Here we go...



ME with my luggage moments before walking out the door

Well I'm in LONDON!! The temperature is perfect and no rain!!  Here is a lovely little before shot of me right before leaving for the airport...I was pretty impressed with how lightly I had packed up until I got off the airplane today. As I lugged my tired self up the stairs and down the hall to the tube I kept thinking  that I should have brought less. I don't know what I could have eliminated but I don't like having a backpack AND a small carry on bag. It is putting a bit of a damper on my exploring the city before I meet my friend Alex in a few hours.

I just had a wonderful little lunch of Ham, Pea, and Mint soup at a cafe...mmm. I'm off to explore but I feel I should point out 3 highlights from my trip thus far:

1. Sitting next to some interesting people on the airplane. My seatmates were a kind and very talkative woman from Michigan in her mid-50's who is coming to expore London with her sister and her husband and a very cute late 20 something guy who is from the Bahamas and has just finished school up in Wales and is now coming back to job hunt! Sleeping on the plane wasn't as successful as I had hoped (I think I got a solid 3 hours maybe) but I did have great converstations with my new friends.

2. Being told politely by the conductor on the tube to, "Please, Mind the gap between the platform and the subway car," I think only because it just sounds so polite and sweet. I think in The States the wording would be more like, "Hey, watch your step," not nearly as lovely sounding.

3. Finding out that Starbucks offers free internet at any location  with the purchase of a starbucks gift card, for as long as you have the gift card loaded some money ($5 is good enough). Internet seems to be hard to come by and NEVER free here and although I hate the idea of sitting in starbucks across the world...free internet is a pretty sweet deal!

I meet Alex on the Steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in about an hour! Maybe I'll see if I can't find J.K Rowling strolling around somewhere in Central London while I wait...

All that stands between you and what you really want is fear

anx·i·ety 

noun \aŋ-ˈzī-ə-tē\ A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties  

3 days until departure

I've had so many people tell me in the past few weeks how brave I am for taking this trip and how jealous they are that I am doing this. Most of them, with the exception of my travel addicted girlfriends Chelsea, Meredith, and Lacey (who, I should note, are actually some of the bravest and most fearless women I know), say that they would never be able to take this trip themselves. They say that they wouldn't be able to leave their family, their friends, their pets, their jobs, their homes, and their (         ). I can totally sympathize. I think I should let everyone in on a little secret. I'm really scared too! 

I'm worried I'll get to Europe and for some reason the airport homeland security won't let me in the country. I'm terrified that I won't be able to learn Italian and that I'll constantly feel unable to communicate with people. I'm concerned that I'll get lonely and homesick. I'm afraid I will get lost. I'm afraid I will run out of money. I don't have a clue what I'll do when I get back to The States. 

 

But when my fears are about to get the best of me and I have all but convinced myself that I'm really not the type of person cut out for this sort of thing and I'll just forget about this trip and take an Italian class here because it is safer, and that I'll go to Europe some other time in my life, I realize that all I would be doing is selling myself short. I remember that I'm afraid of plenty of things right here at home and that if I stand here and do nothing as a result I'm just letting fear control my life. If I never did anything that scared me I would never have become who I am. I would never have gone away to college. I would never have met my four best girlfriends who have inspired me to do whatever I want to do with my life with no compromises. I would never have left that college and gone somewhere to study what I love and never would have majored in something as kick-ass incredible and equally as "unpractical" as studio art. In short I would live a safe, secure, and miserable existence. No Thanks!

 

I've found a lot of comfort in some travel blogs lately saying that these fears and anxieties I feel are totally normal and will mostly subside as soon as I actually leave my home in Fort Worth and board that airplane to the other side of the pond. I actually hate flying (ironic since my dad is a pilot) so my relief might come a little later, perhaps after several strong gin martinis and when I am walking out of the airport onto real soil again...

Me and my biggest inspirations looking out into the great unknown...or perhaps in this case just across the street, 2009

An opportunity...

9 days until I board an airplane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and I think I might have figured out what I will be doing while I am over there!! While my previous plans to aimlessly wander the cities of Europe for three months sounded daring, lively, and adventurous the side of my personality that prefers solid and concrete plans is very relieved.  I've been offered an au pair position for a family who lives in La Spezia, Italy.  La Spezia is a coastal city about 45 minutes north of Pisa and an hour south of Milan. Just to the west of La Spezia is the well known and breathtakingly beautiful city of Cinque Terre. Since Italy is the main reason that I'm going back to Europe and I am in LOVE with all things Italian...wine, the lovely Italian language, wine, gelato, wine, Italian food, wine, beautiful Italian men (haha), wine...I am thrilled!!!

Coastal Town of La Spezia, Italy

The Debellini family has two girls named Margherita and Giuliana, one is 8 and the other 10. They would need me just during the week part time while the girls are at home to help them with their English and play with them. I would have the late morning to early afternoon off (while the girls are in school). I would also have weekends off to explore and improve my molto poco italiano language skills. Oh and they have a horse, a German Shepard, and a Beagle! For those of you who know me you also know my strong love for animals, in particular dogs, so this is perfect!

Giuliana with Cayo (dog) and Casablanca (horse)

Nothing is set in stone until I get there, as I've unfortunately learned in my previous opportunities that have fallen through, but this feels the closest to a solid plan as I've had yet so I thought I would share it with everyone! I'll post more as it develops. I'm currently looking into airfare from London to Pisa.

Ciao!

Rainy days and Packing lists

Greggory Jade 60 backpack, REI

"He who would travel happily must travel light."

-Antoine de Saint Exupéry

 

23 days til departure: While watching the rain fall outside and looking at the backpack I just purchased yesterday at REI I'm thinking two things. One, that I'm going to look a lot like a Ninja Turtle and two, that I probably should have picked up a very light rain jacket while I was at REI. I'm also wondering how on earth I'm going to possibly begin to pack for 3-6 months of various types of weather, winter, and work in Europe AND to get it all to fit into this nice, compact, backpack. I've been reading over suggested packing lists online which all emphasize the catchy and clever motto "pack light, pack right!" Which almost feels more threatening than encouraging. I also have helpful packing advice from friends:

Unharmed dogs left to right: Pedro, Muffin, Zuzu, & Gracie

• "A few scarfs and a good sweater. They will be in ALL of your pictures so make sure you like them."-Chelsea  
• "Toilet paper and super good shoes are a must"- Christine 
• "Definitely choose QUALITY over QUANTITY"-Jeff  
• "Put everything you think you want to bring into your backpack and walk around with it for an hour and make sure you don't fall over, then figure out what you can eliminate"-Lacey 
• "You should put all the dogs in your backpack and carry them around."-Nestor (don't worry I didn't really do it)

Cute, brown, waterproof boot

I did have the foresight to purchase a nice comfortable pair of weatherproof brown boots yesterday. Aren't they adorable? They were a little pricey but I think they will prove to come in VERY handy on this adventure. These, one pair of cute flats, and my somewhat fashionable New Balance tennis shoes are all I'm bringing. I wish I could narrow it down to just two pairs of shoes but I can think of important occasions that I will need all three.

Other important items on my packing list:
-3 favorite neutrally colored V-neck t-shirts
-2 long sleeve shirts for layering
-2 cardigans-one black, one pumpkin colored
-1 light wool/cashmere sweater
-1 black peacoat
-2 pairs of jeans
-1 pair of black pants
-1 black dress
-1 skirt
-1 pair of leggings
- 2 scarfs
- my two favorite belts
- 1 umbrella
- 5-7 pairs of socks and underwear
- sketchbook and journal
- really cool travel towel that can wrap around me but folds down into a small envelope sized travel bag
-limited toiletries-prescriptions, Tylenol, soap, travel shampoo/conditioner, toothbrush, lotion, brush
-sunglasses
-small, inexpensive computer to email on, update blog, skype on (since I won't have a phone)
-digital camera

Favorite cardigans and sweater from Gap and J.Crew

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. 

Then take half the clothes and twice the money." -- Susan Heller

You can get what you want or you can just get old

Tenuta di Spannocchia, Siena, Italy 2007

Today I purchased a plane ticket. On September 29th, I will board an airplane from DFW to LONDON with one very large backpack, my passport, my best pair of walking shoes, a list of European art museums, and a serious bit of unwavering, starry-eyed optimism.  I am going to spend a week with a friend of mine, who lives in London, before I embark on my solo three month long journey around Europe. This is as far as my solid plans go. After being told by many potential Au Pair families and by other various work exchange programs that I was "too much of a risk" because I was not already in Europe, I'm finally ready to just take this blind leap. This is exhilarating, but also completely terrifying, as I am normally an meticulous planner by nature and am not experienced with how to handle such risky behavior. Perhaps I'm turning over a new leaf. Ready, set, GO!

Maybe I should back up and start from the beginning, if one can ever actually pin-point a true beginning. Perhaps I've been destined to take this trip since I was born, but then again I've never much been a believer in destiny or fate, so perhaps not. Regardless, there has to be some reason as to why I'm about to quit two decent jobs, put all of my belongings in storage, and flee the country for three months in spite of the damage it will do to my savings account.

This brings me to three years ago. See these pictures I have posted? I took a landscape oil painting class in Siena, Italy for three weeks right here in this Castello (literally a castle) and I fell in love. I mean can you blame me? The landscape, the cities, the language, the wine, the food, the people, the experience, all of it beautiful and new. When it came time to leave, with teary eyes, I was comforted only by the promise I made to myself that day as I boarded the airplane that I would find a way to return after I graduated. It probably helps that I have three brave, courageous, and travel-addicted girlfriends who have helped hold me accountable to this promise, despite the MANY obstacles that have gotten in the way.

I have several main goals while I am abroad. First and foremost I plan to pick a few important art museums or contemporary art spaces from each country I visit, explore them, experience them, analyze them, and then write about them.  For those of you in the art world with knowledge on this subject please send in some form or fashion your suggestions! I'm interested in how the direction of contemporary art will vary from country to country, and also how it will relate to the various directions of contemporary art in the US. I'm curious which countries will have adhered most strictly to traditional art making techniques and which will have branched out to new-media and more conceptual forms. 

Another largely ambitious goal of mine is to start trying to learn French and to work on my limited foundation in Italian. Since both of these are languages that I would like to know, and that I am going to HAVE to learn, for my masters in Contemporary Art History, I have some pretty good motivation working in my favor.

My third goal is to learn more about myself during this trek. I've been told that traveling is a great way to do this. Obviously, I will be spending a lot of time with myself, and as I will be a blank slate to every stranger who crosses my path, this is an opportunity to figure out who I am without the baggage of who I've BEEN.

I will end this post with a link to the song that I reference in the title of this entry,  Vienna by Billy Joel. My mom was kind enough to send me this song while I was losing my cool and really struggling with trying to get this trip to come together. It sums things up nicely I think. Now to start the packing...