Holy crap, a ton happened this year. I'd have to say more happened in my life this past year than all of college so far. As the first post of this blog, I feel like I should make it green-oriented, but I'll just try the best I can.
January: Departure for Florence, Italy! My first time ever in Europe, let alone outside the country. Discovered a happy land of food and wine, beautiful views, interesting people, amazing shopping. First day in our new apartment, we discovered that Italians use much less energy than Americans do. No dryer, and keep the windows closed to keep the heat in?? Blasphemy. It was actually really great not having a microwave, too.
February: Made some trips to Venice, Rome and Switzerland. Realized that Venice is not as great as it seems, considering the expense and plethora of crayfish. Rome was of course, belissimo, and the Swiss Alps was the most beautiful sight I've ever, ever seen. It's true about the water, too- so clean and pure. I remember really hoping nothing will ever destroy this amazing landmark.
Back in Florence, I switched cooking classes and began learning about the diverse cuisines throughout Europe. Local ingredients highly necessary for deliciousness.
March: London and Northern Loop spring break! I got to see some 11C Londoners, finally see the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park and eat some delicious Indian food. The public transportation in London kicks the T's ASS, by the way. So efficient and clean. Same with basically all European cities- my spring break bus trip through Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris showed that. Lots of history lessons, too.
April: The month of beach cities. Fell in love wtih Barcelona, Cinque Terre, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast. The hiking and fresh pesto in Cinque Terre were by far the best, though. Also got to know my roots a bit when I met my Great Zio e Zia in Genova, the industrial seaport town in Liguria. They took me to McDonald's for lunch (proof we Americans need to work on our food image) and a seafood restaurant for dinner, where I tried swordfish and actually liked it. Talk about big changes.
May: Tearful goodbyes to bella Firenze and a very interesting trainride/flight to Athens, where political riots were coming to a climax and the Greek economy fell apart. We saw none of that, however, and spent five days relaxing on the black sands of Santorini. More hiking-this time through a volcanic crater-and delicous food, of course. Accomplishment: jumping off a boat and swimming in the Mediterranean.
June: Back in New York, earlier than expected, to celebrate Jenna's graduation from high school (I'm so old) and begin training for my new job at Globe West. Jackie and I start carpooling. We feel old. Also, my attempt to cut down my carbon emissions commuting to and from Framingham didn't exactly work- Jackie's job was off Route 9, and with the morning's traffic jams, we probably wasted more gas than conserved it.
July: Lived in Brookline, had difficulty adjusting from all that amazing travel to a full-time job and drove the Corolla through the dangerous streets of Allston. Frustration after my Mt. Washington hiking trip was cancelled due to an assignment in Natick, but covering the feature on Lake Cochituate turned out to be beautiful and a really fun day. Goal: Mt. Washington in the spring.
August: A couple of visits to Ipswitch made me grateful to have the car around. I continued cooking myself dinner like in Italy, and I searched around for Boston-area Farmers' Markets. Volante Farms in Needham was my best shot- still need to try the South End one in the spring. Began covering State Rep race in Needham, which made me start missing my political science classes.
September: Hurricane Earl spoiled our weekend on the Cape. Commence Senior Year festivities. WHAT? I'm graduating soon??? Covered PCBs scandel in Lexington, landing me clips in the Metro section and some uncomfortable conversations with parents. Started work for Dance Marathon, which has been absolutely amazing so far.
October: Yay! Wrote about recycling! Also, met with Globe environment reporter Beth Daley, who was truly awesome and let me write a couple of posts for the Green Blog. Paneled the Dover debate between State Rep candidates Denise Garlick and John O'Leary, which was probably my most exciting moment as a journalist so far (apart from the first article I ever wrote for The Daily Free Press).
November: Reported on Election Day- Denise Garlick won. Also, one word: Thankslizzing. (Very proud of the turkey I made.)
December: World AIDS Day! Pretty much blew up my Facebook and Twitter, trying to get people to wear red, get tested and pick up condoms. Moderated an event with two speakers from One Heartland, an organization that runs camps for children affected by HIV and outreach efforts.
Is my co-op really over? I'm going back to class?
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