Day 3 at home in LA.. so awful.. actually not really. It's been a lot nicer than I expected save the 3x-a-day fights with the parents. The LA girls h…

It's been a very humbling couple of days back. Fell back into some old habits - none of them bad, thank god. Being a bit more social …

I think I may have mentioned earlier that I lost 12 lbs during my time in Africa and my travels around Europe.. I thought it was from being…

When I get back to LA...MUST.. EAT.. and PLAY... with FRIENDS...First thing - get a big steak at Ruth's ChrisSecond thing - watch a movie at El Capit…

Oh my god, I'm literally having a panic attack about leaving Portugal. My stomach is rumbling unhappily and my head is light and disorien…

Once again, my Portuguese friends pull out all the stops for me. =) Today was a bit of a funky day, coordination wise. The plan was to go with …

Irene felt super bad that we were stuck inside yesterday and I was so happy - she had a day off today!! So around 1pm we went to the beach that she…

Well, that's what they call it here. Built in the 1700s and owned by an ex-board member of Habitat Portugal, this estate is nothing short of …

Not much to report today! Sao Joao turned out to be a little bit of a bust. I'm getting into the habit of not going out as much, and being a bit on…

This has been an extraordinary 6 months for me. I've literally been a humble guest in multiple homes and been a host to two huge adolescent boy…

Man today was so awesome!!After surviving Libson streets at night yesterday and running away from the angry mob of drunk men, Irene and I just wanted…

So last night, Ricardo came out and joined me, Vera and Irene - the 3 of us were going to Lisbon the next day. But since Ricardo was free…

I don't know what it is with this place - maybe it's just Madrid, hell maybe it's just Madrid AIRPORT. But people here are SO FREAKING RUDE! …

Last night Christopher called at 9pm to meet for dinner - Europeans eat SO LATE!! we went to one of his favorite places in one of the trendier …

I really never understood these modern artists..  Picasso and his crayon-colored flat-perspective paintings (wait, or is that …

Up until now I've been really going back and forth on whether or not to go to Vienna, whether or not to spend 1 of the 2 days I'll be there in …

Today Irene and I had the privilege of hanging out with dear Ricardo's family. Unfortunately we arrived like 2 hours late due to a late start and s…

I forgot to mention that it's been raining ALL WEEK. Great reason to hole up inside, drink lots of tea and just play online all day. But wow, the s…

Stomach was still feeling bad despite being on my last day of a weeklong antibiotic treatment. Irene pulled out all the stops to try and make me fe…

woahhh.. it's been 1 month since I left Africa. And I'm not home yet..Ale came online today to chat with me. I don't know what it is about her …

Today was suuuper busy! We joined another Switzerland high school's last day of construction which was such a pity because I always have such a g…

Rested a lot yesterday, as we went to the movies last night and I went a little overboard with the food and caramelized popcorn on my really tenu…

Spent the day with Irene in Amarente, where she had to do beacoup travail  trying to get a project approved in the City Hall there. And go…

My head is so full of different languages I feel like I'm having an identity crisis of sorts. While in Madrid, I kept saying Merci after …

Our flights throughout this trip kept getting changed so much that it wasn't until this morning that we figured out we had a 5 hour layover. I wasn…

Despite not sleeping at all the night before, we were not going to waste the few precious hours that we had in Istanbul. Checked into my GORGE…

I REALLY like this hotel. Of course circumstances would lead to staying about 4 hours there, but this is the essence of modern luxury in Turkey - vas…

I really really wanted to leave Rize early. I couldn't take it anymore, despite the very warm and caring people we met on every possible occasi…

One of the school managers really looked out for me during my whole stay there - not easy to bond when you can't speak the same language but someho…

Oye, I am so tired of getting sick every month. Health has been a bit fragile since Africa and all the travel just hasn't been easy on the immune s…

So we found out the hard way today that Rize is the rainest city in all of Turkey!! um.. YAY! not. But because of the rain, there is an incredibl…

Wow! So the groups finally arrived last night and early this morning and there are representatives from basically.. the eastern bloc, Turkey …

We arrived at the airport before 8am, and couldn't get in touch with whoever it was that was supposed to pick us up. We were tired, hungry and …

No sleep for the weary! Met up with some always welcoming Turkish (SO friendly, middle easterners, I swear!) Landed close to midnight and had to get …

Oh what a funny day. What an amazing day in an enchanting country with some of the most splendid people!! I know I sound high I just …

Went with Irene to Braga yesterday to pick up the team for their day of R&R. In Habitat, you work for about 7 days, but one of them is a day to t…

So I write this email to my mom yesterday to tell her I won't be coming back to LA until June:So I have some news, while I was here, I was wit hmy fr…

What a strange and crazy and wonderful day!!!Hung out with Vera today in Porto. Found out that Vera lives in the projects in Porto - very central…

Had a couple of mediocre dinners the last couple of nights. Went to an Indian food place that was raved about near the surfing school/memorial to the…

Flew into Porto Portugal late Sunday and was greeted at the airport by the smiling faces of Irene AND Vera!!! WOW!!! Ricardo wanted to be there but I…

So I think I've sufficiently demonstrated exactly what NOT to do when traveling to Malta! =) That being said, looking back in hindsight with a …

FINALLY!!!!I think it was because the driver Joseph, on today's tour was such a cool guy and the whole crowd of Brits and Scots were really swe…

Oh man, people from Malta are going to hate me reading this blog, but I just found Malta and Gozo to be soooo boring.We went on a 9am ferry to Gozo…

I thought for second maybe it's cause Malta sucked so much, but I realized Italy and Sicily just know how to do things right. I took a monster …

Seriously!Dying a little bit right now - didn't realize how out of shape I'm in! A visit to Sicily means you have to visit Mt Etna - an active volc…

Well.. went out last night on a night excursion to the Valletta waterfront. I'm sorry to report that Malta is STILL boring. But now I am bo…

So I feel as I've been held captive for the last couple of days on this sleepy island. Whiling away my time between cigarettes on the balcony and t…

Woke up at 9:20 to a call from hotel management to say good morning. Went to bed at 3am and now am very tired and dehydrated. The drive was an hour…

I’m so lonely I think I could die. I’m at the airport on my way to Malta and I can’t find comfort in anything. I was totally chattin…

I forgot how beautiful Europe is in the summer. It's just about 10pm and the sun has barely set. I remember this happening in Geneva during the sum…