June 2010
1 post
“I am a part of all that I have met…”
– Alfred Lord Tennyson. I’m sorry that I have been such a terrible blogger, but my priorities have been elsewhere. I went on an incredible reporting trip through Dublin and now I’m in my last 2 weeks of life in Utrecht. I honestly have no idea what to do with myself. I’m getting sad...
April 2010
5 posts
3 tags
Three Months Down, Two and a Half to Go...
Things I (still) love about Utrecht:
1. The architecture I still make comments about how pretty the city center is every time I walk or bike down there. And speaking of biking…
2. Biking We don’t do enough of it back home, and I’m hoping it’ll be a habit I stick with when I come back.
3. The People I love everyone I live with. The international students are so nice...
4 tags
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
I wasn’t originally planning on blogging about my visit to Sachsenhausen (right outside of Berlin), but I think it’s important that I write it down and put it out there because it is perhaps one of the most important things I have ever done for myself.
The picture above is of the area where public hangings took place to intimidate and pacify the prisoners.
I’m not entirely...
“Welcome, O life, I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of...”
– -James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Well, it’s official! I’ve chosen Dublin for my reporting trip. In truth, a lot of the reason I’ve picked this city is to see some of the places mentioned in the book quoted above and to learn about the modern writing scene in a...
A conversation had on the metro in Paris
Drunk stranger sitting across from me: Bonjour
Me: Bonjour
Drunkie McGee: *hurried unintelligible slurred French*
Me: What? Do you speak English?
Drunkie: O! Are you English? Speak English!?
Me: Yes... I think.
Drunkie: I sit next to you now *sits next to me*
Me: (nervously, while clutching purse) Is there something you need?
Drunkie: I want English girl! You English girl?
Me: What? No.
Drunkie: No! You English girl!
Me: NO. I'd really just like to read my book.
Drunkie: English girl! Where you from?
Me: I'm American.
Drunkie: ...
Me: ...
Drunkie: American? I wanted an English girl. *Moves to another seat*
Now, I'm not entirely sure what this interaction meant. From what I gathered, the guy was extremely upset that either A) I was not British or that B) I wouldn't let him rob me. My guess is that it was a bit of both. Oh Paris, I wish I could say that this was the only ridiculous interaction I had while visiting you, but alas, I cannot. More stories to come, trust me, this was only a taste.
March 2010
5 posts
New Article About Immigration in the Netherlands... →
Here’s the article! Check out the comments section. A couple people got pretty pissed off about what my source had to say. Let me know what you think!
4 tags
The Quest for the Best Beer in the World →
So, I must admit, it has been an interesting couple weeks in the life of an American traveler in Europe…. here it goes.
I’ll get to an explanation of the title in a bit, but let me just give you the basics for now. Dustin has about a one month break from school to study before finals so he took a bit of that to come see me last week. I met him in Brussels on a Friday to start off our...
So sorry I haven't posted in a while but there...
… I promise. (between travel and terrible internet problems, March has been a rough month for blogging from the Netherlands.) Here’s a picture to keep you occupied:
Also! Be on the lookout for my first real article from the Netherlands. It should be on TNJN.com in the next week or so. I’ll post it here as well.
3 tags
Oh Al Gore, why do I always miss your visits to... →
Okay, so the Bonnaroo lineup was my first real bout with homesickness, but this is much worse. Al Gore is being given an honorary doctorate at the University of Tennessee and I’M NOT GOING TO BE THERE TO SEE IT. This is particularly painful because I missed him the first time he spoke at UT due to the fact that I wasn’t in college, and I don’t know when I’m going to get...
4 tags
I'm going to Paris!! Je vais à Paris!! (Can you... →
Well, I’m super excited. The next two months are going to be jam packed with travel and new cities, foods and cultures. Basically, I can’t wait.
Tonight I bought my bus ticket to Paris, I have to wait a couple days, but I’m going to buy my other bus ticket from Paris to Berlin and then from there, back home to Utrecht. All of this insanity is going to take place over Easter...
February 2010
3 posts
Carnival in Maastricht! →
So, I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while, but life has gotten a lot more busy. Classes have picked up, I’ve been making some amazing friends and honestly, I haven’t had time for much of anything else. I’ve gotten hopelessly lost a few times, but I think that those days are over. I’m really getting to know my way around this city, it’s definitely a nice...
Finally Settled In
I’ve been settled in to my room for about a week or so, and I have to say, I’m loving living alone. I’ve sort of had a string of crazy roommates, so this is definitely a welcome release. Now let’s see, I love the room (pictured below), but I must admit, the rest of the building is disgusting, seriously false advertising. The first day I moved in there was poop on the...
6 tags
Utrecht: First Impressions
Everything’s in Dutch. This is problem when you are in a grocery store of any variety.They do not warn you of this fact before you enter the Netherlands, really, there should be a sign or something.
Utrecht is gorgeous. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place with so much medieval architecture and genuinely beautiful scenery in a city. The canals are great mostly...
January 2010
4 posts
9 tags
What London Has Taught Me
Chips, Crisps and Fries are not at all the same thing, nor should you refer to them as such. This causes much confusion. American “chips” are British “crisps” and British “chips” are American “fries.” Now, I did know this before I left, but at the same time, it’s a bit harder to understand when put into practice.
Cars don’t stop when you...
I Freaking Love Monet... (and Phantom of the... →
So, I should preface anything I’m about to say with this: I have always had this weird love for Claude Monet. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I would obsessively look at these Monet painting postcards my Nana gave me when I was younger or maybe it was that Granny gave me an animated movie about a girl in Monet’s garden, but either way, I’ve always been hooked. Now, you can...
Wow, I'm really in London
Okay, I don’t have much time before Dustin gets home from class, but I want to make a quick post, just to keep you all updated.
Let’s see… the flight was alright, a wee bit bumpy but the important part was that there was a flight at all. See, the geniuses at United decided to board most of the passengers before realizing that there was some mechanical defect with the top of the...
Three Days and Counting...
So, I am three days away from my journey and, of course, this means that I am super excited yet simultaneously super nervous. Where does the nervous energy go you ask? Is it into completing my increasingly long “To Do” list? Or maybe some packing? Of course not! I have decided to put my unstable nerves into something far more productive; I created a playlist for my travels full of...