- Walking across the River Jordan, wading my feet in the Sea of Galilee, and visiting The Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem where I wrote a secret wish I will never, ever, ever, ever tell anyone if I want it to come true.
- Looking out the restaurant window and saying, “Wait! Why is it light outside?” Then looking at my phone and realizing it was somehow nearly 7:00 AM. Talking through the night was just the beginning.
- Being nearly run down by a horsedrawn carriage at the “Horse Taxi Depot” on Buyukada island in Istanbul, Turkey. The good part? We survived.
- The ice cream diet. Initially, I decided to get into this whole dieting crazy of choosing one product to eat all of the time. People lose weight with the cucumber diet, the green vegetables only diet, etc. I decided if I was going to do something like this, I should choose a food I wouldn’t get tired of eating. Hence, the ice cream diet was born! This involved eating frozen custard at Luv It’s after school a few times a week because, somehow, it made the entire day seem better. (We may have become just a bit carried away…).
I continued this diet throughout the summer by eating amazing ice cream in Turkey with my new friends, Yanka and Turk, AND eating gelato on the Spanish Steps in Rome with Anya, Elaina, Jenn, and Heather. Sure, we also ate gelato every other day we were in Italy, but the Spanish Steps created a surreal “Roman Holiday” moment we thoroughly enjoyed. 
- The 12 hour bus ride from Montenegro to Serbia with Heather. Oh wait! Wrong list!! However, Mattia saying that Antonio’s "steak violates the Geneva Convention!" made us laugh so hard, it ALMOST made the miserable bus ride worth it.
- Catching up with Jessica when she brought me and graduation announcement and hearing that Boo, who graduates next spring, received a MLK award for her work with SOAM. I’m very proud of these girls.
- Dad: “What are you guys doing?” Luis: “Uh, um… just waiting to get in the car.” This will make me laugh for the rest of my life.
- Virgin Pina Coladas for FHE somewhere in the middle of the ocean with Martin, Karen, Charlotte, and Sam.
- "Setting. Outside the city walls of Old Town in Kotor, Montonegro. 9 PM, but very dark outside.
Heather: It doesn't look too scary back here. There's just some sports field.
Jeanne: And a man peeing next to that fence.
Heather (laughing so much, her words are barely understandable): Never mind. Let's turn around.
Jeanne: Good idea. My dad will be proud.
- Staying in a military prison, turned hostel, in Slovenia complete with free WiFi, loud music, chocolates on our pillows, and real bars on our door to keep us safe. Add that to the cheese diet we embraced while in Ljubljana, and… other than the super shiny faces in EVERY SINGLE PIC, perfection!
- Visiting Juliet’s balcony in Verona and leaving a letter in her mailbox. The letter she wrote in reply, which I just received this week, was exactly what I needed to hear.
2011 was a truly amazing year. The most amazing vacation in the history of mankind and meeting an “awesome” person toward the end of the year, really completely spoiled me. 2012 has a lot to live up to, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store. Bring it on!
Happy New Year!
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