Friday, February 8, 2013

Day 46

Ciao from Bologna! Who the hell ever thought I'd be traveling around Europe? Definitely not me! Well here I am in Italy and the food and the architecture and the history and the wine have surprisingly taken my breath away. For some wacky reason I made up this idea that I wouldn't enjoy the culture of Europe, that it wouldn't compare to the chaotic joy of Southeast Asia or the vast beauty of the Israeli desert. But what a crazy idea that is! Of course the bright green rice patty covered mountains of Nepal will always hold the most beautiful place in my soul and my being, but why should I limit my joy to just one section of the world when I know I can find it anywhere! So here I am in one of the oldest cities in the world, visiting my best friend Kate, the Italian goddess.
Bologna is a super groovy city because not only does it have great pizza and tons of archeological finds, but it is full of young rebellious Italians who are passionate about their education and their university. Right now they're teaming together to try and form a department run solely by the students, for the students, how rockin! But it makes sense because the Bologna community was one of the first to break away from the Pope and form a democracy. And what's even more rad about Bologna is that people don't speak English, so my fear of touristy Europe has begun to fade, allowing me to find all the beauty this city has to offer. Thus one of the most important things I've realized is that I don't need to compare this city's beauty to all of the other beauty I've experienced around the world, I can just appreciate each place for all the unique joy it has to offer.
And of course being with my best friend makes it easy to have a good time (I have the best friends in the universe!!). More than absolutely anything, I feel so grateful to get to witness Kate in her element. She's been studying Italian for years and always knew she wanted to study abroad here, so what a gift it is to see it all happen! The Italian goddess isn't taking any classes in English and is living with Italian roommates, so though her brain gets exhausted from all of the translation, it's unbelievable to see her interact with the people of Bologna. I feel so lucky!! And of course I am so endlessly proud of my goddess best friend. May she grow stronger and more beautiful everyday and be blessed with all the bliss in the universe!

HEY WE'RE IN ITALY!!!

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