10 months ago I stepped on a plane headed for Japan, not knowing what to expect and wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Four months later and I was on a plane to England, once again wondering what was lying in wait for me across the Atlantic.
It's funny, I thought England would be a breeze after Japan, but it turned out to have its own set of difficulties and frustrations that I never saw coming. Adapting to Lancaster University was incredibly difficult for me and I don't think I ever successfully got in the zone there. I might as well just come out and say it. I hated "Lamecaster" University. The big lecture halls, the professors being strangers to me, not being academically challenged enough, poor discussions in my seminar classes, being told that as an English/Japanese major I had no hope of handling a history course, etc. Basically, Lancaster is everything Beloit College isn't. (Thank God.) But I think it took going to Lancaster Uni to truly appreciate everything Beloit College has given me.
There was a major upside to the lack of academics, though. I was able to travel for really long periods of time, which wouldn't have been possible if Lancaster University was a proper school. I was able to visit France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, and Switzerland. Not too shabby, if I say so myself. And having that small taste of world travel has only made me want to see and do even more.
Last summer, my world was so much smaller. Now it's opened up and expanded in brilliant and unexpected ways. I still feel like I don't know much about anything, but hopefully my experiences this year have helped me become a little less ignorant about the rest of the world.
I find it really hard to describe my study abroad experiences most of the time because there's just so much to say I don't even know where to begin. Study abroad is a constant roller coaster of emotion most of the time. Some days you're looking out across glittering Paris from atop Notre Dame Cathedral and feeling like the world is filled with beauty and possibilities and some days you're sitting in your dorm room in northern England eating Chinese take away and feeling small and lonely. Study abroad mostly consists of low lows and high highs, but after having lived through both, I would relive the lows again and again if it meant I got the highs too.
I wouldn't have missed this experience for anything.
I came home to the US last Saturday, so this will be my last blog post on this blog. It's been quite a year and I can barely believe my study abroad adventures are finished. Fortunately, I don't think my traveling days are over just yet. I don't yet know where this path of mine is taking me, but I'm excited to be on it.
Thanks for reading.
Best wishes,
K. Stainbrook
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Dublin
Michelle and I met up with our Beloit friend, Brandon, at the bus station in Oslo and took a plane together to Dublin on June 16th. We landed in the city and spent most of our first day there wandering around and growing familiar with the main streets. Our first night was slightly marred by being harassed by a drunk Irish woman (who ranted about us being foreigners and how we needed to leave her country), but Brandon told her off and later we were able to joke about it. Crazy, ignorant people are everywhere, I'm afraid.
The next day we went on a free walking tour of Dublin. It was nice because usually Michelle and I will admire buildings, but not know their history or what they're currently used for. Our tour guide gave us a lot of interesting background information on many important historical buildings in Dublin and I realized that my knowledge of European history is pretty much zero (unless the US was involved). I'm going to try to rectify that when I return home.
We also went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting to see how Guinness is made. We also got a free pint out of the deal, but not being a fan of beer, I ended up dumping it out in the sink and keeping the pint glass as a keepsake.
On Friday we saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and then stopped at a pub for lunch and the US vs. Slovenia World Cup Match. It was probably my favorite part of my visit in Dublin, though I'm still trying to get over the horrendous call the referee made at the end. The US team was robbed! After the match, we relaxed in a nearby park and then returned to that same pub to watch England vs. Algeria, which was a little underwhelming as no one scored. Tomorrow (June 23rd) is US vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia, and I really hope the US and England both win so that they can go on to the next round. (Fingers crossed!)
Tasty pub food:
The pub's World Cup decor:
On Saturday, our last day in Dublin, we went on a tour of some rural areas outside of Dublin. I would describe the sights, but I don't think my descriptive powers are enough so I'll just leave you with some photos...
The next day we went on a free walking tour of Dublin. It was nice because usually Michelle and I will admire buildings, but not know their history or what they're currently used for. Our tour guide gave us a lot of interesting background information on many important historical buildings in Dublin and I realized that my knowledge of European history is pretty much zero (unless the US was involved). I'm going to try to rectify that when I return home.
We also went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting to see how Guinness is made. We also got a free pint out of the deal, but not being a fan of beer, I ended up dumping it out in the sink and keeping the pint glass as a keepsake.
On Friday we saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and then stopped at a pub for lunch and the US vs. Slovenia World Cup Match. It was probably my favorite part of my visit in Dublin, though I'm still trying to get over the horrendous call the referee made at the end. The US team was robbed! After the match, we relaxed in a nearby park and then returned to that same pub to watch England vs. Algeria, which was a little underwhelming as no one scored. Tomorrow (June 23rd) is US vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia, and I really hope the US and England both win so that they can go on to the next round. (Fingers crossed!)
Tasty pub food:
The pub's World Cup decor:
On Saturday, our last day in Dublin, we went on a tour of some rural areas outside of Dublin. I would describe the sights, but I don't think my descriptive powers are enough so I'll just leave you with some photos...
Monday, June 21, 2010
Oslo
Last week I went on my final trip this semester. This time to Oslo and Dublin. Oslo was first and I spent two days there (June 14th and 15th), hosted by my friend Karoline, who I met in Japan, and her boyfriend.
They were incredibly kind to offer us a place to stay and as Oslo is an expensive city (the kroner to US dollar is painful), we were more than happy to take them up on it.
We left Lancaster at 6am and after traveling all day made it to Oslo later in the evening. My first impression of Oslo (at least the rural areas outside it) were that it looks a lot like Wisconsin. Wide, open fields with smatterings of farms and forest-y areas. They even drove on the right side of the road!
Karoline picked us up at the bus station and whisked us off to her adorable flat where she and her boyfriend, Simen, whipped us up tacos for dinner. We spent some time getting to know each other (and for Karoline and I, catching up) and then we went to bed. I'm pretty sure Michelle and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
(Because Oslo is so far north, it never quite gets dark in the summer. It was very strange for it to be 11:30pm and for it to still be daylight outside.)
The next day, Karoline and Simen showed Michelle and I around Oslo. It was a beautiful day and we even got to meet up with Lael, who was also staying in Oslo last week.
The Opera House:
On top of the Opera House (Japanese V-signs were a must):
Stern guards sternly guarding the fortress:
Inside the fortress:
But my favorite part of Oslo was their botanical garden and all the statues inside. We spent an inappropriate amount of time goofing around, but I don't think anyone could resist being immature and silly amongst statues like these...
My favorite statue of the bunch - a man fighting an onslaught of laughing babies!:
Karoline and I inspecting the pile of children statue:
My other favorite - angry, bratty baby statue:
Later that night we had another excellent dinner at Karoline and Simen's flat, watched a Japanese movie that I'd never heard of but was a mix of everything Japanese people love, and then... sleep! We had to wake up in the morning to catch our flight to Dublin.
I was very sad to say good-bye to our Norwegian friends, but it was onwards to our next adventure in Dublin.
They were incredibly kind to offer us a place to stay and as Oslo is an expensive city (the kroner to US dollar is painful), we were more than happy to take them up on it.
We left Lancaster at 6am and after traveling all day made it to Oslo later in the evening. My first impression of Oslo (at least the rural areas outside it) were that it looks a lot like Wisconsin. Wide, open fields with smatterings of farms and forest-y areas. They even drove on the right side of the road!
Karoline picked us up at the bus station and whisked us off to her adorable flat where she and her boyfriend, Simen, whipped us up tacos for dinner. We spent some time getting to know each other (and for Karoline and I, catching up) and then we went to bed. I'm pretty sure Michelle and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
(Because Oslo is so far north, it never quite gets dark in the summer. It was very strange for it to be 11:30pm and for it to still be daylight outside.)
The next day, Karoline and Simen showed Michelle and I around Oslo. It was a beautiful day and we even got to meet up with Lael, who was also staying in Oslo last week.
The Opera House:
On top of the Opera House (Japanese V-signs were a must):
Stern guards sternly guarding the fortress:
Inside the fortress:
But my favorite part of Oslo was their botanical garden and all the statues inside. We spent an inappropriate amount of time goofing around, but I don't think anyone could resist being immature and silly amongst statues like these...
My favorite statue of the bunch - a man fighting an onslaught of laughing babies!:
Karoline and I inspecting the pile of children statue:
My other favorite - angry, bratty baby statue:
Later that night we had another excellent dinner at Karoline and Simen's flat, watched a Japanese movie that I'd never heard of but was a mix of everything Japanese people love, and then... sleep! We had to wake up in the morning to catch our flight to Dublin.
I was very sad to say good-bye to our Norwegian friends, but it was onwards to our next adventure in Dublin.
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