shamrocks, sheepies, and shanagans: a weekend in irleand

so, i feel like every time I write in this blog, I have to begin with an apology: I am sorry I suck at updates. I do well with the picture uploading, the facebook-album-making, the keeping up with the parents (talk to them about every day), but for some reason I do not blog. I am so so sorry to whoever is hanging on my every word, craving more- right. ;)

anyway, we spent last weekend in galway, ireland.

amazing.

breathtaking.

words don't do it justice (pictures don't either). it's amazing to me that places like this do really exist- there are in fact huge cliffs, that fall into vast ocean, surrounded by rolling hills, divided by stone fences, housing fluffy, white sheep. i mean, come one. that's not real. and yet, it totally is. i promise- i saw it with my own eyes. mom told me it would be that way- but i can't even described the experience when we pulled up to the cliffs of mohr. you just have to go. wow. we also ran into some of our "buddies"-group 2 mates. way fun. also something unexpected was the price- we paid $20 for our first night's meal, and $14 for our second. ouch. oh well, best spend the money while i'm over here. :)

it was also our first hostel experience, and a quite successful one, i must say. one of our roommates was actually really awesome, and we hung out with her (a new yorker) on our last day, talking about ireland, the states, and our experiences. i didn't ask her if she was a yankee fan- that might have changed my opinion of her a little (however, as i understand it, we cardinal fans don't have much to brag about right now either). it was really great.

another one of my favorite parts of the weekend (not the 11 hour transport, not so much fun) was hanging out at an irish pub, jamming to some irish music with the not-so-locals. it was all really alot of fun. lots of merry (and slightly intoxicated) people attempting to jig and just having a really good time in general.

scottland this weekend- send some prayers our way that it won't be cold and rainy the ENTIRE weekend- ;)

oh yeah! PICTURES! We have awesome internet- i have all my pics online now!! get pumped. check them out here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ilovepeeps

love at first sight

So that's where I'm living. Can you even freaking believe it?? Oxford is a million times more beautiful than I remember it (which isn't saying very much since I was about 14 when I saw it last). Molly made the comment "we're in Narnia." So true, its scary. It is difficult to even describe how much I love it here- the town is quaint, goregous, and full of HOT accents. The campus is covered in ivy, flowers, lakes with lilypads, and secret grottos.

We were so excited to get to the UK because finally we could communicate without feeling completely guilty and stupid for not knowing the language. Turns out, its a pretty different language here- the Queen's English and all that. Local vernacular: "provost" (president), "porter" (security guard), "scouts" (maids). God, don't you just love the English?? Today I went to the Buttery (can you believe it? that's the name of the quick-trip-esque thing for sodas and candy) to get a diet coke (YES! THEY HAVE DIET NOT LIGHT! I knew I loved Brits!) and when the little man handed me my change he said, "There you go, love. Have a splendid day." Everything sounds more polite here- here's to hoping I pick up an accent, ala Madonna style!

Classes are great- lots of "buddies" in each class. Jane Austin is going to rock my world- we get to watch segments of Clueless, Bridget Jones' Diary, and What a Girl Wants (in addition to the film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, etc) and compare and contrast the films and books. We're also filming a scene from one of the books for a project- how utterly cool is that?

This weekend, we're talking about taking a day trip to Bath- its so close, why not? I've been there before and don't have very fond memories- but then, I was 10 and cold and tired of traveling. I think this might be slightly better circumstances.

Right now, the weather is amazing. Clear skies, highs in the high 60's, low 50's at night. So nice- bet its over 90 in memphis.

Loving being here, but missing home a little now at this point. Its Schulzke family reunion time in Kansas City and while I have a pretty good excuse for not being able to attend, its hard knowing all my family is together- I haven't seen some of my cousins in over 2 years, which is hard when they are changing so rapidly. Ah well, there's always Skype.

Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, give the puppies giant hugs for me and the cats as well- i miss my animals almost as much as my family! Everyone, I mean everyone, takes their pets EVERYWHERE here- grocery store, town, restaurants. Its great, but it makes me miss my little german shepherd and basenji, who I understand are tearing apart car covers at home- glad to hear some things never change!

Well, better head to bed. Cheerio, old chap!

[ prague and partying in budapest ]

So, we are in Prague. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was saying, so we're in budapest. This part of the trip is absolutely FLYING by- one week and we'll be in oxford! How crazy is that?

Prague. It looks gorgeous already- even though all we saw was driving to our hotel tonight- so old and exciting looking. We spent all day in the bus- slept most of the way since I got about 3 hours of sleep the night before in Budapest- we went to this...i don't even know what to call it...a club? discotech? Someone on our trip described it as "Disney world for adults after hours"...anyway, it was like this little boardwalk/square area right on the river that you had to pay entrance fee to get in and then their were like, little booths to get drinks and what not, with two stage areas, blasting RANDOM music (80's, YMCA, and then Hungarian Techno, one after the other) with crazy lights and the creepiest people I have seen yet on our trip. It was awesome. SO SO SO much fun- we laughed until we cried and danced like crazy people. I was really glad to be in a big group of people though (like 40 of us went) because it was pretty sleezy-eurotrash-tastic. It made me really impressed with our boys- they really, really looked out for us the entire night, blocking us from Hungarian creepers. Anyway, it was a really great time- one of the best nights of the trip, definitely. We got back to the hotel around 3, fell asleep about 3:30ish, got up at quarter to 7, ate breakfast and dragged our sleepy butts a couple of blocks to the bus and PASSED OUT. Don't know how people go out like this every night- I would be positively dead if I did it every night- and I wasn't drinking.

Tomorrow, we have class, walking tour of old prague, two museums, a bit of free time and then the "magic flute" opera by mozart. Busy, busy, busy!! Pictures soon, i hope!!

LOVEEEEEEEEE,
Liz

PS- if you are reading this, drink a huge Diet Coke with ice for me, please! I miss it so!

buda or pest?

So, I pretty much suck at this updating thing. I keep refering my parents to Shelley's blog because she is so much more diligent about it than me (as in life!). Anyway, I am currently in Budapest, Hungary. How amazing is that? This is where the trip officially began for me- not that I didn't like Italy and Paris- they are mindblowingly gorgeous and wonderful- but for me, Budapest is the start of something brand new- and it was very new let me tell ya.

First of all- good example: we went to dinner last night and our bill came to 16,000 "forints"!! The dollar is equal to about 159 forints, and it was for eight people, so it only amounted to being about 12 dollars per person, so no big deal, but I have never in my life counted out so many 1,000 bills! It was insanity. The good thing is we get a LOT for our money- way better than the euro. Another thing that is different- the Hungarian language. No one speaks a lick of it within our trip, which is why it makes it all the more sweeter that everyone who lives here (at least everyone we've come in contact with) speaks perfect (though slightly accented) English. But the language!! It looks like someone stomped on a keyboard and called it a word- the words are so long, and we have seen multiple ones that have very few syllables.

The city is just gorgeous and our weather has been so nice. There isn't an overwelming amount of touristy things to do here- but its been a welcome change. We've done an insane amount of walking because the metro isn't huge (the city isn't either) and you have to pay for a new ticket every time you switch a line- stupid! Luckily its very easy to get around on foot- the street signs are kind of tricky because they're in Hungarian, but hey. When in Rome (...or Budapest?).

We leave tomorrow. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon- haven't found internet strong enough to do it yet.

On to Prague!!

realizations

So Europe is BEAUTIFUL (shocker, right?). I'm sorry I suck at blogging but really its because I suck at getting internet- it is SO pricey here! It's one of the things I have come to really appreciate. Here are a few others:

-Ice
-Free Water in Restaurants
-Paying $3 for a 12 pack of coke
-Cars
-Cheap Gas (It's about 11-12 dollars a gallon here)
-Free bathrooms

I love leaving the country because it makes you so much more aware of your own country. Kind of sad that you have to do that to realize how much you love it though, right?

Things are amazing here- I've learned so much about life in general by being abroad. More things I have realized- language is a barrior, but a smile is the same in every language. I know it sounds cheasy, but while we were in Paris I made eyecontact with this French guy on the metro after this man got on to play his HORRIBLE instruments, and we could barely contain our grins. It was the best, because even though I couldn't have said more than "Bonjour, Merci, Oui" to him, we knew exactly what each other thought.

The food has been amazing too- French bread is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth- second only to gelato- I've had two in the last 18 hours. It's perfect. Strolling the streets of Florence, eating gelato, and browsing statues that are hundreds of years old. What more could I want?

Life is good.

More extensive updates and more pictures than you'd ever want to see in your life soon!!!! (we have free wifi in Rome!)

Ciao, baby.

oh my gosh...

So I leave the country tomorrow.

That sounds SO weird, you don't even know. I leave the country for 10 weeks- the longest I've ever been away from American soil was 10 DAYS. It's weird. I'm leaving behind everything familiar for that which definitely is not- no more chik-fil-a or mexican food for almost 3 months- heck, no access to my own cell phone or pillow for that matter. It's going to be an adventure- and its the most surreal experience I've had in a long, long time. I'm going to savor that wait tomorrow in the airport, because it is the beginning of EVERYTHING!

We planned a weekend getaway to Ireland this week- We get weekends to travel on our own when we get to Oxford- 3 days to go wherever our hearts desire. We are going to Galway, Ireland the weekend of July 9-11. We're going to see the cliffs of Moher- which are supposed to be BREATHTAKING:



Wow. This is happening. Can someone pinch me, please?

pre-departure.

aaaaaah, back in the ATL. Breathe out. That's how this week has felt. It's been so good to have this little week and a half of transition between finals/being home, and then being in Europe. It centers me. And gets me REALLY excited, because it is HAPPENING.

So far, its been a whirlwind of a week. Essentially, what we're doing is taking a semester of class and fitting most of it into 7 days of class. At least that's what it feels like. When we depart, we will have about 60% of our grades finished for both European Composers and Art & Architecture II, the two classes we will be taking on the road. Translated, it means that the third day of class we had a 10 page paper due and a test in the music class. We have another music test on tuesday, along with our first art test. Whew. Its also hard having two hour classes, since all of mine have always been 1 hour. It doesn't seem like that big of deal, but about the time you get bored and are sure the class is over, you look at your watch and find out its only half done!

We've gotten lots more info on what we will be doing when we get to the cities- lots of concerts, art museums, and general debauchery, it seems. Every time a teacher or a leader talks about us going out on our own they mention "getting wasted and hooking up." Seems to be a frequent event. ;) I can also already tell there are going to be some problem children. One boy yesterday at our group meeting asked our leader about 17 different questions, all based around the same theme: can we get the bus driver to be our dd? can he go out drinking with us? if we paid him, do you think he could pick us up? FIRST of all, why would you want to go out with the bus driver?? Leave him alone! He probably is old and has a family and has no place getting drunk with college kids. And TWO, of course georgia tech is not going to hire a bus driver to be your dd! And THREE, you got a "no" with the first question, stop asking. It makes everyone really uncomfortable and you look stupid. I should have known he would be a problem, he was wearing a Yankees cap. ;)

Getting sooooo excited though. I absolutely can't wait. Yesterday, we looked up our flight and it seems that we're going to have our own personal movie screen things! So pumped! They had some great movies too: 27 dresses, the bucket list, juno, devil wears prada... Better load up on 'em since I know I won't be getting a wink of sleep!

Alright, au revoir for now!!!

PS...this is our Paris hotel.....WOW!

fyi...

here are all of our hotels/destinations spelled out on a map...

map

pretty awesome.

waiting.

They say the best part of a trip is the waiting. Okay, maybe the ambiguous "they" don't say it- but my mother does. Every time we took a family vacation or I watched her pack for a European adventure, it was the first thing she would say to me, "This is the best part- the excitement and the preparation." Well, it you gage a trip on how much preparation and waiting hours you put in, this should be the best trip of my entire life, because I have been waiting what seems like forever for it.

It was one of the first things that sold me on Georgia Tech during the "college hunt" years- I remember the day I first hear about. It was during one of those cheesy info sessions they have-my mother and I attended most of them. Anyway, it was general info about study abroad: how many programs Tech has, the percentage of students who participate, the cost range, how many countries are covered by Tech students, etc. One nervous parent asked about cost, and what the most expensive trip was. Jason Seletos, the host of the session, smiled and said, "The program I am in charge of- it's called the Oxford Program." After explaining about the 4 weeks of travel to 7 different European cities and the glorious 6 weeks spent in Oxford following it, I turned to mom and grinned/groaned, "Well, that's the one I want to go on. Figures."

Two years later, here I am, sitting in Memphis, staring at my little red suitcase jammed full of everything in the world I can think of- probably too much clothes (is that possible???), entirely too many band-aides, about 20 packages of Emergen-C, two pairs of earplugs (what if I lost the first pair??), and exactly 4 pairs of shoes.Am I prepared? I think so. Am I excited? Hell yes. Can I even fathom what this summer holds in store for me, my three best friends, the 146 other participants, and the seven countries we are guaranteed to see? Probably not.

But I do know: Will it be worth the wait?

Absolutely.