time to choose classes! And, of course, everyone's laptop suddenly decides to stop loading the Emerson Courses List. Which means the computer lab today was PACKED. Thankfully I had already written down the codes for the classes I wanted, so it wasn't a huge deal. However, a couple of classes I really wanted to take were full, so my dear friend Jenn went to the webpage and IMed me the codes for a couple classes.
I'm still considering a Marketing minor, or perhaps a Journalism one, but I like my schedule as it is right now and since you only need 4 classes for the minor I could start next fall working towards it. We'll see. You can declare a minor at any time too, so I don't have to do it by the end of the Spring semester like I have to declare Writing Literature and Publishing as my official major. I'm also wondering if I want to declare a BFA instead of a BA, but I'm not entirely sure what that entails other than a better degree. If it's a lot more work then I should probably stay away seeing as how I stress out over schoolwork enough as it is.
Anyway. My schedule as of right now is:
Monday: American Literature 10-11:15
Tuesday: Magazine Writing 2-3:45, Advanced Creative Writing 4-5:45
Wednesday: American Literature 10-11:15
Thursday: Magazine Writing 2-3:45, Advanced Creative Writing 4-5:45
Friday: American Literature 10-11:15, Psychology of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity 12-3:45
The psychology one takes out my psych gen ed and my us diversity gen ed so now the only gen ed I have left is Science I believe. More room on my schedule to later take a marketing or journalism class! Also, if Copyediting clears up (it's full as of now) then I'm snatching it up, so that might mess with the schedule a bit.
One paper down, one more to go for this week. I'm contemplating taking my laptop to Greece though, so I can work on my other million and a half papers I have to do before the end of the week. Let's see... what's left... a short story, two revised short stories, an 8 page paper on the effects of tourism on a culture, a collage and accompanying paper on how Europeans view Americans, and an 8 (?) page paper on an ethical subject of my choosing (Animal Rights). Oh God I have lots of work to do... Plus two finals to study for. Uuuuugh.
That is all. It is dinnertime.
<3 and miss you all, only 16 more days!!!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Travel Break, Take 2.
Okay, so, as you could probably tell by my last post, I was very moved by Prague. It was a really gorgeous city with a lot of history, it was interesting since before this trip I didn't even know where Prague was let alone anything about it, so everything was unexpected. Of course, the concentration camp at Terezin was just amazing. There wasn't a single dry eye by the end of the day. I had always wanted to visit a concentration camp since that whole aspect of the war is facinating to me (though of course also horrific), and I'd still like to visit one of the bigger ones someday, it was really a moving experience.
The exchange rate was in our favor for once. About 20 Crowns to the dollar. I think that with the way things were priced 20 dollars for us would be about 300 Crowns or so for them. So, most of the souvinirs I bought for people are from Prague. Haha. It was nice though, to have a little extra spending money.
On our way to meet our tour group, Shaunagh, Heather, Jill and I decided to take the Metro since we were running late. We bought our tickets, passed by these weird yellow things that we didnt know what they were, and went to wait for the train. Suddenly, a Metro Police guy comes out and asks for our tickets. We give him our tickets. He tells us they need to be validated. Aparently, that's what the yellow machines are. Another Metro Police appears, and takes our passports. Then we follow them back up to the ticket machines, and validate the tickets. Then we're fined 500 Crowns. Even though we explained to them that we didn't know, and that we actually BOUGHT the tickets and paid for them and everything. I wonder if it was because we're American that they didn't let it slide... Weird. So we all lost 20 bucks. We had to stop Shaunagh from attacking the guys, she was so pissed that they didn't just give us a warning. It was annoying, but an interesting story I guess.
We also went to the Mucha Museum. Again, something I knew nothing about, but the artist featured there was awesome. He made all of these prints of beautiful women with flowers and stars and planets... he was one of the major poster makers for Sarah Burnhardt, that's how he's most famous. I ended up buying a poster of his Roses picture (how it's going to make it home to America in one piece I have no idea...), four cards featuring his "Stars" series, and some postcards that show the different times of day (Morning, Noon, Night). I plan on decorating my room with them when I return.
And, as Chester pointed out, Saturday night it was mandatory for all castle students to go to the club. I forget what it was actually called, there's speculation that it was called "Roxy" but it was a five story dance club that aparently is one of the bigger clubs in central Europe. It was a lot of fun. Lots of dancing. I had to figure out how to make my "travel clothes" work for "club attire." I had a semi-decent long shirt and leggings I had been using to keep warm under my pants (PRAGUE WAS FREEZING) and I borrowed someone's black flats and I looked at least a tiny bit club-worthy. Everyone else was doing the same fashion improvisation. The friend Jill and I made in Dublin, Sam, met us in Prague and came with us to the club too. Now he has lots of new American friends, haha. It was nice to see him again, and helpful since a lot of people there spoke German so he could translate for us a little.
We also saw a multitude of churches, and took a tour through the Jewish Quarter with all the old Synagogs... I definately spelled that wrong... it was interesting but by that point we were all exhausted. The last night nearly all the castle kids crammed into one of the apartments (they housed us in these wicked cool apartments for the week) and had a potluck thanksgiving dinner. It was a lot of fun, and super cheesy since we went in a circle and said what we were thankful for. It was a nice thanksgiving, even though it was five days before the real thanksgiving.
The night we were let go for our Independent Travel Break Jill, Heather and I hopped on a sleeper train to Florence. I enjoy sleeper trains, they remind me of camping in a weird way. The beds are small and not very comfortable, and you can wake up in the middle of the night when the train stops and almost throws you out of your bed. But it's fun. However, when I woke up I was sick. I had a sore throat that only got worse as the day went on (we had to take a six hour train after we woke up from the sleeper one). When we got to Florence we ate dinner and went right to bed. The next morning I couldn't even talk and now I had a cough. So I stayed in bed all day. And the next. I saw none of Florence besides the train station and the hostel. Which is sad because I really wanted to see the statue of David. And Jill and Heather said the markets had lots of cool stuff, where they got lots of gifts for people back home. I missed out on good shopping. Sad. The second day we were there our friends Morgan and Whitney arrived. We had made plans to stay at the same hostels, so we were together the rest of the trip.
We went out on Thanksgiving to an authentic Italian restaurant, so authentic that no one spoke English. I chose the option on the menu that said "Vegetariano" or something, and it ended up that it was an assortment of undercooked vegetables with grill marks and a hunk of melty cheese. The cheese was good, and I ate the zuccini, but my throat was still too sore to eat much. So I went back to the hostel for an early night and left my friends to the two pitchers of Thanksgiving wine.
The next morning we left for Rome. I was still sickly, but feeling a tiny bit better, more active at least. When we got to our hostel the owner could tell I was sick and asked if I needed a doctor. So he called an international healthcare line and found someone in the area who was covered by most American insurance companies, then called the doctor and made an appointment for me. I went, they told me I had a throat infection but not strep, I got medicine, then came back to the hostel and slept for the rest of the day. When I woke up, another hostel worker was making dinner for the entire hostel. He made this Indian dish with curried rice. Then the hostel owner, Lorenzo, arrived with bottles of wine for everyone and a jar of honey for me ("No wine for you, you're too sick. Honey is good for the throat!"). None of this cost extra, they just wanted to feed us. They were really the most considerate hostel we've been to. All of the other people who were staying at the hostel talked to them like friends and joked and such, it was a really cool atmosphere. They really went out of their way as much as they could.
After 24 hours of antibiotic I was feeling much better. So, for our final day in Rome, I pulled myself out of bed and went exploring. The warm weather was a nice change from the bitter cold of Prague... We started at Vatican City and saw the Sistine Chapel and all of the many twists and turns it takes to get there... you have to go through a million little chapels and buildings before you get to it. And you can't take pictures... though I took some anyway... It was cool though. Very vibrant. It kind of hurt to look at it after a while since you crane your neck so much. It's really amazing to see the detail though. Definately an experience. Then we went to Saint Peter's Basillica. We were waiting in line to go in when these trumpets went off and people started cheering... The Pope was there! We ran out into the audience and took pictures of him while he addressed the crowd in Italian that we obviously couldn't understand. Then he made a gesture as if blessing the audience, and went back inside. So, yeah, we SAW THE POPE. It was pretty cool. After that we returned to our place in line, and it started to pour. We got soaking wet and waited an hour just to go inside. It was a church. Lots of statues and religious stuff. Yep.
After that we went to the Spanish steps, where we got a cool view of Rome. Then we walked to the Pantheon, which was an ancient Roman building that is now a basillica. And finally, the Colloseum. It was huge, a lot bigger than I had imagined. Around it were other ancient ruins. It was so amazing to see pieces of rock that were older than our country. Buildings that have been standing for thousands of years. We didn't go inside the Colloseum since it was expensive and we heard it was boring-ish, but it was really cool to look at. That night we made pasta in the hostel and went to the Treve Fountain. That was one of the places I really wanted to go, since I'd read a Richard Scary story about it when I was little. I threw pennies into it and made wishes. I think you're only supposed to throw in three, but I threw in five... one for mom and Drew as requested as well. One means you'll return to Rome, two means you'll fall in love (in Rome or in general I don't know), and we all forget what three is. I was unaware of this and was just making random wishes. I would like to return to Rome again though, I feel like one day was just not enough.
Now I am back home at the castle after a very turbulence-filled flight. I have mountains of homework to do and am exhausted. And hungry. And three more hours until dinner. Arg. Only one more weekend travel left: Greece next weekend. Then finals, and then we're off to London for two days before flying home. I'm going to miss Europe a lot, but I'll be so happy to be home.
I miss everyone lots and lots. If any of you actually finished reading this beast let me know: Comments?
Oh and P.S. Rest in Peace my Hair Straightener :( My beloved CHI burnt out in Prague. I don't understand why, I just bought it this summer. Heather has the same kind and used it everywhere I used mine, so it couldn't have been the voltage or whatever... And I remember that I couldn't find the recipt after I bought it, so I doubt I can send it to the company to be fixed or whatever. So now I have to make sure I save an extra 100 to get a new one when I get home. Ugh. Not pleased.
The exchange rate was in our favor for once. About 20 Crowns to the dollar. I think that with the way things were priced 20 dollars for us would be about 300 Crowns or so for them. So, most of the souvinirs I bought for people are from Prague. Haha. It was nice though, to have a little extra spending money.
On our way to meet our tour group, Shaunagh, Heather, Jill and I decided to take the Metro since we were running late. We bought our tickets, passed by these weird yellow things that we didnt know what they were, and went to wait for the train. Suddenly, a Metro Police guy comes out and asks for our tickets. We give him our tickets. He tells us they need to be validated. Aparently, that's what the yellow machines are. Another Metro Police appears, and takes our passports. Then we follow them back up to the ticket machines, and validate the tickets. Then we're fined 500 Crowns. Even though we explained to them that we didn't know, and that we actually BOUGHT the tickets and paid for them and everything. I wonder if it was because we're American that they didn't let it slide... Weird. So we all lost 20 bucks. We had to stop Shaunagh from attacking the guys, she was so pissed that they didn't just give us a warning. It was annoying, but an interesting story I guess.
We also went to the Mucha Museum. Again, something I knew nothing about, but the artist featured there was awesome. He made all of these prints of beautiful women with flowers and stars and planets... he was one of the major poster makers for Sarah Burnhardt, that's how he's most famous. I ended up buying a poster of his Roses picture (how it's going to make it home to America in one piece I have no idea...), four cards featuring his "Stars" series, and some postcards that show the different times of day (Morning, Noon, Night). I plan on decorating my room with them when I return.
And, as Chester pointed out, Saturday night it was mandatory for all castle students to go to the club. I forget what it was actually called, there's speculation that it was called "Roxy" but it was a five story dance club that aparently is one of the bigger clubs in central Europe. It was a lot of fun. Lots of dancing. I had to figure out how to make my "travel clothes" work for "club attire." I had a semi-decent long shirt and leggings I had been using to keep warm under my pants (PRAGUE WAS FREEZING) and I borrowed someone's black flats and I looked at least a tiny bit club-worthy. Everyone else was doing the same fashion improvisation. The friend Jill and I made in Dublin, Sam, met us in Prague and came with us to the club too. Now he has lots of new American friends, haha. It was nice to see him again, and helpful since a lot of people there spoke German so he could translate for us a little.
We also saw a multitude of churches, and took a tour through the Jewish Quarter with all the old Synagogs... I definately spelled that wrong... it was interesting but by that point we were all exhausted. The last night nearly all the castle kids crammed into one of the apartments (they housed us in these wicked cool apartments for the week) and had a potluck thanksgiving dinner. It was a lot of fun, and super cheesy since we went in a circle and said what we were thankful for. It was a nice thanksgiving, even though it was five days before the real thanksgiving.
The night we were let go for our Independent Travel Break Jill, Heather and I hopped on a sleeper train to Florence. I enjoy sleeper trains, they remind me of camping in a weird way. The beds are small and not very comfortable, and you can wake up in the middle of the night when the train stops and almost throws you out of your bed. But it's fun. However, when I woke up I was sick. I had a sore throat that only got worse as the day went on (we had to take a six hour train after we woke up from the sleeper one). When we got to Florence we ate dinner and went right to bed. The next morning I couldn't even talk and now I had a cough. So I stayed in bed all day. And the next. I saw none of Florence besides the train station and the hostel. Which is sad because I really wanted to see the statue of David. And Jill and Heather said the markets had lots of cool stuff, where they got lots of gifts for people back home. I missed out on good shopping. Sad. The second day we were there our friends Morgan and Whitney arrived. We had made plans to stay at the same hostels, so we were together the rest of the trip.
We went out on Thanksgiving to an authentic Italian restaurant, so authentic that no one spoke English. I chose the option on the menu that said "Vegetariano" or something, and it ended up that it was an assortment of undercooked vegetables with grill marks and a hunk of melty cheese. The cheese was good, and I ate the zuccini, but my throat was still too sore to eat much. So I went back to the hostel for an early night and left my friends to the two pitchers of Thanksgiving wine.
The next morning we left for Rome. I was still sickly, but feeling a tiny bit better, more active at least. When we got to our hostel the owner could tell I was sick and asked if I needed a doctor. So he called an international healthcare line and found someone in the area who was covered by most American insurance companies, then called the doctor and made an appointment for me. I went, they told me I had a throat infection but not strep, I got medicine, then came back to the hostel and slept for the rest of the day. When I woke up, another hostel worker was making dinner for the entire hostel. He made this Indian dish with curried rice. Then the hostel owner, Lorenzo, arrived with bottles of wine for everyone and a jar of honey for me ("No wine for you, you're too sick. Honey is good for the throat!"). None of this cost extra, they just wanted to feed us. They were really the most considerate hostel we've been to. All of the other people who were staying at the hostel talked to them like friends and joked and such, it was a really cool atmosphere. They really went out of their way as much as they could.
After 24 hours of antibiotic I was feeling much better. So, for our final day in Rome, I pulled myself out of bed and went exploring. The warm weather was a nice change from the bitter cold of Prague... We started at Vatican City and saw the Sistine Chapel and all of the many twists and turns it takes to get there... you have to go through a million little chapels and buildings before you get to it. And you can't take pictures... though I took some anyway... It was cool though. Very vibrant. It kind of hurt to look at it after a while since you crane your neck so much. It's really amazing to see the detail though. Definately an experience. Then we went to Saint Peter's Basillica. We were waiting in line to go in when these trumpets went off and people started cheering... The Pope was there! We ran out into the audience and took pictures of him while he addressed the crowd in Italian that we obviously couldn't understand. Then he made a gesture as if blessing the audience, and went back inside. So, yeah, we SAW THE POPE. It was pretty cool. After that we returned to our place in line, and it started to pour. We got soaking wet and waited an hour just to go inside. It was a church. Lots of statues and religious stuff. Yep.
After that we went to the Spanish steps, where we got a cool view of Rome. Then we walked to the Pantheon, which was an ancient Roman building that is now a basillica. And finally, the Colloseum. It was huge, a lot bigger than I had imagined. Around it were other ancient ruins. It was so amazing to see pieces of rock that were older than our country. Buildings that have been standing for thousands of years. We didn't go inside the Colloseum since it was expensive and we heard it was boring-ish, but it was really cool to look at. That night we made pasta in the hostel and went to the Treve Fountain. That was one of the places I really wanted to go, since I'd read a Richard Scary story about it when I was little. I threw pennies into it and made wishes. I think you're only supposed to throw in three, but I threw in five... one for mom and Drew as requested as well. One means you'll return to Rome, two means you'll fall in love (in Rome or in general I don't know), and we all forget what three is. I was unaware of this and was just making random wishes. I would like to return to Rome again though, I feel like one day was just not enough.
Now I am back home at the castle after a very turbulence-filled flight. I have mountains of homework to do and am exhausted. And hungry. And three more hours until dinner. Arg. Only one more weekend travel left: Greece next weekend. Then finals, and then we're off to London for two days before flying home. I'm going to miss Europe a lot, but I'll be so happy to be home.
I miss everyone lots and lots. If any of you actually finished reading this beast let me know: Comments?
Oh and P.S. Rest in Peace my Hair Straightener :( My beloved CHI burnt out in Prague. I don't understand why, I just bought it this summer. Heather has the same kind and used it everywhere I used mine, so it couldn't have been the voltage or whatever... And I remember that I couldn't find the recipt after I bought it, so I doubt I can send it to the company to be fixed or whatever. So now I have to make sure I save an extra 100 to get a new one when I get home. Ugh. Not pleased.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Amazing.
I remember when mom came to visit me in Paris, and we went to the museam to see the Monet exhibit she cried when she saw her favorite painting. I thought it was a little silly, but she said that it was one of those once in a lifetime moments that just made you cry because you were so moved by it. I had my moment today, along with most of my group. We went to the Terezin Concentration Camp.
I knew I wanted to see one when I found out Id be going to Europe ==side note, this keyboard sucks and I cant use apostrophes or quote marks and the z and y are switched== Ive always been facinated with The Holocaust ever since I read The Devils Arithmatic when I was 10. I wanted to see Auchwitz but when we planned out all our trips for the semester we just didnt have time. But then we heard the school takes us to a smaller camp.
The school took us to Terezin. We walked through the camp, where the prisoners were kept. I saw where they slept, saw the isolation chambers, saw the gallows and the shooting wall, but no tears yet, just lots of pictures and utterings of wow. The camp was mostly for prisoners, but it became a work camp halfway through the war. No one was gassed there, they mostly died of starvation or cold. Then we went to the cremetorium. There was a group of Jewish people standing down by the incinerators, singing and praying and holding hands. There are a lot of Jewish kids in the castle group, some joined in. One even led a song. Then I lost it. I started just sobbing my eyes out. That was my moment. I wasnt looking at a history book or watching a movie, I was THERE, where so many people died just because of who they were. So many children that never grew up, so many families torn apart, all because of hate for no reason. That was my big moment, like mom with her painting. The nwe went to the museam and saw pictures that children drew while in the camps. I bought a book of poetry and pictures from children in the camp. There was a wall with all their names on it, all the children who died there. There were two little girls with the last name Blom.
I cant imagine if I was Jewish. I am not Jewish and I still felt so much about all this. If it was actually a part of my history... I cant even imagine.
Tomorrow I leave for Italy. I just needed to share this experience while it was still fresh. Even if this kezboard sucks. Florence and Rome, here I come.
I knew I wanted to see one when I found out Id be going to Europe ==side note, this keyboard sucks and I cant use apostrophes or quote marks and the z and y are switched== Ive always been facinated with The Holocaust ever since I read The Devils Arithmatic when I was 10. I wanted to see Auchwitz but when we planned out all our trips for the semester we just didnt have time. But then we heard the school takes us to a smaller camp.
The school took us to Terezin. We walked through the camp, where the prisoners were kept. I saw where they slept, saw the isolation chambers, saw the gallows and the shooting wall, but no tears yet, just lots of pictures and utterings of wow. The camp was mostly for prisoners, but it became a work camp halfway through the war. No one was gassed there, they mostly died of starvation or cold. Then we went to the cremetorium. There was a group of Jewish people standing down by the incinerators, singing and praying and holding hands. There are a lot of Jewish kids in the castle group, some joined in. One even led a song. Then I lost it. I started just sobbing my eyes out. That was my moment. I wasnt looking at a history book or watching a movie, I was THERE, where so many people died just because of who they were. So many children that never grew up, so many families torn apart, all because of hate for no reason. That was my big moment, like mom with her painting. The nwe went to the museam and saw pictures that children drew while in the camps. I bought a book of poetry and pictures from children in the camp. There was a wall with all their names on it, all the children who died there. There were two little girls with the last name Blom.
I cant imagine if I was Jewish. I am not Jewish and I still felt so much about all this. If it was actually a part of my history... I cant even imagine.
Tomorrow I leave for Italy. I just needed to share this experience while it was still fresh. Even if this kezboard sucks. Florence and Rome, here I come.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Romantic Weekend Getaway!
I'm going to brag for a moment and say that I definately have the best boyfriend ever. He came all the way to another continent to visit me, spending crazy amounts of money, just to stay for a week. It was amazing and wondergful and I miss him so much already.
Saying goodbye at the train station and waving as the train pulls away is the saddest thing ever.
Anyway.
Aaron arrived Wednesday afternoon. All through my 2:30 class I was on the edge of my seat, bouncing around all excited. When I got out at 4:15 I went to my room and paced since I didn't think he would be there until 4:30. That lasted all of two seconds before my friends practically threw me out to go wait for him. And as I was crossing the bridge over the moat, there he was, leaning against the big tree staring into the distance and looking deep in thought. I broke him out of the trance by yelling "AARON!" and he ran up to me and picked me up and swung me around in his arms. Cliche, cutesy meeting, and it was perfect :)
We spent the rest of the day in Well, I showed him the castle and he met my friends and ate in our dining hall. Then we went to American Night at the Linden but it wasn't as exciting as it usually is. Aaron got to try my favorite Dutch beer, which was a little sweet for him he said. Then we walked all the way to his hotel, and of course it was raining. It always rains in Holland. I think it rained every time we had to take that long dark walk.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel, had breakfast at the castle, and were going to leave for Amsterdam but Aaron was having some bank issues so we had to wait for Bank of America's customer service to be open. Then we took the train to Amsterdam and checked into our hotel. It was about 5 by this time, so we got dinner and just chilled. He was still a bit jet-lagged. The hotel was cute, our room was very small but the woman who ran the place was very nice. Her cat was cute and sat on my lap.
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Van Gogh museam. It was pretty cool, but didn't have many of his famous paintings. Still very interesting though. Then we went on a search for the Anne Frank house, which we finally found. It was pretty amazing. I almost cried.
The next day we were going to go to Brussels, but we got up too late so we just spent the day in Amsterdam again. Didn't do a whole lot, just walked around and enjoyed the sights. That night we went on a pub crawl (could have been the night before, I forget) of various pubs/clubs in Amsterdam. It was really fun. 20 Euro for six clubs, six free drinks, and shots along the way. Oddly enough, we didn't get too drunk. However, we did get very lost trying to find our way back to the hotel after we decided we'd had enough. And it started to rain. And we didn't have money for a cab. But we found our way back and all was well :)
Then we came back to Well for the following three days. I still had some classes and Aaron tagged along and read his book. Tuesday we tried to go to Brussels again, but it was 60 Euro for a ticket so we decided to just go to Nimeijn instead. It was mostly shopping, which I'm sure was thrilling for Aaron, but it was still fun. We had lunch in a cute pub and shopped around. I still haven't found a peacoat I like, I think I'll just end up buying one when I go home. It's an impossible mission to find one that fits me well, is warm enough, is in a color I like, and not too expensive.
Today we got up very early and said goodbye. Exactly one month until I see him again. I miss him already. It was definately a week to remember :)
<3
Saying goodbye at the train station and waving as the train pulls away is the saddest thing ever.
Anyway.
Aaron arrived Wednesday afternoon. All through my 2:30 class I was on the edge of my seat, bouncing around all excited. When I got out at 4:15 I went to my room and paced since I didn't think he would be there until 4:30. That lasted all of two seconds before my friends practically threw me out to go wait for him. And as I was crossing the bridge over the moat, there he was, leaning against the big tree staring into the distance and looking deep in thought. I broke him out of the trance by yelling "AARON!" and he ran up to me and picked me up and swung me around in his arms. Cliche, cutesy meeting, and it was perfect :)
We spent the rest of the day in Well, I showed him the castle and he met my friends and ate in our dining hall. Then we went to American Night at the Linden but it wasn't as exciting as it usually is. Aaron got to try my favorite Dutch beer, which was a little sweet for him he said. Then we walked all the way to his hotel, and of course it was raining. It always rains in Holland. I think it rained every time we had to take that long dark walk.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel, had breakfast at the castle, and were going to leave for Amsterdam but Aaron was having some bank issues so we had to wait for Bank of America's customer service to be open. Then we took the train to Amsterdam and checked into our hotel. It was about 5 by this time, so we got dinner and just chilled. He was still a bit jet-lagged. The hotel was cute, our room was very small but the woman who ran the place was very nice. Her cat was cute and sat on my lap.
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Van Gogh museam. It was pretty cool, but didn't have many of his famous paintings. Still very interesting though. Then we went on a search for the Anne Frank house, which we finally found. It was pretty amazing. I almost cried.
The next day we were going to go to Brussels, but we got up too late so we just spent the day in Amsterdam again. Didn't do a whole lot, just walked around and enjoyed the sights. That night we went on a pub crawl (could have been the night before, I forget) of various pubs/clubs in Amsterdam. It was really fun. 20 Euro for six clubs, six free drinks, and shots along the way. Oddly enough, we didn't get too drunk. However, we did get very lost trying to find our way back to the hotel after we decided we'd had enough. And it started to rain. And we didn't have money for a cab. But we found our way back and all was well :)
Then we came back to Well for the following three days. I still had some classes and Aaron tagged along and read his book. Tuesday we tried to go to Brussels again, but it was 60 Euro for a ticket so we decided to just go to Nimeijn instead. It was mostly shopping, which I'm sure was thrilling for Aaron, but it was still fun. We had lunch in a cute pub and shopped around. I still haven't found a peacoat I like, I think I'll just end up buying one when I go home. It's an impossible mission to find one that fits me well, is warm enough, is in a color I like, and not too expensive.
Today we got up very early and said goodbye. Exactly one month until I see him again. I miss him already. It was definately a week to remember :)
<3
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
IT'S TODAY IT'S TODAY!! :)
Aaron arrives today!!! :)
It is now 12:02, his plane came in at 6 am. So if he took the 7 am train to Venlo that'd take 3 hours, then the Venlo bus to Well would take 40 minutes... so, assuming nothing went wrong, Aaron has been in Well for about two hours! He's probably jet-lagging in his hotel room right now. We've decided to meet after my last class ends at 4:30.
LONGEST 4 HOURS EVER.
So excited for our week together.
I cannot wait :)
It is now 12:02, his plane came in at 6 am. So if he took the 7 am train to Venlo that'd take 3 hours, then the Venlo bus to Well would take 40 minutes... so, assuming nothing went wrong, Aaron has been in Well for about two hours! He's probably jet-lagging in his hotel room right now. We've decided to meet after my last class ends at 4:30.
LONGEST 4 HOURS EVER.
So excited for our week together.
I cannot wait :)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Switzerland = Heaven.
Oh my god. I cannot even begin to describe my amazing weekend. Switzerland is, hands-down, my favorite trip so far. Each day we were up at the crack of dawn and did amazing and wonderful things all day long and then fell asleep before 12 at night. Seriously, the most exhilerating experience of my life thus far.
Thursday night we took a sleeper train (from either Germany or somewhere in the Netherlands, I forget) to Switzerland. It was a tiny, tiny room with three bunks on either side, attatched to the wall. We were quite cramped, but we were only there for sleeping. It was fun, sleeping on a train. Then we woke up at 6 am and got on a bunch of other trains until we got to Gyron, where our hostel was. We arrived at around 3 I believe, due to train layovers and such. As soon as we got there we no sooner had put down our backpacks then our host told us to hop the train to get to the Paragliding place.
I had a few misconceptions about paragliding. At first, I got it confused with Hangliding, which is where you dangle beneath a big kite and jump off a cliff. Then I was told this adventure involved Parachutes, so I pictured it being a jump off a cliff, a free-fall, and then you pull the chord and float around. But really, it wasn't that insane. What you do is put on all your gear, strap yourself to a strange man, and you run around with the parachute deployed until it's in the air (like as if you're running trying to get a kite in the air) and then you run towards the edge of the cliff and before you're even close to it the parachute lifts you into the air. It was utterly amazing. So beautiful. I managed to snap a few pictures while I was in the air, before my camera batteries DIED on me. Ugh! For the rest of the trip it worked sporatically, obviously I forgot to pack spare batteries. But yeah, wow. It wasn't scary at all. It felt kind of like I was on a ride at an amusement park or something. Very comfortable, you just sit and float around. The instructor guides the parachute around for you. The only scary part was landing, because you have to swoop back and fourth and ease yourself down. But it was beautiful. An experience of a lifetime.
We didn't even go right back to the hostel. Our host picked us up (transportation was all included in the package) and drove us to the Thermal Baths and Spa. Of course, I'd forgotten my bathing suit, but one of the hostesses was my size and let me borrow hers--how accomodating! We had two and a half hours to explore. It was wonderful. The Thermal baths are these huge outdoor swimming pool type things with warm warm water. There's areas with jets so it's like a hot tub, and this whirlpool like thing in the middle you can float around in circles. Then there's saunas and steam rooms and even a medetation/aroma therapy room. We did it all. Shaunagh, Samantha and I even did the Turkish Bath, where you had to pretty much be naked (no worries, the one we went in was female-only). Truly a bonding experience, haha. It was so relaxing there. It makes me want to go back to the Thermal Baths in Arsen (ten minutes from Well) though I think they're significantly smaller.
When we finally got back to the hostel, Jules cooked us dinner. He didn't go paragliding with us, so he went to the grocery store and bought spaghetti, salad, and French bread to cook us dinner. It's funny, all the girls went to jump off a cliff and the boy stayed back and cooked dinner. Haha! It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal, and really sweet of Jules to make it for us. We ate , got fitted for our ski gear, and then fell right asleep, since we had to wake up at 5 the next morning.
So, 5 am we all roll out of bed, put on our gear, and rush to the van to get good seats. 15 of us packed into one van, plus ski/snowboard gear, with a crazy driver. Not that he was a bad driver, he just went quite fast. Luckily I got one of the seats towards the front. Since it was the pre-season, the nearby mountain didn't have snow on it yet. So, he took us two hours away, to the Matterhorn in Zermatt. The Matterhorn. That mountain on the Tolberone chocolate bars. There's a ride in Disneyland modeled after it. Yeah, that one. I skied in the Swiss alps. I don't think that registered in my brain, that I was about to ski in the SWISS ALPS, until we were at the base of the mountain staring up at the thing. We had to take a lift up to the ski place, then another lift up the mountain, and yet another one to actually ski. Shaunagh and I were beginners, so we waited while Matt (our Australian host) took the experienced skiers to the top of the mountain. We napped in the sun. Aparently, if you ski down one side of the mountain you end up in Italy, which is what Jenna did. It's right on the boarder. Then Matt came back and gave us a little ski lesson since the instructor we had signed up for couldn't make it... saved us some money though since Matt didn't charge us. We only went down the mountain twice, but they were long trails and we were exhausted. I discovered I ski much like I snowboard---very slowly and I never let go of the control. I probably should have risked falling some more, just so I wasn't going at a snail pace, but just the experience of sking in the Swiss Alps was enough for me to be completely satisfied.
Shaunagh, Samantha, and I then trekked back down the mountain and had lunch in the adorable little Swiss town at the bottom. We were excited that the Swiss Franc was 1:1 with the American dollar... however, lunch at McDonalds was 12 Francs for Chicken Nuggets, Salad, French fries, and a coke. Everything was very expensive there, despite the good exchange rate. I limited my souvinir shopping to a few postcards and a shotglass for my collection.
Then we drove the two hours back to the hostel where we ate the leftovers of the yummy dinner Jules made us the night before, and made a campfire outside under the stars. You could see them so clearly there, it was beautiful. Other travellers at the hostel came to the campfire and we all talked about our travels. There was a couple (?) who hung out with us for most of our stay, Andi and Jory. Andi was studying at Cambridge University in England through her school's study abroad program, and Jory was in the military and stationed near there. There were also two Aussie girls, Claire and Amanda, who were also first-time skiers, they had just graduated high school and were backpacking around Europe. Then there was Dire, Camille, and Maria, who were originally from a school in Texas, but were studying abroad in Italy. Their school has a program very similar to Kasteel Well. They live in an old Monestary in a tiny town outside of Florence and have long weekends to travel. It was cool meeting new people and sharing stories. We thought it was sooo late when we ended up going to bed, but it was only 10. We all fell asleep right away.
This morning we woke up again at 5, packed our things, and started the long journey back to the castle. It took us 12 hours to get back, hopping trains each time. We did get some sleep though, which was nice. Now I'm back at the castle, waiting to shower, and finishing up homework.
Switzerland is so beautiful. My favorite trip so far. I will return someday, hopefully again to the Chatlet Martin. I will never forget it.
Thursday night we took a sleeper train (from either Germany or somewhere in the Netherlands, I forget) to Switzerland. It was a tiny, tiny room with three bunks on either side, attatched to the wall. We were quite cramped, but we were only there for sleeping. It was fun, sleeping on a train. Then we woke up at 6 am and got on a bunch of other trains until we got to Gyron, where our hostel was. We arrived at around 3 I believe, due to train layovers and such. As soon as we got there we no sooner had put down our backpacks then our host told us to hop the train to get to the Paragliding place.
I had a few misconceptions about paragliding. At first, I got it confused with Hangliding, which is where you dangle beneath a big kite and jump off a cliff. Then I was told this adventure involved Parachutes, so I pictured it being a jump off a cliff, a free-fall, and then you pull the chord and float around. But really, it wasn't that insane. What you do is put on all your gear, strap yourself to a strange man, and you run around with the parachute deployed until it's in the air (like as if you're running trying to get a kite in the air) and then you run towards the edge of the cliff and before you're even close to it the parachute lifts you into the air. It was utterly amazing. So beautiful. I managed to snap a few pictures while I was in the air, before my camera batteries DIED on me. Ugh! For the rest of the trip it worked sporatically, obviously I forgot to pack spare batteries. But yeah, wow. It wasn't scary at all. It felt kind of like I was on a ride at an amusement park or something. Very comfortable, you just sit and float around. The instructor guides the parachute around for you. The only scary part was landing, because you have to swoop back and fourth and ease yourself down. But it was beautiful. An experience of a lifetime.
We didn't even go right back to the hostel. Our host picked us up (transportation was all included in the package) and drove us to the Thermal Baths and Spa. Of course, I'd forgotten my bathing suit, but one of the hostesses was my size and let me borrow hers--how accomodating! We had two and a half hours to explore. It was wonderful. The Thermal baths are these huge outdoor swimming pool type things with warm warm water. There's areas with jets so it's like a hot tub, and this whirlpool like thing in the middle you can float around in circles. Then there's saunas and steam rooms and even a medetation/aroma therapy room. We did it all. Shaunagh, Samantha and I even did the Turkish Bath, where you had to pretty much be naked (no worries, the one we went in was female-only). Truly a bonding experience, haha. It was so relaxing there. It makes me want to go back to the Thermal Baths in Arsen (ten minutes from Well) though I think they're significantly smaller.
When we finally got back to the hostel, Jules cooked us dinner. He didn't go paragliding with us, so he went to the grocery store and bought spaghetti, salad, and French bread to cook us dinner. It's funny, all the girls went to jump off a cliff and the boy stayed back and cooked dinner. Haha! It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal, and really sweet of Jules to make it for us. We ate , got fitted for our ski gear, and then fell right asleep, since we had to wake up at 5 the next morning.
So, 5 am we all roll out of bed, put on our gear, and rush to the van to get good seats. 15 of us packed into one van, plus ski/snowboard gear, with a crazy driver. Not that he was a bad driver, he just went quite fast. Luckily I got one of the seats towards the front. Since it was the pre-season, the nearby mountain didn't have snow on it yet. So, he took us two hours away, to the Matterhorn in Zermatt. The Matterhorn. That mountain on the Tolberone chocolate bars. There's a ride in Disneyland modeled after it. Yeah, that one. I skied in the Swiss alps. I don't think that registered in my brain, that I was about to ski in the SWISS ALPS, until we were at the base of the mountain staring up at the thing. We had to take a lift up to the ski place, then another lift up the mountain, and yet another one to actually ski. Shaunagh and I were beginners, so we waited while Matt (our Australian host) took the experienced skiers to the top of the mountain. We napped in the sun. Aparently, if you ski down one side of the mountain you end up in Italy, which is what Jenna did. It's right on the boarder. Then Matt came back and gave us a little ski lesson since the instructor we had signed up for couldn't make it... saved us some money though since Matt didn't charge us. We only went down the mountain twice, but they were long trails and we were exhausted. I discovered I ski much like I snowboard---very slowly and I never let go of the control. I probably should have risked falling some more, just so I wasn't going at a snail pace, but just the experience of sking in the Swiss Alps was enough for me to be completely satisfied.
Shaunagh, Samantha, and I then trekked back down the mountain and had lunch in the adorable little Swiss town at the bottom. We were excited that the Swiss Franc was 1:1 with the American dollar... however, lunch at McDonalds was 12 Francs for Chicken Nuggets, Salad, French fries, and a coke. Everything was very expensive there, despite the good exchange rate. I limited my souvinir shopping to a few postcards and a shotglass for my collection.
Then we drove the two hours back to the hostel where we ate the leftovers of the yummy dinner Jules made us the night before, and made a campfire outside under the stars. You could see them so clearly there, it was beautiful. Other travellers at the hostel came to the campfire and we all talked about our travels. There was a couple (?) who hung out with us for most of our stay, Andi and Jory. Andi was studying at Cambridge University in England through her school's study abroad program, and Jory was in the military and stationed near there. There were also two Aussie girls, Claire and Amanda, who were also first-time skiers, they had just graduated high school and were backpacking around Europe. Then there was Dire, Camille, and Maria, who were originally from a school in Texas, but were studying abroad in Italy. Their school has a program very similar to Kasteel Well. They live in an old Monestary in a tiny town outside of Florence and have long weekends to travel. It was cool meeting new people and sharing stories. We thought it was sooo late when we ended up going to bed, but it was only 10. We all fell asleep right away.
This morning we woke up again at 5, packed our things, and started the long journey back to the castle. It took us 12 hours to get back, hopping trains each time. We did get some sleep though, which was nice. Now I'm back at the castle, waiting to shower, and finishing up homework.
Switzerland is so beautiful. My favorite trip so far. I will return someday, hopefully again to the Chatlet Martin. I will never forget it.
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