After a mostly sleepless flight, I arrived in Rome around 8:00AM to grey skies and clouds and rain. Did it matter? Nooo.... I was in Rome! I dreamed of coming to Italy for years and I was finally here! I was staying in Orsa Maggiore Women's Only Hostel in the Trastevere area of Rome. I had directions of how to get their via train, bus, and my own legs, but both of my backpacks were heavy and it was raining, so I got a shuttle for 30 euros from an orange desk in the airport. It was legitimate, and honestly, only about 15 euros more than I would have paid if I had taken the train and bus. So Max took me and two other people to our hotels in his nice car, and I headed ... read more

I took the ferry to Symi this morning and arrived before lunch. I had made a reservation at Dorian Hotel on some obscure website and I had a feeling the hotel had no idea I was coming. I was right, but it didn't matter. Dorian Hotel is to the right of the harbour when you step off the boat, not far from the clock tower and just behind Hotel Aliki, which looked very nice but too expensive for me. But for 30 euros a night at Dorian Hotel, I got a lovely bathroom, small fully equipped kitchen and seating area, small balcony, and the bedroom was upstairs and was very spacious with lovely hardwood floors. I was in heaven! I had some tea and then decided to get some lunch and wander around the island. I ... read more

Well, I've been here a week now and in one more week I will be the proud owner of a 2 year residence permit. I am almost afraid to say it, but it was easy. Partly because I am American and partly because I had a lot of cash in my bank account. I think. I looked on the Internet at multiple websites trying to find out what I needed to do first to get my permit. I found a lot of information, but nothing that told me step-by-step what I needed to do. So I am going to write it here in hopes that it will help someone else. First, get a cell phone. I didn't and I had to put my friend's phone number on everything instead of mine. Not a bad thing, but ... read more

I wasn't meeting Pussang until 10:00, so I told him to pick me up at Summit Cafe. Of course, he was early and I wasn't finished with my cinnamon roll and coffee. We chatted for a while, then went to visit two monasteries here in Lhasa. They were small, but busy. One has about 25 monks in residence, the other I don't remember. They were both free to enter, but of course, I could not enter without a guide lest I try to stir up trouble among the monks by spouting off about my liberal views on freedom and basic human rights. So Pussang explained what the icons stood for and patiently answered my questions. I looked around at all of the money stuffed into every nook and cranny and watched people pour copious amounts of ... read more

I came downstairs at 8:15 for my 8:30 meeting with Pussang, only to find he and Kate were already there and the driver was waiting! I was starting to realize that Pussang is often early. So we started off on what I thought was a five hour trip to Shigatse with a stop at the Yamdrok Tso Lake on the way. Turns out, we didn't arrive until after 3:00 in Shigatse. The drive displayed some of the most beautiful scenery and stark landscapes I have ever seen. We stopped for a few photo opps along the way, and the lake was an amazing shade of blue on one end and green on the other. I had high hopes for Shigatse after seeing this. We stopped at a village that pretty much existed to feed tour groups, ... read more