It has been a very long journey to finally arrive in Sevilla, and not just the plane ride. When a student first decides to study abroad, the excitement of a new country is the only thing on their mind, not all the important details that go with this experience. This process began around last February for me, with picking a university and the classes. Then during the summer, I applied for a Visa, which took some time. And finally, I had to find a housing arrangement, which is definitely not as easy as it sounds! I ended up finalizing my arrangements for housing when I arrived in Sevilla.
My parents flew to Spain with me to help me move in. We flew to Madrid first. In Madrid, we did a lot of sight seeing in two days, seeing everything from the famous Prado museum to the beautiful, timeless Plaza Mayor and Palacio Real. We ate lots of tapas and I began to see why the Spanish take a siesta. During the days, it easily reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit (I am slowly learning the conversion to Celsius). After walking around all morning in the heat and eating a large lunch, obviously the next thing to do is take a nap!
The Plaza MayorInside the Palacio RealSymbol of Madrid
In Spain, their meals are very different. I researched this before arriving, but it is still a shock to be immersed this different lifestyle. For breakfast, a piece of toast with a puree of tomatoes accompanied with a coffee is the usual. Then, around 2 to 4 in the afternoon is lunch time. For lunch, there is often a 3 course meal. The first course is an appetizer such as a tapa, then followed by the main course, which usually consists of a meat or fish dish. After, coffee and dessert top off this feast. Then for dinner, around 10pm, light tapas are eaten while enjoying the unending nightlife of the city.
Spanish tortilla with garlic mushroomsTapas at a marketOur first lunch in Spain!
So after we finished exploring Madrid, we rented a car and drove 3 hours to Valencia. When we arrived, we visited the Turia park and the City of Arts and Sciences. There was so much to see! From the futuristic architecture of the buildings to the beautiful surrounding landscape to the breathtaking life size photographs that had been taken around the world. After we explored this unique park, we ate some tapas and called it a night.
The next day, we packed up and hit the road for a 6 hour drive to Málaga. While this drive was definitely not fun, seeing the change of the land as we drove was fascinating. There are so many olive trees, grape vines, and even whole fields of sun flowers. And almost everything is planted in straight rows.
When we finally arrived in Málaga, we ate a late lunch, which was some beautifully grilled fresh-caught fish in a beach restaurant right on the Mediterranean Sea. We then went on a walk along the sea and saw many small vendors and very large cruise ships. Later on, we found a great rooftop restaurant that overlooked the sea. The view was stunning!
The next day, we started our final 2 hour drive to Sevilla. When we arrived, we returned our car and took a taxi to the hotel. And it was a good thing that we had a taxi, because the streets in Sevilla are very small and very crowded with people and carriages with horses. We had our first paella for lunch that day, and it was delicious! Then my exploration of my new home began. My parents stayed for a few more days to celebrate my birthday with me. We saw a very moving Flamenco show, explored one of the biggest parks in Spain, and of course ate more tapas.
When they left, I made my way to a shuttle to the university for my first day of orientation. Walking through the quiet streets in the morning made me fall in love with the city. Even though heat is stiffing at times, I would not trade any part of this for the world. The unending beauty and rich history is like nothing I have ever seen before. I am very excited to spend the next 4 months in this magnificent city and cannot wait to meet new friends and make many new memories!
This is my 2nd full day here. It’s midnight and Im sitting on a roof terrace at my homestay. I can see all of Amman from up here and all the far away city lights look like freckles I guess. Here’s a picture:
it was taken by Hannah 🙂
because I am not good at remembering to take pictures yet. And I’m listening to What’s up? From 4 Non Blondes. Ok so now that I’m have written about how awesome this is, I want to make sure I write about how scared I was the week before I came and the first day I was here so that I never forget it.
m not
I feel uncool for admitting it but I WAS SO SCARED… The day before I came I was crying so much and I came two days late because my program started the same day my brother and sister-law had their wedding <3 so since I was two days late I felt like everyone was already friends and I felt saddddd. But that only lasted for less than a day because the other students in this program are so funny and awesome and welcoming, it’s sweet.
I didn’t want to forget about it because I want to remember to just have faith because things pretty much always work out. No need to stress. As long as I am doing my best things will work out 🙂
So far we have eaten good! We have eaten fool, hummus, cheese manoushe, chicken, kefta, chicken maklobah, and falafel.
Yesterday we went to a center where they try to teach others about and preserve Palestinian culture so they fed us and showed us these beautiful handmade traditional Palestinian dresses— they said they take about 2 months to finish each because the embroidery is hand-stitched!! The woman who told us about the dresses was so inspiring, she talked about the importance of having pride in who we are and where we are from! She talked about how there is not much expression of tradition and culture anymore and she showed us her wedding dress which was a really beautiful traditional Palestinian dress. Then they took us upstairs to watch the debke dancers practice!! So cool!
Today we got our host families and it was such a happy moment to see everyone connect with their host family for the first time!! My host mama is this absolutely inspiring woman from England who moved here over 30 years ago! She speaks beautiful arabic and she is sososo funny! She is a gym instructor! I’m also living with one other girl from the program- Hannah- the one that took the picture!! Our host mama has already made us feel so comfortable and welcome within just a few hours 🙂
I also talked to my real mama and baba a few hours ago :))
My dad flew with me here to Jordan and now he is in Palestine and I’m so happy he is there and I am so happy he came here with me for the first 2 days… Alhamdulilah I am so fortunate to have the family and home that I do <3
The past 5 days have been a crazy hot mess but I never want to leave Rome! There has been so much information overload and at times it stresses me out and makes me really grumpy and not so fun to be around. But then I have moments like this one where I am sitting in the computer lounge with my friends and just jamming to Disney music and talking about life. There are so many places to explore, things to do, and food to eat that I’m getting worried I won’t have time for it all. Here is a photo montage of the highlights from my first week:
Guinness tasting during the layover in Dublin from the group flight
I’m 4 days into my study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain, and I absolutely love it. Yes, there are times when I miss home, friends, and a familiar place. However, knowing that I am in a country that is so beautiful where I can learn the amazing culture is exhilarating to me. I can’t wait for the rest of this semester here in Madrid.
Living with a host family scared me at first, but now I am so grateful for it. I was nervous that I wouldn’t have any freedom and that I wouldn’t be able to communicate, but fortunately, I had nothing to worry about! My host mom is so accommodating, and understands it can be scary to be in a new country where you might not know anyone. I also have an allergy to gluten that my host mom knows of and makes sure everything I eat is gluten free. And let me tell you, she buys the most amazing gluten free cookies. Living with a host family is honestly the best way to live in Spain while studying abroad. I’m learning so much about the culture and the language. If you want to learn Spanish, a host family is a great idea!
I was worried about making friends here, but it is super easy because everyone is in the same place. We’re all nervous, but super excited to start this amazing adventure. Upon arrival, I had a day to unpack and just get used to my new home. The next day we had orientation. It was simple and only a few hours where Saint Louis University told us everything we needed to know; from how to get a metro pass and a Spanish SIM card to which bars most students go to. I know, not really what schools should be telling us, but still good to know. Even though they told us that, trust me, Saint Louis is all about safety. Honestly if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now. So thankfully, Madrid is a safe city where students can learn about the culture, practice Spanish, study, and learn more about themselves.
So far, I’m enjoying every second of my study abroad experience and I can’t wait for my future adventures. I know this is going to be the time of my life, and I can’t wait to share with all of you! For now, ¡adios y hasta luego!
On August 29, the group flight departed from Chicago, headed to Rome with a quick stop in Dublin. We arrived in Rome in the early afternoon, and the first thing I noticed was the heat. It was a little above 90 degrees, but luckily I was clad in my usual t-shirt and shorts. Other people were wearing sweatshirts, which were quickly shed, and jeans. We all had at least two giant bags with us, and 21 unlucky people lost their luggage (later located and returned).
View from the 3rd floor of the residence hall at the JFRC.
Upon arriving at JFRC, we had the next five days mapped out for us for orientation. We picked up our IDs, discovered where the IC, bathrooms, Rinaldo’s, and Mensa were located, settled into our rooms, and got lost countless times as we tried to navigate the layout of the building. The worst thing to discover was that our dorms didn’t have air conditioning! The rooms themselves are cute, with bunk beds, desks, a sink, and plenty of storage. I’m on the 3rd floor, and the first thing I did when I got in there was to open the windows. The 4th floor rooms have small balconies, I’ve been told, and all floors have communal-style bathrooms. As I lived in Simpson LLC for my freshman year, this was a change for me. The first night at JFRC was difficult, simply because all of our rooms felt like a sauna. Luckily, eight days in, the weather has cooled off considerably, and now the high averages 80 degrees.
My first gelato!Photo of the Castle of St. Angelo, taken on my first outing downtown.
Orientation consisted of a formal welcome by the Dean and other faculty members, survival Italian lessons, and sessions held by the SLA’s (like RA’s) to help us get acclimated to living in Rome. One of the first memorable activities was a scavenger hunt. The SLA’s gave each team a list of sites to visit and take pictures of with point values assigned to each, and set us loose downtown. That trip was a great leaning experience because it was the first time for me using the public bus system and being in downtown Rome. They also organized a trip to the beach in Maccarese, in which we all piled into three charter busses. That day was gorgeously sunny and windy, and the Mediterranean was quite warm. There was a buffet-style lunch, and I sat reading in a chair most of the time.
Beach day in Maccarese!
In addition, they took us to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Both sites summed up in one word: AMAZING. There really is nothing else like it. The Colosseum is huge, and you can’t really imagine it until you’re there. I could feel the history around me as I walked around the arena, imagining thousands of Romans crowding in. The Roman Forum was beautiful in its own way, and offered gorgeous views of the city.
The Roman Forum.
JFRC itself is located in the beautiful, quiet neighborhood of Balduina. It is quite different than the touristy centers of Rome, and was not what I was expecting. Despite that, I’ve come to love it. The neighborhood is constantly up and down, and when going to the grocery store or out for a drink one encounters many hills. But hey, exercise! Most of the area is residential, which offers a great opportunity to interact with the locals and to really put our Italian to the test. When I first arrived, I wondered how in the world I would ever remember how to get anywhere, with the way the streets curve and aren’t on a “standard grid” like Chicago or St. Louis. Now, having walked around, I’m beginning to get a feel for the place (although Google Maps is still my best friend). I look forward to the next three months, and I know I’ll be sad to leave when the time comes.
Ciao! My first day in Rome was spent partly on planes. The first was traveling across the Atlantic Ocean from Chicago, and the second was traveling from Ireland to Rome. Upon arriving in Rome, the first thing I noticed was temperature. It was 90 degrees which explained why everything looked dry. I was amazed by the types of trees native to Rome, especially the palm trees. I was told that Rome was currently in a drought and resembled weather like that of a tropical climate. Leading up to leaving the United States, I did not do any research on what the weather was going to be. I made the mistake of wearing all my heavy fall-like clothing. This clothing included my north face jacket, a vest, a hat, a scarf, and booties.
This is an image of me standing on the second level of the Colosseum.
I flew with the group-flight and was happy tosee many familiar and new faces. After catching up with many of them, I realized that all our feelings well under similar categories. I was told that as soon as we stepped off the plane into Rome, orientation would begin. This later proved to be true because upon walking into the John Felice Rome Center, our whole entire next five days were mapped out. We had to register and turn in paperwork before heading to our rooms. The more interesting thing I learned about the campus was that it used to be home to nuns. Knowing that really helped me understand the reason for the strange lay out of the building. The worst thing I learned was that there was no AC in the dorms, this was super disappointing because it was 90 degrees outside and felt like 100 degrees inside.
This is an image that shows some of the JFRC campus and the many palm trees. To the left is the cafeteria and above that is the library.
Orientation is planned for a full two weeks. I had meetings with the SLA’s (like RA but graduated students), Director, Dean, and many others. They had two ‘Survival Italian’ sessions we were required to attend. During these sessions, I learned the alphabet and how to pronounce things. My professor told the class that if we knew these two things, we would be about to say any Italian word. After a few days in Rome, I started to be able to easily pronounce words even if I didn’t know what they meant.
The Colosseum and all it’s glory.
This beauitful view is from an outcrop in The Forum looking over Rome. On the horizon you can see the Vatican.
I had officially finished one week of orientation and my three favorite experiences were going to the Colosseum, the Forum, and the beach day. The Colosseum and Forum could be summed up in one world: WOW. I was so taken aback by the immense size and fact that millions of people had walked on the same stones I was. Thousands of years ago, these two areas were the center of Roman life. Today, they still held a similar way of life but for tourism and the residents of Rome. The beach day was neat because I found out that I was about to swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The water was salty and the strong, everyone had to be careful not to be pulled out too far. We had our own area of the beach rented out for all the students and it resembled a very nice beach resort. There were beach chairs, beach beds, volleyball, and a bar and restaurant.
This is an image that perfectly describes what the area around the JRFC looks life.
The area that the John Felice Rome Center is in is called Balduina. It is very different than the historic center of Rome. It is very quiet and family friendly, with many stores, food and drink places. Everything all of Rome is in Italian which can be confusing and immediately made Google my best friend. The city isn’t built on a grid and no such thing as ‘block’ exist, it is constantly up and down. I am really enjoying my time at the John Felice Rome Center and in Rome. I have seen so much beauty, art, and history with in the few days that I had been here. I look forward to the many more adventures that I had for the next three months.
As I prepare to go abroad to Beijing next semester, I feel a wide array of emotions: excitement, hope, happiness, gratitude, and nervousness. I made the choice to study in The Beijing Center my first semester studying at Loyola University Chicago. The departure day looked very far away that first semester, and now it is two months away. There was a chance, due to my financial situation, studying two majors, or getting cold feet sometimes, that I wouldn’t study in China. So, now it seems a little unbelievable that I have my plane ticket and my classes already scheduled.
It has been a long journey until this summer, the summer before one of the best experiences I know I will have in my young adult life. This last semester as a sophomore has especially been a long one, in which I learned I was granted the opportunity to study at Loyola’s center in Beijing and given all the information about my semester abroad. At first, it overwhelmed me and honestly, scared me a little bit at the same time that it excited me. I learned about expensive plane tickets, visa applications, light suitcases, intensive Mandarin classes, transportation in Beijing, food in Beijing, and on-campus life.
I had to take a moment and breathe deeply to realize all I needed was to take it step by step and know that it will all be worth it. All the stress of traveling to another country will pay off because I am going to be exposed to a completely different culture that I am fascinated with. I have always loved Chinese traditions and literature. My hair stands on an end when I think about reading Li Bao’s poems in the Summer Palace. My mouth waters when I think about all the different dishes I have the chance to taste around Beijing and any other Chinese city or town I visit. My mind flies when I think about all the small weekend excursions around Beijing and the long weekend trips to Chinese cities.
Not only will I be living in China’s capital for four months, but I will be traveling the Silk Road for two weeks before the academic term starts. The thought of visiting different villages and landscapes in China is slowly turning the nervousness in my gut into happiness. I am extremely grateful that The Beijing Center allows me to have such an adventure guiding us through one of the vastest and beautiful countries in the world. On my birthday, August 25th, I will be somewhere along the Silk Road, learning about a small town tradition or taking a walk through a unique Chinese natural park.
Then, as I celebrate my two decades, I will be starting another chapter: my first chapter as a completely independent woman. My semester abroad will be the first time that I will be in a different country from my parents. I am both excited and nervous, since I know what it is like to move to a completely new environment but I have never done it alone. As any other millennial young adult, I am passionate, driven and desiring to be independent. But now that the moment of truth is approaching, it’s more challenging than it looks. Fortunately, I will be in an environment where I will meet people that are also learning how to be self-reliant, and have plenty of resources to help me adapt to living in China and be independent. I know this experience will benefit me academically, professionally and, especially, personally.
My one and only truly solo trip I took this semester was to Denmark. I realized I had been to every Scandinavian capital except Copenhagen, plus I had wanted to travel alone at some point, so it felt fitting for my last trip of the semester to be there. Here is my experience down in words….
Day 1
Despite being enthusiastic for my final trip, especially since I was traveling alone, I got rather sentimental at the airport. I started thinking about how much time I’ve spent in this airport these past 6 months and how that airport and Denver’s are my favorite airports. I laughed when I reminisced about my first trip I took there to Krákow. My friends and I were so newly aquatinted with the country and traveling. We got lost, over packed, you name it. Now I feel like a pro or something because I’ve done so much traveling this semester. Except my expert bubble popped when I still managed to try to board the wrong flight. That was the second time that happened but in my defense the flight I tried to board was also to Copenhagen but only 20 minutes earlier than my actual flight—an easy mistake really. When I finally boarded the correct flight, I was in the front row, feeling like a boss. I looked out the window and thought how beautiful Norway is in the summer now that everything is green. “My Frosted City” to which I named because it always looked like it was frosted with snow now more closely resembled “My Green City”.
When I landed, I was happily surprised at how easy it was to figure out where the metro was to get to my hostel. The airport looks eerily similar to the Oslo one, and the public transit systems could be sisters. Although, the amount of people and how they act is very different. The train was packed full of people by the time I got off, and the city as a whole was bumping for a Wednesday afternoon. Juxtaposed to that, Oslo seems quite desolate, although I like that the city is smaller and not crowed. Copenhagen with the crowds and the fact that I was alone for the first time made me feel extremely anxious and I couldn’t shake it.
After I checked in, I immediately left to go grab food. I was so hungry that I bought the first sandwich that sounded good at this cool market outside my hostel. I saw in the distance what looked like a park so I figured I would go there to eat it. I was happy to find that it was a lake with a nice walking path around the perimeter. It seemed like the only place in the city that wasn’t packed and I was beyond grateful to take this opportunity to calm down and acquaint myself with my environment.
The park right near my hostel where I spent my first day at, as well as ate at least one meal a day at the entire time I was in the city. Very lovely.
I guess it just felt strange to be alone suddenly. The past week I literally spent every single moment with my friends (or studying) because seeing that we were leaving soon, we were trying to pack in as much time together as we could. Thus, transitioning from that to complete solitude in an unfamiliar city really threw me off. Not to say that I wasn’t happy to be in Copenhagen, or that I can’t spend time alone in general, but it was just a surprisingly hard transition that I wasn’t prepared for mentally.
With no plans of what to do (again logistics are not a strength of mine), I just kept walking anywhere that looked appealing. Turned out that I happened to arrive on a day when this massive EDM festival was going on. It’s the biggest street party in all of Denmark, called Distortion. It used to be all over the country but the smaller areas got sick of it and moved in all into Copenhagen. The party was going on the entire week and would move each day to a new section. Streets were closed to cars and instead filled with what seemed like every 20-something-year-old Danish person intoxicatingly vibe’n to the beat of the music. Every 10 meters there was another stage and at some points the crowd was so packed it was hard to move. When one stages’ music would fade, another would come into focus. It was THE place to be for everyone my age it seemed! Given that I was alone, I mostly just walked through and took it all in, wishing that the guys were here with me because together we’d have a blast.
As I was getting tired of being surrounded by drunk people with loud house music all around me, I set off to escape the festival and continue seeing the city. It was an interesting first day, and I was keen to see what the next day had in store.
Distortion, the largest street party in all of Denmark, was absolutely crazy. At one point, I come across this man just carrying around a plastic leg!
Day 2
I woke up around 9:30 and to my surprise all the people in my room were already out. I got ready and set out for a quick breakfast at the market near my hostel. I wanted to make the 11am free walking tour in the city so I didn’t have all that much time. The cafe I went to took forever, so I had to scarf down my food before speed walking to the meeting spot at Town Hall.
When I arrived, there were a ton of people–probably the biggest walking tour I’ve ever seen. Before it began I heard two guys next to me had an American accent so I asked them where they were from. Their names were David and Tommy, two college students from New York who go to school in Buffalo. I found that intriguing because that’s where my mom was from. As the tour went on, we hung out the entire time and got to know each other as we walked from each destination. I learned a lot on the tour as I always do (the free walking tours in every city are amazing, I highly encourage doing them on the first day of any trip to gain your bearings in the city, both geographically and historically). For example, the crown prince and his family took in an exchange student this semester! How cool right? I should have applied on exchange here!
The famous Navn street in all its glory.
When the tour ended, the guys and I went together to Christiania, the free town in Copenhagen to explore and more importantly get food. Inside was really fascinating. It had a totally different atmosphere juxtaposed to the rest of the city. While inside, we ran into a group of Finnish men that Tommy had met the night before. They took us to this beach there which we would have never known existed if it weren’t for them. We stayed there for hours and eventually the New York guys got up and asked if I wanted to leave with them. Since I knew them a little better, I went with. We walked back to the city center and got another hot dog to eat–the hot dogs there are amazing, be sure to order them with everything on them. Unfortunately, I was so hungry I didn’t even think to take a picture. So sad… After we ate is when we split our ways and I went back to my hostel to nap for a little.
The entrance to Christiania, the free town. On the flip side it reads, “You are now entering the EU”.The beach in Christiania where the people I met and I spent a good few hours at.
When I awoke from my nap, a Swedish guy had moved into my room. We talked for a little before I headed out to continue exploring for the night. I ended the night by watching the sunset over the river. When I came back, the Swedish guy and I talked the rest of the night together. He’s 23 and quit school three separate times. He seemed frustrated with himself that he did such a thing. I found him to be quite intelligent, for when he found out I studied math, we talked about our favorite proofs for quite a while. It was a perfect, chill second day in Copenhagen.
The beautiful sunset I witnessed along the water.
Day 3
I didn’t need to leave for my flight until 4:30pm in the afternoon, so I set a plan to see the rest of the city that I wanted to hit. I quickly ate breakfast at the hostel with a Brazilian woman whom I met that morning.
Now, my first stop was the botanical gardens followed by the Kings Gardens. It was so beautiful and peaceful inside. I always love seeing the botanical gardens in any city I travel to. Kongens Have, or the Kings Garden was bigger than I was expecting. There were large fields of finely cut grass that people were sun bathing and playing games on. I could totally see myself throwing around a ball, or lying down there for days
The botanical gardens in the city. Very sublime.
Next on my agenda was Kastellet, i.e., the star shaped fortress. I heard from a friend who studied abroad here that it was unlike any fortress any Americans have ever seen, yet I was still astonished. It was basically a gorgeous park with a moat running through the middle. There was even a windmill on the hill at the very center. I sat on a bench in there, just relaxing, watching the occasional runner or biker swing by me. I ended up walking the entire path that surrounded the fortress, both on the lower path, as well as the path on the hill. If you’re a runner, I think this would be a fine spot to take a jog if ever in town.
The statue of the Little Mermaid is just on the perimeter of Kastellet. I’ve heard not to really go there because it wasn’t worth it but I decided that I wanted to see what has been deemed the 2nd most underwhelming tourist attraction in the world. What I found more impressive when I saw it, was the amount of tourists gawking at such a mediocre statue. I stayed for a half a minute before moving on.
One part of the fortress. It was so beautiful it was hard to believe it actually was a fortress.The windmill that was located on the hill inside the fortress.Included because I think this statue is cooler than the Little Mermaid…
On my way to the Church of our Savior, I found this interesting Octagon. There was a small door and inside was so unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s an art installation called “Cosmic Space” by an artist from the Faroe Islands. Definitely try to find it if you can. No one really notices it, so I was the only one in there for quite a while. I don’t want to include any photos because it is one of those “be surprised” types of places. Not a huge tourist attraction, but when you happen across it, you’ll be glad you saw it.
Finally I arrived at the church. I first went inside where the organs were playing some rather dark music very loudly. Yet, the inside was remarkable. Probably one of my favorite churches I’ve ever been in. Following a quick stop in there, I headed up to the tower. I’ve heard it was the best view of the city, but I had no idea just what that meant—beyond worth the 35 kroner I spent to get there. First you had to walk up a set of narrow wooden stairs inside the church. A funny, elderly British couple near me were playfully bickering about how difficult it was. Then you come out onto a platform where you can see the whole city. I thought this was the end until I turned the corner and saw a set of oxidized copper stairs spiraling upwards on the outside of the tower. I climbed these, with my legs shaking from my fear of heights, until I reached the very top. Glad I made it before I left, is all I can say.
Overall, it turned into a beautiful trip. I finished it off by eating an early dinner and reading my book by this beautiful lake before heading off to the airport. TY København.
The the best view of the Church, but you can see the twisting stairs at the very top.A small view of the stairs I climbed on the outside of the church. So high!!
Well this is my last blog I’m going to write. I don’t think I’m mentally prepared enough to write a final, “goodbye” blog so I’ll leave it at this… S/O to all my friends, all my roommates, all my adventures, and especially to all of Norway. You’ll be missed…
It literally took us a full 24 hours to get into Russia. (Cami, who was extremely upset at that fact, said she “will never forget” it). As everyone was trying to leave the boat, it got so jam packed that no one could move, so Vince and I just sat on the ground to wait out the crowd. When we finally left the boat, it was snowing and freezing outside—exactly what you would imagine Russia to be like. To get to boarder control, we had to take our first steps on Russian soil over to a nearby building. Just as Vince is telling me that we can’t take pictures at the borders, I snap a picture of him, the boat, and the blizzard around us. He laughed at me but later was really grateful because he ended up loving the photo I took.
Vince and the boat – our first steps on Russian soil.
We realized that our ESN group must have met somewhere on the boat and we missed it because we were the first one to get to customs. At first, it was as scary as I was imagining. Vince went first, then me and Nick went in tandem. I just stayed extremely quiet and did what they told me to do. Cami, who was still upset with how long it took to enter the country, noted that she felt like we have to beg to get into Russia, or at least that’s how it felt to her.
Particularly because we went first, we had to wait forever for the rest of the ESN group to finally enter Russia. We just found seats in the building and ate the rest of our food. We were glad we got there first so we could relax. Just as we were saying how easy it was to get into Russia, we learned about how the only two people of color were stopped by border control and have been in questioning for the past hour…. sickening, I tell you. The male was taken first and was interrogated for 15 minutes. Then the girl was told to follow, the guards not even looking at her passport before telling her to step aside. So, in short, border control was easy, but only if you are white… After an hour and a half, our ESN leader decided we had to board the bus for our city tour without them.
The first thing the tour guide said was, “Believe it or not, you are in Russia.”
We saw and learned a lot while on that tour bus. Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, the church that used to be the main church for the entire city, is probably one of the most impressive buildings I’ve seen in my life. Russia, with 342 bridges, is nicknamed “The Venice of the North”. Interestingly, 1/10 (approximately half a million people) live in communal apartments in Saint Petersburg. They are basically like a dorm or hostel style living arrangement to keep costs down because most of the people are extremely poor.
Usually I don’t like organized tours, especially those on busses in which you are unable to walk around through the city. However, for several reasons I was grateful to start our stay in Russia with a city tour. One, I was exhausted. Two, the weather was snowy and cold. And three, the tour guide just knew so much about the city! I found it fascinating to learn about it in way I never would have if I had traveled individually.
Despite what I just said, it was too difficult to not fall asleep for a little on the warm, rumbling bus, so soon I drifted off with my head resting against Cami’s shoulder.
Eventually, we arrived at our hostel that we would be living at for the next few days. Luckily, my little crew was called first for our room assignment as well. We had the very top floor and a nice big room all together. Due to our enormous hunger, we immediately went food shopping to try to find items for a communal dinner and for food the next day. It was the hardest shop of my life because I was just so tired and hungry that I was paralyzed and was unable to make an decisions. Cami opted for going solo for dinner so the guys and I bought pasta with meats and vegetables. Cooking took ages (figures) but it was kind of fun all cutting and cooking together. The hostel’s cooking supplies was subpar (no pepper!), so that contributed to the extended wait time. Around 10pm, we had finally finished and I proceeded to eat till I was in pain. Climbing the 5 flights of stairs right after meant that I had to immediately lie down for a little to digest all I had consumed.
Later that night, Cami and Nick decided they didn’t want to go out for whatever reason, so it was just Sam, Vince, and I who set out for a night in Russia. We happened to met a guy named Victor in our hostel who is from Russia. He took us under his wing and showed us the ropes with the public transit, using random cars as taxis, not allowing to take pictures in the tunnels to the trains, etc. Speaking of, I LOVE the metro system in Saint Petersburg!! It is just so cool! Victor said that the deepest is about 100 meters, and to get down there you ride the longest escalator ever!
Victor got a little funny as the night went on. He kept telling us stories of how he’s seen many people get shot before, and all the fights he witnesses on the streets.. Really made me (and the guys) weary of the country. Then before we left him, he said that the men in Russia are crazy and how I, specifically, shouldn’t date them. It was an interesting night to say the least.
The metro escalators that go 100 meters down into the ground!
Day 7: Friday
On Friday, we ate breaky (what Australians and Kiwi’s call breakfast) extremely fast because we felt unnecessarily rushed to head to the Hermitage Museum. It was a long walk over there, and after 10 minutes or so, Vince joked that we had already walked twice the length of Helsinki.
When we arrived at the museum, we had to do coat check which was the biggest hassle ever. No person behind the various counters were taking our jackets for whatever reason, and the ladies would just yell at us in Russian. So frustrating, but eventually we found a nice woman who took our coats.
The first thing our tour guide did was warn us that “back pockets are the public pocket”, because pick pocketing in Russia is far too common. The museum, and particularly the church, has unreal amounts of gold leaf everywhere. The place was really beautiful but far too large. You’d have to spend days there to really see it all.
Outside the Hermitage museum.An area inside the Hermitage.
Our group was starving and tired so when the tour ended we searched for a place to eat. The first open and relatively inexpensive place was an Irish restaurant, but luckily we were all able to get Russian cuisine because they provided it along with Irish dishes. I got salmon cutlet which was so delicious – my meal probably was the best out of everyone’s and it was the cheapest somehow. The guy when we paid even gave me and the girls a discount (not the guys for some reason, strange I know).
After that, we set out for coffee, and the only place we found that was crazy expensive was McDonalds! But hey, it was about a buck for a big Americano, so worth it. We were still amazed at how expensive everything seemed to be—we thought it was be beyond cheap in Saint Petersburg.
Later, we went to the top of Saint Isaac’s church, which only cost 150 rubbles or about $3. It was so cool to see the city, despite the chilly wind blasting us. I stood there, alone, just amazed at the city and myself. In other words, I found the city to be so vast that it felt crazy. Then that got me thinking about how I couldn’t believe I was there getting to experience it. So far, all my travels have been to places I never thought I’d see, especially including Russia. I was just grateful to myself for pushing my comfort zone and experiencing parts of Europe that most Americans usually don’t get to travel to/ have no desire to travel to.
The view from the top of Saint Isaac’s Church.
When we left the church, Cami and Bianca wanted to go shopping (something I never have the desire to do), and some of the other guys just wanted to go back to the hostel to nap. I was frustrated because we only had so much time there, so I wanted to keep exploring with or without them (except that I was rather timid of traveling alone in Russia). Luckily Vince opted to stay with me, so once we helped the others find the metro, we split off to go explore.
Again, I really loved spending time with Vince, this time included. As we walked around Saint Petersburg, we discussed how we see ourselves within our generations (I consider myself a millennial, while he believes he belongs to generation X), our parents, taking a gap year, you name it. Eventually we came upon the Grønland of Russia—a really cool outdoor and indoor market with lots of clothing located outside and free food and meats inside. (Grønland is the cheap market in Oslo where we all go food shopping even though it takes over a half hour to get there.)
The entrance to the market Vince and I found.
After leaving the market, we ventured back outside just to walk. While we were on top of Saint Isaacs church, we saw this beautiful blue church in the distance and Vince and I wanted to go see it but figured it was too far a distance to walk to. Well, low and behold, we somehow found it on our walk! It was bigger than I even realized and very beautiful. A statue made of cannons was outside which was interesting. I wish I knew Russian to read what it said. We checked the door to see if we could go in and it turned out that a service was going on. It was Russian orthodox, I’m pretty sure. The inside was spectacular and about a hundred people were standing in the middle facing a few men performing the service. In the back was a small choir singing peaceful church tunes. Every 15-30 seconds everyone was make the sign of the cross and then bow, some just partially and others all the way to touching their toes. It was so unique and fascinating to watch. Vince had never even been in a service before, no matter the denomination. Now we can both say we’ve attended a Russian orthodox one!
The ‘blue church’ with the unique statue in front.
We realized when we took the metro back that we were at the station that just had the terrorist attack about a week earlier. There were still a lot of flowers outside and a ton of scary policemen with unfriendly dogs standing around the main entrance hall. Felt weird to have just been in Stockholm at the place where their terrorist attack happened and then also in Russia where a separate one had just occurred. I can’t really put to words how it felt, but I guess rather surreal is the best way I can explain it.
When we finally got back to the hostel, Vince and I made dinner together and shared our meal with three other people (Dutch, Swiss, and French). They were working on trying to finish the biggest pot of pasta I’ve ever seen for 3 people. Luckily for us, they couldn’t and asked Vince and I to help them eat the food. Ironically, the guy from the Netherlands told us through laughter that he witnessed our friend Sam blow drying his hair in the bathroom for the longest time ever. Except, he didn’t know it was Sam, so as he was telling the story, I realized it must have been Sam because, well, his hair is probably his most prized possession. We all laughed for a while at Sam’s expense.
Speaking of Sam’s hair, he ended up doing all the boys hair that night before we went out. Needless to say, they looked quite snazzy. Our plan was to go to a bar crawl that Sam heard was going on earlier that day. We told everyone else about it, so when it came time to meeting in the hostel lobby, fifteen people from our group was there but no official bar crawl was happening. Sam must have heard wrong. However, since we were all there, people decided lets do our own. I naturally went to my phone and started looking up pubs near us, which somehow indicated to the group that I was now the leader of this shindig. I certainly wasn’t comfortable with it but I tried to do my best anyways because everyone was set on me running this event. They started calling it “Shayna’s famous pub crawl”, while Cami joked that we should have charged them for attendance. It actuality, I got everyone lost a little but it still turned out fun. I was the only American, so people kept joking how they happened to put the American in charge. My friend group ended up just sticking together and talking the whole night, which was just the best. I couldn’t believe how dispite there being so many other people with us, we enjoyed each other’s company so much that we stuck together. I really loved it. It was a very good day that ended in lots of friendship and laughter.
Nick (left) and Vince (right). Clearly loving their hair by Sammy K, and each other’s company.
Day 8
We woke up at 8:15am (kill me) with the intent to try to figure out how to get to Catherine’s Palace on our own for the day. According to google maps, it was a two hour trip by public transportation, which meant there was a lot of room for error that could result in us getting utterly lost.
Despite that fear, we departed by 9:45am first by taking the metro and then luckily finding the perfect bus to take us directly to the Palace that is outside the city. It was all much easier than we ever thought it would be. The public bus system (transit system in general) is really interesting and surprisingly easy to use. The busses, to be more specific, are all very archaic and small but come super often. You pay only 40 rubles and all in cash or coins. The driver will even deliver you your change as he drives. I noticed people going up and just asking the driver to stop random places even. Plus, people on the sidewalk could wave down the driver and he would stop. Maybe I’m weird because I am oddly fascinated by cities various public transit systems, but I think anyone could appreciate the unique Russian busses that we took.
This is the inside of the public bus we took to Catherine’s Palace. I was sitting at the very back, so you can see how small it was.
It only took an hour to get there (silly Google maps!) and immediately we were so glad we didn’t let the fear of getting lost stop us from coming. The palace looks absolutely unreal, and before entering we sat outside listening to a guy play the flute while we ate our lunch.
The crew eating lunch outside Catherine’s Palace.
The palace was so lavish, with gold everywhere and all the ceilings painted intricately. This is hard to describe, but it was cool how the paintings on the outside were an extension of the building and then it opened up to scenes depicted in the heavens. Vince and I stuck together for a while because we lost the rest of the crew but soon we all found one another and toured through the place.
Outside the Palace is just as amazing, in a way. It felt like Christmas of sorts walking through the gardens while it was snowing. Only after a minor snow ball fight did we then proceed with the rest of our day. While on the long bus ride back, I started thinking about what it’ll be like to go home. Even just the thought made me anxious and really sad. I was so happy here with everyone and everything, I didn’t want to leave and I especially didn’t want to stop seeing my friends there everyday. I was already getting upset about how near the end is. But that is so characteristically me; I always get upset when anything ends and things have to change. I tried to remind myself everything would be ok and just to live in the moment, which to be honest, is beyond difficult.
Here you can vaguely see what I tried to describe – the outside of the painting in an extension of the building opening up to the heavens.The crew walking through the gardens.
Back in Saint Petersburg, Cami wanted tea so we stopped at a place called Oh!MyTea, a small joint with one other person in it. The guys became attached to their phones (free wifi and all) while Cami and I talked with the girl working for 15 minutes. She spoke fairly good English and she was so awesome! She said that Saint Petersburg is an exception to the rest of Russia because it’s so European. She comes from a small town 5 hours away by train but soon she is leaving to a different town on the border of Russia, China and Europe. She told us how she studied philosophy and Italian culture in college. We asked how she learned English and she brought up how she watches the show, Game of Thrones. Me and Vince just started watching it with the rest of the guys this semester (we were on season 5 at the time we were in Russia) so I yelled to the guys how she watches it too, and immediately they joined the conversation and we geeked about the show together. She almost spoiled something about John Snow for Vince and I but luckily Sam stopped her. It was a cute addition to our day, I really do think many of the people in the city are quite kind and lovely to chat with.
One of the most astonishing places we went to was the Church of the Savior on Blood, otherwise known as the Church of Spilled Blood. It was entirely decorated in mosaic—so hard to believe! I stood there in awe of the building for ages.
The outside of the Church of Spilled Blood.The inside of the Church – everything is mosaic.
The rest of the day was spent eating dinner and going out. The following day which was Easter meant everything was closed in the city for the most part. We traveled a lot on another boat to Tallinn the next day which is beautiful (I wanted to move there for the summer, I loved it so much).
Please note, the rest of day 9 and 10 I didn’t take notes on (I usually do and that’s how I am able to remember the small details of my travels for these blogs). Hence, I am just going to skip to my last reflections while I was heading back to Oslo and just note that there is a significant gap in my recollection of events during this time period.
Day 10: The end of Spring Break
While sitting on the train from Stockholm back to Oslo, I began to feel this hint of melancholy nostalgia for not only my spring break trip coming to an end, but for my entire semester thus far. Everything seemed to be moving so much faster than I anticipated and I felt as though I couldn’t catch my breath. Don’t be mistaken, in many ways that is a good reaction because it is indicative of an amazing experience, with incredible friends and memories. But at the same time, to be honest, I was terrified of it finally ending. The end always seemed so far away, just like how my spring break–which I planned with most of the people on this trip way back in Poland–always seemed far in the distance. But yet there I was, closing in on my last hour on the train back to Oslo–the place I now call home. I understand that before I know it, I will be on a plane back home, just an hour away from touching down in Denver.
It’s funny, Cami showed us last night a video of Zach and I back in Poland in January. We were sitting at the dinner table of the sushi place we went to on our first night. Our waiter was showing us on a map where the cool bars and clubs were. Nick, Cami, and Sam talked and laughed about how young Zach and I look. I concur, I actually looked like a different person even though that was just a few months ago. Cami said we all have changed so much since then, which I guess I hadn’t realized as of yet. Nonetheless, she is right. We have all changed so much in such a short period of time, and soon we would be forced to leave one another and nothing will be the same.
These last 10 days were phenomenal. I truly loved our group. Although we are all quite different, we meshed together almost seamlessly which allowed us to spend so much alone time with one another with zero clashes. Hell, one night all five of us slept in a room the size of a handicap bathroom stall–talk about being close with people!
It is worth noting as well that it was also a unique experience for me to be the only American while traveling on this trip. I learned so much from other cultures, specifically those in which my friends derive from, and I recognize I have so much more to learn.
Although I just discussed how particularly sad I seem to be, I also just want to highlight that I always get sad at anything ending. I’m an “easily pleased” person as my friends describe me, and thus, I am constantly sad when various amazing events in my life come to a close, this trip specifically. I guess I want to close this blog post with a moment of gratefulness for the various events that occurred during my travels.
I am grateful for Nick, who handled being alone with me like a champ. I am grateful for bread, peanut butter and salami, which got me through so many meals those 10 days. I am grateful for the alone time I received in Djur garden. I am grateful for the curry I shared with Vince and Nick because sharing is certainly not my forte. I am grateful for exploring the rest of Stockholm alone with Vince, only to happily run into the entire crew on the way to the boat. I am grateful for shared meals on the floor of various cabin rooms while aboard ferries. I am grateful for duty free vodka and fun nights of dancing, laughing, and bonding. I am grateful for the hours dedicated to playing the card game presidents/scum, as people call the game either name (we combined the names and denoted it as P.S. from now on). I am grateful for Russia not giving us any troubles and only good memories. I am grateful that our group always stuck together and had such an amazing time talking and got to know each other better and better. I am grateful for Russia’s metro system, and how easy the buses are to take. I am grateful for Vince exploring Saint Petersburg with me and happening across the blue church we were both so keen on finding. I am grateful for both the snow and sunshine that we received while traveling. I am grateful for the beautiful day we received in Estonia. I am grateful for being able to return to Stockholm’s national library before we came back to Oslo. I am just grateful.
Peace Spring Break, and thanks for everything ✌️ Peace Spring Break, and thanks for everything.
Our next leg of the ESN (Eramus Student Network) Spring Break trip was to board a boat that would take us overnight to Helsinki, Finland followed by another night arriving in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This is Part Two of my adventures.
Day 4: Tuesday
Our entire group boarded this massive boat that was to take us to Finland. It wasn’t as elegant of a cruise as the one I took to Riga the week before, but this time we were all in the same cabin (minus Vince, poor Vince…), which was both a blessing and a curse. It was only slightly negative because the room was incredible minuscule. Despite that, it was fun to have all of us there in the same cabin to eat, talk, laugh, and sleep together.
We all sat on the floor to eat dinner together and then Nice, Vince, and I went up a few floors to go read while Sam and Cami took a nap. The guys and I just sat in the café on board reading for an hour or so before we all met up to go exploring and purchase items from the duty free shop.
The view on the top deck of the boat as we were leaving Sweden – very beautiful.Captured is Cami in our cabin for the night. You can see just how small it was, with bunk beds tucked away adjacent to one another.We ate our meals together on the floor with food we had bought as various super-markets. Pictured is Vince eating an avocado like an apple.
Later that evening, we had such a fun time hanging out in the cabin. Sam invited some girls he had met to hang out in our room, which made it a tight fit. When the claustrophobia and heat became too much we moved on to the rest of the boat. I danced a lot with Cami and mostly Vince in the dance room before we ended up in this one area of the cruise that had this bald guy singing and playing the guitar for people to enjoy. Not many people were there, and those that were certainly were not playing attention to the entertainment. My friends and I were the opposite. We quite often sung along with him for hours and I had so much fun just being as peace with my friends, listening and singing to acoustics. The man definitely loved us and was gracious that we enjoyed his music.
Nick fell asleep (more like completely passed out) before any of us. So, naturally, we had to mess with him by placing as much as we could on his face before he might awake. It was so funny, all of us huddled around him in our tiny cabin doing that. Overall, it was beyond fun that night on the boat—much more than my previous boat experience to Riga where we lost everyone and I felt sick. Here, our group stuck together the whole night, talked, danced, and mostly laughed. It was just great.
Hopefully Nicky won’t be upset with me sharing this, but you can see just how much stuff we were able to place on his face while he was fast asleep… Quite the heavy sleeper that Kiwi is…
Day 5: Wednesday in Finland
When we woke up, we all ate breakfast in our cabin with the food we had purchased and then proceeded to get ready for our day in Helsinki. The first thing we did when we got off the boat was walk to the hostel to drop off our stuff because we would be on a different boat to Russia. (This boat company has a monopoly on the Russian market, only this one company offers trips to and from the country).
We went on a walking tour of the city which I found to be small and quaint. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I would ever have the desire to return. After a while, we were so hungry that we had to find somewhere to eat. We came across this unique indoor market where we all ate the most amazing seafood soup with unlimited bread. Vince and I, who were at a small table of our own, basically ate an entire load of bread between the two of us.
The main church in Helsinki.Beautiful city, Helsinki is.Inside the market we found in the city to get lunch. You can see the happiness in Sam’s face.The market (and so many others in the Nordic countries) is full of fresh food, especially fish. I have become so spoiled with the high quality fish available here.The beautifully scrumptious sea-food soup we bought, with a slice of bread off to the side.
After eating, we continued to explore and more importantly went food shopping again for the next long night on the boat to Russia. Because the country is so difficult to get into, we waited forever to board the Russia cruise. But, before we knew it, we were on board and in our cabin (we all got placed in the same room again, minus Vince—again). The guys and I played a game Nick introduced to us (we now call it “Back-to-back”) before Cami came and joined us. In short, the game is just a quirky, yet fun way to get to know good friends even better.
After that, we all just talked and, well, bonded. I really fell in love with this group over the trip, we were an amazing crew. I had the feeling before departing that it was going to be awesome with who was going, but honestly, I had no idea just how true that was. We agreed that we are all very different people and therefore probably wouldn’t have ever become friends if we had simply gone to the same university. Yet, because of the special exchange we chose to do, we nonetheless became friends and it just somehow works. Shows how you never know who you can get along with and grow to love. Everyone, even if you can’t see it in the moment, has something unique to offer to the world and specifically to you. I guess, in a way, I found it beautiful that this group of 5 people, 2 of which aren’t even native english speakers (and I the only American), could get along so well with each other. In the moment I didn’t realize that was part of what made me love the trip so much, but in retrospect, it certainly was a large, contributing factor to my enjoyment of Spring break.
I went to bed that night excited, for in the morning we would be in Russia… But that is for my Part Three of my Spring Break Blogs.
Takk for i dag, Lola blog!
Taken while exploring Helsinki. From left to right: Sam, Vince, Cami, Nick.
McDonald’s in Italy to avoid hanger
