wondering what I've been up to the past year... Here's a re-cap:I got back to Seattle from Prague in December of 2009 (with a super fun layover in Paris, yay!) just before Christmas. While I nursed my culture-shock, it was really great to see all of my Seattle-friends over the holidays and reconnect.
Tooled around Seattle (took a quickie trip to Portland in January) until I just HAD to get back out of the city again around my birthday, and decided to beach it up on Maui with my boyfriend at the time. We spent a couple of weeks relaxing in the sun, listening to the ocean,
and exploring the island with absolutely no agenda or anything specific or time-sensitive to do. Every day, I woke up to a view of sugar cane fields, the main volcano of the island, and a glimpse of the water from our porch, while sipping coffee, barefoot. Very healing stuff.Came back to reality/Seattle in March and got a couple jobs right away -- a spa job and a restaurant job -- which kept me pretty busy.
In July, I was itching to get out of town again, so I celebrated with my best friend
over her acceptance to grad school(!) and we planned to meet up in New York City for a couple of weeks. We shopped, ate, explored, and stirred up lots of trouble! I got to also spend some time with other NYC friends I hadn't seen in a while, which was really fantastic as well (we took a day-trip to Connecticut too, to see part of an outdoors indie-rock festival that my friends were organizing).In between all these trips, I was workin' my little tail off at the restaurant (I had transitioned out of the spa in July, it wasn't a good place for me). I was brought over to the owner's second restaurant mid-summer as well, so was soon working 6/7 days a week at both places, and lots of double-shifts too.
By October, I needed a break from all that work! I took off to the Carribbean with a co-worker I had become good friends with. We decided to sign up for a cruise and saw some of Key West, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. Some of the fun things we got to do: holding baby sea turtles, drink real Jamaican rum on the beach, and my friend even learned "the hustle" dance! Between port-days, we spent time drifting along warm seas, soaking in sun and enjoying being off our feet.Once I was back in town, I was back at it, working 6/7 days a week with lots of doubles and not much time off. This time, I was saving up for the BIG one,...
...A trip I had promised my dear friend earlier that summer. This particular friend had come to see me in Prague when I was really lonely and down. We had the best time in Eastern Europe together, and I promised her that I would come see her in Europe as soon as the opportunity presented itself! Well this year, she had decided to spend some time abroad again, and as soon as I found out, I devised a plan to come see her 
in late-November. So I got to take a nearly 3-week trip to Italy, where we spent time together exploring Rome, Florence (where she was living), Sienna, and Venice. All of it was absolutely amazing, and I completely fell in love with Italy. Rome was strong, masculine, overwhelming, vibrant. Florence was detailed, beautiful, artistic. Sienna was sweet, curious, gently-paced. Venice was completely breath-taking, inspiring, creepy, perfect, and exactly what I had always dreamed it being. What an 
amazing trip!!Needless to say, when I returned back to Seattle this time, I put my foot down: "I am moving back to Europe, NOW!" Well, in a few months. I had been biding my time back in the U.S. all year long and had not had the emotional strength to move back again yet, but going to Italy was like an adrenaline-shot of exactly what I had been missing. Of course I was in the move-mode-mindset again! I began devising plans for myself of how to
get back and where I could/would go.And of course, it started to show at my jobs how uninterested and un-invested I was in these restaurants. Eventually, I completely checked-out and transitioned out by mid-January.
I was able to squeeze in a couple short trips - a day-trip to Portland with another coworker that I had become good friends with, where we had a blast at a couple local bars and even met the owner of one of the largest coffee companies in Seattle!; and one to L.A. with a former coworker that had moved down to California a few 
months prior. Our birthdays are close and we decided to go to Disneyland together! Super fun.Finally, in the last month I have turned 25, gotten the tattoo I've wanted for about 13 years, and bought a one-way ticket to ISTANBUL!!! I have spent the last week packing and putting everything back in storage, and condensing down to just one 65-liter backpack and a small carry-on suitcase. For this move, I'm taking about half of what I did to Prague.
I picked Istanbul initially because a friend that lives there now was interested in
getting a flat together at about this time of year, but that has changed since I bought my ticket. Now, I've been able to really focus on what an amazing city Istanbul is, how much history there is to learn, and how exciting it will be to stand in this place of cultural crossroads and hot-bed of true diversity. I am really looking forward to exploring, listening to great music, EATING!, and being a part of one of the largest and most influential cities on Earth.Wish me luck! And I'll keep everyone posted... :)
- nova.
