Chelsea Cullen
Entry 5: June 19, 2008
Almost done!
Most of us have less than two weeks left in Europe. It's bittersweet because I miss home, but I've finally gotten used to traveling and taking in all of these new places. At the beginning of Study Abroad, I was always nervous about where we were going next or how we would get there. After all the trains, and vaporetti, and hostels, and dorms, I began to realize how fun Study Abroad really is. It’s okay to not know what exactly is coming next. That is why our favorite word is FLEXIBILITY. I have definitely learned to expect the unexpected....and take pictures of it!
We only have a few more days left in Lugano. Everyone is buying clothes, catching up on work, seeing the sights, and having fun. My favorite part of this week has been dinnertime. A group of us agreed that if each of us pitched in a few dollars, people would take turns cooking dinner each night. It's like having dinner with the family. We all sit around a big table in the downstairs kitchen and eat and talk....and laugh!! Even on the few nights when someone has not cooked dinner, we have made pasta in our rooms and just sat on someone's bedroom floor for dinner. We have grown really close throughout this experience, and in my opinion it's these kinds of moments that stay with you long after the return home.
Entry 4: June 16, 2008
Hi!
It's been a while since the last time I was able to access the Internet. We have been on the go for several days now. After a sad goodbye to Sansepolcro, we all broke off into separate groups to head for our next destination. My group traveled to Cinque Terra. Cinque Terra is a group of five small towns right on the sea. They are some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The mountains break off when they reach the sea. The only way I can describe it is if you take North Carolina and smush it together, taking out the piedmont entirely. The beaches are gorgeous and fun to hang out at--the water, however, is still cold this time of year, but that didn't stop us! No one wanted to leave, but after two nights we were on our way to Switzerland!
We spent our first night in Interlaken. The name for the town basically means "between lakes." The train ride up has some beautiful scenery with endless mountains and some of the clearest lakes I've seen. After stopping off in Interlaken, we traveled to Stechelberg. There is so much to do in that tiny area. We visited Trummelbach Falls on the way up, which is a waterfall that is inside of a mountain. We got pretty wet, but it made for some pretty interesting pictures. On the second day, we hiked up the mountain to Murren. I'm pretty sure that I used up about 3/4 of my camera's memory card on that hike alone. I have to take plenty of pictures for my parents to see! I photographed everything from the mountain peaks that rose above the clouds, to the colorful wildflowers that are everywhere there, to the cows wearing their bells on the side of the mountain. The cows were my favorite. During the summer they live up on the side of the mountains and each cow wears a big bell around their neck. I'm still trying to figure out how they can stand so long on such a steep slope with no troubles at all. I must say, Stechelberg was hard to say goodbye to, but we still have so much left to see.
We stopped back off in Interlaken for one more night before heading to Lugano. Lugano is where we are staying for the rest of our time in Switzerland. Our rooms are amazing and we are reunited with Internet connection. We don't have to split one computer between 30 girls anymore, and the best part is the keyboards here are like the ones at home! I can't tell you how much faster it is to type a travel journal now that I know where all the keys are. Hey--it's the simple things that excite me!
Entry 3: June 5, 2008
Hello again! I just got back from the one place in the world I have ever really wanted to visit....Venice. These past few days have been my favorite part of study abroad so far. Let me just start by saying that Venice is as beautiful--no--more beautiful than the postcards let on. Around every corner is yet another photo opportunity. The bridges, the water, the gondolas, the water, the sights, the water--it is amazing.
We all managed to figure out how to work the vaporetti (sort of a water bus). They are a little scary at first when they bump into the stops, but they are fun after you know what to expect. Here's a piece of advice: If you are behind on your journal, the best way to catch up is by sitting on the front of a vaporetto and enjoying the view as you work. They can be the source of some very interesting study abroad stories as well, especially when they break down on the way to the train station and another vaporetto has to push it back to the pier. Yes, that happened to my group. Don't worry, we got it all on film.
Fact: Venice is the largest maze in the world. It is so easy to get lost there, and the maps are no help at all because not all of the tiny roads and dead ends are shown. However, the times we got lost were some of the best experiences we had on the trip. Like the time we thought we were heading to the train station, but got on the wrong vaporetto and ended up at Lido. Lido is a private island....not a train station.
Fact: Venice is the best place to get gifts for everyone back home. There is so much glass, and it is all so pretty. A Meredith girl in Venice is torture on her parents' wallets. I have already gotten the money lecture, so I should know, but who can help it? Besides my parents will love what I got them. I wish I could write what I found for my dad, but he reads this, and I want to keep it a surprise. Just know that it's a really good one!
Fact: I am tired, so I will sign off for now. I could go on and on about Venice, but I'm sure the other girls will have plenty to say too. Oh, yeah--we leave for Switzerland soon. Wow, time sure flies. Ciao!Entry 2: May 29, 2008
Hello again!
Italy is still beautiful, and we are still trying to absorb everything! This week we went to....ROMA! We were set loose and given three days to spend in Rome. Everyone had a group they travelled with, and that group was responsible for finding a place to stay and creating an agenda that fit their own personal interest.
My group found this great hostel that was just down the street from the train station (which definitely came in handy when we needed a bus or metro). The people who run the hostel were great, and they gave us free breakfast and dinner. Over our three days we managed to see the Colosseum, the Ancient City, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican City. I don't know how we fit that much into only three days, but we did and still had time to rest! Once we bought a Roma Pass, we were able to see a lot of things for free or at a discount, and we had free public transportation. The free public transportation came in handy when we accidently travelled completely off our map of Rome. That came as quite a shock! However, no one in my group got upset or worried (not even me), and we successfully found our way back to the train station—only to get lost again later that afternoon! Getting lost is part of the fun, though. It also showed me that we were capable of travelling throughout Rome on our own, flexible enough to handle challenges, and independent enough to be able to see what we wanted to see.
Entry 1: May 21, 2008
Buongiorno!
It has officially been one week since we first arrived in beautiful Italy. I must say, I had an interesting ride over since it was my first time in a plane. I know what you are thinking: A nine hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean is a good way to get started. Takeoff made me a little nervous, but the view was amazing!
When we got off the plane, we hit the ground running. I have been trying my hardest to take it all in. Everything is so different here. Even the keyboards to the computers are different! We are staying in a town called Sansepolcro, where everybody knows everybody, and, by the way, they speak a different language. That is why we are taking Italian classes. While we are here, they are teaching us the basics of the language so that we can communicate and do things like make reservations or buy our own bus tickets. I love going out to eat or shop and being able to show off the little bit of Italian I actually know.
My favorite part of this trip so far has been our visit to the Casa Buitoni. The Casa Buitoni is where experts gather to make decisions for Buitoni Pasta. It is a beautiful house that sits at the top of a hill overlooking Sansepolcro. The view is amazing to say the least. We could see the whole town with the fields behind it and the mountains even further in the distance. We all rushed to get the best shots with our cameras. Needless to say, there were plenty of group pictures taken on the balcony. After touring the house we were fed the best pasta I have ever tasted in my entire life. Actually, most of the food I have eaten in Italy has been quite delicious!
Arrivederci!
