3 Countries, 3 Time Zones, 1 Busy Week!

Wow! This last week has been crazy! I’ve been in three countries, 3 time zones, and 3 unique cultures all in the same week! Spoiler alert…this is one long blog that includes many, many adventures!


Wednesday was my last day in Athens and it was really bittersweet. I had a final that morning, went to the Olympic Stadium complex during the day, and went to the goodbye dinner that night. My Lit. final went pretty well, and it felt good to be done with classes. We went to the Olympic Stadium complex later and it was amazing! The architecture of it all was really unique and huge! I kept commenting on how I was walking on the ground that Michael Phelps walked on and then we found where the pool was (by smelling the chlorine outside). We couldn’t get into any of the buildings, which was a shame, especially since a HUGE thunderstorm started after we entered the stadium area. It just poured. One clap of lightening was so loud, Brita got scared and fell to the ground to duck and cover, and Lauren screamed and grabbed on to me. We went shopping to the Athens mall after that and I bought a new red coat. The mall was pretty similar to most malls in the US except for their concept of samples. They give out samples of food like no other. All you have to do is walk a few feet and they have a soup, juice, and dessert sampler for you. I would never bring a lunch to work if I worked there! After that we all got dressed up and went out for dinner as our way to say goodbye. The Kathmans were there along with Anne, the art history and literature prof. Lisa’s dad and Matthew’s mom came too, because they were in town! It was so much fun to get all dressed up for one last time. I wore my new hat and red coat and you should have seen Mike Kathman’s face when I walked in. He kept going on about how much he loved my hat and how it just suited me. And then Lisa walked in and everyone was speechless. That girl can pull off a red dress better than anyone I have ever known! I was so glad to see her get so much attention because she is such a good person, she deserves it! I could not have had better company at my table. We thoroughly enjoyed the company and billion course meal. It was good to sit by Maggie, because she is studying abroad next semester too and I won’t get to see her. And Carissa….that girl is hilarious. She and I sat there and did our version of Mike Kathman and Lisa’s dad’s commentary as we watched them at the opposite end of the table. That night I hung out in the other 5 girls’ apartment and chatted with some of my favorite peeps one last time. I had to start my goodbyes though….not so much fun.


Thursday-I woke up early to finish up packing. Then I had to say goodbye to a majority of my “new family.” I was not looking forward to it at all. I was doing ok for about the first hug or two and then I lost it. This trip has made me realize how much of a softy I am and how I can cry about just about anything. I am really going to miss our group so it was sad to say goodbye. We (Lauren, Emily, Brita, Beatrice, Paul, and I) then headed to the airport. Lauren, Emily, Brita, Beatrice, and I were all traveling to London and Paul had a flight at a similar time. Our plan was to catch a bus in Syntagma Square to the airport. It was the cheaper and easier plan, the only thing is it would take a little longer to get there. We were doing great on time and everything was going as planned until we ran into a group of police with shields and masks. Remember Mom, I am typing this, so I am alive and safe! We looked ahead a little and saw that a protest had taken over one of the main streets of Athens. Keep in mind that Athens has the tendency to get violent when they protest, so I was a little nervous. They were not violent at all, but it is still a tiny bit scary when you can’t read the signs they are carrying or understand what they are saying. I knew that we were going to make it through so I was not all that scared, it just messed up plans a little. Paul said it best, “Don’t worry guys, we’ll blend right in.” Yep, our American clothes, huge bags, and lack of Greek language made us fit right in. We had to take the Metro train to the airport instead. It was cramped and a little more expensive, but I figured my life was worth more than a few Euros and a little discomfort. Emily and I had our first encounter with a pickpocket on this ride. This Greek guy was being “nice” by making room for Emily and her luggage on the train so she didn’t have to stay behind for the next train. She was smart and realized he was being a little too nice when she looked down at her purse, which he had zipped open. She quickly grabbed the purse and then told me to watch out because he had started to move towards me. He ended up getting off at the next stop. We were really lucky that he was not more aggressive. When we got to the airport we found our second movie being filmed. Pretty cool! The other girls had a different flight than me, so I had to figure out my flight by myself. It was my first time flying by myself so I was a little nervous, but I got it figured out no problem. I actually found out where my flight was taking off from and where the other girls were leaving from so I got to go say “see you later” to them before getting on my flight. Best 2 things about London: they speak English and they get snow!!!!!! Felt like home! Another hiccup in the original plan was that my flight took off a little late so the other girls had to wait for me in London a little longer than originally planned. A kind of big hiccup when I got to London was that they were not going to let me through because I didn’t know what hostel I was staying at. We all know that I look like the world’s most wanted terrorist and I have a fake passport. Just kidding if you didn’t get that already! I eventually got through and we met up with a Bennie studying abroad in London, Brianna. She was a great host and showed us around for the few days that we were there. She introduced us to “The Tube,” London’s train transportation system, which we rode to our hostel. We then walked in the snow and called it a night. Could you blame us?


Time to reflect….

First of all The Tube is way better than either form of city train transportation in Athens or Rome. People are actually polite and give you space. It’s not a “let’s see how many people we can shove into here…watch out while I push you” kind of scene. Oh and the English signs help a little too! My other thought involves my study abroad location choice. I thought about studying in several English speaking locations, before I finally decided to do the Roman-Greco program. I am SO GLAD that I did the Roman-Greco trip. I think I learned so much more and am so much more mentally strong after surviving in mostly non-English speaking countries. London was fantastic and there was so much to do there, but it was almost like a vacation after my trip. It would be so much easier to live somewhere where they speak your language, have the same restaurants, and have an overall more similar culture to yours.


Friday-My first whole day in London! I have to say that I love London! It was my favorite city so far! We started off the morning with a Starbucks stop. I have been trying really hard to not go to American establishments, but I was peer pressured to go. Then we went shopping on Portobello Road. It was nice to shop somewhere where the store owners do not come out and beg you to buy their stuff. After that we went to Abbey Road. No, I didn’t go back to SJU silly. We went to the ACTUAL Abbey Road where the Beatles took their famous picture. We kept crossing the street attempting to take a picture like the Beatles. It’s crazy because Abbey Road is really busy, so it’s hard to find a gap to have time to take a picture. We also signed on the wall outside of Abbey Recording Studios. My second time writing on a wall on this trip.  Something I’ve always wanted to do! Then we went to Platform 9 ¾. Yep, that means nothing to me too! Apparently it’s a Harry Potter thing, and the train station has a wall set up for fans of this fake platform. I’ve proudly never seen a Harry Potter movie in entirety or read more than a page of the book. I don’t like following the crowd! If you are a Harry Potter fan, don’t worry everyone in my study abroad group has already yelled at me for not being a fan. Then we went to the British Library where I found original books of famous books! My favorite find as a psychology major was a speech written by Freud where he explained how adult dreams are a reflection of childhood fantasies. After that Lauren, Brita, and Beatrice went to see Les Mis and Emily and I wandered around. Later on I got to go see Brianna’s flat and it was fun to see other Bennies and Johnnies. It’s so weird seeing them though, because I am so used to only seeing our group abroad.


Saturday- We continued on with our busy itinerary. We started the morning at the Tower of London. Our tour guide was called a “beefeater,” and had earned his place at the Tower after over 22 years of military service. He was quite animated and funny even though most of the group didn’t seem to get his jokes. He also made quite a few references to the US, which was nice because I am missing familiar references. After that we went to see the musical Chicago. I was all hyped up for it, first of all because it was a MUSICAL IN LONDON, second of all because Paige Davis was advertised as playing Roxie Hart. I think I was too jazzed for it, because then I was disappointed when it wasn’t as good as what I hoped for. The music was good, done by a live group on stage that interacted with the characters. The dancing was good, but it wasn’t how I would have choreographed it. The actors did not seem to make a relationship with the audience, which left me detached. They also had horrible timing as far as lines, making it seem like really fake conversation. We attempted to find cheap tickets to see another show that night, but the cheapest tickets were for shows that we hadn’t heard of. We ended up going out to eat at a place that Brianna liked and went back to the hostel. Our roommates that night were students from UCLA that had just finished up studying abroad in London. It was nice to meet other American students that were outside of our CSB|SJU bubble.


Sunday- This morning we went to the British Museum. We saw the Rosetta Stone, which was pretty neat. I am so sick of Greek and Roman art, I feel like I could vomit facts at any time. But…I will admit it was fun to quickly tour through both exhibits because I knew about the art. One of my favorite things that I saw at the museum was a blanket sewed with pockets of pills. The pills are meant to represent the amount of medication that a typical British citizen would consume within their lifetime. Along the blanket there were pictures of people in different situations. The whole concept was modern and interesting to me, which is different than a lot of the art I have been looking at. Later on I went with Lauren to a science museum. It was so refreshing!!! I miss science! I was able to look at a psychology wing of the museum and was pleased that I was familiar with all of the concepts that they presented. We went out for fish and chips that night to experience more of the culture. It was good, but not as good as people have been raving about. After that we went to a bar and all bought a Fruli, which is a strawberry flavored beer. That was really good, so that made up for the not-so-good fish.


Monday- We had quite a long to-do list today! I saw the London Eye and then Big Ben! Then we walked around the Parliament building to WestMINSTER Abbey. All my life I thought it was called WestMINISTER Abbey, so if I didn’t learn anything else from this trip (lie) then I did learn the abbey’s accurate name. Westminster Abbey was really big, but luckily they gave us a headset to narrate information. Science and English were my two favorite subjects in high school so I was interested in seeing Charles Dickenson’s and Charles Darwin’s memorial sites. I have to admit that afterwards I got peer pressured again. This time it was to go to the lunch buffet at a nearby Pizza Hut. I know, I promised no American food, but it was so good and hot in the cold weather I couldn’t resist! One thing I missed about true American restaurants, temperature control. We went inside to eat thinking we would warm up, but it was only a few degrees warmer inside. Brrr. We went outside again to walk to Buckingham Palace in sleet. It was really neat to see, but I was freezing and soaked to the bone, so I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I would have in nice weather. Lauren and I opted to go back to the hostel, mostly because we were cold, exhausted and needed some down time. I also didn’t want to get sick from the weather, because I have a busy couple of weeks ahead. That night we just chilled at the hostel and Lauren and I said goodbye to the other 4.

Tuesday- This morning Lauren and I went together to catch our flights which were conveniently leaving 15 minutes apart. She was at a different terminal than me though, so again I got the opportunity to figure stuff out by myself. Everything with this flight went very smoothly. After I got to the Rome airport I was waiting around for the train to the main train station. An American woman came up to me and kept asking me questions about what to do. I helped explain the train to her! Yay! It was exciting to share my knowledge with someone who had no idea what to do! I found my hostel and then went out to buy the one thing I have been craving from Italy, red-orange juice! It is so good! Then I hung out at the hostel and met a few of the other travelers and one of the hostel employees. I am usually a very social person, but I came here with the intention of being antisocial for a couple of days while I wait for my family. I have been around people constantly since I got to Europe, which I love, I just need a little alone time. Apparently I give off the impression that I want to get to know everyone I see, because I swear everyone here has been talking to me non-stop. It’s been really fun, just not what was in the plans. Then again, when has anything on this trip gone as planned?


Wednesday- Yesterday morning I talked with one of the girls staying in my room about cultural differences and where we have been. She is from Malaysia and is studying in London. I also have met a girl from Singapore, a guy from Ecuador, a guy from Canada, and a couple of people from the US. I have met so many people from so many countries, it’s been amazing! During the day I did the full Rome day tour. I was amazed at how quickly I found stuff considering I usually lack navigation skills. I want to figure out where to take my family and know how to get them there so that we have a smooth tour once they get here. Last night I just chilled in the hostel and talked to the other people staying here.
Thursday- So far today I have not done too much. I did wake up this morning to find a note from the girl from Malaysia wanting to keep in touch. So cute! I went and found the hotel where my family is staying. It is pretty close to the US Embassy to the Holy See, which I saw when we went and toured there. It’s also pretty close to Circus Maximus so I went there too. It’s been raining and I have stuff to do here on my computer so I will probably stay in for a while. Tonight I am going to go to the Vatican to see the Pope with some people staying at my hostel.


I congratulate you for reading all 8,000 books in my series. This has been really long and has taken me forever and a half to type. Thanks for sticking with me! Merry Christmas Eve (aka my favorite day of the year)! I am excited to be here and see my family, but I wouldn’t mind being home to do the traditional Christmas. Yesterday I did my own version of hanging my stockings, it consisted of me washing my clothes in the shower with shampoo and hanging them on a chair to dry. I am having fun, just really anxious for my family to get here so I can have the comforts of their presence and staying in hotels (better than hostels). Love and miss you all!