and all you see

the morning was spent catching up on sleep as well as a jaunt through downtown and a frantic bread store where we fought crowds for delicious bread products.

our hostel has exploded with luggage. we are in big trouble because we have a 40 lbs limit from Hungary to Rome. but we also don't have to worry about that...for a few more days.

meet at the church like planned.

˝we are going to get food, it is not...fatless.˝

we indulged in greasy croatian delights at the college with our new friends.
and i ate squid.
right now i am at the college and the y and the z on the kezboard are in opposite spots.
then did some exploring around the sites.
and hung out at the church for a while.

then went in search of lavender chocolate, which was recommended to us.
and it just happened to be sold to us by the most beautiful boy in the world.
who accidentally charged us almost double.

because we were so full from lunch we ended up not spending the money we took out so we stocked up on food at the Konzum.

and i am very very sad to leave.

Zaaaaaaaaaaaaagreb!

After saying goodbye to our friends in Venice we went about exploring some more, getting food and preparing mentally for Croatia.

The policija stamped our passports on the train at 3am. We slept awkwardly in the seats and played a bit of musical chairs trying to get comfortable.


A taxi driver gave us directions after we stood on a street corner for a while with our luggages and a map.

Once on the street to our hostel we were met by a guy who greeted us with a "Ciao. Hello." then an "Opa!!" when he almost dropped the garbage can he was carrying.

Our room is orange with yellow and blue flames on one wall and a sun on the other wall.

We got a brochure with a walking tour and went on it, Kimberly guided us through the heart of old Zagreb.


Grocery shopping was an ordeal as suddenly chocolate bars were 8 dollars and other things were in the 100s. When asked if we wanted a bag, Sharlie responded with a "Yes. Si...Ya..." Me: Da. "...Da" Another look to me to which I responded "Hvala" which was then repeated to the lady who was already laughing quietly at us.

I have no idea what will happen when we go to Hungary with its 200 huf to 1 usd. I have no concept of money anymore we have converted things from Konas to Dollars to Euros and back again and still not sure how much we're spending.

Today we found the church and followed the sound of voices up the stairs. We said an awkward "hi" and people laughed and spoke English to us. Sunday School was an intense ping-pong of English to Croatian. The teacher spoke in English while someone translated, then spoke in Croatian while the same person translated to English. Then a guy answered a question in Croatian and then another one in English. Everyone was translating for everyone. And we just sat there and smiled. Singing hymns was fun/difficult too.

But we made two friends who are going to show us around tomorrow.

Everyone in church asked us what we were doing in Croatia. Like, they really did not understand why we sould possible come here. Heh. And they all talked to us and were happy.
"You must come back...I will recognize you by your smiles."

it's cold (really cold) outside, so we're watching Gilmore Girls:
"why are you smiling?"
"i was just thinking about pudding."

Venezia in pictures

quick stop in Padova where we were locked in a temperature controlled room which they then used to adjust the temperature in the church in order to preserve the frescoes...bought shoes.

First impression of Venice: Too cramped with narrow streets, too touristy. But the church was really pretty

Friends made: 2 australians, a couple on a cruise, a middle aged world traveller (who has been to the Amazon four times), a bulgarian man and his wife, two girls who work in Utah, and a Californian who speaks perfect Italian

at first playing with the pigeons was really exciting and funny

they kept landing on my head, i didn't even have food on me.

they did crazy tricks like the above-seen double decker pigeons

but it went from being exciting to being less than exciting (see facial expressions):

we took a taxi to Murano where we saw one man make a tiny fish out of glass and gave it to Sharlie. This was after the adventure to find a glass blower that involved hopping fences, walking across a decrepit bridge and hopping another fence.

we all got weird rooms, some without bathrooms and some without showers. we were split into two and threes, but we came up with a plan so we could all be in one room...

tre ragazze...uno letto.


birthdays celebrated: 1

we sang to Kimberly in English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and made-up Croatian

went to Burano where the houses are painted bright colours so that drunk sailors could find their way home.

i fit in nicely.

then gravity disappeared...!

one of my favourite things was the winged lions that gaurd all of Venice.

ciao, Italia!

in honor of my last full day of the program, Lynzie and I showed up to the morning meeting wearing our sheets as togas. People laughed and raised eyebrows but no one was really that surprised. Sadly no picture was taken though.

Top Ten Reasons Not to go Back To BYU

1. boys
2. No Kimberly
3. Sales tax
4. paying rent
5. real classes
6. pizza is not as good
7. climate that kills my skin
8. the testing center
9. dirty snow
10. teachers that don't just bust out in opera in the middle of lectures

Top Ten Reasons To Go Back To BYU

1. boys
2. college life (social)
3. apply to the film program
4. snow
5. no more one-on-one classes
6. having a kitchen
7. Life Club
8. Indian food
9. clean air
10. fort building extravaganzas

Things I Miss About America

. Mexican food
. being in the same time zone as friends and family
. 1 USD=1 USD, no complications
. having several pairs of shoes
. free water
. ice
. Indian food
. Smoothies
. 24 hour grocery stores
. normal toliets

al contrario,
THINGS AMERICA SHOULD EMBRACE
. contradas
. public drinking fountains along the roads
. Nutella
. gelato
. fresh food
. painting houses bright colors
. smaller cars
. 1 euro pizza places

Things I Have Learned From Mamma Luigia

.Stir clockwise. Always
.When doing laundry: if it opens, it is done. if it doesn't, it's not done.
.If it is on the table, eat it, if not it would not be there.
.Non sono i vestiti, sono la persona
.''I don't steal, I don't kill...sometimes it's okay to lie.''
.Cooking should be fast, easy, and delicious
.Before going out or having your picture taken you should put on bright red lipstick