. I ended up buying another one for more than I wanted to pay but it was just time to leave Ireland. Plus I had plans of meeting up with Allie so I just bit the bullet and will have to plan my fiances more accordingly from here.

So now I'm in Paris. I found my way to Allie's place and she made me pasta, green beans, bread and cheese while I chomped on some chocolate bread. I bought some of the food and the wine though and I also did the dishes. Then her, me and 5 of her abroad girlfriends went to the Arc de Triomphe jut before it closed. We all shared 3 bottles of wine. Today I got up off of Allie's very comfortable floor and showered, shaved and did laundry for her and me while she was in class. We met up and went to a fresh food market with her friend Julie Goldenrosen or something from the bay area and who also knows my friends Phoebe and Lindsay because she went to high school with Lindsay. Tonight they have student drink specials at some bar that is really cheap. After dinner with Julie at her place Allie, me and a bunch of California girls are going to get drunk, go to the drink student special bar and get drunker. Should be wild. Before that though I plan so sit at a coffee shop, read a book and chill while Allie takes a nap. It will all be very cheap but fun, just my style.

I find myself constantly thinking about what these people and events mean to me. I made some great connections with people on the bus trip but I have no idea how long they will last or what will come of them. We all could have been great friends if we were in the same area and some of them I will most certainly see again at some point. I am well aware that this is all part of life. There are times when you meet people and can share great experiences but it doesn't really last forever. There are always people out there in different areas that you can get along with and have good friendships with but I don't like how those connections can be temporary or lose importance. I never have and I never will but it's inevitable that it will happen sometimes when you don't want it to. Aside from the connections I'm having more trouble understanding where I am geographically. Before I could literally feel that I was in Spain or Portugal or other areas. Now I know where I am, I'm seeing all the sights, I'm going off the touristy path as well and just seeing what some of these places are like where there aren't many foreigners when I go exploring but it still all feels surreal to me. There's still just lots of thoughts about the future and how this all ties into my life goals and can I be 100% sure I'm doing to right thing in my life. I can't be 100% sure and I don't see how you can ever be 100% sure. You never know if a choice is exactly right because there are many choices that could work out amazingly. I just know that I'm enjoying myself and seeing and doing things that I've always thought would be cool and fun to do. I don't think you can have much more than that. It was nicer before when I was traveling and I could bounce these ideas off someone who was having the same experiences. I hope you're enjoying yourself out there Pat. And Spence, I really did mean it when you said you couldn't explain what your trip meant to you and I said, "I understand that completely." I gotch ya on that buddy. Well I'm gonna peace out now. This posting was incredibly long but I hadn't been able to write for a while so I had to make up for lost time. I hope everybody is making the most out of where they are and whatever they're doing and I'll talk to you all later.

P.S. Mom, Allie wants you to send her lemon bars.

Dublin, Ireland

Allo mates, (That's Irish for Hello friends)

Well I'm in Dublin now. I've been here for about 3 days. The first day I was just incredibly jet-lagged and when I got to my hostel they told it wasn't going to be ready for about 4 hours. So I had to walk around in Dublin with no sleep, but I made the most of it. I went to a couple of parks, museums and I went to this restaurant Cornucopia with vegetarian dishes that was recommended to me for some soup, coffee and bread. Then I napped and I really didn't go out and do much that night. I stayed in and read. Partly cause I was tired and partly because it took me a little bit of time to get into that travel zone. It's where you feel comfortable trying to start a conversation with people that you don't know at all. That took me well into my second day, so just last night for dinner, to get going. Before that I was just kind of hanging out by myself, which was relaxing in certain ways but annoying in others. Yesterday during the day though I went to the Guinness factory which is awesome. It's self guided but they got really creative with it to make it interesting. They even had a tasting room where you could have a free tasting of Guinness. I had 2. Then at the top of the building, which is shaped like a pint glass, they have a gravity bar which has a panoramic view of all of Dublin. Then I walked back to my hostel but stopped at a Catholic church on the way where I sat and listened to a sermon for 20 minutes. Great timing after a couple of beers.
Last night though was a lot of fun. I went out drinking with 4 Australian women and 1 French woman. We started at a Turkish bar but then moved to the touristy bar right next to our hostel where all the young travelers between 18 and 33 go to. I got hit on by 2 Irish guys that night while going to the bathroom but in separate situations who were just blasted. One of them offered to "hold it for me for 50 cents" while I was taking a leak. I explained to him the economic situation regarding the Euro and how at that price it wasn't worth my while. From what I saw a lot of drunk Irish men have no chivalry towards either women or tourist women because these guys were out of line. If you think I have ever said some bad stuff sometimes go to Ireland. By the end of the night these women I was with kept calling me Dad (which was ironic because I'm a couple of years younger than all of them) because whenever they needed to get away from some fool hitting on them they'd come find me and put their arms around me and say they were with me. Given that I'm taller than most of the Irish guys and for some reason they loved that I grew up in California, they tended to back off after that. After the bar closed it took us 2 hours to leave, walk a block to a store and walk right back so we could get to our hostel because there was so much drunk action going on. The streets were raging, and it was a Wednesday night in the beginning of the off season.
After that I don't know if I'll go out tonight. Those ladies left and I'm about to go on a 3 day bus tour through the southern parts of Ireland where there will be plenty of merrymaking. It will be the same group of people going to all the same places, staying at the same hostels and going out the the same Irish music bars/venues in the south. Should be fun and it cam highly recommended. I just read a lot the first night and I think I'll do that again tonight, but you never know. I feel like I've seen a lot of Dublin at this point. Today I was thinking about going to Belfast for a day but i decided that would be trying to squeeze too much in so I went for a walk north of the Liffey River for 3 hours or so. I stopped and got some Irish Stew and a Guinness for lunch. That hit the spot. Well that's all for now. Basically I feel like I'm in a good groove now. There's was just an adjustment period at first but I'm excited about going to all these places and meet a bunch of new interesting people. Having seen where a lot of people are right now that have just graduated, and then to actually be somewhere different it feels more right at this point to be doing what I'm doing. therefore, I'm not missing Oregon too much anymore. I'm still missing it but I'm having enough fun to not feel to bad about being away.

Peace be with you

I just read my last post and yes I noticed that there are massive typos.  My bad for those who care.

Hey so I'm still in Boston but I'l be leaving in a matter of hours.  I thought my flight was at around 2:00 pm but I checked last night and it's actually at around 7:00 pm so I was able to take my time a little bit more today.  It's not necessarily a bad thing to have to kill some time in Boston on a nice sunny day.

Well the next day Colin and I went to the train station to go to Providence, Rhode Island but me just missed our train and the next one wasn't going to be until later.  It was funny because we were running to try and catch a train but they were shooting a movie with Mel Gibson that was right in the middle where we had to run through.  Everyone was looking at us because they had to stop shooting just so that we could run through...and then we ended up completely missing the train anyways.  So we made due with what we had and we went north to the main beaches in the Boston area and went on a romantic walk until t started raining.  Then we went under a safe covering to shield ourselves from the rain only momentarily.  After that we came back to his lace and cooked my Chicken Caesar Casserole for al of his roommates, followed by some party hopping with them.

The next day was a fat BBQ with the Theater Arts people Colin has worked with for a couple of years now and that I've got to meet and hang out with several times since Colin has been out here.  I always like hanging out with them because they're such a different artistic group than I'm used to hanging out with but we always go out and just tear the town up.  it was fun and there was a pretty cool whiffle ball game.  Then I went on a double date later that night where Colin's girlfriend Sara was my date...shhhhhhhh don't tell Colin and our counterparts were these two of Colin's classmates Alex and Ross.  I always enjoy hanging out with Alex because he is just hilarious.  We saw Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.  Very different than something I would normally do.

Now I'm going off to Ireland soon.  This whole time it all hasn't hit me everything that I'll be doing but I think it's because most of the things I've been doing are thing's that I've always done and enjoy doing.  These are all areas I've been to with people that I know and experiences that I've had.  Now the part that's new and different begins and I can already feel the nerves.  When I get on the plane it's going to hit me and hit me hard but I'll end up figuring it out and being just fine.  As soon as I find my hostel in Dublin I know the excitement will kick in right there.  Talking with Colin some this weekend helped me set my mind straight on some things so I'm not as upset about leaving things behind and really feeling more excited about what the future holds.  Thanks bro.  I'll write again at some point in Ireland so until then, toodles.

Boston

Hello all.  Well I'm first writing from Boston, MA where I'm visiting my brother Colin.  Before this I was in the bay area for 2 weeks and I was in Vancouver, BC for 5 days during that time.  Vancouver is an awesome city.  It doesn't really have hot summers but it was still very scenic.  Also it's incredibly international.  Walking around I heard several different languages being spoken from all different parts of the world.  Plus there were tons of areas along the bay and river for outdoor recreation.  Beautiful place and friendly people.   Even before all of that I was on a road trip through the Western USA so I've just been seeing a lot in general lately and it's been tight.

The bay was tight as usual.  It was awesome to see a lot of people that I grew up with but it felt like I was barely there.  I've found that as time goes on the bay seems more and more distant.  It doesn't even feel like home anymore.  It feels like where I grew up and I'll always enjoy at the very least visiting regularly but at this point Oregon feels more like home.  

I'm missing people from Oregon and the bay and I always will but I'm having a good time and looking forward.  I always like visiting Boston and Europe and Chicago will be a lot of fun.  Right now though I just have a few more things to take care of before I go so I'm worrying more about some of that stuff rather than just being excited the whole time and what not. 

Anywhom, Colin should be getting out of class soon and then we'll just be goofing around in Boston for the day and going to a couple of beginning of the year parties for the CFA department of BU.  We may even go to Providence, Rhode Island tomorrow but that's not for sure.  Either way he's got some activities in mind.  I just had a fresh shower and took care of some major errands so I'm ready to rollbounce.  I'm gonna eat a banana get moving here.

Peace