tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85364423774008954822024-03-14T10:13:17.813-07:00most of nowVisiting. Being. Life Endeavors.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-91396854087677856562011-03-29T00:47:00.000-07:002011-04-05T05:00:53.632-07:00One Month<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr55Rng0dKt8Mr2iin4BmWbydLKtCyBrk6srobs1dZT3FcFlqpd22F5GKgSnhKCcw_1A1QImd9iEBDUC9RLF7HERSahVSsHwYBCA4litvwtVNMAfeaeSFOxX1oN4sOMMByo-gnRWuC79Q/s1600/IMG_0021.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr55Rng0dKt8Mr2iin4BmWbydLKtCyBrk6srobs1dZT3FcFlqpd22F5GKgSnhKCcw_1A1QImd9iEBDUC9RLF7HERSahVSsHwYBCA4litvwtVNMAfeaeSFOxX1oN4sOMMByo-gnRWuC79Q/s320/IMG_0021.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592067124096476322" /></a><br />I have lived in Paris for one month now and I still haven't had the chance to try all the baked goods. Maybe I have my priorities wrong and should be putting more effort into trying a new flakey pastry each and every day.<br /><br />Things I have been putting effort towards would be: finding a job, trying to occupy myself with Paris wandering, and purchasing groceries. I seem to buy groceries quite a bit. I think it has something to do with our small European fridge. I have rediscovered my love for coffee but in a masochistic or perhaps self preserving way I am limiting myself to one a day. I do love sleep as well so I am trying to find a balance. I also have been putting effort towards convincing my tongue that it should form silly sounds and produce the French language. Living with all French people has helped immensely but I need to stop thinking that hearing French is a cue for me to zone out. I think it is my Au Pair reflexes coming back, hearing a foreign language was the cue I did't have to be part of the conversation. My brain is trying it's best though. I have even purchased a kid's book in French from a used bookstore to help with my reading comprehension. AND it happens to be a Mary-Kate and Ashley book! That would have been my top book choice back in the day if I happened to be French. <br /><br />My French skills have improved enough for me to have an interview all in French though. Sure it was slightly clumsy and mostly only took place in the present tense but it was still an interview all in French! I was quite proud of myself. I do have to give some credit to my french and all the roommies for having patience to speak slow, child-like French with me when speaking English would really get the point across much quicker. I have adopted some wonderful phrases such as: oh la la, zut, chouette, and je pense que oui. I'm keeping my eye out for others to be added to my repertoire.<br /><br />Paris continues to be spring like and beautiful. Even when doing the most mundane things such as walking home with groceries I like to remind myself I'M IN PARIS walking home with groceries! When I put it that way, it seems great to me.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-91262296956605401372011-02-07T20:05:00.000-08:002011-02-07T20:38:24.854-08:00French.Well. New things are on their way and days are marching on. Marcher= to walk. I'm going somewhere and I'm not sure what to think about it. Penser = to think. I'm a bit nervous. I don't know what to expect. But I'm doing it and that's the first step, non? 5 months. Cinq mois to be foreign, to have fun, trouver un travail, to feel awkward, to act like a copine, to be uncertain, to do things I haven't, to second guess myself, to think I'm absurd for doing what I'm doing, to think I'm right doing what I'm doing, to take deep breaths and to look at clouds. I don't think I can say I'm 100% certain about this but what is ever 100% certain? If you never do things that make you slightly uncomfortable we would all be far too comfy. And, I'm excited. So that is good too.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-2477467158464189452010-09-15T19:35:00.000-07:002010-09-15T21:42:23.137-07:00Last Things<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I feel that this was never finished and there is an ellipsis in my online representation of my travels. I think its about time to finish off this ellipses the best I can. Sine I last posted I have been, I have gone, and I have left and as I sit here now on a different side of the ocean I'm a bit nostalgic. So here are the cliffs notes to an amazing last 2 months of my life abroad. <div><br /></div><div>Turkey: I visited, I played, I'm no longer a nanny!!!!!</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZVSWIxj3MeNmRMdXw3OPuNRNiCNWilMIHAe9E13SVIrZeSdFX_dalR1Kl-uHyIEpDbvsRdZb8gW8P3-bW0nQeY7O6egDwc0kyVmibOY_dmboT5j_BX880ptN0pS6gFHhEayaEA32veIk/s320/P4150931.JPG" />Shortly after my last post I went to Ephesus and Cappadocia in Turkey. These were two amazing places with some amazing experiences. Ephesus was hot, very old and Greek, and the air smelt like blossoms. Perfectly marvelous in other words. I explored the old Greek city which had poppies growing all over and lots of stray cats, climbed around in a courtyard of a mosque, saw some great sunsets, and went out for one of the first nights all by myself. Oh and there were storks all over! There were ancient aqueducts of the city that were in ruins and on most of the pillars you would find a large stork's nest with some funny storks in them. My favorite moment of that trip came when I was walking back to my hostel on a clear beautiful night with a turkish dessert in one hand while staring at the turkish moon and stars. It was a moment for deep breaths.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkbokTHopK2G-MilH3Cf61KTxqWzr_rVkOJe7MOvHfK0cqOUEjYw7oj66DA1Sgpez4hjqmaCMX4Zo1iDsqLc1wQrL_ElopXnscZr6i1d1qUI1GLISKv0YABIax-ofz6CJ4YWlfW3zK4M/s320/P4171171.JPG" />From there I hopped over to Cappadoccia. This is a place that has some very unique stone formations, underground cities, and high up cave/mountain houses as well. Playing in the underground housing was a very good time. I felt like I was in goonies! The cave houses were also great for playing in. We were able to climb everywhere and explore. </div><div><br /></div><div>I returned to Turkey for my final weeks and eventually I was set free and no longer a nanny!! This was one very very exciting day. I returned to the life of a normal twenty-something- year-old and went out with friends. I was able to go to my good friend, Aysegul's home town of Eskisehir. It was so great to see her home town and meet her family and just spend time with her. After that more going out with my Istanbul friends happened, along with a wonderful going away meyhane dinner. After some Turkish tea, cookies, and a pirate taxi ride I made it to the airport and left my Istanbul life behind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scotland for a bit.</div><div>I went back to scotland and spent time crashing on my friend Steph's couch in Edinburgh. It was so good have some down time with a friend before I picked up and started my last 3 weeks of travel. I didn't do much besides snack, walk around, and chat with Steph. It was an enjoyable and much needed week! </div><div><br /></div><div> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNj5Fmc5-zNwizjOWCoXQkeT6zDyxScqgaOkkA24yqj9sIa-mlugxB0vzeVb9nDnFOf4loGmsR1v_Dne7p2f1lLD9bUpAaij3CMm7Xp_vfyz9cAN_Fw4LKzNxIInszcvbUHuPKd1fEsw/s320/P5141451.JPG" /></div><div>France: oh la la indeed.</div><div>I spent an amazing, amazing week in the south of france with Jean-yves, the brother of one of our very good family friends. He showed me the most amazing time. I stayed in his beautiful villa in a small town on the french riviera. He took me everywhere (Monaco, Italy, all over Provence, Cannes, Saint Tropez...), introduced me to wonderful people, and we ate the most amazing french food... ever. He also brought me fresh croissants and pan au chocolat every morning. oh la la indeed. Jean-yves is at least in his 70's and it was such a great experience to bond with him and spend so much time with someone that age. I was able to meet the rest of their family and see some great old pictures. He also told me wonderful life stories about France back in the day, living in Africa, flying planes, and playing the trumpet. Jean-yves was a perfect friend and tour guide. </div><div> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxkS4vEoblPPUXXjkCp5SR6zzaUZoepqdHZ4f0h2Cc0uiWCceqmqs8ovNKrS0A8nAeP_Q0ubsMC7aSd-S-OYiNkFPHxq7O7dThgDZlTN_QJLUfxzx3vqaAhJAsr5QO14qUSBgqa8MnYU/s320/P5221726.JPG" /></div><div> </div><div>From there I made it up to Paris. Paris was so much of everything. By this point I was kind of being a lame tourist and probably should have seen more of the "must see" places of Paris, although I think I managed to cross most of them off my list. I was truly content just lazing around in parks, drinking wine, eating cheese and having coffee. I was lucky enough to have a french friend to do this all with, Antoine. I got to follow him around like a non-french speaking puppy and inflict myself on him for almost a week. It was splendid. Metros, the Eiffel tower, walking around, sleeping too late, going to bed too late, graveyards and practicing saying un peu. Amazingly two of my wonderful friends from UW-Madison, Meg and Leah, were also in Paris at the same time! Being reunited in the city of love after one year was perfect.</div><div><br /></div><div>From Paris I went to Amsterdam. It was a very cool city. Canals, Anne Frank, bikes, prostitutes, and coffee. I just had a short stop but it was truly a beautiful city. </div><div><br /></div><div> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKpJ0ckQmHCxvySspBQZdHxz5bGQLedlMuz8JTFRqi5PE7DF9GAt3EKnNX1fZGYIXgF0E0d6T1EE7tviXG2O8ZjpaLoavH6dy3t6acOm7r9xSSplFoJEBa-aNWZtPLZhwkvscPte3_YQ/s320/P5271932.JPG" /></div><div>Sweden!</div><div>I went to Sweden to visit my friend Ottilia that came and studied abroad at UW for one year. It was so great to see her again! We had some really great times at madison and she showed me an amazing time in Sweden. Her family was kind enough to let me stay with them. It was great meeting her family and her mom made some wonderful swedish dishes! Ottilia was the perfect tour guide and night life guide. We went to some very fun places and saw all the beautiful things around Stockholm. I was there towards the end of may and it was staying light out until about 11 o'clock or so. It was so strange to me. Every day seemed like 3 days. It was light during the day, it got almost all the way dark by the time we were getting to a bar, then when we were going home it was light again. One of my favorite images of being in sweden was cutting through the woods to get to Ottilias house after going out. It was already getting light out with the hazy almost morning light shining through green leaves in the woods. It was damp and we were trying to avoid stepping on snails. Hearing the crunch every now and then made me sadly realize I am not good at avoiding things.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scotland: The mother land.<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFGrM5DP6Pt5IcNp7QtMvS7oY36Kr7NDsPlfGWimViDpA6ybriE_3qkLL5npbGsWnHsX-GOchRVIaZVlKV531tIVgCvy6tklHNhV6WZDYBJrk7TFCDMu1GDg0pWxIb01SsxhnZTHIE1c/s320/P5302046.JPG" /></div><div>I spent my last few days in Scotland. I love Scotland and I miss it. I got to visit Erin, go out with friends, drink cider, and visit my cousins. It was a brief stop off and mostly consisted of my hopping to different cities to collect all my things I left sporadically at people's houses. </div><div><br /></div><div>And home to the U.S. of A...</div><div>In Chicago I was scooped up at the airport by one of my besties Christina. I had a quick whirlwind, fighting jet lag, fun filled experience in chicago then headed to good ol' Wisconsin...</div><div><br /></div><div>Reflecting back on my experiences now makes me incredibly grateful. I was able to meet amazing people, form wonderful friendships and bond with so many people. I miss you all and loved my time with you. Thinking about my experiences abroad will throw me into my own world and result in a happy sigh for a long time to come. </div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-22114011369586337972010-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:002010-04-19T11:14:11.095-07:00I had to go to Bulgaria<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0edyRq6oXLvo7coGK0QHM60a9gpCvOKMtPU70Hsd4ZEvJS08zElhCdR34uoexNzk2cRjzX4dqWPbIEbh5A3epr8d41Wrz_iQWqY3sxfXVZeTURacxNAdazcxjOl7n5O_Lt2KtO4gNIN4/s1600/P4120902.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0edyRq6oXLvo7coGK0QHM60a9gpCvOKMtPU70Hsd4ZEvJS08zElhCdR34uoexNzk2cRjzX4dqWPbIEbh5A3epr8d41Wrz_iQWqY3sxfXVZeTURacxNAdazcxjOl7n5O_Lt2KtO4gNIN4/s320/P4120902.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461913093891663426" /></a><br />This past week I had to head to Bulgaria. It was a strange process and had nothing at all to do with needing to get a new tourist visa to stay in Turkey longer. When I was heading out to catch my very early bus to Bulgaria I was quite excited. Thinking "I am going to Bulgaria today. Who gets to say that?" I had great thoughts of hanging out in a funny Bulgarian town for lunch that had dusty streets and then hopping on the next bus back to istanbul. It ended up being quite a long day. The bus ride was about 4 hours each way. A lot of sleeping happened. It was really great to see some more of the country side of Turkey though. It is really beautiful. Very green and hilly. Once in Bulgaria I just ended up staying at the bus station type place that basically seemed like an airport. I wandered around the duty free store for a long time and bought some mound bars. Yum. Sadly there was no great Bulgaria town with dusty street and old ladies selling things. I caught the next bus back and by the time I got home I had had a 14 hour day of going and coming. I was tired.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-66990644645968150642010-04-19T10:43:00.001-07:002010-04-19T10:56:13.765-07:00I went to Asia for a pillow fight.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ok2cNdbAb_5lBQ4T8S2ylAcKLhVTb82mqp6EsrY4TLwklkL2Q5QglQTnUQtX_MA9Y6NHUYmqBkWibwuns2IV2fAbKQ4A97I2SE55m-6ANQC_cXoWmBZ0AeNeIPvGZdEbc5MK0TLTzVU/s1600/P4020934.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ok2cNdbAb_5lBQ4T8S2ylAcKLhVTb82mqp6EsrY4TLwklkL2Q5QglQTnUQtX_MA9Y6NHUYmqBkWibwuns2IV2fAbKQ4A97I2SE55m-6ANQC_cXoWmBZ0AeNeIPvGZdEbc5MK0TLTzVU/s400/P4020934.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461908516975873698" /></a><br />On world pillow fight day, April 5th I believe, I headed to Asia to take part in a large organized pillow fight. It was a very exciting process indeed. Getting pillows. Meeting up with people. Getting a dolmus and crossing the bridge to the asian side of Istanbul. The getting there part might have been more exciting than the actually being there part, but the asian side was really great. We caught a beautiful sunset and got to hit strangers with pillows. Unfortunately the boys kind of dominated the pillow fight scene so it was a bit rough. Kate and I decided to just go and attack groups of girls that were standing around with pillows. That worked out pretty well for a while. We also saw two 6 year old girls fighting each other so we thought that was a perfect opportunity to get our pillow fight groove on. Also, great pillow phrases that don't usually happen were said like, "Can I borrow your pillow?" and "Take my pillow, I'm not using it anymore." Basically it was a splendid adventure.Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-79838133201887547432010-04-10T01:39:00.000-07:002010-04-10T07:58:40.104-07:00Easter in Istanbul<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizR79FU4_eTzIwWh-Drh5xZEYdzQIktR9iXc-WIRFCop8T4AwsBaB7NpSCAJfmDOsjrTSuDFQXi2_22TdjF_fa0cm39v8kGEvUY8e3rD_PmMTA5v1FeCztWpWoXWwMpk8NH9tkV2pOfk/s320/P4030982.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520302531044834" />Holidays in places that do not celebrate your holidays are always an interesting experience. They seem more like your own and you realize that you enjoy your traditions or what traditions are important to you. It feels like your secret holiday that no one else knows about or cares about too much. You can do anything that you like with it, because it is yours and no one else's. Maybe it's like being little when you have some make believe events- a tea party, your cats birthday party, etc. Most of all, I think any sort of holiday or celebration is a wonderful opportunity to spend<img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdviVV2un76lfEHwVsontHENxtEo4oXuCrsMEvF5JKAJ43ujY4ipvIH_G5a2LTFepKil66tDGw186000ZccRsNOotAKH1UlueErgbRIB9PHqG3_Bebo_B3w9Zqh_ayWqx32qvz2UoRAnA/s320/P4030970.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520818366183714" /> time with people and relate to each other on another common level. We all love to dye easter eggs. You like to eat chocolate? Me too!! Let's be friends forever. In a cute apartment overlooking the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey this is just what happened on my make believe easter.<div><br /></div><div>Thanks to a wonderful care package sent by my glorious mother, copious amounts of chocolate (well I ate most of it before easter got here) and an egg dying kit were at my disposal. The decision was quickly made to have an easter extravaganza, american girl style (not the dolls of course, but that would have been fun too), at Kate's current place of apartment crashing.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMT0Dsfgqr0BlXiUEFwWZVdRM_fqnycruLKjadphyEq6tJ2I8nJzx3mIQ0dKtqJJBFiXmjRk8n5Ef9bOIJLWzsckgy9jgxSIuHvSQrkrZswjmsWb5H6Q4SY6StSucaZ5fMUrFwDwdojU/s320/P4030968.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458519707885772482" /><div>An aside about Kate- she is my new great American friend. She is halfsy English like me and did a bunch of traveling before landing in Istanbul. One of the many </div><div>marvelous things about Kate is that she is in search of a job. MEANING she has free time during the day to be my friend during my odd au pair hours. I am very happy that we met and we have shared many a splendid coffee and chat together.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, back to easter. Kate, Maureen (my other</div><div> wonderful pocket-sized american friend), and I dyed easter eggs to our hearts content, ate chocolate past the point of our stomaches content, drank coffee and had some of Kate's watermelon & mint salad (sounds strange but it's good). We sat on a balcony overlooking the Bosphorus, discussed our disapproval of cruise ships, enjoyed the sun and each others company. Our eggs turned out to be quite marvelous. Unfortunately I squished mine on the bus ride home, BUT it was the prettiest green squished hard boiled egg I have ever seen. Overall my easter was truly splendid in the make believe, having it be exactly what you want it to be, kind of way. I loved being with people that understood the importance of colored eggs, chocolate shaped like rabbits, and talking about nothing in particular.</div><img style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcO25Q8okLi00ShMMGhYdYQb3s8Ap_4PZyVhZdWs3YfEmsBBqWOQFvi1ybpIEiDveoDjfXYWZTDfI08NNmUWEn0WuI5jtqfG7LLGouIQo9lMjd0B-3kNYh1lPn2I8NEMofu44tXpfBGc/s320/P4030981.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458517847754355202" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-74550360441769737762010-03-28T12:25:00.001-07:002010-03-28T12:52:38.537-07:00I'm here, really I am.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7QTxB5Yn4JJyjfKuzKirZgUTzrzEGMAGvhvb8b9gixXIiiUBg7wvisQ9qmAXhbe0GVLN98PdYXqiLVfEnEWNqrAGWR8YO7XXEI2mt048mHexIWhm_W54kX0MSJrVLsLCUGRjvjchfYk/s1600/P3150876.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7QTxB5Yn4JJyjfKuzKirZgUTzrzEGMAGvhvb8b9gixXIiiUBg7wvisQ9qmAXhbe0GVLN98PdYXqiLVfEnEWNqrAGWR8YO7XXEI2mt048mHexIWhm_W54kX0MSJrVLsLCUGRjvjchfYk/s400/P3150876.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453772250739176178" /></a><br />I went to Yildiz Park today to walk around. It is spring now and things are growing and making you notice them. I saw bees today and they had no idea that they were Turkish bees. I wonder how they would have felt if they were made to face this fact. It is surprising how much warm weather and green things can make things better. I am here and I need to start being here more. <div><br /></div><div>Things I have done as of recent: Celebrated St.Patrick's day in istanbul-funny, smoked hookah at a cafe (finally!!), made another splendid friend, ate more ice cream, felt anxious, sprained my ankle, visited an old train station, took deep breaths, stared at the bosphorus, cried in a bar, watched pigeons for a long period of time, attempted to sell back a book to a book vendor using Turkish- why is my Turkish so bad?, became a runner, stopped being a runner due to injuries, decided I am not me, sat and read, missed things, decided I really really don't want anything to do with Turkish guys, missed people, felt lost, felt almost found, remembered I am here, laid on the ground, came to conclusions, felt confused, made up my mind, decided I love coffee.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been in Istanbul for two months now. The weather is getting nicer and I am here for two more months. Well maybe another month and a half. There is still so much to see and do and I think the nicer weather will push that along. I'm going to do it all and figure it out. Yes. </div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-58395664685623423872010-02-16T04:44:00.000-08:002010-02-16T12:22:21.691-08:00Some Turkish Things<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ51pw8Sj8ZEOE_b1crnQnijim13Sr3_eqbhIKEJepO9WWepZ4XkN8EnSW9LrTwJTX0XBkv-xZfgaDQc3wLHWDNDhExDgHobWt1lDMi0QGCQWlxdIoB-EbMFmThfuYwVR9qKXPQsV9J6k/s1600-h/P1190650.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ51pw8Sj8ZEOE_b1crnQnijim13Sr3_eqbhIKEJepO9WWepZ4XkN8EnSW9LrTwJTX0XBkv-xZfgaDQc3wLHWDNDhExDgHobWt1lDMi0QGCQWlxdIoB-EbMFmThfuYwVR9qKXPQsV9J6k/s400/P1190650.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438933497867269506" /></a><br /><b>I live in Istanbul, Turkey. I am an au pair</b>. Both of these statements have been valid for exactly one month now.<div><br /><div><b>Things I like about Istanbul</b>: The food, the buildings, windy street</div><div>s, mosques, islamic</div><div> prayers/chants heard projected from the mosques at prayer times (5 times a day), old people, the old men with hats and mustaches, the old ladies that shake blankets out of window, laundry being dried outside, all of the stray cats and dogs, the fact that I laugh whenever I go out from watching the cats do funny things, speaking- well trying to speak- turkish, hearing people speak turkish, not having to know what everyone is talking about all of the time, the Bosphorus, the Bosphorus at night with lights shining on it, salep, ice cream with a knife and fork, hazelnut flavored vodka, the crazy neat antique stores, the weather.</div><div><br /></div><div>So basically I enjoy most things here. I am liking the family I am living with also. They moved here from Sweden this past summer. The mom is Turkish and the dad is Swedish so the crazy children know swedish, turkish, and english. Very nice. I hang out with kids a lot. Specifically a 5 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. They cry frequently, especially the 5 year old. Temper tantrums or something. That is not that much fun. But when neither of them are crying we do fun things like play with a ball, listen to music and dance around and play card games. They are fun half of the time and naughty the other half.</div><div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiat691esaB_QL5vEpn2zmHIWo2hz2MEPXAhWOz_DMcynVDNWytv9A-jI5KJ6DjZgAPuWy8Sd7ShhajoW7mdanCv2YK4RPeBaAKrlO8j3_V9lJ-Gl7-_vdnx-EiKQHY7rrus-ah8AjmE/s320/P1290730.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438933954975482194" /><div>Ooo I have seen some pretty wonderful things here so far. I have been trying to get out during the days and hit up the must see places of Istanbul. I have been to the Blue Mosque, several of the Bazars, and definitely the most amazing of the places the Basilica Cistern. The citern is this underground chamber with 336 columns that was used to hold water. There is still water on the ground with fish in it and it is very sparkly because people all throw coins in to make wishes. It felt like a place that you saw in a dream once but can't really remember. Well either a dream or a video game. It is definitely on my list of most beautiful places that I have seen.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have also gone to several mosques. I have really </div><div>enjoyed them. They are very refreshing to go to after seeing so many roman cathedrals in europe. The architecture is different and it is carpeted. You get to take your shoes off, that always seems fun, and I get to wear a scarf over my head. I enjoy all of the arabic writing and all that I have seen have great chandeliers in them as well.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have also tried going to this one Jewish cemetery near my house. Old cemeteries are always interesting and a Jewish one seemed more exciting than christian ones I've seen before. Unfortunately I got denied because I am not Jewish. It was sad. I probably could have lied and gotten in but I felt bad. I peaked over the walls when I was walking back. It seemed very run down and would have been great to explore. I also saw stray dogs that got to be there. They must have been Jewish dogs so I guess it was okay.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceS6DDXEy9plWlo83aQbD1LD_P6ngILBYFmwRPFr394kAb3Ldj_ZA2LpgWhWT9l5fKrvWqdMcMSgj8iP_J1HXEWpDnZKCArE2xlCBqZIa9fmdt4_nxRUfSq-OjQVMtawl5kz70WUqwHg/s320/P2050818.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438935694449441090" /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span>What else have I seen? Oh I went to this very cool fort built during the ottoman empire in only 4 months! Which is crazy because it was quite large. I went with my wonderful new american friend that I met, Maureen. We explored it and walked very carefully- no hand rails or ledges in very high up places. It was a gorgeous day when we went and the bosphorus looked amazing. It was a fun place to see because there weren't too many restrictions on what you could do and where you could climb. We enjoyed it, <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 31px; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">çok güzel. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 31px;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div>I started volunteering at Jinemed hospital as well. They specialize in In virto fertilization treatments and get many foreign patients, a lot from the UK. I hang out with the lady that helps all the english speaking patients. I've been learning lots about fertility drugs and hormonal cycles. Very exciting. This is the first time I've actually applied things I've learned at University. Hooray for education! They let me see a lot of really neat things as well. I have gotten to put on scrubs, a hat and a face mask thing and watch egg collections and embryo transfers in the surgical rooms. The coolest thing I think was being able to see the live embryos before they did the transfer. Funny 8 cells of potential human life. After learning all about development and seeing images in text books of embryos it was pretty neat. It's also good because it gets me out of the house and gives me something different to do. It has made me sure of what I've already known as well, I don't want to be a doctor. Hospitals are a weird place and people are definitely in very vulnerable states and loose some of their dignity I think. People need to have things done in hospitals to get better sometimes but I think I want to stay away from that and not have to think about it. It might have to do with having spent time in the hospital myself, I am not sure. I do really like learning about the medications that the patients are taking and how they are effecting them. That is neato in my book.</div><div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRicvvqSFmCUCVDgbAmzTufGc0R8lnNjHjOT8cRf9eylGXSj9UXEbFTO_B_ziNRUY9KnNGftZbaSb4cucrPjlvfk1vR_L71SOGJ_lZeeZy0i7u4AXxAPj4Ltm3wpJDvzmjn7hPo_Xo-Q/s320/P1190647.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438936790899234962" /><div>The grandparents of the kids came the other week and it was great. Turkish old people are so very nice. Their English was probably about as good as my Turkish so it was a bit difficult communicating with them but we managed to get points across. I learned new turkish words which was good the grandma made amazing food. I felt extremely Turkish when she was here because all of our meals were big authentic Turkish ones. I love the breakfasts here. It's usually olives in olive oil, tomatoes in olive oil, hard boiled eggs, toast, walnuts and honey, and tea. It's so great. I will miss that when I go home. The grandma also read fortunes from the coffee ground of the turkish coffee you drank. It was so exciting. I watched her read the house keepers fortune and it was so neat. Although I couldn't understand any of it I was very enthralled. She read mine later in the week with the mom translating for her. It was my first fortune telling experience and it just seemed right. A wonderful turkish grandma on the couch reading my fortune after we all drank coffee. Apparently it's very common here for people to do that. I think it's a neat thing for sure. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well that is all of the Turkey things I feel like talking about for the moment. I will try to be a better blogger and talk about other things soon. Until then. </div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-51272381915503709472010-02-10T11:54:00.000-08:002010-02-10T12:07:47.911-08:00Rome, Portugal, Madrid- oh my.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP_u96Ac7cWLG-QEixlyB_TqEkO47aTl2yRuEX_AvTSrGOolfJQNaWgvhNomyI_b0ye__1pYUGAlk77WW0HyVDOS81jjCRdrvk6P6oeFhgvCe0bK3Fk-_O92_DrTI7ssbbNO65qCIPZA/s1600-h/PC270424.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP_u96Ac7cWLG-QEixlyB_TqEkO47aTl2yRuEX_AvTSrGOolfJQNaWgvhNomyI_b0ye__1pYUGAlk77WW0HyVDOS81jjCRdrvk6P6oeFhgvCe0bK3Fk-_O92_DrTI7ssbbNO65qCIPZA/s320/PC270424.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436706577793811202" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Finally. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">So I did a bunch of traveling last month and had such and amazing time. I think I will do a somewhat condensed version of my travels.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">First of all I was in Rome for New Years with my friend Christine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We spent 5 days there and 4 nights. It was a really great experience and we got to eat a lot of gelato. Mmm. We saw all the wonderful things one is suppose to see. The coliseum was by far my favorite of the old roman things. It was really amazing. Those Romans had their stuff together. I had so much fun traveling around with one of my friends. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and took way too many pictures- so all the great things’ traveling is suppose to be about happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We even managed to go see a movie in Italian in a very small cinema with snacks. It seemed to be an okay movie from what I understood of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The city was beautiful and I loved the streets and the balconies and the cats. ALSO I loved the fact that there were orange trees all over the city. We continually tried to pick them and after a few attempts realized you shouldn’t eat them because they are horrible and sour. But it was exciting nonetheless succeeding in picking roman oranges. Hooray. We had a few wonderful days weather wise and then a few rainy ones as well. We still managed to walk around constantly and had pretty sore feet by the end of the trip. New Years itself was so much fun. It ended up pouring down with rain so our original plans of seeing concerts at piazzas were nixed. We went out with some of the people we met at our hostel and tried to find some bars to go to instead. We ended up getting lost (I’m not sure how because I had a compass and I was using it) and came to bars that were all closed for private parties. This one group decided to let us come into their private party because it was so close to midnight. They liked us and let us stay, which was wonderful. There was tons of great homemade Italian food and lots of champagne plus an openbar. The people were all really great and interesting to talk to. I was able to practice Italian, Spanish, and then test out my beginner’s Turkish. It was such a random night but really turned out quite wonderful. It was also nice to ring in the New Year for the second time with Christine. It was meant to be. Then the next day after eating, having coffee, eating some more and a 5 hour delay we headed back to Madrid.</p> <img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBIuFdgzrFTqkpeFs1jpAzMrZHfKniRWOQx7BfLOzfIsw51VCH4JO4lK56qdKqku2UclVfzNZD2LURHZ8t_TXFfmwd5_lnUN1BSNqLPaIXCV4ff0bvnAsvx_qsDbsdMcd3OJjcsiIL9A/s320/P1040813.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436707421795137058" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">From our 24 hour stop off in Madrid we headed to Porto, Portugal. We went there with two of Christine’s wonderful friends, Jem and Tom. We stayed for three nights and four days I believe. I really loved Porto. It was slightly run down and had really great windy streets with a lot of splendid character. Also there were occasional old people hanging out of their windows just looking around which is always good. All the houses were tiled there so it gave the town this great glossy look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We walked around a lot and saw all the things to see and ate a tremendous amount of bakes goods. Most of the baked goods there were tinted orange. I’m not sure why that was but it was something special and I liked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We tried the Portugal specialty the franceshinia too. It was basically a sandwich with every type of meet (including hot dogs cut in half) and then covered in cheese and this special sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was interesting to say the least. We should have stopped after we all split our first one though. On one of the days we went to the beach. It was really great. It rained all day but cleared up and had an amazing sunset. There were Portugal surfers there as well. I didn’t even know they existed but they do and were at the beach. On the last day we did two Port wine tours. It was really interesting. I learned a lot about port wine and that I don’t really like to drink it that much, very sweet. Maybe with snacks it would have been better.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">From there we headed back to Madrid. I attempted to do some sight seeing but I managed to catch the worst week in Madrid probably out of the whole year. It was cold and rainy and then cold and snowy. It really put a damper on exploring. I did get to go and see the Guernica though. It was really amazing seeing it in real life because after learning about it. Not being an art buff I appreciated the fact that it was so big. Who knew?</p> <img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCQUQumX-cKcEJ7ztNDeqcWxlNOAemJ4yRWw9dh5JJ0Kew3IkpSyKsEGePug12wq0CkSVxoONQVHP4Uus76gm-g1xAXiALFlRZslW6ewg-ba1pCvfWXLJp5FWGulgoe73s_syhixIpfo/s320/P1070901.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436708172702344530" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">After Christine’s family that she stays with offered us one of their vacation houses for the weekend Christine, Jem and I headed to Salamanca. The house we stayed in was very nice and we spent the first night bundled up in blankets and watching tv episodes on the computer. It was cold out. The next day… my birthday… we made it out and explored Salamanca. It is really a beautiful town. I think it would have been more enjoyed again if it was a bit warmer but at least we got sun. The sky was so amazing there. It had really wonderful and crazy sunset-ness going on. I really enjoyed that. That night we went out because it was MY BIRHTDAY! Hooray. We celebrated the fact that I turned 23. Before heading out I got birthday flan and champagne. I was in Spain and flan with a candle was definitely called for and it was amazing. It was a nice night out and great to celebrate with friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The next day, after nearly getting snowed in, we headed back to Madrid.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I ended my 3 weeks of traveling in Madrid and followed Christine around, visiting her life for a while. It was nice. Madrid seems like a really fun city to live in for sure- a lot of tapas, bakery, and drinks. Plus they get naps during the day, so that is nice. I managed to get most of my sight seeing done despite of the cold weather. I had an amazing time traveling with Christine. It was really sad to go but I love that I had the chance to travel with one of my friends from University and get to bond even more in foreign countries. We had a lot of good laughs and I didn’t even get annoyed at her once! What a successful trip. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">After coming home from Madrid I had less than 24 hours in Dundee to pack up my life and move to Turkey for my au pair job in Istanbul. BUT that is another thing to blog about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>THE END. </p> <!--EndFragment-->Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-84203131447027747542009-12-27T05:12:00.000-08:002009-12-27T05:14:03.068-08:00Things to Come<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">So those of you who are actually reading this blog are most likely thinking “This is so great, Kelsey, hearing about all your wonderful trips and activities. It’s really filling my life with such joy.” I’m very happy to imagine you all thinking this but I also know you are probably thinking, “But what is to come of Kelsey next?? She is such a bad bogger and I can’t wait for another blog update to know where she is and what she’s doing!” I can commiserate with this so I’ll just give a life update because I’m just not sure when I’ll get around to blogging about it all.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>Okay so next:</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rome for New years with my friend Christine followed by Spain with her and a bit of Portugal. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!! </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">From there I am off to Istanbul, Turkey for 3 months to be an Au Pair. Very exciting indeed! I’ll be with a family that has 2 kids, a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. Their parents want to expose their kids to English mostly so I just get to play with them after school and be American in hopes of transferring some useful language skills. </p> <!--EndFragment-->Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-29667705019246593442009-12-27T04:39:00.000-08:002009-12-27T05:11:36.581-08:00Berlin and Prague<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tP5VKwAVYD_wF2R9oAGdkdVadhYGU6sYVgxMhAC6bcySzi-lFJ2BvQ1VOZY35bY6RJmZ_l4hbE65FR2uVgd0F2b48p9vzcnhXUQBF_ExpT6QRijst9THy6L1jmuh4iM3CpVaLajpnbU/s1600-h/PB220393.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tP5VKwAVYD_wF2R9oAGdkdVadhYGU6sYVgxMhAC6bcySzi-lFJ2BvQ1VOZY35bY6RJmZ_l4hbE65FR2uVgd0F2b48p9vzcnhXUQBF_ExpT6QRijst9THy6L1jmuh4iM3CpVaLajpnbU/s320/PB220393.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419902757759786642" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am bad at blogging. It’s been almost a month since my last trip and I will now tell about it. I went to Berlin to visit my friend Nathan and then we went to Prague for 2 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was a thoroughly enjoyable time. Berlin was a great city and I managed to see all the important sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On the first day I just followed Nathan around aimlessly and he directed my attention to buildings of importance and gave interesting facts and figures like all good tour guides should. Ooo we also went to great German Christmas markets. They had so many exciting snacks. Most having to do with sausages but quite a few having to do with candy and sweets which made me happy. Nathan and I both tried our first roasted chestnuts and I have to say I approve and would gladly indulge in such a snack again. The most exciting snack of the day would have to be the fresh waffle with nutella. It was great. You just get to walk around with it on this little cardboard thing and eat it. I ended up with a lot of powder sugar on my scarf but some sacrifices need to me made for delicious things.<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We randomly ran into some American- we’ll say “friends” – that Nathan knew at this monument. We ended up meeting them out for a drink that night. The place that we went to was really great. I guess one of the things Berlin is known for is the living room style bars it has. There was a lot of comfy couches and tables and chairs etc. We ate dinner there as well, which was really good. They did this buffet style homemade dinner. It was potato lasagna, which I never had but it was really good. I think I’m going to make my mom attempt that at some point in the future (thanks mom, ahead of time).<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></p><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXg3hnJo-dJOuF8WVsiVQy2237RozQr4KFMTMS2TAUd8oQgfT_Jcj_qO75x69i6HUrMQ_QEdmwhHJL6660OLHtF4x1s946Qu9VEDqz8sDexQ3Y5UllvhaizFKahCglH2BQTsLRzaSCaM/s320/PB230422.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419899196058627266" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The next day we set off for Prague. We did a carpool thing on the way down to Dresden. We went on the autobahn- very fast. It was enjoyable taking a car ride with stranger, in the not being abducted kind of way of course. Everyone spoke German so I just looked out the window and slept, not at the same time though. From Dresden we got a train to Prague. The train was very exciting indeed. We got our own compartment and could even open the windows and stick our heads out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was thoroughly entertained.<div><br /></div><div><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXAvQ131CvWxIRETuoMdpvcRHW9M7g_xZI38pocpez1h_Ah6ICOsRfF36blSZCyJ9QV-7LRCw0t-RqZDzGCOwUdxJsNKrPOYVUnsEaP_sEUZUJ5VS0njb7GloeWnoWTTl81kZ4AEcOqs/s320/PB240565.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419899887199557186" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Prague was really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There were lots of great old things to look at- cathedrals, the astronomical clock, synagogues etc. It was really pretty especially at night. We found this hotel that had a rooftop bar so we snuck up there twice to get wonderful views of the city. They were putting up all their Christmas decorations while we were there as well so it was really pretty. There was a big Christmas tree in the center of the main square area, which was nice. That first night we went to this really neat bar. It had lots of different levels and underground parts- catacomb style. They had such good beer. I never thought I’d be one to really like beer a lot but I did enjoy the wonderful Czech beers we had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The next day we took a guided tour of the city so we got to see more old things and hear about the history of Prague, which was really interesting. It really is a beautiful city with fascinating history. We also went up to the castle that evening. The views from the castle were really good and the cathedral within the castle was beautiful. We got a train back to Dresden that night but before we did we spent the rest of our Czech money on chocolate. Definitely a good idea and it made for an entertaining time while waiting for the train.</p> <img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2ju3nyedK7FgKvY9ti4D60OaUSg3QyLYl3K2tdH9v-dr1ajdAV028D7q9ar7gVVZ4jMZeM5tHkvMm1DgEjrXxJQC-V3CFcFhrc0z5qvvPFviiDZYFqe2xvsvbCsWmOco3QQtTQr2C_g/s320/PB250650.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419898524995580978" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">In Dresden we met up with one of Nathan’s friends, Andy, that also went to UW-Madison and just toured around the city. We spent the day being led around the city by a couple that Nathan’s family is friends with. They were very nice and had lived in the Dresden area most of their lives so were very informative. Dresden is a really beautiful city as well and it is amazing how it recovered from the all the fire bombings of WWII.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was also very interesting and insightful hearing about communist Germany from the perspective of people who lived within it. We then had thanksgiving at Andy’s house with quite a few other Germans. It was a really good Thanksgiving with all the necessary food items, well minus pecan pie. Apparently you can’t really find pecans anywhere- I checked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was nice to celebrate with a few fellow Americans and lost of people around. We then headed back to Berlin. It was Nathans birthday that day as well so we met up with some of his friends drank and did some cake. I was excited about learning German so I practiced saying, probably over one hundred times, “Nathan, it’s your geburtstag!!” It was a good time and Nathan managed not to get too annoyed with my novel German language skills.</p> <img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAU8StSUwMQekQxG6iBDSbOGi73jCZ2XwBpZ3JUWx1s-DuT9snYEXKlED5n91Hf8hSyIDDHnHsIjc_1s0Xgf1rItUwmpqFxs-8BSqz0MW26iyFEuIKUCk3ueS9pYxWLQw9aTTRsl9DBI/s320/PB270741.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419902040810746098" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The next day we went to this really wonderful Turkish market. I get very excited about street markets and new snacks- there were plenty there. There was a lot of food and fun things being sold so it was enjoyable. Oo we also went to a few second hand stores, which are another thing that excite me, and I got this wonderful German hat that was most likely owned by and old German man before me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We also went to the longest stretch of the Berlin wall still standing. It was really good to see. Thinking about a wall separating two completely different ways of life and being aware that life was so different just on the other side of a barricade is an intense idea. We also went to a shtazi prison camp just outside of Berlin that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was one of my favorite things that we saw. It was so interesting and enlightening to hear about the things that went on. Not being a history buff and relatively unaware of life outside of my own word it was intense to learn about these things that were still going on in the 1980’s and to be more aware that these things still go on all over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It made me feel like a bit of a jerk walking around with a communist Mao messenger bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Especially after being called out for it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Dear world, </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I am not a Maoist. I find the bag ironic, it says 'Serve the People'.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Sincerely, </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Kelsey Hawkins</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before going to the prison we went to this really great East Berlin restaurant. There were just a few old people there and then Nathan and I. When the old ladies left they said auf wiedersehen to me, I felt very special. The last night we went shopping with Nathan’s wonderful friend Phillip and he showed us all the great things about the German consumer culture. One thing of importance to note- there were signs on the escalators that showed crocs crossed out and read ‘no crocs’. Apparently they are a hazard on escalators. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The next day I headed for the airport and that ended my wonderful German-Czech escapade. I really had a terrific time. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> Between now and then I’ve just been gallivanting around Dundee Scotland with Erin and our wonderful British friends, who I am going to miss! Nathan came to visit Scotland on his way out of Europe so it was really fun getting to be a Scottish tour guide. It was my first time having a friend here so it was a splendid experience being able to share the joys of Scotland with others. Erin left for the US for Christmas and I realized I’m going to miss her a lot. It was really nice having a fun fellow American to live with and tell secrets to, of course. I went and hung out at my Grandmas on the west coast of Scotland for pre-christmas-ness and went to my cousins in Glasgow for a big family fun Christmas dinner with lots of children and yummy things to eat. It was a nice time but different than what I am used to at Christmas so I missed home and my family a bit. I am now back in Dundee getting ready to embark on my next few trip! So hooray for life and European things. </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-81288200216382635072009-12-01T11:35:00.000-08:002009-12-01T12:18:34.586-08:00London and Bath<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZL_zcc3q8dG1i3EUZmhBgxaZ2ytYiWUwJ7OY-wgpYRH6aaK_z9SpO0kJHpWVpew86_F6Ifz1OdwQwp-Wwpch1l1bbnkRLSaqgsDK40yIj0K2IWhElTFvvK4RIzmRQWv5-t9f6aJkmXM/s1600/PB120413.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZL_zcc3q8dG1i3EUZmhBgxaZ2ytYiWUwJ7OY-wgpYRH6aaK_z9SpO0kJHpWVpew86_F6Ifz1OdwQwp-Wwpch1l1bbnkRLSaqgsDK40yIj0K2IWhElTFvvK4RIzmRQWv5-t9f6aJkmXM/s320/PB120413.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410361854097308994" /></a><br />So I went to London and Bath about 2 weeks ago now so I should probably write about them... <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Both trips were really great. I saw all of the necessary sights in London and got all the pictures that everyone else has that has been to L</div><div>ondon. I can now check that off the list. I really enjoyed the city. It seemed like a really great place. I walked most places and I really liked seeing different parts of the city. The parliament building was one of my favorites. It was really nice. Also West Minster Abby was beautiful. I stayed in London for about 3 full days so I was trying to squeeze in as much sight seeing as possible. I think I succeeded despite the horrible amount of rain for two of the days that I was there. One of the good things about the rain though was the resulting clouds that were pretty amazing. I enjoy sky things and it made for more interesting pictures. A lot of walking happened and quite frequently I wanted to rip off my feet. I will never overestimate the power of a good pair of walking shoes ever again.</div><div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The people that I met at my hostel were great as well. It was a really fun group. I</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqF-K6BshTBH2Og5pb-cs8YF5AtB2M6cmNCseBaKZVU8VQTvPF-zVS7tXHXua0e-MMzHDeq8935U35czbEt0jJwJUgQP_WXUycRuk6msIjqDATQkFu55NAsYLtqc3W4i_WENC6H4A9o0U/s320/PB130569.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410362955169888098" /><div> met 2 girls that were also traveling by themselves so I got to hear a lot of stories and ask questions. The best part is that the one girl who has been traveling the longest recommended wearing a ring on your ring finger of your left hand in order to deter some creepers. So basically I get to go buy some form of a band and start telling people I'm married! I think some really great fake stories could come from that so that makes me happy. Soon soon. </div><div>Also there were several french boys at our hostel who were all really nice. They cooked for us the first night that I was there and I decided it may be in my best interest to marry a french man. I enjoy food. Mmm. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycFRq-W_GPbcM2ZV6I5w6x79ERQ9yHMyeDzGis87mZqUvlo-c8XEp2LPr24p_LVnSamUEJ7J7p2Pi66473blBEJ04ai_VZ7nsP6S1t7E7ckW3V9PQ6M4YO5A1JxLjqvFeTZVZF2gICug/s320/PB150656.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410363654165549426" /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span>From there I traveled to Bath. I was really excited to go because it is where my mom grew up and I have always wanted to go and see where my mom was a little kid. I've heard lots of stories about it so it seems nice to know some of the stuff my mom talks about now! The city was beautiful. Old buildings, historical roman baths, etc. It was a nice smaller sized town so everything was very close which was a nice change from London. My favorite part was the Roman Baths. They were very impressive. Those Romans sure knew how to construct things. Bath has the only natural hot spring in the UK and the Romans put it to good use. It was crazy because all of the original plumbing things were still working to keep the main pool full. That is a very long time to still be functioning. Way to go Romans. They also thought the hot spring was there because of one of their gods so they would throw things in it that they wanted to the goddess to have. I really liked that people wrote curses on metal pieces for thieves that stole their things and then crumbled them up and threw them in the water. There were some great curses for people who stole cloaks, gloves, etc. from others at the baths. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both of my trips were very nice and I'm glad I got the chance to explore england more! Hooray. </div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-33813779739724645482009-11-04T11:21:00.001-08:002009-11-04T12:45:48.962-08:00Halloween- Newcastle and Sunderland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjMO9JJ6z0vGL6ajkCgELGS2WiLtZEc_6PmwEvlk4zosJGUWxzbyChXTrQt8mOa_kNXKTRwWxepAqjAXwxsoF3QxBPJO2zHSbe6S1yLqnNacpILpq8ZpbWnzQl1O9y9_R80FIC2YSkUg/s1600-h/PA290225.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjMO9JJ6z0vGL6ajkCgELGS2WiLtZEc_6PmwEvlk4zosJGUWxzbyChXTrQt8mOa_kNXKTRwWxepAqjAXwxsoF3QxBPJO2zHSbe6S1yLqnNacpILpq8ZpbWnzQl1O9y9_R80FIC2YSkUg/s320/PA290225.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400346259340758482" /></a>This past weekend I spent in England. I stayed in Sunderland with Erin at her boyfriend's house. It was an enjoyable time. We visited Newcastle on the first day that we were there and it was pretty great. It was a very nice city with a lot of museums and things of that sort to look at. We wandered around with one of Erin's friends, Sam. He took us to this vintage store and we tried lots of things on. I realized I really like high-collar old lady dresses. I want one. In black. I bought a green barrette instead. The Baltic art museum was really nice. We went there and looked at stuff. There were activities for little kids like pumpkin carving. I was really excited about it but they didn't let us carve things with small children. I was sad.<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Xqgpmw6cIwd-cJch9JrGSkzb3zd95z8Oo5hiLez1WL_j3eIKpFqXl-_9roo8ylNoSZ4H2I1ndpDil6u6lDJN-B68Nwjlxjjc8YeIr_ivyLUMCQYvxl5QS2stMyVe2e-NJD8vBaJofEg/s320/PA300288.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400343966631470290" /><div>When we were back in Sunderland we went to this park that had a walrus statue. I really like walruses so we </div><div>sat on it and took a</div><div> bunch of pictures. I think</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-EDMqjvMpiZBg4c9eCCNUGVC66V8-Xs7ei1Y4UBNrg2f7Hwvp58hfUq1yEjLxmXRU-tbxTKLzw1gRuzgGKduvJll8upJLNuc82U-s86kS-JU-DBFX66rcioTA8vAtH49s_xTT8_wNHM/s200/PA300283.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400349119654812194" />it was one of the<div> high lights of Sunderland. Erin also showed me the school where she studied at 2 years ago and I got to see the dorms and the studios and I got to hear about all the shinanigans her and Corey got up to back in the day.</div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnaps6bX2NdnQYc-HEavAYAYh6nlBmkKE1TFvIu7LZafSvZcLUQNqFjcpaQudBLwWjlG_VWOsC2zLfPVKg4IaQvN9Vt5_hc3sEB3S088YL8GgDZxW7O6kMz08A_z-_cRInhu1OpVdz54/s320/PA310296.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400350826641779698" /></div><div>The following night we worked on our wonderful Halloween costumes and then we went to a Halloween party of one of Gary's friends. I was a dead scuba diver! It was pretty great. I really liked it because I made all of it. Scuba tanks, flippers, weight belt and all. Erin assisted Gary with gluing on extra facial hair. She was being a good girlfriend. He was being one of his friends for Halloween and Erin was a sailor doll. The party was really fun and everyone had really good costumes. Drinking with English people was fun. One boy was Alladin and Erin and I kept following him around and singing to him all night. The songs and motions got more entertaining as the night and drinking went on. We ended up ordering pizza once we got home and were very very disappointed with the speediness of the delivery service. It wasn't, and that</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6fYSfMKPh7KhiP-CP9ZTNkUEX42rLZ5NlF-pPKpqnpMe3TJNG_cX-scSb3T9imvkP06pbNyJGwJSNDVXcVZcpMqpmtEBf2Ad4l9pHzzosQxYIQf4Sie1gph4mibn080U1yBRkFNjc3Y/s320/PA310315.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400345565691007298" />was the problem. We also tried toffee apples at the beginning of the night that we were very excited for. They were red and candy looking but weren't nearly as exciting as they looked. I just wanted them to be caramel apples but they definitely were not.<div><br /></div><div>So yeah that was about it. It was a really fun time and Halloween is my favorite holiday so I was very happy to spend it with fun people in a foreign country. Yep. </div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-20400990845627534972009-11-02T09:27:00.000-08:002009-11-02T10:42:00.648-08:00Poland things.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyoly5IvlSrNxKDs6a-GL3E8zJjbt3cdbTyzlbUsr8w9F2uApyzmk7of2yspKSBVWZub0pLkYYnq-MftUbM6jU_sy55PFRf6W9OGKEYALHL7efEZNnaiCMixH4kF4dvKGbuY11nIz9bI/s1600-h/PA230035.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyoly5IvlSrNxKDs6a-GL3E8zJjbt3cdbTyzlbUsr8w9F2uApyzmk7of2yspKSBVWZub0pLkYYnq-MftUbM6jU_sy55PFRf6W9OGKEYALHL7efEZNnaiCMixH4kF4dvKGbuY11nIz9bI/s320/PA230035.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399573236723850786" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">I spent last weekend in Poznan, Poland so I think I should probably write about it...</span></a><div><br /></div><div>Visiting Poland was a really great experience and it was also my first solo traveling experience so it made it that much more exciting. Poznan was decided on mostly based on the fact that it was very last minute and flights were reasonable. I also heard that Polish people are very friendly and I've never been to poland so it seemed like a good place to go. Poznan is located on the middle western side of poland and was once the capital so it had a lot of good old things to see. Before I left I managed to learn several key polish phrases such as 'do u speak english?', 'how much does it cost?', 'thank you' and 'hello'. They worked surprisingly well. The most difficult part was getting to my hostel from the airport. Signs were in Polish and unfortunately I didn't get it. After finding some young people to pester in English I managed to get a bus then a tram to my hostel. I stayed at Frolic Goats hostel and it was really nice. Plus I really like goats so I was fond of the name.</div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>I saw a lot of old buildings and looked at several museums which were nice. The town is very into goats because I believe there is an old story about how these two goats saved the town. One of the main attractions was the city hall in the old market square or stary rynak.</div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXm7aauQDSB9Wg6EFhxdg2rhfWkPn_U1TJEgwkhlMSoVNXwIACfMYtXailejVD7kkYO34OBq-oAPkgCbPBuhcmYAfhqJ_iy1mUNKN_a772HK7Dx8vI9lWAKm6k2yqMbEtmHaw_GxtKxkc/s320/PA230045.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399574282790686546" /><div>At 12 everyday these two metal goats come out of the steeple part and bu</div><div>tt their heads together 12 times. It was enjoyable to see a town that likes goats as much as me. They have rectangular pupils, what's not to enjoy? I also saw several old churches that were really beautiful. There were also some nice gardens/ parks and a polish market that I visited. One of the really nice things was that flowers were sold everywhere. Even though it was cold out people were still walking around with bouquets of flowers. It seemed pretty great.</div><div><br /></div><div>I made a friend at my hostel, Kamal, which </div><div>is probably one of the reasons I</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZE_CupDRSFJ_cNhnwQMCB3LR3mmrRLPUvcj_Fx-2DILD31FPTl_PlOm8SLVLYOZ86NlwyeeNy2pPjDekv3Jiapwzc-8olqwLb-Hq0KBebxhpM_XLbFm_VnsUcxh870EZKxPKGG5bGN8/s320/PA250208.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399574870947848434" />had such a good time. He had been staying in Poznan for a few months and had a good Polish friend circle and was I was able to tag along and go out with him and his friends. I made it to some polish bars and clubs, which were fun. The main difference besides the whole language thing would probably be the amount of techno music. Two of Kamal's friends that I met, Magda and Alex, were really great and we hung out with them a few times. They were a lot of fun and their english was very good so that was nice. It was really random because Alex had actually lived in Minnesota for several years when he was younger, so it was interesting to meet someone that knew about WI and the midwest. On Sunday night I got to go to this arabic party and it was a really great time. There was a lot of arabic dancing, hookah smoking, and discussions which I gladly participated in. The dancing was a lot of fun and the polish/arabic girls were great and showed me all of the wonderful dance moves. All of the people there were so interesting and talking to them made for great conversations. The hookah smoking was wonderful as well as it made me think of summers in madison : )</div><div><div><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUC3tPtMOYpfE4EBWs2aVXGP95b8YcEprjJ4aNcX2PXBZ5w0uVIQ2B2Yv9hDfduMWHXtL4iwTuyQbDWMYRG5gF-b6FZXtYHbvk-rEjIQXKeT73OQfJJDVsIEpeUBbyjAIrB-Cg3CLUKk/s320/PA230081.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399577190080137922" /><div>On the last day I basically just wandered around parks and the city while eating baked goods. I needed to spend all my change so I ate Polish bakery till my tummy hurt. I enjoyed the treats though. As most should know, I am always up for trying new candy or bakery.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really enjoyed my experiences in Poland and would recommend it to anyone. The people I met were very interesting and enjoyable and there was a lot of historical buildings and architecture to see. It was definitely a good first european trip and I had a wonderful time.</div></div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-59893485718691696062009-10-21T13:56:00.001-07:002009-10-21T15:16:24.792-07:00Kilcreggan and Glasgow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWRjRnZdw3DpGTbWajUMIkrmtGewdhJ3-7q_qvrPuU4DMZrvwRnPtrLBraBYdWigH11RvRSW_xMjhY2xxdjI0REK1LyhIxzuxx9ld7mHuNE_aw0Lc0AwyT6ZOf2nDBp87qrVcqiFbzpU/s1600-h/PA140215.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWRjRnZdw3DpGTbWajUMIkrmtGewdhJ3-7q_qvrPuU4DMZrvwRnPtrLBraBYdWigH11RvRSW_xMjhY2xxdjI0REK1LyhIxzuxx9ld7mHuNE_aw0Lc0AwyT6ZOf2nDBp87qrVcqiFbzpU/s320/PA140215.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395178630819832290" /></a><br /><br />I spent this past week in Kilcreggan visiting my grandma. It is such a beautiful place which resulted in a plethora of landscape pictures. There was a lot of hills, clouds, sheep, water and sky which made for an amazing setting. Kilcreggan is on the river clyde but it's the estuary part where it enters the ocean so you can see the Isle of Arran from the beach. I took a long walk every evening either on the high road near her house which went past lots of fields and sheep with amazing views or down to the beach. The beach was really great with tons of big rocks to jump around on and small ones to attempt to skip. They were the most perfect skipping stones, all of them were smooth and flat but unfortunately this still didn't do me any good because I suck at skipping stones, shoot. <div><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXc7v_2DJdy2DrRsMaFJsoJ89mUYnYCMdg_Zu7c33i62YE8nlFnlUHd4mMBbWh0MDSaWFRefBh3wqgUGUvolim6G4oN7QNqtz8n6uCb8bfHk5XFmSM6c2-MvGoVFs8wxeInhUYBaksFtI/s200/PA090020.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395178925408336146" /><div>My grandma kept me pretty entertained. She took me out and about somewhere everyday AND she let me drive her car. It was very entertaining. I didn't injury anyone and just ran into the curb a few times. In my defense though, the streets are very narrow and anyone would get slightly nervous when an oncoming bus or truck is extremely close to you. Driving on the other side of the road and shifting with my left hand was pretty fun though. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some of the interesting places we went to were Luss which is a cute small village on Loch Lomond and Inveraray which is this fishing village on Loch Long. The village and setting there was really pretty but unfortunately I think I got one of the first meals that I actually couldn't eat. Something to do with raw salmon and cream</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKedxw0oGKTOTy4ydYXuDtJMQkMzjQeFkFufPCApGY_fmnc5q8aBWEgKdyKtrIAIB2haCT6PjO2z5zDX8zdY60wZP4s14fl-czYV9VKpOuhcBvAyGecCZ4Mr2-Xopjmn3RN8wiO7ztiTQ/s200/PA100099.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395179319773968978" /><div> cheese on white bread... Not my favorite thing I've ever tasted.</div><div><br /></div><div>I met a lot of my grandma's friends and mostly hung out with a crowd that had a good 40 years on me or so. I made it</div><div> to church with my grandma AND a women's guild church meeting. I managed the life of an old person pretty well. All the people that I met were very interesting for the most part. They all had a lot of stories. Unfortunately I think my name and the way I said it confused 99% of them so I will forever be fondly thought of as 'Chelsea' to the old ladies of Kilcreggan. </div><div><br /></div><div>After a week in Kilcreggan I went back to Glasgow to stay with my cousin Jacqui. It was her son Freddie's first birthday. There was lots of cake and little kids. It was really nice to spend time with all three of my cousins and all their kids. Emma, my cousin chris's daughter who is almost 3, likes me which is really fun. I think she likes me because I talk funny but either way she is always entertaining and makes me laugh. I'm beginning to be better at deciphering a 2 year old with a scottish accent so it makes things easier. </div><div><br /></div><div>While I was in glasgow I also got in some sight seeing. I explored the west end more where my cousin lives and went to the botanic gardens, the Kelvingrove art museum and the city chambers. I really like just exploring the city and managing to get the right busses places makes me feel very competent. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well that's all and I'm back in dundee. This weekend I hope to get a trip in so hopefully I will have something interesting to report upon soon! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8536442377400895482.post-24169601155908979582009-10-17T02:34:00.000-07:002009-10-17T03:40:15.063-07:00Scotland thingsSo now that I have been gone for about 3 weeks it is probably time that I started a blog for friends and family to check up on my activities...<div><br /><div>Recap of the last few weeks: </div><div><br /></div><div>The day that I got into scotland was my cousin Christopher's wedding so I was able to</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXGzStwLDg592_aVwxSOYDQuNTA2pAhFCfMa_mtQFpy5QEAvbllYm-8uQ9y36XzjUrmxylHFrm2sMM4JEkerUAGPfzS3PSm10hsaY6Tu46oj4HH4d77dyRu_tnFP10GIeOtxiVVJLh_M/s200/P9230031.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393511797022520946" /><div> go to that. It was really great to be there and se</div><div>e my family- </div><div>my 3 cousins and my grandma. All my cousins recently had kids as well so it was so fun being able to meet them and hang out with a below 3 crowd. They are all really cute and great. The wedding party was all wearing kilts as well so it was a good way to feel</div><div> that I was in Scotland.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I spent 4 days in Glasgow and just looked around and saw the city a bit. The Glasgow cathedral was pretty good and it had a really interesting </div><div>old grave </div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfegufBjku6aS8Af783jsJmaD-ej6AJbVeuqcuU0QhTT_BJUS9AOVPKe9hYXa2IhPlu7d-1N4rXwDdl2Rtn2T34bjfj-1rdOugb8P1W81Fn6IGKO3e92oOnF932UD_oU6VDjv1lYKjQ4/s200/P9250107.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393514712635289474" /><div>yard. A lot of the graves were flat ones on the ground that had been grown over with grass so I kept </div><div>feeling like I was stepping on dead people. The architecture was really nice like most old cathedrals. I think some parts of the cathedral dated back to the 15th century. I guess it was built for Glasgow's patron saint, saint mungo, and his crypt is in the basement of the church. It just made me think of harry potter.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OepVqyAMgR6Cr0xixtu2NwejUMnLpy1AtQWd440uyWJNAqb_ZPkngsKq6X56yqOEnTMBMvhv5L0WnHF7vIGXx_yJTV9Quwui3A4d1ss3mPlb1EDYEONPF_k7Z6pvI06cxXOyJfzjDAE/s200/P9300024.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393512307909702082" /><div>From there I went to Dundee to stay with Erin. Dundee is a nice University town. Erin is going to grad school</div><div> there for her masters of fine arts degree. The town has some pretty places such as dundee law, which is not a law school but a big hill. It's pretty great at sunset. One side of</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P9AeMAXsC5k8SC7vXOWNgZVGRkppjwzZ47AFv4qhtb1fmyBjT91Rjkf4fiuH8x13S2xjLwbWXF9m3qZ0ke2K0ypxj_vvoTepr-vidU4mqk3WYKA9mpk52OwXrbzslJH5TI0_sRdFo6M/s200/P9290180.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393516401715627074" /><div> Dundee is on the water so that makes it nice as well. On the first day I got there Erin and I went to St. Andrews with 2 of her friends from her program. It was nice to see all the old architecture, and being the golf</div><div> enthusiast that I am seeing the old course- where golf was apparently invented- was neato. We also later attempted to mix with the locals at </div><div>several gatherings in dundee which were entertaining. </div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIPI49yOTupWpYoRKdYalKGuwySP6Vq7tfCkMjL6nneeq05Fu88EiV6-b6mr5jcy7x_Nh6JaYjoQYX1Ej4vnIinN5tBYFipN_2QZo8k_r0j_Lgh3c02eQXtUp_5OxWStHdtLT6qI5ynU/s200/PA020063.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393512872253761698" /><div><br /></div><div>I went to Edinburgh the following weekend to visit family friends. My mom use to live in Edinburgh back in her 20's and one of her best friends still lives there. They have a daughter who is my age, Stephanie, who I've known since I was about 2. She was my wonderful tour guide and we explored all the great things in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is an amazing city. It's really beautiful and has so many interesting aspects/segments to it. Each part of it really feels like a completely different small town. The old town and Dean village were particularly nice with so many cute old houses and cobbled streets. I also was able to go to pubs one night while I was there with steph and her friends. Bar time was pretty great with lots of people and random drunk girls stumbling over the cobbled streets.</div><div><br /></div><div>From there I went back to Dundee for a few days and then off to my grandma's in Kilcreggan for a week which I will post about later. Sooooo that is what I have been doing! Done. </div></div>Kelseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10481585654561029177noreply@blogger.com0