And nearly 4 months later...

Hello again! After the four month hiatus, I'd like to wish whomever is reading this a very Happy New Year, even though we're pretty much two months in already. I hope that everyone had a very happy holiday season, and that all is well!

Just to update, since my last blog post in October 2012, I haven't been anywhere that I would deem "blog worthy" other than going home for Thanksgiving and Christmas AND going to Los Angeles to visit my friends. Being home was very nice, although I did have a minor setback involving a pilonidal cyst, which started in LA and quite painfully ended one week later at home in New York. I believe this may have started a holiday related injury theme in my life, which I no longer wish to continue. What I'm referring to is what happened to me just last week, the day before Valentine's Day. I was making a tiramisu for my boyfriend and I to have on Valentine's Day, and the hot coffee from my French press coffee maker exploded all over everything including my left arm. I then spent the next hour trying to reduce the pain with little success and ended up going to the hospital. All is fine now, and the burn is definitely healing, but the moral of the story is be very careful with any and all holiday preparations of any kind because, whatever they may be, they're probably dangerous.

Despite destructive efforts of my French press coffee maker, who now resides in the nearest landfill, I will be traveling this weekend to Copenhagen, Denmark and possibly Malmö, Sweden!  With my dissertation project well under way, I'm hoping that I can find some time to post about my experiences there sooner rather than later, but at the rate I'm going now, odds that you'll hear from me again before June are pretty slim. Anyway, fingers crossed!

Its been too long!

Wow, it has been a very long time since my last post. My life since my last real post (about my trip to Prague in February) has changed so much and I have been to so many other places! Firstly, I went to Scotland directly one week after I went to Prague, and I didn't blog about it. Then I went to a few cities in Northern Italy, two cities in Germany, a few cities in Peru, and home to New York/Pennsylvania. In a few weeks time, I will be traveling to Budapest, then New York again (for Thanksgiving), then Los Angeles to see my best friends and family, and then back to NY for Christmas (I think). Won't be back to London until New Year's Eve, which Lord knows what I'll be doing for that. Hopefully something not lame, which is the word generally used to describe my typical New Year's Eve plans. 

Anyway, to sum up: Scotland was okay. I went with my parents to Edinburgh and on a bus tour of the Highlands. I got sick on the bus ride, which to be fair was an 8 hour ride on small bumpy Scottish roads in a crowded bus. Luckily, the German woman sitting next to us had a bag. That's all I'm going to say on that issue. 

Edinburgh Castle 

Me with some sheep in the Highlands

My parents by Loch Ness

and there's Nessie 

Then, there was the ski trip in Northern Italy with my housemates, which was great! I learned that skiing hurts and I much prefer the bunny slopes. We went to Torino, Lake Como (where George Clooney lives), Bellagio and Verona. Verona was the best, but we were only there for 1 night and a half a day. We did see most of the "attractions," though, which goes to show that Verona is mainly for doing nothing. Fine by me, but we didn't have time for that. 

On the cable car going to the "advanced" slopes (I just rode in the cable car)

In the lodge drinking warm beverages

Getting ready to ski (without my skis on)

Como

Lake Como from Bellagio

Verona 

Me by a fountain in Verona

Then in June, I went to Berlin and Munich, which are both in Germany. This trip was pretty fun, but I was exhausted for the first day in Berlin because I went to a Coldplay concert the night before (awesome Concert, by the way). Berlin was really cool and funky, and I liked how cultured it was. I definitely want to go back some day to look at some of the museums that I missed. Munich was a little more quaint and typically "German" if you know what I mean. I saw a lot of lederhosen and dirndl shops, and we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which is the largest beer house in the world (I think). That was fun, but I preferred Berlin. 

Brandenburg Gate

Me and the giant Amplemann

This is a currywurst. Looks a bit gross, but wasn't too bad.

At the Hofbrauhaus (sporting my Coldplay tshirt from the concert)

We thought this meant we were going to the Virtual Alien Market. We were wrong.

And then there was Peru. That was ridiculous. I have never experienced anything like that before in my life, and it was pretty great. We went to Lima, Arequipa, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, and Machu Picchu via the Inka Trail. I got altitude sickness in Puno (3,830 meters/12,556 feet), then I was alright until we stayed in a very dirty homestay on the Island of Amananti in Lake Titicaca and my sickness prevailed. After about three days in Cusco, I felt I was pretty much better except for the runny nose and cough, and decided to go on the four day trek through the Inka Trail to get to Machu Picchu. Not a good idea, I thought I was going to die. Long story short, I made it (with a lot of help). In retrospect, I'm grateful that I actually did do it, and I wouldn't have done it any other way. It was a great experience, and I'll definitely never forget it. 

Me with some Alpacas

At a market in Cusco

One of the archeological sites on the Inka Trail

Me at Machu Picchu!

Our Inka Trail Group

Me in a hole in Machu Picchu (right after I fell in poop. Not kidding)

Cholo Power sign in Lima by the Pacific Ocean

So, that's pretty much all of my travels from February until now. It has been quite the adventure, I can say that for sure. It was amazing, and I wouldn't change a thing. Looking at the pictures again makes me remember why I'm here and why I love to travel so much. I have learned so much and grown so much as a person from August 2011 when I first got to London until now, over a year later! I'm completely new, and with one more year to go, I'm so excited to see who I become when this degree is all said and done in September 2013. 

Trip 2 of 2012, CZECH! (get it?)

Prague, Czech Republic

I just got back from my trip to Prague, Czech Republic. What an amazing city! It was absolutely beautiful! I mean, it was freezing (a whopping -17 degrees celsius or 1 degree fahrenheit), but awesome anyway, so I can't complain too much. I went with my friend Hannah, who is in my MA Choreography program and she's from Canada. We saw everything from Prague Castle to the Museum of Young Art, which housed some of the most disgusting and bizarre works of art that I have ever seen in my life. When you first walk toward the museum, the you see four giant guns facing each other suspended in the air of a courtyard. Then inside, there are a wide range of images, bloody body bags, dead puppy and kitten carpets, real mouse skin shoes with the heads still attached, and stuffed dead horses. No, I'm not kidding. I wanted to vomit. This, of course, was not the highlight of my trip to Prague, but it was definitely memorable.

Museum of Young Art; Prague, CZ

One of the first striking images when you enter the city of Prague is the architecture. It is so colorful! The city must be absolutely beautiful in the summer as well, but I got to see it covered in snow, which was pretty sweet. The food was really good as well. I don't know why, but I had no idea what kind of food they ate in Czech Republic before I got there, but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. The first meal that I ate was potato dumplings stuffed with roasted pork and sauerkraut accompanied by coffee beer! I have never been an adventurous eater, a fan of sauerkraut, or even a beer drinker, but I loved this meal! It was my first, but definitely not my last Czech meal. The next day, I had another Czech specialty, which was fried cheese with tartar sauce. It was literally a block of cheese that was breaded and fried. Now this is something that's always been a favorite of mine, I just had no idea that it was a Czech specialty. Fried cheese, who knew?

Potato dumplings stuffed with roasted pork and sauerkraut

We decided to escape London for Valentine's day and take a trip to Prague, but little did we know that Prague is the stag capital of the world! Appropriate being that we are two single girls, but we still couldn't escape the nauseating images of couples everywhere. There was one particular moment where we were in the chocolate museum and I was in line waiting to get my complimentary hot chocolate and a waffle covered in dark chocolate sauce (oh. my. god.), and the couple in front of me wouldn't stop making out. Its like, please, that's the last thing I wanted to see. Of course, that image of nauseation was soon aided by the image of my very own waffle stick. The hot chocolate was amazing too. They steamed a cup of milk and then they placed a chocolate candy inside and the milk melted the chocolate. It was unbelievable. I wanted to live there in the chocolate museum gift shop. It was so good, that I even lost the urge to kick that couple in their obnoxious faces. Sorry, I'm still a little bitter. But you know what wasn't bitter, the chocolate. It was freakin' sweet!!!

My valentine, the waffle stick. Nauseating couple to my right.

Overall, my trip to Prague was a win! I had so much fun experiencing the culture, seeing the beautiful sights, learning about their history, and getting away from London for a few days. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. February has never been my favorite month, and nothing's changed this year. Life hasn't been too kind to a best friend of mine, and life in London has changed for me very drastically. Although I am on a high right now from my recent vacation, there still seems to be an underlying sadness within me that I can't seem to shake. I honestly have never felt so alone in London since I first got here. Its a very scary feeling to be alone in a foreign country, and I'm not too sure of how to snap myself out of it. I know I'm not alone because I have some great friends here with me, one even living in the same apartment as me, but I still can't help feeling this way. On top of that, I have so much work to do in the next month, that I get a panic attack and a headache every time I think about it (a.k.a. right now. Taking a moment to breathe). I need to just keep looking at the positive and enjoying all the traveling I'm doing.

It'll be nice being with my parents next week. Its been a rough two months, and I can't believe its already mid-February. Anyway, staying positive! Next week, Scotland!! :)

Time is Flying...

I can't believe that its already almost February. January flew by so quickly. So much happened, and so much has changed in the matter of one month, I can't even imagine what's to come in the upcoming months.

I went to Oslo, Norway last weekend, and it was absolutely amazing. It snowed, and we did a lot of snowy things, which were all really great. Everything in Norway was so expensive, I'm sort of glad that we were only there for one day so that I wasn't tempted to buy things. In a way, I wish that I had gotten a souvenir, but then again, I took pictures, so I guess that's good enough. The hotel we stayed at was really cool and really modern. The bed was the most comfortable hotel bed that I have ever experienced in my entire life. Its definitely in my top two most comfortable beds of all time, which says a lot because I'm very picky about beds. 

Me in Oslo, Norway! Woo!!

 The best two things about my stay in Oslo were the breakfast buffet at the hotel (mighty plentiful) and ice skating (yes, I fell down, and no, I didn't even care). The breakfast consisted of eggs made in scrabbled, sunny side up, omelette, hard boiled, and soft boiled forms. They also had pastries, rolls, smoothies, coffee, tea, apple juice, orange juice, bacon, sausage, cereal, yogurt, and fruit. I was upset that I became full after a certain point because I wanted so badly to keep eating, but I just couldn't. The dinner was only okay, so I wasn't expecting much come breakfast time, but it was great! Definitely exceeded my expectations and then some.

Ice skating was really fun too! The rink was outdoors, and it was located in the town center somewhere (I think). They played American, UK, and Norwegian pop music through speakers located on a tower in the center of the rink. It was about 40 Krone person (I think), which translates to about £4.50 or about $7.00ish. That's pretty decent considering it could be up to £25 in London and the equivalent to that in New York as well during the prime ice skating seasons. It was very surprising in a city where the Big Mac meal at MacDonald's was about £12! Yikes! Anywho, I had fun, and I would definitely go back to Norway (when I'm a famous/rich choreographer).

I am pleased to say that I have added two more trips to my already insane traveling itinerary for the first half of 2012. I am now going to Prague, Edinburgh, Turin, Milan, Verona, Lima, and Cusco! I am also looking to add a few more in there, but as of now, those are the trips that are already booked. I feel like this is a dream. Never in a million years did I think that I would be traveling to all these places. It was always a dream of mine, and I always knew that I wanted to travel a lot, but now that its actually a reality, its such a different feeling. I can hardly describe it.

Of course, life is never perfect, and there are always things that you wish you could change. There are always hardships, whether it be in your family, friendships, relationships, school, work, etc., there isn't one single person who can say that their life is 100% perfect. That's probably the best thing that I could have learned in this crazy-fast month, but this also taught me that I need to not focus so much on what I don't have, and focus on what I do have. There is so much to look forward to, especially in the course of the next six months for me, and no matter what else is happening around me and how sad or stressed out I may get, I can't ever forget about how lucky I am to be here. As long as I keep that in mind, there's no reason for me to ever be ungrateful.

Aaaaaaaaaand, I'm back in London...

Hello all! I can't believe how quickly time flew, but I am back in London once again. I feel like my time at home was a complete blur, and that it didn't really happen. When I look back on the three and a half weeks that I was away, I honestly have no idea what I did, how I passed the time, and what I accomplished. I do not feel rested at all; actually, I feel completely jet lagged... again. I also did not really enjoy my first day back in class. I feel like I would like to be choreographing instead of doing what we're doing, and I don't really know how it relates to what I want to do overall in my life. Possibly, after two weeks with this "artist" in this intensive, I can actually begin to understand why we had to walk around the room with our eyes closed for and hour and a half today, but as of now, I'm just kinda pissed off about it.

So, I have my second Euro-journey coming up in a little less than 3 weeks, which is kind of exciting. I will, of course, take a lot of pictures and share them on facebook as I usually do. Right now, I have an assignment to do for this artist dude that I don't want to do at all, I am baking some turkey cutlets in the oven, and I'm doing laundry. I also have a desk and a chair from Ikea that I just got delivered today, which I'm excited to use, but not excited to put together. I do need to put them together soon because I feel that I will be much more productive with my work once I have a desk and don't have to work on my bed anymore. If I wasn't so jet lagged, perhaps I would be more inclined to do it now, but sadly, this is not the case.

Hmm... I'm slightly concerned because my turkey cutlets are smelling questionable. Yeah, things are pretty much back to normal already. Goody.

Oh, and the turkey is fine. False alarm. Phew!!!

What is My Life?

So, I woke up this morning completely confused. I thought to myself, "What the ___ is going on?" (fill in the blank accordingly). The reason why I had this moment of confusion was because I was completely shocked at the crazy phenomenon that is my life. I have been living in a foreign country for four months, I am getting a masters degree, and so many other things are different in my life that I can't even explain them all. I just felt that I had to take a minute and really think about all this so that I can fully appreciate things. I realize that I can get caught up in the craziness that is life, and I don't really give myself the chance to step back and really look at what's going on around me. Its amazing!

I am about to leave for Italy on Saturday to visit my cousins, and I am so happy to see them! I think that stepping away from London for a while will be a really good thing for me since I've had to deal with so much stress over the past couple of months. I will be away from London for a whole month. Its very strange to think about being away from a place that you've gotten use to for that long. I remember being sad about leaving Los Angeles for Christmas break from LMU, but I feel like this may be slightly worse. I know I'm going to be so happy while I'm home, and I'm going to get to spend time with all of my family and friends back there, but I also know that I'm really going to miss it here as well. That may become slightly painful (emotionally painful), especially towards the end of my time at home. The only solution to this problem that I can think of is to keep busy. I have to read my own books, read books for school, hang out with my friends and family as much as physically possible, and watch a lot of movies. Isn't my life so difficult? Don't worry, I was being sarcastic.

Public Transportation... and then some.

Being that my only means of transportation in this crazy city is public, I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I remember when I was in high school, living in New York City (a city equally as crazy, if not more so, than London), I really hated public transportation. I had to do it every single day, back and fourth to the same places over and over again. The 7 train was so incredibly excruciating, not to mention that I've been followed by creepy men no less than five times AND been beaten with a homeless man's cane (not as funny as it sounds). I just remember being so tired from the traveling that I didn't even want to go out because it was too much effort.

Here in London, on the other hand, I don't seem to mind it as much. Granted, I don't have to take the train or bus to school, which makes life a lot easier, but its not like I live super close to central London either. I pretty much have to take the bus and train to hang out with my friends, go shopping, get my haircut, go to the grocery store, and do anything really worth while. Maybe I don't mind it much because I don't really have to do it everyday, but its not like its a picnic either, so I don't really know why I don't mind it as much as I did back in high school.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do get frustrated by the fact that at least one of the lines I usually take on weekends are closed every single week, they are constantly delayed/don't come when they are scheduled to, or they're overcrowded beyond belief. Okay fine, I'm still not a big fan of public transportation, but honestly, I'd rather stand on a packed train that's moving than sit in traffic for over an hour. True story.

On a side note, I got my first London haircut today! 

This is what I wanted...

..

...and this is what I got.

So... not a big fan of the hair stylist that I had. He was very nice and very informative, but when I asked him to cut my bangs shorter, he flat out said, "Well, I'm only cutting it this much more, and I'm not going any shorter than that. I don't think you'll be happy if I do." I wanted to be like, "DUDE! I asked for it shorter. I think I'd be happy if I got what I asked for. I mean, c'mon." Its not like I was asking for him to make them look like this:

Anyway, maybe I'll like it better when I style it myself. That usually happens to me. I'll just have to get my bangs trimmed when I go home in December, which is still SO LONG from now!!! On the other hand, I can't even believe that its Thanksgiving next week!!! I'm sort of nervous about it, though because I've never hosted Thanksgiving before! I feel like I'm Monica from Friends or something. Come to think of it, I kind of am like her. I like things neat, I like to cook, and I have brown hair! Well, I guess a lot of people can relate to her then, but still, I've definitely always felt like more of a Monica than a Rachel or a Phoebe. I digress... the point is that I'm really nervous about cooking Thanksgiving dinner for like 15 to 20 people and I've never cooked Thanksgiving dinner on my own before. AH! At least I will have the help and support of my roomies (or flatties, I guess) and one of my bestestest friends ever, Blair Brown!!!

That's right! I have my first visitor in London coming in TWO DAYS!!! Blair and Stephen (her boyfriend) are coming from San Fran to London on Thursday, and I can't contain my excitement! We have so many fun things planed too! Firstly, we're going to Koko on Friday (this Indie club in Camden), then we're making Thanksgiving dinner together, and then we're going to Oxford next Saturday, and I've never been there before! WOO! So many fun things to look forward to and distract me from the pain in my stomach that I have from thinking about my assessment on the 1st and 2nd of December. Can't wait!