Friday, December 23, 2011

The Holiday Season and Getting Ready for a Whirlwind (AKA - Allll byyyy myselllllffff!!!!)

Nah, just kidding. Not by myself. Although I assure you I will at some point this holiday season I will recreate this scene from Bridget Jones's Diary, boozing and bad pajamas included:



It’s December 23rd, and that means Christmas is only 2 days away. Where has the time gone? Have I really been here for 4 months already? I supposed with everyone BUT me leaving to go home for the holidays, I’ve become a little sentimental.  Having to say goodbye to some of your best friends is really, really hard, especially if they won’t be coming back for next semester. I’ve shed some tears over it—and I do not shed tears easily.

Lots of people have asked me how I feel about not going home for the holidays, specifically Christmas. It’s hard—that’s for sure. It’s especially difficult when I realized that I will likely be spending Christmas day alone, probably studying. However, in all honesty, I feel like I have nothing to complain about. I’m okay with being alone on Christmas, because I know I won’t be lonely on Christmas—I will Skype with my family, call some friends, and then spend the rest of the day reading a good book.  That’s what a lot of people don’t understand: there is a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. Thankfully, I’m lucky enough to be the former.

Besides, I’ve got lots of cool things going for me. Yesterday I spent the day in Florence to visit a friend from UW-Madison who was there for a few days. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I will get my butt out of bed at some insane hour (like, 3:30 AM) to leave my house at 5 AM to be on a 6 AM train. That’s a lot of single digits followed by “AM”. Destination? Venice! I will be visiting the ever-so-lovely Hope Carmichael (a UW Badger through and through) and her parents for the day in the city I love so much. They are there for about a week and were nice enough to invite me to spend Christmas Eve with them. I’m so excited! Venice at Christmas? Yes, please!

View of Florence from Pizza di Michelangelo. Quite a hike but worth it!

Then, on December 27th at another ungodly hour, I will pay for an incredibly expensive cab ride to get to the airport for an incredibly expensive flight to go to the incredibly worth-it SCOTLAND! My friend, Jessica, invited me to spend a week with her at her family friends’ house in Glasgow. Although it took me awhile to figure out budgeting (forget about flying anywhere cheaply… or even reasonably… around the holidays), I eventually caved and jumped at the opportunity. We’ll spend 8 days in the beautiful country, and possibly make our way to Edinburgh for New Years, one of the most popular holidays there. Totally, completely worth it.

After I get back from my little whirlwind travel extravaganza, I will have to seriously hit the books. My last exams are on January 13th and 18th, both of which are for the same art history class. I must memorize an insane amount of information for over 500 images (only 10 will be on the test… eek!) and read a full-length (FULL-LENGTH) book on Mannerism. Yipee for me! No, I’m sure it will be fine. I’m always fine when it comes to these times. Nothing bad can happen if you put in the work… right? RIGHT?

Until  I next write, I hope you all a very happy holiday season no matter what you celebrate!

Baci,

L

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