Hello once again from New Zealand! I apologize it’s been so long since I’ve blogged last, but I will be doing my best to get caught up with everything that has happened over the past month within the next few posts.

Over the Easter holiday, we headed on a 5 day adventure across the North Island, traveling from Hamilton to the Coromandel Peninsula then to Gisbourne and stopping at Mount Maunganui on our way home. Ten Americans from LVC and one of our kiwi RAs, Leshaan, loaded up in a van we rented and headed out Good Friday morning. We started off with our two and a half hour journey to the Coromandel in order to see Cathedral Cove, a shooting site for the second Chronicles of Narnia movie. We pull into the Coromandel and it was packed! Heaps of people were there for vacation over the holidays and we had difficulty finding placed to park our large van, but after finally finding a spot we ate our packed lunches, got changed, and headed for the beach. It was only once we got to the sand did we find out that Cathedral Cove was another hour and a half walk from where we were so after stopping to take some pictures of the bright blue water we started off on the hike. Winding your way on a gravel pathway wasn’t my favorite part of the beach, but the view along the way definitely made it much more enjoyable. Everywhere you looked, you could oversee the blue water, rock formations in the ocean, and smaller islands that were farther out. Once we finally got to the cove, it was absolutely beautiful! The sand was soft and golden the Cove was amazing to walk under and it was perfect weather for a day on the beach. We were all super excited and rushed to get our towels laid down and as soon as I pulled my stuff out of our bag, I realized something was wrong. There was a brown mush on my towel and all inside our bag. A word to the wise, bananas are not a good snack to take to the beach when it’s hot! After we cleared the mushy bananas out of the bag and towels it was time to actually enjoy the beach. The water was nice, not too warm and not too cold, there was quite a bit of sand in the water and some big waves every now and then, but when you can stand in the ocean waist high and still see your feet, the small imperfections are definitely worth it. Once we all had enough time at Cathedral Cove, we started our walk back and visited Stingray Bay as well as Gemstone Bay. Even though we didn’t see any stingrays or gemstones, these areas were also beautiful with cool rock formations and clear water. We were then on our way to Pauanui, a small beach town where we stayed at Lauren’s house, a kiwi who lives in College Hall. Her family was so nice to open up their house for all 10 of us to stay in. It was such a blessing to have a place to shower and amazing food to eat after a long day of traveling and being on the beach.  After a good night’s sleep, we were up the next morning to hike up Mount Pauanui. This was an incredible and a bit difficult journey up to the top with humid conditions and a steep incline, but once we get there it was worth every bead of sweat. The view from the top of Mount Pauanui was absolutely incredible, as you could look out over every part of the town as well as the ocean. We then started our hike back down the track and then off for a quick lunch of fish and chips in town. Before we knew it, it was time to start out on the road again, this time headed for Gisbourne.

This drive was quite a long one, with about 4 hours of driving time. We winded through the different roads and saw some amazing views until it got dark and then continued driving through The Gorge (which are known for having some of the windiest roads in New Zealand). Luckily, we had some great drivers (a big thank you to Christian, Andrew, and Tim!) and we were through that section safe and sound in no time. We finally arrived in Gisbourne late that night and were fortunate enough to stay with Leshaan at her house. It was late, so all 11 of us filed out of the van and made our way to the backyard where we stayed in a tent for the night. While it seems like it would be a tight fit, having 10 Americans all in one tent together, it was the most luxurious tent camping in history. We all had mattresses to sleep on, pillows, blankets, and the bathroom was just a quick walk inside. After heading to bed, it seemed like I had only been asleep for a few minutes when everyone’s alarms started going off again so we were up really early on Easter morning in order to see the first sunrise of the day in the world. We drove out towards the beach in order to try to get the best view, but the rolling hills of New Zealand created a bit of a problem for us because they completely blocked the sun from view where we stood. However, there is always a way to get around obstacles so while a few people decided to drive down the road a little ways, the rest of us decided to jump an electrical fence into a sheep pasture and to the top of a hill in order to get a better view. While some of the boys went sprinting up the farther hill, Tori and I decided to stick with a slower walk up the less steep one. Once we got to the top, we could tell the sky was starting to light up. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so the sunrise wasn’t the most perfect one to see, but it was still an amazing experience to say that we saw the first sunrise of Easter morning in the world. After the sunrise we all met up again and headed back into Gisbourne to Leshaan’s house and stopped at a small bakery on the way for some traditional hot cross buns, croissants, and Danishes. I don’t know if it was the surplus of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I had eaten that weekend or if the bakery was really that good, but the pastries I had were incredible! The hot cross buns (a traditional Easter breakfast food) were warm, fresh out of the oven and the apple, cinnamon, and custard Danish I had was delicious. Once we finished our tasty treats, we made our way back to Leshaan’s to get ready for church.  Most of us headed to a small Baptist church for Easter service so as soon as we walked in, everyone knew we didn’t typically attend services there, but they were one of the friendliest congregations I have ever met. There were many people who said hello and asked where we were from and how we liked New Zealand so far. Even after the service, the pastor came over to us to introduce himself and hold casual conversation with us. Right after, they also served hot cross buns, tea, and coffee where more people stopped to talk with us, typical kiwi hospitality. Once we were finished talking to them, we headed back to get changed and were again on the road to the Rearey Rock Slide.

This is a natural rock slide that people in the Gisbourne have been enjoying for years and it was definitely a unique experience to have. People bring body boards, inflatable tubes, air mattresses, tires, and just about anything else to float on to the slide to go down on. Leshaan’s family was very generous and allowed us to bring some of their air mattresses with us and a couple body boards. Once we got there, I was really nervous and watched some of the more experienced sliders go first and then finally got on a mattress with Tori for our first slide down. It was heaps of fun, until we hit a bump, I went flying off the mattress and had to slide down the rocks until I reached the end. With some minor cuts and bruises, I walked back up to the top and decided rock sliding was not for me and that I needed some recovery time from that experience. Everyone else had a great time sliding and I eventually went again, and that time was much more successful and less painful.

After a fun Easter afternoon, we were once again back at Leshaan’s house getting dressed for yet another occasion, Matt’s 21^st birthday. We went to an amazing restaurant in Gisbourne that served their food on a hot stone grill. The restaurant heats up slabs of stone and then put the meat you ordered raw onto the stone and serve it to you that way and then you are able to cook everything exactly how you like it. A dash of salt to help the meat from sticking and you’re good to go. I’ve never been to a restaurant that did this so it was pretty cool to experience that for the first time and the food was absolutely delicious. Once we were done with dinner, we grabbed blankets and warm clothes and went to a nearby beach to hang out for the night.

When everyone finally got up the next morning, we were once again on the road and headed for Opotiki to stay with Leshaan’s aunt, Carol. It was great to have the ability to stay with her because she had a guest house that we were able to be in. Everyone had a bed, we could make our own food, and the beach was just a short drive down the road. Right after we arrived, we unloaded the van and almost immediately got changed to hit the beach for a short time before getting dinner started. The beach was nice, no one else was there and the actual beach stretched our really far until it hit water. The temperature was really nice and waves were pretty calm, the perfect mix for an amazing beach day. When we all had our fill of another beach, we headed back to get dinner started. Some buffalo chicken dip to start and then heaps of spaghetti for dinner, a pretty great combination for hungry college kids. A relaxing evening playing cards, pool, darts, and just hanging out was the perfect way to end a day after an incredibly busy weekend.  

What was supposed to be an early morning the next day ended up being an extremely slow-moving morning. We all were up fairly early, but it seemed like we just couldn’t get ready to go in a timely manner, but it was ok because that day had the most incredible sunrises I’ve seen in New Zealand so far. The sky was full of hues of orange, pink, and reds and that created a beautiful sight over the rolling hills and mountains in the distance. Once we all took enough pictures of the sunrise, we ate a quick breakfast and got everything ready to travel to Mount Maunganui for a hike up the Mount and then some time on the beach. We arrived and didn’t waste any time, heading straight for the hike. The hike wasn’t too long, but was definitely not ideal to do in flip flops (jandals as the kiwis call them). However, the view was beautiful from the top, with blue ocean water on the one side and the bay on other. Once we completed our hike, we had a little bit of time before heading back to Uni. Some people went to lunch, other spent their time on the beach, and a few of us decided to walk out onto a small peninsula just off the beach that is a great place to take some pictures of the area. After a really long weekend packed full of adventure, we were all ready to make our way back to school and recover before classes started up again the next day.

Our Easter trip was full of amazing experiences, fun beach times, and great stories and sights I’ll always remember.

Over my next blog posts I will be writing about our amazing 17 day trip through the South Island. Stay tuned for that!

Cheers!

So I have been “Back in Belfast” for a good two weeks now since my EuroTrip and upon returning this was running through my head: “Ugh, great sights, great weather, great food, great cities… now back to the horribly cold, rainy, Northern Ireland weather and boring city of Belfast for the next 6 weeks…”

 

This is what I returned to.  55 degrees, sunny, and finding a huge park right in Belfast.  This park runs along both sides of the River Lagan, with dogs hoping in and out of the river, joggers, and musicians litter this park.  This made coming back to Belfast much more enjoyable and lifted my spirits.  This is the Ireland I had been expecting from the start, green rolling hills, winding rivers, and wood flautists playing in the fields.

Since finding this grand location, I have returned for runs and walks 3 or 4 times a week never taking the same paths because the park is just that enormous!  Though it has rained a few times since being back, the weather has remained bearable, sometimes reaching mid 50s.

I have also been enjoying a week called “Sonorities” which is put on by the Sonic Arts School at Queens.  It is a week full of contemporary artists “performing” their pieces, majorly in the Sonic Lab.  The Sonic Lab is a sound space that has 48 speakers surrounding the audience on all sides.  The floor is just metal grates, allowing the space to put speakers underneath the audience.  All pieces performed here are Electroacoustic, avant-garde, academic pieces which only interest the average listener in such a spectacular listening environment.

However, there have been two performance which took place in one of the Queens’ clubs/pubs on two separate nights.  These were more based on electronic, techno, drum and bass genres of music.  These were loud and intense musical experiences which were two of my favorite nights while in Ireland.  One performance was included a drummer and singer alongside the DJ.  Here is a photo:

 

I will be back to post about my time spent along the coast, Dublin, and “proper” Ireland (what the majority of Irish people call the Republic of Ireland).  These ventures will be taken with my girlfriend for a week and another week with my family.  I will be back stateside in just over a month!

Cheers for now,

Evan

For those astute and international-conscious folk, you might know that the Basque country is known, or were known, worldwide as the home of ETA, a terrorist/separatist group in Spain that committed bombings and murders during the last few decades. The Basque country is also known to have one of world’s few isolated languages, having no known language ancestors or relatives making it stand out quite a bit on the street.

With all this in the back of my head, our contingent of 4 woke up early and headed to the train station with our eyes set on Bilbao, the largest city and cultural capital of Pais Vasco or Euskadi in the local tongue. From the onset, its impossible to miss how beautiful and natural the Basque country is. Honestly it makes Castille y Leon (the province Valladolid resides) look like Nebraska; meaning of course that it is very flat, deserted, and not surrounded by many natural beauties. On the train ride we saw picturesque rivers and streams over rolling green hills that transformed into lush mountains with small villages at their feet.

We arrived in Bilbao at about noon. We wandered around a bit and absorbed the city’s arquitectural atmosphere which is distinct mixture of French and Mediterranean influences making for astounding views along the Nervión River.

We eventually made our way to the center of town which conveniently houses several main landmarks. The first we came to was the “Zubi Zuri” walking bridge which was hands down the nicest walking bridge I’ve seen, trumping the Millennium in London. We walked across and were spit out in front of the Guggenheim Art Museum, a stunning work of from architect Frank Gehry who designed it to have a random overlapping structure which captures light. It is said to loosely resemble a ship and has been called the best architecturally designed building in the world.

In front of the museum is another iconic landmark known simply to the locals as “Puppy.” Puppy is a gigantic sitting dog that is covered in colorful flowers. It was designed by York, Pennsylvania native Jeff Koons which is very insightful and it was even thought to be part of a terrorist plot by ETA who wanted to dress as gardeners and plant explosives on it.

After walking around the museum we meandered around town walking the main circle which is the financial district and contains many lovely parks to walk through. Bilbao is the headquarters of BBVA the biggest bank in Spain and one of the biggest in the world. They currently sponsor the domestic soccer league here in Spain and have an enormous building smack dab in the middle of the city. I also took the opportunity to buy a pair of shorts which I had none of for my entire 4 month journey. Spring took quite a while to rear its head but she is finally here and in full force. Shorts were a necessity for all intensive purposes.

After center city, we made our way south to check out the neighborhood around San Mames, the stadium where the local club Athletic Bilbao plays. I was under the impression that the stadium was “visually stimulating.” However it turns out San Mames is one of the oldest stadiums in Spain and is set to be knocked down at the christening of the new stadium which I had originally seen amazing pictures of. Naturally the group of ladies I was with never let me hear the end of it but the neighborhood had quite a lot of gastronomical sights to offer which enticed them.

A word of warning for any Bilbao would-be travelers out there. The city has a different time for their siesta. While most of Spain, from my understanding, hibernates from 2-4:30, Bilbao takes their siesta later from what seemed like 4-6. So instead of getting a nice big Basque dinner which we heard so much about from our teachers, we settled for sandwiches in a cafe across the street from the stadium and I’m not even sure the patrons of the restaurant were pleased with our business. At any rate the stadium was also conveniently near the bus station which would take us to our ultimate destination for the weekend: the beautiful and world-renowned resort and beach town of San Sebastián. But it wouldn’t be so simple.

Though we had tickets in hand, it turned out that the day and exact time we were at the bus station corresponded with a huge local basketball game. Apparently the Basques love their basketball more than the typical Spaniard. The station was packed with fans and news crews capturing their hooliganish chants and songs while we nervously waited for a bus that was either late or hiding marvelously well. It turned out that it was in line waiting behind all the buses that were taking people home from the game but it was quite a scare as we had no plan to sleep in Bilbao that night. We made the hour’s journey to San Sebastián and that’s where I’ll leave you for a few days!

Saludos

W. E.

 

Hello all!

I have been away from my computer for over two weeks so I was not able to update this blog for some time.  The explanation? Europe.

Mike and I took a tour of Europe, hitting the most famous of cities in Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, France, and England.  Our course was locked into a bus trip to Dublin, a flight to Rome, and train to Venice, a train to Geneva, a train to Paris, an UNDERWATER train to London, and a flight back to good ole’ Belfast.

Many will ask me, “How was your tour of Europe?” To that I will respond, “Well now… That is a very big question.” Here I will briefly ATTEMPT to describe my travels with the use of some pictures (each = 1000 words, right?)

DUBLIN:

We were actually only in Dublin for a few hours. We went into a Burger King for a quick, cheap bite (as all backpackers become accustom to).  We quickly came to find ALL fast food restaurants are much cleaner and nicer than USA’s version.  Any way, this is a picture of the Dublin Spire.  It marks the center of Dublin and was what we looked to to find our way to the airport.  We began our 2.5 hour walk to the airport and were able to see many typical Dublin parks, neighborhoods, and locals.

ROME:

 

Rome was incredible.  We arrived in the dead of night and struggled finding our hostel because the street signs were barely readable.  We quickly came to find that 95% of Rome has not been renovated, that the city takes pride in its antiquity.  EVERYTHING is Rome in picturesque.  I had to limit the amount of pictures I took because every corner we turned was another beautiful garden, building, back alley, quaint cafe, or enormous iconic ruins… like the Colosseum.

Mike and I indulged in the local cuisine at every meal, as it was the cheapest and the most delicious: pizza and pasta. These are two of my favorite foods, as most college students can attest to, but the Italians make them 10 times better than I have ever tasted.

We were able to see the Colosseum, gardens, ruins, the Vatican, St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and much MUCH more in Rome.  A note about the Sistine Chapel: it is jaw dropping, ceilings much higher than anticipated, colors more vibrant and well preserved than ever seen before, an experience I will never forget.

VENICE:

 

“The City of Water” is much smaller than I expected.  This is a good thing.  We could see the entirety of the island in one day, and we never got lost because every street eventually led back to the Grand Canal which winds its way throughout the city.

This city is rich with culture, friendly people and atmosphere, and glorious weather.  Though there is not many “historic monuments” in the city, we found PLENTY to do.  We took boat rides around the Grand Canal, ate tons of pasta and pizza and gelato, and witnessed TONS of street musicians.  As a musician, I always gave them a euro or two. Street musicians are the BEST musicians. They are forced to play well because they need to to survive day to day, and in Venice there is so much competition that EVERY street musician was worth stopping and listening to.

Because Venice is such a secluded city, being that it is an island, it was very comfortable.  We felt very much at home, never feeling in harm’s way at all, and welcomed by all locals.  The man we stayed with, being that the hostel we stayed in was simply a man’s house that he rented out, was incredibly nice and was a pleasure talking to.

 

GENEVA:

 

Geneva… let’s just say we used it as a place to rest up from our first week of travels, and were HAPPY to move on to our next stop.

Geneva was only on our list of places to go because it was a good half way point between Venice and Paris, and Switzerland just sounded like a cool place to go.

Geneva is nice. It is clean.  It is not a crazy city with cars trying to run you off the road.  There is nothing to do or see in Geneva.  The exchange rate is 1:1 with the American dollar… but everything is TWICE as expensive.  McDonald’s cheeseburger, small fry, small drink = 13 swiss francs. All in all, it was small and quaint.  Looking for a place to relax and spend twice as much as you would anywhere else? Geneva is the place for you!

PARIS:

 

Paris was AWESOME. Though we missed out on the Louvre because it was closed on the day we planned to go… our last day in Paris… (worst tourists ever).

Besides missing out on the Louvre, we were able to do many things in Paris.  The first day we just kind of roamed around the area around our hostel.  Ate at little cafes that were wide open for the ease of smoking inside, on the porch, or out on the patio.  EVERYONE in Paris smokes. EVERYONE in Paris drinks wine outside, facing the streets (to blatantly people watch I suppose?) There were little cafes everywhere for these types of activities.  We also climbed the Eiffel Tour by stairs, made it half way to the top and were warned to exit the building because it was NOT SAFE AT THIS TIME. Needless to say, we got the heck out of there as quick as possible.

We took a FREE 3 hour tour of Paris on the second day.  It was a great experience, learning so much about the history of Paris, starting from Henry IV through the Louis’, and up to Nazi occupied Paris.  We went to the Notre Dame, the “Latin Quarter” which is the original city of Paris before its expansion, found the market place and the steps from “Midnight in Paris,” and accidentally ran into the Moulin Rouge (yes, we are terrible tourists).

LONDON:

 

London is HUGE. There is SO MUCH to do and see in London.  We were there for two and a half days, were out for 14 hours a day, and probably only saw and did 2% of what there is actually to do and see in London.  There are two things London has a TON of… pubs and theaters. There must have been a pub every thirty feet. Posters for different theatre shows everywhere. We decided to eat cheap in London because we were feeling very poor at this point and the only “English cuisine” is tea and toast…

Our first day was spent seeing many historic sites such as Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the London Eye, and so on.  Our second day was spent searching for Harry Potter filming locations such as platform 9 and 3/4, the Leaky Cauldron, Millenium Bridge, Diagon Alley, Piccadilly Circus, and London Bridge.  We also went to the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221 b Baker Street (the actual address of the fictional Londoner), TOWER Bridge (which is the one pictured above), and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre.

We spent our final day in London eating.  We found a HUGE fresh food market selling cheeses, breads, pastries, meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, chocolate, wines, juices, sandwiches, and much more.  Everything there was cheap as well. We tried everything we could until we could hardly stand from food coma!

(Mike and I… exhausted)

Finally, we made it back to Belfast at 11:30pm, two weeks later. Though this post is extremely long, there is so so so much more to say about this incredible experience. For more pictures and videos (street performers), check out my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evan.flemming.3

To actually understand these experiences, you really need to experience it for yourself.  I highly recommend that anyone that has the means to travel, travel. This experience will be with me for the rest of my life and I will tell my grandchildren about how I backpacked through Europe as a college student!

 

Thats all for now!

Cheers,

Evan

I spent my spring break adventure with two fellow students, Alisha and Ryan. We left the busy city of Buenos Aires at 8:10pm on March 7 and embarqued on a bus trip that lasted about 13 hours.
Thankfully, I was able to sleep on the ride but it was more like a series of naps than one solid night of sleep. Then, around 6:30am, though I had adamantly decided that I did not wanted to use the bus bathroom, I realized that the needs of my bladder outweighed my disgust of the condition of the toilet. So, as we were on a double-decker bus, I climbed down the short flight of stairs and made my way toward the door that promised relief on the other side. However, when I reached it I had such a problem opening it that I was forced to go ask my traveling companion, Alisha, how to accomplish this seemingly impossible task; to which her response was, “You just have to pull it really hard.”
Armed with my newly acquired knowledge I again made my way down the stairs, more confidently this time, yanked the door open and completed what I had set out to do. Then, as bus bathrooms and porta-potties have the habit of doing, I experienced a few seconds of panic as I could not figure out the correct way to turn the lock and began envisioning myself locked in the tiny germ infested space for the rest of my life… but as I am now writing this blog post one can determine that my imaginings did not come true and I did successfully make my way out of the bathroom.
Once back in my seat and cuddled up with Spoon, the stuffed dog my boyfriend gave me, I settled in for another 2 hour nap. However, apparently the bus driver had other plans for my sleep because at 7:15 after only a few minutes of studying my eyelids, all the lights in the bus came on and everyone was ordered to get off and eat breakfast. While, I would usually jump at the opportunity to be forced to consume food I do not like to do so at such an unreasonable hour of the morning. However, I accepted my fate and after running my head right into the small TV suspended to one side of the bus aisle, which was a result of my groggy state and not the fact that I am clumsy, I ventured into the great outdoors to see what sort of food would provide my stomach with satisfaction.
The place that we stopped to eat was a big pink hostel (which can be seen in my pictures). We went inside and sat on some very uncomfortable wooden chairs and looked down at our plates. There rested two dry medialunas (or croissants) and a mug whose empty interior promised the arrival of some sort of delicious hot liquid. However, I soon discovered that they had apparently run out of even satisfactory drinks and my mug instead provided me with the worst cup of coffee I had ever tasted!
Finally, after losing no one to the nasty breakfast, we gathered what was left of our taste buds, got back on the bus, and settled in for a little more sleep until we reached our destination; Mendoza, Argentina. Once we got to the station we purchased some bus tickets for other legs of our journey and set out to find a taxi to take us to our hostel. However, after observing the long line of humanity waiting to get a cab we decided to cart ourselves and our luggage the twenty blocks to our hostel. So, I got my exercise for the week and was therefore able to justify getting some amazingly swell ice cream later.
When we finally got there and had settled in to our room I walked downstairs and observed something shocking! The hostel’s entryway was filled with other students from the Fundacion (the school I attend). Apparently my fellow comrades had also decided to come to Mendoza and unknowingly booked the same hostel. In all there ended up being around 14 of us there.
As I was worn-out from the long bus ride, and lack of time inspecting my eyelids, I was not up for any great escapades that day. So, we went out to lunch and then I got ice cream and went back to the hostel with the intention to lay out on the roof and get some sun and perhaps a nap. The former was accomplished but the latter did not happen because I made a friend His name was Evan and he had taken a semester off to travel around South America and therefore had plenty of stories to regale me with. I also found out that he was a Philosophy major with a minor in English Literature and we spent quite some time talking about the importance of these two educational pursuits.
In the evening, as the hostel was equipped with a full kitchen, we went grocery shopping and made a scrumptious dinner. The rest of the night was really chill as I wanted to get plenty of rest so that I would have energy for the remainder of our trip. I spent the evening hanging out in a hammock, eating some malbec grapes (the best grapes I had ever had), and chatting with mi amigos. All in all it was a great start to what would be a wonderful adventure

Alright where were we?

The next morning was a bit odd I I found myself alone in the big city. Everyone honored the original plan and departed from the hostel at about 4 AM to get to the airport on time off in the outskirts of northeast London.

After the disorientation dissipated and the breakfast settled in, I made my way to Hyde Park on a rainy and miserable St. Patty’s Day. Hyde Park is one of the most known parks in London and for good reason.

One particular corner of Hyde Park is known as Speaker’s corner where, conveniently on Sundays, anyone can come can become an orator to the anxiously awaiting public. Sometimes its more of a lecture and others serve as intellectual dialogue.

I listened to one speaker in particular who was talking about the lack of competitiveness in the British economy and how they should divert money from making arms and weapons to education. Surprisingly, the Irishmen met with some opposition from the crowd as a few spectators made the point that foreigners aren’t buying British manufactured items as they used to with the rise of the NICs and sweatshop-esque labor. Following that logic they asserted that Britain should continue to manufacture arms as that will always be a market that they can compete in. A very worthwhile discussion that brought up the United States a lot…..I kept my mouth shut for fear of any backlash. Americans aren’t necessary hated or despised abroad but the actions of the former administration certainly are. This I can say for certain.

I traversed from the Northeastern corner to the southwestern corner of the park and made my way to a pub that I thought would show the upcoming Chelsea FC game. To my shock and awe, the bouncers told me, “Not today,” and sent me on my way. My plan was in shambles so after a bit of thinking I decided I could just watch the game in the hostel.  I hoped on the tube at Earl’s Court and made my way to Wimbledon. On the tube I ran into two guys from the Canary Islands asking me if I knew how to get tickets for the game today. I told them in Spanish that there are ticket scalpers outside the stadium that sell them but they’ll be rather expensive. However this didn’t deter them as they got off at Fulham Broadway. Me? I made it one stop after the stadium and switched paths back to try my own luck.

Time to cross it off the bucket list. I exited the special exit only used on stadium days and was hounded by ticket scalpers immediately. I asked one how much and I was told 70 pounds which is $105. I told him I would return promptly to get some money out and when I returned I got my ticket and surely enough the ticket was retail 70 pounds. I thoroughly questioned the economics of their money making venture as it clearly seemed frowned upon but perhaps not illegal…I’ll never know.

My seats were high up in the West Stand but there really wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Surprisingly Stamford Bridge (the name of the stadium) is actually one of the smallest in their league holding about 45,000. The team has been trying to expand or move but that is easier said than done in a metropolis such as London.

Without getting into too much detail  the game was great! Chelsea dominated West Ham and won 2-0 courtesy of a Super Frank Lampard header, his 200th of his Chelsea career, and a spectacular individual effort from the Belgian maestro Eden Hazard. Easily the best birthday present I could ever imagine.

After the game it was nearly impossible to get anywhere! Everyone made their way to the tube station including the visiting contingent who hailed from the east end of London….on the same line as Chelsea….someone didn’t plan that correctly. Luckily no one was heading south towards Wimbledon and I headed back to the hostel after a long and exciting day.

My last day in London was spent walking a lot and so much so that my beloved vans (shoes) died. A hole on the canvas and cracked sides plus all the rain London had to offer did not sit well with my feet.

I tragically buried my beloved companions and made way for some Adidas Sambas. Classy looking and great walking shoes.

I picked them up on Oxford Street which is also part of Bond Street, the major street for shopping for anyone interested. After that debacle I headed over to Trafalgar Square, a cool place to meet friends to gaze at the spectacle that is the city of London. It’s known for its museum on sight and a giant pillar with lions adorning the bottom portion. Word to the wise, Londoners do not like when you climb on the lions…so I’ve been told.

Conveniently for me there were a few sights close to Trafalgar Square for me to see while I was in the neighborhood. To the south a bit is Downing Street, a British equivalent of the White House. For those LVCers that represented Britain in the EU simulation I’ll be sure to post a picture. I found it kind of strange but neat that I’m sure there are people that could walk by Downing Street and not know what it is. Aside from the 24/7 security it looks like any other piece of London which I think is symbolic of the city and the people.

That’s basically about it from my London Trip!

This week is Semana Santa, a week filled with religious processions and festivals and Valladolid is supposed to have one of the best in the country so that will be the contents of my next entry.

Cheers!

W. E.

 

 

Kia Ora!

Things have been pretty busy in Hamilton the past few weeks. Following orientation, schoolwork has picked up into a more normal pace with tutorials now starting. At LVC, we are fortunate to be in small classes where professors know our names and we can visit them with questions at any time. However, now being at The University of Waikato it is not quite as simple so for each class every student is required to attend one tutorial a week. These small classes are designed as a time to ask questions, have more in-depth discussions about the previous lectures and to cover information that may have been missed. Teaching styles and learning techniques are very different here simply due to the size of the school and it has taken me some time to become adjusted to these changes, but the transition is becoming better each day. Now it’s time to discuss the exciting parts of studying abroad in a beautiful country such as New Zealand!

Two weeks ago, the international office here at Uni planned a trip for us to be able to go to Raglan. After a small mix-up with booking seats on the bus and there being too many people to fit, Tori (another LVC student) and I ended up making the trip with our guide, Charlie, in his car. He was originally from California and moved to Raglan about 15 years ago. It was a good opportunity to talk to a local and get his advice on where we should go and what we should see before we have to leave. On our venture to the small surf town, we made a stop off at Bridal Veil Falls. It was about a ten minute walk from the road where we parked to the first lookout for the waterfall. Walking along the trail to the waterfall was beautiful and unique because many of the plants cannot be seen back home in the US. After walking through that we made it to the top of the waterfall, the first of three lookout points. Once everyone was done taking pictures and taking in the beauty of the area we were in, we continued on to the second lookout in the middle and then the final lookout at the bottom of the waterfall. This last location is where our guide took pictures of us in his favorite pose. Check them out!

After our short pit stop, it was back on the road to Raglan for a day on the black sand beach and a chance to take surf lessons. Once we got there and walked down to the beach, we immediately rented our surfboards and put on our wetsuits, which is no small task! After the suits were finally on, we took the boards down the beach in order to start lessons. We all practiced basic paddling and standing procedures using a four step process which wasn’t too difficult to grasp when lying on the beach, but for me it was a whole different story once we were actually trying to catch waves. It’s quite amazing how you can immediately tell if you’re off centered when on a surfboard and go to stand up because you will be off balanced and either will not be able to stand at all or your board won’t be following a straight path. Surfing takes some time to get used to the feeling of standing on a board on top of the water, but the instructors were great and gave us all suggestions on what to fix so we could stand up and after a few attempts I finally did! They took extra time with people who needed it and everyone on the trip stood up and rode a wave in to the beach by the end of the lesson. Lessons took a while which didn’t leave any time to just be on the beach, but it was a great experience and I’m so happy I did it. How many people can say they learned to surf in New Zealand?

The next weekend the Uni was taking a trip to a dairy farm, but living where we do all the LVC students decided that we’ve seen enough farms in our life that we didn’t need to see another. So, all 12 of us planned a weekend trip to Rotorua. We got up early and headed out on Saturday, ate breakfast and made a lunch, and then caught our bus. The hour and a half bus ride went quick and before we knew it we had reached our destination. The second we stepped off the bus we all knew what people had warned us about, the smell of rotten eggs, sulfur. The geothermal hot pools in Rotorua contain sulfur from underground that is released as the water bubbles to the surface. We stopped at a few of these pools on our walk from the bus stop to where we would be staying the night, a little holiday park called The Cosy Cottage. Our cottage had two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen and was only supposed to be able to sleep 7 people, but us being poor college students decided that it was a good idea to just fit all 12 in there for the night to bring down the cost so our cottage was definitely living up to the name.  After getting ourselves settled into the cottage, we met up with a few boys from Rotorua and they took us to a Maori village that was nearby. We walked around, taking in the beautiful view of the lake and the beautiful buildings that the village had. New Zealand history was apparent within this town as you could see the culture crosses of the Maori people and the European settlers. There was a traditional Maori marae and right across from it was an Anglican church that incorporated certain aspects of Maori culture into the design. After walking around the village, we headed to downtown Rotorua where we stopped to get some Hokey Pokey ice cream (a must try if you’re ever in New Zealand) and then went to see the Government Gardens. It was a beautiful area with bright flowers, unique trees, and amazing buildings. We only stayed here a short time before we headed back towards the Cosy Cottage to a small hot sand beach. With Rotorua being a geothermal hot-spot, the top layer of sand is the coolest and continues to become hotter the deeper you go and you can even create your own hot tub by digging deep into the sand and boiling water will be brought up into your pool. A word of caution if anyone else tries to do this, be careful! The water is literally boiling and bubbling and the hot sand are extremely hot, so just add a little bit of cooler lake water into the pool to make the temperature a bit more comfortable. Once we had our fun at the beach, we headed back to get ready and then back into town for dinner and a free concert as part of a celebration of Rotorua. Just a friendly tip for anyone heading here at any time, definitely get to Fat Dog for at least one meal, you will not regret it! Also part of the celebration was fireworks over the lake, so halfway through the concert we went back to get blankets and then headed to the beach where we all watched the firework show. Definitely the best way you could ever end a night in New Zealand!

The next morning, we got up and headed off for another day of fun zorbing and luging. Rotorua is the home of zorbing, which for those who don’t know is essentially rolling down a hill in a giant hamster ball. We all opted for the zorbing with water because you don’t flip upside down and it was so much fun! We all split into groups of two or three and were driven to the top of the hill where we got ready to go. Running and jumping with arms straight out, just like Superman, is the only way to get into the zorb and then the worker gave us the challenge to stay standing and running the whole way down the hill. Well, that challenge didn’t work out so well for me and my group because I fell straight away and they weren’t far behind me. Every person who went zorbing had a great time and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try it. We then headed down the road to go luging and on a gondola ride up the mountain, which happens to be the only way to get to the start of the tracks from the bottom. Luging is when you sit down in low cart and then drive down a mountain on a concrete path, almost like sitting on a low tricycle. Extremely difficult to explain, but extremely fun to do! The little kid in everyone was very happy during this activity, reaching high speeds and taking sharp turns, and then when you got to the bottom you took their version of a ski lift back up to the top and tried the next track that was more difficult. This was the best way to end a weekend of adventure by relaxing, getting your mind off school, and just having a fun time with friends. Well that just about wraps up the past few weekends in New Zealand. Until next time, cheers!

I’ve heard this saying that, “A man who is bored of London is bored of life itself.” Meaning of course that London is so expansive and lively that there are endless corridors to explore and things to do.

Our group departed for London on a Thursday immediately after class. From Valladolid to Barcelona and then to Stansted, the airport about an hour outside London. It was a very long day of travel but we finally reached our destination at about 3 AM at our hostel in Merton, a neighborhood in Southwest London close to Wimbledon.

This particular trip was special to me for a few reasons. First of all, my German buddy Felix was with us for the trip. He had arrived a few days before us because he had some free time as he just finished up his finals for the semester. The second major reason this was an important trip is because my birthday was coming up on Saturday, the day before the beloved St. Partick’s Day. What better way to spend my birthday weekend then in the greatest city on the planet?

After hibernating for a few hours, we woke up on Friday to eat some breakfast and plan out the day. Here’s where the big twist come in. During breakfast we were introduced, by my German pal, to a group of Americans studying in Avila, a city close to Valladolid in Castille y Leon. In their group were 5 girls and 1 guy. The girls were all from New York State and the guy was from Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh to be exact. They said they attended a very small private school of about 1400 undergraduates in Rochester, NY. Now where does this sound familiar?

Needless to say our two groups immediately clicked and I found solace in Matt, my counterpart, who had suffered the same trials and tribulations I had studying in a group of women for an extended period of time. Ladies, I love you but sometimes you are just too much.

After breakfast, Felix and myself joined the group from Avila, hopped on the tube (subway system) and headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. The ceremony involved your stereotypical British guards that people tend to mess with along with some other guards on horseback.

Following the changing of the guard we split up further and Felix, a girl from the Avila group and I took to the River Thames to see some familiar sights. We started out at the Westminster tube station which is named after the famous Abbey of the same name. Right across our field of vision Big Ben and the buildings of Parliament stood proud and demanded the attention of our ocular senses. Fun fact only the bell inside of the clock tower is named Big Ben. Walking past the Abbey and Parliament right on the river is the famed London eye. A feat of engineering awe and a truly breathtaking experience that we will revisit later.

Along the River Thames are a slew of must see attractions for any visitor of London. Walking away from the Eye towards Tower Bridge we first stopped by the Tate Modern Art Museum which was having a gallery on pop art which was very interesting. The building itself used to serve as an old power station but the staunch and depressing anterior doesn’t do the interior justice.

After about an hour in the museum we grabbed some lunch at this little place called “Eat.” I’m fairly certain it is a chain but they have a fairly healthy selection of mostly just sandwiches and salads. It was highly recommended to me and it did not disappoint.

Full of energy, we carried on towards some famous sights such as the newly finished and pedestrian-friendly Millennium Bridge and the Shakespeare Globe, a reconstruction of the original place where Shakespearean plays were performed in the 17th century in the same neighborhood of Southwark. We ended our riverside journey at the Tower Bridge, a monumental figure and symbol of London. The drawbridge provides lovely views of the river and the city and is a must see.

From here our small contingent headed back to Westminster Abbey for a free daily service which consisted of about an hours worth of songs. The choir was fantastic! Their voices came together like music one would hear in Lord of the Rings. It was so beautiful that it was putting a lot of people to sleep. No sarcasm.

After the service Felix and I walked down the street to hop on the London Eye to get some panoramas of the city under the blanket of night (and rain). Luckily we had some coupons and our student IDs that got us on the ride for only 10 pounds or 15 dollars. If you can/want to afford it, the Eye is definitely worth it. The get in your pod with a group of about 10 other people for 45 minutes and get an unforgettable view of the city. The attraction itself reminded me a lot of my job at the ride at Hershey’s Chocolate World; helping people on and off the ride and saying watch your step every 5 seconds. Fond memories.

Following the Eye we returned to our hostel and got prepared to go to the nearby pub for a birthday drink. Unfortunately for us we forgot we were not in Spain. We arrived at the pub at about 12:45 AM and were immediately told that we could have one drink, but we would have to drink quickly because they were closing soon at 1 AM. So after one quick pint we made our way back to the hostel and rested up for Saturday.

That’s where I’ll leave you guys for now. Best stuff to come!

Peace and Saludos

W. E.

 

I could write a novel about my spring break trip to Germany so here are the highlights:

I arrived in Frankfurt and was picked up by my best buddy Felix. We drove down to his college apartment in Stuttgart and the first night there was fairly chill. I learned pretty quickly that Germans have no concept of person space as they like to get very close to you. Specifically your face. This goes for everyone. Also, whoever fabricated the stereotype about Germans being cold and uncaring needs to have a reality check.

The next morning we woke up and had a typical German breakfast. After breakfast we headed off in the freezing cold to the Stuttgart-Nuremberg soccer game down the street. The game itself was not as entertaining as I would’ve imagined but the beer, hot spiced wine, friends, and crazy fans made it an overall amazing experience. That night another house party was had.

The next day we explored Stuttgart and saw many of the old sights that I had come across 4 years ago when I was last there to visit my friend. The streets were a bit more empty this time around because it was a cold and barren Sunday. The day was highlighted by delicious German pretzels and our trip back to Satteldorf, the town that Felix’s family lives.

On Tuesday, I believe it was a rather chill day. We hung out around the house and had plenty more delicious German food such as Würst. Also had my hair cut by Crailsheim’s finest hairdresser. Thoroughly satisfied.

After a day off, we traveled to Erbach, a county in the autonomy of Hesse. This county was important to me specifically because I had done some research and found out that I was directly related to some counts of the region. We spent the day checking out the town and the two castles or residences of my ancestors from the 16th-18th centuries. Erbach om Odenwald was a beautiful and picturesque German town and I highly recommend it to travelers who want to see something of the beaten path.

Following another day of rest I traveled with Felix and his mother to Strasbourg, France, a border town with Germany which was about 2 and a half hours away from where I was staying. The town is very, very old and is home to an impressive set of Gothic churches, clever canal system, and on the outskirts of the city you can visit the buildings of the European Parliament of the European Union as well as the Council on Human Rights. These were must see sights for me due to my involvement in the Mid-Atlantic EU simulation in Georgetown with a few other fine students from LVC. I’m sure everyone involved will remember how unbelievable of an experience it was (most of all for me :p) We ate a rather fancy French restaurant and of course I ordered ribs. After struggling to attempt to eat them with a fork and knife I gave up and ate with my hands with the blessing of Felix’s mother. She agreed it was impossible. I urge others to attempt this ridiculous feat. All in all, Strasbourg was a wonderful city and again I recommend it highly.

After our day in France, Felix’s family and I journeyed down to southern Bavaria to ski the German Alps. If you like skiing or snowboarding this is something you simply must do before you kick the bucket. The views are amazing and the trails are equally as thrilling. I had not skied in two years prior, however once they throw you down a black diamond you get back into it fairly quickly. I let my buddy have the photographic responsibilities for that day so I will post better pictures of the alps when I receive them.

After an amazing break, it was finally time to head back to my second home of Valladolid. I had grown to miss the city, and especially the weather (its about 60 degrees all week now ) Of course on the way to the airport we got a speeding ticket on the autobahn. What an ideal way to end my time in Germany right?

This Friday we will be heading to Segovia and the week after that is London so keep yourself posted and have an enjoyable week!

P.S. Germans mix every sort of drink imaginable. If you are of age and responsible I recommend you to look up some of these beverages and indulge yourself in some German culture. I will name two of the nonalcoholic beverages that were amazing. Coke + Fanta = Spezi and Apple Juice + Sparkling Water = Apfelschorle.

WM