04 May 2008
24 April 2008
ja! nein!
hallo from berlin! i am here in deutscheland... it is grand.
so on sunday gabi and i had our 7 hour bus ride home from cumbria to central london. lets just say that a. some english accents, particularly out of the mouths of 15 yr olds, sound like words being put through a garbage disposal, and b. 15 year olds should not have babies, because they do not know how to make them stop crying. needless to say, we made it, and found a hostel, and fell into it, and went to bed. the next day we did gabrielles passport business, the national gallery and the british museum, then made our way to gatwick and caught our flight to berlin.
once in berlin, at around 1030 at night, we realized we had no idea how to get to our hostel. a 2 hour train ride later, we are walking down the street to find our hostel, which is all dark and closed up, in this sketch apartment... sooo... we walked through an open door, climbed a flight of dark stairs, pushed another door open and sat on a couch until morning. a little scary. well, a lot scary. it wasnt too bad until polish men started coming in and out around 5. oh dear. in the morning we found the owner and it all got sorted, and she was so sorry, because she thought we werent coming... it was just a bad situation. we slept for a while that morning.
after that harrowing experience, berlin has been amazing! weve had tshirt weather since monday even. weve been to sachenhausen concentration camp, the berlin wall, old gestapo headquarters, brandenburg gate, the holocaust memorial, berlin cathedral and much more. today we rented bikes for 7 euro and biked all around, and then went to the berlin zoo! weve also been walking so many miles i think my feet are going to go on strike.
tommorow we are headed on an overpriced bus to munich (8 hours... oh crap.. hope there are no babies) where we will soak in the sights and vist dachau, another concentration camp.
i think im learning more than just directional skills on this trip. like how to survive. except seeing what im seeing sort of puts things in perspective.
gesundheit!
so on sunday gabi and i had our 7 hour bus ride home from cumbria to central london. lets just say that a. some english accents, particularly out of the mouths of 15 yr olds, sound like words being put through a garbage disposal, and b. 15 year olds should not have babies, because they do not know how to make them stop crying. needless to say, we made it, and found a hostel, and fell into it, and went to bed. the next day we did gabrielles passport business, the national gallery and the british museum, then made our way to gatwick and caught our flight to berlin.
once in berlin, at around 1030 at night, we realized we had no idea how to get to our hostel. a 2 hour train ride later, we are walking down the street to find our hostel, which is all dark and closed up, in this sketch apartment... sooo... we walked through an open door, climbed a flight of dark stairs, pushed another door open and sat on a couch until morning. a little scary. well, a lot scary. it wasnt too bad until polish men started coming in and out around 5. oh dear. in the morning we found the owner and it all got sorted, and she was so sorry, because she thought we werent coming... it was just a bad situation. we slept for a while that morning.
after that harrowing experience, berlin has been amazing! weve had tshirt weather since monday even. weve been to sachenhausen concentration camp, the berlin wall, old gestapo headquarters, brandenburg gate, the holocaust memorial, berlin cathedral and much more. today we rented bikes for 7 euro and biked all around, and then went to the berlin zoo! weve also been walking so many miles i think my feet are going to go on strike.
tommorow we are headed on an overpriced bus to munich (8 hours... oh crap.. hope there are no babies) where we will soak in the sights and vist dachau, another concentration camp.
i think im learning more than just directional skills on this trip. like how to survive. except seeing what im seeing sort of puts things in perspective.
gesundheit!
19 April 2008
old man coniston
hellooo from the lake district (otherwise known as cumbria)! we are currently in coniston, home of john ruskin, donald campbell - the guy who died in the attempt to break his own water-speed record - and old-man coniston, a big mountain.
sooooo my program is over. last saturday night we had a farewell dinner/speeches/dance in the church, all of which were amazing. we had a great time together, even though we knew in 2 days we had to leave. sunday was packing and watching across the universe with bee, beth, alisha and gabi, then a last gathering at sharon and jodi's. in the morning lee drove me down to the bus and then we all had to say goodbye. now, i'm not talking an ordinary, "i'm so sad", kind of goodbye. this was more like heartbreak. i've never seen anything like it. terrible. but we decided it's not the end, because we all have cars etc., so why should it be? anyways... yeah. i'm going to miss charlbury and everyone who was there with me.
so we took the coach to heathrow, where gabi and i ran to catch the tube and made it to our 11am bus in central london about 1101, and the driver was about to leave.... anyways we were thankful that God is good to us. after a looooong bus trip up to kendal we walked around and got to our first hostel!
this whole week in the lake district has been nothing but AWE-INSPIRING. i've never seen anything so beautiful. it reminds me of up-north in ontario, like muskoka, except about 3000 times better. you look up and see mountains, you look down and see lakes. gabi and i have set new walking/hiking records for ourselves. we went on this 6 mile hike around grasmere and decided to climb this mountain in the middle of it (with many breaks on the way up). it was a "the hillllls are aliiiiiive" and chariots of fire moment. incredible. between walking and hiking we've seen some great stuff too, like dove cottage (william wordsworth's home) and castles and galleries and so much more.
we've also fallen in love with lambs. everywhere you look there are lambs (it's spring!) we never get tired of them.
so this morning we are off to hawkshead, where we will have our fill of beatrix potter related entertainment/learning, and then back to kendal, where we will catch our bus back to london tommorow and then spend the night, and then fly to berlin! berlin should be... tremendous. but a bit scary. we found this way to munich where you hop in someone's car for 25 euro and they drive really fast...... yeah. alright!!!!
so off on our journeys we go. it's been so great so far, i'm hoping there are no glitches.
oh and for you beatrix potter fans, we found peter rabbit. no, actually. in windermere we went on a hike and a baby bunny was right there and i picked it up and cuddled it and everything. needless to say, that made our trip.
pip pip!
p.s. i'm so excited to see everyone in less than TWO WEEKS!
p.p.s. robyn and jacq, i will both walk and rollerblade, as long as one of you goes on a hike with me.
sooooo my program is over. last saturday night we had a farewell dinner/speeches/dance in the church, all of which were amazing. we had a great time together, even though we knew in 2 days we had to leave. sunday was packing and watching across the universe with bee, beth, alisha and gabi, then a last gathering at sharon and jodi's. in the morning lee drove me down to the bus and then we all had to say goodbye. now, i'm not talking an ordinary, "i'm so sad", kind of goodbye. this was more like heartbreak. i've never seen anything like it. terrible. but we decided it's not the end, because we all have cars etc., so why should it be? anyways... yeah. i'm going to miss charlbury and everyone who was there with me.
so we took the coach to heathrow, where gabi and i ran to catch the tube and made it to our 11am bus in central london about 1101, and the driver was about to leave.... anyways we were thankful that God is good to us. after a looooong bus trip up to kendal we walked around and got to our first hostel!
this whole week in the lake district has been nothing but AWE-INSPIRING. i've never seen anything so beautiful. it reminds me of up-north in ontario, like muskoka, except about 3000 times better. you look up and see mountains, you look down and see lakes. gabi and i have set new walking/hiking records for ourselves. we went on this 6 mile hike around grasmere and decided to climb this mountain in the middle of it (with many breaks on the way up). it was a "the hillllls are aliiiiiive" and chariots of fire moment. incredible. between walking and hiking we've seen some great stuff too, like dove cottage (william wordsworth's home) and castles and galleries and so much more.
we've also fallen in love with lambs. everywhere you look there are lambs (it's spring!) we never get tired of them.
so this morning we are off to hawkshead, where we will have our fill of beatrix potter related entertainment/learning, and then back to kendal, where we will catch our bus back to london tommorow and then spend the night, and then fly to berlin! berlin should be... tremendous. but a bit scary. we found this way to munich where you hop in someone's car for 25 euro and they drive really fast...... yeah. alright!!!!
so off on our journeys we go. it's been so great so far, i'm hoping there are no glitches.
oh and for you beatrix potter fans, we found peter rabbit. no, actually. in windermere we went on a hike and a baby bunny was right there and i picked it up and cuddled it and everything. needless to say, that made our trip.
pip pip!
p.s. i'm so excited to see everyone in less than TWO WEEKS!
p.p.s. robyn and jacq, i will both walk and rollerblade, as long as one of you goes on a hike with me.
12 April 2008
approaching the finish line
today is a good day.
i woke up at 10, having been wasted with tiredness from finishing 3 assignments and 2 papers in the past few days, and opened my curtains to a bright, sunny day. then i went down for breakfast and found a package on a plate with my breakfast laid out, and it was for me! (thanks rob!)
anyways after that excitement ( i actually jumped up and down) i went up and starting a bit more packing. packing makes me sad, except i tried to ignore the packing for home and just focused on the more minor packing for my two weeks of travelling.
in travelling news, i have officially booked and planned my trip with gabrielle. we are going to the lake district (home of william wordsworth and beatrix potter) for a week to do some hiking, nature-loving, sight-seeing and relaxing. i am terribly excited. i am going to sit by a lake and read poetry. and then lie in a field and do the same. then i will fill myself with allergy pills, having inhaled too much nature.
week two we are headed to germany. this will be the more scheduled and historically-oriented trip. we are going to both berlin and munich, and taking some bus trips outside the cities, and we're planning to see some concentration camps and WWII history stuff.
so that's terribly exciting. now that i'm done all my work i can focus a bit more on planning the next two days. tonight we are having our last dinner/party with the group, which should be bittersweet but fun. i'm looking forward to it, anyways.
three months FLIES!
oh, and on thursday lee took jodi, sharon and i to windsor castle. AMAAAAAAZING!
i woke up at 10, having been wasted with tiredness from finishing 3 assignments and 2 papers in the past few days, and opened my curtains to a bright, sunny day. then i went down for breakfast and found a package on a plate with my breakfast laid out, and it was for me! (thanks rob!)
anyways after that excitement ( i actually jumped up and down) i went up and starting a bit more packing. packing makes me sad, except i tried to ignore the packing for home and just focused on the more minor packing for my two weeks of travelling.
in travelling news, i have officially booked and planned my trip with gabrielle. we are going to the lake district (home of william wordsworth and beatrix potter) for a week to do some hiking, nature-loving, sight-seeing and relaxing. i am terribly excited. i am going to sit by a lake and read poetry. and then lie in a field and do the same. then i will fill myself with allergy pills, having inhaled too much nature.
week two we are headed to germany. this will be the more scheduled and historically-oriented trip. we are going to both berlin and munich, and taking some bus trips outside the cities, and we're planning to see some concentration camps and WWII history stuff.
so that's terribly exciting. now that i'm done all my work i can focus a bit more on planning the next two days. tonight we are having our last dinner/party with the group, which should be bittersweet but fun. i'm looking forward to it, anyways.
three months FLIES!
oh, and on thursday lee took jodi, sharon and i to windsor castle. AMAAAAAAZING!
09 April 2008
numbers
zero - days left in oxford, ambition to do work
one - hour until lunchtime
two - papers left to write, pounds in my wallet
three - girls in the library with me, days until our final dinner farewell party, assignments done
four - days until my last night at lee's, granola bars left
five - days until i leave for the lake district and then germany
six - yogourts in my fridge
twenty-one - days until i'm flying home.
one - hour until lunchtime
two - papers left to write, pounds in my wallet
three - girls in the library with me, days until our final dinner farewell party, assignments done
four - days until my last night at lee's, granola bars left
five - days until i leave for the lake district and then germany
six - yogourts in my fridge
twenty-one - days until i'm flying home.
31 March 2008
29 March 2008
speeding up while winding down
i only have a few weeks left in charlbury, and i am sad. i miss home, yes, but i love it here. i've never been anywhere like charlbury, and i don't think i'll ever live in a place quite like this again.
i love walking down my road in the morning to the train and seeing hills go for miles and miles in the distance with the sun coming up from the other side. i love going to the co-op and getting yogourt. i love waking up and having tea and toast while i watch bbc breakfast with lee. i love sitting on the train and looking out at the countryside while i eavesdrop on other people's conversations. i love having peanut butter toast at sharon and jodi's. i love when our group breaks into random songs from movies such as high school musical. i love having parties and playing cranium, boggle, would you rather and mafia with this fantastic group of people.
but i also love home. so i'm glad that home-time is coming soon. i miss my mom's cookies.
it's a good thing i've been keeping busy these past few weeks, otherwise i might have been missing home or dreading the end of the program more. we've been to stourhead (look it up.. it's amazing), stonehenge and bath this past weekend. we went to see a modern production of measure for measure which had us raving. thursday we surprised ree with a party for her 22nd birthday. yesterday we went to broughton castle (where they filmed shakespeare in love) and had tea with a vicar's wife, and then watched shakespeare in love at my house and had a picture swapping party. tonight we're going 80s bowling for peter's birthday. my outfit is fantastic. be excited for pictures!
anyways, today i have to plan my trip for the two weeks after my program is done. i'm thinking up to scotland and taking 2 weeks to go down, but i haven't decided yet. i'm nervous. it would be easier to stay in charlbury and bum around, but much more exciting to see some more new things! eeeeee!
i love walking down my road in the morning to the train and seeing hills go for miles and miles in the distance with the sun coming up from the other side. i love going to the co-op and getting yogourt. i love waking up and having tea and toast while i watch bbc breakfast with lee. i love sitting on the train and looking out at the countryside while i eavesdrop on other people's conversations. i love having peanut butter toast at sharon and jodi's. i love when our group breaks into random songs from movies such as high school musical. i love having parties and playing cranium, boggle, would you rather and mafia with this fantastic group of people.
but i also love home. so i'm glad that home-time is coming soon. i miss my mom's cookies.
it's a good thing i've been keeping busy these past few weeks, otherwise i might have been missing home or dreading the end of the program more. we've been to stourhead (look it up.. it's amazing), stonehenge and bath this past weekend. we went to see a modern production of measure for measure which had us raving. thursday we surprised ree with a party for her 22nd birthday. yesterday we went to broughton castle (where they filmed shakespeare in love) and had tea with a vicar's wife, and then watched shakespeare in love at my house and had a picture swapping party. tonight we're going 80s bowling for peter's birthday. my outfit is fantastic. be excited for pictures!
anyways, today i have to plan my trip for the two weeks after my program is done. i'm thinking up to scotland and taking 2 weeks to go down, but i haven't decided yet. i'm nervous. it would be easier to stay in charlbury and bum around, but much more exciting to see some more new things! eeeeee!
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