Well, sadly but true, the first five days of my Christmas break didn’t go exactly the way I was hoping they would. I've got to say that this was the most epic adventure of my life. I had quite a few incredible experiences and learned many valuable lessons. Life Lesson #15 I learned on this adventure: Nothing is perfect, no matter how much of a perfectionist you are (like me, unfortunately) and that things don't always go the way as planned. So here’s my sad/turned out to be happy story in a nutshell:
My cousin Glenna arrived in Salzburg on Tuesday night during finals week. The plan was for us to leave Salzburg early Friday morning and take the train from there to Munich. Since we have been having loads of snowy weather here in Salzburg for the past two weeks, our train was extremely late. So we were waiting at the Salzburg train station for about 2 hours until our train finally came. The train ride from Salzburg to Munich takes around 2 hours, but since our train was so late, we arrived Munich quite late. The flight we were going to catch to Dublin was actually flying out of Memmingen, which is about 2 hours outside of Munich, so we had to change trains in Munich to get all the way out to Memmingen. This is the part when we knew for sure we were definitely screwed! Instead of two hours, this train ride from Munich to Memmingen took us well over 4 hours. The whole way it was snowing like crazy, so, yeah, we definitely missed our flight to Dublin. It was late in the afternoon, so there was nothing else flying out of Memmingen, but we did notice that there was a flight to London the next morning. So we just thought we might as well go spend a few extra days in London and just get a hostel for four nights before my Aunt Marge and cousin Ann got there. After a long and exhausting day of traveling, we got a cheap hotel room in Memmingen above a German Gasthaus (restaurant) that was in a totally red German-style A-frame-ish shaped building. The next day, we went back to the airport, checked in, went through security, customs, and waited in the terminal for an hour until we learned that our flight had been canceled due to the mass snow in London. Here we were really screwed and had to come up with a plan C, so we took a bus from the airport back the Munich train station. Since the snow was so bad, we just decided to give up on planes and trains and decided to take the bus to London. That would mean going through the Chunnel, which I had always wanted to experience doing, but honestly, it was not exciting at all. The bus didn’t leave until Monday, the 20th in the late afternoon, so we got a hostel for two nights in Munich and spent two days exploring the city. I’ve been wanting to explore more of Munich, so it was okay. We tried to make the best out of it. We went to the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market), did some shopping, went to a Medieval Market (totally reminded me of PT!), ate some of the traditional German wurst, had awesome Indian food, and went on a historic tour of the city. So, yeah, I'd say we made the best out of it, although I was really dissappointed that I didn't get to go to Ireland. But heck with it! I'm still here for 5 more months! Alles gute!
Trying to get to London through the snow was very challenging. Going through the Chunnel was something I thought I would never get to experience doing. The entire bus ride from Munich to London took 24 hours. It left Munich at a quarted the 6:00 in the evening. Luckily I slept most of the way, which was a really good thing since I hadn't had much sleep since the beiginning of finals week. We arrived to the Chunnel the next morning. To take the Chunnel, you have to go through A LOT of security. If you are taking the Chunnel by bus, everyone is required to get off with all of their luggage, go through French customs, get their baggage X-rayed, and then get back on the bus. It was a pain since I was really tired and my suitcase was somewhat heavy. But after that, there's more. When we got back on the bus, we had to get off the bus again (but without our bags thank God) and go through British customs. It makes sense why both the French and the British would have such high security at the Chunnel, but still it was a hassle and very exhausting.
We arrived in London the day before my Aunt Marge and Ann got there, so we got a hotel near Victoria Station. We had some good Turkish food for dinner that night and then went back to the hotel and crashed. 24 hour-long bus ride= EXHAUSTING! The next morning we went for a nice walk through Kennsington Park. It was so nice not to be rushing to get anywhere or carrying heavy bags. We were just able to walk through and absorb the beautiful nature of Kennsington Park. My favorite part in the park (and all of London) is the bronze statue of Peter Pan. As an English major, of coure, I've thought of so many differnent interpretations of James Matthew Barrie's renowned play of the boy who refused to grow up. I wish I didn't have to grow up! London was absolutely beautiful. All of its archtecture, scenary, and history are all so fascinating. Walking the streets of London made me feel like I was in scene from Mary Poppins- and I was constantly humming songs from the movie, too. The next day we went on a tour around London on a double-decker bus where got to see all the famous landmarks of the city such as Big Ben, Parliment, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, etc. That night we went to the stage performance of Dirty Dancing, which was absolutely amazing!
It was absolutely wonderful being in London for Christmas, but VERY different from what I'm used to. I was happy to spend it with family, but it was a little strange not to be celebrating Christmas with my parents. Our Christmas was very simple. On Christmas Eve, we went to Harrods, which is a humungous department store with pretty much everything you can imagine- designers clothes, perfume, make-up, electronics, toys, appliances, you name it they've got it! Then Glenna and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollow. We spent all Christmas Day in our nice little town-house-like hotel that had a kitchen. We made crepes for Christmas breakfast, opened stockings and presents, listened to music, watched movies, and had a nice and simple dinner. Although I did miss my parents and friends back home, this was the most relaxing Christmas I had ever had.
After all what I had been through trying to get to London, I was really happy to get back to Salzburg. My flight left London precisely on time and returned back to Salzburg safe and and sound. I'm here in beautiful Salzburg for the next four days until I leave for Spain on New Years Day. Better use these days to catch up on sleep! Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Semester Done, Dublin and London Here I Come!
Whew, I made it! Wow, I'm halfway done with my sophomore year of college, if you can believe it! I have had so many incredible and life-changing experiences these past 4 months, and it's not even over yet! There are still many places I need to go visit before my time up is here. In three weeks, Ireland, England, and Spain will be checked off my list and then I get to travel a lot around Greece and Italy on my spring tour. I'm planning to get a lot more traveling in this next semester because I have absolutely no idea when, or if, I'll get to come back to Europe someday, so I really want to take advantage of travelling oppurtunitie this coming new year!
My final exams went okay, but I can't really say how I did until I see my results. I'll just say I think I did quite fine, after all I did pull at least 3 all-nighters last week. Crossing my fingers! Now the pressure is over and now I'm off to a wonderful and relaxing time in Dublin and London for two weeks. I'll come back to Salzburg for a few days, sleep, do laundry, and repack, and then my friend and I will be off to Spain on New Year's Day. We will be going to Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid. It'll sure be a nice contrast in terms of weather conditions after spending 2 freezing cold weeks in the UK, that's for sure!
Wishing you all back home US, or any of you elsewhere in the world, the Happiest of Holidays!
My final exams went okay, but I can't really say how I did until I see my results. I'll just say I think I did quite fine, after all I did pull at least 3 all-nighters last week. Crossing my fingers! Now the pressure is over and now I'm off to a wonderful and relaxing time in Dublin and London for two weeks. I'll come back to Salzburg for a few days, sleep, do laundry, and repack, and then my friend and I will be off to Spain on New Year's Day. We will be going to Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid. It'll sure be a nice contrast in terms of weather conditions after spending 2 freezing cold weeks in the UK, that's for sure!
Wishing you all back home US, or any of you elsewhere in the world, the Happiest of Holidays!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Two More Weeks Until Freedom!
Well, everyone, I'm drawing really close to the end of the semester here. To tell you all the truth, I couldn't be anymore excited for this semester to be over because 1) I'm so ready to be done with classes, 2) I'm excited to see my favorite cousin of all times for whom I haven't seen in a year and 5 months, and 3) I super duper and extremly stoked to visit Ireland and London. I finish finals on the 16th of December and the next day, Glenna and I will fly out of Munich to Dublin. I'm going to have three weeks of complete freedom to do and see whatever I want in Europe and not have to think about writing papers or studying for tests. Since I have my so called "three weeks of freedom," I thought it would make the most sense to travel to places that are farther away from Salzburg (i.e. Ireland, England, and Spain- which are the places I will be traveling to!). Glenna and I will spend 5 days in Dublin and hopefully tour the southern countryside of Irealnd. Then on December 22, we will fly to London and meet up to spend a week (including Christmas Day!) with her mom Ann (who is also my cousin) and my Aunt Marge (her grandma). It is going to be a Christmas to remember and I couldn't be any happier, although I do wish my parents could come spend this wonderful oppurtunity with us! But I'm just so thankful that I will be able to be with family during the holidays!
Before I embark on this wonderful two week Christmas vacation in the United Kingdom, I have a few obtacles to jump through. I have text book chapters I still need to read, projects to finish, and LOTS of studying to do! Next week is our last week of classses, which in college terms is called "DEAD WEEK." I've adjusted to the cultural and social difference here in Austria just fine, but the classes taught here and living and going to school with the same 40 people has been a really big challenge for me. I think these are to two major things that all of us have been struggling with here. But, unlike everyone else here, I'm not homesick! Don't get me wrong. I really do miss my parents, friends at UP, some special people at St. Pauls, and of course my cat, but most of you will understand that I really needed to get out of PT and actually experience the real world, which I have been doing. I have totally been learning more outside of the classroom since I've been here, no duh. To be honest, now that it's been a year and half since I graduated high school and all of my friends have moved away, I don't have anything left there except my family, St. Pauls, and precious childhood memories-that's all. Yes, these are the roots of my life and I love my real blood-related family and St. Paul's family, but seriously, this is a time for me to experience living differnent places and meeting new people. The longer I live away from Port Townsend, the more I will be able to appreciate it. Will I ever come back? Maybe I will or maybe I won't. It all depends on where life will choose to take me after my 8 months here in Salzburg. Port Townsend is the place where I was born and raised and it will always be a part of me, but now it's time to leave it all behind and go out and experience the real world, which I have absolutely been doing over here!
So please wish me best wishes and luck as I go through these next two (stressful and tiring) weeks of the semester. Before I know it I will be looking at the beautiful green fields of Ireland and I will not have school on my mind!
Before I embark on this wonderful two week Christmas vacation in the United Kingdom, I have a few obtacles to jump through. I have text book chapters I still need to read, projects to finish, and LOTS of studying to do! Next week is our last week of classses, which in college terms is called "DEAD WEEK." I've adjusted to the cultural and social difference here in Austria just fine, but the classes taught here and living and going to school with the same 40 people has been a really big challenge for me. I think these are to two major things that all of us have been struggling with here. But, unlike everyone else here, I'm not homesick! Don't get me wrong. I really do miss my parents, friends at UP, some special people at St. Pauls, and of course my cat, but most of you will understand that I really needed to get out of PT and actually experience the real world, which I have been doing. I have totally been learning more outside of the classroom since I've been here, no duh. To be honest, now that it's been a year and half since I graduated high school and all of my friends have moved away, I don't have anything left there except my family, St. Pauls, and precious childhood memories-that's all. Yes, these are the roots of my life and I love my real blood-related family and St. Paul's family, but seriously, this is a time for me to experience living differnent places and meeting new people. The longer I live away from Port Townsend, the more I will be able to appreciate it. Will I ever come back? Maybe I will or maybe I won't. It all depends on where life will choose to take me after my 8 months here in Salzburg. Port Townsend is the place where I was born and raised and it will always be a part of me, but now it's time to leave it all behind and go out and experience the real world, which I have absolutely been doing over here!
So please wish me best wishes and luck as I go through these next two (stressful and tiring) weeks of the semester. Before I know it I will be looking at the beautiful green fields of Ireland and I will not have school on my mind!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Time to be Thankful
So things have been really busy over here lately. Classes, excursion trips, social drama, you name it. This weekend in particular has been extremely busy. Only four more weeks until the semester is over and I will be on the plane to Ireland with my cousin Glenna. So for the time being, I'm just going to stay put in Salzburg and not travel anywhere until my three week Christmas vacation. Might as well use my four day Thanksgiving break next weekend to catch up on sleep and homework and, most importantly, save my money for a fabulous Christmas in the U.K. and then New Year's in Spain! Don't be mistaken and view this as "missing out" on my oppurtunities to travel while I'm here! I have my three week Christmas break coming up and then my three week spring tour of Italy and Greece. I'm also planning to do lots of traveling during January since it seems to be the most depressing month of the year no matter where you are in the world. Plus, I've already been to Prague, Paris, Innsbruck, Vienna, Munich, Strasbourg, Ulm, and Reims. So, I'd say I've been getting around quite a bit and there is still a lot more to come! Afterall, I am going to school here, so I still have to focus on my classes like I would back in Portland. So that's pretty much my update on life here.
Oh, and another exciting news! It looks like on the first week of Feburary, my mom and dad are coming to visit me! They are planning to arrive on February 1st. For the first few days I'll show them around Salzburg and then on the weekend we'll take the train to Vienna and I'll show them around one of my most favorite cities! After that, we will go our separate ways. I'll return to Salzburg and they will continue on with thier first visit to Europe by spending the next week in Italy. I'm so excited!
Last Friday, my group had its excursion trip to KL Mauhausen, a concentration camp outside of Linz, Austria. It was a gray and rainy day, which made our experience even more depressing. After reading and learning so much about the horrible events of the Holocaust, I gained a entirely different view from actually being there on the very site where all those terrible things took place. To get to the camp, we walked up the "Stairway of Death," which the weak and exhausted prisoners had to walk up carrying at least 40 kg. of stone. And, let me tell you, those were a lot of stairs. We entered the barracks, where lots of horrific pictures and propaganda were displayed. People were crying. I myself felt tears dwelling up in my eyes, but mostly I was crying on the inside. I just kept asking myself, "How could this happen? Why could such an evil and immoral thing like this happen?" The worst part was going into the gas chamber and crematoria. That's where I just wanted to be sick. I just don't understand why this all had to happen to such innocent people! I mean what did these people (i.e. Jews, Gypsies, Romas, etc.) do? Excuse me for what I'm about to say, but I think all these S.S. Soldiers were smoking something a little more than weed. How could they all have the courage and power to do such these terrible things?
All 40 of us learned a lot from this excursion and I think it brought us closer togerther. We all need to learn to respect one another for our differences regardless of our religions, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, or personal attributes, behaviors, and ideas. What we don't realize is that we are all different, but also so much the same. That's one major thing I have learned since I've been here. We seem to view the Europeans "so differently" compared to us Americans. Yes they don't all speak English, eat the same food, or celebrate the same holidays as we do, but they do share the same personal behaviors and attributes. People have the same kind of small talk when they go to the grocery store or clothing store with the clerks there just as onewould in America, joke around with people they know know, little kids whine to their parents, pre-teens misbehave immaturely in public, people get stressed out or cranky, people are really nice, and some people are just total jerks. See, all this stuff is normal among all of us human beings, even if we are of a different nationality, speak a different language, or have different religious and or political views. But we just need to learn how to accept and respect these differences and notice these personal attributes we share in common with each other as human beings. And that is my personal reflection after my first (and only) experience visitinig a concentration camp and my idea of what would make a more peaceful world.
To sum this post up, I would just like to list a few thing I'm greatful for now:
1.) For having this incredibly amazing oppurtunity to study abroad in this beautiful country for 8 months
2.) My wonderful family and friends
3.) Music
4.) What the future holds for me
and
5.) JUST EVERYTHING! All the great things that are happening in my life right now and the people who are currently, or have been, a part of my life!
Alles Gute!
Oh, and another exciting news! It looks like on the first week of Feburary, my mom and dad are coming to visit me! They are planning to arrive on February 1st. For the first few days I'll show them around Salzburg and then on the weekend we'll take the train to Vienna and I'll show them around one of my most favorite cities! After that, we will go our separate ways. I'll return to Salzburg and they will continue on with thier first visit to Europe by spending the next week in Italy. I'm so excited!
Last Friday, my group had its excursion trip to KL Mauhausen, a concentration camp outside of Linz, Austria. It was a gray and rainy day, which made our experience even more depressing. After reading and learning so much about the horrible events of the Holocaust, I gained a entirely different view from actually being there on the very site where all those terrible things took place. To get to the camp, we walked up the "Stairway of Death," which the weak and exhausted prisoners had to walk up carrying at least 40 kg. of stone. And, let me tell you, those were a lot of stairs. We entered the barracks, where lots of horrific pictures and propaganda were displayed. People were crying. I myself felt tears dwelling up in my eyes, but mostly I was crying on the inside. I just kept asking myself, "How could this happen? Why could such an evil and immoral thing like this happen?" The worst part was going into the gas chamber and crematoria. That's where I just wanted to be sick. I just don't understand why this all had to happen to such innocent people! I mean what did these people (i.e. Jews, Gypsies, Romas, etc.) do? Excuse me for what I'm about to say, but I think all these S.S. Soldiers were smoking something a little more than weed. How could they all have the courage and power to do such these terrible things?
All 40 of us learned a lot from this excursion and I think it brought us closer togerther. We all need to learn to respect one another for our differences regardless of our religions, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, or personal attributes, behaviors, and ideas. What we don't realize is that we are all different, but also so much the same. That's one major thing I have learned since I've been here. We seem to view the Europeans "so differently" compared to us Americans. Yes they don't all speak English, eat the same food, or celebrate the same holidays as we do, but they do share the same personal behaviors and attributes. People have the same kind of small talk when they go to the grocery store or clothing store with the clerks there just as onewould in America, joke around with people they know know, little kids whine to their parents, pre-teens misbehave immaturely in public, people get stressed out or cranky, people are really nice, and some people are just total jerks. See, all this stuff is normal among all of us human beings, even if we are of a different nationality, speak a different language, or have different religious and or political views. But we just need to learn how to accept and respect these differences and notice these personal attributes we share in common with each other as human beings. And that is my personal reflection after my first (and only) experience visitinig a concentration camp and my idea of what would make a more peaceful world.
To sum this post up, I would just like to list a few thing I'm greatful for now:
1.) For having this incredibly amazing oppurtunity to study abroad in this beautiful country for 8 months
2.) My wonderful family and friends
3.) Music
4.) What the future holds for me
and
5.) JUST EVERYTHING! All the great things that are happening in my life right now and the people who are currently, or have been, a part of my life!
Alles Gute!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Prague and Paris
Well, I survived midterms and now I can say that I'm halfway through the semester. Can't believe how fast time is flying! Speaking of which, tomorrow will mark my second month of being abroad- now that is hard to believe! I feel like I have been here for a million years now! I'm still loving it here in Salzburg and the experiences I have been having here are really helping me build confidence and stamina.
Oh where to begin.....
I went to Prague two weeks ago. It was a beautiful and a very interesting place to visit. We left Salzburg at 4:30 in the morning (not really the best time) and arrived there at around noon on Friday, October 21st. It was a lovely train ride as I got to see the apparent differences between the landscapes of Austria and the Czech Republic as we crossed the border, as well as the sun rising over the Czech countryside- what a beautiful thing to see! I also got to have my first experience staying at a hostel, which I've got to say was not as scary or dirty as I thought it was going to be. The rooms were clean and there weren't any "creepers" staying there. Actually, everyone was quite friendly. We met this guy who had to have been in his late 20's or so and was a science teacher taking a free-run sabaticle around Europe for three months. When we got there, he asked us if we were Americans and we said, "Yes," and his face totally brightened up and then he said to us, "God bless you!" It was his first time in Europe ever and that was the first time he had ever met any Americans since he had been there. He was a really nice and friendly person and it was a fun way to get to meet some new people on this trip. The next day, we just spent a lot of time sightseeing Prague. I've got to say that the food was really interesting. I ate this cookie/cake kind of thing called a Trdlnik. It's this delicious, doughy, sweet, kind of cookie that is baked on a roling pin. After it is baked, they take it off the rolling pin where it forms a spiral shape and has an oppen middle. Then sprinkle it with LOTS of powdered sugar. If you are interested in how they make it, go ahead and google it. In the downtown square, they have this neat astrological clock that rings every hour. A large crowd of tourists gather each hour to watch it ring and watch the little little saints come out of the clock tower. I was lucky enough to see it happen twice. Overall, this weekend get-away in the midst of midterms was wonderful!
And now to Paris! So much to see and do! I saw and did soooooooo much! I can definately say I'll be going back there in the spring when everything is in full bloom. I think I can say that this was the first time I was ever completely satisifed with a group tour. Our itinerary was well balanced out allowing us to see almost all the popular sites and giving us every evening free to do whatever we wanted. We left Salzburg early last Friday morning. We first stopped in Ulm, Germany (also the birthplace of Einstein) to see the world's tallest highest church tower. If you have never been there, it is a Gothic Cathedral that was built between the 14th and 19th centuries and measures up to 626 ft. What's fascinating and unique about this cathedral is that above the enterance is the "Israel Window," which reminds the Christian people of the Holocaust. Another cool thing about this cathedral are the Choir stall (you St. Paulian choir people will get a kick out of this!) Between the Nave and the Altar are wooden chairs decorated with small figures of carved oak wood in tge shape of saints, martyrs, scientists, philosophers, and most importantly, female prophets of the old testament. I'll try to post some pictures of these. And I know a perfect place under two carvings where some certain choir members (not to be named) could sit!
We spent the night in Metz, France and then visited Reims, the capital of the Champagne region of France, before we arrived Paris lat in the afternoon. It was interesting to see how champagne is made. It is stored in cellars really deep underground for many years and we got to see all 19,000 bottles that are currently stored down in the cellar. And yes, it was very good Champagne! We all got to sample a free glass at the end of our tour. ( :
We arrived in Paris on Saturday evening. It was nice because we went and checked into our hotel and then we had the whole evening free to do whatever we want. Of course, most of us went to go see the Eiffel Tower. I think my most memorable moment in Paris was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. After all the pictures and movies I had seen the Eiffel Tower in, there I was staring at it with my own two naked eyes. It was perfect timing because it was turning dark and when it turns dark, it starts flashing lights. It was such a beautiful sight! And then when I found myslelf walking closer to this enormous steel structure and finally standing underneath it, I was like, "Whoa! I've got to be dreaming right now!" The week before, I was stressed and somewhat sleep deprived from midterms and a week later I was in the most beautiful city in the world. I couldn't have been any more happier!
The next day, we went to Notre Dame. Our visit of Notre Dame was incredible because it was a Sunday so that mean that mass was going on. I didn't attend the actual Mass service (I don't need to specify why that is), but I did get to see the acolyte, deacon, and priests proccess down the aisle, which was pretty cool. Not every Sunday you get to attend and/or see a service at Notre Dame hehehehe! Afterwards, we went to visit the Sainte Chapelle. The Sainte Chappelle was the palace chapel of the royal family and a reliquiry shrine for relics of the passion of Christ, bought by Louis IX (Louis the Pious) from the Byzantine emperor. The stained glass windows inside were so beautiful and colorful! To conclude our tours for the day, we went to visit the Musee Marmottan (Monet Art Museum). To be honest, Monet is one of my top five favorite artists, propably number four after Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Van Gough. I have always had an admiration for is paintings of landscapes. It was a wonderful, but exhausting, first day in Paris and ended nicely by going to Moulin Rouge for Halloween night.
Day 2 in Paris consisted of a tour of Fountainebleau, which was used a hunting palace during the reign of King Francis I and then Napeolean after the French Revolution. The palace and gardens are MASSIVE, but not quite as massive as Versaille. After visiting Fountainebleau, we got the rest of the day free to do whatever we wished. One of my friends and I went to the Champs Elysee where I got to do some shopping and we went to lunch at this cute little cafe with a sailboat themed setting where the waiters wore sailor hats and blue and white striped sweaters- it was darlin! I had alway imagined myself sitting on the Champs Elysee drinking a cappucino and yes, there I was doing exactly (well, almost- we weren't exactly outside) what I imagined myself doing.
The next day was out tour of Versailles. I just can't believe that someone actually lived in a place that huge! But it was absolutely beautiful. I can say that I totally liked the gardens better than the inside, especially since all the fall colors were in bloom, which made it extra gorgeous. The interior was beautiful as well, but what really annoyed me were these funky Japanese scultptures that were on display throughout the palace of Versailles, which, to me, really interfered with the whole European beauty of the Palace of Versailles. Especially since I'm not so much of a fan of modern Japanese art work. After touring the palac and gardens for a couple hours, a group of us went across the street to this really cute and very French cafe where I orderd a latte and a crepe with chocolate and caramel syrup and vanilla ice cream. It was the prettiest crepe I had ever seen and wow was it delicious!
Afterwards, we rode in our tour bus back into Paris and had a tour of the Musee Rodin, where I got to see the two famous sculptures of the "Gates of Hell" and "The Thinker." Then we went to the St. Louis Des Invlaides where I got to see the tomb of Napolean. Yet, it was another long day of tours and ended with a small group of us going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was getting dark and it was foggy, so we didn't have a very good view, but it was still worth it. At least I can now say that I've been on top of the Eiffel Tower!
Our last day in Paris conluded with a tour of the top two museums in Paris: The Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay. The Louvre was incredibly amazing and HUMUNGOUS! I felt like I was playing Da Vinci Code- another surreal moment for me. I got to see the original Mona Lisa and the Aphrodite. Since the place is so big, I didn't get to see everything unfortunately, but I was completely satisfied. I think the Musee D'Orsay was my favorite out of all the museums we went to because it's full of impressionists artwork, such as works by the artists Monet, Renoir, Van Gough, Manet, Degas, etc. What I love so much about impressionist paintings is that they consist of things from "real life." Nothing to do with religion, mythology, or imaginary creatures- it's all REAL. To me realist and impressionist paintings act as a mirrror towards our everyday lives making (or helping) us see what life really is. So I give big credit to these magnificent artists.
So that pretty much sums up what I've been doing these last two weeks. I only have 6 weeks left of Fall semester so things are still really busy here in Salzburg. Not sure where I'll be traveling to next before my three week Christmas vacation. Oh speaking of which, I will be spending my Christmas break in the United Kindom and Spain. The plan is that my cousin Glenna (who's currently serving in the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa) will come visit me in Salzburg, then we'll fly to Dublin, Ireland and spend 5 days there. Then we will fly to London and spend Christmas there with her mom (my cousin) Ann and my Aunt Marge. I'm so excited! Then I'll fly back to Salzburg for New Year's, spend a couple days there to rest and then on New Year's Day my friend and I are going to fly to Barcelona and spend the last week of Christmas break traveling between Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid. Yeah, that's a lot of traveling to pack in, but it's the best oppurtunity to have since I'm here and won't have any classes to stress about. At the end of my eight months abroad, it will have all been worth it! Life is so good!!!
Oh where to begin.....
I went to Prague two weeks ago. It was a beautiful and a very interesting place to visit. We left Salzburg at 4:30 in the morning (not really the best time) and arrived there at around noon on Friday, October 21st. It was a lovely train ride as I got to see the apparent differences between the landscapes of Austria and the Czech Republic as we crossed the border, as well as the sun rising over the Czech countryside- what a beautiful thing to see! I also got to have my first experience staying at a hostel, which I've got to say was not as scary or dirty as I thought it was going to be. The rooms were clean and there weren't any "creepers" staying there. Actually, everyone was quite friendly. We met this guy who had to have been in his late 20's or so and was a science teacher taking a free-run sabaticle around Europe for three months. When we got there, he asked us if we were Americans and we said, "Yes," and his face totally brightened up and then he said to us, "God bless you!" It was his first time in Europe ever and that was the first time he had ever met any Americans since he had been there. He was a really nice and friendly person and it was a fun way to get to meet some new people on this trip. The next day, we just spent a lot of time sightseeing Prague. I've got to say that the food was really interesting. I ate this cookie/cake kind of thing called a Trdlnik. It's this delicious, doughy, sweet, kind of cookie that is baked on a roling pin. After it is baked, they take it off the rolling pin where it forms a spiral shape and has an oppen middle. Then sprinkle it with LOTS of powdered sugar. If you are interested in how they make it, go ahead and google it. In the downtown square, they have this neat astrological clock that rings every hour. A large crowd of tourists gather each hour to watch it ring and watch the little little saints come out of the clock tower. I was lucky enough to see it happen twice. Overall, this weekend get-away in the midst of midterms was wonderful!
And now to Paris! So much to see and do! I saw and did soooooooo much! I can definately say I'll be going back there in the spring when everything is in full bloom. I think I can say that this was the first time I was ever completely satisifed with a group tour. Our itinerary was well balanced out allowing us to see almost all the popular sites and giving us every evening free to do whatever we wanted. We left Salzburg early last Friday morning. We first stopped in Ulm, Germany (also the birthplace of Einstein) to see the world's tallest highest church tower. If you have never been there, it is a Gothic Cathedral that was built between the 14th and 19th centuries and measures up to 626 ft. What's fascinating and unique about this cathedral is that above the enterance is the "Israel Window," which reminds the Christian people of the Holocaust. Another cool thing about this cathedral are the Choir stall (you St. Paulian choir people will get a kick out of this!) Between the Nave and the Altar are wooden chairs decorated with small figures of carved oak wood in tge shape of saints, martyrs, scientists, philosophers, and most importantly, female prophets of the old testament. I'll try to post some pictures of these. And I know a perfect place under two carvings where some certain choir members (not to be named) could sit!
We spent the night in Metz, France and then visited Reims, the capital of the Champagne region of France, before we arrived Paris lat in the afternoon. It was interesting to see how champagne is made. It is stored in cellars really deep underground for many years and we got to see all 19,000 bottles that are currently stored down in the cellar. And yes, it was very good Champagne! We all got to sample a free glass at the end of our tour. ( :
We arrived in Paris on Saturday evening. It was nice because we went and checked into our hotel and then we had the whole evening free to do whatever we want. Of course, most of us went to go see the Eiffel Tower. I think my most memorable moment in Paris was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. After all the pictures and movies I had seen the Eiffel Tower in, there I was staring at it with my own two naked eyes. It was perfect timing because it was turning dark and when it turns dark, it starts flashing lights. It was such a beautiful sight! And then when I found myslelf walking closer to this enormous steel structure and finally standing underneath it, I was like, "Whoa! I've got to be dreaming right now!" The week before, I was stressed and somewhat sleep deprived from midterms and a week later I was in the most beautiful city in the world. I couldn't have been any more happier!
The next day, we went to Notre Dame. Our visit of Notre Dame was incredible because it was a Sunday so that mean that mass was going on. I didn't attend the actual Mass service (I don't need to specify why that is), but I did get to see the acolyte, deacon, and priests proccess down the aisle, which was pretty cool. Not every Sunday you get to attend and/or see a service at Notre Dame hehehehe! Afterwards, we went to visit the Sainte Chapelle. The Sainte Chappelle was the palace chapel of the royal family and a reliquiry shrine for relics of the passion of Christ, bought by Louis IX (Louis the Pious) from the Byzantine emperor. The stained glass windows inside were so beautiful and colorful! To conclude our tours for the day, we went to visit the Musee Marmottan (Monet Art Museum). To be honest, Monet is one of my top five favorite artists, propably number four after Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Van Gough. I have always had an admiration for is paintings of landscapes. It was a wonderful, but exhausting, first day in Paris and ended nicely by going to Moulin Rouge for Halloween night.
Day 2 in Paris consisted of a tour of Fountainebleau, which was used a hunting palace during the reign of King Francis I and then Napeolean after the French Revolution. The palace and gardens are MASSIVE, but not quite as massive as Versaille. After visiting Fountainebleau, we got the rest of the day free to do whatever we wished. One of my friends and I went to the Champs Elysee where I got to do some shopping and we went to lunch at this cute little cafe with a sailboat themed setting where the waiters wore sailor hats and blue and white striped sweaters- it was darlin! I had alway imagined myself sitting on the Champs Elysee drinking a cappucino and yes, there I was doing exactly (well, almost- we weren't exactly outside) what I imagined myself doing.
The next day was out tour of Versailles. I just can't believe that someone actually lived in a place that huge! But it was absolutely beautiful. I can say that I totally liked the gardens better than the inside, especially since all the fall colors were in bloom, which made it extra gorgeous. The interior was beautiful as well, but what really annoyed me were these funky Japanese scultptures that were on display throughout the palace of Versailles, which, to me, really interfered with the whole European beauty of the Palace of Versailles. Especially since I'm not so much of a fan of modern Japanese art work. After touring the palac and gardens for a couple hours, a group of us went across the street to this really cute and very French cafe where I orderd a latte and a crepe with chocolate and caramel syrup and vanilla ice cream. It was the prettiest crepe I had ever seen and wow was it delicious!
Afterwards, we rode in our tour bus back into Paris and had a tour of the Musee Rodin, where I got to see the two famous sculptures of the "Gates of Hell" and "The Thinker." Then we went to the St. Louis Des Invlaides where I got to see the tomb of Napolean. Yet, it was another long day of tours and ended with a small group of us going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was getting dark and it was foggy, so we didn't have a very good view, but it was still worth it. At least I can now say that I've been on top of the Eiffel Tower!
Our last day in Paris conluded with a tour of the top two museums in Paris: The Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay. The Louvre was incredibly amazing and HUMUNGOUS! I felt like I was playing Da Vinci Code- another surreal moment for me. I got to see the original Mona Lisa and the Aphrodite. Since the place is so big, I didn't get to see everything unfortunately, but I was completely satisfied. I think the Musee D'Orsay was my favorite out of all the museums we went to because it's full of impressionists artwork, such as works by the artists Monet, Renoir, Van Gough, Manet, Degas, etc. What I love so much about impressionist paintings is that they consist of things from "real life." Nothing to do with religion, mythology, or imaginary creatures- it's all REAL. To me realist and impressionist paintings act as a mirrror towards our everyday lives making (or helping) us see what life really is. So I give big credit to these magnificent artists.
So that pretty much sums up what I've been doing these last two weeks. I only have 6 weeks left of Fall semester so things are still really busy here in Salzburg. Not sure where I'll be traveling to next before my three week Christmas vacation. Oh speaking of which, I will be spending my Christmas break in the United Kindom and Spain. The plan is that my cousin Glenna (who's currently serving in the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa) will come visit me in Salzburg, then we'll fly to Dublin, Ireland and spend 5 days there. Then we will fly to London and spend Christmas there with her mom (my cousin) Ann and my Aunt Marge. I'm so excited! Then I'll fly back to Salzburg for New Year's, spend a couple days there to rest and then on New Year's Day my friend and I are going to fly to Barcelona and spend the last week of Christmas break traveling between Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid. Yeah, that's a lot of traveling to pack in, but it's the best oppurtunity to have since I'm here and won't have any classes to stress about. At the end of my eight months abroad, it will have all been worth it! Life is so good!!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Midterms....sigh!
I have been here for over a month now and time is still flying away. It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway through the semester and getting ready for my midterm exams. Urgh, the dreadful late night study sessions are here! But to tell you the truth, living on my own and going to school in a foreign country has really helped me manage my [school] stress better. In my opinion, I think because I don't have a cell phone and/or cable TV, I'm not wasting so much time texting and watching TV. Not to mention that we get HORRIBLE internet access here, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good thing being that I don't waste huge amounts of time on Facebook seeing what everyone is doing back home and chatting with friends or looking up random topics on Google that have absolutely nothing to do with Europe or any of my classes. But the bad thing about having such a sucky internet connection here is that I can't use it to look up pertinant information for my classes or read/write emails, which is my key use of communitcation over here. Anyways, one significant change I have noticed over here is that I have improved on managing my time (especially when taking 16 credits) and that'll be REALLY helpful for when I return to UP next year.
Also, I have finally decided that after this semester is over, I'm going to declare English as a second major. So I will officically become a double English and German major and Music minor at the University of Portland. I know it's going to be hard, and quite a huge load, but I have figured out how I'm going to do it all and graduate by Spring 2013, which is my intended graduation year. That means that for the next 4 semesters at UP, I'm going to have to take 16-18 credits per semester, plus 2 classes for three summer sessions at UP. Well, this isn't quite official yet. I still need to talk to my advisor back at UP and make sure I'm on the right track and everything. But, I've got to say: I have completely fallen in love with literature and writing. Yeah, I know....sounds kind of cheesy, but the skills attained by an English major builds a very solid foundation to any kind of career path. No matter which career path you choose, whether it's engineering or nursing, business or education, or waitressing or the preist/deaconhood, you will always need to read and write. I also think it is really important to know the basic understanding and big picture of life through literature and by writing down our thoughts and ideas. I have also gained liking to writing and analyzing poetry. The other day when I was bored in Ethics class, I wrote a poem. As I learned last year from my English 112 proffesor, Dr. Asarnow, he quoted the poet Chase Twitchell who said, "Poetry isn't window cleaning, it breaks the glass." It's funny because last year I didn't quite understand the meaning of that quote. But after stumbling upon it this summer and reading it over and over again with my feet up (two of Dr. Asarnow's "tips to reading a poem") I GOT IT! Metaphorically speaking, you need to look at all the shattered pieces of glass from the broken window in order to discover the meaning of poetry- basically every aspect of life if you know what I'm talking about. And, must I mention, having this knowledge will really help me in my music studies as it is crucial to understand the meaning of your song- especailly when you are a singer!
Anyways enough rambling and back to my adventures. This weekend, I'm just staying in Salzburg, as you can see, to rest and prepare for my midterms, since I do have my Ethics midterm on Monday. But a lot of other Sazlburgers (UP study abroad students in Salzburers that is) are staying in too. I'm hoping to go to Prague next weekend after midterms are over and then the week after that is our week long tour of France and Germany! Last weekend, I went to Innsbruck for the day with a few other Salzburgers. The weather was beautiful and the mountains and scenary there were magnificently gorgeous! We walked up 148 stairs of the Stadt (city) Tower downtown and saw where the 1964 Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck. That was my first time to ever go visit any Olympic site- but to tell you the truth, it wasn't too exciting. Maybe if I was actually there in 1964 to see the actual game. Aber, alles gut!
So my German class has been emailing some high school aged girls who are studying English here in Salzburg. This way we can practice communicating in German and they can practice communicating in English. Well, embarassingly enough, our German isn't all that great yet, but the girls were very sweet and patient with us. My German is coming along and I feel like I'm improving everyday, now that I can hear it everywhere around me. When I went to the post office a few weeks ago to buy stamps, I was able to to communicate to the postman all auf Deutsch und mit kein Englisch. I felt so proud of myself!
Anyways, all here is still good, but it'll be even better once midterms are over and once I can start traveling again! Well, I do have 7 months left here, so I shouldn't be complaing that much. Well, back to studying Ethics!
Also, I have finally decided that after this semester is over, I'm going to declare English as a second major. So I will officically become a double English and German major and Music minor at the University of Portland. I know it's going to be hard, and quite a huge load, but I have figured out how I'm going to do it all and graduate by Spring 2013, which is my intended graduation year. That means that for the next 4 semesters at UP, I'm going to have to take 16-18 credits per semester, plus 2 classes for three summer sessions at UP. Well, this isn't quite official yet. I still need to talk to my advisor back at UP and make sure I'm on the right track and everything. But, I've got to say: I have completely fallen in love with literature and writing. Yeah, I know....sounds kind of cheesy, but the skills attained by an English major builds a very solid foundation to any kind of career path. No matter which career path you choose, whether it's engineering or nursing, business or education, or waitressing or the preist/deaconhood, you will always need to read and write. I also think it is really important to know the basic understanding and big picture of life through literature and by writing down our thoughts and ideas. I have also gained liking to writing and analyzing poetry. The other day when I was bored in Ethics class, I wrote a poem. As I learned last year from my English 112 proffesor, Dr. Asarnow, he quoted the poet Chase Twitchell who said, "Poetry isn't window cleaning, it breaks the glass." It's funny because last year I didn't quite understand the meaning of that quote. But after stumbling upon it this summer and reading it over and over again with my feet up (two of Dr. Asarnow's "tips to reading a poem") I GOT IT! Metaphorically speaking, you need to look at all the shattered pieces of glass from the broken window in order to discover the meaning of poetry- basically every aspect of life if you know what I'm talking about. And, must I mention, having this knowledge will really help me in my music studies as it is crucial to understand the meaning of your song- especailly when you are a singer!
Anyways enough rambling and back to my adventures. This weekend, I'm just staying in Salzburg, as you can see, to rest and prepare for my midterms, since I do have my Ethics midterm on Monday. But a lot of other Sazlburgers (UP study abroad students in Salzburers that is) are staying in too. I'm hoping to go to Prague next weekend after midterms are over and then the week after that is our week long tour of France and Germany! Last weekend, I went to Innsbruck for the day with a few other Salzburgers. The weather was beautiful and the mountains and scenary there were magnificently gorgeous! We walked up 148 stairs of the Stadt (city) Tower downtown and saw where the 1964 Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck. That was my first time to ever go visit any Olympic site- but to tell you the truth, it wasn't too exciting. Maybe if I was actually there in 1964 to see the actual game. Aber, alles gut!
So my German class has been emailing some high school aged girls who are studying English here in Salzburg. This way we can practice communicating in German and they can practice communicating in English. Well, embarassingly enough, our German isn't all that great yet, but the girls were very sweet and patient with us. My German is coming along and I feel like I'm improving everyday, now that I can hear it everywhere around me. When I went to the post office a few weeks ago to buy stamps, I was able to to communicate to the postman all auf Deutsch und mit kein Englisch. I felt so proud of myself!
Anyways, all here is still good, but it'll be even better once midterms are over and once I can start traveling again! Well, I do have 7 months left here, so I shouldn't be complaing that much. Well, back to studying Ethics!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wien, Again!
It was absolutely wonderful to be in Vienna once again! I couldn't believe that I had actually been there before, but this visit was much better than my first visit 2 1/2 years ago in my junior year of high school. Our group left Salzburg early Thursday morning and returned Sunday evening. We had 4 amazing, yet exhausting, days of touring museums, historical sites, etc. Best of all, we had extremely beautiful weather until Sunday morning when we woke up to rain, thunder, and howling wind. So reminded me of home!
Vienna is about a four hour drive from Salzburg- about as far it is from PT to Portland. We arrived
Vienna a little after noon. Our first stop was the Schonbrunn Palace (my second visit!). The sunny weather made my time even more exciting, escpecially in the gardens where the flowers were still in full bloom and color and the scenary was so pictureseque. I felt like I was in some impressionist painting! I was fortunate enough to have more time to explore the gardens. I didn't know that it had a hedge labrynth and the Imperial Zoo (Vienna Zoo)! I got to walk up to the Glorriette, which is a temple-like structure that stands up at the top of the hill of the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens. It was one of the most amazing views I had ever seen! Don't worry, I took LOTS of pictures! It was great to have the oppurtunity to go back to the Schonbrunn and have more time to look around. I had forgotten how beautiful the interior of the palace. Sehr sehr schon! It was also very helpful because our art history professor and music professor came along with us to Wien. They are both really amazing women who know a lot and pointed out some very significant details about the art and architecture around Wien. It totally made our tours more interesting.
In addition to the Schonbrunn, we toured the Hunderwasser Village (if you Google it, it might remind you A LOT of PT!), the Treasury Building, The Hofburg where we got to see the training of the Lipcason (sp?) Stallions, St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Belvedere Palace where I got to see Gustav Klint's original painting of "The Kiss." It's funny because there is a copy of the painting in the bathroom at the Silverwater (the restraunt I use to work at back home if you don't know what I'm talking about) and all the times I saw it there, at the place where I earned my way to be where I am right now, I got to see the actual thing Vienna.
I was happy to go back to the Volksoper Opera House to see the opera Tosca by Giacomo Pucini. I must say, from a music minor and performer's point of view, it was not the best opera I had ever to. The singers and orchestra were really good and were in tune and on cue, but the whole story line was impossible to interpret. We had absolutely no idea what was going on throughout the entire performance, even though our music professor gave us a fairly good synopsis. Oh well, as long as I enjoyed the music and singing, I was satisfied. Oh, one other thing: Our seats were horrible! We were in third row of the higest balcony of the Volksoper. My seat was at the very end of the row, which really disrupted my view of the stage and the orchestra! Not cool at all! Observation is very crucial for a music major or minor- especially when one is a singer!
The highlight of our visit to Vienna was the tour of the State Opera. I think it is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world! The State Opera House is 140 years old and holds about 2,000 something seats as I recall. The interior is amazingingly gorgeous. The best part of the tour there was that we got to go stand on the wings of the stage (too bad we couldn't go on center stage)! The depth of the stage is 30 meters, which is about five times the McCurdy Pavillion's stage, and takes a set crew of 200 to prepare for a show. I think that was my most breath-taking experience here, which you can probably understand why.
On our way back to Salzburg, we stopped in Melk to visit the Monastery there. It is HUMOUNGOUS! It has a library, ballroom, school, and the most beautiful sanctuary I have ever seen.
This weekend I'm just going to stay in Salzburg and catch up on homework, go shopping, figure out where I may want to travel to next weekend, and rest. I'm hoping before my fall tour of France and Germany to go to Prague and/or Budapest. A lot of other people are planning to do that so we'll see how that all turns out.
So things are starting to get pretty busy for me over here as I have a lot of studying and traveling to do. This will probably be my last LONG post for awhile, but if anyting exciting happens between now and when I leave for my fall tour in 3 weeks, I'll be sure to let you all know!
Tchuss!
Vienna is about a four hour drive from Salzburg- about as far it is from PT to Portland. We arrived
Vienna a little after noon. Our first stop was the Schonbrunn Palace (my second visit!). The sunny weather made my time even more exciting, escpecially in the gardens where the flowers were still in full bloom and color and the scenary was so pictureseque. I felt like I was in some impressionist painting! I was fortunate enough to have more time to explore the gardens. I didn't know that it had a hedge labrynth and the Imperial Zoo (Vienna Zoo)! I got to walk up to the Glorriette, which is a temple-like structure that stands up at the top of the hill of the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens. It was one of the most amazing views I had ever seen! Don't worry, I took LOTS of pictures! It was great to have the oppurtunity to go back to the Schonbrunn and have more time to look around. I had forgotten how beautiful the interior of the palace. Sehr sehr schon! It was also very helpful because our art history professor and music professor came along with us to Wien. They are both really amazing women who know a lot and pointed out some very significant details about the art and architecture around Wien. It totally made our tours more interesting.
In addition to the Schonbrunn, we toured the Hunderwasser Village (if you Google it, it might remind you A LOT of PT!), the Treasury Building, The Hofburg where we got to see the training of the Lipcason (sp?) Stallions, St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Belvedere Palace where I got to see Gustav Klint's original painting of "The Kiss." It's funny because there is a copy of the painting in the bathroom at the Silverwater (the restraunt I use to work at back home if you don't know what I'm talking about) and all the times I saw it there, at the place where I earned my way to be where I am right now, I got to see the actual thing Vienna.
I was happy to go back to the Volksoper Opera House to see the opera Tosca by Giacomo Pucini. I must say, from a music minor and performer's point of view, it was not the best opera I had ever to. The singers and orchestra were really good and were in tune and on cue, but the whole story line was impossible to interpret. We had absolutely no idea what was going on throughout the entire performance, even though our music professor gave us a fairly good synopsis. Oh well, as long as I enjoyed the music and singing, I was satisfied. Oh, one other thing: Our seats were horrible! We were in third row of the higest balcony of the Volksoper. My seat was at the very end of the row, which really disrupted my view of the stage and the orchestra! Not cool at all! Observation is very crucial for a music major or minor- especially when one is a singer!
The highlight of our visit to Vienna was the tour of the State Opera. I think it is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world! The State Opera House is 140 years old and holds about 2,000 something seats as I recall. The interior is amazingingly gorgeous. The best part of the tour there was that we got to go stand on the wings of the stage (too bad we couldn't go on center stage)! The depth of the stage is 30 meters, which is about five times the McCurdy Pavillion's stage, and takes a set crew of 200 to prepare for a show. I think that was my most breath-taking experience here, which you can probably understand why.
On our way back to Salzburg, we stopped in Melk to visit the Monastery there. It is HUMOUNGOUS! It has a library, ballroom, school, and the most beautiful sanctuary I have ever seen.
This weekend I'm just going to stay in Salzburg and catch up on homework, go shopping, figure out where I may want to travel to next weekend, and rest. I'm hoping before my fall tour of France and Germany to go to Prague and/or Budapest. A lot of other people are planning to do that so we'll see how that all turns out.
So things are starting to get pretty busy for me over here as I have a lot of studying and traveling to do. This will probably be my last LONG post for awhile, but if anyting exciting happens between now and when I leave for my fall tour in 3 weeks, I'll be sure to let you all know!
Tchuss!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Classes, Oktoberfest, Polizei, Oh my!
My first week of classes went by REALLY fast in just the blink of an eye! The days are still long and tiring, just as they would be if I were back taking classes in Portland, but at least I only have classes 4 days a week, which is absolutely amazing! I really like how my class schedule is balanced out this year. All of my classes start at 9am Monday to Thursday and I only have three classes a day, which gives me some good blocks of time to finish my homework so I have time to go exploring on my three-day weekends. So far I like my classes, but some are a little on the boring side (such as Political Science and Theology), but I try to find them interesting. But I know that I will get a lot out of them. Afterall, I am studying abroad in Europe for 8 months!I really like my Fine Arts and Music History Class- of course!
This weekend I went to Munich for Oktoberfest. It was totally not what I was expecting. I thought it was just all beer gardens (well there were about 5 diffferent beer gardens there that seat about 1,500 people each!). From my perspective, I saw it as a more liberal and foreign vesion of the Puyallup Fair, excluding the animals. I had never seen so many guys wearing Liederhosen-it was darling! Since it was the opening day of Oktoberfest, it was extremely crowded and hardly any room to move. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to one of the beer gardens because they were way too crowded and thousands of people were crammed into all of them. It is said that appoximately 1 million people attend Oktoberfest each day. Wow! I also got to have my first Bratwurst yesterday-quite tasty! And I bought a small beer stein as a souvenir to prove that I've been to Oktoberfest. It was a fun, but exhausting day. My group left Salzburg at 8am, took a 2 hour train ride to Munich, and got back to Salzburg at 10pm. Luckily I was able to sleep in this Sunday morning and I'm committing the rest of my day to finishing my homework, which is mostly to finish my mass load of Political Science reading.
Okay, so I had quite an interesting experience on Friday. The other day, these two guys who live on the first floor of the Center got there wallets stolen. Apparently, some stranger came into the center while there door was unlocked and stole their wallets. That same day, I was upstairs in my room with the door opened a jar. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone open the door and I just thought it was my roommate coming in. It was some random guy who stepped into my room a few inches and once he noticed I was there he said "sorry" and left. I just assumed he was some maintenance man and here to fix something and I didn't really think of him being some creep. Later that night, the two guys couldn't find thier wallets, so it was obvious that they had been robbed. The next morning, our program director calls me in my room and asks me if I saw anyone suspicious in the center the other day. I told him about some random guy coming into my room and so he asked me to come with he and the two guys who got there wallets stolen to the police station. We were there for 2 1/2 hours as the police had to ask us all these questions. The reason why I was asked to come with them was to act as a witness because I was the only one at the center who really got a glimpse at the stranger. Well, that was quite an interesting (and wild) European experience! I sure hope that they can find the guy and the two guys get their wallets back. Don't worry, my roommate and I ALWAYS lock the door whenever we leave our room now!
On Thursday morning, my mom called me to tell me that my Grandpa Bill passed away. I was prepared for that to happen while I was here. I'm not at all worried because I know everyone back home is taking good care of my mom. And all the other 39 people I'm living with here (especially my roommate) took really good care of me and all signed a sympathy card for me and gave me a boquet of flowers. I was so happy and extemely thankful. I have yet another family in addition to my St. Paul's family and my blood-related family! I don't think there is anyway I could be filled with more gratitude and happiness right now. But I do miss you all and my cat Rio!
Well, it was all a lot to pack into one week, but I'm still having a lot of fun. I've only been here for 12 days and I'm already getting really close to everyone here and having incredible experiences. Next Thursday I get to go to Vienna once again. I can't wait! Alles gut!
This weekend I went to Munich for Oktoberfest. It was totally not what I was expecting. I thought it was just all beer gardens (well there were about 5 diffferent beer gardens there that seat about 1,500 people each!). From my perspective, I saw it as a more liberal and foreign vesion of the Puyallup Fair, excluding the animals. I had never seen so many guys wearing Liederhosen-it was darling! Since it was the opening day of Oktoberfest, it was extremely crowded and hardly any room to move. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to one of the beer gardens because they were way too crowded and thousands of people were crammed into all of them. It is said that appoximately 1 million people attend Oktoberfest each day. Wow! I also got to have my first Bratwurst yesterday-quite tasty! And I bought a small beer stein as a souvenir to prove that I've been to Oktoberfest. It was a fun, but exhausting day. My group left Salzburg at 8am, took a 2 hour train ride to Munich, and got back to Salzburg at 10pm. Luckily I was able to sleep in this Sunday morning and I'm committing the rest of my day to finishing my homework, which is mostly to finish my mass load of Political Science reading.
Okay, so I had quite an interesting experience on Friday. The other day, these two guys who live on the first floor of the Center got there wallets stolen. Apparently, some stranger came into the center while there door was unlocked and stole their wallets. That same day, I was upstairs in my room with the door opened a jar. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone open the door and I just thought it was my roommate coming in. It was some random guy who stepped into my room a few inches and once he noticed I was there he said "sorry" and left. I just assumed he was some maintenance man and here to fix something and I didn't really think of him being some creep. Later that night, the two guys couldn't find thier wallets, so it was obvious that they had been robbed. The next morning, our program director calls me in my room and asks me if I saw anyone suspicious in the center the other day. I told him about some random guy coming into my room and so he asked me to come with he and the two guys who got there wallets stolen to the police station. We were there for 2 1/2 hours as the police had to ask us all these questions. The reason why I was asked to come with them was to act as a witness because I was the only one at the center who really got a glimpse at the stranger. Well, that was quite an interesting (and wild) European experience! I sure hope that they can find the guy and the two guys get their wallets back. Don't worry, my roommate and I ALWAYS lock the door whenever we leave our room now!
On Thursday morning, my mom called me to tell me that my Grandpa Bill passed away. I was prepared for that to happen while I was here. I'm not at all worried because I know everyone back home is taking good care of my mom. And all the other 39 people I'm living with here (especially my roommate) took really good care of me and all signed a sympathy card for me and gave me a boquet of flowers. I was so happy and extemely thankful. I have yet another family in addition to my St. Paul's family and my blood-related family! I don't think there is anyway I could be filled with more gratitude and happiness right now. But I do miss you all and my cat Rio!
Well, it was all a lot to pack into one week, but I'm still having a lot of fun. I've only been here for 12 days and I'm already getting really close to everyone here and having incredible experiences. Next Thursday I get to go to Vienna once again. I can't wait! Alles gut!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Salzburg So Far
I have now been in Salzburg for 5 days. I can't believe that I'm actually here absorbing the richness of this cute fairytale-like town! Since day 2, I have been completely in love with the town! The Austrians are so graceful and laid-back and don't appear to be as rushed most Americans are. And if you think Washington and Oregon are green, come check out the Austrian countryside! Now that's what I call "EVERGREEN!" The scenary around here is absolutely amazing! The water in the lake distict is perfectly still and the hills are definately alive!
My adventures have been incredible within these last few days. My group arrived here to the Universirty of Portland Center in Salzburg at around 1pm (4AM Pacific time). After leaving Seattle at 7:30 am, then hopping onto my 9 hour flight in Washington DC to Vienna, and then getting onto a smaller to take us to Salzburg, I was a pretty exhausted and jet leg once we got there! And worst of all, I was only able to sleep for about 30 minutes within my 14 hours of flying! So once we all got to the center, we got our room assignments and all unpacked and got settled in. The University Center is really nice! There are two buildings. The first building is the main building, which is three stories tall and consists of a kitchen, dinning area, living/recreational room, laundry room, and bedrooms on each floor. My roommate Katelynn and I are on the second floor of the main building. We all get out own bathroom in each room with tile floors and walls and a balcony that looks down at the courtyard (well it's mostly a brick driveway with a basketball hoop, but we just call it the courtyard) which separates the two buildings of the center. The second builing consists of the classroom and computer room and more bedrooms. Oh, and did I mention that all the flooring downstairs is heated and the staircase is marble?! I'm sorry you guys back at UP, but this place definately beats Fields & Padre! I must say it's a very sweet deal not having to walk far to class and for meals everyday. But, we do have to walk a few blocks for lunch. As part of our meal plan that is included in my study abroad program tuition, we were given lunch cards that will last us all year to go to the commons at AG Salzburg. AG Salzburg is a big Austrian telecomunications company-kind of like the Austrian version of Broadstripe. Speaking of food, I really like how the Austrians eat. They eat a lite breakfast of just fruit, yogurt, cereal, and/or toast. They treat lunch as their main meal of the day with a soup, salad, and main dish. And then for dinner, just a small salad, main course, and dessert. Quite a well balanced meal compared to Fast Food America! That's why the Europeans are so much healthier. One thing I have noticed is that they do put A LOT of salt in their soups and stuff. Makes sense since we are in Salzburg, which means "Salt Mine" in German.
As of two days ago, I came down with a terrible cold (thanks to my mother for giving it to me!). We didn't have any tours planned yesterday, so I just stayed at the center all day and got some rest. Even though I can never take a nap, I slept for about an hour and a half and I woke up feeling much better! Amazing what sleep will do to you. Last night we got all dressed up for a formal dinner at this nice restuarant in the country side called Laschenskyhof. We had a wonderful dinner with the famous Austrian struedel for dessert. That gave us the time to get to meet our professors. So far our professors have been really nice and are extremely knowledgeable in thier areas of studies. Most of them teach at the University of Salzburg in addition to University of Portland Center. So I began my classes for Fall semester today with German, Ethics, and Biblical Traditions and Culture (the 200 level Theology we are required to take). Then tomorrow, I have Fine Arts, Political Science, and Developmental Muisic in Europe. I really like how our schedule is layed out. I have three classes a day and only from Monday to Thursday, which is really nice! They do that on purpose so that we have time to travel during the weekends. For our first weekened trip, a bunch of us will be taking the train the Munich for October Fest! I've heard it's suppose to be really fun, but still, be sure to think happy thoughts and prayers for me this weekend since I have absolutely no idea what kind of experience that is going to be! Hahaha! ( : Well, better go get a start on my homework....sigh.
Auf Wiedersehn!
My adventures have been incredible within these last few days. My group arrived here to the Universirty of Portland Center in Salzburg at around 1pm (4AM Pacific time). After leaving Seattle at 7:30 am, then hopping onto my 9 hour flight in Washington DC to Vienna, and then getting onto a smaller to take us to Salzburg, I was a pretty exhausted and jet leg once we got there! And worst of all, I was only able to sleep for about 30 minutes within my 14 hours of flying! So once we all got to the center, we got our room assignments and all unpacked and got settled in. The University Center is really nice! There are two buildings. The first building is the main building, which is three stories tall and consists of a kitchen, dinning area, living/recreational room, laundry room, and bedrooms on each floor. My roommate Katelynn and I are on the second floor of the main building. We all get out own bathroom in each room with tile floors and walls and a balcony that looks down at the courtyard (well it's mostly a brick driveway with a basketball hoop, but we just call it the courtyard) which separates the two buildings of the center. The second builing consists of the classroom and computer room and more bedrooms. Oh, and did I mention that all the flooring downstairs is heated and the staircase is marble?! I'm sorry you guys back at UP, but this place definately beats Fields & Padre! I must say it's a very sweet deal not having to walk far to class and for meals everyday. But, we do have to walk a few blocks for lunch. As part of our meal plan that is included in my study abroad program tuition, we were given lunch cards that will last us all year to go to the commons at AG Salzburg. AG Salzburg is a big Austrian telecomunications company-kind of like the Austrian version of Broadstripe. Speaking of food, I really like how the Austrians eat. They eat a lite breakfast of just fruit, yogurt, cereal, and/or toast. They treat lunch as their main meal of the day with a soup, salad, and main dish. And then for dinner, just a small salad, main course, and dessert. Quite a well balanced meal compared to Fast Food America! That's why the Europeans are so much healthier. One thing I have noticed is that they do put A LOT of salt in their soups and stuff. Makes sense since we are in Salzburg, which means "Salt Mine" in German.
As of two days ago, I came down with a terrible cold (thanks to my mother for giving it to me!). We didn't have any tours planned yesterday, so I just stayed at the center all day and got some rest. Even though I can never take a nap, I slept for about an hour and a half and I woke up feeling much better! Amazing what sleep will do to you. Last night we got all dressed up for a formal dinner at this nice restuarant in the country side called Laschenskyhof. We had a wonderful dinner with the famous Austrian struedel for dessert. That gave us the time to get to meet our professors. So far our professors have been really nice and are extremely knowledgeable in thier areas of studies. Most of them teach at the University of Salzburg in addition to University of Portland Center. So I began my classes for Fall semester today with German, Ethics, and Biblical Traditions and Culture (the 200 level Theology we are required to take). Then tomorrow, I have Fine Arts, Political Science, and Developmental Muisic in Europe. I really like how our schedule is layed out. I have three classes a day and only from Monday to Thursday, which is really nice! They do that on purpose so that we have time to travel during the weekends. For our first weekened trip, a bunch of us will be taking the train the Munich for October Fest! I've heard it's suppose to be really fun, but still, be sure to think happy thoughts and prayers for me this weekend since I have absolutely no idea what kind of experience that is going to be! Hahaha! ( : Well, better go get a start on my homework....sigh.
Auf Wiedersehn!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
I Made It!
Just want to let you all know that I made it safe and soundly to Salzburg this morning! It's amazingly beautiful here (for as much as I've seen so far). I'm a little exhausted/jet leg, so most of our group is pretty much chilling here at the University of Portland Center. I'll give more details later since I am about to go to our first group dinner tonight fun! I promise to explain more about where I'm living and Salzburg.....after I get some more sleep!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!
Well here it is my last day in Port Townsend. Tomorrow afternoon, Mom, Dad, and I will be leaving PT and staying the night at Sea Tac as my flight leaves at 7:35AM (none of us are looking forward to that!). I was told by my program coordinator to be at the airport 2 1/2 hours before my flight leaves. So that means we'll have to wake up at 4AM on Tuesday and get to the airport by 5AM! I know what I'll be doing after I get through security: Starbucks Run!!!!! Anyways, as you can probably guess, I'm pretty much experiencing every emotion there is at the moment; happy, nervous, excited, scared, sad, surreal, overwhelmed, thankful, you name it. But mostly I'm just so "freakin' excited!" (As quoted by my cousin Glenna on her blog before she left to study abroad in France a few years ago.) It will sure be a LONG day of traveling! That's all I can say. Hopefully I will be able to sleep on the plane, but we'll just have to see how that goes since I can never sleep during the day.
I'm proud to say that I have accomplished EVERYTHING on my summer to-do list and all I have left to do is to finish packing my HUMONGOUS suitcase full of 8 months worth of clothes. After weeks of panicking over the airline's stupid baggage limitations/restrictions, I 've decided that I no longer really care about being charged for having overweight baggage. Since I'm going to be there for 8 MONTHS in a city whose temperature gets down to 10 degrees fahrenheit, I just decided the forget it and pack as many clothes as I need! But I do know that I will regret it eventually since I have a feeling that I will be coming home with new clothes from some nice European boutiques!
So for my packing details, I have one big duffel bag I got at REI with all my shoes and personal care supplies int it, my jumbo suitcase full of clothes, and my backpack, which I will be using as my carry-on for my flight. After I'm done doing laundry and packing tonight, I think I shall be all ready to go!
I can't believe this time has finally come! It has been a long and hard 4 months of summer and I'm so ready to get out of Port Townsend and explore different parts of the world. But I'm so thankful and blessed to have so many loved ones back here in PT (for whom I shall terribly miss!). I think it is important for one to experience living in different places within his or her lifetime. Although I'm beginning to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of PT, but right now, as a 20 year old college student still trying to find her place in life, there's really nothing else here for me (except you guys). I need to go somewhere where I can meet new people, experience different things, learn, and find balance. But I will always remember where my roots are and that I can always refer to PT and all my wonderful family, friends, and childhood memories there. So here I go out to face the world as a young independent college student to face more advantages and disadvantages of life. Once I step on that airplane, my life is going to change forever (well don't take that too literally. I'll still be the same person, but just have a more expanded view towards things!) No matter where life takes me from this point on, I will always keep the people and memories in PT engraved in my heart forever!
So wish me luck and keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this journey to see the rest of this world WE live in!
Tchuss! (Informal version of saying "goodbye" in German)
I'm proud to say that I have accomplished EVERYTHING on my summer to-do list and all I have left to do is to finish packing my HUMONGOUS suitcase full of 8 months worth of clothes. After weeks of panicking over the airline's stupid baggage limitations/restrictions, I 've decided that I no longer really care about being charged for having overweight baggage. Since I'm going to be there for 8 MONTHS in a city whose temperature gets down to 10 degrees fahrenheit, I just decided the forget it and pack as many clothes as I need! But I do know that I will regret it eventually since I have a feeling that I will be coming home with new clothes from some nice European boutiques!
So for my packing details, I have one big duffel bag I got at REI with all my shoes and personal care supplies int it, my jumbo suitcase full of clothes, and my backpack, which I will be using as my carry-on for my flight. After I'm done doing laundry and packing tonight, I think I shall be all ready to go!
I can't believe this time has finally come! It has been a long and hard 4 months of summer and I'm so ready to get out of Port Townsend and explore different parts of the world. But I'm so thankful and blessed to have so many loved ones back here in PT (for whom I shall terribly miss!). I think it is important for one to experience living in different places within his or her lifetime. Although I'm beginning to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of PT, but right now, as a 20 year old college student still trying to find her place in life, there's really nothing else here for me (except you guys). I need to go somewhere where I can meet new people, experience different things, learn, and find balance. But I will always remember where my roots are and that I can always refer to PT and all my wonderful family, friends, and childhood memories there. So here I go out to face the world as a young independent college student to face more advantages and disadvantages of life. Once I step on that airplane, my life is going to change forever (well don't take that too literally. I'll still be the same person, but just have a more expanded view towards things!) No matter where life takes me from this point on, I will always keep the people and memories in PT engraved in my heart forever!
So wish me luck and keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this journey to see the rest of this world WE live in!
Tchuss! (Informal version of saying "goodbye" in German)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Oh, the Places I Will Go
So here's a list of the trips I will be taking with my group:
September
Weekend Trip to Vienna (Wien). We will tour the city, attend a performance at the Vienna Opera House, visit the Shonbrunn Palace, and tour the Art History Museum.
October
Tour of France and Germany.
November
Excursion to KZ Mathausen. KZ Mathausen was a slave labor concentration camp near Linz, Austria during World War 2. To read more about it, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp It's quite an interesting story.
December
Three week Christmas break. We all have the opportunity to do whatever we want. I'm really hoping to spend this time with my cousin Glenna, who is currently a Peace Corps Volunteer stationed in Benin, Africa, in London and Ireland. Those 3 weeks would be a perfect time for me to visit that part of the European Union!
February/March
Three week tour of Greece and Italy.
One of the things I absolutely love about this program is that we get three day weekends! Our schedule is organized this way on purpose so that us 40 students from the University of Portland ( UP) have the opportunity to visit some other countries/cities/sites/etc. during our 8 months abroad.
September
Weekend Trip to Vienna (Wien). We will tour the city, attend a performance at the Vienna Opera House, visit the Shonbrunn Palace, and tour the Art History Museum.
October
Tour of France and Germany.
November
Excursion to KZ Mathausen. KZ Mathausen was a slave labor concentration camp near Linz, Austria during World War 2. To read more about it, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp It's quite an interesting story.
December
Three week Christmas break. We all have the opportunity to do whatever we want. I'm really hoping to spend this time with my cousin Glenna, who is currently a Peace Corps Volunteer stationed in Benin, Africa, in London and Ireland. Those 3 weeks would be a perfect time for me to visit that part of the European Union!
February/March
Three week tour of Greece and Italy.
One of the things I absolutely love about this program is that we get three day weekends! Our schedule is organized this way on purpose so that us 40 students from the University of Portland ( UP) have the opportunity to visit some other countries/cities/sites/etc. during our 8 months abroad.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
2 Months!
I now have less than two months till I leave for Salzburg! My, time is flying by so quickly! Two months ago I was sad to leave all my friends and great memories behind at UP (To all of my friends: I still miss you and I can't wait to see you when I get back!), but now have two more months until I really get to face some big challenges and experiences. So as these two months pass by ( very quickly), I have A LOT of things to do between now and September. First of all, I'm working at the Silverwater Cafe 4 days a week, 20 hours a week, and let me say that the tips are coming in quite handy! Then I have to buy some specifc travel supplies at REI, such as a good quality back pack, duffle bag, travel supplies, etc. But I don't want to buy too much stuff though, because I want to wait to buy nice European clothes and other valuable things. I'm going there to actually experience the REAL European culture and everything ya know!
Well I hope (I know) these next two months are going to go by REALLY fast! Before I know it, I'll be inhaling the rejuevenating Austrian air again!
Well I hope (I know) these next two months are going to go by REALLY fast! Before I know it, I'll be inhaling the rejuevenating Austrian air again!
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