Monthly Archives: June 2012

44 hours until departure…but who’s counting?

I wanted to get in one last pre-departure post as everything is getting closer. I am getting more and more excited as well as more nervous. I find myself googling about the University of Auckland and New Zealand multiple times a day in search of any important information there may be that I should, yet don’t, know yet.

Last night I had some friends over to say goodbye for the next few months. We watched the olympic trials together and I realized that watching the olympics abroad with students from all different countries is going to be a pretty cool experience in itself. I absolutely love the summer olympics and hope I can stil catch them despite time differences and classes being in session! Starting classes so soon (mid-July) is also boggling my mind–it seems like I just left Penn State for the summer.

Anyways, packing is a challenge as I expected. As someone infamous for overpacking, condensing a semester’s worth of needs and wants into a reasonable, meets-the-standards suitcase and carry on seems like mission impossible. Not to mention, my parents are moving out of our house four days after I leave, so I am also preoccupied with organizing, sorting, and packing up all of my other belongings. But here’s how it’s looking so far!

I got these air-tight bags from my sister…hopefully they help contain my overpacking. And, don’t be deceived, I have another load of laundry in the dryer yet.

The quick transition from summer here to winter there is going to be a bit awkward but hopefully I pack correctly for it! In checking the forecast, it looks like a lot of rain, but after my time so far in Happy Valley, I’m pretty sure it’s nothing I can’t handle. My rain boots may be taking up a lot of space, but they are definitely coming along for the trip.

I am taking tomorrow to relax and enjoy my last day of summer as I continue to get together all my last-minute packing. Next time I post, I will be going it from New Zealand!

Location: Auckland, NZ

Home Sweet Home!

I’M HOME!!! I’ve never been more excited to get on a plane than I was on Friday. I was so excited all week to get back home. I literally said “I’M SO EXCITED” about 5 times an hour everyday this week. My 10 hour flight from Rome to Philly landed at 3pm and I was so happy to be back in the US. My connecting flight to LaGuardia was supposed to leave at 5:35, but that ended up being delayed until 6:49 and then finally cancelled. I was REALLY annoyed and upset because all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. I called my boyfriend and my family to tell them my flight was cancelled and my boyfriend, being the AMAZING guy that he is decided to drive 3 hours to pick me up! I was so excited because I missed him SO much. We spent an amazing night and day (Saturday) together and I finally got back home last night. It feels so good to be back. I don’t miss Rome too much yet, But I’m sure I will soon. For now I’m just enjoying the company of my loved ones.

Studying abroad was definitely one of the best decisions and experiences of my life and if I could do it all over again I definitely would!

Location: Bronx, New York

Summer Camp!

This past Tuesday we had a feel trip to an Italian sleep-away camp. I had SO much fun there! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures so I have none to share with you all. 🙁

Before I got to the camp I wasn’t really in a good mood because I really missed home and I just wanted the week to be over already, but once I got there my mood changed completely. The children were so polite and friendly. When it was lunch time, they set the table and served us lunch on the picnic tables outside. They went into the kitchen and brought each course out to us. When they brought the food to the table they served us first, then their friends, and themselves last. We taught them the Cha-Cha slide, and they taught us a traditional Italian dance. We played lots of games with them outside and they just loved everything.They even taught us a little bit of Italian since most of them spoke more than one language. It was really an awesome field trip. I wish we had the chance to have more field trips like this one while we were in Rome.

Location: Rome, Italy

THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!!

While I was in Paris, I took a day trip to London on the Eurorail to visit my friend who’s studying there. The Eurorail took about 3 hours (It should have been 2) because they found a stowaway on the train and we had to wait for the proper authorities to arrive. When I got to London the sun was shining bright and the skies were clear. I called my friend to let her know I was there and she asked me how the weather was outside. At this point I was burning up because I had dressed for rain and cold- the typical weather in London. As soon as I finished telling her how nice it was outside and how I wished I’d brought sunglasses, it started POURING! People always say how unpredictable the weather is in London, but I had no idea it was that fickle.

It was so refreshing to be able to speak English freely and have people understand me! Definitely a nice change from Italian and French haha!

I met up with my friend at Westminster and she took me to see Big Ben and the London Eye. Afterwards we went to and Indian restaurant because we were starving and craving Indian food. I learned that Chicken Tikka Masala (an Indian dish) is actually more popular in London than fish and chips like everyone thinks.

London Eye

Big Ben

I ended the day with some shopping around Oxford Circus before I had to get back to the station to catch my train back to Paris. London was definitely worth the trip!

Location: London, UK

Oui, Oui! Paris!

I went to Paris last weekend and I was actually a little envious that I wasn’t studying there. It LOVED it. So much that I told my boyfriend that I wanted to learn French and move to Paris for a year. He quickly brought me down off of my Paris high and made me snap back to reality.

I loved the French people, the French food, the French music.. Just everything Paris had to offer. I felt like I just belonged there, and apparently other people felt the same way too because I was asked for directions 3 times- in FRENCH. And 3 people asked if I was Parisian. I was flattered, but unfortunately I was no help to the lost travelers.

At the top of the Eiffel tower

During my trip to Paris, I climbed the Eiffel Tower, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, went shopping on Champs-Elysses, visited the Sacre Coure, and Notre Dame, ate croissants for breakfast, and had crepes for lunch. I truly enjoyed Paris and I will definitely be back again. Paris is definitely my favorite European city!

Steps inside the tower

Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower

Champs- Elysses from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Au revoir!

Location: Paris, France

Homeward Bound

I’m heading back home tomorrow after nearly 6 months hanging out here in New Zealand. I have to say I am really excited to be going home. I can’t wait to see my family and friends.

I had so much fun here and met so many great people. I know I’m going to miss all of them, all the Kiwis and the other foreign exchange students. Its been sad seeing them all leave one by one.It has just fermented that this is all coming to a close.

Coming here, I learned so much about myself and what travelling alone really feels like. What its like to be in a foreign place with other people who just want to see the world. I formed a makeshift family here, life long friends and its been my reality for awhile. It just feels odd knowing that once I get on the plane this will just be a part of my past.

All I can say is that this has been one heck of an experience and worth every moment.

Location: Lincoln, New Zealand

A Weekend in Sevilla

Last weekend was by far the most interesting couple of days that I have spent in Europe so far. I planned a very last minute trip to Seville with three of my friends that live in my apartment building. All of our friends already had plans to go away for the weekend. A lot of them were going to Interlaken and Prague with student study abroad groups called Bus 2 Alps and Florence For Fun but we wanted to do something different.

My friend Christina is studying abroad in Seville so I decided to go visit her for the weekend. Our other friend Drew is studying in Barcelona and he was going to Seville for the weekend also so my friends and I thought that it would be fun to go somewhere where we knew some students. That way they could show us around, take us to all the important sites to see and we could go out with them at night.

Tuesday afternoon we booked train tickets to Rome, plane tickets from Rome to Seville, a hostel for two nights, return plane tickets to Bologna and train tickets back from there. As the weekend approached our excitement for our trip was growing. I was looking forward to seeing my friend Christina and I had also never been to Spain before so I couldn’t wait to see another country in Europe after being in Italy for a month.

Unfortunately, our trip did not go exactly as planned. In fact, just about everything that you can possibly think of that could go wrong went wrong.

It started when we got on the train to Rome. My friend Danielle had booked our train tickets. She had gone to Rome the weekend before to visit friends and she booked the train tickets on the same website that she used before. I have found that many times when you get on the train in Italy they do not come around to check your tickets, which is what happened to Danielle the weekend before on her way to Rome. However, on our way to Rome a week later they did come around to check them and we found out that what Danielle had been purchasing were not eight euro train tickets but actually seat reservations. Seat reservations are only accepted if you have a Eurorail pass, which costs about 225 euro, and are not sold on the train. Because we didn’t have these passes my friends and I were forced to pay 95 euro each on the train in addition to the 8 that we had already paid.

Naturally, the incident on the train put everybody in a little bit of a bad mood, but we wanted to have a good trip so we went to get some lunch at a well known hostel in Rome called The Yellow and continued on to the airport trying to get excited again for our trip.

Ioriginally thought that we would have some time to walk around Rome and see a couple of sites but we decided that it would be safer to go straight to the airport and make sure we got there on time.

Danielle and I had packed both of our clothes into her small rolling carry-on suitcase and also each had a big purse. When we got to the airport we weighed the suitcase and it was two kilograms over the weight limit but the man very nicely let us through anyway, which was probably the only good thing that happened in the airport. When we went through security my sunscreen was confiscated because it was too big for a carry-on.

Then as we proceeded to hand in our boarding passes to go to the plane we were told that we could not have a carry on and a purse so Danielle had to shove all of her belongings in her purse into everybody else’s bags. I have never been on a plane before where they did not allow you to have a carry-on as well as a purse so that was a new experience for me.

There is also a small metal cart that you need to fit your bag into to make sure that it is the right size for a carry-on. At first Danielle could not get it to fit and we thought it was going to be too big but my other friend Michael that was traveling with us was able to shove it into the crate after multiple attempts and luckily made it fit.

We arrived in Seville and after taking two different buses finally arrived at our hostel. The room was very nice even though it was not in the main building of the hostel. We had to walk down the street to get to our building but we did have our own room and a bathroom we shared with 4 other people.

My first meal in Spain is one that I will probably never forget. On the menu it said Quesadilla and apple salad. But what I really ended up getting was a 10-euro apple with a glob of goat cheese on top. I absolutely hate goat cheese so obviously this was not my favorite meal.

The rest of the night was a lot of fun. We met up with my friends Christina and Drew by the river where all of the study abroad students hang out and then went to a really cool outdoor club. It was all lit up with trees and outdoor seating spread out around a dance floor and bar.

Danielle and I decided to go back to the hostel earlier than my other two friends but we didn’t realize until we had already taken a cab back that the two keys we had been given were still with Michael and Chris. We had to go to the main part of the hostel at about 3 in the morning and show them a copy of Danielle’s passport so that we could get a new key.

Saturday we walked around and saw all of the sites with Christina and Drew. We went to a beautiful Cathedral and climbed to the top of the cathedral’s tower, which was 40 flights high. After taking lots of pictures and buying some souvenirs we returned to our hostel and rested before going out for the night. Our hostel offered a pub-crawl with 14 other hostels and my friends and I decided to do that Saturday night instead of going out with Christina and Drew again. Danielle had been locking our passports and valuables in the front section of her suitcase and when we got to the first bar she realized that the key to the lock, which she had been keeping in her purse pocket, was gone. I told her to just have a good night and we could look for it when we got home.

We went to two different bars and then an outdoor bar/club. We met a group of guys traveling from Australia and talked with them until the pub-crawl moved to the next club. At this point Danielle and I decided to go home. It was almost 3 am and although people in Spain stay out until very early in the morning, we had a taxi coming to pick us up at 6:45 the next morning to take us to the airport. We told Michael and Chris to make sure that they were back in time to pack up and make the taxi and headed back to the hostel.

When Danielle and I got back we searched everywhere for her missing key but could not find it anywhere. We thought about cutting open the suitcase because we needed to get our passports out to fly home. Instead of cutting it I was able to break one of the zippers off of the bag so that you could still zip and unzip it but the lock was no longer keeping it closed. About 3 minutes after I broke the zipper off Danielle found the key under a pile of clothes.

We went to sleep and I set an alarm but when we woke up the next morning Michael and Chris were still not back. We called them over and over again while packing up our stuff but Micheal’s phone had not been working and Chris’s was going straight to voicemail. Just as Danielle and I were about to have panic attacks, the boys showed up at the last second and got their stuff packed up.

We made it to the airport and then the train station with no problems. But when we got to the train station we needed to purchase new tickets because all we had were seat reservations. None of our credit cards were working in the ticket machines and we thought we were not going to be able to get tickets in time for the train we wanted but luckily we were able to buy them from one of the windows right before the train left.

When we got on the train we found out that we had purchased standing tickets so we ended up sitting on the floor in between the train cars for the 30-minute ride.

Finally we made it back to Florence and I think it’s safe to say that although the city was beautiful and it was fun seeing my friends, none of us will be returning to Seville any time soon. This weekend was filled with many lessons. I will definitely be more prepared for my next trip and I will be more prepared for whatever cultural differences I encounter.

Location: Florence

Day full of lasts

Too many feelings. Too many lasts.
Last time I walk by the cathedral. This amazing building I’ve been blessed to have the pleasure of walking by multiple times each day for the past five months. I just want to reach out and hug it as I pass it by. I’m going to miss this beautiful city with the old buildings and the clearest blue skies I’ve ever seen. I wish it wasn’t goodbye.
Last lunch with my host family. My host mom prepares the same vegetable soup we eat each Monday. “Lunes=verduras” This is what my host mom believes. Lately, I’ve been complaining an awful lot about the food in my homestay and the food in Spain in general. Surely, I love American food and crave it so much. But today I don’t mind. I enjoy this last bowl of soup and the company of my host mom and sister as we watch the television (something else I’ve had to get very accustomed to in my time here). We’re commenting on what’s going on in the television all knowing that this is a big day. After lunch my host sister brings me a bag- a little goodbye gift. I bought my se�ora chocolates and wrote out a card thanking her for everything and for the memories.
I wish to keep in touch with Manuela and Maria. You get close to people when you live with them for so long. I asked my se�ora if she had a Facebook. She told me yes- and she was surprised that we also have “fac-e-book” in the US. Why yes, we do happen to have Facebook in the US… 🙂
My se�ora and Maria have to leave to get back to school. They help me down with my bags and my se�ora mentions for the second time to me how it feels as if it were just yesterday we were lugging these bags up the stairs. Five months later, five very quick months and we have to take them back down. Fuller than ever. Now containing all that I brought from the US in addition to all of the things I’ve acquired here in Europe. My se�ora is right. It does feel like just yesterday and it saddens me that this experience has to come to an end.
We have to say goodbye on the street when we part ways. We give each other besos and I start to tear up. Everything is becoming too real.
So much is running through my head. I think back to first arriving in Seville. I remember feeling terribly helpless in this city knowing nothing about it or about getting around it. I remember struggling for words and having the hardest time forming sentences. I was so shy and unsure.
Last walk through the city. Last chance to take it all in. Thank God I’ve had 5 whole months to take it all in because it’s just so beautiful I find myself overwhelmed in these last moments.
Last airport bus ride. Last time passing through the part of town David and I made our home for two weeks. Brings back such wonderful memories. On my way to the airport today I smiled proud- thinking how far I’ve come in these five wonderfully fulfilling months. Not only do I know my way around this city that was once so big and new- I’ve made it my home. Seville will always have a very special place in my heart. I’ve improved my language abilities so much as well.
Last time in the Seville airport. So many amazing memories here as well. Arriving with Emily. Finding Jessica and David after baggage claim. Flying out of here to Barcelona. Flying home to the US and right back into this airports open arms in one weekend. The amazing feelings flush back of when I checked the screen so many times when I was taking my first solo flight between Seville and Barcelona to meet Emily. When Jessica and I entered this airport and set off on our trip of a lifetime.
Oh, it’s so hard to say goodbye. So many wonderful memories that I would give anything to hit rewind and play back again and again. What helps me accept that this chapter in my life is over is the fact that it will always live on in my memories. I’ve had amazing visits with people I love, made incredible friends, and learned so much- about Spain and Spanish of course, about life and most importantly about myself.
This experience has changed me. I can already feel that as I sit here in the airport waiting to check my luggage back to the states. I know, however, that no matter how changed I feel in this moment I still don’t know the importance this experience has had on me. I think once I go home and settle back into my life I will do and see things differently. This is when I’ll know for sure how I’ve changed.
I’m in the airport. I was stressed out hoping my baggage wasn’t too heavy and that I could carry on all that I needed to. Luckily the woman at the checkin desk let my bag go even though it was too heavy. So far everything has gone so smoothly- and I’m really thankful. Now just my flight to Lisbon and 14 hours in the airport. I will try to pass the time reading. But mostly I think I will be reflecting and writing in my journal as I wait to board my flight back to my hometown.
I’m still in Seville now, though it already feels like I’m gone. I have one hour until my plane boards. Leaving it all behind…. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.
My last cry here in Spain. The last time my emotions will get the best of me as I board the last plane- one that takes me one step closer to the end of this experience.
Goodbye, dear Sevilla. Thank you for the wonderful memories. I can’t wait to see you again someday!

Location: Aeropuerto de Sevilla, Sevilla, España

Full Circle

Tonight, I said goodbye to Ana. My sweetheart of a friend who drove all the way into Seville from her pueblo to say goodbye to me. It was hard, as this was my first goodbye. We exchanged emails and she told me of I were ever back, I’d always have a place to stay with her. I encouraged her to come visit in the US as I would love to show her my world as she’s shown me hers.
After we said goodbye, she headed off back home and I walked across the bridge into the center of the city.
It was nighttime and I was supposed to meet some friends in the Plaza de Espa�a. One thing we wanted to do before we started heading home was see this amazing place at night. I ended up not meeting anyone- but being on my own and being able to reflect in my own head was just what I needed.
As I stood there basking in the beautifulness that that Plaza has to offer I started tearing up. For the first time, I realized that I’m leaving. I’m going home. I was realizing that my experience was over- coming to an end. All I had work toward. All I was looking forward to. It has now come and gone. All I had done here in the past five months made me feel accomplished and proud. I felt so very blessed that this amazing dream came true and it was more than I could have ever imagined.
I did it! I came to another country, lived on another culture and made this wonderful city my HOME.
This was incredible. Everything coming full circle for me.
I remember the first time that my experience in Spain finally became real was when I was shocked by the beauty of the Plaza de Espa�a for the first time. This was the place that I was most excited to show Emily, Jessica and Dave. So many emotions lie in this one part of the city. I had an amazing picnic with my best fried. I laughed so hard while my sister and I tried to row the boat around the river. I was swept off my feet by the sweetest boyfriend in the world when he carved our initials under the bridge so I would always have that to look at as a reminder of his love. Here, on my last visit everything came together. These incredible 5 months of my life. I was truly able to appreciate everything I have done and accomplished and all of the memories I’ve made and shared.
I know Seville will always be very special to me. I am so glad this is the city I chose to come to in Spain.

Location: Plaza de España, Sevilla

UCT Survival Guide

So looking back on my trip I realized that though school was a big part of my experience I didn’t write much about UCT. So for the students, especially the CIEE students going abroad this fall I decided to write a survival blog on how to maneuver through UCT and some advice to make the most of your trip. First thing I will say is that UCT is a prestigious university in Africa and you do have to put in effort and learn. With that being said, it is important to not overwhelm yourself with classes, this is not like other semesters at Penn State or at UCT. You have an opportunity of a lifetime and you want to take full advantage of it. The next thing to do is go to class and get involved in class discussions even if you do not know much about South Africa. I learned much of what I know about South Africa from class discussions that sometimes veered off from the topic of the day. Next on the list are the jammie shuttles. You will learn very soon that the shuttle schedule is basically useless and you just have to show up and get on the first one you can find. If you’re hungry, the place places to go are Higher Taste cuisine on the first floor of Leslie social and on middle campus where you will find the best samosas probably in all of and Panda. So, about the weather, throw away your umbrella and just learn to love the rain. It rains almost every day and yes it does get cold especially in lecture halls so bring a jersey (jacket). You have internet quota so use your internet wisely. Take your school ID everywhere because you will use it all the time. Learn some slang so you can engage more with the ZA students. Get involved, it will change your life! South Africa is the perfect place to volunteer your services to organizations that you won’t find in the states. CIEE has an amazing volunteer program and the coordinator Earl is probably on my top most favorite people I have met in my 21 years of living. And finally my biggest advice is that you have an open mind and don’t expect too much. Do not compare the academic experience to Penn State. Take it like it’s your first year in college where everything is new and exciting and you are doing it for the first time because, well, you are. I hope you have an amazing five months.

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

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