A Taste of Retirement

From just outside of Fethiye the trail head for the Lycian Way begins. It is a 509km trail that winds it's way along the coast from Fethiye to Antalya and is supposedly one of the top ten walks in the world.  I decided that I wanted to do a few days on the trail, starting at the western trialhead near Ölüdinez and going to Kebak Beach which would be about 3 days hiking. I figured since I was going to be hiking along the water it would only make sense to purchase some accommodation. Turns out there is a big Tuesday market in Fethiye, and being a Tuesday it was bustling with tourists buying knockoff clothing, locals buying their food supplies for the week, and me, buying a hammok. I got a few odd looks but a few jealous ones too. I packed it onto my bag and made my way to the trail head via dolomus bus (equivalent of city bus but better because you can flag it down anywhere and get out anywhere).
It was hot.  I had 2 liters of water with me which I figured would be sufficient until I reached the next town, and I started on my way.  The terrain was quite rugged and the first few kilometers were quite steep and completely unshaded, after about two hours I started second guessing my decision to do this hike during August. I had already gone through most of my water, I was sweating buckets (literally, I had a constant stream down my entire body and a steady drip off my chin) and I couldn't replace the water fast enough, if I did I would run out. I was in the middle of nowhere with no way of knowing how much farther the next village was. And on top of that I was getting dizzy and having weird cold flashes. I sat down for about 20 minutes to try and cool down and to make a decision. Against my stubborn judgement I decided to turn around. Beside the fact that it was no longer enjoyable to be hiking, it was also really dangerous. Too hot, not enough water, and nobody else on the trail to help if something happened...maybe a sign that I shouldn't be hiking in August??
Down was a hell if a lot easier than up, and I made it back to Öludinez without a problem (except for leaving my shirt at the trailhead), I had a swim, set up my hammok and past out.
In the morning I Took a Dolomus to my final destination of Kebak Beach (aka Paradise), and spent the next few days between an olive tree and a fig tree, swimming and eating amazing Turkish food with a bunch of hippies.  Far more relaxing and enjoyable than hikking!

Kebak Beach

Leaving Kebak beach was tough, it truly is a paradise, although when you start to have to think about things to think about it might be time for a little more stimulus! And anyway, I had bigger and better things on the menu, the main course being a 4 day cruise on a gület, Turkey's typical coastal cruiser. Gülets are essentially your standard pirate ship but without the guns, peg legs, and scurvy, we even drank rum...and lots of it.  Arriving in the harbour in Fethiye felt like you were taken back in time to the 1600s. Pirate ships and Galleon looking things moored all over the bay, little wooden chuggers tied to the warf offloading the morning catch, there were even haggard old, toothless salts sitting on the warf talking about how much better the fishing was in the old days (probably).
We were asked to meet at 9:00-9:30 so as to leave by 10:00 or so, but this is clearly turkish time so we weren't actually on the water until a little after 12:00. But who cares, I'm finally on a boat in the Med!!...although four days is a bit of a tease really. Bring on retirement!
The days were pretty standard on the 'Blue Key', and really quite tough on my physical and mental health...breakfast, sit, swim, nap. Lunch, sit, swim, siesta. Dinner, drink, sleep.  And repeat.  There was a great mix of people on the boat, two Ausies around my age, two Brits who were mid thirties but acted my age, four Italians, two French, and two Spaniards, who were a little older and then two south Africans. Everyone got along well which can always be an issue when you put a bunch of random people in a small space for several days, but it was great and we had a really good relaxing time.
After disembarking the Blue Key, Scott (Aus), Andre (Aus), and I caught a shuttle to Olympos, where the thing to do is to sleep in tree houses. I had the impression it was going to be a small sea side town with tacky treehouse resorts on the beach.  There was a small seaside town, only it was 2000 years old, and in somewhat of a state of disrepare. Modern Olympos consists of a dirt road heading towards the sea with a number of hostel/pension type places with bungalow and tree house acommodation. Legit tree houses.  And I think they were built by 10year olds, Mike Holmes would have a heart attack for sure. It does however have a hell of a lot of character and a really good laid back vibe. The one complaint I have with the place (which is a big one) is the serious bed bug problem.  Everything is made of wood so they are thriving. Lucky for us just before we went to bed we chatted with a guy who was covered in itchy red bites so that sent a red flag up and when we checked our dorm, sure enough the mattress was moving.  We switched rooms and after another check were satisfied that it was clean.
The ruins of olympos are my favourite ruins so far I think, they aren't as spectacular or grand as Ephases or Pamukkale, but they haven't been cleared of all the vegitation, so they have vines and trees growing all through them, and no set paths so you have to find your own way through. It gives the feeling that you are discovering it all yourself, and gives it a more authentic feel because you know none of it has been rebuilt.
Olympos is a great place to relax but there really isn't a whole lot to do, yet somehow its way too easy to get stuck for too long.  We did four days which was more than pleanty then booked a night bus out.  Next stop is Cappadochia, which will surely be a highlight of the Turkey leg of my trip!

Take care everyone and chat soon!!        
 
       

"Yes please! My friend"

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

I arrived in Istanbul with a smile on my face, knowing that I had just entered a new country I had never been in before and one that was vastly different than most of the places I have been in the past. I also had an understanding that Turkey is a hot country, very hot. What I did not know was that there is a relative humidity level that would give a steam room a run for its money. I have had spells of humidity that have left me sweating for consecutive hours without a problem, this however, is a different story; I'm working on 408 consecutive hours...and counting.

Turkey is a stunning country, with some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes, unbelievable coastline, great people (as long as their not trying to sell you something, which is rare) and AMAZING watermelon. But DON'T COME IN AUGUST. It would be far easier and more cost effective to simply crawl into your oven with a steam cleaner.  This however, is a prime example of one of the golden rules of travelling: adapt and get over it.  My first day in Istanbul was miserable because all I could think about was how much i was sweating and ways in which to stop sweating. I soon realized that there is no answer to that problem, I must except the sweat; be one with the sweat.  That's what the locals do, and you know if the locals are sweating then you have no chance!

Being a muslim country, I had several assumptions of what to expect when I arrived, but some places are clearly more serious than others. Whether you call it westernization, modernization, or maybe just natural progression, or maybe they are all one in the same, one thing is seems to be pretty clear: Istanbul is one big contradiction.  The cityscape is rittled with ancient minarets poking out above the tv antenaes and satelite dishes and every few hours the call to prayer blasts from them, yet nobody seems to do anything. Life just keeps plugging along, the men and kids (boys and girls) wearing their knockoff Armani, Prada, and blue jeans, and the women wearing a simple headscarf to satisfy the modest dress code but without infringing on Turkish law which has actually ourlawed religious dress in public areas.  Beer and alcohol is sold everywhere, there is a great nightlife, and restaurants are open all day filled with locals, yet we're in the middle of Ramadan.  It was very interesting to see, but at the same time a little disappointing because it was very difficult to find where tourist Istanbul stopped and real Istanbul began.  One of my days I went looking for real Istanbul, I left the main tourist area then picked an alleyway and started walking. It took me through a number of different zones from retail, to labour, to a small hole in the wall dart hall, and back to labour. The vast majority of work in that area seemed to be basic labour, making coat hangers, or piles of wooden feet for shoes on display, carpet shops or metal work.  I ended up having lunch at a small corner café where locals congregate to play backgammon and have an afternoon tea. I had a great conversation with the owner, an old airplane mechanic who worked 8 years in Ontario for Boeing, then retired to run his little family buisness.  It was a really nice experience to get a taste of some of the everyday culture rather than the constant 'yes please my friend, you are American yes? I give you good price!'
Now to cover my bases: this is just something I noticed in the areas I visited in Istanbul and found it quite interesting. I would definately call it a generalization, because istanbul is a massive city and I only saw a fraction of it. But, interesting none the less!

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

From Istanbul I headed south down to Selçuk via night bus.  Transportaion in Turkey is very much dominated by buses, the train system is non-existent or bismal. Selçuk is where the ancient Greek city of Ephesus lies, an area that has been inhabited since 6000BC, and was home to 250,000 Greeks at it's 1st century peak.

Main road leading to Epheses amphitheatre

Other than that there really isn't much in the way of things to see and given that it's not right on the beach I spent only one night there then moved on down to Fethiye on the south coast. I used the day well though, I took a round about way which brought me through Pamukkale, another ancient city complete with amphitheatre (which i thought was more impressive than Epheses.)  What makes Pamukkale special though is the hill side completely covered by travertine terraces.  Travertine is a rock formed when calcium carbonate (this is for you Tom) from the water is deposited after it bubbles out of the ground. It's a bit of a mind bender when you arrive in 40 degree heat to a hillside completely covered in what looks like fresh powder.  Several hours wandering through the mud baths and ruins behind and I was back on the bus for Fethiye. A trip that was supposed to take 4 hours quickly turned into a 6 hour milk run picking people up and dropping people off seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  In the end I made it and apart from the 2 hour delay, it was quite uneventful.Bring on the South coast, swimming, beach sleeping, and gület cruising!   

'Snow' covered hillside at Pamukkale

Travertine terraces

Pamukkale amphitheatre

Pegasus Peril

What a way to start off my Turkish experience!  Arriving at the Roma airport only to find that not only is the flight not on the board, there are no staff anywhere to be seen, and no check-in desk. Turns out there isn't even a plane. The only saving grace is that there is an entire plane worth of people standing around asking where Pegasus Air is, something nobody can answer because no one has ever heard of it. This is only the second time they have ever flown to Istanbul and the firstwas 12 hours before. So I guess planes are subject to availability?? I guess I should have read the fine print...chalk that one up for experience.
Luckily they finally sorted it out and I was given something that resbled a boarding pass, it'll have to do. I was about 85% sure we were going to be led into a field and FedExed to Istanbul in a cargo jet (subject to availability of course). Get to the gate, still not convinced, the plane should be leaving in 5minutes and there's nobody at the counter, and no plane.  An hour later they are ready to board 'the plane' so we get checked through...into a bus, still not convinced. Finally we arrive in the back corner of the airport, and to my surprise there was a brand new shiny Pegasus Air plane, actually a he'll if a lot nicer than all the other budget airlines...crisis overted.  

Beachin' It

This one turned into a bit of a novel but here goes...

Making our way to the beach brought us through the Wine Control Board of Bordeaux, where we were forced to stay a night and sample some of their finest €1.00 - €2.00 bottles of wine.
One night was enough in Bordeaux to have some wine, see some sites, smoke some shisha using water from the fountain in the main square, and get pick-pocketed, F@%K!!!

We came across a little shisha joint and figured it wouldn't hurt to have a quick sit down and relax with a waterpipe. Inside, the only other people there were two local girls.  We chatted with them for a while and after our shisha they invited us to join them down by the river where they were meeting some friends who had their own waterpipe, and as we had several bottles of wine it looked as though it would be a good trade off. They weren't incredibly happy with our wine choices but it didn't really matter in the end because most of them turned out to be Moroccan, and with Ramadan around the corner they were on a body cleanse which didn't allow for alcohol. More for us I guess. Regardless, the night was very relaxed and it was nice to meet some locals to hang out with rather than the standard traveler.

The next morning we hopped on the tram to the train station, and at one of the stops a man, standing behind chris leaned over, asked a meaningless question which caught his attention, then slipped through the door just as it closed, wallet in hand. The thing with trams is that once the door closes there is nothing you can do to open it until the next stop, and by that time buddy will be looong gone. Pickpocketer 1, Chris 0. Luckily he had prepped his wallet for such things and had most of his cards and backup Visa in his bag.

Arcachon is a small French resort town right on the Atlantic coast where french families go to 'camp'. They arrive through the gates, continue past the pool, bar, restaurant, store, mini golf, and tennis court on route to their designated spot where they set up their Cirque Du Soleil sized tents, complete with fridge, electric cookers, lights *insert Canadian Tire commercial here* and as many Simoniz products Canadian Tire could throw at them. A little different from home to say the least!
Unfortunately we only came half prepared and since we didn't have a tent we set up shop on the ground in a back corner. Luckily we were camped at the base of the largest sand dune in Europe so the ground was actually quite comfy.

The long haul to the top

The sand dune is massive, we climbed the steep backside from the campsite and were rewarded with a spectacular view over the Atlantic and down the beach into the bay. We spent two nights there mostly on the dunes and at the beach below. Unfortunately this was where we lost one of the wolf pack as Traz had to get back to Rome for work.

Erdy was going for the head...but that left him in a very vulnerable position

Evening sunset over the Atlantic

And then there were two, again. Chris and I made our way down to Biarritz, a small surf town near the Spanish border hoping to find some good surf. We did. Except the waves had their way with us for most of the day, the surf was just too big to get through with a big foam board. Every time we tried, we'd exhaust ourselves from paddling, look back and realize we were in knee deep water where we started. By the end of the day we finally found a good spot and started catching some waves only to notice so were all the 6 year olds in surf camp...pride was swallowed and we kept going. I think I'm better at looking like a surfer than actually being one.  That's gotta count for something tho.
Biarritz was a nice town but nothing spectacular in my mind, it is however significant because that was where I confirmed all the talk and booked the first two legs of my trip home, the long way.
August 2nd, Rome to Istanbul, Turkey
August 27th, Istanbul to Kathmandu, Nepal

San Sebastian, Spain was the next stop, and what a good choice it was! We arrived not knowing what to expect and we were greeted with a beautiful old town on a big white sand beach and the opening day of a 5 day Jazz festival. We found ourselves a hostel with Britt (US) who we had met on the bus and settled in for two nights that quickly turned into six. If you're ever in Spain you must go to San Sebastian, the town and beach are beautiful, the tapas are the best in the world, the night life is great, Martina has the greatest bakery/pastry shop around and you can eat for €4.00/day.  What more could you ask for??  (€4.00/day is subject to several terms and conditions but delicious none the less).
Our days were spent at the beach playing with our newly acquired beach game. I don't think it really has a name so we dubbed it 'Tuc' because that's the sound when the ball hits the racket. And it is essential for a day at the beach (Chris will demonstrate upon his return)

Our evenings were pretty standard, and consisted of drinking on the hostel's roof top deck then heading to the jazz fest on the beach with anyone else from the hostel. Dunno what it is, but listening to live music, standing in the sand and with waves crashing beside really gives you a sense of no worries!

Green Stage, San Sebastian Jazz Fest 2010

Chris and I had a night bus to catch to Madrid then connecting flight to Rome and Britt was heading into France so we said our goodbyes and were on the move again.

Rome was just how we left it and so was the party atmosphere, it didn't take long to reenter the nocturnal lifestyle, sleeping most of the day and partying all night. This was also the time that I entered the wonderful roman community of promotion. Mood was a pretty awful club that Dave (Wales) worked for but that gave us three -there were ways around that so probably closer to ten- free drinks all night and some money depending on how many people you bring in. It's also the only close place that's open after Piazza Campo de Fiori closes so it tends to get going later on. Not a bad way to spend a week in Rome, considering I came out having basically not spent a dime.
Unfortunately it all had to come to an end, apparently some people are looking to enter the real world, like grad school...losers. I had a flight to Istanbul on august 2nd and that is where the bulk of my travels began.
Thanks Erdy, Euro Trip 2010 was beyond amazing, good luck with school bro.
And then there was one.

 
   

Le Petite Tour de France

Chris' dad was in France for about two weeks doing a bike trip around central, France so after an epic Spanish World Cup win the three amigos made our way into the land of fine wine and incredible mustaches.
I think Paris must have skewed my judgment a little too much because the people of small town, central France are a very nice and hospitable group, contrary to what I had prepared myself for.

Chris and his noble steed

After a brief stopover in Toulouse we arrived in Eyzies where the first 30km leg of the grueling Le Petite Tour de (central) France was to begin.
Grueling is a little bit of an overstatement, it was basically a holiday from our holiday. We slept for more than 5 hours a night, slept in comfy beds that didn't run the risk of bed bug infestation, ate amazing meals and occasionally rode our bikes. It was a very refreshing and rejuvenating experience to say the least. I'm not sure how many geese were forced to give up their lives in order to sustain our appetites but judging by our burger patty sized slabs of foie gras I'd say we were responsible for at least five per meal...each.  It's sad for the goose population but really they just shouldn't have made their liver so damn tasty.
Eyzies is a beautiful single street little town built into the same cliff face as our cave dwelling Troglodyte ancestors lived in thousands of years ago.  We soon found out that the entire area was pockmarked with ancient caves dating as far back as the Cro-magnon man, our earliest modern ancestor upwards of 35,000 years ago (Lytle I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your ancestors were not from the shire, you're a Trog through and through).

At the train station we were met by Robert, who gave us our bikes and some paniers for our gear.  He kindly drew us up a route to Beynac-de-Cazenac where we were to meet Chris' dad.  The problem lay with Roberts perception of our health and fitness routines in the last 2 months. The route he opted to send us on stuck to the small country roads, passing farm fields, and winding up and down beautiful rolling hills...every rolling hill, we basically cut directly across the grain. By the time we reached Chris' dad we were exhausted, yet only half way.  We did make it in the end thanks to Ron's encouraging 'were pretty much there, only another kilometer' and 'oh ya, its just at the bottom of the hill, we're basically there, just another 5 minutes.'

Currently holding the yellow jersey

The area really is ideal biking territory; though; beautiful countryside, farm fields and gently rolling hills that aren't too strenuous (relatively speaking). But it must have been one hell of a battle roy-al in the area back in the day because litterally every hill was crowned with either a huge castle or chateaux, many of them with the original families still living in them.

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We finished up back where we started in Eyzies and after a solid 120km (somthing Lance does in an afternoon) we were on our way out of goose country.

Grab Life By The Horns

After camp wrapped up Chris and I made our way down to Rome to meet up with a bunch of friends who were tutoring in other parts of Italy.  We didn't go direct though, because the Med was yet again calling our names and seeing as we had not been near it for over 2 weeks the only real option we had was to head to Cinque Terra for some much needed Vitamin D and hydro therapy.  They weren't lying when they say that it is beautiful.  It is stunning!  Chris and I, and two friends from camp arrived with no idea what we were going to do or where we were going to stay, but being the cheap backpackers that we are we opted for Hotel Poseidon, the first 5 star (pushing 6) hotel in the area...also known as behind a large rock on the beach.  We checked in for two nights and had a great time drinking wine, swimming, and walking the five towns.  If your ever in the area, Cinque Terra is a must and I can get you a great deal on accommodation.

Vernassa, best out of the 5 towns

We grabbed a train down to rome in the afternoon of the 3rd day, to meet up with our group.  I've been to Rome a number of times but it is one of those places that you can keep going back to and keep seeing the same things.  We spent 5 days there until our flight to Barcelona where we were going to be meeting up with the other idiots who think running down narrow streets with large horned animals is a good idea.  And this is also where Chris and I were to be reunited with the third amigo, Rob Trasolini who has been drifting around Europe for the past year.
We rented two cars packed all ten of us in and were on our way to Pamplona, Spain for San Farmin (running with the bulls festival)
I was expecting a party, but what we got was something far far beyond that.  San Fermin was hands down the most insane experience of my life, I cant even begin to explain. Everything about it goes completely against all your natural instincts, for example dumping more wine and sangria on the people around you then drinking it, partying and drinking all night only to get up (if you even lay down) at to run down a very narrow, slippery, cobblestone street with several hundred other people being chased by 16 angry 650kg bulls with massive and very pointy horns...stupid. But this is what its all about, such an amazing experience. We were there for 4 days, so i ended up running twice; on the first day then on the 4th day. We also went to a bull fight which was turned out to be even more crazy in the arena than out on the streets of town, I was pretty hesitant to go just because of the whole principle, I wasnt sure if it would actually be enjoyable, but I am very glad I went in the end. I dont know that I would go again because it is incredibly gruesome but I think its important to get the experience, and again, its what its all about! We went into the fight in all of our Pamplona whites expecting to calmly watch a bunch of matadores (hands down the smuggest, most 'holier-than-thou' a**hole) people in the world 'fight' a bunch of bulls.  We were wrong.  Pamplona bull fights are more about the sangria and wine fight than the bull fight.  We came out of the arena purple, head to toe.  But what a good time.
Chris, Rob and I were then going to head off to do a little bit of a bike tour around the central France, but we ran into a little bit of a dilema.  Spain was in the semi finals of the world cup with a good chance of making it to the final. We decided that if they beat Germany and made it to the final we would be absolute idiots not to go to Barcelona for Spains first ever final.  Needless to say we posponed the bike trip for a few days.  I dont think we could have been in a better place.  We watched in the main square with at least 100,000 crazy Spaniards, and when they won the place just went off.  It was a good follow up to pamplona thats for sure!

During World Cup Final

Plaza de Espana after Spain won the World Cup

As well on top of that Barcelona has, hands down overtaken Budapest as the best city in europe...so far. It just has everything you could want, amazing night life, amazing beach, the architecture is amazing, and there is tons of mooring space for my huge yacht, which i will obviously be aquiring soon. I would definately be able to live there for a while.
Anyways, its off to France next for a much needed holiday from our holiday.

Take care everyone and chat soon!

And It Begins

Euro trip 2010 has offıcıally begun and so far so good.  Im travelıng wıth my good frıend Chrıs Erdman for around two months thıs summer and plannıng on beıng back about mid August.  Our excuse for comıng back to Europe is to teach an Englısh emersıon kids camp ın Northern Italy for the month of June, and then since we're ın Europe we may as well see some of it right? so we're gonna spend July and some of August seeing the places we missed.  Hope you enjoy, and feel free to lıve vicariously!

Chris and I have had an amazing time for the week or so before camp actually started although the flight was a bit of a nightmare...comes wıth the territory though rıght! We arrived in Manchester having had no sleep, thanks to the lovely 2 year old who was jumping around beside me yelling for the whole trip. She tried to climb over the seat whenever no one was looking and if that didnt work then resorted to slamming the seat table up and down which for some reason her mother had no problem with, and then on top of that instead of sorting her kid out the mother and an older lady at the other end of the row were yapping through me about merital issues...music and headphones couldnt even drown it out. This lasted until the girl fell asleep...20mins before we landed. But now that I look at it, it was just foreshadowing to the way the kids at camp act. The long of the short is that I now respect and understand the concept of bording schools.

We had the day in Manchester which we spent with a friend of Chris's walking around the city before we got on a bus for liverpool at 11:00pm. We caught 4 hours of sleep on the liverpool airport marble which seemed especially soft after not sleeping for almost 40 hours, then caught our flight to Nice at 6:00am. Arriving in Nice to sunshine and Mediterranean waters made everything better and gave us our second or maybe fifth wind. We spent the rest of the day walking around Nice, having a swim here and there along the boardwalk then back to the hostel for some much needed sleep. The next day we got the train from Nice to Sanremo where our training camp was, which turned out to be a beach side hotel...not too shabby. There were 190 people from around the world all staying in one place, which made for an amazing time. It also helped that there was all the 0.89cent box wine you could drink.

Turned out chris and I had the best room too, we were bunking with 4 other guys, 3 americans and a fellow Vancouverite.  We had the top corner room, which was naturally dubbed the corner office, had the biggest deck (overlooking the beach/med) and turned into the ideal place to listen to music/play music/meet other tutors/significantly deplete the worlds box wine supply before moving down to the beach to do more of the same. I met a ton of new really interesting and cool people just in the 5 days that we were there and have got a killer tan, cant complain!

We arrived in our final destination for the camp finally, and turns out we lucked out...we got sent to Lake Como, I'll try and get Clooneys autograph for ya!! Chris and I are in the same group with 5 other people that we spent a lot of time with during the training camp so we basically have the super group. We arrived in Como on saturday evening and were met by our host families. Mine is very nice, but kinda quiet so it is hard to get conversation going with the serious language barrier, but they are very nice and very accomidating and by the end of the week things were a lot more comfortable...and we we're in como.

About two days into camp I came to a realization...I hate kids. All things considered I think it actually is going quite well, during the day I would like nothing more than to jump out the window and end it all but at the end of the day when its over I have a good feeling about it; the kids have fun and I think they might actually be learning something. Some of my kids are great, but there are a few who are absolute terrors and just either refuse to do anything or just dont have anything aside from World Cup football going on upstairs. Then theres little Giovanni. I dont think I have ever seen the epitimy of a 'space cadet' manifested in anyone like it is in him. Anything I try and get him to do he responds with in one of three ways: 1) nothing 2) a meaningless scream 3) or he drools. And he has the ability to teleport, I send him back to his desk, look down and POOF! he's beside me again, staring unlookingly at me...but thats the way it goes, and it actually sounds as tho i have one of the better classes so thats good. It is utterly exhausting, but as long as you focus on the rewarding aspects everything is great.
I think the word relief can be summed up in one word: GRADUATION.  This is the very last thing that we do at camp, and it is a good feeling.  Looking back at it I would undoubtedly do it again.  It was an amazing experience in general, living with a family was great because you really get into the culture more and get a feeling of how Italian culture differs from our own (mainly food and the fact that it is amazing!).  But it was especially good for me because it really took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to adapt to a situation that I wasn't comfortable in, and knowing that the kids are having a great time and learning something is very rewarding. I would however, like to appologize to all my teachers...it has definately given me a new respect for what teachers have to put up with!