Io vado in Irlanda domani!!!

One of the many things I love about living in Europe is the easy access to the countries surrounding it.  This weekend we have an extended weekend for travel, so tomorrow after my class I am off to Ireland!  I have always wanted to go to Ireland so I decided to take this opportunity to go explore.  I am flying with Beka and Emily into Dublin.  Emily is meeting with her brother who is currently living in Ireland.  Beka and I are taking a bus up to Belfast in Northern Ireland.  I am staying in Belfast for two nights and then I am going back down to Dublin to do some traveling on my own for three days.  One of my goals for the semester was to "discover myself" and I believe this can't be done if I don't spend time by myself.  While I am nervous, I am excited to see what I discover.  

These past few months have been full of the most rewarding experiences and I know this will just add to my journey.  Before this trip, I was at a real lost at what I wanted in life.  Being here, I have gained so much patience. I have finally realized that I don't have every detail of my life planned.  My only plan is to somehow get back over here.  When I was younger, I always said that I wanted to live in Europe.  I didn't have many reasons why, I just knew I wanted to.  Then after my first Europe trips in high school, I had it mapped out to move back to Paris.  For some reason, after years passed I felt that it was impossible so I decided that I just wanted to be successful enough to vacation to Europe frequently.  Well as we all know, God always has a bigger plan for us.  This opportunity comes up to live here in Bologna, Italy.  I remember the day my dad told me of the program. Before he could even finish telling me about it, I just kept saying, "Please please please!"  Now I am here, and I realize that vacationing is not enough.  My family has already started taking bets for how long I will last in the United States before coming back.  You can't blame me for wanting to live in Italy.  The amazing food, beautiful sights, and the wonderful people have won my heart.  Although I will have to part from here soon, I will return.  

This is the life I lead and love.  The life of enjoying the simple things.  That is where true happiness lies.  

Poland Adventures

It has been way too long since I have blogged.  This past month has just flown by!  So many things happen each day while I am here.  Last weekend we went to Poland!  This was my first time in Eastern Europe, and it definitely was an experience.  Molto molto freddo!  (Very very cold)  We first started in Warsaw and stayed in the "Old Town."  Our first day, we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which was unlike any museum I had been in Europe.  It was interactive with sounds and items that you could actually touch.  My only knowledge of Poland, was from history books mainly speaking of WWII.  However, just walking the streets in Warsaw, I could feel the history.  Walking in the Old Town, I could close my eyes and just imagine how it would be in 1940's during the war.  After the museum, we went to the Psychology  Building, that was actually one of the only remaining buildings from before the war and was a former S.S. office building.  Getting there was quite an adventure.  We first walked 4 or 5 blocks to the Hilton to catch a cab.  We finally find a cab and ask if he speaks English and says "No!"  With the our map and help from the hotel assistant we were able to communicate our destination with him.  When getting closer to the Psychology Department, I check the meter to see approximately how much it was going to be and it said 6.00 PLN.  However, when we arrived to our destination he moved the meter and pushed some buttons and it ended up being 26 PLN. Obviously being ripped off, but we can't understand a thing he says we scrape up the change to pay him.  Well, with the rest of the group having the same experience we were able to share our frustration.  Once we all arrived at the Psychology Department, we attended a lecture from a professor who is doing studies on Poles and their griefs about what happened with the war.  One of the most intriguing lectures I had ever attended. Later that night we met with him and some of his students at a local bar.  I got the chance to speak to one of the students, and her devotion to her studies was just remarkable.  We spent the rest of the night discussing and comparing the U.S. and Poland's system of higher education.

The next morning we departed for Krakow.  After having a similar taxi incident from yesterday, we all arrived at the train station.  Todd warned us that this train would be extremely packed and that we possibly would not have seats.  Of course Todd always seeking for adventure thought that this idea of fighting for a seat would be a "great experience!"  I never found a seat, so I stood in the hall and just gazed out the window for about 2 hours.  Then I spent the last hour talking with Todd and the rest of our group all crowded in the hallway. We arrive at the first stop of Krakow, and someone told us to wait for the next stop.  Some of us finally found seats, before we even settle down we hear Todd, "Get off the train!"  So we all rush off the train.  Then the next minute he says jump back on.  Then we finally asked a conductor and we jumped right back off!  After swapping 3 times, we thankfully didn't lose anyone.  This was just another adventure that Todd found quite comical.

After the many head checks to make sure that we had everyone in our group, we headed up to the buses and were straight off to Auschwitz.  We first went to Auschwitz 1, which was turned into the museum.  Here remained 28 blocks (buildings) each having exhibits.  The exhibit that will always remain with me is the one of the items confiscated from the prisoners by the Nazi soldiers.  We saw rooms filled with dishes, suitcases, eye glasses, brushes, etc.  Then we went upstairs and walked down an entire hallway filled with the shoes collected from the prisoners.  The hallway seemed to never end and each step the chills on my body multiplied.   You couldn't think of these things just as items, each of these items belonged to someone who suffered this camp.  From the shoes ranging in all sizes, all you could picture is the solemn faces of men, women, and children.  After seeing all of these items we then went to see the only gas chamber not bombed during the war.  There are absolutely no words to describe the feeling when we walked through the chamber.
We were now off to Birkenau, the extermination camp.  Which was a few miles down the road with and a railroad that connected the camps.   When we arrived at the grounds not a word was said.  This mysterious fog hovered the camp and the barbed wire fence seem to go forever.  The long wood buildings never ended.  We went inside some of them, and the conditions were indescribable.  Even in the March weather, it was so cold, I can't even imagine what it was like in the harsh winter.  The day was definitely unforgettable and an experience that left me speechless for hours.


Then we took a bus back to Krakow to our hostel "Good Bye Lenin."  We checked in and put our bags down, dreading the cold we bundled up and went out to get a bite to eat.  We walked into the center and scared to try Polish food we ate at the Irish Pub.  Little did we know that it was also a karaoke bar!  Before we finished our meal, English men were flocking in and taking over the microphone.  Some of the girls in our group sang a few songs, and then some of the English guys started talking to us.  One had way too much to drink and said,"Wow you speak really good English!"  He obviously didn't catch that we were American.  A group of guys invited two of my friends and I to go to the next bar with them.  We hadn't really planned on going out, but decided what the hell.  After sweating profusely all night because of all the layers  we had on for warmth, we decided long underwear and three layers of shirts, was NOT appropriate club wear.  However, it was a fun night that we won't forget.  The next morning, we got up and explored Krakow.  We went back to the center and shopped in the market a little bit.  Then Beka, Jackie, and I decided to venture off to a restaurant near our hostel.  We walked in and it was like a time warp.  The prices were a tad bit too expensive so we all ordered soup.  Jackie went to the bathroom downstairs and discovered there was a room that looked like a cave.  Our drinks came and Jackie took a sip of her beer and immediately made an awful face.  She took a gulp and said "This definitely taste like rust."  Then our soup came, and we swore that the spoons tasted like that had pulled out of a really old drawer and the soup remained in the bowl as we asked for the check.  We payed the bill and hurried back to the hostel to catch the bus to the airport.  Laughing hysterically about the awful food and gagging a little bit, we decided never again would we venture into a sketchy restaurant.


Now I am back in Bologna!  I missed Italy so much!  Western Europe is definitely more my style.  I am glad I went, but I am not sure if I would go back to Poland.  I am sorry it has been so long since I blogged.  I am going to be better at it this month.  Life is so wonderful here.  Unfortunately I had to book my plane ticket home, so I will be home May 3rd.  :-(  I was so reluctant to push "Book" and even told my parents I understood if it was too expensive to fly me home.  Anyways I have 2 wonderful months left and I am going to live it up.  Wait, I have already been doing that...  Classes are going well, I finished my Italian 101 and got an A!  So, yes, I am studying!!! This month is going to be really busy.  My Lenten resolution is to spend at least 15 minutes in prayer everyday and to write in my journal.  My next trip is this weekend to Brussels and Amsterdam!  Then in a few weeks I am going to Ireland with Beka my roommate for a few days, then I am going to explore some on my own, this is the part of "discovering myself" that I have hoped for.  Since all of North Africa is in a frenzy, we are ending our tour in Greece!  Definitely can't complain about that!  Then my mom and aunt are meeting me in Sicily and then we are going to work our way up to Venice!   My life is unreal.  I love it here!  I have a feeling that I might dart the other way in the airport on May 3rd....  


Ciao!

Follow link to look at my Auschwitz Photos.