I'll give you a short laundry list so that you can feel bad for me about how hard my life is. After Italian Brucetopia, there was:
- UEFA Euro Cup madness in Vienna, in which the German and Spanish uniformed fans overtook the city in complete jubilation and intoxication and I almost got thrown into a fountain after the final...
- Shopping, sightseeing and spa time in the thermal baths of Budapest
- Exploring the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia and finding out that my hotel was actually inside the palace walls
- Lying on the beach in Brela, letting the water lap up my legs, and looking at this all day
- Three days of beach partying (and all-night partying) with both the international jetsetter crowd and the rowdy backpacker crowd on the island of Hvar
- Finally outgrowing the nerve to sleep in hostel dormitories when I realized one morning that I was on top of two half naked twenty-year-olds who were sleeping in the bottom bunk...you could almost call that a threesome, no?
- More beach time, exploring, and outdoor living in the gorgeous, ancient, walled city of Dubrovnik
- An eight hour ferry ride-turned-cruise with 15 new friends across the Adriatic from Croatia to Italy
- Pizza, rice balls, and friendly samaritans in the southern Italian city of Bari. (I ask for directions and these five teenagers say, "We'll walk with you!" I say, "Oh, that's ok!" and they say, "But we have nothing better to do!!")
- Rowdy street kids, loud grandmothers, careening mopeds, and THE MOST AMAZING PIZZA IN THE WORLD at Da Michele in Napoli. Marone.
- Nighttime magic at the Spanish Steps, Piazza di Campo dei Fiori, and Trastevere in Rome, along with the best gelato I have ever had.
- Already feeling missed in Italy, even after a few short days. (My brother's friend Raphaele writes to me: "Katie! I with pizza maker, Michele! We cry for you!!! Make a return to Napoli soon!!!!! baciiiiiiiiii")
Europe in the summertime let's your whole body smell a year's worth of roses. I know that I am so, so, so lucky. 2008 really seems to be my year, doesn't it? Alas, my Euro-extravaganza is over, but I am really, really happy (and feel equally fortunate) to be where I am now: the great city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
I decided to come down to New Orleans to volunteer once I heard from my dear friend Alex about how much this city is STILL in need of Post-Katrina help. Alex jumped on a bus at the Coachella Arts & Music Festival and spent ten days volunteering at various stops across the country, including New Orleans. He told me stories of people who were still struggling such incredible hardships to get their lives and their great city back in order. Simultaneously, it occurred to me that I really want and need to exercise my heart muscles in a dedicated way before I make any decisions about how I will spend the rest of my career. It seemed immediately obvious to me that I should go to New Orleans and not leave until I feel like I have made it better. You can think of this experience as "heart fitness." Put another way, I want to give as many hugs as possible while I am here. I also want to figure out a way to best match my skills, knowledge and talents with the city's needs.
I have been here a week and feel like so much is happening for me already. My mind is working a mile a minute, constantly, about how to build smart businesses (and non-profits) that will help this city and it's people. I am six days into this experience and have already volunteered for three different organizations, with two other appointments set up for tomorrow and the next day. It is a huge help to be starting this experience with Alex, who has already spent a few weeks in New Orleans and knows the ropes. My next blog will be about some of the people I have met and things I have seen. I promise I will try to find time to write again soon.
Love, Katie
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