Alright alright I know its been forever since I have last posted but there has just been so much going on! I’ve been basic and visited Munich, Germany for OktoberFest and have brought my textbook knowledge to good use as I spent a weekend learning all about World War II. I feel like my posts just don’t do justice to my adventures but here is an attempt to tell you how much fun I am having and all the things I have been learning!

Waking up bright and early last Friday morning my friends and I headed for the airport as we set off for Munich, Germany. Upon arriving in Germany I was shocked as to how amazing and clean the city was. We walked off the train and found ourselves in MarienPlatz, the main square of Munich, facing the Glockenspiel. Looking into the sea of people, everyone aimlessly pointed their cameras to capture the building’s beauty.

We spent the afternoon walking around the city and ended up at the original Hofbrauhaus (dating back to the 16^th century) for lunch. I was instantly overwhelmed as we walked into the beer hall and saw everyone clanking his or her oversized beers together and hearing the band’s jolly music echo of the beautifully painted walls. Luckily, we were able to snatch a table in the corner and proceeded to eat a delicious German meal. Thankfully, one of my travel companions, Max, is of German decent and was able to order food for us because I had zero idea what to get. We sat in the beer hall for what seemed to be hours enjoyed a fabulous first afternoon in Munich.

Once we finished our meal we set out on a mission to find traditional German clothing to wear to OktoberFest for the next day. Every street corner seemed to have a vendor selling drindls and lederhosens but none of them looked appealing. Thankfully, we stumbled upon a shop that had authentic options opposed to the tourist trap choices. After our shopping extravaganza we tooled through the city a bit more. All the locals were extremely nice and welcoming to us and it fun people watching all the other tourists who travelled for the festivities.

That evening we took the train and headed for the town of Mammendorf. We truly immersed ourselves in the German culture as were hosted at Max’s Aunt Maria’s home. Maria lives in the town of Nassenhaussen, which is a tiny village of 400 people, on the outskirts of Munich. Patiently, we waited at the train station in Mammendorf for Maria to pick us up as we arrived a few minutes early. To be honest, I was a little nervous sitting on the sidewalk waiting for Maria. I couldn’t help but think we were in the wrong town and were going to end up stranded in the middle of Germany. (I didn’t say anything though, because no one likes the travel friend who always has anxiety.) Thankfully, Maria showed up and drove us to her home about 15 minutes away.

Staying with Maria was an experience I will never forget. I was so excited to be seeing Germany from an authentic perspective. Throughout the weekend she made us several home made meals that were delicious and welcomed us with open arms every time we arrived back. However, communication was a slight problem. Maria spoke no English, and Max was the only one who spoke German out of our travel crew. The only phrase I was able to catch onto over the course of my stay was danke meaning thank you. By knowing this one word and having a simple simile on my face I felt like I was able to communicate enough for her to understand how much I appreciated staying with her and how happy I was to have met her. Although, she probably thought it was somewhat strange that I repeatedly nodded my head saying thank you for three days.

Saturday morning we put on our drindls and set off for OktoberFest. We arrived around 7:45 am and waited in line in the beer-garden for the beer-hall to open. Right as we walked under the welcome sign I felt like I was in a movie. It was the biggest carnival I had ever seen and I could not wait for the day to begin! The grounds that the festival is held on have giant carnival rides, games, cute German shops, and beer halls on every corner. When the doors of the Hofbrauhaus Tent opened at 9am everyone aggressively flooded in dressed in their German clothing. I felt like I was being carried through a wave of people. Never in my life have I experienced so much pushing and shoving it was insane. Once we were in the giant beer tent we raced to get a table and establish our territory for the day.

The hall was filled with thousands of excited people desperately waving down the waitresses who were carrying 1-liter beers and fresh pretzels. We spent the afternoon in the tent hanging out with old and new friends. Every other minute someone would walk up and cheers with you or would offer you a bite of their pretzel. After leaving the tent we got a bite to eat from one of the stands outside, walked around for a little, rode a ride, and then headed back to Nassenhaussen to have dinner with Maria. Overall the day was a complete success!

Sunday we had a completely different change of pace and went and visited Dachau concentration camp. Dachau was one of the first and most brutal concentration camps during the Holocaust. There is not much I can/want to write about because the experience was so powerful and upsetting. Immediately, after walking through the same front entrance that the trains once brought prisoners my stomach tuned upside down and remained in knots for the rest of the day. Words cannot even begin to describe the sadness and disgusts that I felt when walking through the camp knowing that not that many years ago so many people suffered. The experience was very moving and emotionally draining, as I couldn’t even begin to imagine the cruelties that occurred on the grounds I walked on.

After spending over four hours in Dachau and seeing the museum we headed back to Munich to do some more exploring. Monday morning we arrived back in Rome and got back into our routine of school! Tuesday night a group of students went to Eataly for an amazing wine tasting! Even though the Eataly in Rome is probably twice the size of the one in Chicago, I still felt like I was back in the windy city being in a familiar place. I am sure when I get back to Chicago I will appreciate the Eataly a little more after falling in love with all the food here! The night was so fun and was filled with amazing fresh Italian food and delicious wine!

I spent the rest of the week and weekend in Rome getting to know the enteral city a little better. Friday afternoon it was lovely to meet up with family friends from home, The Valdez’s, and then I enjoyed a nice afternoon of shopping. (For some reason when I was packing I didn’t think to pack any fall sweaters or scarves so naturally I keep ending up at Zara.)

Saturday and Sunday were a bit more on the educational side as I went on a study trip focusing on World War II in Rome. The trip was lead by two incredibly intelligent Loyola alumni who provided us students with a plethora of information.

Saturday the day began by visiting the German War Cemetery Pomezia. Seeing the hundreds of crosses throughout the field honoring the men and women who died for their country reminded me of how many people perished from both sides during World War II.

Our next stop was Museo Piana delle Orme, which was one of the most impressive museums I have ever seen. Our whole experience was completely interactive and really helped me understand more about WWII. Each exhibit had life size manikins dressed in a soldier’s uniform while commentary played in the background to make one feel like they were on the battlegrounds. Aside from the serious part of the museum there was a lighter side, we visited the toy museum, which was on the grounds. That afternoon we also visited Isola Bella and the Beach of Nettuno, which were both historical and significant sites during the war.

However, my favorite part of the day was when we visited the Sicily Rome American Cemetery in Netunno. This cemetery is commissioned under the American Battle Monuments Commission and is absolutely beautiful. The cemetery has over 7,000 headstones honoring American men and women who fought in Italy during the war. Walking through the grounds it was difficult to process the fact that most of the people who were fighting in the war were the same age as myself. This revelation made me so thankful for the opportunities I have in my life and reminded me how lucky I am to be an American. The cemetery is 77 acres and in the back center there is the “Brothers in Arms” Memorial. The symbolism behind the memorial is that the young men that were fighting in the war were all brothers no mater what branch of the military they served in. It was an extremely moving experience when we placed flowers on the memorial and read a pray to honor all those who served for our country.

Sunday we retraced the events that occurred on March 23^rd, 1944. We began our day by visiting Fosse Ardatine, which are the caves where 335 people were killed in reprisal for the events that occurred at Via Rasella. A simplified version of the story goes as such: several members of a political opposition group planned a bombing on a German police parade. Consequently, Hitler ordered a reprisal for his men that were killed, this lead to the execution of 10 Italians for every one German dead. These Italians were killed in the caves we visited and the caves were later blown up to cover up the evidence of any murders. Visiting the caves put my stomach in similar knots to the ones I had when I visited Dachau. It was so intense seeing the massacre site and visiting the graves of the men that were killed.

We continued our afternoon at Museo della Liberazione on Via Tasso. This museum was the former Gestapo headquarters as well as a prison for the Jews of Rome. From the outside of the building one would never know that it had such a historical significance. Walking through the building we were able to see the actual jail cells that prisoners were held in and see the rooms where Nazi meetings were held. The walls of the cells are filled with personal belongings and memoirs of the hundreds of people that were detained there. Seeing this reminded me that average men and women were locked up and beat for no real reason, they had normal jobs and families like anyone else. We heard countless stories of the people that were in prisoned and really got to see the Nazi’s oppression first hand.

After visiting the museum we went to Via Rasella where the bombings that triggered the murder of the men in Fosse Ardatine. We walked up and down the street and heard the story of the brave Italian men and women who planned the attack. Looking up at the sides of the buildings you can still see the bullet holes from the attack. We took a break from our history lesson and had a fabulous lunch in Piazza Navona.

We concluded our day by visiting the Jewish Ghetto. This neighborhood is were the Jews of Rome were forced to leave and were later forced out of. It is estimated that around 1,040 Jews were taken from this neighborhood and only 15 survived by the end of the war. The neighborhood was really fascinating to see and we ended our day by eating delicious Jewish doughnuts! Throughout my two-day trip I think I learned more about World War II than all the information a textbook ever provided me. So far studying abroad has given me so many great opportunities to learn about other cultures and see history first hand.

Rome is still absolutely amazing. The weather is starting to change, street vendors are starting to sell umbrellas instead of fans, and fewer tourists fill the streets. My new favorite “Italian” thing to do is enjoy aperitivio which is a cocktail and finger food buffet. It is pretty much a happy hour but Italians just sit and talk and enjoy the evening before they go out for the night. As for my Italian language skills I feel like I can understand more than I can speak but that is expected. I finally have the bus system and the Metra down which is a huge personal accomplishment! Next week is fall break and I will be travelling throughout Italy with my mom!

GRAZIE FOR READING! XOXO

Food is my favorite part of any day, thus I try to spend as much money as my budget allows stuffing my face with various Korean (and various other) cuisines. As I do not have a meal plan, this means I must venture out into the greater Seoul area in search of daily meals. For the unassuming foreigner, Korean restaurant etiquette is a tricky thing. My first few experiences left me red-faced and flustered, despite many a chipper waiter who chattered away in a cacophony of Korean in what I assume was a well-meaning (yet unsuccessful) attempt to guide me through the motions of eating in a Korean restaurant.

– Firstly, diners set the table themselves. As far as I know, only in western-style (or perhaps very fancy) restaurants will the cutlery, cups, and napkins be neatly waiting at each diners’ places beforehand. Instead, chopsticks and spoons are neatly tucked away in wooden boxes or in a drawer on the side of table waiting to be distributed. In addition, Korean chopsticks (unlike Chinese chopsticks) are made of metal and are usually flat, not round (a much more comfortable shape). As somebody who had never used chopsticks before, the first few weeks of using flat chopsticks made me feel as incompetent as Edward Scissorhands (and speaking of scissors, they are also typically provided by restaurants in place of knives to cut noodles or meat).

– It is rare for each person to get their own menu. Rather, people share one menu (or in the case of a larger group, additional menus will be provided, but the total will still fall short). This makes for some awkward moments: either no one wants to be over-eager and be the first to snatch the menu, or everyone is starving and is desperately trying to pry the menu from each other’s grasp before the waiter approaches to take the orders. I have encountered two types of waiters in Korea: the first type places the menu on the table then immediately proceeds to stare at me until- in a panicked state- I am forced to blurt out an order like a contestant during the final round of Wheel of Fortune, whereas the other type of waiter will leave me sitting with the menu for so long that I reach the point of hunger in which the menu itself seems like a viable (if not hard to digest) food option.

– After delivering the food, the waitstaff does not return to the table to see if additional items are needed or to check the quality of the food. If you do not call your waiter over, you will literally never interact with them again before leaving the restaurant. However, the Koreans have come up with an ingenious solution: a call button. Each table is equipped with a button that when pressed, will summon the waiter to your table. This saves you a lot of awkward attempts at eye contact that usually just end with the eventual acceptance that you will have to do without that additional bottle of peach soju.

– Upon the completion of your meal, the check is not delivered to your table. In order to pay, you must approach the cash register (typically located near the entrance) and attempt to recall the Korean name of the dish you just inhaled. After listening to you pathetically attempt to (incorrectly) sound out the first two syllables, the man behind the register will give an exasperated sigh and demand your credit card, which you happily relinquish. Tipping is not custom in Korea, so with a quick signature the process is complete.

(Obligatory picture of food, known as 비빔밥)

Until next time.

Living abroad has without a doubt been the greatest experience of my short 20 years. I’ve had so many delicious meals, eaten more gelato than I will admit and am speaking fluent Italian. (Just kidding about the last one!)

Fall break, basically a 10-day vacation from our semester-long vacation, is just around the corner, and we’re all itching in our seats to catch our flights around the world. However, before we embark on those journeys, we have one last speed bump: midterm exams.

Everyone always talks about how exciting it is to study abroad, and it is, but they always leave out the “study” part. In addition to our weekend trips, late-night gelato runs and leisurely strolls through the city, we actually have a full schedule of classes. And they’re not all easy. Most of the courses here consist of a midterm, paper, final exam and maybe the occasional quiz. That means that these grades are heavily weighted into your final grade for the semester; therefore, it’s imperative to do well.

Like any exam, it’s important to spend enough time to study. This is much easier said than done, especially when Rome is your home. Here are a few tips I use to stay on track while studying abroad:
1. Set aside time every week to read and annotate the assigned readings. They may not seem important now, but when you have to site an author from the first week of class, it’s nice to have something to reference.
2. Plan ahead. Especially if you know you’re traveling over the weekend. You won’t do your homework on the way home; I promise. Get it done before you leave.

3. Form a study group. If you don’t understand the material, there’s likely someone in your class that does. You don’t want to do poorly on an exam because you didn’t understand the material. That could put a real damper on your time abroad.

4. Use a reward system. Homework can be tough to get through sometimes. Set benchmarks and rewards for yourself once you’ve completed each task. For example, treating yourself to your favorite gelato shop once you’ve finished the reading for one class.

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em. Thy Fates open their hands. Let thy blood and spirit embrace them.”

-Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

What a week! It seems like every time I post, life is just getting better and better. I had lots of cool adventures this week all over London and beyond. Sometimes it feels like I spend all my time (and all my money) on the Tube.

Tuesday I finished with school at one after an intense monologue workshop session in Shakespeare class. I spent the afternoon at the Hunterian Museum. Housed by the Royal College of Surgeons, it has over 3500 preserved specimens from John Hunter’s collection (dating back to the 1700s). It also has exhibits on the evolution of surgery throughout time.  Despite being pretty disgusting, it was also really interesting, and very different from anything else I’ve done while I’ve been here. I thought the coolest (and ickiest) parts were human fetuses at all stages of development, bones that showed extreme deterioration from syphilis, and the skeleton of a man who was seven feet, seven inches tall!

Wednesday we left straight from class to go to the English National Opera. One of our teachers, Christopher, was hosting a pre-performance talk with some of the production staff, so we got a little history and some insider info about the production before the show. After a break for dinner, we settled into our seats (and I mean really settled in – it was three hours long) for The Barber of Seville. The opera was performed in English (instead of the original Italian), which I didn’t expect, and I’m not really sure I liked. Overall I think opera is something I can appreciate, but don’t necessarily enjoy. I’m still glad we went, though, and I love that our program includes opportunities to see all different kinds of performing arts.

The highlight of classes this week was a workshop on Theatre of the Oppressed. Thursday morning we met with Emma, our interim director, to learn all about Augusto Boal and the techniques he developed for using theatre as direct action in social justice. We played games and explored some of these techniques, just scratching the surface of what Boal created. I’d written a paper about Boal and read a lot about his work, but this workshop was really exciting for me because it was my first opportunity to see and participate in this style of theatre.

Friday evening a group of us from school went out to see the new film version of Macbeth. I didn’t particularly like it as a whole, but Marion Cotillard as Lady M made the whole thing worth it. Then Saturday I had a big, exciting adventure at Thorpe Park! I’d been looking into the park since before I left the States and I could hardly believe I was actually there. We had an awesome day riding coasters and thrill rides, and I left with my coaster count up to 32!

Last night England’s rugby team lost to Australia, which means they’re officially out of the running for the world cup. But other than that it’s seriously been the best week I could have imagined. I love fall and Halloween, so October is a great month, and this week has gotten it off to a great start.

I am so so sorry for the delayed blog post! As the old Spanish proverb goes, “Spanish wifi is very slow”. Nevertheless, I’m here to update you all on the most amazing trip I recently took. Last weekend we had a day off on Friday so my roommate and I decided to head up to Barcelona! The cheapest way to get there is by bus (ya girl is a struggling college student, cheap is good!) which took a total of 7 hours to get there. Barcelona is on the north west coast of Spain, opening up to the Mediterranean Sea. Known for the amazing art of Gaudi, incredible paella and for having the most attractive soccer/futbol team (matter of opinion but I doubt anyone will disagree with this observation) you can probably imagine how excited I was to see everything!!!

Our first day was spent doing all the necessary touristy things. Our first stop was to see the Sagrada Familia! The Sagrada Familia is a huge Roman Catholic Church that dates back to 1882. It was designed by the infamous Antoni Gaudi and has been in construction for the past 100 years since his death in 1926. Although we didn’t get to go inside the cathedral, the outer construction was breath taking. The Sagrada Familia isn’t just big, it is massive! You can see a lot of Gaudi’s style represented throughout the design, my favorite being the colorful mosaic designs that pop up throughout the cathedral. The pictures I took do not do it justice, I could have easily spent all day there!

Our next stop was to see a couple houses located downtown, that Gaudi had designed. The first house is called La Pedrera and has since been recognized as more of a sculpture than a building because of its abstract design. I loved the shape of the house, the wavy walls reminded me of waves of the ocean, and the iron sculptured balconies were so intricately designed! The next house is known as El Drac de Gaudi at Finca Guell. As much as I loved the first house, I loved this one even more! My favorite part was of course, the beautiful mosaic designs seen throughout the house. One of the most interesting parts of the house are the balconies. They are literally designed to look like bones! The contrast between that and the bright color of the house is confusingly perfect. Who would have thought that bones and mosaic would go together so well??

Next up was the amazing Park Guell! Can I just say that I have been dreaming of this beautiful place ever since I watched The Cheetah Girls 2. Quick synopsis if you for some reason haven’t seen it (after you read this pls go to Netflix and watch it), the cheetah girls travel all the way to Barcelona to compete in a music contest in which they basically run around Barcelona having the time of their lives. In one iconic song (Strut Like You Mean It) they film a part of it in Park Guell and it is truly magnificent! After having seen the movie countless times I can say without hesitation that Park Guell truly lived up to all of my Cheetah Girls 2 fantasies. The infamous bench was right up my alley, colorful mosaic that snakes along the seats that overlook the city. It is actually incredible to think about all the work that must have went into creating something so beautiful. Besides the bench, Park Guell is also in fact a park. There are a ton of other Gaudi designs in the park as well as some really amazing gardens. Again, I could have easily spent all day there.

The rest of our trip consisted of paella, beaches, and amazing people. We took a trip to Sitges, Spain which is the sweetest little town right on the beach. Filled with adorable gelato shops and colorful restaurants, Sitges is the epitome of a coastal beach town! While in Sitges we also had the opportunity to see a human tower competition. Basically, groups from different towns come together and compete to see who does the best/biggest human tower. It is incredible. There are easily 25+ people per tower and they stand on each others shoulders and climb up their bodies to create amazingly tall human towers. I feel like this is a bad description 🙁 but you can check it out in the picture I took below!  The paella that we had (You can’t go to Barcelona and not eat paella) was to die for. Salty and fishy (bad description, but so delicious) with a hint of lemon, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it 🙁 The beaches in Barcelona are definitely different from the ones we have back at home. I witnessed a ton of nudity which is cool but also kind of unsettling when it comes to grandmas and grandpas doing it but hey, more power to them. The water was a lot cooler than I expected, (high expectations from growing up in Hawaii and being blessed with beautiful beaches everywhere) but the beaches in Barcelona are truly beautiful in their own way!

In Barcelona we did a bit more sightseeing on our last day. We visited a beautiful park called Parc de la Ciutadella. It was similar to Retiro park here in Madrid, but it had a crazy magnificent waterfall fountain. Seriously, parks in Spain put the parks back home in the states to shame! Walking through we passed  by a group of parents and their kids doing yoga, a street performer making huge bubbles for little kids, groups of teens sitting around and playing guitars, so many people coming together in such a beautiful environment! Our last stop was to see the Arc de Triomf.  It was built as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World fair by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas.

Although I didn’t get to meet my future husband Neymar (number 11 on the field,  number 1 in my heart), Barcelona was truly an amazing place to visit. From the delicious food, to the amazing art, I am already trying to find a way to come back! It is not a goodbye Barcelona, but a see you later!!!

Well I made it.

Feels like I’ve been in London for approximately 3 months but I’ve actually been here now for exactly 10 days. My first few days here kind of blurred together. Most of my time the first weekend was spent meeting my new flatmates (all four of them), buying things for the flat to make it feel less like a sterile hospital ward (it was mostly a success), and getting to know the pub that we live above (they already know me by name). Before I get to anything about London, I might as well tell you about my flat first!

The three bedroom flat has one bathroom, no dryer, and is held together with duct tape in some places (literally). Some windows don’t open, some don’t close, and our neighbors keep finding bees. However, it’s in the best location you could possibly ask for in London by far! Not only is it right above a pub with good food and a great atmosphere, it’s about 2 feet away from Regent’s Park and 2 blocks away from the Baker Street Underground Station, which is super convenient. (Yes, for those of you Arthur Conon Doyle fans, it is THAT Baker Street. I’m approximately two doors down from 221b, which makes Sherlock Holmes my fictional neighbor. It’s a cool story to tell but I’m already getting tired of weaving in and out of tourists to get to my front door.) The location around my flat is insanely cool, and it’s also a pretty easy commute to my school; only a 25 minutes Tube ride away.

The Underground has been fairly easy to get the hang of so far, which I suppose I can thank my experience with Chicago public transportation for. The Tube is pretty much just like the L in Chicago, except a bit larger with a few million more people using it. Unfortunately, all my classes either begin or end (or both) during peak rush hour times. I have to transfer lines at King’s Cross station, which kind of makes me feel like a rat in a maze, but so far I’ve always gotten where I needed to be, so I’m going to call my experience with the public transit a success.

While not at orientation, I spent a good chunk of my week last week hitting all the tourist-y places. Camden Market was probably one of my favorites; a maze of food stalls and vintage stores, sometimes indoors, sometimes out. My friends can all expect to get their Christmas presents from Camden Town this year! Regent’s Park is super close to me and a really nice sized parks. It’s easy to get lost in and a great place to sit and read. The London Zoo is also located inside the park. It isn’t free, but if you take the right path you can still sneak a look at the camels! Of course I also had to hit the typical tourist traps like Big Ben and Parliament. Not the MOST exciting, but a must have for the photo album. The architecture here is unlike anything you could find in the US! Another nice thing about London; all the museums are free. My roommate and I managed to stop at the science museum so far, and if it’s anything to go by, I’m very excited to see the rest!

School started today, and I can already tell it’s going to be a lot different than life at Loyola. The only classes available are blocks of three hours, so while I only have each class once a week, it still adds up to a LOT of class time at once. On Tuesday’s I’ll be on campus from 9am until 5pm, and Wednesdays and Thursdays are 2 until 5. The hallways are absolutely a maze (not just to us international students, but students that have been there for years as well). I showed up for class this morning at 8:25, but didn’t find my class until 8:50. I don’t think I’m ever going to complain about finding my class in Chicago again! (I am however, going to continue to complain about textbook prices in the US because 25 pounds ($37) is apparently “expensive” for students here.)

After a week, I’ve really begun to settle in here in London, though I’m still adjusting to looking the opposite way while crossing the street. I’m still looking for a way to watch American Football (even though the Lions are currently 0-3) and I haven’t found a home-y coffee shop yet (I can’t do this tea thing), but other than that, I’m beginning to feel right at home back in a big city!

“If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.”

– Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Hello friends back home!

Here we are at the end of another busy week, and an exciting one for a very special reason – as of yesterday, we’ve been here for a month! It’s hard not to think ahead and worry about knowing my adventure here has to come to an end eventually, but for now I’m just trying to absorb and enjoy.

I started off the week pretty sick and miserable, but luckily that didn’t last long. We’re getting to the point where classes are starting to get really busy, so there’s no time to be sick! This week we’ve started working on monologues in Shakespeare class, doing some intense text work for Acting, and moved into the eighteenth century for Period Dance. We also had a film workshop this week! The guest teachers filmed us while we did our scenes, and everyone who wasn’t performing got to watch the actors on the screen. I’d never done anything on camera before, so it was a fun and useful new experience.

Our walking lecture this week was on Wednesday, in Kensington Gardens. We learned all about Queen Victoria’s life, her husband Albert, and what they did for arts and sciences in Britain. That evening a group of us went to a reception at the home of a Fordham alum. We got to talk to lots of other students from the business and liberal arts programs, as well as some professors that attended. There was also so much art to look at, from three original Matisse paintings to ancient Greek and Roman pottery. It’s been really interesting meeting these alumni and learning about how Fordham and the London Centre fit into their stories and journeys to success.

Thursday I saw Tipping the Velvet, an adaptation of one of my favorite books! I had no idea there was going to be a play version until I saw the posters on the tube, and it just happened to be playing in the Lyric Hammersmith, which is a ten minute walk from our flats. The production was very entertaining, though not without flaws (mostly the length). It’s only in previews this week, so I’ve been wondering if anything will change before they officially open. I think I might go back then, since it could be a really interesting insight into the process of creating a new work.

Friday after class we all gathered in one of our flats for theatre games and a fun evening unwinding from the week. Then we headed out to the clubs! It’s been great getting to know everyone and being part of such a tight-knit group that works hard together and then goes out and has fun together too. Saturday England lost to Wales in rugby, which was less fun.

Today a big group of us went to the London Zoo as part of an assignment for acting class. It was quite the trek to get there, with some of the train lines closed, packed buses, and a lot of time wasted getting lost. But once we got there we were definitely impressed! We especially enjoyed the meerkats, the “In With the Lemur” exhibit, and watching an okapi eat some leaves. Tonight we’re back in the student lounge at school, finishing up work and getting ready for the week!

“Stay in band, kids!” It’s something I’ve heard my entire life and definitely something I’ve whole-heartedly embraced as I’ve grown up. Many of you know that I’m a total band/music freak and I’m not afraid to geek out and share that with people. Throughout my life, there have been many benefits from being a crazed band kid, and I’ve found many other benefits (as well as band kids) here in Uppsala.

I immediately made over twenty new friends upon showing up to a nation’s band rehearsal (a “nation” here in Uppsala is a student club/organization, each one having its own building, restaurant/pub, activities, gasques, choirs, bands, etc…). I decided to attend the “Hornboskapen Orkester’s” rehearsal one Tuesday evening, never having played any of the instruments that this “orchestra” was comprised of (only trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion, and piccolo are allowed), yet I was welcomed with open arms (and beers all around) and was a part of that band family within minutes of showing up!

Before this, I had attempted to make a friends (or at least acquaintances) by spending time at the nations casually dining and drinking with the other American students and mingling with international and Swedish students. However, as previously warned, most Swedes are pretty reserved and difficult to warm up to initially, and us American folk from Loyola had made a total of zero non-Newman Institute related friends in the three weeks we’d been here.

Thanks to my staying in band since 5th grade and going to that first Hornboskapen rehearsal, I gained even more band kid friends (oddly enough – it seems that band kids even on the opposite side of the world have the same sense of humor, making it incredibly easy to fit in right away and feel at home). Additionally, I get to attend rehearsals each Tuesday night (7-10pm, playing everything from “The Circle of Life” in the Lion King to old Swedish folk songs. The thing I found most ridiculous about this Hornboskapen band was that rather than water bottles by most musicians’ feet, there are bottles of beer instead! Obviously, the drinking culture here is incredibly prominent and laid back.) as well as the famous gasques hosted by the Snerikes Nation for free! These gasques are pretty fancy- attendees must dress up in formal suits and dresses and the evening includes a three-course dinner, dancing, singing, drinking, toasting, mini-theatre, and even clubbing afterwards. These 12 hour ordeals are exhausting, but Swedes sure know how to throw a great party

So all in all, stay in band kids. You won’t regret it.

(this Sunday blog post brought to you on a Tuesday, courtesy of poor internet connection and website errors)

“Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.”

-Shakespeare, Cymbeline

Well, here we are, another Sunday after another busy week! It’s been a particularly good one, too – lots of work but lots of time for fun too, and some great theatre along the way!

Classes are still great. This week we said a temporary goodbye to our program director Kathryn Pogson, who’s off to the States for four weeks to perform in Antigone. We also welcomed back our Drama Crit teacher Christopher from a week in hospital, and guided ourselves through a Movement class because our teacher Hannah was sick… let’s just say it’s been an eventful week. This week’s highlight for me has been all the detailed text work we’ve been doing in Acting for Shakespeare. Having never taken a formal Shakespeare class, I’m really enjoying learning all these different tools to analyse text and get it on its feet.

Our show of the week was The Beaux’ Stratagem at the National Theatre. It’s a Restoration comedy all about love, marriage, and deception, complicated by a band of thieving highwaymen. The whole production was just really clean and well done, and the overall impression was of a very cohesive piece. My favorite parts were the musicians, who played very well and frequently interacted with characters onstage, and the beautifully and creatively designed set.

Friday we had another walking lecture, this one to Middle Temple and the Inns of Court. We learned about English law, the Knights Templar, lots of architecture, and plenty of theatre history thrown in. We saw the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane, the oldest continuously operated theatre site in London. Finally we went to Covent Garden and saw St. Paul’s church (known as the Actors’ Church, and where Eliza Doolittle sells her flowers).

We spent Friday night in bars watching England beat Fiji in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup. Saturday we headed out to see Bend it Like Beckham the Musical, which was amazing. I expected a fun and feel-good theatre experience, but it surpassed that. There were lots of cool effects to show characters interacting with soccer balls, gorgeously designed and coordinated costumes, and some surprisingly emotional songs. It’s getting great reviews, and it deserves them! I’m so happy we decided to try to get tickets.

As usual, today has been all about catching up on homework, cleaning, and trying to get the wifi to let me blog. I have a bit of a sore throat, so I’m hoping a restful day will have me ready to face another week!

See you next Sunday!

Before I launch into a variety of stories, I think it’s important that I add a little note to the beginning of this blog post (I really should add it to all my blogs, and pretty much everything in my life all the time but since that’s unrealistic this will have to do). What I want to do is make a public declaration of how GRATEFUL I am for the literal never-ending love and support that I receive from my wonderful parents, Corinne and Doug. I can honestly say that I absolutely would not be halfway across the world right now having the time of my life if it were not for them. I don’t know a lot (or really any) other kids who can say that their parents have so selflessly supported all their reckless and spontaneous decisions, especially when said decisions involved leaving home to study on the other side of the world four different times. So… THANK YOU MOM AND DAD. Only because of you is any of this possible, and for that I am exceedingly grateful.

Now then… I had big plans for Sunday. Well, not ‘big’ plans. I was going to make some tomato soup and then sit down to write a nice long blog post filled with sarcasm and witty observations. Instead, as I was making the first cut into the onion to put into the soup, I slid a butchers knife straight into my hand and went to the hospital to get 8 stitches instead (although I must say, in my defense I paid the equivalent of $2 for the knife at a Korean dollar store called Daiso. I did not exactly expect to be paying for a quality knife because, seriously, I was expecting a $2 knife to be as dull as a rock). I pride myself on being a good cook, but I like to balance out that talent by doing stupid things like licking food off sharp knives, which is exactly what I was doing the night before I sliced my hand open with another knife from Daiso, so I guess it’s inevitable that something like this was going to happen. Anyways, the silver lining of this whole mess is that I got a first-hand look at the intricacies of the Korean healthcare system:

#1: Healthcare is not free. I mean it sure beats the $700 I would have likely paid if I had sliced my hand open as an uninsured youth in the United States, yet I was expecting the equivalent of the European universal healthcare system. Sadly no. However $70 for 8 stitches is a pretty sweet deal.

#2: Koreans go to the hospital for everything. And I mean everything. Small cut? Hospital. Slight fever? Hospital. Sneezed a few too many times in a row? It could mean immanent death. You guess it. Hospital. As I was waiting to get my hand stitched up, I was sitting next to a four-year-old child whose mother literally brought him to the hospital with a simple bloody nose and was waiting to be seen by the doctor. Which now explains the reason I was initially told I would need to wait 5 hours to get my hand sewn up (they later sent me to a less-crowded, if not lower-grade hospital with a shorter wait).

#3: They err on the side of caution. For a simple stitch job I was given an antibiotic shot beforehand and then was sent home with painkillers (side note: by “painkillers” I assumed they meant a stronger version of ibuprofen. I found out in the middle of my first class, when I nearly wobbled out of my chair, that they had actually prescribed me something closer to oxycontin) and another course of antibiotics. In addition, I was told I need to keep my hand tightly bandaged for two weeks, change the bandage every 2 days, not expose the wound or bandage to water, ect… I mean I know I’m no expert but this seems a bit extreme for a small cut.

#4: Again with the dramatics. Any Korean I have come in contact with (language teacher, grocery store clerk, waitress, ect) has been intensely curious as to how I injured my hand and has proceeded to gasp audibly in shock/horror when I describe the incident. They react as though I am describing how I purposely stuck my hand in a garbage disposal for fun and not just mildly injured myself by my own stupidity. This is funny for many reasons, but primarily because the cut itself is pretty small (but a bit deep- I am a very vigorous onion slicer) so it’s just the bandage that makes the whole injury look exaggerated.

In other news, last weekend the Yon-Ko games were held, in which Yonsei University and Korea University face off in 5 different sporting events (rugby, soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball). I only attended one of the games (basketball) but that was enough to get a pretty good idea of what Yon-Kon is all about. The first thing I’ll say is that I rarely attend sporting events, but when I do it’s to watch the athletes engage in physical activity. To be honest I usually just show up for the food; it’s rare to find Dippin’ Dots outside of sports arenas in the United States. Point being, when I attend as a spectator I do not expect to be the one getting the workout. However, at the Yon-Ko basketball game I attended, from the second I walked through the door of the stadium it was like entering a beehive; the entire stadium was on its feet engaged in rapid, intricate dance moves, led by the respective Yonsei and Korea University dance teams. The dance teams themselves are a whole other story. The Yonsei dance team was dressed in costumes with elements of both go-go dancers and French Renaissance fashion. They led the crowd in a series of non-stop dances that lasted the entire span of the game. Unlike sporting events in the US, the dancing was not limited to pregame festivities or the halftime show. Rather, for the entire duration of the match, speakers blasted music and the crowd furiously danced, cheered, and managed to watch the game at the same time. The other Korean students were clearly familiar with the dance moves and as such they followed along comfortably with the dance team. My fellow exchange students and I, on the other hand, were totally out of our element, a fact which was made incredibly obvious as we were grouped together in the stands (as part of the “Mentor’s Club” mentioned in previous posts, Korean students paired with exchange students) and our section was the only one that remained awkwardly out of sync with the rest of the stadium. Nonetheless the atmosphere alone was not to be missed. As much as I love Loyola, I will admit that sports are not our strong suit (save for men’s volleyball that one year) therefore it was nice to experience a bit of rabid school spirit.

The Yonsei dance team at the Yon-Ko Games

A few weeks ago, on a late Friday night (or early Saturday morning, I should say, as it was nearing 5am), I found myself in a Korean bathhouse (called a 찜질방) which was awesome:

For a mere 11,000 won (about $10), you can splash around in hot tubs, cold tubs, saunas, cold rooms (humid rooms? I’m getting creative with the names here) and even get a ‘scrub down’ (I opted out) in which a stranger uses a cloth similar to fine sandpaper to, well, scrub you down.

They give you a nifty outfit to wear, not unlike nurses’ scrubs. You are also provided with a ‘towel’ (which is a generous word, because I don’t understand how you are supposed to use a piece of fabric about 6×12 inches to dry your whole body).

Communal bars of soap are provided and widely used by everyone, which I’ve never thought was very sanitary. So far everything in Korea has been up-to-snuff sanitation wise, except when it comes to the practice of using communal bars of soap. In most public restrooms, there is no liquid soap but instead a bar of soap usually attached to the wall by a metal bar for easy access. Puzzling.

Nudity is the name of the game. This might not be a shocking thing to people outside of North America (as I am told that people go to bathhouses/saunas naked in Northern Europe and elsewhere), but I have never been to a sauna in the United States in which people were not wearing either towels or swimsuits. Obviously it’s strictly separated by gender, but still, communal nudity is not a common occurrence and it definitely takes some getting used to. It’s funny that Koreans dress more conservatively than westerners in public but in private, nudity is not problem yet for westerners, public provocativeness is a non-issue and in private, modesty is more important.

People go to the bathhouses to sleep. After paddling around for awhile like a drunk duck in the various hot baths, I put on my scrubs and wandered into the communal area to get a drink. Upon opening the door, it looked like I had entered the Jonestown commune. There were bodies sprawled on every inch of the floor, in various states of consciousness. After a night of drinking, if people are unwilling or unable to make it back to their homes (the subway is closed from midnight until 5am), people simply convene in bathhouses (it’s cheaper than a motel and cleaner than the street). You can also sleep inside the actual 120-degree saunas, which are shaped like little clay igloos and are heated by broiling furnaces, but I have yet to discover the health benefits of this behavior besides headaches and dehydration.

Until next time! Hopefully by then my hand will be healed because right now my left hand is bandaged up like a flipper which makes typing slightly tedious.

As an awkward afterthought, here is a picture of the older part of the Yonsei campus as I realize that I have shared very few (i.e. none at all) pictures on this blog.