Well, props to me for actually being on top of things in this blog for once!  With the schoolwork finally slowing down (and before the cramming for finals begins…), I’m finally having enough downtime to report on my latest adventures in a timely manner.  So, here it goes:

Sunday morning, the majority of our IFSA-Butler cohort woke up bright and early to be on the bus by 6:30 a.m.  Even though I showered and packed the night before, I still managed to be counted among the stragglers who ignored the “be there at 6:20” notice and instead arrived moments before the bus left.  Once we were all settled, most people fell right back to sleep, with some occasional chatter, for the roughly five-hour drive to Manapouri.  We arrived in Manapouri around noon, were fed a quick lunch (which made me not as grumpy after sitting uncomfortably in the bus for too many hours), and then we were boarded onto a boat for another foty-five minutes, complete with free tea and coffee (which I took full advantage of), and then we were loaded onto yet another bus for one last thirty minute ride (which had nothing but sandflies to offer), before we FINALLY reached the Navigator, which we were to call home for the evening and following morning.

Once on the boat, we were quickly rewarded for out traveling.  After showing us our rooms (which were adorable and clean, if a bit snug for four people, though a couple people were lucky enough to be upgraded to first class because there was too many os us), we were given a quick snack of muffins and fruit.  We then had about two hours to wander around the ship and take pictures before it became too dark and wet for us to risk ruining our cameras.  The crew then fed us (again!) delicious soup and bread.  Probably in preparation for the next activity, which would take place in the cold rain.  We were given two options: (1)kayaking through Doubtful Sound (2)riding a tender boat through Doubtful Sound.  I originally (as in, before I actually knew what the weather was like in the fjord) was all for kayaking, but the realities of water and my camera led me to choose the boat instead.  Which was not the greatest plan, since it was, by this point, down pouring and I couldn’t take any pictures anyway.

So, I’ll do my best to describe the boat trip without having any photographic evidence of that activity.  The boat could hold eighteen people, and fifteen of those on the boat were a part of the IFSA-Butler program.  I honestly wish I had pulled my camera out because it was absolutely priceless to look across from me and see the identical expressions of misery on everyone on the boat.  Each person had their hood pulled up, and we were holding a poncho over our legs in a (bad) attempt to keep them dry.  I was lucky in that I wore shorts, but people wearing jeans were completely drenched by the time we made it back to the Navigator.

However, I paid my dues in other ways.  Let me preface this with the following: if you ever study abroad in or visit New Zealand, buy a rain jacket that HAS A HOOD.  I almost didn’t even bring one at all (thanks, Mom for that last-minute shopping trip) and that would have been a HUGE mistake.  Clothing here is, for the most part, quite a bit more expensive than in the states, so try to bring everything you need from home.  Anyway, continuing on with the story, I had on shorts, a t-shirt, a polar fleece zip-up with a hood, and then my (hoodless) rain jacket.  I stupidly wore the fleece hood up and thus, while it did initially keep my head and hair dry, it acted as a sponge in the rain and eventually all that water went through the hood and halfway down my back.  By the time we made it back onboard the ship, my entire upper body was soaked.  At least my feet were dry, thanks to my waterproof hiking boots (which were also a last-minute purchase…I was clearly beyond prepared to leave the country).

Okay, so I’ve probably made this little excursion sound pretty miserable (which it was, to a certain extent), but it also was really interesting and I would have been really upset to have missed out on it.  We were lucky enough to see a raft of penguins, (yes, that is what it’s called, not a flock) and they were adorable.  I guess it’s highly unusual for them to swim that far into the fjord, but the ocean was rough and they were taking shelter there.  Those waterproof feathers would definitely make sitting in the rain less problematic.  Our guide also told us a lot about the different mosses and trees that lined the water and even stuck his entire arm into a cliff without hitting any rock; that’s how many layers of moss can grow.  Pretty interesting stuff, though I probably was not as fascinated by those little tidbits of information as I would have been if the weather had been a bit more accommodating for us.

Once we arrived back in the boat, people were given the option to jump off the boat into the water.  I did not take that offer; I was already cold and wet enough and I don’t think that I’ll be kept up at night back in the states at the thought of not having swam in Doubtful Sound.  But, the people who did it enjoyed themselves (some even claimed they felt warmer afterwards; yeah, I’m sure that was the case…) and good for them.  The rest of us changed into warmer clothes and then claimed a table for dinner (after scarfing down some more tea and coffee first of course).

Dinner was delicious.  There was more than enough food for everyone, even with the forty starving college students taking full advantage of free food.  There was also six different desserts, and by the end of the meal, I was really happy that I was wearing sweatpants.  We were collectively overfilled, and me and a couple of other people who went to the slideshow presentation following the meal sat at the backed and groaned as if we were in labor for a good forty-five minutes after.  There is no way to describe it better than a food baby.  I think the fact that we all eat minimally while we’re in our Dunedin flats leads to all of us gorging ourselves when we’re at any of the program events.

We went to bed shortly after the presentation (after a few quick games of Connect Four and cards), and we woken up about 20 minutes earlier than we were told (they said 6:40…it was more like 6:15 in reality and you all know how I feel about waking up before 7 AM) we would be when the ship’s engine turned out.  Our porthole’s cover was vibrating like a jackhammer but once we shut that, a few of us were able to get a couple more minutes of sleep before getting dressed and heading down for breakfast.  There was (yet again) an impressive spread of food but I was still pretty full from dinner the night before and thus probably did not appreciate that food as much as I ordinarily would have since I was still pretty full from the night before.

Following our last meal aboard the ship, we were lucky enough to see a small pod of dolphins swimming near the ship.  There was one baby, a mom, and a couple of juveniles and, though my camera failed to take a good shot (though maybe I should blame that on operator error rather than the electronic itself) other people were able to take some really nice photos.  They were beautiful and even put on a little show for us when they started surfing and jumping in the ship’s wake.  That twenty minutes made the entire trip more than worthwhile in my mind.  I don’t think I’ve ever grown out of my love of dolphins, and I’ve swam with them before, but this was the closest encounter that I’ve ever had with wild ones.  We also saw a few seals on the ride back to the dock (but, in case my family is wondering, I refrained from whipping my sunglasses in the water with them).

Once we left the Navigator, we were in for another bus and boat ride back to Manapouri.  We stopped for lunch in Te Anau and then went to a bird sanctuary, where I proceeded to make a fool of myself (as per usual).  This sanctuary held three of the very endangered native Takahe and we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to see them up close and personal in their enclosure as long as we were quiet.  Somehow, I ended up walking toward the front of the group, and I managed to face-plant after tripping on a dip in the ground. I then proceeded to start laughing loudly, which was going totally against the grain of being quiet so that we could see the birds.  Not my finest moment.  There’s a reason my family calls me “Dick Van Dyke” and my dad’s favorite way to describe me is as a “bull in a china shop.”  We did see the Takahe (though they were pretty shy) in addition to some kia, a native New Zealand mountain parrot (and according to the lady working, the smartest bird in the world, which I thought was the African Grey but I could be wrong), a wood pigeon, an owl, and some other little green parakeet type things.  It was a fun little side trip, but by the time we boarded the bus, a cumulative lack of sleep had caught up with everyone and the bus was pretty quiet the entire way back.

Anyway, that about sums up the second half of my weekend!  This trip was definitely one of the best parts of the IFSA-Butler program so far and I am so happy that we were all given the chance to experience the overnight cruise.  It’s a pretty expensive endeavor to book on your own, and probably would not have been possible for many of us unless it was included in our program.  I should have a quick turnaround with blog entries again next time; we have a Marae visit and volunteer day this Saturday, so that should be fun.  And then, a week from this Thursday, one of my best friends in the world, Brigid, will be flying in from Chicago and spending two weeks in New Zealand!  I am beyond excited to see her and explore some of the places in Dunedin and Queenstown that I didn’t before.  We’ll be doing the Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour, the Speights Brewery tour, visiting the peninsula, and FINALLY I will have someone brave enough to go bungee jumping with me!  It’s going to be amazing.  As most things in New Zealand end up being.

Hey all,

Click below for a little update of what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks – busy busy as usual:

A Bristol Update

Also, as I mention in the video, here’s a picture of my flatmates and I (minus Matt in this one) down by the harbour:

Find more videos like this on Institute for Study Abroad – Butler University

 Sunday, May 13 – Back in the saddle

Happy Mother’s Day to my mommy at home in Arkinsaw!  I’m going to do the dishes tonight after dinner for my host-mom as my little gift to her, even though it’s not an Argentine holiday.  But apparently today is Mother’s Day in Uruguay, too.  haha just not here

I am beyond excited to say I have been feeling a zillion times better since my gran quilombo with the pneumonia.  I’m not getting tired nearly as much after walking around more and more every day.  I still take naps every other day, but I think that’s probably just my normal tiredness.  haha  I’ve been doing Pilates and feel really good, but I’m still a little iffy about trying to run again.  I don’t want to run in the chilly air outside (not sure my lungs would like that too much), so maybe I’ll re-join my gym.  Or maybe not.  haha We’ll see.

But today I went with one of my friends to the Feria de Mataderos, which was a big fair of artisan stuff in Mataderos, a barrio basically on the opposite side of the city from where I live.  We were really proud of ourselves for getting there without trouble after a little over an hour on the bus.  It was sooo cool, as you can see in the pictures.  There was live music, dancing, booths set up in every direction that had every kind of mate gourd ever, jewelry, clothes, A LLAMA and his mini-horse friend, leather out the wazoo, tons of amazing-looking food, and I don’t know what else.  I got some of my gifts to bring home checked off my list and for super cheap!

the llama!! and his mini-horse friend

live music at the Feria de Mataderos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, BsAs, Argentina

a metal wine-holding gaucho!

Along with today’s adventures, I’ve been getting back in the swing of things as I’m feeling better.  It’s so nice to be able to enjoy the city again!  I conquered one of my biggest study-abroad fears and got my hair done!  And the guy was hilarious and actually did an awesome job!  But I almost got my tips dyed…  After he looked at me kind of funny and pulled out the color book, I was super confused and asked him to confirm that “desgaste” meant cortar–to cut.  Apparently it doesn’t.  It was ridiculous and we both got a good laugh out of it.  I told him at least now he had the best story of the day about the silly American girl.  But after that was cleared up and he offered to shave my head (another word I didn’t know before), he ended up doing exactly what I wanted and I taught him a couple of funny words in English too.

We found real HOT WINGS in BsAs!! and they were actually spicy!

Last weekend I went with the human rights concentration kids to an estancia (basically the country) in the province of Buenos Aires (not the city).  It was another IFSA-sponsored event, so we obviously ate some ahhmazing food and the accommodations were awesome.  We left early Saturday morning for the two hour trip and came back Sunday night.  Even though it was just two days, it was the perfect amount of time to get all the fun/relaxing stuff in.  But we still all wanted to stay and study abroad on the estancia drinking wine all day and eating like kings.  hahaha It was a pretty chill trip and we didn’t really have much organized activity as much as just options to do cool stuff or to just relax.  Because I was still feeling a little ill-ish from the pneumonia, I opted for mostly chill time to catch up on reading.  But I did go canoeing in the lagoon on the estancia!  I’m not really sure of the definition of a lagoon, but this body of water was barely more than a super stretched out/glorified puddle.  So it was really wide and could have passed as a mini-lake from just looking at it, but once we hopped in the canoe and started “paddling” it was basically like pushing off land the whole time.  I think the deepest it got was a solid three feet.  Even so, it was hilarious how much effort we were putting into it because somehow there was still a current/wind that we had to fight once we got off shore.  But it was really fun to get out of the city for a hot second and have a relaxing couple of days.  This coming Saturday I’m going to Pilar, a city outside of BsAs, with the exchange program group from the Universidad del Salvador.  They have another campus there and it’s supposed to be really pretty and relaxing too, so I’m really excited for that.  And we’re going to have an asado–aka a BBQ with tons of meat! yaummm 

learning a dance at the Estancia

feasting at the Estancia

learning the proper mate form at the Estancia, Chascomús, BsAs, Argentina

the Estancia, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

canoeing in the laguna at the Estancia, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

our little cottage at the Estancia, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This past Wed. in my human rights research class we went to the  Instituto Espacio para la Memoria, which is where people were brought and tortured during the dictatorship from 1976-1983.  It’s this gated area with a lot of different buildings that don’t seem that incriminating.  A lot of them were disguised as office buildings during the dictatorship so as not to draw suspicion.  It’s located right off of a main avenue on the edge of the city, which was eerie to think about how that must have functioned when people were being brought there to be imprisoned and tortured.  It was hard to imagine that we were in the exact same place where so many people ‘disappeared.’  There were bits and pieces of testimonies on display in the main building that we toured, and they really gave light to the horror that only handfuls of people survived.  They spoke about their complete lack of freedoms.  They were unable to go to the bathroom at their own will.  They were hooded and shackled/handcuffed and not allowed to talk to the others around them.  They were packed into rooms where they sat for days, weeks, or months (sometimes even years).  Some testimonies spoke of the radio that was constantly playing on full volume at all hours and the lights that were always on.  Their sense of their surroundings was completely controlled by guards.  It’s scary to think that almost nobody knows how many people were packed into the rooms at a time because they weren’t able to see the others.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside of the building where the ‘disappeared’ were kept, but I do have some pictures of the artwork and quotes from some of those who were released/friends and family.  I could go on for days about the dictatorship, or what is called the Dirty War in the States, but I’ll hold back for now.  I’ll let the pictures/quotes speak for themselves.

Artwork about the memory of the dictatorship

one of the buildings where the disappeared were illegally held and tortured"Lo único que les pido, si les queda algo da valor, es que digan dónde están los cuerpos" The only thing I ask of them, if they leave anything of worth, is to say where the bodies are. --Charly Pisoni from H.I.J.O.S.

"Es fuerte verlos entrar esposados, cuando hace más de treinta años la situación fue al revés y ellos llevaban a nuestra gente esposadas." It's powerful to see them handcuffed, when more than 30 years ago the situation was the opposite and they brought our people in handcuffs. --Cristina Muro, from a group for Families of the Disappeared and Detained for Political Reasons

The last few weeks have been filled with midterms and adventures around Sydney.  Right after spring break, papers and exams slowly crept up on the entire group.  Luckily, my classes only transfer back to Brandeis as pass or fail.

Some of the highlights have been more trips to Pancakes on the Rocks, rugby games, Cinco de Mayo $5 burritos, picnics in the botanical gardens, 21^st birthdays and trips to the movies!

A few weeks ago, I went to see my first movie in Sydney.  Although the movies cost over double what it does at home, Tuesday nights are student nights and you can see a non-3D movie for 11 Australian dollars.  Unfortunately, the non-3D version was sold out, and we ended up spending 17.50 to see the 3D version ofAvengers.  It was fun to get to see it a week before it actually opened in the US!  My friends were jealous.

We also went on an IFSA Butler trip last week to Jervis Bay.  It was great to get out of the city for a day, and the scenery was beautiful.  It’s starting to get a little bit cold, so we didn’t spend alot of time on the beach, but we went on a boat ride in hopes of seeing dolphins!  We only saw one or two, but still had a great time.  Afterwards, we stopped at a winery and I got to have my first Australian wine tasting!

This weekend, a few of us went to see Fiona, our program director, in her comedy show!  It was great to see Fiona play a different role than our program coordinator and get a sense of Australian humor.

It is so strange to talk to the majority of my friends now because they are home already from their study abroad programs!  Although I still have about a month and a half left, this month has beenflying by though, and I can’t believe how soon it will all be over.  In just one month, my sister will be coming to visit, and after traveling and touring Sydney with her for about two weeks, I will be on a plane back to Washington, DC for the summer.  I’m just trying to make the most of my time in Sydney during the time I have left!

Dia duit, everybody!

I can’t believe that I’m saying it, but I only have one more day here in Dublin. It feels like just yesterday, I was getting on a plane in Cincinnati, excited and terrified. It turns out that there was no reason to be afraid. I have loved every minute of my time here. I’m so excited to go home on Tuesday. I can’t wait to see my family and my friends and especially my dog (I’ve at least been able to talk to everyone else)! But it’s hard to imagine leaving this amazing city that has come to feel like a second home to me. I’ve met so many incredible people and even though we’ve all been saying our good-byes, it doesn’t seem real. It seems more like we’re each taking separate trips and we’ll reconvene next week for another spaghetti Wednesday! It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I won’t see these amazing people that I’ve spent the majority of my time with everyday anymore. But I suppose we all have to get back to reality sometime.

While the entire semester has sort of felt like this super extended vacation, since I’ve been done with my exams since last Saturday, this past week has been even more of a holiday for me. It was really great to have an entire week to enjoy my time here without having to worry about school or anything else. I only had three exams and they were not too bad. I felt pretty well prepared for all of them so here’s hoping that that sense of preparedness shows in my results! I feel like I put my week off to pretty good use. I got back out for one final trip to Dun Laoghaire, spent some time in the city wandering around and visiting some of my favorite places. Did a lot of last minute shopping and worked very hard to convince myself that I do not need a Guinness beach towel or a Butlers Chocolate Cafe travel coffee mug. But the highlight of my week was definitely my trip to Galway! Or should I say my trips to Galway. I loved it so much the first time that I had to go back again on Thursday!

Rorie, Susan and I got up early on Tuesday and took a very long bus ride across the country to visit the home of The Galway Girl and the Claddagh ring. We lucked out with some seriously awesome weather. The west of Ireland is often known for being cold, windy and wet but Tuesday was just the opposite. The sun was shining and it was warm enough to take my jacket off, which I loved! We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips at a place on Shop Street called McDonagh’s and then we headed straight for the famous Galway Bay. It wasn’t too crowded so we parked ourselves on the ground for a while to enjoy the beautiful weather. We strolled over to the Claddagh, the fishing area for which the ring is named and got some lovely pictures of the view. We had a chance to do a little bit of shopping and I got my Claddagh ring, which is the one thing I really wanted to buy while I was over here, and we found a little second hand bookshop where I found a creepy VC Andrews novel that helped me to pass the time during the four hour bus ride back to Dublin. Nothing like a little incest to keep a reader engrossed in a plot…

We wanted to put off our return to rainy Dublin for as long as possible, so we bought some ice cream and headed back to the Bay. We ended up spending about half an hour watching a dog fetch rocks from the water while an angry bevy of swans attempted to scare him out of their territory. The dog was not at all concerned for the swans’ displeasure and kept about his business of entertaining about fifteen bystanders. I returned by myself on Thursday mostly because I didn’t have anything that I’d rather be doing in Dublin. The weather, unfortunately, lived up the stereotype I previously mentioned, but I still loved the city. I wandered around a few side streets and did a little more shopping. I wish that I would have had more time in there. I definitely saved the best trip for last and whenever I return to Ireland, you can bet that I’ll make a beeline for Galway City!

I still have a lot to do in my last day here. Believe it or not, I actually started my packing and cleaning process yesterday but there is still a long way to go. I’m hoping to head back into the city for one last time, maybe do brunch or a little shopping and, of course, one last pint of Guinness. I even surprise myself in saying that I’ll miss the stuff! It’s definitley grown on me, and whatever it was that I tried in America was not the same as the Guinness right from St. James Gate. I have been so incredibly blessed with this opportunity. I have seen so many things, been to so many places and met so many people that it’s hard to believe that this hasn’t been one long, amazing dream. But as hard as it is to imagine leaving, I can’t wait to get home and see everyone!

The next time you hear from me, I’ll be back in America!

Sláinte!

Hello there loyal blog followers, and welcome to the start of my 3 week spring break!  Yes, you read correctly: 3 weeks!  Yes, I know spring break started March 30, but seriously, for the past 6 weeks, my life has been crazy.  Here’s what I’ve been up to: March 30-April 23 = spring break, April 21-May 2 = my dad came up and visited me in Cardiff, so I was traveling between London and Cardiff for that time.  After my dad left, I had to focus on final exams and essays.  So, as you can see, I was very, very busy.

Anyway, let’s talk about my first week of spring break!  That’s an amazing amount of time considering I am used to one week of spring break in the States.  While the regular full time students revise and study for final exams, us study abroad students travel all across Europe.  We aren’t necessarily irresponsible students, but this is our biggest opportunity to travel with this much time off.  The biggest challenge for me was figuring out where I’m going to go and who I’m going with.  My flatmate Sarah offered me to stay at her house for a few days, and I gladly accepted that opportunity.  Sarah lives in the village of Hawkshead, a small village with a population of 300 that sits right in the middle of the Lake District in northwest England.  The Lake District is like no other place in England: it’s full of mountains and meres, tarns, waters, waites (like a mini lake, but not deep enough to be classified as a lake, and these 4 classifications have slight differences to them), and it has its own rich Cumbrian culture.  This place is definitely no London, and for all those who say they’ve been to England because they’ve been to London, they have not truly experienced England.

Friday March 30 – This was the last Friday of classes before break began.  Since I have no Friday classes, I was able to enjoy my Friday without any interruptions of class.  The Taf, Cardiff Uni’s student union pub, organized a special event this Friday: VIP Breakfast Club and Drink the Bar Dry (D.T.B.D.).  What does that mean?  It means you pay £8 to get a D.T.B.D. T-shirt, breakfast, and entry into The Taf for reduced priced drinks.  All the students were leaving for break, and The Taf needed to get rid of its alcohol.  It’s a great concept, and the students were eager to help The Taf.  The theme of the event was the American West.  Here’s the UK’s interpretation of the American West: baked beans at breakfast (though I later found out beans are a part of a “Full English” breakfast), pictures of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood as cowboys, random Indians everywhere, country music, and lots and lots of Confederate flags, with a few American flags thrown in.  It was quite a spectacle, and I absolutely loved it, even if they mixed the West and the South up a bit.  After breakfast and mimosas, we went straight to The Taf.  I won’t go into too much detail here, but I spent the entire afternoon at The Taf and had a great time with friends and new acquaintances.  It was a fun way to start off break, and I will never have that experience again.  No American university will agree to such an event, and that’s why I love Cardiff so much.

The Decorations

Monday April 2 – Traveling.  Traveling, traveling, and more traveling.  I swear that’s all I did on this day, oh!, but I did go on a pub crawl, but I’ll get into that later.  This is the day we (Sarah & I) traveled from Cardiff to Hawkshead for 6 hours.  It included an hour layover in Manchester, 2 train connections, a walk down to Sarah’s mom’s workplace in Windermere, and finally a 20-minute drive to Hawkshead.  Thank god I bought some Welsh cakes at the Cardiff Market before we embarked on our journey.  Despite the longevity of our trip, it was pleasant viewing the Welsh and English countryside.  It’s quite beautiful and green, and nothing like the boring Midwest countryside of endless brown farms.

After we settled in a bit, Sarah’s two high school friends joined us for the infamous Hawkshead pub-crawl.  We started at one end of town and crawled our way back to the center of the village, stopping at 6 pubs along the way.  The only rule: local ales only.  It was a great time, and I got to hear the local Cumbrian accent as well as walk along a ton of sheep.  We retired back at Sarah’s for an epic night of Cardiff Monopoly until 2 am.  It was definitely a long and busy day.

Like my view?

This was my first time over a style.  They keep the sheep from escaping while people use the public footpaths.

One of our 6 pubs

Tuesday April 3 – Forget it being “spring,” on Tuesday, I got to enjoy a nice surprise: a blizzard!  Sarah and I were running errands around Ambleside and Hawkshead most of the day, and it was frigid.  The week before had 60 degree weather (15°C), so the snow was not a welcome change.  I felt bad for Sarah because she was only wearing a sweatshirt, but at least we stopped for some hot chocolate at a local café.  We had planned to go see The Hunger Games in the late afternoon, but unfortunately everyone in the L.D. had that same idea, and it was sold out right as we got to the theater (or cinema as the Brits say).  We ended up going at the evening show, but driving back home through the blizzard at night was a headache.  Props to Sarah for being the expert driver and not crashing us

Where I stayed.  The pharmacy is on the ground floor.

Stopping for some mint hot chocolate!

Wednesday April 4 – Edinburgh.  This was my one opportunity to travel to Scotland, and Sarah and I decided to make a day trip out of it.  We took the train from Oxenholme to Edinburgh Waverly.  Of course, starting out on our adventure didn’t go exactly as planned.  Firstly, Sarah and opted to have her train tickets delivered to her home, but they never arrived.  She needed to buy new tickets at the station.  Secondly, we needed to pay £8 for our parking spot at the station.  The dumb machine doesn’t take bills, so we had to compile all our change, which only came out to be £7.40.  So I stayed out in the freezing cold to guard the car and look for lost change in the parking lot (Brit word= car park).  Thirdly, our train was delayed by around 40 minutes.  Lastly, I slept for most of the train ride there.  I usually don’t oppose to sleeping, but the ride into Scotland has fantastic views through the mountains.  These mountains had new snow on them from the day before.  Oh well, c’est la vie.

Edinburgh is quite a unique and beautifully old city.  It has its own atmosphere that is clearly “Scottish” and not necessarily “British.”  We walked around a lot and were the ultimate tourists.  We got hop on/hop off tour bus tickets that took us through much of the city while we listened to the Haunted Histories stories of Edinburgh.  It was a cold day on the upper deck of the bus, but it was all worth it.  The sights were beautiful and historic.  We stopped at Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish National Museum.  Regrettably, the museum was closing in 5 minutes when we got there, so we ran around the place and saw as much as we could within that 5-minute timeframe.

View of Edinburgh

At Edinburgh Castle

Thursday April 5 – After the past few cold days, the weather finally warmed up a bit, and Sarah and I went on a lovely hike up large hills (possibly mountains) to check out the nice views of the L.D.  The Lake District is a huge tourist destination because it has one of the most beautiful vistas in the country.  At our highest peak, we had a picnic in a tree and ending up hiking throughout forests for the rest of the day.  We walked by a ton of sheep too!  Sarah definitely took the city girl out into the country, and it was a wonderful change of scenery.  This was probably my favorite day in the L.D.  It’s rare I get in touch with nature, and I wish I was able to do it more often.

One of the route signs we passed along the way

At the top.  Like the view?

Through the woods

More beautiful sights along the way

Friday April 6 – This was just a lazy, relaxing day.  We were recovering from yesterday’s long hike day (or at least I was).

Saturday April 7 – I was traveling back to Cardiff this day, but I decided to make a stop on the way back: Liverpool.  I spent about 7 hours in Liverpool sightseeing and going on a Beatles Magical Mystery Tour.  On the tour, we went to the childhood homes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, Brian Epstein’s house, and the Cavern Club.  I was definitely the youngest person on the tour, with the average age being 55.  The tour guide was hilarious, and he had a thick Liverpudlian accent (I couldn’t understand a word he was saying at times).  After the tour, I walked around the docks a bit and headed towards the main shopping district.  Liverpool was hosting Manchester United that day for a huge football match, so the city was crazier than normal.  All in all, it was a great time, and I’m glad I made my Beatles pilgrimage out there.

My awesome tour bus.  I was actually on the Magical Mystery Tour!

“And nothing to get hung about…strawberry fields forever”

Where the Bealtes played over 250 times

My first week of break was definitely exciting, and it was one of the highlights of my study abroad experience.  I loved the atmosphere of the Lake District with nature surrounding me, and there was a calming effect waking up to a view of mountains out the window.  Whenever I come back to the UK, the Lake District is definitely one of those places I will visit again.

Beatles fact of the entry:  ”Hey Jude” is only sung 24 times in the song “Hey Jude”, despite its long running time of 7:04.
 

As you can see from the title, I love/adore France!

After our exciting adventures in Spain, my friend Mary Kate and I decided to venture over to France. We began the week by flying from Belfast to Paris and stayed there for three nights. We did so many tourist things I couldn’t even begin to mention all of them but my favorites included wandering through Notre Dame and going up in the fully lit Eiffel Tower at night. It was truly amazing to see such a beautiful city all lit up from the sky. No wonder it’s called the “City of Lights!”

One of my favorite parts of Paris though was just wandering through the streets of the Latin Quarter where our hotel was located. We loved waking up and finding a little cafe before starting our tourist-filled days. The food in France is maybe one of my favorite things about the country because I could live off of the ham and cheese omelets and the delicious crepes. Everything about Paris and France in general was so much different (but more wonderful) than I was expecting.

From Paris, we boarded another plane and made our way down to the South of France to Nice. Nice is a city right on the Mediterranean sea and is one of the cutest and most picturesque places I have ever seen! Tourists usually head to Nice if they’re interested in seeing Monaco and Monte Carlo. We didn’t go to Nice with that intention, but once we realized that a bus ride to Monaco (Monte Carlo) was only 1 euro and 20 minutes, we jumped on the opportunity. Monaco was beautiful and we mainly spent the day wandering through the most expensive shopping district I’ve ever seen. Everything there was very well-decorated and extremely flashy. After hours of walking around trying to find a place to eat, we finally stumbled upon a cute outdoor restaurant right on the ocean. It was perfect and one of the most memorable moments in France because we were so hungry and this restaurant was not only beautiful, but everyone was so nice and we could spy on all of the people getting into their yachts right below us on the sea.

Traveling to France after a semester in Ireland and a week in Spain made me realize how different all of these countries really are from each other. While they’re all considered “Europe,” each country has their own unique feel to it and I have to say that France has just made its way to the top of my favorite countries list! That being said…I know absolutely no French and must get on that ASAP.

Inside Notre Dame

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My apologies to everyone for my failure to update!  Since I haven’t travelled since break, you’d think I’d have more time to update on things, but time slips away quite quickly here to begin with, and when you couple that with the inevitable research essays of an English major, weeks have passed before you’ve even blinked.  I’m already becoming depressed about leaving and I still have about 7 weeks left in the country.  But, anyway, onto the more interesting stuff!
Coming back from break was actually an unusual process in itself.  Toward the end of the trip, I was getting really sick of being in the car and on a schedule, and was rather inordinately excited to return back to Dunedin.  Once back there, I kind of needed to recharge my batteries, so I spent the next couple days in isolation.  My room was dirty, I was out of food and essential toiletries, so I relished the time spent doing nothing.   However, that contentment soon wore off.  As soon as classes resumed, I wished I was still on the road travelling.  Don’t we always want what we can’t have??  But, that weird sort of disenchantment didn’t last, and I was soon happily chugging along to daily life in Dunedin.  But, there are peaks and valleys with everything, and breaks at home always make me feel a bit strange to begin with.  Actually, at home, breaks are usually even weirder.  Because I’m always really excited to go home, but then I get home and I miss my friends at school.  You’re always missing someone and it’s hard to reconcile those conflicting feelings.  I’m assuming that reverse culture shock will end up being an even more exaggerated version of those mini-adjustment periods.  I miss everyone at home so much, but it will be hard to leave this place that I’ve been calling home and the people that I’ve been seeing on a daily basis for the past five months.  But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  That’s still weeks away, and I will stay in denial about that for as long as possible.

Let’s see…my family keeps asking me what I do on a day-to-day basis, but it’s not really all that different from what I do in Valpo.  The weather has become less conducive to long hikes without bundling up and protecting yourself from rain, but Doubtful Sound this weekend should make up for my lack of exciting outdoor activities of late.  I did start running again, which has been really nice.  The Botanical Gardens are lovely all the time, but particularly so when you go early in the morning and have them nearly to yourself.  I’ve included a few pictures of the garden, but it’s not really enough to do them any justice because my camera battery died before I’d gone through much of them.  One of these days, I’ll go back there (with the battery fully charged) and try to capture some of the beauty.  I probably missed the ideal time, since we are now in late autumn and the flowers aren’t looking quite as good as they were a few weeks ago.  I also have been to the gym a couple times recently with Jenny and Mike (how lucky I am to have flatmates/personal trainers?) which was a rude awakening after how long it had been since I lifted weights.  I also may have embarrassed myself (even more than usual) when the first time we went I walked in the opposite direction of the fitness centre when we were out of the car.  I’m never going to live that one down.

I’ve been losing interest in classes the longer I’ve been here.  Which I know is a bad thing to say, but the lecture style is really not something that I’m suited to.  It makes me so happy that I chose Valpo, and I will be much more appreciative of the opportunities for class discussion and the relationships that you can build with professors when you’re more than just a number.  That being said, most of the professors I have are very approachable, if you have time in your schedule to go to office hours.

After a long time, our IFSA-Butler group was reunited for a murder mystery themed dinner at the “haunted” and historic Carey Bay hotel.  It’s since been turned into a restaurant, but they’ve kept the upstairs so that you still know that it was once a hotel.  It was a really fun evening, more so than I was expecting.  It was good to see everyone again and run amok in the old hotel.  I was Rita Angus, a New Zealand painter, and essentially a filler character, but the event was still a nice change of pace from an ordinary evening.  Plus, the food was delicious.  I can cook okay, but I’m usually too lazy to make anything that requires more effort than stir-fry.  And the chocolate mud cake dessert was probably the best cake I’ve ever had in my life.  However, I probably shouldn’t have eaten my entire piece because I felt a bit sick afterwards.  Totally worth it though.

Anyway, since I can’t think of much more recent excitement, I thought I’d just share some random tidbits of life in NZ:

-Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and any other toiletries are significantly pricier than in the states.  If you’re like me, and have no room to include those items in your checked bag, just know you’ll be paying more unless you buy the really low-quality washes from dollar stores.  Also, know that they basically only have rub-on or spray-on deodorant so if you’re like me and that’s not your thing, really try to leave room in your bags for the other kind.

-Garbage bags are also expensive.  The city won’t collect your trash unless you buy special bags and those run at roughly $2 per bag.  So recycle.  A lot.  Some flats even started compost piles, but we’re not that intense.

-Other weird kiwi phrases:

·”Fuss/fussy” does not have the same connotation as it does for us.  Rather than saying, “I don’t care” about something, they’ll say they’re “not fussed.”  I always associate “fuss” with being negative, but it’s not that way here.

·Band-aids are called plasters.  Don’t know where they got that one from.

·Cilantro is called coriander.  This is probably only of interest to people who really love it or really hate it.  I really hate it and was almost fooled into eating it.

Anyway, my apologies for this being so brief after such a long break, but I promise my next one should be SPECTACULAR after our visit to Doubtful Sound!!

Ever since I began my study abroad journey, I hoped to travel. That being said, I had no idea just how amazing my traveling experience would be! I found out early in the semester that I would be allotted 3 weeks during the month of April (Easter Holiday) in which I would be able to travel wherever I wanted. So I set to work planning. For the first week and a half of my Easter Holiday, I decided to visit London, Barcelona, and Ibiza.

Week 1 of my vacation began when I flew to London, England and met up with my Aunt, Uncle and 3 younger cousins who happened to be vacationing in London at that time. It worked out perfectly that I would be able to travel with them while on my break! For our London adventure, you could say that we were the “typical tourists.” We spent our days on double decker busses seeing everything there possibly is to see in the city. We ventured to the Big Ben, watched the ceremonial Changing of the Guards, visited Westminster Abbey, toured the Tower of London, and spent our meals at traditional English Pubs stuffing our faces with Fish and Chips. After we had exhausted the tourist attractions in London, we ventured to Wimbledon for a day and got a full tour of Tennis through the ages as well as the Center Court for the Wimbledon matches. Since the 2012 Summer Olympics are being held in London, we also took a day trip to the Olympic park and got a tour of the facilities and learned a lot about the Olympics and the tradition. It really was a wonderful trip and I was so excited to see some family after being abroad for 3 months already.

But the fun did not stop there! My family went back to the US and I was off to Barcelona, Spain to meet up with my good friend Mary Kate who is also an IFSA-Butler student in Belfast with me. I flew straight from London to Barcelona and met up with her. We wandered the streets of Barcelona for a day until we met up with our other friend from Belfast (another IFSA student) Sean. The three of us had an entire day to kill on Las Ramblas street in Barcelona because we had already checked out of our “hostal” and were waiting to catch the overnight ferry to Ibiza, Spain. Ibiza is an island off of Spain and well known for it’s younger crowd but also has some of the most scenic views I have ever seen! We enjoyed the traditional Spanish meal of rice, vegetables, chicken, and seafood called Paella while in Barcelona. It was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had! It was finally time to get on the ferry and the three of us had a full 8 hours to go until Ibiza.

When we made it to Ibiza, we walked toward our “apartmento” and had breakfast at a cute little cafe where we had the best fresh squeezed orange juice any of us had ever tasted. Once we got to our apartmento (Mar y Playa – which means Ocean and Pool) we met up with one of my friends from Butler University and the four of us went to the grocery store to stock our kitchenette. Our hotel/apartmento was amazing! It was right on the beach (which aren’t very sandy in Ibiza but rocky and beautiful) and had a pool overlooking the beach. We had a great balcony which was the perfect setting for many photo shoots and card games. The rest of the weekend (which was Easter weekend) was spent by eating Tapas (appetizers) near the beach and wandering the island and experiencing the Spanish culture. Since Kelcie is studying abroad for the semester in Alicante, Spain, she is practically fluent in Spanish and was able to help us translate everything on menus and street signs so we never got lost or had trouble. The weather wasn’t extremely hot but that was alright because we enjoyed wandering the island and meeting people at our hotel pool. We met people from Dubai, Australia, and Holland which was very exciting and it was fun to hear about their lives and what they do for fun. On Easter Sunday, the 4 of us had a day-long excursion back to Barcelona on the ferry and it was a very different experience than the night ferry trip. We felt like we were on a cruise and had a blast eating popcorn and watching the movies in Spanish.
It was finally time for us to get back to Belfast but all in all, the trip was one I can barely even describe in words and it really was an experience of a lifetime!

Changing of the guards in London

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A few weeks ago, a group of 9 of us IFSA students and IFSA director Tracy embarked on a volunteer opportunity of a lifetime! We dedicated our weekend, sense of personal hygiene, and sleep time to help rescue the leatherback turtles and their eggs! Located in the Limón providence, we all woke up early at met at UNA to catch buses, taxis, and boats to reach our final destination. The ride from San José to Limón was about 4 hours. After that, we all got into 3 separate taxis and drove to the boating dock. Once we got to the dock, we had to wait for the boats to “warm up” (a little concerning, but we survived!). While we were sitting there, all of the sudden we heard this HORRIFYING NOISE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REPoVfN-Ij4 (This youtube video from National Geographic can help you understand what I mean by HORRIFYING especially when you’ve never heard it before). Anyway, we watched the howler monkeys swing from branch to branch and eventually boarded the boat to take us to the reserve we’d be working at. Along the river we saw little turtles (which we joked in saying thats all we needed to see and could turn around now!), baby crocs, herons, and even a little dog going for a swim along the river!

Howler monkeys!

Just keep swimming…

We eventually reached our reserve.

Inside were rows of bunk beds. There is no electricity so flash lights were a must!

After checking out where we’d be staying for the next 2 days, we headed over to the kitchen for lunch and to meet the other volunteers. There were people there from all over the world, many who are working there for months on end! After this weekend, I have so much respect for people who can do that because it was HARD WORK! Angel, the cutest little Costa Rican woman in the world, cooked us lunch, and the rest of our meals for our time there. After we ate, we explored the beach and hammock area, took cat naps in the hammocks, and prepared ourselves for the evening’s adventures.

We got a crash course on what we’d be working with later that night. The volunteers made a sand-replica of a leatherback turtle so we can see the size and the depth of the hole they bury. It was all cool to see, but I was ready to see the real thing!

I almost fell into the turtle hole it was so deep!

The group was split up into 2 shifts. 4 IFSA people, 2 other volunteers, and a guide were in one group, then 5 IFSA people, 2 other volunteers, and a guide were in the other. The first group had “patrol” from 8pm-12am and the other group had it from 12am-4am. During patrol, we took a little row boat across the river to another beach. Once there all we did was walk up and down a certain stretch of beach with our eyes peeled for turtles! Both groups were unsuccessful the first night and returned back to the house hot, sweaty, and sandy.

The next day was a lot of fun! We ended up having a lot of free time which was great because after patrolling for turtles until 4am, we were exhausted! We ate breakfast, hung out in the hammocks, played with the cutest puppies I’ve ever seen and ate lunch. After lunch we had a little more free time but later that afternoon we all boarded the little row boat to the beach we patrol and helped pick up trash. It was so polluted and disgusting! We found endless amounts of shoes, bottles, dirty diapers, EVERYTHING! After 2 hours of that, we enjoyed some watermelon, and went back to the reserve.

So much garbage!

1 of 6 adorable puppies!!

Later that afternoon the schedule said, “Crazy games on the beach” curious and slightly concerned as to what these “crazy games” entailed we all waited for our instructions. What ended up happening was a group starting playing soccer, another group played Manzanas con manzanas (the Spanish version of Apples to Apples) so these “crazy games” never really got too crazy! My friend Cole did end up spraining his ankle pretty bad which was  kind of a problem for that nights patrol.

After our crazy games, we got ready for dinner and for another night of patrol. This time it was my turn for the earlier shift. We got to the beach and started walking and immediately noticed a problem. Poachers were EVERYWHERE! Poachers steal the turtle eggs either to sell them or eat them. It’s an illegal activity and little has been done to stop it. As volunteers and conservationists there’s little we can do other than hope we get to the turtle before the poacher does. There’s an understanding between the 2 groups that whoever gets there first, gets to do whatever they want with the turtle. For us, it was helping protect the eggs. For the poachers, it could be stealing the eggs, or killing the turtle for it’s shell. It’s an awful thing and we witnessed first hand how harmful it is. We passed group after group of poachers. We even saw turtle tracks and a dug up turtle nest, completely eggless. It was starting to get really depressing and by the time midnight rolled around we went back to the boat feeling completely defeated. Walking back to the reserve we were all quiet and sad when all of the sudden our guide Chino saw a flashing red light coming from the beach that we’ve been hanging out at! We quickly walked over to the signal and saw the biggest creature I’ve ever seen. A leatherback turtle had just made it’s way up from the ocean and was laying it’s eggs! It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! We touched it and helped rebury it’s eggs so poachers can’t find it and watched it slowly make its way back to the ocean. It was quite a sight and I hope I never forget it!

The next day we had a lesson on how to make coconut oil, the threats against sea turtles, and how to protect them. One thing I learned that we can do in our regular lives to save these magnificent turtles is to stop buying fish from overseas. They don’t have the turtle regulations that US boats do so they can be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of turtles. Also, when buying tuna make sure it has a turtle sticker on it, not just the dolphin sticker. This means that the fishing boat has taken the proper precautions to protect the turtles. 1 in 1000 turtles will survive to reproduce. This scary statistic is proof that maybe by the time our children are our age, sea turtles will be exinct. It’s up to us to educate the people about protecting turtles so our children can see these magnificent creatures!

Making the coconut oil!

This trip was definitely something I’ll never forget! I’m so happy I had the opportunity to take part in something so beautiful. I recommend this trip to everyone who has the opportunity!

Everyone! Including IFSA directos Tracy and Sarah, Luis y Chino (2 guides), 9 IFSA student volunteers, and of course a puppy!