GOODBYE! :/

That's it. Seventeen weeks have just flown by.

This past week was hectic, I had my girlfriend come visit, I studied for my finals, we went to the National Flower Park near Den Haag in Holland, we walked around the town, and went one last time to wonder Amsterdam. Also, I have been hanging out with all of my friends for the last time :( ...hopefully not...

My 21st birthday was yesterday. My girlfriend planned a surprise party which was extremely fun! Although finals week just began (but I finished Monday!), everyone showed up and surprised me with a decorated room and cake! Best way to spend my last night in Utrecht College :)

This semester was an amazing experience! It has completely changed my outlook on life, travels, friendships and bicycling. I learned a lot about myself, and about what I would like to purse in the future, along with my new found love for non-stop traveling!

None of this would have happened if it wasn't for the Gilman Scholarship which almost covered my tuition/dorm/meal plan in full, allowing me to arrive with just enough to have weekend trips and day trips around Europe! If anyone needs any help applying or finding a place to study abroad don't hesitate to contact me!

To leave with a "bang," my girlfriend and I, meeting friends along the way, are going to Paris (yes, again, I love this city) and Barcelona (where my girlfriend is leaving and my friends are meeting us/ some are studying abroad there). Then I will return to Utrecht for a few days and leave to Miami from Amsterdam :/

I will miss this school,country, and friends (both domestic and international ;P) that I have met!Hopefully I will return soon...

Tot ziens!

BUSY WEEK AND FINALS!

THIS IS MY LAST FULL WEEK AT UTRECHT!!!!

It has been almost 17 weeks since I have arrived in the Netherlands and I am now entering finals week! My girlfriend has come to visit me and we have been traveling around the Netherlands. We went to Amsterdam for a day, into town, planning on climbing the Dom Tower tomorrow (the town's famous clock tower), as well as see Tulips in Holland's largest national flower park Keukenhof. It should be exciting!

As the week advances I will be continuing my studying for finals and essays. I have one final this week and then two on Monday, after which I am finished! Next Monday (the 16) is also my 21st birthday! Awesome way to celebrate with a Cognitive Neuro and Clinical Psych final! Since I finish classes early I will be traveling down to Barcelona with my girlfriend after which my trip will most likely end!

So next week will be my official last post and summation of my views on the entire experience! But for now..I must go study, and enjoy the few days I have left :)

Vaarwel!

QUEEN'S DAY IN AMSTERDAM!

PARIS

This weekend was amazing!

My friend and I couch-surfed in Paris for the first time (second for him)! It saved us over 100 euros on hostels/hotels which were completely booked. The guy who hosted us was about 23, from Israel, and actually hosted someone a week earlier who knew girls that are on exchange at Utrecht, that were in Paris at the same time! His friend also knew my old roommate and friends from Miami, because last summer he worked in a summer camp during his army service! Small world.

Anyways, they took us around at night and gave us locations to visit, which we would have never found otherwise! Like Bercy or Luxembourg Park. I can't wait to do it again!

We managed to do a lot! Eifle Tower, Notredame, Louvre, free walking tour, a few parks, walk, Champ Elysee, St. Michel, and much more. We found a non-touristy entrance to the Louvre, which saved us over 2 hours of waiting :)

OH, and ALL the museums/attractions were FREE because we had an EU resident card and we are under 26!


I'll let the pictures do the rest:

 

One week of Sun, One week till Paris

Good news and really bad in a very annoying way news. The good: forecast for this week is 70s and low 50s! On Thursday I am going at 11pm on a bus to Paris!

The Bad: The University (since I applied to the regular before the honors) assumed I will be leaving Europe after classes, so my permit will expire may 21. This gives me until June 21 to legally leave the country without being fined or have future issues to come back to the states. However, my flight is scheduled for some time after that date, and now I will have to pay a $150 fee to change it! Along with having much less time to travel, at least in the Netherlands. Almost all the other exchange students received an expiration date of July 1st, since that is when the dorm keys have to be returned. I will hopefully have something figured out soon!

I'll keep you posted.

Anyways, much work was completed this week. I have a test, presentation and paper due this week. On Saturday UCU hosted a a school from Amsterdam, and somewhere else in the Netherlands (I just know it was UCM), for a school spirit and all around competitions. During the day debates, art competitions, and sporting events (which UCU won the soccer match) were held. At night, a battle of the bands and improve show was held in the auditorium. It was fun and the most school spirit I have seen since I arrived here.

I need to go finish my project. I will update again on Tuesday when I return from Paris!

Vaarwel!

UCU Festival

University College Utrecht had its 12th annual festival (mostly a fundraiser) however students had the opportunity to show off in either Dance, Music, Humanities, or other clubs by tabling or preforming. A rodeo simulator, bounce house, several bands, outdoor music (Including a military band) and places to sit and relax throughout the day were accessible to all ages. I think or at least I sent a request via e-mail to preform at another festival that is occurring right before Easter weekend (in which I will be in PARIS!).

I attempted to obtain my residence permit AGAIN, but they don't know where they placed it! So now I am waiting for a phone call..I also need to find out why I haven't received my student ID, which will give me discounts on many museums in Paris and across Europe.

Nothing much else too exciting aside from living and studying in Europe! Just trying to get work completed before Paris and Finals, trying to plan my summer and possible travels (which I will post as soon as they are known!). But that is all for now!

Vaarwel!

70 degrees and nature!

So this week was average? I guess. I began doing papers and presentations that are due this month in hopes of finishing everything before I go to Paris Easter weekend, and my girlfriend comes to visit right before finals!

The trees and plants all over campus are starting to grow leaves/flowers and its gorgeous! There is a vibrant pink/purple tree that blossomed almost overnight! Tulips are growing in splotches all over the city along with other flowers, so as soon as I can I will update with some pictures!

I attempted - key word - to go to the Immigration office and retrieve my residence permit! My bike got a flat tire about half way and I decided to chain it to a public lock area near a market and walk the rest of the way. The office however, was moved to the other side of town, much closer actually than I needed to go. So by the time I got there it was closed :/ So I will try again on Tuesday. However, on my way back I did not see my bike! So hopefully I just walked by and didn't notice it and its not stolen!

This weekend though it reached 74 degrees! So to celebrate the unusual warmth, some friends and I went to a park down the street and had a picnic/volleyball game in the sun. It was great! I can't wait to start walking around town more now that it's warming up. I was able to wear shorts for the first time since I arrived!

This week I don't have anything major planned but I will keep you posted.

Vaarwel!

Ischia, Naples, and SUN!

What an amazing week! Extremely relaxing from all the school work and midterm stress. So Friday night I left with friends to the airport at midnight (so technically Saturday), and pulled an all-nighter in the airport for a 6 am flight, since the buses to the train stations stop at around midnight. It was extremely exhausting and uncomfortable but arriving in 60 degree sunny Naples was well worth it. All though I never expected to feel so hot and excited to be in 60 degree weather! Last semester I would have been bundled up if it was below 70.

Anyways, we arrived in Naples, and took a ferry to Ischia to stay in this house:

The house was beautiful, lemon trees and oranges everywhere (best orange juice Ive ever had). Eight of us were there for the week. Apparently Ischia  has one of the largest variety of flowers and plants than found across all of Europe, however, the weather was still a little chilly for us to see it in full force :/

The first day we walked around the city and ate at the ONLY restaurant open due to the lack of tourists at the time we went, but it had great pizza! The second day we attempted to climb a mountain but only got half way up due to a dead end, here's a picture:

Then we went to the beach!

It was wayyyy to cold to go in the water, but being by the beach was nice. I missed the smell and cool breezes of the beach shore!

The rest of that day we walked around the city:

The day after we went to Saint Angelo, which is a small island right off Ischia that has only a few buildings and no cars:

This vacation was mostly wondering around the Island and Naples :P So here is some more wondering later that day..

Day 3/4 we went to the beach in the main port of Ischia, since we were staying in Forio. Afterwards a friend and I walked around and found a castle!

Attempt two at the mountain:

The rest of the time was spent relaxing, walking, and playing guitar - which I was able to make enough to pay for all of the money I spend on food during the week (about 30euro)! I would buy pasta and bread at local markets so eating was extremely cheap (about 2 euro a day).

The last day everyone went to Rome, but I have been there once before so I decided to stay in Naples until my flight. I met awesome people from Romania and Brazil in a hostel, although they went to Ischia and Capri the day after I met them! So I spent the day walking around Naples, playing guitar and getting lost in the city..

Talk to you next week!

Vaarwel!