August 4, 2006 (12:00 AM, U.S. time)

Well, I have been back from Camp for almost a week now. The last week of my trip was fun but pretty uneventful. We stayed in a hostel in Salzburg which wasn't something I was expecting but it was nice. It used to be a monastarty and was converted sometime in the last century to help with tourism. I got to see the birthplace of Mozart which, sadly, was a let down. I don't think it was so much of a let down rather than me just being bored of going to like the 500th museum. It was just a bunch of artifacts and, although it was cool to see pieces of musid that he had written - see top image (okay, actually, that was REALLY cool!) - and some of the instruments he played as a child, it got tedious and boring after awhile. I did buy a music box that plays "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik" ("A Little Night Music") though.

We got to go into the castle up there and our Art History teacher found out about these Roman Ruins underneath one of the cathedrals there and so we went down there and got to see things that were built by the Romans over 2,000 years ago! (Image #2.) Then, the young kids decided to take some Olde Time photos which was fun. I even bought one of those hats that the Germans wear along with their Liederhosen!

I should interject here that on our way to Italy, we got to stop and see the Italian Dolomites which is possibly the most beautiful mountain range I think I've ever seen (even more beautiful than Yosemite). I remember stopping for lunch that was at the top of one of the mountains. We had to take a people-mover (like the ones they used to have at Disneyland); I guess they could be called air-gondolas. Anyway, we rode all the way to the top and I remember after exiting the building and seeing these illustrious mountains (the third pic is literally what I saw when I came out of the building); I was speechless. No words can describe the beauty and wonder that these mountains hold. At lunch, I actually had the nerve to try a dish called Polenta which is an interesting (in a good way) dish and is difficult to describe. I've been told it's a lot like cornmeal but I've never tried cornmeal, so I wouldn't know. All I know is that if given the opportunity, I would probably try it again.

Venice was nice. Not quite what I was expecting because I was a little disappointed by the lack of up-keep of the city. A lot of the buildings were closed due to water damage. I did get to see St. Mark's Cathedral and OH MY GOD is it beautiful! The whole ceiling is covered with gold mosaic tiles! Then there's Piazza San Marco (image #4) (it's famous for having a lot of pigeons). We even got to go on a Gondola ride (image #6), which is something I wasn't expecting. The best part about it was that it was free! The trip coordinator, Luigi, paid for it!

And of course the first meal I had there was Spaghetti Bolognese (spaghetti w/meat sauce) (image #5). I also tried pizza, lasagna, and tira misu. There was this place in Piazza San Marco close to the canal that served the best gelatto also! They were all delicious!

We took a bus from Salzburg to Venice and we had to walk from the bus depot to our hotel because of the fact that most of Venice is under water. Anyway, when we got to the hotel, there was no elevator and our rooms were on like, the 3rd or 4th floor! I had to make multiple trips because I had 3 large bages (and they get pretty heavy after collecting souvenirs for a month!). As I kept going up and down the stairs, all I could think of was that episode of "I Love Lucy" where they have arrived in Italy and they need to keep going up and down the stairs of their hotel because they want to try and call Little Ricky on his birthday. Now, whenever I see that episode I laugh a little louder because that really is how things are there, LOL.

The plane ride home was uneventful. I do remember that no sooner than when we landed, the girl next to me started talking on her cell phone. How typically American of her. I did, however, get some really nice overhead shots of Greenland. (Image #7.) That was thanks to Lance because if it wasn't for him signaling to open up my window, I never would have noticed it.

It was so nice to see my parents after so long. I remember actually feeling nervous and thought that my heart was going to jump out of my chest but then feeling relieved after hugging them and greeting them. It felt so nice to be home because, like Dorothy says, "There's not place like home!" (Que dramatic "movie ending" music).

July 16, 2006 (1:20 PM, Cesky Krumlov time)

So we're on the bus to Salzburg. We just spent like 2 hours waiting because the bus broke down. That's the first image you see. We broke down literally just after passing the Austrian/Czech border. Because we were on a bus, they didn't stamp our passports but when we broke down, a bunch of us walked back and had our passports stamped. Then I considered running around in the fields singing "The Sound of Music" but didn't feel like hopping a barbed wire fence. We ended up eating at a little restaurant down the road. That's where I found out that Schnitzel is basically just fried chicken, lol. And now, finally, we are on our way.

Cesky Krumlov was fun. I didn't get the chance to find the historical motorcycle museum (I actually have a feeling now that what used to be the motorcycle museum might be the Egon Schiele museum based on the location of it but whatever) but that's okay. That just means that I'll have to come back and find it. We went up to the castle and walked around the gardens which were beautiful. That is the second image. If I had the money, I'd consider having a wedding there. Then we saw that there was going to be a jousting tournament and decided to watch it image #3. That was fun and the guy that I wanted to win did. Man they were all (the knights) pretty gorgeous! I was jealous of the girl who got to play the princess. Oh well.

After that, a bunch of us rented inner-tubes and floated along the Vltava River. The bottom was very rocky so our feet got a little beaten up. They had a few small rapids and in the first one, I got swept under and lost my sunglasses. In the fourth pic, the first rapid is just beyond the bend. I'm still upset about that to this day, but I still get a good laugh out of this story. Then, after the second one, we were all supposed to get all the way over to the opposite side and I didn't and ended up going past the finish point and had to swim against the current about 75 yards. So now my arms are pretty sore. But I still had fun doing it.

I'm slowly getting more and more ready to go home. I'm getting a little annoyed by the people on the trip. I still like them but I think that because I've seen them EVERY single day for the past month, it's wearing on my nerves. I wouldn't be surprised if everybody else felt the same way. So we'll see how the next few days go. Hopefully we all won't part on bad terms. I don't think we will. I guess that's pretty much it for now. I go on to talk about how camp is starting the day after I get back and how excited I am for it to start. I also neglected to mention that I made a phone call home earlier that morning because it was the annual car show and I wanted to talk to everybody. It was really neat to talk to everyone and tell them how much fun I was having.

July 14, 2006 (2:00AM, Prague time)

Well... This will be the last time I'll be writing in Prague. We leave tomorrow (actually later today) for Cesky Krumlov. We're going to spend 2 nights there and then it's off to Salzburg. We have 2 nights there then we go to Venice and leave for home from there.
As sad as I am that I'm leaving (I didn't know it then, but I was sadder than I ever could have imagined), I think I'll be ready to go home. I want to see my family and friends. I can't wait to tell everyone about my experiences and show them pictures. Even 2 years later, I still get excited about talking about my experiences abroad. This experience has been SO good for me. It's given me a lot of clarity on how I want to live my life I guess. I like not having to answer to anybody and being independent from others.
I don't know what that might say about my situation with Travis but I think I need to let him know that. I still want to wait and see how I feel when I see him. I hope, for his sake, he feels the same. Come to find out, he had much stronger feelings for me than I had for him and I totally broke his heart and our friendship has suffered greatly unfortunately. I don't want to look like the bad guy (too late) IF I break up with him. Whatever. It try no to think about it too much.
Back to my trip. We leave for Cesky Krumlov where we will be able to swim in the river. Also, there's a historical motorcycle museum there. I don't know why it's there but I want to check it out. We are also going to the Egon Schiele museum. He was an artist in the "impressionist" period. I put quotes around impressionist now because my Art History teacher described the "impressionists" as more "realists" because they painted exactly what they saw rather than painting from an image or posed model they saw. So that would be cool.
Salzburg will be fun because we'll be in the birthplace of Mozart. I think we're going to see his grave as well but I don't know. I really felt like an idiot when I realized that he's burried in Vienna in a massive grave with like 100 other people.
Today I went up to Vysehrad and thought it was so pretty. It was very quiet and tranquil, which I liked very much. In fact, when I need to calm down, I turn on Smetana's "Ma Vlast" and listen to "Vysehrad" and envision the long, windy road that lead me through the tunnels and up staircases and past buildings that eventually lead me to the quiet park just outside the basilica. The first pic is of the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Vysehrad compound. There's a cemetery up there where a lot of Czechoslovakia's kings and dignitaries are burried. The 2 most famous Czech composers, Biedrich Smetana and Antonin Dvorak are burried up there as well.
There is also a basilica up there. It's the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul. I thought it was very pretty inside because it's mainly a gothic (acutally neo-gothic) building but the art on the ceilings (seems to be) art-nouveau. That was kind of ironic. The altar piece was very exquisite and I made sure that I bought a postcard of it because we were not allowed to take photographs inside.
We went out to dinner tonight @ the restaurant where we had our first meal in Prague together and that was nice. Last night, everyone (including the older people) went on a boat ride down the Vltava River the second pic is of Prague Castle at sunset on this boatride. I had a couple of beers (these beers were 1/2 a liter each!) and then we decided to go to a bar after the boat ride and I got drunk for the first time. I'll never forget the drunken bus ride home where I kept trying to tell Lance that I needed to pee like Tycho Brahe in a quiet tone but basically yelling across the bus to him. Then there was the english speaking fellow that thought I was absolutely hilarious and having to be carried up and down stairs as well as striking up a conversation with a drunk British couple, LOL. I didn't blackout or anything but there were a few things that I needed to be reminded of today like "angry fist" pictures that I took with Ryan at the bus stop (see pic #3). That was fun but I don't think I'll do it again because I made a spectacle of myself. Anyway, that's it for now I guess!

July 8, 2006 (6:48 PM, Prague time)

Today was kind of boring. We went to Kutna Hora and walked around. Everything seemed to be closed though so we couldn't go into any shops or anything. There was a cathedral that we could have gone into if we wanted to pay 20 koruna. But the young people are on a budget & I think we've seen enough cathedrals for awhile. We did, however, go into The Ossuary before we arrived in Kutna Hora. It's a church and cemetery that sometime in the 15th century, I think, the monks brought dirt from Jerusalem and laid it down in the ground surrounding the church. Since that was considered holy ground/dirt everyone wanted to be burried there. Finally, in the 18th century, the cemetery filled up with bones. People kept wanting to be burried there so they dug up bones and commissioned someone to decorate the inside of the church w/them. Now, there's a bunch of sculptures and chandeliers that are made out of HUMAN bones. It's very interesting but also incredibly morbid. They kicked Lance out because he had his iPod w/him. That was kind of stupid, but oh well. I remember making jokes with Lance and Ryan that our Christmas card pictures were going to be of this place. I think it's still hilarious. That's what the pic above is from.


Then we went into Kutna Hora and got bored to the point where we just laid on a section of grass and chilled. I was hoping to find something for my mother there but since all the stores were closed, I couldn't. We managed to lose Adrine within 5 minutes of getting there, which (sadly) is a good thing. She must've found more luck with the stores because she bought a necklace but whatever. Actually it's a very pretty necklace and I kind of wish I had gone with her but there's not much I can do about it now. My mom loves her earrings though so I guess it's good that I that I didn't find anything else.


I didn't want to spend the day with her anyway. She's been very annoying so it was good not to spend ALL day with her. She's very immature and constantly wants attention and that pisses us all off. When the majority of us goes out to a bar or something, she fakes getting drunk just so one of the guys will have to carry her. And it usually ends up being Lance or Alex. It's totally stupid and lame and we're all kind of fed up with her bullshit. Whatever; if she does it again, Garineh and I are gonna call her on it. A few nights later, we were all playing truth or dare and Adrine's turn came and she asked for truth and Garineh asked her if she was faking getting drunk and she admitted that she wasn't as drunk as she claimed to be. Anyway, that's pretty much all that's been going on.


I was a little anti-social yesterday because I was worried about my sister and a little about my situation with Travis. I can't decide if I want to continue seeing him when I get back. It's very confusing because I don't miss him all that much but @ the same time, I think about him a lot. Whatever, I guess I'll just have to see how things go when I get back. Looking back on it now, I should've ended things with hime before going to Europe instead of stringing him along.

July 7, 2006 (1:43 AM, Prague time)

The past few days have been fun. We went into Old Town Square last night and the night before to watch the World Cup. The first game was Italy vs. Germany and the whole game (up until the last 3 minutes) was 0-0 and then Italy just scored 2 goals in 3 minutes! It was freaking great! Then, last night we watched France beat Portugal but I can't remember the score. So, the finals are on Sunday and it's going to be France vs. Italy. I think I'm going to root for Italy. I don't really care all that much but it's still fun to watch.

We've had the past 2 days off from class because it was a national holiday. So we've just been hanging around Prague and doing some shopping. I bought a pocket watch for my dad. Now all I have to do is find something nice for my mom. I managed to find a nice pair of Swarovski crystal earrings which she wore to her and my dad's vow renewal that following September. My dad also wore his pocket watch. I've been picking up postcards and been sending them out to friends and family. I just need to send one to Roupen which I never did : (. I have to go back to the Sex Machine museum to get him a postcard.

Yes, I said Sex Machine museum. On Tuesday we went and had an interesting experience looking at all of the "gadgets" that they have there. We were going to make a day of it and see the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments but after seeing the Sex Machine museum, we (mostly the guys oddly enough) decided that we really would just be paying twice to see the same stuff, LOL.

I checked my email today and my mom informed me that my sister took another spill and had to have stitches in her head. That worries me. Not the stitches but the falling. It goes on to say how I feel that my sister should have surgery to correct her legs and some of the consequences of the surgery and that we should talk to Carolyn (her care provider) about it. And my worrying is worse now that I'm away.

Anyway, back to my trip. Tomorrow we are going to Professor Hollub's village that he grew up in. See the above picture. That was fun. It was a beautiful town that looks like it came right out of the 15th century. It was very unaffected by the modern world which made it that much more beautiful. He's the International Field Studies teacher. I'm not enrolled in that class but I'm still going to go. Then we come back to hear Mozart's music @ this place called Bertramka. It used to be owned by some friends of Mozart and he would visit there quite frequently. Now, it's a museum and concert hall. There's a little cafe right outside that instead of going to buy tickets, all we have to do is buy some ice-ream and listen to the music outside. That should be fun. When we returned that day, we decided to get some dinner then meet up with the group at Bertramka but we walked all over and could never find the place. I was disappointed because I really like Mozart and really wanted to listen to the music. Oh well, next time for sure.

Then, on Saturday, we are going to Kutna Hora to a silver mine and I think there's something else there that I don't know the name of. I think that it's in terms of a memorial but I'm not sure. On Tuesday, we are going to the Municipal Building and see the other sights along the way. I remember Trudi Abrams, our Art History teacher pointing out various buildings along the way as well as various statues of things. I think that was also the day that we went to the Mucha museum. And after visiting that museum, I have definitely become a fan of Mucha. He's a fascinating artist. The Municipal Building is beautiful also. Smetana Concert Hall is in there and every room has a different theme which makes it very interesting. I loved going there.

My roomate is slowly bothering me more and more because she's REALLY immature when she drinks. It's a matter of choice. And I'm not the only one that thinks that. Thank God. This trip would've been so isolating had I been the only one. Anyway, I guess that's it for now.

July 3, 2006 (12:42 AM, Prague time)

Well, I have been in Prague for just a little over a week now. I can still remember the bus ride from the airport to our hotel. I started talking to Lance and finding our that he went to CVHS and asking him if he had Mr. Schick for music and him saying no but Eddie did and then striking up a convo with Eddie about Mr. Schick. I also remember seein an Ikea and feeling like we didn't really go anywhere (like we just flew in a circle for 14 hours, LOL). The next thing I remember is the billboards. The Czech Republic is definitely not as concerned with censorship as the U.S. is. That was a culture shock for all of us. I remember crossing the vehicluar traffic bridge and looking to the left and seeing the Charles Bridge and then the feeling I got seeing all of the old buildings for the first time. I remember thinking, "This is going to be one of my greatest adventures!" I AM TOTALLY LOVING IT!!! This city is soooo incredibly beautiful!!! By far, the most beautiful place I've ever seen! I have made friends with all of the "young" people (all 7 of them). Out of 30 people on the trip, only 8 of us were actually college students, the rest were over 55. Apparently, Study Abroad trips are a cheap way for older couples to travel; I'm going to have to keep that in mind. It's so funny how we are all getting along so well.

We just got back from a weekend in Budapest, Hungary. We left on Friday morning and came back this evening. Our school hours were Monday-Thursday which allowed us to have 3-day weekends. I don't exactly know what I was expecting of Budapest (pronounced Boo-dah-pesht), but I was a little let down. Budapest is not a very clean city (at least the part we stayed in). My theory is "Budapest is a poor man's Prague." After talking to a friend of Nicole's (who is one of my oldest friends), who, oddly enough, was a classmate of mine at GHS, my opinions of Budapest have changed but I still think Prague is way more beautiful. We walked ALL OVER on Saturday and saw a lot of the landmarks of the city like the Parliament building, the castle, and some of the many statues. It is very similar to Prague but like I said, it's a lot dirtier. But I still had a lot of fun and I got the opportunity to go to another country. The hostel we stayed in was more like a cheap hotel and one night we decided to have a pillow fight with rock hard pillows. I was knocked down and had a headache for about an hour afterwards (and I was winning at the time).

Anyway, we were all happy to be back in Prague. I guess I should talk about my buddies on this trip now before I get further. I'll start off with my roomate, Adrine. She's okay I guess. I mean, I like her, but I'm starting to get annoyed by her. She's kind of an attention whore, and she has to put her two cents in about everything instead of just letting things go. Like if someone makes a joke at her expense, she's got to come back with something which would be funny if half the things she said were actually funny. Then there's Garineh. She's just like me, only Armenian. We get along really well. We laugh at a lot of the same things which is great and I can be a total dork w/her too. Then there's Shawna. She's a quirky one, but in a cool way. She's an Art major and is kind of the stereotypical "Art major" but of course she's got qualities that separate her from the stereotype. I haven't been able to speak to her alone too much but I think she's a cool chick. Ok, now for the guys. Eddie is the one we pick on all of the time because it's so incredibly easy to. He does things to provoke us. One of our favorite sayings is "Eddie is a douche bag!" It's fun and we only do it because we love him. Then, there's Ryan who is the cynical comedian of the group. I love his comic timing & he makes me laugh. He refrences "The Simpsons" a lot and knows just when to interject one too. Alex is kind of the random one of the group. He's very quiet but comes up with some pretty good one-liners every once-in-a-while. We were playing poker the other night and Alex folded by saying, "I fold, this is bullshit!" He's very calm and sometimes when Eddie does something stupid, Alex says something angrily, but the rest of us find it completely funny because it seems so out of character for him. Then, there's Lance. He's the one that I get along with the best I guess (out of all of the guys). We've flirted (and that's all that will happen) a little, I have to admit. I'm pretty sure he's got a girlfriend and I've got Travis so yeah. I think we're kind of in the same boat when it comes to our relationships and I think that's what draws us to each other. That and he and I just seem to enjoy each other's company. We can joke around and laugh and maybe it's the idea that there are no strings attached that makes me like him. But I can also see myself being friends with him after the trip.

Anyway, I'm enjoying my classes very much and I'm learning a lot about music and art and I love that because that's what I'm here for. But obviously most of the fun happens outside of class. I have to interject that I absolutely love talking about art and music now because I've learned so much. The group of kids (collectively "we") have come up with a bunch of inside jokes. Some of them have come along during the trip and others have come from seeing the movie "Eurotrip." That was so funny. There's a reference to Bratislava (Slovakia's capitol) in there and on our way to Budapest this weekend, we passed through and all of us had to get pictures of the sign at the train station. The group calls me either "Grandma" or "Nappy Napperson" because I take naps all of the time. It's weird because @ home I never take them but here, I have to take them all of the time. I think it's the walking we're doing. We're doing A LOT of walking. Which is good, but considering it's all cobblestone that we're walking on, it's a little painful.

We've seen so much so far, and there's still more. We've seen some of Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral (inside the castle compound) the most exquisite church I've ever seen, Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, the National Theatre (we saw a ballet there) That's where the above pic was taken. I've never been in a more beautiful theatre and to be able to see my first ballet there was such a privelege and I can't wait to go back, and Tyn Church (which is in Old Town Square). I can't wait to see more! I guess that's it for now!

June 20, 2006 (1:21 AM)

I have finally started packing for my trip and man am I tired! I don't know what's come over me lately because usually I would've packed like a month ago literally at the latest. I used to get super excited about going on trips and would pack like a month to 2 months in advance even if i meant living out of my suitcase for 2 months, lol. Oh well. All of my clothes are packed as well as my carry-on. Now, it's just those last minute items that I have to worry about. I'm pretty sure that I forgot like a brush or toothbrush or something because I always seem to. Anywho, that's it in terms of my trip for now. I can't believe that in a little more than 2 days, I will be on a plane to Europe!!! WOW this is soooo exciting! This is where I go off topic and talk about the death of my Jr. High music teacher, Mr. Hatanaka.

I hung out w/Ado & Roupen tonight. Here, I talk about Ado telling us that she's marrying Mike later in the year. So, we hung out, had some good times, and then left. It kind of made me realize how this week is going to be a week of goodbyes because I'm leaving this week. I got kind of sad (actually, I got REALLY sad) after like, the 5th goodbye hug from Ado, but I made sure to tell her and Roupen that I loved them and that I would e-mail them and send them postcards I only managed to send Ado a postcard and never sent one to Roupen : (. But yeah, this whole week (up until Thursday) I will be saying goodbye to people for longer than I ever have before. I said goodbye to my sister on Sunday because I won't see her until August (possibly the last weekend in July). I've never gone that long without seeing her before so that should be interesting (the truth is I was missing her already). I will also be saying goodbyes to people tomorrow night because Travis is having a little get-together at his place so yeah, there's that whole group. Wednesday night I'm saying goodbye to Henry, Jodi, the kids, and my dad because he's leaving early Thursday morning to go to a church conference so he won't be there when I leave. I actually ended up having to move my car for him the next morning so I got to say goodbye to him then. Then there's the big goodbyes on Thursday to Mom and Mollie (and a goodbye to Papa as well). Those two (Mom and Mollie) will probably be the hardest because it's my MOM and dog-who-is -practially-like-my-child. I just hope that I can get through this week without any sobbing or having to use tissues (and I'm proud to say that I didn't although I was surprised that my mom wasn't going to be at the house when I left, I had to say goodbye to her standing in the kitchen as she left for work that morning). But I guess I should have them on me just in case. Anyway, that's what my week's been like so far. Toodles!

P.S. I have to fit in a goodbye to Mario somewhere. Probably tomorrow during the day or Wednesday for sure. Possibly even Thursday if I have time. K, I'm done!

Welcome to My Travels!

One thing I've learned over the years is to document everything that means something to you. So I've decided that whenever I go on trips, I'll be writing in this blog instead of my regular one to document all of the amazing things I see. The last truely meaningful trip I went on was a trip to Prague in June/July of 2006 and I only wrote in my journal 5 times during the month long trip. So, the next few entries will be reguarding that trip but there will be interjections of things I may have forgotten (they will be marked with bold lettering). So, here I go: