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KyungSun in Scotland: Storm Warning

March 17, 2015

They say homesickness abroad is inevitable and it finally hit me this past weekend.

I bought a ticket to the Isle of Skye, one of Scotland’s most beautiful islands, where we spent 2 nights and 3 days exploring waterfalls, cliffs, and beautiful lakes/rivers. It was supposed to rain all weekend, but I figured I could tolerate Scotland’s weather by now. Plus, Scotland is notorious for quickly changing weather and I prayed that we would see some flashes of sunshine. Unfortunately, we only saw sun on the last day of the trip.

Going into the weekend, I was burdened with a lot of things going through my head. I was dealing with personal issues from home, figuring out my summer internship, in the midst of planning spring break travels around Scandinavia, and trying to arrange my living situation next year with my roommate. I had hoped that going out to see some of Scotland’s Highlands would help me clear my head. There’s something about being in a spacious landscape that always makes me feel a sense of freedom. It’s like my problems become minuscule when compared to the massiveness of land before me.

Three Sisters Mountains in Glencoe

Crossing the Skye Bridge

Although I saw some amazing views, the weather definitely made it difficult to fully enjoy them. Winds reached about 27 mph and we had continuous rain. Our tour guide said that it was the worst weather he has seen in the island and highlands in all of his 6 years doing the tours. It certainly wasn’t an uplifting fact, but every time we made another stop, I made an effort to brave the storm to see the views. I also got to know a lot of other exchange students simply because of the bad weather. We all suffered the stickiness of wet socks, drenched clothes, and the struggles of taking decent photos amidst freezing, high winds.

Braving the storm!

Kilt Rock

However, our tour guides from Haggis Adventures still made the trip a lot of fun. Our two guides – Heather and Andy – constantly joked back and forth and even had us sing along to our favorite ’90s classics, including “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. My favorite part was when they told fun stories about the islands like the story of a river that supposedly makes you more beautiful if you wash your face in it for seven seconds. With them, I felt like I had actually gotten to know Scotland better rather than just seeing pretty views. On the last day when the weather finally cleared, they even took us back to Glencoe (where we were originally supposed to go but had to sacrifice due to the weather) even though it was above and beyond what they were paid to do.

Believe it or not, Andy once lifted a tree 2x his size for a competition!

Andy says he is the living proof of the water’s powers

Passing through Glencoe

The thing is, I didn’t know anyone on the trip. I was both excited and dreading this fact. On one hand, I was excited to get to know the other exchange students. But on the other hand, I just wanted to be in the presence of old friends where we could have comfortable silence. I’m usually a very outgoing person, but with all the things running through my head and the stormy weather, it was difficult having to “be on” all the time. During the moments when we were just riding the bus with nothing to do, I was overcome with sadness. I missed my mom’s cooking and longed for some warm stew. I wished my friends were here to talk through the problems I was having. I just wanted a sense of familiarity. For the past two months, I’ve been constantly been experiencing one new thing after another trying to make most of my time here. As fun as it is, it is also exhausting and I had reached a point where I just wanted to be in the comfort and relaxation of home. I didn’t want to leave Scotland, but I wish there was a way to transport my house here.

So that I don’t dwell in this homesickness for too long, I’ve been skyping friends from back home. I’ve also made sure to have more meaningful conversations through letters and postcards rather than through facebook messaging. On Thursday morning, I leave again for another adventure to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. This time I’ll be going with my flatmates who have become my close friends and my sense of familiarity in Scotland. Until then, I plan on taking things slow in this race to make the most out of my abroad experience, enjoying my time at Holyrood (Parliament), and finding downtime like my new favorite animal, the Harry Coo.

Harry Coo otherwise known as the Highland Cows

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Adventure, Family, Friends, Nature, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Diana in Germany: Halfway at Halloween

November 14, 2014

It’s halfway through my stay in Europe now and more than 65% through my actual classes. I took a week’s hiatus from blogging because the last four days of my Environmental Ethics class took a lot out of me. After all the sleep I caught up on this weekend though, I’m ready to tell you about the amazing trip I had to London!

Werewolves in London – Friday
Waking up early in the morning is the worst idea ever… unless it’s to travel. That’s how my Friday started out, so I could catch my 10am flight out of Basel on time. The one hour flight I was in and out of sleep, hoping that the extra few z’s would fuel me through a full day of living in London. It worked! After landing, I had to sort out some confusion about getting into the city from the airport. I had preordered a bus along with my RyanAir ticket, but forgot to print the boarding code. Let me just say that after two and a half months surrounded by German, it was beautiful to communicate with native English speakers. I sorted through the problem in a few minutes and was on my one hour bus ride into the city!

The bus stopped at several places and on a whim, I got off around the corner from Regent’s Park. First wonderful decision of the day, which was quickly followed by another – Baskin Robbins for lunch. Shush. I do not want even a little judgement. Baskin Robbins…. it’s been a long time guys. I worked there one summer and spoiled myself with ice cream to the point that I have not visited since. That Jamoca Almond Fudge really hit the spot as I continued on in the sunshine towards the park. Unlike my original plan for the day, I spent about 3 hours in that park and regret nothing. Regent’s Park has stunning flower gardens and gilded gates, water fowl sanctuaries and weeping willows. There was even an older couple reading on a bench together, which touched my heart.

Regent’s Park has gilded gates that caught my eye several times.

The beauty of flowers in a park.

Finally I started to head out of the park as the daylight subsided. My new mission – find a place to Facebook message my cousin, Grace, who is studying theatre in London for the semester. Because my cell plan is not international, it would cost me a lot to call her and let her know I was there. On my way towards a section of London called Camden Town, I passed the London zoo. Through the gates I could see giraffes and hippos! Good thing because that place is really expensive at 20 something pounds for adult admission.

Giraffe spotted in London

As I walked further I became hungry, and magically a deli and café called Melrose and Morgan appeared. There I accessed some Wifi and ate my first scotch egg. A scotch egg is s hardboiled egg surrounded by meat and rolled in breadcrumbs. Basically, it is breakfast all rolled into one. Breakfast is my favorite meal, so I was not complaining about eating this at around 4pm. I ordered mine with chili chutney, which added just the right amount of spice and sweetness to satisfy my tastebuds.

My Scotch egg – a dining experience I recommend

After this short break in walking I continued onto Camden Lock Market, which has a ton of international food stalls. I remember seeing Polish Sausages, Peruvian food, sushi, crêpes, and a stall devoted to mac-and-cheese (which had no vendor behind it much to my chagrin). My stomach was full from my Scottish egg snack, so I went with a fresh smoothie instead of any food. At this point I still had about two hours to kill before meeting up with Grace at her schoolroom, so I walked through Camden. It is obviously a very grunge artsy place, which I loved! There were tattoo parlors, people in Darth Vader costumes, a DJ Grandpa, and other hilarious costumes. At this point my stomach made its presence known once again, so I stopped in a lovely looking tapas restaurant called Jamon Jamon. I recommend it, especially on a Friday night for their specials.

I feel like this would only happen in Camden – The Joker serenades three trick-or-treaters.

Grace’s school was only a ten minute jaunt away. I waited outside for a few minutes and a woman came out who graciously let me in. Upstairs I found Grace and gave her a huge hug! Her friend Maggie who is from Baltimore was also there and we all walked for an hour back to where they live. The rest of the night was spent getting into costume, Cards Against Humanity, dancing, and junk food. My cousin Grace went as Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and I decided to change from Peter Pan to Misty from Pokémon. Grace was sweet and let me go downstairs to sleep in her bed while she took the couch, which I definitely needed after walking around with my backpack on all day. It was a howl of a Halloween.

Misty and Sally Skellington

Operation Mega Tourist – Saturday
Ahhh how nice to wake up at 10am. Grace and I were refreshed and took our time getting ready in the morning as our only schedule was to make it to the Mayfair area of London by noon. When we arrived there we took a quick walk to see Buckingham Palace and then headed back to our real destination – Murano Resturant. Murano is a one Michelin starred restaurant owned by Angela Hertnett, protégé of Gordon Ramsay. I consider myself to be a foodie and also wanted to treat Grace for hosting me. This was the most memorable meal of my life so far.

It was gorgeous weather in London but these men continue wearing their bearskin hats.

Before we ordered anything, we were brought three kinds of bread, olive oil, parmesan crisps, fried truffles, and carpaccio. This seriously was their “free bread” portion of the meal. Are you kidding me. Pure heaven. For starters we ordered a tuna dish and a quail dish, and for mains Grace got the risotto while I got pork cheek. My main was such a homey dish it made me really feel like I was back home eating my mother’s pot roast. We both ordered desserts and we even got orange gummies plus chocolate raspberry lollipops after our real desserts! Overall, excellent service, value, taste, and presentation – everything I dreamed it could be.

My Murano dessert. Chocolate cake with pear filling, pear ice cream, and pear pieces.

To get rid of our massive food babies, Grace and I started a day long trek through the city. We passed Buckingham Palace a second time on our way to Big Ben and the Eye. We didn’t go up in the Eye because of how expensive and time consuming it is to do that. Our investment of time in lunch was much more worth it! After crossing a bridge, we saw the National Theatre where Grace has seen several plays and also saw the Globe Theatre of Shakespearean fame (though it is obviously relocated and remodeled). We went through some side streets and happened upon the original Globe Theatre site! This all took a couple hours of walking so when we reached Borough Market we both got a little sweet treat to tide us over until dinner. I got a lime mint cupcake while Grace got a scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream on a cone.

The Eye and Big Ben

The Globe

Tower Bridge

Tower of London poppies

As evening approached, the rest of the tourist sites were in store. Crossing London bridge allowed us to view Tower Bridge. We went to see the Tower of London. Great timing because this was one of the last changes to see the gorgeous WWI poppy tribute. Trying to save our time we did not stay through much of the reading of the names. Instead we continued on to the Tube to Kings Cross Station for a picture at Platform 9 and 3/4. I wore my Hufflepuff scarf proudly. My cousin is a Hufflepuff too I think, but they only had one yellow scarf! This was my crowning moment as a Harry Potter fan, I have to tell you. To wrap up the evening, Grace and I got carry out Thai food and watched Footloose. The next morning I got up at 4am to catch the bus back to the airport for my 7am flight. What a whirlwind weekend in London!

Quitting Muggle school. I’m goin’ to Hogwarts!

Next Week’s Post
Check out the blog post about a break down of what I learned in my Environmental Ethics class! This was my first time studying philosophy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Leave a Comment » | Diana in Germany, Fall 2014 | Tagged: England, Family, Food, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by dianaingermany

Oliver in Spain: Here come the Parents!

November 13, 2014

This weekend I was lucky to host my parents in Valencia! But, before I get into that I want to talk a little about my weekend in Barcelona.

Last weekend, along with 10+ friends on my program, I took a train from Valencia to Barcelona. While most of my friends rented an apartment for the weekend I stayed with my friend Tom, who has been studying there this semester (saved me about 60€). I had never been to Barcelona before and so I was thrilled at my first chance to head up the coast to this huge city. After spending the previous 6 weeks in Valencia, Barcelona looks like New York City and my eyes lit up at night. While in this city I checked off four big things: Park Güell (the mosaic gardens by Gaudí), Sagrada Familia (the crazy looking church), Camp Nou (CF Barcelona’s stadium), and a live Porter Robinson concert (A big EDM DJ).

Park Güell is located towards the North of the city on a hill with an unbelievable view of Barcelona. The park dates back to 1914 and is an example of the brilliance of Gaudí’s organic focus in architecture. The park, while brief, is full of mosaic tile walls, plants, and views.

View from Park Güell

Tile lizard by Gaudí

Sagrada Familia is easily the most unique church I have ever witnessed in my life. After touring Europe for the past two months I have seen a whole lot of churches and cathedrals, but none of them looked anything like this one. It is another one of Gaudí’s organic works that results in a type of melting aesthetic with various towers and statues. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it inside the church, which I regret, so I will just have to come back!

Sagrada Familia

Seeing a CF Barcelona game had been on my bucket list since I started playing Fifa back in 2007. Finally, 7 years later, that dream came to fruition. Unfortunately Barça lost 1-0 in a less than spectacular game but the atmosphere of Camp Nou made up for it. This stadium is the fifth biggest in the world with almost 100,000 Catalans singing for their team. I’m glad I was able to check this one off the list. (P.S. Barça comes to la Mestalla on the 30th of November to take on Valencia. It’s a clash of top 3 teams in La Liga and I recommend you all tune in!)

Camp Nou

Tom and I at Camp Nou!

Coming into Richmond, Porter Robinson was my favorite DJ out there. EDM music was everything, and is still huge, for kids my age so saying that this guy was a top tier talent is really saying a lot. After a two year hiatus, he released a new album with a more artsy focus. This was the tour he was on when I saw him live in Barcelona. The guy killed it. His live show lasted about four hours and it would have been impossible to even try to stand still in that club. Needless to say, I’m a bigger fan of Porter Robinson than I was before.

Now on to having my parents in Valencia this past weekend. I met Mom and Dad in the airport friday afternoon and could feel how excited they were to be in Valencia with me. It had been about two months since I had seen my parents, so naturally my mom almost cried upon seeing me. We had a busy weekend of sight seeing including the cathedral, the río park, the city of art sciences, the mercado central, tapas, and much more. All of that was a lot of fun but none of it compares to the Sunday lunch we had with my host family. My host mom cooked a four course meal and filled us up with local food and good wine. Acting as a translator between my two families was an unforgettable experience. Needless to say, we all had an awesome time and I am sad to see them leave. Mom and Dad, I’ll see you in a month and a half, but until then I’ll be hitting Madrid, London, and Budapest!

Parents and I in front of Palau de la Música

Mom and Mark!

Comments Off on Oliver in Spain: Here come the Parents! | Fall 2014, Oliver in Spain, Uncategorized | Tagged: Family, Friends, Host Family, Sightseeing, Spain, Sports | Permalink
Posted by OliverinValencia

Diana in Germany Week Seven: Back Home Blues

October 23, 2014

Sometimes homesickness creeps its way into my almost perfect life here in Freiburg. Posts on Facebook about Homecoming, the autumn colors on University of Richmond’s beautiful campus, and going back home for fall break have made it clear to me that there are things about home that I completely miss. For instance, being over here for fall makes me realize that it is my absolute favorite season in the US.

Last Halloween, my organic chemistry class received extra credit for showing up in costume. I’m in the light blue dress in the middle as Danaerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.

On a more serious note, my grandmother had heart surgery when I left and a few of my friends back home are having a really tough time. It makes me sad that I am not there to be supportive in all the ways that I normally would be. So how do I handle the nostalgia? How do I keep up with the people and news from back home?

Keeping up with the Fam

You bet we Skype. We actually seem to be talking MORE now that I am abroad than when I am away from home at school in the states. I even get to see my cats, Cookies and Cream over Skype. Weird right? Not exactly. At UR my workload is extremely heavy. I am also a member and leader of multiple extracurricular activities. Occasionally I barely have time to eat. It’s ridiculous. Here in Freiburg I have one class at a time and only spend about 3 hours a day in class and maybe 1 hour tops doing homework. That leaves a ton of time open to socialize with everyone and have adventures in Freiburg plus getting in touch with everyone back home for an hour every few days or so.

My parents and I on Skype call.

My mother even took her computer up to Pennsylvania last weekend and I got to Skype with my grandparents. My grandma is so tired after heart surgery that she had to lay down in the middle of the conversation. I am rooting for my grandma. She is so silly and goofy when she has the energy. I really hope she can pull through the recovery process and feel well again.

A picture with my grandparents right before I left for Freiburg at their home in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Facebooking Buds from Back Home

Oddly, I have not used Skype with my friends at all. That needs to change, and a group of my friends from Towson, MD want to do a group Ben-and-Jerrys-Netflix call soon.

Expectedly, we connect on Facebook. I love that private group messaging is an option. My best friends from University of Richmond are in one chat group named after a fake sorority we “made” as a joke, RhoRhoRho. My best friends from Towson are all in a chat group labeled Four Fierce Females, named after our recent team name at Applebees trivia this past summer. This is especially awesome because all of us in Four Fierce Females go to different schools and so even when I am not abroad this makes it easy to catch everyone in the group up all at one time. All of these girls have supported me via Internet while I have been here. I feel a lot less close to the people over in Germany because you cannot really make that deep a connection in 7 weeks.

Four Fierce Female last get-together. In order from left to right are Kayla, me, Allison, and Selena.

RhoRhoRho! Hira, Danielle, and I.

Thank goodness I live during this time period because I would have to be no contact except for expensive phone calls and mail without the Internet.

Visiting

A lot of people study abroad at the same time. You have to take advantage of that if you ever go abroad. Exploring a city with a close friend and having free lodging is pretty optimal when you’re a college kid on a budget. Thankfully two really awesome people are really close geographically to me – my cousin, Grace, in London and my best friend, Masnoon, in Paris.

I will be visiting Grace for my all time favorite holiday, Halloween. Here in Germany most people do not celebrate Halloween with the same gusto as we do in the states. Only some little kids in some places dress up and there is very little observation of the traditional trick-or-treating.I know a few clubs and bars holding a special night for Halloween as well. I want to get dressed up, eat candy, and have fun on my Halloween, so it is perfect that I will be going to London where the spirits will come out to play and I won’t look like a total idiot wearing my Peter Pan costume.

Now you have already seen my recent trip to Paris, Orléans, Blois, and Chenonceau with Masnoon. But what you didn’t know is he’s coming to visit me here in Freiburg next week. I cannot wait to show him this city and the surrounding natural beauty. Paris does not suit either of us so much because it is so full of tourists and concrete. Freiburg together will be such an awesome adventure. I fully expect that he and I will check of some of my bucket list items!

Goodbye, friend! It was wonderful to have you visit my new home in Freiburg!

Feelings for Freiburg

Right this second I realized that once my study abroad experience ends I will feel this way about Freiburg too. Now that I have two “home” countries, I will always be a little homesick. What a thought. It doesn’t bother me though. All it means is that two countries have raised me and shaped me into who I am today. That is truly beautiful.

2 Comments | Diana in Germany, Fall 2014 | Tagged: Family, Friends, Germany | Permalink
Posted by dianaingermany

Austen in Ireland: The Deutschland Expedition

May 29, 2014

After finishing up the last week of classes and final essays, I went to Germany for five days with a friend since we had a “revision week” between the final week of classes and final exams. My friend and I decided to visit Berlin and Munich, the first and third largest cities in Germany. Our trip began with my flight to Munich and meeting my friend at the Munich airport. It was surreal that the airport had a tennis court and an outside area in between the two terminals.

From the airport, we decided to explore, marveling at the magnificent Bavarian architecture around the city of Munich. We went in the Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. It was a very regal.

Marienplatz, central Munich.

We also saw the English gardens, a large park in the city center. It was an amazing sight seeing everyone enjoying their time on a weekday and not worrying about work. We also experienced a beer garden, one of the must-sees when going to Munich, which was a fantastic and truly authentic German experience, including the food and beverages.

The next day, we took a day trip outside of Munich to visit the Bavarian castles of Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. We first visited Linderhof, which was modeled after the famous Versailles chateau. It had a similar hall of mirrors and the gardens around it were fantastic. The castle was in such a picturesque setting in the mountains. Our second stop was the very Bavarian village of Oberammergau.

The main attraction was Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the most famous castles in the world. Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned the palace as a retreat. The setting of the castle is absolutely breathtaking. The climb is thirty minutes up a steep hill, but it was very much worth it. The castle was unlike anything I had seen before and the views of not only the castle but the landscape were magnificent. The bridge overlooking the castle from above was such a great spot to see everything.

Breathtaking scenery of Neuschwanstein castle and the Bavarian landscape.

The next day we took a great tour through Munich and we were able to learn a lot more about the important history of the city. We went up to the top of a church with terrific views of the city.

Our flight to Berlin was that night and we landed around 9 pm or so. Berlin was a completely different city and the difference was apparent immediately. Munich was a more historic and traditional city, while Berlin had more of a professional feel to it with its large business district.

We started our Berlin stay with a great tour of the city, which stopped at many of the famous sights such as the Brandenburg Gate (the former city gate), the Jewish Memorial, and the Berlin Wall to name a few. Also, we explored Museum Island (a very nice area on the river with many museums) and the Berlin Cathedral. The next day we decided to visit the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp near Berlin used mainly for political prisoners. It was a very eye-opening experience being able to see this camp, the living quarters, and even the extermination area.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.

On our last day in Berlin we decided to go to the top of the TV tower, which had a height of 368 meters. The views were great out onto the city and a fitting way to end this epic expedition. This journey was a neat adventure and also my farthest trip from Ireland. It was great going to the homeland of my relatives as I have a large percentage of German ancestry.

Leave a Comment » | Austen in Ireland, Spring 2014 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Family, History, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by austeninireland

Austen in Ireland: Animals, Softball, and the Parents

May 6, 2014

After St. Patrick’s Day, I had a week to relax and attempt to start working on my copious amounts of assignments due in April. Once school started again, it seemed apparent that the second half would be more intense with the large number of assignments, finals worth up to 70% of my grade in some classes, and on top of that, trips to see more of Europe.

The weekend following the break, a friend and I went to the Dublin Zoo. I hadn’t been to a zoo in about eight or so years and Dublin had a great zoo supposedly so I figured I had to go. I was amazed by the size of it, as you could easily spend a whole day there. They had so many different types of animals, but I was disappointed that they didn’t have sloths as well.

After this, we went to a Gaelic football match in Croke Park where County Dublin took on County Mayo. It was one of my favorite experiences of the semester so far because the sport was really fast-paced and entertaining. It ended up being a draw with Dublin staging a come-back and also having a chance to win it at the end. I wish I could see a hurling match (the other sport big here) but I don’t think I’ll get a chance to.

Croke Park

The first weekend in April the UCD Softball Club had their “Intervarsities.” Intervarsities is a tournament where other softball clubs around Dublin and Ireland come for the weekend and we play. It was overall some great fun. I played seven games over the course of the two day tournament, so I was exhausted to say the least. It was great being able to meet people from other clubs as well as getting to know people from the UCD Softball Club better. My UCD team ended up losing the third place game, but the UCD 1 team ended up winning the tournament.

The next weekend my parents came to visit me in Dublin. I really enjoyed taking them around and being able to show off my knowledge of the city was definitely rewarding. I realized how much I had missed them. I showed them some attractions in the city of Dublin, such as Temple Bar with all of the pubs. My dad really enjoyed having traditional Irish food and Guinness while in Dublin. We also went to the Jameson Distillery that Friday which was a fun experience.

Jameson

I showed them the UCD campus and they were amazed at the facilities and the size of the campus. I wanted to see a UCD soccer game before I left so my parents and I went to see them play Dundalk right on the UCD campus. Unfortunately, UCD lost but the fans were definitely entertaining. I showed them around the city and we saw the Dublin Castle. My mom and I also had a chance to go inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a very impressive cathedral.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The next day, we continued our tour of Dublin and I showed them around Trinity College in the city center of Dublin, the National Gallery of Ireland, and the Natural History Museum. Needless to say, I had a very long weekend. The last day before they left, they helped me prepare for the long trip back in less than a month and then we took a walk along the River Liffey and then up O’Connell Street. I wish I had time to show them some of the Irish countryside but it was an overall fun weekend getting to see them. It didn’t hurt that the weather was beautiful!

Leave a Comment » | Austen in Ireland, Spring 2014 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Family, Ireland, Sightseeing, Sports | Permalink
Posted by austeninireland

Austen in Ireland: France for Spring Break

March 21, 2014

So here at UCD we get two whole weeks off for spring break (or mid-term as they call it)! We got off the weeks of March 10 and 17. So, the first week I traveled to see my parents in southern France, as they are renting an apartment for two months in the city of Aix-en-Provence.

On Friday, I flew from Dublin to Carcassonne (a town in central France) to meet my parents and we drove three hours to visit the city of Marseille. Here, we walked around the port and saw some beautiful areas of the city, but our main reason being there was to see my first European soccer match, Marseille vs. Nice. Marseille’s stadium was stunning with a capacity of around 60,000. It was probably the largest stadium I have been in. The match was an intense one but Marseille ended up losing 1-0 to a Nice free kick in the second half. After a long day of traveling, I got back to my parents’ apartment around midnight.

First European soccer match! Stade Velodrome, Marseille’s stadium

On Saturday, we explored the city where my parents are staying, Aix-en-Provence. I had been there a couple of times, but it was neat to be there as a “local” instead of a tourist and going back to an apartment instead of a hotel. We explored the many squares and an enormous market that was going on throughout the day. We also walked down the Cours Mirabeau, the large street in the middle of the city lined by trees. Another noteworthy site was the gardens in the Pavillon Vendome. For dinner, we had great Vietnamese food.

Cours Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence’s tree-lined promenade

We went to the Musee Granet, the main museum in the city, on Sunday. It had paintings by famous painters such as Cezanne and Picasso. It had a variety of historical objects too, from art to sculptures. The museum is in a beautiful historic building. We ended up visiting a different building across the city that is also associated with this museum that had even more pieces of art and a great deal of Picasso paintings.

On Monday, we went to Nice, a large city right on the Mediterranean Sea. It is an absolutely beautiful city with breathtaking views. We walked around in the historic part of Nice (Vieux Nice) and had a great lunch in a square overlooking a church. After lunch, we walked up to a park above the city that had amazing views of the port of Nice, sea, and historic Nice. It was great to be able to see the whole city. After this, we walked along the sea and the famous Promenade des Anglais before going to the Cours Saleya (a humongous market with many things from food to paintings). We left Nice and got back to Aix-en-Provence around dinnertime. At that time, we went to get some falafel, as falafel is one of my favorite foods! It was a great falafel sandwich.

The beautiful port of the city of Nice

Tuesday, we stayed in Aix-en-Provence and explored some other attractions. In the morning, we visited the Atelier Cezanne, the gallery where painter Paul Cezzane painted many of his paintings. It was amazing seeing how similar this gallery looked to how it was when Cezanne was alive. The old building must require a fair amount of maintenance. After this, we had a great picnic lunch in the garden near his gallery, where Cezanne painted some of his famous paintings of Mount St. Victoire. It was surreal being able to enjoy a traditional French picnic of a baguette and goat cheese while being able to take the serene landscape and the same mountains that Cezanne painted. After this, we had a relaxing afternoon and had a Turkish dinner; I had lamb.

We traveled to other cities and towns in Provence (a region of southern France) on Wednesday. First, we saw the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh spent some of his later years when he was experiencing emotional and mental duress. After this, we went to the town of Saint Remy de Provence. It is a classical French town with beautiful buildings, squares, and fountains all around the older part of the town. There was a large market going on, where I had a fantastic sausage sandwich. I also learned of a great drink known as a “Tango,” which is beer with grenadine syrup, quite a refreshing and delicious beverage. After Saint Remy, we traveled to the larger city of Arles. Arles is a very Roman city with a famous Arena and Antique Theater. There were so many police officers around and we soon found out why; there was some sort of protest by farmers on a major street in Arles. There were no less than 300 sheep in the streets! After seeing this, it become a challenge getting around the streets of Arles, as the cops had many streets blocked off because of the protest going on. Thankfully we got out of the city without encountering too much traffic and got back to Aix en Provence around dinnertime. I had an amazing pizza (French pizzas are so tasty) with chorizo.

Thursday was my last full day in France. We traveled to Cassis, a town on the Mediterranean that gets jammed with tourists in the summer, but was quite peaceful the day we went. It was a beautiful town with a port and breathtaking scenery all around. We went on a boat tour of the calanques (inlets near Cassis with amazing rocky structures; they are steep-sided valleys). These were great to see and the boat tour went all the way into the outlets for us to see the beauty of these rocky structures. After this, we walked around the port and headed back to my parent’s apartment. For my last meal, I had a crepe dinner, which was a crepe with beef, crème fraiche, and onions, which was really delicious, as well as a dessert crepe which had apple and sugar. We walked around the city of Aix en Provence for our last night to admire the beauty one last time.

A calanque, an inlet with towering rocky cliffs

Friday, I left to go back to Dublin and got back around 3:00 pm to meet up with my friends who were visiting from Edinburgh. The next blog post will cover the fun St. Patrick’s Day Weekend!

Overall, it was a great week seeing my parents after not being able to see them for two months. The awesome weather of highs in the mid 60s (I wore short sleeves every day) combined with the destinations that we visited and tasty food that I was able to eat contributed to one of the best weeks of my study abroad semester yet.

Leave a Comment » | Austen in Ireland, Spring 2014 | Tagged: Art, Family, Food, History, Ireland, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by austeninireland

Austen in Ireland: Packing for the Voyage

January 20, 2014

So, I have started packing and I leave in a couple of days for Ireland! I’ve realized just how challenging it is to pack four months worth of stuff into two suitcases. It has been tough to figure out how much of what types of clothing and toiletries I need to bring but I think I’m in good shape (even the outlet plugs are different in Ireland). The weather in Dublin will be cold for the majority of the semester and definitely a lot colder than Richmond weather so I brought a lot of jackets and heavier clothes.

Getting ready for the trip. Just have one more suitcase to pack!

As I look ahead to the trip I am looking forward with excitement to learn about a new culture and to see new places. I am getting there a week before classes start so I can get used to the layout of the campus of UCD and Dublin. But I am also very anxious because I am living in a new place by myself while also cooking some of my own meals. On the plus side, I get my own bedroom and bathroom, something I did not have at UR! I have never been this many months away from my parents, so it should be interesting. I’m sure that it will be one of the best experiences of my lifetime, as I had one of the greatest times in France studying abroad this past summer. I am used to traveling so I’m not too worried about the airplane ride and getting to UCD and I don’t really get homesick too easily so I should be fine.

During my time in Ireland, I am planning on traveling throughout the countryside, Cork and possibly Northern Ireland as well. I will definitely also visit Edinburgh, Scotland because I know a few students from UR studying abroad there. A plan for a Euro trip after the end of the semester is also in the works because I really want to take advantage of being in Europe and seeing some of the greatest cities in the world!

1 Comment | Austen in Ireland, Spring 2014 | Tagged: Adventure, Family, Host University, Housing, Ireland, Preparation, Travel | Permalink
Posted by austeninireland

Mel in Chile: Is it really over?

December 19, 2013

Is study abroad really over? Well I didn’t have time to ponder on this question for too long. I left Santiago early on a Saturday morning. About a month ago my parents bought me tickets to visit my family in Europe. You cannot imagine my excitement!

So the reason I didn’t have much time to be melancholy about leaving my beloved Santiago was because in five days I was going to board a plane to London to visit my family! What’s more, two weeks after that I would board another plane to Albania to see the rest of my family. You can imagine on our goodbye dinner my emotions were a bit confused. I was extremely sad to leave my life in Santiago behind. On the other hand, I was absolutely ecstatic to see my family. Now that I have arrived in England, and am sitting in this lovely café in Reading, I feel I finally realize that yes it really is over. I will go back to Richmond on January 11^th, not Santiago. To be completely honest, I am looking forward to going back to Richmond more than I can express in words. I think after working abroad in the summer in the Dominican Republic, and later studying abroad in Chile, I am looking forward to going back to a familiar and comfortable setting.

I am also a bit anxious. Even though I am coming back to a “familiar place” I wonder if it will be hard to adjust, if I will miss life abroad. When I get back I will dive into a full course load of core business classes. Registration was not too kind to me this semester. I have 8 am classes Mon/Wed/Fri and 9 am classes Tues/Thurs. I sometimes get worried I will be overwhelmed. When I think of all of this I seriously criticize myself for denying myself the opportunity to study abroad another semester in Santiago. It is at this precise moment that I realize why I initially decided to come back to UR.

I came back for the academics, for the resources we have (career center, center for civic engagement, common ground, free tutoring), to have access to professors and other mentors I have at the University, to spend more time with my friends. Most importantly I came back because I am excited to look for the ways I can become more involved in the Richmond community at this point in my academic career. Studying abroad helped me understand who I am and what I care for. I am looking forward to re-entering the Richmond community (both UR and the city of Richmond) as someone a bit different than when I left.

I will finish this blog the same way I started it. This is a picture of Santiago as seen from the top of Cerro San Cristobal

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2013, Mel in Chile | Tagged: Academics, Chile, Family, Travel | Permalink
Posted by melinchile

Diego in Brazil: My host family

December 10, 2013

As the time to leave Brazil approaches I have been thinking about writing about my host family. To give you some background information, PUC-Rio offers its exchange students the option of living with a host family during their time in Rio de Janeiro. You apply to the program and about 10 days before your arrival to Brazil the University sends you an email with information on where and with whom you will be living. To be fully honest, it made me somewhat nervous not knowing where I was going to be living during my study abroad time. PUC-Rio does not guarantee that everyone who applies to the program will be placed in a host family.

In my case, luckily PUC-Rio did place me in a host family. There are many stories I could write today, but I think there is only one way to truly transmit what my experience living with a host family has been.

Throughout this semester I’ve sometimes written about my “host family” in this blog. But the reality is that I live in the apartment of a single woman (I’m not mentioning anyone’s name in this post) who now rents two rooms to students. When I first moved into her apartment two other exchange students at PUC-Rio (one from Germany and one from Morocco) also moved in with us. After about a month they both decided to move to a new apartment so it was now only my host mother and me. We had an empty room in the apartment for about two weeks until a new Brazilian student doing a Master’s degree at PUC-Rio came to live with us. Since then it’s been the three of us.

Up until a month ago when friends or family back home asked me about my host family I used to say that I didn’t really live with one. I had some great conversations with my host mother but that was about it. I rarely saw the other Brazilian student. This has been the third time in the past five years that I have had the opportunity to be hosted by a family in a foreign country, so probably my expectations were too rigid already.

But this all began to change a month ago. My schedule at the university changed and I now had more time to be home. The Brazilian student finished the first half of his thesis and he decided to take a two-week break from work. My host mother quickly realized that we were both going to be spending much more time at the apartment, so she proposed to have dinner together at least some days during the week.

By the second dinner we were all sharing incredibly personal stories. Put two young students who live far away from home and a friendly older woman who loves to talk together and you just created a great conversation. We talked about everything from food and the World Cup to work and love. But there was one particular topic that always seemed to dominate the most intimate moments of our conversations: family.

Maybe my “host family” experience in Brazil was not what I expected. Personal situations in each of our lives deeply impacted the atmosphere in our apartment. Sometimes we became three strangers living in the same apartment, and sometimes we became a small family: three people from incredibly different paths of life who gradually moved closer to each other. And even if I were to leave Brazil and never talk to them again, our conversations about family were a true gift.

For one reason or another, we all found ourselves far away from our families. Our dinners became a space to share memories, frustrations, dreams, and hopes about those who were either waiting for us back home or had left home already. The other student and I projected our current family situation to the future and imagined perfect scenarios. We also laughed at how my host mother’s ideas of family had changed throughout her life.

I’m still not sure what to answer when someone asks about my host family. But for many reasons, my time in Rio de Janeiro ended up being strictly connected to the idea of a family. And that, I would like to believe, is what I will take with me once I return to Richmond and Guatemala.

I took this picture about a week ago when we received a guest (my host mom’s sister) for one of our dinners. Main topic of the night? Family, of course.

1 Comment | Diego in Brazil, Fall 2013 | Tagged: Brazil, Culture, Family, Food, Host Family | Permalink
Posted by DiegoGuatemala

KyungSun in Scotland: Storm Warning

Diana in Germany: Halfway at Halloween

Oliver in Spain: Here come the Parents!

Diana in Germany Week Seven: Back Home Blues

Austen in Ireland: The Deutschland Expedition

Austen in Ireland: Animals, Softball, and the Parents

Austen in Ireland: France for Spring Break

Austen in Ireland: Packing for the Voyage

Mel in Chile: Is it really over?

Diego in Brazil: My host family

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