Education Abroad GeoBlog

G'day Mates!

After a two week period of exams, I was off to the outback. Our group was made of 12 Americans, a German, and an Alaskan (a joke made on our trip). Craige, our fearless leader, was the tour guide for Australian Adventure Travel and knew just about anything about Australia and the outback.

Our Ride

The trip lasted 10 days where for the first 5 days we stopped at various landmarks along the coast and the second 5 days we traveled inland to visit the true outback and national parks. Each day we made delicious sandwiches for lunch with the traditional Australian ingredients of corn, beans, and beets. Every night we would set up camp and start in on dinner. It was really a cool experience because everyone would jump in to help every night, so it was almost like a family dinner. 

Meal Preparation

At night we would set up our tents.  Dave, Nick, and I were the best at making tents so it was only natural for us to shack up together. Each morning we woke up at 6:30 and began our day over again.

 

A Perfect Tent

On our first day we drove through Geraldton en route to our campsite at Northampton. Our first stop was at a World War II memorial for the HMAS Sydney II that was sunk off the coast of Australia by a German cruiser.

 We set up camp at Northbrook Farmstay where we threw some steaks and sausages on the bar-b for dinner. Day two we headed for Shark Bay Heritage area and on the way we stopped at a few beautiful cliffs and gorges including the natural arch rock formation in Kalbarri National Park and Murchison River Gorge. 

Natural Arch, Kalbarri National Park

Murchison River Gorge

The flies here were almost unbearable as they ate our lunch as fast as we could prepare it. We ended the day at Hamlin Pool where we saw our first wild kangaroos after an evening stroll. Also near this camp were the Hamlin Pool stromatolites.

The stromatolites didn't look like anything more than rocks to me but apparently they are the oldest living things on earth.

To continue to trend of Tokyo (it was a busy vacation), Monday of Tokyo weekend was Disney Sea!

 

There's not really much to say about the park. It was a ton of fun. The general tourist-y, filled with children and grandparents sort of business. I got myself a postcard and some gifts for my host family. We rode 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Tower of Terror, and a few other rides. I rode Genie at the merry go round at Agrabah, held a bust of Harrison Ford, and ate a churro in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head!

 

The park itself is only 10 years old, and it shows. The workers are happy and dedicated to their jobs. The park's decorations and design are flawless and impressive, especially the portion of Ariel's Grotto, which actually looked like we were underwater.

 

There were fireworks. And the show of the night, Fantasmico, made me tear up, which was unsurprising, but it was truly very impressive; misted water was used as a screen for images, there was a huge electronic Maleficent Dragon, and a lot of singing. As per usual, Disney truly wasn't my thing, but it was still a ton of fun and i'm glad we got to go. Many thanks to Steffany's host mother for paying for my ticket!

 

Tuesday was the last day in Tokyo, and basically the day to wrap up our affairs. We went early to Harajuku to explore it in proper weather, spent an hour and a half at karaoke, then finished up the night at Shinjuku again before taking the night bus again back to Nagoya.

 

Tokyo was fun, absolutely. I am happy that I finally went, and finally experienced the city that Japan is known for most of all. But there was no fanfare, no awe and amazement. The city was full of bright lights and people, clubs and restaurants, karaoke and interesting characters, and lots and lots and lots of foreign tourists. To be sure, it's a huge city. The transportation is difficult to wrap your head around and the maps difficult to understand. It was strange to finally experience Japanese people forcing themselves to speak English to me, assuming I cannot speak Japanese, rather than giving me a chance. It was unsettling to see so many tourists, and we all agreed that while Tokyo was amusing, we missed Nagoya.

 

And it's true. Nagoya is a perfect city for me. I cannot see myself living in Tokyo. I cannot even see myself going back to Tokyo anytime soon. I felt alienated and small in Tokyo. Truly like the American in Japan that has no business being in Japan whatsoever. By all means, I was treated politely in Tokyo, but it felt temporary and rushed, while Nagoya citizens are more interested in my study abroad status, my studies, rather than just my American citizenship.

It was good to be back in Nagoya. Thanks for the good time, Tokyo. It was been fun.

                From the air, Holland looks like a very colorful patchwork quilt.

 

During my April break, I also visited Amsterdam, or, as I call it, the city of bikes and canals. They were everywhere! Almost every street/square looked the same to me, as each followed a canal and contained similar earth-tone, rectangle buildings facing the water. In fact, Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands, originally began as a Dutch trading post which relied exclusively on the maze of canals and rivers for its transportation. The city slowly grew to become as it's known today, where, in addition to water taxis and boats, bicycles are chained to all the bridges and railings; many Amsterdamians ride them as their main form of transportation, which makes a lot of sense because the city is very flat. Andy and I considered renting bikes for a day, but the busy traffic and the tram dents in the road (scary!) dissuaded us, and we walked around the city instead--probably the safer choice.

      At one point, we did do a Blue Boat Canal Tour, which was a really nice way to see a lot of the city and the canals in little time. Although the boat had commentary about the city's history, we preferred to sit in the back of the boat, outside the glass, so we could be outside and see the buildings better. The weather was nice: windy and brisk but sunny. As we rode down the river, I really got to experience the vibe of the city, along with catching a glimpse of many of its main attractions: one of the IAMsterdam signs (yes, there are multiple ones!), the Anne Frank house, a few of the museums, and The Jordaan. I don't think I saw The Van Gogh Museum from the boat tour, but it was another highlight of the trip. In fact, the museums in Amsterdam are supposed to be amazing, although I only got to see The Van Gogh Museum (the Rijksmuseum looked impressive but I just didn't have time). I wouldn't describe myself as an avid Van Gogh fan, but I do like his paintings, especially the ones with heavy impasto, and I loved going through the four-story museum to learn more about the famous Dutch painter.

                 We also visited the famous Jordaan district--a center of arts and culture in Amsterdam. It's full of cafes, comedy clubs, and busyness. (Although, to me, it seemed much the same as the other parts of the city, albeit with a few more offbeat shops.) 

 As far as Dutch food went, here's what I found:

 

A Ben & Jerry's! Actually, Ben & Jerry's seems to be all over Europe, with ice cream vending machines on Kent campus and stores in almost every city we went to in Europe. Even though the duo learned their ice cream making trade at PSU, I haven't really tried their ice cream, so we decided to duck in. I had a decent chocolate mint bowl, and Andy got a crepe which looked amazing, but apparently tasted terrible? (I kind of don't believe him.)

 

 Later that night, we went to a famous comedy club--Boom Chicago--which actually wasn't as good as some improve I saw in New York last year. Still, it was a nice change to touristy sightseeing, and I had a good time there. Walking around the city at night, too, revealed lots more bicycles, lights, and people going their ways. The city definitely had a young, busy vibe, though it seemed rather quiet and quaint, in a way, at the same time. Only around 2 million people live in Amsterdam, and the lack of tall buildings made me keep reminding myself I was in a capital city--but perhaps that reveals more about my ideas of cities than a fault of Amsterdam's. Ultimately, I really did like Amsterdam, a lot more than I expected. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had stayed longer, but I really enjoyed soaking in the vibe and simply watching all the people on bikes and all the canals reflecting in the building windows.

                And you should probably listen to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAppS5HalR4. It's true.

 

Yesterday my friends and I took about an hour and a half bus ride to Ronda. We walked around the city for a while and it was truly a beautiful city. There were really breathtaking views of Spain throughout the city.
We took a trolley ride to the Feria of Ronda. Their feria is for animals so there were chickens and donkeys and horses. It was not like the Feria of Sevilla (I don't think anything could ever measure up to the Feria of Sevilla).

Then we did our wine tour. First we walked around the old wine house that is now a museum. During this we had three different wines we could help ourselves to. After, we sat at a table with three different red wines in glasses in front of us. Our guide explained to us how to first look at, then smell and finally taste our wine. First you want to tilt the glass to see how transparent the wine is. Next, you swish the wine around the glass to see how quickly the wine falls back down. This is to see how thick or thin the wine is. After, you move to the next sense. At first, you just smell the wine to see what the primary flavors are. Then you swish the wine around in the glass and smell again to see the secondary flavors. Finally, you move to the final sense-taste. First you just take a sip and see how it tastes. Next you can swish it around in your mouth a bit and breathe out through your nose. This will show you the third flavor in the wine.

We tasted a 2006, a 2007 and 2008 wine. She explained that 2006 and 2007 were years with a lot of rain where as 2008 was not. The different climates the grapes were grown in makes the difference in the flavor of the wine.

After the guided tour of wine tasting, we were able to taste a few more wines. The wines that were saved for last were all of the "sweet wines."

This was something I definitely wanted to do while I was in Spain and I had a great time doing it. We shared a lot of laughs and really enjoyed ourselves in Ronda.

The title means "A weekend of town and beach." Pueblos are the small towns on the outside of the cities in Spain.

Last weekend, I went and stayed with my host mom's brother's family in a pueblo outside of Seville. I had been to his house before and loved it. I met his 20 year old daughter a few moths ago. Her name is Ana and she invited me to stay over for the weekend.

It was a really cool weekend. I was able to stay with another Spanish family. This family has a completely different dynamic. There is a mom and a dad and to me they seem like an amazing couple. They have both a son and a daughter- 17 and 20 years old. It was nice to sit on the couch and be a part of their family and to eat meals with them.

During the days, Ana and I went to the beach with her friends. On Saturday we went with three of her close friends and then on Sunday we went with her one friend and her friend's little 4 year old girl. Both days were a lot of fun.

On the way back to Ana's house on Sunday we stopped in El Rocio to see a famous church.
One of the best parts of the weekend was that I got to speak and hear only Spanish for three entire days. I also loved spending time with Ana, she is a sweetheart and we had a great weekend together. I hope that I have another opportunity to go back in my last month here.

My boyfriend joined the navy and left for boot camp about two weeks ago. A few weeks before my David came to visit, I decided I was going to go home for the weekend to surprise him for his going away party. I knew I had to be there for this huge step in his life and I was so excited and happy to be heading back to the States.

So I did it, I booked my ticket! And one day I boarded a plane and I knew that I was going home...but only for the weekend. Mentally preparing for this was not easy. I knew none of this was going to be easy.

After a short layover in Madrid, I boarded my plane to New York City. I was really excited but my emotions were kind of muted by the fact that I couldn't even believe that this was real life and that I was actually doing this.

I was crying on the plane just thinking about seeing my family and how amazing it was going to be after so long. Finally I saw my mom on the other side of customs and in that second it literally felt like I had never left. We got in the car and drove home and it was such an amazing feeling to walk through the door. Everything in my house was the same as I had left it. My grandmother was there waiting to see me and my sisters were all sitting around on our couch watching the Flyers. It was very close to being perfect.

The only thing that was missing was the one who I was coming home to surprise. I had decided that since David had just spent two weeks straight with me in Spain I didn't want him to know I was home because I wanted him to be able to spend his last few days in PA with his family and friends and getting done what he needed to do before heading off to Great Lakes. It was SO hard to be home and not tell him. As I was sitting there watching the Flyers with my family, he was texting me updates thinking that I was in Spain and unable to watch it. One of the texts he sent me also said "I wish I was watching it with you." It was really hard not to say "Come over! I'm home!"

What's really funny to mention is the things that I've gotten so used to in Spain that are now weird to me back in the United States. For example, when I went to flush the toilet for the first time I went to press the button on the top of the toilet bowl. That was something that was hard to get accustomed to in Spain and now it comes naturally! Also, as I was getting my phone charger out of my bag I was looking and looking for my adapter so I could plug it in. Suddenly, I realized I could simply plug it into the wall! It's really strange how things become second nature in just a few months!

The next morning I couldn't sleep, so I woke up and decided to run some errands. I went to the bank to figure some things out. On the way, I saw a gas station and even though I had half tank I decided to fill up because it was just something I haven't done in forever and I wanted to try it. Then I went to the bank and the teller asked how my morning was going. I said "It's great! It's my first morning back in the States in three and a half months!" I spent a while explaining my situation to the teller before getting in my car and heading back home.

As I was stopping at a stop sign right before my street, in my rear view I see David behind me on his motorcycle. I could not believe it! I started shaking and freaking out! How could this possibly be?! I try to make a turn to throw him off, but he knew it was me so he pulled up beside me. Even though I didn't get to surprise him the way I intended, it was a great surprise and seeing the happiness and shock in his eyes was everything I had imagined.
It was actually such a blessing that he happened to "find" me the way he did. This gave us so much more time together over the weekend. We were able to do some of the things that we always do together one last time before he headed to boot camp.

Since I knew I was only home for the weekend, I knew I had to appreciate every single second before heading back to Spain. I enjoyed the things that I usually loathe back at home. Even sitting in traffic I didn't mind. Because I was in my hometown and nothing else mattered.

Being with my family was fantastic. Not seeing them for so long really makes you appreciate every single one of them. I was able to spend time at both of my parents' houses and with both of my parents. It really meant the world to me to be able to be with them again after three and a half months.

I am really excited to return home for the summer and spend a few months at home with my family before heading back up to school in the fall. I absolutely love my study abroad experience but I think it is definitely true that home is where my heart is.

I almost forgot the mention the FOOD! It was so great to have American food-something I've really felt deprived of this entire time! Even though the weekend was insane and I didn't have that much time to enjoy all the food America has to offer, when I did eat it was really delicious. Especially the breakfast my dad and I had at Cracker Barrel before we headed to JFK airport for my flight back to Spain.
Of course it was hard to watch David leave. I miss him every second. However, I know that he is doing exactly what he wanted to do and I am so proud of him. I look back on the time we got to spend together in Spain and the fact that I was able to come home and spend one last weekend with him. Being grateful for the time we have had together and all of the wonderful memories are what helped me make it through. We didn't say goodbye, just see you soon.
A HUGE thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single person who made this weekend possible for me. I loved every second I spent with every one of you. It meant the world to me.

My boyfriend came to Seville to visit me for two weeks. It was incredible to spend this experience with him.

He loved Spain and was really interested in learning the culture. David was such a good sport trying all the food and he even spent time getting to know my host family. It was amazing to see him make them laugh even though he doesn't speak Spanish at all. His genuine humor was not lost in translation. We got along so well and it made me so happy to see my worlds combine in this way.

One of the greatest parts of our time together was the fact that we rented a scooter. We had so much fun on this little 50 cc scooter. We were able to see parts of Seville that I never would have found without it. It gave us the freedom to drive around and around as much as we wanted and wherever we wanted. It was a new thing to be driving around this town that I've only been walking around for the last four months. I learned the traffic laws in Spain (there aren't any, in case you were wondering!) and how gas stations work. Some of the gas stations are like pit stops along the road. You just take a little jug handle, have the attendant pump your gas and continue on down the road.

We did take a day trip to the beach in Cádiz. I was happy that he got to see this city while he was here. It is a really pretty and traditional part of Spain with all of the white houses. And the beach was really pretty- the water was sparkling blue.

While David was here it was Feria. This "fair" exceeded my expectations in every way. Not only was it the most incredible carnival we had ever seen, a city basically pops up and everyone is dressed in their very best Flameno attire. This little city is made of "casetas" which translates as "tents" but they are so much more than tents. They are these little constructions (with plumbing) where the party of Feria takes place. There is streets and streets of them. Everyone is having fun and everyone is in the best mood. The food at the fair was great. We had some warm waffles with chocolate and whipped cream, buñeulos (little donut shaped, funnel cake like bites), chicken, sandwiches (we ate a lot!). There were a ton of games (just like at our carnivals back home). We thought it was really funny when we saw the traditional Spanish jamón being raffled off as a prize! Being a part of Feria was incredible and we loved every second we spent there.



My boyfriend is a firefighter and an EMT. He is really interested in all emergency services. While he was in Seville we toured fire stations and he loved learning about how things work over here and sharing with the Spanish firefighters how things are done at his station back home. It was great (but a huge challenge) for me to translate for David and the firefighters. It was so worth it though, because he really loved this. He bought a bunch of souvenirs from the Seville fire station and they even had some free merchandise to give to a fellow bombero!

Overall, being able to share this experience meant everything to me. It was the little things like sitting by the river and walking through this beautiful city together that I've lived in for the past four months. Not only was I able to show him the Seville that I've gotten to know, but we were also able to discover new things together and make the most of the time that we were given before he headed home.

Even though the weather was not 100% cooperative, I still had a great weekend in Portugal. We stayed in an "aparthotel" so it was really great to have our own little apartments that we shared with a couple of friends. The best part was that we were able to cook!

The beaches in Portugal are absolutely gorgeous. They are like nothing I have ever seen before. Not only is the water crystal clear and a beautiful blue, but the scenery on and around the beaches make it even better.



This relaxing weekend was much needed and it was almost a dream! We just got to be at the beach all day then get ready and go out to have fun at night. I wish it would have lasted longer!

Taking the Eurostar train between London and Paris was definitely worth it. Highly recommended. We got right into the city into a subway station. The woman selling the tickets to the subway had a sign posted right in her window that said "I don't spek English." Welcome to France! This was going to be the first time that I was in a country where I didn't speak the language. A completely new experience.

Somehow Jessica figured out which train we needed to get on and we found it. It was late at night so we were just heading back to our hostel that way we could get an early start in the morning. Once we walked up the steps from the metro station Blanche, we found ourselves in the Red Light District. Straight ahead of us was the famous Moulin Rouge. We were a little scared to be in this area this late at night, but we made our way to our hostel (which was 10000x better than the one we stayed in in London).

We met our roommates who had been in Paris for some time. They were able to give us some tips- one being the 3 1/2 hour walking tour through the city. We decided we'd do that in the morning.

When we woke up we went downstairs for the free breakfast that our hostel provided. It was actually an unexpectedly incredible breakfast! There was this incredible chocolate granola cereal that had chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. It was more like a dessert, but it was delicious. (And of course no French breakfast would be complete without croissants.)

Then we made our way to the meeting point at St. Michele's fountain. The fountain was beautiful and as we stood there waiting we saw a model and a photographer doing a photo shoot. That was pretty cool!

Our tour guide was named Arnaud (R NO) and even though he had a French name he told us that he was from California (his parents just happened to name him that). He's been living in Paris for a long time with his Parisian wife and child and has been a tour guide for a while, too.

He gave a great tour of all the most important parts of Paris. We saw the Notre Dame cathedral, the great bridges, the Louvre, L'Orangerie, Museau D'Orssay all of the monuments, Champs de Lise and much more. Even though we didn't go into anything, it was a great over view of the city. It was just what we needed since we would not be spending much time in Paris.

That night we decided to go on a second walking tour with the same tour guide. This time we toured Monmarte (which is where we happened to be staying). This section of Paris is so full of culture and history. We saw where Van Gough lived, where Picasso lived and even different restaurants that the famous artists frequented. Also, in Monmarte is the Sacred Heart Church which we went inside of. It was one of my most favorite churches of all the ones that I have seen so far in Europe. The artists square that still exists today seemed to take us back in time. This part of Paris was really incredible.

That night we went out to dinner with some friends that we had met on the tour. Afterward, we decided to go to Monteparsse (the only skyscraper in the city) to go to the top and see the view of the Eiffel Tower. We didn't end up making it on time, but we still had a great night around the city with our new friends.

The next morning my sister and I went to the Louvre because she really wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Although we were warned that we would be disappointed, having this low expectation made us appreciate the artwork more. The Louvre is HUGE and very overwhelming! There are so many pieces of art it is amazing.

After this, we met up with our neighbors who happened to be in Paris at the same time we were! (Strange but great!) We went out to lunch together and tried escargot! I did not think I was going to try this EVER in my life, but it actually was not too bad.

It was awesome to see my neighbors, just another great piece of home to spend time with in Europe.

That night Jess and I actually made it to Monteparsse on time. We went up there when it was dark so we could see the famous Eiffel Tower light show. It was really beautiful and it really felt like a dream come true for us to see this. Since we were little girls we had these little Eiffel Tower statues that our grandmother brought back as souvenirs for us from her Paris trip. To see this infamous statue now in person was really something for us.

Unfortunately we did not have very much time in Paris. There was so much more we wanted to do but did not have time. I hope one day to go back and explore this amazing city again. One woman we met while we were in Paris was there for her seventh time. She told us she keeps coming back because she loves it and there is still so much more to see. Paris really is that great of a city. And I'm so happy that I was able to share an amazing experience like this with my sister.