Jasonville, Indiana USA (51 Days Later)

The summer is starting to settle down, and so am I.  I am finally getting used to living in the same place for more than 3 days.  I will not lie; it was a tough adjustment coming home, not a bad one, just hard.  Culture shock is definitely a real thing!  For a few days I came home and felt like an outsider; it took some time to catch up with everyone and regain my sense of belonging.

51 days after the adventure of my lifetime, I find myself editing photos from World Tour in the gatehouse at Shakamak State Park.  I work the evening shift and people tend to slow down as the night rolls on which leaves me alone in the gatehouse 5-6 hours every shift.  It sounds boring because it is, but I cannot say that I mind it.  Actually, the peaceful times in the park after everyone has left are what make this job worth it.  After the semester I just had, I welcome any chance to just sit down and relax. 

As work slows down in the evenings I try to edit a couple cities-worth of photos every night.  Every photo gives me a new memory to reflect on or something new to appreciate.  I am finally realizing how awesome it all was, and how blessed I was to be able to experience it.  The diversity of the places I have been is hard for even me to comprehend.  On the trip we were shuffled from place to place without much time to think and appreciate it all.  Thank goodness for pictures!  They have allowed me to relive my trip, the good and the bad. 

Along with the pictures I remember the stress I went through trying to get homework and my project done.  I look back at the 10 days of madness I had to put together my project board and it is obvious, only God would have been able to get me through that.  Not only did he get me through it, he guided me through a project I am proud to call my own.  I even presented it to the President of Ball State, Jo Ann Gora herself.  After my project was finished that week I had some fantastic days making up for lost time with all of my friends.  For once I was sad to leave Muncie; I had just arrived it seemed like and all my friends were leaving for the semester. At least I can look forward to seeing them when I go back in August!

As one can imagine, I have been drilled by everyone since I have been home.  What was your favorite place?  What was (insert country) like?  What was the weirdest food you ate?  Would you go back?  Even the simplest question prompts the most difficult answer.  Traveling the world is not something that can be understood.  Sure I could talk until I was blue in the face and show you every single one of my photos, but until you have experienced the culture and stumbled your way through everyday life in a different country you will not understand it. 

The thing that strengthened my experiences, appreciation, and understanding of life around the world is the fact that God walked with me every step of the way.  Living in the world, he showed me a greater understanding of life itself, what is really important, what to strive for in life, and how to be content with even the littlest things.  Even now, 51 days later, it is hard for me to comprehend that there was once a time on WT5 when all I wanted was to be able to read a restaurant menu, to have a good seat on the plane, to stay at a hotel with free internet access, or to have ten minutes of alone time.  The simplest things made me happy.  I have everything I have ever wanted in life at home right now, yet I still find things to make me grumpy.  What is up with that?  Another thing, I learned really quickly last semester is how to take a step back from the situation and re-evaluate.  Every time I got upset or caught up in a bad situation, I found God waiting patiently to share his peace.  It is little lessons like these that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.  Yeah this trip was awesome! I saw countries and cities that people only dream of visiting.  I stood before some of the best architecture in the world; but even more importantly, God taught me how to live.

The Journey Home

I woke up this morning knowing it would probably be one of the longest days of my life.  That still could not keep the excitement from spreading across my face every time it had a chance.  Our first flight of the day from Dublin to Washington, D.C. was the longest of the day at 7.5 hours, not to mention U.S. customs and security beforehand.  It took us three hours to get through it all.  The flight was relatively uneventful except for the fact that I could not watch free movies because the headphone jack on my seat did not work. 

We arrived in Washington on time and had about an hour layover.  Excitement was in full as we all dusted off our phones and began texting and making phone-calls for the first time in three and a half months.  You could easily tell everyone was ready to be back in America. 

The excitement quickly faded as we learned of a couple of explosions that happened at the Boston Marathon.  As the news developed, the spirit of the airport became more and more somber.  I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed that most people waiting for their flights were glued to the television watching CNN coverage of the tragedy.  I later realized that our plane had landed in Washington, D.C.  at almost exactly the same time as the bombs detonated.  Welcome home!  To make this even more dramatic, we boarded our plane to Chicago and the screens on the plane were playing the news coverage.  I’m not going to lie; I was a little worried as our plane took off.  I was flying out of the nation’s capital with a destination of one of America’s major urban cities, Chicago.  At this point the only thing I wanted was home and my family.  We made it to Chicago safely, thank goodness!  About half of our group had another flight to Indy, but nothing could break the excitement of me going home.  I watched some of my friends reunite with loved ones and then I headed through security one last time.  I boarded the tiny airplane to Indy and immediately fell asleep.  I opened my eyes to the lights of Indianapolis as we landed.  Finally after 103 days, I had made it home safely.

It is hard to pinpoint a time in my life that I was happier than the moment I realized I was back home.  I rushed off the plane and through baggage claim only to be kept waiting for several minutes outside.  Apparently our flight got in a little early so my parents had not arrived yet.  When I finally saw my blue Jeep pull up I was relieved.  A dream-like 103 days of traveling had finally come to an end.  Nothing could have prepared me for the semester that I just lived through.  The past 2 years of saving and preparation all ended with this night, but I was not sad.  I had 10,000 photos and three-and-a-half months-worth of new experiences to share. 

To top the night off, the face of one of my best friends, Jenica, was staring at me through the back window of my car.  She surprised me and came with my parents to pick me up.  It was a great time!  Perhaps my favorite part of the night, however, was the moment I got to crawl into my own personal bed, with my room and bathroom surrounding me.  It’s hard to understand the importance of this until you have spent the last 103 days living out of two bags and a hotel room.  Oh my, what an experience!  

Dublin, Ireland

It is crazy to think that we have reached our last city on World Tour.  To be honest, no one was really in the mood to do much touring while we were in Dublin because we were too busy anticipating the end, most of us excited, the rest dreading going back.  While I have been grateful for the past two weeks, all I can think of is going home.  Thankfully Dublin is awesome so I have been able to enjoy myself the past 3 days.  We have had very little structured time, so that has probably helped quite a bit. 

The first day we arrived in Dublin we had a free afternoon and evening, so we hung around the hotel for a bit and then headed out to a nearby pub for dinner.  The second day we had a morning tour with a guide that gave us a broad overview of Ireland and Dublin’s history and culture.  I ended up shopping the rest of that day and wandering around the pedestrian streets of the city.  I spent way too much money for my budget that day, but one way I can justify it with myself is that I was buying pretty cool ancestry stuff.  My mom has done some intensive research and sent me to Ireland with a couple family names in mind, Miller and Farquar.  I found a cool shop that had a wealth of information regarding Irish ancestry where I was able to purchase a parchment with our family crest and history printed on it.  I also found a neat guide to tracing Irish roots. 

While searching for dinner that night, we stumbled upon the most unique restaurant I have experienced on this trip around the world.  Just off the pedestrian street is a historic church dating back to the 1700s.  It was saved from being torn down and deprogrammed to become a restaurant/ bar/ nightclub.  As we walked into the front doors of the main sanctuary a huge bar dominated my view of the large room.  I then discovered the original organ in place along with a significant amount of the original interior architecture.  I clearly went architecture nerd as soon as I walked in, but I am not even ashamed.  It was that cool!  The food and drinks were great too!

Our last day in Dublin was an independent study day so Dan, Devin, Libby, Hanna, and I decided to spend it at the Guinness Storehouse, the brewery where the famous Guinness beer originated.  I had a wonderfully relaxing morning then left around noon to walk the long trek to Guinness.  It was a fun day, but I have to say that the Heineken experience was so much better!  The best part was drinking a Guinness in the Gravity Bar, the highest point in Dublin.  From there I could see the entire city from above.  We had to hurry back from the Storehouse though because a group farewell dinner was scheduled for 7:00p.m. at the Arlington Hotel Bar. 

Our group had a fantastic dinner along with great entertainment provided by a traditional Irish band, complete with dancers.  The music group awakened my new love for Irish pub music.  After the show our group collectively decided to finish off our world tour with the ultimate Dublin experience.  In search of a pub with enough room to fit us all, we accidentally found the perfect place.  All 24 of us raided the dance floor of a sketchy nightclub in the Temple Bar District of Dublin.  It. Was. Awesome!  And probably the best night of the tour by far!  All of our frustrations, stresses, and annoyances that had built up in the past 102 days just disappeared as we danced for at least two hours straight!  It was definitely a sight to see as we all danced in our world tour attire.  I was rocking a thermal shirt, jeans, and hiking boots in a club in Dublin, and I did not even care because there were 23 other people dressed exactly like me!  It was a heck of an ending to possibly the greatest adventure of my life!

The Greatest Lesson

I developed the following paragraphs for a friend who is writing an essay about traveling.  The most important things I have learned on this trip became apparent to me while I was putting this together, so I thought I would share it will you all!

I was raised in a non-denominational Christian church.  I believe Christianity is only about you and your relationship with Christ.  For me, religious spaces are personal.  They are a place for an individual to use for fellowship, reflectance, or a simple escape from the distractions of life.  Because of this, I had an awesome time experiencing religious places in different cultures throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia.  Catholicism, Buddhism, Muslim, and Jewish religions are some of the main ones I was introduced to over the past 3 months.  It does not matter what religion, we all believe in God in one way or another, but it is our actions and methods of worshipping that make the difference.  The cathedrals, pagodas, temples, mosques, and synagogues were all entirely different in the culture of the space, but I also found them to have one thing in common; I almost always felt a spiritual presence. 

I made it a personal goal at the beginning of this trip to take advantage of the wide range of religions I would be introduced to and pray in every church or religious space that I could.  As the end of World Tour 5 nears, I can say that this has been my absolute favorite thing I have done.  It has opened my eyes to the world, and caused me to question my faith in a good way.  Even though I may not agree with different religions, I am more respectful of them.  Witnessing day after day the Muslim dedication to prayer in Turkey is perhaps the most inspiring to me spiritually.  Also being able to worship in historic places like Notre Dame in Paris, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Vatican in Rome was almost unreal, knowing I was one of the millions of people who have worshipped there.  For me to say that I have grown in my faith is a huge understatement because my experiences in religious spaces around the world have simply been indescribable. 

Belfast, Northern Ireland

The weather we have had in Belfast has not been the greatest, compared to the warm weather at home.  Two straight days of rain and 40 degree temperatures is not quite what I had in mind, but it is definitely not the first time my expectations have not be met on this trip.  We had another long travel day as we made our way from Edinburgh to Belfast.  Our bus took us from Edinburgh to Cairn Ryan where we boarded a ferry for Belfast.  The ferry was nice and relaxing; I was even able to get some long-overdue sketching done.  We did not get to Belfast until about 7 p.m. so I decided to call it a night and stay at the hotel for the evening. 

I woke up the next morning to pouring rain, but thankfully we had a bus tour planned of the city.  We toured Belfast for a couple hours in the morning and headed out on a bus trip in the afternoon to Giant’s Causeway.  It is an amazing rock formation on the coast of Northern Ireland that makes up a beautiful Irish landscape.  Even though the day was gloomy and wet, it was still picturesque.  We started to climb the rock but after Dan slipped and fell we decided it was too slick.  I would love to be at Giant’s Causeway when the weather is more cooperative because it would be a really fun place to climb and hike.

We got back to the hotel and decided on a time for group dinner.  Someone had recommended to us a restaurant that would accept reservations for all 26 of us.  It was easily the fanciest place I have ever eaten at before.  I got a gnocchi dish that was extremely expensive for the food they brought me.  I had two pieces of cauliflower and 3 tiny gnocchi.  I did not eat lunch because I was saving my appetite for dinner.  Turns out, I probably should have gotten some lunch because that meal was a joke.  

After the not-so-filling dinner, Devin took me to a pub that he knew of which had Smithwick’s Irish Beer on tap.  I was told before I left home that I had to try it, so I was excited to finally get one; it was probably one of my favorite beers I have had so far!  The experience was pretty awesome too because the pub had live music and a lively atmosphere; I named it the Ultimate Irish Experience.  It was a great time!  I am even more excited for Dublin now, oh and the fact that I will be home in just 3 days!!!

Edinburgh,Scotland

It is only natural that World Tour cannot go down without a fight.  After almost a whole day on the bus, we got to Edinburgh around 9:00 p.m.  It was obvious we would be staying in a hostel, but the big surprise was that I got to room with 7 other girls!  My tolerance at this point on the trip is running thin, so the idea of 8 girls sharing 1 room, 1 bathroom, and 1 mirror was a bit like doomsday for me.  Now I realize this may seem quite dramatic, but it was like summer camp all over again, especially when I walked in to my roommates reading a Cosmo out loud as a group.  I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I did survive the doomsday hostel and the second night was not nearly as painful as the first, but I will get to that in a second.

Our full day in Edinburgh began at 8:30 a.m. with probably my favorite guide that we have had so far.  He had a lot of random information and did not just pump us full of ridiculous history facts.  Edinburgh is a pretty cool place with different historic buildings than we have seen in the past.  In the midst of all the old buildings was a pretty interesting modern piece of architecture, The Scottish Parliament Building.  I have studied it quite a bit in the past because I used it for a precedent in one of my projects, so I was excited to see it in person.

We had half a day for our own independent study.  It was a great afternoon of the exploring the Royal Mile and the rest of the city.  We went in to a couple whiskey stores, which was a lot cooler than I thought it would be.  A friend of mine was looking for some Scotch for his dad but had no clue where to even start.  The guy working was friendly and excited to give us a quick run-down of the basics of Scottish-Whiskey.  It was awesome, and so informative!  We found a cool pub with the nicest waiter and had a late lunch/ early dinner, then headed back to the hostel to work. 

Back at the hostel Dan, Devin, Ryan, Courtney, and I gathered together in the lobby to do homework, hang out, and eat Skittles, which by the way, do not taste the same here as they do at home.  I was so productive, it is almost unreal!  I got 3 different things done, all in one night!  As we were lying down to sleep we noticed a loud buzzing in our room followed by a slight burning smell.  Long story short, 2 electrical outlets for a room of 8 girls is not nearly enough!  Despite us overloading the outlets everything was fine, but we were lucky that we were awake when it happened; it would not have taken much to start a fire. 

So yeah, Edinburgh was cool, but I am so excited for Ireland!

Yorkshire-Dales National Park, England

After a long and exciting week in Paris and London, we finally got a much-needed break at Yorkshire-Dales National Park in England.  We arrived at our hostel in the village of Malham around midday and dropped off our luggage.  Malham is situated at the base of a popular hiking trail in the National Park.  Yorkshire-Dales is a national park set aside to preserve the natural countryside of England.  As you can imagine the entire park is possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  Rolling hill after hill and pastures outlined with waist-high stone walls.  Lambs frolicked in the fields alongside their mothers.  It was just so peaceful, and it reminded me of home.  Outside our hostel window was a small farm with chickens and geese roaming around the yard.  It was just like at home!  I cannot wait to get home to my own room.  I am getting sick of living in the city like I basically have for the past 3 months.  I need to see some more countryside!

Our group hiked the nearby trail in its entirety and made a day of it.  The trail is about 4.5 miles long, and we stopped periodically to enjoy the view.  Two waterfalls and a limestone formation called The Pavement were the highlights of the hike, as well as amazing views down into Malham.  The weather was perfect for our hike with the temperature around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  We took our time and enjoyed the peaceful walk. 

We got back to Malham just in time for dinner at The Buck Inn, a small pub just down the road from our hostel.  We hung around the pub for a while just talking and enjoying our down time.  It was a great night except I was ready for bed before I got any work done!  Oh that is not true; I did do some laundry, which is the last time I will have to do laundry on this trip! :D  But still, I should have at least worked on my studio project.  Oh well, I guess I needed the sleep more!

We did not have to leave until 11:00 this morning so I took advantage of a nice, relaxing morning.  I woke up around 7:30 and took my time getting ready.  I headed down to get breakfast and joined up with Courtney and Ryan so we could walk around the village before it was time to leave.  The rest of the day will probably be a boring bus day with a high productivity level, which is what I am hoping for at least. 

Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath, England

We covered a lot of ground today and saw a lot of stuff, oh wait; that is pretty much been like that the last 3 months of my life.  I know I will be thankful when I look back in a couple months and know that I saw everything I possibly could, but right now I am so tired, in every aspect.  I would love for just one day where I do not have run through a city from landmark to landmark, furiously snapping photos, or listen to one more guide explain their city’s history.  That being said, I take it all back.  Because of the tight schedules we operate by I was able to visit 3 beauties today in England; Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. 

Stonehenge looked exactly like the photos, but something about standing before it was indescribable.  I think the coolest aspect is that no one actually knows what it is, so it is a mysterious and eerie experience.  I loved it!  After Stonehenge, we drove a short distance to Salisbury and saw a gorgeous cathedral set in the middle of a small picturesque town.  After that quick stop we headed to our last destination of the day, the charming town of Bath.  There we visited the most well preserved Roman Bath in the world.  It was a cool experience, but I enjoyed seeing the hot spring more than anything.  I have already had a pretty extensive education about the Romans in southern Europe so I knew a good handful of the information already.  We basically sprinted through the rest of Bath with our guide, but at least we go to see it all.  It was a long bus ride back to the hotel but I did not mind it because I got to take a pretty awesome nap!  A pretty great day all in all!

London, England

I will be coming back to London again one day!  There is something about this city that I love but I cannot quite decide what it is.  Maybe it is because they actually speak my language; better yet they can speak it with an awesome accent.  It could be too that everyone is really nice.  London is one of the few cities that I remember having a successful integration of modern architecture into a historically rich city, and because of this the culture is hard to match.

We arrived in London on a high speed train; the train took the Chunnel through the English Channel which sounded really awesome.  The experience ended up just being a really long dark tunnel.  I did not even get to see any water, which I guess is a good thing in this case.  We got off the train around mid-morning to discover that ridiculously cold winds and snow showers were dominating London.  Thankfully most of the tour took place on the bus, but we did our fair share of walking through the city, and yes we froze.  I do not think I will ever get used to walking tours in this kind of weather.

The guide gave us a crash course about everything London and then led us to our hotel.  By this time it was mid-afternoon and none of us had eaten lunch.  So we basically dropped off our luggage and headed out to find something to eat.  Luckily, the coolest little pub was across the street so we just went there.  If I thought food was expensive in Paris, it is even worse here.  It is at least $20 just for a decent meal.  Thank goodness the end of the trip is nearing.  The rest of the evening was filled with laundry and homework.  I think I have reached an all-time low in personal productivity.  It seems I have to work twice as long as I usually do just to accomplish the simplest tasks.  It is the worst!

Yesterday we split up with Les and Rod again and went on separate tours of the city.  Rod and the rest of my group walked pretty much the entire day seeing almost every point of interest within reason.  If you were to pull out a map and point to a famous building or place, I guarantee we went there.  It was a great day, but also exhausting in every way.  I love when we split up as a group because Rod is able to take us to a lot more buildings, and I am sure the landscape architects feel the same way because they are able to spend more time in gardens and public spaces.  I was a bit disappointed throughout the day because for some reason all I wanted to do was shop.  I do not know why because I certainly did not need to spend the money, but we did not have any time at all to shop.  I barely had time to get a sticker.  We were on the move the entire day!

I got about 10 minutes to rest at the hotel before we had to leave again.  I was excited to leave though because Les was able to get us last minute tickets to Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.  It was so awesome!  To see Phantom of the Opera live has been on my bucket list since 6^th grade when we read it in music class.  It was even better than I could have imagined it.  I could not have dreamed of seeing it here in London in its original theatre, and somehow it happened.  Like I have said before, you never know what you are going to wake up to on this trip.

Paris, France Part 2

Ok before I talk about the past couple days, please excuse me while I go on a rant about public transportation.  Paris has one of the best systems in the world, but personally I think it is the most complicated one, or maybe it is just because I have seen the metro tunnels more than I have seen the city.  Our hotel is located outside the city center pretty far away; therefore, everywhere we go we have to take the metro… or a train… or a bus… or most times any combination of the three.  I appreciate the fact that I could get virtually anywhere in Paris if I wanted to, but it also takes a lot of time and planning to figure out.  And I will spare you all from talking about how expensive it is.  I will say this though; in the past 4 days I have used 2 days-worth of my budget just on transportation.  Paris is nice, but it comes at a high price.  Ok, rant over!

Yesterday began with a group trip to the Palace of Versailles.  It is at the top of the list of the most amazing mansions and gardens in Europe.  So you think that I would have enjoyed it much more than I did.  The main reason I did not enjoy it… the crowds.  There were so many people, almost worse than day 1 of Paris!  It was beautiful for sure, but my experience could have been better.

After Versailles Dan, Devin, and I headed to the city center where we walked around the Arc di Triumph and shopped on one of the most expensive retail streets in Europe.  We all found the gifts we were looking for with little trouble, ate dinner, and headed to see the Eiffel Tower at dusk.  I think I have already talked about how beautiful it is in my last entry.  It was the perfect way to end a great afternoon.

Today we visited one of the most famous museums in the world, The Louvre.  It was as impressive as I thought, and I thoroughly enjoyed I.M. Pei’s pyramid of an entrance.  It is a pretty awesome addition to the museum.  I can say though that I was a little disappointed in the Mona Lisa.  I turned the corner in the museum and saw a huge blank wall with hundreds of people crowded around it.  Upon closer inspection I spotted the small legendary painting just above eye level and immediately chuckled to myself about the size of it.  Most famous artwork is much more impressive in person; the Mona Lisa, however, is not.  I spent the whole morning wandering around the Louvre viewing the best collection of art in the world, and I still cannot really fathom it.  I got lost several times trying to find the Egyptian exhibition.  Sadly, I gave up after a while and never found it. 

This afternoon Rod took the architecture students out to visit Villa Sovoye, probably one of Le Corbusier’s most famous buildings.  It was more than a pain to get out there because we had to take the metro, then a train, and finally a public bus.  As bad as it was getting there, it was one of my favorite places in Paris.  Today I got a whole hour to observe one of the most influential and important houses designed in the 20^th Century.  Again, I am reminded of how incredibly fortunate I am.

Paris, France Part 1

My first impression of Paris was not the best one.  A four hour bus ride Easter morning led us from Brussels to Paris.  I really enjoyed the bus ride because it gave me time to work, think, and just relax.  That time quickly came to an end as our tour of Paris began.  The metro, sidewalks, and streets were packed to capacity because of the Easter holiday.  It was terrible!  The only cool part was that I got to walk through the Sacred Heart Cathedral during Easter Mass.  But also imagine one of the most popular churches in Paris packed with people during Easter.  It was ridiculous, and I do not handle crowds very well.  I headed back to the hotel as soon as possible and tried to get some work done before I completely zonked out for the day.

The next day was much more enjoyable.  Half of the group went with Les, while the rest of us went with Rod on an informal tour of Paris.  It was one of my favorite days so far.  Everyone with us was relaxed and enjoyable the entire day.  We did not have much of a schedule or place to be, we just walked around and saw stuff; actually we saw a lot of stuff.  The day began with a visit to a contemporary church just outside of Paris, and then we worked our way into the city where we saw the Pompidou Center, Parc de la Viollette , Notre Dame Cathdral, and the Eiffel Tower. 

Paris would not be Paris without Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.  I was going into this city with the mindset that it would not be all that impressive because I have heard that quite a few times, and to be honest I am not all that excited about French culture.  I am happy to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised.  It is not my favorite city by far, however, I had some enjoyable times visiting all the places I have only dreamed about seeing, especially the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.  After seeing the Eiffel Tower, I can tell you that my respect for it in the architecture world changed.  Before it was just a tower to me, but being there and seeing the intricate details was amazing!  I can definitely understand why it has been an icon from the beginning.  To see it at night is even better because at the top of every hour the entire tower sparkles with lights.  The Eiffel Tower has not seen the last of me!  Notre Dame is just as impressive and original.  Its orientation along the river makes the cathedral one of the most picturesque places in Paris, in my opinion.  I have seen several churches throughout Europe, and Notre Dame is definitely among my favorites.  After the informal tour it was back to the hotel and bedtime for me because it was such an exhausting day. 

Day 2 of Paris was exponentially better than the first day, and for that I am thankful.  I think day 1 was especially hard because it was Easter.  While my family was at home celebrating together I was fighting through crowds and watching my back for pick-pocketing.  It was certainly unpleasant at times but then I stopped and realized how lucky I was to be spending my Easter Sunday in Paris.  It was an awesome feeling, but it still did not stop me from missing my family. <3

Easter in Belgium

Belgium.  The land of waffles, French fries, and chocolate.  We left Belgium about an hour ago and I already miss all three of these things.  It’s a little sad to admit but my favorite thing about Belgium is their food.  The waffles are always delicious, no matter the flavor.  I tried a plain waffle, a powdered-sugar waffle, and a waffle with chocolate syrup; all were equally delicious!  Belgium invented French fries so it is only expected that they would be delicious as well; golden, thick cut, and with just the right amount of crispiness.  And the chocolate… oh my!  It is the most pure, smooth, and unprecedented taste I have ever had, and I eat a lot of chocolate so that’s saying something.  I almost forgot about another one of their specialties, cherry beer.  I was not so sure about ordering it at first, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I thought it tasted more like juice than beer though, so it was more of a desert beer for me.

We arrived at our hotel in Brussels mid-afternoon and had a short tour of the city.  We had free time after and that’s when I had my first Belgian waffle and cherry beer.  The next day we had a day trip to Gent and Brugge, two beautiful medieval cities.  In Gent we visited several cathedrals and public squares; we did pretty much the same thing in Brugge.  My favorite part of the day was getting to visit the cathedral of His Holy Blood.  I do not know the whole story, but there is a vial of blood on display that is supposedly Jesus Christ’s.  Like I said, I do not know much about it, whether it is actually his or not, but I do know that it was an awesome experience.  We were released from our tour in Brugge and Dan, Devin, Jen, and I found chocolate, beer, and waffles in that respective order.  I bought myself some Easter chocolate to eat today at some point.  I just have to pretend that it came from an Easter basket sitting on my kitchen table at home; that is our Easter tradition in my family. 

I am a little bummed today because it is Easter and I cannot be home for it.  It is difficult, though, to think of an alternative that could be better than what I have gotten to do here.  I got to pray over Christ’s blood the day before Easter.  Not only that but I got to pray in at least 5 or 6 historic cathedrals in Europe on the weekend of Easter.  I cannot be more thankful for these experiences because lately I have found it almost impossible to find a time to just pray, or a time to talk to God when it is just me and Him free from distraction.  I have not been to church in three months, or even been able to have fellowship with another Christian.  I am sure that this has taken its toll on me, especially in the last month, but it has also been a test of faith.  I look at the journey I have been on and think of how far I have come personally.  It has been so hard, but I would not have it any other way!

As the days of the trip wind down, the deadline for my studio project nears.  I have never wanted time to move so quickly, yet so slowly in my life.  I realize I can hope all I want, but God is the one in control here.  All in His timing!

Amsterdam, Holland Part 2

Well I have found my favorite city in the world, so far at least!  Amsterdam is a typical historic European city, with an awesome modern style that is 100 percent my style.  I knew before I got here that it would be a fantastic place, but it exceeded my expectations. 

Early this morning we took a tram to the middle of the city with a plan to eventually work our way back to our hotel.  As a group we walked to the northeast side of the city where a residential development was recently built.  In ARCH 100 we studied the whole area with an emphasis on two specific places of interest; a residential building referred to as “the whale” and a canal lined with individual and unique townhomes.  Townhomes are my absolute favorite type of residential architecture.  When the area was developed, each townhome was designed by a different architect.  Not every unit is the best example of design, but all of them together paint a glorious picture.  After we walked through the development we returned to the city center and got released for the rest of the day.

Dan, Devin, and I split off as usual and did some shopping.  I had to find my sticker and Devin had to find his postcard; it’s the same routine in every city.  This time we switched it up and both bought a shirt in addition to our sticker and postcard.  The hoodie I got is the first article of clothing I have bought since I have been on the trip and wearing it makes me feel like a new woman!  It is so great!

Now seems like an appropriate time to mention that Amsterdam has legalized prostitution and marijuana.  They are most famous for their Red Light District, so we just had to walk through it.  It is ironic, I know, that this city would be my favorite when things like this exist, but believe me when I say the Red Light District is probably the only thing I hate about the city, yes hate.  It was so disturbing to me that a society can be so accepting of something like this.  I mean the gift shops alone were enough to educate me on things I could have gone my entire life without knowing.  So yeah, the Red Light District was interesting to say least. 

We ate lunch after and headed back towards the hotel for another night of work.  I did not really get much done at all unfortunately.  I have never been more scared for my studio project in my life.  The end is approaching too quickly as far as my design is concerned.  Prayers are gladly accepted!

Amsterdam, Holland Part 1

Well lately the days have been looking up.  The overnight train was better than expected even though I came away from it with a sore neck and caffeine headache.  The train was delayed overnight because of mechanical issue.  That put us 80 minutes behind schedule, and ruined all chances of me getting food or coffee in the morning.  We immediately began a bus tour of Amsterdam, which I did not mind at all because the city is pretty awesome, and I got to see a lot of it without doing any work.  The tour lasted about 2 hours, and by then I was officially starving!  We got to our hotel at about 2:00 in the afternoon, but we had to walk a good 20 minutes just to find a restaurant.  We ate at a local Italian pizzeria that was delicious!

With a full evening ahead, Dan, Jacob, and I found our way to the famous Heineken brewery.  Dan loves Heineken so he just wanted to go to buy a shirt at the gift shop.  Well we ended up doing that, but only after we toured the whole Heineken experience.  We had not planned on going inside, but I am glad we did.  I had such a great time because it was something different than I have done on the trip so far; plus it had nothing to do with architecture.  It was a great way to get away from everything on this trip and just enjoy myself.  I need a day like this once every week!

I am actually excited for our walking tour tomorrow.  Rod and Les will lead, which means we will be focused on the design of the city, and not just tourist traps.  I am aware of several semi-famous buildings in Amsterdam, mostly because the modern architecture here is exactly the style that I love!  I am hoping to draw some major inspiration from our tour tomorrow because I am in great need of some for my studio project!

Prague and Dancing Building

Prague has been a memorable city with some really cool art and style, but it has been so darn cold lately that it is impossible to enjoy it like I should.  Also the stress of having a studio project due in 3 weeks is making it difficult.  Sometimes I wish I could just call home and vent about everything… soon, very soon.  I will spare you from all my complaining that I wrote in my journal, and just skip on to the good stuff.

Yesterday morning we had a short walking tour with Rod and Les.  We walked down to Old Town and Saint Charles Bridge.  Prague is a beautiful city built around several canals that give it a unique sense of place.  My favorite part was perhaps when I got Starbucks during a break and walked around the Easter Market on the square.  We continued on the tour for a while longer and were released at Saint Charles Bridge, with the rest of the day for independent study.  At this point I only had one thing in mind, Frank Gehry’s Dancing Building.

A report on Gehry’s architecture sophomore year of high school led me to the love of Dancing Building.  The concept and design of the building planted a seed and inspired me to give architecture a try.  Before that report architecture never even entered my mind as a potential career.   Through his design, Frank Gehry taught me that buildings are a form of art and the design process is part of an architect’s daily life. Ok, back to Prague. 

Dancing Building is located in Prague, and I had been waiting 6 years to stand before it in person.  I promised myself I would make it there one day and today was that day!  I got my first glimpse as I rounded the corner of the sidewalk on the river, and it was such a great sight to see!  It did not take long to have a full view, and it left me speechless.  It is not that this is an important building in the big world of architecture; it is more of a sentimental thing for me.  In fact several people have outwardly expressed their dislike for the building, mostly because it is completely different than anything else in its context.  After taking millions of photos, we headed back to the hotel for a full evening of homework. 

We had a pretty easy day today because we were basically waiting around for our train to leave around 5p.m.  Dan, Devin, and I found a coffee shop and camped out in there for several hours working on homework.  Tonight is another overnight train from Prague to Amsterdam.  At least this train is a tad bit bigger than the last over-nighter, but it is still way too small if you ask me!  I am hoping for an all-around better mood/day tomorrow because the past few days have been a little rough.  II have no doubt that things will begin to improve because I am very excited to finally be in Amsterdam.

Prague, Czech Republic

Today’s lesson of the day, sometimes great things come in terrible packages.  This morning began with a rather early breakfast, followed by a four-block hike with our luggage to the train station.  At the station we were informed that our 8:00 a.m. train reservation was actually for a public coach bus (like a Greyhound).  Instant panic took over a few people in the group, clearly causing everyone a higher stress level.  On a public bus, storage space is scarce, which meant we would probably be holding our luggage on our laps for the five hour bus ride.  There was a small chance that we would not even be able to all fit the bus at all.  I was mad because I had planned to work on assignments that were due the next day, and that clearly was not going to happen now.

After waiting in the freezing cold for well over a half an hour, our bus pulled up.  It was the nicest double-decker we could have asked for.  A long story short, I ended up being able to store both of my bags, sit in a comfortable seat without a stranger by me, and even have a table to work on.  Icing on the cake, I ordered and drank a coffee while I worked on my assignments.  Oh how quickly my moods can change on this trip.  Somehow everything always seems to work out, probably because of this magical thing called faith.  Oh, I still get stressed and frustrated more than I should, but I cannot imagine traveling like this and trying to survive on my own strength.  It would simply be impossible; I would probably be locked up in a loony bin back in Vietnam.

Ok, back to today’s events.  Immediately upon our arrival in Prague we began a tour of the city.  On our lunch break we ate at a McDonald’s only because we had a few minutes before we had to meet back up.  The employees were so rude to us; it did not even make lunch worth it.  Poor Lin! All she wanted was to get salad dressing, and they gave her such a hard time about it.

We continued on our tour for the next two hours.  If I thought Munich was cold, well Prague winds are exponentially worse.  I felt as if my face might crack and fall off.  When we finally got to our hotel for the evening, I was so happy to see that it was an awesome hotel.  Our beds are comfy, the showers are warm, and we have Wi-Fi in the rooms.  It is sad, but those are the things that make or break my days anymore. 

Munich, Germany

Munich is a pretty cool place that has a lot to offer, unfortunately I will probably only remember it by how cold I was the entire day!  The weather was supposed to be a high of 35 or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but I think the wind chill lowered that by at least 15 degrees.  Our walking tour only lasted about 3 hours, visiting the heart of Munich in the old town and The Resident’s Palace.  We were released for lunch at the doors of the Hofbrauhas Brewery, one of the most famous breweries in Germany.

We walked in to eat but the place was packed so we decided to find a relaxing café.  We left after taking a few photos and visiting the gift shop where I bought a beer stein to give to my brother-in-law.  We found a café and as I was walking to sit down, the bag with the stein slipped out of my numb fingers (still cold from the walking tour) and fell straight to the ground.  I owned that stein for only 10 minutes before I found a way shatter it!  You would think I would quit buying breakables on this trip and learn my lesson, but I did just the opposite and went back and bought another one.  I even got an extra one to give to my brother.  I am not sure how I thought that would be a good idea, but if they both make it home in tact it will be worth the troubles I will go through in the next 3 weeks carrying them with me.  I was so mad at myself for dropping the first one I bought, but with the help of our glass-half-full campaign, I was convinced that it could have been worse.  I could have broken it a week from now and not been able to buy another. 

After that whole fiasco, Rod and Les took us out to the Olympic Park site.  The tensile structure of the pavilions is pretty amazing.  It was built in the late 60s with hardly any computer technology available.  This fact alone makes the park worth visiting, at least for architecture nerds like us.  Also near the park is BMW World, one of the coolest buildings I have seen on this trip so far.  BMW World is a show room/learning center/ museum to all things BMW.  The car displays were pretty cool and the building was awesome!

After visiting both of these places we took the metro back in the direction of our hotel.  We went to eat dinner at a famous pizza place our guide recommended, but being a Saturday night, the restaurant was packed.  We found a nice café, but of course, the menu was only in German.  I am getting tired of the fact that food on this trip always has to be an ordeal.  It takes so much time, energy, and money just to find a decent meal.  The café ended up working out ok though because our waiter could speak English.  He encouraged us to try a very special kind of Munich sausage.  It was actually really good, but it freaked me out at first because it came out white as snow.  Dan and Devin talked me through my first few bites and I ended up liking it!  After our dinner, we walked back to the hotel to tend to our massive amounts of homework, as usual.

Salzburg, Austria and some personal problems

Today began way too early as we had to be on a train to Salzburg by 7:50 this morning.  It was extremely hectic because someone thought it would be a good idea to have all 26 of us and our luggage transported to the train station by taxis.  I do not handle hectic stuff like that at 7:00a.m., or I am not very happy at least.  It is an area of definite self-improvement.  The important thing is everyone got to the train station safely and on time for our train.  I had wonderful intentions of working on the three-hour ride, but fate had another thing planned for me.  Because we left the hotel so early this morning we were not able to eat breakfast.  No breakfast means no coffee for me.  No coffee means I slept the entire train ride and there was nothing I could do to stop it!  Although, I was fortunate enough to wake up a few times to see the beautiful countryside.

Once we got to Salzburg we stored our luggage and our guide met us.  I was able to find some coffee and a pastry that instantly improved my day.  We walked around for several hours admiring the beautiful city, including the building that the Von Trapp family performed in towards the end of The Sound of Music.  We were released in time for a couple hours of independent study before our train left for Munich.  I ate lunch with a small group of people and shopped for the remainder of the time. 

Our train ride to Munich was about an hour and a half long, so we arrived at our hotel around 7:30p.m.  I have stayed in a few hotels that were worse, but this one is not exactly at the top of the list.  I had a small break-down earlier because sometimes all I want is a little bit of personal space.  Four of us packed in a room originally intended for only two is a great way to freak me out.  The hotel is in the middle of a Turkish district in a German city which I find a bit ironic.  You just never know what to expect on World Tour, a clear indication that the world will always be unpredictable.  I have found a great way to cope with this, but I am not all that great at it.  If I do not expect much from hotels, or anything else on this trip for that matter, then it is really hard to be disappointed.  In other words, by lowering my expectations, I am rarely unhappy with the situation.  It sounds great in theory but it is awfully hard to do, especially when we jump from hotel to hotel like we do.  I am thinking I will master this about the time the trip is over.  Oh well, I will not mind much at all come April 15^th! 

Quickly I want to apologize for writing a blog mostly filled with me whining.  I realize you are not reading this to hear me gripe about my surroundings, but hey, I have to vent somehow.  I cannot exactly talk to people on this trip about it either because I know we are all at the same point right now.  So thanks for being my listening ear!

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is a city that I could easily come back to because there is so much to do here, and we have very limited time!  It has a very old and complex history, but a cool modern culture as well.  Yesterday we spent half of the day on a walking tour with a local guide that gave us way too much history on the city and not enough time to experience all the cool architecture.  This is becoming an unfortunate problem.  When we were finally released for independent study Dan, Devin, Lin, Jen, and I ate lunch and meandered our way back to the hotel.  Along the way we stopped at several interesting shops that were really modern like an up cycling store, some art galleries, an entire architecture and design based bookstore, and a local bike shop.  I think we spent an hour in the bookstore going total geek status drooling over design and architecture books.  We peeled ourselves away from the books, got a quick dinner at McDonald’s (of all places), and headed back to the hotel to meet up with everyone else for a planned evening activity. 

Last night we all went to a Mozart Symphony.  We got to the theatre early so we hung out at the bar.  I felt extremely underdressed for the high class event.  It did not help that I ordered a cappuccino while everyone else was drinking wine, but that did not matter once the symphony started.  The symphony was actually a sextet that quickly turned into an opera, so I did not enjoy the show near as much as I thought I would.  It was a great first experience, but I am glad I ordered a cappuccino because I am not sure I would have stayed awake otherwise.  The music was relaxing; that is for sure!

Today has been one of my favorite days in quite some time because we had an entire day to ourselves for independent study.  It was so wonderful!  Dan, Devin, Grant, and I decided to leave the hotel around 10:00 a.m., hit up a café for breakfast, and head to the museum district of Vienna.  We went to two very different contemporary and modern art museums.  The first one, Leopold Museum was full of mostly expressionism paintings, which I love!  The second museum, Mumock, was a minimalistic installation museum.  You know the weird off-the-wall art that could have only been created by an artist on crack?  Yeah, this museum was full of it!  I kept wondering how any artist could become famous from stuff like this, and then I realized.  This museum has an exhibit that I will remember for the rest of my life!  It is memorable and most definitely unique!  To become famous at anything pretty much all you need is to be memorable and unique.  I mean, look at Lady Gaga!  Anyways, as I progressed through the museum, each room found a way to disturb me in a different way.  Those were actually the words of Devin, but it summed up my thoughts on the museum exactly.  As disturbing as it was, I loved every second of it!

After the museums we picked up a quick lunch and headed to the hotel for a full afternoon of studio work.  Later we went out for dinner at a local pub, but besides that I spent the rest of the day working.  I wish I could say I got a lot accomplished, but it is design work so that hardly ever happens.  I am just starting to get nervous about my project.  I know it will get done; it always does, but I am worried about the quality of my final product.  I can only hope and try for the best and leave the rest up to God!

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest is a city with rich historical architecture.  I enjoyed seeing all the old buildings, but it is hard to draw inspiration from them.  I suppose because that type of architecture rarely gets built today.  We got to Budapest around 8:30a.m.  The bus picked us up at the train station and transported us to our hotel, where we stored our luggage and ate breakfast.  Later a local guide showed us around the city and some of the most important sites, including Hungary’s government buildings.  I wish I had more to share with you about our tour but unfortunately I was too tired to pay attention.  The train ride was so hot and claustrophobic that I hardly got any sleep.  It didn’t help that the conductor slammed on the brakes every half hour it seemed like. 

We had a free afternoon of independent study so Dan, Devin, and I got a late lunch/ early dinner at a nice restaurant and dessert at a café famous for their hot chocolate.  At the café, there are endless choices of hot chocolate.  I chose milk chocolate with strawberries puréed in it.  It was so amazing that I wish I could go back already!  We returned to the hotel for yet another evening of homework, which I had no problem with.  I did not get much homework done though because I went to bed entirely too early.  I made sure to get up a couple hours before we had to check out today so I could have that time to work.  We went to an indoor market a few hours before our train left to do a little shopping. 

Fast forward 3 hours and now I am sitting on the train Vienna-bound writing this journal.  As I write I realize how boring the last couple days have sounded compared to the rest of the trip.  It is sad when I use four sentences of this short journal to talk about how amazing my hot chocolate was, but to be honest I have enjoyed every minute of it!  It isn’t the visits to the famous buildings that make this trip for me, it is the amazing hot chocolate that I had in a hole-in-the-wall café moments that I will always remember!

Auschwitz

Some of the things I saw today are things that no human should have to learn about, let alone actually live through.  The fact that people did makes it almost unreal to me!  Walking though concentration camps brought this unbelievable history to life.  Today I went to Auschwitz.  There are so many things going through my head right now, but I cannot seem to find the words to explain any of it.  It seems like yesterday I was sitting in the C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Museum listening to Eva Corr tell us her life story.  Never did I dream that I would be visiting Auschwitz just 6 years later.  I remember her story sounding more like a nightmare than a little girl’s memories from so long ago.  I remember myself having no way to grasp the pain and suffering she has dealt with her entire life.  After visiting Auschwitz, I still cannot say that I have the slightest understanding of the horror she spoke of, but it definitely brought the scene to life. 

I was not as emotional as I imagined myself to be.  I did not really feel anything to be honest.  I was standing in the middle of a “death factory” and I felt numb to everything.  The camp was arranged so that the exhibits were located throughout the blocks, or buildings where the prisoners lived.  The guide led us around the camp, explaining the history of the holocaust.  I already knew much of the information she shared with us, but I also learned a lot of things that the history books never mention.  Some of the stuff that the S.S. did to innocent people was so graphic that Satan himself must have had a hand in it, because I cannot imagine a human with such a cold heart.

Piles and piles of personal belongings that were left behind by the people are displayed in one of the blocks.  This was one of the hardest things to see.  Suitcases, shoes, eye glasses, clothes, prosthetics, and even hair were on display in huge piles behind exhibit windows.  This gave a little greater perspective on the amount of people killed.  Another tough thing to see was prison cells in the basement of one of the blocks.  In this location they kept prisoners for punishment and experimentation.  Cells line the walls; some are even standing cells in dark rooms.  It was just really creepy down there.  Next to this block is the death wall where several thousands of people were killed as punishment.  I have never had a feeling like I did as I approached the wall.  My legs physically did not want to move closer.  Immediately after visiting that, as if it was not enough, we walked inside the gas chambers.  That was my breaking point.  I wanted out of that place, and I wanted out as quickly as possible!  Thankfully that was the last stop on the tour. 

I have only begun to explain my experiences at Auschwitz, but to be honest; I do not want to remember any more!  It is an experience I think everyone needs to have, but never will I go back!  The overall feeling of being hopeless and helpless lingers throughout the entire grounds, still left over from its history.  Looking back, I think this is what got to me the most, imagining how helpless they must have felt, with me standing in the midst of it all.  I had a similar, but completely different sense of helplessness. 

This is just another experience on this World Tour that makes me feel grateful for even the smallest blessings in my life.  It also makes me realize how much the world needs God.  I cannot help but think of the absence of him in these camps.  I just do not understand! 

On a much, much lighter note, after we finally left Auschwitz we got to visit a famous salt mine just outside of Krakow.  It was pretty cool, especially because it was different than anything else we have seen on the trip so far.  Hundreds of feet below ground is a massive network of pathways and quarries from salt-mining beginning hundreds of years ago. It was very unique to say the least.  To end the rather depressing day, we got to take an overnight train to Budapest, Hungary.  We walked on the train and I immediately knew how terrible my night was about to be.  Six people are assigned to a bunk about 25 square feet in size.  Bunks three high exist on both sides with a one foot wide pathway.  Yep!  It was almost impossible for me to get up in my bed, let alone sleep in it!  So, tonight I will be sleeping on my luggage in clothes that I wore today because there is simply no room to even get my suitcase open.  Just when I start to get annoyed by something, I must remember to always put my life in perspective because it could be so much worse!

Krakow, Poland

Ok so about Krakow!  Once again we have visited another beautiful city.  The history behind this city is so intense it is almost unbelievable.  Today I walked through the streets of Krakow that was once occupied entirely by the S.S. soldiers during World War II.  As I walked through the lively Jewish Quarters, it was hard to imagine the days when everyone was forced from their home and taken to concentration camps.  I go to Auschwitz tomorrow; I guess this is just a warm-up for what I will be experiencing then.

Regardless of how interesting some of these places are, I have hit a wall.  I am sorry but a six hour walking tour in 20 degree weather through snow and slush is not my idea of a great time.  Also it wouldn’t be so bad if I was able to go at my own pace and experience the place on my own.  The guides are helpful, but after so many places, it gets monotonous.  A surprisingly high point of the day was getting to see the Corpus Christi Basilica, which is a beautiful historic church in the old Jewish Quarters. 
We were released from our tour early afternoon and Dan, Devin, and I decided on an early dinner, a quick stop at the market, and then back to the hotel for the evening to work; we did just that!  For dinner we had a Polish specialty, perogies, which are like dumplings with various fillings inside.   It was a delicious meal!

 Tonight is a perfect evening of alone time!  I love my other roommates, it couldn’t have worked out much better really, but that still doesn’t help me from needing alone time.  Jen and Monica went out for the evening leaving me with an empty room and my studio project.  It was one of the most relaxing nights I have had in a while.  Plus, I actually go some work done!  And now it is time to apologize to writing one of the most boring blogs ever.  Seriously, I almost fell asleep while writing it.  Tomorrow’s blog will hopefully be better; I visit Auschwitz!

Berlin, Germany

It is amazing to me how I can be halfway across the world and still feel incredibly loved.  A couple nights ago I sat in the lobby of a fairly sketchy hostel in Stockholm working on sketches and listening to my preacher Mark at LSCC share his “I’ve got your mat” message.  I was so excited to listen to his past few sermons posted online because I haven’t been to since I left!  Anyways all it took was his voice and the low chatter of our congregation in the background to make me more homesick than ever.   In his messages I was reminded once again of my purpose on this trip.  Yeah, traveling and seeing these places has been awesome, but lately I have gotten more out of the challenges this trip presents.  I realized that even though I am far away from home, I am still carrying people’s mats, and to be able to do this all over the world has been far more life-changing than seeing a famous building or plaza.  I have had the chance to get to know people that I may never talk to at home.  It has been a challenge to be “stuck” with some of these people, but the longer I spend with them, the more I am amazed at how much some of them are hurting in life.  It makes me even more thankful that I have a great life to go home to when I get back.  Being with the same people every single day gets beyond annoying, but the sermons have given me a new outlook, or I guess a new tolerance for everyone.  Traveling with 25 acquaintances for 4 months is not exactly something I would wish for again, but it has presented a pretty cool and unique opportunity to me.  Whether I like it or not they have been my family since January 3 when I arrived at the Indianapolis airport.  I have gotten really close to few of them to discover their struggles, fears, and emotions; and I am shocked to find that as different as we are, our insecurities are quite similar.  This is the part where it gets awesome.  I try to shower them with your love and carry their mats with them across the world.  I can’t pretend it is easy because more often than not I just want to strangle some people, but every now and then God gives me a burst of tolerance.  It makes me better too because if you know me at all, you know that tolerance is one of my weaknesses!  Also I hope that I am doing everything I can because I will be the first to admit that I need to be carried quite often as well, just like Mark explained.  Thankfully I have some great support at home from friends and family. 

I hope you haven’t been able to tell, but lately I have become extremely calloused to cool things on the trip.  This would explain my lack of interesting journal material, at least I think so.  So, if it gets a little boring on this last leg of the trip I apologize!  And regardless of how my blog sounds, I should tell you that I really am having a fantastic time, especially since I am back in Europe!  I suppose I should say something about Berlin now. 

Northern Europe is officially my favorite.  The last 3 cities Helsinki, Stockholm, and Berlin have all been equally awesome!  I don’t even know what it is that makes me like it so much.  Genus Loci is a highly overused term we use in architecture but it is all I can think to say; it means the spirit of the place.  Berlin is a unique place because when the Berlin wall was torn down, a ton of land was available for development in the center of the city.  Instead of having an old city center which is very common to European cities, Berlin has a completely modern one.  Most buildings and infrastructure in the center were built in the past 40 years.   I saw all kinds of great things today including Germany’s government buildings, Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, The Holocaust Memorial, and Daniel Leibskin’s famous addition to the Jewish Museum of Berlin.  The Jewish Museum was particularly important to me because during field trip week last semester I was able to see Leibskin’s other famous museum addition to the Denver Art Museum.  To be honest the Denver Art Museum is still my favorite, but I am thrilled that I got to see the Jewish Museum as well.  We had independent study time in the afternoon so we walked around and experienced as much of the city as we could without freezing to death, then ate dinner and returned to the hostel because we were all exhausted.  All in all, a great day in the great city of Berlin!