Hmmmm

So, I have been back in the US for over a month now, and while I didn't think it would affect me, reverse culture shock definitely exists. Life here is just so mundane. While seeing my friends and heading out to my favorite places is a blast, I feel like there is something missing. When I was abroad I was constantly being challenged and experiencing new things like never before. Here, everything just seems ordinary.

I have tons of reading to do for this week, and yet I have spent the last hour or so figuring out how I can get back abroad. Australia, Latin America, Africa or Europe again -- I don't care. There is so much of the world I have to see and it is soooooo frustrating that I can't just leave my studies behind and follow my dreams. My cousin, Jeff, was a wanderer after college. I always admired him for his way of life, and now I understand why. I have grown up in the US for 20 years and I am so aware of the fact that there is so much more and so much better out there.

I have looked online at study abroad programs, volunteer programs, and internships for abroad, but I just don't think it will happen this year. Between my need for real world experience and lack of funding, going abroad this summer really just isn't feasible.

Hopefully this summer I will be able to get a paying job and save up. And then next year I will try to get a job at school in order to help cushion my back account. I don't know where I plan on going next, but I know that the minute I graduate I am going to need to get away for a while. I need to explore more. I need to see more. I need to experience more. There are so many stories to be heard and places to be seen. I just hope that I can wait a whole year and a half before I can partake on some more adventures!

The end to an incredible semester

Alright, I have been home for a week now, so it's time to finally write about my final adventures in Europe. On the 17th I woke up fairly early to say goodbye to my host mom and head to Dublin to meet up with Karen and Anna! It was so surreal. So sad to be saying goodbye to an incredible woman who made my time in Spain fabulous, and yet bubbling with excitement to finally be traveling with Karen and Anna! I couldn't believe the time had come to meet up with them at last!

So I get to Dublin on Thursday around 2, and after it taking forever to find the buses to get us to Karen's, Anna and I finally arrived there around 5:00. It was so bizarre. everything felt so normal and like we were back in Champaign, but we were in Dublin! We ordered in Chinese food and got ready and finished packing. It was Anna and Karen's last night in Dublin, so we decided to do a little pub crawl. Go big or go home, right? First stop was Dandelion, a classier bar but still lots of fun. Then the Bleeding Horse where I had my first Guinness - actually pretty good! And then we headed to Flannery's where we danced and sang the night away. We had a super early flight the next morning to Rome, and by the time we finally got back to Karen's at about 3:10 in the morning our alarm was going off in 20 minutes so we didn't even bother sleeping.

Now -- Italy!!!

Friday - Arrived in Rome and finally made it to our hostel around 2. We couldn't check in until 3, so we grabbed lunch at a cute little Italian place around the corner - absolutely delicious! Then we got settled and hit the streets. First stop was the Trevi fountain. Very impressive! I had no idea it was as big as it is, so that was cool. Then we walked over to the Pantheon, some plazas and other buildings and then got tired so headed home. An early night was definitely necessary after the festivities that happened the night before.

Saturday - woke up early to avoid lines at the Vatican. Started off with the museum and the Sistine Chapel. Then headed over to the big basilica thats there (sorry, i don't remember names...) Honestly not as impressed as I thought. Probably because I don't understand religion in the slightest so it had no significance to me. After the Vatican we went to see some catacombs. This was what I was looking forward to the most, and probably was the biggest disappointment. I was hoping to see some bones! but they had all been removed. After that, we headed over to the Spanish Steps and then back to the Trevi to see it at night. Oh and we got some delicious gelato and crepes as well! And when we were near the Trevi we bumped into a guy names Tak who was promoting the Colosseum pub crawl. This was exactly what we were looking for, so we were so excited! We then headed back to the hostel, got ready, and then headed to the crawl. 3 bars, and hour of free drinks and 3 welcome shots later, we were dying of laughter at what happened throughout the evening and decided to head home. I wont get into details, but definitely a highlight of the trip.

Sunday - Woke up pretty early, discussed the previous night's antics, and headed to see the Colosseum during the day. So cool! Then we went into the Roman forum and got extremely lost. But we bumped into Anna's friend Chuck, who is studying in Versailles for the year, so that was sooooo crazy! After that, we went to grab our last lunch in Rome before heading to Florence. The train was easy to find and was 4 hours long, so we settled into a little area and tried to sleep. But toward the end of the trip, 4 Italians came and sat with us and were extremely entertaining. One was in love with Anna and wanted to go to Vegas to marry her. haha! When we got to Florence we just grabbed dinner and went to bed. We were exhausted from the night before and had to cram lots in the next day.

Monday - Woke up and the first thing we did was head to the Duomo but got sidetracked by the incredible markets! 3 hours and lots poorer, we finally went to the Duomo. Had to climb about a million stairs to get to the top, but the view was breathtaking so definitely worth it. Then we grabbed lunch in a plaza and walked over to their famous bridge. We pretty much just explored the whole day, and it was nice and relaxing. At night we went to a bar that claimed it had beer pong starting at 10, but come 11 we will still the only people in the bar, so we decided to leave.

Tuesday - woke up early to go to the Academia to see the David. Honestly, I thought it was a waste. We saw the replica the day earlier, and I couldn't see a difference and so I basically paid 10 euros to see nothing. Plus the art in the museum was NOT my style, so I didn't love it. Then we headed back to the train station to head back to Rome. Again no problems with the train. When we got back to Rome we decided to get to the airport early, which definitely wasn't necessary. We ended up having a 3 hour delay, and our flight was almost cancelled because we literally took off with 2 minutes before the airport closed. Needless to say it was a little stressful.

Then we got back to our hotel to pack. Anna was leaving at about 5 in the morning so we said bye to her, and then I headed to the airport with Karen when she left. I wasn't leaving til the next day, so I took the bus into the city to explore a bit. It couldn't have been a better ending to my incredible semester. I walked down O'Connell and Grafton, and saw St. Stevens park (probably spelled that all wrong...) I was almost brought to tears as I reached the park. The sun was shining, a band was playing Christmas music, families were out shopping for presents. It was seriously so beautiful. Then I grabbed lunch at Anna's favorite place, Porterhouse, and headed back. I needed to repack everything and then headed to bed early since i had to wake up at 4 for my flight.

Overall, absolutely the most incredible semester of my life. The places I went, the people I met and the memories I made will forever stay with me. I can't believe how fast it all went by!

Mi último día en España

Well guys, this is it. The most incredible semester comes to a close today. I can't believe I am leaving already. I remember the first day - all the excitement I felt when I landed for my first time in Europe. I still have to pinch myself to make sure this is all really happening. I will absolutely never forget my time here. My friends, my host mom, the nights out and the travels were so much more than I could have ever imagined.

Been packing all day today and its incredibly sad. My closet is empty, the pictures are down and the bookshelf is empty. Getting ready for my last lunch with my mom, I'm going to miss her to pieces. I have to write her a thank you note still - how on earth can I put into words what she meant to me on this experience? I'm pretty sure it's impossible.

We have our graduation ceremony tonight with the school and then I'll probably just relax for a while with friends. But the metro stops running at 11 and everyone has early flights, so shouldn't be too late of a night.

I also can't believe that my adventures with Karen and Anna begin tomorrow! I'll never forget at Karen's house when we toasted to studying abroad, and then when we figured out all our post semester travel plans. Dublin, Rome, Florence, and back to Dublin. Can't wait!!!!

See you all back in the States!

a great final weekend!

So my last weekend in Bilbao is about over, only 3 hours left. and it was f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s. mainly because last night was a blast. A bunch of the girls went out to celebrate Kimberly's 21st birthday and we all pretty much went out big! Even the ones who usually don't party quite as hard as some of the rest of us. Today I laid around for a while and then went to this cafe called Coffee Break to study with some friends. Practically our whole program was there, ha. so naturally, we didn't get much done. I'm not too stressed for finals, only a little bit for my Basque Culture one. I pretty much have to get an A, so I have to study fairly hard.

oh and i also did some last minute touristy things. Took the funicular to the top of the mountain where you get great views of the city, and headed back to Plentzia, a really beautiful town, since i hadnt been there since the first day here.

Tomorrow is Leah's 21st birthday. She has become one of my closer friends here, so I'm excited to celebrate it! Unfortunately because of finals we can't party too hard, but a bunch of us are going to go to dinner at Crazy Horse, which I know will be the perfect study break.

Only 3 full days left. It's beginning to get pretty depressing.

That's all for now, I will leave you will some of my favorite pics from last night!

Emily & Molly Take on Europe - Part 2

And now onto Munich! We got in around 9 or so in the morning maybe. Headed to our hostel to drop off our bags and then wanted to head to Dachau Concentration camp first thing. Getting there was a bit of an adventure. We missed the stop but there was a super nice lady who helped us figure out how on earth to get there. Very glad I went. It was a very interesting and chilling experience. Unlike the sadness I felt at the Anne Frank house, here I felt a feeling of complete disgust. Hearing about everything they did. Granted I knew a lot already, but the audio tour was very explicit. And walking into the crematorium... i seriously thought I could puke right then and there. Seeing the ovens. Seeing the gas chamber. Absolutely repulsive, but extremely interesting all the same. Definitely glad I went and it was an experience I think that everyone should have at some point in their life.

Memorial

After Dachau we relaxed in our hostel for a bit because we were exhausted, and then decided to wander. We headed to the area where all the Christmas markets were, in Marienplatz, the major town square area. It was absolutely beautiful! All the lights, you could feel christmas spirit in the air. haha

We walked through the main plaza and then wanted to head to the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's most famous Beer hall. Quite an experience! You walk in and it is absolutely packed. You sit wherever you can find a spot and Molly and I found a table with some funny Italians. Then we ordered. Of course we had to get the liter size, and we chose a beer recommended by Molly's boyfriend, Radler. We HATED it! Haha. couldn't even finish the glass, but we had a good time there. Oh and they have this awesome band there that plays german music, it was great

The next day we just wanted to relax and go shopping at the famous Christmas markets. Munich and all of Germany really is famous for them, and I understand why! When you get to where they are, it is just hut after hut of candles, ornaments, food, drinks. The plaza was packed with people. Molly and I had some sort of wurst and these potato things for lunch. I don't even want to think about how bad all of it is for you, but it was all absolutely delicious! We shopped and wandered for pretty much the majority of the day, but headed back to the hostel at a reasonable our because we wanted to go on a beer tour around 6.

The way the tours work are if there aren't enough people, it doesn't happen. So the first one we tried failed, but the second one had a big enough group, so off we went! It was a group of about 15 of us maybe? Molly and I, 3 canadians, and the rest were aussies. It was absolutely a blast! Everyone was so nice and we just went from one beer hall to the next drinking beers and socializing. Molly and I started off strong with a liter beer to start, but then we had to switch to the half liter because we knew if we wanted to survive we had to slow down. haha and that was definitely a good decision! we had a great time on the tour and it was definitely the perfect way to end a fabulous weekend

Tuesday morning we had a fairly early flight, so we just woke up and headed to the airport. Had a beautiful flight home and then we arrived for our last week. We had our last classes on Wednesday and Thursday. Last night was the last Erasmus party, so of course we made an appearance. Spent a lazy day today, but tomorrow I plan on waking up early because Alyssa and I need to get done all the touristy things in Bilbao we haven't done yet! We are going to take the Funicular up to the top of the mountain/hill to get a view of the city. And then we plan on headed back to Plentzia. We went there the first day, but it is a beautiful coastal town and we want to return. I can't believe how close I am to the end. I even started packing today! It is so unbelievably bittersweet, agridulce. As much as I am so excited to travel with Anna and Karen for a bit and then head home to see all my family and friends again, I know I am going to miss Bilbao, my friends here, and my host mom tons. It will definitely be an adjustment going back home. I always hated when my friends would come home and their time abroad was all they could talk about, but now I completely understand why.

but anywhooooo. time to eat dinner soon, so I will write again soon!

Emily & Molly Take on Europe - Part 1

Alright so -- gotta do this past weekend in 2 parts, because otherwise I will be sitting at the computer for hours. We had a holiday in Spain, so Molly and I hit up 2 cities, Amsterdam and Munich! First stop was Amsterdam.

We left Thursday afternoon, but had an overnight layover in London since that was the cheapest option, and that was quite the adventure. We didn't want to pay for another night in a hostel and so our only option was the airport floor. Let me tell you, it was absolutely freezing, we were surrounded by obnoxious drunk people, and we maybe got 1 hour of sleep. not very pleasant. but then we caught our early morning flight and arrived in Amsterdam!

First stop was the Anne Frank house where we wanted to grab lunch and then tour the house. We found this cute little cafe right next door that had bagels and cream cheese!!! ahhh it was sooooo delicious! haha. Then we took the tour of the house, and I had no idea I would be affected the way I was. It was extremely interesting with so much information about the family and their time hiding there, and at one point I actually got emotional about it. It was when I had to walk through the bookcase to get to the annex. After reading the book, studying it in school, it was such a strange sensation to be walking into the place where they hid in such fear for so many years. In the annex they had lots more information and some videos from people she knew and even her father, Otto Frank, who was the only member of the family to make it out alive. It was an extremely touch and heart wrenching story to experience first hand, and I am very glad I experienced it.

After the house, we decided to head to the Red light district to wander around. We were there right when the sun was setting, so all the creeps were coming out. Haha I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but needless to say I was very surprised when all of a sudden the streets were lined with prostitutes standing in their underwear in these little doors. Also funny story - don't take a picture of them.... Haha. I was taking pics of the canals with the lights all lit up and such, and decided to try to get a picture of all the windows. I was across the canal, and so I tried to sneak a pic without the flash on. Somehow one of the prostitutes saw me, yelled at me, got a cop who then rode his motorcycle over the bridge to talk to me, and then i was lectured for a little about the prostitutes and he made sure I didn't have the pic on my camera. It was actually quite funny. So you can stand in red tinted windows in front of thousands of locals and tourists every day but you can't have a picture taken of you? oh well... makes for a good story!

After wandering around the red light district we were pretty hungry and exhausted, so headed back towards our hotel, grabbed a yummy dinner at this irish pub, and headed to bed pretty early.

The next morning we made sure to get up at a decent hour since we had to leave for Munich later that afternoon. First stop was the Van Gogh museum. It was pretty cool, but I'm not gonna lie, Molly and I don't do too well in museums. We probably spent only 45 minutes there and then decided to move on.

We went to the Heineken Brewery next, which was probably my favorite stop on the trip. They did an excellent job with the set up. You walk in and the first stuff you see is some history about the beer. Then you get to do a little tasting. Then they take you on a 'ride' of how the beer is made (definitely the funniest part). Then there is a room where you can video yourself singing traditional dutch songs and have a background of a canal or something -- absolutely hilarious. And then finally is the bar, where you get 2 free beers at the end of the tour. It was a lot of fun so I would definitely recommend it!

After the Brewery we walked around Vondelpark for a while. It's a beautiful big park right next to where our hostel was. We probably spent about an hour or so in there but then the sun started to set and we were worried about getting lost so we decided to head back to the hostel, grab our stuff, and head to the train.

We booked an overnight train from Amsterdam to Munich and it was so sweet! It seriously looked exactly like the Hogwarts Express. ha. Long skinny hallways with rooms on the side that had 2 benches and shelves above them. If only I would have known, I would have brought my wand and invisibility cloak!! We didn't sleep great on the train, but it was enough. Around 9am we arrived in Munich and began the second half of our adventure! Overall had a blast in Amsterdam, but it wasn't one of my favorite cities I have been to.

I will probably post again tomorrow about Munich! Hasta Luego :-)

hell week coming up - yikes!

well, another week has absolutely flown by here. This weekend was fun! Didn't do anything really on Friday since I was recovering from Thanksgiving. Saturday morning I woke up fairly early to head to the Algorta market with Alyssa. I was super excited to finally get myself some genie pants, but to my dismay they didn't have a great selection so I didn't get any. Then we grabbed a coffee and I spent the afternoon relaxing. Then at night Alyssa, Molly, Rachel and I headed to Casco Viejo for some drinks and a chill evening. I had a lot of fun with them! And the best part was - that when I went to go to the bathroom at one of the bars we were at, I noticed a little cupboard underneath the stairwell. It was like I found Harry Potter! hahaha

Hell week is coming up. I have a presentation to give on Tuesday and then another presentation and a paper due on Wednesday. I don't even care though, because this weekend I am headed to Amsterdam and then Munich with Molly!!! Soooooo excited!

It's starting to get extremely bittersweet though. I only have 2.5 weeks left here in Bilbao. It's incredible how before this opportunity I didn't know anything about this area of Spain minus ETA, the terrorist group that was formed here. Now though, I will forever call this place my home. I have fallen in love with absolutely everything about it (minus the mullets... still haven't accepted those) and to think that I have no idea when I might return is so sad. As excited as I am to finish my finals and head to Rome and Florence with Anna and Karen, I know that when I leave Bilbao I will be leaving a piece of my heart here.

Probably won't post again til after the weekend travels unless something worthy happens, so hasta luego!