RyanCarrier

There is disconnect today. I don’t know where. It could be the city; maybe it’s me. I just got a strange feeling of missing my Rome group. Maybe it is because I didn’t know those people. There is a certain satisfaction and excitement in experiencing new things with new people who know just as little as you do. There is more acceptance and less annoyance (at least at first), more working together and less independence. Going on a tour for a second time was both interesting and boring. I feel like I have lost interest or awe or something. I am just going through the motions right now. How does one go about fulfilling oneself in these situations? I had the urge today to leave everyone I know and just go, meet some Italians, struggle with ... read more

Today we headed toward Assisi, via bus. We played mafia the whole way. In essence people are secretly assigned a character one or two people act as "mafia" and kill off the villagers. The villagers then vote out who they think is mafia. In the end if more mafia remain then villagers the mafia wins. Kind of ironic that we consistantly played Mafia in Italy. I love that game, we can yell and fight and it is funny; which, is all I have ever wanted. Assisi is a town on a hill and it is gorgeous, but something feels strange. We walked to a couple of churches, the house of Saint Francis, and a citadel way above the town with a gorgeous panoramic view. It reminds me of Toledo, Spain but artificial. It is so picturesque ... read more

Airports are both my favorite place and my least favorite. Went through some terrible lines today. It is so much less frustrating to have my friends tapping their toes along with me, along with the occasional drunk falling into our group for a laugh. My friends supply some respite from frustration as we can laugh and talk rather than being so focused on the lines going nowhere and the people not thinking. The usual excitement that comes with travel seems dull this time around. I am excited to be here with literally ALL the friends I am closest to but the actual travel doesn’t give me the usual feeling of nerves and excitement. Perhaps they go hand in hand. My past trips I have been so much more alone going into it. In 2008 I was ... read more