Long time no see!

August 04, 2014 - I have modified the original post to remove the broken photos. Most of the text remains, except where it references the photos. 

I apologize for the delay in updates. It seems that everything that could go against me - did.

My computer broke. This computer is less than 3 months old and cost me $1000. I purchased it in August. I opened the lid and found it in this state. Now, I know enough about LCD screens to recognize that as bad. But this is where it gets funny. Not more than two weeks before, one of the other girls in my group, came back from a Mexican restaurant and found her computer in the exact same state. This is the kicker: She has the same model, purchased around the same time, from Best Buy as well.

I have never purchased a Toshiba before this - and, unless they stand by their product and actually repair my computer with the warranty - I will never have another Toshiba anything again.

My final paper for International Law had been finished - but I still had a final paper for International Relations to write and research. So, I was now at the mercy of the school computer. Where Becky's computer had half the screen (thank goodness for Windows 7 snap to fit!) to work on her paper with - mine only had the top 1/4 - the rest of the screen flickered in a way in which I couldn't see anything (I could fumble the controls enough to pull up iTunes and use my computer as a $1000 crappy radio).

Let me tell you about the computer labs at the Webster campus in Vienna. Firstly - they aren't made for all day research/writing considering the wooden chairs that are provided. The campus goes in waves - the computer lab gets extremely loud at some times. Usually around lunch (which means that it is break time for me once I can no longer drown the sound out with my iPod), and it is not 24 hours. Which meant, that my writing was at the mercy of the computer lab hours (8:30-9:30p if I recall correctly, except Saturday - only til 2:30 and Sunday its completely closed). When you have a major paper to write and can only use campus computers and you have limited days to write it - it was by far the most unbelievably frustrated thing.

And - not only did I lose my ability to work at home. I lost my ability to communicate with my family and friends - and I lost my entertainment on my 12 hour journey to Bangkok.

So, Toshiba is really high on my shit list at the moment. My dad is awesome and mailed my old laptop to Bangkok (Sony rocks!) - but I was pretty much sans-computer for all of October.

So, what all did I do between my (forever ago) last entry and today?

First, I went to Prague, Czech Republic. I have to say - the whole EEC/European Union/Whatever - is making me super sad. Mostly because I don't get stamps in my passport anymore. On the other hand - you know they could make some good money at the border selling 'souvenir' passport stamps. JS.

Prague was so beautiful! I met some awesome people at the hostel. I will say - this is an observation I have made after years of hosteling: Pretty certain there are no Australians in Australia. It doesn't seem to matter where in the world I am, when I am at a hostel, there are always Australians present. Not that this is a bad thing - I actually find it quite incredible. Anyway, I took a tour of Prague, it was a great tour of the city and the castle grounds. I also splurged on a river dinner cruise the last evening, where the musician hired to entertain us thought My Heart Will Go On was an appropriate song to play on a boat -_-. I also walked by the house of Franz Kafka, it was closed which was sad to me, and I didn't have time to visit the Kafka museum, but I have been a fan of Kafka since I read the Metamorphosis so it was cool to see that.

The astronomical clock in Prague's town center was phenomenal  though I would say it wasn't worth waiting around for the "show" at the top of every hour (if you stumble upon it great). Our tour guide taught us how to read the clock, though today I can not remember, I am sure it available on the internet somewhere.

What struck me most about Prague was how incredibly beautiful it was. It struck me in a bad way, because it made me realize that I was not expecting it to be beautiful. I think if you had asked me what I envisioned of the Czech Republic before going to Prague, the mentality I had probably would reflect more of a Cold-War-Era style of thinking about the Soviet Bloc. I tend to consider myself a very open-minded person, so anytime I am confronted with dealing with my own prejudices of any kind, it's always very unnerving. Mark Twain once said "Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness" and I think it most certainly rings true. Travel makes you confront your own misconceptions about the people and places outside of your walls. The process for me is unsettling because it makes me wonder what other pre-concieved notions I have about other places that I am not actively aware of. Prague was never high on my list of "must see" destinations, not for any particular reason that I knew of - but mostly because of this misconception I had that was rooted far deeper than even I knew. I am glad that my cousin, Laura, encouraged me to go - it would be a shame if I had missed it - because it is now on my list of must-return places, and quite possibly one of my favorite cities in Europe.

So: here are a few shots from "Pretty Praha" - you can see them all HERE and HERE

Prague was my last out-of-country excursion for the remainder of my time in Vienna.

Webster arranged for us to take a tour of the Jewish quarters in Vienna. You can see the photos of that HERE

I celebrated my birthday on September 27. I had an amazing birthday! This morning I went out to Mödling with Mom's friend's parents (keep up with me here). They gave me a tour of historic Mödling and then took me to their house for lunch. They stuffed me with the most A-MA-ZING traditional Austrian food - and all the veggies came from their garden - and fresh squeezed Lindenberry juice from their garden!

Then, they took me to a 12th century castle. Very - very Mid-evil castle! It was awesome. After, we drove to a 13th century monastery. All of this was a drive through the Austrian countryside. The leaves were beginning to turn - so the mix of greens, oranges, and yellows was spectacular! Afterwords, we went back to their place for coffee and pastries and conversation.

Kara and I went to Stephensplatz and found a cafe where Beethoven used to dine at - and had wine and desert. When we got back, it was insisted I go see Samantha - and I walked in and everyone was there - they had baked a cake and had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for me - and made me a really awesome birthday card from a Vienna city map!

Here are a few photos from my day in Mödling, you can see the rest HERE

Me at a Castle - I'd look good with a castle!

Castle Lichtenstein from a distance

My gracious hosts!

My birthday gift to myself was a day trip to Salzburg for the Sound of Music Tour that weekend. Yes, it's overly touristy and campy - but it was so much fun. I highly recommend doing the tour because it gets you out of the city and into the "alive hills". Really the views were incredible. Here are a few shots, the rest are HERE

Do-Re-Mi Fountain

Me - doing the Do-Re-Mi pose at these statues

I took a break from my final paper writing to go on a Wine Tasting Excursion with Webster. We went way out into wine country - to Retz, which sits right on the border of the Czech Republic. It was a nice day. Photos are HERE

I also voted absentee for the first time ever - everyone I voted for won! YAY for Obama and Representative John Barrow in GA-12! Here's hoping that my ballot actually made it to the states! :-D

I finished out my time in Vienna with a trip to see The Marriage of Figaro at the State Opera House. I can't think of a better way of capping off an amazing 8 weeks in Vienna than that.

So, my first 8 weeks was filled with encounters with long-dead political heros, music, art, wine, opera, and new cultural experience. I will forever remember Vienna as smelling like fresh baked bread, and the abundance of waltz music. Vienna finds a way to make even their UBahn an experience.

Kurt, waltzing in the UBahn with some other tourists


Also - for my first term in graduate school - I got straight As!


I will try to update with my time in Bangkok very soon. I have two papers to write this week, mini-papers, but still, that writing has to take priority. 

Meeting Machiavelli

First - very sad news about my camera. After 4 very loyal years of service, my camera has passed. The camera repair company said the main board is dead, and needs to be replaced, which would cost more than buying a new-used one. So, it was with a heavy heart that I had to pull the plug. I bought a new-used 40D on Amazon.at (with only 4500 shots) and am now waiting on it. Funeral services will be pending for my former camera upon my return to the states. The best part too - my back up camera broke yesterday too! YAY! I have pissed off the camera gods.

Also - the delay in updating is due to an unexpected study of the Austrian Health Care system.

Anyway - I decided I needed to get away this weekend. When looking at my schedule, there are only a few weekends in which we really get a chance to escape and see things. So, I ended up at the train station, still uncertain where I wanted to go. The next thing I knew, I had a ticket to Florence, Italy! Birthplace of the Renaissance!

Worth springing for the bed!

I took an overnight train to Venice, then a high-speed train to Florence, and arrived around noon the next day. I went ahead and just booked with the local Hosteling International affiliate, since I only paid for 30 minutes at the internet cafe, and didn't have time to read up on other Hostel options, and HI has always been reliable in the past.

I really had mixed feelings on the place. On one hand it was quite possibly the most beautiful hostel I have ever seen in my life. It is a converted 15th century vineyard, and it is also a camp ground. It was gorgeous! On the other hand it was a bit away from the city center. Overall, it was worth the price I paid. I do recommend it, though probably more so if you have a few days in Florence.

Florence was absolutely beautiful! A smaller city than I expected, but not a small town in any sense of the word. It was so easy to just wander up and down the streets, and just admire. Brunelleschi's cathedral dome peeks out from the most random places. I really thought it would *dominate* the landscape, instead it just fits right in, and it's quite the sight when you turn a corner and see the big red roof again.

I came close to calling the program director to tell her I was dropping out and moving to Florence. The city was overwhelming with art and music. Plus, just the knowledge that the Renaissance began in these very streets, was exciting for me. I am somewhat of a fan of the Medici family history (by the way there is a really good documentary about this family available streaming on Netflix!) so it was really great to see the products of their patrons.

I went to Florence with no guidebook, or any idea what I wanted to do (other than *be* in Florence) so it was fun to fall into things. I walked down this corridor, and there were statues of famous Florentines, Cosimo Pater Patriae de'Medici, Lorenzo, il Magnifico, de'Medici, Donatello, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespuci, it was really cool (and almost like a live pop-quiz! How much could I remember??) and then, I saw it, I came, face-to-face, with  the author of, quite possibly, my favorite work in the field of Political Science, and probably the most controversial

And I fan-girled! Called my best friend, who is about the only person on the planet who would understand my geek-out moment. He promptly informed me that I should buy a copy of Il Principe and take a photo with me holding it next to him.

Done! It's great to have geeky friends!

The first gelato I ever had was in Portugal, but the best gelato I ever had was in Florence. It was heavenly. The first one I had was a fruit flavor, and it was made with fresh fruit, and was - simply an experience.

I ate pizza, for pretty much every meal except breakfast, and had some of the most amazing wine.

Talking with a woman in a shop she was telling me that I should go to Pisa, since it is not far at all.

So my timeline was this:
Friday night - leave Vienna
Saturday 8am - arrive Venice
Saturday 12pm - arrive Florence
Sunday 9am - leave Florence
Sunday 10am - arrive Pisa
Sunday 1pm - leave Pisa
Sunday 2pm - arrive Florence
Sunday 7pm - leave Florence
Sunday 9pm - arrive Venice
Sunday 10pm** - leave Venice
Monday 8am - arrive Vienna

**yea, except the train was delayed by an hour!

The only thing I really wanted to see in Pisa was the tower (duh), but I think I could have wasted a whole day in that town just exploring. I am not certain I could have done much more than a day (again, no guidebook with me to tell me what I missed!). But, since there was still so much in Florence I wanted to see, I only spent a few hours seeing the tower and wandering the city before heading back. I chose not to go inside, the wait was about 2-3 hours, and it really did look like it would fall over, which made me uneasy.

The Duomo had been closed on Saturday, so I went to see it Sunday. The line was so long, but moved very efficiently. It was incredible to see. The dome really is a masterpiece, an ingenious feat of engineering.

Overall, Florence was amazing, and I really want to go back and spend some real time there. I met a number of people that went to Florence to study, and ended up staying. It truly is an inspiring city!

You can see all of my Florence and Pisa pictures HERE and HERE

Upon getting back to Vienna, I was in a lot of pain and not certain why. I had a test on Tuesday that I was trying to study for, but it hurt to sit, to stand, walk, even lie down. I emailed my professor explaining that I was going to sit through the test and leave early and I asked the Student Services coordinator to make an appointment for me on Wednesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, I couldn't bear the pain anymore. I called my professor crying asking if I could please have a make-up exam.

The doctor ended up being right next door. This is where I got a new appreciation for the language barrier. The receptionist did not speak a word of English, I am in a lot of pain, and trying to explain it to her using gestures and pointing, because I do not speak a word of German (okay, that's not entirely true, I can now count to 10, tell you my name, where I am from, and that I do no speak German!). The Student Services coordinator translated via phone for me. I don't entirely know what she told her, but I ended up getting put to the front of the line.

The doctor spoke English. She took one look at what was causing me pain and said "You need to go to the hospital for surgery". I got handed a sheet of paper to give to the hospital and bus directions and sent on my way. All I know is, whatever is causing me pain, needs to be removed. I do not know what kind of surgery this is going to be, and frankly, I am none too excited about the idea of someone taking a knife to me at all.

The Globals coordinator met me at the hospital to translate, which I was so grateful for. While I waited for her, I was trying to be as brave as possible. I was in pain, I was sitting in a hospital after being told I needed surgery, and there were signs everywhere I couldn't read, people were speaking to each other very rapidly in a language I couldn't understand, to top it off, I didn't even know the 'process'. Who was I supposed to give this paper to? What building/floor/wing was I supposed to be in?

The place someone had told me to go was fairly empty and no one in the waiting room spoke English. So I just sat in a corner and waited...


...and waited...

....waited some more. I saw no one in a "hospital uniform". Finally, someone came in and rang a bell (which I had no idea about) and a nurse came out. Okay, so, I figured out how to get the nurse! I handed a nurse the paper, and she started asking me questions. Finally, I figured out that she needed my passport (luckily I had it!), then she wandered away with it and I didn't see her again for another 10 minutes or so.


I had always thought about the people who move to the United States, if they get hurt or sick, and have to seek medical care, I always wondered how scary it might be to not be able to explain, or understand, what is happening to you, to be trying to understand something that is hard enough to understand in your native language (I don't speak doctor), and then have this huge language barrier. Now that I have personally experienced it, I am quite surprised that I didn't break down (first and foremost because I am the world's biggest baby when I am hurt or sick). I don't think I ever felt more like 'an outsider' than I did in the hospital waiting room.


The Globals coordinator arrived around the time that the nurse called me back. The two of them spoke German back and forth and next thing I knew I was on the table and the doctor was explaining the procedure.

The doctor was wonderful, he explained everything very clearly to me, told me what he was going to do, when he was going to do it. The nurses were very kind too, rubbed my shoulders when I was crying or screaming.

All in all, local anesthetics, and some pain pills, two doctors offices, and 3 1/2 hours after walking into the first doctor's office I was back in my apartment. It was the most efficient process I've ever experienced with any sort of medical system.

I have been having to go back to the hospital daily to have my bandages changed. After today's visit they had the bill for me. 335euros! 335! Incredible! My daily visits for bandages were 6 euros each! I had anesthetics, which in the US alone would have been a couple hundred dollars, doctors consultations, and 'surgery' and it was only 335euros! Which my health insurance that Webster provides us will reimburse me.

My daily hospital visits too are incredible. I get in at 8am, the first visit I was back home at 10 (stopped at grocery store), the next one only took 40 minutes. I go to the doctors office in the US and don't get in and out that fast.

I don't know how someone is ever going to argue that the US has the best system for Health Care to me ever again. Not after what I experienced here.

Anyway, I am feeling much better now. I am going to take a trip to Prague, Czech Republic this weekend. It is our last weekend that we have a chance to get away before midterms, papers, and finals. Then it will be off to the next destination!

Vienna, Week One

So, I am going to try to make Sunday my updating days (that will last until what do you think - midterm?) but it will be my valiant effort!

I already talked about my journey from post-Spain, until I arrived in Vienna, which was exciting, to say the least! If you go to the MAPS section of my blog, there are now two maps of my journey. The first was a projection, which has been posted here for sometime now. The second is updated, real information, from graduation day (May 12, 2012) until my arrival in Vienna last Saturday.

But here it is:



My original projection, for the entire year was 46,619.6 kilometers to travel. This new map, for three months of travelling, I have already covered 42007.9 kilometers! That's a lot of planet covered and still a lot to go!

Anyway, we arrived in Vienna Saturday night. A group of us had booked together, we all met the driver at the airport and he drove us to the apartments we would be calling home for the next 8 weeks. I am living in Vienna's 10th district, Favoriten (we later were told that we are in the 'ghetto' though it is the absolute nicest ghetto I've ever seen!). The apartments are very, very spacious, big for even American standards - something I had not expected at all. After a month in Spain I was growing used to the tight quarters that are common in Europe.

Living room of my apartment

My roommate missed orientation, but she arrived early Sunday morning and we got to know each other, then I took her to meet the rest of the cohorts. We had all been getting to know each other a lot since Wednesday and all seem to have clicked very quickly. Everyone was curious about the missing girl from our cohort so they were all excited to meet her.

On Sundays everything is closed, but we took some time to take a walk around the neighborhood and see what we could find. There is a bar across the street from us Mabel's No90. So far, that has quickly become our hangout spot.

Di (my roommate), Rach, and Sam at Mabel's

Monday morning, first thing, we all went to the grocery store. We arrived Saturday after the store was closed, and it wasn't open on Sunday, so we were all ready to ditch the bar food and get some food in our (very small) fridges. Then we all locked ourselves in our rooms and studied for class that was to begin the following day. 100 pages of International Law on the computer screen (we had yet to receive our textbooks) was most definitely the highlight of our entire journey!

Tuesday, the Globals coordinator, Guergana "G" picked us up to walk us to campus. We are quite a distance from campus, about an hour (but we are only about 30 minutes from the city center).

We had orientation just for the Globals about an hour before the orientation for all the graduate students. Between the two orientations we went to the bookstore to pick up our books. The program fee covers our books, but they had run out of some of our books, so as of now, I am still short 1 book, some girls are short 2. It was nice to get a chance to mingle with some of the other graduate students. Webster University really is a global university. As we went around the room, people were introducing themselves from Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, etc. One really good-looking guy stood up and said he was from Serbia. Of COURSE he was! Seriously - what is in the water there!?

Our first class was International Law (Tuesdays 6-10pm). Our instructor is Polish and works for the United Nations so she spends half her time in New York City and half her time in Vienna (teaching in both cities). She works in Human Rights issues and is very interesting, she is also very detail orientated and likes examples, as she was constantly asking us for examples of NGOs, IOs, treaties, customary laws, etc. So, I imagine the tests are going to be very specific. The class is structure pretty basic: two quizzes, one final exam, one final paper, and a presentation. Because the classes are all only 8 weeks long, we had to pretty much decide on our presentation topic (which would also be our final paper topic). I am going to be writing on Women's Right to Health laws (mostly on reproductive health). We shall see how that goes!

Wednesday was our International Relations Theory class, same time (6-10). The instructor is Italian and is Director of Research, Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy. I made the mistake of wearing my Spanish football jersey. In my defense I have no loyalties to any European football teams, I happened to be in Spain for the Eurocup, which is why I had it. The rest of class he kept calling me "Spain" though (since he doesn't have names yet). He told me he may not let it affect my grade. (My undergraduate professor told me a few days later that one of the other professors is teaching Politics of Soccer and I got a small taste of his lesson plan!). Same basic structure. Midterm, final, final paper. We also will have group work each week. Midterm is on a Sunday and the last class will be on a Saturday, so we can have our final on Wednesday! Ohy!

On the way home from class! Becky, Amber, and Sam

Speaking of my midterm being on a Sunday (the 23rd) - that is the last day of Photokina, I have my Professional Seminar classes on Fridays, so that pretty much killed my hope of going to Photokina.

And speaking of cameras, before class Wednesday morning, I made my way to the camera store to see if they could do something about my camera. The guy who was helping me went through all the troubleshooting things for me: checked battery on his charger (50% full), checked his battery in my camera, tested the internal battery (I had already gotten a new one to try to see if that was the fix), cleaned battery contacts. Nothing brought my camera to life. So, he packed it up and sent it off to the repair center, and I bit back tears.

The hospital for my baby at the moment

Thursday we took a bus tour of the city. After the hour or so tour, Kurt and I went back to the Hofburg Palace, I wanted to see the gardens where the Mozart memorial is and he wanted to go to the arms and armor exhibit. He knows a lot about ancient weaponry so it was really informative for me!

Karlskirche

Hofburg Palace

Pretty certain this gun would knock me on my butt!

Mozart Memorial before my battery died

Kurt told me about a show he had gotten tickets for. Mozart and Strauss, in a smaller venue, and the performers would be dressed in period costumes. I bought tickets for the show for that evening and we headed back to the apartments (well meandered - went the long way). Sam decided she wanted to go to the show as well, so she reserved tickets and the three of us went out that evening.

There was also a ballet dancer and opera singer!

I figure, I am in Vienna, I am going to take in as much classical music as I can afford! The show was really entertaining, I liked the size of the venue and the performers were all very good. The pianist rocked Turkischer Marsch (Click here if you are unfamiliar) which is one of my favorite pieces. The venue had very good natural acoustics. It is an old house, at one time Mozart performed there with his sister! 

After the show we walked up to Stephansplatz to see Saint Stephan's Cathedral at night, the meandered around the city, getting up to the river and back down toward Stephansplatz, just talking and enjoying the weather. We had our "Oh my goodness, we are in Vienna!" moment then. It was so beautiful, the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and the city was lit up, there were lots of other people out walking around, and it's an easy city to navigate. 

I think I am in love! I can see why this city inspired so many great artists and musicians! 

Saturday morning, Di, Rach, Amber, and I went to Naschmarkt, which is a large, open-air market in the city center. We didn't walk the entire thing and it was raining the entire time, but it was a lot of fun to see all the different stalls with fresh foods. Before heading back we all stopped at the cheese store and got some amazing cheeses! 

Di and Amber buying some stuffed olives. 

The really awesome cheese guy! :-D

I spent the rest of the day studying and managed to get the two chapters for International Law read, which only left two articles to read. So, I went out with all the girls. There was supposedly a "Welcome Webster" party at one of the local clubs (Aphrodisiac). We all dressed up and went out, the cover was 12ϵ and it was pretty lame. and way overpriced (10.50 for a gin&tonic - no.) But we made the best of it. We were the only ones dancing for quite sometime. It got a bit better by the end of the evening, but by then we were all pretty much done.

And today, I have done nothing productive. I got my two articles read, cleaned a bit, but for the most part, have had a nice lazy day. We just had a wine and cheese get together for a few hours to relax (since unlike me, most people have been studying all day!) and hang out.

It is really hard for me to believe I have only been in Vienna for a week, and with Webster for 11 days! We have all been going so hard and fast the whole time that I feel like it's already been forever, I am losing track of time.

But so far this is working out brilliantly, my cohorts are amazing - everyone has such interesting, different backgrounds with such fun stories, and varying personalities. So far we all get a long really well, hopefully that lasts for quite sometime since this is going to be one crazy, long year!

Me and my Roomie at a Cafe!

Orientation

Okay, so now my journey really begins. So after the exciting journey over the summer (See Here) I finally started my year with Webster University in their Global MA in International Relations. My first stop was a 2 day orientation in Leiden, the Netherlands. 

Woke up and dragged my luggage to the train station to catch my train to Amsterdam (well, okay I caught a train that took me to the train that took me to Frankfurt, which took me to the train that took me to Amsterdam).

Beanie is all strapped in and ready to go!

It was my first real European train ride. My seat on the train was in one of the compartments too, which was really nice! It was just like Harry Potter! :-D German trains are incredible! One of the employees told me that the train was travelling at 300kph (186mph). But the ride is smooth as glass and so punctual. If the train says it arrives at 9:24, it arrives AT 9:24 - you can set your watch to it! It really is something spectacular.

6 hours later I arrived in Amsterdam. I then had to figure out how to get the train to Leiden from there. After fighting with the ticket machine for a bit (it wouldn't take my credit card) a Dutch guy behind me said "Do you need some help?" So he helped me with the machine, and then told me he lives in Leiden and is heading there now, so if I want to wait he will help me get there. He even carried my luggage up the steps for me, which was really very nice :-D

Don't get me wrong, I pride myself in being an independent girl, and up to that point I had lugged my nearly 30kg luggage (and backpack and purse!) up and down stairs in 2 train stations and on and off 3 trains, so I could do it, but after a day of doing all that - the help was great. We sat on the train to Leiden and talked about school, travels, the Netherlands, and he pointed things out to me on the ride. After we arrived in Leiden he walked me out of the train station and pointed out my hotel to me (which was visible from the station).

I got checked into the hotel and met one of the girls in my cohort, Mariah, who was my roommate for orientation. Then, I met with Kurt and Emily, also in my cohort, who I had been chatting with on Facebook a lot over the summer. Everyone got together to take a walk around the city.

Leiden is a gorgeous little city and super easy to walk, just beware of the bicycles! There were hundreds of bikes: people riding them, parked in front of restaurants and store, etc. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but it was still very pretty.

The Windmill

There are lots of these riverside/boat restaurants

Webster University Campus in Leiden

Pancakes for dinner - holy cow!

The great thing about the two days of orientation was the chance to meet the people from the other two cohorts! Since we travel in cohorts you really get to know the group you are travelling with over the year, but you don't get a lot of time to mingle with the other people in the program. It was kind of sad though too because you get the chance to met some awesome people and two days later you're all saying 'goodbye'.

I wish I had more photos but the saddest thing happened. At the end of the first day we went to the beach for a barbecue. I had been using my canon earlier that morning, but when I went to take a photo of everyone on the beach - the camera would not turn on. I figured it was a dead battery. But, when I got back to the hotel and put a new battery in, there was still no life. Three batteries, none worked.

I called Keith (former boss) in tears. He said to me "Carrie, you did this for seven years, you need to troubleshoot the camera the same way you would for any other customer with a camera that won't come on." Yes, but they've never come in with my broken camera!!

A former co-worker found me an address for a camera store in Vienna (since I didn't have the time to do anything about my camera while still in Leiden), so I spent the next two days sulking.

I do have my Olympus PEN as a backup camera, and I do love that camera - but, the Canon 40D is my *baby*. I worked very hard for that camera, and it has been a lot of places with me. I have a very sentimental attachment to it!

So, Saturday morning the majority of the people in my cohort had all booked the same flight to Vienna. We flew from Amsterdam to Belgrade, then Belgrade to Vienna. I am not entirely certain what they put in the water in Serbia, but the male flight attendants were *gorgeous* and then some of the guys at the airport were gorgeous too. I think I want to take a trip to Serbia!

Next post will be my first week in Vienna!

You can see the rest of my photos from Leiden Here

The Rain in Spain

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe are liars. The rain in Spain does not stay mainly in the plain. There is no rain in Spain! I feel cheated. 

Anyway, I apologize for falling short on my duties to update this blog. The first half of the trip  had spotty internet at best. The second half I was studying for final exams, writing final papers, preparing my senior portfolio, taking senior exit exams, and the like. So, I will try to summarize my experiences in Spain as best as possible in just a few posts. I will also link to albums with the photos in them. 

In Salamanca we stayed with host families, which was wonderful because it gave us an opportunity to get a feel for traditional-Spanish lifestyles (and not to mention the food!) and also saved us some money on food (as we were provided 3 meals a day from our families). The Spanish life is easy enough to get into. The first thing you learn is the ever-famous siesta. I have come to understand how this concept developed. Lunch (Comida) is served between 2-2:30, siesta is from 2-5. It is so oppressively hot outside during that time, that the best place to be is inside as it is. So, bravo to the Spanish for this wonderful idea! 

I am not going to comment much on my first family in Salamanca since half way through the trip my roommate and I had to switch houses. The second family I stayed with was a single mother of 2 (11 and 22) who works three jobs (and still takes in students for the extra income). The house was close to campus and the food was wonderful. It is always interesting to be reminded that people have the same people problems in every part of the world. The problems of raising children as a single mother are not unique to Americans.

Also, children/teenagers are the same in every country. Just saying. 

Salamanca is an interesting town. It is in the Castilla-León region and centers around the University of Salamanca, which is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It very much has the feel of a college town. It's small, so you are able to walk everywhere. There are lots of cafés and shops to explore. Of course, in the center of town is the Plaza Mayor, which is where much of the action takes place. The first day we arrived, Spain played the final match against Italy in the Eurocup, which Spain won. It seemed the entire town spilled into the Plaza after the win, in order to join in the celebrations! It was quite the spectacle to see. 

The Plaza Mayor, lit with Spanish colors, after the Eurocup win

More Eurocup Photos

The first weekend, we took a bus ride up to Pamplona for the Festival of San Fermin. I was really looking forward to being a part of the festival that Ernest Hemingway made so famous. I was not disappointed. Though, I will say, it was, by far, the single most disgusting event I've ever seen. We arrived on the first day of the festival and already, trash was thrown all over the sidewalks, our shoes stuck to the cement thanks to the sangria that had been poured all over people, and the smell was horrific. But, it was energetic, there was lots of music playing, people dancing, and having a good time. 

The encierro (the running of the bulls) was something spectacular to witness. The first morning we bought tickets to be in the Plaza de Toros and wait for the runners. Everyone was singing, chanting, and in some cases, fighting sleep (most of the people in my group had stayed out the entire night joining in the celebrations, I got separated from the group during the evening, so I had decided to return to the dorms and get at least a few hours of sleep). 

Fighting sleep. 

Shortly before 8:00, the doors must have opened outside because people came running into the arena. These were not actual runners, just people who had been waiting outside for the doors to open, so they could get into the arena for free. The people in the stands were wise to this and did not take kindly to it, greeting them with 'boo's and throwing things at them. At 8:00 the running began, and we were able to watch on screens what was happening in the street. About 2 minutes later the first of the runners began to pour in, followed shortly after that by the bulls. It was incredible to see so many people in white and red fill up the arena. 

Despite the controversy it may cause, I will say, that I did attend the bull fight that evening. It wasn't something that I particularly enjoyed, but it was something I wanted to see and experience for myself, and I am glad I went. 

You can see all of my Pamplona photos HERE and HERE

The Cursos Internacionales Program at the University of Salamanca offers several optional excursions for students. I participated in one each weekend I was in Salamanca. The first excursion I took was to the Andalusia region of Spain, more specifically Sevilla and Granada. 

If I thought I was frying to death in Salamanca, I got a rude awakening when I arrived in Sevilla. I am not entirely certain what temperature human skin melts at, but I am fairly certain I was hitting close to it. The problem with this excursion was it was a very long bus ride (about 6 hours) to get to Sevilla, and then we had a walking tour of the city, in which we hiked up to the bell tower of the cathedral (I was *so* over cathedrals by the end of my month in Spain!). All of this in sweltering heat. None of us wanted to do anything that night except lay in our air-conditioned room (most of us hadn't felt air-conditioning since we got to Salamanca). The next morning we visited the Real Alcázar gardens before heading out for Granada.

Photos of Sevilla | Photos of the Alcazar

Granada was amazing though. We arrived in Granada and were offered tickets to a Flamenco show in the Gypsy district. It was an absolutely spectacular show. Afterwords we took a tour of the city at night and saw the Alhambra lit up. 

Granada at sunset

Before leaving, we visited the Alhambra, which was what I was most looking forward to on the excursion. Arabic architecture has always fascinated me, even more so since I took my trip to India two years ago. The Alhambra was incredible.

Photos of Granada | La Alhambra 

Okay, so that is two weeks in Salamanca of the 4. I will post more very soon, as I am going to be heading off for orientation in the Netherlands next Wednesday, and boy do I have a story to share revolving around an emergency trip home!