Backpacking like real backpackers

Coming to you live, from Venice, Italy. I promised myself that I wouldnt (I cant find the apostrophe on this Italian keyboard) check the internet while I was away, but I wanted to send out a quick update on the happenings of this last month. To sum up, Ive had guests for the last 3 weekends (first my cousin, Corey, coming to visit from Germany, then a couple past interns from ISB, and now my cousin, Paul, visiting from Iowa) and have had a blast having the company. It was great to see Corey again 3 years since we last saw each other, it was refreshing to swap stories with the other interns, and it has been awesome having my cousin visiting my now. Last weekend a group of us visited Amsterdam and had a BLAST walking around and seeing the sites. This time I visited the Van Gogh and Heinekin Museums. I found the Heinekin Museum actually surprisingly wonderful, very interactive and incredibly interesting.
One last update and then Im off to explore: Paul and I will be (as the title implies) backpacking through Italy and Spain for about 2 weeks before we head back to the States. I love Venice even more now than I did the first time. It is far more beautiful and charming than I remember and am excited to just spend our time wondering and exploring. We are staying at a campsite (a first for me) which has surprised me enormously with its appeal and charm. There is a restaurant, bar, supermarket and I am typing this in its Cyberbus, a double decker bus renovated to have computers on the upper deck. We are off to a great start so far, and it is just the beginning! I will send an update when I arrive back in the states. Until then...Ciao!

One more photo, or no?

There are some things that I've done this year that make me stop and think with amazement,"Wow, did I actually do that?" There are other things I've done this year and look back on with embarrassment and think, "Wow, did I actually do that?" Last night, after months of anxiously waiting, I was able to see Josh Groban in concert right here in Brussels. Josh has been one of my favorite musicians for years, and last night was the second time seeing him in concert. The concert was incredible and at times I couldn't believe that he was in the same room as me, singing these songs I've been listening to for years. After the show, my friend and I went outside to do the obligatory stalking. Unfortunately, half of the audience had the same idea. We some how finagled our way to the front of the gate outside his van and waited for about 45 minutes until he came out. What I love most about Josh, besides his amazing vocal talent, is the fact that he seems to have just an awesome personality, cracking silly jokes during the concert, and then, just as I had imagined it, he was taking the time to come out and sign autographs for the fans who were waiting outside. As he was getting closer and closer to us I couldn't think of anything but "I have to get a photo with him, I have to get a photo with him." When he arrived at our spot, 2 Belgian girls squeezed around us, begging him for a photo. Though his body guard was urging him to move on, he complied to take the photo. After, he moved on to my friend and me, and while he was signing a postcard of mine, all I could muster was "Thanks, Josh." He then asked us where we were from, my friend answered, and he started walking away. Of all the things I could say like "Welcome to Brussels," or "You were fantastic" or "I love your music" or even "Can you stay in Belgium and marry me?" all I could eek out was "One more photo, or no?" He looked at me apologetically and responded "They [his bodyguards] said I can't." And that was it. I have become so obsessed with documenting events with photographs that when it comes time to profess my love (not really) to the musician I most admire, all I can say to him is a weak request for a picture. Well, that was a wake up call. I guess this means I'll just have to see him in concert again. I'm so lucky that I got to meet him at all, but next time I'll try to be a little more conversational.

Tre Belge

I have been collecting spare change since the beginning of the year in a little mug I keep in my room. I had mostly just 1, 2, 5, and 10 cent pieces, with a few 20 cent pieces thrown in there as well. Since it is nearing the end of the year, I thought it was about time to cash in my change. I stopped by the bank on Thursday with all of my change in a baggie, not having the slightest clue how much money I had altogether. When I gave the man at the bank my baggie, he slipped it into another bag, sealed it up, and then asked me how much I had inside. I said I didn't know. He looked back at the bag, studied it for about 7 seconds, then remarked, "15 euros." And that was that. No weighing, no counting. Just a glance, estimation, and I am now 15 euros richer. Sometimes I find the Belgian indifference so refreshing.