You know you are a backpacker when....

-you watch lavonne produce a small spoon she has packed with her since italy in the grocery store in order to eat her yogurt. she resolutely states: you just have to keep one with you at all times. -brenda asking the gelato lady for a sample AFTER she is already eating her cone, because she needs a yogurt spoon -the first thought in my head after getting an espresso is...hey that spoon is little and useful. -you walk over to a cardboard bin IN YOUR PACK, and start rifling through for a box that would be suitable to send across the ocean. hey, its free and its on the street, fair game right? i defenitely did this and brenda was shocked to see me leaning over a bin.. -putting your money on the table in the room without locking it up is the best feeling in the world (yay for the russells) -you sit in a train stairwell and are pleased because you have a seat...(this happened to me yesterday), but i made a german friend and thats the main thing -you adopt of the attitude of 'no problem, another train will come in a little while' when trains are missed. -a meal of bread is well received, and a meal with bread AND nutellla is celebrated. -a homecooked meal (graciously provided by the russells tonight) is the greatest thing of your life -a shower where flip flops are not required calls for celebration -free internet is considered a gift...such as right now, at the russells again. i am so grateful.... backpacking is wonderful, but an entirely different culture. you meet a city, and take in on in only a few days. as soon as you figure out the transit, the street names, the language, you pack up and leave. its an odd feeling but it certainly teaches you ingenuity. its a whirlwind tour, but right now, at this stage of life, i wouldnt have it any other way. we are meeting so many people in the hostels and i am loving it.