The Final Eurotrip: Amsterdam and Brussels

To celebrate the end of my first final and to put off studying for my last two finals, last week I took my last European vacation, or holiday, to Amsterdam and Brussels with two friends. I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to leave Edinburgh as the weather is still all over the place and many of my friends' trips have been cancelled, but luckily we got out and made it to Amsterdam in the early evening on Tuesday.

After finding the train into the city and walking down a few really sketchy alleys in search of our hostel, we finally found what we were looking for: The Flying Pig. The name says it all. It was by far the strangest hostel I've ever seen. After checking in, Emily and I soon realized that rather than give us two twin beds, we would be sleeping in the same, slightly larger than a twin, bed in a 32-bed room. It was definitely an interesting start to the trip.

The next day, we walked through the city to the Van Gogh museum. The walk was longer than we had expected, but it was definitely worth it. The city and its canals are gorgeous, and we passed a lot of neat buildings, as well as the famous flower market. After spending a few hours at the museum, we made our way to the Heineken experience.  As I've seen quite a few breweries and distilleries on this trip and am interested in the beer making process, this was my favorite part of the entire trip. The two free beers at the end didn't hurt either. After exploring the Heineken building for a while, we walked through one of the biggest outdoor markets in Europe and then went to the Anne Frank house. Being in the Anne Frank house was so weird, as I've read the diary so many times for school and now had the opportunity to see everything first hand, including her original diary. It was definitely quite moving. After walking around all day and then a nice dinner, followed by "the best fries in Holland" we did a bunch of tourist shopping and called it a night.

On Thursday morning, we decided to take a canal tour. This was also one of my favorite parts of the trip. They told us lots of cool facts about Amsterdam, such as houses used to be taxed on width which is why they're so tall and skinny, when people move everything is moved through the windows, and an average of 3 cars drive into the canals each week. After the canal cruise and a bit more walking around and exploring, Emily and I got on a bus bound for Brussels.

There wasn't a ton that we wanted to see in Brussels, but we did want to eat Belgian waffles and chocolate, and drink Belgian beer. This wasn't an issue as waffle stands were everywhere, along with chocolate shops. We learned quickly that if we went into a chocolate store we would immediately be offered a free sample, and we used this to our advantage. Brussels was really easy to walk around so we managed to see all of the major sites in one day, including the Grande Place, the Palace of Justice, the real palace, a statue that is supposed to be good luck if you rub it, as well as the Manneken Pis statue, which was so much smaller than I had expected. We also tried a few different kinds of Belgian beer, and it was delicious! My favorite was an apple beer. 

Now that my European traveling adventures are over, it's time to start packing for home. Four days until I'm stateside again!

Snow in Edinburgh

After my adventure getting home from Paris last weekend, I hoped that the unexpected snow in Edinburgh would be short lived and removed quickly. Well, I was definitely wrong. It has snowed off and on for the past week, and Scottish students in my classes and flat complex have said that this is the most snow they've ever seen, especially this early in the season.  Snow removal also definitely isn't Edinburgh's strong point. I've read several articles in Scottish newspapers calling the removal, or lack of, a total disgrace. City workers did not clear the streets, shovel the sidewalks, or even salt walking paths, so getting around has been quite difficult.  Edinburgh residents have dealt with the snow in a variety of different ways. I inch along the roads, hoping I won't fall and make a fool of myself, but I've seen several cross country skiers on the roads. Not exactly what I was expecting to see on a busy city street on my walk to class. Although it's stopped snowing for the time being, everything froze, making the city one giant sheet of ice. I appreciate the snowball fights and how pretty the city looks in the snow, but I would have a greater appreciation for a safe walk to class and the grocery store without having to worry about wiping out! I did see some guys out with ice chippers today though so hopefully progress will be made soon!

Paris!

After a slightly depressing Thanksgiving in Edinburgh (I never realized how much I appreciated being home and with family for the holidays) I jetted off to Paris early Friday morning to meet my friend Sarah for a fantastic weekend. It was my first time flying completely alone, so I was definitely nervous flying into Charles De Gaulle as it's enormous, but we managed to find each other and take the train into the city!

The only French I know is very basic (what I remember from my short stint as a French student between the ages of 8-10) so I was limited to very basic greetings, merci, and au revoir (although if someone needed me to count to 39, I could have done so). Luckily, the majority of people we encountered spoke very good English, so the language barrier wasn't too challenging.  On Friday, we found our hostel and set off to see the city.  Paris was so much bigger than I had anticipated! We managed to see the Bastille, Notre Dame, and the Palais de Justice on the first day, and even got crepes! I had a banana and Nutella crepe, and it was so messy, but so delicious.  After spending all day outside, we went to the Louvre that night.  It was so exciting to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, and all I could think about was the Da Vinci Code. Although we spent several hours in the museum, it was enormous and only got through a portion of the exhibits.  After a late dinner in a restaurant right next to the Louvre, we called it a night and went back to the hostel.

We had tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower early the next morning, so we planned on taking the Metro.  Well, when we were about 3 stops away from the Tower, the train stopped and didn't move for about 10 minutes.  In broken Spanish, a woman on the train told us that there weren't enough people on it, so it was going to stop.  When sitting on the train trying to figure out what to do, it ended up going back to the previous stop! We realized we weren't going to make it to the Eiffel Tower by train any time soon, so we got off and started to walk, with only 15 minutes to make it.  Luckily a cab drove by and we managed to make it on time. The Eiffel Tower was incredible. It was enormous and going to the top was so cool! It's not possible to get a sense of the size of the tower until actually there, and I was shocked at how huge it was. After the Eiffel Tower, we strolled down the Seine, saw the Place de la Concorde (the site of the infamous guillotine), and then went to the Arc de Triomphe and strolled down the Champ-Elysees and did a bit of shopping.  There's tons of traffic around the Arc but no traffic lanes, so it was an adventure watching angry and aggressive French people drive around the circle. Our last stop of the day was the Pantheon which was also beautiful.

Our first stop on Sunday was the Sacre Coeur Basilica. This was one of my favorite buildings in Paris as it was beautiful and had amazing views of the city. After exploring the Basilica, we went to see Moulin Rouge, and then to Pierre Hermes for macarons! Although the desserts looked incredible and I could have eaten everything in the store, I settled on four flavors of macarons: rose, caramel, chocolate, and chocolate hazelnut. The chocolate was definitely my favorite. We took our pastries to the Luxembourg gardens and walked around those for a bit, and then did a bit more sightseeing before we went back to the airport.  The flight home was certainly an adventure because of snow in Edinburgh, and after a 2 hour delay in Paris, being diverted to Glasgow, sitting in Glasgow for a few hours, and finally bused back to Edinburgh and virtually dumped on the side of the road, I eventually made it home at 5 am.

Paris was a beautiful city and I'm so glad I went and was able to see all of the main tourist attractions. I was nervous throughout the trip though because security around the major areas was very intense, and it was a constant reminder of terrorist threats. Despite the security and the awful trip back home, Paris was beautiful and the trip was wonderful.

Rugby!

Last Saturday, Edinburgh hosted the Scotland vs. South Africa rugby match, and my friends and I were lucky enough to get tickets. I've seen a few rugby matches at Colby so I had a general understand of how the game worked but was not prepared for the level of ferocity with which these men played or the amount of Scottish pride associated with the sport.

After going to bed the night before and hoping for sunshine the following morning, I woke up to a traditional Scottish day: pouring rain. Although the rain stopped for the bus ride to the field, giving everyone a sense of false hope, it immediately started pouring again when we stepped off the bus. The game started with an introduction of the players, and although it was cool to see South Africa's players in green and gold, (I loved the movie Invictus) watching Scotland's players come out was incredible. There was an enormous marching band on the field, complete with a set of bagpipe players, and everyone sang a traditional Scottish song.

When the game got underway, I could not believe how violent it got and how tough the players were. These enormous men were sent flying in every direction after taking awful hits. The crowd didn't make it any better, with collective groans and gasps echoing throughout the stadium. However, even when bleeding or in need of a muscle taped up, the game continued and the player pushed through it.  There were several times when trainers ran onto the field while the game was still in progress, taped someone up, and ran away again. These guys define true dedication. Each time Scotland scored, the crowd went wild, cheering, singing, and waving their flags. Scotland eventually won the game 21-17!

Throughout the game, it was amazing to see how much pride Scots take in their sports and in their country. Everyone was dressed in blue, waving huge Scotland flags, and singing traditional Scottish songs. Fans were much more respectful and less vulgar at this game than the football (soccer) game we attended in September, but there was still a great deal of cheering and yelling in support of the team (just a lot less swearing and threatening of the other team!). A little girl was sitting next to me with her Dad, and it was her first rugby game as well. She kept asking her Dad lots of questions and I couldn't stop thinking about my first Red Sox game 11 years ago, sitting in the stands at Fenway with my Dad, watching the Red Sox play the White Sox and asking lots of questions. I'm definitely missing watching American sports at the moment, but Scottish sports have been a crazy experience!

The ranting of an ethnocentric Colby student

First, let me preface this post by saying I am having the time of my life here and would not change my experience for anything. Second, I understand that there are plenty of different styles of education out there, and it's great to try new things. I just think Colby's the best.

To be completely honest, school wasn't exactly my first priority when deciding where to study abroad. I knew I wanted an English speaking country, a large but manageable city, and and a region in which I could travel. Edinburgh was a perfect match for me, and love the city and culture here. However, the deeper I get into my courses, the more I dislike the education system. I don't learn well while sitting in a room with 300 people and listening to a lecturer read from the slides for 50 minutes. One professor actually reads directly from a sheet of paper for the entire class, without looking up once. It's a struggle to stay awake every week. Students here are supposed to be "independent learners" but it's difficult to do research when 300 people need the same book from the library. People also don't understand what the meaning of "silent floor" is here. With all the work and research I've completed over the past few weeks, I'm really missing Miller library (where I go to pretend to do work) and the second floor of Diamond (my favorite location when I actually need to get things done).

I also hate just being a face in the crowd during class. I have not spoken to a single professor since I have been here, and as they run in with 30 seconds to spare before class begins and run out just as quickly when class is over, I don't think I'll be having any conversations soon. I miss professors asking how my day is, how my extracurriculars are going, if I need any help on my papers, etc. The connections that professors and students have at Colby is amazing, and I definitely took that for granted until now. I can't wait to be back on the Hill, where professors give me matzo bread and tell me to chill out when I'm having a meltdown over an impending international relations midterm or challenge my rather radical ideas on saving the environment.

While I appreciate the opportunity to see what education is like in a different country and at a large school, I can't wait to get back to Colby!

Dublin!

I spent this past weekend in Dublin, and despite it being a rather short trip, I had lots of fun. I went with seven other people on my program, which did get a bit overwhelming at times, but everything went smoothly.

Our flight on Friday was at 8 am, so when we arrived in Dublin, we had the entire day in front of us. We took a bus to the center of town and found our hostel which was very centrally located. It was very inexpensive, so we were surprised to find that it was actually quite nice and spacious. After checking in, we decided to wander around the city for a bit. Dublin is fairly compact and we didn't have a hard time finding our way around. Our first stop was Dublin Castle. Everyone has seen their fair share of castles since arriving in Scotland, and no one wanted to pay the money to go inside, but we did get some great shots of the exterior.  After Dublin Castle, we walked to Dublina, an enormous cathedral in the center of town, and then St. Patrick's Cathedral.  St. Patrick's was gorgeous, inside and out, and definitely worth the visit. The inside was so ornate, and it's home to a lot of historical artifacts.  My favorite piece in the cathedral was the "Door of Reconciliation." In the 800s, two large and wealthy families were constantly warring, and the feud between the families had lasted many years.  Finally, the head of one family decided enough was enough, and went to the other head of the family's home.  When the other man refused to let him into his house for fear of a trap, the man looking for a truce bust a hole in the door and stuck his arm through to shake hands. I'm not sure if I would trust someone who broke a hole through my door, but nonetheless, it was a good story.

After St. Patrick's cathedral, we got some lunch and continued wandering around the city for a bit. It was nice not to feel rushed around and to take our time walking through the streets and exploring.  It did start raining, so we returned to the hostel for a nap before we went out for the night. After a great night out, we decided to come back around midnight to get some rest before our busy day. However, after coming back, we realized our hostel was located right next to a night club. So, despite being serenaded by Usher and Jay Sean all night, we did manage to get some rest before getting up bright and early on Saturday.

Saturday began with a walk along the river through town. We got to see a few really cool bridges, including the Harp Bridge, which looks like Guinness Harp. From the river, we walked through town to Trinity College, through some shops, and eventually to a great (and inexpensive) food market. I had the best sweet potato soup which was perfect for the cold weather. From the food market, we continued wandering through town, past the old city walls of the city and finally to the Guinness Storehouse.  The storehouse was so much fun, and I learned a lot about the beer brewing process. The displays were really interesting, and we learned how to pour a pint of Guinness the proper way. I now have a certificate, so if anyone needs a pint poured, I'm your girl.

Dublin was different and much more industrial than I had expected, but I loved how compact the city was. It was easy to see everything, and we got to spend a lot of time just wandering around the city and exploring. Although I'm the type of person who likes to stick to a plan, especially when traveling, I had a lot of fun just playing things by ear.

Next stop: Paris!

Wait, I actually have to study here?

After a very eventful Halloween weekend that encompassed throwing a surprise birthday party, three costumes, and finding the most delicious late night snack food only 2 minutes away from my flat, this week is dedicated to my studies. At Colby, I usually work for at least four hours a day on homework. So far, I've put maybe four hours a week into my school work outside of class. It's not that I'm slacking, but I actually don't have any work to do. However, I have two essays due this week, a presentation next week, and an essay due the following Monday.  Thanks University of Edinburgh for piling it all on at once.

The toughest part about writing essays here is doing research.  Nobody buys books here, and the library only has a limited amount of the books that 300 students need at the same time, so I've had to work at slightly odd times to get the information I need. I'm also nervous about the expectations here.  I'd like to think my research papers are pretty good, but what if the standards are completely different here? Finally, the rules on plagiarism here are so strict! Not that I've ever copy someone's work, but the emphasis put on plagiarism is scary.  Students have to attach a declaration of work to all assignments turned in, and there are major consequences for plagiarizing.  It's also much harder to get work done now because it gets dark SO early.  It started getting dark around 4 today, and when I left class at 5, it felt like it was at least 8 pm. Slightly depressing.

Now that I've blogged, caught up on all of my celebrity gossip, and sufficiently Facebook stalked the majority of my friends, I suppose it's time to stop procrastinating and get back to work.