Today we went to Bosnia. It was an awesome ride over. We had to travel through the mountains. They were a bit curvy. The most amazing part was where the bottom mountain range leads straight to the Adriatic Sea. Speaking of the sea, the water here is ice blue!
Once we got to the border of Bosnia and Croatia we had to stop and get our passports checked. I really wanted mine to be stamped, but the guy was really stern. Apparently in years past the Bosnian border guys have shown no emotion. They told us to not take pictures, don’t smile, and don’t look suspicious. We did just that and he let us through.
Once we got to the city, we got a tour of the college located there. The first thing we noticed was that the trash system was terrible. There were bottles, paper, and food wrappers everywhere. It was a really dirty city and campus. After the tour we had a lecture about politics. After being here for almost three weeks here, it seems like everyone here has Americans figured out. During lectures or while speaking with locals, they will make comments about how they know all about Americans. Do they? Does the media’s portrayal really give them enough information to make an informed opinion about us? Maybe this is the American girl coming out in me, but we are all individuals! We are not all alike. Even in our small group of 20, we have a wide range of ethnicities, social economic status', and personalities with different interests. It just bothers me when a city official of Makarska says, “The world doesn’t know about Croatia, but we know all about Americans.” It rubs me the wrong way.
Another interesting part of the day was the trip to the mosque. Our group of four that toured it on our own wore headscarves. It was just like what I would have imagined. There were carpets on the floor everywhere all pointing east. I’m glad I got to see that.
Before walking down the market there was a bridge over looking a river. On the top of the bridge was a guy about my age in a Speedo. He was waiting for someone to pay him about 40 Euros to dive into the river. Apparently this has been going on for years, young men trying to make a little cash for diving into the water. I didn’t get to see one dive in, but Dr tir (our teacher) did.
I think the most prevalent part of the trip to Bosnia were the gypsy children asking for money. There were a lot of young girls who were wearing a similar shirt that was too small showing their belly, a dirty long skirt (sometimes with pants on underneath), and ratted hair. They would approach us and hold their pitiful hand out and give us their sad eyes. We were told it was an organized crime, so I didn’t give them any money. Plus, I saw Slumdog Millionaire. I know they are working for someone! These girls were amazing. They approached Bianca and kissed her on the arm. If they were of a certain age, we would see them will infants. As we passed they would speak english. They seemed to know a lot of languages for being uneducated.
Weather Update: Its hot. We leave our patio porch open at night to let the breeze inside. We also try to keep the lights off. On the bright side, its great weather for tanning at the beach!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Scenery
Since I’ve last written we went to Istria. Which is not in the east, but in the west as Dr. Cotton stated. Istria is a region in Croatia that has cities within the region. Istria was one of my favorite places we’ve visited so far. The view from our hotel was beautiful. I mean, GOREGOUS. As we would walk up this cobble-stoned driveway to our hotel we would look to our left and see small stores that filled the quaint little town. On our right we saw this breath taking view of rolling hills and rustic looking rooftops. It felt like we were looking down from the clouds upon the region. Once we got to our hotel, there was an outdoor patio where we would order a bottle of wine, chat about life, and watch the sun set at night. I felt like I was in a movie.
There in Istria we saw the Glycolitic Trail. Which was hard to follow because the translation didn’t come across well. Luckily I wasn’t in the class that it was used for. But right after that we went to the SMALLEST town in the world. It had its own government. There were a total of 20 people, which was a population increase from the large number of 15 last year. Hah It was a really cute town.
One thing that I haven’t talked about is the market. There isn’t a day that at least one of our group members goes to the market. They have everything there. They have strawberries, apples, oranges, bananas, figs, any type of nut, and dried fruit. My list doesn’t even begin to give the market credit. They also had meats and cheeses. Bianca and Kelsey’s (my roommates) favorite are figs and almonds. I have a ton of pictures of the Market that Bianca took.
Our next adventure was an 8hr trip to Dalmatia (another region). Yes, Dalmatians came from Dalmatia. Bianca and I created a mix to keep our teachers from playing obnoxious folk music. We also dedicated a song for each teacher and were DJ’s for those songs. We started off with a “Good morning you beautiful people.” Our last song that was dedicated was to Jukovaca (Rockia); it was “Blame it on the Alcohol.”
I would say that Jukovaca (Rockia) is a popular drink made in Croatia. It seems like everywhere we go someone serves it to us. After the terrible hangovers from the wine vineyard, we all dread Jukovaca. It tastes like rubbing alcohol. If I lit a match, my breath would catch fire. I had one good type that had honey in it. That kind was at least bearable. Actually one day in Makarska we hiked up the mountains and ended the hike with a church. We see a lot of churches; they seem to all blur together. This church after the hike was very memorable. After looking inside the church the priest served us Jukovaca with shot glasses before noon. Someone took a picture of me with the priest and shot. I hope to see that picture after the trip.
Once we got to Makarska, we headed straight to our apartments. The apartments are awesome. It’s a two-bed room apartment. I share a room with Bianca, and Kelsey and Jessica share the other room. We have a kitchen that we have started to utilize. One time when I had class and Bianca and Kelsey didn’t. They went to the Market and got some eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and feta cheese. They cooked this awesome meal. Cory you can expect for me to be cooking eggplant more often. I got the recipe. For those of you who don’t know, Cory is my boyfriend. We like to cook and grill out a lot. Right outside our door is a lemon tree that we pick from! They are really good lemons. We put them in our water bottles. Another way you can tell that alcohol is a prominent part of the lives of Croatians is we had wine and Jukovaca sitting on our kitchen table for us when we got there. One night we had everyone over to drink it and then go out on the town and we ended up drinking all of the wine. The next morning we had another full bottle of wine sitting on our table. Not all of the people in our group get that kind of service, so I think its just our land lord.
Our first couple days in Makarska (a city in Dalmatia) have been really laid back. We would have class until one and then we’d all go to the beach. The beach is amazing. The water is clear. You can see straight to the bottom. The beach here has small white stones instead of sand. I really feel like the scenery here is straight off a movie set. On one side of us, there are the mountains and on the other there is the sea. It’s really good for trying to navigate around the city. I’m starting to get to know my way around the city like I’ve been living here for years.
Today we went to a palace. It was the retirement home of the only dictator that resigned. Now days it’s a city with lots of beautiful shops. I spent a lot of cash shopping today. J I hadn’t really bought any large purchases so I felt the need to splurge. Plus, I’m spending my own money. Yes, my hard earned cash that I got in Vegas. Haha For those of you who don’t know, I went to Vegas for my 21st birthday.
I think this trip has been really good for me. I’m realizing that occupational therapy might not be what I’m supposed to do in life. I’m really leaning towards health education at a hospital and getting my nursing degree. I’m not sure what made me realize this, but its been something I was always interested in. We’ve been touring emergency rooms, disability schools, and school doctors. I have a passion for health education and it would truly be a shame if I just let that go. I’m still debating. If any of you have any input, I would love to hear it.
Things I find Interesting
1. To go into a building, you have to push.
2. You can tell an American by their white socks.
3. Every breakfast we’ve been served included bread, meat, and cheese.
4. The service on filling up your water at a restaurant is terrible.
5. I still haven’t found Diet Coke anywhere.
6. We went to a concert one night and they played the song “Sweet Home Alabama.”
7. No one turns off their cell phones when they are in a meeting, lecture, or important talk. That would not fly in Georgia.
8. They are lazy when it comes to cleaning their fish. All fish we’ve eaten has been whole- eye, head, and tail included.
9. I like to go to cafes and people watch.
There in Istria we saw the Glycolitic Trail. Which was hard to follow because the translation didn’t come across well. Luckily I wasn’t in the class that it was used for. But right after that we went to the SMALLEST town in the world. It had its own government. There were a total of 20 people, which was a population increase from the large number of 15 last year. Hah It was a really cute town.
One thing that I haven’t talked about is the market. There isn’t a day that at least one of our group members goes to the market. They have everything there. They have strawberries, apples, oranges, bananas, figs, any type of nut, and dried fruit. My list doesn’t even begin to give the market credit. They also had meats and cheeses. Bianca and Kelsey’s (my roommates) favorite are figs and almonds. I have a ton of pictures of the Market that Bianca took.
Our next adventure was an 8hr trip to Dalmatia (another region). Yes, Dalmatians came from Dalmatia. Bianca and I created a mix to keep our teachers from playing obnoxious folk music. We also dedicated a song for each teacher and were DJ’s for those songs. We started off with a “Good morning you beautiful people.” Our last song that was dedicated was to Jukovaca (Rockia); it was “Blame it on the Alcohol.”
I would say that Jukovaca (Rockia) is a popular drink made in Croatia. It seems like everywhere we go someone serves it to us. After the terrible hangovers from the wine vineyard, we all dread Jukovaca. It tastes like rubbing alcohol. If I lit a match, my breath would catch fire. I had one good type that had honey in it. That kind was at least bearable. Actually one day in Makarska we hiked up the mountains and ended the hike with a church. We see a lot of churches; they seem to all blur together. This church after the hike was very memorable. After looking inside the church the priest served us Jukovaca with shot glasses before noon. Someone took a picture of me with the priest and shot. I hope to see that picture after the trip.
Once we got to Makarska, we headed straight to our apartments. The apartments are awesome. It’s a two-bed room apartment. I share a room with Bianca, and Kelsey and Jessica share the other room. We have a kitchen that we have started to utilize. One time when I had class and Bianca and Kelsey didn’t. They went to the Market and got some eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and feta cheese. They cooked this awesome meal. Cory you can expect for me to be cooking eggplant more often. I got the recipe. For those of you who don’t know, Cory is my boyfriend. We like to cook and grill out a lot. Right outside our door is a lemon tree that we pick from! They are really good lemons. We put them in our water bottles. Another way you can tell that alcohol is a prominent part of the lives of Croatians is we had wine and Jukovaca sitting on our kitchen table for us when we got there. One night we had everyone over to drink it and then go out on the town and we ended up drinking all of the wine. The next morning we had another full bottle of wine sitting on our table. Not all of the people in our group get that kind of service, so I think its just our land lord.
Our first couple days in Makarska (a city in Dalmatia) have been really laid back. We would have class until one and then we’d all go to the beach. The beach is amazing. The water is clear. You can see straight to the bottom. The beach here has small white stones instead of sand. I really feel like the scenery here is straight off a movie set. On one side of us, there are the mountains and on the other there is the sea. It’s really good for trying to navigate around the city. I’m starting to get to know my way around the city like I’ve been living here for years.
Today we went to a palace. It was the retirement home of the only dictator that resigned. Now days it’s a city with lots of beautiful shops. I spent a lot of cash shopping today. J I hadn’t really bought any large purchases so I felt the need to splurge. Plus, I’m spending my own money. Yes, my hard earned cash that I got in Vegas. Haha For those of you who don’t know, I went to Vegas for my 21st birthday.
I think this trip has been really good for me. I’m realizing that occupational therapy might not be what I’m supposed to do in life. I’m really leaning towards health education at a hospital and getting my nursing degree. I’m not sure what made me realize this, but its been something I was always interested in. We’ve been touring emergency rooms, disability schools, and school doctors. I have a passion for health education and it would truly be a shame if I just let that go. I’m still debating. If any of you have any input, I would love to hear it.
Things I find Interesting
1. To go into a building, you have to push.
2. You can tell an American by their white socks.
3. Every breakfast we’ve been served included bread, meat, and cheese.
4. The service on filling up your water at a restaurant is terrible.
5. I still haven’t found Diet Coke anywhere.
6. We went to a concert one night and they played the song “Sweet Home Alabama.”
7. No one turns off their cell phones when they are in a meeting, lecture, or important talk. That would not fly in Georgia.
8. They are lazy when it comes to cleaning their fish. All fish we’ve eaten has been whole- eye, head, and tail included.
9. I like to go to cafes and people watch.
I really like it here
Hello again!
After Osijek, our next day we went was Vukovar. This city is named Vukowar because it experienced the worst part of the war in the 1990s. It was really a tough day emotionally. Our tour guide for the day was actually 25 when the war was happening. She experienced every part of the three month bombing by Serbians. This lady was truly an optimist. Everything she spoke about, she turned it into a positive thing. This lady was in her basement for a large part of the bombing and then moved to the basement of a nursing home. She said that no one walked out on the streets because bombs were hitting non-stop. As she is showing us the city, we stopped at a memorial hospital that was taking care of the civilians. Some time during these three months of hell, the Serbians tell the officials at the hospital that they would take out all the injured to another city. The hospital agreed. Once the Serbians carried them out of the city to safety, they killed all of them and put them in a mass grave. It took the Croatians a long time to find them, but once they were found the victims were all buried into individual graves. We went to the memorial mass grave, the memorial building, and the individual graves. Needless to say it was an emotionally draining day. As we were leaving the gravesite, our guide was explaining that at the time of the bombing she heard on the radio at that they could be moved to another city. Everyone in the nursing home basement got on the trains and left Vukovar. She further explained that had it not been for the United Nations poking around trying to understand the war, she and the other hundreds of people would have been executed and buried in a mass grave as well. I just don’t understand how this woman could talk about her experiences as she did. I mean, the war was less than twenty years ago! Our next stop after the memorials was a military memorial. We watched a graphic video of the UN discovering the mass grave. On a lighter note, the military memorial wanted to put a shooting range in for kids to play on. They thought it would be a good attraction. Seriously?!
Our next day was fun! We went to the Zumberak region, which is the rural part of Croatia. They had the quaintest towns within that region! They all had their own markets with jewelry, cheese, wine, and other random souvenirs. We saw a nunnery and then the wine vineyard. We drank wine and Jukovaca (Rockia), which left everyone with terrible hangovers the next day. Although, some time during the night I bought a bottle so if anyone wants to give it a try let me know! I will not be joining though. Ha Everywhere we go they keep offering us Jukovaca (Rockia) and everyone HATES it because it made us so sick. Personally we tried a honey kind and I liked it, but it wasn’t for everyone.
The next day we went to a castle. Yes, ladies and gentlemen a castle! J It was really amazing! They were still trying to renovate it, but it still was beautiful. After the castle visit we went to Tito’s childhood home. For those of you who don’t know anything about him, he was the leader of Yugoslavia and many people liked him because he kept the country together. I don’t know how I feel about contributing money to this man’s attraction site. Did people forget that he allowed concentration camps to go on under his rule? Sigh, some people bought Tito t-shits. Silly Americans.
Our next day was short, the public health students went to a school for the mentally and physically disabled. Then we had the rest of the day off. YAY!
I’ll end here!
Things I Found Interesting
1. You have to push a majority of the doors instead of pull.
2. One of our tour guides won the political election and there were people marching in the streets after! I have it on video.
3. My roommate paid $100 to get a part of her gums removed.
4. One girl got a Urinary Tract Infection and Urei had to translate the grimy details. Ewwww
Correction:
There are traffic lights, but they are not placed well.
After Osijek, our next day we went was Vukovar. This city is named Vukowar because it experienced the worst part of the war in the 1990s. It was really a tough day emotionally. Our tour guide for the day was actually 25 when the war was happening. She experienced every part of the three month bombing by Serbians. This lady was truly an optimist. Everything she spoke about, she turned it into a positive thing. This lady was in her basement for a large part of the bombing and then moved to the basement of a nursing home. She said that no one walked out on the streets because bombs were hitting non-stop. As she is showing us the city, we stopped at a memorial hospital that was taking care of the civilians. Some time during these three months of hell, the Serbians tell the officials at the hospital that they would take out all the injured to another city. The hospital agreed. Once the Serbians carried them out of the city to safety, they killed all of them and put them in a mass grave. It took the Croatians a long time to find them, but once they were found the victims were all buried into individual graves. We went to the memorial mass grave, the memorial building, and the individual graves. Needless to say it was an emotionally draining day. As we were leaving the gravesite, our guide was explaining that at the time of the bombing she heard on the radio at that they could be moved to another city. Everyone in the nursing home basement got on the trains and left Vukovar. She further explained that had it not been for the United Nations poking around trying to understand the war, she and the other hundreds of people would have been executed and buried in a mass grave as well. I just don’t understand how this woman could talk about her experiences as she did. I mean, the war was less than twenty years ago! Our next stop after the memorials was a military memorial. We watched a graphic video of the UN discovering the mass grave. On a lighter note, the military memorial wanted to put a shooting range in for kids to play on. They thought it would be a good attraction. Seriously?!
Our next day was fun! We went to the Zumberak region, which is the rural part of Croatia. They had the quaintest towns within that region! They all had their own markets with jewelry, cheese, wine, and other random souvenirs. We saw a nunnery and then the wine vineyard. We drank wine and Jukovaca (Rockia), which left everyone with terrible hangovers the next day. Although, some time during the night I bought a bottle so if anyone wants to give it a try let me know! I will not be joining though. Ha Everywhere we go they keep offering us Jukovaca (Rockia) and everyone HATES it because it made us so sick. Personally we tried a honey kind and I liked it, but it wasn’t for everyone.
The next day we went to a castle. Yes, ladies and gentlemen a castle! J It was really amazing! They were still trying to renovate it, but it still was beautiful. After the castle visit we went to Tito’s childhood home. For those of you who don’t know anything about him, he was the leader of Yugoslavia and many people liked him because he kept the country together. I don’t know how I feel about contributing money to this man’s attraction site. Did people forget that he allowed concentration camps to go on under his rule? Sigh, some people bought Tito t-shits. Silly Americans.
Our next day was short, the public health students went to a school for the mentally and physically disabled. Then we had the rest of the day off. YAY!
I’ll end here!
Things I Found Interesting
1. You have to push a majority of the doors instead of pull.
2. One of our tour guides won the political election and there were people marching in the streets after! I have it on video.
3. My roommate paid $100 to get a part of her gums removed.
4. One girl got a Urinary Tract Infection and Urei had to translate the grimy details. Ewwww
Correction:
There are traffic lights, but they are not placed well.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Croatia, Croatia, Croatia
Croatia has been great! The city is beautiful and its exciting to be here!
Heres a little rundown of what we’ve been doing!
On our first day we had a tour of the city along with the history. Yes, we do have classes, which was a shock to me. We have classes on a study abroad? Haha We actually had them at the University of Zagreb! It is the oldest and largest University in Croatia! Its actually a perfect time for us to come and study here at the school. All of the students are on strike. We walked up and there are a ton of signs hung up and people are everywhere just hanging out. They are striking for “free education.” Apparently before the war, all education was free. They had no tuition. Now they have to pay about $1500 for tuition. Now I’m sure all of you are thinking oh wow wouldn’t that be nice for a major University? This is a lot of money to them because the average salary here is $14,000. They have been on strike for about 25 days now. One student said he didn’t shower for 10 days. I’m not sure what that would prove, but oh well. The most exciting part about it is last night our guide (who is a doctorial student) took us to a sit in where they were deciding to keep the strike going. Apparently every night they get together and decide if its worth it to go another day. So we went there! Our guide is for the strike.
It was a big auditorium filled with maybe seven people talking (in Croatian) into a microphone and the audience packed close together. There were people in the halls listening from a speaker because there were no seats inside. We went in front of the hundreds of students and supporters two people talked. They just said something to the extend of:
We’re from the United States and attend the University of Georgia. We want to wish you good luck in the strike and hope you make history.
Everyone cheered. Someone was there with a big TV camera. So, we might be on Croatian TV! I videotaped a little on my small camera. I’m going to try and post it on facebook. You’ll have to check it out!
Anyway, we had a city tour and a couple of classes. On the next day we went to Plitvice Lake Park. It was beautiful there. We hiked around the sky blue lakes and took pictures in front of the multiple waterfalls. It was truly beautiful. Part of what we had to write in our journal was about what public health issues within the park and how would we make it less dangerous to the public. (On a side note, we have to keep a journal and write about specific things that they give us for a grade.) The park had a trail that was uneven, so we talked about a warning sign. There were also no railings in between the trail that was on the edge of a mountain. The obvious one here is that a railing is needed. We actually talked to the guy about it and he said that there has been an issue with trying to preserve the park and have safety. Many argue that by having a railing it would restrict the view and take away from its natural beauty.
The major health issue I saw was the OLD wooden plank walkway over the lakes and through the waterfalls. It seemed like it was out of an Indiana Jones movie, where the bridge was over some treacherous waterfall and the planks weren’t side by side. They were spaced out and someone could have easily tripped. We had a great example to talk about because we saw a woman being carried out by a stretcher with a wrap around her head. She had slipped or tripped on the walkway and hit her head. The most disgusting part was we walked by an area on the walkway that had a circle of blood about the size of a basketball. Gross. We were really tired by the end of the day. We started at 8:30 and ended at 4:00pm. Yet not tired enough to not go out! George (Urea), the doctorial student, took us to the best bars! It was really fun and I’ll end that there. J
The next day we split up and did a bunch of class stuff. At the end we met with the Croatian Diplomat who’s working on Croatia’s entrance into the EU. He was a really good speaker (as you would expect.) He was a bit optimistic though. He thought that they would be in the EU by 2011. We’ll just have to see right?
Our next day we went to the concentration camps that held Croatians that were suspected of being anti fascist and Serbs during the war. One of the kids in my group had a family member who died there. Keep in mind that this war went on in the 1990’s. This is a really recent war and all Croatians experienced some aspect of the war. Its really interesting to talk with George and our different tour guides about it. During that part of the day, everyone was really solemn and our moods were down. The lady who gave us a tour of the camp talked about how she had to build up an emotional wall to do her job.
After the camps we went to Osijek. This was a beautiful city. Our tour guide of this city explained that this is one of the safest cities in Croatia. It was normal for the kids to walk around the city alone at night. There is a really low crime rate. I found that really interesting since there was graffiti EVERYWHERE! It was a beautiful city, but on every beautiful building was some sort of spray paint. Our guide said that before Croatia was independent that graffiti was really the only form of free speech.
That day was long and the next day we got up at 6:30am to meet at 8:15am. I’ll tell you about it later!
PICTURES
Our masters students in the class have a blog that is graded and they post pictures. Its: www.healthforalluga.blogspot.com
Also we have a group in front of a waterfall and can find it at: www.picasaweb.google.com/klangston63
Things I find interesting
1.I can’t find diet coke anywhere!
-This is a HUGE problem. When I come home that’s the first thing I’m going to do: drink a diet coke.
2.The Croatians play music from the 90’s in EVERY restaurant.
-I’ve heard Whitney Houston a billion times.
3. Architects make more money than doctors.
- Dad, ever thought of moving to Croatia? I bet you’d be at the top of the pay range and make at least $20,000 a year! J
4. “You’re nothing like I pictured, most Americans are fat and ugly”
-Not a good pick up line
-Croatians have no game.
5. Croatian men look deathly skinny.
6. Croatians smoke and drink A LOT.
-Theres a bar in the University of Zagreb.
7. Everyone goes to Internet cafés.
-Does no one have the Internet?
- My Facebook is in Croatian here.
8. We went to a political rally, and they gave out soap that said, “Wash away corruption.”
-During the day we were offered beer in exchange for a vote towards a political party. ha
9. There are no traffic lights.
That’s it for now!
Monday, May 11, 2009
three plane meals, two security checks, and one cab ride to the beautiful destination
I'm here! I thought since I have so much to say that I'd write it in bullets. So here it goes:
Leaving Home:
Saturday was busy. Mom served breakfast at 10am. It was an awesome meal. It was waffles (she makes the best ever!!) with all different types of fruit served with orange juice! Mom's the bomb!
The lovely Janet told me at my last supper in the US (which was located at good ole' Taco Mac) that Croatia has a large sex slave industry. ugh, and I leave tomorrow! Instantly I wanted to get pepper spray. So, saturday we searched for one at walmart and the gun store, and finally we found one at some sort of sporting goods store! Apparently there is a great need for pepper spray, so if you need some (ever) keep in mind its a hot item!
After spending the day doing some final packing and eating left overs, I said goodbye to cory. Mom and I finalized everything and went to the store ONE MORE time before leaving for the airport. I think the weirdest part was when I was saying goodbye to mom, we didn't cry. It was when I left her to go through security when we both started crying. Aw, I was going to miss her!
The Plane
The plane ride was nice to Paris. I didn't have too much cabin fever. There were a couple of times when I would get up to go to the bathroom for no reason. I'd just stand in there thinking "man this is a really cramped space" or "if there was any problem on the plane, I could just run into here!"
The weirdest thing about the flight was I sat next to UGA students going to Morocco for a different study abroad! Weird huh? I was so glad I wasn't stuck next to some obese french man who didn't wear deodorant and had skanky breath. Maybe my stero type of the french is a little extreme, but I was happy to know it was a student that kept to her own space.
The best part of the plane ride was the food! OH MAN! They kept feeding us and feeding us and feeding us! I had two meals in between the times 6pm when the plane took off to 1am when the plane landed! Not to mention the snacks they gave us, and that was only the first flight! So if I wasn't already going to gain 10lbs on the trip, they confirm the extra lbs on the plane ride!
It really wasn't a bad ride! I slept for most of it.
Security in Paris
I can't decide if it was terrible or really good. I guess it was just really inefficient. The workers were taking peoples bags to put on the conveyer belt and specifically checking each person before they walked under the metal detector. Then they checked them again if there was a beep when walking through the metal detector. There were maybe 10 people in front of me and it took an abnormally long amount of time to get through! I also felt like there were a lot of workers standing around. With all of that said, at least they checked everyone. Mom walked through the security in Atlanta right after september 11th with a pocket knife. Scary huh?
Hotel
The hotel is a cute little hotel. Someone read in a book on Croatia that it was a rough looking hotel on the outside, but nice on the inside. I'd say that description fits it well! As soon as I got to the hotel I got the room key, found my room, and passed out. Not more than 3 hrs later I wake up to the phone ringing. Ugh, who on earth could be calling? Naturally, I ignored it and slowly woke up to take a shower. Once I got ready I went down stairs to figure out the internet situation, the man behind the counter said "you are ms rohan in 507?" Man he's good! :) He really only knew because my mother had already called the hotel three times wanting to chat! Oh my mother! You know, its nice having the staff of a hotel to remember your name, but not because your mother has called multiple times! Oh well, she was worried because she hadn't heard from me. What can you do?
Well I'm sleepy! Its almost 1am here and I've got an early morning ahead!
Allison
ps:
Things Mom Can Have the Last Laugh On:
1. me not listening to her when she tried to explain the power converter
-I blew my converter and blowdryer within the first couple hours of being at the hotel.
2. me not wanting to use her vera bradley purse
-Everyone is wearing purses just like it and it would have been annoying to carry my entire bookbag around for the day
Friday, May 8, 2009
The first step of my Journey
Hello All!
I thought that since my trip to Croatia is going to be quite the adventure that I would document all parts of it including the weeks approaching my travels. I’m sure most of you know, but this will be my first time out of North America as an adult. I must say, I’m a little nervous. I have always wanted to travel to foreign exotic places. Ever since I can remember, I have ridden on a plane. It’s just a normal part of my life now days. In 2008, I flew to Texas for spring break, Texas in the summer, California in the summer, and one more time to Texas for Christmas.
For those of you who don’t know my family situation, here’s a rundown. My father lives in California (for work), my brother and sister-in-law live in California, my mom and I live in Georgia, and every other relative of mine lives in Texas (with the exception of a few). For the record, my mom and dad are NOT divorced. He comes home once or twice a month for 4 or 5 days at a time. He has more off time than any other business man I know!
If you can’t already tell, my family is spread out from one coast to another. Flying is just another mode of transportation to me. So, I’m not nervous about the flying part. Although I’ve heard the flight is going to be around 24hrs according to Chingy (my roommate.) I guess the nervousness comes from the thought of going to another country where I don’t know the language. This barrier makes me dependent on strangers who may or may not have pleasant intentions. Right before I found out about the trip I went to see “Taken.” If you are not aware of the plot, it’s about a girl who travels to another country and is taken to be sold for prostitution and her daddy saves her. Although I have every ounce of faith in my daddy coming to save me, he is no ex-spy (as the father was in the movie.) So the ending may turn out to be a little different for me.
But who believe's the movies? I went through with the application process and got accepted. (YAY!!!!!)
I am so fortunate to have this opportunity. So, thank you mom and dad (and Nabil for calming dad’s nerves about the trip.)
Until next time,
Allison
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