Last Day

Now that it's my last day/night in England I should take the time to reflect fully on my trip. It seems crazy that September 5th seems so long ago, when in reality is it isn't. I remember being anxious and excited to land and see Steph for the first time in months. I have done and seen so much for the short amount of time I have been studying abroad. I have met the most amazing friends and I am very sad that I had to say bye to them. I was able to experience UNI life in the UK and how different and also similar it was to Keene. This trip made me appreciate small things back in the United States. It also made me see how parts of England are way better than in the US.

I think in the past few months I have grown to be more independent than I was before. Don't get me wrong I am anxious about flying back home all alone. BUT I am awesome and know I can do it. Its crazy how anxious I feel thinking about seeing everyone I love. I didn't think I would be nervous to see my family and Dan again. I know it's more excitement then nerves...but some kind of nerves none the less. I know once I get there I will be so excited to run and hug everyone! Knowing my twin and I we will end up crying ;)

I kind of ran out of things to say...I am in a nice motel and just watching Bones until its kind of late enough to get a good amount of sleep before a LONG day. Can't wait to see you all

<3

Scotland

Last trip while abroad!
It was a short crazy trip that had its ups and downs!


Edinburgh:


We set off very early Wednesday morning for the short train ride from England to Scotland. We got very lucky with the weather our first day. It was chilly, but sunny. We walked the city and saw the Castle, Parliament and much more. There was even a German Christmas market where we had amazing food. We called it in early night so we could get up early Thursday and do the free walking tour. Our bed and breakfast was called the Regis guest house and was part of the Braveheart bed and breakfast down the road. Our room came with a great Scottish breakfast of eggs, toast, haggis, black pudding and bacon! I was proud of myself for trying the new food. I try to be adventurous when it comes to things like that.  Black pudding was not my favorite thing that I have tried while away. I guess you can say I am not a fan of blood.


On Thursday we made it up to the castle and were able to see the crown jewels and the stone of destiny. All of this very important and cool  stuff. On our walking tour we had the best time, despite the horrible weather conditions! It was raining and windy and our small group was able to survive! We got to learn about the history and see many sites all around Edinburgh. Our tour guide Izzy was hilarious and took us to go see everything Harry Potter! That would have to be my favorite part of our trip. We ended the tour at a great little pub and had great food and wine! Everything seemed to be going great with the weather and all.


Until...we got to the train station. There where delays, cancellations, and disappearing trains for hours while we sat waiting to see if we would make it back to York Thursday night. Our train ended up being 45 minutes behind schedule and I didn't get back into my dorm until 1:30am! Despite the craziness at the end of the trip it was overall a fun last trip.


I am however very excited to be home and with my family for the holidays.!!!!

Paris, France

Although I was only in Paris from Wednesday afternoon until Friday afternoon Steph, Lizzie and I were able to accomplish a lot. :) I was very excited to see our friend Em'line for the few days and see her mother's apartment. Our first night we walked around Paris and saw the Moulin Rouge! I've seen the movie a million times so it was amazing to see it in person and see all the lights. 

On our only full day in Paris we saw EVERYTHING.. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Musee  du Louvre! Plus we walked around and explored the city and that was one of the best parts. I was able to see Christmas Markets and enjoy the French culture. After a hard day of exploring Em'line took us to an amazing bistro and we ate l'ecargot! I know sounds gross but it came in a yummy garlic sauce and I was in heaven. My meal was a fabulous steak with real "french fries" :). That night we went to a typical French pub and each had a beer. We met these crazy...but funny people who bought us four bottles of champagne because we were American! They kept yelling "Happy Thanksgiving". It was a Turkey-day I will never forget. 

My few days in Paris were a blast. My last trip is Scotland, then it's off to the States! Crazy how time flies!!!

Week Off :)

I got back from Germany on Saturday night and was exhausted by all the fun I was able to have! It was amazing to be able to see my family and connect because its not like I have gotten to see them a lot in the past 8 years. Besides getting closer with my aunt and uncle I was able to do so much traveling within Germany and into the Czech Republic. I think the best way to write about my week in Germany is to separate my paragraphs by country...

Germany

AMAZING! We arrived on the 12th pretty late so we went to bed to get ready for site seeing Sunday morning. Our first day with the Butterfield's consisted of going to see castles! I thought England had a lot of castles...well I was wrong driving through we saw so many on top of hills. The view from each castle was phenomenal. One we were able to go inside and we had to wear these crazy slippers to protect the wood floors. Emma and I decided that we would live there once we were older. The next day Andrew and I took trains to Trier to see different monuments and sites in the city. We saw the Roman Black Gate all the way to the Amphitheater. We were able to go underneath the arena and see how it worked and where the Romans waiting before entering. We also saw where the lions would have been kept. While in Trier we of course has to get Bratwurst for lunch because it was our second day in Germany. On our last days in Germany we stopped for a few hours in Dresden. Here we were able to see churches and the Porcelain wall. We climbed to the top of the Church that was heavily bombed and pretty much destroyed during World War Two. From the top of this building you have the best view of Dresden. It was breath taking. We then had a very long train ride heading back to Martinshöhe. We were able to talk with a nice German man (which made the train better). On the last morning I was nicely awoken at 6am by Emma who was happy I was home. Since it was Aunt Jen's birthday and our last day in Germany we went to a Christmas Market and got to see little Christmas stuff and have some good quality family time before I headed back to England.

Prague

Tuesday night-Friday morning was my adventure to the Czech Republic. Tuesday night I went on my first over night train ride. I was geekying out since we had a little room with bunk-beds! I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was a very long train ride, but allowed us to arrive bright and early Wednesday morning. The first day in Prague we did a lot of exploring (finding apartment). We also had the best time hanging out and looking at markets and taking our time walking through the city. That night we had some amazing dinner and dessert! I was in Heaven. We explored the Charle's Bridge and saw how gorgeous it was in the day as well as the night. The next day we went on a free tour of the city and we were fortunate to be there on the 22nd anniversary of the end of Communism! It was amazing to see the city celebrate this even in their history. During this tour we saw the famous and oldest working clock (astronomers clock). On the hour there is a big ordeal and every stops to watch death ring his bell and different church figure heads rotate in the windows of the clock. There is also a trumpet player who play on all four sides every hour. 

My favorite part about being in Prague was seeing the Jewish Quarter. There were different parts to the museum. The first part was going into different connected rooms with names of the Prague Jewish community persecuted by the Nazi Regime. There were what seemed like endless walls filled top to bottom with names on them. They found Nazi records and were able to put the names in order of when they were taken from Prague and what areas they lived in and when they were killed! This just confirmed my knowledge of how systematic the killing of the Jews were. What hit hard was that there were 77,297 names in this one building. Seeing the number on paper doesn't have the impact until you see the names written on walls! It shows how significant of a number 6 million is. 

There was also an exhibit on Jewish children and the art work they created while in Terezin. They were fortunate taught art lessons and had a way to express how they were feeling during World War Two. What pulled my heart strings were that out of the number of children's artwork on display not even half had "survived" written under their drawing. You saw pictures of gas chambers and poor conditions. For me hearing about children's stories breaks my heart. This is a place I will never forget going to. It was amazing to see the Jewish Quarter and see how life was for Jews in Prague. Outside of this museum was the cemetery. Here we say hundred of tombstone and were told that hundred of people were buried under the same tombstone. We were walking in the only place Jews were allowed to bury their dead. The cemetery was tiny. It just showed the oppression Jews had suffered through for years before Hitler and the Holocaust. 

My trip to Germany and the Czech Republic was a great eye opener and experience as an HGS student. I had a great time getting to learn more and have an experience of a life time! I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Halfway Done

Today I realized I haven't blogged in a few weeks. I have been so busy with school, friends, and traveling. Ireland was a great experience and I enjoyed my few days there back in October. I got to see so much and it made me want to take a trip back to see the country side of Ireland, not just the big city of Dublin. Since I got back I've been working on my first assignments all due by Friday. Next week is reading week so we have the whole week off to travel. In my opinion its way better than Thanksgiving Break since its a week off not a few days. In Germany I will also be traveling to Prague to see Holocaust sites and to see more than just Germany. I am so happy that I will be staying with family to see what a town in Germany looks like, not just the major cities. The following week I am off to Paris for a few days which should be very interesting. We will see if my 4 years of French will help me at all. Though  I don't think it will. 


Since I am halfway done my trip I am having days were I am really homesick. I think it has to do with missing Holidays I'm used to celebrating at home. Halloween here however was fun being able to go to clubs and dress up with the friends I made here. I'm glad I will be in Paris over Thanksgiving so I wont think about missing one of my favorite meals.


I'm getting a little worried about finishing all my assignments by the time I leave. The second assessment is usually due in January, but they want the exchange students to hand them in before they leave for the semester. I would rather just hangout with my friends and not work on my assignments, but I will get it done. My last trip is to Scotland in December and that should be fun! I'll try to remember to blog once I get back from reading week.

:)

It's weird to think that I have been in England for over a month and that on Monday I am starting my third week of classes. It means I should start writing my papers due in a month! Everything has been really fun and I am meeting some great people and friends. I am excited to start traveling this month. In a few weeks I am going to Ireland. In November I am going to Germany, Poland and France. Then in December I will be heading to Scotland for our last trip before the school year ends. My time here is flying by. There are times where I don't believe I have been here for as many weeks as I have. I think about having only 9 weeks left and that is not a lot at all! I am exciting thinking about going home and seeing everyone, but I'll be sad leaving my friends.


All my friends said they wanted to have Thanksgiving here with my as a floor..that should be interesting, but we will try. I also found out that taking one less class this semester will not mess me up to graduate on time! I am on the right track to graduate in May 2013. I was nervous I would be stuck taking summer classes. I will have to double check with my advisers..but should be all set. My classes here are okay. I am not a fun of my Literature class...it sucks and I don't enjoy what we are reading at the moment. I love my two Religion classes since they are a lot like my major classes at home. I am a lot more comfortable talking up in those classes rather than my Literature class I have with Steph and Lizzie.






MY FRIENDS MADE ME SOMETHING COOL FOR MY DOOR! 

York

I have begun to feel more settled in England over the past few days. I really like my dorm room and the people I live with. Its weird because the halls are so small compared to Keene. There  are only 9 of us on my side of the "block". I really like it because it makes us a lot closer already. It's strange being a lot older than the friends that I am making!! Classes on Monday and I am really looking forward to getting into a routine here. It will feel more like I am going to University somewhere else. I LOVE the campus, even though it a lot smaller than I am used to. My classes are only 5 minute walks away from F-block (should be nice in the winter) :) Everyone is really friendly here and seems to understand I will have questions about sayings and different slags we use in different countries. 


One thing I am really having a hard time with is the class schedules. Classes here aren't in the same classroom every week. For the most part my classes switch what room we meet in my weekly. I just need to remember to check what classroom I'm going to before I leave my dorm. I can't think of anything else to say... ;)