so, i feel like i always start my blogs with, it's been a long time since i've been on here. however, a month of inaction seems to validate stating that again. sorry! i have been really busy - evidently - and the times that i am not, i either have no internet or i'm just too tired to update this.

right now i'm in venice, italia!! we just got here a few days ago for our fourday break and will go to florence today to meet back up with the rest of the europe semester crew. the last time i blogged, i was still in bruges i think and since then a lot has happened. i have learned so much and seen so many things that i think most of us on europe semester are still processing.

after bruges, we went to amsterdam/amersfoort for a few days. we arrived on a wednesday and stayed with families that lisa de boer knows from her stay in holland years back. my family was really nice - an older couple with three sons, with all but one already out of the house. it was a lot of fun getting to know them and playing games. we ate really well too! hagelslag!! haha i felt a little bit more at home while i was there - i also got to see some of my family in holland, which made it even better and more homey! i enjoyed seeing them again and especially my cousins, whom i saw when they (me too) were pretty little. i think amsterdam is still one of my favorite cities - i can't wait to go back and explore some more of the city and the countryside

from amsterdam, we made the long trek to berlin. it was definitely one of our longest bus rides. i think i've gotten used to them now, but my body still aches every time i get off the bus. when we have long travel days, we usually don't stop very often of for very long. i think berlin was one of the most formative experiences i've had in europe. i really learned a lot more than i can even communicate at this point. our guide, gabriel fawcett (which everybody, guys and girls, LOVED!) was very informative and engaging. but just the stories (our time in berlin focused mostly on world war II and a little bit on the years up until the fall of the berlin wall) he told were incredible. we visited sachsenhausen concentration camp and auschwitz-birkenau (while we were in krakow) and i appreciated the new perspective i got on both the prisoners and the guards and how such an evil thing could have happened. we focused a lot of our time also on the events leading up to the war and trying to answer how something like this even got past and accepted by the german nation (and also how other nations were fooled into appeasement). anyway, i could go on forever about this, so if you want to know more about what i've learned, please ask - it's fascinating to me and i love talking about it and applying a study like this to my own life and my own past.

while we were in germany, we also visited krakow for a few days and saw auschwitz and the jewish quarter (where schindler's list was apparently filmed). we weren't in krakow very long but from the little tour we had (in the freezing cold) krakow was beautiful, in a run-down sort of way. they had pretty good food, really cheap prices and some of the buildings were beautiful. others were totally run down and left in shambles.

after krakow, we returned to germany for a few days and then left for prague, which was absolutely beautiful too! i wish i could visit all these countries in the summer though - i'm getting pretty tired of the constant cold...we walked around town with gabriel and he told us some more stories of the czech republic's tumultous past. it is a bit of a strange concept to me now to be in such a young country after living in a country that's existed for hundreds of years now...the castel in prague was gorgeous - with stunning views over the city. we also had some of our best meals there, although i don't think they were all traditionally czech food - we had amazing lebanese food while we were there.

after prague, we had another long bus ride through the alps (some of the most amazing views i've seen. it was truly picturesque!) to get to brixen/bressanone in the northern part of italy. we were only there for the night and then hopped on a train to venice where i've spent the last few days. the first day the weather was great! we walked around and explored a bit - you know when you see pictures of italy and you think, oh that's prolly just one touristy area and it doesn't really look like that. oh, but it does! everywhere is absolutely gorgeous! we had yummy food, good gelato....the next day however, was pouring rain the entire day. we all looked like drowned rats when we came back after our concert (a chamber orchestra performed vivaldi, puccini and verdi pieces). walking across st mark's square was a nightmare with wind howling and us crouching over against it with our umbrellas shielding just barely our bodies. the whole place was flooded and they had put out platforms for us to walk on...it was quite the experience! we just came back to the hotel and had hot chocolate and went to bed after we dried off...

the last day in venice (yesterday) was fun too - it didn't rain but it was a little chilly. we also got to see some glass blowing on the island of murano...really cool!! we got to do a lot of good souvenire shopping and had a lovely dinner with champagne and good red wine...i'm pretty sad to leave venice, but i think florence will be just as much fun!

i can't wait to see all of you again soon! hope midterms went well and that you all enjoyed halloween - and pretty soon, thanksgiving!

Bonjour, Parlez vouz Anglais?

I'm currently back in Bruges, sitting in a little coffee shop/bar and besides the fact that it is taking me an eternity to upload pictures from Paris, I don't feel like leaving anytime soon. It is painfully cold outside, with the wind blowing the trees sideways and the music inside is AFRIKAANS...meisie meisie, prinses van die dansvloer, mooiste meisie van verlangebaan...Makes me miss South Africa and the Afrikaners so much...lekker Suid-Afrika...dis nou vir al die Suid-Afrikaners wat my blog lees :)

We just came back from Paris yesterdy - I never knew one city could be both so pretty and stink so much!! Paris was absolutely gorgeous - a city of love, culture, and inspiration. Also, as I have recently learned, a city of crazy people, lots of bums, and dirty streets! I found this forgivable though, just because it is Paris... :) So, a little summary of what i did in beautiful Paree...

• Visited a lot of museums: the Louvre (and yes, I saw the Mona Lisa, and Liberty Leading the People, and many other really cool paintings...) the Musee d'Orsay (had a lot of Impressionist artists and i realized how much I really liked them...I think you get a much different appreciation of their talent when you see the works up close and realize that you can't really make out much unless you stand far away, which speaks for the brilliance of the painter who was obviously up close to the canvas when he painted).
• I also visited Versailles, which was beautiful (I feel like I use that word to describe everything) and completely overwhelming when you think about really how much money went into its construction and decoration...incredible gardens that you could spend a lifetime exploring...
• One of my favorite days was my last day - I went to the Sacre Coeur (Im not sure how this is spelled)...It was probably one of the most beautiful churches I've visited - inside and out. The steps in front of the church overlooked all of Paris and I had a yummy baguette in the sun out on the steps, listening to some of the local street performers. Then I walked around the artist district and there were honestly some amazing artists..I wish I had the money to buy some of the paintings and then of course my own house to put them in. It was a beautifully relaxing day, spent walking around leisurely and visiting the Notre Dame and other pretty Parisian sites...
• The Eiffel Tower is absolutely magical - it is not really a pretty structure, but lit up and from far away it is really magical...we went up the tower at night and had a magnificent view of the city at night. Of course, what would a night by the Eiffel Tower be without a Nutella and banana crepe? I didn't let the Eiffel Tower be my only excuse for one of these delicacies - I munched on these with liberty my figure did not allow me, allow my taste buds did not protest.
• We also visited Normandy and spent a whole day touring around some of the beaches that the Allied forces landed on on D-Day. The sites were truly hair-raising and to this day the towns still express their thanks to England, Canada and America for the liberation. We didn't get to actually go onto the beaches, but visited many of them from a bit of a distance. I heard some amazing stories of heroism and besides the nostalgic, and possibly romanticized accounts that gave me a new appreciation for our armed forces, I also gained a better understanding of what D-Day was supposed to be and how it actually turned out.
• Normandy was gorgeous - the French countryside will definitely make it onto my list of places to return to after I leave Europe...We stayed at a monastery and for those of you who get a chance to look at my photo album on Normandy (will prolly make it up later tonight or tomorrow), I have to warn you, there are only about 2 pictures of people! The rest was the aspiring photographer in me having a bit of a field day :)

Now we're back in Bruges for a few days...we'll go to Brussels for a day to visit the European Parliament (fascinating, I love learning about European politics now) on Monday and Wednesday we depart for Amsterdam/Amersfoort until we go to Berlin on the 12th...

Also, just a shout-out to all my friends whose birthdays I've missed: Happy birthday Matt and Jared! Hope you guys have a great day Monday! and to Andrea - hope your birthday was great! I'm sorry I missed it...I was in Normandy without internet but I thought about you and got your letter in Bruges yesterday :) Thanks sooo much! Love and miss you all!

Hokay. So. Here's de eard...

In case you haven't noticed, it's been about 2 weeks since I've updated this blog. My sincere apologies to those few faithful readers. The reason for my extended absence is twofold: I was a little lazy....and I haven't actually had internet in just over a week...So, i obviously have a lot to catch you all up on. I will try to let brevity be the soul of wit, but bare with me...

• the last week in london was absolutely insane. i visited a lot of museums (british imperial war museum, which i really enjoyed - especially the holocaust exhibit; national gallery - fabulous paintings and i still can't believe i was that close to da vinci, rubens and van eyck!; tate modern - one of my least favorites, minus the fact that i did get to see andy warhol. the rest was a lot of abstract art that i had trouble getting my very scientific, rational mind around)
• also visited westminster abbey - a lot of fun! the abbey is beautiful and decorated so well...just a little bit overwhelming at times! i saw a lot of famous graves and memorials, including Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I, Shakespeare, Cecil John Rhodes, Livingstone, Faraday, Isaac Newton and my absolute favorite... Charles Darwin!!! I have realized over the last few weeks that I really am meant to be a science major. I'm gonna wear my nerd label loud and proud right now coz i really miss the sciences and i've notice myself gravitating toward those topics when at all possible in our discussions and even telling other people what i learned in my bio classes and how interesting it is! haha. represent bio! jeff, mcmahon and julio cannot be disappointed! :)
• we also went to canterbury and saw the canterbury cathedral - i have been to a few cathedrals already and have worshiped at St. Paul's (also decided to see an organ recital there by myself one sunday) and i have such a new perspective on other christian traditions. the insides of the churches are all so magnificently decorated and i can't wait to visit more
• the girls (jaq, amy, allyx and alex) and i also went on a ride on the london eye and the guys (cody, dusty and jay) made us dinner one night. our last day amy, jaq and alex and i also went to hyde park and had tea overlooking the lake. it was so pretty! all the girls on europe semester also had afternoon tea at a nice restaurant - complete with scones and fruit cake and cucumber sandwiches! finally, i also got to see the changing of the guard and shopped around in harrod's - pretty much cramming all the touristy stuff in before it was too late.
• then it was off to ireland - gorgeous country but it was a long traveling day...our flight got cancelled so we had to stay in the airport for 7 hours till the next flight came. bummer. we stayed in Lecale Cottages in Northern Ireland though and they were adorable! It was so good to be able to cook for myself again coz i really haven't gotten enough fruits and vegetables. it's a bummer that cheap food is usually junk food...we also visited dublin, belfast and the irish coast while we were there...i realized i've missed the beach a lot too...
• we visited some historic sites in ireland as well: kilmainham jail (not sure of the spelling) and newgrange ( very old temple for the sun and on the winter solstice, the sun comes into this tiny hole in the temple and lights up the inside for a few minutes).
  
• other than that, i spent my time relaxing a bit and going on hikes/a run...it's hard to find time and energy to exercise here but it felt so good to take in some of the fresh irish air and run along the farm roads and the monastery where we went to church. the benedictine monastery was also an experience that i'll treasure...Northern Ireland has been a country of conflict for decades and to see people (including the monks and regular people) work for peace was incredible. We also were fortunate enough to sit in on some traditional irish music by Tommy Sands and his family...it was so touching and I just missed South Africa so much listening to it...He also wrote a book (i think it's the Songman?) that i'd recommend to anyone...

Now, I am in Brugge, Belgium and it's nice to still be in a country where i can pretty much understand the language still. It's absolutely adorable and I can't wait to spend more time here, but for now we're only here for another day before we go to paris and normandy for a week. then it's back in bruges and off to amsterdam after that. hopefully i'll be able to update this before i got to amsterdam again...

i miss all you guys and can't wait to see you all! ps - i posted more pics from england and ireland!

The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, roman, nor an empire. Discuss.

Here I am again - in McDonalds, taking advantage of free wifi at a most pagan hour...I woke up at 6 and didn't really feel like dragging myself out of bed to walk 4 blocks in the frigid English summer and force down the dirt-in-a-cup the British like to call coffee (just so I don't feel too bad mooching some internet).

so...highlights for the week:

• first off - possibly one of the best moments of the week...I GOT MAIL! haha - thanks for the letter Ali...it made my week and it came at the best possible time! i was feeling so home sick and missing everything about home and westmont and friends and family, especially since i've talked to very few people so far - so, to get your card was the little extra strenght i needed to motivate myself for another busy week in london :)
• so, anyway - since i last posted, i've done quite a bit...last weekend wasn't incredibly busy... i tried going to church at westminster abbey but apparently the tube doesn't stop at westminster on sundays (something i found out a little too late) so i had to get off at waterloo, the next one over and also across the thames...needless to say, having to walk from waterloo to westminster took a good 15 min of brisk walking and i made it just in time to be late :( instead i walked around westminster and through st james park to hyde park... it was so relaxing and refreshing to be by myself again after being with people 24/7 it seems like...i met up with friends who attended reality london in notting hill and i think i would have liked notting hill if it weren't for the fact that we chose the one sunday they had a jamaican carnival going on....it was nothing impressive - unless dirty crowds of drunk and half-drunk people dance-walking to thumpthumpthump is your scene...
• monday through friday we spent in birmingham at a quaker study center. it was really relaxing and peaceful - a much needed break from busy london...There wasn't too much to do in Bham in particular (besides the cadbury factory :) ), so during the week we had outings to oxford, stratford and coventry...oxford was absolutely beautiful! we ate at the pub that cs lewis and jrr tolkien spent tuesday mornings discussing their works! also saw christchurch, which was where parts of harry potter were filmed...stratford was small and besides seeing where shakespeare was born we just mostly sought shelter from the rain before going to dinner and then seeing as you like it. the performance was phenomenal! there was so much interaction between the audience and the actors and the actors were so good - indescribable!
• we went to coventry on our way back to london and saw the cathedral that was bombed during the blitzkrieg in world war II...it's hard to describe really what it was like walking through the skeleton of a medieval cathedral that was flattened in a matter of hours...i was in awe...

well that's about it - i hope this wasn't too much of a repeat for some of you...hopefully i'll get to talk to more of you soon this week, but since i'm in london without wifi it might be a bit tricky (sometimes i can get a bit of wireless in my room...you know, if i tilt the laptop 47 degrees against the horizontal and lift it 20cm from the windowsill holding it up to the sky...something like that)

oh and i'm also the lucky recipient of the "you-get-to-get-rid-of-15-pounds-of-luggage reward." that's right. be jealous.

The end of a long week...

So...good news! I have made a new best friend! :) His name is Ron (yes, as in Ronald Weasley, but not - coz it's Ronald McDonald). Before leaving for Europe I vowed to not set foot in any American chain while I'm here to get the full and authentic European experience (minus the crazy nights out.... ;) ). However, in my desperation to internet that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, I have resorted to befriending Mickey D. It was either that or Pert a Manger - a coffee shop with free internet. So, why, do you ask, am I still frequenting the fake meat and cheese junk food chain of the world? because as evolved and progressive as England is, they have yet to learn how to make a decent cup of coffee! Sure, ask for tea and you'd probably get the best cuppa in the world - but coffee? you might as well hand me a cup of dirt with a packet of sugar and a dollop of foam...

Much has happened this past week (not even...more like a few days!) and as much as I know you all love me (for those of you who are presently smirking in objection, please let me live in ignorant bliss for a while...) I know none of you will want to read the very detailed and verbose account of my adventures, especially with move-in and the start of SENIOR YEAR!! Wow, I feel old. Anyway, so in order to minimize tangents etc, I'll just list some of the highlights of the week and feel free to ask about the ones that interest you and I'll try to email you back...

• British Museum: really cool! saw the Rosetta Stone!! there were many cool exhibits from Egypt, Assyria and Athens. I can't even get my mind around the fact that I saw marble stones and Egyptian statues that were over 4000 years old!!!!! I mean, that's incredible...
• The British Library: probably my favorite outing thus far. we went to an exhibit celebrating the 500 year anniversary of Henry VIII's rule. What an interesting character...saw some cool things like his love letters to Anne Boleyn etc and a lot of really old and neat documents and portraits. But my favorite part was the Sir John Ritblat gallery that housed some of the most awesome and important documents and books, including the original copies of books by authors such as Jane Austen, Wordsworth, Erasmus, Luther and the original composition of Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro - and some of the lyrics to some of the songs that the Beatles wrote on scrap pieces of paper... They even have the Codex Sindai...somethingsomething - basically, the first complete New Testament in Greek, and the Gutenberg Bible (surprisingly decorated and colorful!). I also saw the Magna Carta!!! And, for the few of you who will appreciate this, a letter written by Darwin to his friend (Sedwig?) about his book the Origin of Species. I must say, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to see the original copy of that book, but if I had the money to spend to go into the other galleries, that's one I'd definitely look up...
• As far as food goes: I've mostly gotten stuff from the grocery stores for lunch (breakfast is provided) and dinner has been mostly going out: there are some good places around, but they are really expensive. I'm excited to explore some more of the pubs and bars in the area - I've had some good ciders and wine so far, but I haven't had much time to go out yet with homework and being extremely tired (and sick :( i am extremely congested and mostly feel pretty terrible when I wake up in the mornings)

ok, that's all I can think of right now - and I'm getting tired of typing, as I am sure you are getting tired of reading. I'll try to update every week at least...We're going to Birmingham to a Quaker study center on Monday and we're staying till Thursday before coming back to London for another week or so, so I'm not expecting to have internet then. If you wanna talk on skype - late Friday nights work best for me as far as internet and schedule goes (I know, sorry for those of you with a social life...haha!) but if you're busy then or don't really care to talk to me live, then send me an email! I love contact with the outside world :) k, good luck with the new school week - and for those of you with off campus addresses, please send me your addresses so I can send you all postcards!

Touchdown in Londontown!

So, it's been a couple weeks since I've updated this and I guess now is as good a time as ever coz this will be the last time I'll have regular free wireless internet this semester. I flew to London a bit earlier to stay with my cousin for a few days, which meant that I had to make my transatlantic journey entire alone. And wow, what an experience! My flight was prolly as good as it could be - Virgin Atlantic is a great airline and if it weren't for the food and the old Egyptian lady who stole my seat and needed help with something just about every hour, it would have been near perfect.

Of course, the flight was the easy part - after landing in London I still needed to make my way from Heathrow to my cousin's apartment without a phone or very clear directions. But wonder by wonder I made it to the station I was supposed to be for her to pick me up and show me to her apartment - and the Underground is highly overrated, in case anyone was wondering: very convenient, but I really don't know what the hype is...anyway, I had a phone number to call my cousin but since I got it off my cell phone, it had a bunch of unnecessary numbers. The only problem was, I had no idea which ones were unnecessary. So, after trying a few different combinations on the payphone, I gave up, decided to swallow my pride and ask for help at the bus info booth. I went up to the booth and explained that I didn't know which numbers to dial because I was from America and the old man behind the counter kinda laughs and goes, "Really? I would never have guessed!" I didn't know if I should laugh or be offended. All I knew was that I wanted to explain that I'm not American, but a South African with a Dutch passport, who's been living in America for 7 years and yet within minutes of landing in London, I was thinking in a British accent! Man, if anyone ever suffered from an identity crisis, it's me!

The rest of the weekend consisted of hanging out with my cousin and her friends - all from South Africa. It's almost difficult to believe I'm in England - I've been speaking Afrikaans for the past week straight now! We went to go see a SA singer Robbie Wessels at a SA bar called Aardvark and I am completely convinced that South Africans are the Irish of the southern hemisphere! The show was great and even though I didn't know any of the words, I loved being with people my age and from the same culture as I grew up in. This is becoming more and more of a challenge to my identity though, because as much as I'm South African and as much as I've assimilated into the American culture, I'm really not from either anymore...

I've spent some time walking around the neighborhoods of London and if you check out my album, you'll get a peak of what it's been like - I'm not gonna repeat any of the little stories that I added with the pictures, but feel free to check out the album! All I can say is that I'm loving not being a tourist yet. I love seeing how and where regular people live...

That's it for me now - I really haven't done or seen a whole lot (oh, I actually went to Greenwich - such a cute little area of London with a cool market, no pics though...) since I've been waiting to do all that with the Europe group instead of repeating all the tourist attractions. Next time I'm online though, it's sure to be a much longer and much more touristy post - so if that's your thing, then be excited! and if not, well then, we'll see what I can do :)

So here goes...my first attempt at blogging and sharing my thoughts and adventures with the cyberworld. I guess I'm not really a huge fan of blogging but in the name of efficiency I think I will have to let this slide for a few months, considering I'm not really the best personal correspondent...

Right now, I'm just over a week away from leaving the Land of the Free and I have quite a bit of homework to do still. I hear that it's all worth it to do it now instead of over there, but right now my id begs to differ and it's putting up quite the fight...all I really care about is the instant gratification of laying out on the beach and enjoying the good Californian sun one last time before I get swallowed by the clouds of Europe. I should probably hit the books again soon, but just to give all of you that care to read this a little preview of what's to come:

I'm leave from LAX the 19th, which is a little earlier than most. My original intent was to spend some time travel on my own and maybe see Scotland, but after a little research on prices and such, it seems to be a more expensive option than I bargained for. So, instead I'll be visiting more with my cousin who lives in London and get a little taste of the South African life in England!

Then, the 25th it's off to school again - woohoo! So, in case any of you were interested, this is our current itinerary...


British Isles
Hub -- LondonTuesday 8/25 - Sunday 9/20
London: Tuesday 8/25 through Sunday 8/30
Birmingham: Monday 8/31 through Thursday 9/3
London: Friday 9/4 through Monday 9/14
Transition via Rostrever, N. Ireland: Tuesday 9/15 through Sunday 9/20

Northern Europe
Hub -- BrugesMonday 9/21 through Sunday 10/11 21 days
Bruges: Monday 9/21 through Thursday 9/24
Normandy/Paris Friday 9/25 through Thursday 10/1
Bruges: Friday 10/2 through Tuesday 10/6
Transition via Amersfoort Homestays: Friday 10/7 through Sunday 10/11

Central Europe
Hub -- Berlin Monday 10/12 through Friday 10/30 19 days
Berlin: Monday 10/12 through Tuesday 10/27
Poland: Wednesday 10/21 through Friday 10/23
Berlin: Saturday 10/24 through Tuesday 10/27
Transition via Prague: Wednesday10/28 through Friday 10/30

Southern Europe
Hub -- Florence Saturday 10/31 through Sunday 11/22 23 days
Four-Day Break: Saturday 10/31 through Tuesday 11/3
Florence: Wednesday 11/4 through Tuesday 11/17
Transition via Rome: Wednesday 11/18 through Sunday 11/22

Europe Peripherique (Turkey)
Hub -- Istanbul Monday 11/23 through Monday 12/7 15 days
Istanbul: Monday 11/23 through Monday 12/7
Konya: Tuesday 12/1 to Thursday 12/3
Ephesus: Thursday 12/3 to Monday 12/7
Return to London, Monday 12/7

I come back December 8th - you know, in case any of you need an excuse to ditch class and come pick me up at LAX :) jk! but hopefully I'll get a visit in before I see all of you in the Spring!

Well that's about it for now...looks like I'm gonna hit the beach afterall so I gotta run!

PS if any of you tech savvy people wanna help me figure out this blog thing, that'd be great...I'm not sure I know exactly how to change all the fonts and layouts etc.

k, peace out!