you're the star at the top of the tree

Merry Christmas!

The two songs that have been stuck in my head all holiday season:

Jimmy Eat World - "Last Christmas"


Mariah Carey - "All I Want For Christmas Is You"


And on a non-Christmas-related note, here's an (old) interview MTV did with Chester French, a recent infatuation:

MTV Shows

I'm kind of in love.

i can't believe i left central europe for this

Mostly Cloudy and Windy 5°F
Feels Like -17°F

Updated: Dec 21 04:45 p.m. ET

WHY IS IT SO FUCKING COLD?!

an ode to czech cuisine

All menus were filled with beer, meat, bread, butter, and cream
and to have low-fat or low-carb options was a distant dream
The grocery stores and cooking directions were entirely in Czech
which further constrained this already limited chef
to eating mainly musli, cereal, soup, pita, tomato, and cheese
and a bar of Orion horka horka chocolate to please
my taste buds that had become sick of carbs
pastries, bread, and potatoes had become as appetizing as lard
And after living on the top floor of my dorm with a slow elevator
and relying on every form of public transportation ever
I guess the surprise I just got was really quite nice
considering all semester I went to the gym only twice
At first I thought the numbers on my scale must be wrong
but yes, I lost more weight in Europe than I did in Vietnam.

guess who's back, back again

I'm in America.
Where I don't have to ask for "still," "neperliva," or "no gas" water.
Where public bathrooms are definitely free.
Where tap water is free.
Where bread is free in restaurants.
Where you tip more than 10%.
Where you can talk on the metro. Loudly, even.
Where coffee comes big and black.
Where the sun doesn't set at 4 pm.
Where cooking directions come in English.
Where Web sites default to English.
Hell, where everything is in English.

The time between coming back from Vietnam and flying to the Czech Republic was so short that I honestly feel like I haven't properly been in the States since May, and now I have about a week and a half at home before I drive down to campus Jan. 3. I feel like I've seen and experienced more in this year than I have the entire rest of my lifetime and part of me is ready to just collapse in one giant wheeeeew! while the other part of me is still itching to plan that next trip, that next weekend away. Now that I've spent a semester in Europe, I have an entirely new list of places that I want to see (Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich for Oktoberfest, Madrid, Barcelona, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Istanbul, etc.), and it scares me to know that I don't have any big trips planned in the near future (...so far). It scares me even more to not know when I'll be in Prague again.

I honestly don't know if study abroad cured my wanderlust or made it worse. I am tired and I know that no matter how far I go some things I will never be able to escape from, but there is something freeing in the backpacking, hostel-hopping lifestyle--even if it means slumming it--and in knowing that you can just up and go any minute.

THE FINAL LIST OF WHERE I WENT:
12.09 - 13.09: Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic
18.09 - 21.09: Vienna, Austria
26.09 - 27.09: Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
02.10 - 05.10: London, England
09.10 - 12.10: Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz
23.10 - 24.10: Bari, Italy
24.10 - 27.10: Rome, Italy and the Vatican
27.10 - 31.10: Florence, Italy and Pisa
31.10 - 03.11: Venice, Italy
07.11: Terezin, Czech Republic
13.11 - 17.11: Paris, France
23.11: Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
04.12 - 06.12: Budapest, Hungary