Swiss Adventures!

Bonjour from Lausanne! It's been great being back at La Croisée for three weeks now. The new semester is going great and I love all of the spring semester students that have joined us here! I've gotten to spend a lot more time exploring Switzerland the past couple of weeks during new student orientation and the past two weekends.

During the new student orientation during the first week of school, our whole group go to go see Fribourg, about an hour outside Lausanne, and the Swiss capital of Bern. Fribourg was very interesting. It's the one of the only cities in Switzerland where half of the population speaks French and half speak Swiss-German. Fribourg is also home to the Tinguely Museum of Modern Art whih we also had the opportunity to visit. After lunch, we drove to Bern, which I had visited previously. This time we got to take a tour of the Swiss Parliament! It was so interesting to learn more about Switzerland and their government.

The next weekend I had the opportunity to go to Verbier, Switzerland to do a little snowboarding on the Swiss Alps! Verbier is gorgeous. The alps majestically surround this tiny Swiss village. The area and scenery was truly inspiring. Although my snowboarding skills are not the best, it was fun to go to Verbier with friends and just have a great day.

This past weekend, over sixty of us in the Lausanne program went on a spiritual retreat in Villars, Switzerland. We all stayed in a Swiss chalet together and had a great time! It was a time for us to reflect on our Creator and on our relationships as followers of Jesus Christ. We spent time worshipping together, hearing messages from our visiting faculty, Professor Daum, and in small groups. I think we would all say that we got to know everyone better in the house on a deeper level, regardless of their spiritual affiliation. Some people also took this opportunity to snowboard, ski, snowshoe, or just walk around Villars. It was great weekend and I believe that I saw God move in enormous ways in the house.

This weekend I am going to Versailles and Disneyland Paris with some friends. I hope that all of you are having a great 2011 thus far and continue to pray for me in my last couple of months abroad!

Winter Break Wolfpack

Greetings! Happy 2011 everyone! I hope the holidays treated everyone well. Although I wasn't able to be with my own family, it was nice to be with my friend family consisting of Nick and Lauren (we have truly become the 3 best friends that anyone could have :]) So here is a recap of our winter break after the Romania mission trip:

Once we left Romania, Nick, Lauren, and I headed off for Edinburgh, Scotland! We stayed there for two nights and it was great! Edinburgh is probably one of my favorite places I have been thus far in my life. The Scottish are so nice and welcoming and the city was so beautiful! We stayed at a hostel (the best rated in Scotland) right at the base of the famous castle! After Edinburgh, we went on a quest. We sought the holy grail (well not really, just the castle it was filmed at...). We went up to Doune, Scotland to visit Doune Castle aka Monty Python castle! It was great minus the fact that it was snowing the whole time. It was great to see where one of my favorite movies was filmed and we all throughly enjoyed it! We stayed the night in Glasgow that night. Didn't really see much, but looked like a great place! Scotland is definitely a place I would like to go back to someday!

After our three days in Scotland, we flew to Dublin, Ireland! Once we arrived (thank God because we thought we weren't going to make it on Ryanair...) we started exploring the city. We had some authentic Irish breakfast for lunch at a cafe and made our way toward the shining glory of the city of Dublin: the Guinness factory! We started the tour and finished about 2 hours later! It was the coolest tour I have ever been on anywhere. I also became a certified pourer of Guinness! We really enjoyed the factory and was definitely the highlight of our Dublin trip. The next day we explored, went to the Irish Museum, Temple Bar, and made some Irish friends at breakfast. The Irish are very nice (can't say the same for the adolescents of Ireland...they throw snowballs at random people, hitting Nick in the head and myself on the leg on separate occasions, not so much a fan of them.) The Irish adults are great! Very fun and vibrant!

We then headed for Wales via ferry! The ferries are very nice and we happened to be on the fastest ferry in the world! It was a beautiful ride to Holyhead, Wales! We had originally intended to go on castle tours the whole day, but unfortunately all the castles in Wales were closed because of the snow and ice (needless to say, nick was beyond bummed...). We decided to just head straight for Manchester, England where we would be spending the next days for Christmas! We were fortunate enough to get an awesome apartment! We rested and made a great Christmas Eve dinner, complete with steak, mac n' cheese pie, salad, garlic bread, and apple pie with ice cream for dessert! It was great. We also got each other some gifts and opened presents underneath the tree (our foil Poundland tree :]). For not being home with family, it was a great Christmas and we had a great time just relaxing and spending time with each other over the holiday.

After Manchester, we started to move south. We stopped for lunch in Oxford and ate at the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis frequented called The Eagle and Child. Very cool to see where they discussed and debated with each other as well as dreamed up the mysterious lands they wrote about! After eating lunch, London was calling! London is one of my favorite cities. I might even dare to say I'm a bit obsessed! We checked into our hotel and went out to get some English food (Steak and Ale pie with mash...mmmmmhhhhhh)! Our first day in London, we saw all the main sites. We used the Tube everywhere! It's the best in London, even got myself a pair of Tube socks! We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey! It was great to finally see all the things that i have wanted to see for so long! The next day, we used our last Britrail day and went out to Stonehenge. It was a great day trip. It was foggy out so it made everything very spooky. I was a little skeptical to go at first, but in the end it was definitely worth it! The next day we decided to go to the Tower of London! This was probably one of my favorites. We walked around, saw the Royal armor from all the kings, and most importantly, the crown jewels of England! It was incredible to see the size of these jewels! After the Tower, we went to the British National Museum and did a whirlwind tour of the highlights including the Rosetta Stone, the pediment from the Parthenon, and a head from Easter Island. We left pretty early to go and see the musical Wicked! This was my second time seeing and I loved it again! We all really enjoyed it. Our last day in London we passed the day by going to Piccadilly Circus to shop a little and by going to Harrods. Harrods was incredible. It was huge! We got our bags from the luggage hold at the train station and made our way toward Westminster to ring in the new year! It was unbelievably crowded, but we managed to find a spot with a view of the London Eye! The new years firework display was crazy! Definitely try to youtube it because it was incredible! The most crowded and craziest New years of my life, but one of the most fun for sure. After the fireworks, we left for the airport for our 7 AM flight! London was amazing and I would love to go back someday!

Our last destination was Copenhagen, Denmark. It was beautiful, but too cold! It was about 10-25 Fahrenheit during the day! The first day we just decided to walk around, we ended up in the fashion district for a little while and then headed back to our hotel to check in. The next day we walked around and went to the Carlsberg factory, whch happens to be Lauren's favorite. We took a tour and got to see all there is about making Carlsberg! It was really interesting and Lauren really enjoyed it. The third day, we decided to take a quick thirty minute train ride to Malmo, Sweden! Unfortunately, Malmo is known for their impressive beaches (obviously during the summer) so there really wasn't much to do. We walked around in the park and by the fortress and ended up sitting in a coffee shop for quite some time. Very cute and would definitely like to go back someday! Our last day in Copenhagen, we walked around some more to see some more sites. We saw the original little mermaid! We also got a chance to see the WWII forts and some of the canals. Copenhagen was a great city that i would like to go back to once it is warmer!

We had a great break, but are glad to be home in Switzerland!

The Past Month in Four Paragraphs!

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't really kept up the past month on the blog! It's been super busy and here's why:

So since I blogged last time, I went on a Roman Holiday!!! A group of us went to Rome the second weekend of November! It was a great experience. We saw the Roman forum, Coliseum, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, mouth of truth, and the Vatican. It was incredible (also consumed gelato 4 times in two days). Next time I go to Rome, I want to stay for a week. There is so much to see and it was beautiful!

The last travel weekend in November, Nick and I went to Berlin! Everyone else went to the Harry Potter premier in London (wanted to go so bad, but were going in two weeks :}) so we decided to go to Germany. The second time around, Germany was awesome. We both really enjoyed Berlin! After our 13 hour train ride (of course we arrived late, its Germany...), we went to our hostel in East Berlin (so crazy) and settled in. We immediately took off to see some sites. In the two days we were there, we walked a total of 17 miles seeing Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the TV tower, and 4 museums housing the alter of Pergamon, the gates of Babylon, and the bust of Nefertiti. Berlin was a really cool city that I would love to go back to someday.

The last two weekends in Lausanne consisted of Thanksgiving, Christmas markets, making videos, and studying for finals! We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner complete with all the fixings (and a short play by my fellow peers on Thanksgiving...haha). Thanksgiving was also the first day it snowed in Lausanne! A white Thanksgiving was great! It snowed over a foot that weekend and we all loved it! One weekend, a bunch of us went to the Christmas markets in Montreux, one of the best in this area of Europe. Christmas markets are very popular in Germany and Switzerland. They typically sell Christmas decorations, winter clothing, candies and chocolates, and other fun things! It was great to walk around by Lake Geneva and sip on some cider (spiked with some vodka...just to keep me warm :]). It was a great cultural experience! I finished out the semester strong with good grades and finished the videos for my job an for all the students.

Now, I am in Romania on the mission trip that I planned for myself and 14 other Pepperdine students who are studying abroad. Its been a great experience so far working with children in Bucharest. We have gotten to make crafts and play games at two different orphanages as well as go site seeing in Bucharest and the Brasov area near Dracula's castle! We are all having a great time and I am looking forward to traveling with Nick and one of my best friends, Lauren to Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark the rest of break!

Barcelona/Lisbon Fall Break!

This past week we had our fall break (which was much needed after mid terms :]) and a bunch of us went to Barcelona, Spain and Nick and I travelled to Lisbon, Portugal after that!

We had a great time basking in the warm Iberian sun and seeing the sights of Barcelona and Lisbon!

We left La Croisee at 6:40 AM Wednesday to get to the Geneva airport for our flight to Barcelona at 9:35. We arrived in Barcelona at 10:30 ish and left the airport for our hostel called Ideal Youth Hostel (ironic considering it was not so ideal :/) We checked into our hostel and went looking for a some Spanish food, but settled on KFC because we all had a hankerin' for some good ole' American eats! After we devoured a bucket of fried chicken, we headed for the beach! It was about a 20 minute walk from the hostel, but it was very enjoyable. We got some ice cream and walked along the harbor. The beach was beautiful! The Spanish Mediterranean was so blue! We sat and talked for a while and walked back toward La Rambla (the area we were staying in) with some kids from the Florence Program who were also in Barcelona. After a quick power nap, Lauren, Alex, Alison, Nick, and I went out to eat. We ordered some sangria (yum!), tapas (yummier!), and paella (yummiest!). It was great. We then went on a search for churros con chocolate! Also delicious! It was a great first day of relaxation! The next day, our same group headed out early for some sight seeing! We headed toward the market where we all got fresh fruit. We spotted a Dunkin Donuts along the way and also got a few sweet treats! We started our day off going to the La Sagrada Famillia or the sand drop cathedral in Barcelona. It was gorgeous! It was under a lot of construction, but thats because it always is. They haven't stopped working on it since the 1800's! After the cathedral, we went to Gaudi's gardens on the other side of town. Gaudi is the architect who is famous for his Dr. Seuss-like buildings and use of mosaics. His gardens were beautiful! So unique and intricate! This is also where they hosted America's Next Top Model season finale 3 so of course, we did some runway walking! Unfortunately, Nick and I had to leave for our flight at 5, but Barcelona is a place I would love to go back to someday!

Nick and I went to Lisbon, Portugal on Thursday. We had such a great time! On Friday morning, we left our awesome hostel to explore! If you like views, Lisbon is definitely the place to go. It's situated on seven hills so there are views everywhere you go. First, we walked around the main square part of Lisbon. It was so beautiful. There are a million monuments in Lisbon so there is always something to look at. Also the architecture is gorgeous! So many of the buildings were covered with beautifully painted tiles! We walked to the ocean/harbor and made our way toward Alfama (the moorish quarter) of Lisbon. Alfama was really interesting. The area seemed to be preserved from any modern changes. It probably looks pretty similar to it hay-day back hundreds of years ago. After Alfama, Nick and I hiked up to the castle. It had such pretty views of the city. We took a bus down to the main square again, did some shopping, and headed back to the hostel.

The flight back on Saturday was probably the worst. I got very sick :( but that did not put a damper on the trip! It was a great time and I'm glad I got to go!

Venice!!!!!

So this past weekend, Nick, Alison Waters, and I went to Venice, Italy! We left on Friday morning and took the direct train. We got to Venice around 2 ish. I loved being able to go back to Venice. I did not realize how much I loved it the first time till we decided we were going to go this past weekend. We went to our hotel on Lido island, got freshened up, had a scoop of gelato, and headed out for a fun night on the town! First, we went to St. Mark's Square. Still as gorgeous as ever (minus all the billboards they've put up since the last time I was there :[ ). We walked around a bit, did some shopping, and stumbled upon this awesome restaurant right on one of the canals. I got my gnocchi fix once again, while Alison got cannelloni and Nick got lasagna. We finished or meal off with some delicious Irish coffee and another scoop of gelato! We got the last boat back to Lido and spent some quality time together in the hotel room (aka. reading for History 304)

The next day we left at about 9 and headed to the island of Murano, where the Venetian glass is made. We got to see a glass making demonstration and wandered around the island for a little while. We made our way back toward the train station, got some delicious pizza, and did some more shopping for glass, soccer jerseys, and of course some Italian wine. It was a quick trip, but we all had fun! Midterms have been going on all this week, so be praying for me and all my classmates as we prepare to write papers and take our exams. I have been in Switzerland 7 weeks as of today! I cannot believe how fast time is flying over here! God has been working in mighty ways in our house and I'm so happy with all of the people that are in the Lausanne house with me. They are all such a blessing!

Normandy Educational Field Trip!

We just returned from our Educational Field Trip in Normandy last night! We had such a fantastic time! Our program directors and assistant did an amazing job of putting a trip together that was fun and extremely educational. Here's a day by day overview of our trip to the Normandy region of France:

Monday-We left La Croisee at about 9:00 AM to get to the Geneva airport by 10:00 AM. Our Air France flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle left at 12:00PM and we arrived at 1:00 PM. We were greeted at the airport by our travel agent for the week, Jack, and our two story bus (we were all very excited about that!). From there, we started our three hours drive to Deauville, France, a beautiful seaside town in Normandy. We stayed at the Mercure Hotel and Yacht Club in Deauville for the first three days of our trip. Pepperdine really knows how to travel with class. The Yacht Club was amazing! The rooms were very nice and they had a hot breakfast for us every morning. Once we were checked in, most of us ran to the beach to snap a few sunset (and jumping :]) pictures. We all went out to dinner together that night in Deauville and since we were all tired, just stayed at the hotel or explored a little more the rest of the night.

Tuesday-We left the hotel at 8:30 AM to start our jam packed day of Normandy sight seeing. We went first to pick our tour guides in Caen, about an hour from Deauville, and from there went straight to Arromanches (Gold Beach for you history buffs). This is where the Brit's built an artificial harbor on D-Day called Mullberry B, and fought the Germans. We visited the D-Day museum for an hour and then ate lunch right on the water. After lunch, we visited the German barracks next to Gold Beach for about 20 minutes. We then drove about 30 minutes to the American Cemetery on Omaha Beach. There are over 9,000 graves in this cemetery. Our tour guides showed us the Niland brothers graves (the story that inspired the movie Saving Private Ryan), some of the women who perished while working for the American Red Cross, as well as the seven cross dedicated to the unknown soldiers who died during the war. We were all struck with grief as well as gratitude. Many of these men and women were our age and we all reflected on the sacrifice they made almost 70 years ago on that very beach. After that, we went down to Omaha for about ten minutes to look at the monuments some more. It was a long day, but really interesting to finally see the places that we have learned about for years.

Wednesday-Once again, we set out relatively early for Mont Saint Michel. It took a little longer to get there than the previous day (about 2 hours) but was so worth it. First, we went and eat lunch at Mont Saint Michel. Did I mention Pepperdine really knows how to travel with class? We had an awesome four course meal for lunch (Mussels, salmon with saffron rice, a sampling of local cheeses, and tiramisu!). We were in heaven! We then took a tour of Mont Saint Michel. It was once in the harbor there, but the river that flow into to ocean has created a bank so that Mont Saint Michel is only in the ocean every once in a while. It was built as a monastery and is still in use by 7 monks today. It was so gorgeous! We left after a couple of hours of walking around the little town to a biscuit factory! They had free samples (yum!). I'm sure some of you will be receiving them as gifts in the near future!

Thursday-Thursday was a driving day, mostly to drive closer to Paris so we didn't have to travel as much on Friday. We went to the small town of Honfleur. We stopped there for about an hour to see the beautiful little harbor. This is the harbor that Jacques Cartier left from in the 1500's to sail to North America. Honfleur also has only of the only wooden churches left in western Europe. Most had been burned, but this one has stayed in tact for centuries. After Honfleur, we went to Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy on the Seine River. Rouen was gorgeous! It rivaled France in size for many centuries and was one of the main ports in France because of its strategic location. Rouen has a beautiful cathedral that we had the privilege to take a tour of, as well as well as many bell towers. Rouen is also where Joan of Arc was baptized and burned at the stake. They have built a monument to her as well as a church in her honor there. Thursday night we stayed in the town of Evreux.

Friday- Our last day on the trip and probably the most beautiful. We left Evreux at 8:30 AM and set out for Claude Monet's house in Giverny! This area of Normandy was so beautiful. We arrived at Monet's house at 10:00 AM and had an hour to go through his house and the garden that inspired so many of his masterpieces. I think we all would've loved to wander through the gardens the whole day. All of the flowers were still in bloom and it's kept amazingly by the many gardeners there. No wonder Monet had so much inspiration there! It was awesome. After Monet's house, we left for the airport in Paris and concluded our EFT.

Next weekend...Venice + Verona!

Florence/Pisa!

This past weekend, I went to the heart of the Renaissance...Florence, Italy. It was glorious! What a beautiful place. The architecture, art work, and people were amazing (as well as prices for Italian wine :]) Our group had a great time!

We started by leaving at 6:20 on Friday for Milan. I'm so excited to go to Milan in December, if the city is anything like the train station, it must be gorgeous. Anyway, we got to Florence around 1 and headed to the Pepperdine Villa. The Pepperdine Villa is great! The rooms are a bit small, but the villa is homey and comfortable for the weekend. We got to stay there and they provided breakfast at an awesome cafe not to far away. We put our stuff away and immediately got some great Italian food at a cafe! With a full stomach, we were ready to walk till our feet were about to fall off the rest of the day. We saw the beautiful Duomo, the Church of Santa Maria Novella (not quite sure if thats what its actually called but it was beautiful!), and walked all over town. The Duomo is so magnificent! Like nothing else I've ever seen. Its so beautiful, I took probably about 50 pictures of just the Duomo alone. We were so tired that we came back and slept before dinner (I had gnocchi...yum!) and that was about it. On Saturday, we had a full day planned. We left at about 8, got a delicious breakfast at the cafe, and went off to see Michaelangelo's "David" at the Academia. We stood in line for about 2 hours and we finally got in. David is so wonderful. Its amazing the size and detail of this sculpture. I wish I had pictures but they would do no justice to Michaelangelo's workmanship. After that, some of us walked to the top of a hill in Florence to get some awesome pictures of the city. It was beautiful! We came back across "Ponte Vecchio" the famous bridge filled with goldsmith and jewelry stores, got some good ole' Italian gelato, and headed back to the villa to get ready for the night. We went to the same place for dinner that night and went out with some of our friends that are at the program in Florence.

On Sunday, we decided we wanted to go to Pisa! Its only about an hour from Florence so we got up early again (4 1/2 hours of sleep!) and headed to the coast toward Pisa. Finally, after a 30 minute walk we saw what we came for, the leaning tower! You would never believe just how much it leans! Its incredible that its still standing. It was in such good condition though, as were the other buildings in the plaza with it. It really is remarkable.

One of the best trips I've ever had! We had a great group that made the trip awesome! This weekend is a rest weekend in Lausanne and then were off to our educational field trip in Normandy next week!!!! Au revoir!