The Times Are a Changin...

61 days, 18 hours, 31minutes, and 22 seconds. Or, to put it another way, 9 more Saturdays until I'm on a flight back to the states. The weird thing is, I don't know how I feel about that...

Don't get me wrong. I have definitely had my moments of missing everyone back home, and having some homesickness every now and then, but at the same time, I've really come to love it here. It has been crazy to see how fast time has flown by while over here. It feels like it was just yesterday that my parents and I were looking at the cyber tour for Chester, and trying to get my things packed for my "long" 6 month journey abroad. Between meeting some amazing people, seeing places that I never thought I would see, and making memories that I will remember for the rest of my life, it has been easy for me to get used to life here, both academically and socially. I will really miss this place. I have no doubt in my mind that reverse culture shock is going to hit me hard once I'm back home. Like I said in my last post, next year is going to be strange. I have to go from England, a small, but diverse and greatly historical country, to wee, little Conway. The freedoms of a relaxed school schedule, to the focused ways of Hendrix. This time around, however, it isn't going to be just normal Hendrix, but it will be senior year. I still can't wrap my head around that. Where have the 4 years gone? The 4 years in high school lasted forever, but the college life has seemed to go in the blink of an eye.

Even though it seems as if I don't have a lot of time here left, I've still got a lot of things to do to keep me busy. Starting next week, I'll be working with my internship, Chester: The Giant City, full time. I, along with other Chester students, will be preparing for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on June 4th, which I am really looking forward to. As my boss, Pam put it, "You are really in for a good experience. This is something, that in the future, you will be able to say you helped with. How many people can say that they helped organize and event for the Queen of England?" And she is absolutely right. Since she has said that, I've been trying to make the most of my time here, and have been trying to be more mindful and appreciative of my experience abroad.

When asking people what they thought of their study abroad experience, they will often times tell you that it was one of the greatest decisions that they have ever made, to which I would fully agree. The thing is, I have been wondering if I have been doing enough to make the most of my remaining time here. I have learned so much while here, but I still have more to learn and see. Even Chester, as small as it is, has a lot more to explore. There are so many alleys and paths that would go completely unnoticed if you were just walking around on a normal day. A few weeks ago, some of the others and I found a new passageway to get to the City Centre. We would have been completely oblivious to this new route if it weren't for the music that was being blasted out of the alley due to some party/football screening that was going on. I hope that once the weather becomes a little better, I can do some more exploring. Last week alone was probably the worst weather we've had in a while. Not only did it drop back into the 40's, but it rained everyday. To those people reading this, I highly advise that you don't visit England during the month of April. That whole saying about "April showers" is definitely an accurate one over here.

Also, as my experience has been coming to a close, I have also been putting some serious thought into the graduate schools over here. Not only is it cheaper than back in the states, but it only takes a year to complete since it is such a concentrated program. It has been very tempting, but definitely not something set in stone yet. I've just been trying to put it on the back burner for now, and enjoy the remaining time of my trip.

This isn't really a post about anything I have done in particular these past couple of days, but I thought it would be a good outlet to let out some of the thoughts that have been going through my head lately. All I do know is that, while I am over here, I will be trying to enjoy every second of it.

61 days, 18 hours, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds left. Better make the most of it.

Lost in Translation (Part 3): Paris

We started the next day at 3 in the morning, and said our goodbyes to Raven and Katsu as we made or way to the bus to catch our flight. We got to Paris around 9 that morning, but didn't get to our hostel until 4 that afternoon due to the hostel being about 4-5 miles away, also due to us taking our time getting there. We passed by the famous Arch de Triumph, a massive Virgin Entertainment Megastore, the pyramids by the Louvre, and Notre Damm along the way. Once we got to the hostel, we decided to just nap and relax until about 8 that night. We found an off-the-beaten-path diner next door that had some of the best food/probably the most unhealthy food we had all trip.  After dinner, we stopped by the train station to figure out the easiest way to travel while in Paris. After leaning more about the metro, Andrew decided that he would venture to the Eifell tower, while John and I stayed back at the hostel. Overall, a fairly uneventful first night.

The next day, we work up to the lovely sounds of some random guy in a mask running through the halls banging on the doors, telling everyone to get out of the hostel. Apparently, its a rule that between 11 and 3, everyone has to leave the hostel so they can clean the rooms...not only is that a long time to clean a few rooms, but when we got back that night, all they did was put our sheets on our bed and take out the trash. Not really any cleaner then when we left it that morning. While we were gone, we decided that we would try and find the Tim Burton museum exhibition at the Cinematheque Francaise. When we were at the train station, we were told that the cinema museum was next to the Louvre, so we took the metro to the Louvre station. After asking around the Louvre, we found out that the cinema museum was actually closer to our hostel, which was practically on the other side of town. I guess it was a form of serendipity though, because we found out that all of the main museums are closed on Tuesdays (the next day), so that day was our only day to see the Louvre.

After waiting in line for what must have been close to an hour, we made it into the Louvre. I have been there before back in sophomore year, but this time around I felt as if I was able to appreciate more of the art work, and all of the other exhibitions they had. We spent easily about 4 hours in the museum. One cool, but crazy fact I heard was that if someone was to spend 1 minute at each painting in the Louvre, it would take them 5 years to get through it all. After aimlessly walking around the museum for a while, I finally stumbled across the Mona Lisa, which, to me, isn't as great as it is cracked up to be.  It is definitely a great thing to see, so you can say that you've seen it, but I feel as if there were paintings in the Louvre that were more entertaining and appealing to the eye. For example, the Mona Lisa is in the middle of this gigantic room (which I later found out is called the Mona Lisa room). It has it's own wall dedicated to it, but there are more paintings on the walls around it, along with an incredible, enormous painting behind the Mona Lisa called The Wedding at Cana, which is the largest painting in the museum (262in x 390 in). Despite this great painting being right behind the Mona Lisa, it seemed as if no one really cared about it. Also, apparently, there is one curator for the Mona Lisa, whose entire job and responsibility is to make sure nothing happens to the painting.

When the Louvre closed, we decided to go to the Notre Damm for one of its afternoon services. Even though I didn't understand anything they were saying, it was still nice to be there, and be a part of a service in such a historical place. It is hard to think that people go there every week for a normal church service though. During the service, there were tourists walking around the church taking pictures and talking the entire time. You would think that it would be distracting, but everyone seemed to ignore it. I guess that the congregation (especially those who have gone to the services for a while), just get used to it.

After the service, we thought we would venture to the Eiffel Tower so we could see it at night.  Every hour, there are shimmering lights that cover the tower for about 15 minutes. Once there, we sat under the tower, waiting for it to light up. After the light show, I decided to walk up the tower so I could see the incredible view of Paris at night. Even though, I have been up the tower before, it was a completely different experience at night. At the top, you could see the streets and the lights below go on for miles and miles. After being up there for about an hour, or so, I met up with Andrew and John so we could get back to the hostel and prepare for another early morning.

We started the next morning bright and early, so we could get to the French Pantheon. While we were waiting in line, we met a French teacher who was on a school trip with her class from Minnesota. After talking to her for a while, she let us join her class so we could get into the Pantheon for free. I've got to say, it was pretty cool to be back in high school for an hour. While we were with her group, she told us about Foucault's pendulum, a pendulum in the middle of the Pantheon that is supposed to show the rotation of the Earth. It was really interesting to learn more about it, since we have a pendulum back at Hendrix that is supposed to do the same thing. Shortly after, the teacher showed us the crypt that was under the Pantheon. In the crypt, we found the graves of philosopher Voltare, and scientist Marie Curie.

Our next stop was the Musee d'Orsay, which was an old train station that was renovated into a museum. We spent about 2 hours there looking at the Van Gogh and Monet paintings, along with the crazy amount of sculptures and other paintings they had on the different floors. One thing that I really like about Paris is that they are very proud of the different kinds of art work and the museums they have. Majority of the museums in Paris are free to students, which is something you don't really find back home. They want people to appreciate art, and learn more about it, hence why you can go and see Van Gogh and Da Vinchi paintings all for free. After closing, we decided to have a "healthy" McDonalds dinner, where we celebrated John's birthday with a McMuffin and cappuccino. After dinner, we made our way back to the hostel and got packed up for our next day flight back to Chester.

Overall, it was definitely a memorable spring break. By seeing all of these difference places while abroad, I would definitely say that I have a bad case of the travel bug. I can already predict that it is going to be weird to be back in Conway next year. I just hope that sometime in the future, I'll have another opportunity to see more of these amazing places.

Lost in Translation (Part 2): Rome

As John put it while we attempted to sleep on the cold floor of the Barcelona airport, "Waiting for a red eye flight is like being in purgatory. You aren't happy, nothing is open, and you want to get to the next place, but you can't." I felt as if this was the best way to explain our experience in the Barcelona airport from midnight to 5 in the morning.

When our bus dropped us off, we found out that everything was shut down, including our terminal. We then decided to set up camp in front of our terminal, and walk around the partially abandoned airport for a while. It honestly looked like something straight out of a zombie movie. After taking a quick lap, we all decided that we would try and sleep. This was more complicated than I thought it was going to be, mostly due to the cold tile, bright florescent lights beaming down on us, and the janitor on a zamboni. After getting barely 3 hours of sleep, people started to line up for the terminal. For future reference, if you are ever in the Barcelona airport late at night, just know that nothing opens until bloody 4 in the morning.

We got to Rome around 8 that morning and walked to our hostel that was conveniently only a block away from the train station. We met the hostel owner who, not too long after meeting us, referenced the Godfather by telling us about an offer we couldn't refuse. We couldn't check into the hostel until 3 that afternoon, so he, being a retired tour guide of 8 years, gave us a map, and circled some areas that he highly recommended, including many touristy spots.

We decided to get started on the map, and headed for the Piazza de Popolo, a huge monument/ square in the middle of town. After walking around there, we walked up a nearby hill that gave us a panoramic view of the city. Afterwards, we walked to the Roma Termini, a gigantic train station in the middle of town that could be the equivalent of Grand Central Station. It had, what seemed like, an endless amount of stores and cafés. By 3 o'clock, we made our way back to the hostel and slept until 8 that night. We then went next door for a late night dinner of pasta and wine. Definitely a good way to end our first night in Rome.

The next day we visited the Via Nova, Domus Tiberiana, and the multi story arcades that were in town. These places were old relics that have been standing there since early Roman times. We also got to see the Roman Forum and Palatine Gardens. After reading some of the history, I found out that most of the buildings and relics were dedicated to the emperors Augustus and Maximus. We then walked over to the Colosseum, which was incredible. Originally the building had 4 different tiers, but eventually the top 2 tiers were lost. We walked around parts of it, and got to see the different hidden areas that the animals would be lowered into during a battle. A crazy fact I learned was that in the earlier times of the Colosseum, ancient Romans would fill the arena up with water, and have aquatic battles. I still always wonder how people back then could have developed something as great as the Colosseum.

After the Colosseum, we went to the Circa de Maxima, which is supposed to be a meeting spot that could fit over 30,000 ancient Romans. It was actually pretty underwhelming. It wasn't until we were standing in a moderately big field that I realized we were there. We kept walking, and stumbled across the State Building. The State Building is another massive building that can practically be seen anywhere in Rome.

We then decided to just walk around the city and see where we end up. After walking for what was probably an hour, we popped out across the river from the Vatican. By the time we made it there, the building was closed, so we decided to make our way back to the hostel and try and find some food. Along the way we found a small gelato store that had some of the best gelato I've had in my life. No joke, after our 4 days in Rome, John and I probably had enough gelato to be the equivalent of a baby calf. It seemed as if there were gelato stands on every road in Rome. We passed a few that had some flavors of ice cream that I would have never guessed existed, including Nutella flavor. It was awesome.

After enjoying our gelato, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to grab some actual food. We  walked through several different alleys, and eventually came across a square that had street performers, artists, and many restaurants. It wasn't until later on in the trip that we found out that that square is the supposed heart of Rome. As we walked by, there were several waiters and waitresses trying to promote their restaurant. In a way, they almost were like street performers. After talking to a few of them, I could tell that they had a routine of things to say in order to promote their food. We finally decided to stop in this small restaurant that had free bread and cheap water. Oh yeah, forgot to mention this, in England and Europe, there are no free refills. In some cases, you have to pay for the water, even if it is from the tap. After we were done eating, we found out that our waitress was from California, and apparently was studying abroad in Rome. According to her, she loved it so much, that she decided to transfer and start a life there. After another good day of adventuring, we made our way back to the hostel.

The next day, Raven, John, and I left for the State Building while Andrew decided to "get lost in the city." We walked through the state building, along with the down stairs museum. We then made our way to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a huge, round cathedral that has an open circle in the roof. Throughout the day, the light being emitted throuh the hole moves like a sundial.  When we got there it was completely packed. I assume it was because we were there during Holy Week. While there, Raven and I signed our names into the guest book, and just roamed around the building.

After the Pantheon, we left for the Vatican/ St. Peter's Square. Oddly enough, we were able to get into the Vatican museum for free, and with no line. One surprising thing about the Vatican is that it has an amazing cumulation of art work from different periods in it. They have everything from Greek statues, paintings, massive tapestries, and much, much more. There was so much stuff, that it was hard to take it all in. The whole time we were there, there was a huge build up for the main event: The Sistine Chapel. There were arrows pointing to where it was, but in order to get there, you had to go through 40 different rooms and 5 flights of stairs. It was worth it though. The museum itself was a timeline, and through it's paintings, it was able to show the transition  from the early days of Greek thought, to the early days of Christianity. Each room had a massive painting that was supposed to signify the transition. The Sistine Chapel however, blew all of the other rooms out of the water. Till this day, I can't believe I finally got to see it. Once we were in the room, we sat there for almost an hour just taking it all in. After listening to the audio guide, I was able to find out that it took Michelangelo 4 years to complete the entire thing, and apparently there was just a starry sky before Michelangelo painted his masterpiece over it. Each part of the ceiling told a different story from the Book of Genesis as well: The Creation of Sky, Creation of Light, Creation of Man, and Creation of Original Sin. It also had several paintings dedicated to Noah and the Ark. After the chapel, we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica. The basilica was another massive, beautiful cathedral. It is dedicated to St. Peter, and has not only St. Peter's tomb, but the tombs of past popes.

When we got back to the hostel, we met our 4th roommate, Katsu, who was a college student from Japan on break. According to him, he had been backpacking through Europe by himself for the past month and a half. We talked to him for a good portion of the night and talked about the similarities between Japan and the States.

The next day, John, Raven, and I walked down to an island on the other side of the city. A funny thing about the island is that there were people that were laying out on the concrete trying to tan on what they considered their little urban beach. The 3 of us decided to join the crowd for some sun and relaxation. That night, we decided to have another authentic meal of pasta and wine, along with our last scoop of Roman gelato. Later, the 5 of us reconvened, and got ready for our next day flight to Paris.

Lost In Translation (Part 1): Barcelona

This entry could also be called: "How to be lost in a city and spend 5 hours looking for your hostel"

Note to self, or anyone reading this; If you are ever going on a trip, ALWAYS write down the address for a place you are staying at on vacation. You will see why this is a very important tip later on...

For our 3 week Easter break, Andrew, John, and I decided that we would go to mainland Europe for about 10 days. While there, we would visit Barcelona, Rome, and Paris. We caught a train to Liverpool early Sunday morning to catch our Ryanair flight to Barcelona.

The flight was very interesting. The thing about Ryanair is that it is incredibly cheap to catch a flight anywhere (when we looked at the flights online, it was 22 pounds for a flight to Barcelona). The thing is, they make a profit from all of the fees that are put in place. You are only allowed a certain sized bag, and if you exceed the weight or break any of the other regulations, you have to pay an additional 40-60 pounds (anywhere from 80-120 dollars). Rumor is that at one point, the company was trying to make people pay to use the bathroom on the flight. Along with all of the rules they have to make money, they also try to sell additional stuff on the plane, including anything from cologne, food, and suitcases. It was kind of crazy.

Anyway, we finally arrived to Barcelona at 4:30 that afternoon. I would say that the culture shock didn't fully hit me until I realized that I couldn't read any of the advertisements in the airport. Overall though,  this trip made me realize how much Spanish I was surprisingly able to remember after all these years, thankfully.We then jumped on a train that would take us to the area where our hostel was. As soon as we got off the train, we stumbled upon the Casa Batllo, a famous building that was created in 1888 by the architect, Antonio Gaudi. After that, we proceeded to look for our hostel, a trip that would eventually last 5 1/2 hours. We knew the relative ballpark of where it was, and basically worked off of that. We asked several different people who either never heard of the place, or would contradict the directions of someone else. Just as were about to give up, we finally came across it at 10:30 that night.

After wearyingly dropping off our stuff, me and the others decided to walk the beach and explore Soho, which is one of the big nightlife places of Barcelona. While there, we had one of the most authentic Spanish meals we could think of, Burger King. Afterwards, we made our way back to the hostel and called it a night.

The next morning, we decided to go on a walk through the entire city. We visited the statue/ roundabout of Christopher Columbus, along with seeing the Basilica de Santa Maria, another massive cathedral in the middle of town. After grabbing some food and listening to street performers playing guitar, we met up with Raven, who was going to join us for the rest of the trip.

The four of us then headed to my favorite part of Barcelona, the beautiful Sagrada de Familia Basilica (the Unfinished Cathedral). The cathedral was also built by Gaudi. The cathedral began construction in 1883, and is estimated to be completely done by 2028, or so. The reason for its slow construction is due to all of the intricate detail that Gaudi put into it. Each spire of the cathedral seemed to have its own theme, along with different gargoyles and figures on each one. It was hands down one of my favorite things I've seen while abroad. Unfortunately due to the massive line that would have taken an hour to go through, we didn't go in.

We then made our way back to the main city center to visit La Boqueria, one of the main markets in the city that had what looked like an endless amount of different kinds of food. You name it, they probably had it. They had everything from fresh vegetables, fresh fish, lollipops that were as big as my head, and every kind of fruit I could think of. After seeing everything in the market, we met with James, a student from Machester, who joined us for another night on the beach, and showed us some more of the Barcelona nightlife, including on taking us on a wild goose chase for tapas ( a spanish snack dish that can be anything from pigs in a blanket, chicken wings, fresh olives, etc).

On our last day, Raven, John, and I literally spent the whole day on the beach. Andrew went to climb the huge mountain in town where you can get a good view of a local castle, the Olympic stadium, along with the other half of Barcelona. Back at the beach, we napped, swam, and built sandcastles. Needless to say, it was a pretty great day. After Andrew got back, we went back to the City Center where we finally found paellas and tapas. Paellas are basically giant pans of yellow rice that come with everything from seafood to chicken on it. After eating ourselves into a food coma, we walked around the city some more, and made our way back to the beach one last time. We said goodbye to James, then caught our bus to the airport so we could catch our red eye flight to Rome.