Ruminations on Marching Bands, Colleges, and Football...

I went to a football game this past Saturday. Unusual for me, I know. But my sister goes to Boston College and they were playing University of Maryland and the band came down for the away game so I went for her.
While I was sitting there slowly being unable to feel my feet, I got to thinking about the difference between public and private colleges and the presence or absence of a football program. I came to the following conclusions:
1. I do miss marching band. I didn't really think I did, mostly because that was the part of the year I disliked the most in band. There's an atmosphere that a marching band can create that is just...infectious. So, I miss band.
2. Public colleges that have a football program, as most of them do, definitely have a leg up on school spirit. It's kind of scary to see four sections of a large football stadium dressed in red and black all doing the same thing (it was the student section). They are bigger schools but with a football program to unite them, they seem to come together as a cohesive force.
3. Private colleges that have a football program also have a leg up on school spirit. At least compared to my school where we don't have a football program. BC and AU are roughly the same size student-wise, though I think BC might be a bit bigger, but BC has football and AU has soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Game days at BC are big deals, at AU hardly anyone goes to games unless coerced in some fashion. It was also interesting to see BC and UMD fans going head to head. The private school fans can chant "safety school" to the public school fans while the UMD fans just overwhelmed everything by shear numbers. Home turf and all.
Do I think we should have a football program? No way. I deliberately avoided schools with a football program as I'm not a fan of the game nor the atmosphere created. However, we do lose a bit of that cohesive spirit.
So, it was an interesting experience. I admired the courage of one very vocal BC fan above me in the solidly UMD stands. I froze, at least from the knees down, and felt bad for my sister as her team suffered it's second straight defeat, though impressively only the second of the season. I now care about BC doing well because she does. Other than that, I'm not really a sports person unless it's the Olympics. Okay, departing the soap box now.

Back To AU...For The Last Time

That's right, Senior Year has arrived. Feels kind of weird. It's great to be back but things have changed. Mary Graydon Center, our student union for all intents and purposes, has a new layout on the first floor, opened it up a lot and it looks pretty good actually. I'm in the new residence hall, Nebraska, which everything is new in. So new, that when you sit on the sofas, you don't sink down. Yeah, very new. I'm involved in some new things, have new classes of course, new people to room with. Lots of new.
Summer was nice. Went on a few trips, had some free time around my internship. It was nice not to have to go to a job every day and the people in Senator Nelson's Orlando office are great, as were my fellow interns. A great summer, all in all.
So, yeah, kind of sad, the beginning of the end. I went to my first and last Convocation this morning, which was pretty nice if a bit warm due to being outside.
But this year is going to be awesome. Personal promise. :)

Notes on Arrival Back in the lovely US of A

Note: this was first complied at JFK airport while waiting for my plane home in March, everything still applies

Language: suddenly everything's in Spanish and English for the trip maps, not French
Customs: completely stinks, not only do you have to do it at point of arrival (as opposed to final destination), but as long as you can check no on all the boxes and you don't make a fuss you skate through fine. Declare what you've got though.
Alcohol: you have to pay for it on the flight and I presume ID's are checked, this isn't Cyprus airlines where they keep giving people wine when they ask, ah, Fall semester, how I miss thee.
Americans: often in school groups, 3 separate EF tours (the educational ones that my mother uses for her German class trips) in 1 day! They've got better backpacks now-the orange really stands out. They're loud too, southern accents among the group on the flight from London. Ugg boots too-and here I thought they were gone by now, one girl was wearing shorts and going to Paris in them. She's going to freeze-it's cold there this time of year. Oh, and taxes aren't included in the price here. Blast.
JFK Airport: the modern day Ellis Island...sorta, could use a better paint job, kinda dreary. A nice blue would look good. Passport control went quickly though, here it helps to be a citizen, nice reversal from the long lines of "Other" at Gatwick. Bags took a while and then they had to be given back to put them on the plane to OIA (MCO in the FAA world which makes no sense to me) then we had to go through metal detectors, again (which I guess is logical becuse we had checked luggage but it's still a pain). Oh! We had to pay for carts! $3! Gatwick has them free. So, Gatwick gets a plus in this column. It's not a contest...mostly.
Airport shops: Expensive as always and I'm used to seeing Euros and pounds and converting! Seriously, way too pricey. And the contents? Kinda boring. I expected better out of JFK. I mean, come on! This is like our Heathrow! Or Charles de Gaulle!
CNN: Endless news...I miss the BBC and I never even watched it.
Papers: I miss my free Tube papers-Metro, London Paper, even Lite (a very little), smattering of news and all the gossip with no efffort on my part. And the fun facts about interesting things happening around the world.
General: Passport guy couldn't even stamp on a new page like the last guy. And I think he went over part of another one. Grr. They should know people like to collect this sort of thing. Flight was okay though-on the aisle and in an exit so plenty of leg room. Saw a jet trail alongside the plane out the window, so that was cool.
Plus side:
-American TV
-regular plugs, not the weird 3 pronged British ones
-no exchange rate
-money all (relatively) one color, which is a bit dull I admit, but all the coins are circular
-ice!!!
-American chocolate and soft drinks, fruit drinks too
-donuts
-DVDs that like my computer-correct world coding
-no mental calcuation to figure out the time back home-I'm there!
-better mattress
-my books
-no paying for food on my own, home cooked meals-yum!
-Borders rewards card works here!

I do love London though. Seasons! No oppressive heat or sun! Fun money! Accents! All that culture and history!

So, that's all for now. Basically, customs is a drag, but what's new? Oh, and JFK should get painted a different color. Like blue.

Various Interjections That Show Excitement! And Emotion!

I'm in Nebraska Hall for next year!! A lovely four-bedroom apartment with my wonderful companions, Sarah, Stephanie, and Veronica. Something new and yet still on campus for Senior Year which lessens the worries I shall have to face. Hooray!! We got in!!!!! We're all excited. So far, preparations for Senior Year are going quite well. Honors 101 Mentor so I shall have something to do and be involved? Check. Housing so I shall stay on campus and not have to worry about rent? Check. Classes? Err...schedule's not posted! Ha! So not a worry yet. Though I do have to finish up two majors, my Honors requirements and squeeze in that last GenEd. Meh. I have credits coming out my ears so I get to register way early and with the 10 extra Honors credits, totally on the first day.
It may be a rainy/sunny/windy/cloudy day here in London, but I'm dry, warm, in a library, and happy. Today is a good day. Rejoice! For it is Lent...and Friday equals no meat. Thank goodness St. Patrick's Day is a Saturday. :)

Feeling...Meh?

I mean, I had a good weekend. I went down...up and over, to Trafalgar Square and Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration (pretty crazy with people by the way) and that was cool... But I did some research this morning because I was curious...I recently discovered the Panic! At The Disco music videos, having discovered the music a few months back, via YouTube and so I wanted to know who was in the band, I mean, I know who's in OK Go and all... So, I googled and found that 3/4ths of the band is younger than me! That's never happened before, except for sugary pop female singers who don't count. Not people with talent! I'm not sure how I feel about this. Only one of the guys is older than me, and he was only born in 1985. The guitarist, and lyricist, is exactly 3 months younger than me. This is really weird. I'm not sure I'm okay with this. Comparitively they've done more with their lives than I have at this point. Though that was going to be a given as I'm on the education route (which I'm totally okay with) and then into public service but still...I wasn't really presented with glaring evidence before. And it's weird to be the same age as internationally known groups. Another thing that I'm not used to. People are supposed to be older than me, generally anyway. I suppose I must face the fact that at the end of May I will be 21, not that the perks matter to me, but still...I'm graduating next year (eek by the way)...and I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with all of this. It just needed to be said. So, I'll just sit here in the New Hunt's House library, slightly freaking out. *shrug*

24 Hours in Bath

So, in the middle of Reading Week, as I didn't have anything else to do, I decided to go to Bath. I'd read about it in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and it was on my list of places to go to, so I went.
I got in around 4, having taken the bus (which they call a coach) from Victoria, and walked the couple blocks to the hostel, checked in, dumped stuff and decided to try to get into a museum. Managed to just make the last entrance to the Roman Baths at 4:30 and went around that until it closed an hour later. Pretty cool actually. In Trier we went to Roman baths as well but that was outside, this was better preserved, probably because it was still in use as a medical thing in the 1800s. Apparently the waters could cure anything. Wasn't medicine funny back then? These days we have antibiotics as a cure-all, they had mineral springs. And blood-letting. Ick. After the museum (and shop) I walked up the main shopping street and had dinner (sausages and mash) at a pub on George St. as it was too dark for anymore picture taking.
The next morning (Valentine's Day, actually though it didn't really feel like it beyond the chocolate selling and roses being carried around) I went up to the Circus and Royal Crescent to take pictures. They're Georgian rowhouses designed by John Wood Sr. and Jr. The Circus is a circle, the same circumference as Stonehenge, and the Royal Crescent is a half-circle. Nice houses, really. Museum of Costume was next then the Jane Austen Center. Then the post office to mail a couple postcards then down the main shopping drag again, killing time before the 4 PM bus back to London.
General thoughts on Bath: it's very redundant. I mean, all the residential streets look the same, as if the entire place was built at the same time. 3 story-tall rowhouses, flat fronts, wide sidewalk, line of parked cars, street, repeat. The houses follow the angle of the road and it's very symmetrical. Giving directions without street names is next to impossible I'd think though. I mean, it's nice that it all looks ordered and neat but it gets boring. Cities are better with a variety of architectural styles, like London or DC. Makes things more interesting. Also, the everything closing at 6 disease reared it's head again. Not much to do after 7 PM if you don't drink or like clubs. But I had a nice little vacation and got some good souvenirs. It's good to be back though.
Happy early Chinese New Year on the 18th! I'm going to Trafalgar Square for the big parade and festival.

Huzzah! An Update!

Yes, it's been a while. But life has been getting into a routine and routines are sorta...boring.
It's the end of the first mini-term this week, as in I've been here 5 weeks now. Hard to imagine at times.
Ep and Met lectures are still fuzzy, comprehension-wise, hopefully the tutorials which start in two weeks won't be. Greek Philosophy lectures are still amusing and interesting and I'm learning a lot about James Brown. Oh, and Aristotle. Him too. My weeks have been going like normal. New Hunt's House for wireless on Mondays until 2 when I go over to Strand campus for Greek Philosophy tutorials, the last of which was this past Monday. Tuesday over to the Strand for Ep and Met lecture for an hour then to New Hunt's again until the late afternoon. Wednesdays over to Strand again for Greek lectures then back over to New Hunt's for wireless until the late afternoon again. Thursdays writing the essay until about 1 with every other week laundry to follow or just loafing around the room. Fridays, wireless at New Hunt's. Saturdays, going into the city to check things off the Almighty To Do List. Sundays usually another lazy day. Evenings are spent in the room or in the kitchen socializing. Or going to the sticky bar with people from the floor. Apparently the pub counter is really sticky at St. Christopher's, thus sticky bar. No drinking on my end but the conversation's interesting and the people are great.
Oh, yes, how could I forget? Sleep or activities disturbed at least twice a week due to fire alarms. It's like freshman year at AU on South Side all over again...only colder and five more floors to go down and up. At least the elevators work after an alarm here, not so in Letts.
I've been to Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch, Oxford Street, the National Gallery, Whitehall, Leicester Square, and Notting Hill in the form of the Portobello Road market, which was amazing.
Other than that, there's not much to tell. London is exciting and busy and the free papers have become a fast favorite thing. Even if they have way too much about celebrities and I learned way too much about the Big Brother racism thing. And I don't even know where the nearest tv on the floor is. I'm sure someone must have one but as you have to get a license to watch the few channels there are, I doubt many have one. I miss free cable. AMC. TNT as a network and not a truck company. But, the accents are a plus and I'm enjoying it here. And it's a lovely day, though cold. Life's peachy. :)

I'm dreaming...er...living a white January the 24th...

That's right! Snow in London people, snow in London. Hooray! Mostly melted now, not that cold unfortunately, though to be frank, it's very, very cold. The windy-breeze thing doesn't help matters much.
And happy belated National Pie Day. And I missed it...I had chicken pot pie a day too early. Drat.

First Full Week in London and Then Some

Let's see...what have I been up to since the 5th? As that was my last real post...ah, yes.
Last week:
Monday: Philosophy department meeting, basically finding out what I'll have to do as a JYA (junior year abroad, KCL terminology) student and getting set up with classes. Then I went to my first tutorial for Greek Philosophy, rescheduled for the afternoon from that morning. At King's there are lectures and tutorials. The former are just like classes, only usually conducted as a lecture with little interaction between the lecturer and student, but depending on the professor. Attendance isn't required but as KCL students have exams at the end of the year, lectures help with those. The latter have required attendance and are meant to correspond with the lectures. This semester (until March 23) I have two classes, so two tutorials but the semester is split into mini-terms of 5 weeks each with a reading week in between. The first mini-term I have my Greek Philosophy tutorial and the second my Epistemology and Metaphysics tutorial. Tutorials are more like classes only with about 5 or 6 people total as opposed to 40 or so. It's a discussion-based thing and we have to write an essay a week for it, 1000 words each. I miss writing pages, words are just annoying to keep counting and such.
Tuesday: First Ep & Met (Epistemology and Metaphysics) lecture, and my professor's American. Go figure. Interesting though. Found my way to the Humanities library, Maughan Library, up by the Royal Courts of Justice. And does it look like a library or what! Very nice building on the whole and very useful. Spotty wireless though.
Wednesday: First Greek Philosophy lecture with yet another American. Dr. Adamson's more entertaining though, comparing James Brown to Aristotle (both were hugely influential and did soul stuff). I've a feeling this'll be a good class.
Thursday: Worked on the essay, finished it.
Weekend: Went to New Hunt's House library (NHH) (medical campus, Guy's campus which Wolfson House [my hall] is on) for wireless, stayed all day...sorta. Went to Leicester Square Saturday to try to get a ticket to the matinee of Spamalot, had to settle for the Tuesday matinee instead but got to wander around. Sunday, nothing useful or exciting.
This week:
Monday: Greek tutorial, wireless at NHH library.
Tuesday: Ep and Met, shopping along Oxford Street (my alarm clock died on me but I got a new one that's working fine so far), Spamalot!! It was great! Very funny even though the balcony area is precarious for the vertically challenged (aka, very steep) but I got to move down a few rows due to lack of people in the seats, thus helping my view. Very nice afternoon had by me.
Wednesday (today): Greek lecture in which syllogies were discussed and the Posterior Analytics were discussed utilizing Kermit. Seriously. And a blue chair. Humorous again. Then to NHH library for supposed essay work and internet. And avoiding the rain and wind. :) Twas a good day.

Welcome to the Warmest Day of My Week...

That's right...high of 65 today with the rest of the week not above 45 degrees for a high and 26 on Saturday! Woohoo! This is why I came to London after all...

A real post will follow soon to update on my activities since the last real post. But, a sneak peak: I'm going to the matinee of Spamalot tomorrow!!!

New Year, New Semester, New School, New City, New Country, New Time Zone, New Currency...New Language?

Yep, lots of things are new these days. But to wrap up some things from last year:
I finished the super long paper, not only on time but a day early and I got an A- on it! The end of the semester went fine, I got decent grades and I got home okay. My two weeks at said home were short but satisfying, the holidays were great, it was nice having the dollar back and knowing exactly what things cost.
Now, however...it's 2007 and things have changed, yet again. Good changes, of course, but changes nonetheless.
I'm in a new study abroad program, this one for my other major, Philosophy. I'm at King's College in London. Yep, England. So far, so good. I had to break down and buy a blanket though...my room's just too cold. I've got a single though, with a good amount of storage space for everything so I'm currently pretty organized. And I've got a view too...as I'm on the eighth floor. It's just of other buildings but it's London, so who cares? No wireless, but a campus (yes 'a', as there are several) is nearby and I can (and am) get it there.
Orientation was yesterday and enrolment (their spelling, not mine) was today. There are people from all over the States here. I met people from Vanderbilt (I think), Brown, Georgetown, Washington University St. Louis, GW, University of Pennslyvania, UNC Chapel Hill, and more. There has to be over a 100 of us at least. And people from DC! They miss it as well, though for most, this is their first study abroad, but not all. I hope I see most of them again. I have my ID card and a vague idea of where to go for class, we'll see if it translates into actual knowing next week.
Let's see...what else? Ah, yes. The daily calculation of prices doubled so as to get them close to the dollar, always fun. But again, London so why complain. And there are student discounts available everywhere, apparently. I've settled in okay so far and it'll only get better. A bit windy and grey out all the time and it might be raining right now (correction: it is raining), but it'll be like Brussels only better, so I'm okay. :)
Oh, and by the way, having a big suitcase that fits all your clothes is fine except when said suitcase has a broken handle that you don't discover until you have to use said handle in the airport. Then it becomes annoying and really kills your hands having to drag the thing to the train then out of the train station to the cab then to the residence hall. Luckily we have elevators but my hands are still a bit sore. At least I flew into Gatwick and not Heathrow: no luggage on the Tube for me!
As always, more later.

Good news!

Last Friday I heard from King's...I have housing! I'll be in Wolfson House which is near main campus, so I can easily walk to things in central London thus saving money, and time! Hooray!

Finally, the First Week of December...And then some...

Saturday: Met some people at the Grand Place for the Christmas Market, went to a Chopin concert with same group-really good
Sunday: Not much, Mass, procrastination via the Sims, studied for Defense Economics, typed paper outline
Monday: Class day, French study guide made us sad-it's bad when you can't even understand the study guide...
Tuesday: Internship. Want to know anything about Turkmenistan? I'm your girl. Great place to live...if you like an eccentric (insane) president, if you have a government job (because you get nice housing) that has nothing to do with agriculture because if it did the president would be mad at you, and if well...that's about it. Oh, if you're the president, you're good too.
Wednesday: St. Nicholas Day!! Opened my ornament from mom, Internship again. More Turkmenistan followed by Uzbekistan, another fun happy place. Up to 5 and a half pages on the paper!
Thursday: SHAPE, the planning section of NATO, out in Mons. Pretty interesting, our speaker was a British Royal Navy guy so he had a great accent and was pretty funny too. Honest too. European Security class, studying for the final. Throat started feeling rough though...
Friday: Defense Economics final. I think it went okay, we'd gotten the questions ahead of time and I wrote what I knew, so I think it went okay. Beginning to get sick-lots of sneezing.
Saturday: Officially sick-it's a cold. Wrote some then went downtown for some final shopping at the market and various stores. More writing but feeling atrocious.
Sunday: Monschau, Germany! Feeling better too. Christmas Market! It was nice, although very cold which was solved with multiple hot chocolates. I got some nice glass but sadly no wood ornaments. I guess they are really a southern Germany thing, or at least not a Monschau thing. After the trip we went to Jerry's for a Christmas tree lighting gathering and pizza. We sang Christmas carols too and it was really nice. We had fun and got to see Jerry's house.
Monday: Last class day, so a bit sad. Sorta. French final...we think we passed...more writing. Up to 15 pages!
Tuesday: Last day of the internship. Marie and Joanna took me out to a really nice Italian place for lunch and got me chocolates from Pierre Marcolini. Nice packaging-better than Godiva even because it's all black and silver. Ooo. More writing, up to about 17 now with 3 sections left, and that's including the conclusion. Woot!

By the way, I don't think I'll be able to get around to posting pictures in Facebook...at least not until I'm home or in London. So, I'll post them eventually just be patient.

Last Week of November

Tuesday: Internship day-worked on my internship paper, did some research. Not too much activity. Listened to Christmas music via Yahoo radio.
Wednesday: Same as Tuesday, really.
Thursday: Class day. EU Seminar 2, finished paper (15 and a half pages!), European Security, Defense Economics, and French.
Friday: Free day! AUBC for the internet-emailed the paper to Jerry, started research for next paper, nothing too exciting. Lebanese place for dinner tonight with some of the group!

Less than a month until I'm home, and it's a nice feeling. All I have to worry about now is getting housing for next semester, taking 3 exams, writing a 25 page paper, and packing. Normal, nothing to worry about. Yeah, sure...whatever. And it's finally getting cold!

Super Long Academic Field Trip-Central and Eastern Europe

And now the exciting details of our two week long trip! Well, sorta exciting. At times.
Tuesday: Train to the airport, 2:40 flight to Larnaca (Cyprus!) where the inflight movie was Just My Luck (which was not our luck), then a bus ride to the hotel (as everything's an hour away from everything else on Cyprus, it seems).
Wednesday: Drove to Nicosia (the capital of the Greek part of Cyprus) where we had a seminar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the Cyprus question. According to them, it's the Turks who are mucking things up by having troops over there which aren't needed. And they'd love to have the Turkish Cypriots in the parliament but 2,000 of them (living on the Greek side) can't have 24 seats when all of the Greek Cypriots only have 50 some odd and no, you can't just have them in two seats of their total. Then on to the buffer zone in the Green Line to listen to the UN Development Project people. Ah, middle ground is so nice. Basically, the whole situation is frustrating because no one is willing to give even an inch, much less a mile on anything. And there's no incentive to move forward. After this we went back to Limassol and the hotel and about 6 of us went to this small restaurant for local food-mostly grilled meat. Twas interesting.
Thursday: Northern Cyprus! Officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Seminar at the foreign ministry, our speaker was the Political Director! And he was very good at dodging questions. Then on to the Near East University where we were not only shown around the campus by the vice-president, we got an elaborate lunch where we were literally wined and dined, well, without the wine. It was a nice place and all, but the constant photos and videotaping was annoying and a little weird. After that we went to the coast and saw a really old castle then back to Nicosia to cross the border and then back to Limassol.
Friday: Free day! Basically walked around downtown Limassol and got souvenirs then walked back to the hotel along the beach and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Saturday: Or Best Laid Plans day. As it went awry. So, we're all set to fly to Vienna when about an hour before we have to leave for the hotel we find out that one of our number, Marissa, had to go to the hospital in the morning because of severe stomach pains which turned out to be appendicitus and she needs emergency surgery. Now we can't exactly leave her, nor do we want to, so we're in Cyprus until Tuesday, at the earliest as that's the next flight to Brussels. So since we've nothing to do, really, about 20 of us go to see Casino Royale as it's playing at a theater nearby. It wasn't bad. I mean, as a stand alone film it was pretty good but as a Bond film, some of the different elements were off from the rest of the series, which wasn't a huge deal just different. And...they destroyed part of Venice! Blasphemy, that. So, good movie. After that I continued on with about 5 of the others and we had dinner before walking back to the hotel through the tourist district. It was a nice evening with the only damper being Marissa's condition.
Sunday: Group meeting debating the merits of different plans for the rest of the trip. Most of us (all but one really) were on the side of Budapest and Belgrade, as we'd rather take the less expensive option (as opposed to Sarajevo) and see 2 cities instead of just 1 and spend less time on the bus. I then made a stab at productivity which fell flat and relaxed the rest of the day.
Monday: Education! Jerry arranged for us (all but a one who was at the hospital with Marissa) to tour some of the archeological sites on the coast. We went to Kourion, where they have an amphitheater, the birthplace of Aphrodite (cliffs), and a large site where there are tons of mosaics at Pathos.
Tuesday: Finally leaving Cyprus, as Marissa's recovering and a friend of Jerry's is flying in to take care of her until she can fly back to Brussels on Friday. Flight to Vienna where we pick up Alex and Claudia (who because she's from the Dominican Republic had to get visas for specific days and thus had to take the flight on Saturday) and we drive to Budapest.
Wednesday: Free day in Budapest! We went to the market, saw Parliament, Matthias Church, the old palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral, and saw the synagogue. Found an amazing bookstore with a lot of English language books and generally saw most of the city. Long day, very exhausting, but worth it. Had goulash for lunch!
Thursday: Drove to Belgrade, Serbia. Very different place, you can even see bomb damage from the war that hasn't been repaired or torn down. Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel-had turkey but the rest was Serbian. Amazing soup though, just different, all of it.
Friday: Seminar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kosovo can't be independent-it's silly, in their opinion). A literal 3 hour tour of the city, the first hour on the bus where most of us promptly fell asleep then a two hour walking tour of their park and fort. Our tour guide was...interesting. She started the tour off with the national anthem then proceeded to sing traditional songs throughout the walking tour. Creeped most of us out and caused lots of uncomfortable laughter. Horrid jokes too, but an experience nonetheless. Dinner out at a Serbian restaurant where Ryan was very generous and treated all 9 of us. Not sure whether it was because he was the only guy or he was just being sweet, likely both. The girls then went back to the hotel and watched the Thanksgiving through Christmas episodes of Grey's Anatomy from Season 2. A good third of us watch it regularly.
Saturday: Bus to Zagreb, getting in mid-afternoon so we could walk around. Went to the Cathedral, which is pretty nice and walked around the Old Town. All the stores were closed, though, which was very frustrating as things looked pretty inexpensive. Our hotel was great though-right near the center of town with nice rooms and decent tv channels. We actually watched Iron Jawed Angels in Croatia!
Sunday: Lovely drive through Slovenia, Austria, and part of Germany to Ausgburg where we stopped for the night, a midway point in the drive back to Brussels.
Monday: Drove to Brussels and got back in time for dinner.

All in all, a great trip, many new places, but just a little long and we're glad to be back.

Last Post Before the Big Trip...

Friday: Another class day, Military day really. Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Security and Defense Policy, and Military Personnel. Fun times.
Saturday: Didn't do much of substance, worked on my internship paper, made a stab at studying
Sunday: More studying and nothing of substance, had trouble focusing. Strange, huh? A movie or the Common Agricultural Policy? Which would you choose? But study I did.
Monday: EU Seminar 2 midterm (ugh), European Security, trip details, Accession, then French class which is always a pleasure.

So, pretty boring because I chose not to go to Antwerp or Ghent in favor of getting things done, which I mostly did. Cyprus tomorrow! Oh, trip schedule:

Tuesday 14 November Travel to Cyprus
Wednesday 15 November Nicosia
Thursday, 16 November Nicosia
Friday 17 November Free Day in Cyprus
Saturday 18 November Travel to Budapest (Hungary)
Sunday 19 November Budapest
Monday 20 November Travel to Belgrade (Serbia)
Tuesday 21 November Belgrade
Wednesday 22 November Travel to Sarajevo (Bosnia)
Thursday 23 November Sarajevo
Friday 24 November Travel to Zagreb (Croatia)
Saturday 25 November Travel to Augsburg (Germany)
Sunday 26 November Travel to Brussels

Busy trip so a good post (or two) will be forthcoming after the 26th!

Indulging in Partisan Joy...

Go Dems! Congratulations to my political party. Got the House and the Senate and picked up some governors too. Harris got nicely trounced in my home state (so very happy about that) and now I can hopefully have my internship this summer with Nelson. The South Dakota abortion thing got rejected and several states raised the minimum wage. Granted, Florida has another Republican governor and Feeney got reelected (I really can't stand my congressman) but Sink is CFO (a Dem) and Feeney's Democratic challenger got over 89,000 votes without doing a whole lot of campaigning. I just hope that all this sets the Democrats up well for 2008 and doesn't hurt us.
Tuesday: Internship day, did some reading and various other tasks.
Wednesday: Another internship day. Checked CNN about every 5 minutes to check on Virginia and Montana and did some research for my paper.
Thursday: Class day! Got two cards from mom, no envelope yet from Dad and it was supposed to be here days ago. But today's money day. European Central Bank for EU Seminar I and the Euro for EU Seminar II along with a Jamie Shea lecture. Found out Virginia and Montana are projected to go the Dems, which is nice :D.

It's a good week to be a Democrat. :) About time too.

Fall Break 2006, October 29-November 6

The long awaited post about my fall break:
Sunday: enjoyed my extra hour due to the wonderful invention called "Fall Back" (colloquially speaking), finished packing, final check of email before the week away, met Hillary at Gare du Nord at 4 to take the train to the Brussels International Airport, dinner at Pizza Hut (good old fashioned american-style congealed cheese before the real thing), flight to Rome; once there we had to fend off a sketchy cab guy to use a real cab (the book said to only use white or yellow ones, so we did) because the buses were a bit odd and we didn't want to take our chances with them and the real cab was about 20 euros less than sketchy cab; checked into the hostel and crashed.
Monday: Up at 7:30 after a horrid night's sleep (I've never heard so much snoring in my life), checked out and trekked to the Termini station to leave our luggage for the day. Then: Ancient City day! Colosseum (took pictures figured we'd save the time, money, and experience of going inside for another trip), took pictures of Domus Aurea but couldn't find the triple 6 (it was his address), Forum tour (funny things happened whilst going there), Vittorio Emanuel II monument, Bocca delle Verita (face in the wall from Roman Holiday, it's actually on a porch [sorta] of a church), Jewish Ghetto (museum and synagogue-which, by the way, was beautiful inside), Fontana di Trevi (the fountain on the side of a building that is in every movie set in Rome, threw a coin in and everything), Spanish Steps (which despite the name were built and funded by everybody else, English and French and whatnot, spent some time there doing as Romans do-namely sitting and watching the tourists). Then we trekked back to Termini to collect bags and take a very cold train ride to Naples (they did not need that much air conditioning). Took the metro to the hostel easier than our trip in Rome. Had gelato today! Chocolate around lunch and lemon a little while later, just like a remembered it too!
Tuesday: Lava Day! Well, sort of. We went to Pompeii via train. We walked around for a couple hours (and yes, we did go into the bordello and yes, the pictures were on the walls) taking pictures and generally getting a bit confused as the guidebook didn't always agree with the signs posted on building walls. Then we took a bus up to Vesuvius, well two-thirds or so up. Then we hiked the rest of the way. That's right, I climbed a volcano and yes it hurt but it was so worth it. If nothing else for the view of the Naples and the water and the small islands in the bay/lagoon/harbor thing. I will say though, the crater itself was kind of a let down because it was just rocks and a bit of steam on a side wall. I wanted lava or at least some activity but I suppose it's better that there's only rocks, for the people at least. Then back to Naples for dinner at a pizza place where President Clinton ate back when he was in Naples for the G-7 summit. They even have a picture up. Halloween night was fun, all in all.
Wednesday: Woke up around 8, which meant we got lots of sleep. Dumped stuff at the train station for the day after visiting Virgil's Tomb (which we couldn't exactly see because of gates). Archeological Museum-more statues than you could shake a stick at, by the way, and where all the real stuff from Pompeii is kept. Then walked, in the rain, down to Via dei Tribunali, buying me a 4 euro umbrella on the way as both of mine were in the train station but the new one is bigger and is fun to play with as it can be used as a cane. Lunch of calzone at the other recommmended pizza place from the book. Catacombs weren't visitable until 2 which was too late so we walked down a side street looking at shops which we think were all for manger scenes as all the figures were religious. The Duomo was closed as well, this whole closing in the middle of the day thing that Europe has is not very logical to me, so we headed back to the Metro. Then the cultural experience that we don't ever want to repeat happened. We were getting onto the Metro and I had to get out my wallet to buy a ticket. So we go to put them in the machines and this guy tried to "help me" but I had heard it click. I couldn't shake him off though until I felt fingers on my left side near my purse. I whirled around and shouted "what do you think you're doing?" at him and he backed away. I went through with no problems after that. But that incident just solidified my distaste for Naples. The rain helped as well, but it felt like a beach town and sort of looked like one too. But nothing happened after that incident and that incident was averted so all is well. So don't worry, family. Took the train back to Rome, got into hostel fine and watched some of Pride and Prejudice, the BBC version as Hillary had her laptop with her.
Thursday: Best Laid Plans...Day. Another trek to Termini to drop off luggage then went to Ottaviano to go to the Vatican Museums where we encountered a huge line, which we weren't exactly expecting. An hour or so later we finally get in but had to race through as we wanted to see the Sistine Chapel before trying to go to noon Mass. We saw it, it was nice, but couldn't take pictures (bad attitude) and the museum was closing at 12:30 (winter times are lame in Italy) so we couldn't go back. However, once we're out of the museums, having trekked all the way around to the square, the line to get into the Vatican was really long too. So, no Mass and a poor job on the museums for nothing. Hillary went off to the Maritime Prison and I got in the line. Randomly, the woman in front of me who was traveling with her daughter was not only American, but went to AU! She's now working at the University of Hawaii and was on a belated post college graduation trip with her daughter. They were fun to talk to. Once past the metal detectors, the reason for the back up, I skipped the line to the dome and wandered around St. Peter's. My religion really does have a nice place here, lots of stuff in the museums too. Couldn't light a candle in St. Peter's, which makes sense due to the number of people around and the place'd probably burn down. Then mailed a postcard from the Vatican Post Office and went to the Colosseum for souvenirs then took the train to Florence, hiking about 10 minutes from the bus stop to the actual hostel because it was in an old villa, pretty but a hike. Found out we'd only booked one night but shelved it until the next day. Happy 18th schwesters!!
Friday: Found out hostel didn't have any openings for that night so we called around and found one that did, cheaper and closer to the train station. Dropped stuff then went into Florence. Went to the Duomo and saw the doors of the Baptistry, the church was really pretty with colored marble and stuff. Then went on to the Uffizi Museum (having reserved tickets the day before) and did it properly, seeing everything. Lunch near the museum, had the local specialty of bruschetta with pasta. Went to the Accademia to see David in all his 14 foot glory. Saw the synagogue but it was closed. On to Palazzo Vecchio, the government center and former Medici residence before they moved. Toured it, twas nice, all palatial-y. Saw the Piazza delle Repubblica then on to dinner where we had regional soup-it was a cold day! Pretty skies, but cold. Went back to the hostel where we had our own room, got to use an elevator, were next to the church, and generally considered it to be a gift from on high to make up for the day before.
Saturday: Morning train to Pisa. Walked to Piazza del Duomo, past hundreds of kids who were either scouting or doing some sort of scavanger thing with hats (no idea really). Saw the Leaning Tower, and yes, it leans. We took a couple fun pictures then went inside the Duomo (which was nice) then got souvenirs on our way back to the train station for the train to Venice. Hostel is called Camping del Serenissima for a reason-really does feel like Girl Scout camp with small cabins and space for tents and RVs. We walked down the road for dinner, reasonably priced pizza and warmth which was nice.
Sunday: Venice! Walked around Piazza San Marco before Mass at St. Mark's. Lunch off the piazza (really good lasagna) then a tour of the Doge's Palace led by me and the guidebook. Off to Murano via water taxi (really useful and sorta fun), bought glass but as it was Sunday, the workshops were closed. Back to San Marco for masks and by 5 PM it was already getting dark, which is insane and feels just wrong. Off to the Rialto bridge to buy me a handmade leather bound journal that the guidebook talked about, the couple who owns the shop were so nice too. Back to the hostel to get warm and relax.
Monday: Took forever to get to the airport as we had to take buses. First from the hostel to Venice, then a bus out to Treviso, then another bus to the airport as we were flying RyanAir and thus at a small airport. Took about 3 hours altogether but we didn't have a line for security, a plus with the small airport. Flight back, bus from Charleloi to Midi then via metro back to host home. Unpacked and relaxed. :)

General thoughts: A good trip, overall. Got dark around 5:30 which is crazy, and got cold towards the end of the week, colder than expected which wasn't fun. But we had a great time, I took about 614 pictures (without changing memory cards mind you) and now am dealing with labeling all of them, so pictures will be up on Facebook later this week...as in this weekend.

Midpoint Week

Monday: Long day spent listening to cultural exchange presentations. We were put into groups with two or three EPHEC, a business school at Alma, students. Mine went well, and since we're not being graded, it went great. I tried to correct some grammar mistakes made by the EPHEC students just putting the French version of their paper through a translation program, but they didn't seem to get some of them. It's maple syrup, not syrup of maple. My one problem, which a lot of us have voiced, is that I felt like I was back in high school. The school has actual bells to tell people when to go to class, not a sound I'm used to anymore, they're rude to their professors, talk during presentations. Just disappointing on the whole. Then we went to French class which was a barrel of laughs, as always.
Tuesday: Internship. I...ah...checked my CSW email...and did some reading for EU Seminar 1...and watched some Daily Show clips. Yeah, not much to do. European Security seminar that evening, more Balkans. Problem is that Jamie jumps around, so I've a feeling I'll need to do some reading on the Balkan history before the test to get everything straight.
Wednesday: Actual stuff to do at the internship-researching parliamentary questions for answers. More reading for EU Seminar 1, for the test on Friday.
Thursday: Class day. Defense Economics, European Security Seminar, EU Seminar 2. Studying for the test.
Friday: EU Seminar I midterm. Wasn't terrible. The rest of the day was spent back at the house, not doing much of anything.
Saturday: Morning/most of the afternoon spent at school in the hallway to use the Internet, as it's faster here and I'll trade speed for the comfort of home. Church.

Tomorrow's activities will be included in the super long post about Fall Break, which we are currently enjoying. Oh, and I made another album on Facebook for those family members interested, i.e. Mum, as Mini Europe dominates the album. :) Well, I'm off to Italy tomorrow. Land of temperatures projected to be in the 70s, gelato, pizza, old buildings, and...other stuff.

Last Weekend Before Fall Break

Thursday: Class day, EU Seminar II, Defense Economics, EU Seminar 1. Lotsa economics and such.
Friday: Free day! I went to the Museum of Musical Instruments by the Royal Palace. It was awesome! Lots of instruments and headphones came with the ticket and played music done by the instrument in front of you. Pretty building too. Then I did assorted Brussels/EU gear shopping I'd put off. Really just got 2 t-shirts.
Saturday: Day of wandering around the Grand Place and Rue Neuve, the main shopping street, with Sara and Erofile. It was pretty fun. And educational. I helped Sara pick out an outfit for her boyfriend. We were going for the urban but not gangster look. While avoiding blue. It was pretty fun. :) For dinner I went to the Lebanese place around the corner from host family's house with Sara, Erofile, Erin, and Sarah Brown and her friend Laura. We were there for about three hours just talking and eating Mediterranean food. Yummy!
Sunday: Sara's birthday! Happy 20th! We went to Mini Europe which is like Splendid China only an EU propaganda machine and yet subtle. It has models of landmarks from every EU member country including a huge Houses of Parliament, the Grand Place, the Brandenburg Gate complete with a small Berlin wall which is being torn down (very cool). Since I took pictures of, oh, everything, expect another album on Facebook quite soon. The Laysons had a nice dinner for Sara, curry chicken which certainly cleared out my sinuses and a very good chocolate icing layer cake partially made with shredded almonds.

It was a good weekend but this week is going to be filled with research for papers and studying for the EU Seminar 1 test on Friday. But Fall Break is next week! Less than a week until I'm in Italy! Ciao!