love from ecuador!

hi friends! sorry i can´t write more but i´ve just finished writing a blog entry on my new blog so please feel free to check it out! http://renouncerejoice.blogspot.com/ . All is well with me and I hope with you as well, wherever you may be. Thinking of you, my loves, always!
con amor! carmella

friends! we need to revive this baby!

Hello loooves! I am sad that we have fallen off the wagon in terms of this blog. Luckily, I still talk to most of you all regularly so I know you're alive and well, but some of you I haven't heard from in ages! Let's get back to it, ladies and gent!

I am writing to you from the deep south, lovely Nashville, TN. Maybe going to stop by Cookeville and visit Rachey's brother this weekend, and then onward to stay with a friend in central Kentucky for a few days.

I'm going to be back in western Mass dec 9th (for Jess' bday!). Hopefully many of you can make it to the Valley for wine and cheese which is that Friday night...

Otherwise, not much else is going on. I've been bouncing around a lot since leaving the Vineyard in late October. NYC, a train halfway across the country to Minneapolis, a lovely stay with the amazing and wonderful Sammy Jo Ellingson! She was a great host, by the way, (duh) and you should all go visit her! seriously! Sioux Falls is cool too. Has an... interesting reggae scene... heheh. She even took me to the Little House on the Prairie, which was awesome but it was too cold to get out of the car and explore. Oh well, maybe next time I travel to the Artic, I'll go in the summertime!

Speaking of summer, I'm headed southbound this winter to the land where it is eternally summer: Ecuador! After the holidays, my mom and I will travel to the Andes and through the rainforest for 2 weeks, and then I'm staying on 3 weeks after she leaves to work for the same nonprofit I worked with before - replanting the rainforest! I am beyond excited... I have been wanting to go back ever since I spent time there 3 1/2 years ago! And when Delta gave me TWO $400 travel vouchers last week after messing up my return trip from South Dakota.... well, I just knew it was a sign!

I hope you are well and healthy and happy! and that everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I got to spend my Thanksgiving cooing over the newest addition to our family, the sweet tiny little Camila! tiny fingers! tiny toes! tiny everything! (although, I am cautious of the fact that last time I was home, I was super enthralled by this flock of tiny kittens we had running around the house. and this time, well they weren't so tiny anymore. and therefore, less appealing :/ its the sad truth, folks.)

lots of love!! Carmella

praha/freiburg/strasbourg

I landed in Prague on 5/25 and hiked me and my pack to my hostel, which is covered in graffiti and rocks the party. Met a bunch of interesting people: two talkative Bavarians, a bunch of Texans and a Tennessee-er, a French guy who is making a film about travelers, some Brits and Aussies. Tried all of the requisite beers: Gambrinus, Pilsner Urquell, and Kovel, had some absinthe ice cream (bright green and bitter, only a little disorienting). Walked all around the city, up to the top of Castle Hill for an incredible view:
Wandered the old Jewish quarter, saw a Dali and Mucha exhibit, some Cubist art. The Communism Museum sits on top of a McDonalds (RIOT!). Found a hippie whole foods store with a cheap-eats cafeteria and all kinds of nuts dipped in yogurt. Ran into some music festivals and hare krishna parades.
Next I traveled to Freiburg im Breisgau, which is where my childhood friend Jessy lives and goes to med school. Her studio is in the basement of a crazy lady's house and is a substantial hike up a hill, but offers the most ridiculous view of the town. We ate lots of breads and chocolate-y things. We day-tripped to Strasbourg in France and wandered the cathedral and side streets. Some guy was playing this instrument that looked like a small UFO and sounded like a laser harp.
I got back to San Diego on 6/1 and have been seeing my friends and trying to learn Japanese and work on my poster for the program orientation that I have to go to during the first week of this research trip. A few days ago me and a buddy went to a pastoral poetry reading at this arts collective and then got on a bus. This bus drove around San Diego while a band played in the back of it, about 100 people crammed inside, byob and ..is that marijuana I smell?, trying not to fall over. This bus runs on vegetable oil and is lined on the inside with real grass that gets watered by an in-bus sprinkler system. Complete insanity. And this concert on the bus was free! I hate on San Diego a lot, but there's some interesting stuff to do around here for the brave and hippie. I leave 6/14 for Tokyo and hope to post often. My grad student friends are telling me to start a blog about my travels. I don't know if this is a good idea but if I do, I will surely link you.

a taste of la dolce vitta

friends! i am so sorry; an update is long overdue! it's been on my mind to post on the blog for a few weeks already but i've been on the move nonstop, collecting awesome stories, acquaintances, and adventures to tell you guys about! i think last time i wrote i was in italy, about to embark on a little tour of the west coast. and tour i did! being a tourist always makes me a bit uneasy, but i met some great friends along the way and we had ourselves some good laughs and had a few interesting encounters.
the island of ischia was laidback and picturesque as hell. i mostly hung out with two sweet Swiss girls from Bern, although i did have a random escapade with an italian islander named Lorenzo. he whisked me off on his scooter, showed me the sights, invited me to eat a hearty post-easter meal with the whole famiglia (complete with homemade wine from their vineyards and buffalo mozzarela!), and took me to a secret hot spring hidden deep in the stone cliff, a few steps from the sea. divine. there were also a few drunken nights with a few crazy canadians and an american marijuana grower frim boulder. good times.
from there i moved on to rome, expecting the worst - tourist traps, loud traffic, all those city things i despise. but! i was pleasantly surprised by the eternal city: beautiful piazzas, calming fountains, street serenades, gelato (so much gelatooo), streets lined with laundry hanging to dry over your head, random roman ruins at every turn... Roma quickly stole my heart. and i made some new friends!- Sima, a sweet Iranian girl studying theater in brussels, and two Swedish engineers from Stockholm.
after rome, it was onward to cinque terre, a spattering of five tiny villages tucked away in these impossible oceanside cliffs, threatening to fall into the sea at any moment! i spent three days walking between the towns, hiking amongst acres of terraced vineyards and tanned farmers, and laying on rocks by the sea like a little lizard. the village i stayed in was manarola, and in my hostel i made friends with an 18 year old canadian guy who i wished so badly was five years older, a portlander (oregon! sorry destry) of russian origin, and TONS of aussies.
from manarola, i spent a night on the boat (my dad had sailed it back up to la spezia in the meantime) and then headed back up to france via a rideshare that i found online. i've been staying with my friends here in Grenoble for about two weeks now, enjoying the mountain air, sleep, and quality time with a family that is quickly feeling like my own. i spent last weekend in germany with friends i met in Ecuador. they took me to their weekend house in the bavarian alps, just on the border with austria, and made me try all sorts of crazy sausages and, of course, beer. can't complain (bout the beer). it was a beautiful weekend, and we even spent an evening in a casino! my first gambling experience, and unfortunately i didn't have any of that beginners luck. oh well, it was in a castle and they gave us free champagne.
now, laura (my french friend!) and i are getting ready for our own little getaway; tomorrow we leave for a week of hiking in Corsica! i am so very excited. corsica is a little island that has meant a lot to my family (my dad sent much of his youth and early twenties sailing there, and then running a sailing school) and yet i've never been. it sounds like a beautiful island, although the weather isn't sounding to great at the moment. we'll seeee.

meanwhile, i have been thinking about you all so much during these travels. you give me strength, no matter where i am in the world.
feeling lucky, with love-
carmella

tales from the sea!

ciao bellas! i am in italia! we got here earlier this week after a short trip from toulon (france), about 3 days at sea. we had a shit ton of wind the first few days. 45 knots the first day/night - a bit stormy, so much so that i definitely couldn't keep down any of the food i had ingested that day.. gross. the second day was perffffect sailing, and the third day the wind died. we motored into naples on monday morning and were greeted with this wonderful view --
mt vesuvius at dawn.. . the sleeping giant! i think i'll climb the volcano tomorrow, and i'm definitely going to pay a visit to the ancient towns of pompeii and herculaneum soon! we've been working steadily to clean the boat all week - the owners fly in from the usa on saturday night so the place has got to be spic and span! but it hasn't been so bad. there's a studly italian boy working on the boat next door - half nude, of course. (no picture as of yet, but i'll try to be stealthy and snap one soon ! hahaha) mmm, how i do love the italian... scenery.

no but seriously, italy! wowza! on monday, i'm heading over to the magical island of Ischia to enjoy some post-Easter celebrations (scroll down to where it starts - "All what’s sacred on Sunday gets profane on Monday") and bask in some wondrous thermal hot springs! after that, perhaps rome for a few days, then cinque terra, and finally venice - that's the plan for now, but of course, it's subject to change. hahah. my dad is always making fun of me because my plans literally change by the minute. oh well, i'm just tryin to go with the flow!

thinking of you all! lots of love from the birthplace of pizza -
carmella

Pot is legal!

...in Amsterdam, that is.

Monty and I made it here yesterday after a horrible night in Hamburg. Don't go there, seriously. We accidentally booked a hostel in Europe's largest Red Light district, which could have been interesting (you know, from a sociological perspective), but turned out simply sleezy. Plus I'm pretty sure our hotel was for sex tourists.

But! All is well because we are in the beautiful Netherlands. Canals and marijuana galore. So far in Amsterdam we have discovered a delicious Belgian beer; bought a pot of pretty yellow flowers, which we promptly named Bruno; visited a lame photography museum; got lost on bikes trying to find a grocery store -- turned out to be the pretties bike ride anyway; and legally smoked pot on a sidewalk. Plus we're staying at something of a campground, in something of a trailer, which only adds to the charm.

Paris in a few days! And will definitely be returning Stateside at the beginning of August, so maybe I can see some of you then? I heart you guys.

Ps. Do you all think it's a little strange how sad people seem to be about Michael Jackson? I do. I mean, Thriller was great, and the man could dance, but he was also freakishly weird.

χαιρετισμός αργκό !

Lovelies! The subject of this post is "hello most loyal friends!" in Greek! I'm still in utter disbelief that I'm here, but anyway... I missed my day, and I am so sorry! We actually got to Greece at the beginning of the week but internet has been hard to come by and also, I have been a very busy bee and I've barely left the boat.

The trip to Greece from Italy was blissfully relaxing. We meandered our way down the Italian coast for a few days, passing by the island volcano of Stromboli, swimming off the coast of Capri, and sailing through the straight of Messina at dusk. There are 3 of us on-board, my dad and I, and a French crew my dad's age named Jean-Philippe. During the trip, we each had two shifts a day of 4 hours (mine was 8-12 am and pm) where we were on watch - basically, we have to make sure the boat doesn't run into a tanker and sink. Pretty straightforward. When I wasn't on watch, I was doing a variety of things, none too exciting: sleeping, reading (Omnivore's Dilemma, Of Love and Shadows, a book about the Camino, Nat'l Geographic magazines), writing, dreaming up Watson ideas, listening to my dad's crazy adventures of his youth, sitting at the bow watching for dolphins (none came! very sad) . . . that's about it really.

By the weekend, we had reached Greek waters and Monday afternoon, we squeezed our way through the Corinthian canal and headed for our final destination - Athens (or rather, Pireaus, which is the port city just outside of Athens). As idyllic as life at sea may sound, life on land sucks for a sailor. Getting to shore means you have to do all the things you couldn't do at sea, like CLEAN EVERYTHING and fix all the things that have broken en route, etc. My life here at the marina has not been very inspiring. Mostly a LOT of manual labor, all day, in the hot son - scrub, rinse, polish, wax, repeat. In a few days, we'll get to do some sightseeing (although I've been doing a little bit already here in the marina, and let me tell you, Greek men are quite the lookers, especially the one working on the boat next to ours. Dark features, olive skin- I'm a big fan.).

I'm still feeling like a huge dunce who can't speak the language, or read the alphabet for that matter, but that's okay. All is well in the land of Zeus and friends. It was most lovely to catch up on all of your lives - I miss my babyloves! Next Tuesday, I'm going to France to spend a whirlwind 24 hours with my friend Laura, then I'll be London-bound, and then America! Expect a phone call (or for me to show up at your door - Cait, Rachel, Julian, Dan, Megan, others?!).

αγαπάω (love),
Carmella

Rosena

Hello girls! Rose here in DALLAS TX with Selena! on her luscious computer jamming to the indie hip-hop (what the fuck is that?? go look up 'discovery') and lounging around. Yesterday, after going to work with Selena, where I was treated to a decadent seared ahi tuna hawaiian salad, we went to Forth Worth, the home of Texas' history and heritage (hicks). I saw a cattle run! and then we had half a rack of ribs, which is an entree meant for one person, but me and Selena were full up splitting it. Everyone here is really cordial. Today I slept in while Selena worked, and now we are going to the MALL and then out again. Last night we went out to a bunch of cool Texan bars with Selena's friend Esther. What else...two dollar margarita's, many pints of Shiner Rock beer (local!), a cheese plate, taro popsicle...I wonder why I only remember the food. Well anyway, we have a bunch of pictures for you:

Half devoured Ahi Tuna Salad a la Greenz, Selena's salad joint.

Ft. Worth Water Gardens in true tourist fashion

They have cowboy boots with everything on them!! Like butterflies! And in every color! PINK!

We're cowboys!!!!

He's a cowboy!!!

A Cattle Drive!!!

Billy Bob's -- The biggest honky tonk in the world!! it was HUGE.

This is us trying to take Carmella photos!!!!!!!!!!! wooooooooooooo

From Berlin

Hi Friends!

Apologies again for missing my day. As long as I'm in Europe, or at least as long as I'm bumming around outside of Paris, we should probably assume that I will post as regularly as I can, but not necessarily on Fridays.

Monty and I are still on a roll, having a great time wherever we end up. We're getting along despite constant 24-hours a day, 7-days a week contact. In fact, Monty has turned out to be a great travel buddy -- he's good at making me laugh even when things go awry.

So we decided to 'hop' into Germany and somehow made it all the way out to Berlin. But I'm really glad we did because Berlin is amazing! It's been the best time. The city has the most fascinating 20th century history, great modern and restored architecture, and fabulous museums and nightlife. (Damn, I sound like I'm writing for a travel guide, but seriously, I love it.)

Nerd that I am, I've been most excited by the history. I feel like I'm learning history lessons just by standing in this city. The Berlin Wall -- that stuff is crazy. And Rachel, we spent about five hours in the Jewish History Museum, and I was thinking of you the whole way through. Literally, from the Middle Ages exhibit right through to Zionism I was asking out loud, 'And what would Rachel think of THIS?'

Maybe the best part is that we're sharing an apartment with a great couple from Wisconsin. The past few days have felt a bit like a Berlin four-person version of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset (if you haven't seen these movies, you should probably stop reading this and go watch them now). We all hit it off, and the four of us have been walking around the city, not always with a definite destination in mind, wandering into cafes and bars, and having great conversations. They are good both for a laugh and for intellectual stimulation, and they remind me of you guys.

I have to go apply for a job (yuck), but I wanted to let you guys know that all is well. I have so much more I could write but always feel overwhelmed when it comes time to post.

Oh, and I guess I should chart where we've been and where we're going (maybe should have done this first?): We jumped from Paris to St Emilion and Sarlat (little wine towns in central South France); then to Nice; then up to Geneva, Bern and Luzern, Switzerland; and here to Berlin. After this I think we will likely head across Germany to Hamburg, and then into the Netherlands for Amsterdam, and down to Brussels and/or Antwerp in Belgium, and back to Paris.

Loooove and tchuss (my one of three German words, which really doesn't even sound right as used like this, which I'm sure Hannah and Julian will tell you).

OH! and Megan: I really gave myself the worst bangs-trim ever. I needed you or Selena or Rose or my grandma or someone else so badly. Way too short and fairly crooked. I tried to tell myself that I looked like Audrey Hepburn, but really it was quite bad. I think it's grown a bit now, but I was definitely lamenting your absence for a few days there.

sorry i missed last week. i just forgot again. maybe i should set an alarm. so i returned yesterday from a week in boston/ rhode island with steve. i had the time of my life! we just did normal things like walk around the city, eat at restaurants, go to bars, play pool with cumberland townies, kareoke, movies, window shopping, going for "runs" and bike rides around his town, walk on the beach (it was way too cold to swim). rhode island is so green and hilly and new englandy, like amherst, but minus all the smart people. everyone there is so regular, simple compared to amherst people and new york people and florida people. that's the way they seem anyway. i don't know. whatever. anyway, it was so great to be with steve, but not at amherst. i feel bad that he always gets the stressed out, depressed, angry version of me, the amherst becky who's on the edge all the time. the same one you guys often get. that's not the real me, and it was so nice to be with him in a carefree environment, no school, no work. it felt like a honeymoon. i cried when i had to get back on the megabus home.

so now i am here in beautiful queens, ny. last night i went bowling with my friend mary from highschool (little asian who visited amherst that time) and my friend kristina from middle school.
it was in this big bowling alley/ pool hall/ arcade/ bar/ restaurant. it was like a carnival or something. a lot of fun.

i spent today cleaning and cooking and babysitting my niece. back to my housewife life. but starting monday, i will be a career woman! two weeks of training before my job really starts.
then 8 weeks of being basically a day camp counseler to the kids of incarcerated parents. should be interesting and rewarding and shit. plus i need money!!! i am considering singing in the subway because i wont get my first check for another 3 weeks. it's that or selling my body in the subway. i'll let you know what i decide.

oh also, my hair is growing fast. i should have a sizeable afro by the end of the summer, which is nice because i am really tired of looking super butch everytime i don't have a sundress on and giant hoop earrings. i really miss hair. it sucks to walk around on a windy day and have nothing happen. you know what i mean julian. doesn't it suck? but i am really happy it's natural now. i feel really good about that part.


hmm...what else? yeah. so this summer is gonna be working, getting fit, forcing myself to play guitar enough to actually get good at it, yoga yoga, yoga, meditate, read new age spitiruality shit, wish you all were here with me, repeat. that and the occasional trip to boston and maybe amherst to see carmsy, rachel and co. and maybe dan up in maine. it all depends on money. i hate how much money matters. oh well. LOVE YOU!!! tell me more about you!

buongiorno di Italia!

Hola amicos, from the land of pasta and pizza! After a long and harrowing journey across the country (from San Diego to Boston to NYC, with an overnight stop in Boston that involved delicious food, great company, and some very dangerous mojitos!) and then across the ocean blue, I finally find myself safe and sound in La Spezia, Italy, aboard the Marianna, the barca a vela (sailboat!) that my dad works on. (For those of you who don't know, my dad is a sailboat captain and every once in a while I join him to help out on the boat and deliver it to a new place - in this case, Greece.)

Sorry for all of those parenthetical interjections, but my mind is a bit of a mess at the moment. I'm a bit overwhelmed to by the language barrier here; I've never really spent any time in a country where I couldn't easily communicate with the people. I can read most of the signs and string together a few simple words to get my point across, but the minute anyone speaks to me, it just goes way over my head! I feel completely dumbfounded and helpless, and the intense jet lag is certainly not helping...

My dad seems to have become a local, which means his Italian is fantastic and his driving is terrifying. So far, Italy has been mostly a blur from the passenger seat. I wish I could get out into these hills and take in the sights, smells and sounds of this incredible place, but no can do. We're on a tight schedule! I arrived on Sunday in Pisa, my dad picked me up, we saw the tower (it's leaning alright!) and then we drove to Florence to meet up with my sister and her friend. They're traveling around a bit before they start their summer jobs in France working at an English camp. Florence looked awesome (Megan, was that where you were during your time in Italy?) but we only had time for a quick walk around the town, then dinner and gelato - YUM. (My dad's favorite word in Italian? Assaggiere, which means "to taste", and he uses it quite often at all of the gelato stands.)

Anyway, we're aiming to leave tonight or early tomorrow morning and it should be about a week-long journey to get to Athens. It's been 3 years since my last sailing trip, so we'll see how long it takes me to get my sea legs back! Hopefully we'll get to see dolphins (my favorite part about sailing) and we'll be passing by several Greek islands so maybe I can convince my dad to stop for some swimming!

Below are some pictures of my life as of late. The first two are from San Diego. Rosie and I loving life at YOGURTLAND (not to be confused with yogurtWORLD) and the next one is of Windansea at sunset, a beautiful beachy cove just a few blocks from Rosie's apt! The last two are from my first sunset in Italy, at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.

multo amore!! Carmella