Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Month: May 2013

Saying Goodbye

May 7, 2013 / / 0 Comments

This past weekend was our last weekend of freedom, so to speak, since next weekend we have a group excursion to the Lake District.  That made this weekend our last opportunity to travel where we wanted and say our final goodbyes to London.  Somewhere I really wanted to go back to, which was, coincidentally, where we spent our very first weekend while abroad, was Edinburgh, Scotland.  We had had such an amazing time in Scotland the first time around, and there were still a few things I didn’t get a chance to do the first time that I wanted to go back and explore.

I do have to say, since it was the only place, with the exception of London, that we went back to, it was funny walking out of the train station and knowing exactly where we were supposed to go.  We already had a hang of the city and where everything was located and we already did the walking tour and learned all about the city, so now we could just go and do whatever it was we wanted.  One of the first things we did was climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat, a tall mountain/hill in Edinburgh.  Accidentally, Emelie and I ended up climbing up the higher, much steeper mountain right next to Arthur’s Seat, in the wind and the rain.  Whoops.  It was still quite an experience. From up there we could see all of Edinburgh below us.  It allowed us to actually realize how close to the North Sea Edinburgh actually was.

Something else I really wanted to do ever since that first weekend was to go on the Covenanter’s Prison Tour of Greyfriar’s Cemetery.  Ever since hearing all of the stories about the prison and researching it once I returned to Cambridge, I have wanted to go back and see what all the hype was for myself.  The history behind the prison, and that cemetery itself is remarkable.  So many horror stories have come from authors who were inspired by the cemetery, such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and Dracula.  Naturally, nothing supernatural occurred while we were there, but it was still something I had to experience on my own.  Our tour guy himself was enough of a show for me.  He was a bit nutty and hopped around the cobblestone the entire way there refusing to step on any cracks.

  

Since it was Bank holiday, meaning we didn’t have any classes on Monday, Emelie and I came back from Edinburgh on Saturday and headed for our last hoorah in London for Sunday and Monday.  It was nice having just a little more time to see everything in London we saw on our very first trip there, such as London Tower and Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Leister Square, and even Big Ben and Parliament.  We even did the same telephone booth pose that we had from week one by Big Ben!  Luckily, a women from our hostel mentioned that we should go to the market in Camden Town, somewhere no one had previously mentioned going to, and we headed there on Monday.   This market, literally, just went on and on and on.  It never ended.  There were shops that sold anything you could think of and even a huge courtyard with different tents of food from mini pancakes served with Nutella, to paella, wraps, chicken burgers, cheesecake, pineapple smoothie in a pineapple, and even options of kangaroo.  As for crafts, there was a man that sold candles in the shape of wine bottles and cheese, that would melt in the most amazing looking ways.  The market itself was a sight to see and somewhere I would definitely tell people to go to.  It was bursting with people, especially since most of the people had off work.

     

Hopping off the tube for the last time Monday was pretty hard to do.  I have grown to love the city so much and especially the tube!  Once you have lived and experience London, you’ll understand too.  It is my favorite city in the world, one that I would love to come back and move to one day in the future.  Saying goodbye to Cambridge these next nine days is not going to be easy either.  It is unbelievable how fast these past four months have gone by.  As much as I want to see my friends and family, I’m dreading hopping on that plane for the long nine hour journey back home, knowing that I really don’t know the next time I’ll be back again.  So I’m going to make sure to live up these next few days and do everything my heart desires, going home with no regrets and nothing left undone.

The Cliffs of Moher

Adventures in Scotland and Ireland

May 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments

St. Gile's Cathedral

While I had dreamed of traveling the world when I was younger, I never fully believed that would be possible for myself. There was always some seemingly big obstacle in the way, such as money or being too young. Last week I found myself doing the “impossible”: I traveled around Europe, living out of a backpack. While I have been on a few weekend trips already this semester, it felt so authentic to be traveling for a whole week. I finally felt like a real traveler that spends their life meeting new people, wearing the few clothes that they have with them repeatedly, and learning about many new cultures while seeing it before your own eyes. After traveling for a straight week, I finally realized how fun it is to wake up in the morning and think, “Where am I going next today?”

My first stop was in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had really chosen this location randomly based off the opinion of a friend who had been there already, and I didn’t know much about the city or even Scotland itself. I had head that it was a very beautiful city, but it wasn’t until I stepped off the bus and took a look around that I knew the stories were true. Edinburgh is an amazing city. It isn’t very big, but it makes up for its small size with its sheer beauty. Everywhere you look, there is something wonderful to see. It has a castle, many cathedrals and churches, mountains, and a lake. What else could you ask for from a city? One small downside to living in Edinburgh is the weather. Although it was the end of April when I visited, it was only in the 50s all week, and there would be random boughts of wind and rain. A lot of locals said it was summer weather! Despite the bad weather, Edinburgh charmed me in so many other ways that I soon forgot about the cold.

Athur's Seat

The first day my friend and I were there, we climbed Arthur’s Seat, which is the highest peak of a group of hills in the center of the city that were formed by an extinct valcano. It was a little steep going up, but there were steps built into the hills to help us along. The grass on these hills was incredibly green, and there was a huge breeze that nearly knocked us off the side of the hill as soon as we reached the top. The view was wonderful, and it was an amazing start to my weekend in Edinburgh.

Throughout the few days that we were there, my friend and I went on three different tours of the city. The first was a ghost tour at night which took us to a graveyard, underground vaults, and other spooky places while telling us about the dark history of Edinburgh. The next tour was a free three hour walking tour, which was surprisingly great for a free tour. I learned so much more history about the city and Scotland than I thought I would in the few short days I was there. The company (Sandeman’s New Europe Tours) has tours all over Europe, so I would recommend checking them out if you are ever in Europe. We also went no their spooky tour about witches, fairies, and cannibals, and that was pretty awesome as well. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Scotland, learning about its history, and talking to the locals.

The Cliffs of Moher

Next on our agenda was Dublin, Ireland. I have heard so many times that Ireland is an amazing and beautiful place to visit, so of course I had to see it for myself. Dublin is a fairly large city with lovely cathedrals and a fun nightlife. What else would you expect in Ireland? We ended up taking the same free walking tour around the city and learned a lot about Ireland’s history. I’m not much of a history buff, but it’s so different when you’ve thrown yourself into a strange city and have no idea about its present or past. That’s why I really liked taking these walking tours; it’s so much better learning about a foreign city if you are actually there to see the sights for yourself.

My favorite part of my trip to Ireland was when we went on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, which are on the complete opposite side of the country from Dublin. The Cliffs of Moher look over the Atlantic Ocean and are just breathtaking. On the way to Galway, the bus took us through the countryside along the coast, and we stopped at a few sights to take pictures. It was a perfect sunny day, and I had such a great time looking at all of the sheep and rock walls amongst the green fields. Galway was a very sweet town next to the sea filled with ancient churches, landmarks, and good food.

I had a wonderful time seeing the sights in Scotland and Ireland during my first week of spring break, and I can’t wait to continue my journey around Europe this coming week.

Rocks on the Irish Countryside

In a world where there's so many acts of terror and fear, it's a blessing to remember that there is also so many examples of incredible beauty out there.

In a world where there's so many acts of terror and fear, it's a blessing to remember that there is also so many examples of incredible beauty out there.

Choosing To Seek Courage

May 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments

In exactly two weeks, I’m going to be sitting, (very jet-lagged), in my own living room with my parents and sisters, watching American TV, eating my mom’s cooking, looking out the window at my own backyard in St. Charles, Illinois. And it’s absolutely mind-boggling. It feels like a week ago, I was on board that 8-hour plane ride across the ocean, turning knots in my stomach because I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. “Terrified” hardly begins to cover how I was feeling back in January, and now that my time abroad is winding down, I’m looking back on that earlier, timid version of myself and feeling an overwhelming sense of personal accomplishment about the person I am now. Studying abroad has given me the key to finding within myself a personality trait I never knew I had: bravery. For someone like me who used to live in constant (sometimes obsessive) worry, that’s something of a miracle.

In a world where there's so many acts of terror and fear, it's a blessing to remember that there is also so many examples of incredible beauty out there.

In a world where there's so many acts of terror and fear, it's a blessing to remember that there are also so many examples of incredible beauty out there.

Just so you know, this blog post is about to get very serious. However, I think it’s an important thing to talk about, because my personal experience abroad has related so strongly to this topic. In light of what happened in Boston two weeks ago, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the awful, crippling power that fear has over human beings. It amazes me how a single act of terror can transform the way the entire world looks at society: Americans aren’t the only ones who were affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. Airport security around the globe has tightened. I’ve received e-mails from the Spanish Embassy in Madrid to be extra vigilant in my day-to-day routines outside of the house. My host mom just about had a heart attack when I wasn’t home from school on time the other day because I was talking to my professor after class. People everywhere are treading on eggshells around one another, trusting each other a little bit less than they did before, all because of the spell that terror has cast over this world.

It’s all for good reason, and I can certainly say that my guard is up a little higher than it was two weeks ago. The scary reality is that there is no place that is truly safe from unspeakable tragedies, and there’s always going to be people out there who seek to stir up our deepest and most paralyzing personal fears. Not so long ago, I used to view the world around me from that point of view – constantly letting worry get the best of me and fearing the worst of humanity. I called myself a “realist” because, let’s face it, all of these terrors are very, very real. What I didn’t know at the time was that being a realist can coincide perfectly with being an optimist, and that choosing to seek the good and the beautiful in this world is the recipe for finding courage in the face of fear.

Getting out of your comfort zone, making friends from all over the world, and learning from them is one of the best parts about living abroad!

Getting out of your comfort zone, making friends from all over the world, and learning from them is one of the best parts about living abroad!

The thing about studying abroad is that it has the power to truly force you out of your comfort zone if you let it do so. Get out of your room and just go take a walk by yourself without a map. Strike up a conversation, no matter how bad your Spanish is, with the lady waiting with you at the bus stop. Watch a movie with your host family, even though half the dialogue goes over your head. Go to the bars (don’t be stupid about it), and meet people. Try that weird food. Navigate a bus system that you’re unfamiliar with. Travel to a place where they speak a language you will never learn. Learn from people who don’t come from the same place you do, and teach them new things as well. These are all choices, and a lot of them will make you uncomfortable. But with each baby step out of your comfort zone, you start to learn that there’s beauty and light in this world that you never saw before. Before you know it, you’re taking leaps and bounds out into the big wide world, and discovering the courageous person that lives inside of you.

We’re called to live boldly, to seek the best in people, and to overcome the fear that acts of evil can instill in our hearts. It doesn’t mean to be careless, but rather to choose courage over worry. One of my thematic Bible verses of this semester has been 2 Timothy 1:7 – “ For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” It’s a nice reminder that we’re not alone in this world, and if we can choose to see things in a different light, we might just be amazed at how easily the beauty that surrounds us can overcome the darkness.

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