I never thought I would be able to say that I go to the gym 5 days a
week. This summer I have dedicated most of the little motivation that
I have to being healthy. Does that involve trying to lose weight? A
little. But mostly it consists of me putting an actual amount of
effort on ME. Eating the right things, keeping my heart going, etc. I
joined a gym about 20 minutes away from my house that is convenient to
go to on my way home from summer school. It works great because I
can’t validate driving to class without going to the gym. I then have
found that even if I’m not going to class I still want to make that
drive to work out. Never in my life have I looked forward to working
out, and while that still may be a stretch, I certainly feel like part
of my day is missing if I don’t make it. The wide range of people that
go to my gym (yes, its MINE, not YOURS, haha) never cease to astound
me.

I’m currently on the elliptical machine, while writing this on my
blackberry. Bored? Yes. Anywho- today I want to profile the ” Retired
or Part-Time Workers Who Work Out to Prevent Aging”. These people are
usually at the gym mid morning after the people who have jobs have
gone to work, before lunch breaks, and while the kids are in school.
Most of the time they work out on the ellipticals or stationary bikes.
They can also be seen tottering around behind a personal trainer or in
the olympic sized swimming pool taking water aerobics. About 50% of
the time they wear normal “around the house” clothes like jeans and a
cotton top, despite everyone else wearing some form of nylon or
spandex. They’re incredibly cute, and you have to admire then for
keeping “in shape”… Buttttt they do tend to monopolize equipment
when other people want to do a serious workout. Take for example a
woman to my left. She’s wearing cargo capri pants, a green cotton top,
her hair is in an alligator clip and she was sipping on a venti
Starbucks coffee. Going at a snail’s pace. Really?! But to her credit,
there aren’t many people at the gym and there are plenty of
ellipticals open for others. That is just one average example of
someone in this category.

Lake Murray, Chapin, South Carolina

I have returned to the blog world. I decided that it would be a good way to document my life. Maybe in a few years I’ll appreciate being able to look back and know what I was up to? It sure is a lot more efficient than journaling. This summer I am not at camp, or at school, or off gallivanting around the world. I am in my hometown of Chapin, taking summer school classes (Physics) at the University of South Carolina. Bummer. I don’t even have a job. I’m mooching off of my parents. All summer. I go to class from 8 to 10:15 four days a week, and then lab from 1-3ish for three days a week. No class on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It’s not too terribly bad. The work isn’t hard, I took physics in high school, and I’m taking it with my good friend Bailey, so I’m hoping that I can close my eyes and wiggle my nose and it will hurry up and finish.

Today Bailey and I went to class then came back and have been at her house ever since. We finished our homework for the week… and I’m putting off going to the gym because it is SO hot outside. Guess I’ll have to bite the bullet eventually.

Ciao for now, xo

Martha and I woke up rather early to go to London, and Philip drove she and I to the train station. We arrived into London and took a taxi to her office building. The cabs are wicked awesome and look exactly like they do in the movies- they good thing is that they’re efficient because you could fit like 5 people in the back! When Martha and I got to her office we went up to her floor and I was introduced around. We went to the cafeteria to grab breakfast and chose a seat right by the window. You could see the entire skyline from there- it was so amazing! I already knew I was going to have a great day in London.

Unfortunately, Martha wasn’t going to be able to join me in my day of adventures because she had a seminar she was supposed to attend. I waited at her desk until 10 AM when I could leave and walk behind the building and go to the Tate Modern Art Museum (it was less than a block away). I needed to use the restroom before I left but unfortunately all of the women’s restrooms in the building were either out of order or locked. So after walking 8 flights of stairs I returned to Martha’s floor and grabbed my stuff in order to head to the museum. The trip was a little more urgent now due to the lack of a working “loo” within 15 floors of Martha’s. I rolled up in the Tate, which is right off of the River Thymes.

The Tate Modern, a Museum filled with modern art, obviously, was umm… interesting. I started there due a suggestion by Vanessa and Sophie that it was a great place to visit. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a museum that was completely dedicated to modern art, but I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot, anyway. Some of my more interesting encounters involved a “painting” that was just a mirror- SeW ArTsY, a 3 part series that involved life size photographs of 3 different women, one second, one hour, and one day after giving birth. GROSS. I appreciated it. But it also made me want to vomit. I think my distaste for it also had something to do with the 30 screaming middle school-ers that were observing that with me. Oh, nudity.

I also was intrigued by a giant plaster phallic symbol hanging from the ceiling, a giant carpet hanging from the ceiling, and a statue of a nude woman standing in front of a pile of clothes taller than her that looked like they were from Goodwill. There were also some paintings that I looked at and wondered how it could POSSIBLY be considered art to cut paper Mache and paste it to cardboard in the shape of a spiral and refer to it as a snail. I can’t remember the name of that particular artist, however, he was a famous one and a name I recognized. My all time favorite piece of the Tate was a Monet painting that was called “Lilies of the Pond” or something equally cheesy… but it was brilliant. I only wish I had enough money to either buy that or commission a similar to piece to hang on every wall that I walk or stand by for the rest of my life. Lofty goal, right?

After about an hour and a half of the Tate, I got a little bored, and decided to move on to my next museum. Yes, I’m one of “those” people who get the museums out of the way first and save the fun things for last. Don’t get me wrong- museums are fun, but I thought it best to save the educational activities for the morning when my attention span was still decent. From the Tate I caught the tube and went over to see the British Museum in a different part of town.  The British Museum was fantastic and you would certainly need at least a week to even go in every room, much less appreciate every exhibit. I really only wanted to see things like the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian artifacts, but most of all, I wanted to see the Elgin Marbles. The Elgin Marbles are England’s collection of the ruins of the Parthenon. It’s housed in an area meant to resemble the layout of the Parthenon. Those of you who aren’t familiar with Athens’ most prized tourist destination- you need to go look NOW. There are a ton of documentaries online and it is really the most interesting and intriguing structure. Anywho- it was surreal and amazing. I can’t wait to put up pictures. I didn’t stay there long, because I was ready to find somewhere to eat!

From the British Museum I headed to Covent Garden, tried to find a restaurant from the guidebook I had, but instead ended up at McDonald’s when I failed to find it. It was heavenly… I hadn’t had a cheeseburger since arriving in Europe and it was JUST what I needed. I don’t feel bad at all for missing out on another pub experience. I missed ketchup. This McDonalds was kind of small, and I had to share a table with other people in order to sit down. The two gentlemen that I sat with originally left, and two younger people ended sitting next to me. The entire meal the guy kept looking at me like I had a disease. Lovely country.

The rest of my trip in London was spent in incredible shops and stores, and I wanted to spend a ridiculous amount of money. I didn’t spend all that much, but I did enough damage not to have a whole lot of money for the rest of my trip. I found so many amazing stores. There was one store that was 4 levels and on every level I wanted almost everything. Vintage bags, inexpensive jewelry and accessories (and there was a great selection I might add, and some of you know how picky I am with jewelry). There were GREAT inexpensive dresses, and I had a great time sorting my way through. I wish I had more money than I knew what to do with, because I’d quickly figure out what to do with it- travel a lot, stop in London, and do some massive damage shopping.

Martha and Philip have been extremely gracious and generous in hosting me. I’ve had wonderful meals every day and evening, and have enjoyed watching movies with them. They have an excellent collection of “films” and we watched “Angels and Demons”, “The Pelican Brief” and “The Proposal”. Tuesday I really enjoyed laying around the house and resting up. I watched about 3 or 4 chick flicks and Philip and I had some great cups of Breakfast tea. Martha had gone to Leicester (spelling) to work for three days. So it’s just been me and Phil!

Looking forward to many great things to come! :) Cheers!

The kitty’s name is Shadow. Quotes of Philip talking to the cat:

“What is it you’re doing Little Boy?”

“Little Boy, you’re a good little boy, aren’t you? You’ve been such a good little boy today. Yes you are!”

“You certainly like your bum scratched don’t you?”

“Hello! Hello little diddler!”

“You’re such a little cuddly! Yes, you’re such a little cuddly, aren’t you?”

“You snuggled up with your Nunc last night, didn’t you?!”

“You just don’t know what your Naunt is getting up to, do you?’

I’ll continue with the quotes. Let me make this clear, I am in NO way making fun of him! This just amuses me, and I only wish I could whisper this many “sweet nothings” to my cat. Miss you Pickle!

HELLO! I’m in the smoggy England! Traveling here went very smoothly, and I made it through customs and the airport just fine. My Uncle Philip met me at the arrivals and we headed out from the Heathrow airport ventured to Stevenage, where my Aunt and Uncle live. I’m in hog heaven now, because everyone (at least most people) in this country speak ENGLISH! :) Uncle Philip gave me an update of the family and friends in the car on the way back to their house, and it was great to learn more about everyone. I was still adjusting from being on the opposite side of the road, because for some reason, that nifty little fact had escaped my memory. Another thing I had temporarily forgotten was how much the English love their “roundabouts”! Which honestly, they are much more effective than stop lights and such, however, I think it would be a little ridiculous to change our entire highway system… kind of like how I think it’s a little ridiculous that Obama’s trying to change our entire health care system… but more about that later.

Martha and Philip (my great aunt and uncle) took me to lunch at a local Pub called “The Cricketeers” and I had an excellent version of the fish and chips (cod and french fries). I also had some of the freshest green peas I’d ever had. I am thrilled to not having to eat pasta or any typical Italian food. Don’t get me wrong- Italian food is excellent…but I don’t think I could eat it again for a while. I need some fried chicken soon! Marth cooked a fabulous Sunday Roast (on Saturday), and invited their good family friends Rod and Di, and her mother Lizzie for dinner. It was Rod’s birthday, and as a surprise for him, Martha had called and arranged for their two daughters Vanessa and Sophie to ride the train down from Newcastle (where Sophie goes to school and Vanessa works-she already graduated). We picked them up from the train station and I enjoyed spending time with them and reconnecting while we were waiting on their parents to get there. I had met both of them when I was about 10 years old when we visited England with my family about 10 years ago, and I haven’t seen them since! It’s crazy how much people change, and I’m sure I’ve changed just as much. Both Sophie and Vanessa are wonderful people and were so much fun to talk with. We talked a lot about the cultural differences between America and England and some of the fun experiences that I had while I was in Rome.

Some of my favorite questions they asked about America:

• Do you like Obama?
• Do all the cheerleaders date football players?
• What are your proms like?
• Is the Ku Klux Klan still active?
• Are American frat parties as insane as they seem?

I set some other stereotypes straight, and unfortunately had to confirm some others. However I was thrilled to know that they both love the show, The Office, which is also one of my favorites. Glad to know that some of our humor goes International :) I showed them a lot of pictures of my college experiences and some of our home. Sophie and I google mapped our houses, and it was SO creepy to see the picture of our street. SO creepy. Her “flat” is absolutely adorable (or at least from the outside).

Dinner was excellent. We had champers (champagne) to start, a little bit of a birthday celebration, then we had the beef roast with potatoes and carrots, and another vegetable I couldn’t identify. I also had beet roots and broccoli; it was my first time experiencing beet roots and as my family would say “They were quite lovely!” They also had some excellent wine with dinner, and Martha had also baked some delectable creme puffs. Oh, needless to say, I am in heaven! I love trying new foods, and Martha and Philip are ready to help me out! The dinner conversation was excellent, and I enjoyed telling them about my future education/career plans. It was interesting to compare our education systems, and they were floored with the cost of tuition for most schools in America, not just Wofford’s. (let’s be honest, I’m floored with the cost of tuition at most of our schools!) We talked about a bit of politics, and I gave a weak attempt of explaining why I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Obama administration, mostly because of the changes to the health care system that are going to make working in the medical field not a fun task. It was a wonderful dinner spent with wonderful people, and I only wish that I could see them more often!

I have been introduced into the world of British television, and am currently enjoying the show “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” which has also introduced me to the world of Romanian Gypsies and Irish Travelers. Man- it sure is an interesting show. Their extravagant weddings remind me slightly of the pageant industry in America…however… there is NO way that the pageants in America could ever get this extreme.

This afternoon Martha and Philip took me over to see some friends that had visited my family on one of their trips to America, and it was nice to see them again. Their eldest daughter was the only one that came with them (the other two hadn’t been born yet!) and she is SO much older now, and I feel so incredibly old. We have been back in the house, and I am snuggled up in a chair next to a space heater and have talked to my mother via facebook chat and am preparing for a day trip to London tomorrow! I’m sure I’ll have a ton of fun stories about my traipsing all over London tomorrow by myself! Oh geez, I bet I’m going to continue the “Stupid American” reputation tomorrow and make a completely idiot of myself…. I CAN’T WAIT! :)

Cheers!

Today was my last day in Roma. :( I didn’t blog yesterday because I literally did nothing. I didn’t go tourist-ing, I didn’t go exploring, I just hung around the apartment watching movies, attempting to look at my notes for class, and once ventured out to find gelato. I got the strawberry again- I wasn’t too adventurous, I like to stick with what I know that works. Last night, I went over to the boys’ apartment with my roommates and most of the IES crowd. We made dinner and got to spend some time together. David did a little DJ-ing, we danced and made fools of ourselves, then we headed back to the apartment to finish up the night with a little more review. I don’t think any of us were too concerned with the exam today, because I know there were more people than just me who got a little wine drunk. (okay, I wasn’t drunk, just tipsy) Sara Ashley and I read over our notes and did a great summary before bed.

This morning I woke up and took my time adjusting to the day. I watched the rest of a movie I started last night- Eclipse, for you Twilight fans out there! (I, myself, am a HUGE Twilight fan, and am very grateful for the bootlegged copies I have on my laptop). I rode the bus to class with some of my classmates and we embarked on our final exam. It was exactly what we expected it to be, and I wrote about 5 pages on the discussion question. The basic gist of it was “Describe the religious, cultural, social, political, and artistic/architectural transformations that happened as a result of the advent of Christianity.” It was a broad topic, and I had a good idea of what I wanted to write about, so it worked out pretty well. After the test I headed down the street about 3 or 4 blocks to see the Ara Pacis, or the Altar of Peace.

The Ara Pacis was originally built for the Emperor Augustus to commemorate the period of peace that he upheld. There are some cool relief sculptures on the friezes of the altar, and I highly suggest you googling them and reading about their significance! The Ara Pacis is so huge that they had to construct a building/museum around it in order to protect it in the best way possible. I had to pay a whopping 11 euro to get into the museum, but I lucked out: a Marc Chagall exhibit was “visiting” as well! I spent more time surprisingly at the Chagall exhibit than the Ara Pacis. Marc Chagall is a 20th century Surrealist painter who had a wide variety of outlets for his art. My favorite pieces of his were his oil paintings “The Enchanted Flute” and then the three piece collection of “Resistance,” “Resurrection,” and “Liberation.” He also did some paintings and illustrations for the Bible, which was really cool to see a surrealist point of view of Biblical stories. Needless to say I was mesmerized by the work of this man. His creativity and point of view were so interesting. I remember looking at one painting and being like “Why did he randomly draw a pair of lips in the sky?” or “Why is that man’s face upside down?” I can only imagine the conversations that you could have with this man about the intentions of his work. Something tells me that he didn’t always have intentions, but that’s what is so genius about it!

Okay, I realize that I’m babbling. Here’s a quote that was on display at the exhibit that is the epitome of his work, from what I witnessed: “I don’t want to be the same as everyone else; I want to see a new world.”  Deep.

I did a little souvenir shopping, grabbed my favorite slice of piece from the Kebab stand with my “friend” who always fist bumps me when I walk up. I caught the bus and rode home jamming out to some worship songs. Gotta love that God time on the bus! I walked back to the apartment, ate too many cookies, and slipped off into a “food coma.” Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant with the whole IES gang- it was called “La Scala”… which translates into “The Stairs”…. so ironic. I don’t like stairs. Speaking of which, I may or may not have put my foot on every step/stair in Rome. It’s highly possible. Sara Ashley has me beat because she did the 500 something steps to get to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica. I opted out for that one… I try not to volunteer myself for torture. Anywho- dinner tonight was fabulous! We had about five courses and dessert, and it was good to spend time with everyone one last time. After dinner I headed back in the general direction of my apartment. I really needed to pack, and collect myself before getting up super early in the morning. It’s been a great trip and I’m sad that I’m leaving.

Definitely an experience of a lifetime. Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go! Just send me an email at amickmv@email.wofford.edu and I’d be glad to talk about it with you! Those of you who have been following my blog, don’t worry, I’ll write again! I still have 6 days left of travel in the United Kingdom! Great things are in store for me there, and I’ll post a blog after I land in the UK!

Ciao Italia!