I didn’t want to say it at first, because I didn’t want to jinx it, but I really fee like we should be more appreciative of the times when life is good and calm and comfortably boring— i mean, easygoing.

My current adventure is pretty much just finishing my last semester of school. I feel a lot more relaxed now than in prior terms, but I do hope that this easygoing “take life as it is and appreciate it” attitude won’t have too much of a negative effect on my grades (ie — I hope I don’t slack off too much). I don’t think I will, but I really must work on disciplining myself and focusing.

It’s midterm season and I must confess that my mind has been buzzing on all sorts of dreams, projects, and all sorts of random things, really.

If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few years of schooling is that my grades are really based on the amount of effort I put it. Of course the amount of effort sometimes correlates to the amount of stress I have, so I think what I need is that middle ground — balance, yes?

This current adventure will be closing in a few, and a new one begins again soon.

Must.focus.

Recently I’ve been contemplating on what I want to do while I’m here with you. What I want to achieve, what I will define as success, and what I can do for you and for the millions of people who wander around you 24/7.

I have decided, dear world, that I want to be a good-deed doer. Is that okay with you? Because I’m deathly afraid that it isn’t, because for some reason I think that you’re not very nice to GDD’s.

But you have to give me a chance.

It’s been about half a year since my exchange and I’ve yet to really give details on my experiences. The memories are slowly becoming less and less vivid, and the whole 4 months in Europe has started to become a hazy, faraway dream.

I miss Europe, I really do.

It was a great adventure—but I’ve moved on from one adventure to the next:

I’m currently in Ontario— thanks to an internship I landed with Nestle, I got flown to the other side of the country to spend 4 months working/training with the company. I certainly feel blessed, and yes, there have been quite the adventures already. I’m learning so so much, and I am once again incredibly giddy as I feel my brain expanding and gaining all sorts of new perspectives.

So much to do. So much to talk about. I’ve decided that the scope of this documentation of Discoveries and Dreams isn’t limited to my experiences on exchange, because as I encounter new things in life as it goes along, I keep discovering, and I keep dreaming.

So here’s to this.

Cheers!

I must admit that I am a bit ashamed as I realize that I got too busy, to preoccupied with things to do, that I’ve neglected this “documentation of discoveries and dreams.” Being the overthinker that I am, I excused myself, thinking that I did not have the chance to write about my experiences and my dreams because I was too busy living it out.

I look back now, and think frankly that that isn’t true: I spent countless hours in front of my laptop either catching up with friends and family on skype or just chatting happily as a lounged in bed—- It wasn’t all thrill and adventure 24/7.

I think the reason why I stopped updating this while I was in Vienna (other than the so-called lack of time and the effort needed to religiously document my thoughts, insights, and innermost feelings on my experiences) was because I had an utter distaste of the last few entries and how they seemed very… flat.

I felt that my posts, my documentation and writing was deteriorating, so to speak. I felt it similar to thirsting for soda on a hot summer day, and when you finally indulge in a gulp of the sweet, sugary drink, the lack of fizz, bubbles and carbon dioxide leaves you feeling anything but satisfied.

I had certain expectations and standards, building up some sort of anticipation on the documentation of my european adventures—- only to be disappointed by my daily narratives of “today i did this and that, and then this happened.”

flat.

Anyway…

I thought it best to write it after havingfully experienced the experiences, after having it percolate in my brain and digested in my system, in order to produce more insightful, more meaningful, more worthwhile narrations of my time in Vienna.

Stay tuned, wordpress. I’ll be back.

Most of us took the Friday recovering from Oktoberfest, so a few of us decided to go have an alcohol-free day and make the most out of the last weekend before school starts.

Since it was sunny, I suggested heading to the Danube and renting a boat, just so in the future we could say we’ve gone boating on the Danube (hey, at least it was an ‘activity’)!

A couple of guys from UBC had just arrived in Vienna after their month of backpacking around Europe, and so I told them to come with us and I said we could walk around the city for a bit after going boating (and we did). We took photos at some sites, laughed in some parks, and after a while, we ended up at a coffee shop to keep talking about things like slang words, politics, accents, etc.

It was a fairly good afternoon, complete with boats, the Danube, swan attacks, Kebaps, coffee, laughter, and a weird guy on the street who was picky about the photo he wanted us to take for him in front of the parliament (As most of you know, I’m a horrible photographer).

taken by the picky photo stranger

There were a lot of fun(ny) stuff, but— you had to be there.

Here’s how it went:

• approx. 11pm, September 30 : leave Vienna on the WU Erasmus night train with a Party wagon with free flowing drinks.

• approx. 840am, October 1 : Arrive in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest. WU Erasmus package includes 2 litres of beer and 1/2 a grilled chicken, and a spot at the Schottentor tent.

• approx. 10pm, October 1: depart for Vienna on the WU Erasmus night train with a Party wagon with free flowing drinks.

The three words to sum it all up? TOO.MUCH.ALCOHOL.

—

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest wasn’t quite what I expected, really. For the most part, it was pretty much one big carnival; there were rides, candy shops, souvenir stands… it was your typical funfair, just like star city or the PNE. The only difference is that there were big “tents” (which is pretty much like a house that is built up and then taken down after the event) where people would sing songs, dance, and drink beer all day.

It was amusing, however, to see people dressed up in traditional German outfits (called Drindls, if I’m not mistaken) and see EVERYONE around you drunk. Even grandmas and all! CRAZY!

I rode on a few rides and used “a gun” for the first time in my life when I tried one of those shooting games in the carnival. “Yeah, it’s not too easy to shoot when you’re a bit drunk,” said the other exchange student I was with. Haha! We also got to see the city centre at night before heading back to the train station.

Well, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, meaning, GREAT! I’ve experienced it! Now never again, I think, thanks!

Once again I must reiterate how blessed I feel, and how incredibly grateful I am for this whole incredible experience, that there was only one logical thing to do on the way back:

:)

St. Anthony is known to be the saint of miracles, and the patron saint of lost things; I really don’t have too much to say, except that something there hit me powerfully— and within a few moments of entering the basilica, I was moved to tears.

—–

We arrived in Venice in the evening, and spent the night there. I didn’t realize that we couldn’t actually get there by car (Earth to Angelica: Venice… Water!). HAHA. It was interesting to see the quaint city, and it was quite nice to be able to see the gondolas, the Rialto bridge, and the Piazza San Marco.

Rialto Bridge -- Venice

It was cool for me to see the venetian masks as well, as I remember my papa had quite a few of those back in the day.And of course, I was completely smitten by the Murano pendants; one thing I learned about myself is that I’m completely attracted to shiny, glimmering mosaic objects. True story.

Oh, At first you’d think it was flattering to hear some Italian guy say “Ciao, Bella” to you on the streets, but when you think about it, its probably as crass as someone in North America saying “Hey Baby” while walking down Granville St. or something like that.

But seriously, people: Las Vegas’s The Venetian is great, but there aint nothing like the real thing, baby.

After I cooked breakfast today and mailed some postcards out, we drove out to spend the day in Florence (locally called Firenze).  It was quite crowded and a bit hectic there, not really my cup of tea, but I was immersed in art for the rest of the afternoon. I was surrounded by the works of Michaelangelo, Rafael, Boticelli and the like, as Firenze is best known for its Rennaisance art and architecture.

I’m not going to lie or be some sort of art poser— I’m not the biggest fan of Rennaisance art. I find them dark, gloomy and dramatic, although I do not deny the fact that they are indeed masterpieces made by talented artists. Even the sculptures (although I’m not a fan of them either — the white figures with hollow eyes have a haunting feel to it) were made in such a way that even a simpleton like myself could appreciate it. I can’t imagine how one person could actually carve a statue with such intricate details to show the silky flow of garment, the lines of hands and feet, the decoration on the sandals, etc.

What fascinates me, though, are the baroque-style ceilings that are oft outlined in gold and have beautiful paintings strewn across them. I kept wondering what it would be like if the ceiling of my bedroom was decorated that way.

We heard mass in the Cathedral after visiting the Pitti Palace, and well, what can I say; even if the mass was in Italian, I still felt at home.

Before heading back to Pentolina, I treated Uncle Walter and Tita Minnie (and myself of course) for some gelato. Hey, we’re in Italy, right? This is as authentic as it gets!