Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Page 17 of 124

Twenty-Four Hours in Edinburgh

November 28, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Emma Hecht

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

I don’t have class after noon on Tuesday or at all on Wednesday. So, for fun, I got on Kayak a couple weeks ago and just looked at flights that would get me somewhere and back in about 24-36 hours (Kayak’s explore tab is my best friend). What I found was a round trip flight to Edinburgh, Scotland for 19 pounds… that’s less than 25 dollars.

I got into Scotland around 7 pm on Tuesday evening, went to a pub for an amazing dinner of steak & ale pie and chocolate cake, and then headed to my hostel. I went to bed relatively early so that I could get up at 5:45 am in the morning and climb a hill/mountain/cliff, “Arthur’s Seat” and be at the top for the sunrise. I tumbled out of bed around 5:52 and began the forty minute walk to Arthur’s Seat. It was raining very slightly. It was also pitch black. Five minutes away from my destination, I reached a forest. Apple Maps thought it was a good idea for me to go through it, but I wasn’t convinced. So I stood and looked at it for a good two minutes, deciding if climbing a mountain was worth risking getting kidnapped. Then I saw cars passing on the other side of the forest and their headlights shed enough light for me to see that the forest was about ten trees on either side of a paved sidewalk. I crossed through without any threats to my safety and worked on figuring out where the paths were to climb up, using three feet of light from my iPhone’s flashlight to guide me. At one point I saw a distant light through the dark and I thought, “Oh wow they marked the path with lights, this is great!” But then the light started moving and I realized it was a person. (I concluded it wasn’t a murderer because murderers wouldn’t wear a light that drew attention to them.)

I remembered that I had a map on my phone of the different paths that there are to Arthur’s Seat, so I whipped that out and saw I was closest to the red path, which was described as a “very steep climb” and I thought, “a) it’s extremely dark out, b) it’s been raining, so there will be a good amount of mud, c) I’m wearing boots with very little traction, and d) I have very little experience climbing.” So, I’m on what I can only hope is the red path and I’m making all sorts of wrong turns on paths that aren’t really paths, until it starts to get light and I make a beeline through some grass that leads up to some peaks. I’m not actually convinced that I made it to Arthur’s Seat, but I made it to somewhere tall and it was beautiful.

After the climb, I went to The Elephant House, the café where JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, or at least The Sorcerer’s Stone. I’ve loved Harry Potter since middle school (who hasn’t?) so that was pretty amazing. I had a cup of tea (as you do in the UK) and a piece of carrot cake.

I went to a few other museums throughout the day, including the National Museum of Scotland, where I saw Dolly, the genetically engineered sheep! My high school biology teacher would be so proud that I remember things from her class.

I was sitting in the Edinburgh airport, waiting for the screen to announce my gate and I got on Kayak and asked where they could take me for December 4th and 5th. So now I’m going to Oslo for 14 pounds. The train ride from Cambridge to the airport and back is going to cost me more than that.

Turning a dream into reality!

November 27, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Italy

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Italy, the land of wine, cheese, pasta, pizza, gelato, seafood, and most important, the birthplace of the supercar. For those that know me, I considered myself a car enthusiast that is always looking for cars everywhere I ago. During my study abroad experience, I have visited Ireland, Germany, France and many places in England that have allowed me to see many of my favorite European cars, but as my study abroad programs come to an end, there was one place that I absolutely needed to visit, and this place was Italy.

On November 8th, my best friend Ben and I departed from Stansted Airport in London and flew to Milan, Italy. From there, we took a bus to Venice where we spent most of our afternoon exploring the peninsula and witnessing the beautiful scenery. Ben and I had an amazing dinner right at the edge of a pier, and as we walked through the peninsula, we also had the opportunity to try the very famous Italian Gelato which is a very creamy and rich flavored type of ice cream.

After spending the night in Venice, we woke up early the next day and we headed to the city of Bologna. From Bologna, we took a train to the city of Modena in order to fulfill one of my all time lifetime dreams to visit the Ferrari Museum and factory located in Maranello, Italy. Once arriving in Modena, we took an official Ferrari bus shuttle from the train station that took us to the birthplace of Ferrari that was about 40 minutes away. Once arriving in the Maranello, we had the opportunity to visit the museum, walk around the factory grounds, and eat lunch at same café that many of the assembly employees of Ferrari eat lunch every day. Even though I had an amazing time at the museum and the factory, I couldn’t leave Maranello fully satisfied within getting my hands behind the wheel of a Ferrari. After signing my life away in a liability contract, I was handed the keys to a Ferrari F430 Speciale Edition. Right away, I open the car door and turned on the ignition to one of the most powerful cars I had ever driven. With overwhelming joy due to the sound and vibration of the engine, I put the car into first gear and started one of the most amazing driving experiences I have ever had. After cruising on the Italian roads and Hwy’s, we returned to the rental company and Ben and I took the Ferrari bus shuttle back to Modena. In Modena, we walked through the life and history museum of the founder and creator Enzo Ferrari. From Modena, we took a train to Pisa where we ate dinner and spent the night.

Early in the Morning, we walked to the leaning tower of Pisa located about a mile away from our Airbnb. For a few hours, we got the chance to take pictures and spend some time walking around the beautiful city before heading back to the Pisa central train station. From the train station, we took a train to Rome, Italy where we visited the Vatican City and the Colossal. We spent all of our afternoon sight-seeing and the experiencing the city of Rome before heading back to the airport early the next morning.

Around England

November 19, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Emma Hecht

Location: Cambridge, England

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

I don’t know anything about sports. So, when my friend and her family took me to the Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace soccer (“football”) game two Sundays ago at Stamford Bridge, I learned a lot: 1. They water the field right before the game. To someone mildly accident-prone, this seemed particularly hazardous. But, I guess it’s just to get the field to the right texture… I don’t know, it still seems dangerous to me.
2. Sometimes you just need a five minute nap to get through the first quarter.
3. British/European fans are very reserved. They sit quietly in their seats observing the game, occasionally chanting uniformly. They only stand and cheer when their team makes a goal. (Which is what? Like, max four times a game?) I don’t know any American who has sat through even a little league game that mildly.
4. The players use their heads and chests almost as much as their feet to get the ball around. I’m
not sure how that doesn’t hurt.

Stamford Bridge Stadium

Another big thing here in England  is the holiday Bonfire Night (also called Guy Fawkes Night) on November 5th . It started years after Guy Fawkes, a Catholic activist, and a dozen other men planted gunpowder under the House of Parliament to blow it up. This would have killed the political members inside that were religiously persecuting the Catholics, if Guy Fawkes hadn’t gotten caught just hours before he was going to light the match and complete the plot. Great Britain began to remember this day to celebrate that their King and Parliament members weren’t killed, which was definitely very anti-Catholic. However, today that anti-Catholic message is gone and it’s simply an act of community where people get together and set off fireworks and light a huge bonfire. The event I attended was organized by the city of Cambridge. There were twenty minutes of fireworks, which might’ve been the best fireworks I’ve ever seen, and, of course, an enormous bonfire. The fact that the Brits will light this bonfire astounds me. They are crazy about their fire safety. Pretty much all of the doors in the house I live in are “fire doors” and they have to be closed at all times. Any building you go into has marked fire exits (not emergency exits—fire exits). In one church service, I was in, there was even a designated seat for a fire marshal.

The fireworks, which lasted twenty minutes

A terrible picture of the bonfire, but the best one my iPhone 6 camera could take—I could feel
the heat from where I was standing

Three other Valpo girls and I took a little field trip with our director, Dr. Brugh, and her husband this past weekend to Anglesey Abbey. We walked around the grounds, which were kept up beautifully, and contained all kinds of trees and plants. Right near the main house, there is also a working flour mill, one of the last of its kind in England, where the flour is hand-ground. The house itself is built on the foundation of an old abbey where monks used to live and work. However, it was rebuilt around the 17 th century. Now, however, all of its decorations come from the 1920’s, since its buyer in that era wanted to modernize it.

River through the grounds of Anglesey Abbey, leading to the flour mill (the white building)

The back of the house

Paris Weekend Adventure

November 16, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Paris, France

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Europe is famous for its food, culture, parks, monuments, and buildings. Located in Paris, France, The Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic monuments in Europe. With less than two months remaining in our study abroad program, my best friend and I decided to designate a weekend to visit the wonderful city of Paris. From the Cambridge study center, we took the train to London where we took a bus to France. You might be thinking, England is part of the United Kingdom island?!? Yes, that is correct, England is part of an Island, but thanks to the outstanding European engineers, a tunnel was constructed that allowed the connection between the British island and the European mainland. The bus ride was 7 hours long and it dropped us off outside of Paris.

The very first major building that we visited within about an hour from arrival to Paris was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We had the opportunity to go inside to look at the most amazing artwork and religious artifacts. Hundreds of tourists from all over the world visit the Cathedral and many of them go up the towers to get a better view of the city and also to look at its amazing bells. Due to our narrow time frame and tight schedule, we were unable to go up the tower, but we did take time to take a few pictures outside the cathedral.

During our visit, the weather in Paris was very cold and windy, but that didn’t stop us from visiting the Eiffel Tower. After taking the metro located about a mile away from Notre Dame Cathedral, we ate dinner at a French restaurant a few blocks from the tower. After eating an amazing lunch and having experienced very strange service, we walked to the tower and we got in line to enter the enclosed area around the tower. From the ground level and to the first and second floor, Ben and I took the stairs. The view from the top of the tower was amazing and we had the opportunity to see the entire city. By the time we made our way down the tower, it was already dark so the lights came on while still inside the tower which to me was a very unique experience.

On our second day in Paris, we visited the Louvre Museum. This museum has a lot of artwork and also has very historically important artifacts from all around the world. One of the most famous artworks in the museum is the Mona Lisa, which attracts a lot of tourists. After walking through the museum for a few hours, we took the metro to visit the very famous Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is actually much bigger than what it seems in the pictures. Ben and I took a few pictures from across the street of the Arc and we walked around the city. Before we left Paris, we took a cruise that takes you to see the major tourist destinations since most of them are located near the river. Overall, we had a very interesting and amazing experience in Paris, France.

Financial Blog Part Two

November 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Michael Boyajian

Location: Reutlingen, Germany 

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Greetings again, readers! The picture that I have attached is a recording of my expenses for the month of October. I started the month with $2,458.08 left in my budget. What you’ll see is that this month, not only did I have more expenses, but I also had some income. You’ll notice that I spent the bulk of my expenses in the “Austria Trip” section. Over fall break, my mother came out to visit with me and our extended family, who happen to live in Graz, Austria. During our trip, my mother discovered that her Discover Card did not work in most places, so I ended up paying for both of us when we stayed in hotels and had meals. Luckily, we were able to stay with our family, which saved us plenty of money on living/meal expenses. At the end of our visit, my mother’s cousin gave me an unexpected gift of 300 euros “for travelling”, which converts to roughly $350. Because many of my purchases this month were
made with a card, I have a good amount of cash going into the month of November, and I expect to not have to withdraw much money from my account.

Although my expenses were higher this month, I did receive a larger amount of income, leaving me with $2,346.02 left in my budget at the beginning of November. Going forward, I expect to go on one or two more weekend trips and I don’t expect to see any more income for the rest of my time in Germany. I will keep recording my expenses, and I’ll post again at the beginning of December before I post my total expenses for the semester. Hope this helps! Bis spater, und Ciao!

Oktoberfest!

November 14, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Liam Bodlak

Location: Munich/Stuttgart, Germany

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“What’s the history of Oktoberfest? Like, what’s the significance?”

A friend asked me this question, and I honestly didn’t know how to respond. I’d been to the festival three separate times-twice in Stuttgart, once in Munich-and I was unaware of any sort of major historical significance of it. So I did my research, thought about it, and finally figured out what Oktoberfest was all about. The answer is that, in 1810, King Ludwig I put on a festival to celebrate his marriage to Princess Therese, and the event sort of caught on and was celebrated every year.

My first Oktoberfest experience was in Munich. Me and three friends took a late train from Leipzig to Munich, and after arriving, met up with our Airbnb hosts. After a survey of our Airbnb (complete with a box shower that kept the water warm for about thirty seconds), we were all ready to start our day at Oktoberfest. And what a day it was. We found ourselves in the Hofbrau House, where we found ourselves seated next to two Scotsmen, who we spent most of the day with. We talked about various topics, including the Midwest (“Indiana’s the one with a lot of NASCAR, right?”) and Unicorns (the national animal of Scotland, because Scotland is amazing). I also received travel advice from a very friendly Dutchman, who talked my ear off about how Rotterdam was better than Amsterdam. A few hours later, I was feeling pretty hungry. I went to a McDonalds right outside the venue, and was reminded again that Europeans don’t have sweet tea. (I tried explaining it for a solid 10 minutes to someone in Copenhagen and he couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. If nothing else, Americans are outdoing the rest of the world in the field of sugary drinks). We eventually got back to the Airbnb, and we left the next morning. Munich Oktoberfest was a success.

Two weeks later, I spent two nights attending Wasen (Stuttgart’s version of Oktoberfest). Stuttgart was slightly smaller than Munich (Munich is around the size of San Diego, and Stuttgart is closer to Louisville), but it was still a great time. Highlights included multiple singalongs of Country Roads (John Denver is evidently huge in Germany) and having one of the people at my table scream, unprompted “I AM THE POLISH ANGUS YOUNG!”, a quote made exponentially better by the fact that there wasn’t even an AC/DC song playing at the time.

Everything was so overwhelmingly beautiful. From the rides, to the food, to the way the whole festival lights up at night. I was awestruck the entire time I was there. I felt a sort of togetherness with the people there. All of us were strangers that became friends for a few hours. We had fun together, but in a few months we’ll all be back in Scotland, or Ireland, or Poland, or wherever we’re from, and we’re all going to be a distant memory and a funny story to someone else. But that word-togetherness-is something I definitely felt at Oktoberfest. Just from little interactions, I felt a closeness with the world that I don’t normally experience. We’re all very different-culturally, spiritually, economically-but for a few hours, we were all together.

 

 

Riding the Homesick Falls

November 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Rae Erickson

Location: Windhoek, Namibia 

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

This morning, three letters from my friends arrived in my mail slot. While I knew that one was hopefully coming, I wasn’t sure if it would make it, so seeing three waiting for me was an absolutely beautiful surprise. Being abroad for the past few months has changed me significantly, but it also has brought me even closer to my roots of who I know that I am. Dealing with mental health struggles in another country is intimidating to say the least, and missing my friends and family has been extremely difficult, but amidst these struggles, I am forced to remember why I am here, everything I am learning, and how important the people are to me that I hold close to my heart when they cannot be close to me physically. My time here has transformed me so much that I have begun going by a new nickname, Rae, that suits me in a million different ways! Without being on another continent, and meeting the people I have, I can’t say I would be the person I feel myself becoming today. This past week was fall break in Windhoek, but it was also a kind of spring break, because of the reverse seasons!! A few friends and I journeyed to Victoria Falls in Zambia, where we swam next to beautiful rainbows and saw little pockets of God. Even though the waves of homesickness have been as great as the crashing rapids of the Zambezi River, I know that this is where I am meant to be. Being in this other worldly place was truly a wild contrast to the experience of the week prior, when we stayed in northern Namibia for our rural homestay! Being in Outapi was one of the hardest things that I have ever done, but it was also one of the most rewarding. Throughout my whole time in this country, I have realized over and over again how strong and lucky that I really am. Prior to my departure in August, I was terrified of what was to come. Every day that I am here, I know that my little vial of bravery is inching upwards. Every day that I am here, I become more educated about how the injustices of the world are often covered up, how much I really have, and where my passions are leading me.

In Outapi, my homestay family had five loving children and two welcoming parents. The father of the family was the Vice Head of the village, and we talked at length about his responsibilities, as well as the accessibility of healthcare in his village. Because health services are so available in the US, it was heartbreaking but also incredibly eye opening to see firsthand how not everywhere on the planet has this luxury at their fingertips. I will always remember the hugs and company of the two little girls in particular, Alina and Monika, when reflecting on this time of my journey here. Even though the littlest one did not speak a lot of English, she squeaked out the cutest “THANK YOU!” once I gave her the necklace I made her on my final day in their home. Sitting around the campfire and singing songs in Oshiwambo and English will be something I will hold with me throughout the rest of my life, forever and ever.

 

The last thing I want to touch on for this blog is my experience in Etosha National Park. We drove into the park and immediately saw thousands of zebras! Passat, the driver for CGEE, has a passion for game drives, and senses creatures coming out of the darkness like no one I have ever met. On our first night in the park, we stayed in a chalet, and visited a watering hole. There were tons of friends that came to visit, emerging timidly out of the night to drink while we all watched as quietly as possible. A giraffe, two rhinos, three zebras, and an entire herd of elephants joined the site, creating a moment charged with power, spirituality, and grace. The next night, we camped before embarking on our long journey back to Windhoek. The calm presence of the animals was exactly what we needed before returning back to CGEE’s home base!

Hello, Goodbye to Liverpool

November 9, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Emma Hecht

Location: Liverpool, England

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of The Beatles. So, my friend Claire and I bought the $77 , 9 hour bus tickets to Liverpool for the weekend for a Beatles tour. We got in at 6:30 am and were exhausted from a good night of restless sleep. It was also about 30 degrees Fahrenheit and we were in jean jackets and leggings. So, we found the nearest Starbucks, which opened at 7 am, ordered hot chocolates and went to their upstairs lounge. We stayed there for a couple hours, warming up and planning our day and, of course, napping, until everything opened up. After finally leaving Starbucks, we wandered around a huge outlet mall (mostly looking at shoes) until our Beatles tour.

On the tour, the guide, who talked quickly and in a relatively strong accent, told us all about how the Beatles started, their drummers before Ringo Starr, their managers, and their childhoods. We drove past the childhood houses of each of the four. And stopped at Paul’s and George’s.

Here I am in front of George’s childhood home:

We also stopped by Penny Lane (and got to see most of the things that Paul sings about in “Penny Lane”):

Strawberry Fields was another stop. It’s not a strawberry farm but was a Salvation Army children’s home, which is now closed.

After the tour, Claire and I went to the Cavern Club, a nightclub that is the “birthplace of the Beatles,” where the first started playing and became popular. We didn’t stay for very long, but long enough to hear the band play “Twist and Shout.” We headed to the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, where we heard from our tour guide we could get Beatles themed drinks.

We were tired from all that sitting on the tour bus and sitting in the hotel bar, so we decided to head back to our Airbnb for a good night’s sleep. As we settled into bed, a wasp crawled onto my computer screen. As amateur wasp handlers, Claire and I asked our Airbnb host, Lilian, if there was anything she had that would kill a wasp. Lilian, a champ, came right upstairs, trapped the wasp under a mug, and let it out the window. In the morning, she served us a great breakfast, gave us recommendations on where to go in town, and drove us to the train station. 10/10 recommend Lilian’s Airbnb.

Sunday was a little more relaxed. We walked around the city for a while and ended up going to a cat café! None of the cats were really very interested in us, but we had more hot chocolate, so it worked out.

The next stop was the Liverpool Cathedral. It’s a beautiful cathedral, but also has one extremely unique feature. Underneath their lovely stained glass window, there is a pink neon sign. It reads “I Felt You And I Knew You Loved Me.”

Our last landmark stop in Liverpool before taking the bus back to Cambridge was the Radio City Tower, a radio and observation tower. It used to serve as a revolving restaurant but was closed due to health concerns. Now you can still go up in it (which we did!) but they’ve replaced a sit-down restaurant with a vending machine, and the tower no longer spins.

 

Goats and Cheetahs

November 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Rae Erickson

Location: Namibia

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

As an avid animal lover, I was in paradise when my urban homestay family brought me to their Satanslogch farm. Even just the journey there was something I had not experienced before, since it was truly up and down through the mountains on just a faintly distinguished gravel road. When we arrived at the camp, which is near Daan Viljoen Dam, and they told me I could hold as many goats as I desired!!! My joy only mounted when I saw that they had over one hundred. I do not support zoos in the US, (or anywhere, for that matter), because I do not believe that animals should be kept in captivity unless they need rehabilitation or additional care in order to survive. The opportunity to be around adorable creatures without contributing to a cause I do not agree with was beautiful, and the baby goats’ expressions were hilarious.

Later in the week, my cohort head to N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary as a fieldtrip for our Environment and Sustainability course. We rode through grasslands and saw wild dogs, lions, baboons, and cheetahs. We learned about how the tear markings on many animal’s faces are for hunting purposes, to help them see better at night. Among information about conservation efforts happening at the lodge, they also shared with us that they have been trying to aid the San community in Windhoek, as they are often marginalized. While this is done with good intentions, there is some debate about whether this organization is capitalizing on, or exploiting at all, the San people’s culture.

Amongst these outings, I also found myself repetitively coming back to my creativity journal to work on an art piece that was requested from me by a man named Papa at Katutura’s Arts Center. He was wearing a leopard top hat, and talked at length about how his spirituality is not something he often feels the need to pursue, but is simply something that is inside of him. He elaborated by saying it also comes forth in his music, artistic expression, and everyday life. The biggest takeaway from this meeting and discussion is that you must seek your faith or spirituality in whatever you do, not just reflective activities.

My drawing is titled “The Alien Bloodline” because even though this was a very intriguing conversation, it was also quite overwhelming. He directed most of his attention at me, the only white person present, and when I admitted, ashamed, that I did not know a lot about my mother bloodline, he referred to this confusion or tendency to be unsure about your first roots as an “alien culture”. I struggled to not feel offended and be defensive, (which is easy to do so much of the time as a foreigner in another country), but understood what he meant when emphasizing the importance of knowing where you come from. I agree with his belief that your roots, or DNA, or whatever you want to call your heritage, is something that is ingrained inside of you and contributes largely to who you are. While he meant that you need to know in a literal sense, I think that sometimes, it is okay to know in more intuitive ways, such as through your relationships with your extended and immediate family, and what comes out of your hands when you are thoughtful in your personal creativity.

Art has sustained me in my darkest moments, and for that reason, I have created an account with the sole mission to raise money for art supplies and projects at the orphanage I am doing an internship with. The inaccessibility of art in various communities is heartbreaking to me, so I set up an Instagram account to spread publicity for Hope Village with a GoFundMe account as a space dedicated solely to art donations. If you feel it in your heart to give, please click the following link:

https://www.gofundme.com/n44h69-hope-village&rcid=r01-153751773083-2bfc9654b4cf4537&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w

If you don’t have the resources to donate right now, please help spread the word by following their the new account hope.village.namibia on IG, finding them on Fb, or sharing the link!!

Winston Churchill Childhood Home

November 5, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Woodstock, UK

Pronouns: He/Him/His

On October 7th, Our British Life and Culture class had the opportunity to visit the Blenheim Palace. This Palace, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful in England due to its amazing gardens, well-kept building, and also by its location outside of the city. During our class trip, we had the chance to walk through a section of the palace and through many acres of beautiful gardens. After going through the Palace, we were able to learn a lot of interesting facts about how the Palace has played an important role in the history of the United Kingdom.

The first interesting aspect of the Palace is that it was the childhood home of Winston Churchill. This man not only played an important role in England during the Second World War, but he also had a lot of moral and ethical influences on the rest of the world due to his one of a kind way of thinking. The Palace was awarded as a gift to John Churchill due to his military accomplishments in the Battle of Blenheim.

Another interesting aspect of the Palace is the fact that it’s the only Palace in the United Kingdom in which its residents are not part of the Royal family. The Blenheim Palace has been occupied and as mentioned earlier, by the Dukes of Marlborough, which are the decedents of Winston Churchill.

The Blenheim Palace’s beautiful gardens and parks are not only famous in the United Kingdom but also worldwide due to the movie series Harry Potter. Blenheim Palace is home to the “Whomping Willow” which makes it a tourist attraction for those who are more interested in the movie aspect, rather than the historical aspect of the palace.

My favorite part of this once in a lifetime experience was Dr. Brugh’s organ performance in the Palace’s specially made organ. Dr. Brugh played a few musical pieces including my personal favorite, “The Phantom of the Opera”. It was a wonderful experience because not only did Dr. Brugh play for our class, but also to everyone who was going through the tour inside of the palace. The opportunity to play on an organ so valuable is not very common, but Dr. Brugh was granted that very unique and honorable opportunity.

Overall, I enjoyed walking through the very amazing gardens and parks. Not only is this garden very well kept, but they also symbolize a great aspect of English country life. The beautiful trees, rivers, wildlife, flowers, and bridges make this palace unique to all of the other palaces in the United Kingdom. This Palace holds great symbolical value to the English People and It was an amazing experience not only for me but also for the rest of my classmates who are also part of the Cambridge Program. If you are interested in Studying Abroad, I highly encourage the Cambridge program due to the United Kingdom’s rich history and also because of the ability you have as a student to travel to other European Countries.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Valpo Voyager

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑