So Emily being here this past weekend was great fun.  It was nice because I feel like now I've seen everything one last time.  Fun fun.  It was so nice to catch up with someone back home.  Yay I get to see all of you when I get back in 9 DAYS!!! Weird. 

The spirit of finals is upon us.  I am officially done with my classes here at the JFRC.  Ok call me completely insane, but in a way, I like finals.  Everyone is all together, in our little compound, doing the same thing.  Everyone knows what everyone else is going though, no one is going their separate ways as usual.  I'm probably like the only one ever who has felt that way.  I just got out of one final- topography, pass fail.  Went fine.  Italian is this afternoon.  Tomorrow I get to give a presentation on Sikhism.  Monday is Art in Rome and then I'm done with school until mid January!  I can't believe it's almost over!  I don't know, I'm obviously sad that its coming to a close but right now, the excitement of going home is overtaking the melancholiness.  I've made my good memories, I always knew it would be over.  I don't really have any regrets, so I'm just gonna enjoy my last couple days in Roma, have one last fling in London, and then go home!  To the land of ethnically diverse food choices!  And free refills!  And modern conveniences!  And driving!  Oooo and SNOW!  And refrigerators with actual food in them!  The other day, I said something that later struck me as yeah, it's time to go home.  I was talking to Mark and I was like  "back at your place...America."

Hey!  So wow it's been a long time since I've updated!  Highlights of the past 2-3 weeks:  Tuscany!  Sooo relaxing.  We just drove around between hill towns and ate tons of good food and stayed in a 4 star hotel .  Amazing it is, Tuscany in the fall.  The sun was so bright and the hills golden with the changing leaves.  AND!  Now I know how to taste wine the right way!  It's a pretty complex operation.  I'll be happy to demonstrate when I get back. 

AMSTERDAM!  Wow is that a fun city!  But not for the reasons that you might think...  It is such a gorgeous gorgeous little city with all the canals and neato houses and huge gothic churches.  And everyone rides bikes!  There are special traffic lights just for the bikes.  Everything was decorated for Christmas. Pretty!  We went to the Anne Frank house.  It's where she and her family hid out during the war.  It was so so cool because we got to go behind the moving bookcase into the secret passageway and into the hidden annex of the house.  It was really strange being in the rooms that she talks about in her diary.  Also, the pictures she pasted on the wall are still there.  I got the chills being there.  What really struck me was that she had a picture of Jesus' face from Michelangelo's La Pieta pasted on the wall.  It was just so weird because I see that all the time.  And because she's Jewish but still loved that statue.  They also had her diary displayed.  It's so cute- red plaid with a little lock.  We also went to the Heineken Brewery!!! SO much fun! And 3 drinks and a glass are included in the admission price!  Woo hoo!  That made it even better in more ways than one!  Haha they had this exhibit thing that was called "What it feels like to be a Heineken bottle."  It was a video shot from the perspective of a bottle while it's going through the factory.  But the best part was that the floor moved along with the video so it was like a ride!  It ended with disco lights and party music because that's the final destination of every Heineken bottle- a rockin good time.  Also we went to the Van Gogh museum and saw his Sunflowers, Irises, The Bedroom, and The House at Arles, Potato Eaters, among hundreds of others.  I loved it.  YAAAAAY Amsterdam!!!

So it's official- I'm coming home the 12th of December at 1:55pm!!!!!!!!!! Omygosh I am so excited.  Also excited for London which is where I'll be from the 7th to the 11th. 

In world news, Emily is coming!!!!!  Yay friend! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE AND ALL!