Here's a slideshow video I made of my time spent here! See you all soon! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcn4oQDIvEg
Make sure your volume is on! :)
Friday, December 7, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Sometimes, you just gotta jump!
Hello everyone! I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Interlaken, Switzerland!! It was very tough not being home for Thanksgiving with my family, but it helped knowing I will be home in a few short weeks! Here is what I did each day while in Switzerland :)
Friday-
Some of us decided to go skydiving over the Swiss Alps! Best decision I have ever made!! I am pretty scared of heights, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I loved every moment of it. We each went with an instructor which made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. 4 of us fit into the plane with our instructors. In my plane it was me, Patrick, our good friend Austin, and a girl we didn't know from Australia. First off, we had a beautiful 15 minute airplane ride over the Swiss Alps. I must be honest, it was a little tough to enjoy the views while thinking about jumping out of the plane in a few short moments. My instructor talked to me the whole time and cracked jokes to make me feel better! He was a really nice guy and made the experience a lot easier. We reached 13,000 feet and it was time to go! Once they opened the plane door, my stomach sank! Patrick was the first to go, and that was one of the scariest parts for me. One second they are sitting on the edge of the plane, and the next they are flying through the air! I was the 3rd person to go of the 4, and I will never forget that moment of sitting on the edge of the airplane. I even kept my eyes open the entire time :) (I can barely do that on the Wild Thing at Valleyfair) Free falling was the single most exhilarating experience I have ever had. The initial feeling of falling only lasted a few seconds, and then I was able to enjoy the amazing view I had of the Swiss Alps. We fell for 45 seconds before he pulled the cord for the parachute (such a relief!!) That's a long time to fall! The air was freezing until we stopped free falling. The rest of the time I was able to enjoy being over the Swiss Alps. It was an experience I will never forget!! The hostel we stayed at had a Thanksgiving dinner for all of us that evening. It was really nice to have a good meal since we were so far away for Thanksgiving!
Saturday-
We had a day trip to the city of Zurich. It was about 2 hours away from Interlaken and we had the entire day to walk around the city. Our group had a great time just walking around and exploring the shops, especially the chocolate shops! :) Switzerland is obviously known for its chocolate so these stores were everywhere. It was a great day!
Sunday-
A few of us from our group went on a ropes course that had ziplining in the forests of Interlaken. This day actually almost scared me more than skydiving. We had harnesses on, but being that high up felt so much more real than when I was in the airplane. I needed some encouragement from my friends Kayla and Max, but they got me through it! It was a lot of fun ziplining through the trees. Such an adrenaline rush! After the ropes course, we went to a chocolate show in Interlaken. They taught us a lot of different things about how chocolate is made, and had free samples for us! We also got a voucher to use in their store so I definitely picked up a few things :) Most of my money that weekend was spent on chocolate!
Well, it's getting down to the last two weeks of being here. We have so many projects, papers, and tests coming up on top of trying to enjoy our last few days here. Switzerland was a great last trip! We have a day trip to Leeds Castle tomorrow. The pictures of it look beautiful so I am excited to see it. Next week, my art history class is going to Carmen, an opera, and the musical Wicked! Both of these shows will be a lot of fun.
I can't wait to see all of you very soon!! :)
Love you and miss you all!
Friday-
Some of us decided to go skydiving over the Swiss Alps! Best decision I have ever made!! I am pretty scared of heights, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I loved every moment of it. We each went with an instructor which made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. 4 of us fit into the plane with our instructors. In my plane it was me, Patrick, our good friend Austin, and a girl we didn't know from Australia. First off, we had a beautiful 15 minute airplane ride over the Swiss Alps. I must be honest, it was a little tough to enjoy the views while thinking about jumping out of the plane in a few short moments. My instructor talked to me the whole time and cracked jokes to make me feel better! He was a really nice guy and made the experience a lot easier. We reached 13,000 feet and it was time to go! Once they opened the plane door, my stomach sank! Patrick was the first to go, and that was one of the scariest parts for me. One second they are sitting on the edge of the plane, and the next they are flying through the air! I was the 3rd person to go of the 4, and I will never forget that moment of sitting on the edge of the airplane. I even kept my eyes open the entire time :) (I can barely do that on the Wild Thing at Valleyfair) Free falling was the single most exhilarating experience I have ever had. The initial feeling of falling only lasted a few seconds, and then I was able to enjoy the amazing view I had of the Swiss Alps. We fell for 45 seconds before he pulled the cord for the parachute (such a relief!!) That's a long time to fall! The air was freezing until we stopped free falling. The rest of the time I was able to enjoy being over the Swiss Alps. It was an experience I will never forget!! The hostel we stayed at had a Thanksgiving dinner for all of us that evening. It was really nice to have a good meal since we were so far away for Thanksgiving!
 |
| Where our plane took off and where we landed for skydiving! |
 |
| The crazy group that went skydiving! |
Saturday-
We had a day trip to the city of Zurich. It was about 2 hours away from Interlaken and we had the entire day to walk around the city. Our group had a great time just walking around and exploring the shops, especially the chocolate shops! :) Switzerland is obviously known for its chocolate so these stores were everywhere. It was a great day!
 |
| Zurich, Switzerland |
Sunday-
A few of us from our group went on a ropes course that had ziplining in the forests of Interlaken. This day actually almost scared me more than skydiving. We had harnesses on, but being that high up felt so much more real than when I was in the airplane. I needed some encouragement from my friends Kayla and Max, but they got me through it! It was a lot of fun ziplining through the trees. Such an adrenaline rush! After the ropes course, we went to a chocolate show in Interlaken. They taught us a lot of different things about how chocolate is made, and had free samples for us! We also got a voucher to use in their store so I definitely picked up a few things :) Most of my money that weekend was spent on chocolate!
 |
| Ziplining! |
Well, it's getting down to the last two weeks of being here. We have so many projects, papers, and tests coming up on top of trying to enjoy our last few days here. Switzerland was a great last trip! We have a day trip to Leeds Castle tomorrow. The pictures of it look beautiful so I am excited to see it. Next week, my art history class is going to Carmen, an opera, and the musical Wicked! Both of these shows will be a lot of fun.
I can't wait to see all of you very soon!! :)
Love you and miss you all!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Bath and Stonehenge (Happy Thanksgiving!!)
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!! It's very strange not being home, but I am enjoying my last few weeks here. Last weekend, our group went to Bath, Glastonbury, and Stonehenge. It was a very fun weekend, despite the fact that I have been sick for almost two weeks now. Being sick this far away from home has been awful. I even had to go to the doctor on Monday. I'm slowly starting to feel better, and I am hoping to feel 100% healthy very soon.
Bath was a really great city. Our tour started at West Kennet Long Barrow, which is a Neolithic tomb that was in use until 2500 BC. From there we went to the small town of Avebury which contains the largest stone circle in all of Europe. The next stop was Bath, and we had some time to walk around and get lunch before our tour of the Roman Baths. It always amazes me that these cities have such ancient things right in the middle of an industrialized area. The fact that they have been able to preserve these places is outstanding. Our tour guide took some of us through a walking tour of Bath, and we got to see where Jane Austen lived and some other important sights in the city. Here are some pictures from this day!
The next day, we started with a very long and uphill hike to Glastonbury Tor. The views at the top were incredible, but it was very windy and cold all the way up there! Then, we went to the Glastonbury Abbey and got to walk around there for a bit. We even saw the site of King Arthur's tomb! After some lunch in Glastonbury, we got back on the bus and went to Stonehenge. Our tour guide throughout the whole weekend was very informative and passionate about what he was talking about, which made the entire trip much more enjoyable. Stonehenge was very cool to see, especially at sunset. It is amazing to think about the work people went through without modern technology or the wheel to get the stones where they are and standing upright. Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend! Our group is leaving for Interlaken, Switzerland today. We will be there until Sunday afternoon. The hostel we are staying at is having a Thanksgiving dinner for us tomorrow evening, so we are not totally missing out on the delicious food :) It is our last trip while we are here, so I am hoping it is a good one! I can't believe I only have a few weeks left here. Our schoolwork is really piling on now so I'm sure the rest of the time will go very fast.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families and eats way too much food. Have an extra slice of pie for me! :) Love and miss all of you very much. Here are some pictures from Glastonbury and Stonehenge.
Bath was a really great city. Our tour started at West Kennet Long Barrow, which is a Neolithic tomb that was in use until 2500 BC. From there we went to the small town of Avebury which contains the largest stone circle in all of Europe. The next stop was Bath, and we had some time to walk around and get lunch before our tour of the Roman Baths. It always amazes me that these cities have such ancient things right in the middle of an industrialized area. The fact that they have been able to preserve these places is outstanding. Our tour guide took some of us through a walking tour of Bath, and we got to see where Jane Austen lived and some other important sights in the city. Here are some pictures from this day!
 |
| West Kennet Long Barrow |
 | ||||
| The Roman Baths! |
The next day, we started with a very long and uphill hike to Glastonbury Tor. The views at the top were incredible, but it was very windy and cold all the way up there! Then, we went to the Glastonbury Abbey and got to walk around there for a bit. We even saw the site of King Arthur's tomb! After some lunch in Glastonbury, we got back on the bus and went to Stonehenge. Our tour guide throughout the whole weekend was very informative and passionate about what he was talking about, which made the entire trip much more enjoyable. Stonehenge was very cool to see, especially at sunset. It is amazing to think about the work people went through without modern technology or the wheel to get the stones where they are and standing upright. Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend! Our group is leaving for Interlaken, Switzerland today. We will be there until Sunday afternoon. The hostel we are staying at is having a Thanksgiving dinner for us tomorrow evening, so we are not totally missing out on the delicious food :) It is our last trip while we are here, so I am hoping it is a good one! I can't believe I only have a few weeks left here. Our schoolwork is really piling on now so I'm sure the rest of the time will go very fast.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families and eats way too much food. Have an extra slice of pie for me! :) Love and miss all of you very much. Here are some pictures from Glastonbury and Stonehenge.
 |
| At the top of Glastonbury Tor |
 |
| Stonehenge at sunset |
Thursday, November 15, 2012
A weekend in Prague
Hi everyone! Sorry this post is so delayed but I have been extremely busy this week after getting back from our trip to Prague! About 35 or so of us from my group left on Thursday afternoon for the airport. We had a two hour flight to Prague, and landed there around 8pm. A bus took all of us to our hotel, which was very centrally located. After getting settled in, some of us ventured into the city to see what the nightlife was like. First of all, I am so happy and thankful you cannot smoke in bars/restaurants in MN anymore. My hair and clothes smelled like smoke all weekend from being in these places. Not fun. On Friday, we were split into 2 groups and got a guided walking tour of the city. The tour was about 3 hours, and we went to all the major points in Prague. Some of these include: Charles bridge, the astronomical clock, Old Town Square, and many more! It was a really great way to see the city and learn more about its history. After the tour, we grabbed some lunch and then had a tour of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. We learned so much history about the Castle. The architecture in Prague is amazing everywhere you look. I took plenty of pictures to show you all :) On Saturday, we had a free day to do whatever we wanted. Patrick and I walked around by Charles Bridge and made our way to the John Lennon Wall. Starting in the 1980's, people come and paint or write on the wall. It is extremely colorful and filled with lyrics from Beatles songs and other Lennon type things. It was a really cool thing to see. Saturday night, our entire group had dinner together at the oldest brewery in Prague. We had a 3 course meal of garlic soup, beef or pork, and apple strudel for dessert. The food in Prague is pretty simple but very filling. The Czech beer isn't too bad either. Sunday morning, we left our hotel for a day trip to Lidice and Terezin. Lidice is a village that was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by Hitler during the Holocaust. All 173 men over the age of 16 from Lidice were murdered, and the women and children were brought to concentration camps. There is a museum there now that we walked through. It was so upsetting to see what had happened to the people in this town. We learn about the Holocaust in school, but it's even more disheartening to see the places that these events took place. They have a memorial at the museum to honor the 82 children that were murdered in Lidice. People still come and put flowers and toys in front of the statues. After the Lidice memorial, we drove to Terezin. Terezin was used as a Jewish ghetto during World War II. It wasn't an extermination camp, but the poor conditions of the ghetto led to about 33,000 deaths. It was sickening to hear how these people were treated and see where they slept and stayed during this time. We also went to the Crematorium, the Ghetto museum, and Maddeburgh Barracks. I learned so much more about the Holocaust that day and actually got to be in the places that so many people suffered. It was a very moving experience, and of course it was cloudy and raining the entire day! We headed back to the airport after a long and somber day. I didn't get back home in London until 1am, so I have been very tired this week.
Tuesday evening about 20 of us went and saw Les Miserables. I have seen this show multiple times but I think this time was my favorite! The music was amazing as usual and the actors did a really great job throughout the entire show.
Tomorrow, we are going on an overnight trip to go see Bath and Stonehenge. Seems like we are always off somewhere new every week :) I've gotten used to that lifestyle though. Today marks one more month until I come home! It's a very bittersweet feeling. I am loving the time I have spent here, but am beyond excited to get home and see my family and friends (and eat better food!!)
I miss all of you and am very sad I won't be home this year for Thanksgiving. This month will fly by :)
Here are some picture of my trip to Prague! Enjoy :)
Tuesday evening about 20 of us went and saw Les Miserables. I have seen this show multiple times but I think this time was my favorite! The music was amazing as usual and the actors did a really great job throughout the entire show.
Tomorrow, we are going on an overnight trip to go see Bath and Stonehenge. Seems like we are always off somewhere new every week :) I've gotten used to that lifestyle though. Today marks one more month until I come home! It's a very bittersweet feeling. I am loving the time I have spent here, but am beyond excited to get home and see my family and friends (and eat better food!!)
I miss all of you and am very sad I won't be home this year for Thanksgiving. This month will fly by :)
Here are some picture of my trip to Prague! Enjoy :)
 |
| Old Town Square |
 |
| Church of Our Lady before Týn |
 |
| View from Charles Bridge |
 |
| Sam, Kayla, and I near Charles Bridge |
 |
| View of the city |
 |
| Entrance to Prague Castle |
 |
| John Lennon Wall |
 |
| Memorial of the children murdered in Lidice |
 |
| "Work sets you free" |
 |
| One of the rooms where they slept in Terezin |
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Pro Tennis? Don't mind if I do :)
Hello everyone! Just a quick blog post about my amazing day on Monday. I bought tickets for the ATP World Tour Finals here in London. For those of you that aren't sure what that is, the top 8 professional male singles and doubles tennis players in the world qualify for this tournament. It's the best of the best in the world. I am so happy I got to go and experience watching some professional tennis live :) I had tickets for the morning and evening sessions, so I got to see two doubles matches and two singles matches. Here's the lineup of the matches I saw:
Doubles Match 1:
Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor vs. Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau.
Singles Match 1:
Andy Murray vs. Tomas Berdych.
Doubles Match 2:
Bryan Brothers vs Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez
Singles Match 2:
Novak Djokovic vs. Jo Wilifred Tsonga
I was basically in shock the entire time. I could not believe how hard they hit the ball and how fast they can serve. It looks fast when you are watching it on TV, but multiply that by 10 and that's how fast it looks live. Also, seeing Andy Murray play in front of his home crowd was an unforgettable experience. They had so much pride for him and watching him come back to win in 3 sets against Berdych was incredible. It was one of the most amazing days of my trip so far and I know I will never forget it!
Another exciting thing about this week: My good friend, Charise, from high school was in London yesterday for her birthday! She is studying abroad with a group of about 25 people and they go from city to city throughout the semester. It was so nice to see a familiar face from home :) Charise, her friend from her group Dylan, Patrick, and I went out for dinner and hung out with them for a while last night!
I'm leaving for Prague today with about 30 other people from my group. We will be there until Sunday evening. I am so excited!! It's not a place that a lot of people have been to so I can't wait to explore the city.
That's pretty much it for now. I'll update this again after I get back from Prague! I hope everyone is having a wonderful November so far, I know I am :) Love you all!!
Doubles Match 1:
Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor vs. Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau.
Singles Match 1:
Andy Murray vs. Tomas Berdych.
Doubles Match 2:
Bryan Brothers vs Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez
Singles Match 2:
Novak Djokovic vs. Jo Wilifred Tsonga
I was basically in shock the entire time. I could not believe how hard they hit the ball and how fast they can serve. It looks fast when you are watching it on TV, but multiply that by 10 and that's how fast it looks live. Also, seeing Andy Murray play in front of his home crowd was an unforgettable experience. They had so much pride for him and watching him come back to win in 3 sets against Berdych was incredible. It was one of the most amazing days of my trip so far and I know I will never forget it!
Another exciting thing about this week: My good friend, Charise, from high school was in London yesterday for her birthday! She is studying abroad with a group of about 25 people and they go from city to city throughout the semester. It was so nice to see a familiar face from home :) Charise, her friend from her group Dylan, Patrick, and I went out for dinner and hung out with them for a while last night!
I'm leaving for Prague today with about 30 other people from my group. We will be there until Sunday evening. I am so excited!! It's not a place that a lot of people have been to so I can't wait to explore the city.
That's pretty much it for now. I'll update this again after I get back from Prague! I hope everyone is having a wonderful November so far, I know I am :) Love you all!!
 |
| Andy Murray |
 |
| Tomas Berdych |
 |
| Bryan Brothers |
 |
| Tsonga and Djokovic |
 |
| My good friend Charise and new friend Dylan! :) |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Two Months Already!
Hello everybody! Just a quick update from London :)
I cannot believe I have been here for 2 months now! Time is flying by so fast. I have made some really great friends here that I know I'll be friends with for a long time after we get back. It really helps with the homesickness! Last week was pretty stressful with our Business Law midterm on Thursday, but I think I did well on it so that was a big relief. All of our midterm tests are done now which is nice. I have had a very relaxing weekend! On Friday, our entire group was required to do an Inns of Court and Lloyd's of London tour. It was actually a lot of fun!! The Inns of Court tour was to a bunch of different law buildings in London, and we got to see the Royal Courts of Justice. Later in the day, we went to Lloyd's, which is a huge insurance center. They don't give tours to the general public, so it was cool being inside as we will never get to do that again! On Saturday I did absolutely nothing productive whatsoever and loved every minute of it. The only time I got out of my bed was to eat meals!! Pretty pathetic, but much needed after the long week I had. Today, Kari and I went to Harrod's. It is a HUGE high-end department store in London. We had a lot of fun looking at shoes and clothes that we will never be able to afford :)
Tomorrow is going to be absolutely amazing! I bought myself tickets for the ATP World Finals tennis tournament here in London. The top 8 male professional tennis players in the world in singles and doubles compete in a round robin style tournament. I bought tickets for the morning and evening sessions, so I will get to see two singles matches and two doubles matches. I was really hoping to see Roger Federer play, but of course he doesn't play until Tuesday :( I will still get to see some great matches though!! For singles, I'll see Murray vs. Berdych and Djokovic vs. Tsonga. Can't ask for much better than that! It should be a great day.
Here's what I have going on for the rest of the week...
Tuesday- Nothing exciting, just class.
Wednesday- Kari, Kayla, Sam and I are going to try to go see The Lion King! Hope it works out :)
Thursday- Some of us in our group are leaving for Prague until Sunday! I'm very excited to be in a city that I do not know much about.
That's pretty much it for this week. I have already started listening to Christmas music, which makes me so excited to be home for Christmas! I'm missing you all very much :) I have 6 more full weeks here! It's bittersweet, so I'm enjoying my time here as much as possible!
Love you all very much! Thanks for reading this :)
I cannot believe I have been here for 2 months now! Time is flying by so fast. I have made some really great friends here that I know I'll be friends with for a long time after we get back. It really helps with the homesickness! Last week was pretty stressful with our Business Law midterm on Thursday, but I think I did well on it so that was a big relief. All of our midterm tests are done now which is nice. I have had a very relaxing weekend! On Friday, our entire group was required to do an Inns of Court and Lloyd's of London tour. It was actually a lot of fun!! The Inns of Court tour was to a bunch of different law buildings in London, and we got to see the Royal Courts of Justice. Later in the day, we went to Lloyd's, which is a huge insurance center. They don't give tours to the general public, so it was cool being inside as we will never get to do that again! On Saturday I did absolutely nothing productive whatsoever and loved every minute of it. The only time I got out of my bed was to eat meals!! Pretty pathetic, but much needed after the long week I had. Today, Kari and I went to Harrod's. It is a HUGE high-end department store in London. We had a lot of fun looking at shoes and clothes that we will never be able to afford :)
Tomorrow is going to be absolutely amazing! I bought myself tickets for the ATP World Finals tennis tournament here in London. The top 8 male professional tennis players in the world in singles and doubles compete in a round robin style tournament. I bought tickets for the morning and evening sessions, so I will get to see two singles matches and two doubles matches. I was really hoping to see Roger Federer play, but of course he doesn't play until Tuesday :( I will still get to see some great matches though!! For singles, I'll see Murray vs. Berdych and Djokovic vs. Tsonga. Can't ask for much better than that! It should be a great day.
Here's what I have going on for the rest of the week...
Tuesday- Nothing exciting, just class.
Wednesday- Kari, Kayla, Sam and I are going to try to go see The Lion King! Hope it works out :)
Thursday- Some of us in our group are leaving for Prague until Sunday! I'm very excited to be in a city that I do not know much about.
That's pretty much it for this week. I have already started listening to Christmas music, which makes me so excited to be home for Christmas! I'm missing you all very much :) I have 6 more full weeks here! It's bittersweet, so I'm enjoying my time here as much as possible!
Love you all very much! Thanks for reading this :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)