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Bailey: American Went Aussie

It took 18 hours, 3 airports, 2 airplanes, 6 movies, 4 hours of sleep, and thousands of miles to get me back to Minneapolis. One week ago today, I returned from the 3 greatest months I have ever had, and it has been a week of adjustments. Changes of note include: The biggest thing was readjusting to Minnesota time, which took about 5 days. Being awake until 5 a.m. is never a great time, but it was reassuring to see all my Australia friends logged on to their Facebooks in [...]

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Kelsey: So Long Glasgow

Well its officially my last lovely day in Glasgow, United Kingdom! Excited to be on a plane to the US in less than 24 hours, but so sad to be leaving this place that I’ve learned to call my home for the last 4 months and 8 days. I know I have gained so much, and grew immensely from this trip; I will always be able to look back and smile. I’ve made great friends, from all around the world, and yes, we have many plans for reunions in the [...]

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Amelia: Sí, Yo Hablo Español

I fell off the blogging boat. Actually, I should admit that I jumped off. About halfway through my semester in Toledo, Spain I got sick of blogging and spending time on the computer and started enjoying myself instead. That’s not to say I don’t like blogging, or that I stopped writing about my experiences–I just stopped composing them into blog posts and publishing them online. But now that the semester is over and I’ve started my travels about Europe, I thought I’d use some down time (recovering from full days [...]

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Kelli: Blue Cheese, Bridges, and Buddhists

This Saturday was another excursion planned by the program.  We started our day in the village of Roquefort up in the rolling hills of the Aveyron region.  This region is actually supposed to be dominated by the Larzac Plateau, but it seemed mountainous to me, so I guess I don’t really know where we were haha. Like I said though, we started in the village of Roquefort, home of the (in)famous blue cheese of the same name.  If you’ve never tried Roquefort cheese…don’t!  Haha.  No, I suppose if you’re already [...]

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Kelli: Pont du Gard and an Attempt at Avignon

Once upon a time my friend and I decided to visit the city of Avignon and the old Roman aqueduct, Pont du Gard, which was a trip in and of itself out of Avignon.  Little did we know that seeing both of these places was overly ambitious for our late start and leisurely attitude and that a lack of planning would lead us wandering aimlessly along a highway trying to suck up the courage to hitch a ride back into town. Avignon was an hour northeast of Montpellier by train.  There [...]

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Anya: Cologne

Köln, Germany, was the second (and last) stop on my brief spring break trip with Eric. Since everyone always talks about Munich and Berlin, I’m guessing Cologne is often overlooked to people traveling to Germany. I remember Munich being nice, and I’ve never been to Berlin, but Cologne was a great city to visit, and seems like a great place to live, too.  Eric and I agreed that Germany was the first country we’d been to where people actually live, where they do what they want and seem so normal, and aren’t [...]

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Austin: I Will Remember

I still remember everything about leaving for Tanzania. I remember my goodbye party—and all the people that came to say farewell. I remember writing letters upon letters to people—frantic efforts to say thank you. I remember looking at my grandma in the nursing home, knowing inside my heart that it would be the last time I got to hold her hand. Two days before departure, I remember playing ping pong until midnight at a friend’s Christmas party with some of my best friends. I remember the drive to the airport—I [...]

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Anya: Brussels

Not brussel sprouts, but the city in Belgium! Both are pretty good.  Eric and I decided to visit the land of chocolate, waffles, and fries over our spring break. It was a quick train ride from Paris, a mere hour and twenty minutes on a spacious train with outlets in case you need to charge your electronics. I guess Thalys trains (which operate between Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Cologne, and maybe a few other places too) are a little fancier than SNCF ones. The first thing I noticed about Brussels [...]

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Austin: The Final Days

Greetings friends from Africa. I hope that everyone is ok, especially concerning the events surrounding the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon—my prayers and condolences go out to all the runners, spectators, and families affected by that tragedy—as well as the millions of other people affected around the world every day by similarly evil acts. I ran in a marathon, and trying to imagine a bomb going off as I cross the finish line or as I watch from the sidelines is a horribly scary thought—and I truly pray for [...]

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Kara: 11 Practical Tips for Traveling in Rome

1. Visit the Vatican in the afternoon and St. Peters in the early evening right before it closes. All the tourist think they will be sneaky and get up early to stand in line before the doors of the Vatican Museum even open so they can beat the crowds-the problem is, every single other tourist in the city has that same thought. Go in the afternoon then head over to St. Peters at sunset when the crowds have all left and you have time to sit on the steps with [...]

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Kara: You Know You Are in Roma When.. (Part 5)

1. Church bells go off every hour, but at strange times such as 12:17 or 9:43. 2. You can sit on a piazza with your friends and a pitcher of beer at 11:30 on a Saturday night and the people walking past you range from tiny kids who look a bit lost to really old people who also look a bit lost. Then to really kick up the weirdness, that piazza has a huge statue in the middle that looms over the bars full of drunk people to remind you [...]

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Bailey: Last Day in Oz

The day that I really never actually thought would come is now here – my last day in Australia. The major success of my departure is this: After being in basically a permanent panic attack about packing for the past week, I did it! Assuming my suitcases aren’t overweight, I will be able to bring my entire closet back to America – in addition to so many souvenirs and excessive amounts of Tim Tams (of course I only learned they had jumbo packs on my second to last day here). [...]

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Kelsey: Ireland!

So after spring break I pretty much hit a “being ready to go home and that’s the only thing that will cheer me up” wall. Luckily I found the tv show “Lost” on Netflix and that has helped me stay occupied between study sessions, and I got together with Rachel and our friend Sara and planned a trip to Ireland. Tonight is our last night in Dublin and we are getting up at 530am to head back to Glasgow in the morning. This has definitely been my favorite trip so [...]

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Luke: Birthday Shenanigans

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and to celebrate some friends and I went to the Beijing Aquarium. At the aquarium we saw tons of different kinds of fish, jellyfish, sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, sea lions, dolphins, and beluga whales. After the aquarium we went to a really great Chinese restaurant for dinner. One of my friends even made a pie! Needless to say it was a great day! Beluga whale being fed Mammal show Table 1 Maple almond pecan pie!

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Mehek: Last Days in London

Last night out with the three musketeers :( National Portrait Gallery. Last view of Kilburn Park Station. Last panini from the internet cafe. Le red door of CAPA. High tea. Last views of Gloucester road. Sigh.    

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