"Smile in your liver"

I don't think I could have brought with me a more fitting book to read; Eat, Pray, Love. I watched the movie a little while ago and loved it; but it doesn't do the book justice. As you read the book you see how Elizabeth Gilbert grows and how she over comes. Her raw, blunt take on different things and how everything affects her. Just last night I was reading and she started ranting about happiness:

"... people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortune enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into the happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it..."

I really like this and think it's very true about happiness. I have already read about Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and am now in the Indonesia (Love) part of the book. We do have control over our own happiness; no matter what happens in our life, we just have to always fight for it. When you give up the fight is when you can lose it.

I came on this trip for many reasons. First, I get antsy in one place for too long and get bored of the same routine everyday. Secondly, I love learning about different culture but would rather see it all first hand. And thirdly, to learn more about me. To see if I can still cope and adapt to new situations like I did back in Belgium. I found the first time, that I learned so much about myself spending a year in Belgium but I wasn't sure if that was just because I was a teenager. What teenager really knows themselves back in high school?

I know a month is a short time but I feel like I am already learning new things about myself and that yes, I can still adapt easily to new cultures. :)

On a different note, I dropped out of my Risk and Financial Management Masters course. My college emailed me back and would credit it as the course back home that I wanted it but if I ever wanted to apply for the CFP, they weren't sure they would count it. Either way, I think I would rather take it back home with my friends and professors I know.

So at the moment I only have language classes. I started my Russian course which I am excited about. But... the teacher doesn't speech English... So I get so confused in this course. She will start going off in Russian, which we try to understand. We, being Jonathan (France) and I. Then she will explain something in German to the rest of the class, which we try to understand. Then turn to us and speech French, which we understand. Then I translate it all into English... So I have 4 languages flying around my head and I don't want to speech cause I don't know what language is going to come out!! lol. But I will make it work. :)

This weekend we are heading off to Prague. I am so excited to go visit other places and Prague is such a beautiful city! All my traveling is starting now. Prague this weekend, Salzburg next weekend and then Amsterdam to visit Matt. I like March.

xoxo