Karna's Blog

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Memory Lapse..

Well, it is damn cold here. There is snow all over Italy except for here in Florence, but it is still really really cold. I had something important to post, but of course already forgot what, so once i remember i will post it.
I bought a leather coat, as soon as i can upload my pictures i will post a picture of it. It's pretty cool. Well, it better be, because it was not cheap...
Well, shit, i really can't remember what it was. I'll think about it, and then write it later...sorry...

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

like a lizard

I have decided that I am like a lizard, that can adapt to fit into any location...well i guess my skin color doesn't actually change like a lizard's, but it passes for a lot of different things. So far I have been mistaken for being Italian almost every day I have been here, yesterday someone asked me how much Japanese or other Asian thing I had in me (although i think that is more of a stretch), I am obviously Native so i can pass for almost any American Indian, and the Mexicans who come to the pizza place in the summer always try to order from me in rapid Spanish and then tell me I am a bad Mexican for not being able to understand my native language. I'm not Mexican! You have to speak slowly for me to understand Spanish! But, I fit in in all sorts of countries. Can't pass for white, but oh well.
Today we went to the market for my culture class. It is absolutely freezing here, I am just regaining feeling in my toes.
We got tickets to Venice yesterday, and we have hotel reservations, so it is for real! We really are going! I am hoping to see many crazy males dressed in drag. Did you know Venice is sinking? Somehow I had missed that. Something crazy like a few inches a year. Good thing I am going now!

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Pictures

I don't know why the Flickr thing posted my pictures all small this time, but if you click on it, it gets bigger. Our field trips were fun, we saw the Basilica, the Duomo at Orvieto, and Etruscan tombs. We also drank lots of wine for lunch every day. I used to hate it, but I almost like it now. By the time I get home I will be quite the snobby wine drinker, drinking only high quality Italian wine.

Basilica Hell Hill


Basilica Hell Hill
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
The Basilica from farther back, with Hell Hill behind it, where they used to bring prisoners who had sinned against God to be tortured and killed for all of the valley below to witness.

Basilica


Basilica
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
This is the church of St. Francis, the Basilica. The inside is absolutely amazing, every single inch of it is painted with frescos, even the support crossbeams. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so maybe i will take a picture of my postcards of the inside and post those, if anyone is interested :) The European Union is currently overturning the no photo law, but sorry, it hasn't gone thru yet!

Elevator


Elavator
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
This is our badass elevator, which is like 18 inches wide, at most.

Maysa, Manuela, Karna


Maysa, Manuela, Karna
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
My host mom and us up at Fiesole, on the hill outside Florence.

SmartCar Police


SmartCar Police
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
First I thought SmartCars were the coolest thing ever, but then i saw a police car version which is even better. However, today we discovered electric cars that fit one person, behind the wheel, and one behind them. it is about half the size of the smartcar. THAT is the coolest thing ever. It looks like something out of the jetsons. I will take a picture for you later.

Orvieto Duomo


Orvieto Duomo
Originally uploaded by karnavore.
This is the duomo (cathedral) at Orvieto. I can't imagine how people made these things, it must have taken forever. I wouldn't have the patience!

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Field Trips, keys, boobs and cheese

Well, we have class only monday thru thursday here, so it is now officially the weekend. i just got done with italian class. mi chiamo karna. sono di petersburg in alaska. sono una studentessa americana. Look how i am progressing :) hehe.
We are going to Assisi tomorrow and Orvieto on Saturday. The only thing i know about Assisi is from father mike..."saint Francis of Assisi" (i'm not Catholic, but go with my dad sometimes). The churches there are supposed to be awesome, so i will post some pictures when i get back.
Yesterday I went for a run, which is not very common here (i haven't figured out how they eat pasta everyday and aren't all way overweight), but i did it anyways. And lost my keys. This is the one huge no-no, because your host family will have to replace all the locks and alarm. So here I am, sprinting up and down the streets looking for my keys in blind panic, getting weird stares from everyone. I finally found them, THANK YOU GOD, and now i am really sore because i sprinted like 4 miles. Jog 4 miles i can do, sprint 4, not so much.
In other more disturbing news, the leather salesman yesterday kept touching my boobs, which was annoying and kind of gross. I am not buying a jacket from that guy. There are a lot of leather shops in this town, buddy, so quit feeling up your customers. When I find a jacket i like, i will take a picture and show you.
One last thing, I don't like cheese unless it is american cheddar. I am so uncultured and unrefined. But seriously, most of it smells like ass and tastes just as bad as it smells. My roomie loves it, so i make her eat mine. I don't like wine either, but surprisingly am getting used to it. We have it like every single night so I am adapting.
P.S. You guys are doing beautifully on the commenting. I am feeling the love.

Monday, January 17, 2005

the duomo dome


DSC00779, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

the dome of the inside of the duomo...this is only about 1/5 of the entire painting. this, with the mayan pyramid i saw at chichen itza with matte last year, is by far the most awesome thing in this world. amazing!

art


DSC00760, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

An awsome fresco in a hidden little church. the crucifixtion.

karna and sarah


DSC00785, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

me and my roomie, sarah (we are in the same sorority at whitman) at the top of the duomo, overlooking florence. i know, i know, she's hot.

nick, tessa and karna


DSC00743, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

outside the game

DSC00733


DSC00733, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

A bunch of P-Town people, plus a few extras, minus matte because he was the photographer, before the seahawks game which the FREAKIN LOST. We were tail gating it in jake's new truck.

I am failing

I swear i am trying to post pictures, but the Flickr thing will not upload them for me to post. i keep trying and it takes FOREVER then tells me it failed. any advice?
school started today, it went well. It should be easy, of course, compared to whitman, anything is easy. I am, however, going to come home speaking a weird combo of english, french, italian and spanish. i already speak english and spanish, i am learning italian, and my host mom speaks french to sarah (my friend i am living with) because it is easier to communicate since they are both fluent. then, i shocked them both when my mom asked sarah in french if we slept well, and i nodded, thinking it must be italian because i understood. but no, it was french, so i am learning all sorts of language skills. SpanEngItalEnch is what i will be fluent in.
well, i will do my best with the pictures. you may just have to ask me in four months to see them, we'll see.

PS. Will you people PLEASE start to comment on my blog, so i feel some love way over here, away from everyone? :) i'm feeling like a loser.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Duomo

We saw the Duomo today. Absolutely amazing. As soon as i can hook up my laptop i will post pictures. First, ones of the Seahawks playoff game that Matte took me to. Bummer that they lost, I had big plans for the Hawks. Then of Italy. The Duomo was seriously so amazing. I can't imagine being that high up to paint the entire dome ceiling. Wow. Well, we explored all day and I found a bunch of earrings and some leather jackets...I am so coming home with a leather jacket. It's Italy, I have to. Tomorrow we will explore some more. So, I will tell you more of my travels then. I also want to go visit Beth in Amsterdam sometime.

Friday, January 14, 2005

Raphael

Well, i registered for classes today, got all but one, but i am on the waiting list and will beg if i need to. We walked around and found this hidden old church and sarah talked the old man into letting us see the fresco by raphael (in french-her french is coming in very handy here). it was beautiful! we are probably moving our trip to carnival to the next weekend, feb. 4 and 5, because a bunch of us have required field trips the first weekend. but, the good reverend doctor says we should go to carnival, plus a bunch of other people, so we ARE GOING!!! that's about all...I'm still sick and feel like crap so i am going to go home now and rest. I will update you all later!

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Italy

well, here i am in Italy. Sorry it has taken me so long, to my (few) loyal fans, but this is the first time i found an internet place. i am currently searching for one where i can use my laptop so i can post pictures.
It's beautiful here; the architecture is awesome. I don't speak a word of Italian but i will learn. The last few days have been doing school stuff and tomorrow is registration, with classes starting monday. i am taking Italian 1, Art history from antiquity to michaelangelo, and two history classes (italian renaissance and family and culture). of course the art history is just terrible with one class a week and the other meetings are at museums and such. painful i know. and there are three required field trips to rome, and two other places i will tell you about later.
we are also going to try to go to Carnival in Venice on the 4th and 5th of February.
well, i gotta go, i am running out of time, and we meet our host family in 30 minutes! oh, speaking of which, we just found out is a single mom with 10 and 7 year old boys. Fun! Well, gotta go for now, ciao!

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Happy New Year...

a couple (ok, 5) days late! Here are some pictures from New Year's Eve. I haven't figured out how to put all the pictures in one post, i'm gonna have to ask Zieak that, so each picture looks like its own post. New Year's was fun, we went to Brandi's house, the the Elks, then Kito's, then Brandi's house, then Drew's house, then called it a night at 4:30. I have to make some New Year's resolutions still. Maybe to update my blog more often? Well, I leave tomorrow for Seattle for 4 days, then on to Italy for four months, so i will post some pictures of all the cool places I go.

Jennifer and Karna


DSC00712, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

Eric and Matte


DSC00715, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

New Year's at Brandi's house...Eric looks surprised at something, but I don't remember what

Stu and Jen on New Year's


DSC00710, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

Jen, Dylan and Karna


DSC00719, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

Joe and Karna


DSC00682, originally uploaded by Karnawil.

This is me and Joe when we hung out at my uncle's house.