Sheryl Scott
Entry 5: June 22, 2008
My time is coming to an end here abroad and these past six weeks have really flown by. Another six and I'm heading back home. I am in preparation for departure once again. For the last week, I have been stationed in the beautiful Lugano, Switzerland. I felt like I was back in Italy when I wasn't surrounded by the Alps and when everyone in close proximity spoke Italian. Not too bad. It has a wonderful lake (Lake Lugano) and is filled with tropical trees and tropical weather.
The only thing about Lugano is that to get to our classes and breakfast every morning, we had to walk uphill for about 20 minutes or so. I love food and I love breakfast, but I don't like it that much. By the time I reached the top of the hill though, no one was going to stop me from getting food. It would have been a full on war. But what a lovely way to start the day, right? Nothing sounds better than a morning stroll. Despite our hike every morning, it is really a beautiful place. We went to this really neat cemetery and have seen some beautiful churches. AND, of course, there's amazing shopping.
Dr. Oatsvall told us about an amazing sale at H&M and those of us that were wise took advantage. 50% off almost everything and then discounts on top of that. It was pretty awesome. Some people (not including myself, of course) may begin to start having withdrawals especially since we're venturing into the expensiveness that is London.
London. That will be exciting! The second part of my trip is on the horizon. First we're leaving Lugano (sad face) and going to Paris (not so sad face) where some magical things are bound to occur . . . without divulging any details. It will be spectacular and I will be there with most of my closest friends making it a trip to be had. Tomorrow we leave bright and early and have to take three trains to get there. Traveling is hard work. I think in the past two weeks I've been on over ten trains and will add at least four more to that in the next week. I've come to have a liking for them. TO PARIS!
Entry 4: June 14, 2008
I'm officially a certified backpacker. Well maybe not quite certified, but I can go from one country to another with five hundred pounds (or somewhere around there) on my back. Since last time I wrote, I left the beautiful Sansepolcro, made my way to Interlaken, Switzerland, went to Stechelberg, Gimmelwald, Murren, climbed the Swiss Alps, and trekked back to Interlaken where I am now residing for a short night.
It's been a wondrous, tiresome couple of days and we have yet to finish our travels. I can't believe that there is only one more week left for this portion of Study Abroad. Soon I'll be saying goodbye to more than half the girls, and saying hello to some new people and a fresh new place. It's all bitter/sweet and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.
I'm beginning to miss everyone from back home (my parents and family especially) but I shall be with them soon. I officially love to travel more than almost anything else and actually don't mind so much the numerous bags I have to carry on my back. I fear curvature of the spine by the end of the summer, but it's so worth it. No complaints. I think whenever I get a spare moment in the future, I'll just hop on over to Europe for a couple of weeks and explore. Why not?
Until then . . . I love the Swiss, I love Switzerland, I will probably move here one day.
World Traveler,
Sheryl
Entry 4: June 11, 2008
This is going to be short and sweet. In part I feel like I'm a refugee fleeing from country to country because of something done in Sansepolcro and the other part is thinking I'm a certified traveler. I'm thinking it's more of the latter. We made it all the way to Switzerland and man is it beautiful. It's gorgeous no matter where I turn and there are a lot of places to look so the neck gets a little weary. We're actually making our way to Lugano so we can have our last and final week of classes *sadness engulfs me*. I love more than anything traveling and meeting new people and seeing new places. It's a new favorite past time of mine, so next time I get a free minute I'll definitely hop on over to Europe for three or so months. We're taking a short break in Interlaken for the night and will be on our merry way in the morning. But I'm about to get kicked off the timed computer. Must go.Entry 3: June 7, 2008
The days are running together which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The bad thing is that we will soon be departing this beloved country and heading on to different things. It's been beyond fun and beyond amazing here in Italy with food out the wazoo and beautiful men and gorgeous cities, cites and activities. I'm really sad to be departing but I'll forever remember what went on here.
We recently returned from Venice and it was amazing. So far, my favorite Italian city is still Rome but Venice is the most beautiful. I got some gorgeous shots of everyday activities and . . . St. Mark's Square. Easily one of the most romantic places on earth. I, of course, ruined the romance and will forever be scared by the memory of the events that took place at aforementioned location. Ashley and I danced a little dance to the wonderful orchestras playing some glorious music . . . and I decided it would be wonderful if I tasted the cement. Hey, it's Italian cement, must taste different. So I hit the ground. Pretty hard and in front of who knows how many people AND it was caught on video. Awesome. Jesus loves me this I know. Italy will be in my mind and butt forever and ever. Good times, wish you all could have been there.
I think even better than a life scaring fall in St. Mark's Square is the wonderfully ghetto transportation. We've got Sketros (Metros), treni-stallions (Italian trains), and ghetto gondolas/ghetto-rettis/vapo-rubs (vaporettis/water buses in Venice). Best story: Our ghetto-retti broke down the last day when we were trying to make our way to the train station. It's a boat. Boats sink (I've watched Titanic, I will not go down with a boat). We had to tie ourselves to another boat and get docked that way. Way too much rocking for me. We took the land route for a little while and came upon another stop. Hopped on yet another vapo-rub and made our way back home, to Sansepolcro. It's save, and dry, and not on water. I will miss it a lot.
Till next time,
Sheryl
Entry 2: May 27, 2008
My shoes and my purse are officially done. GAP does not make traveling equipment and neither does whoever made the purse I carry around with me on a daily basis. But enough of that. My first day in Rome and it was absolutely insane. I'm a traveler now and am officially satisfied with this new level of independence that has been thrust upon me.
So . . . my travel group and I (consisting of Meredith, Chelsea and I) took things really slowly and were able to soak in the sights. We Acquired ROMA passes in the morning (the best investment ever), and then tried to figure out the Roman public transportation system. Buses. Interesting. We finally found the right bus to take us to the Colosseum where we got another fantastic deal on a guided tour. Tour of the absolutely breathtaking Colosseum and the Ancient City all for the low, low price of €10. It was amazingly amazing. We were out in the poisonous sun for roughly 15 hours (a slight exaggeration, perhaps) and got some nice tan lines. Sexy sandal tan accompanied by sweet bracelet marks, ring lines, and perfect shirt lines. Swollen feet; priceless.
So we learned about all this amazing stuff about the Colosseum, how ancient it really is (built in 1st Century A.D.) and that sort of thing. Emperor Nero was a bad guy. The gladiator games were to the death and to the cut; to the death for professionals and to the cut for amateurs. Everyone came and watched these games and all but the women sat. Women were lower than the slaves because "we're in Rome!", says the tour guide with the shake of a fist. Whatever.
We got angry, so we left. Not really. We finished out the two tours and went to a beautiful lunch at a little type place. Delicious pasta. Well, I'm in Italy, duh. After lunch we walked back to where the bus had dropped us off in the morning in an effort to catch the bus back to the train station thereby making our back to our home hostel to freshen up AKA wipe the stank off and go out to a nice dinner just the three of us. In the 15 minute wait for the wrong bus, many beautiful people walked by. The End. There were so many people from all over the world here. From Liverpool, Australia, good 'ol motherland (USA), Canada, etc. Excitement.
Okay, we finally got on a bus after being confused and it took us to a train station, alright. It didn't really look familiar so we were a bit confused. I couldn't find it on the map so I asked someone who was working at a gift shop to point me in the right direction. Not only did the Italians no longer speak English, but she said we were not on the map. Not on the map? Yeah. We had managed to take ourselves off the map, literally. Luckily, we were faithful and fearless and we had our handy dandy ROMA passes good for any public transportation. We asked how to get to the other train station and the ticket lady said our pass was good for the Metro downstairs. We were lost and we had to use our very convenient passes to ride the Metro. I was excited. For real. We were waiting down at the Metro station and up pulls the sketchiest form of transportation I have ever seen in my life. Graffiti everywhere, it smelled, and the people, billions of people. Meredith yells some words of advice along the lines of "don't get robbed" and we hop on. Comforting. Nothing says "Benvenuto a Roma" like the Metro.
We made it to the train station in one un-robbed piece. We did manage to get lost in the station after we got off and couldn't find a way to escape. We were trapped. A sketchy man fell in love with Meredith and the lady at the window got mad when I asked her how to escape. The Metro has been officially dubbed The Sketchro. We made it out alive and went back to our beloved room and rested for a bit.
As if we hadn't had enough adventure for one day, we decided to venture out yet again, into the great unknown that is Rome. Back to the train station we went and off to the Pantheon we were determined to go! We hop on a bus and plan on getting off at the Pantheon.
Ciao,
Sheryl
Entry 1: May 21, 2008
It's quite incredible here in the Tuscan Valley. Sansepolcro is such a quaint town with beautiful old architecture. The streets are definitely Italian (well, we are in Italy) and the people are Italian, too (for the same reason). The long haul was beyond worth it and the fatigue that continues to be recycled is worth the amazingness we get to experience.
We arrived exactly a week ago from tomorrow, wow. It feels like we've been here a day and a month all the same time (if that is at all possible). I am beyond overjoyed by the constant activities we have to participate in. The Italian people are intriguing and fun to watch. I love watching them almost as much as they love watching us. We've gotten a couple of "good morning" greetings at 9:30 at night and "good evening" hellos at 2:30 in the afternoon with broken English but great big smiles. Cute. They are very social and this little town barely has enough street to hold them all when they are on their weekly passeggiatas.
The food is amazing and I can't quite seem to get enough. I'm always hungry, though, and I haven't figured out the reason. It's okay, because it's an excuse to get late night gelato at the gelateria just in the piazza. It will be my Achilles Heel and the reason I will never eat ice cream in America again. I'm sure it will only be for the best.
Home sickness hasn't quite settled in because I'm still bombarded by the excitement of what's around. But I do miss my family and friends. Tomorrow we're going to Firrenza for the day and seeing the artwork in the Uffizi.
