Last post.
So weird...
I've put off this post for nearly a week. Not because it is the ending of the trip, but simply because I'm not sure how to wrap everything up neatly.
Isn't life wonderful?
Even though my trip is over it's not done changing me.
I love Europe. I love nearly everything about it: the way it moves and speaks and even the way it smells when it doesn't smell great. And I love America in all its familiarity and drive.
I'm a little nervous about getting back into the swing of school.
I'm a little nervous about friends and jobs and money- because, hey, I'm a nineteen year old girl.
And mostly I'm nervous that I'll forget that spirit that said, "Get up! Today is not just another day! It is a chance to see, and to experience something significant!" Because the day-to-day will be overwhelmingly day-to-day if you let it be.
But then I remember.
LIFE IS WONDERFUL.
I know it will be hard to be content sometimes, but it'll be alright.
I'm not worried.
"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
:Robert Louis Stevenson
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
HOME.
I'm home!
In fact I've been home long enough that the family is making me do chores again AND I've had my wisdom teeth out.
But on with the end of the story! The finale!
So four thirty in the morning rolls around and we are all awake and ready to go on the seventh of December.. travel day! Mostly awake anyway... Abigail got us oranges and cereal bars for breakfast which was nice even though it was early. I saved mine. The first plane ride was short, three hours and the layover in Heathrow was just long enough to say goodbye to Bruce and Sheryl who were flying straight home. It was the first goodbyes. The ten hour flight found me stuck between two middle aged women who apparently had desk jobs based on the amount of times they needed to get up ((none)). I felt like a little soccer playing boy as much as I fidgeted. Luckily I watched a couple movies ((Last King of Scotland and Death at a Funeral being the two worth mentioning)) and journaled to pass the time.
Customs at O'Hare. Back in America.
I got in the shortest line and of course, the short line curse hit me and I get stuck behind a Mexican man who is flying to Houston and driving to Mexico ((which, in the customs officer's defense does sound suspicious...)). But I ended up switching lines and still getting through faster! I was nervous so when the officer asked me the purpose of my visit to Austria I said,
"School... Learning.... Education!" He just laughed at me and said.
"Whoa. Okay." Could I look any more foolish? Any toilet paper stuck to my shoe? Also he was the cutest guy! Then he winked at me and I was transported back to the fourties. Weird. So I kept going.
There was dirty snow at the airport, but the quantity made up for the quality. We said goodbye to the OC kids quickly because of their flight and the number of them, then more slowly to the Rochester group, then finally Danelle and I were left, the Northwest kids. By this time it is sevenish at the O'Hare airport but in Vienna it is two am or some ridiculous time. We had been awake for hours upon hours, days upon days. I flew to Portland by myself ((Danelle flew right back to Seattle)) so the end of the day found me alone on a plane looking crazy. How do I know? Because the old women across the aisle from me asked me if I was okay SEVEN times. I guess I should explain a little. The plane was freezing so I was shivering and my eyes were glassy cause my contacts were still in after all the flying, and I was trying not to fall asleep so I could sleep when I got to Portland which meant I was half asleep the whole flight. Plus the women on the inside of me had soccer playing boy syndrome and made me get up half a dozen times. It was a very surreal plane trip. But then I was home! Kinda.
Because of the weather in the Northwest the roads to Seattle were closed so I stayed with the Shoemaker's. Lovely family. After two nights I got on a plane that seated 39 ((including pilot, co pilot, and one flight attendant)) and landed at Sea-Tac. REALLY HOME! Then I waited for forty five minutes because my family and I just missed each other. The trip home was a mini version of the entire trip: being together and splitting apart, long trips, laughter, embarrassing moments, and nothing going as smoothly as planned. It was fantastic.
my mom and i.
In fact I've been home long enough that the family is making me do chores again AND I've had my wisdom teeth out.
But on with the end of the story! The finale!
So four thirty in the morning rolls around and we are all awake and ready to go on the seventh of December.. travel day! Mostly awake anyway... Abigail got us oranges and cereal bars for breakfast which was nice even though it was early. I saved mine. The first plane ride was short, three hours and the layover in Heathrow was just long enough to say goodbye to Bruce and Sheryl who were flying straight home. It was the first goodbyes. The ten hour flight found me stuck between two middle aged women who apparently had desk jobs based on the amount of times they needed to get up ((none)). I felt like a little soccer playing boy as much as I fidgeted. Luckily I watched a couple movies ((Last King of Scotland and Death at a Funeral being the two worth mentioning)) and journaled to pass the time.
Customs at O'Hare. Back in America.
I got in the shortest line and of course, the short line curse hit me and I get stuck behind a Mexican man who is flying to Houston and driving to Mexico ((which, in the customs officer's defense does sound suspicious...)). But I ended up switching lines and still getting through faster! I was nervous so when the officer asked me the purpose of my visit to Austria I said,
"School... Learning.... Education!" He just laughed at me and said.
"Whoa. Okay." Could I look any more foolish? Any toilet paper stuck to my shoe? Also he was the cutest guy! Then he winked at me and I was transported back to the fourties. Weird. So I kept going.
There was dirty snow at the airport, but the quantity made up for the quality. We said goodbye to the OC kids quickly because of their flight and the number of them, then more slowly to the Rochester group, then finally Danelle and I were left, the Northwest kids. By this time it is sevenish at the O'Hare airport but in Vienna it is two am or some ridiculous time. We had been awake for hours upon hours, days upon days. I flew to Portland by myself ((Danelle flew right back to Seattle)) so the end of the day found me alone on a plane looking crazy. How do I know? Because the old women across the aisle from me asked me if I was okay SEVEN times. I guess I should explain a little. The plane was freezing so I was shivering and my eyes were glassy cause my contacts were still in after all the flying, and I was trying not to fall asleep so I could sleep when I got to Portland which meant I was half asleep the whole flight. Plus the women on the inside of me had soccer playing boy syndrome and made me get up half a dozen times. It was a very surreal plane trip. But then I was home! Kinda.
Because of the weather in the Northwest the roads to Seattle were closed so I stayed with the Shoemaker's. Lovely family. After two nights I got on a plane that seated 39 ((including pilot, co pilot, and one flight attendant)) and landed at Sea-Tac. REALLY HOME! Then I waited for forty five minutes because my family and I just missed each other. The trip home was a mini version of the entire trip: being together and splitting apart, long trips, laughter, embarrassing moments, and nothing going as smoothly as planned. It was fantastic.
my mom and i.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
der ausklang
i was thinking of the movie waking ned devine today...
"Michael O'Sullivan was my great friend. But I don't ever remember telling him that. The words that are spoken at a funeral are spoken too late for the man who is dead. What a wonderful thing it would be to visit your own funeral. To sit at the front and hear what was said, maybe say a few things yourself. Michael and I grew old together. But at times, when we laughed, we grew young. If he was here now, if he could hear what I say, I'd congratulate him on being a great man, and thank him for being a friend."
how true. how funny that the people we apprecciate the most are the people we most neglect in encouragement.
its my last full night here and im finishing a paper and packing and making comments about MI:III which is playing loudly downstairs... philip semour hoffman deserved his oscar, hes such a good creeper. totally off subject.
im so glad that this trip happened and that the people on this trip happened. we couldnt have asked for better people to travel the world with, no joke. bryant with his, "could life get any better? i submit that it could not!" channeling brian regan. susy appearing in my room and freaking me out every time, and us never getting anything done but having the best time. josh always sidling up to me with big eyes begging me to go do something when im already in pajamas... jordan racing me to the computer lab after breakfast before he has to go to school.
the von trapps. doing kp. ALL THE TIME.
so many fun times.
finishing my paper and then going to bed- big day tomorrow! last day tomorrow.
the von trapps in front of the schloss. have i mentioned that means castle?
Monday, December 3, 2007
christmas markets!
today its our christmas dinner celebration time... the man who runs the restaurant down the street is cooking a feast for us. im so excited.
FEAST RESULTS- amazing! the sponsors on the trip bought us all ornaments and wrote vf07 ((vienna fall 07)), and we all drew names out of hats and talked about why we love people. i got leighton and i mentioned a quote that he said yesterday... one worth repeating here:
we were riding the tram and we girls were talking about how we felt fat cause we couldnt fit into dereks 28 jeans and leighton, leaning back in his chair goes, "i popped the button off these 36's back in my fat days." we all stop talking and look around. "just trying to make you feel better." i havent laughed that hard so early in the morning ever.
joseph chopping up some meat for us... it was such a good meal!
after the meal i went to a concert at the rathaus christmas market. it was the same band that played the football game i went to. i thought that was neat... also, another embarrassing story. the christmas markets are really crowded at night and i was weaving my way through the people a woman bumped into me and i looked down at my feet to keep my balance. of course im still moving briskly forward and i glance up just in time to run straight into a chest. there was no reaction time... it was full frontal run-intoage. of course its not some nice old lady but three boys my age. humiliating, especially cause i tried to move out of the way but i was still a little topsy turvy yeah? and the cute boy with the striped shirt rested his hands on my shoulders, stilled me, steadied me, and then sent me on my way.
this story could end there and it would be bad enough right? but then on my way back to the tram i pass them again and his friends laugh and he tips his hat ((literally)) at me. i almost died.
so yes. but about the christmas markets... every major shopping street and historical place has a market set up: little wooden booths that sell ornaments and chocolate and hats and toys and jewelery and hot drinks. its wonderful. its christmas everyday from nine to nine anywhere worth going in vienna basically.
also something else i noticed about the christmas season is they dont have bell ringers like we do in front of stores. instead every once in a while i see paramedics in the streets with their hats collecting money. i like that idea becuase here youre never sure who youre giving money to and if they are truly who needs it.
the rathaus and its christmas tree! and an advent calendar in the windows!
an isle at the market...
FEAST RESULTS- amazing! the sponsors on the trip bought us all ornaments and wrote vf07 ((vienna fall 07)), and we all drew names out of hats and talked about why we love people. i got leighton and i mentioned a quote that he said yesterday... one worth repeating here:
we were riding the tram and we girls were talking about how we felt fat cause we couldnt fit into dereks 28 jeans and leighton, leaning back in his chair goes, "i popped the button off these 36's back in my fat days." we all stop talking and look around. "just trying to make you feel better." i havent laughed that hard so early in the morning ever.
joseph chopping up some meat for us... it was such a good meal!
after the meal i went to a concert at the rathaus christmas market. it was the same band that played the football game i went to. i thought that was neat... also, another embarrassing story. the christmas markets are really crowded at night and i was weaving my way through the people a woman bumped into me and i looked down at my feet to keep my balance. of course im still moving briskly forward and i glance up just in time to run straight into a chest. there was no reaction time... it was full frontal run-intoage. of course its not some nice old lady but three boys my age. humiliating, especially cause i tried to move out of the way but i was still a little topsy turvy yeah? and the cute boy with the striped shirt rested his hands on my shoulders, stilled me, steadied me, and then sent me on my way.
this story could end there and it would be bad enough right? but then on my way back to the tram i pass them again and his friends laugh and he tips his hat ((literally)) at me. i almost died.
so yes. but about the christmas markets... every major shopping street and historical place has a market set up: little wooden booths that sell ornaments and chocolate and hats and toys and jewelery and hot drinks. its wonderful. its christmas everyday from nine to nine anywhere worth going in vienna basically.
also something else i noticed about the christmas season is they dont have bell ringers like we do in front of stores. instead every once in a while i see paramedics in the streets with their hats collecting money. i like that idea becuase here youre never sure who youre giving money to and if they are truly who needs it.
the rathaus and its christmas tree! and an advent calendar in the windows!
an isle at the market...
black friday austrian style...
so saturday was the first of december... something i didnt realize when i left the house because ive been diligently avoiding the calendar since i came home from my trip to the uk. so weeks and weeks ago.
anyway, i went out to finish my shopping ((which didnt actually didnt happen until today)) and i was walking down the main shopping street for maybe fifteen minutes before i figured out something was up.
there were so many people! and they were EVERYWHERE! the road had been blocked off so people could walk on the street and milka chocolate was three for a euro! sales and chesnuts roasted over a fire ((i know!)) and winter nipping at my nose, it was excellent. i was sad about missing black friday but this was almost better. i didnt have to get up at five and drive anywhere! advent should be a bigger deal in the states, i like it. i made an advent calendar when i was in elementary school and i hang it up every year. the pictures arent colored very well. meh.
so that was saturday.
sunday i saw the vienna boys choir. only i didnt actually see them until after the service because they sing from a balconey in the back and i was standing underneath them. but they sounded lovely! it was a great day.
anyway, i went out to finish my shopping ((which didnt actually didnt happen until today)) and i was walking down the main shopping street for maybe fifteen minutes before i figured out something was up.
there were so many people! and they were EVERYWHERE! the road had been blocked off so people could walk on the street and milka chocolate was three for a euro! sales and chesnuts roasted over a fire ((i know!)) and winter nipping at my nose, it was excellent. i was sad about missing black friday but this was almost better. i didnt have to get up at five and drive anywhere! advent should be a bigger deal in the states, i like it. i made an advent calendar when i was in elementary school and i hang it up every year. the pictures arent colored very well. meh.
so that was saturday.
sunday i saw the vienna boys choir. only i didnt actually see them until after the service because they sing from a balconey in the back and i was standing underneath them. but they sounded lovely! it was a great day.
Friday, November 30, 2007
the final week.
i cant believe its been a semester.
ive got a sticky note for every day i have left until i leave with things to do on it.
which is sad for two reasons: one because theres room on my desk for the FIVE sticky notes and also because i felt the need to make a sticky note calendar. i mean really?
anyway, ill try to blurb a little every day. yesterday we took a cultural compatability test for ocu. we took the same test at the beginning of the semester and its just to see if the trip "expanded our worldview." it wasnt hard so im not complaining but... also i bought a duffel bag to carry home my extra stuff and i started my last minute shopping.
tomorrow: vienna boys choir and christmas markets! ill post lots of photos...
random photo from this week... this was the day when there were fifteen days left. so ten days ago. so last week, my bad. my friends cute yeah?
ive got a sticky note for every day i have left until i leave with things to do on it.
which is sad for two reasons: one because theres room on my desk for the FIVE sticky notes and also because i felt the need to make a sticky note calendar. i mean really?
anyway, ill try to blurb a little every day. yesterday we took a cultural compatability test for ocu. we took the same test at the beginning of the semester and its just to see if the trip "expanded our worldview." it wasnt hard so im not complaining but... also i bought a duffel bag to carry home my extra stuff and i started my last minute shopping.
tomorrow: vienna boys choir and christmas markets! ill post lots of photos...
random photo from this week... this was the day when there were fifteen days left. so ten days ago. so last week, my bad. my friends cute yeah?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
prague
im in prague for a couple days and then budapest... its cold (snowed today!) but nice.
the money is hard to get used to- 1 euro is 250 here in prague... its fun. dinner was 135 last night and a post card was 5. i feel rich!
today was our first real day, we went to the national museum which is a huge museum full of stuffed animals and skeletons of humans. i loved it. even though i dont speak czech i know the scientific names to enough animals to deduce what im looking at... thank you dr marler and zo! i knew i struggled through that for a reason! my favorite thing was the fin whale skeleton. it was 74 feet long and weighed 8884 lbs. that was in english on the sign. there were rooms and rooms full of rocks (kinda boring i wont lie) but i saw a meteor! i thought it worth noting that there were signs in the temporary exhibits that were made out of tri-board and printed paper peeling at the corners. the money in this museum is not going toward heat or signs thats for sure! but it was truly amazing... i think they have the right idea in having quality artifacts as first priority.
so thats prague so far. im sure the rest will be as lovely.
the first atronomical clock ever. brilliant.
the money is hard to get used to- 1 euro is 250 here in prague... its fun. dinner was 135 last night and a post card was 5. i feel rich!
today was our first real day, we went to the national museum which is a huge museum full of stuffed animals and skeletons of humans. i loved it. even though i dont speak czech i know the scientific names to enough animals to deduce what im looking at... thank you dr marler and zo! i knew i struggled through that for a reason! my favorite thing was the fin whale skeleton. it was 74 feet long and weighed 8884 lbs. that was in english on the sign. there were rooms and rooms full of rocks (kinda boring i wont lie) but i saw a meteor! i thought it worth noting that there were signs in the temporary exhibits that were made out of tri-board and printed paper peeling at the corners. the money in this museum is not going toward heat or signs thats for sure! but it was truly amazing... i think they have the right idea in having quality artifacts as first priority.
so thats prague so far. im sure the rest will be as lovely.
the first atronomical clock ever. brilliant.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
gobble gobble
things im thankful for:
- My Savior
- family... be careful today! its a battlefield out there!
- friends
- health
ive been journal on this trip consistently and i went back and read it last night. its been a long trip, and it was fun to see how different my journaling is now... in the beginning there was an entire entry about how i was going to fit everything i needed in one backpack for our travels. and now that ive got one more travel im wondering if i should just take a purse for six days? probably not, but the point is three months have taught me a little about what i really need and whats just a gift. and ive narrowed it down to the things that are really important above i think.
im also thankful for turkey and being able to afford to go to the movies after dinner but itd be alright if i couldnt.
paul says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances [...] whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (phil. 4:11-13)
really the entire list could be one thing... but im going to be selfish and keep the other three. what are you thankful for?
things i love about thanksgiving:
- food, friends,family
- those turkey balls you can make out of rice crispies, candy corn, and oreos. they taste terrible but they are so cute!
- leftover candy corn from halloween
- its perfectly acceptable to sit around all day and be lethargic and talk... a holiday made for me! :)
bk making a feast! with his wife and a million other people of course. if you ate it yesterday.... chances are so did we. they were amazing!
most of our group! our makeshift family.
- My Savior
- family... be careful today! its a battlefield out there!
- friends
- health
ive been journal on this trip consistently and i went back and read it last night. its been a long trip, and it was fun to see how different my journaling is now... in the beginning there was an entire entry about how i was going to fit everything i needed in one backpack for our travels. and now that ive got one more travel im wondering if i should just take a purse for six days? probably not, but the point is three months have taught me a little about what i really need and whats just a gift. and ive narrowed it down to the things that are really important above i think.
im also thankful for turkey and being able to afford to go to the movies after dinner but itd be alright if i couldnt.
paul says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances [...] whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (phil. 4:11-13)
really the entire list could be one thing... but im going to be selfish and keep the other three. what are you thankful for?
things i love about thanksgiving:
- food, friends,family
- those turkey balls you can make out of rice crispies, candy corn, and oreos. they taste terrible but they are so cute!
- leftover candy corn from halloween
- its perfectly acceptable to sit around all day and be lethargic and talk... a holiday made for me! :)
bk making a feast! with his wife and a million other people of course. if you ate it yesterday.... chances are so did we. they were amazing!
most of our group! our makeshift family.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
because football should be this famous everywhere...
so last night in celebration of being fully recovered i went to watch the austrian national team play tunisia.. i was pretty thrilled about the whole thing but there were a few obstacles in the way of the idea before i was going to get really really excited about it...
1. its the middle of the winter here and the game doesnt start until eight thirty. so its going to be freezing. of course a little weather isnt going to get in the way so i put on a sweater, a fleece, a hoodie and my coat.and then i waddle over to my closet and get mittens and a scarf and tights and socks. check one thing off the list of problems!
2. its an international sporting event yeah? and even the cheap seats at mariners games are what? twenty one usd or something like that so i wasnt even sure i could afford to go without starving myself for a couple weeks right? tickets were twelve euro ((i just had a slight problem spelling euro. just thought you should know the goings-on of writing a blog so early in the morning...)). thats under twenty dollars. its thanksgiving and so im not going to go on and on about sporting events being expensive in the states, but they are! so hurdle two crossed.
i leave the castle at seven to meet with everyone at eight so we can go to the game together... group unity and all right? but something is going on with construction and the trams are being rerouted and so the group im with ends up on the 21 tram three minutes after kickoff. which is okay cause really, its not arsenal tottenham or anything. so were on the tram.. and this austrian women with her daughter leans over and taps me and waves a couple tickets at me.
"you go to game?" i nodded.
"free tickets?" so just by being amazing i scored my whole group of five free tickets. and then a couple from minnesota who were riding the tram somehow got lumped in with our group so nine of us got off the tram and headed toward the stadium.
our seats werent shabby either.
we were only eight rows up. i know its a friendly with a team thats, to put it tactfully, dismal but still. eight rows up. amazing.
of course we were smack dab in the midle of the tusinia crowd.
and they were really crazy.
but it was amazing!
so now its thanksgiving morning and i have to work and noon with my kp group so im up early.. had cider and some fruit for breakfast. its weird but some holidays you feel more festive than others. there have been thanksgivings where its been just another day yeah? but sitting all toasty at breakfast in my pajamas with good company and good food it feels like a holiday.
tonight people without family here are going to get together and do things, home away from home. ben bryant and i are going to see a movie after dinner.
so, in conclusion, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
1. its the middle of the winter here and the game doesnt start until eight thirty. so its going to be freezing. of course a little weather isnt going to get in the way so i put on a sweater, a fleece, a hoodie and my coat.and then i waddle over to my closet and get mittens and a scarf and tights and socks. check one thing off the list of problems!
2. its an international sporting event yeah? and even the cheap seats at mariners games are what? twenty one usd or something like that so i wasnt even sure i could afford to go without starving myself for a couple weeks right? tickets were twelve euro ((i just had a slight problem spelling euro. just thought you should know the goings-on of writing a blog so early in the morning...)). thats under twenty dollars. its thanksgiving and so im not going to go on and on about sporting events being expensive in the states, but they are! so hurdle two crossed.
i leave the castle at seven to meet with everyone at eight so we can go to the game together... group unity and all right? but something is going on with construction and the trams are being rerouted and so the group im with ends up on the 21 tram three minutes after kickoff. which is okay cause really, its not arsenal tottenham or anything. so were on the tram.. and this austrian women with her daughter leans over and taps me and waves a couple tickets at me.
"you go to game?" i nodded.
"free tickets?" so just by being amazing i scored my whole group of five free tickets. and then a couple from minnesota who were riding the tram somehow got lumped in with our group so nine of us got off the tram and headed toward the stadium.
our seats werent shabby either.
we were only eight rows up. i know its a friendly with a team thats, to put it tactfully, dismal but still. eight rows up. amazing.
of course we were smack dab in the midle of the tusinia crowd.
and they were really crazy.
but it was amazing!
so now its thanksgiving morning and i have to work and noon with my kp group so im up early.. had cider and some fruit for breakfast. its weird but some holidays you feel more festive than others. there have been thanksgivings where its been just another day yeah? but sitting all toasty at breakfast in my pajamas with good company and good food it feels like a holiday.
tonight people without family here are going to get together and do things, home away from home. ben bryant and i are going to see a movie after dinner.
so, in conclusion, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Monday, November 19, 2007
sickcapades!
i woke up with green snot.
i know you wanted to know that and thats why i told you!
when i woke up from the overnight train there was snow everywhere! and it was still snowing... it was perfect.
then we spent the entire day outside looking at places in vienna in the snow cause we couldnt get back into the castle until six.
the uk was amazing!! but we were cold and wet the whole time and i caught something. the stomach part is over and now just the head stuff is left which isnt so bad... im just restricting myself to the castle today.
so...
this is what im doing!
- making a list of food i want to eat when i get home
- sleeping, drinking water, washing clothes
- journaling
- sleeping
- eating
- maybe watching a movie
but im glad im getting over the winter death before christmas so im not snuffly while im passing out my sweet gifts!
anyways, there are a couple new photos up for the last posts so scroll around and such. i might even post again today. well see.
its pretty cool that i caught a euro sickness yeah?
the view from my window.
i know you wanted to know that and thats why i told you!
when i woke up from the overnight train there was snow everywhere! and it was still snowing... it was perfect.
then we spent the entire day outside looking at places in vienna in the snow cause we couldnt get back into the castle until six.
the uk was amazing!! but we were cold and wet the whole time and i caught something. the stomach part is over and now just the head stuff is left which isnt so bad... im just restricting myself to the castle today.
so...
this is what im doing!
- making a list of food i want to eat when i get home
- sleeping, drinking water, washing clothes
- journaling
- sleeping
- eating
- maybe watching a movie
but im glad im getting over the winter death before christmas so im not snuffly while im passing out my sweet gifts!
anyways, there are a couple new photos up for the last posts so scroll around and such. i might even post again today. well see.
its pretty cool that i caught a euro sickness yeah?
the view from my window.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
in dublin!
this is us at midnight in dublin on the bus.
-its raining but thats actually a good thing cause it keep it warm.
- the natural history museum is closed randomly... they have stuffed animals. real ones.
- our hostel this trip is kinda sketch. yes.
- today were taking a bus out to the ocean! im so excited.. theres cliff walks and a castle, ill take photos upon photos i think.
- there was a man in our hostel in scotland and he had a stroke a couple years ago and is crazy so he would sit on the back porch facing the alley and scream and swear at the irish who were apparently attacking him. but from what ive seen the irish arent so bad. although...
- they are required to have security guards because so man young people cause problems.
- did i mention ive worn green everyday?
- its time for breakfast but heres a little something from glen hansard and once that says dublin. hes a vacuum repair man.. that might make the song a little more funny.
"Ten years ago
I fell in love with an Irish girl
She took my heart
But she went and [left me for] some guy she knew
and now I'm in Dublin with a broken heart
Oh broken hearted Hoover fixer sucker guy
Oh broken hearted Hoover fixer sucker, sucker guy
One day I'll go there and win her once again
but until then I'm just a sucker of a guy"
eating fish and chips on the water
howth. beautiful yeah?
Monday, November 12, 2007
scotland.. with a brief stop in paris.
quickly, another eiffel photo.
well, im on the road again!
((surprising i know))
its the uk this week, and more specifically scotland these couple days.
bullet thoughts:
- we met a man from isreal, ran, and that was interesting because I've not met anyone whose lived there recently ((during the growing conflicts))... im not a social scientist or anything but it was interesting hearing his perspective on the situation.
- i rode a bus from glasgow to edinburgh yesterday and i sat next to a tall redhead. this is only significant in that i love redheads.
- photos of the HUGE castle in edinburgh when i get back, its incredible. right in the center of town! i think it might even be the castle where bryan adams had that concert on the two disc robin hood dvd.
- i got a free cd from a street performer who took a group of us to a cute reggae club.
- when we were walking along the water we got egged. yeah, as in egged. the girl next to me got hit directly and all the innards hit the girl on the other side of me. i got a speck the size of one of these letters got on my jeans. i got lucky... we went into the olderst bar in glasgow to clean up. the scotia. i took a photo but i think it got deleted. sorry.
scotland is my favorite so far. scotland and paris. and vienna of course. more to come, but now im out into the FREEZING cold to explore!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
sometimes you just have to laugh...
tomorrow im going to the uk. paris one day, scotland and ireland five days each. im pretty jazzed, this is the part of the trip ive been looking forward to the most!
i cant even describe really how pumped i am.
which is not at all why i got on to blog.
tonight i was coming home from town and i decided to walk the one stop from the u-bahn to the grocery store because it would end up being faster than waiting for the tram yeah?
its winter here already, no snow but only about three hours of sun a day. it was five but already dark out and the wind was gusting and it was freezing and wet and i was buried as deep in my coat as i could possibly be, my chin tucked almost to my chest.
a really big gust of wind came and i curled a little more.... and ran right into a huge box suspended from the wall of the building i was walking beside! it clipped me right in between my chin and my chest and it snapped me sideways. i had a lot of momentum though- it was cold out and i wanted to get to the spar!- and when i hit the first time it spun me and i hit my shoulder on the corner and fell on the ground, bags and purse flying.
i got up really fast and looked around i didnt see anyone which was quite a feat actually considering the time, and i collected my stuff and straightened up and stared right into the eyes of this old man standing not five feet away from me, hand on his open car door with literally, his mouth hanging open. i was so close to getting away with it! i just smiled at him and walked off really fast....
oh man. sometimes you just have to laugh...
i cant even describe really how pumped i am.
which is not at all why i got on to blog.
tonight i was coming home from town and i decided to walk the one stop from the u-bahn to the grocery store because it would end up being faster than waiting for the tram yeah?
its winter here already, no snow but only about three hours of sun a day. it was five but already dark out and the wind was gusting and it was freezing and wet and i was buried as deep in my coat as i could possibly be, my chin tucked almost to my chest.
a really big gust of wind came and i curled a little more.... and ran right into a huge box suspended from the wall of the building i was walking beside! it clipped me right in between my chin and my chest and it snapped me sideways. i had a lot of momentum though- it was cold out and i wanted to get to the spar!- and when i hit the first time it spun me and i hit my shoulder on the corner and fell on the ground, bags and purse flying.
i got up really fast and looked around i didnt see anyone which was quite a feat actually considering the time, and i collected my stuff and straightened up and stared right into the eyes of this old man standing not five feet away from me, hand on his open car door with literally, his mouth hanging open. i was so close to getting away with it! i just smiled at him and walked off really fast....
oh man. sometimes you just have to laugh...
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
trains, a few planes, and no automobiles...
we turned off all the lights so we could see the snow outside... then we invited lots of other people to see!
an overnight train to italy... playing spades.
one of the things thats amazing about europe is the transportation. from the schloss i can get to downtown vienna in twenty minutes. from downtown i can get to the train station in less than ten. and from the train station i can go anywhere in europe on the eurail! amazing!
i love taking the train. it reminds me of harry potter. also i love the train because you can move around unlike a plane but you dont have to drive like a car. and its different... i ride the train from seattle to portland to go to school but its not quite the same- i dont need my passport for one! and there arent cute compartments.
i get teased because i enjoy the train almost as much as the cities were going to see. but i dont mind. cause it really is cool.
"The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before."
:G.K. Chesterton
Monday, November 5, 2007
misc happenings
so three stories:
my family sent me a package a couple weeks ago and my dad sent me a huge spam shirt that i now where to bed and breakfast. i always get teased by the cooks ((who, besides the two other students who eat breakfast everyday, are the only people who have viewed me in the lovely shirt)) and today at breakfast they gave me a tiny tin of european spam. its processed meat in a tin that you spread onto your bread at breakfast. non refrigerated meat. awesome. i keep it on my desk so that im sure to smile when i walk in my room. if the tin doesnt do it the bon jovi magazine advert my mom sent me that is plastered to my wall. i listen to bon jovi in the shower really loud, some things dont change no matter what continent youre on! not the new cd though...
also i got a package from a family from church back home! i was slightly embarrassed i wont lie when i pulled out the sunday comics, some strawberry candies and a bright orange panties. oh yes. at lunch. but they are very cute and i am glad i have them. they are definitely coming on my uk excursion! thanks so much duffys!
one last thing before i go to lunch. in class today we were discussing overarching ideas throughout different things and westerns came up... hows theres a good guy and a bad guy and a shootout every time. our teacher said, "this one might be harder to think of because there hasnt really been a western out in a long time..."
and a girl sitting in my row goes
"umm, brokeback mountan?" the teacher decided that maybe that wasnt the best example. and thats about when class fell apart for me. my face hurt from laughing so hard!
my family sent me a package a couple weeks ago and my dad sent me a huge spam shirt that i now where to bed and breakfast. i always get teased by the cooks ((who, besides the two other students who eat breakfast everyday, are the only people who have viewed me in the lovely shirt)) and today at breakfast they gave me a tiny tin of european spam. its processed meat in a tin that you spread onto your bread at breakfast. non refrigerated meat. awesome. i keep it on my desk so that im sure to smile when i walk in my room. if the tin doesnt do it the bon jovi magazine advert my mom sent me that is plastered to my wall. i listen to bon jovi in the shower really loud, some things dont change no matter what continent youre on! not the new cd though...
also i got a package from a family from church back home! i was slightly embarrassed i wont lie when i pulled out the sunday comics, some strawberry candies and a bright orange panties. oh yes. at lunch. but they are very cute and i am glad i have them. they are definitely coming on my uk excursion! thanks so much duffys!
one last thing before i go to lunch. in class today we were discussing overarching ideas throughout different things and westerns came up... hows theres a good guy and a bad guy and a shootout every time. our teacher said, "this one might be harder to think of because there hasnt really been a western out in a long time..."
and a girl sitting in my row goes
"umm, brokeback mountan?" the teacher decided that maybe that wasnt the best example. and thats about when class fell apart for me. my face hurt from laughing so hard!
four days in the schloss.
were home! after a busy munich ((we saw the castle that the disneyland castle is modeled after)) we got home yesterday and jumped right back into a regualr schedule.... which meant breakfast at 745 and class at 900. good ole castle life.
but after early class and an excellent lunch i bought skinny jeans. i, as a general rule, am against them on myself but europe has a few different dress rules. i thought id outline briefly:
- first, blacks dont have to match. so black pants, shoes, coat, and shirt can be conflicting shades. also, all primary colors can be thrown in, pastels are apropriate and neons are encouraged. pretty much color doesnt affect whether an outfit works.
- knits are in right now. but arent they always in the winter? i dunno. hats are worn farther back on the head and completely off the forhead.
- skinny jeans. also in in the states they just work better on the entire population better in europe cause they have slim legs from walking everywhere....
so, thats whats up. i bought skinny jeans despite not having eurolegs because im going to the uk and its going to be freezing and if its rains my regular jeans will get wet up to my knees and ill double freeze to death. but skinny jeans stay above the shoe. when i began to appreciate high waters ((is that even what theyre called? something like that...)) im not sure but here i am wondering if they come in any sizes that arent mom jeans. man.
i finished my first journal on the train home from munich. hopefully my new one gets here before we leave for the uk this weekend! its overwhelming how much i wrote... but i know ill be happy about it in twenty years. or next semester.
so skinny jeans and class and two episodes of the office as a group today. im going to bed early so i can get up and do laundry tomorrow! yay clean clothes!
but after early class and an excellent lunch i bought skinny jeans. i, as a general rule, am against them on myself but europe has a few different dress rules. i thought id outline briefly:
- first, blacks dont have to match. so black pants, shoes, coat, and shirt can be conflicting shades. also, all primary colors can be thrown in, pastels are apropriate and neons are encouraged. pretty much color doesnt affect whether an outfit works.
- knits are in right now. but arent they always in the winter? i dunno. hats are worn farther back on the head and completely off the forhead.
- skinny jeans. also in in the states they just work better on the entire population better in europe cause they have slim legs from walking everywhere....
so, thats whats up. i bought skinny jeans despite not having eurolegs because im going to the uk and its going to be freezing and if its rains my regular jeans will get wet up to my knees and ill double freeze to death. but skinny jeans stay above the shoe. when i began to appreciate high waters ((is that even what theyre called? something like that...)) im not sure but here i am wondering if they come in any sizes that arent mom jeans. man.
i finished my first journal on the train home from munich. hopefully my new one gets here before we leave for the uk this weekend! its overwhelming how much i wrote... but i know ill be happy about it in twenty years. or next semester.
so skinny jeans and class and two episodes of the office as a group today. im going to bed early so i can get up and do laundry tomorrow! yay clean clothes!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
when the moon hits your eye...
thats italian right?
we traveled to italy this week as a group... rome, florence, and venice each for two days.
rome: amazing. especially from a history minors perspective. trevi fountain ((roman holiday anyone?))
florence: leather markets. warning- kinda gross follows... there were piglets hanging up in food stalls. just chilling. i bought really good dried fruit though.
venice: we spent two days getting really lost and then finding our way back to the hotel. it was an adventure. it rained really hard one night so i might have been the only person who really enjoyed being in the middle of who-knows-where but...
FUNNY STORY: in florence i was sitting by the grand canal journaling under an overhang so as not to get wet while im working yeah? and ive probably been there an hour and as im writing the last line of my page to get up and move on something splats all over my journal and arm. i got pooped on by a bird!!!! sick! i must have sat a good twenty seconds in shock before i got up to clean everything off... i was under an overhang! ugh. so my jacket has to be washed when i get home.
right now im back in munich checking out castles, not today though all saints day is a serious holiday in bovaria ((the region of germany that munich is in)) so places are closed and everyone goes to the cemetery. theres a band and the mayor makes a speech...
were staying with a family from the local church, last night there was a halloween party. i wore a huge pink dress, a white wig and an octoberfest bovarian hat. photos when i get home. it was great fun, we played cranium with a group of older couples and one college aged german who studies at u penn. it was a swiss, german, new zealand, american, british party! the man half of the british couple came as a woman. quite smashing one actually. :)
we traveled to italy this week as a group... rome, florence, and venice each for two days.
rome: amazing. especially from a history minors perspective. trevi fountain ((roman holiday anyone?))
florence: leather markets. warning- kinda gross follows... there were piglets hanging up in food stalls. just chilling. i bought really good dried fruit though.
venice: we spent two days getting really lost and then finding our way back to the hotel. it was an adventure. it rained really hard one night so i might have been the only person who really enjoyed being in the middle of who-knows-where but...
FUNNY STORY: in florence i was sitting by the grand canal journaling under an overhang so as not to get wet while im working yeah? and ive probably been there an hour and as im writing the last line of my page to get up and move on something splats all over my journal and arm. i got pooped on by a bird!!!! sick! i must have sat a good twenty seconds in shock before i got up to clean everything off... i was under an overhang! ugh. so my jacket has to be washed when i get home.
right now im back in munich checking out castles, not today though all saints day is a serious holiday in bovaria ((the region of germany that munich is in)) so places are closed and everyone goes to the cemetery. theres a band and the mayor makes a speech...
were staying with a family from the local church, last night there was a halloween party. i wore a huge pink dress, a white wig and an octoberfest bovarian hat. photos when i get home. it was great fun, we played cranium with a group of older couples and one college aged german who studies at u penn. it was a swiss, german, new zealand, american, british party! the man half of the british couple came as a woman. quite smashing one actually. :)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
home for a few days...
first, apologies for not updating for so long! its been a crazy couple weeks here!
we made it home sunday of last week, had class and did laundry and slept until thursday and then headed to croatia for a long weekend. we got six stamps in our passports just riding the trains! in croatia we helped out a church by doing odd jobs- cleaning the building, running vbs ((our theme was ceation, i was the moon and stars!)), planning sunday service. i loved it there! weve been going to big, impersonal church services and being with a congregation of thirty was fun. if you stood on the balconey and looked down the interactions werent distinguishable from my home church. people laughing and talking and drawing in everyone, making sure others are included. we even had potluck! it was amazing. im pretty sure i gained weight.
also, the floors were very slippery and i fell right on my back a couple times. brush my shoulders off.
one day we went to a large national park only ten minutes from bosnia ((bosnia! i know.. it was surreal to me. ive heard about war correspondents dying there and here i was in one of the most beautiful places on earth and only ten minutes away! surely it did not get ugly in ten miles! i have a hard time thinking that horrible things can happen somewhere gorgeous. like germany, or the grounds of mauthausen...)).
this is the third most beautiful waterfall in the world i hear...
We came home and have another three days to go to bible class and squeeze in vienna activities. its hard to motivated yourself to leave the castle sometimes but i make myself go because when i get back to the states i dont want to say that i missed something in a city i spent three months in! and i can watch ready or not back in the states as well...
so i went to the opera in the state opera house ((that an american pilot bombed in WWII and the austrians had to rebuild))- saw otello. desdemona had a almost fifteen minute solo in the middle, it was incredible. there were some plot changes but i suppose they were neccessary, i wont be picky. we met some students from pepperdine who are studying in germany so we took them around the town and then we went to a cafe for a couple hours. all in all i think i used my three days this week pretty well!
today we leave for ITALY! were going to rome, florence, and venice and after that we have a couple free days to travel in which im going along the romantic road in germany to see the castles! im pretty excited about all this!
jowling. an enjoyable way to spend your time! also i love my hair.
we made it home sunday of last week, had class and did laundry and slept until thursday and then headed to croatia for a long weekend. we got six stamps in our passports just riding the trains! in croatia we helped out a church by doing odd jobs- cleaning the building, running vbs ((our theme was ceation, i was the moon and stars!)), planning sunday service. i loved it there! weve been going to big, impersonal church services and being with a congregation of thirty was fun. if you stood on the balconey and looked down the interactions werent distinguishable from my home church. people laughing and talking and drawing in everyone, making sure others are included. we even had potluck! it was amazing. im pretty sure i gained weight.
also, the floors were very slippery and i fell right on my back a couple times. brush my shoulders off.
one day we went to a large national park only ten minutes from bosnia ((bosnia! i know.. it was surreal to me. ive heard about war correspondents dying there and here i was in one of the most beautiful places on earth and only ten minutes away! surely it did not get ugly in ten miles! i have a hard time thinking that horrible things can happen somewhere gorgeous. like germany, or the grounds of mauthausen...)).
this is the third most beautiful waterfall in the world i hear...
We came home and have another three days to go to bible class and squeeze in vienna activities. its hard to motivated yourself to leave the castle sometimes but i make myself go because when i get back to the states i dont want to say that i missed something in a city i spent three months in! and i can watch ready or not back in the states as well...
so i went to the opera in the state opera house ((that an american pilot bombed in WWII and the austrians had to rebuild))- saw otello. desdemona had a almost fifteen minute solo in the middle, it was incredible. there were some plot changes but i suppose they were neccessary, i wont be picky. we met some students from pepperdine who are studying in germany so we took them around the town and then we went to a cafe for a couple hours. all in all i think i used my three days this week pretty well!
today we leave for ITALY! were going to rome, florence, and venice and after that we have a couple free days to travel in which im going along the romantic road in germany to see the castles! im pretty excited about all this!
jowling. an enjoyable way to spend your time! also i love my hair.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
FOURTEEN DAY: photos!
munich: stone pamphlets on the ground memorializing where they fell from the university when the white rose group threw them out the windows before they were captured. weirdly worded sentence... oops!
berlin: translation, "Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings." Outside the university where the early Nazi supporters burned twenty thousand books.. but the quote was written in the 1800's. crazy yeah?
berlin: the berlin wall and a train strike.
the view from our hostel in genova. amazing!
the sunset in genova
FOURTEEN DAY: photos!
these are all of paris because i wanted lots of paris photos. and thats that.
derek.
the whole group in paris!
a really dark photo of me.
chelsea posing like a statue. i was pretty proud of this photo idea...
my amazing eiffel shot.
derek.
the whole group in paris!
a really dark photo of me.
chelsea posing like a statue. i was pretty proud of this photo idea...
my amazing eiffel shot.
FOURTEEN DAY: photos!
this is the other group of students who left on the same train as we did heading north! arent we all travely looking with our bags!?!
amsterdam: this is the sculpture park of the nightwatchmen by rembrandt. look up the original, its a cool idea to make statues i think...
brugges: i journaled here. on the water. cause there are canals all in the city. so cool.
brugges: part two. what a cool backyard yeah?
brussels: this was the only building we took a photo in front of.. we couldnt read the signs though so we have no idea what it is.
Monday, October 15, 2007
fourteen day- take three.
we got home last night after traveling from seven am to nine thirty pm! i was ready to do laundry and unpack. and i did. i got a package while i was away so i opened that and went to bed early. and now im watching the office ((two episodes cause we were gone for fourteen days!)) and blogging.
paris was definitely my favorite city of the trip! there is just soo much to tell so im going to talk just about paris and genova. if you are dying to hear about somewhere specific email me or we can have lunch when i get home...
yes.
paris and genova.
PARIS: I briefly overviewed this before so i suppose i dont have much to tell. the tower was beautiful! during the day was my favorite- at night the lights were two different colors, white on the top and green on the bottom to celebrate the rugby world cup. my ocd kicked in. also there was a huge blow up rugby ball suspended on it so all my photos are from a side angle to cover the ball up! hopefully by the time i go back itll be down so i can get forward shots as well.
the french were so interesting to be around- im always surprised that cultures can be so different than mine! id never considered how certain things could be done differently! for example crepes. everyone raved and raved about them so the last night we were there i got one from a vendor under the eiffel tower. and... its a pancake. a skinny pancake! what?!?!? i know.. i was so confused. everyone made fun of me because apparently they make crepes in america too. whatever. id never heard of them. it was a fun new thing but in the end i prefer my pancakes for breakfast. but on a deeper level kinda the women there had an attitude that americans dont posess; all pouty. it reminds me of meg ryan in french kiss when she frusterated with french women.
"happy, smile. sad, frown. use the corresponding face for the corresponding emotion!" its true, there was a couple on the train next to us and the women worked that guy! she pulled the face and the tone and he was eating out of her hand... i didnt have to understand the language to understand that language!
it was a learning experience for sure.
in some cities its easy to see the history, or understand how the history fits in with the city now. in paris however i had a hard time connecting the french revolution with paris.. it just seems so different
genova: genova was the final stop on my trip and it was a great way to end a busy two weeks. it was the first city in southern europe wed done so stepping off the train to warm weather! it was a true italian city, lots of people and noise and the entire city is built on three large hills surrounding the harbor. we climbed up a huge hill with all our bags. i was really hot at the end of the two hours but it was a pat on the back accomplishment i thought. we spent the two days we had there just relaxing, the other girl on the trip and i spent a day just going through the market streets! i got black flats and a ring for eleven euro. italian leather, and really everything was cheap there. we got gelatto as well it was pretty incredible...
we walked around the harbor and watched the sun set over the water, there was a large glass ball on one of the piers that reflected the sun during the day but at night it showed the inside- a greenhouse. a perfect ending.
-- the people here were also different. after living in vienna it was actually a shock to be with such close people. in vienna, even on a crowded train it doesnt feel like you are in a crowd.. people keep there own personal bubble even when they are touching you. in genova on the bus there would be ten other people riding with me and i would feel the need to shrink back. how easily i became accustomed to one style. i wonder if i had started my studies in italy if austria would have felt distant and impersonal?
fun fact: christopher columbus was born there.
so that was a lot of stuff and no photos... ill post some today or tomorrow!
paris was definitely my favorite city of the trip! there is just soo much to tell so im going to talk just about paris and genova. if you are dying to hear about somewhere specific email me or we can have lunch when i get home...
yes.
paris and genova.
PARIS: I briefly overviewed this before so i suppose i dont have much to tell. the tower was beautiful! during the day was my favorite- at night the lights were two different colors, white on the top and green on the bottom to celebrate the rugby world cup. my ocd kicked in. also there was a huge blow up rugby ball suspended on it so all my photos are from a side angle to cover the ball up! hopefully by the time i go back itll be down so i can get forward shots as well.
the french were so interesting to be around- im always surprised that cultures can be so different than mine! id never considered how certain things could be done differently! for example crepes. everyone raved and raved about them so the last night we were there i got one from a vendor under the eiffel tower. and... its a pancake. a skinny pancake! what?!?!? i know.. i was so confused. everyone made fun of me because apparently they make crepes in america too. whatever. id never heard of them. it was a fun new thing but in the end i prefer my pancakes for breakfast. but on a deeper level kinda the women there had an attitude that americans dont posess; all pouty. it reminds me of meg ryan in french kiss when she frusterated with french women.
"happy, smile. sad, frown. use the corresponding face for the corresponding emotion!" its true, there was a couple on the train next to us and the women worked that guy! she pulled the face and the tone and he was eating out of her hand... i didnt have to understand the language to understand that language!
it was a learning experience for sure.
in some cities its easy to see the history, or understand how the history fits in with the city now. in paris however i had a hard time connecting the french revolution with paris.. it just seems so different
genova: genova was the final stop on my trip and it was a great way to end a busy two weeks. it was the first city in southern europe wed done so stepping off the train to warm weather! it was a true italian city, lots of people and noise and the entire city is built on three large hills surrounding the harbor. we climbed up a huge hill with all our bags. i was really hot at the end of the two hours but it was a pat on the back accomplishment i thought. we spent the two days we had there just relaxing, the other girl on the trip and i spent a day just going through the market streets! i got black flats and a ring for eleven euro. italian leather, and really everything was cheap there. we got gelatto as well it was pretty incredible...
we walked around the harbor and watched the sun set over the water, there was a large glass ball on one of the piers that reflected the sun during the day but at night it showed the inside- a greenhouse. a perfect ending.
-- the people here were also different. after living in vienna it was actually a shock to be with such close people. in vienna, even on a crowded train it doesnt feel like you are in a crowd.. people keep there own personal bubble even when they are touching you. in genova on the bus there would be ten other people riding with me and i would feel the need to shrink back. how easily i became accustomed to one style. i wonder if i had started my studies in italy if austria would have felt distant and impersonal?
fun fact: christopher columbus was born there.
so that was a lot of stuff and no photos... ill post some today or tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
kinda family post...
so my mom posted my last blog for me cause munich was crazy.. i could not get the internet to work there!
i dunno. so thanks mom! i love you...
but now im in berlin and taking advantage of my free ten minutes at my hostel online.
we met a girl last night whose boyfriend is touring overhere from the states ((the bay to be exact)) and so we went to his show for free tonight. really really fun. a local small venue but with a familiar band. i talked afterward with a guy from the bad they are touring with from san fran about the west coast.... a little peice of home.
amyway, the point of this whole post is for JARROD. in the band there was a guy who played trombone... and it was AMAZING! it was one my favorite parts of the show...
so even if this new band teacher is terrible stick with it and maybe youll get europe out of the experience yeah?
one of the most rewarding parts of this trip have been the free tours. sandemans. check it out if you go to europe.. some of the best hours spent over here have been on those tours.
im going to bed because tommorrow we have an overnight train with many transfers and who know how much sleep well get... just wanted to check in! night.
i dunno. so thanks mom! i love you...
but now im in berlin and taking advantage of my free ten minutes at my hostel online.
we met a girl last night whose boyfriend is touring overhere from the states ((the bay to be exact)) and so we went to his show for free tonight. really really fun. a local small venue but with a familiar band. i talked afterward with a guy from the bad they are touring with from san fran about the west coast.... a little peice of home.
amyway, the point of this whole post is for JARROD. in the band there was a guy who played trombone... and it was AMAZING! it was one my favorite parts of the show...
so even if this new band teacher is terrible stick with it and maybe youll get europe out of the experience yeah?
one of the most rewarding parts of this trip have been the free tours. sandemans. check it out if you go to europe.. some of the best hours spent over here have been on those tours.
im going to bed because tommorrow we have an overnight train with many transfers and who know how much sleep well get... just wanted to check in! night.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
FOURTEEN DAY ((take two))
hullo! im one week into my first free travel, and what a crazy week its been. everything is a little different in every country you go to so its culture shock piled on top of culture shock because of how fast were trading coutries!
i dont have much time so ill highlight each city.. i promise when i get home ill blog and blog and blog! while im doing all my laundry probably...
amsterdam: we started the trip here... what a crazy place to begin. even though id been there before i was surprised by how open they are to everything. it definitely led to some interesting discussion. while we were wandering around we found the history museum which was free for the week. i am trying to make it a priority to see some history in every city even when we are there for a short time- i got so much more out of amsterdam once i understood what the "xxx" really stood for and whose crown is on the flag.
brugges: a tiny town in belgium, it has a moat entirely surrounding the city! and the walls and buildings are brick and cobblestone! so cute! i had waffles with chocolate... two birds with one stone yeah? belgium and the netherlands used to be one country, fun fact.
brussels: we were only here to get to paris but we meandered around the shopping center and went to a free jazz concert by an american man ((his name escapes me at the moment)) in a hotel. weve been really lucky about finding free stuff. we stayed in a hostel with a man named marcello from brazil, hes overseas to get a phd in nuero-science because you cant find that in brasil. good for him.
paris: i wont lie, when i was planning this trip i could have skipped paris. really, i had no passion for this city. but some things take you by surprise i guess..... paris is far and away the highlight of travel for me so far. the entire almost two months ive been gone this was my favorite. and not just the tower ((although its amazing! i like it better during the day than at night but...)). we went to the louvre- which is free on fridays for people 18-26, handy info- and saw the mona lisa. and some interpretive dancers preforming in the french statues wing. i could spend a month just there! i didnt do the arc because im going back to paris at the end of the month on my way to ireland so im going to do it then. got jodel something because she loves paris...
i was swept off my feet guys. loved it.
i listened to sinatra and sextet live in paris the whole trip. so good.
munich: so full of history... and not just nazis, even though thats where they got their start. check out the white rose society. even people who hate history will appreciate the story. I took the same photo displayed on wikipedia... crazy. i know, i cant believe im linking anyone to wikipedia but its concise and im doing it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose_Society
im in munich now waiting to take a train to berlin in a couple hours... im tired from all the traveling- its tough being around people twentyfour seven in stressful enviroments! but its so good. no problems yet.
one last thing; the keyboard im using, and all the keyboards here, have the "z" and "y" keys switched. in amsterdam a bunch of keys were different. how random. so instead of qwerty they have qwertz. yeah...
i dont have much time so ill highlight each city.. i promise when i get home ill blog and blog and blog! while im doing all my laundry probably...
amsterdam: we started the trip here... what a crazy place to begin. even though id been there before i was surprised by how open they are to everything. it definitely led to some interesting discussion. while we were wandering around we found the history museum which was free for the week. i am trying to make it a priority to see some history in every city even when we are there for a short time- i got so much more out of amsterdam once i understood what the "xxx" really stood for and whose crown is on the flag.
brugges: a tiny town in belgium, it has a moat entirely surrounding the city! and the walls and buildings are brick and cobblestone! so cute! i had waffles with chocolate... two birds with one stone yeah? belgium and the netherlands used to be one country, fun fact.
brussels: we were only here to get to paris but we meandered around the shopping center and went to a free jazz concert by an american man ((his name escapes me at the moment)) in a hotel. weve been really lucky about finding free stuff. we stayed in a hostel with a man named marcello from brazil, hes overseas to get a phd in nuero-science because you cant find that in brasil. good for him.
paris: i wont lie, when i was planning this trip i could have skipped paris. really, i had no passion for this city. but some things take you by surprise i guess..... paris is far and away the highlight of travel for me so far. the entire almost two months ive been gone this was my favorite. and not just the tower ((although its amazing! i like it better during the day than at night but...)). we went to the louvre- which is free on fridays for people 18-26, handy info- and saw the mona lisa. and some interpretive dancers preforming in the french statues wing. i could spend a month just there! i didnt do the arc because im going back to paris at the end of the month on my way to ireland so im going to do it then. got jodel something because she loves paris...
i was swept off my feet guys. loved it.
i listened to sinatra and sextet live in paris the whole trip. so good.
munich: so full of history... and not just nazis, even though thats where they got their start. check out the white rose society. even people who hate history will appreciate the story. I took the same photo displayed on wikipedia... crazy. i know, i cant believe im linking anyone to wikipedia but its concise and im doing it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose_Society
im in munich now waiting to take a train to berlin in a couple hours... im tired from all the traveling- its tough being around people twentyfour seven in stressful enviroments! but its so good. no problems yet.
one last thing; the keyboard im using, and all the keyboards here, have the "z" and "y" keys switched. in amsterdam a bunch of keys were different. how random. so instead of qwerty they have qwertz. yeah...
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Fourteen Day: Take 1.
Part of this fabulous Euro trip is splitting into groups and traveling away from the castle and around Europe... and guess what's up this Sunday? Oh yeah...
free travel! Fourteen days of western Europe with seven people.
The planning was my first taste of... differences with others. heres the thing ((and it happens in the switch between high school and college as well)): i expect people to have the same bond that i have with my old friends. there are two issues with this. one, they arent the same people. and two, weve had a month and a day with each other and i had a year with my college friends and six years with my high school friends. of course were going to be closer! of course we are going to know each others stregnths and weakness better and how to cover for each other. its inaccurate to assume things will be the same right when you start out. so planning was a little stressful but in the end it all worked out and after a good nights sleep everyone said they love the plan.
here it is:
sunday night we take an overnight train to amsterdam.
from amsterdam to brussels and brugges.
then the group splits into two and my part goes to paris and munich.
we meet back up in berlin and then split again and my group goes to warsaw and krakow and finish off the trip with auschwitz.
im so excited!
tomorrow before we leave were going to mathausen, the last concentration camp to be closed down in world war II. i dont know what to expect, just that i should expect something intense. im pretty sure im going to bawl. ill try to blog about it if i have my thoughts in order... no guarantees!
pray for the trip- especially for rest and safety and of course for us having fun!
free travel! Fourteen days of western Europe with seven people.
The planning was my first taste of... differences with others. heres the thing ((and it happens in the switch between high school and college as well)): i expect people to have the same bond that i have with my old friends. there are two issues with this. one, they arent the same people. and two, weve had a month and a day with each other and i had a year with my college friends and six years with my high school friends. of course were going to be closer! of course we are going to know each others stregnths and weakness better and how to cover for each other. its inaccurate to assume things will be the same right when you start out. so planning was a little stressful but in the end it all worked out and after a good nights sleep everyone said they love the plan.
here it is:
sunday night we take an overnight train to amsterdam.
from amsterdam to brussels and brugges.
then the group splits into two and my part goes to paris and munich.
we meet back up in berlin and then split again and my group goes to warsaw and krakow and finish off the trip with auschwitz.
im so excited!
tomorrow before we leave were going to mathausen, the last concentration camp to be closed down in world war II. i dont know what to expect, just that i should expect something intense. im pretty sure im going to bawl. ill try to blog about it if i have my thoughts in order... no guarantees!
pray for the trip- especially for rest and safety and of course for us having fun!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
THE ALPS! AMAZING.. ((extra))
the playground by the river. so fun!
the first hill on the way up the mountain.
Monday, September 24, 2007
THE ALPS!! AMAZING..
the day before the alps we took a walk along the river... it was really really chill. thats all i got.
this is our home in the alps! the church in vienna we help out owns it so we get to stay in it. in the alps.
deborah bush and i! were both blogging this trip... and we both have curly hair! and were in the alps...
yeah. i climbed a mountain. it was eight miles; five up, three down. and it was not a path. maybe ill find a photo of the "trail" later.
this is the loft that josh and i found in the alps. its in a tree... we didnt get any journaling done but it was enjoyable none-the-less.
it was basically a weekend of vacation away from vacation. sometimes the hustle of trying to be in a culture and see everything and keep up with back home and homework gets overwhelming. so we took a break, read, walked, watched the sun rise over the mountains.
back home i love to sit in the hot tub and watch the stars when everyone goes to bed. it was comforting to sit on a fence in the garden and see the big dipper and cassiopia. its the same sky back home.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
tea time in the castle.
funny story of yesterday:
last week the female chaperones decided to take small groups of girls and have tea with them wednesday nights after theme dinner ((the students cook theme dinners wednesdays- last night was mexican. lovely.)) and devo to get to know them.
so alex and linds and becky and laura and i get invites and we end up sitting near each other at a meal one night, all excited and such. the question of how we all got picked for the first tea party came up and someone leans in and goes, "i heard that they made a list of people they were most worried about and thats how they decided the order." and the whole table just froze. and then we looked around and looked at ourselves... and then laughed for about twenty minutes. but the rest of the week we discussed fictional problems we could share at tea time. the best ones revovled around one of the three single guys on our trip and two of the girls. everytime we saw each other we smiled, a little condescending of the old chaperones acting like they knew us. were young, its understandable yeah? :)
so tea time comes.
i wont go into detail but it was great fun! we had hot chocolate and cake and got to know each other a little better... id say more but i dont want to ruin it for anyone who hasnt gotten to do it yet. but it was nice to hear people talk about what they love... a new perspective on familiar people. at the end we admitted what we had heard and the jokes wed been mock planning all week and danielle and patty gave us the most blank stares ive ever seen. so we laughed again. they had randomly drawn names to see who would come to tea and the only scheming involved was trying to keep people who were best friends in different tea groups. our youth exposed.
its funny how things work yeah? they essentially planned tea to split up the cliques and bond different groups of people. but the tea did less of that than the week leading up to tea...
today we leave for a weekend in the alps. the alps! oh gosh.
last week the female chaperones decided to take small groups of girls and have tea with them wednesday nights after theme dinner ((the students cook theme dinners wednesdays- last night was mexican. lovely.)) and devo to get to know them.
so alex and linds and becky and laura and i get invites and we end up sitting near each other at a meal one night, all excited and such. the question of how we all got picked for the first tea party came up and someone leans in and goes, "i heard that they made a list of people they were most worried about and thats how they decided the order." and the whole table just froze. and then we looked around and looked at ourselves... and then laughed for about twenty minutes. but the rest of the week we discussed fictional problems we could share at tea time. the best ones revovled around one of the three single guys on our trip and two of the girls. everytime we saw each other we smiled, a little condescending of the old chaperones acting like they knew us. were young, its understandable yeah? :)
so tea time comes.
i wont go into detail but it was great fun! we had hot chocolate and cake and got to know each other a little better... id say more but i dont want to ruin it for anyone who hasnt gotten to do it yet. but it was nice to hear people talk about what they love... a new perspective on familiar people. at the end we admitted what we had heard and the jokes wed been mock planning all week and danielle and patty gave us the most blank stares ive ever seen. so we laughed again. they had randomly drawn names to see who would come to tea and the only scheming involved was trying to keep people who were best friends in different tea groups. our youth exposed.
its funny how things work yeah? they essentially planned tea to split up the cliques and bond different groups of people. but the tea did less of that than the week leading up to tea...
today we leave for a weekend in the alps. the alps! oh gosh.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
today was very long...
so today after lunch ((which was sooo good- spanish rice and brownies)) i decided that i was going to find the hospital that frau ehler taught us about today in class.
three signs should have alerted me to trouble on the horizon:
1. red sun in morning (sailors warning)- that was a lie. but it felt apropriate.
2. the largest map in the castle didnt have the area on it i needed. truth.
3. it was freezing and windy out. also truth.
so i take my satchel and head out. first, let me say that the return journey on the train took exactly twenty minutes, including wait time. then, let me say that the train ride on the way there took two and one half hours. i glanced at the map incorrectly ((probably shouldnt have glanced)) and headed the entire wrong direction. in my defense the colors are similar... and the trains did connect in the right place. i just went the long way around. and then had to take an s-bahn instead of a u-bahn. which was a new experience in the end, so im glad it happened.
i made it to the correct stop without a map but with a list of streets and which way to turn on them. that should go on the ominous list as well yeah? so i walked up the largest hill of my life before i saw a street sign that told me the street had morphed into another street. so i walked back down. and walked back up the other side of the hill where i realized that the street, a mere yards from where i was, had changed back to the original street. man, sometimes i outdo myself.
but i made it!!! this was one of the first hospitals to use the idea of multiple buildings that are not connected. after i took this photo a cute older man came up to me and yelled at me very nicely about taking photos on hospital grounds. im thinking the women leaning out the window humming with her gown open probably had something to do with that. so i kept trekking up the huge hill.
this is the church designed by the same man who did the hospital. i sat there for twenty minutes because it seemed so tragic to leave right away after all that hard work. but i didnt want to journal cause it started raining ((did i mention that? it started raining as i walk up the stairs to the church, which was closed.)) so i just sat on a bench in the rain. the trees, cause i was up so high in the hills around vienna, were very much like home. it felt like something you would find in sequim or port orchard or anywhere. i really liked it.
so thats my adventure, i ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich to celebrate being home. then i toweled off and watched spring sing from last year. very enjoyable. the director of gammas show is on the trip with me... alex is fabulous. always singing showtunes around the castle...
on the way home i saw this flower and it reminded me that im a lambda.
three signs should have alerted me to trouble on the horizon:
1. red sun in morning (sailors warning)- that was a lie. but it felt apropriate.
2. the largest map in the castle didnt have the area on it i needed. truth.
3. it was freezing and windy out. also truth.
so i take my satchel and head out. first, let me say that the return journey on the train took exactly twenty minutes, including wait time. then, let me say that the train ride on the way there took two and one half hours. i glanced at the map incorrectly ((probably shouldnt have glanced)) and headed the entire wrong direction. in my defense the colors are similar... and the trains did connect in the right place. i just went the long way around. and then had to take an s-bahn instead of a u-bahn. which was a new experience in the end, so im glad it happened.
i made it to the correct stop without a map but with a list of streets and which way to turn on them. that should go on the ominous list as well yeah? so i walked up the largest hill of my life before i saw a street sign that told me the street had morphed into another street. so i walked back down. and walked back up the other side of the hill where i realized that the street, a mere yards from where i was, had changed back to the original street. man, sometimes i outdo myself.
but i made it!!! this was one of the first hospitals to use the idea of multiple buildings that are not connected. after i took this photo a cute older man came up to me and yelled at me very nicely about taking photos on hospital grounds. im thinking the women leaning out the window humming with her gown open probably had something to do with that. so i kept trekking up the huge hill.
this is the church designed by the same man who did the hospital. i sat there for twenty minutes because it seemed so tragic to leave right away after all that hard work. but i didnt want to journal cause it started raining ((did i mention that? it started raining as i walk up the stairs to the church, which was closed.)) so i just sat on a bench in the rain. the trees, cause i was up so high in the hills around vienna, were very much like home. it felt like something you would find in sequim or port orchard or anywhere. i really liked it.
so thats my adventure, i ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich to celebrate being home. then i toweled off and watched spring sing from last year. very enjoyable. the director of gammas show is on the trip with me... alex is fabulous. always singing showtunes around the castle...
on the way home i saw this flower and it reminded me that im a lambda.
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