It is stressing being here, because we realized that we have a lottt of things to do, but there is not enough time for anything. Tomorrow we are leaving at 7am and taking the bus to Varanasi, India. We had a whole huge route planned for India, but it looks like we're going to have to leave a bunch of stuff out. Zach wants to do a 3 day camel tour through the desert there...we'll see about that haha
Nepal was originally ruled by three kingdoms and there was a lot of political problems for many many years. It used to not be a safe place to travel, and the US Dept of Safety still has out a travel warning against it. However, about 3 years ago, the kindgoms dissovled and Nepal became democratic.
Now it's very safe to be here, but tourism is still suffering. It is quite different from Europe, where I would hear English everywhere I went, compared to here where I can count the number of tourists I've seen on one hand. We can also talk about anyone we want and no one can understand us! haha!
The poverty here is incredible. Yesterday we took a long motorbike tour around Kathmandu and ended up in some slummy areas where we saw small children washing their clothes in the river, men doing back breaking work making bricks, and stray dogs everywhere. The trashmen here recently went on a strike, so there is trash all over the street. Cows are holy and wander the streets. Children run up to you begging for money and doing anything to get your spare change. Everyone we meet says, "You from America, you rich!" and even though that isn't the case, it is really humbling to think of everything that I have and see these small children in ripped clothes playing in the mud.
Today we are getting out of the city and going to try and see the Himalyas. It kind of stinks that we are here during monsoon season because you can't see any mountains at all, hopefully we'll be lucky in the spot that our hotel suggested to us.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I am here in Nepal and I love it so much, it is such a big change from Europe.
I had a 15 hour flight here from Germany, including a 6 hour layover in Bahrain. Bahrain was AWESOME too, everyone was walking around in Muslim clothing; I was truly in the middle east, and the first thing I saw was a McDonalds in Arabic.
I have a friend from Nepal so she picked me up from the airport and I went to her house for a shower and a lunch of boar meat that her grandmother made. It was AMAZING. Then we went to pick up my other friend at the airport and found a guesthouse with 2 beds, shower included, TV, fan, and free towels for like $4 a night each. In Europe that would be at least 50 Euros.
We have seen so much, we rented a motorcycle and ride around, which is crazy but so much fun. They drive on the left side of the road here and everyone is nuts. There are cows just chillin on the side of the street and people are everywhere. Everyone wants your money, everyone is trying to sell you stuff all the time. It gets really really annoying, but if you look past it, you can see the beauty of the country--the people, the buildings, the sights, and sounds and smells, etc. Soon we'll be off to India!
I had a 15 hour flight here from Germany, including a 6 hour layover in Bahrain. Bahrain was AWESOME too, everyone was walking around in Muslim clothing; I was truly in the middle east, and the first thing I saw was a McDonalds in Arabic.
I have a friend from Nepal so she picked me up from the airport and I went to her house for a shower and a lunch of boar meat that her grandmother made. It was AMAZING. Then we went to pick up my other friend at the airport and found a guesthouse with 2 beds, shower included, TV, fan, and free towels for like $4 a night each. In Europe that would be at least 50 Euros.
We have seen so much, we rented a motorcycle and ride around, which is crazy but so much fun. They drive on the left side of the road here and everyone is nuts. There are cows just chillin on the side of the street and people are everywhere. Everyone wants your money, everyone is trying to sell you stuff all the time. It gets really really annoying, but if you look past it, you can see the beauty of the country--the people, the buildings, the sights, and sounds and smells, etc. Soon we'll be off to India!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Abschied
Well, I suppose I should say something about my whole study abroad experience, how much fun I've had, the things I've learned, and the people I've met, but I've been sitting here racking my brain and can't come up with anything worth writing that isn't corny and I can't put it all into words.
It's almost 5am and I'm up to see Mitch off at the train station, because he is the first one in our group to go. There have been a lot of goodbyes over the past few days but it doesn't make them any easier.
I have to move out of my room tomorrow at noon, and Thursday I'm leaving at 5:52am for the airport. My adventure isn't over yet---I'll be spending the next three weeks in India and Nepal. Because of this, I'm bringing my computer today to my friend Betsy in Tuebingen, which is 3 hours away so she can bring it home for me and I won't have to bring it with me on my trip.
These five months totally flew by. It's hard to believe how fast it's gone by, but last night we were exchanging pictures of us wearing our winter jackets and playing with the snow in the Black Forest, so I guess it's true. I think about arriving in Frankfurt on March 3rd and how confused I was about taking the train to Freiburg and I laugh. Now I don't even have to think twice about buying train tickets and going on my next adventure. I'm definitely a different person compared to back in February before I left, although I still can't cook.
My first entry in this blog was of the things I was going to miss the most about home, now I'll make a list of the things I'll miss most about Germany:
1. The amazing people I've met here
2. paying "getrennt" (separate) at all restaurants
3. The public transportation, especially the trams in Freiburg and Inter City Express Trains
4. German yogurt
5. Not taking any real classes or having any real homework
6. Dinner parties
7. Ordering ice cream by the scoop.
There's about 93 more things I'm going to miss about Germany (I actually made a list) but I need to go catch the tram to the Hauptbahnhof. I will try to update from India but I can't promise anything! I'll be back in the United States on August 20 so until then, Auf Wiedersehen!
It's almost 5am and I'm up to see Mitch off at the train station, because he is the first one in our group to go. There have been a lot of goodbyes over the past few days but it doesn't make them any easier.
I have to move out of my room tomorrow at noon, and Thursday I'm leaving at 5:52am for the airport. My adventure isn't over yet---I'll be spending the next three weeks in India and Nepal. Because of this, I'm bringing my computer today to my friend Betsy in Tuebingen, which is 3 hours away so she can bring it home for me and I won't have to bring it with me on my trip.
These five months totally flew by. It's hard to believe how fast it's gone by, but last night we were exchanging pictures of us wearing our winter jackets and playing with the snow in the Black Forest, so I guess it's true. I think about arriving in Frankfurt on March 3rd and how confused I was about taking the train to Freiburg and I laugh. Now I don't even have to think twice about buying train tickets and going on my next adventure. I'm definitely a different person compared to back in February before I left, although I still can't cook.
My first entry in this blog was of the things I was going to miss the most about home, now I'll make a list of the things I'll miss most about Germany:
1. The amazing people I've met here
2. paying "getrennt" (separate) at all restaurants
3. The public transportation, especially the trams in Freiburg and Inter City Express Trains
4. German yogurt
5. Not taking any real classes or having any real homework
6. Dinner parties
7. Ordering ice cream by the scoop.
There's about 93 more things I'm going to miss about Germany (I actually made a list) but I need to go catch the tram to the Hauptbahnhof. I will try to update from India but I can't promise anything! I'll be back in the United States on August 20 so until then, Auf Wiedersehen!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Best 4 Euros I Ever Spent
We spent the day in Titisee and couldn't resist getting our picture taken in the traditional Black Forest clothing hahahaha
Details of my Life Pt II
Some more bits and pieces of my life in Freiburg:
Bratwurst auf dem Münsterplatz. The perfect lunch in Freiburg. The smell draws you in every single time.
Am Bischofskreuz, the tram stop outside of my dorm
Crazy mural in the bottom of my dorm
The hallway of one of the University buildings. The buildings here don't have names, just numbers. This one is called KGI, and was built in 1900.
How many minutes until the tram home?
My German cell phone. Not a huge fan of this phone at all, but I will miss it all the same.
My street!
Bratwurst auf dem Münsterplatz. The perfect lunch in Freiburg. The smell draws you in every single time.
Am Bischofskreuz, the tram stop outside of my dorm
Crazy mural in the bottom of my dorm
The hallway of one of the University buildings. The buildings here don't have names, just numbers. This one is called KGI, and was built in 1900.
How many minutes until the tram home?
My German cell phone. Not a huge fan of this phone at all, but I will miss it all the same.
My street!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Exmatriculation, or German Bureaucracy Pt. II
When you want to exmatriculate from an American university, what do you do? Today me and Jon decided that you either graduate, don't register for classes for the next semester, or simply don't pay. It's not even something you have to think about. It's not something you SHOULD have to think about. Of course, in Germany, that is not the case.
Today I went with Jon to pick up our exmatriculation form from the rector's office on the other side of town. It's a bright blue form that we have to fill out with our name, address, matrikulation number (going to a large university = I am just a number here :-( ), and bank information. We have to bring this form to the library once it's filled out, and someone there will give us a stamp saying that we don't have any books checked out. Then we have to bring that back to the rector's office between the hours of 9 and 11:30 and make an appointment with a secretary according to our last name. To this appointment we have to bring our Uni card (I hope they don't take it away!), our bank information (I don't know why), our green "matriculation" book (that literally has my name and picture and is handwritten in that I am a triple major in German/Economics/History, and some other papers and stuff that I'm not even really sure what they are. It's complicated, and I don't want to do it! One thing I definitely still miss at home is the American higher education system, it makes so much more sense!
Today I went with Jon to pick up our exmatriculation form from the rector's office on the other side of town. It's a bright blue form that we have to fill out with our name, address, matrikulation number (going to a large university = I am just a number here :-( ), and bank information. We have to bring this form to the library once it's filled out, and someone there will give us a stamp saying that we don't have any books checked out. Then we have to bring that back to the rector's office between the hours of 9 and 11:30 and make an appointment with a secretary according to our last name. To this appointment we have to bring our Uni card (I hope they don't take it away!), our bank information (I don't know why), our green "matriculation" book (that literally has my name and picture and is handwritten in that I am a triple major in German/Economics/History, and some other papers and stuff that I'm not even really sure what they are. It's complicated, and I don't want to do it! One thing I definitely still miss at home is the American higher education system, it makes so much more sense!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Details of my Life Part I
Time is running out and I have started to take pictures of EVERYTHING!
View of Freiburg from the top of the Münster
The little grocery store that I frequent and have a love/hate relationship with
The cheap Italian restaurant that we go to that gives everyone else free bread except us, so we don't tip them and then we don't get free bread the next time we go in. It's a vicious cycle.
Me with my husband
My bank
The sketch elevator in my dorm
The tram that I take into town
The walk from my dorm to the tram stop (it's right across the street)
Uni Freiburg. I feel like I went back into the 70s every time I walk on campus
The Uni again
My attractive friends enjoying a nice bratwurst for lunch at the farmer's market
View of Freiburg from the top of the Münster
The little grocery store that I frequent and have a love/hate relationship with
The cheap Italian restaurant that we go to that gives everyone else free bread except us, so we don't tip them and then we don't get free bread the next time we go in. It's a vicious cycle.
Me with my husband
My bank
The sketch elevator in my dorm
The tram that I take into town
The walk from my dorm to the tram stop (it's right across the street)
Uni Freiburg. I feel like I went back into the 70s every time I walk on campus
The Uni again
My attractive friends enjoying a nice bratwurst for lunch at the farmer's market
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Once again I have been bad about updating!
On Tuesday night, my roommate from freshman year of college, Laurel, came to visit me and we had a lot of fun. Wednesday we took a tour of Freiburg and I went around taking pictures of everything from the bakery where I always buy my pretzels, to the tram stop outside of my dorm, because I don't want to forget a single thing.
Thursday, Laurel went off to Basel while I stuck around for a final exam and a class. I also made an appointment with my Hausmeister to move out on July 29th. I say it again and again, but I absolutely cannot believe how fast time has gone by while I've been here. It seems like just last week that I had to make an appointment with my Hausmeister so he could give me my room keys and mailbox label, as I was officially moving in to my dorm.
This weekend, my friends are off in Italy and I've been in my room working on my last final paper of the semester. My brain is pretty fried now, but I think I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
Next week is the last week of classes, and then the week after is my last week in Germany. Holy smokes!
On Tuesday night, my roommate from freshman year of college, Laurel, came to visit me and we had a lot of fun. Wednesday we took a tour of Freiburg and I went around taking pictures of everything from the bakery where I always buy my pretzels, to the tram stop outside of my dorm, because I don't want to forget a single thing.
Thursday, Laurel went off to Basel while I stuck around for a final exam and a class. I also made an appointment with my Hausmeister to move out on July 29th. I say it again and again, but I absolutely cannot believe how fast time has gone by while I've been here. It seems like just last week that I had to make an appointment with my Hausmeister so he could give me my room keys and mailbox label, as I was officially moving in to my dorm.
This weekend, my friends are off in Italy and I've been in my room working on my last final paper of the semester. My brain is pretty fried now, but I think I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
Next week is the last week of classes, and then the week after is my last week in Germany. Holy smokes!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Post Post Script
These two pictures, taken by Emily, sum up our trip home from Prague, after we missed our train and lost all our seat reservations. The first one is a picture from our first train. We were stuck in this tiny aisle for 2 hours in tiny seats that we had to stand up and get out of every time someone walked by. Behind me is an obnoxious American tourist that was flipping out that all the seats were taken, REFUSED to sit in an aisle seat, and was on her way to buy a first class ticket. Across from me was a compartment of teenage girls all going on a trip and they kept running in and out every 2 seconds and making me stand up to get out of their way. This was taken right after we boarded the train, so you can see that we're still full of energy.
This one was taken 10 hours later on our last train from Frankfurt to Freiburg. We couldn't find seats and had to sit on the floor. We were notttt happy campers by this point, but I think my face pretty much sums that up.
This one was taken 10 hours later on our last train from Frankfurt to Freiburg. We couldn't find seats and had to sit on the floor. We were notttt happy campers by this point, but I think my face pretty much sums that up.
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