Aloha from Sicily!: April 2009

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve on Mt. Etna with the people I love!

Shore View

The island of Sicily teaches many secrets and truths. Here's one.

No matter what anyone tells you, life can go in many directions. There is no one way sign.

No matter how hopeless it feels, we're still making wishes. And when one light flickers out(I accidentally turned off someone's prayer light while trying to ignite my own! Egads.), three more flicker on.

It's okay to walk on. Don't be frightened of abandoned suitcases. They're rarely ever bombs.

The water is never as calm as it appears.

And in the struggle between the rock and the river, the river wins as it carves out channels and forges a path where there was none before.

And in the end, all that matters are the many friends who held your hand along the way.

Istanbul

I guess you could say that Istanbul was our farewell tour in Europe. My travels on this part of the world have included Denmark, France, England, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Hungary, Austria, Germany and now Turkey. As a college student backpacking thru Europe, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd find myself living in Europe for three and a half years.

Even as charming as Europe will always be to me, I can feel the tug of the tropics at my heart. And I noticed my own energy of change reflecting back in my photos. The things that once charmed me in every city no longer do - the big bling churches or the mile-long museums.

What captivates me now are simpler moments like a cat swaggering through a bustling marketplace. A bird playing in the rain. An amusing sign. Or pet food sold in barrels.

Funny how things change.

Istanbul

An ancient underground water reservoir from around 500 AD. Discovered in the mid '50s when an archaeologist noticed that locals were dropping buckets through holes in the ground and catching fish. The site was then excavated. Beautifully lit and remarkable acoustics. One of my favorite places in Europe.