Thoughts on Experiences.

"Oh, it will be such a great experience!"
"Oh, you'll have so much fun!"
"Oh, you'll have such a great time, and get to travel so much!"

I heard all of this, and more, as I prepared to head off to London to study abroad. Funny, no one really mentioned me learning anything, and most people did start off whatever they said with "Oh!". Though I will be the first to admit that my semester had less than I would have liked to offer me academically, I learned more life lessons in these past six months than I expected. By a long shot.

I didn't really experience the whole "no-one-can-possibly-understand-what-I'm-going-through" phase, or, the "intense-homesickness" phase that we were all warned about it that mandatory study abroad meeting last fall. I did have intense mexican food cravings by the end of the semester though, and honestly, at times, I missed that more than my family (I'm not heartless, but skype works much better connecting me to my family members across the ocean than it does with connecting me with Chuy's). Luckily, I lived in a predominantly Bengali neighbourhood, and only a couple of blocks away from curry mile, so I was able to be placated with some fantastic curry. Curry that I will never be able to replicate, and I am sure in a couple of months my curry cravings will rival the mexican food ones. My semester had a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle shifts mirroring my experience with mexican food and curry. And, as with everything in life, I even managed to learn some lessons.

Lesson one: Public transportation, when functional, is one of the most phenomenal things ever. Living in a climate where it is tolerable to be outside for more than 30 seconds is pretty great too.

Lesson two: London does not have good Mexican food. Full Stop.

Lesson three: London has incredible curry restaurants. If anyone can find me a reasonably priced curry restaurant in the states that can come close, they will have my everlasting gratitude.

Lesson four: Street signs that exist and are consistently placed in the same general area are helpful, and often necessary for navigation (I'm looking at a whole lot of European countries here).

Lesson five: Trainers are for tourists, and London is not easy on the feet.


I could go into the deep, meaningful, breakthrough moments I had while abroad, but every time I try to talk about those with someone, much less write them down, I sound ridiculous. Honestly, I learned a lot more about how little I know than anything else, and came away with more questions than answers. I think that's a good thing though. As soon as I decide that I have all, or even most of the answers, my world has obviously gotten too small. I do know that I need some more time "out there" to learn a little more about myself. Though I am still set on that PhD in psychology, I want to take a year off to live somewhere else. I want another year where the routine is often overwhelming, where I am far enough out of my comfort zone that I am not getting back in anytime soon, so I might as well just go with it.

I'm not qualified to get anywhere close to "settling down"yet. I don't know enough about how I function, and what works best for me. I don't know nearly enough about my likes and dislikes, or what is really important to me. This all seems absolutely ludicrous, as out of anyone, I should know myself best. Then again, that's not saying much.

Thanks for sticking it out with me internet. I will let you know when the next adventure comes along.

Spain. It's Warm Here.

This weekend, Katie and I headed to Spain to visit Rachel! After waking up at 3:30 to make a 7:45 flight and arriving in Alicante, we managed to make it on the right bus from the airport, and found our way to Murcia. We were particularly terrible about documenting this trip with pictures, but that's okay, because we caught the most important things...the BEACHES (and the ducks)!

Rachel made us some delicious sandwiches, as the gas man hadn't made it yet, so we couldn't use the stove or oven (he didn't make it till Monday). Luckily, with lukewarm showers, we managed to keep the hot water going until we had a new tank.

Jimmy came too, of course. 

Friday we went to the beach at Alicante with Rachel, and only had a slight  snafu with the buses (totally not my fault, Rachel was in charge). Katie and I were expecting Rachel to come to the beach with us out of more of a sense of duty as host than anything else, as she hates being cold and she hates swimming. It turned out that she was even more excited about the beach than we were. Apparently she had never really been to a beach (including a school trip to Hawaii...I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either). Anyway, she was thrilled. She played in the sand, we taught her how to make drip castles, and with a little bit of persuading, she went wading in the ocean.

Later on Friday night, we ate some more sandwiches, and then went to Rachel's friend Amy's house to try sangria. We had a lot of fun trying a couple of different kinds (Katie and I made the one that was voted the best - score!).

On Saturday we headed to the beach with Rachel's friends Arisvet and Amy. The beach was beautiful, and only a little bit cold. We stopped for tapas and beer, and immensely enjoyed the fact that sunglasses were a necessity (A necessity that I managed to forget -- thanks for having an extra pair Rachel!).

Top: We are really good at pictures. Bottom:Spotted duck!

Sunday the plan was to go climbing, but Rachel wasn't feeling great, so we slept in instead, and figured we would go hiking. Unfortunately, the bus to the place we wanted to go hiking doesn't run on Sundays. Plan C was then put in motion, and we took a picnic lunch to Rachel's university, fed some ducks, lounged in the sunshine, and I found out that I am most definitely still allergic to grass.

Katie and I headed back to the beach in Alicante on Monday, and made the walk to the bus station without a map or any wrong turns, which was really exciting. Though we managed to get on the right bus, a couple of hours before Rachel, a "cinco minuto" stop at a gas station that turned into a 45 minute break, and a search by drug dogs at Alicante meant that Katie and I only got to the beach about fifteen minutes before Rachel did. The drug dog search was actually pretty amusing, once we figured out going on. The dog was much more concerned with the crying baby and the bread in my bag than it was with any of the bags shoved in his face by his handler. We weren't sure if the dog was in training, or if it was just...Spain.

Spain was most definitely a successful trip, and I absolutely want to go back. I would love to go back when it's a tad bit warmer, to spend some more time swimming, and I really, really, want to go hiking and rock climbing in the mountains. I don't think there were nearly so many places I wanted to travel to before this semester, and now the list just keeps getting longer and longer and longer. :)

-El

P.S. -- Thanks to Rachel for stealing my camera to take pictures, and thanks to Katie for taking some pictures on her camera and then letting me use some of them. 

These Moors Aren't Near Depressing Enough.

This weekend, I took a short trip up to Bradford (it's near Leeds) to visit Katie. It was just what I needed. We went hiking on the Ilkely moors on Friday, and on Saturday we traipsed over the moors that supposedly helped to inspire Wuthering Heights in Keighley.

Oh, and did I mention that is was sunny? Because it was. It was pretty glorious. I wore only a t-shirt and jeans for parts of the hikes (It got cold really fast when you stopped moving, or when it was the afternoon, or when the wind was blowing...). I actually put on sunscreen, and still managed to come away burned. Only me.

Anyway, when we went to Keighley, we discovered that the footpath actually led over a rock wall and across the sheep pastures. Did I mention it was lambing season? I really, really wanted to pet a sheep. I was successful in this endeavour (Anyone surprised?).

I was unsuccessful for a while, but finally managed to pet a baby sheep. It was soft, and fuzzy, and wonderful. The trick is to sneak up on them when they are asleep, and after the initial surprise, they will decide they like you much more than their obviously irritated mom (Don't worry, I didn't steal any sheep, and the mother calmed down and was fine. No sheep were harmed, psychologically or otherwise, in the making of this post.).

After the pastures, we continued accross the moors, in search of ruins that we eventually decided didn't exist. Kind of like the Ritter Sport Store in Berlin. We followed a "path" for a while, and ended up playing the fun game of "Find the Ground!" You should try it sometime. Moors are really, really springy. There are also a plethora of hidden streams, hidden under unstable ground.

I didn't think the moors were near depressing enough to inspire Wuthering Heights, but then again, it was sunny, and daytime, and there were baby sheep. I can see them being much less inviting the rest of the year. Oh, and downright creepy at night.

We caught the last bus back to Bradford, and after a delicious meal of curry at Ambala (We had curry three nights in a row, and it was worth it.) we watched some good old Relic Hunter (Availible on Netflix!), that we discovered when Katie came to visit me in February. Overall, this was a really laid back, relaxing trip, which was nice after the chaos that was Easter Break.

-El

Budapest

The last stop on our trip was Budapest, Hungary. One of the best things about Budapest was how cheap it was. We had a three course meal for under ten dollars!

We went on a free tour of the city, and learned a lot about Budapest and some famous people from Hungary. According to our tour guide, Yoda got his awesome speech patterns from having his lines translated from English to Hungarian and back to English. Oh, and Hungarian is not latin or slavic based so... pretty much complete lack of cognates.

We spent the time exploring the city and eating lots and lots of food. We also went to the House of Terror, which told about the history of the USSR, and the Budapest Holocaust Memorial. 

Budapest has awesome subway cars. I want one. 

Emily and Rachel went home on Sunday, but Katie and I had another day in the city before we went home, and we decided to spend it at the Szechenyi Baths. Best. Decision. Ever. It was great to spend a day relaxing, and it was the first time in weeks that I felt warm.

While at the baths, we got these awesome bracelets that were our locker keys and tickets to the baths. They were pretty spiffy. We spent about four hours there before meandering back to our hostel, stopping on the way for some terrible Mexican food.

I had a really great trip, but I think my next two week backpacking trip will be through forests or something, not through cities. 

-El

Operas and Bunny Rabbits

On Easter Sunday, our train conductor was the Easter Bunny!

Actually, he was the conductor for a train to Russia or something, but still. Easter bunny conductor!

When we made it to Vienna, we relaxed at the hostel for the rest of the day, because our relaxing train ride was not nearly enough. The next day we headed to Schonbrunn Palace, and promptly got separated. Katie and I lost Rachel and Emily in the Easter market, and since neither of our phones were working in Austria, we figured we would just meet up with them at the hostel later, which worked out pretty well. 

Katie and I wandered the grounds, walked by the zoo, and fed lots of ducks. It was fun. Also, Tiergarten is the word for zoo. Every time I see it I think it says "tiger garden". Which is the best word for zoo ever. 

After wandering around the grounds for a couple of hours, we looked for something to eat, and realised that everything was closed. Apparently, Austria takes their Easter Sundays very seriously. We eventually stumbled upon the Vienna Royal Opera House, and discovered that we could go to the Ballet for only four euros! So we stopped for dinner at an awesome hot dog stand with a rabbit, and then headed to the ballet. 

Side note: european hot dog buns are better than American hot dog buns. They use french bread baguettes, and hollow out the middle. So all the ketchup and mustard and such doesn't spill out. 

In the opera house, those in standing room are allowed to go in before the show and reserve their areas with scarves. All the random scarves on poles look a little ridiculous with the fancy opera house backdrop, but it is actually all very official. 

Though not as cold as Berlin, Vienna was still very cold. This time, we put the cold to good use, and made ourselves a makeshift refrigerator out of the windowsill of our hostel. 

Don't let the lack of snow fool you... it was blanketing everything when we woke up the next morning. 

The next day we went to Naschmarkt, and explored there for a while before heading to the Austrian National Library. 

The library was pretty incredible, and I want a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves someday. And a rolling ladder. Definitely a rolling ladder. 

I also need a statue of this guy. 

That night, Rachel, Katie, Emily, and I went to the Opera (those great four euro tickets)! We saw and opera called Wozzek, about a man who goes crazy, kills his cheating girlfriend, and then drowns. Thank goodness for English subtitles, or we would have been really lost. 

We might have been a tad bit underdressed. I have never seen so many fur coats in my life. 

While in Vienna, we also got to see some incredibly ornate churches, and a crypt! I am pretty sure if I attended any of these churches, I would be soooo distracted. 

Marcus and Kelly, our friends from Berlin, took us out to a karaoke bar, which was...eye opening. People in Vienna do their karaoke a little differently than in the states. Think individuals, no groups, and lots of sad, emotional songs that people get really into. When we were leaving the bar, there were two guys singing "You Raise Me Up". Also, karaoke bars in malls are great, because this can happen in the wee hours of the morning:

Our final day in Vienna, we split up in to two groups (intentionally this time). Katie and I went to see the Belvedere Palace, and man was it cold. And windy. It was beautiful, but at that point we were about done being out in the cold. We took shelter in a McDonald's because it was about the only place we could find. We were supposed to meet Rachel and Emily outside the museum in the palace, but unfortunately, some wires got crossed, and this meeting was unsuccessful. Katie and I headed back to the hostel and got some much needed downtime before we headed off to Budapest!

-El

The Pastel City

In Prague, we met up with Rachel, Kyle, and Emily. We walked around the city some (walking was the theme for this trip), and tried some Absinthe! It was sort of gross. Liquorice is not my favourite flavour.

Or first full day, we spent some time exploring the city, and saw the second most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe (the Mona Lisa us the first)! It was called the astronomical clock, and was in the old town square. Every hour, death (a skeleton) pulls a bell, the sinners hide, and and the twelve disciples circle around with relics. Honestly, what is more exciting than watching the clock is watching people's faces when they realise that that's the whole show. Baffled disappointment on everyone's faces.

While in Prague, we went on a free city walking tour, and learned some history along with seeing the sights. History is much more interesting when you can see the places where things are happening. Being out in the fresh air didn't hurt either!

On the free tour, we heard about the history of Prague, the Czech president who steals pens, and who nobody wants to kill.

We learned about some religious wars that happened in the Czech Republic, and about definistration (throwing people out windows).

After the tour, we stopped by the John Lennon Wall, which was very cool. And colourful.

The next day we went to the KGB museum, which was a tiny little building where the curator was a crazy man who gave us a great tour and told us all about the USSR. He actually seemed pretty sad about it breaking up!

We also came across the most delicious market food at an Easter market. It is called trdelnik, and is a cross between monkey bread and a donut. There is nothing this good at fairs in the states, and I would really like to know why. This stuff is delicious.

After our explorations in Prague, we headed to Vienna on another train! Because trains are wonderful, wonderful things.