City of Freiburg
shopping!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Fertig
The week had finally hit and I was swamped with papers, presentations, exams, and a Model EU to prepare for. No more traveling for Molly. Over the course of the semester, I realized I wrote 12 papers, presented 3 presentations, and taken 10 exams, but also went to 23 cities and 9 different countries. Now who could say that they did all of that within 5 months? Over this past semester I learned a wide ranging of topics from within the European Union including: Cohesion Policy, Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), Environmental Policy, Competition Policy, Home and Foreign Affairs Policy, and many more. Plus, I enhanced my German speaking skills, but barely enough to speak fluently with someone. “Wie geht’s?” (What’s up) and “Nacht eins bier, bitte” (one more beer please) are pretty much all the phrases I needed to know. Lastly, the Model EU (which is like Model UN) took 2½ days and I was the Head of State for the country of Spain. It was a great way to end the semester and apply all that you learned with your fellow class mates representing one of the27 member countries within the EU.
Overall, I enjoyed my professors and found wonderful friends that I will never forget. I will miss it all. The last weekend went by the fastest. On Saturday, the program treated us to a final hike in the Black Forest and a lovely German meal afterwards.
On Monday, we had a last farewell party with champagne and a slideshow with the program.
(Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYzTZ-MzS_A )
Everything that the program treated us to was unbelievable and unlike other programs in other countries. Freiburg and IES, thank you for providing me with so much.
The last night arrived and I had another yummy German meal, Schnitzel and Spatzle, with my best friend from the program, Rachael Williams, and her parents and great roommates.
Later on we went to meet up with our friends and before I knew it I was waking up the next morning checking out. Next destination: Zurich Airport to fly home to good old Evanston, Illinois.
Overall, I enjoyed my professors and found wonderful friends that I will never forget. I will miss it all. The last weekend went by the fastest. On Saturday, the program treated us to a final hike in the Black Forest and a lovely German meal afterwards.
On Monday, we had a last farewell party with champagne and a slideshow with the program.
(Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYzTZ-MzS_A )
Everything that the program treated us to was unbelievable and unlike other programs in other countries. Freiburg and IES, thank you for providing me with so much.
The last night arrived and I had another yummy German meal, Schnitzel and Spatzle, with my best friend from the program, Rachael Williams, and her parents and great roommates.
Later on we went to meet up with our friends and before I knew it I was waking up the next morning checking out. Next destination: Zurich Airport to fly home to good old Evanston, Illinois.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A European Spring Break/Croatia, A Poor Man's Greece
After the weekend with my parents, I had a couple papers to turn in to my teachers. When Friday came around, spring break was officially here. This whole semester I was looking forward to a week of relaxation, fun, and enjoyable time with some friends without having papers, articles, or homework dwelling over my shoulder. Croatia was the perfect antidote to all my problems.
A group of ten of us decided to stay in a villa less than 20 meters from the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Podstrana, a town right outside Split. The view from our villa was absolutely magnificent, but first we took a little pit stop in Cologne, Germany before we flew out to Croatia.
For the half a day we had in Cologne, we seemed to cover a lot of ground. We attempted to go to mass in the DOM for Good Friday, but missed the 3 o’clock mass (the time when Jesus died on the cross) and unfortunately the next one wasn’t until Sunday. Still, the church itself…after seeing many churches in Europe…was a site to see. After going through lots of construction, and reconstruction due to the 70 hits in WWII, the church still stands. Here are a few pics I took while strolling through the city:
When we arrived, I could not believe how different the country looked compared to others. It really did look like I was in Greece, but instead I was outside of the EU and in up and coming Croatia (after past war history).
During the week we had a chance to explore the city of Split and its delicious restaurants, hand-made jewelry at various the markets, and the ancient buildings on every street. Oh, and yes, I did take advantage of the nightlife there, but like always we all stuck together as a safety precaution if anything were to happen. ☺ Another day we went to Omis, which in the 13th and 14th century was considered a pirate town. There we hiked up a fortress and took a boat through the canyons on the River Cetina. For the rest of the days, I was able to achieve my goal of doing nothing, just relaxing on the white rocky beach. Where in American can spring breaks provide you with the all of the above? Nowhere. Thanks Europe, you never stop to amaze me!
At our lovely villa...:
In the city of Split...:
At Omis...:
A group of ten of us decided to stay in a villa less than 20 meters from the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Podstrana, a town right outside Split. The view from our villa was absolutely magnificent, but first we took a little pit stop in Cologne, Germany before we flew out to Croatia.
For the half a day we had in Cologne, we seemed to cover a lot of ground. We attempted to go to mass in the DOM for Good Friday, but missed the 3 o’clock mass (the time when Jesus died on the cross) and unfortunately the next one wasn’t until Sunday. Still, the church itself…after seeing many churches in Europe…was a site to see. After going through lots of construction, and reconstruction due to the 70 hits in WWII, the church still stands. Here are a few pics I took while strolling through the city:
When we arrived, I could not believe how different the country looked compared to others. It really did look like I was in Greece, but instead I was outside of the EU and in up and coming Croatia (after past war history).
During the week we had a chance to explore the city of Split and its delicious restaurants, hand-made jewelry at various the markets, and the ancient buildings on every street. Oh, and yes, I did take advantage of the nightlife there, but like always we all stuck together as a safety precaution if anything were to happen. ☺ Another day we went to Omis, which in the 13th and 14th century was considered a pirate town. There we hiked up a fortress and took a boat through the canyons on the River Cetina. For the rest of the days, I was able to achieve my goal of doing nothing, just relaxing on the white rocky beach. Where in American can spring breaks provide you with the all of the above? Nowhere. Thanks Europe, you never stop to amaze me!
At our lovely villa...:
In the city of Split...:
At Omis...:
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