Paris!

Before we knew it, we were pulling into Paris, and our day of being zombies in Paris began!  Within 30 seconds, I managed to annoy a woman in line for the bathroom by not having the proper change (yeah, the station was cruel and charged to use the bathroom.)  After we navigated the Paris metro and checked into our hostel, we set off to find the Eiffel Tower.  It was unfortunately cloudy and kind of gross out, but it was still impressive!  We took pictures for a while and Amy fulfilled her life goal of getting a picture of it in real life. 

We decided to get a hop on, hop off bus around the city for the rest of the day, as we weren’t feeling highly functioning enough to navigate ourselves or make any sort of decisions.  It turned out to be the best decision ever, and we got to see all the major sites with the bonus of limited walking!  On one of the stops, we even treated ourselves to some Starbucks- the fall flavors were just as good as I remembered them to be.

We got caught in the rain on the walk back to our hostel, but after drying off we found a nice place for dinner- we even caught it in time for happy hour!  Back at the hostel, we packed up and got everything ready to leave for Prague the next morning.

..And thank God we did, because something we failed to realize was that the time in Paris was an hour ahead of what we had our clocks set for.  We woke up nice and early to give ourselves plenty of time to navigate to the airport.  Suddenly, we realized that it was almost 9am instead of 8am like we thought.  We picked up the pace and scurried off to the metro where we had to connect to the RER train to the airport.  Made it flawlessly, despite mixing up contact lenses (long story), being sassed by a train attendant, and not speaking a word of French.  At the airport, we grabbed another quick Starbucks to treat ourselves and then hopped on our plane to PRAGUE!

London!

Our next stop was LONDON!  To get there, Amy and I would be flying an infamous discount airline, which shall remain nameless, and which has absurdly strict cabin baggage restrictions.  Checking in for our flight was maybe one of the most stressful experiences of my life, but fortunately the woman at the ticket counter didn’t say anything about the size of my backpack, which was bulging.  Once we got to the gate, however, we watched the flight before us board.  Toward the end, people were pulled from the line and forced to check the size of their bag before boarding.  The judge of this was an incredibly unforgiving metal box.  Samples were provided around the gate, so Amy and I casually snuck away to test our own bags and hopefully avoid the 60 euro fine that they charge if you exceed the limit.  My bag barely fit… Amy’s, on the other hand, was just a bit too large.  Had it not been for the bulging pockets, it would have been fine.  There was only one thing to do-  LAYER.  Moments before boarding, Amy took a trip to the bathroom and ended up putting on about five layers, including “sheep sweater”- the lovely wool sweaters we bought in Ireland and are obsessed with, but that we despise whenever we had to pack to go anywhere.

Once we made it on the plane (strategically getting in the front of the line before they started to become worried about weight and checking bags) our flight went smoothly and we landed safe and sound at London Stansted.  We hung out for a little until our friend Sarah arrived on a later flight.  Finally, we got the bus to central London and then began our adventure to Danielle’s apartment on the night bus. 

What an experience.  By that time it was nearly 2am and the three of us were exhausted.  It took us a few minutes to find the right bus stop, and once we did, we saw the bus parked there with the driver inside reading the newspaper.  When we tried to board the bus, he informed us that he was on break for seven more minutes and we needed to wait outside.  Okay.  Once on the bus, we encountered an angry man who became enraged when the bus didn’t stop immediately when he pressed the stop button.  Conveniently, this all happened at the stop where we had to get off too.  As we were exiting the bus, angry-man decided to splash the contents of his waterbottle through the open bus door, attempting to hit the driver but instead hitting me.  Oh well.

Some quality time at the bus stop

After that, we made it without incident to Danielle’s apartment, where we immediately passed out and got some rest in preparation for exploring the city the next day!  Danielle had even selected a coffee place for us to stop at, even though she doesn’t drink coffee.  Greatest friend ever!  In the morning, we got to see Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, walk across the bridge featured in Harry Potter, ride the London Eye, eat fish and chips, pay 1.50 euro to sit in a chair in the park, and best of all- VISIT PLATFORM 9 ¾!!  Childhood dreams came true.

Necessary.

Amy, Danielle, and me (and my coffee) at Big Ben!

On the London Eye

Finally got my Hogwart's letter!!

That night, Danielle cooked us a delicious dinner at her apartment, and then we met up with our friend Matt, also from Stonehill, who lives right above Danielle.  We hung out at a local pub for a little bit and got to catch up before heading back to get some sleep. 

Matt and me!

...And by sleep, I mean a 2 hour nap.  Amy and I decided it would be an awesome idea to book a 5:25am train to Paris.  This required us leaving Danielle’s at 3:45am and catching a night bus (my favorite) to the train station.  After battling with ticket machines that didn’t want to accept our coins and having the bus drive away on us, we caught another one soon after and made it to the station with plenty of time to hop on our train.

A quick, but solid trip to London!

17 days, 9 cities, and 1 backpack later... IRELAND

Hi!  Yesterday I got back to Copenhagen after hopping around Europe for the entirety of our travel break with Amy!  We had an absolute blast, and looking back, I'm pretty impressed with what we accomplished- we managed to survive about 17 days of travel with one carry-on size piece of luggage, a task which made packing quite daunting, but we owned it.  And now we're expert packers!  We also made it the whole time with no major travel issues- no missed planes or trains or busses, which was my worst fear.  Yay!  Best of all, we got to see so many friends along the way who were the most gracious hosts, giving us places to stay and being amazing tour guides.  There is so much to write about, so I'll do my best to capture how awesome these past few weeks have been.

First up was Ireland!  We left Copenhagen right after class on Friday and caught a flight to Dublin.  In Dublin, we were staying at my friend Meaghan's apartment and meeting up with our friend Lauren.  The tricky part was that Meaghan wasn't going to actually be at her apartment that weekend- she left the key for us and gave us detailed instructions on how to find it, how to get in/out of the city, and lots of suggestions of things to do.  All of that was incredibly helpful, and everything worked out without a hitch- except for a brief hiccup on the bus from the airport.  Amy and I weren't aware that the busses in Dublin don't have set stops.  They are very reliant on the passengers to know where they are going.. which we didn't.  We ended up taking the bus a little too far and having to backtrack.  Aside from that though, we did fine!

Once we got to the apartment, Lauren was already there.  Lauren was my roommate over the summer at Stonehill, so it was great to be reunited!  That night, we decided to venture into the city to get some food and explore a bit.  We had dinner at our first legit Irish pub, listened to some festive live music, and caught up.  The next morning, we had a full day planned, including Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Guinness Factory.  Meaghan had also recommended a cafe for us to try- Queen of Tarts, where we enjoyed coffee and cake!  So delicious.

Yummm.

Lauren and me at the Guinness Factory enjoying a complimentary pint!

View from Skybar at Guinness!

Trinity College

Trinity College

Oh, and remember that thing about the world being crazy small?  Well that was confirmed at the Guinness Factory.  After doing our tour, we made a stop in the gift shop.  As Amy and I were waiting in line to pay, we see Lauren talking to someone who looks very familiar.  We soon realize that its our friend Matt, who is doing an internship in London and who was in Dublin for the weekend with friends!  It turned out that our friend Danielle was in Dublin that day too, but we didn't get to see her.  I couldn't get over how crazy it was- it was my first completely random Stonehill encounter, and I couldn't believe it.

Later that night, we met up with our friends Jess and Casey who had also been in Dublin for the day and caught the bus to Galway!  Jess, Casey, and a bunch of other Stonehill friends are studying there for the semester at NUI Galway.  After a nice bus ride and a nap, we got to Galway, got settled in, and relaxed for the night.  The next morning, we went to the Cliffs of Mohar with our friends Julia and Steph.  Steph is studying in Grenada, Spain and happened to be visiting the same weekend as us!  Our tour lasted all day, and our bus driver Desmond kept us all very entertained and made sure we "got the Cliffs of Mohar done, got the Cliffs of Mohar done."  Yes, he repeated everything at least twice.  Fortunately, we did get the Cliffs done before (a heavier) fog rolled in.  We were even rebellious and took our lives into our hands (like all the other tourists) to walk out past the warning signs and look out onto the rocks and crashing waves.

Whoops.. the green warning sign is gone.  So this must be okay?

Back in Galway, our lovely hosts cooked us a delicious dinner and we all got ready to celebrate our friend Paige's 21st birthday, Ireland style!  We went into town and I got to experience the famous "King's Head," which, even though Halloween wasn't until the next day, was already full of people decked out in costume.  Halloween is a big deal I suppose.  On our way home, we also made a stop at "Charcoal Grill," which I had heard so much about- apparently, the garlic cheese fries and taco fries were amazing.  In the course of the weekend, I sampled both, and they were DELICIOUS.

Happy Birthday!

Note the green wig..

Only the finest Irish cuisine...

The next morning, Steph, Amy, and I did another tour, this time to Connemara.  We got to see the Kylemore Abbey and make a stop into a small town where we treated ourselves to coffee and a dessert.  Oh, and we saw maybe 854903 sheep along the way.  In addition, we purchased authentic wool sweaters!  So many sheep.  Back in Galway, it was time to celebrate HALLOWEEN!  Because we only brought carry-on bags, we clearly didn't have room for costumes, so we had resigned ourselves to being literally the only ones in Galway who would be out in normal clothes.  Fortunately, Jess and Julia went out shopping while we were on our tour and picked us up some costumes that were on sale!  We hung out at the house for a little bit, got to meet some of our friends' Irish friends, and then ventured back out to a very Ghoulish Galway.  Finally, we finished the night with another visit to Charcoal Grill.

The Abbey

Sheep friend

In the morning, it was back to real life for our friends who had class, and it was off to the airport for Amy and I- time to head to London!  Before we left though, we stopped for a traditional Irish breakfast.  Yes, I ate the black pudding.  Nom nom.

Two cities down, 7 to go!

The Good Life

Study abroad is a truly wonderful life.  Before I left home back in August, I remember my mom telling me about Copenhagen, describing it as an "enchanting city."  I wasn't sure exactly what this would come to mean, but I think I understand now.  She also told me that if I had any thoughts of not coming back home, that I should remember that they don't have Wawa in Copenhagen (a Philadelphia staple that's basically a 7 Eleven but 489302x better and that I crave whenever I'm away.)

Well, she was right.  During the course of this semester, I have been completely enchanted by Denmark and by Copenhagen, and so intrigued by everything I have experienced so far.  I've been waiting awhile to post this on my blog, but now it's officially official...

Wawa will have to wait, because I'll be staying in Copenhagen with DIS for spring semester!!

It was quite a big decision, and I thought about it for a long time.  It had been in the back of my head for a while, then one day I mentioned it to my friend Sarah (also a full year student), who simply said, "Well why don't you just do it?!"

Once it became something I was really considering, I had a lot to think about.  I absolutely love Stonehill College, and being away for another semester will be really challenging, especially since I won't be there to spend spring semester with my friends who are graduating.  I actually made a pro/con list, something that I never do, and I know I will have so many amazing opportunities here, meet so many more people here with a contagious spark for life, and continue to get to know myself.  A large part of it was also like, when ELSE would I have the opportunity to live in Copenhagen's Latin Quarter, study, and casually travel the world on weekends?!  Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I'm awful at saying goodbye to things.. this gives me the chance to prolong my goodbye with Copenhagen a bit longer.  Seriously though, I wasn't ready to leave my perfect window with a view of the yellow house, the cobblestone streets, the bikes, the candles, and maybe even Netto (our lovely local grocery.. expect an "ode to Netto" coming in a post soon..)  The people are alright too I suppose..  ;)  My SRA Anna is wonderful- she's been so welcoming and has become more of a friend than just an SRA.  Also, getting to know my visiting family has been one of the best parts of being in Denmark, and I can't wait to spend even more time with them!

After meeting and talking with some other international students who are away from their home universities for the year.  One friend and I had a decently long conversation just detailing all the ways in which the life of a study abroad student is the best life, and it made me want to experience the world like they do- with a spice for life, a sense of adventure, and fearlessness.   I love the places that I've come from and that have shaped me, but I've also come to realize that I've been sheltered.  Lucky as anything, but sheltered none the less.  When I  mentioned to someone that I was choosing to stay here for the year, they were surprised because they knew how much I love my home university.  And I do, I definitely do.  But my conclusion is that all the experiences in my life have lead me here and given me this opportunity, so I might as well go big, or quite literally go home.  I choose going big.

If I really sit down and think about it, sometimes I still have moments where I'm like, "AH what am I doing?!"  But then I remember that next semester I can fulfill my goal of getting a bike, go study at the Royal Library, take a class at Copenhagen University, travel more, and of course "Smile, breathe, and go slowly."

There really IS so much to feel good about, and I've learned that here.  I'm so excited to make the most out of everything!

Again, it's only the beginning of the adventure... In more ways than one.  ;)

"It's a small world after all.."

Now that you all probably have that song stuck in your heads, allow me to share three stories that illustrate just how small it actually is.

The first story, although not my own, seems to be more common than one would think in the life of your average study abroad student:
A bunch of my friends from Stonehill are studying abroad in Florence, Italy (or StonehITALY, as coined by the one and only DGirv; to the right, catch a glimpse of Dave in touch with his orientation-loving essence!)  A few weeks ago, while they were casually taking a stroll down the Ponte Vecchio, they ran into one of our other friends, also from Stonehill, but who is studying in Perugia, Italy.  She was en route to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.  Two points for the spontaneous, unplanned, random encounter!



Another story, also not my own, happened to my friend Sarah during Kulturnatten in Copenhagen:
One of the oldest kollegiums in the city is located almost right across the street from where I live.  On Kulturnatten, they opened the gates to their garden so the public could walk through and take a look at an area that's usually pretty private.  Some of the university students were wandering around down in the garden to answer questions and whatnot.  We walked in completely on a whim to check it out, only because we were waiting for some of our friends to come meet up with us.  As we waited, we started talking to one student.  He asked us all where we were from, and Sarah said that she went to school near Washington, DC.  He then asked where in DC she went.  She replied that she went to University of Maryland, and he said "You look very familiar.  I spent a semester at Maryland.. Did you take a dance class?"  Turns out they were in the very same dance class and lived only a few buildings away from each other and then just happened to run into each other in Copenhagen!  It was crazy, and the whole thing still kind of blows my mind.

Finally, yesterday I was doing some Facebook stalking and stumbled upon one of my friends from Stonehill's photo album titled "Kosovo."  I of course was in Kosovo just two weeks ago, so I wrote on her wall, saying hi and asking when exactly she had been there.  We were there the exact same week.  We started talking about it, and she said "Tara, please tell me you did not eat at Pishat Restaurant on October 3rd..."  I consulted my travel program, and it turns out that we ate at the very same restaurant at the exact same time and somehow DIDN'T see each other!!  Her chair was backing into someone's chair from my class, and they even discussed places to hang out that night.  How we didn't see each other baffles me, but I guess even a crazy small world doesn't make up for me being unobservant.  To the right, check out.. uh, the only picture Linds and I have together.  What?!  Oh well, gave me an excuse to reminisce about summer with the lovely Stonehill Peer Mentors!


In conclusion:
"It's a small, small, world."

Layin' low

I can't say that I have an especially exciting update for you today (I've also been slacking on the picture-taking) but I just wanted to mention a few fun things that have been going on this week, mostly for posterity/so I don't forget.  :)

Anyway, most of this week had been catch-up and recovery from the exciting weekend-o-friends!  (At the ripe old age of 20-and-a-half, it really took a lot out of me!)  It's time for midterms at DIS, which is crazy... 1. because the semester is half way over!!  and 2. because most people are starting to get crazy busy.  But before I could attend to my schoolwork, I had more fun responsibilities to attend to- planning a dinner party.  I'm fancy, huh?

Just kidding.  Not about dinner, but certainly about the fancy part.  On Monday night, Julia and I had our visiting family over to our apartment for dinner.  We've been to their house quite a few times, so we thought it would be fun to have them see where we live and (attempt to) cook for them.  After some debate over the menu, we settled for some delicious options that we both enjoyed, were slightly typical of an American college student, and that would be easy to cook without messing up.  We planned to make mini-hamburger sliders, quesadillas, and Julia's famous mac-n-cheese.  I also threw a salad together for good measure.  We were pretty nervous as it was the first time either of us had hosted anyone for dinner, but it was a success!  The girls had fun seeing where Julia and I live, and Theresa and Christopher got to meet some of our other roommates as well!

Tuesday was midterm time, eek!  I had my midterm in Gang Crime in Scandinavia, which I think went well!  More interestingly, however, was that a famous Danish director was shooting a movie on our street!  It's set to premier in Fall 2012!  I'm not sure of the name of the movie, but I will definitely find out and see it ASAP so I can announce to everyone that I lived there when it was shot.  While I creepily watched outside my window, I feel asleep and took about a 2 hour nap.  (Yup, still recovering.)  Later that night, everyone in our building got together for a progressive party through the apartments- one floor had hot chocolate and cookies, another had cupcakes, and we had chips and guacamole.  With everyone being on such different schedules, it has been hard to get to know people besides my immediate roommates, but this party gave us the opportunity to all sit down and talk and have a nice, hyggeligt night!

Last night, I ventured out to Gentofte, which is a suburb of Copenhagen about a 20 minute train ride away from the city center.  My friend Sarah lives with a host family there, and they're on vacation for a few days.  I went over to keep her company, and we spent the night working on a bit of homework, watching some American TV including my FAVORITE LAW & ORDER SVU ahhhh so excited, eating butternut squash soup, sitting in front of the fire, and playing with the family dog, Ophelia.  It was such a great break from city life, and it definitely gave me a little taste of home.  In the morning, we took the train back into the city for class, and I got my first taste of the morning commute culture in Copenhagen.  It was a nice change from my usual five minute walk- I felt like a real little student/legit business person.  While I love living so close to DIS, I don't think I'd hate taking the train either.

So, like I said, a pretty low-key week.. but I need to rest up, because in just one week I leave to begin my adventures around Europe with Amy!  We're both so so so excited to see lots of our Stonehill friends/sleep on their floors, experience RyanAir for the first time, and take in every second of our whirlwind trip.

Time really does fly..

The most exciting weekend!

All last week, I could hardly contain my excitement for what the weekend would bring!  For one thing, one of my best friends from Stonehill would be visiting.  Also, Kulturnatten, or "Culture Night" was scheduled for Friday, and some of our friends from Århus would be passing through Copenhagen too!  So many fun activities!!  I was seriously like a little kid waiting for Christmas!

Finally, Friday afternoon rolled around, bringing Danielle to Copenhagen!  Danielle is doing an internship in London this semester, and she gets major friend points for waking up at 2:30am to get an early flight to Denmark.  Back at Stonehill, Amy and Danielle are roommates, so all three of us were so so so excited to be reunited for the weekend!

This is Danielle.  (The one who isn't me or Amy.)  Danielle enjoys dancing, Sigmund Freud, chocolate bundt cake, and spending time with her dog, Lucky.  Danielle does not enjoy disorganization of any sort, when the breakfast omelets at Stonehill are soggy, or traveling alone.

After our morning class, Amy went to pick Danielle up from the train station, and they were both waiting for me when I got out of class at 1.  We spent the afternoon catching up, taking a walk to Agnes Cupcake, and introducing Danielle to Netto, our lovely local grocery store.  The three of us cooked dinner, and then got ready for Kulturnatten festivities!

"Kulturnatten" is basically a big fall festival across the whole city of Copenhagen.  For any south eastern Pennsylvania locals (or maybe just my parents) it was kind of like Grand Illuminations at Peddler's Village on a MUCH larger scale.  Everything stays open until around midnight, and you can walk around and see lots of galleries, gardens, take flashlight tours of the castle, and grab some hot chocolate at the Royal Library.  Even DIS got involved, putting together an authentic "American" Halloween celebration, which was conveniently set up right in my courtyard!  They had s'mores, pumpkin carving, and a haunted house.  Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE autumn activities like this, so I was in heaven.

My roommates Russell, Jamie, and Anna

Over the course of the night, we also went to the Roundtower.  We climbed to the top and got to see the city at night, and as an added Kulturnatten bonus, we got to climb a little bit higher to the observatory!!  We got to look through a super intense telescope and check out Jupiter.

Some casual star-gazing

After the Roundtower, we met up with a few more DIS friends and decided to take a walk down toward the King's Garden.   We ended up wandering into the Film Institute, the Odd Fellow's Mansion, and all the way down to Nyhavn where we purchased ice cream (despite the chilly weather).  From there, we continued down to the Royal Library.  I realize that I probably sound like the world's nerdiest person for having SO much fun running around the library on a Friday night at midnight... but it really was so cool!  I noticed some tiny, off the beaten path rooms full of books (Beauty and the Beast status) and maybe even some future study areas.  Outside the library, we watched some small children twirling fire and playing the bagpipes.

First time (pretending to) drive a car in 2 months!

Stumbled upon the Odd Fellow's Palace

Our footwear inside the palace

We make a cute couple

Being in the library after midnight isn't usually this much fun..

Okay kids..

The energy level in the city was crazy, and I was loving every second of it!  Like I mentioned earlier, we even got to meet up with our friends from Århus who we met way back in September and who were passing through Copenhagen this weekend- yay fellow international students!!

On Saturday, Amy, Danielle and I headed out to do some typical Copenhagen sight seeing!  The weather was perfect, and we took the water taxi down to the Little Mermaid (third visit, by the way) and then walked around that area before checking out Nyhavn.  A little later, we picked up some hotdogs and went to sit in the King's Garden, where we proceeded to find a perfect tree for climbing.  We hung out there for a while, then cooked omelets for dinner.  Strange, you might say; however, all three of us have been sorely missing the omelets from Stonehill's cafeteria that we love so much.  Our goal was to recreate these omelets, and we succeeded!!  (If I do say so myself...)

Third time's a charm

Stonehill takes Copenhagen :)

Yum.

Today we started the day with banana/nutella crepes, then we walked over to Christianshavn.  At three we stopped by an art gallery where my SRA Anna had some paintings.  Then, we took Danielle for a last meal at RizRaz before sending her back off to London!  :(  Definitely wanted to keep her here, but it was so great for Amy and I to be reunited with one of our best friends from school, even if it was only a weekend!  Over our two week travel break, we're going to get to go check out London!

So much fun with so many friends!  :)