AFRICA

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It has been way too long since I have posted...I have had several people asking me to update this over the past few weeks and since I am on Christmas break I actually have the time and motivation to update=] 

Bare with me. 

I forget how to navigate this blog and I pray that it is not difficult for you navigate my page!

Phew...there is so much to catch up on...but I want to start with explaining the map I posted above. 

In less than two weeks I am traveling to Ethiopia, Africa with two of my best friends...

We are staying with the Benkert family who founded the organization Bring Love In (http://bringlove.in/)...

I have cabin fever big time and I can't tell you how excited I am to explore this part of the world..

I love learning about different cultures and loving on people from all over the world...it is a passion of mine. 

This inspires me daily.

With all of the excitement of my Africa trip on my mind, I keep forgetting that Christmas is right around the corner. 

I struggle with this time of the year a lot...

Let me vent for a minute...

I HATE how society has skewed our view of this holiday. 

Now, I absolutely LOVE giving gifts, in fact it is something I do all year round because there are so many things that remind me of people in my life then I can't resist getting them those gifts but I hate that this time of the year brings a whole different pressure of gift giving.

I challenge you to think about what your motives are behind your gift giving this season and really think about what the meaning of Christmas is and what it means to you.

 End of vent session =]

I want to thank everyone who has supported me thus far in regards to my Africa trip...I have been so blessed with support and prayers...it is amazing...

I am not sure if I will be able to post while I am on my trip but I will figure that out later...

Now time to get back to planning my trip. I will update more later

xo

Cactuses.Cacti...

GOLD CANYON

So my boyfriend's (John) momma lives in Arizona and we (& our friends Leah & Brandon) got to visit her and explore some of the amazing things that Arizona has to offer!

My 21st Birthday was March 22nd and for Valentines Day (& birthday gift) John got him & I these awesome backpacks for hiking, trips, etc...

I really like mine a lot but he gets so excited about them it's funny =]

We put them to good use for this trip..

Day one Brandon, John, & I 

(poor Leah got mono right before we left so she sat this day out =/)

went for drive on the Apache Trail...

this trail consists of windy, dirt roads, and 3-4 hours of amaaaazing views....

We stopped at a gorgeous lake, ate lunch, went through numerous giant mud puddles...
(John loved speeding through the puddles and getting his mothers white SUV covered in mud as seen in the slideshow....boys-insert eye roll here =P)
I had a weird fascination with all of the cactuses yes cactuses... It took me a day and a half to realize that I was not saying the plural form of cactus the right way ha...cacti. still looks and sounds weird.
Anywho...I had a weird fascination with these pants and all I wanted to do was hug one for some reason. I made John stop along the trail & I did just that...I went up to the biggest cactus and wrapped my arms around it.
yep.
The boys took a pic but I don't have it or else i'd share.
Anyways...I promised John that I would share that so there ya go!
Moving right along =]...
we stopped at the roosevelt dam...which i'm pretty sure is the first dam I have ever seen
it is pretty amazing.
We continued on towards the end of the trail & decided we where going to head to the area where you can hike up to some ancient indian ruins..
we pulled in the lot & went inside...the trail closed at 4pm in order to ensure that people at the top had plenty of time to get back down in time for the park to close at 5
we got there at 4:11...
talk about a bummer
As we walked back to car a little disappointed, some men where loading there car and asked if we got there too late to see the ruins...after we replied with a sad yes they began to tell us where the trail ended and that we would probably be able to enter there and go up the back way to the top to see the ruins....
o gosh, John & I looked at each other & I knew we where thinking the same thing..
We are so doing it..
Brandon & John decided they where gonna go ahead and run up the trail...
I was too distracted by the gorgeous view & the cactuses (=] of course) & watched them attempt to run up to the top.
As I got about half way up, they where heading back down...they almost got to the top when they noticed the marshals patroling the ruins & decided that they got far enough & where satisfied enough to go back down the hill & return to the car.
So we've officially illegally ran through a national park.....fun times =]
 After all the excitement of the day, it was nice to go back to John's moms and relax...
for some reason though I got more energy that night & wanted to go do something so we all (including Leah!) went on a little adventure on the Peralta trail...John drove us through the trail and stopped to turn around....we all got out of the car & just gazed at the sky full of stars!
I have only seen the sky look this way at night a couple of times & it is quite a site...it seems as if there is next to no empty space in between stars, so beautiful.
What a perfect way to end Day 1

Last day in Florence...

Before I start this post...here is the official semester end Nutella jar count: 53
Yes, 53 jars of this good stuff...

So proud that I got my roomies addicted to it =]

Today is my last full day in Florence..I leave at 3am for the airport =[

It has been a bittersweet day...it was supposed to rain today but the rain has held off all day and it turned out to be perfect weather. I am starting to get emotional about leaving Italy, these last four months have been amazing. 

I can't believe how fast this semester has flown by, this has truly been an experience of a lifetime and I have learned so much. I have traveled to many places and been inspired on a daily basis. I am coming out of this experience with a whole new outlook on life and cannot wait for the next adventure. I have learned more about myself, history, religion, people, fashion, etc etc in the last 4 months than in the last 20 years of my life. I have made many priceless memories that will last me a lifetime. This has been more then just a semester abroad studying...it has been a complete eye opening, learning experience that I am beyond thankful for. 

I met a lot of people in Europe.  I even encountered myself.  -James Baldwin

I have grown to truly love and appreciate the city of Florence and it has become home to me...I might be leaving it for now but it is not goodbye for good because we will meet again someday

Ciao for now Firenze <3

 “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. 
There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Irish Thanksgiving...

I am very very behind on posting...quick update:

I attended and thoroughly enjoyed my first Soccer game experience

Thanksgiving in Ireland was amazing

I have officially 10 days left here

My mom is visiting and we just spent the weekend in Lucca and Brancoli...we met and visited with an American woman who happens to be a very talented artist. She showed us around her little town and I can't wait to share more about everything I learned! 

December is here and....It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas    !!!!!!!!

I have 10 days left 

2 days of classes left 

A lot of stuff to accomplish in the short amount of days left here

O and not to mention my iphoto is running out of disk space because apparently over 16,000 photos is a wee bit too much to store on my laptop....EEK! I need a very long date with the Apple store when I get home hah!

Here is a little sneak peek into my Irish Thanksgiving...

 

More to come =] 

I love Christmas time. For many reasons, too many to go into now...and in the cities I have visited in the last few weeks they take Christmas decorating seriously and it makes it all the more magical. Not to mention this beauty...

hehe. yes, the Nutella obsession continues...i'm hoping that it stops when I get back to the U.S. 

=]

Besides life altogether, I was struggling to think of something less general that I am thankful for but today all I can seem to focus on is life in general. It seems to be the theme running through my mind over the last 2 weeks. So here is to celebrating life...

 Psalm 16:11

When in London...

...look at the ground 1st then look left & right before crossing the road...explore all of Harrods...take pictures of the London bridge from every angle (I have no clue why I took so many)...speak with a British accent as much as possible...shop vintage...see all of the sites...talk to the locals...see a show...and most importantly, Mind the gap!

Somehow I managed to delete all of the other photos I posted on here =[ this will have to do for now

I loved London, I was instantly comfortable in the city, it was hard flying back to Florence but i'm settled back in here and busy with school and planning my Itinerary for when my Aunt Vanessa visits in just 2 days! 

It is crazy that I have less then 40 days left here, time is flying by. I will probably have shorter posts from now on due to the lack of time, school projects, and the amount of traveling I have planned for this last month but I am doing my best to keep up with it as much as possible. Thank you all for your letters and love from back in the good ol U.S.A...I'm off to Rome this weekend then backpacking Ireland for Thanksgiving!
Ciao-Ciao

Philippians 4:6-7

Positano & Pompeii...

 Finally updating and here goes the rest of my trip to Amalfi....

Positano

We spent our second day in the town Positano...The drive there was cool, we where on a highway (same one they used when filming the sweet scenes in the Fast & Furious movies of the cars zooming around hah) that wrapped the side of the mountains and as we drove I looked down and we where so close to the edge..any wrong move and we would be tumbling down into the ocean. Lovely=] The sun rising was gorgeous and once we arrived we walked down a few hundred stairs to the city. It was  a gorgeous town with postcard worthy views everywhere you looked. We spent the day at a private beach rotating between soaking up the sun and swimming in the clear water ocean. Has the best homemade slushies and gelato & nutella for lunch of course. Can you say best relaxing day ever!



That night we relaxed then explored the town..The view from our room wasn't bad....

Our Room

=]

What we do best

Uhm, 3 weirdos

<3

Brittany & Chris

Katie & Jen

Mo & I

Pompeii
Our last day we visited the city of Pompeii then climbed Mt. Vesuvius. I was really excited for this day because I remembered studying about Mt. Vesuvius and the destruction of the city and people of Pompeii and it was crazy to think that I was actually going to be able to see the city and the volcano that was responsible for such destruction & I've also always been fascinated with archaeology and discovering things from the past. It is amazing not only how much a single volcano destroyed but also the amount of remains that have been found.



Mount Vesuvius
Climbing this volcano was one of the best experiences and views I have ever seen. How cool is it that we are able to climb a volcano and see the crater & an amazing view......it was pretty sweet, I mean besides the fact that the volcano is still active..quite thrilling. No more words need to be said about it...Pictures will have to suffice (I took several hundred so i'll post a few..)...going there of course is the best way to experience it though so I encourage you to go =]



Brit & I where a little hyper on the way to Mt. Vesuvius & as a result we started recording several videos and since then have continued to try to capture some moments here in Italy...I'll start posting some of those soon =]

And that is the conclusion of my Amalfi adventure! Next up is Pariiiiii!


Since getting home from Paris I am now finally caught up on sleep and have had some fun times here in Florence. I've made it a point to explore as much of this city as possible when I'm not busy studying or traveling...I went on a random walk the other day and discovered some cool shops and watched the sun start to set over Ponte Vecchio..so pretty. I went on a run with Mo & Brit and we ran down to the river and ran the length of it and it was so cool to be running in such a beautiful place, dodging the people everywhere was not so fun but It made for some entertainment.

The fashion group here went to Como and Milan this past week on Thursday & Friday and we got to see some amazing art galleries and exhibits as well as tour a silk factory and museum. We learned a lot about the production of luxury products and saw some very creative art exhibits. More on those later.
When we got home Friday night it was really cold out & since then it seems the weather has changed all of the sudden and I'm thinking wearing shorts & summer dresses won't be happening anymore. I love fall though, it is my favorite so I don't mind the change.

School has been busy lately and I am still catching up on things but I like the pace of things here. My roommates Mo & Jen are Broadcast Journalism majors at KSU and while they are living here they are doing a project on life here in Florence and make episodes on various topics. They featured apartments in the second episode that just got finished & I was interviewed for it...Below is the link, some of our apartment is in the video as well as our balcony view here so be sure to check it out!
Flashes in Florence

That is all for now. Paris post will be up soon. Miss you all lots <3

Matthew 7:1-11

Travel Bliss...

It feels good to be back to "normal" life here in Firenze after about a week and half of traveling. 

Last weekend my roomies and I went to the Amalfi Coast located in the Southern part of Italy

Add caption

We visited Capri, Positano, and Pompeii

Talk about paradise.

Since I have a lot of projects i'm working on right now for school i'm going to break up my blog posts and do them all day by day for Amalfi and Paris trips...starting with day one in Amalfi on the island of Capri =] 

Capri

On day 1..we took a ferry to the Island of Capri and from there we went on a Island boat tour. Around the Island there are various Grottos which are small picturesque caves that are dark and when the sun shines on a specific area it causes the water to turn a bright color of blue or green. We got on smaller boats to go into one of the Grotto's and that was quite the experience. In order to get into the cave my 3 roommates and I had to lay dawn in the little boat while the guide pushed us through the opening. Ha. 

Once inside it is very dark and kind of creepy. It was totally different then what I was expecting and at first I didn't understand what was so great about these Grotto's. Then I caught glimpse of the bright blue color of the water and didn't question anymore. For a small fee (that only tourists pay because we are dumb and think we have to)...you can jump into the water for a few minutes. So we did, and I have a weird fear of water...if I can't see below me I freak out a little...so I put those thoughts aside and just enjoyed the refreshing water and the amazing view of the Grotto. It was pretty magical after that. ha. 

After the boat tour we explored Capri and (after a very long hike) we visited a public beach and relaxed for a little bit. We found some little cliffs and jumped off of them which was fun...o and not to mention the amazing views of Capri where breathtaking. On the way back we stopped at a free lemoncello tasting (drink that is popular here)..It was okay, i'd take a beer over it anyday =]

We watched the beautiful sunset on the way back to town and it is no wonder celebrities honeymoon, vacation, and live here! 

Here is a little tiny bit of the mass amount of pictures I took in Capri. We where all exhausted after visiting the Island and fell asleep on the ferry ride back..

As most of you know...my roommates and I are officially addicted to Nutella....it's not a casual o we have it here and there thing...NO we have a designated "Nutella time" that happens every night where we get our fruit and anything else there is to eat with nutella and we sit on the balcony and chat about our day which slowly somehow always leads to a conversation about nutella and our addiction to it. Anyways...we made sure when we went on our trips that we where able to get nutella time in so naturally Nutella has gone with us..everywhere....

 It is starting to get bad...Nutella Anonymous (NA) anyone?

=]

Psalm 37:4

Goodbye Duomo, Hello Eiffel Tower!!

Hello and Goodbye!

I just got back in town from the Amalfi Coast on Sunday, had classes on Monday (yesturday) and in about 10 minutes i'm leaving to head to the airport and be on my way to Paris until SUNDAY!!! So excited! I will have tons and tons to post when I get back =] I'll have no internet until Sunday....au revoir until then! <3

Off to Pisa...

Shout out to my momma...Yesterday was her Birthday (hope I don't get in trouble for putting this but she celebrated her big 4-0!) She is quite the beauty =] Love ya

New York senior year for my 19th Birthday

Mothers Day 2011

My going away party she threw before I left for Italy-Aug. 2011

So last Saturday Monique, Brittany, and I decided to go to Pisa for the day to see the leaning tower of course. We left around noon and headed to the train station. We didn't plan anything out...just decided to figure it all out along the way and it was a blast. We got to the Santa Maria Novella train station and waited in line to get our tickets. We bought our tickets (only 12 euro round trip!) and headed to find our train. We looked at all the departures and asked 2 people where to go to catch our train...we talked to a train attendant who was getting ready to depart and he said O you get on this train...we double checked with him and he said yes this train, you need to stamp your ticket and he proceeded to tell us to "go run" hah. So we stamped our ticket and caught our train just in time and after walking through the majority of the train we finally found 3 seats next to each other.

An hour and a half later we arrived in Pisa!

Since we didn't really plan out this trip we where happy to find a map of the city outside of the train station.

Train station on the very bottom...Pisa in the top left corner

 We walked across town stopping at the river for a few pics. As we got closer to where the tower is located we got stopped by an Italian couple that where parking their car. The lady spoke no English and asked us for directions to the leaning tower. We told her to just go straight (event though we had no idea if that was the right way) and continued on our way. A few minutes later we all came to the realization that we AMERICANS just got stopped by ITALIANS asking for directions to the leaning tower of Pisa located in ITALY. HA

Shortly after that we saw in the distance what looked to be a leaning building...Woop woop we made it! American, no map, and no idea if we where going the right way and we managed to find the tower =]

Fun day! I love being able to hop on a train and see a cool city and do it all in a day!

My classes are almost done for this week and I am currently packing for my weekend trip to the Amalfi Coast....

Yeah, we're really roughing it this weekend.

After a couple projects and presentations I am so ready to relax at the beach and hike up Mount Vesuvius!

Next Tuesday I leave for Paris for 6 days!! We have a really busy schedule planned for the week and have so many amazing opportunities while we are there. I can't wait! First a weekend at the beach then Classes on Monday then off to Paris for a week! Love it!

I won't have internet this weekend or while I'm in Paris so I won't be able to keep in touch very well but leave me messages and here is my mailing address...feel free to write/send gifts like cheez-its (hint hint) haha

Brianna Zoldan
c/o KSU florence Program
Palazzo dei cerchi
Vicolo dei Cerci 1
50122 Florence

Italy

 Getting mail is seriously the best part of my day sometimes and I would love to hear from everyone! 

Buon fine settimana!!!

Proverbs 18:8

Psalm 101:5 

Psalm 34:13 

Hebrews 3:13 

Back to school....

So I haven't posted in a while and I meant to almost a week ago but the video I tried to post would not post every time I tried and it still wont so i'm in the process of posting that still ha.

Anyways...The first week of orientation last week went well and quite fast...I like the KSUF school building a lot! My roommates and I have been exploring Florence a lot and are getting really acquainted with the city. I can now go places with no map and feel a lot more comfortable with the area we live. Saturday we spent the morning at Piazza Pitti and the Bobali gardens there...it was so cool and really big. I'm excited to spent free time there. My favorite day here by far was yesterday when Monique, Brittany, and I got up at 6am and took a train to Cinque Terre to hike the 5 cities. 

The name Cinque Terre means 'five lands' and is literally made up of five small towns that hug the southern part of the Ligurian Coast. These five towns are built into the rock-ribbed section between the beach and the hills. It is one of the most amazing places I have ever been and I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is. The weather was perfect, it was hot but not too hot and the hike at one point felt never ending and I sweated so much and was so gross but by the time we got to the last city it was so worth it when we got to swim in the blue waters that seemed straight off of a computer background. 

Here are the trails we hiked, we did a total of 5.5miles of hiking:

Riomaggiore to Manarola

'Via dell'Amore'

Manarola to Corniglia

Corniglia to Vernazza

Vernazza to Monterosso 

I posted a lot of pictures to my facebook but here are a few from the day....

On the trail there where locks everywhere and the guide said that people brings locks to leave and they lock it and throw the key in the ocean so that they never have to leave. 

We layed out on the rocks in the ocean and swam...the view around us was breathtaking and straight out of a dream

There is so much more I could say about this place but overall it was paradise and the towns where so intimate and cute and I could stay their forever! 

It was so weird to be in such a beautiful place the day before classes start but I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday before school=]

Today I went to school for my morning class and it settled in that o crappo im back in school hah...I love learning but hate the structure of classes. I think i'll enjoy my classes here the most because of all the field trips and hands on learning experiences i'll have here. 

After class I went to the Piazza my roommates and I have gone to journal. It is a very touristy place but where I sit in the monument it is peaceful and there is normally someone playing pretty romantic music that sets the perfect mood for journaling. As I was sitting there by myself a man came and sat not too far away from me and he got my attention and started talking to me. He was Italian and spoke decent english and I was planning my way out of talking to him right as he proceeded to tell me allllll about him hometown in Italy. It was very interesting but frustrating at the same time because Im not comfortable talking to random strange men...naturally...and we are told not to....duh....so anyways he finishes his speak about his hometown and asks me questions I refuse to answer then says, "okay, I'll let you get back to writing" I should my head yes and said "Ciao" then before I knew it he grabbed my hand, kissed it and said goodbye. 

O goodness...the men here are a different breed and are very forward. This isn't the first time these kind of situations have happened to me and my roommates and for the most part it is unavoidable. Apparently us Americans are "too friendly" and the men try to take advantage of that as much as possible. Just one of the numerous things I have learned here over the last week. I have plans to blog about other differences here in the future.

Anyways...day 1 of classes is over and it is time to go to the market to get some food for the next few days...Ill continue to try to post the tour of my apartment video here and can't wait to blog some more =] I am missing my family and friends back home but am loving life here in Italia <3 buongiorno

1st post from Firenze!...

CIAO! 

I feel like I have so much to update on! 

So I am officially a resident of Firenze, Italy! I flew out of Detroit last Thursday and flew overnight to Paris then had a layover there until the afternoon then got on the plane to Florence around 4pm (Paris Time=]) then landed in Florence a little before 6pm (so 1pm Ohio time) on Friday. Paris airport was like a huge never ending maze...no words can even describe it, at one point we walked outside to catch a bus that took us to another area where our terminal was then to get to our plane we walked outside and onto the plane.  The flight from Paris to Florence was gorgeous...I have a few pictures of the flight in the slide-show below and more posted on facebook...my eyes where glued to the window the whole flight. 

Once we arrived in Florence, we got our luggage and our apartment info then off to get a taxi. Brittany and I had to get a separate taxi from Jen & Mo because we had too much luggage to fit in one ha, surprise. Once we got in the taxi we tried talking to the taxi driver who just responded with "I don't speak english"....He didn't like my response "you just did" and ignored us the rest of the way.
The taxi drive was the first thing I fell in love with though ...it felt like I was driving...He would speed up real fast just to break and avoid hitting someone....speed up again....turn upbruptly...almost hit a car head on...both cars swerve to the side and avoid each other....speed up...avoid stopping at all costs. While Brit held on for dear life.....I found my calling in life.

We have gone on many adventures since arriving in Florence...I'll post those later...
I'll also post the tour of my apartment soon=] CIAO!

Co Adventures...

Hellllllooooo

Italy is only 2 (well 12 days to be exact) weeks away... AHH. Crazy! 

So, last week I visited my rooms Chelcie & her cousins in one of my favorite places.. Colorado. We had a few adventures and I checked skydiving off my bucket list =]

 

 We did yoga, hiked, white water rafting, camped, skydived, kayaked, went to crankworx, and visited the original chipotle (my addiction) as well as pinkberry (another addiction)

My favorite part of the trip of course (besides all the activities) was the mountain views...

I feel so alive every time I visit Co and am constantly in awe of God's creation. The mountains are so pretty and make me feel safe...some people might choose the beach as their "happy place" however I'd choose the mountains > beach any day
Even when it rains it is beautiful and the mountains are so cool

As my eyes try to adjust back to typical Ohio cloudiness weather and my body to the humidity...im trying to soak up as much as I can here until I leave.

Until next time...
when I have more time to write a longer post..

check out my fb pics including skydiving pics...if you have ever had an ounce of interest in skydiving...I highly suggest you do it ASAP, suck it up and bust it out...so worth it =]

Psalms 19:1-2