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!
Friday, October 15, 2010
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.
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