So I made a visit to the Swiss Alps this weekend. It was more than amazing! Interlaken is a beautiful city located between two lakes. I love making these weekend trips because you meet so many new people from around the world. For instance Saturday I went night sledding with about 12 girls, 8 I didn’t even know but now are new friends. Night sledding is intense! You go about 30 miles down a hill on a plastic sled, the steering takes all your strength from your legs, you can’t see some of the path, and every once in awhile you have to dodge a tumbling person. I flew off my sled a good four times. The first time down the advanced course I flew over an embankment and down the hill a little bit. It is more dangerous than skydiving, hang gliding, skiing, snowboarding, or any other activity they provide. It was an adrenaline rush!
Talking about adrenaline rush… Sunday morning I went canyon jumping! You can only canyon jump three places in the world: New Zealand, Switzerland, and Napole. I will try to upload a video on here and it will explain it all :) I have skydived before and this was was more intense. You have to jump off yourself and you see the ground get closer and closer! They said I was doing the running man the whole way down with my arms and legs just flailing. Hahaha.
When you study abroad there are programs you can go through to travel. I went through Florenceforfun but there are also euroadventures and bus2alps. The are expensive but everything is planned out for you.
I am having the time of my life over here. The weekend before I went to Amsterdam to celebrate my 21st! It was one crazy fun time! A birthday I will never forget. It was nice because it was ISU’s spring break and I had friends from home go to Amsterdam and meet me there. It was nice to see people from home. It did make me a tad bit homesick, but that’s already gone. Florence is my home now. It will be weird when it is time to go home and I won’t be able to see my new friends here everyday. Some of them I might never see again! I still have two months here and I am already thinking about how sad it will be. You start a new life when you go abroad. I have two friends here that will be my friends forever. Kristen and Liza and they both are from upstate New York. Every summer here on out I will be going to NY for a visit. Because of studying abroad my life will never be the same.
I will try to upload that video now… you will crack up!
Ciao!
I dont have class on thursday’s (which is awesome) so I plan on going to the Boboli Gardens tomorrow to take pictures. My photo assignment this week is bordering the photo so maybe I can take a picture with ferns bordering the photo or something like that. I wont know until I get there. Then this Friday I am going to Pisa and Luca with my roommates. The train ride to Pisa from Florence is an hour then a very short one to Luca. I hear there isn’t much more to see in Pisa than the leaning tower so that is why we plan on going to Luca too. Then this saturday I plan on taking a five mile hike to Fiesole, a town right outside of Florence, I am going with a group through the school. I hear that it is just a beautiful countryside town and they are famous for their wine. Also, it probably will be a great opportunity to take pictures. Sunday I have no plans maybe a gallery. Then this tuesday I am going to a Dave Matthews concert in ROME!!! I am so so so excited. That is in 6 days! I am an extreme Dave fan so this is huge for me. I am getting there through Bus2Alps which provides many trips all around Europe and to Northern Africa. They are pricey but have their benefits.
My photography classes are going awesome. Last week’s assignment was “the egg” and I struggled with it but my teacher loved my photos!! Italian is going really well too. Although being able to speak spanish screws everything up. I can read Italian very easy but now that I am learning Italian it is 1. really messing up my spanish because now I cant think of certain saying in spanish and only in Italian and 2. I pronounce things the spanish way instead of the Italian way (ticks my teacher off sometime).
Everyday I see something new. I am making friends from all around the United States that I plan on visiting all the time when I get back. From California, Alaska, NY, NJ, to Texas… I have friends from all over the world now!
I am growing as a person as well. I am learning so much about myself and about people in general. I am becoming more self-aware. I now am thinking that photography might be in my future and this trip within the first three weeks has for sured me that I was born to travel. I will be traveling the rest of my life and I wont settle for less.
I want to thank Janis Halpern with her help in finding me a major that suits me. She is a very special woman.
I love my life here. I do not feel home sick at all. I feel wherever I am at the time is my home. Not everyone feels that way though. I have a roommate that is very homesick. You just have to realize you will never get this kind of opportunity again and that if you want to you will change during your trip.
I still have over four months of traveling left. I wonder what I will be thinking then. I am sure I wont be ready to come home.
Hope everything is good in the States!
Charana
I am sitting in my kitchen in Florence and just created my account! For future travel abroaders I hope this inspires you and for the parents I hope this gives you some peace of mind about letting your kid run off to another country. For my friends, hopefully I will be interesting! I don’t miss anyone sorry, this is my home right now. Don’t get me wrong, the reunion will be GREAT! I love you all! I will begin actually blogging soon!
Life is like a great book. Those who never stir produce only one page.. I prefer to lead a life you can write a book on.
