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!