Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Deep in the closet
As you can see from the pictures I’ve posted, I spent the weekend in Naples. I was about to get to both Capri and Pompeii. What an exhausting trip! I think I’m still trying to recover.
Friday night was pretty much a nightmare because it was super hot and the train workers were on strike. Apparently they strike every Friday night and I was the only one who didn’t know this. As a result, the train that was supposed to depart at 6:45, after much confusion, left at around 11. I wasn’t able to enjoy the scenery because it was pitch black outside. I didn’t get into Naples until around 1 AM and I had to take a cab over to the hostel which closes at midnight. Luckily, there were some people up and awake in there and I was able to get in.
The following morning, I walked around Naples a bit before catching a hydrofoil (fast ferry) out to Capri. As soon as I arrived, I bought a ticket for the boat tour around the island. It was so nice to be on a boat out in the sun!!! The water was so beautiful, but much too cold for me to go in. I got to see the white grotto, the green grotto, the different “beaches” (I use the term loosely because most of the “beaches” were just stairs cut into stone from which you need to throw yourself), all the expensive boats and yachts and people throwing up.
Yes, you read that right! There is a famous grotto, the blue grotto that you need to board a separate, small boat to enter. There are so many tour boats and so many people who want to enter that you end up waiting at least half an hour for everyone to go and come back. Meanwhile, the sea is pretty rough. The lady to the left of me started puking her brains out and the girl to the right of me started shaking and I crying. We finally got back to shore and more people were puking over the side of the dock. I, myself, had to find an immobile spot on which to sit and recover for about half an hour.
That evening at the hostel I made several friends and we decided to travel to Pompeii together the following day. So, on Sunday we all walked over to the subway and were a little confused. A guy in front of us overheard our confusion and swooped in to help us. I immediately identified him as a flaming homosexual, which is great because I love gay men! He claimed that he knew the guy who sold the tickets at the central train station and that he could get us our tickets for free. Long story short, we all saw him pay for the tickets and he gave us some excuse about getting his money back from the guy later. It was apparent to me that he did not know the guy and that he had simply paid for out tickets himself. But it was super nice of him nonetheless.
This left me very confused. In fact, I’m still confused. One of the women I spent the day with, a Norwegian seamstress, disagreed with me that he was gay. And she would know because she works in the theater and with many gay seamsters. I just didn’t know how she could think this. It was sssooo obvious that he was gay!
He told me he was going to be in Rome on Thursday for a concert so we exchanged numbers. I saw yesterday that I had a missed call from him, so I returned his call and we chatted a bit. One second he made a comment about how we (the group of girls who went to Pompeii) were like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. The next second he made a comment about how it was nice to meet cute girls.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So, now I really don’t know. He’s only 20 and he’s from a small town so it’s very possible that he’s not out or doesn’t realize it yet. But I don’t know any straight guys that talk or know anything about Sex and the City.
OH! And on the train ride home I got to sit across from Tony, an improvisational/experimental percussionist. That is not to say he does not use sheet music… It is to say that he actually creates his own bongos out of jars, cans and paint cans. Yeah. He was interesting.
Anywho, we’ll see how Thursday goes with my new, sexually ambiguous friend.
Friday night was pretty much a nightmare because it was super hot and the train workers were on strike. Apparently they strike every Friday night and I was the only one who didn’t know this. As a result, the train that was supposed to depart at 6:45, after much confusion, left at around 11. I wasn’t able to enjoy the scenery because it was pitch black outside. I didn’t get into Naples until around 1 AM and I had to take a cab over to the hostel which closes at midnight. Luckily, there were some people up and awake in there and I was able to get in.
The following morning, I walked around Naples a bit before catching a hydrofoil (fast ferry) out to Capri. As soon as I arrived, I bought a ticket for the boat tour around the island. It was so nice to be on a boat out in the sun!!! The water was so beautiful, but much too cold for me to go in. I got to see the white grotto, the green grotto, the different “beaches” (I use the term loosely because most of the “beaches” were just stairs cut into stone from which you need to throw yourself), all the expensive boats and yachts and people throwing up.
Yes, you read that right! There is a famous grotto, the blue grotto that you need to board a separate, small boat to enter. There are so many tour boats and so many people who want to enter that you end up waiting at least half an hour for everyone to go and come back. Meanwhile, the sea is pretty rough. The lady to the left of me started puking her brains out and the girl to the right of me started shaking and I crying. We finally got back to shore and more people were puking over the side of the dock. I, myself, had to find an immobile spot on which to sit and recover for about half an hour.
That evening at the hostel I made several friends and we decided to travel to Pompeii together the following day. So, on Sunday we all walked over to the subway and were a little confused. A guy in front of us overheard our confusion and swooped in to help us. I immediately identified him as a flaming homosexual, which is great because I love gay men! He claimed that he knew the guy who sold the tickets at the central train station and that he could get us our tickets for free. Long story short, we all saw him pay for the tickets and he gave us some excuse about getting his money back from the guy later. It was apparent to me that he did not know the guy and that he had simply paid for out tickets himself. But it was super nice of him nonetheless.
This left me very confused. In fact, I’m still confused. One of the women I spent the day with, a Norwegian seamstress, disagreed with me that he was gay. And she would know because she works in the theater and with many gay seamsters. I just didn’t know how she could think this. It was sssooo obvious that he was gay!
He told me he was going to be in Rome on Thursday for a concert so we exchanged numbers. I saw yesterday that I had a missed call from him, so I returned his call and we chatted a bit. One second he made a comment about how we (the group of girls who went to Pompeii) were like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. The next second he made a comment about how it was nice to meet cute girls.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So, now I really don’t know. He’s only 20 and he’s from a small town so it’s very possible that he’s not out or doesn’t realize it yet. But I don’t know any straight guys that talk or know anything about Sex and the City.
OH! And on the train ride home I got to sit across from Tony, an improvisational/experimental percussionist. That is not to say he does not use sheet music… It is to say that he actually creates his own bongos out of jars, cans and paint cans. Yeah. He was interesting.
Anywho, we’ll see how Thursday goes with my new, sexually ambiguous friend.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
It's, not its
I sit writing from the professors computer today. There doesnt appear to be any apostrophes on this keyboard and so my conjunctions will suffer. Shes finally back from a 3 week vacation in Slovenia and pretty much the first thing she says to be is some awkward comment about my roommate and her cousin dating. She appears to be none too pleased about this situation. And said displeasure appears to be aimed at my roommate. Im pretty sure she said something about having 2 boyfriends... I cant recall because it was uncomfortable conversation for me.
We were able to talk about the work Ive been doin while she was gone and I was really afraid to meet with her thinking that I had been slacking off. To the contrary, she was rather impressed with both the amount and the quality of the work I did and we discussed how I could probably get multiple articles from my outline. We decided on one article on childhood obesity in Italy aimed at healthcare professionals and another, more global article on the current obesity crisis with a special emphasis on the origins as they pertain to the nutrition transition.
WAKE UP! I know. Its not exciting stuff, but Im really happy about it!!! Writing will commence tomorrow after I meet with her again to discuss organization.
This weekend Im hoping to make it to Naples. I would like to hop a boat tour of the island on Saturday and catch a tour of Vesuvius/Pompei on Sunday. I really need some sun. The Italian population appears to really enjoy tanning and being tan and for the first time in my life I actually feel pale. If I really enjoy Naples, I may decide to spend my last weekend in Italy there... Which is the following weekend. Gosh, this has gone by so quickly.
In terms of my other travel arrangements, almost everything is set. I had to cancel my original train ticket from Mumbai to Kerala because the waitlist was just not moving. Im now leaving on a later train on a lower class (3AC). I hope its not too bad. Im just really happy I got a confirmed seat. Additionally, Ive made all but one of the bookings for Vietnam/Cambodia. Really, the only things I have left to book are a night in Phuket when I arrive and another night before I leave.
Wow. It feels so good to know pretty much everything is taken care of. I never realized how difficult it is to itinerize and coordinate traveling... Especially abroad. I was really overwhelmed in the beginning, but by breaking it down piece by piece I was able to dominate and now Ill be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!!!
We were able to talk about the work Ive been doin while she was gone and I was really afraid to meet with her thinking that I had been slacking off. To the contrary, she was rather impressed with both the amount and the quality of the work I did and we discussed how I could probably get multiple articles from my outline. We decided on one article on childhood obesity in Italy aimed at healthcare professionals and another, more global article on the current obesity crisis with a special emphasis on the origins as they pertain to the nutrition transition.
WAKE UP! I know. Its not exciting stuff, but Im really happy about it!!! Writing will commence tomorrow after I meet with her again to discuss organization.
This weekend Im hoping to make it to Naples. I would like to hop a boat tour of the island on Saturday and catch a tour of Vesuvius/Pompei on Sunday. I really need some sun. The Italian population appears to really enjoy tanning and being tan and for the first time in my life I actually feel pale. If I really enjoy Naples, I may decide to spend my last weekend in Italy there... Which is the following weekend. Gosh, this has gone by so quickly.
In terms of my other travel arrangements, almost everything is set. I had to cancel my original train ticket from Mumbai to Kerala because the waitlist was just not moving. Im now leaving on a later train on a lower class (3AC). I hope its not too bad. Im just really happy I got a confirmed seat. Additionally, Ive made all but one of the bookings for Vietnam/Cambodia. Really, the only things I have left to book are a night in Phuket when I arrive and another night before I leave.
Wow. It feels so good to know pretty much everything is taken care of. I never realized how difficult it is to itinerize and coordinate traveling... Especially abroad. I was really overwhelmed in the beginning, but by breaking it down piece by piece I was able to dominate and now Ill be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!!!
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