Another day spent atop a ladder

Today, I did a lot of bracing-type work for the ceiling of the house, which again, meant I had to be up on a ladder all day. Good thing I’ve gotten used to it. I did get to use a power drill today! Awesome! I find the noise of the nail being drilled in correctly to be extremely gratifying. It’s also really satisfying to successfully hammer things. No lie, every time there’s a tough spot that takes a little longer to finish, I feel incredibly victorious when I’ve finally defeated that trouble area. I’ve also discovered I’ve come a pretty long way in my hammering skills since Tuesday. My best streak of hitting the nail on the head and not missing was 25, which was what took me to nail that specific nail into the wall from start to finish. Much better than when it took me forever (as in, most of the afternoon) to do one column down a wall. Huzzah!

I was thinking about how many little things go into making a house, especially all the things you can’t see. Eventually, all the braces reinforcing various parts of the house’s structure will be covered up, but that doesn’t defeat their purpose or lessen their significance. So many of the little tasks we’ve all been doing are actually pretty darn important for the longevity of the house. NO TASK IS TOO SMALL!

After work, we went to a museum. We had the choice of the Historical Society or a special Hurricane Katrina visit. Naturally, I chose the historical one. I learned some interesting facts. Napoleon was only up to selling New Orleans/Louisiana to the US because of the successful slave revolt in modern day Haiti (can’t remember the French colonial name…), so I guess we kinda owe a lot to Haiti. Also, here, “creole” isn’t so much a racial term as a nationality (?) term. If you were born in New Orleans, regardless of skin color, you were Creole. If you were an immigrant to New Orleans, you were not Creole. A lot of the culture/style/etc. was distinguished as French (European) vs. Creole (colony). Also, we were told that “Dixie” as the name for the South comes from the fact that New Orleans has flown many flags in her lifetime (French, Spanish, Napoleonic Empire, US), which led to a lot of transition, so they had this bank note worth 10 USD (I believe) that said “dix” on the back (French for 10 for my non-French speaking friends), and these notes reached the rest of the US, where they started to call New Orleans, and later, the South “Dixie” as it was the land of the “dix” banknote. I like having the historical background the supplement what we’ve been experiencing in post-Katrina/Rita NOLA.

And, since we were in the French Quarter for the museums, we made a stop at Cafe du Monde for beignets as cafe au lait. A clown caught a group of us at the corner of the street after crossing, and made us all silly balloon hats. It was a ridiculous moment in my life, and a good end to the day. Tomorrow, we have a free night after work, so a couple of us are going to have dinner in the French Quarter, and do the typical NOLA stroll down Bourbon Street (named for the house of Bourbon which ruled Spain back in the 1800s and is now ruling in its 3rd restoration to the Spanish throne today, not the drink)!

I made a Walgreen’s run last night, and picked up a couple of disposable cameras (thanks to my love of carrying around my digital camera everywhere, using it ALL. THE. TIME., and its most recent decision to have a lens error and not work anymore). I forgot how quickly film goes. I kept taking pictures, and was like, “I need to make 54 pictures last me the next three days, so I actually have to THINK before I snap a picture (which is difficult for shutter happy people like myself). Thank goodness for my camera phone (and other people’s digital cameras)!

It's so amazing to see the vibrant community with people who returned and rebuilt after the hurricanes who still have such a great outlook on life. Despite all of this death, destruction, and disaster, they've managed to be so optimistic about the world. This pride in rebuilding the city and moving back to normalcy just creates a wonderful vibe, and I kind of don't want to leave. I think I could be happy living here for a couple of years (though, I want to end up back in California at the end of the day).

I spent most of my day on top of a ladder

[Wednesday, January 19, 2011]

Day 2 of our build for the indoor crew was spent nailing pieces of 2x4 to the top of the walls to provide dead wood that will later be in use for the ceiling (or something), which meant I was pretty much on one of the top two rungs of a ladder for the greater part of the day. It was a little freaky. I’m afraid of falling backwards, and with nothing behind me for support, the height was a little unnerving (especially when the ladder would shift and feel a little unsturdy…). But, you get used to it, and become quite comfortable moving yourself around, shifting, and whatnot approximately 6-8 feet above the ground. This trip is a lot about pushing your personal limits (to a certain extent), which has been really amazing.

I also found hammering, while a solitary job for the most part, to be nice. While it was pretty much the same mechanical motion over and over and over again, it created a nice pattern that allowed me to muse over my life (although, I still paid attention to the quality of my work). I thought about all the other things I could have been doing instead of this service trip. I could have been in Morocco, which while totally awesome, would have meant less time at home with my family (and cost me money, versus having a service grant cover my expenses). I could have been in the Albright Program (if I had known about my eligibility for this year/applied/been accepted), but that would have been about 8 hours of lectures 5 days a week during my break freezing my bum off in New England. Instead, I’m enjoying comfortable 65-70 degree weather in New Orleans helping build someone their home. That’s pretty freaking cool. I’ve been learning so much about people, society, and myself in the past couple of days that I can’t believe it’s only really been 2 days. It's also amazing just how much I've learned from experience instead of a classroom.

All in all, I’ve decided that the experiences denied to me (well, programs I was rejected from) were a good thing because there are so many great experiences that I had instead that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Had I been an RA sophomore year, I couldn’t have gone to the DNC nor would I have gotten to know my fabulous roommate. Had I gotten the stipend/DC program, I wouldn’t have been able to go to Sweden/the rest of my post-abroad trip with Dad and Nana. Had I been an Albright fellow last year, I wouldn’t have been able to go on my post-abroad trip, and I would have been away from home from January to November (instead of February to November). Had I been an Albright fellow this year, I wouldn’t be on this trip right now. As cool as that program may be (don’t really want to hate on the program since a couple of my friends are doing it), I like Habitat for Humanity better. It’s really cool to watch the difference happen in front of your very eyes. To see a partially sided house with very basic inside construction go to a mostly sided house with a door and inside walls (just the dry wall we did yesterday) in two days is pretty amazing. Plus, I’m losing interest in working in foreign affairs and gaining a huge interest in local and state politics/government and more domestic/local groups. Maybe we should focus on perfecting our domestic affairs before we start meddling in other people’s business I know that’s a huge debate, but there is some merit to the US paying attention to its own domestic problems in housing, government, education, etc. before trying to fix another country’s education system, government, etc.

Anyway, after work, we took a driving tour of the city. I saw the lower 9th ward, which was hit the hardest by the floods. There was a giant field where an entire elementary school once stood. What used to be a neighborhood where houses stood close together now looks like a more rural area instead of an urban neighborhood. There are still spray paint marks of the rescue workers marking when they came, the number of injured, the number dead, if the gas was turned off, etc. This is the poorer area of New Orleans, this is the area least recovered since the hurricanes, this is probably the least white area, and no one talks about it anymore. The media don’t really cover New Orleans’s recovery anymore, but the tourist areas (French Quarter), downtown, the Garden District (the oldest biggest houses, more on that in a second) are all fixed, so I guess, in the media’s eyes, the city is completely recovered. I can tell you it’s not. There are houses where vegetation has completely taken over because the owners couldn’t afford to move back in, and have since abandoned this property. There are so many potholes, and you can never really tell how deep they are (we had a little run in with one this morning in front of the construction site). There is just so much more that needs to be done, but there are still multiple organizations working in different neighborhoods rebuilding the city. At least New Orleans hasn’t escaped their attention. For me, it’s been eye-opening. I didn’t realize the extent of the recovery still needed in this city. I thought the city was doing well. And, it is. But, not as well as it could be (or should be?). We (well, just the van I was in - the Adventure Van as we like to call it) also went to THE levee that broke in the lower 9th ward. Instead of a pile of dirt (made with the wrong dirt and too short steel pipes), there is now a more clay (non-porous) mud along with giant slabs of concrete that look like they’ve been pretty solidly built into the ground. After that, we took a quick drive through downtown and the French Quarter. They’re pretty cool, and what everyone knows as New Orleans. On the way back to the church place, we drove though the Garden District. These are the big old Southern homes, and the swanky rich area of the city. They are also above water level (because they were built back before we could build things at water level in New Orleans), so they weren’t really all that damaged. Besides, the people living in the Garden District can probably afford the expensive flood insurance as well as the homeowner’s insurance (which only protects against a hurricane’s wind damage, and not the aftermath’s flooding). There was a huge problem with homeowner's versus flood insurance since homeowner's insurance (which most people in all of NOLA had) DOES NOT cover flooding, and that's what destroyed the city. A lot people, especially in the lower income areas were unaware of that, and despite all mortgaged homes requiring flood insurance, it didn't really help since most homes were passed on through generations into full ownership. It was very interesting to get a glimpse at the two very different neighborhoods in the city that can create two very different impressions of post-Katrina/Rita NOLA.

After that, there was some yummy mac and cheese, cornbread with maple butter, black eyed peas, and some mixture of zucchini and other vegetables for dinner. DELICIOUS! A group of us played a fabulous game of Apples to Apples, which always leads to some great laughs! Now, off to day 3!

The Politics of Race and Hurricane Katrina

[Tuesday, January 18, 2011]

Tonight, we had a discussion before dinner with a group that works on discussing race in regards to Hurricane Katrina. How much does race play into it? How much of it is just poor infrastructure? Was the poor infrastructure a reflection of the politics of race? New Orleans is not a financial capital of the country (unlike NYC or LA) - is that why it was ignored? If New Orleans were a city with the importance to our capitalist society as NYC (Wall Street) or LA (Hollywood), would the levees have been built better? Would we have spent the extra money to make better stronger levees if New Orleans were more than a cultural center of our country? How does race play into all of these questions?

We also discussed the racial politics of post-Katrina New Orleans. Many wealthier white citizens were able to move back and rebuild, but many less wealthy minority citizens have been unable to do so. The media claim New Orleans as rebuilt and coming a long way, and it has, but there is still so much more to do. 5 years later, and we still have large groups coming to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes in areas that have been ignored. 5 years later, and you can still see the scars.

Today, I helped build a wall

[Tuesday, January 18, 2011]

Literally. Not in the metaphorical sense.

As a part of volunteering this week with Habitat for Humanity, I (along with 3 other students) put up a wall in the interior of the house. My left arm (all the way from my fingertips to my shoulders) is a little sore from all the hammering. I’m looking forward to our tasks for the rest of the week!

One thing that has been great about this trip is that a group of 20 young women from a really competitive school where you tend to always look out for your best interests can come together, and aren’t afraid to ask for help and work together to build a house. We understand the importance of working together and building a community, not just amongst ourselves, but with the other volunteers and staff members. It’s so wonderful to be a part of something that requires so much team effort that you forget about the competition that usually exists amongst us, and go for a common goal. It is not WOMAN who will make a difference in the world, but WOMEN who will make a difference in the world. It isn’t up to one of us to change the world; it’s up to all of us. It’s by working together, recognizing each other’s strengths and weaknesses (and knowing how to address both), asking for help when we need it, and putting a common goal/good before the individual that makes us the strong women that rock the world.

No task is too small. No task is insignificant. Every little bit matters.

Entering food coma...

Operation: Thanksgiving Potluck - SUCCESS!

Everyone had a great time, there was more than enough food, and it's so great to just have a night to relax with friends. :)

I'm so thankful for all of you!

And ze bird is out of ze oven!

Checking on the bird...

Aaaaand, it's DONE!!!!!

This is the first time I've ever cooked a turkey with someone who also has little experience. The ultimate test will be taste. I can tell you all that it smells and looks good!

Nom nom nom nom

So close...2nd round of basting! It's looking really good. The whole dorm smells like Thanksgiving. :)

Mmmm...TURKEY!!!!

1st round of basting! It looks and smells so good!

Also, check out our take-over of the kitchen. This will be a feast fit for QUEENS!!!

Slapsgiving 2010

The bird is in the oven! Countdown to an amazing potluck with uber-cool people: 3-4 hours. So excited!!!!

The Bubble

We joke that Swelles has a lovely little bubble where we often forget that there is an outside world, and we can comfortably discuss intense topics (my dinner conversations regularly include religion, war, politics, etc.).

It also means that you tend to forget to communicate with said outside world. Or leave campus, but that's another story.

I just remembered that I actually do have a blog, and should maybe post every once in a while.

I'm also trying to pretend that I don't have a crazy amount of work due before Saturday. Despite such denial, the work will get done on time. It always does.

I want to go back to my dinner conversations. I have to say, I am really going to miss those when I graduate. It's not just the level of conversation (I could have the same level at home), but I'm going to miss sitting in the dining hall having hour long conversations while different friends come and go (and sometimes, come back again). I'm going to miss marathon weekend brunches and marathon dinners. This is what scares me about graduating - this lack of a community. I know my friends will still be around, but we'll be physically scattered around the world. We won't have a communal dinner time in the same space where we can run into each other at any time when hot food is served (or even when it's not served). This is what I love most about college, this is what I will cherish most about college, and this is what I'll miss the most.

Well, the cruel reality of research papers and midterms beckons me...

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

After 9 months, I am back at lovely ol' Swelles. It feels good to be back, and not all that weird. As soon as I got onto the property (well, actually, it was once I was off the highway), it just felt right to be back. It was like I was seeing the campus for the first time again, and my love for the school was renewed. I'm glad I took a semester abroad, but I'm also glad to be back.

One of the best things about being back is that a lot of my friends are back early, too. It's so great seeing people that I haven't seen since either last December or last May! I find this to be, quite possibly, the best part of going abroad. You get to come back and share stories with your friends and hear theirs. Also, everyone is just so excited to see one another again, and that's just wonderful!

I can also feel and smell fall in the air! It's glorious. After a long, hot, and humid summer, I embrace this cool crispness. Some of the trees have even started turning! I'm so glad to have a tree outside my room...I hope it turns all kinds of pretty fall colors!

And so, the end is near...

I just finished my last full week at my internship. I finish on Tuesday to allow ample time for packing up 8 months, 3 seasons, and 8 countries worth of stuff. It's funny that I gave Tuesday as my official day for that reason, and here it is, Sunday, and I'm mostly packed. Oh well - I guess that gives me time to do laundry and make some last minute tourist destinations (like the National Archives or the Air and Space Museum).

I can't believe it's almost time for me to go back to school. While I'm excited and want to go back, I am going to miss my internship. It has been a great summer. My internship was interesting, living on my own, and cooking for myself were all great learning opportunities.

Whoa-oh, we're halfway there

Wow, I can't believe it has been 5 weeks since I got to DC, which means that my internship is halfway over. It's strange to think that summer is almost over.

So far, I've been enjoying DC. I haven't gotten too attached since I'll only be here for 10 weeks, and I find that being incredibly homesick for both California and Swelles makes it difficult to want to establish any sort of home-like feelings for DC. So, on the one hand, I'm excited that I only have 5 weeks left - that means I only have a little over a month before I see all my friends again, which is really exciting. I'm also excited (and incredibly nervous) for senior year.

Getting Started

Today was my second day as an intern and wasn't too eventful. It's taking a little while to get everything all set up for me. I seem to have the computer that likes to have all the problems that need to get fixed as we discover them. For example, we discovered today that my default printer was to the Congressman's office printer (uh-oh), but luckily, it didn't actually print and we quickly fixed that problem. I think my computer should be all hooked up and ready to go - yay!

I've also done a couple of tours (well, I shadowed a seasoned fellow intern). It's not too bad (now), but I bet by the time summer ends, I'll be a little sick of them. The best/worst part is the movie at the beginning. Seeing it once is fine, but watching it over and over again (although, I can wait outside for the group, but sometimes, it's just easier to sit through the 15 minute video and stay with the group) makes you realize how over the top it is. I mean, it's not a bad film - it's a history of the Capitol and Congress and how important Congress is to the nation. Sometimes, the phrasing is a little overly dramatic, but that's to be expected (the goal is to show how great our Congress/government is). The thing is is that they combine the overly dramatic script with equally dramatic music (there's a choral piece, almost like a solemn hymn, playing when discussing the uncertainty of America's future on the brink of the Civil War). And, of course, they gloss over the uglier acts of Congress in our long history of ignoring things like Civil Rights (they recognize the Indian Removal Act and do focus on the changes of the post-Civil War Congress, which I suppose acknowledges that there weren't Civil Rights before such acts). Anyway, it really isn't too horrible of a film, but I've seen it two days in a row now, so I'm looking for little things to pick out. Other than that, the tour isn't so bad, and you get to meet some constituents (there's lots of "oh, I used to work in this city" and "Oh really? I live there.").

I also started on constituent mail. It's not the most glamorous job, but it's pretty interesting (and clues you in on what's going on in Congress/the nation/the world). The form letters (the letters that you send out when you get mass mailings of the exact same letter) are pretty easy to figure out, especially if there's a letter that has already been drafted or approved. I actually haven't gotten the chance to draft a new form letter, but I'm sure that day will come. It's just going to take some getting used to a new computer program (and you know how literate I am when it comes to computers, haha).

I have also discovered the awesomeness of receptions held after work hours on the Hill that offer free food in addition to discussions on selected topics open to staff (including interns, yay). I actually hit up 2 of them tonight and grabbed enough veggies, bread, cheese, and salami to keep me content (thank you, Spain, for teaching me how to live on a smaller dinner and a larger lunch). It's cool on the free food bit (which, come on, we all know gets people to come...all college students understand the free food rule) and on the topic bit. Some of these have really interesting topics and are probably really great places to network. Today, I met a guy who is the chair (I think) of the Texas Medical Association, and he chatted with us (me and the other interns) about life in general. It was pretty cool. Tomorrow, there's a NASA thing going on all day. Definitely going to hit that up.

We were talking about NASA in the office today, and I mentioned how the first time I went to Cape Canaveral (when I was, like 3), I saw a space shuttle take off. Granted, I was in the parking lot and not at the actual site, but I could still see it, and more importantly (and this is what I remember most), I could still feel the ground shake as it took off (which I found really cool). The second (and most recent) time I went there, they had an astronaut signing his autograph on his official NASA photo. I don't know how, but somehow, I managed to end up at Cape Canaveral on days when exciting things were going on. This makes me really excited to take Astronomy in the fall! (Ah, yes, you must love my asides and random trains of thought...since this is something of a journal for me, it's going to be a little random, and maybe not quite so put together. Bear with me.)

Well, that's about it in my glamorous life as a hilltern (as we are so "fondly" referred to on this one gossipy blog about the stupid things some interns do - mostly stories of interns flashing their ID badges thinking it'll make the world stop and revolve around them. News flash guys: we're pretty low on the totem pole. Get used to it. You have to work your way to the top).

Off to bed...my commute is about an hour walking and on the bus (no Metro stop nearby...thank you, residents of Georgetown for not supporting that), so that means early starts to the day (and finishes, haha).

Oh Crap! I'm Actually Supposed to be an Adult Now

As mentioned in the entry I just posted, I have a little bit of an emotional ping-pong going on. I think this is mostly brought on by the harsh reality that I am actually supposed to be an adult now. This is the first summer that I will be completely on my own - I'm not at home, I'm not away at Nana and Papa's, and I don't have a Wellesley-run program taking care of me. No, I am on my own. I am paying rent, utilities, and groceries like an adult and working 9-5 almost like one, too (I say almost because I'm still the unpaid college intern). It kind of fully hit me today, as I went grocery shopping for the week. Then, I convinced myself I was fine as I walked home (I was rather proud of myself for figuring out how to get back from Safeway without my written directions). Of course, Skyping with your family kinda makes you realize how much you miss them. There is definitely a part of me wondering why I decided not going home was a good plan (well, in terms of my resume and job prospects for next year, I suppose it is a good plan to be in D.C.), and the small child in me just wants to go home, curl up under the covers, and let Mommy and Daddy deal with and worry about the big stuff. On the other hand, the more practical side of me is saying that it is a good plan being on my own and it will help me after graduation and that I need to grow up and be an adult (however unappealing it may sound).

I'm pretty sure as soon as I start working, I'll feel better about being so far from home. I'll have a routine and be busy, which will cushion the blow of being so far from home for so long. I didn't really realize how hard it is to be away until I saw my family again. All in all, I have to say that this blog post was really mostly for me - a therapeutic way to just release my feelings and have it out there. I guess what it comes down to is that sometimes, I find it really hard to reconcile my desire to travel with my desire to be near my family.

Last Leg of the Heritage Tour

I am currently back in the US. I'm happy to be back, but sad to leave my family (and Europe), and now, I'm just a mess of emotions, but more on that emotional ping-pong later. On to happier subjects, like the last couple of days of the Heritage Tour.

Day 16 - Poland to Vienna - We left Poland a day earlier than planned as we had completed our task of genealogy research, and drove to Vienna. We made it through 4 countries in one day (all of them in the EU, so no passport stamps, lame). It was interesting to see the differences between Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria all in a day. I believe Hungary had a more Americanized/Westernized way of farming as opposed to the little individual farms owned in Poland and Slovakia. Then, of course, Austria is much more westernized than the other 3 countries and is on the Euro, which was another interesting comparison. We arrived in Vienna just in time to hit a deluge of rain and hail.

Day 17 - Vienna - Today, we saw the Schönbrunn palace in Vienna. It was very nice and interesting to see the old Austro-Hungarian map hanging in one of the rooms (which showed why it's so complicated in figuring out if my family is Polish, Austrian, or something else). I also had a giant pretzel (that I could barely finish) that was very soft and tasty! We also went to the Mozarthaus museum which is located in one of the apartments Mozart lived in during his time in Vienna. It was a pretty good museum if you stopped listening to the audio guide (which was rather long and overly-detailed and not wholly relevant to the room it was supposedly talking about).

Day 18 - Vienna - Today, we took a bus tour around the city. We didn't really do much since we were exhausted with ambitious plans to see entire cities in 1 or 2 days at the end of the tour.

Day 19 - Vienna to Rothenburg - Today, we packed up once again for Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. Along the way, we stopped near Füssen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle (which is famous for being the inspiration of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle) built (but never finished) by Ludwig II. The finished rooms are very interesting. Ludwig II built the castle as an homage to Richard Wagner. His bedroom has a Tristan and Isolde theme, one of the rooms leads to a false cave that is supposed to be grotto (based off of one of Wagner's works), and there's a large room that was supposed to serve as a staging place for operas. It is a beautiful castle and very Romantic sitting up on top of a hill surrounded by the fog rolling in. Afterwards, we finished the last leg of our journey, and headed to Rothenburg. Rothenburg has very strong preservation orders, which has led the town to remaining like a little slice of Medieval history. The tour book described it as a "Medieval theme park," which isn't completely inaccurate. I like it - it's charming and full of history.

Day 20 - Rothenburg to Frankfurt - Today, we wandered around Rothenburg looking in all of the cute little shops (and of course, stopping in the large Christmas store). My dad and I went to the Medieval Crime (criminal?) Museum which showed a bunch of instruments of torture as well as decrees and laws from the Medieval times. It was interesting and better than the one in Cordoba because it wasn't just instruments of torture, but also information about laws of the time. We also tried the local specialty - the schneeballen (snow-ball), which wasn't quite like I expected it to be. Afterwards, we headed to our last stop - Frankfurt.

Day 21 - Frankfurt to Washington, D.C. - This was another one of those bittersweet days. I was excited to return to the U.S. after 134 days of being in Europe, but I was sad to say goodbye to my family. Sometimes, I think it's harder to see people for a short period of time after a long time apart, and then have to say goodbye again. The flight wasn't so bad - I slept through most of it. And, so ends the Heritage Tour. Onto my internship!

Whirlwind Tour

It has been 2 weeks since I embarked on my Heritage Tour with my dad and grandma, and we've seen London, Paris, Sweden, Berlin, and are currently situated in Poland. So, to give you a (brief) summary of what has really been quite the whirlwind tour. Day 1 - May 28th: Day 15 - June 11 (for reference)

Day 1 - London: Despite having a cold (thank you, Spain for that lovely parting gift), I enjoyed London. We took a bus tour to see all the most important sights (the London Eye, Parliament/Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the bridge, etc.) and got off to go into the Tower of London, which was really awesome. I love Medieval and Renaissance history and such, so it was great to see such a vital part of British history from those time periods (I still think that the princes in the Bloody Tower were murdered...they didn't just "disappear").

Day 2 - London to Paris: We took the bullet train in the morning to Paris. To all my friends who are giant Harry Potter nerds, er, I mean, fans, I didn't leave from King's Cross. Bummer, I know. Going under the Channel wasn't too bad - I didn't really notice that we were in an underground tunnel. After a long, complicated, stressful trip from the train station to the hotel, we went to the Eiffel Tower. Now, the tower is cool and all, but I do see why Parisians found it offensive (?) at first. It is a rather ugly (in comparison to the rest of Paris) large metal thing with no real useful function sitting in the middle of the city. That being said, it provides an amazing view of Paris and the surrounding area. It's interesting that this tower was considered so offensive to Parisians once upon a time, and now, it's one of the most iconic pieces of Paris.

Day 3 - Versailles and Giverny: Versailles was quite possibly one of the best palaces I've seen in Europe (the Hall of Mirrors is rather impressive). It was also nice that I could take pictures since the palace isn't in use anymore (unlike El Palacio Real in Madrid and the Royal Palace in Sweden). The trip to Giverny and Monet's Garden was very nice (despite getting lost along the way...but, we managed to figure out the not so detailed maps that we had and go the right way). The countryside was absolutely gorgeous and made for a splendid drive. The garden was also breathtaking and it's not hard to see how Monet could have painted so many masterpieces using his garden. Upon returning to the city, my dad and I took a walk around just to see what there was. We ended up returning to the hotel at night, so I got to see Paris all lit up.

Day 4 - Paris: This was the day with A LOT of walking because we went to the Louvre, but before that, we headed to Notre Dame. Despite being a little worn out with cathedrals (do you have any idea how many there are in Spain?), I was excited to see Notre Dame (perhaps it had something to do with it's fame). It is a beautiful cathedral and I got to get my ARTH 100 geek on and tell my family all I could remember about Gothic architecture. After the cathedral, we hopped back on our "boat bus" that took us down the Seine to the Louvre. Oh, the Louvre. I knew it was big, but I didn't realize how big until I walked in it. I saw the Winged Victory of Samothrace (my favorite work of art from ARTH 100), Venus de Milo, and the Mona Lisa (Annie, definitely thought of you and your photo project), as well as other works of art...I spent a lot of time in the Egyptian section of the museum. I think I saw a handful of rooms on each floor of each section, which means my dad and I probably walked the entire length of the Louvre at least twice (if not 3 times). Needless to say, I was a bit exhausted at the end of the day.

Day 5 - Paris to Lund (via Copenhagen): This was pretty much a travel day. We flew from Paris to Copenhagen, where there was a scare at Charles DeGaulle. Someone had left their luggage unattended and the police were called in and the passengers relocated. It turned out to be all ok, and we proceeded to fly to Copenhagen without any more drama (although, the flight was a little bumpy, if I remember correctly). Sorry, Leslye, but we didn't stay too long in Copenhagen - only long enough to get our bags and catch the train to Sweden. Our hotel in Lund was actually like a studio apartment - a sleeping area, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. It was quite nice. We then had dinner with cousin (my 3rd cousin once removed) and his family, and he made us reindeer stew. It was very tasty. That's one new big game animal that I've tried! There was also a fabulous LOTR reference at dinner, a sure sign of the awesomeness in my family. :)

Day 6 - Lund: Today, we saw my great-great grandmother's birthplace in Torpa, Sweden. It's amazing that the house is still standing. Afterward, we wandered around the parish church's graveyard and found my great-great-great grandparents' tombstone (in the prime location right behind the church...wonder how they ended up there?). Then, we had tea and sweets with some more cousins, and my grandma got some more information for her family tree. I tried wild boar for dinner - game animal number 2.

Day 7 - Lund to Stockholm: Today, we flew to Stockholm, and then drove to Skinnskatteberg (the name comes from the fact that the area is full of sheep farmers and they are known for sheep skins or something like that). We stayed in a beyond adorable bed and breakfast with a wonderful old couple who ran it. There was a lake, a little porch/veranda (on which, I took a nap), trees, sheep, sheepdogs, and just plenty of beautiful sights.

Day 8 - Retracing Footsteps: Today, we retraced my great-great-grandfather's footsteps from his birth in Skinnskatteberg to the last known location in Österåker before heading to the USA (where he met my great-great-grandmother whose house we had seen a couple days earlier). It was amazing to think that he had followed the same road (more or less), except not in a car and during the winter. I don't know how they traveled from farm to farm in the winter, but somehow, they made it. We, then had dinner with more cousins, which was another fabulous event. I've found the Swedes to be generally nice, polite, friendly people, which only makes me more proud of my heritage. Everyone we met in Sweden (especially, in the little towns) chatted with us and answered all of our questions about the history of the places we were in. I would love to go back again and again and again!

Day 9 - Stockholm: Today, we toured the capital city. We saw the royal palace (and a bunch of its museums), the changing of the guard, and the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a 17th century warship that sunk on its maiden voyage, but due to some wondrous biological processes, the ship didn't decay, and they pulled it out of the water intact in the late 1960s. Nowadays, you can see the ship in the museum, which is made of 95% of its original material. It's the only ship like that in the world - crazy, right? We also went to Old Town and did some souvenir shopping and got some Swedish food (I had elk...it was ok...really tender, but had a funky texture...large game animal number 3). Stockholm is a very lovely city - I wish I could have spent a little more time in the city, although I did thoroughly enjoy our days in the countryside!

Day 10 - Stockholm to Berlin: Alas, all good things must come to an end, and we packed up and left Stockholm. After some delays, we ended up in our hotel just outside of Berlin. It was in a very nice little town with a traditional German restaurant near the hotel.

Day 11 - Berlin: Today, we toured the city of Berlin. We went to see remnants of the wall and a museum about the Nazi-era, and later, the era of communism in Germany. I attempted, yet again, to climb the wall. This time, since it was at a more run down remnant, there were some bars to hold on to, but I still didn't make it very far up the wall, which I suppose, was the point of the wall in the first place. Then, we saw Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (didn't wait in the 1 hour line since my dad and I have been up there, and my grandma didn't have much interest in climbing the dome), Checkpoint Charlie, and Charlottenberg. It was a rather nice day and there was a lot of "we're in West Berlin. Oh, now we're in East Berlin." as we crossed over the double row of cobblestones marking the old outline of the wall (yes, we could feel the cobblestones as we drove over them).

Day 12 - Berlin to Poland: We left Berlin and drove pretty much all the way across Poland to the south-eastern area (our town is about 1 hour away from the Ukranian border). It was a long 11-hour drive, but the countryside provided for a beautiful view. It wasn't so bad until we hit the area where there had been flooding earlier in the week and the roads were being worked on. It's interesting to see how Poland's membership in the EU has led to some changes in the past 6 years. The roads are getting makeovers to be more up to date with the rest of European roads, so there is a lot of construction, which makes for a very interesting drive.

Day 13 - Przemyśl: Today, we went to a small town in southern Poland (10 km from the Ukrainian border - too bad we couldn't just pop over) to do some genealogy research. I had a small (if you can call it small) Hungarian potato pancake for dinner - there's a pancake (which is pretty thick) made of potato topped with a meat goulash sauce, cheese, and sour cream. It was very delicious even though I couldn't finish it!

Day 14 - Osobonica: We went to a village to do some more genealogy research. The priest was very nice and even made us have lunch (even though he already ate). We had chicken that had probably been alive a couple of days before we got there. It's so interesting being in the countryside, especially in Europe. So many people think Europe is completely like Paris, Madrid, or London, but especially in Eastern Europe, it's not like that and there's more countryside than cities (even the biggest towns would be considered small to Americans). In Osobonica, I saw people with old tractors, plows, and carts that were pulled by horses, and I even saw one pulled by a guy riding a bike attached to the cart. The animals also grazed pretty much wherever they wanted to - there were very little fences and the livestock just hung out in the pastures (some of them were even almost at the road). It was refreshing to see farming going on the way it was in the "old world" or "back in the day" instead of the agribusiness that we have in the US and just knowing that the animals here are probably only killed when meat is needed and it's done by hand, not by some factory. It makes me want to spend some actual time on a farm working the land. I feel like I would gain an appreciation for my food and home and just the Earth in general that I couldn't get any other way (K.Kelles, I feel like I'm channeling you right about now & Karena, I know you understand what I'm saying here).

Day 15 - Polish Countryside: Today, we drove around the Polish countryside looking for something to do, but weren't quite successful. At least it was a nice, relaxing, beautiful day. We did walk around Krosno, which is the biggest city/town in the area, and it's probably smaller than Cordoba. It was nice - I had some ice cream and the cones are shaped like cups, which made it a lot less messy to eat (always a plus when dealing with me)!

Well, that about wraps it up! Next stop - Vienna!

Sonrisas y Lagrimas

Title explanation: Sonrisas y Lagrimas is actually the name in Spanish for The Sound of Music, but it literally translates to "smiles and tears," which makes this appropriate for my reflection on the last week in Spain.


The entrance way to Feria. One of my favorite photos that I've taken.

So, our last week was filled with Feria and parties (por supuesto). We kicked off the last week with a party at Feria where we had arroz (paella), danced, and drank a variety of beverages (I'm sure lots of people chose alcohol...the extreme heat told me I should pick a more hydrating beverage). All in all, it was a fun day, despite the crazy heat.

A couple of days later, we had the Lluvia de las Estrellas - a talent show of the cultural courses (Sevillanas, Coro, and Guitarra) and a big party for the families, friends, professors, and students. That day was definitely a blast! It was a little bit bittersweet, especially knowing that the semester was at an end and we'd all be leaving for whatever adventures awaited us in the summer, but it was great way to top off the semester. Despite nearly falling (perhaps dancing in 3-inch stilettos should be saved for the likes of Ginger Rogers, but my black heels just looked better with the dress) on the second Sevillana, I would like to say our performance went rather well.

Then, we said "adios" to Cordoba, once and for all, and packed all of our suitcases on a bus to Madrid. There were tears (none shed by me, though...perhaps it's my calm, collected, stoic Asian-ness?), smiles, and promises to visit one another. It was a nice (long) bus ride up to Madrid (even with the hail), and there was a rather lively game of "Never Have I Ever" going on the in the back of the bus that turned into "Somebody come up with something that Sarah has done" since 3 people got out before I even put one finger down (haha!).

I would like to return to Cordoba someday, preferably for Feria or Patios or some sort of fiesta, but before it gets above 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fiesta Time!

As I have mentioned before, Spain is well-known for going out all the time and it often seems that they party more than they work. Well, there is a very good explanation for this (which I have just learned). Spain is mainly an import country, so they don't really export a lot of goods, which means their economy is much more dependent of tourism and the general population going out all the time. It's actually better for Spain's economy for people to be out shopping, eating, drinking, etc. instead of working all the time. It all makes sense, now!

Anyway, May in Spain (especially in Andalucía and Córdoba) feels like even more of a party month. In Córdoba, the first weekend of May was Cruces de Mayo. Basically, there were a bunch of crosses around the city decorated with flowers surrounded by people getting drunk. It was an ok festival...a huge crowd of people standing around outside doing nothing but getting drunk isn't exactly what I had in mind (I expected music and dancing in addition to the druken crowd).

In the second week or so, there's the Patio contest, which my host house is a part of...and should have won, but the weird rules led to them not getting anything. I didn't quite understand when my host mother told us in a rapid frustrated manner, but I know that it's a sore subject, and refuse to ask clarification. I got the basic jist - they were robbed of first place, despite a handful of judges thinking that they deserved it. I, personally, only found one other patio to be as guay as ours, and that was our next door neighbor's patio.

After the patios, we went to a Romería. How do I describe Romería? Well, there's a religious aspect (every Romería has a specific saint and every pueblo [little country town] has a Romería) in which there's a parade that follows a float (of sorts) with a statue of the saint from a church in the center of town to a church in the middle of the town. Basically, it was a giant party where people ate paella (a really bad one that tasted like it had fake fish flavor instead of real fish flavor), drank, and danced Sevillanas. Anyone catch a pattern here - festivals with religious meanings, but everyone just gets drunk. Actually, Romería was a lot of fun, since there was more to do than just drink, and I got to dance a lot of Sevillanas. The 4-mile pilgrimage was also very beautiful as we were walking through the olive fields.

After that, there was a blues festival, which was a lot of fun. Over three days, there was a series of free (always a plus) outdoor concerts. It was a lot of fun getting together with everyone to watch the concerts and celebrate the end of classes and finals.

This past weekend, I went to Cádiz (not a traditional Spanish festival, but an AWESOME day, nonetheless). Cádiz was gorgeous, and despite the wind that blew sand at us all day, it was a fabulous day. I'm so glad I was able to go to the beach and that I went with a great group of people.

Now, we have Fería, which is a huge county faire. It makes me want to eat something fried and/or sugary that isn't particularly good for you (like fried dough or a funnel cake).

El Fin (Almost)

As classes come to an end, I've been thinking about my time here in Spain. We only have a little more than 2 weeks in Spain, and all of the Preshquitas/os are well aware of this fact. Every time someone asks if I'm excited or ready to go home, I have a conflicted response.

Honestly, I have been ready to go home for a little while. Yes, Spain is great, but it's not home. I feel like this homesickness has been brought on by the sobering reality that I am going to graduate from college next year, that I won't be back home (California) until Thanksgiving, and that someday, I will be referring to my parent's house as just that and not as my home because I will have my own place that I call home (and pay the bills for...this last one dawned on me as I took care of my summer housing and had to sign a lease for the first time).

At the same time, I don't want to leave Spain because there are so many things I love about it (like, how going out to eat or get a coffee is a 3 hour affair where you relax and enjoy the company of friends and family or that the workday is really split into the morning and the evening, and you spend the afternoon relaxing at home with the family).

I think, I am a lot more excited for the end of May because I'm going to embark on what I'm calling the "Heritage Tour" in which I will be visiting Northern Europe with my dad and grandma. I call it the "Heritage Tour" because we will be heading to countries where our ancestors hail from (and anyone who knows me very well knows that I really love being part Swedish...going to Sweden has been a dream of mine for a while, now...I hope I get to see the fjords [*hint hint* Dad *hint hint*].

I think the fact that I'm a) not leaving Europe right away at the end of the program and b) the end of the program means I get to see a couple of family members makes me answer "yes" to the questions about being ready to go home/excited for the end. Besides, we're staying for the fun stuff, and then it gets into June, which means ridiculous summer heat (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit pretty much all the time...ew). So, yes, I am looking forward to the end. Studying abroad in Spain has been an amazing and wonderful opportunity and chapter in my life, but I am ready to move on to the next chapters, which include the "heritage tour," a summer internship, and senior year of college.