About time I updated, ain't it!
I'm in Europe! Maastricht, the Netherlands, to be exact, where I'll be studying for the next couple of months. I've also already spent a few days in England with my group. It's only been just over a week since I've arrived on this continent, and things have been a whirlwind so far! I'm loving it, though.
I got to see both Les Miserable and Avenue Q in London, as well as visit the Tower of London and do a few other things that I hadn't done on my last very brief trip there. I also visited Bath and Stonehenge. Bath, especially, was beautiful, and I wish I'd had more than just an afternoon there!
Maastricht is also a very pretty city. Much different than Madrid, which is where I studied last time I was in Europe! Definitely smaller, and harder to get around since I speak no Dutch and I at least speak survival Spanish. Thankfully, lots of people speak English, here, since they didn't in Spain. I'm trying to learn Dutch, but given my difficulty with Spanish, and given the fact that I won't actually be taking a class in it or anything, I have a feeling it's going to be quite hard!
We take a quick day trip to Monchau, Germany tomorrow. I can't believe how easy it is to get to another country! Even Mexico is farther from where I live in So Cal than both Belgium and Germany are from Maastricht. Then Sunday we have free, and classes start Monday. It'll be nice to get into somewhat of a routine, though I still think I'll be traveling most every weekend. Still need to figure out where I'm going next weekend! If anyone has must-see places for Europe that I should visit sometime while I'm here, do share.
This has been my longest Winter break ever, since classes for my home school started a couple of weeks ago. It's been a pretty good break, though! I spent a week visiting family, which was nice. A bit strange, though, as it was my first Christmas spent without my grandpa. I think it's the first time it really, really hit me that he's gone now, though he passed away in March. I don't visit my grandparents that often, since they live several hours away even from my parent's house, and though I've visited my grandma since his death, it was more like he was away working or something. But he was always there for Christmas. I missed seeing him sitting in his chair, watching all his kids and grandkids, and falling asleep long before we had left. And now my grandma is thinking of moving into a senior apartment complex, so I won't even see their house anymore soon. *sigh*
I also got to see a ton of my high school friends during break, and even went to Colorado with my mom to visit friends from my childhood. I'm pretty sure I was engaged to the guy who's my age when I was like 5. =P Anyway, we don't see them all that often, so it was nice to catch up. Plus, there was snow on the ground, and coming from So Cal, I don't get to see that all that often!
I then went home, packed quickly, then took off for a weekend volunteering for the camp I worked for last summer. It was great fun, but the night I got home, I got sick. Rather annoying, since I had so much to do. I didn't have time to be sick. It was also raining like CRAZY. It never rains but it pours, I suppose? After all, So Cal gets only slightly more rain than it gets snow. Thankfully, it stopped just enough for me to drive to UCLA to visit my sister on that Thursday. I hadn't seen her much during the break, so it was good to catch up before I left for several months. I then went home, and packed like crazy. Never try to pack for several months last minute! I literally ended up throwing everything into a bag, and hoped for the best. I don't think I've forgotten too much, though, which is great! Anyway, I finished packing (without sleep), and headed to the airport. No problems with the flight, which was pretty amazing. I ALWAYS run into problems when flying. I met the rest of my group in Amsterdam (they'd all flown in from Houston), and then headed "home" to Maastricht.
Anyway, now that I've bored you all with my ramblings, here's a pic of me with the Tower bridge in the background. I haven't gone through my pics yet (this is one a friend took on her camera), so it's all you get for now:
I got to see both Les Miserable and Avenue Q in London, as well as visit the Tower of London and do a few other things that I hadn't done on my last very brief trip there. I also visited Bath and Stonehenge. Bath, especially, was beautiful, and I wish I'd had more than just an afternoon there!
Maastricht is also a very pretty city. Much different than Madrid, which is where I studied last time I was in Europe! Definitely smaller, and harder to get around since I speak no Dutch and I at least speak survival Spanish. Thankfully, lots of people speak English, here, since they didn't in Spain. I'm trying to learn Dutch, but given my difficulty with Spanish, and given the fact that I won't actually be taking a class in it or anything, I have a feeling it's going to be quite hard!
We take a quick day trip to Monchau, Germany tomorrow. I can't believe how easy it is to get to another country! Even Mexico is farther from where I live in So Cal than both Belgium and Germany are from Maastricht. Then Sunday we have free, and classes start Monday. It'll be nice to get into somewhat of a routine, though I still think I'll be traveling most every weekend. Still need to figure out where I'm going next weekend! If anyone has must-see places for Europe that I should visit sometime while I'm here, do share.
This has been my longest Winter break ever, since classes for my home school started a couple of weeks ago. It's been a pretty good break, though! I spent a week visiting family, which was nice. A bit strange, though, as it was my first Christmas spent without my grandpa. I think it's the first time it really, really hit me that he's gone now, though he passed away in March. I don't visit my grandparents that often, since they live several hours away even from my parent's house, and though I've visited my grandma since his death, it was more like he was away working or something. But he was always there for Christmas. I missed seeing him sitting in his chair, watching all his kids and grandkids, and falling asleep long before we had left. And now my grandma is thinking of moving into a senior apartment complex, so I won't even see their house anymore soon. *sigh*
I also got to see a ton of my high school friends during break, and even went to Colorado with my mom to visit friends from my childhood. I'm pretty sure I was engaged to the guy who's my age when I was like 5. =P Anyway, we don't see them all that often, so it was nice to catch up. Plus, there was snow on the ground, and coming from So Cal, I don't get to see that all that often!
I then went home, packed quickly, then took off for a weekend volunteering for the camp I worked for last summer. It was great fun, but the night I got home, I got sick. Rather annoying, since I had so much to do. I didn't have time to be sick. It was also raining like CRAZY. It never rains but it pours, I suppose? After all, So Cal gets only slightly more rain than it gets snow. Thankfully, it stopped just enough for me to drive to UCLA to visit my sister on that Thursday. I hadn't seen her much during the break, so it was good to catch up before I left for several months. I then went home, and packed like crazy. Never try to pack for several months last minute! I literally ended up throwing everything into a bag, and hoped for the best. I don't think I've forgotten too much, though, which is great! Anyway, I finished packing (without sleep), and headed to the airport. No problems with the flight, which was pretty amazing. I ALWAYS run into problems when flying. I met the rest of my group in Amsterdam (they'd all flown in from Houston), and then headed "home" to Maastricht.
Anyway, now that I've bored you all with my ramblings, here's a pic of me with the Tower bridge in the background. I haven't gone through my pics yet (this is one a friend took on her camera), so it's all you get for now: