Croatia & Bosnia (plague & all!!)

I am glad to report that I am completely well and now able to eat again (although the site and smell of fish make me nauseous...). Being sick in Bosnia is not something I would like to repeat, but God definitely brought our group together through that and we are all doing better now!!

Random: The z and y keys are switched on this keyboard, so sorry in advance for any silly typos!

Ok...so after we left London what feels like about 4 years ago, but was actually about 2 weeks, we flew to Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful city! It is right on the coast of the Adriatic (?) Sea. We were only there for a couple of hours, but that was long enough for a few of the guys to jump in the water and swim around, and for the girls to go get ice cream and watch the sunset over the water. After we left Croatia, we were ushered into the first city we stayed in in Bosnia, Trebijne, by our guides Mustafa and Samer. The next day we got back in the (non air conditioned) bus and went to an Orthodox Monastary, an old Bosnian graveyard, and a Turkish Mosque and then to our hotel in the next town, Rujiste. It was really interesting going to the monastary and the mosque in the same day, especially after visiting so many cathedrals during the first part of the semester. Its amazing just how different the different traditions are - how foreign to me they are. Ironically, after the opressingly hot day we spent on the bus, the next day we woke up to cloudy and cold weather - and we had scheduled to go on a 23 km raft trip. Rafting was cool(literally and figuratively!) and so beautiful. It was a really different way to see the country. At one point our raft pretty much capsized and Vanassa and I were underwater up to our necks, and at another rapid 5 of the 7 of us in our raft fell out - so we were freezing!! It was a lot of fun, though, and our guide spoke English pretty well, so he was able to keep us informed about what we were seeing, and answer a lot of our questions about Bosnia. After the raft trip we went to our hotel in Sarajevo, and then spent the next 3 days dealing with the previously mentioned Bosnian Plague.

Sunday was the first day I felt really well again, and it was a glorious day! We went up into the mountains to this "old world European" town - completely traditional. The first thing that struck me about it was the sheer beauty - huge mountains, rivers running through green valleys, trees everywhere with the leaves changing, and a brilliant blue sky. The weather was incredible - it reminded me of Colorado in the fall! The town is completely self-sufficient - they make everything themselves. We hiked up the side of one of the mountains to the shepherds huts, and then walked around to the side of this ridge where we could see out over the town and the valley and the rest of the mountain range. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the scenery and sunshine.

Now Im in Vienna, and my parents are here, which has been AMAZING! I love this city - theres such an incredible musical history here, and something about it makes me think of Christmas!

More details of Vienna to come, but time with the parentals has been great, and Im off to continue that :)

all my love....

God bless.

The Bosnian Plague

How strange that the first place with free wireless is Sarajevo, Bosnia. Not the college campus in London or the nice hotel in Ireland, but the sketchy hotel in Bosnia. Anyways - my energy is very limited so I can't give many details, but I can tell you that 40 of the 47 people in our group have food poisoning right now. Full on vomiting, diarrhea, high fever, intensely painful food poisoning, and I'm one of the lucky 40!!! Don't worry too much - I definitely wasn't the worst, and I'm starting to feel better, but the past 2 days have been crazy. We went whitewater rafting a couple of days ago (which was SO much fun) but afterwards they fed us a fish dinner. Now, I don't like fish, so I normally wouldn't have eaten it, but I was so hungry that I ate through the dislike...I've never regretted any eating decision more!! We've all been pretty miserable, but there is definitely a silver lining - our group has reached a new level of closeness!! Shared suffering and caring for each other has been wonderful.

Anyway, I'm going to go attempt to keep down a little bit of dinner...no fish though!! Sorry for the depressing message, but don't worry - I'm not dying and I'm on the mend! Details about Bosnia will follow soon :).

all my love...

Goodbye sweet English...I will miss you!!

Today is a monumental day. Today is a day to remember. Today is my last day in an English-speaking country until December. That is a loooonnnnnngggggg time without understanding what people are saying.

As you smart people have probably figured out from my previous dramatic statements, we're leaving London tomorrow and heading to Bosnia. Talk about a culture shock - going from London (which is an awful lot like NYC) to Bosnia in a matter of hours! I'm anticpating a lot of intense learning experiences, interesting food, and lack of internet for the next week or so. So if I don't update, don't worry - I'm not dead, just buried under a mountain of Bosnian food or something :).

The last couple of days in London have been nice. I haven't been feeling great, so its been a little bit harder to enjoy being here, and I've actually been homesick for the first time. However, I've found that if I live in the present - really enjoy where I am and what I'm doing and who I'm with - that the homesickness tends to fade. I've found myself spending a lot of time over the past few days asking God to remind me of how blessed I am to be here instead of allowing me to dwell on missing home. Anyway, though, despite a rough morning today, this afternoon was wonderful. A small group of girls went to tea in Kensington Gardens in Notting Hill. The tea itself was so my fun, but the walk there was definitely the highlight. Vanassa and I had a little adventure getting to Notting Hill on the tube, and once we got there we really had no idea how to get to the gardens from the tube stop. We walked around for awhile trying to find it, but eventually stopped to get directions. We asked an older man working in a little boutique, and he ended up being foreign with an absolutely incredible accent. (I wish I could recreate it, but I just can't, so you'll have to imagine) he told us, "I tell you short way. Go past bus. Go down little passage. Go, go, go and you there, okay? Just go down little passage. Go." So we went down little passage (giggling all the way) and found the gardens! It was a beautiful day and it was nice to be in a quiet, uncrowded area for once. Thank God for small pleasures like that - they seem to redeem even the most stressful of days.

Wish me luck in Bosnia!!!

allll my love :)

London (still...)

Why are internet cafes so trashy? That's one of the main questions on my mind tonight. I mean, I understand that its just an internet cafe - it doesn't have to be the nicest place in the world - its no Biltmore - but why so trashy? Anyway - I'm just glad that computers are a normal thing for my household...

Yesterday we went on a crazy-long excursion, but it was a great day. We started out by driving to Coventry, which is a town about 2.5 hours outside of London. It was hit especially hard by German bombs during World War Two, and the cathedral there was mostly destroyed. The ruins of the cathedral are still there, though, and they've built a new one there which has turned into the center for an organization advocating religious reconciliation. We took a tour of both the old ruins and the new chapel and then had a little bit of time to get lunch in the town. The new cathedral was one of the most unique cathedrals I've ever seen. It had the most beautiful stained glass that reflected onto the side walls over the top of these huge stone blocks that had scripture inscribed onto them...it was truly beautiful.

After we left Coventry we drove another hour to Stratford-upon-Avon (also known as Shakespeare's home town)! It's a totally stereotypical small English town. We had quite a bit of time there, but instead of walking around and doing all the tourist things, we ended up spending most of the afternoon just lounging in the park. I think we were all a little bit burned out and tired, so it was nice to have a relaxing afternoon. One of the guys was trying to lure a swan to us using cereal, and it actually came close enough that it was eating out of his hand...hissing at him the whole time. That was funny in itself, but when an old asian tourist lady stopped and started taking pictures of him playing with the swan we all pretty much lost it. We also played a couple of games in the park and I'm sure people were annoyed by the huge group of loud American tourists, but it was fun so we didn't really care :). We had a picnic in the park for dinner and then went to see Twelfth Night performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Despite the incredibly uncomfortable seats, it was an amazing performance. John Lithgow was one of the stars and he was absolutely hilarious, but all of the acting was incredible. After the show we jumped back on the bus for our 2.5 hour ride home - we didn't get back to our rooms until after one in the morning and then had 3 classes and 2 museums to visit today - it was a busy day and I'm definitely ready for bed!!

We've had wonderful weather here so far, so I really can't complain, but I'm really missing the Colorado fall. Enjoy it for me if you're there, ok?

all my love...

I wish my life was a musical.

Last night was, by far, the best night I have had so far this semester. After a lovely hour or so conversing with the parental units, I got ready and went out to dinner with about 3/4 of our group, including one of the professors. We went to this place called My Old Dutch, and they specialize in huge pancakes. They aren't actually pancakes, however, but more like thick crepes. We got dinner there (one of the top five best meals of my life) and then walked to the theater and saw Les Miserables. I saw Les Mis once before, the summer before my freshman (?) year of high school, and I loved it then, but I loved it even more this time. I was completely riveted the whole time - I don't think I sat back in my seat once during the 3 hour production. The whole thing is just so beautiful - the story of redemption and love and tragedy, the music, the sets, the cast - everything was amazing. The main character had the most beautiful voice...I was just amazed at the whole thing. It took some self-control to not sing along in some parts, but Brandon was sitting next to me and I don't think he would have appreciated it, and he's a lot bigger than me. :) I can't even really give words to just how much I loved that production...definitely a highlight.

NOW I'm sitting here in the internet cafe because I'm waiting until I get to go to the matinee performance of Phantom of the Opera! Seriously...this may be the best 24 hours ever!! Les Mis and Phantom...could things be any better!?? I just don't think so!! (Well...maybe finishing the day off by seeing Hairspray again would make things perfect, but I really can't complain!)

Its been really nice being in London - as busy as things are, its nice to be staying in one spot for more than a couple of days. Honestly, I think that if there wasn't SO MUCH to do here I would be ready to move on, but there's so much I haven't seen yet that I'm glad I'm here for the rest of the week. Its strange that I often have to remind myself that I'm in London. In the middle of the city it seems to me just like being in any other huge city - San Francisco, LA, New York - except for that everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road. (By the way, I've only almost gotten hit crossing the road twice - I think that's pretty good for 3 weeks! - I'm kidding mom, I didn't actually almost get hit...but you should probably thank Brandon for stopping me from stepping into the street...) Anyway, there aren't too many huge cultural differences that I've noticed yet. That will change drastically though once we get to Bosnia next week. Its going to be a crazy transition, and I'd definitely appreciate your prayers for our group and our safety.

Alright...off to the British Museum to look at the mummies, and then to PHANTOM!!! :)

love...

London

London is HUGE. That's seriously the only thing I can think of to say about it. We've been here for two days now, and I'm starting to be less intimidated, but holy cow - this place is crazy!!! Also, the room that I'm sharing with another girl is about the size of my closet at home. It is clearly a single room that they shoved an extra bed into for the summer. Its cozy quarters, but we don't spend much time in our rooms anyway, so its ok.

On Thursday we left Cambridge to come to London. On the way we stopped at a place called Stowe Landscape Garden - it was everything I picture in a Jane Austen book. In fact, there was a rotunda there that was in the newest Pride and Prejudice movie (the scene in the rain where Mr. Darcy declares his love, for those who have seen it...a great scene!). It was really beautiful, and a nice last taste of the green before we hit the big city. Now we've been in London for a couple of days - yesterday we had class and then went to the Imperial War Museum, which was one of the coolest museums I have ever been in. There was an exhibit called The Children's War, which was all about World War Two through the eyes of children....if you know anything about me, you can guess how much I loved that! I ended up spending most of the day there by myself, just soaking everything in. Then last night after dinner we went to a play at the National Theater. Today has been a pretty low key day, but we're heading to the National Gallery later. We were trying to get tickets to see Les Miserables, but we couldn't get tickets for tonight, so we're going to try again on a week night.

There is just so much to do and see in London that its kind of overwhelming. I keep reminding myself that I don't have to do it all - that I should make sure that I'm enjoying the things I am doing. I'm also trying to fully enjoy the last few days in an english-speaking country, because come next week we are kissing goodbye to understanding what people are saying :).

The reality of being here for 3 more months has start to set in, but I'm also very aware of how lucky I am to be here. The people that I barely knew at the beginning of the semester are becoming the greatest friends, and the friends I had coming in are pretty much family now. God is definitely blessing this trip and the relationships being formed, and I'm so thankful for everyone's prayers for us.

Missing you all, and taking lots of pictures :)

all my love...

'ello from jolly old england!

When I think Europe, I think narrow alleys, rivers with little bridges, amazing buildings, and beautiful parks. Cambridge is exactly that. I'm seriously so sad that we only get to spend one more day in this amazing city. There isn't a lot to do here in terms of sight-seeing or going out, but it is so beautiful and so quaint, and I really feel at home and comfortable here. We haven't had much sun yet this semester, but it has been gorgeous blue skies and sunny the whole time we've been in Cambridge, so maybe that is a good sign of the days to come. Its been cool but sunny - somewhat reminds me of Colorado around late September/early October (my favorite time of year! We're staying at Clare College, which is one of the 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University. That's right - I can now tell people that I've taken classes at Cambridge! Its interesting how different the dorms are from the dorms at schools in the US - they are comfortable, but really different from what I'm used to.

Today we had class for most of the morning, and then went on a walking tour of King's College, which is the most famous college here. Then we went punting in the river Cam (all of the bridges over that river are what led to the name "Cambridge"!). Punts are boats that are pretty much like gondolas - someone stands on the back with a big stick and steers/pushes everyone else around. It was great...and no one fell in, so it was all good.

Tomorrow is another day to explore, and then we're off to London. I'm anticipating being a little bit overwhelmed by London, just because of its sheer size and population, but we will be there for almost two weeks, so we'll have lots of time to get used to it. We have so much amazing stuff planned for our time there.

I feel like I say that so often, that we have all of this "amazing stuff" that I'm "so excited" for, but it really is true!! I just keep realizing how blessed I am to have this opportunity and to be able to see all of these amazing things.

I'd best be going to get my rest - the guys have planned Punting Olympics for tomorrow...who knows what that could entail!!

all my love...