Academics

With all my blog posts about trips and fun, your probably thinking "is she doing any studying?" And yes, of course I am! haha. My classes are going good, but definitely not as easy as what you would think. I mean it is called STUDYING abroad for a reason.

In my German class, we have learned how to say some basic food words, useful phrases when meeting people, and how to say the time. My teacher is awesome too. She is pretty young so she tells us where all the hip places to go to.

In my Road to Sustainability class, my teacher is very knowledgeable about America and the environment. He absolutely loves the book Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach. I have learned how humans have multiplied exponentially and the explosion of the use of agriculture and The Green Party in Europe. Lots of interesting information to take in and learn from for future generations yet to come. How to be more efficient and self sustaining.

I am also taking a European Competition Policy class, which i was excited to take but not so much any more. It's basically an economics course. I took microeconomis last year, so its taking some time to remember it all. Yet, it makes my brain think and i know any econ class is very helpful to have. My teacher knows how to present the material well and makes sure that we all understand the material well. I like her very much.

My EU policies course is some what dry. The professor reads the powerpoint slides from the screen and tries to hard to make us like the class. I figured while I am here studying the European Union, this class would help me dive into it all but not so much. I am hoping that I can just get by with the class and that is all.

The last course I am taking is a Seminar class all about the the European Union. My professor is great, and surprsingly pretty humorous. He makes us do a lot of interaction by getting into groups to present what we have read and learned. Currently we are talking about the CAP and the Cohesion Fund. At the end of the semester, the whole program does a Model EU where everyone represents a country. I will be representing Spain as the Head of Government. It will be interesting to see how it will turn out.

Overall, I am so happy with this program. So grateful to travel to so many different places with great people from the East to West Coast (a majority from Penn State and The University of Puget Sound in Washington). Next week I will be in Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris looking at castles, eating waffles, and looking for love. <3

The Amsterdam Experience: Backpacking it!

My trip to Amsterdam started the minute I left my European Union Integrative Seminar Class. After running back to my apartment to stuff everything into my backpack, I met everyone at the bus stop that would take us all to the Basel Airport for take off! During the hour and a half flight, the 8 of us (the 6 girls: me, Rachael, Annie, Liz, another Molly, and Sally with the 2 boy: Sterling and Carter) started to plan out our weekend. We decided that we would have a chill first night so that we could wake up early to get as much in before the four of us (Rachael, Sterling, Carter, and I) went to the concert, Energy The Network.

We landed at 6 o’clock, right on schedule. Since we had a relatively large group, we decided to stay at two separate hostels (the four people who weren’t going to the concert stayed in one hostel near Remembrant Platz and the four of us who decided on going to the concert stayed near the Red Light District). We made plans to meet up and then my group was off to take the train to Red Light District…oh man!

Before we new it, we eventually made it to Centraal Station. It didn’t take long before we had to ask two friendly women to show us the way to The Meeting Point, our hostel. Walking into the hostel, we were met by the hostel’s or the “hostile’s” white kitty cat and the four other guys that were staying in our room who were from Brazil and France. You could tell they already had gone to a few coffee shops, lol.

The four of us freshened up and went out to a nice Italian Restaurant to celebrate Rachael’s 20th Birthday with a nice bottle of red white before we met the other girls to hit up the Amsterdam bars. From The Pancake House (and no, they did not have the apple pancakes like Walker Brothers) to Surprise, us Americans ran the clubs! Before I went to bed, I had the famous fries at Manneken Pis.

At 8:45am we woke up to check out and go to the Heineken Experience. This was definitely very cool. My papa would surely appreciate it. There was a virtual video of how the beer is made and transported, tons of old Heineken posters, a horse stable, and plenty of cold beers to top it all off (even though they haven’t brewed beer there since 1987). After having a little buzz in the morning, we walked over to a coffeeshop before going to the Van Gogh Museum. (We thought this would help give the paintings a better effect.☺)

I was really impressed by the set up of the museum. (One floor was devoted to his inspirational artists, another to his painting, and a third floor about his life’s history.) I never realized how sad and lonely his life was… from his ear being cut off to being put into an asylum. Nevertheless, I loved all the paintings…some darker than others but all so detailed. We finished admiring Van Gogh and headed back to the hostel to rest up before the big concert. This was to be the climax of my trip!


The four of us that were brave enough… or maybe should I say crazy enough… got ready for the concert that started at 10. Taking the train and walking there, I could not help myself but jump and down. DJ Tiësto, the king of techno and sick beats. Never once did I think about sleeping during the whole eight hour rave. I would totally do it all over again it was so unbelievably good.



At 7am we left and went to go get a nice breakfast in our system, we needed a good meal after that. I had a chocolate pancake that tasted just like the Dutch pancakes I have back home: warm, flat, doughy and yummy with a nice cup of coffee to help me stay energized for the day. For the rest of the day, we met the other girls and went to the Tulip Museum since the Anne Frank House’s line was over a two hour wait. It was small, but smelled amazing and very pretty. We then walked to the Red Light District to go to Cannabis College to educate ourselves. On the way, I could not help but catch my eye on so many dirty products being sold from condoms to bongs to young horny prostitutes. You can’t avoid this when you go to the Red Light District though, that is for sure. At Cannabis College, I found out that coffeeshops are closing in numbers due to selling to minors and the poor maintenance plus other reasons (from 350 in 1995 to 241 today).

Finally, my trip was coming to an end. We decided to have a nice hearty lunch at a nice café called Poco Loco for healthy sandwiches. Afterwards, we headed to the train to take us back home to Freiburg. On the train, I could not help myself but to reflect how lucky I am to be able to do this, and how much I had accomplished while in Amsterdam. This weekend could not have been any better, definitely the perfect amount of time to enjoy it all. Yayyyy

Trip to Grindelward/The Swiss Alps

This past Saturday a group of us went to tear up the Swiss Alps. It could not have been a nicer day outside. The sun was shining and just enough snow was on the Alps to go skiing/snowboarding (or sledding if you didn't have enough in you to face the mountains). I, of course, definitely could not pass up the opportunity to ski in the Alps, especially since my dad has gone a few times a year.

By the time the train took us up to the top of the mountain and out on our first run it was already 10:30am and we only had 6 hours before we had to be back on the bus to head back to Freiburg. So the 8 brave skiers/snowboarders put our gear on and headed down our first slope. I was so excited to be here, in Switzerland on the Alps! Truly amazed by the view



When I started to ski down, I couldn't believe how fairly decent i was. (Note: The last time I skied was two years ago and have yet to make it to the Rockies let alone outside the Midwest.) Half way down the mountain though, I managed to already lose my group. I was too cautious about making sure not to lose control let alone lose my skiis that I lost site of the people I was with. At first I was like "oh no!" but then I figured it was actually better this way. Now I could go at my own pace and really take in the scenery around me on my own.

The rest of the day I managed to get eight runs in and take a break for some nice warm suppe. It was a day devoted all to me conquering the Alps (or maybe the Alps conquering me). Yes, I did wake up the next morning feeling a little bruised up and sore, but I do have to say I improved a lot on my last run down. I was finally able to not come close to falling. After a long day, I still managed to go out that night but slept the next day for a good ten hours.

So this takes you to the end of my weekend, the next time I will be writing to you will be about my weekend in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Can't wait!

A Freiburg Hike

What the future holds…

Today, I went to a workshop for Rent an American. This is a program for American students to have the opportunity to visit grammar schools and high schools. There we talk to students about different topics such as politics, American high schools and colleges, sports, etc. It is also a great way to actually see the comparison between our communication and lifestyles. I figured this would be a fun activity while here to share stories with Germans, since I do love sharing my life with others and all.
Afterwards, a couple of us decided to have a nice walk around town. We at crepes at the Munsterplatz while glancing at the street market that was happening outside. It was in the 50’s and sunny so it was a perfect day to be outside and get some fresh air. Tomorrow should be even nicer with a high of possibly reaching 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So in order to take advantage of this weather, a few girls and I will be hiking in the Black Forest. Then later we may either go to the football/soccer game or head to O’Kelley’s to watch the Super Bowl game.
The next two weekends will definitely be something to look forward to. Skiing in the Swiss Alps next Saturday and then to Amsterdam to see Anne Frank’s House, the Van Gough Museum, stand by the I Amsterdam sign, and maybe have a tour of the Heineken Factory and the concert called Energy to listen to many djs. Oh how I love that I am in the center of Europe and can do all this. It’s so surreal… leaving a dream! I love life… live in love with Freiburg, Germany! ☺

Culture Shock? ….No way!

So I’ve been here for almost a month and I can’t believe how much I love this place. Considering I went through orientation and discussed culture shock within the group before I came, I haven’t once really thought about it while I’ve been here. Sure there are a few adjustments such as bringing your own bag for grocery shopping, otherwise you’ll have to pay a fee for a plastic bag. Or the many carby food options they have such as the many pasta and potato options, instead of your good old healthy salad choice.
On the other hand, I can still run outside and not feel like I stand out as a runner. Running and especially biking are becoming a more common physical activity. (Although the biking part may just be because of the environmental aspect.) I was also very happy to see peanut butter on the shelf at the store right next to all the jellies to make myself some pb&j’s. You know it’s for Americans when it says American Peanut Butter on the jar.
So overall, I think I have made a relatively smooth transition to Europe. So whoever tells you about culture shock, it should not be as hyped up as people say. Yet reverse culture shock is another story. Who knows what will happen when I leave a culture I feel so close to at the end of my stay.