Working hard... play hard!

So Sunday, I had an ultra long day! Swimming was great before work! I still feel a little out of shape, but it felt so good to get back in and be able to swim some laps! After work I went home and got some dinner since I only had an hour to get back to guard the pool party that night! The lady having the party called hours before and told us that there was going to be more people than she thought, so she was going to need another lifeguard. Luckily Heather stepped up and was willing to work it with Dom and I. It was crazy busy for the first hour but after that, people started leaving and it was not bad at all! Most of the kids go to the pool on a regular basis, so they already knew the rules so we didn't have to constantly yell at them! The mom thanked us for being so accomidating and told us that she was going to bring us home made Italian lassagna on friday...mmmmmmm! I can't wait! After everyone left, we cleaned up and headed back home! A bunch of people went out to a bar but I ended up just staying in! Dom and I ended up talking for a while to keep ourselves entertained while everyone was at the bar, until Taylor and Heather joined us and we all had a big powow in my room! Around 2 am everyone finally split into their respective rooms and passed out for the night! We had to get prepared for our next in service!

So Monday is always what we call "in-service". That means we either do some lifeguard practice of somesort, or lessons practice and some overall discussion of the past week. So we did that and then we always have some sort of challenge between the 2 groups! This week it was lifeguard tube relay races! Unfortunately my team, "West Coasters" didn't win, but it was okay, we gave it our best shot! We don't necessarily have the most athletic people on our team! haha! After in-service we always have what we call mandatory funday monday! This week we got a clue saying to meet up at the bowling alley and dress 80's! So everyone rushed back to their room and we all got ready together in our 80's getup! The girls in my group all wore black leggins with our swimsuit over it and an off the shoulder shirt with our hair in a side ponytail. Dom, the only male in our group, was such a good sport and let us dress him up like richard simmons!!! Shorty shorts and all! haha! So we all, group 1 and 2, walked to the bowling alley all eightied out in broad daylight! It was so much fun! We all bowled decent, but we all just had a great time with it! After which, group 2 was taken to the Commissary and the Bx again to stock up for another week! When we all got home, some people went to dinner, while Dom, Jessica, and I stayed back and played cards! We taught Jess how to play some poker and used my hershey kisses as chips! And then we learned this awesome game called "Indian poker", where you each get a card and stick it to your forehead and bet based on what other people have, hoping that you have the highest card! It was so fun because we were all tired and there is absolutely no thinking involved! It was an awesome way to end the night and I was excited because I knew today I was going to be able to help with lessons!

Today was an early morning helping with swim lessons! We were told to aid the first group since we were going to be teaching in a few weeks! It was super fun! The lessons I will be teaching in a few weeks are the super beginners who are just learning floats and stuff, and the level 6, which is like competative stroke improvement. I also was scheduled to teach water aerobics and I couldn't be more excited!!! So I just finished aiding lessons and now I'm headed back to the pool to help the other Kim teach her first water aerobics class! Then it's the weekend! Not sure what it's going to entail yet though...maybe some more beach? :)
Ciao!

Roaming around Venezia!

So this Sunday our group, which we have officially named the West Coasters, made our way to the lovely city of Venezia! My hopped on a bus which took us to Pordonone where we then proceeded to buy tickets for our train ride to Venice! The train ride took about 45 minutes and before we knew it we were looking out at one of the most breath taking cities ever! Last time I was in Venice was about 7 years ago and I saw it through a tour group, so this time my plan was to just wander, get lost, and find my way back when I needed to! Kari was meeting a friend in San Marco's square so we headed straight for that at first. We realized we didn't know where the heck we were walking so Dom finally asked someone and we were told it was in the complete opposite direction about 30 min walk away!!! Once we finally made it to the square, we took some pictures and Kari met up with her high school friend. Dom also left to go hang out with his old friend, so now there was just 4 of us which was excellent! Since no one had any desire to see anything specific I suggest we just walk, so that's exactly what we did! I started taking all these back alleys and turns not knowing at all where the heck I was going. I took one alley and all of a sudden it got completely dead silent! It was a gorgeous sight and was so peaceful! We were the only 4 people there, so we just sat there for a few minutes and took it all in! Next thing I knew, I heard this bellowing low voice coming from around the corner. A gondola came riding by with a man singing with an accordian, followed by 4 more gondolas! It was such an amazing 10 minutes, so if any of you make it to Venice I totally suggest simply getting lost and wandering...you never know what you can find! Once we decided to move, we continued checking out random alleys and came across this pub called "devil's forest". So we decided to stop in and grab a beer and relax out of the sun for a while! Speaking of which, the weather was absolutely wonderful! I was a little worried since it was a little gloomy in Aviano but by the time we made it to Venice it couldn't have been more beautiful! After our beer we decided to do some shopping, of course, I mean we are girls now! :) After shopping we had about 2 hours to spare so we hit up with Caffe where we all decided to try a Spritz which is an Italian drink. Basically, I'll just say that I won't be ordering another one of those, but I'm glad I tried it! We all then met back up at the train station and made our way back home successfully! Exhausted, we all headed straight to bed, preparing for our first day of "real" work the next day!

First day of work, Friday, was long and absolutely taxing! We started at 12:45 and got set up for everyone to come! Since it was such a gorgeous day out there were masses of people at the pool! Think memorial day weekend times 2! So we all worked until 7pm and then went back to the dorms. Kari and I came back at 8 and worked the pool party that night for 15 little boys which wasn't too bad! I was exhausted, to say the very least, so I went straight to bed after that!

Yesterday, Saturday, was not as long. I worked from 11:45-7pm which was a decent day of work and a decent amount of people! The funny thing is that the Aviano weather gods can't make up their mind about the weather! The day started out wonderfully sunny and warm, around 1pm there was thunder and lightning so we had to kick everyone out. An hour and a half later we let everyone back in and it got sunny again! Then it started to sprinkle and then suddenly down pour which was hilarious since all of us on the lifeguard stands were standing in the rain in just our bathing suit and shorts! We had to kick everyone out of the deep end because it was raining so hard we couldn't see the bottom, then it stopped raining so hard to we let them back in, and then it poured again so we had to kick them out again! The rain finally stopped and it just stayed a little cloudy for the final 2 hours! After work, group 1 got back from their water rafting trip and we all had dinner together out on the picnic tables! After dinner we watched the US world cup match and then all hung out the rest of the night! It was so much fun and I finally hit the sack around midnight!

Today is another long day of work from 11:45-7 and 8-10:30. Right now I'm going to go swim a little before work since we are required to swim at least a 500 a week! Ciao!

Bibione, the beach of golden sand!

So yesterday was my first half day! The weather was the best it's been so far! Perfectly warm and not too humid and all sun! We started by hitting up the local tuesday market which is only like a ten minute walk from base! It was absolutely incredible as there were stands everywhere selling things from clothes to birds to food to trinkets! I am absolutely in love with the atmosphere here, the buildings, the people, the smells! I bought some flowers for my friend brooke since she couldn't make it to the market and needed some flowers and I got a small, gorgeous purple orchid with it! We could only stay for a short while since we all had to be back by 8:45am. At this time we walked over to the youth center and did our blitz (5 camp songs), a skit and presented some pool rules. It went really well and then we headed to the pool thinking we had to work 9-2! We get there and are told that we don't have to work until 12:45! So what do we do for 3 hours....go back to the market of course!!! So Dom, Karen and I headed to the market and just walked around checking out every booth. Dom got some cherries, Karen got some sausage and some cheese. I then found the watch I've been looking for which normally goes for $20 in the states and got it for 4 euro. But then was told it was not waterproof but I kept it anyways since I really needed a watch! A few stands later we come across more watches that look like the ones I want and this time they say waterproof so I dropped another 5 euro for this cute white, waterproof watch! It kinda stunk that I bought two watches but hey now I have one for Italy time, and one California time! :) After the market we headed back to the pool to do some "work" finally! We get there and they are having us do swim testing and life jacket fitting! I was helping with the deep water swim test and it was no problem at all! After all the kids went through the swim test that needed it, we were done, so we were able to go back home! That night everyone had a BBQ where these two 18 yrs old airboys grilled for us! It was super fun and hilarious hanging with so many people! My group then decided we wanted to go to the beach tomorrow and wanted to drink some beer and tan, so Dom and I walked over to the shoppette by the pool and I purchased my first thing of alcohol ever! After the BBQ my friend and I went to a local bar and watched the Argentina and Greece world cup game! We ended up sitting and the chef's table and talking with them the whole night! So overall that turned out to be such an amazing day!

Today, we headed to the beach! Since we didn't really plan when everyone was going to leave it was kind of jumbled this morning! Karen, Kari, Taylor and Heather left at 7:30 and went to go catch the bus. Dom and I left somewhere around 8:30 am and caught the 9am bus to Perdonone. When we got there we ran into the rest of the group which was funny since we left an hour and half after them! haha! We then took another bus to Bibione which was about an hour and half bus ride! When we got there it was about a ten minute walk to the beach where we walked all the way up to the front and laid our towels down. They had rows and rows of umbrellas and chairs that I think were reserved for the people in the hotels and behind them was a little fenced area that had volleyball courts and basketball courts and a little soccer area! Dom brought a soccer ball so we kicked that around for a while and then played some "horse" on the basketball court. I won the first game, and then he came back and won the second and third unfortunately. This was all in the sand which made things a little harder and truthfully I'm a little sore! We all tanned for a while and then did some wading in the water! This beach was absolutely incredible! The sand was a perfect warm and soft and golden, and the water was cold but not freezing....everything was perfect! The weather was also wonderful, it was hot and sunny, no clouds in sight, and there was a slight little breeze keeping us cool! After we got our fill of the beach we headed into Bibione for some food and found this pizza place which made us a fresh sausage and cheese pizza which we all split! We then went exploring through all the wonderful little shops they had in their downtown area where I bought a spinning thumb ring which I had been looking for, for several years, for only 3 euro! Our bus then came at 6:45 where we got on with a bunch of high schoolers yelling and screaming! Luckily I was blessed with the ability to sleep, no matter what, in a moving vehicle, so I just slept through it all the way home! We finally got back to the dorms around 9pm caught up with a few people and now am off to bed once again because Venezia (Venice) lies ahead for us tomorrow! Buono Sera!

some pictures of week 1

Birthday pic with some of the girls! brooke, kari, karen, taylor
The whole birthday gang!
The work of birthday fairies!
Sergio and Cristina our tour guides
The wine tour we took at Gelise Antonio winery
Our cheers of sgroppino
Ciasa de Gahja is absolutely awesome!
Our first train ride!
Train in Pordonone
The giant tower outside st.mark's cathedral that used to be a prison
The very narrow streets of Italy...but they are super gorgeous!
The market that changes cities every day!
Street in Pocia
The most incredible spring!
The gelato served not too far from our dorms!
The best pizza ever the first night at the Western House!
Absolutely pouring rain!!! We just gave up and accepted the fact that we were going to get soaked!
The "lumacuore" or the heart snail on the hill!
Kari and my room in the dorms! But it looks super cuter now that we have more pics and an italian flag and a rug!

St. Mark's cathedral! GORGEOUS!

First In-Service!

So today was a wonderful sleep-in day! I woke up at 10:30am and hung downstairs for a couple hours until we all had to leave for a meeting! We got to the pool and it was fairly nice out! We then have what is called in-service which means we practice some lifeguarding skills and then clean a little bit. We started with a 300 warm up swim which felt soooo good since I haven't swam in so long! But I'm not going to lie, I was pretty out of breath when I finished...I don't know how to pace myself very well! hahah! After in-service a bunch of us went to subway and got sandwiches and then had a picnic outside the dorm rooms! After which, we had mandatory fun night! :) Here, we play some games and compete group 1 vs group 2! Group one walks in all dressed in red white and green italy gear with their faces painted and then we walk in with our sunglasses and singing we will rock you! But we will step it up for next weeks' mandatory fun night! We played chubby bunny, and a balloon popping game! After I had 3 wonderful conversations with Karen, Brooke and Dom. It's weird to think that I have only been here a week, yet I feel like I know some of these people so well and have created such genuine friendships with them! As you can tell today was a pretty easy day and tomorrow will be even easier since I only work 9-2 then we get our 2 days off! So off to bed to get ready for another day of Italy! Ciao!

Best 21st Ever!!

So yesterday we had our first day of work! We get there and it's okay weather wise. It was great for a few hours and then around 4pm we thought we heard thunder so we walked out of our little guard shack and within 10 seconds it absolutely started to pour! Since there was thunder we ended up having to clear the pool and get everyone off the pool deck! All of a sudden there was lightning which means that we had to close for at least an hour! So we all went to the Community Center which had DDR, darts, video games, pool, fooseball. Dam challaged me to a game of ping pong so we played and I totally owned him and won. Thus he decided to switch it up to air hockey. First game I won 7 to 6 and so he remached in order to gain some of him man pride back...unfortunately for him, I won 7 to 6 again! hhaha! I considered letting him win one, but it just isn't in my power to let a guy beat me! :) That night we just all hung out and talked and laughed!

Today was my 21st Birthday!!! It was more than I could ever imagine! I started waking up and walked out side to have a doughnut with the fam bam as always! I opened my door and the birthday fairies visited my door and decorated it with streamers and balloons! I was sooo happ! AFter skyping, I then headed to work but since it was thundering we didn't head over until an hour later! When we finally walked over to the pool it was still thundering and lightning so we kept the pool closed and headed to a coffee place called deja brew! We stayed there and talked about movies and ghosts and aliens for a while! haha! We then decided that since it was going to rain all day we closed down the pool! So we headed back to the dorms and didn't have to work all day!!! "birthday miracle"!!! The whole gang then played Trivial Pursuit and then some Apples to Apples! After which, 2 airmen Luis and Ron took us to The Spaghetti House where I ordered a wonderful spaghetti with prociutto and egg! Ron and Luis ordered us some Mescato which was very very sweet and tasted like juice! The my group ordered me a sgroppino, however the waiter brought each of the 3 tables a fifth of some drink! Our drink was lemoncello! I was wearing this crown like thing and he asked me if I was getting married and I said no, it was just my birthday. Next thing I know he brings out this plate with a peach cut in half and a whip cream penis! ooooh booy! I was soooo embarrassed but people totally took tons of pics because they thought it was hilarious! For my whole meal and alcohol I paid ten euro thanks to mr.waiter! We then went to Gelato when Taylor bought be some mint gelato! Next we headed to Jupiter a downtown bar! It was totally empty inside which was great when all 15 of us walked in! Most people had beers, me, I had some water :) We played a few games like vegetables, never have I ever, and vroom! It was super fun! I was getting pretty tired by this time so a few of us decided to walk home! I then skped with some of my amazing family which was weird that they were eating lunch while I was getting ready for bed! Well it's 30 past midnight so it's no longer my birthday! So it's about bed time so buona notte! :)

I'm officially in Italy!!!

So today was the BEST day in Italy so far and one of the best days of my life!

We got on a bus at 8am and headed for Perdonone! To start off, the roads are soooo narrow and a few times I about had a heart attack when we were turning or passing people! We stopped off in a town called Portia, at the most increadible waterfall stream like area! The water was as teal as you could imagine! Absolutely gorgeous! There were also these two geese who where quacking at us the whole time and trying to defend their territory from us! From there we went to the Portia market which is a market that moves towns everyday! They have anything you could think of, from fruit to clothes to accessories! A group of us decided to sit down at a caffe shop. We all ordered coffee in the best italian we could! I ordered an espresso which was good and came in a super cute little cup! After which we went to an incredible church with the most amazing paintings! I will upload pictures soon! We then walked further down this gorgeous streets to a chocolate making place where we got to taste some chocolate...mmmmmm good! We then made it to Perdonone where we ate a traditional Italian meal. We started with some risotto and pasta and white chardonnay. Next we got chicken with carrots which were soaked in like some butter mixture, and some mashed potatoes! We were then served what is called sgroppino which was similar to a lemoncello and was very tasty! We then got some dessert which they had 5 different things and of course we all tried all of them but I can't tell you what they were! haha! After lunch we headed back to Aviano and visited a local family vinyard for some wine tasting! We learned a little about the process of making wine and then we sampled some reds and whites! It was so much fun and very interesting! I bought a few bottles and can't wait to have some wine with my meals!

When we finally arrived back home after the most amazing day of experiencing the culture and most amazing towns and houses...and just best day period, a group of us went to the pool! It was kind of chilly but we figure that since we haven't worked yet we aren't sick of the pool! When we got back to our rooms we all decided to go get food! Some went and got chinese food (haha in Italy and getting chinese food???) while taylor and I went and got some pizza! I ended up getting prosciutto pizza and drinking a glass of prosecco with it! It was so much fun because the whole staff and some super cool airmen all had dinner together and hung out and listened to music! It was such a great night and I hope there are much more like it!

Tomorrow is our first day of work and I can't wait to start lifeguarding again! Ciao!

Buongiorno!

So today'll be quick! We went to an Italiano culture and language class which was awesome! We learned some words and customs that are important for shopping and traveling! My Italiano is getting better and I can't wait to use more of it as we travel!

After which we went to the BX and commissary and I got some room supplies, food and a cell phone! All were greatly needed!

When we got back to the rooms, my roommate Kari, Brooke, Kim and I went and walked a little around town! We went to the market and looked at some of the wine which was only like 3 euro a bottle!!! We then went to the amazing restaurant called Casa Bianca where I had some Prosecco and tortellini! The tortellini had proscuitto in it which was incredible, and had this smooth cheese sauce in it! When you ask for wine, they ask how much and I of course wanted the smallest amount which was 1/4...so i'm thinking like maybe a glass and a half! But no! It was like 3 and half glasses worth! I ended up filling everyone's glasses up since there was no way I could drink that much wine with dinner and walk home okay! haha! Anyways that was honestly the best meal I've had so far in Italy! Amazing ambiance, good company and fantastic food!

Tomorrow is a trip to Perdonone and a wine tour! So I can't wait to get tomorrow started! Buono Notte!

One happy camp A family!

Today was day 2 of orientation and was a little boring. We started at the pool and learned how to check the chlorine not like I haven't done it for the past 5 years...but okay. haha! After which, we went and ate at the bowling alley which surprisingly had really good food! We then went to the convenience store after which was pretty cool and had some food, drinks, house stuff and movies! It's a little more expensive than the BX but it's walkable distance so it should be nice to have! Once again, today it was absolutely pouring rain so by the time we got back to the dorms we were soaked!!! Kari, my roommate then took us to the thrift store on base which is so sweet! I got a blanket for $5 which is soooo soft! Kari and I also got a toaster, a coffee pot, wine glasses, coffee mugs and a lime green floor mat all for like $25. By this time my energy is starting to fade and i'm getting really tired but we had to jump right into going to meet the vice colonel which is a huge deal! We got a presentation from this woman about being and staying safe on base and watched a video of "what would you do?" about a guy pretending to drug a woman's drink and seeing the reactions of the bystanders. It was pretty crazy and made a lot of people think which was really good! The presentation was pretty serious, but our director Nina is absolutely hilarious and it was nice to have her to lighten the mood a little bit! After which instead of meeting with the vice colonel since he had another meeting, we met with Mr.George who is super cool but a little boring and being as tired as I was, I was struggling to stay awake! haha! When we got back to our rooms we had 2 hours which was wonderful as I took the most amazing nap of my life!

For dinner the staff did a potluck so we had hotdogs and chips and salsa and oreos and these things called zebra cakes which was basically like a hostes cupcake! It was great to finally hang out with everyone and get to know what another a lot better! We played some games, sang some camp songs, and played catch phrase! Everyone gets along so well and we are all super bubbly and outgoing...it really makes it easy to jump right into a new country!

Tomorrow we FINALLY get to go to the commissary and the BX and stock up on some food. we are also going to a store, I guess similar to walmart. Other than that I'm not quite sure what tomorrow has in store!

Buona Notte

The LONGEST day!

So today was my first day in Aviano and quite a day it was! I had a four hour flight to New York which was great! THen we had a one hour layover before we boarded for Venice! While waiting at our gate we totally saw Dylan Baker dropping off his daughter on our plane, in 1st class of course! haha! The plane to Venice was HUGE and was only about half filled! It took about an hour once we boarded to actually take-off, but it was worth it! The plane was awesome! Each seat had it's own tv which you could choose which movies or tv shows or music you wanted to see! I watched "When in Rome" which was pretty cute. Then I was able to get a few hours of sleep which was much needed! I also watched "Alice in Wonderland" and "Leap year" while my travel buddy Taylor and I made friendship bracelets! (haha...flashback to girl scouts yes?)

We arrived in Venice after an 8 hour flight and it was smooth sailing through customs and baggage claim! We then took an hour and half van ride to the base! The scenery was gorgeous! There was so much luscious green all around and such fabulous buildings! At this time it was only 11am in Aviano so although my day felt like it should be ending it was only beginning!

When we arrived at the base it was pouring down rain which was not helpful! The base is super confusing and I'm sure I'm going to get lost a few times in the next week! We jumped right into orientation and got our room assignments! I'm with a 4th year from Ohio named Kari and we get along super well! Our room is already decorated with pretty blankets and sheets and pictures galore! After unloading all my stuff in the room, we took a trip to the pool and practiced some lifeguard skills in the freezing cold water! After which we went back to our rooms and got ready for dinner!

We had dinner at this amazing pizza place, a walk distance from the base, where I ordered an amazing tomato and mozzarella pizza! We then walked to a gelato place which had a scoop of gelato for only 1 euro! I got a scoop of Nutella gelato which was simply decadent! When we all got back to the base after gelato we just hung around for a few hours while we tried working the internet and skyping with family and friends! It's finally 10pm and finally the end of the day! So time for bed since I'm absolutely exhausted as can be!

Buona Notte

Time to fly? ...no?!?!

So I found out a few days ago my flight is today at 6:30 am! The day started with me being way to excited/nervous to sleep so I ended up staying up all night long since I figured I can just sleep on the plane! So mom and dad wake up at 3am and we are ready to head to the airport! We arrive at SFO and are told THERE IS NO PLANE for the flight SFO to JFK! We are hustled into a super long line and are told to just wait there. A half hour goes by and ...nothing. 5am comes around and...nothing. 6am finally comes and someone finally starts checking people in! We are told they do not have a plane for any of us and they are going to try to make arrangements so we can all make our connecting flights! I'm wondering how in the heck you book a 200 person flight and forget to book the plane they are flying on...nice going Delta airlines!!! haha! So we finally get to the front of the line and are told that we can't fly until tomorrow at 8am! So we get tickets for that flight and our connecting flight to Venice! As we are waiting for her to get our tickets situated I look around and see none other but Kristen Vellinger, my really good friend from high school who I haven't seen in a year! We had a quick catch up and she left to catch her plane. I get my ticket along with the other 2 Camp adventure staff. Luckily we are sitting next to one another tomorrow! We were given a $200 Delta plane ticket voucher and were told we could check 2 bags for free! They were handing out $200 to every single passenger on that plane who got delayed! The woman doing our tickets, Sunny, was a supervisor and told us she would allow us two bags to check which helps so much since my bag was 56 lbs and it can only be 50! So as of right now I'm home and rested and ready to start this whole adventure again tomorrow morning (assuming they get their act together and remember to schedule a plane)! haha :)

Ciao for now!

Only 5 days left!

So I'm preparing to haul my life over to Italy for 12 whole weeks! I am leaving June 13 and should be returning September 11. Packing is such an endeavor ...12 weeks in one suitcase ....are you crazy?!?!

Basically this summer I will be working on an Air Force Base in Aviano, Italy as a swim instructor and a lifeguard! Hard life huh? The program is called Camp Adventure which is offered for undergrads and grad students all over the US and sends them to US military bases all over the world! I will be actually living on the base which I hear is pretty awesome despite the rooster which wakes you up at 6am! Our view opens up to the base of the Alps and right outside the base is a wonderful Gelato place! Half the Camp A team is already there so I've heard bits and pieces...but I can't wait to see for myself in less than a week!

I am guaranteed at least 2 consecutive days a week off to do some traveling so I will be adding pictures and tales during my travels on this site as often as possible! This way I can keep you all updated as well as keep myself sane!

If you have any travel, food suggestions or fun facts or maybe just some advice, I'd love to hear it!

Ciao,

Kimi