I'm in Munich, just arrived from Prague. I'm at a polished hostel again right outside the train station, and on each side of it are two corporte hostels. In a 40-bed dorm, divided into sections, at 19 euro/nite, it's the best deal I've found in the West. 'Course, the east is cheaper. Music here is rather annoying tho and too loud for the style. I've been juggling my apartment arrangements with Ethan thru email since Florence, and eventually mom took over, ...

So I left Split, after walking around all day. It's a maze city, the main part being Diocletian's palace. During the wanderings, I lost a flip-flop, so had to buy new sandals. first shoe store I walked in had exactly what I was looking for. Comfortable leather sandals, with a big toe strap instead of a thong. It was a sweet find. No need for Chacos. Now to find a messenger bag that's not super European. Split was rather boring. Like Athens, it's a pass...

Istanbul, Istanbul, Istanbul.... WOW, great city. But that later. I'm in Dubrovnik. I'm stressed out and tired. I haven't been able to get to sleep before 2.30 and sleep later than 8. Not by activities, but rather some internal clock. Dubrovnik: difficult, Not very friendly to backpackers, especially solo ones. Expensive and no hostels. I arrived last nite at 10ish, after a day long stopover in Zagreb. I used that to walk around the capital's center, t...

Soo it's been a crazy week. Finished up in Georgia and moved thru Turkey. Istanbul is really nice, and I've only been here for less than 12 hours. But more on that later. As contacts are good fro swimming, glasses are not. In the continuing saga of my poor eyesight, I lost my glasses this time. We were in Guria, Nini's mom's village, and I had just got up when people decided to go swimming. I ran along. There were places to jump from up high, but you had ...

So I feel really cynical these days. I am learning a lot about conversation, and dealing with people. I'm finding that some things are bothersomeand not worth dealing with - a feeling which in the past would have made me work harder to understand/fix the problem. Two things in particular are troublesome: First is studying literature... still not good at it. Second is meals: don't like big groups, and am not too good at singing. Supras (Georgian feasts) are...