Sunburns

It's that time again! Time for Guess What Body Part That Is! First one is pretty easy: 

The next ones aren't as easy. 

Five weeks of self-acceptance

It's about half way through my outrageously awesome adventure. And I've learned many things along the way. But here I will only touch on one aspect of my trip: self-acceptance. 

My face. For about the past week, I have stopped wearing makeup, therefore, I must accept my face exactly how it is. Italy is a great place for this because though I may be in a busy town such as Florence, or hanging out with beach babes in Rimini, Italy doesn't ask you to wear make up. As one of my awesome friends who is french, has lived all over Europe and now resides in Venice, informed me, europeans think Americans try too hard to look like celebrities all the time. I most definitely have not been looking like a celebrity.

My hair. I don't do my hair, either. I don't blow dry, curl, straighten, or control it in any way. Sometimes I put it in a pony tail if my neck is getting too hot, but other than that it's wild and free. Italy doesn't ask you to do your hair either. Most people's hair is wild and free here.

My leg hair. Before the trip, Lex and I went to get our legs waxed and much to our dismay, our hair was too short. I still haven't shaved my legs. It's been 4.5 weeks. That's right. I haven't shaved my legs in 4.5 weeks. My hair is so long, I can feel the breeze in my hair. My leg hair. 

My body. I forgot my swimming suit, and upon arriving in Italy it became apparent that I really needed one. I bought the most modest swimming suit I could find, which is a far cry from my usual Speedo lap suit and shorts. At least my thighs are getting tan... for the first time ever. 

My clothing. This one has become so natural, that I forgot about it and I had to come back and add it! I wear the same clothes every day. I have three pairs of shorts and five shirts. I bought two shirts here, but I pretty much base my decision of what I wear on cleanliness, not style. 

I feel like I'm scraping all the superficial crap from my body and mind and replacing it with self-acceptance and love. It's feels great, even if it has its moments of discomfort and pain (sunburns).

But don't worry. I'll shave my legs when I get back :)

Favorite Places

It's our second day in Rimini, Italy; and although I have a sun burn, which on the Alexis Scale of Sunburns from grapefruit to raspberry rates a tomato, Rimini is my vary favorite place. Everything here is so beautiful: the beach, the food (especially gilatto), the language, the people. The list goes on and on. Coming from Florence, which seems to be about 90% tourists, (except for the super nice gillato man who asked Lex and me out for drinks, which we had to decline, thus casting a shadow of misery over our adventure especially when we buy gillato, which is often.) it is nice to be in a place that is completely void of tourists. Most people here speak some broken English, but a lot of our communication comes from hand gestures and what little Italian I can get from the Italian phrase book I bought. It's fantastic.