a couple pics

here are a couple photos to keep you guys entertained until i can get home in a couple weeks :)

claire, elena and i at the prague castle. 

top of the eiffel tower with the BC girls

snow shoeing in the alps!

christmas party with everyone in my program. :)

wrapping it up

Well this is it kids.  Looks like the semester of my life that I have been planning for since high school is officially over.  Would anyone like to like to help me figure out where the time went?!

As sad as I am that it is all over, I had a great ending.  Starting with the Alps and then all the way through this past weekend/week when I did my last country-hopping.  After the Alps it was all down to business for a couple of days while I studied for my 4 exams in 2 days.  They all went well though (two 100s!) so that was a great relief.  After the exams ended I spent most of my free time wrapping up everything in Parma and packing.  It was surreal taking down the pictures and decorations that it seemed I had just put up.  Two of my roommates left early on Thursday morning and that made reality hit quickly when their room was completely deserted! We still had a day of classes after exams were finished, but they were mostly filled by saying goodbyes and doing class evaluations so it wasn’t anything too extensive.  Wednesday night we had our farewell dinner with everyone in the program and our two coordinators.  It was great food, but we were all a little disappointed that there was no pasta dish.  Although I could go without eating pasta for a very very long time, it would have been nice to try some fancy pasta one more time, haha.  The night ended oddly though as the owners kind of rushed us out of the restaurant and we were unable to say many goodbyes.  I ended up seeing most people again the next day, but there was still not a lot of closure because we were all unsure of when would exactly be the last time we would see each other.

Friday I left early in the morning to head to Paris with 3 girls from the Parma program.  We took a 7 am train to Milan for our flight (I will NOT be missing those) and got to Paris around 2 pm.  We quickly headed to the hostel to drop everything off and then hustled to the Eiffel Tower to see it before it got dark.  We had a great location for our hostel, right off the subway, so it was easy to navigate all weekend.  We took lots of pictures outside of the tower and then decided to head up.  It was absolutely FREEZING, but worth it.  There was a bit of haze over the city as there had been a chance of rain all day so the view wasn’t perfect, but we got to have a decent view from there.  We actually hit our timing perfectly because we got to take our pictures beforehand when it was light, go up while it was light and then the sun was setting and then as we were descending on the elevators the lights came on to decorate the tower.  We then ran across the street (trying to keep warm!) and took some group photos in front of the lit tower before heading to the Louvre.  Upon entering the Louvre we saw a Starbucks and I was immediately in heaven.  I can’t remember if I have shared my soy chai love with all of you, but despite the fact that I probably paid way too much for the soy chai latte, it was phenomenal.  We had decided to go to the Louvre that night because after 6 pm it is free for people under 26.  It wasn’t too crowded and we were able to see most of the things we wanted to (Mona Lisa, Napoleon’s Apartment, etc).  We didn’t finish up in the Louvre until about 9:45 (since its HUGE) so we were starving and found a cute cheap place on the other side of the river.  We had some good French bread and food which was nice.  Afterwards we were all exhausted so we headed back to our hostel for the night.

Saturday we woke up and headed to Notre Dame.  It was quite impressive although I was a little annoyed by the fact that the façade appears to be masked by a gigantic Christmas tree in all of my photos, but c’est la vie. The inside was gorgeous though and we spent some time in there checking it all out.  Kristin and I wanted to climb the towers to get a better view of the city and the gargoyles, but they were closed because of ice (told you it was cold!). Afterwards Kristin and I went to Musee d’Orsay while the other girls did some shopping.  The building itself is stunning.  It used to be a train station and it is definitely still apparent although now decorated by some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures.  We probably could have spent even more time in there, but we were feeling a little pressured to head out and see what else the city had to offer.  We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the Arc de Triomphe at which point it started to rain.  We got to walk down Champs Elysees though which was cute and they had a Christmas market running down the length of the street.  Afterwards we thought it would be a good idea to head to one of the largest shopping malls (Galeries Lafayette).  Boy was that a bad idea.  They had cues to get into the stores and people were pushing and shoving every where you went.  It was worse than anything I have ever seen in the U.S. I guess those Parisians were excited for Christmas in a week and a half.  Despite the weather being bad we headed to Monte Matre and Sacre Coeur.  Sacre Coeur is a cathedral and also the highest point in Paris with its position on top of a hill.  It was really rainy and windy when we got to the top so we didn’t have a great view, but the cathedral itself was worth the hike up.  Moulin Rouge was located nearby so we took a quick tram ride over there to snap a couple photos and then waited in a café until it was time for dinner. We ate at a fondue house with some of the most unique owners I have ever encountered.  They had very quirky personalities and served us wine in baby bottles!  It was quite the experience.  Haha.

Sunday we had to wake up early to catch our flight back to Milan.  Once we got to Milan I had to say goodbye to those 3 girls since they would be heading home within the next couple of days and I was headed to Prague to meet up with some other friends.  I had to wait in the airport for about 4 hours to catch my next flight, but made it safe and sound to my Prague hostel around 4:30.  However, I did meet an interesting character on the train.  She sat diagonally behind me on the plane and decided it would be a good idea to have a life discussion for most of the flight despite my apparent desires to just listen to Christmas music on my iPod.  After we had reached BFF status in her book we realized that we were on the same flight back to Milan on Wednesday so she insisted on getting my number so we could meet up on Tuesday night. This interaction will be more significant later, don’t worry.  Anyway, I met up with Elena and Claire at the hostel and we made plans for the night.  Two of my friends from Parma (Dave and Jeff) had just spent the past 3 days in Prague so I called them up to meet them for dinner before they headed back home.  We met at the Christmas market in the Old Town square (so cute!!) and  then wandered for a while to find dinner.  The food in Prague was so good!  Well, I actually don’t know if it was that good or I was just so excited about having meat and hearty food that I associated it all with being amazing.  Nevertheless, we ate well all weekend. 

Monday we woke up and went to see the Charles Bridge.  It’s the most famous bridge in Prague and has many statues running along the perimeter (although as per everything in my life, half of it was under construction).  We still got a good view though and then proceeded to hike up to the Prague Castle.  It actually turned out not to be much of a castle, but rather a palace and basilica with other buildings surrounding it.  The views were great though!  The cathedral was interesting because of its very apparent gothic nature, and then almost mosaic-like stain glass windows with vibrant colors (including hot pink).  It was an interesting mix, but another beautiful church.  After we were finished touring that we headed back down and grabbed lunch in the Christmas market.  They had all sorts of food being grilled and it was just too tempting to pass up.  With the two main things we wanted to see in Prague already accomplished, we decided to have a relaxing afternoon and spent it window-shopping and resting back at the hostel.  We headed back to the Old Town Square for dinner and ate a restaurant overlooking the market (if you can’t tell, we were obsessed). 

On Tuesday we woke up a little later since we didn’t have a whole lot we needed to get accomplished that day and headed to the Jewish section of town.  We went into the Old-New Synagogue and then walked across the city to the Spanish synagogue to see the differences.  The Jewish community is only about 1,600 in Prague, but these synagogues are very popular in the city because of the history.  It was interesting to be in synagogues after spending so much time learning about cathedrals this entire semester.  The Spanish Synagogue was located in the New Town area so we spent some time walking through there and up the river until we made it back to the Christmas market for lunch (of course!). They always had these chicken kabobs and sausages tempting us so we finally gave in.  We also loved these sugar coated nuts they offered and got packs to keep us content during the day while we walked around.  After lunch we decided for another chill afternoon and went back to take a nap since I wasn’t planning on sleeping that night.  We went back down when it was dark to see the bridge and castle lit up at night and then got dinner right next to the bridge.  It was fun to just sit around and chat with these girls.  We spent a lot of time reflecting on our semesters and the next 3 coming up which was cool.  After dinner we headed back to the hostel despite my earlier plans to meet the girl from the plane in the Old Town Square.  We were supposed to be meeting up to take a taxi together to the airport, but we finished dinner early and so we decided to head up assuming that she could figure out how to get to our hostel.  Bad assumption.  I spent many annoyed texts and phone calls trying to get her to my hostel and then she finally arrived about 5 minutes before the taxi came.  She and I loaded up our things and then headed to the airport for the night.  We had a flight at 6:50 meaning we would need to check in at 4:50 and it just didn’t seem necessary to pay for a hostel that night.  It actually wasn’t that bad staying  there, I just spent about 3 hours reading and  then another hour listening to my iPod before we had to check in.  Finally we got on the plane around 6:30 and I immediately passed out until we landed in Milan.  Then we had to take a bus to the airport (for some odd reason it took an extra hour and a half, but at least we made it) and then I had to take a train back to Parma.  I was very glad to be back in my apartment even though every one else from my program had left.  I spent the night doing some last minute packing and just chilling out.

Today I had to do my last solo traveling!!  I bought my ticket for the train yesterday so I wouldn’t have to worry about it when I arrived at the station with all of my things which was nice.  I had planned to get a cab from my apartment at 11:30 to give me plenty of time, but of course things never work out like that.  I tried and tried to get the cab company on the phone, but it wouldn’t work.  After I had freaked myself out enough about missing my train I called one of the coordinators and got her to call for me.  Luckily she was able to get me one and I made it to the station in time.  There my tandem partner met me to help me get all of my things on the train which was so nice!  Once I finally managed to get situated on the train the family sitting around me began to talk to me in Italian and we had a good 2 hour conversation for the duration of the trip.  They were super cute and it made me feel very accomplished that I was leaving my program able to speak with natives for 2 hours.  We discussed EVERYTHING (my classes in Parma, traveling, Paris, American culture, fast food, etc).  They were also great to have when I had to get off the plane because the 3 of them helped me get all of my stuff off of the train before it pulled away.  There is no way I could have done it on my own.  I had decided it would just be easier to take a cab from that train station rather than trying to get my things on another commuter train that would take me to a more centrally located train station, but apparently there are no taxis in that area.  I had a good chat with 2 old men and an old woman  though and they helped me figure out how to get my things onto the commuter train.  Although I did almost have to leave one bag behind as the train signaled it was ready to pull away as I watched my other suitcase sitting on the platform while I was on board with my other one.  Not a good feeling.  Another Italian man was nice enough to help me though so everything made it.  Once I got to the central train station I took my time getting off the train and walking to the cab area since I no longer had deadlines I had to meet.  I finally made it to the cab and then the hotel.  I definitely had a sense of relief as I dropped my things off in my room and sat on the bed for a quick break.  I ate a quick (and very late) lunch in the room and then headed out to walk around the city for a while.  They also have a Christmas market here so I checked that out and then hit all of the highlights to see if there were any interesting changes since I was here last.  Lots of Christmas lights up which is cute.  After 3 hours of walking around I grabbed some food and then headed back to the hotel to chill for the night.  I’m tired and sore after lugging myself around the country today so I think I am going to call it a night and watch a movie. 

Its so exciting to be in the room that Alli and I will be sharing in just a few hours!!  I am so excited to see all of them.  Words can’t even begin to describe!  I’m not sure how frequently I will be able to update while I travel with the family, but I will at least try and post to let you know that we are alive and doing well. 

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!  I wish I could be home spending it with you all, but I will be home soon enough and able to share some of these amazing experiences with you in person.  Can’t wait!!

Buon Natale. Ciao!

E

P.S. Longest post ever.  I’m sorry!!  Touché if you made it the entire way through. I don’t know that I would have.

walking in a winter wonderland...

...more like snow shoeing, but sadly there are no songs to incorporate such an amazing extracurricular activity.

We made it back from the Alps! Hardest for me to comprehend about that sentence at this point is the fact that that was our last weekend as part of my study abroad program. "The Alps" were the weekend that we we have been referring to since we got here as the time when we would "all get to hang out together one final time and it will be SO great!".  Well kids, that time has come and gone and now I'm on the very quick down hill slope.  Only 4 exams in 2 days stand in my way of finishing up my life here in Parma, but first let me recap the past week...

Last week was mostly spent in classes, getting ready for finals and enjoying the finally fully lighted streets of Parma.  I went on a walking tour of Parma with my Cultural Diversity class which was interesting because he took us to a few locations that I had yet to visit in my time here.  My other classes proved to be a little less interesting and a lot more stressful as the professors decided it is that great time of the year to spring on last minute information for the finals just to ensure that no one feels confident.  Love it. We also had our Christmas party at Anna's house on Wednesday night which was fun.  She prepared some appetizers and desserts for us and we got to sit around together as a group and enjoy some time together in a fully decorated Italian apartment.  We also sang some Christmas carols while Sarah played the piano from sheet music she was reading from the computer! 

Saturday morning all 25 of us headed up to the Alps together for the weekend.  It was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride, but so nice to have a private bus to pick us up and drop us off exactly where we were staying.  The hotel was also nice, and the most energy-efficient place I have ever stayed.  We couldn't figure out why our heater wasn't working one day only to learn that the system shuts itself off when someone forgets to completely seal the door to the outside. The setting was also gorgeous!  Aosta is a very cute little town situated in a valley of the Alps so as you look all around you are completely enclosed by gigantic snow-covered mountains.  It was breathtaking.  Saturday we didn't get there until late in the afternoon so we went on a walking tour of the city and then had some time to kill.  I want back to study some (lame I know) and then we all had dinner together at the hotel.  Afterwards a bunch of us tried to watch the ACC Championship football game together, but sadly our sanity wouldn't let us finish watching it after we watched a couple of the worst offensive plays any of us have seen in a while.  (Its okay boys, we'll be ready next year.)  

Sunday we all had the option of skiing (which I opted out of for many reasons including not having the appropriate clothes) or going snow shoeing.  I don't know how many of you have been able to take part in the experience that is snow shoeing, but we had a great time.  We had an alpine tour guide who led us on our path, pointed out random parts of the natural habitat and helped us fix our show shoes when we broke them.  I have never ever been that cold in my life though!!  I was wearing 3 long sleeve shirts, a sweatshirt, my peacoat, a scarf, 2 pairs of gloves, ear muffs, leggings, jeans, 3 pairs of socks and Ugg boots, but somehow the cold still managed to get to me.  After I got back to the hotel that afternoon, drank some hot chocolate and got into warm clothes it all seemed totally worth it.  That night we all had dinner together at the hotel and then watched Elf back in our hotel room before we crashed super early.  Being outside all day really drained us.

This morning we had the option of going to mass with our 2 leaders since it is a National Holiday here in Italy, but I opted out since it was Italian and also a Catholic mass and I assumed I would not get much out of it.  I instead stayed in, did a little bit of studying for my Italian final and then met up with the others at the Christmas market afterwards.  I bought a great winter hat there!  I definitely feel it will come in handy once I make it to Prague so be on the lookout for photos with it included.  After the Christmas market we headed back to the hotel to pack up and head out.  It was a really fast weekend, but really fun to get away to such a gorgeous setting.  Not a place I probably would have planned to go on my own, but I'm so glad they did it for us.  

Now I have 2 finals tomorrow (Italian exam and Organizational Behavior presentation) and 2 on Wednesday (History of Parma exam and Cultural Diversity exam).  I am most worried about the Italian and Cultural Diversity ones so at least they are spaced out over the 2 days.  I will definitely be glad to be finished studying.  After those 2 days are finished we have our closing dinner on Wednesday night where I will say goodbye to Caterina and Beta (our 2 leaders).  It will be super sad because they are such awesome ladies, but they have promised to come visit us in Boston next fall so I will see them again!  Then I have Thursday night where I guess I will go around and say some more goodbyes to some of the other kids who I won't see again until we get back to BC.  Friday morning I will leave super early with 3 girls from this program to head to Paris!  I'm so excited to see the city! We will be there for 2 nights and then Sunday morning I head out to meet Elena and Claire (my friends from BC who are studying in London) in Prague for a few days.  If all goes according to plan I will be back in Parma next Wednesday night (exhausted!) just in time to finish packing up everything and head out to Florence on Thursday with all of my belongings in tow.  Then the family arrives on that Saturday!! 

Its going to be a whirlwind couple of weeks so I don't know when the next time I will be able to post will be. I will somehow figure out a way to be in contact with Alli and/or my dad at some point so if you want to hear updates you may need to contact them.  I will try and update this at least with a couple of brief sentences to let you guys know how I'm doing if I get the chance.

I hope you all are doing well and I would love to hear some updates before my weeks of traveling come up and I don't have the regular access to email.  Hope you're able to enjoy the holiday spirit and know that I am thinking about all of you and can't wait to see you soon!!

Love,

E

P.S.  My dad's mother is having open-heart surgery tomorrow to replace a valve in her heart.  We have known for about a month that this surgery was going to need to occur, but recent events have made the doctors push up the date to tomorrow.  They are very optimistic about the success of the surgery, but, as in any circumstance, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for her and the entire family.  Everyone seems to be handling things well, but I would pray that this would continue and that the doctors could easily move through the surgery so that we can all begin to work on the next phases of this process.  Don't feel obligated, but I did want to share in case any of you would be willing to lift her up in prayer over the next few days. 

its christmastime in the city...

Happy Thanksgiving!! (a few days late I know)

I hope all of you were able to celebrate with your families and really enjoyed it.  I am envious of all of you who did, but celebrating with some of my best friends from BC was exactly where I wanted to be if I couldn't be with family this year.  

Last week was particularly short so there isn't much to report before I left for London.  Last Monday evening we all went to a chocolate pastisserie on Via Cavour for chocolate calda on BC.  It was interesting (the consistency of chocolate pudding!) and I wasn't too impressed, but it was an Italian experience and a good way to try and stay warm when it was cold and snowy outside.  Tuesday I had my regular classes and then dinner with my roommates at Anna's house.  She and her husband own the apartment I live in so she has been trying to find a time for us to come over for dinner all semester.  It was weird going over there and not learning how to cook a meal, but no worries, we still ate well!  She fixed all of my favorite dishes (pasta with homemade pesto, chicken with peppers, salad and chocolate/almond cake).  We ended up just sitting around and talking for 3 hours in Italian and it was great.  I love that I have been able to grow in my Italian this semester because I was so worried about that aspect.  Its so rewarding to be able to have these lengthy conversations (even though I obviously make a million mistakes!) with locals who really appreciate our attempts.  After our lengthy dinner I came back to the apartment to pack for London!  

Wednesday I went to my two classes and then headed to the airport.  This was the one and only time I have been able to fly out of the Parma airport and it was so nice.  Not having to factor in an hour and a half train ride plus hour bus ride into my traveling was awesome!  However, Sarah and I did have a little bit of problems getting there on the city bus because when I asked a woman on the bus she told me that we had already passed the airport 2 stops back.  We ended up getting off at the next stop and trying to walk, only to find out 30 minutes later when we arrived at the airport that the bus had not in fact gone to the airport yet and that we had not needed to walk along the highway with our heavy luggage, haha.  Public transportation is always an adventure!  The flight to London was easy though and I arrived just in time for dinner.  The girls had already ordered pizza once I got there and so we ate in Hil's room while watching Love Actually.  I have watched that movie with these same girls every year at BC so it was nice to keep up the tradition this year.  After the movie we went iceskating at Somerset House which was so festive and fun.  It wasn't cold out at all so we were able to really enjoy it and surprisingly no one fell!  It helped that we had hockey skates, but I was still quite impressed.

Thursday was Turkey Day but I didn't even realize it until we were on the way to breakfast that morning and Hil wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.  So weird to be that separated from it all, but we had an awesome day none the less (just a little less family, food, football and parades than I'm used to).  For breakfast I finally got the Starbucks that I had been craving!  Not something I ever thought I would miss, but something about Starbucks and this time of year just makes me feel warm and happy.  Soy chai lattes are not found in Italy so I drank my fair share while I was there to keep me going until Jan 4 (and of course they always reminded me of my mom). After breakfast, Caroline and I did a bus tour of the city that day which was nice because we got to see EVERYTHING.  We only stopped off at one place though (Westminster Abbey) because we didn't have lots of time.  Westminster was absolutely gorgeous!  If any of you ever make it to London I hope that you will go.  You aren't allowed to take pictures so I can't share the experience with you, but its not something that photos could do justice anyway.  We also made sure to take pictures of Big Ben and a traditional touristy photo in the telephone booth there too.  After the tour was over we headed back to Hil's room to get ready for the "Thanksgiving Dinner" that the BC-London program was hosting.  It turned out to be quite the joke (they served us nachos, prosciutto wrapped sausages, and veggie platters), but it was fun to dress up and hang out with friends.

On Friday Claire was our tour guide for the day while Hil had class.  We went to the Natural History Museum, Hyde Park (there was a Christmas festival) and the Tower of London.  I took about a million photos while I was there so there are many to share later on.  After we had finished touring for the day we went and got Indian food for dinner.  I don't know whether the place was actually that good or if I was just so excited to not be eating Italian food, but it tasted phenomenal!  Afterward we went to a bookstore where I bought a British comedy book (pretty funny trying to learn all these new words they use) and then went and saw Four Christmases.  It wasn't that great of a movie, but nice to be in a movie theater again and hearing English.  After that we headed to Claire's for the night and watched The Holiday.  Well, I should say they watched it while I finally had to quit and pass out on the floor because I was so tired.

Saturday morning we had to wake up super early to get Caroline to the airport.  Hil and I were still really tired so we went back to her apartment and slept for a little while longer and then got up and ready for the day.  We decided we just wanted to have a good chill day in the city.  We went to Borough Market, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Harrods!  Borough Market is a huge food market near Hil's apartment and we just walked around to see all of the fun presentations.  We also got to try some free samples and even saw some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for sale.  So fun to see all of the Christmas decorations, but ridiculous to try and fight the crowds of people on the main shopping streets of London that day.  It was worse than any Black Friday experience I have ever had in the states, but much more fun because we weren't actually there to buy anything.  Harrods is an experience in itself.  The ridiculous decorations and high end stores are overwhelming, but we spent a good couple of hours there just taking it all in.  Then we decided we would get dinner from the market there (it is all so fresh and beautifully displayed) and then took it back to Hil's room.   We had toyed around with the idea of going to see a play that night, but then decided against it because we didn't want to spend the money on a play we could see in the States and we also had a very important BC game to watch.  We watched Serendipity while eating dinner and then Claire came over to watch the game with us.  The final score ended up being closer than I would have liked, but at least we are going to the Championship! Go Eagles!

Sunday morning I had to wake up at 5:15 and head to the airport.  I got there with plenty of time though and read some of my new book while I ate my last Starbucks for a while.  I got back to my room around 1:15 and then just chilled out while blasting Christmas music all afternoon.  

I can't believe its December 1st already!! My program is over in 10 days and the family comes in 18 days! So hard to believe.  It also means I have to start doing some more intense work to finish out this semester.  I have been working on outlining for a final all day so far today and finally finished that before I sat down to write this.  Now I need to go study for a  mock-final we are having in Italian tomorrow so I don't completely embarrass myself.  So weird to be on this side of it now.  We have our Christmas party on Wednesday night at Anna's and then this weekend we are headed to the Alps with the entire BC group.  We have the option to ski, but I think most of my friends and I have decided that we will save the money and opt for ice skating and checking out the town (Aosta) while we are there.  I also will have to find some time to do work too, but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

I hope you all had great Thanksgivings at home and enjoy the fact that it is now officially okay to blast your Christmas music!  Happy first week of December!

Much love,

E

BC group after "Thanksgiving Dinner"

Half of 90-601 in a telephone booth.

Caroline and I in front of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben on Turkey Day.

Ice Skating!

601 Christmas Card. (note the Tiffany's influence EVERYWHERE)