v for vienna.

London town.

2011-10-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hoo boy we made it!!!

It only took 29 hours of being awake (and not showering) to do it.

So far we've explored our tiny suburb of Tottenham (it's Carribean and everyone comes out at night... and EVERYWHERE sells human hair), bought a TON of cheap fruit (£1 for a pomegranite) and fresh bread, and seen a few sights.

My favorite thing so far was an exhibit at the British museum called Cradle to Grave.

Leaving!

2011-10-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not in an astronaut outfit but I am leaving (and I know exactly when I'll be back).

But someone sang this last night and got it stuck in my head.

Away with us!

Packing list.

2011-10-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

I think everyone who knows me knows this tiny, terrible fact about me: I am obsessed with lists. Even my post it notes are lines for ease of list making.

I make them about everything (really though). Especially packing lists (which I edit a million times before not bothering to actually use them).

Anyway, I have accumulated my wardrobe for the trip.

I debated taking a picture of the lovely sweaters and dress but I figure three weeks in the same outfit will be plenty of pictures.

Also I got a new bag. My mom has the brown one and decided we should have matching bags (I will never argue against matching). It's a lot bigger than the one I was planning on taking but that means I can take my Arsenal blanket (I think I might accidentally be Pigpen, somehow that blanket goes everywhere with me!). And I'll have room for my royal wedding mug and a universitat tee. Perfection.

You sound like your from London!

2011-09-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

London flat. The bed is a loft (I'm in love).

Home sweet Wien.

2011-09-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

The delightful house we found in Vienna.

My mouth is drooling for a kebob!

Putting together a Wardrobe.

2011-08-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Isn't this jcrew sweater the perfect accessory? I love it. Good for summer and winter... the trick with traveling in the winter months is that you need to stay warm when outside, but you need to wear a manageable amount of layers so that inside you don't turn into a luggage hauling museum goer.

I've been paring down my list and at this point it looks like the only things traveling with me are:

- black jeans

- a jacket

- 2 or 3 shirts

- maybe a dress and tights...

- my giant hat from Christmas

Plenty of room in my bag for shopping and presents!

And really, at the end of three weeks, I'm sure I'll be annoyed I brought that extra shirt.

Adorable.

2011-04-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with travel and everything to do with adorable.

another piece.

2011-03-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

I got a surprise package from my mum over spring break: the last two hunger games books, and this clothes line for our trip! Ignore my drab bathroom... the line works great!

As for the books, I admit I read them both in one day, but they were impossible to put down!

It makes me consider an ipad for the trip though, having books and a computer there. I see the advantages to it, even though the lure of paper overcomes the desire for variety in me. There are so many cool electronic options for a trip.

edinburgh.

2011-02-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

tower.

2011-02-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

triumph.

2011-02-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

new camera.

2011-02-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

a long time ago my lovely 2 AA battery canon was stolen.

then my mom gave me her nice new canon, but its heavy! and so i dont use it very much.

so im buying a new one.

this one below i think.

what do you think?

theres not a viewfinder but everything else is perfect. and shes black!

as im getting rid of things to graduate im realizing that only having things you really will use and will love using is important (who cares if that things is awesome and was cheap if you dont use it?).

the only exception to this is my panther candle that my brother got me for my 18th birthday.

yes.

PANTHER CANDLE. shaped like a panther.

collecting.

2011-01-29T07:07:00.001-08:00

slowly im accumulating things for our trip, it makes waiting easier.

backpack! its only 40 liters but were only going to be gone for three weeks and i think it will help me pack light, which makes life easier.

a bon jovi finger puppet.

can you imagine him going all over the world? delightful.

dry (add water) laundry soap. brilliant.

tentative itinerary.

2011-01-28T08:21:00.001-08:00

london (howth for a day) - normandy - paris - rome (greece for a day) - VIENNA!

this seemed like such an ideal plan until i google mapped it and now im feeling like normandy is not the best option...

perhaps a separate trip for WWII sights?

so an extra day.... brugges maybe? or another day somewhere we really like? a day in venice? this trip is so long that the options are endless! its overwhelming trying to plan!

but really exciting.

NEW ADVENTURES BEGIN... NEOOOOOW!

2011-01-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

MOMMA + ME = EURO ADVENTURE!!!!

i thought this blog was donesies forever.

nope!

were buying tickets this weekend for a whirlwind 21 day adventure.

(this means its officially mother-daughter-annual-plus-graduation-trip planning time!).

so get ready old vienna blog.

you are now new vienna blog.

shazam.

the great affair.

2007-12-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

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

HOME.

2007-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

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.

der ausklang

2007-12-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

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?

christmas markets!

2007-12-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

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...

black friday austrian style...

2007-12-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

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.

the final week.

2007-11-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

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?

prague

2007-11-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

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.

gobble gobble

2007-11-22T01:36:00.001-08:00

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.

because football should be this famous everywhere...

2007-11-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

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!!!

sickcapades!

2007-11-19T02:42:00.000-08:00

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.

in dublin!

2007-11-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

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?

scotland.. with a brief stop in paris.

2007-11-12T02:27:00.002-08:00

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!

sometimes you just have to laugh...

2007-11-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

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...

trains, a few planes, and no automobiles...

2007-11-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

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

misc happenings

2007-11-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

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!

four days in the schloss.

2007-11-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

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!

when the moon hits your eye...

2007-11-01T04:20:00.000-07:00

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. :)

home for a few days...

2007-10-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

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.

FOURTEEN DAY: photos!

2007-10-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-21T23:13:00.001-07:00

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.

FOURTEEN DAY: photos!

2007-10-21T22:57:00.001-07:00

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.

fourteen day- take three.

2007-10-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

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!

kinda family post...

2007-10-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

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.

FOURTEEN DAY ((take two))

2007-10-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

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...

Fourteen Day: Take 1.

2007-09-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

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!

THE ALPS! AMAZING.. ((extra))

2007-09-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

the playground by the river. so fun!

the first hill on the way up the mountain.

THE ALPS!! AMAZING..

2007-09-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

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.

tea time in the castle.

2007-09-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

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.

today was very long...

2007-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

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.

good moooorning vienna!

2007-09-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

its kinda like good morning vietnam.
you guys are just waking up maybe.. go to church! we had church at the castle today, that was pretty awesome. their are four missionary families that just moved here from the states and they joined us. one of the children was adorable.. he came around and asked us all our names and then shook our hands and told us he was two. his cute blonde head weaving about the room. we discussed 2 peter 2:11-17 and in a nutshell: you should respect everyone regardless of whether they respect you because christ died for us even while we were still sinners. so it would be hypocrytical to not respect them cause werent we just there?
yeah. so that was church.

now were watching a movie and im doing homework and wishing that i was outside in the sunshine! but if i finish my homework now i can play this week. better do it now.

Saturday.

2007-09-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of no classes in a while.. very nice.

I went shopping and finished up seeing the required places we have to go to. I bought pb&j and ate it at this quiet church close to the center of town. its really quite amazing actually, this church. two blocks away is the largest tourist site in the city and theres a u stop in the courtyard and yet, even on a saturday, there was no one there. people pass by a street away and dont even look up. the sound from the streets dampen and the sun reflects off the windows making it brighter and the wind blows the leaves around the old corners. i love it. the inside has a moasic commissioned by napoleon, fun fact.

after i went to the church i was wandering around on my way back to a more central street and i walked through this large crowd of people going into a small glass double door. i thought it was.. i dunno, a free taste test or something so i went in, you never know yeah? and so i go in and mingle and i cant figure out whats going on and then the music starts and everyone sits down. and so i sit down. turns out its a wedding! so i got to see an austrian wedding from the sixth row. it was very fun. there was a kiss at the end and everything.

its the weekend so the city was more crowded than usual- street performers and shopping crowds and me. in vienna everyone takes their dogs with them everywhere ((have i told this story already? i feel like i have.)). its so fun! theyre well behaved and well groomed and quiet and big. almost everyone has big dogs. i like it a lot. my poor dog would go crazy... its probably better that he has acres to run on at home! my mom called me while i was putting away my stuff from being out today- what a coincidence! i was really glad that i caught her though. i love my mom and terry and dingo... i love my brother too but he hasnt emailed me once on this trip! what is that?!? my mom told me today that the hamm radio class he was supposed to take ((how random yeah?)) got canceled and now hes in weightlifting. so hes going to be super buff when i come home.

this is what i could see of minoritenkirche ((kirche mean church in german)) from the bench i was laying on today.

this is my puppy at home. and jarrod, making a crazy face.

stephansdom quarter ((its the very center of the city))

2007-09-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

this is the railing from stephansdom and the building in the background is the brand new complex haus haus. there was a big fuss about the building because how valued stephansdom is but it worked out alright.

this is a swimming pool in the river. how odd! but seeing as the water is filthy it makes sense.

this is me. i got bored waiting for my U so i snapped a photo.

and this is the tiniest car i have ever seen! note the size in comparision to the bike.

also, id like to remind everyone that three days from today tottenham and arsenal battle. well, more like arsenal is going to slaughter tottenham. i cannot wait.

unpacked in vienna.

2007-09-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

today is tuesday.
on tuesdays in vienna museums are closed, and lots of other places shut down early... i have no idea why though.
this is my fifth day in the castle and my first tuesday. happy tuesday! i went out for a bit after class this morning... discovered some cute markets and explored the city, went to the grocery store and bought a bag to carry groceries and my camera and my journal.
weve settled into a routine now:
745: breakfast
900: group time
930-1200: language and culture class
1215: lunch and then freedom!

after the month is over the routine will be different because well have eurorail passes and well be traveling all over europe and not just in vienna but for now life is settling down. its been raining here for the last couple days which makes it feel like a hidden corner of Seattle that i havent discovered yet. i like it.

one thing that is very different here is how often people smile at each other. back home we smile for just about anything. bump into someone on the subway? smile. grocer bags your pasta salad? smile. here a song on someone else ipod you like? smile yeah? here though, being friendly is not as typical. our culture teacher told us that its even considered rude or intrusive to inquire about someones day ((ie how are you?)). and we arent supposed to smile at men because it gives them the wrong idea...
it seems like such a small thing but its hard to change because its so engrained as part of our mindset as americans. ive never felt like a happy person especially but here i feel like im chipper mcchipperson. its kinda fun. i suppose youve just got to smile on the inside sometimes and look indifferent on the outside. it kinda makes me wonder if they would help someone being mugged on the street or would run into a burning building for a screaming women or if they would keep their cool exteriors and walk on by... im sure they would stop. people are people everywhere and if you cant believe that human beings would look out for one another than it doesnt seem worth interacting with anyone at all.

that was very off topic. apologies.

snapshots of london...

2007-09-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

big ben!

the tube and my toes.

me "navigating" the busses during the tube strike.

platform 9 3/4

matt and i ((tired)) on the bus to heathrow.

what a busy week!
today is our groups one week aniversary, no gifts we decided.

so little time...

2007-09-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

london... yup.
im having a hard time processing the trip still, two days later, just because of the massive amounts of things we did in the small amount of time. so bear with me and ill try to sort it out with some semblence of order. unlike what i last wrote. ive slept since then never fear!

first: impressions. london is dirty. but its not bad. its easy to navigate for the most part and it has that nice european feel of old and new placed together. even though im expecting that placement im always surprised at how much i like it. the dirt is offset by parks everywhere- in use. at lunch there were ((note: the "c" key on the keyboard is nearly dead so if words with that letter are spelled badly then i apologize now)) people on the lawn everywhere. felt like the fourth of july every day. very nice. lovely weather... a fluke apparently. appreciated by me though. the gap between young and old is less defined. i ate fish and chips next to two middle age man and one in his middle twenties arguing the odds for australia in the world cup this coming week. because alcohol isnt the deal it is over here ((which im not going to argue for or against so dont get stressed right now!)) it makes the age gap nonexistantthat college years here brings. maybe the way jobs are split as well. age doesnt seem to split people as muh as white collar blue collar. just a thought. i love london. i like the fast pace, the walking to get somewhere attitude. vienna so far seems similar to portland and london was more like seattle. its hard to settle into a slow pace when this whole trip is essentially fast paced.

favorite sites: i had three places i loved. but ill be brief.

- westminster abbey. it was crowded and ornate and small and made me comfortable. i like that crushed in feeling. it was beautiful. interesting fact: the poets corner, with all the famous authors, was created because chaucer was buried there. however chaucer wasnt famous when he died, he was buried there because he had done some work for the abbey.

- st pauls. im terrified of heights. hoo boy. but i climbed all the way to the top of the dome of st pauls and saw london from the top. i dont get to see the top of many things seeing as im a little short so this was pretty fun. its three hundred and sixty feet in the air, which is halfway as tall as the space needle! i was very proud of myself. yeah?

- les mis. i just finished reading it, i'm glad cause having the full story was nice. hugo writes like i think kinda... i want all of the story. i want the life of everyone in a story. and after we were less than two feet from one of the supporting cast, he walked by on his phone trying to schedule some meet up with his home diggity dogs. wow. that phrase alone proves i should go to bed.

get ready for: the castle! and hating ignorance. im going to devo now but just to give you a sneak peak theres a link on the right side. also, to get from this computer to my bedroom on the top floor is sixty-two stairs. 62. and ive been up there four times since i started this blog! oh yeah...
or maybe tomorrow can just be photos.

ello! nice day innit?

2007-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

london.

we flew and it made everyone really jet lagged. i would try to explain it all but it escapes me at the moment. maybe forever. im not feeling very prose prone tonight so i think bullet points of our first day overseas is going to happen.

- the tube. after the thrill of hearing british voices settled down i realized the tube really is BART ((bay area rapid transit)) but underground the whole time. yup. two things happened on the tube today. one, i saw a mouse that was under the tracks. it was far away from me so i decided it was very cute. also, today was ARSENALs only home game when im here and everyone on the tube had jerseys on. it was just sad they were taking trains in the opposite direction of me. ah well.

- the british museum. its huge and gorgeous and i didnt appreciate a minute of it! i was so tired and it was so big i didnt know what to do. very overwhelming. so i chose one room ((enlightenment)) and explored it throroughly and then came home and took a nap.

it doesnt sound like much im pooped! im off to get to bed early, night!

SEPTEMBER 1

2007-08-31T23:34:00.000-07:00

im nineteen!
this is my first birthday alone... i miss my family.

in celebration my pseudo-roommate took me to see the oklahoma city bombings memorial. and my other roommate gave me a fudge bar. and her boyfriend told me he actually doesnt dislike me at all like hes been telling me all week when he sees me.
in totality its been a lovely start to a lovely day.
i dont feel any older.

fun fact: my mom has told me for my whole life that i was born at 318. and then last year i was putting my baby ornament on the tree that has my legnth and weight and time of birth and guess what?!?! i was born at 338. how lame.
i still say i was born at 318. which means its my birthday in a little over an hour and a half! yay!

also, at 800 we leave for the dallas international airport ((which is the only place ive been bitten by a bug since 2000)) and at 1620 our plane takes off and ill be on my way!

ill have been nineteen for more than twelve hours by then. im certain ill feel much older.

fascination, frustration, appreciation.

2007-08-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

well, im still in the great state of oklahoma and nothing worth blogging about has happened but i figure if i have the opportunity yeah? who knows, i could be in the high, high swiss alps with heidi and her grandfather and nor have internet to write in a month and then at least youll have this post to read!

i like word tricks. it makes things easier to remember... like rhymes! the three above are the three stages of culture shock that we learned about in class this week. FASCINATION is the excited stage, the exuberant energy.. kinda my whole life actually. FRUSTRATION is the homesick, tired, cranky stage. today we learned that often people run into this in religious situations because our beliefs run so deep that its hard to accept anything different. but this too shall pass into APPRECIATION which is the adapting part of culture shock.
i find it hard to believe ((although everyone has said its true)) that when we reenter the states well have reverse culture shock. its amazing how resilient and flexible the human being is- that after eighteen years and fifty-one weeks i could change in just three months away from my original culture, and then change back!
i wrote a poem in class today to help me stay awake:

"Oh Hapsburgs Oh Hapsburgs
You were so clever and tricky,
It's hard to believe
You got into a situation so sticky.
You started a war,
Made lots of people poor,
And now your only politician is Otto."

dont applaud too loudly, i might go deaf and then i couldnt hear all the lovely austrian orchestral music. side note: i know otto doesnt fit but i couldnt remember his sons names and if they would have worked better.
so thats all really. im a little sick, partially from the plane ride and partially from the new climate. but im taking tylenol and drinking water so ill live.

"awe"ful moment: the week before i got to OCU i had a huge list of things to get for the trip. one of those things was a thumb drive to back my photos up and use for miscellaneous things, but it was on the second list, which meant that it was lower priority than, say, a camera. so the night before the trip i had everything from my first list and most things from my second list ((im a list freak yeah?)) and i was really worried that i wasnt prepared properly. so i prayed about it and about me having a good attitude and i went to go pack. anyway, skip forward a couple days. today after classes ended our sponsor, dr waldo, annouces that OCU has decided to donate a 1 gig thumb drive to each student going overseas. good work OCU. its not like i think that God nudged someone at OCU to give us thumb drives just because i gave it up to him... cause getting the thumb drive wasnt the point. i tried to make every problem i was having my own when really theres too much in this world to do anything without God. at least in my corner of the world there is. that was very long. all im saying is that its worthwhile, giving up control.

funny/exciting moment: so class is over and im walking across the middle of campus where its most densely populated and this huge bird comes out a bush at my face with a buzzing war cry. so i did what everyone would have done- i flung my notebook in the air and myself on the ground and screeched. and im loud, so i definitely wasnt a small yell. and after the danger had passed i got up and looked around, and no one had noticed! a lucky break for me. there was a guy who is going on the trip with me that ive not got a chance to meet yet about ten yards away snapping photos in the opposite direction and i walked up to him and described my attacker and guess what he said. ill tell you. "Oh, that wasnt a bird. it was a bee." are you kidding me?!?!
im adding this experience to my list of reasons i love washington.

IM OFF! ...after a small "not off" glitch

2007-08-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

"you can have either freedom or stability"
-dr norton.

instead of catching the 655 am plane to okc i caught the 1305 plane which put me into town seven hours later than planned. did mention this was unplanned? however they served dried fruit and ritz cheese crackers on the first leg so i forgave the situation soon into the flight.

i got off the plane in kansas city ((which is built on the border of two states and the cops have to turn on their lights in pusuit before they cross the border to arrest someone- i learned that from my seatmates, both from kansas city.)). stepping off the plane it was 87 degrees.. at 7 o'clock at night! it was like stepping into anther world. i left the airport and stared at the setting sun- i could actually see the movement of the sun the horizon was so far away. it felt like what i imagine africa to feel like. i've never seen so much.. nothing. It makes me a little nervous actually, i mean what if someone was shooting at me? where would i hide? i guess ive been watching too many scary movies lately.
so i sat in the waiting room all alone with my pink corsage, my pink cake, and my backpack ((not pink)) with the nfl blaring out of the tiniest tv ever. The corsage was to make me feel lovely and was a gift from a lady at church, the cake was also a gift from a lady at church to be saved for my birthday, and the backpack i bought with my mom. the game i watched with something close to manic intensity- it was my last monday night game before i leave after all. also my first. so thats kansas for me.

the second flight had seats made of leather, slippery and cold. the flight attendant for the back half of the plane, all ten of us, snuck me an extra blanket because i smiled at his offer of a gourmet dinner of honey roasted peanuts. the guy next to me shivered the whole flight, he should have been nicer to danny ((that's what i named the flight attendant cause he didnt have a name tag)).

so now im in OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! klahoma. I'm staying with a friend from back home which is nice, it makes being here more cozy.
The week at OCU is full of lots of things but mostly getting to know everyone and listening to lectures. lots and lots of lectures. the rochester group is smaller than expected so there are only six people going who arent from OCU. everyone is so nice though, weve already blended into one big excited group. all morning people asked me if i was the delayed person and it took me two or three times to figure out last night someone must have referred to me as being delayed from the first session. glad i figured that out!

"awe"ful moment: taking my first step into the little hallway leading to the plane. that was the first time it really hit me that i was really truly leaving. and not just to portland or even to the other side of the us.. but to the other side of the world!

funny moment: the very first lecture i sat next to this guy who had a southern drawl and a constant monologue and after the speaker mentioned lunch being catered ((chic-fil-a, subway, etc.)) he says, "well thats right! thats what im paying the big bucks for. dont want cat food. shoot."

dog days.

2007-08-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

its my last day at home. so im washing all my clothes, cleaning the house from my party last night and buying garlic bread for church tonight... what ever college student does the night before leaving. i mean, who packs early? im sure ill regret it if i forget my toothbrush- although im pretty sure they sell toothbrushes in europe too.

my mom is working otherwise shed be telling me i should already be packed.

OTHER EXCITING NEWS FROM THIS WEEK:
- i got a camera, and a 2 gig card ((2000 photos)) so get ready for pictures!
- i went to portland to say goodbye to all my friends and then i came home. thats not so exciting but...
- i got the soundtrack to Once. very chill.
- i had a party last night and we had chicken. it was excellent. photos above. ((tanya, melvin and barbara, and the "kid" table))

Have A Harrison Day!

2007-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

My family went to the company picnic today for my Mother.
Nice work taking care of your people Harrison.
Walked a 5k.
Listened to a cheesy dj say things like, "Have a Harrison day!"
Got free t-shirts and bandaid holders.
Played on the blowup obstacle course ((my brother Jarrod and Terry beat Mom and I soundly. Nuts.)).

And I won a water bottle! From the 5k raffle. It's perfect for the trip.
Which is why I posted this fantastic story of my day.

T minus...

2007-08-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

Only three weeks left until I leave for Oklahoma Christian! My friend who is graduating this year from OCU is letting me stay with her for the week we're on campus which is nice because I can do laundry and relax and catch up with her. So the last planning hurdle before we leave for overseas is done.

Not that I'm completely ready though! My Mom and I went shopping last night for little things- I finally chose a backpack! Now she's watching Guarding Tess. It's a nice background to have while writing. I mention my Mother to say two things: first that I love her. And second that I don't think that I would be motivated to be in college if it weren't for her. She lets me call her all the time, even now that I'm home and talk about school. Or whatever else I need to vent. So thanks Mom. I'm stressful to shop with apparently but she did it anyway. Lovely woman, my Mother.

It's been weird having all my friends talk about going back to campus and all the stuff they are going to buy for their apartments while I essentially pack an entire semester into a carry on suitcase.

Some of the advice on traveling overseas is to put everything on a bed that you intend to take and then put half of it back. Isn't that the craziest thing?!?! I'm such an overpacker so I'm making my Mom hold me accountable. Actually I'm more of a panic packer. At the last minute I freak out that I might not have what I need and then I cram useless stuff into my bag. Regardless packing is going to be nuts! But I'm excited. I bought a new toothbrush, and I'm not using it until the trip. Something else to look forward to!

birthplace: vienna.

2007-06-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

so im thinking that famous people from vienna is a subject that doesnt come up much. however im sure it will work its way into some conversation and it is always good to be prepared yeah?

actually i was watching an interview with rainn wilson of "the office" and he mentioned that he was from seattle which caused me to do a little dance, and also made me wonder who else was from the lovely emerald city. so i looked it up.
exciting people include:
-danelle and i ((disclaimer- seattle area.))
-rick steves ((every travelers best friend.))
-sir mix-a-lot ((what would music be without him? i cant imagine..))
-jim whittaker ((first american to scale everest. my mom met him!))

which, in turn, led me to investigate who called vienna/austria the place of their birth. at last, we have arrived at the real topic. heres what i discovered...
-theres the really famous ones: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mozart. Franz Ferdinand. Wolfgang Puck. Freud.
-theres the fighters: Andreas Hofer. Amon Hoth. Robert Bernardis.
-theres the scientists: Julius Wagner-Jauregg. Hans Asperger. Karl von Frisch.
-and theres the guy who didnt fit any category but i liked: Wilhelm Steinitz. won the first world chess championship. good work.

there are nobel peace prize winners and men who ran nazi death camps. women who fostered the growth of great philosophers and actresses. writers and fighters. its easy as an american to forget that europes history runs deep, much deeper than ours does as a nation. not that we are not patriotic, but weve only had 231 years. were an infant historically.

that was one thing that struck me about kiev last spring. some buildings downtown are older than any other structures ive ever seen. its overwhelming. to see churches and office buildings built centuries apart next to each other. theres a balance between pushing forward and remembering the past. they are intertwined naturally. its lovely. and different than america. what a fun opportunity to explore other cultures! im excited!

and think, "the office" started all of this. tv is occasionally educational yeah?

the fray wrote us a song as well!

2007-05-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

The day's last one-way ticket train pulls in
We smile for the casual closure capturing
There goes the downpour
There goes my fare thee well

There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
'Cause I'm already gone

There's so many words that we can say
Spoken upon long-distance melody
This is my hello
This is my goodness

...

There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
Is there really no way to reach me?
Am I already gone?
So this is your maverick
And this is VIENNA.

billy joel wrote us a song!

2007-05-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Slow down, you crazy child
you're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart, tell me
Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You'd better cool it off before you burn it out
You've got so much to do and
Only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told..
That you can get what you want or you get old
You're gonna kick off before you even
Get halfway through
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight
Tonight,...
Too bad but it's the life you lead
you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you're wrong, you know
You can't always see when you're right. you're right

You've got your passion, you've got your pride
but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you crazy child
and take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile
it's all right, you can afford to lose a day or two
When will you realize,..Vienna waits for you?
And you know that when the truth is told
that you can get what you want or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get half through
Why don't you realize,. Vienna waits for you
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

making the program.

2007-05-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

as promised, heres is a brief rundown of how i made it to now. the process.

PART ONE: GETTING IN.
1. applying. the first step. the application is pretty average: why you want to go, grades, interests, strengths etc. it was
bland enough to make me nervous... how could i make it unique so they remembered me? thats something that cant be
controlled. However spelling, grammar, and neatness can be so i made sure to double check all of those.

2. interview. if there are no glaring problems with your application ((like being an axe-murderer or having a .04 grade point average)) the next step is the interview. oklahoma christian heads up the study abroad programs- they have an entire office dedicated to it- so they typically send a representative up to do the interviewing. this is the scariest part of the entire process! but there was nothing to worry about. just being myself, smiling, and not talking too fast were the three things i focused on. im not sure im allowed to talk about what they asked so i wont reveal any "top secret" questions.

3. the wait/ the letter. i take back what i said earlier. this is the scariest part! everything that you can do to earn yourself a place on the team is done and now you have to wait the week or two for your letter to come. lots of praying. and then it comes. i left campus to open mine. sometimes you have to be alone to be courageous. and i made it!

PART TWO: GETTING COMFORTABLE.
4. orientation. we flew to oklahoma christian university at the end of january and met with the rest of the people going with us to vienna. went out to a conference house about an hour out of oklahoma city. five girls from cascade traveled together- three who were going to vienna ((we lost one group member)) and two who were participating in the latin america program. we shared a room that felt like a camp, two bunkbeds stuck at weird angles with yellow light bulbs. it was lovely. drank fanta and ate munchies and listened to vienna fall 2006 students talk about their trip.

5. spring class. to help get us ready to journal consistently in vienna a journal is required during spring semester. the requirements are journaling at least twice a week and documenting six experiences: an art gallery, a museum, a musical performance, an interview with a foreign student, eating at a foreign restuarant, and watching a foreign movie. some of these were a little tricky but it was great fun. in getting ready to explore vienna we got to explore portand! my favorite was going to see the flying dutchman which is an opera preformed in german. it was my first brush with the language ( excluding clips of hitler from the history channel) and it was interesting. maybe the next time i see the opera ill be able to understand what they are saying!

PART THREE: GETTING KNOWLEDGEABLE.
6. summer class. the summer coursework is actually fall semester work. because we wont be at an actual school with all the resources that come as a part of that much of our coursework is done this summer. so i have a couple books to read, lots of tests to take and a couple papers with matching presentations to craft before september. its hard, but most things that are worth doing are hard. and the classes are all related to europe so its applicable, hands on learning. after reading a chapter on baroque architecture we can go out and visit ten churches designed in that style. it makes it easier to spend hours studying in the summer.

introductions!

2007-05-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

first things first.

im going to vienna, austria for an entire semester through cascade college in portland. oklahoma christian university in oklahoma and rochester university in michigan partner up with cascade and take a group of students over every fall to study abroad. this year were taking a group of about fifty.
only two people from cascade are going this fall (thats 1/25 of the entire group..)- danelle and i. shes fun. an actress, shes was in both plays last year and made the traveling acting group for next year. congrats for that! im excited to get to know her and the rest of the group.

so here it is: i'm savannah and I'm from the seattle area and this fall I'm going to be a sophomore biology major, math and history minor. Thats a mouthful eh? i like vanilla ice cream and random british tv and any good classic book.... and im soooo excited to spend an entire semester on a different continent!
thats the basic basics.

more to come on the application process and all the prep from last year..