That's a wrap

I've been back in the States for two days and I've already fallen back into my old routine. It's funny how you can be in a different situation for an extended amount of time, then return to "normal" life and just pick up where you left off. In the shower, I subconsciously went through all the motions — though everything felt a bit extravagant after having experienced a huge range of hostel showers. Cash came to scratch my bed my first morning back (5:30 a.m., which was fine, as jet lag made me wake up at 4:30 a.m. anyway) and I picked him up and he licked me as usual.

Back home in Chicago!

There are other examples too — but they've made me worried that I'm going to easily forget my experiences in Europe, where life can be very different than here in the United States.

As you know, I spent most of my time in Granada, Spain, which is in southern Spain. At the end of the semester, Becca, Melissa and I traveled for an additional two and a half weeks, slowly making our way up the continent, eventually ending in the U.K. As we continued north, the culture and the landscape reminded us more and more of the United States. Overall, northern Europe is more modern and more "Westernized" than the rest of Europe.

For this reason, I'm very glad that I chose to study in an area of Europe that was very different and challenged me, both in the language and the culture. 

My running route with the perfect view of the Sierra Nevadas. :)

Speaking Spanish was a struggle. I have improved immensely, but I am nowhere near fluent. Learning a language takes an enormous amount of practice — much more than one semester. The frustrating thing is that as you continue to learn a language, you are more aware of the mistakes you are making. You have the tools to fix those mistakes, but it takes a lot of practice to avoid those mistakes. This is what I struggled with — at a point, I started to feel embarrassed that I was still making these mistakes, which made me clam up. I will have to seek out opportunities wherever I am to continue practicing the language, be it speaking, reading, writing or listening.

The Spanish culture was also a struggle too. I would not give back my experience for anything, but at points, I had a really difficult time. Southern Spain is very traditional and not very progressive, not to mention it has an unemployment rate of 36 percent in Andalusia (2013). Living with a host family was a good experience, albeit challenging. After living independently for a good portion of our college careers, many of us struggled with staying with a family where we didn't really have access to the kitchen, couldn't clean our own clothes, had to be conservative with electricity and water usage and occasionally had trouble communicating. Spaniards are also very blunt — many of us were told things by our host families that took us aback.

But all these experiences have made me a different and stronger person. Continuing to learn Spanish has continued to open the door to another world. Like learning music, learning a different language makes you look at words and structures differently, and not assume that your language is the "right" or "best" language (a very important thing for us native English speakers). Being able to find out information or solve a problem in another language is also a powerful feeling. The fact that southern Spain was so different for us than life in the United States made me realize that most of the world is very different than what we're accustomed to. Many of us do live extravagant and very modern lives that seem normal, because that is what we are accustomed to. We (and countries in northern Europe) live "Western" lives, which are what many countries would like to replicate. We strive to be the cleanest, the most technological, the fastest, et cetera. But that is not the case in most of the world. In Spain, life moved slower. We couldn't use our credit or debit cards barely anywhere, and were given dirty looks when we tried to use a 20€ note to pay for an 8€ purchase, something that cashiers here would not even bat an eye at. It took almost three weeks for the Wi-Fi to be installed and working in my host family's apartment, something that would take just a few days here. And those ways are not wrong — we're just used to other ways.

On another note, I now feel more comfortable in my own skin. I've discovered more of who I am and how I operate in certain situations. I often had to exercise humility — I asked so many people so many questions, many of whom were very helpful and others who I just shrugged off when they looked at me with the "stupid tourist" face. I've always described myself as more of a shy person, but now I feel like I can talk to anyone about anything. I learned I actually love dancing, whether it be salsa or to funk music in a club in Amsterdam. I feel most free and alive in nature — during hikes, while skiing or standing by a lake in the suburbs of Copenhagen. I love meeting people who beat to their own drummer — those with fascinating stories who lead lives that are off the beaten path. I don't like being restricted — I need independence and responsibility.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome!

I could go on and on here, but this post is already getting long and I don't want to lose you. So, I just want to say this: No one studies abroad to actually study. You never hear someone say, "Yeah, I want to study in Paris because I really like the classes offered there." AND THAT'S OK. I didn't study abroad because I wanted to take Spanish classes. Yes, I finished my Spanish minor, but I also practiced the language, grew as a person and traveled a ton. Some people scoff at study abroad because you don't really study. But that's really not the point. As the world is more global and diverse, we are coming into contact with more cultures than ever before. For that reason, it is so important to understand other cultures. It took getting out of the United States for me to understand American culture (barbecues and Target, that's Americana right there). But now I also understand Spanish culture, and there are so many others that I now want to learn, so I can understand why people are the way they are. Our culture is very much a part of us, and it can sometimes blind us to other ways of life. If we could understand other cultures, our world would be able to integrate more easily than it is right now. This is a challenge that we are now facing in this modern and connected world, and one that needs to be worked on. So, if you get the chance, study abroad. Challenge yourself and go somewhere that's a little off the beaten path. I have changed, you will change, and I hope that we can remember and hold on to those experiences for our entire lives.

Alex, on the left, is my mom's friend from high school,
whom we stayed with at her home in Waterloo :)

The lovely Mannekin Pis in Brussels.
Also, my travel buddies for the last two and a half weeks!

Some of the Danish family!

More of the Danish family!

Thanks for reading my blog! This at times has been an outlet for me to get feelings off my chest, and at other times just to share my experiences. It was never a chore — something I more so looked forward to writing. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

Semana Santa: Paris, Nice, (Monaco) and Barcelona

The Monday after we returned from Semana Santa, I sent my large suitcase home with Melissa's family (who were visiting Granada) so I would only have to lug around my travel backpack on our post-semester Euro trip. In it, I put my laptop, hence this delay between blog posts. So here I sit at our hostel in Madrid, passing time before our overnight bus to Barcelona, and am writing about Semana Santa on Becca's laptop.

Semana Santa in Spain is the week leading up to Easter, and processions down the streets dominate the celebrations. Unfortunately and a little regretfully, I didn't see any of these processions. Becca, Melissa and I traveled to Paris, Nice and Barcelona for the entire week. I guess I'll just have to come back to Andalusia some other year. I'll take any excuse to come back. :)

Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com

Paris was my favorite city of the trip, so I'll focus on writing about the City of Light.

Now there's a lot of hype about Paris, so much that some people are soured toward it because of its popularity.

But in my opinion, it deserves all the attention it gets.

I was in Paris four years ago with my family, and I can tell you that traveling with family in Paris is very different than three girls traveling alone. (For instance, I definitely didn't get tipsy on champagne under the Eiffel Tower with my family.) On the other hand, it was different because four years ago I ate escargot, and this time I ate prepackaged couscous, using hunks of baguette as a spoon. 

Anyway. What I loved about Paris is that it was so affordable for us. European Union students under 25 can get into most museums and monuments for free. I didn't even realize I was considered an EU student until recently. (Yes, that shows you just how real school feels to me...) Paris has so many things to do and see that we would have broke the bank if we had to pay for everything, but we only ended up paying to get into the gardens of the Versailles Palace.

Sorry I couldn't rotate it...

Here are the highlights of what we saw: Notre Dame, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay (which, to my delight, had a special exhibit on Van Gogh. I saw "Starry Night over the Rhone," which I had a print of hanging in my apartment at school. The exhibit didn't have "Starry Night," so I'll have to get to MoMa in New York to see that.), Musee de l'Orangerie (which is a very small art museum at the beginning of the Champs Élysées. It houses Monet's Nymphaes, or the lily pad paintings.),  the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Luxembourg Gardens and the Sacre Coeur Basilica.

Outside of Versailles Palace. Tip: Don't go in the morning/on the weekend! Extremely crowded.

Loving the Louvre.

One night, we rented bikes and rode along the Seine River. We also rode through the entrance area of the Louvre, with the big, glass pyramid. It felt so surreal to be biking through these absolutely gorgeous areas, and the feeling was amplified because it was night. All that was missing was an accordion soundtrack.

The best bike ride ever.

 Every night, we headed to the Eiffel Tower with a picnic and a bottle of champagne. There are lawns that spread out on one side of the tower, and many young people gather there to drink at night. Every hour starting at 9 p.m., there's a 5-minute light show on the tower, which is gorgeous. Men were constantly walking around, trying to sell beer and champagne, which we took them up on one night after haggling the price way down.

Cheap eats in front of Eiffel.

 We tried our airbnb for this trip, and ended up staying with a French couple in Malakoff, a town on the outskirts of Paris. I didn't know we'd actually be living with them, as opposed to a separate apartment they were renting out, so that was a surprise, but a good one. We got a little look into how the French live and were provided with fresh baguettes every morning for breakfast.

Great macaroons from Laduree. The blue/green one is called Marie Antoinette!

After Paris, we headed to Nice, a city on the French Riviera. I wasn't a fan of the city too much (a little too luxurious for me) but we stayed in a great hostel with really friendly people. A couple of the guys on the staff were from Madrid, so we had fun speaking a little Spanish. :)

Soaking up the sun in Nice.

One day, we took a day trip to Monaco, the second-smallest country in the world. It was just an hour bus ride from Nice. Monaco is an extremely luxurious country, so we felt out of place all day, but parts of it were pretty.

And this is Monaco.

Monte Carlo Casino.

After Melissa left to meet up with her family who was visiting Granada, Becca and I headed to Barcelona. It was interesting seeing the Catalan language (seemed like a mix of Castilian Spanish and French) and to see all the Catalan flags with the blue triangle and star on them, the sign of Catalan independence. I'm really interested to see what will happen in the next few years with these demands for independence from Spain.

The Catalan independence flag hangs from an apartment balcony.

 Toward the end of this trip, I was homesick for Granada, which was a different sensation for me. Granada has come to feel like my home, and I couldn't wait to maximize the little time we had left there.

Tips for future students studying in Granada

1. Bring a good umbrella. Or rain boots. Or a raincoat. It may have rained more than usual here this winter, but I was surprised when it didn't rain on any given day.

2. Buy a bus pass. You'll be making many trips to the Málaga Airport and occasionally around the city as well, and a pass is cheaper than paying on the bus every time.

3. Smart wool socks. Once again, that rain.

4. Find the Carmen de Los Martires garden sooner than later.

5. Catch on to how Spaniards speak. It's different than Latin American Spanish, and there are many nuances that we were not taught. Also, review the vosotros form.

6. Please don't pronounce the "tr" in "tres" or "tren" like you would "tree." Americans do it all the time, and it sounds super ugly. 

7. Bring slippers, as Spaniards never walk around the house in bare feet or just socks.

8. If anyone warned you about smiling at guys and giving them the wrong idea, don't worry about that.

9. It's OK to drink water from the fuentes.

10. Don't take the plants from the gypsies.

11. Your host family won't want you to shower more than once a day. Dry shampoo is helpful, and for those with lighter shades of hair, baby powder gets rid of grease.

12. Not every day is going to be amazingly wonderful. Don't feel like study abroad has to be great 100 percent of the time.
13. Try to do an intercambio. Despite your best intentions, you're going to end up speaking English with your friends. An intercambio will force you to really practice your Spanish.
14. There will be an adjustment period when you get here, but Granada is really a wonderful and beautiful city. I have two weeks left and I feel like there is still so much left to discover. Enjoy your limited time here as best as you can.

20 tips for future study abroad students

We're all given a lot of general study abroad tips before we jet off for wherever our program is located, but rarely are we given concrete inside information. Here are some tips that I've put together, some of which I knew going in and still think were helpful, others which I wished I had known before. A lot of these may apply more so for those who are in a place like Europe, where you will probably be doing a lot of traveling. ¡Buen viaje!

1. Travel a lot, but make sure to appreciate the city you're studying in.
2. It's a good idea to invest in a large travel backpack. Get something that's larger than a regular-sized backpack, but small enough to use as carry-on baggage on airplanes. REI sells a lot of good ones.

3. Bring empty travel bottles (100mL or less) for traveling. (Especially if you come with big bottles of sunscreen — you can dump some in these rather than paying a fortune at the beach.)

4. Get a credit card that doesn't charge international fees (like Chase Sapphire).

5. Tell your bank before you leave what countries you think you'll be traveling to.

6. Look for hostels with breakfast included or at least offered. If you can't get an ideal hostel location, book one with a high "good atmosphere" rating.

7. Neck passport carriers/money belts sound dorky, but are actually a good idea. You're probably not going to listen to me, but at least I tried.

8. Don't worry too much about fitting in. Wear what you want. People will know you're American no matter what you do.

9. Separate yourself from your camera. Selfies with the camels in Morocco may seem like a good idea at the time, but later you're going to wish you had let your own eyes soak in the sights more.

10. Go-to websites: skyscanner.com, hostelworld.com, airbnb.com, eurolines.com.

11. Don't always compare things to how things are in the United States. A culture isn't about how it's different from another culture — treat it as its own entity, completely detached from others. This will help you accept those "cultural differences" easier.

12. Don't be afraid to travel alone.

13. If you haven't already, start a postcard collection.

14. Download Viber and WhatsApp. And Google Translate.

15. If you learn how to flirt in another language, you'll come back a pro in your native language.

16. When you're traveling, get a city map and circle your hostel/apartment on it. Then stick that map in your boot when you go out.

17. Travel hand sanitizer is a very good idea.

18. If you have a tablet, use it to read books rather than lugging around heavy paper books.
19. Don't lose sight of yourself when you're abroad. Crazy things are going to happen, but don't chalk it up to "yolo" every time.
20. Your study abroad experience is completely your own. Do what you want. Don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing, or "live up" to everyone else's stories. You're studying abroad for your benefit. Grow, and have fun. :)

Lovely mornings in Granada

As usual, being productive here is proving very difficult, so here I am, writing a blog post instead of studying for my Arab-Islam test. It's OK though, I'll get to that afterward.

This morning I returned from a two-day ski trip in the Sierra Nevadas — it was great to go back and really explore the parts of the mountain that we didn't have time for in January!

But this past week in Granada was fantastic. On my afternoon run on Tuesday, I came across Francis, who suggested we run the next morning — at 7:15 a.m. I was hesitant at first because sleep is nice and I had class at 9 a.m., but I eventually gave in after he kept saying "Come on!" in his heavy Spanish accent.

The run was worth it — like always, he made me go harder and farther than I would have on my own, but it was cool to see Granada at daybreak.

The next morning, Elizabeth, Melissa and I trekked up into the Albaicín at 8 a.m. before class to buy sweets from the nuns in the monasteries. Elizabeth and a couple of other girls had done so the week before, and I really wanted to go see what this was all about for myself!

Apparently the nuns only sell the sweets until noon, so we rose early in order to make sure they wouldn't sell out. On the side of the convent, there was a door with a cross above it, and a little buzzer on the side. I pressed the buzzer, and it took a couple of minutes for someone to answer. As the nuns can't have direct contact with the public, I just heard of voice say, "¿Hola?" I responded with the very scripted response: "Hola madre, que dulces tienes hoy?" Translation: "Hello mother, what sweets do you have today?" She then told us to open the door, and there lay sweets on a lazy susan.

We told the nun we'd like the roscos fritos, and she then turned the lazy susan and there lay a bag of fresh roscos. We put the money on the counter, and she turned it back and gave us change. I thought it was so cool that the whole transaction was based on the honor system.

We then hiked a bit farther up to Mirador de San Nicolás, where we could get the most amazing view of the Alhambra and eat our roscos. Normally, that area is teeming with tourists and locals, so it was nice to have the whole area to ourselves (albeit one elderly couple with their two dogs).

After my morning class, I headed back up to the garden (Carmen de los Martires) my art history class visited a couple of days before. Even though it was on-and-off drizzling, it was so peaceful to walk through the garden solo and just enjoy the beauty of Granada outside of the city center.

Peacocks in the park! Two days before, this guy spread his feathers to impress the ladies
(It didn't work though, they just wanted the food that someone was throwing them).

The French sector of the garden — more organized and precise than the Spanish part.

What I miss, what I will miss

As my time is nearing its end in Granada (just about one month left!), there are a lot of things I'm starting to miss about life in the United States. It's great to live in another country for a while, but when you've been raised in one culture for 21 years of your life, there are bound to be things you're eventually going to miss. But, on the other hand, I'm realizing that there will be many things that I will miss about life in Spain. Here's a snapshot of what I'm missing, and what I think I will miss when I return home.

What I miss about the United States:

1. My family

This is the first time I've gone a solid five months without seeing my parents and brother. I haven't even Skyped them because, once again, of the bad Wi-Fi connection. I only talk with my parents on the phone once every one or two weeks, so I look forward to going home and telling them stories in person!

2. Living on my own

I cannot wait to be able to cook what I want, blast music in my room, bring friends over and shower whenever and however many times I want again.

3. Paved roads

The majority or the roads here are cobbled or made out of bumpy rocks, and because I walk at least four miles every day to and from school, the roads have worn my shoes thin and hurt my feet. 

4. Going to a gym

The workout culture here is different - there aren't as many people who exercise here for the sake of exercising. They either play sports, or exercise by walking everywhere. Thus, it isn't super common to belong to a gym. I was on a strict routine at my gym before coming here, and I'm really starting to miss it (Nike Training Club app!).

5. Milk

I haven't had a single glass of milk for three months, and I'm used to going through about a gallon a week at home.

6. Driving a car

I find driving fun, and I miss being able to hop in the car and zoom off to wherever I want.

7. Good 'ol American cuisine

While there aren't really any typical "American" dishes, there are certain foods that I crave, probably out of nostalgia: grilled burgers, corn on the cob, gooey brownies and watermelon, just to name a few. I also miss my mom's balanced meals (which I've picked up when I cook for myself). Here, many times I'll be presented with a smorgasbord of yellow and white food — AKA carbs, carbs and more carbs.

8. Cell phones that work even without Wi-Fi

Sure, we bought dinky little Spanish phones, but since we have to pay for every text and call we make, most of the time they just sit in our rooms. So, we use our regular phones when we have Wi-Fi. Sometimes I do a double-take when I see someone talking on the phone or texting on a bus or in the street, and wonder how their phones are working. Then I remember that normally phones are able to do that.

What I'll miss about Spain:

1. Having things done for me

Even though I said I can't wait to live on my own again, it is nice that I have breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked for me and my laundry done for me every week.

2. The weather

I escaped a terrible winter in Chicago and arrived in the mild, Andalusian winter. It's felt like spring for many weeks now here, and a nice spring only lasts for about a week or two in Chicago.

3. The food

Paella, toast with tomato spread and olive oil for breakfast, rice with milk (a dessert), chocolate pastries (0.50€!), strong coffee, tortilla española. Hopefully I can successfully replicate a lot of this at home.

4. The sights

Even though there's no grass here, there's always something beautiful to see. It may be extremely old buildings, or natural beauty. There's a running route that I take that leaves the city and offers an incredible view of all the Sierra Nevada mountains. And just yesterday I discovered a beautiful, large garden near the Alhambra (complete with peacocks!) with my art history class. Little discoveries like that so late in the game make me worry about what I won't discover about Granada before I leave! (My senõra's sister would say that's because I travel too much, which may be true, but I can't help it.)

5. Inexpensive bread and pastries

Never will I forget the bread lady and the bread man, who nourish Cegrí students with tortas de chocolate and, as I say, "el pan con aceite y pasas."

6. Courageous chicos

Unlike in the United States, where many guys walk past you as if they didn't have eyes or as if you weren't even there, guys here will use the eyes that God gave them and stare at you. I appreciate having my existence acknowledged.

And that's that. Traveling is wonderful, but home really is where the heart is.

Las Alpujarras

A view of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevadas in the Alpujarras.

The weather report for this past weekend forecast an 85 percent chance of rain on Friday and a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday.

So many of us who we're supposed to go hiking in the Alpujarras this weekend went in thinking it would be a little miserable.

But it was quite the opposite.

The Alpujarras is a region of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Included in our tuition for this semester was a weekend trip to this region, where we'd hike with one of our resident directors, Miguel Angel, who lives for things like this.

After a bus ride of a little over an hour, we arrived at our hostel in Pampaneira, a little village in the natural park. And lo and behold, it was sunny and warm! So, we set out for a hike of about five hours, where much of the hiking was trekking up the mountain. 

We were in a valley between two mountains with a river flowing through the middle. At one point we saw a herd of goats on the other side of the mountain, where dogs were herding them into a concentrated area. Later we found ourselves on that side of the mountain, slowly making our way down a very steep and muddy path. And suddenly, the herd of goats was behind us! As there were 21 of us, we were causing quite a traffic jam and the dogs were running back and forth beside us while the sound of the goats and the bells around their necks added a cool soundtrack to our hike. Eventually we got down and they got down too, but I have no idea where the herd disappeared to.

And now it's the goats' turn!

The mountains were so green and offered amazing views of some of the peaks of the snowy parts of the Sierras. We stopped for lunch at a flat landing and pulled out the baguettes, chorizo, vegetables, apples, and goat and sheep cheese that we had been carrying in our backpacks. What a feast!

We then headed back to our hostel and after showering, we headed to a chocolate shop called "Abuela Ili" in the town. I'd heard that it offered chocolate samples, but I had not expected the huge array of samples that were laid out on the counter in the small store. There must have been at least 30 different flavors to try, including chocolate mango, chocolate with corn, caramel chocolate and chili chocolate. I kept waiting for the workers to tell us we had had enough samples, as we ended up "sampling" multiple flavors multiple times. I decided this couldn't exist in the States because people would just grab handfuls and run. We ate a lot, but at least we all bought a bit at the end too. This store exists in Granada too, so I think we'll all be making stops there in the future!

Shortly after that, it was time for dinner! We quickly (mentally) digested that chocolate and got ready for our 3-course meal: a salad with fruit, STEAK and fries, and for dessert, flan. Some people tried rabbit, and to my horror, the entire rabbit came out on their plates. Christine enjoyed sticking the head on a fork and bouncing it around in the air, while I unsuccessfully tried not to look. Later she and Tori ate the tongue and brain. Madremía. We were also served tinto de verano (AKA the poor man's sangria). So that, combined with our sugar high from the chocolate, made for a night of Patti, Elizabeth, Melissa and me laughing uncontrollably in our room about who knows what. Good times.

On Saturday, we didn't have as much luck with the weather. It started to rain early on, so after a breakfast of tostada con tomate, cafe con leche and zumo de naranja, we put on our ponchos and headed out on a different route. We were hiking on a route called the GR7, which runs through Spain, Andorra and France.

Clouds, ponchos and muscles.

We made it through about two and a half hours of hiking, but then it started to rain harder so it was decided to stop in a village and end our hike there. Our lunch was to be driven to us, so Miguel offered to buy us all hot chocolate in a nearby bar while we waited. We all crowded into this tiny place, complete with a friendly, 9-month-old German Shepard. Most of us ordered ColaCoa (which we finally realized is the way to order hot chocolate and not receive melted chocolate in a cup). A while later, the owner started blasted Spanish pop music for us, much to the apparent dismay of an old couple squished up against a wall of the bar. We obviously started dancing and singing, and when we eventually left the bar, we realized that the music could be heard basically throughout the whole town. What a way to spend a rainy afternoon.

After lunch, we were driven back to Pampaneira to pick up our bags and then we were bused back to Granada.

I've grown to love hiking after many forced hikes during my childhood. Hiking is funny because most of the time you aren't doing the hike just to get to the destination. The journey there is the point of hiking. I didn't get that when I was younger, but now I really appreciate and love the natural beauty of the Earth.

Geneva, Switzerland

Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com

Let me be the first to introduce some of you to Skyscanner — AKA the greatest thing since the invention of study abroad. It's a flight-booking website that will search for the best flight deals from destination to destination. It also has a feature where you can put in your departure point and select "everywhere" as the destination. It will then generate the cheapest flights to various cities within Europe for your specified time period — perfect for spontaneous weekend trips.

A month or so ago, I used that feature and came across a 90€ round-trip flight to Geneva, Switzerland. I then booked it a couple of days later.

Only after booking that relatively inexpensive flight did I realize that everything else — EVERYTHING ELSE — within Switzerland is out-of-this-world expensive.

But I digress.

After sleeping in the Málaga Airport overnight (which I'd rather not have to do again), I boarded my Swiss Airlines flight on Thursday morning. We were served drinks, a napolitana (a pastry filled with chocolate), yogurt and a bar of chocolate on the flight. I appreciated that very much, especially considering I've become accustomed to Ryan Air and Easy Jet flights where you're given zippo to consume. As we neared Geneva, the views of the Alps were breathtaking. Whereas the Sierra Nevadas in Andalucía are wide and tree-less, the Alps have countless peaks that jut into the air at different elevations, and trees add a beautiful effect.

Once we arrived in Geneva, I met a friend that I had met in Budapest a couple of months ago and we headed to our hostel. There hadn't been many hostels to choose from, and we ended up paying six times as much per night for the hostel in Geneva as I paid for at the Art Hole in Prague. There were older adults staying at this hostel too, which told me that even working adults (or the retired dentist we met from Toronto) can't afford regular hotels in Switzerland.

We asked a worker there about places to grab some food, and he sent us to a "great, cheap chicken place." Once we got there and looked at the menu, we realized that to the Swiss, "cheap" is 15 SFr. per plate (which is about equivalent to the euro). It was quickly decided that after that meal, we would be buying all of our food at the grocery store.

Afterward, we walked through the city and I was amazed by how high-end everything was. The people were dressed in extremely nice clothing and all the stores were designer (I did not see a single Zara, H&M or anything affordable). We didn't see any street musicians, no homeless people and the streets were very clean. I'd never been to a city this wealthy, and it actually unsettled me. It seemed like a fantasy world — something that wasn't a representation of "normal" life.

Felipe and me by the Jet d'Eau.

So, the next day we got out of the city center. We loaded up on food from a nearby supermarket (and we were given two chocolate bars with our receipt!) and hopped on a bus with the intention of going hiking. The night before, we met a group of Americans by the Jet d'Eau who were studying abroad in Geneva and they told us to hike in the Jura Mountains. They said they were really easy to get to even though the cable car to the top of the mountain was closed.

Long story short, it probably took us an hour and a half after we got off the bus to find a hiking route on the mountain. Felipe used his limited French to ask around where we were supposed to go, and soon after almost giving up, we rejoiced when we found the route markers for multiple hikes.

Hiking was really the only thing that I had known that I wanted to do in Switzerland, which is funny, considering we actually had to cross the French border to hike in the Jura Mountains. 

But it was an amazing and challenging hike.

The first 45 minutes or so was extremely steep hiking, such that you really had to be careful that you didn't slip. We marveled at runners who were somehow traversing their way down the mountain, even though they looked slightly out of control. At the top, we came across a quaint French town called Monnetier-Mornex, and a ways down the road we found a place for a picnic, where the view overlooked another French town in a valley between mountains with the Alps in the background. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Picnic time! Unfortunately the camera didn't capture much of the Alps in the background.

And I have to mention that while we were walking through another French village, we came across some friendly French bulldogs in the yard of a house. So I pet French bulldogs in France. SCORE.

A village in the French countryside.

Eventually we made it back to the hostel and cooked frozen paella and a pizza in the microwave. (Turned out that the hostel didn't have an oven.) There we met a guy from Tokyo who was doing research for a week at the United Nations on the League of Nations. I really wanted to question him about that since I just finished a book that talked a bit about the League, but his English was a little too limited. Felipe enjoyed a little Japanese lesson with him, however.

The auditorium of CERN.

The next morning was rainy, so we headed to CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory. This is the place where the "God particle," or the Higgs boson, was discovered two years ago. We weren't able to see the actual particle accelerator, as it was kilometers under the ground and required a special tour, but there were a lot of interesting free exhibits.

A model of the particle accelerator.

Afterward, we headed to the United Nations building, which is the European U.N. headquarters. We couldn't go inside since the building was closed on Saturday, but it was still cool to see the building and the flags of all the member states.

Soon the rain cleared up and we walked more around the lake, which offered more great views of the Alps, the Jura Mountains and the Jet d'Eau.

Those are the Jura Mountains we hiked!

The next morning we both had super early flights, and I was back in Granada on Sunday afternoon.

Since then, I've been doing a little research to figure out why Switzerland is such a wealthy country. It appears there are many factors that contributed to the country's high standard of living, but an interesting factor pertains to World War II. Due to Switzerland's neutrality during the war, many people invested their money in Swiss banks, and the banks even housed the gold and money confiscated from the Jews by the Nazis, much of which was never reclaimed by the Jews, as many perished in the concentration camps (in the Swiss banks' defense, however, they did donate much of that wealth to charity). Additionally, the exchange rate of the Swiss franc remained stable during both world wars because of Switzerland's neutrality, which countered the hyperinflation that other nations were experiencing.

As beautiful as Geneva was, I do not have an urgent desire to return to Switzerland (unless the opportunity to ski in the Alps comes up!). I like cities with a little grub and with more character and personality. Geneva was prim, proper and quiet.

But for a 90€ round-trip ticket, it was worth it. Thanks, Skyscanner.

Marching Illini Ireland tour

The Trojan Marching Band in front of Parliament in London! 01/01/2011

Melissa and me before the
St. Patrick's Day parade! 03/17/2014

Music is a common language that people across the world can share and enjoy together. 

For this reason, the ability to play music will present opportunities for travel. For myself specifically, marching band has allowed me to travel abroad for some of the most unique experiences I'll ever have. Four years ago, I traveled with the Downers Grove North Trojan Marching Band to London to play in the New Year's Day parade. And a week ago, I traveled with the Marching Illini to Ireland to perform in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin.

So basically, whoever says band isn't cool is lying.

When I first heard that the MI was going to Ireland, I was ecstatic. As many of you know, Illinois' football team is, to put in nicely, struggling, and it doesn't look like a bowl game trip is in my future. Even when Illinois went to the Kraft Fight Hunger bowl in San Francisco three years ago, there wasn't enough money for the whole band to go. So I, as a lowly freshman, was left at home.

For the past few months Melissa and I have been planning for this trip from abroad — arranging for people to pick up our uniforms and piccolos (100,000 thank you's, Ashley and Jared!), listening to YouTube videos of Runaway Baby and trying to memorize the music without a piccolo, finding a "hostel" for the night before the band arrived (probably only Melissa will understand those quotation marks), and trying to figure out how and when to meet up with the band. Luckily, everything turned out in the end.

Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com

1. Getting to Ireland

The day before we were to take off for Ireland, I printed my boarding passes and realized my connection flight in London wasn't within Heathrow Airport, but from Gatwick to Heathrow. I had to make an AIRPORT transfer.

Later, Melissa tried to check-in online, but eventually realized that her payment for the flight never went through. AKA she had no way to get to Ireland 12 hours before we were supposed to leave.

So, we ended up on separate travel paths, and eventually met up in the Shannon Airport in Ireland. I paid for an overpriced bus transfer between Gatwick and Heathrow (especially since the dollar is weaker to the pound than to the euro) and Melissa paid too much for a last-minute flight, but we successfully traveled alone and got to our hotel just before midnight.

2. Limerick

Melissa and I had about half a day to kill in Limerick before the rest of the band arrived, so we set out on Friday morning to explore the city. We also had to feed ourselves that day, so our first stop was Aldi, which was conveniently right outside the hotel. We settled on Nutella and a loaf of bread for breakfast, and lunchmeat and the rest of the bread for lunch. That sure made us feel like broke college kids. But I have to say, it was delicious cheap food.

Some of the MI started arriving around 4 p.m. There were a ton of problems with flights being delayed and cancelled because of an Aer Lingus strike, so the band arrived sporadically, with some not getting to Ireland until Saturday! Seeing everyone again was so surreal — it felt like I was entering a different life. I've essentially been on vacation for a few months, and they've been in Chambana. But it was so fun to share stories and settle back in with my MI family, especially with my piccs!

3. Cliffs of Moher

The cliffs were breathtaking and gorgeous. As the MI was split into two hotels in Limerick (as not all hotels are equipped to handle an influx of 250 people), it was also where I finally saw the rest of the band! And with 100% attendance, squad 41 was reunited. 

Squad 41 at the Cliffs!

4. Dublin St. Patrick's Day parade

News video clip

The MI was the last group in the parade — AKA the grand finale, the best for last, et cetera. Before we stepped off, we met bands from Germany (whose members were taking smoke breaks in between warming up — that was different), Louisiana State University and a couple of high school bands from the East Coast.

The parade itself went by so quickly. It was a two-mile route and we marched for more than an hour, but there was so much to look at and remember to do that it felt like it lasted 20 minutes. I was in the front row of the band, so I really had to pretend that I knew what I was doing. I was prepped a little bit before we started — modified attention position, we'd alternate between Illinois March and Runaway Baby, the tempo was a lot faster in Runaway Baby so be ready to walk faster. The grand finale to the modifications, which turned out to be new for everyone, was that we would do horn flashes during Runaway Baby while marching. In theory that sounded great, but in practice it was so difficult. I wish I had a video of myself doing figure 8's with my head while trying to play the music and marching in a straight line at the same time.

A snapshot from the live feed of the parade.

Anyway, with all that going on, I actively had to tell myself to look around while we were marching. There were 500,000 people at the parade, all decked out in green and Irish flags, some hanging off statues and others reaching out over the barriers to touch us. At one point I had someone stick an iPhone in my face and take video while we were playing in place. At multiple points during the parade, we broke off to do meet and greets. During one of these, I heard someone yell "Kirsten!" and there was Muriel, who I work on the copy desk with at The Daily Illini and who is studying abroad in Dublin! The luck of the Irish must have made that happen.

During these meet and greets, I also heard comments from the crowd that they loved how happy and excited we all looked. It's so easy for these sort of parades to be intimidating, such that you worry the whole time about how it's going. However, I think most of the MI was able to let that go and soak everything in for what it was. Sure, mistakes were made. But we couldn't help but smile through it all, and I think the crowd enjoyed that.

The piccolo section!

5. Guinness Storehouse

Right after the parade and after our boxed lunches (I had missed those!), we headed to the Guinness Storehouse to perform. The Storehouse is the tourist-y part of the brewery, which is a huge employer in Dublin. The Storehouse has multiple levels with a common, open central area, and different sections circled on different levels. The piccolos were on the third level, and we all looked down to the floor level to see the drum majors and Professor Houser conducting. The effect was amazing. The music boomed throughout the building, and I loved seeing the happy looks on the tourist's faces as we played. During low brass cheer, we broke off from the railing and started circling around unsuspecting visitors. Only then did they look a little scared.

After we played, we took a tour of the Storehouse and sampled beer along the way, which will most likely be the one and only time I'll be allowed to drink in uniform. But man, Guinness is good!

6. St. Patty's Day festivities!

Surprisingly, the eve of St. Patrick's Day was the crazier and busier night. Melissa, Rachel and I went out with a group of trumpets on Sunday night and we all came across one area where there were a lot of pubs in a really concentrated area, and people were spilling out into the streets, drinking and having fun. When it was time to head back to the hotel, eight of us piled into a five or so-person taxi. The driver, a sweet old guy, warned us that he'd have to pull of the road and people would have to get out if we came across police, but we disregarded that, thinking it wouldn't happen. But sure enough, 10 minutes or so into the ride, there was a group of police cars at the upcoming intersection, so the driver pulled to the side of the road. Alek and Megan hopped out, and the driver told them to walk to the intersection and cross the street, and he'd wait for them around the corner. We got a kick out of that, and made sure to thank the driver profusely.

The next night we headed to the Temple Bar area of Dublin, which is a pretty, cobbled-street area with lots of bars. We headed into a bar that was playing some oldies tunes, and we joined a group of British guys that were having a great time dancing.

As we were leaving Ireland the next day and a lot of our buses to the airport were at 3:30 a.m., we decided to stay out all night until we had to load the buses. That was an idea that was great at the time but one that made the guy sitting next to me on the plane ask if I'd had a rough night and also one that made me fall asleep during class the next day.

But was everything worth it?

Of course.

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind blow at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. The rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

                                                                         — Irish Blessing