Day (21): Settling into a CASTLE. No big deal.

So on this day, I arrived at the Castle, after hours of overnight travel and general exhaustion. Loading onto buses in the rain with luggage and such was such a warm welcome to the country. And stuff at the castle didn't start off super-hot. My room was having such a good time bonding that we completely missed the tour of our tiny little town in this corner of the world, which meant we missed the time to get internet set up cause we had to go on the other tour. Then, I managed to stub my toe and learn my first big lesson at the castle: DON'T WEAR JUST SOCKS. Shoes are required. (Speaking about this over a month later, my toe is still purple. Also, I realized that this blog on a day by day basis was a badddd idea. Big time. Oh well. Let's see if we can catch up. On the very bright side: I LOVE IT HERE.

[Pictures would be included in this blog, minus the part where the internet here will not upload them to the blog. Fail. I actually wanted to write this section earlier but wanted the pics so I didn't. I have now given up. Those who wish to see pictures of my adventures will have to refer to Facebook. Shoot- there went my goal for cool, multimedia, hipster blog.]

Day (20): DEPARTURE!

Three weeks of travel away from home, and now the final step: to the Netherlands! More than anything at this point, I was just pumped to get to a place where the room I had was mine and I could unpack all my luggage for a little while. Day began with one of the longest and most pointless meetings of my life, confirming that I no longer have any desire to partake in large-group travel. Surviving this, I went to the Common to chill and meet up with people on their way to and fro class for one last goodbye. Bitter/sweet. Then faithful RB went with me to Copley Square to buy Euros from Bank of America which, TIP: have no fees for those with an account with the bank, as long as you withdraw them from a central branch! Awesome news. Then, back to Emerson to say the last goodbyes to RB, Guy, and most importantly Mom and Joe. On the bus I went, making the last calls to some people I hadn't talked to in a while, and then we were checking in at the Delta counter- a nightmare when my bag was 62 pounds and I had to reshuffle it 4 times! Lessons learned. Through security, and onto the plane for an uneventful flight that would squish my night into about 4 hours. Lovely. But Europe waits on the other side!

Day (19): The Fat Woman

No, I don't reference people in this title. Well, not specific people at least. Rather, I learned a new foreign word today: Zaftig, which is Yiddish for a fat woman. And that is the name of the Jewish deli I landed at with Mom and Joe after we finished some shopping in Brookline, based on recommendations from friends. And it lived up to its title. It's easy to see why the women (and men for that matter) become fat at this place with their mounds of food and tempting challa bread. Delicious. Then, we began working our way back to the Emerson campus, getting off the subway at Copley Square for me to return the plethora of media I never got a chance to experience that I had taken out and pic up pictures of you, the people I love, to plaster the walls of my dorm at the castle. After some extensive meandering, we had a light dinner and Nutella milkshake from Boloco. Those milkshakes cannot be matched in the world. Then I drug the parents up the main shopping drag of Newbury Street and over to the Christian Scientist Park, one of my favorite parts of the city. Basically, this cultish denomination aquired enough money to buy out an entire block in downtown Boston and build a mosque-looking church, a tower, and a ridiculously long and beautiful reflecting pool. Then the real treat came: we dragged our tired bodices back across town to the P.F. Chang's for the Great Wall of Chocolate consumption with Christine Ryan, Layla Halabian, and Lauren Camara. If these kids can't keep my presh mother entertained, I don't know who could.

Day (18): Enter the Mumzy

Today was marked by the arrival of none other than Darlene herself. Boston, brace yourselves. The pleasant morning began by venturing to the airport to retrieve Mom and Joe and then going to the hotel, aka the glamorous Ramada Boston, to check in. By this point, it was already about 2pm so lunch before going downtown was decided upon. But out at the JFK stop, options are slim. So we resorted to the Deadwood Grill as advertised by the hotel. Now, this doesn't sound so bad on paper. But, when we walked up to the "restaurant," I realized it was connected/inside the bowling alley. A bowling alley. Full speed ahead! Time for adventures. All in all, lunch wasn't that bad (the place had Boar's Head deli meat, for heaven's sake), but I won't be seeking out other bowling alleys for dining experiences in the future. Following that scrumpudiliumptuous meal, it was time to walk it off. To Park Street then Beacon Hill to the Esplanade and finally through the gardens and the Common we went. Probably the single most beautiful walk in the city. Needless to say, it took a while, and some people were pretty tired by the end of it, but it was well worth it. I had some loose ends to tie up at Emerson so I left the 'rents to rest on the Common and returned later with the friends RB, Guy, and Mamalie who got the pleasure of meeting Darlene alive and in person. After that nice chat, it was dinner at Legal Sea Foods and walking to the North End to grab the pastries and back to the WHarf a la romantic evening with Rebecca the previous week. Lols. I just about ran these kids into the ground. And they still have 2 more days. Bwahahahaha.

Day (17): Under the Knife

Nothing starts a day off wrong like the addition of a bad hair cut. Ok, the hair cut itself is tolerable. But the methodology certainly was unpleasant. I decided to venture in an attempt to save my wallet to the Empire Beauty School in Boston, where students on the verge of graduation cut hair for $5. I like the price. But oy, I almost got my ear chopped off by the beautician, named something like Shani. Whilst gabbing with her ghetto-fab friend GiGi, she cut the hair around my face, scratching my ears with the tip of the scissors and once nearly poking out my eye. Probably won't be going back, definitely not to have my hair cut by her. I wore my new hair cut out on the streets and saw yet another used bookstore I had been unaware of across the street called Brattle Books. The outside $1 and $3 racks had my name on them. It's amazing how I lived in this city for a year and never found these places. Then again, I don't think I ever had this much free time. After that, back to the library, then lunch of turkey burger with BBQ sauce at the Paramount with the winner of the BEST hair-do/RA/friend award, Lauren Camara and RB. It felt like old times to have this tradition revived. Back to RB's room to repack yet again (see the theme emerging?) and the abundantly overdue arrival of Amalie Steidley, aka Mamalie, on the scene. She crazy, she funny, and she too is on her way to Europe. Cannot. Wait. But, with her arrival, the matress on RB's floor was occupied, so I set off to Brookline to chill with Ash, Mike, Ian, and Taylor, much like most of my evenings last year. Let's just say, not much has changed.

Day (16): Diner Delight

A good day should begin with a visit to a diner. That's all I'm saying. And this one did. Add in some Lyanne and buffet at the diner, and we're set. I love buffets too. Then, theme of my life: back to Boston we go. Had it not been so rainy, I may have dragged RB into the city to see Broadway on Broadway- a free concert that happens every year in Times Square featuring some of the biggest theatre stars of that year. But, as we say, dreams defferred. On the bright side, back at Emerson, and departing in a matter of days for Europe!

Day (15): Can't Stop This Train

This was the day I had been waiting for. Union County Musicfest. Free. Train. These are all uplifting words. And boy did we make a day of it. Sex, drugs, and rock & roll all were present: Sex- the 3 year old girl in front of us was fond of taking off her shirt and dancing around; drugs- I must have seen at least 4 middle-aged women pop an aspirin, or so they called it; and Train at least brough me some rock & roll. Yeah. It was wild. We left around lunchtime and arrived at the glorious festival in time to sample some good (and not so good bands) and even squeeze in a funnel cake, a first for RB, I think. Music began with Soul Asylum, whose name sounds like a horror film and I was grossly unfamiliar with. Apparently they had a one hit wonder back in the 90's. All I know is they aren't hitting any of the right spots now. They were tolerable, but very womp. Then we meandered and tried a bit of Jesse Malin who was positively miserable. He took the music in my soul and ripped it to shreds with his nasly voice. Needless to say, we lasted about 2 songs. On the other stage came on the Bravery, one of those bands that ends up on my iPod from soundtracks but I don't really know that well. They did a good job. Pretty typical rock band stuff. We decided to skip the OK GO concert in hopes of staking out spots for the headliner: TRAIN. I still think this was a good choice, although the amount of confetti coming off the stage from OK GO had me wondering for a second. But then it began, Train in all their glory. And we were about 20 feet from the stage. So fantastic. Please look at this and tell me you're not at least a little jealous:



As you can see, Pat is quite the performer. And it was so mind-blowing to finally be there and I just had a blast. Well, it would have been perfect, besides the gaggle of middle school bitties in front of us. And the hour-long wait for the shuttle to get back home. But nothing can stop this train of good feelings. Huh-uh.