travel – Page 5 – Valpo Voyager

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After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in :)

A Year in One Suitcase…Here I Go

Before packing...

Hallo alle! I’m Hannah, a Valpo junior from Pittsburgh, PA double majoring in German and Spanish. I’ll be spending the 2013-2014 school year studying in Tübingen, Germany, a small city in the province of Baden-Württemberg about an hour away from Stuttgart. I’m an incurable language nerd with a passion for travel, and I feel so blessed to study at a place like Valparaiso University. At Valpo, I’ve been able to have unforgettable international experiences that have improved my language skills and allowed me to see places that, before college, I could only dream about and write on my bucket list. Last summer, I spent two months serving as an intern at the YMCA in Valparaiso, Chile. In Chile I made great friends, improved my Spanish, and really learned how to live in and experience another culture firsthand (Want specific details? Read my blog!). This past winter, I also had the opportunity to tour China performing with VU’s orchestra (I play cello :)). Seeing places like the Great Wall and Hangzhou’s West Lake were once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I know I wouldn’t have gotten at any other school.

Now that I’ve told you a little about myself and how much I love Valpo, it’s time to get to the reason you’re reading this blog which is…THAT I LEAVE TO GO TO GERMANY FOR A YEAR TOMORROW. Yes, it’s now 12:14am on August 28th, and after a summer of working 40 hour fast food weeks and wondering how I am even going to begin to prepare for so long a trip, the countdown to the 29th is almost over and I am excited, stressed, and in little bit of denial that I will be gone for a whole year, which is pretty terrifying. But I’m not terrified in a bad way at all; I have the typical scared/anxious feeling that comes from knowing that you are entering an experience from which you will come out a changed person with a new perspective. I will miss my family and friends at home and on campus so much, but I know that I’ll gain and experience more from going to Germany than I can even comprehend right now. Amidst all the changes and confusion that come from living in a new country and learning a new language, God never changes. No matter where I am in the world, I know that I have a home in Christ and that He will care for me wherever I go and lead me to where I can best serve Him.

So now to the real hard part of studying abroad for a year…PACKING. Two days ago I couldn’t have told you how I planned on fitting a year of my belongings in one suitcase, but it’s finally been done! I figured that no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to bring enough clothes or American toiletries, etc. to last me a year. If I forget or need something, I’ll easily be able to get it in Germany (as if I needed another excuse to go shopping).

After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in 🙂

The next time you hear from me through this blog, I’ll be on my adventure, which is a scary and exciting thought! I’m planning on making this blog more than just writing. Maybe some video blogging to come soon? Check back soon for another post and follow me on Twitter @HannahinGermany. I’ll be tweeting my study abroad happenings throughout each day as well as announcing new blog posts! Bis bald!

Peace,

Hannah

Final thoughts

May 15, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

So as I start to pack up all my belongings in my dorm room. It has given me time to ponder about my time in Germany and study abroad. If you are reading this and thinking that this is going to be the cliché blog about how much studying abroad has change my life, then you are right. When it boils down to it, how could spending four months in a foreign country not change you at least a little bit.

I think studying abroad really offers you a chance for you to grow more confident in yourself. When you are placed in a completely different environment and are struggling to communicate with the language, you really need to be out going and try to show that you are making an effort. For example when you are at a train station and wondering why your train is late or not at the right platform, you have to assert yourself and go find someone to help explain yourself. Or when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere, you have to be either a) confident in your map abilities or b) confident that you can ask someone where the heck you are.

Studying abroad also really opens up your mind to the world. Another cheesy saying but it is true. I thought since I had traveled before I wouldn’t be changed in this aspect as much as it did. I have a new appreciation for the international students that come to Valpo because at least in Germany we are surrounded by other international students but when they come to Valpo, they are on their own surrounded by a lot of loud Americas. Overall I am really going to miss Germany and all the friends I have made here but I am excited to go back to the us.

Check out more of my photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/113496106333285759017

Schloss Lichtenstein

May 8, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 1 Comment

Over this past weekend we went on yet another excursion in the Reutlingen area. We hiked to Lichtenstein Castle. We invited a few of the other international students that live in our dorm to come with too. The castle is only about fifteen kilometers away from the University so we took a bus to the bottom of trail and began our journey up yet another hill to yet another amazing castle.

To get the full effect of this adventure, you should know what the weather was like. The trip adviser said that one should do this on a sunny day because you have to hike for about four kilometers through forest and meadows on narrow paths. So naturally, we would choose the day that it decided to have eighty percent chance of rain the entire day. So as we were slipping and sliding hoping not to fall of the cliffs, all while the weather kept changing from sunshine and warm to rain and wind (we thought we were back at Valpo).

We finally made it to Schloss Liechtenstein and took a tour of the interior of the castle. Our tour guide was very animated and made a lot of jokes in German which I have learned just to nod and smile to. Afterwards the sun decided to shine and we ate a late lunch on the castle grounds. Later we hiked back to the town of Lichtenstein in explored the city, even though it was a Sunday and everything was closed. Overall it was a great day just touring around the area and a nice relaxing day before finals began.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos /113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

Lost in Translation

May 4, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

One of the major differences about living in Germany has been the fact that English is not the first language here. One reason why I chose to do the Reutlingen Program was because I wanted experience what it was like living in a country that I had no clue how to speak the language. However after reality set in and a month before coming here, I kept on asking myself “Why the heck did I decide it would be fun to live in a country for four months where no one will be able to understand me?”

Once I finally arrived in Germany. There was the first initial language overload, especially at grocery store when we had to resort to pictures of different foods to actually understand what we were buying. However as the semester has gone on, we have learned quickly everyday words and phrases that we need to know. It also helps that we are in a language course. Another helpful thing about being in Europe is that most people know at least a little English here as well. So if there is ever a problem or if we have a question we can always find someone who can at least help point us in the right direction.

Overall, coming to a country where you don’t know the language isn’t as scary as I initially thought. As long as we show people that we are trying, they are very friendly and encouraging. It is fun looking back on how frazzled we were the first few weeks. Now we have seem to be able to get by and actually understand what our waiter is asking us or what the students are asking us in the dorms. Although we still make mistakes sometimes like getting whipping cream instead of sour cream for the most part we have been getting the hang of this language.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos /113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

Outskirts of Cambridge

Getting Around in the UK

March 3, 2012 / John McCutchan / 1 Comment

The narrow streets of Cambridge

One of the largest adjustments I’ve had to make coming to the UK has been losing the independence that came from owning my own car. However, this has given me the chance to explore many of the ways locals travel around Britain.

There are a surprisingly large number of cars in the UK. However, driving really isn’t optimal. This is especially true in old medieval towns like Cambridge that have very narrow (and often stone) streets. These have enough difficulty handling the flow of bikers and walkers, much less cars.

Chances are, most long distances you would travel by car in the States can be traveled by bus, taxi, or train here. Most journeys of over several hours are traveled by train. While rail tickets aren’t necessarily cheap, there are many available departure times to nearly every destination. From Cambridge, it is possible to get anywhere in Britain within one day of travel. Trains are easy to use, clean, and relatively comfortable.

If your journey is shorter than about two hours taxis and buses are often used. Taxis are far more convenient, but an all-day bus pass to anywhere in or around Cambridge costs half of what a taxi ride across the city would. Besides having to plan your trip within the bus schedule, they can be rather confusing in general. To start with, bus schedules aren’t easy to read, but finding one can be just as hard. Many bus stops have had their schedules stolen, and because the locals don’t need a schedule another one simply isn’t put up. On top of this, most cities have two bus companies, and as easy as it might seem it can be difficult to get the schedule, ticket, and bus to all match.

Outskirts of Cambridge

Within cities the majority of people prefer to transport themselves and not pay. Bicycles are most common and all European cities have an army of them. Nearly every single road has a lane specifically for bicyclists. Due to the large number, having proper warning lights is taken very seriously. I’ve seen several cyclists pulled over by policemen for having a missing light.

Wandering around Girton

If you don’t have a bicycle, then you are left walking alongside the majority of others. Conveniently, most European cities are compact and it’s not too far to most locations (however, it’s not considered a long walk unless it’s at least 45 minutes!). Personally, I like walking because it gives you a chance to take pictures and notice things you normally wouldn’t. The main thing to remember when walking is that there is a hierarchy. Vehicles have a lane, bicycles have a lane, and those walking have the sidewalk. And if you venture into a lane that’s not yours you had better watch out because bicyclists will hit you and cars won’t slow down until they absolutely have to. The fact that cars drive on the left side of the road isn’t a huge problem if you take the time to think, but if you’re traveling to Britain expect to have several near accidents in the first few weeks!

Missed a blog or want to see what else is going on in Cambridge? Take a look at: http://blogs.valpo.edu/studyabroad/category/cambridge-england/

Take a look at my photo albums on Picasa at: https://plus.google.com/photos/112463823006344854498/albums?banner=pwa

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/CambridgeUKJohn

Lessons From Leipzig

February 15, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

Growing up in the United States, the Cold War seemed like a faint memory that we only learn about in our history classes. Having to memorize all the political agreements, the unsaid tension between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., it just seemed like one long stalemate. However, after visiting Leipzig I have realized that for the German people, the Cold War and the East verses the West was not just another chapter out of a history book. The city is famous for being the start of the protests against the Communist government. By just touring around and seeing the buildings that have been rebuilt within the last twenty years, as well as, the people who were witnesses and protesters during the peaceful revolution to unify their country, these events are very much alive today.

One of the most striking moments was visiting the Stasi Museum (Museum in der “Runden Ecke”). The building, itself, was the headquarters for the East German Secret Police (Stasi). Just walking into the building, you feel as if you are entering the Communist run building. Your eyes immediately focus on a banner hanging in the entrance stating, “This building will be secured on behalf of the Government and the Citizens Committee of the People’s Police” hanging right next to a security camera. The museum takes you through the original offices while showing you all the equipment used to spy on their own people. From hidden cameras in briefcases, to phone tapping machines, and disguises, it is hard to believe these were still being used until the 1990’s.

The most moving exhibit for me, however, was an essay written by a ninth grader. He criticized the society and policies that he had to live under, even though he knew the consequences of writing this would be severe. According to the museum, the essay found itself in the hands of the police and they kept record of the boy until 1989 when German Communism fell. When I chose to study abroad, I figured that I would be able to connect my studies to my History major, more so than my Education major. However when reading about this student’s (translated) essay, I realized that this is a memory that I could pass on to my future students. I cannot only talk about the history surrounding the story, but also share the message that one person no matter how old, can speak out against what they believe is wrong and truly impact their future.

Check out more pictures of my ten day trip to at https://plus.google.com/photos/113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December 8, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

The time after fall break has basically been filled with festivals (and a couple class trips). Thanksgiving, many Christmas markets, a chocolate festival.. It’s crazy. The first one was Thanksgiving. The international program at Hochschule Reutlingen (the university) puts on a Thanksgiving dinner every year for all the American students and other international students who are interested. They asked everyone to bring a dessert, but provided turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. All the staples of a Thanksgiving dinner except the green beans. Because for some reason they think that corn is this American thing that we always eat. Since they only eat corn on top of salads or pizza, which I think is weird, but whatever. (And I don’t have any pictures of the night since my camera was apparently dead without me realizing.. Oh well.)

Reutlingen Christmas market

Advent calendar on a house

It was so nice to have that little taste of home, since obviously Germany doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The downside: the rediscovery that a bunch of Americans in one room is super loud and annoying. Yay America. It’s going to be interesting just how much my perception of Americans has changed when I get back. I can only imagine that I’ll be a little annoyed at times..

So that was Thanksgiving. And then that weekend all the Christmas markets started going up! I had never been to one before, even though there are a few in some of the big cities in the U.S., like Chicago. Of course, being at those would be nothing like actually being in Germany at a market, because it is an experience I think everyone should have. It’s just rows and rows of wooden stalls selling scarves and hats, ornaments, candies, brats, miniature houses, nutcrackers, and anything else related to Christmas. And of course all decorated with lights and garlands. It really is beautiful.

I already wrote about the one in Vienna at the end of fall break, and since then I’ve been to several. The one in Reutlingen of course, which is surprisingly large for such a small city. It even has an ice rink. And my favorite part was the advent calendar they projected onto one of the houses downtown. So creative. And just awesome.

Part of the Nuremberg Christmas market

Next event of this time was a trip I took with a bunch of international students to Nuremberg. The home of the original Christmas market. Nuremberg itself is a really cool city, and I wish I had had more time to look around, since I was only there for a few hours. It’s one of the few towns left in Germany with the city wall still remaining and in good shape, and is really just beautiful. The Christmas market though, that was amazing even though it was super crowded. Anything you wanted to find, you could find there. And the bands and choirs playing on the stage added even more to the atmosphere of Christmas. I had thought that being one of the original Christmas markets would have made it bigger, but that was the only disappointment. And we were still able to make use of the few hours there wandering the stalls and drinking Gluehwein, the spiced hot wine that’s a specialty in the winter.

Part of the group in front of Schloss Ludwigsburg

Next stop: Ludwigsburg! There’s a somewhat famous palace here, and it’s only just over an hour train ride from Reutlingen, so we decided to make a class day out of it for our German culture/literature/history class. The interior was gorgeous, especially the two chapels and the theater. As a nature lover, though, I was drawn to the gardens more. They were beautiful, they even had a fairy tale part that was closed, but had figurines scattered throughout a wooded part to be sort of a fairy tale world. Ludwigsburg also had a Christmas market that we had some time to visit. And I finally found a cheap winter hat! So of course I picked the one with the most colors. I’m now the proud owner of a purple, blue, and lime green hat from Germany!

The weekend after this class trip I went to Stuttgart with Sarah for some Christmas market browsing and Christmas shopping (since we’re running out of time pretty quickly). Neither of us had actually been anywhere in Stuttgart besides the airport and the train station, so it was good just to walk around the city itself. It reminded both of us of Christmastime in Chicago- tons of people walking around in coats, scarves, and hats, and crowding all the stores and malls doing their shopping, and eating at brat places along the main pedestrian area. It could’ve only been more beautiful if it had been snowing. The Christmas market was completely packed with people. Which was frustrating, but on the other hand gave us plenty of time to look at everything in the stalls while in stand-stills in the vast crowds. And it was gigantic, so we had plenty of stalls for stall-browsing while we stood in the crowds.

Stuttgart Christmas

The final festival I’ve been to is the Tuebingen Chocolate festival, also last weekend. Apparently it’s really popular, because there were chocolate stalls from all over the world and people in throngs trying to get to the stalls to buy some bars or hot chocolate (or even chocolate beer or chocolate noodles). I decided not to go too crazy, so I stuck with hot chocolate with chili, although chocolate beer sounded really intriguing.

After a day of fighting crowds in Stuttgart and then a day fighting them in Tuebingen, we decided to be done with crowds for a while. Which was fine, because it was our second to last weekend in Germany.. So really, our last weekend to go anywhere except for maybe a few hours to a nearby town.

We leave on Tuesday already, and there are finals to finish up, stuff to pack, rooms to clean, and plenty of people to say good-bye to before we head off. I’m kind of sad. It’s been an incredible semester, and I’m sure I won’t realize just how much I’ve grown and learned and changed until I get back to the States. Living here is so normal now. The language is so normal, the public transportation so normal, the hills so normal, the colorful money, the ability to buy alcohol, pedestrian areas downtown, sorting trash into four bins, living with people from all corners of the world, even the showers that only spray for 30 seconds before you have to press the button again, all of it is so normal, it’s just a day in the life. Coming back home is going to be a culture shock–it will seem like everything has changed a little bit, when really it’s mostly my perceptions that have changed.

With hot chocolate at the festival

This semester has been absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. I’ve learned so much about myself and about the world, and I only hope I can take my experiences back with me and that they will have changed me for the better, and for good. So likely this is my last post until I get back, and then maybe I’ll do one about the transition back to American ways of life. Aus Deutschland zum letzten Mal, tschüß!

The Land of Sounds of Music

December 4, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

A taste of Salzburg

To finally finish up my blogs about fall break (which was actually more of a winter break, since we didn’t get back to Reutlingen until mid-November), I’ll talk about my time in Austria! In short, I love this country. I mean, The Sound of Music is my favorite movie, so of course that doesn’t hurt my fascination with it. But also, it’s just beautiful. The cities themselves are picturesque, and of course then there’s the Alps in the background in parts of the country. Just absolutely fabulous. And it’s a cheap country, even with the exchange rate. Just another enticement for someone on a student budget.

So first stop was Salzburg, THE land of the Sound of Music. Literally the only downsides to this place were the fact that we didn’t get to our hostel until 2 a.m. and the fact that it was so foggy the whole time we were there that we couldn’t see the Alps. Not that it wasn’t still beautiful. We walked around the city for a good bit, and went inside a few of the gorgeous churches and hiked to the top of one of the hills with a gigantic fortress on top. And after wandering around for a good long while, we got to take the super-touristy Sound of Music tour!!!

The Gazebo

Oh my gosh the marriage church.

Not that I cared how touristy it was. Because we got to sit in a van with other Americans and sing the soundtrack as we drove through beautiful countryside and see all the places that were included in the film. Like the wedding church where Maria and the Captain got married, the row of trees the children climbed, the Von Trapp house, the pond and gardens behind the house, the gazebo, most of the sights in the “Do a Deer” musical section, and so much more. It was some of the most exciting few hours of my life. And since I can’t put all the pictures up here, just look at the ones on Picasa.(https://picasaweb.google.com/100454144518688283131/SoundOfMusic) So doing all that, plus more walking around since it was a beautiful city, took up a good day and a half, and then we headed to Vienna!

Inside the colorful cathedral

Vienna was also amazing. There is so much history and culture in that city, it’s ridiculous. You can also see Zach’s and Jake’s posts about their time in Vienna. I didn’t have quite as much time there, just about two days, but it was still fantastic. We got in a bit before dinnertime, so decided to wander the city for a bit and get food. The absolute highlight of the night was going into the huge church downtown on a whim. Turns out they turn on tons of colorful lights inside at night, and it was just dazzling. I can’t describe it. So beautiful seeing a huge cathedral burst with color.

The next day we started at Schoenbrunn Palace, which is basically Versailles #2. It was absolutely gorgeous inside (and it was nice not to have to take a tour for once.. they just give out audioguides with the tickets and let you wander yourself). And the gardens also were fantastic. If it wasn’t so cold I could’ve spent an entire day there just sitting outside. After that, Molly and I went to the famous art museum while Matt went to go find Bach stuff, and other music-related stuff. It is famous for a reason, it had so many famous paintings by famous artists that even I knew, as artistically retarded as I am.

Molly in front of Schloss Schoenbrunn

After lunch at Nordsee (cheap fish!) Molly and I wandered around the city for a good bit. Since Christmas decorations were starting to go up, it was even more beautiful. After a bit of shopping and hot chocolate and cake, we made it over to the Belvedere Palace, which had a bunch of Klimt art, which Molly went crazy over while I relaxed in the garden instead. And then for the rest of the night we just relaxed in the city over drinks and at the hostel.

The next morning we decided to see if we could catch the end of the Vienna Boy’s Choir, since they sing every Sunday during the chapel service at the Hofburg Palace. We figured there’d be no way to see them, since they supposedly sing from the balcony and nobody can see. BUT turns out they came downstairs for a final song after the procession out! And we got there at just the right moment, right before they started singing. So we just so happened to see and hear the most famous choir in the world in a palace, without paying anything and without planning it. It was absolutely fabulous. And I mean, they’re pretty good, but the main attraction is that they’re so famous. There’s fabulous music all over Europe in the churches.

Vienna Boy’s Choir

Vienna’s Rathaus, or city hall

After that, we had a few hours to wander around before our train back to Reutlingen. So we found the beautiful Austrian Parliament building, and the city hall of Vienna. Both absolutely stunning. And the Christmas market in Vienna had just started, so we were able to get our first taste of Christmas in Europe! More posts about Christmas markets coming later, of course, but this one was beautiful with the gigantic city hall in the back ground. But then we had to leave.. And thus concluded my fabulous two-week adventure all over western Europe. Five countries, plus an island, and many more cities than that, not bad for two weeks. Bis zum nächsten Mal!

The Coolest City in the World

September 19, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

The title might be a misnomer. I obviously haven’t visited every city in the world. But I’ve traveled a lot, and by far the coolest one I’ve seen is Berlin. The Reutlingen program brought us to Berlin for a “class” trip for 5 days, and during that time we were able to explore Berlin and learn about all of its crazy and important history and its culture. And even though we didn’t have class per say, just being in that city and touring around and talking to people was so much more informative than sitting in a classroom. So here I’m gonna outline a bit of what we did while there.

We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday, and were set free to explore on our own til the following morning. First order of business after a long train ride was dinner, so we wandered around until we found a typical German restaurant that looked good. Turns out we made the best decision of the day right there, their crispy baked half duck and apfelstrudel was AMAZING. And even despite all the restaurants in Berlin, it was so good that we had to return later that week.

Brandenburg Gate

Wall museum and remnants of the wall

The next morning we met up with Professor Malchow to take a guided tour of the city. During the extremely interesting tour, we got to see the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (the German Parliament building), parts of the old Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the square where the famous photos of Hitler speaking to gathered ranks of Nazis were taken, among many many other places. The tour guide also taught us about the deep history of Berlin, from the Hohenzollern dynasty to Nazi dominance and through the end of the Cold War. It was amazing to see all the places where some of the most well-known history actually happened. That night, a few of us decided it would be really cool to go see an opera or a classical concert or something of the sort, so we found that the famous Deutsche Oper (German Opera) was putting on Das Rheingold that night. Which I had seen as part of my German 351 class a year ago broadcasted live from Chicago. But seeing it in person (and in Germany!) was so much cooler.

One of the palaces from the bottom of their terraced garden (!)

The next day we took a day (well, afternoon) trip to Potsdam, about a half hour train ride from Berlin. We had heard there was a pretty cool palace there from Frederick the Great called Sansoucci. Pretty cool doesn’t even begin to describe it. We spent about four hours there that afternoon, and didn’t even go inside any of the three gorgeous palaces on the grounds. In my opinion, the gardens themselves are the best part about it. We literally spent all four hours exploring the grounds, and never got bored or ran out of things to explore. It truly was beautiful and amazing (and I took so so so many pictures–you can see them on my Picasa account). In fact, before we left the last day we decided to spend another few hours there.

The next day (Monday) we decided we should actually go inside a few of the sights and museums in the old Eastern part of Berlin, where most of the history is. So we headed to the Berliner Dom (Cathedral), and it was incredibly beautiful. And when we climbed countless steps to reach the top balcony on the outside, we were able to see a lot of the city and overlooked the courtyard where the famous Nazi demonstrations/gatherings were held. Once we finished there, we found some of Berlin’s specialty food, currywurst, which is spicy sausage with sauce served with a roll. It definitely lived up to its expectation. After nourishment, we were on a roll (pun not intended), so we headed to the Reichstag to see if we could get in. Of course they need a reservation 3 days in advance, so we couldn’t.. But we chilled on the vast lawn in front of it for a while. And got a brochure that told us everything we’d need to know about Germany’s Parliament. And on our way back to the hotel we passed by the Prussian Victory Pillar and decided to have a look. Once we finally made it to the top, the view over the big park that surrounded it was amazing. And on our way up we got to see the histories of many important buildings worldwide.

Inside the Berliner Dom

The square that the famous pictures of Nazis always are in. Hitler spoke from the steps on the right.

Our last full day there we visited Checkpoint Charlie as part of our “official” program. It’s really touristy, and not actually as important in the grand scheme of things as America makes it out to be (after all it is the famous American checkpoint, and we’ve got to keep our American pride!) But parts of it still were interesting, and we learned a lot of the history of the wall. I was then going to explore the German History Museum, which is supposedly one of the best museums to visit, but decided a nap was more necessary.. So instead we hit up the Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin after a few hours relaxation. And guess what?? They actually serve free tap water if you want it! Nowhere else in Germany does! It was a little taste of home in a huge foreign city.

Checkpoint Charlie!

Since it was our last night there, a few of us grabbed some drinks and went to sit in a market square to listen to street musicians playing and watch fire twirlers twirling. And nothing made it better than seeing the beautiful architecture lit up at night on the side of the Spree river, along with the culture all around us. Despite us not taking part in Berlin’s great nightlife like we did almost every other night, it was a great relaxing way to have one last hoo-rah in the cultural center and mix of Germanic outdoor eating and relaxation with deep history and with a big city, the great mix that makes Berlin the coolest city in the world.

Like I mentioned earlier, after seeing Potsdam again, we headed away from Berlin the next day (much to everyone’s sadness. The theme of our lives right now is that we still want to be in Berlin). But to hear about our next two days of adventure before making it back to Reutlingen you will have to wait til the next post! Bis dann!

Chao Valparaíso! Espero que nos vemos pronto!

July 22, 2011 / Anna Wiersma / 0 Comments

At the beach! Almost like summer! 😉 Easter Island statue! The beach at Laguna Verde and cliff we camped on top of!: View of the mountains from the bus!

El grupo! Love these people 🙂

‘WOW. It’s my last day in Valparaso,Chile. This is weird. It’s definitely not sinking in yet…and I don’t think it will for awhile. It’s just not a definitive goodbye, seeing as I’m off tomorrow to Santiago to see Avril Lavigne in concert (yup…you heard right…how hilarious is that?!?!?! Tickets are so cheap here, WOOOO!) and then off to Buenos Aires for 5 days and then La Paz for a week. So it’s not like my adventures in South America are ending, and I am SO excited to travel and actually be on vacation all the time…so the fact that I’m leaving Valpo just isn’t stinging as much!

But I’ve had some really great last moments here. I’ve been racing around to see the touristy places that I just haven’t gotten around too, and I went to this awesome museum in Vina del Mar that had tons of artifacts and information on the history of the Mapuche Indians, the indigenous people here in Chile, and Easter Island, they even had a real Moai statue from Easter Island outside! I took a day trip to visit Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda’s houses, and it was incredible! I was just geeked out to see the house of one of my favorite poets…but I didn’t realize it was going to be so beautiful! And of course, this is the one time I leave my camera in my room, UGH! But he built his house on the cliff overlooking the ocean, with an amazing, rocky beach below. I never knew that he was a collector as well, but his house is filled with collections of anything to do with sailing, things from Chile’s history and indigenous people and just random collections, like glass table feet and pipes! Getting to drink coffee while overlooking the ocean on Pablo Neruda’s porch, and then going to lay a flower on his grave? Priceless 🙂 That same weekend we took another day trip with the Curso de Lideres youth group here at the YMCA to travel up the mountains in search of….SNOW! All the Chileans were ECSTATIC for snow, most of them had never seen it before, how lucky are they?! (haha, I hate cold!) So even though I was not as enamored with the snow, it was pretty funny to see their reactions, and the mountains were incredibly beautiful.

Speaking of great last moments, I just got back from an epic goodbye party thrown by Mauricio, the director of the center we work at in Las Cañas, in which we trekked out to Laguna Verde, these absolutely GORGEOUS cliffs and beach and waterfalls, and pitched tents to camp for the night…in the middle of winter…bahahahahaha 🙂 But it was so much fun! Our tent was on the top of this huge cliff that overlooked the ocean and we hiked down it the next day in order to spend time at the beach. We also ventured to see a small waterfall, which was one of the more treacherous hikes of my life (if any Hope Church AT hikers are reading this, my trail experiences served me well!). There was pretty much no trail, just mud, rocks, thorns and rivers to cross…madness! But really fun 🙂 The best part for me was getting to roast hot dogs and make smores over the fire, it felt like summer! (Ok, I was wearing 3 shirts, a hoodie, a sweatshirt, scarf, coat, 2 pairs of leggings and two pairs of sweatpants….but still!). Our Chilean friends had never had smores before, and graham crackers don’t exist here…so Johnna found some sweet, square cookies and we went with it! I thought they were delicious, I miss making smores with my family in our backyard firepit so much!

I’m going off to serve at the soup kitchen for the last time this afternoon, preparing myself for tears….the people who work at Las Cañas have really become my family here, they crack me up, have seen me cry, give me advice and are just wonderful friends. I’m gonna miss them a ton. Plus, I’m sad to leave the soup kitchen. I love having my English students tell me “Thank you Mees (how they pronounce “Miss” :D), this looks good!” when I serve them food and I love that I know so many faces by this point and receive hugs and greetings wherever I walk in the center. It’s been a gradual goodbye process, from center to center and program to program…but this is really it…still not hitting home! :-/

I’m doing 2 posts today before leaving, so check out the next one too! I should have internet this weekend in Santiago, and the hostel we’re staying at in Buenos Aires is supposed to have wi-fi, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep blogging as I’m traveling, but it’s going to be a little more up in the air from now on. Wish me luck on my travels, I can’t wait!

Valpo Voyager

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