BACK TO THE STATES

So my time abroad is officially over now after just over 4 ½ great months of traveling, meeting people and taking in the European culture. I still cannot believe that I have studied abroad and been able to visit so many countries during my span in Europe. I never thought of studying abroad, and when the opportunity came I had to take it.

I have been incredibly lucky to have this experience with such great people around me. My roommates and friends from Spain were just so welcoming and threw me a great party my last night in Spain. When traveling throughout, I have not ran into any dangerous situations and have met so many people traveling like myself. My family and friends just has always been a phone call away and i have always had a great support system. My classmates from all parts of the world have been great to talk with in Spanish. Our learning process of the Spanish culture and language involved throughout our time together.

Well thank you for taking time to hear about my journeys over these past four in a half months. I hope in some way it has opened your mind up to traveling outside of the US borders. Trust me you learn a lot about yourself and others when traveling through many different cultures. I hope to encourage all my youngers cousin to travel abroad when they attend university.

My main goal now is to keep concentrating on the present and remember the time I enjoyed in Europe. I have been told that the adapting process can be difficult at times, but I look forward to my summer at home and my upcoming year at Springfield. I hope to take what I learned and saw from Europe, and bring it back to my life over here. So everybody, I hope to talk or see you soon. E-mail or call me if you would like to meet up and I wish you all the best.

Czech Republic

I knew I always wanted to make it somehow to Czech Republic and see the buzz around this country between Eastern and Western Europe. So many people have talked about this area, and I understand why. We flew their directly from London and spent around six days in two different locations of the country.

The city of Prague was celebrating its festival of the Spring when we arrived. They had a marathon going on that involved concerts and other sponsored events. We walked along the river and made it across their popular Charles Bridge. We then made it upon the small mountain that has gardens and parks along its ridge. While wandering through this area, we saw great views and stumbled upon the Prague Castle and Cathedral. The cathedral was free so we hit it up and walked the 287 steps to see the view from the top. It was a spectacular view and worth the exercise. Afterwards we walked along the side of the mountains through a beautiful garden area that was worth the price.

We stayed at a great hostel where we found a bunch of friendly Aussies. They were our buddies when it came to night activities of going out for cheap Czech food and beer and then coming back to the hostel for its relaxing lounge area with pool table, couches and computers. The staff was the main reason that we were able to find out next location of Spindleruv Myln. The 2 ½ hour bus ride took us through many small Czech towns and windy roads to enjoy. .

The little town is located up in the mountains along the Polish border and is famous for the snow season. Of course it was not snow season, so we were able to get prices for great accomodatioons. Our apartment was hooked up and we spent our three days adventuring through the town. We hiked into Poland by accident during our long day hike, and enjoyed the organized trail system. I was really impressed with it all, and it was funny to find so many mountain lodges.

We really wanted to go paragliding but the weather never cooperated, so we found other options. We rented a guide and heavy duty scooters that went down the mountain trails at a very fast speed. It was pretty cool, nothing like paragliding but it was funny to see Sam take a spill off the scooter. We also went to the indoor Aqua Park with some great water tubing. It was awesome how fast we went down the slides, and my body ached after wards. Sam and I spent the rest of the time playing cards, ping pong or air hockey in the game room of our hotel. The whole time there was just so relaxing that it felt like a true vacation.

The country just has so much offer and is so cheap, that I would recommend it to everyone. If you like mountains and the outdoors go to this small town, but also in the south they have pretty little fairy tale like villages. Prague is also just an amazing city worth taking the trip for. I am glad that I saved some of the best for the last!

Good Old Oxford

So after my sister left me, my buddy from Silver Bay Sam arrived to do some adventuring through Europe. After some time in Spain in together we went up to England to visit our friend from Silver Bay Tim Grayson. Great Englishmen who lives with his family outside of oxford in a home with many qualities and functions.

So just to describe the set up, here is the lay down. The family has a farm of animals with a cow, chickens and pigs including little piglettes. They treat the animals well and then eventually use them for food. So they will sell home range pork, beef or eggs to the local community. Along with this there old English style home with low ceilings is a bed and breakfast. They drink and brew their own beer along with baking their own bread. His barn was being used by his sister for here annual two week long craft show. His mom and step dad are deeply religious and have taken their time opening up their home to people who just want a good conversation. So there were just constantly people at the home helping out with everything, and you never went hungry.

Sam and I could not have asked for more, and were able to help out by chopping wood the first morning. Timmy then took us into Oxford for a good old fashioned pub crawl where we enjoyed some great local beer. We loved seeing this culture of Oxford and viewing some of the Universities’ buildings. Honestly we spent more time in the pub due to the inclement weather and our true intentions. We just had a great time with the family and it was difficult saying our good byes when we left for London.

In London, we stayed at a gigantic hostel and went into the city to view the sites. I had already been there but it was the first time for Sam. We strolled along Hyde Park and checked out the Buckingham’s Palace and Parliament until the rain got very strong. I was able to reconnect with a friend from high school, and we met in a pub along the river. It was great renewing our past and talking about our experiences abroad. Once we finished dinner, we just walked along the beautiful Thames River and eventually took the Tube back.

Unfortunately we only had a night in London, but I was not disappointed to leave the Pound currency! We had a great time though in England with friends from our past and meeting many of the nice people in Tim’s home. I could see myself having a small farm now, but I wont jump to any serious measures yet. It could be an idea for retirement.

Morocco

So I can officially say that I have been to Africa! (WOO HOO as my Danish friend Signe would say) So Kerry(sister) and I did our best to seeing the best of the country and also adapt to its many interesting pastimes. As a foreigner, it is interesting to see the Muslim influence in all of the cities and towns with Minarets popping up everywhere.

We flew into Casablanca and took the train to Fes on a Friday just before holiday. It was tremendously packed and a bit uncomfortable, but we loved the ride for one reason. We got to meet and interact with many Moroccans. One man told us about his family near Rabat, and how he is the quality manager for a Nike factory. We then showed other Moroccans the art of SUDUKO and gave them some cookies. So after almost around 10 hours of traveling we finally made it into Fes.

I first off paid way too much for my TAXI by screwing up the currency system of Dirhams. So the driver probably was able to pay bills for the next few months after our drive to the medina. We spent our two days in the Old Town part of the city which contains the Medina. So basically this part has a bunch of alley ways with a variety of different type of people. No matter what you cannot get lost because they have many signs posted for tourists. We saw some of the best crafts you could imagine from Morocco, there were museums and sadly it was difficult to see some of the poverty. We realized we had to adjust to the poverty and the bargaining system of paying for things. We enjoyed the city but were ready to go onto Rabat, so we grabbed the train.

The city of Rabat is the capitol of the country and is much different than Fes. It is evident that there is a large wealth gap in Morocco, and the people of Rabat have the most money. As a result, it was difficult to watch how there were Moroccans with government jobs eating at expensive restaurants. While at the same time, the majority of the population weekly lives off the price of their meal. The city is also on the ocean so it was nice to walk along the beach and watch surfers ride the wave. There is also a very famous Mosque in Rabat, it is part of the three sisters of Minarets. Remember though that only Muslims are allowed to go into Mosques due to religious order. The three sisters are in Rabat, Marrakesh and Seville (Al-Andalus before Christian takeover). We enjoyed our one day there, but were very excited for our voyage down south to Marrakesh.

So Marrakesh basically has just been built for tourism with grand parks, gardens, alleys of craft shops and museums. We spent three nights in an amazing Riad in one these side alleys, and could not believe our accommodation. It was basically like sleeping over the house of a wealthy person, and is perfect for romantic trips for couples. I don’t think that my sister and I fitted this category but we still enjoyed it. We spent our meals in the famous plaza area which was an experience of a life time. There are booths of Moroccan Orange Juice vendors trying to sell you their home made squeezed product. There are also many booths for outdoor sit down dinner areas with picnic tables. Basically you just order and watch them cook it in front of you. These vendors have great ways of trying to get you to eat at their booth. During the night time there are story and fortune tellers along with people walking around with monkeys. If your lucky you shall see snakes coming out of baskets, that is always a good time. We of course enjoyed the city but were even more excited for our trip to the Desert.

For three days and two nights we spent our time driving to the desert and then enjoying its attractions. So we of course slept out there in either our tent or out along the dunes if you liked. We got a great camel ride through the desert and the Kasbah of Mohammad. Before the Israel movement, there was a large amount of Jews in Morocco and they lived in areas called Kasbahs. There are no longer any Jews but it is still interesting to walk through these parts of the cities.

We then took a 4x4 and drove into the desert. One of our stops included a holy Oasis that has a little community along it. It was just a peaceful creek that was nice to walk along. Afterwards though we went to the Sand Dunes, and basically just hiked around. Kerry and I rocked the Sand Dunes and then I went for the bigger one. Once I got to the top, I enjoyed the view of the Sunset and rolled down the dune with an Aussie. It was pretty awesome but I definitely just had sand all over me afterwards. Hey it was worth the story right! But the tour was great and we eat some great Tanji and Kous Kous. Tanji is basically just a bunch of vegetables cooked and made into a teepee type structure. Then in the middle of the structure is either typically chicken or camal if you are lucky.

Our eight days in Morocco were great brother and sister bonding time to say the least. We of course expanded our horizons by seeing a new culture and learned a lot. We are happy that we went but not sure if we would go again. I would recommend going there with another person and talk to me before you go!

Amsterdam Visit



The weekend after my Spring Break, I headed up to this more famous and popular city of Europe. My Silver Bay friend Elizabeth and I stayed in a nice bed and breakfast along the packed streets of people and café shops. I would have to say that after my weekend there, I could understand why it is a must see when it comes to touring around Europe. The city is constructed like no other with canals running in half circles.

The first day I spent on my own and decided to see the city by bike and try to maneuver myself around the busy streets of bicycles. It was awesome to bike again and of course the city has such a great bicycle friendly system, and I felt like one of the locals. I would just have to say that it is cool seeing highly powerful business people biking themselves to work. What are BMWs for!

But on Saturday, Elizabeth and I checked out some museums and the English style park of the city. It was interesting to see the art that came out of its promising times of colonization. Then you know of course the Heineken Museum in the typical spot for the American tourists. We enjoyed some history along with out 3 ½ half pints included in our ticket.

The restaurants were all so nice, and I have to say that we went to the right place for our Saturday night. We of course walked around forever until we finally made a decision to eat somewhere. We used our tour books and got a great price for some vegetarian curry in a cute hole in the wall type of place. We then went to the super market and bought some red wine along with chocolate of course. We basically just chilled out along a canal having great conversations.

I would recommend you all to check out the city even though it is expensive. It is really just different from all the other capitols that occupy Europe. The laid back attitude with consideration for the environment, helped me understand why so many people rave about the city.