barcelona, capital of catalunya and my last stop

Kim and I are staying in a cute boutique hotel in Barcelona right on a main street. Yesterday, we walked around the city all day until we crashed on our beds for a late afternoon nap. Barcelona is a lot more like a big city than Granada. There are wide avenues and tall buildings with lots of people roaming around. Since Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya, Catalan is used on signs everywhere. Catalan looks a little like Spanish because it has its root in Latin but it is more closely linked to French while Spanish has been influenced more by Arabic. I´m just glad that people speak Spanish here- that makes me happy.

So we took a stroll down La Rambla which is the central street of Barcelona that leads to the Mediterrean port. We thought it was really amusing that vendors sell birds and other little critters on the street...we think we saw ferrets too. We wandered into the Boqueria market to find tons of seafood and meats. Yum...pig heads and fish everywhere. I don´t usually get too grossed out by markets but this one was a little much by the end. Somehow we still ended up eating seafood for lunch... In the market, they offered quite a variety of sea creatures. I got a picture of a swordfish´s head that I would share if I could.

We continued down to the port to Colombus´ monument and walked along the waterside before heading up towards the Picasso Museum. We almost didn´t go to the museum but we were both glad that we did afterward. The museum had a lot of work from his early years and then highlighted a couple moments later in his life. He was an amaxing artist from the time he was 15. At 16, Pablo (since we´re on a first name basis) painted an impressive realist work that really showed that he could´ve been like other artists. He got more and more unique as time went on. Towards the end of his life, he did an intensive study of Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez. I saw Velazquez´classic barroque painting in Madrid so it was really cool to see where Picasso took it. I was really impressed with his originality in taking apart such a famous work.

After soaking up Picasso, we visited la iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar- Church of Saint Mary of the Sea. It was a nice break to be inside a quiet church but we both got the feeling that it was more of a museum than a church. Nonetheless, they architecture was intriguing with its ancient rose window and repition of the number eight throughout the building.

We eventually made our way back to the hotel but without making lots of stops in little shops along the way. We called it a day at about 7pm because we were so exhausted.

Today the plan is to rent bikes and ride around in search of Gaudi´s famous architecture throughout the city. Tomorrow we´ll probably take a trip out of the city to a Monastery on Montserrat... a nice break from the city´s hustle and bustle. Saturday will be our last day in the city and then we´ll be returning home on Sunday. It is really weird to be coming to the end of such a long trip but I´m definitely looking forward to seeing family and friends...and God willing, I´ll get to be in one spot for awhile.

Hasta luego, mis paisanos!

bienvenida a espana!

Hola Hola!

I got to Spain safely and soundly. My first stop was Madrid where I stayed with a friend's friend to avoid the whole hostal situation (which I was prepared to do). I was only there two days but I made the most of the time. My friend from Westmont, the lovely Karissa Young, has spent the whole semester studying in Madrid so she showed me around the city. The Christmas lights have just been put up around the city and it looks gorgeous at night!

Karissa and I went to the Reina Sofia Museum to check out some Picasso, especially his famous "Guernica" painting. We also saw some of Dali's surrealism which was pretty trippy as you can imagine. Crazier than that is that it snowed in the city while I was there! Huge snow flakes were falling and turned into slush on the ground- that's definitely a rarity in Madrid. That also means it was freezing there- a little bit of a shock going from warm Israel to cold Madrid.

I also went to Museo El Prado while Karissa was in class on Tuesday so I could see all the famous paintings. That place was huge so I didn't get to everything. Then, I met up with Karissa for lunch and some more wandering and shopping throughout the city. I decided to take a night bus to Granada that night at 1:30am... we enjoyed kebabs with Karissa, Allison and Allison's Chilean novio David. I loved talking to David about Chile! We both got to reminisce a bit...

So I left with all my stuff that I've been lugging around for 4 months- One heavy backpack(laptop!), one stuffed suitcase and a purse. I actually can't believe that all my stuff still fits in my suitcase because I've been acumulating souvenirs and such along the way. My night bus wasn't so bad but it was kind of weird to do it all alone after traveling with so many people. I actually got to sleep almost the entire 5 hours and we arrived to Granada at 6:30am. It was also freezing here. I got a local bus to April's apartment building and stood outside for half an hour trying to ring the bell that apparently wasn't working. I finally got the porter to let me in, although I don't think he wanted to let a strange girl in. I knocked on the apartment door until her roommate got up the courage to open the door not knowing that it was me. That was my little adventure getting to April's place in Granada on my own.

I went to work with April- amiga from highschool- where she teaches English and then to her worship band practice at church. We got yummy tapas with her friends at a really cheap tapas bar. It's only 1.80 euro for a drink and a free plate of tapas! It's funny being in Spain because the schedule is so different. We end up eating lunch around 3-4 and dinner doesn't usually happen until 11pm. Basically, we stay up late and sleep in.

We went out the other night and mainly encounter drunk foreigners... lots of Americans giving us a bad reputation. We went to a salsa club with a lot more locals and danced for a few minutes but the floor was really slippery and I couldn't help but slide around during every turn. We moved on to another crowded place for a bit that played techno beats.

My stepmom Kim just got here yesterday! She flew into Malaga (about 2 hours on bus from Granada) and I surprised her by meeting her at the sirport when she thought she would have to figure out how to get on the right buses to reach Granada. We went to Malaga's center for lunch and eventually headed back to Granada. I think she was glad that I was there to figure out the buses and all because she doesn't really speak Spanish. It's no fun being alone in a strange country where you don't speak the language...

I'm so glad to finally be in a Spanish speaking country after all the other places I've been. I feel much more at home here. I was worried that my Spanish abilities would be really poor because I hadn't spoken in so long. After about a day, I felt really comfortable speaking. To say the least, I'm happy to be able to practice and learn some new words from Spain. Que guay! I've especially enjoyed talking with Graciela, April's Argentine friend, and others we encounter along the way.

Well, I'm off to see the city now!
Hasta Luego...

ps I would add pics but it seems that my laptop may be broken...we'll have to see about that one.

'cause my mom wanted photos...

arabian princesses


women praying at the western/wailing wall


sea of galilee at sunset...gorgeous


kissing camels is a new pastime...

Happy Thanksgiving from Jerusalem!

So… I’ve been the worst blogger over the past couple weeks. Honestly, I have not had the energy to write more than my personal/class journal. We have been extremely busy nearly everyday. This is my second day-off since I’ve gotten to Israel. Tomorrow is our last class trip around Jerusalem then we have a final exam on Friday.

It has been an incredible experience so far in Israel. It was an extreme contrast coming from Europe to the Middle East. Europe has nearly no religion and the Middle East is saturated with religions. Just by walking around Jerusalem, we encounter Jews, Muslims and Christians. People wear their religion on their sleeve, literally. I have been struck numerous times by how outward religion is here. Orthodox Jews are hard not to notice with their black and white suits, black hats, and long locks of hair. I have been told that the differences among Orthodox Jews include the color of socks (brown or black), type of hat (top hat or furry Russian hat), type of coat, etc. Also, there are the Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox and probably everything in between. Five times a day, we hear the Muslim call to prayer but I have yet to see a pious Muslim pray. There are various groups of Christians- the Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Ethiopians, Roman Catholic and others. There are six groups of Christians fighting over who has the right to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher so they each have their own chapels. It is such a bad witness when even Christians are fighting with each other. It’s sad to see believers disagree in such a tangible way.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is even more profound, however. On the way back from the Western Wall (formerly the Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem, many Bar Mitzphas were being celebrated with music and dancing. As I was walking by one group of joyous Jews, the Muslim call to prayer started to sound. The Jews’ trumpets got louder and tried to compete with the sound of Muslim prayer and Quran reading. At that moment, the conflict was so obvious and it became concrete. While our focus is not on the conflict, we had a Christian Palestinian speaker talk about the issue and what his organization does for reconciliation. Coming from the US, I had only ever heard pro-Israel arguments so it was great to hear an Arab Christian give light to the Palestinian struggle. I wish I could explain everything that I learned but the conflict is so complex that it seems to get more confusing the more I learn. Neither side seems to seek reconciliation; neither will budge. The Arabs feel like they have been pushed out of their home and don’t accept that the Jews are building settlements in the land that should be theirs. The Jews feel like they have no other land while the Palestinians have other Arab countries to go to. They both want the other to leave. While the Israelis call the 1948 war the “Independence War,” the Arabs call it “Naqba” which means “catastrophe.”

I was shopping in the market with a couple friends and we ended up talking to a Palestinian shopkeeper for quite a while about the conflict. We got on the subject because one of us asked if he liked being in Israel and he insisted that we call it Palestine. As Americans, we automatically get pinned as supporters of Israel just like any stereotype. We realized how tourists’ shopping habits can have a huge affect on people forming those stereotypes. He said that people look through the pile of patches and always skip over the one with the Palestinian flag and buy the one with the Israeli flag. Those small actions actually affect people.

I think I’m beginning to understand why the Palestinians are frequent rock throwers and suicide bombers. That may be the only way they can get any attention from the international community. Otherwise, the struggle is often portrayed as one-sided, as only an Israeli struggle. Still, I have more questions than answers.

Our program has been a great way for me to learn about the Holy Land. We are taking a class with Jerusalem University College, an American institute, on the geography of the Holy Land. We’ve been learning about archeology, terrain/geology, cities and ancient/modern routes. Like our professor Carl says, knowing the Holy Land helps you to understand the Bible like having a game board helps you to play the game. It’s really true because I can picture so many places mentioned in the Bible now and I understand how ancient travel worked. We have taken tours in Jerusalem, day trips to nearby regions and 3- and 4-day trips to the south (“Negev”) and to the Galilee area. We have visited countless archeological excavations that have started to run together but that really help to understand what things were like. After two and half weeks of these antiquities, I know that archeology cannot prove the Bible but it gives it so much credibility and validity. If you turn to 1 Kings 9:15, you’ll see three city names where Solomon had building projects. We visited those cities and saw the city gates that the passage refers to. We’ve seen sacrificial altars, synagogues, tombs, and pagan “high places.” Herod the Great was so called because he had so many building projects- mainly palaces for himself and other important Romans to enjoy.

We have done a lot of fun things on our trips like: riding camels, swimming/floating in the Dead Sea, hiking to waterfalls, spotting animals like ibexes, staying in a Kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee and swimming there… We also had baptisms in the Jordan River. Eight students were baptized where our Savior was baptized by John.

Our group is collectively exhausted because after three months in Europe, we have had to get up early everyday and move from hotel to hostel to the next hostel the next day. We are truly nomads and savor even three days in the same place. I’m looking forward to live somewhere- Santa Barbara- for a few months in a row.

I forgot to tell a really funny story…well it’s funny in retrospect at least. We were at Caesarea Maritima touring the site on the Mediterranean when all of sudden it started to rain. It didn’t only rain but it poured down on us. The heavens opened up and a flash flood fell from the sky. We were supposed to meet our whole group at a certain building in about an hour. Not having any idea how long the rain would last, we ran for cover and the rain kept getting heavier and heavier. Somehow, many of us students ended up under the same covering and we moved from one shelter to the next to get closer to the meeting spot. I have never been so soaked through in my life. All of us were completely drenched and none of us knew where our leaders were. After an hour of sending out reconnaissance missions from our little awning, the rain died down and we found Carl. The rain had done some serious damage in about an hour- swimming pools were created in no time. While it was kind of fun playing around in the rain, it was no loner funny once we got the bus and were soaked and cold. We tried to change into dry clothes but many of us were still uncomfortably damp and cold. We just wanted to climb into a warm bed or a sauna. Things looked up after a couple hours and we got back on track. Now the flash flood story is funny but it was a major test of our group’s character. We made it and are stronger because of it! Haha…

Our group was also greatly affected by the fires in Santa Barbara. We found out that Westmont was burning one morning, when it was evening there. Apparently some students from the City College didn’t put out their bonfire very well and Westmont lost seven buildings and faculty members lost 14 homes. Our leaders and professors on this trip lost their home. Ken and Kim Khilstrom and their son Kevin have lost everything. They literally have nothing to go home to in December. God has been gracious in providing peace and a place for them to live in Montecito. Please pray for Westmont and the Montecito community.

Well, Europe semester 2008 is coming to a close quickly and I am about to graduate college. I’m about to graduate college!! Madness. What’s next? Spain. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. At least one thing is sure: God is in control. That’s all.

If you made it this far (sorry about the 1500 word essay), send me a message or an email to say hi! Love you!

Roma, Athina and off to Jerusalem

I am in the airport in Athens waiting for our red-eye to Tel-Aviv... Three weeks in Israel is next!

Rome was really hard and good at the same time. We had finals for the three classes with Westmont professors (we taking a JUC class in Jerusalem) and I tried to squeeze in seeing all the main sights. The Colosseum was really cool. It's right in front of you when you get out of the metro and you can tour all around it. I think that was my favorite sight in the city. Yesterday, we took a day trip to Pompei near Naples.

Pompay was a flourishing Roman city in the 1st century but it was covered in 36 feet of ash when a volcano erupted in 79 AD. In the 18th century, some people found the city by chance. Over the next couple centuries, there were a lot of excavations of Pompay. They found an almost perfectly preserved Roman city. It was so cool to see. We walked down the same streets Romans did 2000 years ago, at the time of Jesus. Some of the frescoes were even intact. The funniest part was the brothel with scandalous frescoes inside. We also saw plaster casts of people that were killed instantly by the ash. Creepy. We took a tour of the nearly the whole city and went into one of those famous Roman baths and saw homes, bars, and the temple. That was a definite highlight!

This morning, we left Roma bright and early for the airport. We flew to Athens for a long layover so we could see the city. We barely made it to the Parthenon in time. It was closing as we reached the entrance so we hustled to the top to snap tons of pictures. The lighting was absolutely perfect! The sun was setting over the Greek beach and the buildings were glowing. The Acropolis was built in the 9th or 10th centuries BC! That is amazing to me. Then, we enjoyed a Greek dinner with live music. Opa! Now we are back at the airport and I feel delirious because it is late here and I'm coming down with something. It's the worst time to get sick because we aren't really sleeping tonight. We will arrive to Tel-Aviv at 3:30 AM and then take a coach to Jerusalem where we will wait for our hotel rooms to be ready at 10 AM... maybe I can sleep then ;)

Please pray for our journeys and time in Jerusalem! It is very exciting to be going to the Holy Land... I can't believe it!

Italia... ciao bella!

We’ve been to Venezia (Venice) and Firenze (Florence)… we’re leaving for Roma tomorrow!

Venezia was really fun because it’s how I imagined Italia more or less. There are canals, gondolas, gelato, souvenirs of Murano glass, etc. It didn’t seem like there was much to do there besides see the cathedral and palace (which I didn’t even do). I was working a lot on a WWII paper so I mainly just hung out in Venice, went shopping, and went on a gondola with friends. We got to “drive” the gondola… which means that we climbed back there with the gondolier and held the paddle. We had fun walking through all the alley ways and over the many bridges of Venezia. We stayed on Lido, meaning “beach,” and actually got to go put our feet in the Adriatic Sea at the beach.

When we left Venice there was some protesting going on because the government wants to privatize education. All the high school kids ditched school to protest… good reason to get out of class. Anyway, the transportation was all backed up and we got out of Venice 10 minutes before they closed the road for four hours. When we got to Florence, we were parked and sitting in the bus trying to figure out where our hotel was (for an hour!) and protesters were marching by us. It’s kind of funny that we go to a private school while they are protesting the privatization of education. Well, we finally found out where our hotel was and had to walk all of our suitcases and carry-ons about 8 blocks through the center of Florence because we are on the main street.

Now we are in Florence. Ahh…Tuscany… Florence is a bigger city than Venice but it is still very walk-able. I went to the Uffizi museum and saw lots of Renaissance art. I liked Botticelli’s Primavera and the Birth of Venus. There were a lot of paintings of the Madonna and child and it was interesting to see how they changed throughout the centuries. One of Michelangelo’s Madonnas looked pretty buff. 

After the Uffizi, I went to the Academia to see Michelangelo’s David. I was so blown away by it. I really didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. First, I was impressed with how huge it is. It’s gotta be twice as big as the average guy. How did Michelangelo even carve it? And it was sculpted from one slab of marble. The proportions are really impressive. His hands might be just a little big. But I love it! David was such a symbol for Florence because he also fought bigger and stronger opposition like the Florentines. Michelangelo decided not to do David like others had with his foot on Goliath’s head. Instead, David is in thought and maybe reflecting on his victory to show that he won the battle with his intelligence and innocence. (credits go to the museum plaque)

Yesterday, I went up to San Mitiato Church on the hill to listen to the monks sing in Latin and get a great view of the city. Today, I climbed Il Duomo for another view. The bummer about the latter view is that you can’t see the dome when you are in it. I went to market earlier today and wanted to practice Spanish… so I just tried it out and all the venders spoke good Spanish. I kinda lied and said I was from Chile… I guess they have no idea that I don’t really look Chilean at all. It’s a small enough country that I figured I could play it off… then I felt bad about lying. Later, I went to a bigger market with friends and got a leather jacket!

Now I am preparing for finals (well, procrastinating by writing this) and our trip to Rome before we head to Jerusalem!

Creative Project

Check out the last video I posted on the video bar! It's about 8 minutes long... For my narrative in the arts class, I had to present a creative project to our group. My friends, Tara and Christina, and I got together to reflect on war. We were really struck by a quote that we saw in a peace museum in Normandy: "All war is civil war, for it is always man against man, spilling his own blood, tearing out his own entrails." We wanted to creatively express the quote through physical theater. It took a lot of work to put together the music and choreograph the fighting! But it was really rewarding when we finished and got great feedback from the group. Let me know what you think! Oh... one last thing: During one of the scenes, I got to smear paint on the audience including my professor! Too bad you can't see that on the video... Enjoy!

lessons on war and genocide...

During our stay in Krakow, Poland, we took a day trip to the concentration and death camps in Auschwitz. It is definitely a hard experience to process; we learned and saw things that not all have the opportunity to experience first hand. I will try and give a description and my own thoughts on our tour. I realize that this is a long post but you will learn a lot about the Holocaust if you read it through. Also, I spent over two hours writing this between class and working on my creative project because I think it is important.

We first went to Auschwitz-Birkenau which was divided into a concentration (or work) camp and death camp, separated by a chain-link fence and barbed wire.

When the Nazis invaded Poland, they cleared out the western part of the country in an attempt to expel Jews and unify German-speakers. The first prisoners of Auschwitz were Soviet POWs that were made to build the entire camp. They were brought in June 1940 and totaled 15,000 prisoners. The conditions were so bad and the POWs were so poorly treated that only 90 prisoners survived the war. Many died from bad weather and from being overworked while others were just murdered. The Nazis also deeply hated communists, as you can see.

On January 20, 1942, Hitler and Heydrich hold the Wansee Conference where they essentially plan out the Holocaust. Hitler was literally paranoid that every country that declared war on Germany was a part of a world-wide Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germany. They originally planned to exterminate 11 million Jews from all over the world. To carry out this evil plan, the Nazis needed a larger capacity in camps and “more efficient” ways of killing. (The terminology used by the Nazis is absolutely horrifying. They spoke of humans like they were animals or worse. One can see their evil just in the words they used to talk about people they considered inferior.) By that point in the war, the Eastern front was not going very well and they no longer needed Auschwitz for Soviet POWs. They began bringing train-loads of Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau and exterminated them immediately. Later, the Nazis realized that they needed workers and that’s when they began doing “selections.”

When a train arrived to the camp, SS doctors would stand outside the train and select those who looked strong and able to work. 200,000 of these “able” Jews and 200,000 Poles, gypsies, homosexuals and Soviets lived in the camp to provide slave labor for the Nazis.

We walked into a barrack where people lived under awful conditions. They had bunks, one on the dirt and two more wooden ones stacked above. People would have to work their way up to the top, earn the right to sleep on the top bunk. At the point of its highest capacity, six to seven people would sleep on one bed.

A few things about the barracks made me sick. First, the Nazis put criminals in charge of each barrack. Criminals were “perfect” for the job because they were already twisted and would easily adopt Nazi ideals. In many cases, the criminal barrack leaders treated the prisoners worse than the SS. You can imagine that the breakfast coffee, lunch soup and dinner bread was not usually distributed equitably among prisoners.

Another sickening aspect of the barracks was the quotes put on the walls by the Nazis. They wrote very sardonic things like, “being clean is your duty,” “one louse is your death,” “keep calm,” “be honest,” etc. The Nazis claimed that the Jews were dirty then made them to fit that claim in such poor conditions. They focused on minor values like hygiene and totally missed the important values like not murdering people! This was German thoroughness used for absolute evil. They would also fumigate the barracks with the same chemical (cyclone B) they used in the gas chambers. The women were forced to leave their clothes in the barracks to be fumigated and had to stand outside naked for up to 8 hours. Sometimes, selections would be made during that time as well.

Of the 400,000 people that came to the concentration camp, 200,000 died of hunger, cold or Typhus. 200,000 survived Auschwitz (not necessarily the Holocaust), of which 193,000 were moved west to another camp. 7,000 prisoners were liberated from the camp on January 27, 1945, and approximately 60,000 slaves from Auschwitz survived the war altogether.

In the death camp portion of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a total of 900,000 Jews were murdered right after arriving at the camp. They eventually extended the train so that it went directly to the section of the camp with the gas chambers and crematorium. For these 900,000 souls, there was no registry, no names taken down. “Men to the left, Women to the right,” were some of the last words they would hear.

After stepping out of the train, they were filed into the undressing facility. The capacity of the gas chambers was 1500 or 2000 with small children. It is really disturbing to think of all the naked people locked in the dark gas chamber. An SS officer would then pour granules of cyclone B in the chamber from above which mixed with the air to create cyanide. From the outside, you could hear screams for 20 minutes; people fighting to reach the top of the chamber for the last bit of oxygen. The limiting factor for the murdering was also the ability to burn bodies. The crematoria could burn 4756 bodies per day. Some corpses were burned outside because the capacity was not large enough.

The Nazis selected certain strong, young, Jewish men to be the sondokommandos. They had to move the corpses from the gas chambers to the crematoria and pull out gold teeth and sheer all the long hair. Those men must have been completely traumatized for life. Every couple of months, the sondokommandos were killed so that information wouldn’t get out and a new group was trained to do the Nazi’s dirty work. By accident, 80 sondokommandos survived the war and one wrote a book entitled How to Cry without Tears. I’ve been told that is a great resource for learning about the Nazi psyche.

There is now a memorial to those who were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. They have plaques in every language of people that were killed there (and an English plaque) saying “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe.” One thing that struck me is that a whole language went extinct because of the Holocaust. Ladino, a language very close to Spanish, was spoken by a community of Jews that was expelled from Spain during the Inquisition and immigrated to Greece. After 14 days on a train to Auschwitz, Ladino-speaking Jews were exterminated and the language is now dead.

If you will bear with me… I will tell you about the former possessions of Jews that I saw on display at Auschwitz I, another concentration camp.

The most impacting piece of evidence of the Nazi’s crimes is the massive pile of human hair. The Nazis sold hair to textile companies for making cloth. 7 tons of human hair was found after the war. 2 tons of women’s hair was on display which belonged to 40,000-60,000 women before they were gassed. The hair is distinguishable but it is all grey now because it still has traces of cyclone B. Within 15 years, all the hair will disintegrate. That means that I am one of the last witnesses of this evidence.

They had a case full of children’s shoes and another room full of adult shoes- 40,000 pairs of shoes filling a room. That is only 4% of the victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau. There was another room full of suitcases that were brought to the camps by prisoners. The owner’s name and date of arrival was written on the front. One belonged to an orphan girl who probably went directly to the gas chamber.

Another display case had prosthetic legs, arms, hands, etc. I did not expect to see that display. One man reports hearing a man screaming from inside the gas chamber that he was being murdered by the country that he gave up his leg for in the last war. Eyeglasses, pots and pans, combs, brushes and prayer shawls followed.

While I did not take pictures of these personal possessions, the image is burned into my memory and I will not forget.

“The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”

-George Santayana

The Czech Republic and Poland!! Czech me out!

Hmmm... I feel so behind on my blog because I have been to three cities that have yet to appear here.

Prague was a really cool city- it seems like so long ago already. One of the best things we did there was a tour by our guide Gabriel. He took to the outskirts and taught us about the assassination of Heydrich, the #3 man of the Nazis, by running the course (literally running) that one of the assassins did. None of us will forget the moment when we all started running up the hill and around the corner to see what it felt like for the brave Czech man to try and kill a Nazi leader...

Another highlight was ice skating! About 2/3 of our group went to ice rink in Prague on a free afternoon. I was pretty tense about skating at first because it had been a long time for me... Then, we started having a lot of fun and even ended up racing a group of girls from an international school. They were from all over the world: Argentina, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, etc. We used metal benches and had a couple people push someone else sitting on the bench. They definitely beat us a couple times but it was still fun to play with them!

On Sunday, we went to a Church of England service in the city. I had accidentally left my Bible on the plane to Berlin, so I asked if they had one for sale. At first they didn't think they had one for me. Then, they ended up giving me one that is about 3-4 inches thick- it's still a blessing because I wasn't sure where I would be able to get an English-language Bible.

From Prague, we moved on to Poland. Krakow is a medieval town that is pretty lively because of it's large university and student population. The Poles apparently really like jazz music...so, we went to a jazz restaurant and club a couple nights in a row. The food was great and the music was even better. The restaurant was in an underground cellar off the main square. It had great ambiance was lots of fabrics and even glitter on the stone walls (it sounds pretty random, I know).

We had a tour of city and learned about its legends. For example, there used to be a dragon who lived in a cave by the river When people started settling in the area he became angry and ate a lot of them and, thus, started a war with them. A brave man named Crac fed the dragon sulfur which made him really thirsty. The dragon started gulping water from the river to quench his insatiable thirst. He drank so much that he exploded. That's why it is called Cracow (or Krakow)! Thanks, Crac!

The city has some great stories to tell. We also enjoyed souvenir shopping at the cloth hall market.

We took a day trip that I'll save for next time: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Nazis and Commies

Berlin was so intense. We were there five days that were packed with class and tours of everything relating to WWII… Jewish Berlin, Nazi Headquarters, Nazi Church, etc. This city has literally been torn apart and the people are still trying to put it back together. Our tour guide, Gabriel, is a British historian who has been living in Berlin for 8 years and has a lot to offer us as far as learning.

On Sunday (the one before last now), we went to a Lutheran church service then we got a history lesson at a church that was built by the Nazis. You wouldn’t believe how they incorporated Nazi propaganda and ideology with Christian doctrine. It was actually quite frightening. Martin Luther Memorial Church was built in 1933 when Hitler came to power. There are tiles of soldiers (Hitler’s storm troopers portrayed as the average father), strong women with many children (so they can grow up and fight in Hitler’s army), and the hammer and sickle (the symbol they ripped off from the communists). The crucifix does not portray Jesus as a suffering sacrifice rather a strong man bearing pain. Apparently, the Nazis focused on the resurrection because Germany was to have its own resurrection after its death in WWI. They also exploited the figure of Martin Luther because he was a German fighting non-Germans who said some questionable things about Jews who didn’t convert. Hitler really didn’t have any desire to make a Christian empire. He just used the church to further his own agenda even though he saw Christianity as too weak with its ideas of brotherhood, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of Christians, Protestant and Catholic alike, bought into the Nazi program that promoted national pride and patriotism. It took years for Christians to realize that Nazism was completely evil and it was too late. Martin Neimoller said after the war that one should always beware of someone who tells you to follow a man – all men are sinners- and who speaks lightly of death.

A couple days later, we had a tour of some Nazi sites like the Propaganda ministry headquarters lead by Goebbels (who does not look very Aryan himself), Hitler’s bunker and his headquarters/office. I couldn’t believe I was standing where Hitler used to live and where he married Eva Braun and later killed himself. Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge was a 22 year old woman who wrote down the dictation of his last will and testament. She reported that she expected some sort of explanation for the Holocaust or some repentant attitude. But Hitler only said the same hateful words as he always had. After he had killed himself with a cyanide tablet and a shot to the head (he did not want to wake up in Russia), she was making copies of the will as he had ordered. Junge says she was making the copies to the sounds of machine guns and the approaching Soviet soldiers and that it was so ironic because it was such a beautiful day outside.

I found my own irony that day. It was a gorgeous day in Berlin- the most beautiful day I could’ve imagined in the city. But something awful happened that morning. I was on the S-bahn (aboveground train) with my professor, his wife, and three girlfriends and we only made it one stop before we heard an announcement in German and had to get off the train. Julie, who speaks German, asked a woman what was going on. The woman told her that a man had jumped in front of the train when we were coming to the station. He was somewhere under the train, surely dead from the impact. We took a moment to pray and tried to process the shock. How could a man step in front of our train? What was going on in his life that made living worse than dying? It was interesting to see how the Germans dealt with the issue. We felt lots of concern and shock for this man. The Germans must have been in shock but didn’t express much but the need to be thorough and efficient in the situation at hand. The poor driver seemed very agitated and probably used; his own sanity was compromised because another selfishly stepped in front of the train. Well, that was the event that set the tone for our day of learning about the Nazis.

Later, we switched to learning about science and technology in Germany. We visited Humboldt University where some big names learned and taught. Karl Marx was a student there and Einstein taught there before emigrating to the U.S. We got to go into the hall where Einstein gave lectures and read his research findings on the theory of relativity! Great minds have come out of Germany.

On our way from Berlin to Prague, we stopped in Wittenberg. Wittenberg was put on the map by the one and only Martin Luther. We saw the monastery that became his home with Katarina, his wife, and the church where he nailed the 95 Theses. I never thought I’d go to Luther’s hometown but I was somewhat bothered by the fact that very few people are still practicing Christians. Only 14% are Lutheran and 2-3% Catholic in Wittenberg because it was so heavily influenced by Communism for 40 years. The people in Eastern Europe are hardly religious anymore because the USSR beat it out of them. Poland somehow hung on to their Catholicism because it is deeply rooted in their national identity. It also helped that Pope John Paul II was the first Polish Pope. Poland is very closely linked to Rome.

I want to write about Prague and now Krakow as well…I am constantly behind but there are more stories to tell…

Maybe best night of my life…

We are in Helsinki, Finland. How many people can say that they’ve experienced Finland? It’s amazing. I spent the day exploring the city on foot: seeing the Lutheran and Orthodox churches, shopping in the market and snapping pictures of the Finnish fall colors.

Finland has a very busy National Theater in Helsinki. It has four stages and rivals London theater even though the population of the whole nation of Finland is half that of London. Finns see more theater productions per year than any other nationality. A dramaturge gave our group a tour of the theater itself this afternoon in anticipation of the upcoming shows we would be seeing.

14 of the 47 people in our group went to the theater tonight to see the Unknown Soldier. We will all go tomorrow night to see Coffin and the following night many will see God is Beauty. You may be wondering how we are seeing theater in Finland when we probably don’t speak, read or understand Finnish? Good question. The only thing I know about Finnish is that it is unrelated to other Scandinavian languages and maybe linked to Estonian. Kiitos means “thank you” and Moi is “hi.” We are brave enough to see plays in a completely foreign language.

The Unknown Soldier is based on a novel written in the 1950’s about Finland’s involvement in WWII. I actually did a presentation on Finland in WWII a few days ago… The Soviet Union invaded Finland and won territory that the Finns tried to get back by calling upon the Nazis and invading the Soviet Union. The Finns lost again and then had to fight the Nazis to get them out of Finland. Fighting patriotically was always seen as heroic in Finland until this novel came out about Finland invading the Soviet Union. The novel was a realistic reflection of the atrocities of the war and war in general. It was considered completely scandalous as it seemed to take away honor from veterans. For that reason, everyone read it. It really became the way that Finns viewed war. It became known that soldiers and commanders did horrible things in war that ended up being useless.

The play is a deconstruction of the novel about 50 years later. It is very pacifistic in its portrayal of war. The Unknown Soldier is directed by Kristian Smeds, an internationally renowned Finnish director. He used multimedia in ways I had never seen before in theater and left each of us impressed after 3 and a half hours.

Ok…to the highlight of my night. The dramaturge told us that the soldiers were going to choose some women from the stalls (seats on the floor near the stage) to dance with them on stage. I was kind of bummed when my seat was up in the balcony but I eyed the seats below just in case there were empty ones. From my seat, I saw an empty spot in the third row on the side aisle and I told myself that I would try to sit there after intermission if the dancing didn’t take place in the first act. I did so and got to sit in the third row for the second act.

I was waiting and watching… then the actors stepped towards the front of the stage and were looking out at the audience searching. The next thing I knew, one of the main actors was leaning over me. He said, “moi,” and I replied with, “moi.” Then he said something in Finnish to which I replied, “Do you speak English?” He said, “Yes. Would you like to dance?” Of course I said, “yes.” So we went onstage (ONSTAGE!!!) with the other actors and women they brought on stage and danced to techno music. He said that it would be more hopping then dancing…it was a mix.

The experience was very surreal because I was onstage dancing with a top Finnish actor and kind of chatting with him while the whole theater is still watching the play. I became a part of the play? It was so fun! He asked where I was from and what I was doing here. I told him that I was from California and studying WWII among other things. After we got done with the congo line, he said, “World War II, this is about WWII.” I said, “I know!” (maybe you should ask me to re-enact this to see what I mean) We danced some more then he thanked me and said I did well and showed me to the stairs to go back to my seat.

How fun is it that I got to dance onstage with the Finnish actors from the premier play of Finland? At the very end of the play, the actors were bowing numerous times-like most plays. And after a few bows, my dancing partner nodded to me and smiled as I smiled and waved. I felt very special and so glad that I moved seats for this chance.

Another girl from my group was also chosen to dance, so we got to share a little moment. Our other friends that were at the play were excited to talk to us afterward. They expressed how funny/exciting it was to see their friends onstage dancing. Maybe they were a little jealous… Actually, they were really happy that we got to do it.

Well, that’s my little claim to fame. 15 minutes and it’s over. But I had so much fun and will keep my eye open for more special opportunities to personalize this large experience of Europe.

On a more thoughtful note, I was hoping to get more insight into ideas about war because that is obviously a theme of my trip. This play was clearly pacifistic as it showed the horrors of warfare from the officer-soldier relationships to fighting on the frontline. I understood more at the beginning because the action went from order towards chaos. There was much commentary on current politics, but mainly Finnish affairs which I didn’t completely understand. It is also important to take into account the recent shootings in Finland, the first of which took place right after this violent play opened last fall.

Overall, the meaning I got from this production was the dehumanizing effect of war. The soldiers saw their enemies as machines an, in the end, destroyed just to destroy. Anarchy or chaos seemed to be the only way out for them. For me, the challenge will be to figure out how this play fits in with the other things I have been learning about war and to possibly synthesize my ideas in a creative project for my art class. Hmm…

I don't think I've written about Sweden yet...I was really busy because my Danish friend Susanne visited me in Stockholm. I'll have to go back to write about Amsterdam and Stockholm...

To be continued...

Photos

Hello! If you would like to see my photos, I upload them on picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/ms.katherinerobertson/

Enjoy!

Chartres, Normandy and Brugge!

On our last day in Paris, we took a day trip to Chartres to see the cathedral. It is an amazing cathedral because the townspeople volunteered their time and supplies to build it in the 12th century. As you can imagine, it's a really special place. The portals are so intricate that they are like encyclopedias for the Medieval mind. The stained glass is also impressive. The two spires are in two different styles because they were built over 300 years apart- one in Romanesque style and the other in the Gothic style. Inside, there is a huge labyrinth that was used as a poor man's pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There is one path to the center, unlike a maze, and the same path is taken out. It can be used for prayer or meditation and it is not at all New Age, rather Middle Age! I used it to meditate on Psalm 103 and make it my own prayer. It was such a beautiful experience because I find it so difficult to stay still and concentrate on something. Walking through the labyrinth as I meditated and prayed was perfect for the restless type. It was a really spiritual and calming experience.

We spent a couple days in Caen which is in Normandy, France. We went to a Peace Museum that covered the last century's wars. It moved from WWI and spiraled down to the Second World War. There were a lot of powerful images. For example, a large image of Hitler was projected above a dark passageway accompanied by sounds of Nazi rallies. It was chilling. That museum was emotionally difficult because I was losing an idea of the reason for war. It seemed so inhuman and horrifying. Yet, someone had to intervene in Hitler's plans for world domination and extermination of the Jews. One powerful quote was: "All war is civil war. Man is tearing out his own entrails."

I didn't get to go through the Cold War exibit but I did visit an exibit on the 9.11 terrorist attacks. It was strange to see something in a museum that I have lived through. The wounds are so fresh. We were given a global perspective on the attacks because we were reading about what happened to our nation in another country. There were profiles on all of the plane hijackers and how they got involved in Al Queda. A lot of them were not even religious much before Bin Laden recruited them. Many of them alienated friends and family upon becoming radical jihadists. There was a striking picture of the moment that Bush was told about the attacks. He was doing a reading at a school and his eyes were so intense with shock and fear that our lives would never be the same. There were also profiles of some survivors and some who died that day. One woman was a flight attendant who was flying because someone called in sick. Can you imagine dying on a day that you were even supposed to be working? And what about the woman who was sick? I felt pretty somber after that experience.

The following day, we visited a German cemetery, Pont du'Hoc and Omaha beach with the American cemetery. I really liked going to both cemeteries because it helped to remind us that we can't hate the Germans forever. It is a symbol of reconciliation and peace. It was even more beautiful because the Allies funded the cemetery to bury their enemies. Our professor reminded us that by D-Day, so late in the war, many of the Nazi soldiers were not necessarily supporters of Hitler. I looked for some soldiers that were my own age to imagine what it might've been like but I still have no idea.

The invasion at Omaha Beach was such a disaster that it caused many casualties among American soldiers. The cemetery was very calm and orderly with white crosses and stars of David. The campaign for Nazi-occupied France was costly but also necessary. Learning about the D-Day invasion is really fascinating becasue it was such a huge operation. I love learning about the little nuances like that Churchill didn't really believe in the idea of a large-scale invasion even when the Americans were really pushing it. It took Stalin to get a commitment from Churchill which was probably the best thing Stalin ever did. War is so complex because the enemy of your enemy turns out to be your friend as long as your interests match up for a time. We allied with Stalin to defeat the Germans then fought the USSR for the rest of the century.

The ideas of war and pacifism are really coming into conflict inside me now. At another museum about WWI in Flanders, I was struck by the quote that after the war-to-end-all-wars, "there has been armed conflict every day of every year somewhere in the world since 1918." Yet, I can't deny that there are times to intervene. I was looking for wisdom from the Bible (no better place than Proverbs) and fell upon Proverbs 3:27, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." Isn't that how fundamentalist Muslim's view jihad? Or does Bin Laden just have an evil agenda? Feel free to respond with your own thoughts...

On another note... I am in Brugge, Belgium right now, a place to rest my soul after such a difficult place to digest. Brugge is my favorite city so far because it is so tranquil and I have had only pleasant interactions. It is a Medieval town that was not ruined by either World War so it retains so much character. It is a northern version of what I imagine Venice to be like because it is full of canals and cobblestone streets. It also reminds me of Latin American cities because it is centered around the plaza. What city in Latin America doesn't have a central plaza (probably the Plaza de Armas) with a church? There was a market yesterday that we took advantage of after class. I heard a cheese vender speaking Spanish with a customer...so I just acted like I only spoke Spanish and he seemed convinced enough that I was from Spain or South America. I love those fun interactions with locals. We also went to a restaurant to get Belgiun waffles and wine and had a great time. We listened to live music by the Budapest Trio and were thoroughly entertained by our waiter who also enjoyed our enthusiasm. We saw our professors, Ken and Kim Khilstrom, sit down on the patio so we had the violinist play them a song and they loved it so much they sent us another waffle to share! It was a great night.

Tomorrow we head to Leiden, a university town outside of Amsterdam. It sounds like we'll be taking a boat tour instead of going through the Red Light District as a group...

La Tour Eiffel, Sacre Coeur et Versailles!!

On Tuesday afternoon after class, Wendi, Janna and I went to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed to the top to get a good view of the city... too bad it started raining after a few minutes at the top. Then we walked around Champs Elysee (sp?) which is a street famous for good shopping. All we could afford were sandwiches though.

That night was a real highlight... we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It cost 12 Euros to go all the way up (why would you go part way? I'm not sure...). Most of our group went up at around the same time so we had fun hanging out there until nightfall. The view was so amazing at night! The city lights and the Seine were gorgeous!

Another highlight for me, besides my Nutella crepe from the Latin Quarter, was sitting in the Luxembourg gardens on a sunny afternoon. Of all the parts of the city that I've seen, that was the most pleasant. Palm trees, flowers, grass, statues, and a pond... lovely. After the gardens, we went to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) which turns out to be really close to our hotel. It's a beautiful basilica on a hill that has a great view of the city. We had a picnic lunch, listened to people play music and then explored the inside of the church. I appreciate that no photography is allowed inside because snapping pictures always takes away from the serenity of such a center of worship.

Today we went to Versailles Palace, home of Louis XIV and Napoleon I. It was not what I expected. Something about it seemed really fake or insincere... I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was the tourists, maybe the plaster replicas of statues. I felt like it was a huge display of French snootiness- similar to the Louvre. The strangest part of the visit was the sculptures in the style of modern art that were placed throughout the palace. There was a massive magenta balloon dog in the middle of room, then an inflatable lobster pool toy hanging in the middle of a drawing room... I completely lost it when I saw a porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson and a monkey in another room. It was really hard to focus on the palace and learn about history with such distractions. I'm not sure what the purpose of the placement of modern art in Versailles was. I haven't learned to appreciate that style of art- it isn't as appealing to me as Monet's paintings of his garden. I definitely didn't get was I was expecting!

I did learn a couple of interesting facts about Louis XIV and Marie-Antoinette. Louis had "going to bed" and "awakening" ceremonies where he was assisted by numerous people. He usually changed shirts in the morning because he would often sweat a lot. The queen gave birth to her children in public so that there would be no question of the legitimacy of the heirs. Marie-Antoinette, following the ideas of the Enlightenment, made several changes to the palace according to her tastes and created a small play town where she could pretend to be a peasant. I guess when you are queen you pretend to be a peasant and when you are peasant you pretend to be queen!

Tomorrow we are going Chartres to visit the cathedral that has two different spires because they were built four centuries apart! There is also a labyrinth in the church so it should a really interesting place to visit. Even more exciting is the fact that the pope is coming to Paris tomorrow and there are special services at Notre Dame in his honor. I will hopefully make it to see him.

If you are reading my blog, please leave me a comment or shoot me an email once in a while to keep me updated. And I'd love the encouragement to keep writing--- hopefully my thoughts aren't lost somewhere in cyberspace...

Love you all! Bonsoir!

Vous etes ici, Paris!

Well, I’ve been in Paris for a few days now… we’ve tried to do lots in the city during our free time, that is, between homework and class. We went to the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night but we decided not to go up because there were too many people. So we watched it sparkle from the base of the Seine. It was beautiful! Then on Sunday, I went to mass at Notre Dame Cathedral! It was quite the experience. I followed the scriptures in my Bible and chimed in for the parts in Latin. The music was beautiful. Then we walked around the outside taking note of the flying buttresses which became very important for the stability of the building even though they were originally included in architecture for aesthetic reasons. We walked along the Seine River (check out my pictures on the slideshow) towards Musee D’Orsay, a museum with many works including lots of Impressionism. Going to so many museums in a condensed amount of time has encouraged me to develop favorites… I am loving the paintings by the impressionists! Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Manet, Seurat and others. Pointillism is so fun with all its bright colors and Degas’s Blue Dancers is really amazing in person. I also enjoy works by Austrian Gustav Klimt. Look up his paintings! Art nouveau is so enticing. I can’t wait until we go to Vienna because I will be able to see a lot of his works in a museum there.

Monday was set aside for the Louvre. Yes, nearly the entire day. We went in the morning, took a break for lunch then continued for another few hours in the afternoon. I started on the top floor to explore the French paintings. Silly me, I was actually hoping to see some Impressionism. Apparently, Impressionism is not yet considered art by the Louvre. It’s too new and has not yet proved itself. What a disappointment! And I spent all that time looking at the French paintings… I did see the famous painting of Louis XIV which is very appropriate because I am going to Versailles tomorrow to see his castle. After lunch, we saw the Mona Lisa. I saw once when I was 8 and I felt the same way this time. It is a bit underwhelming. It is roped off and people just stand around it snapping pictures and not even looking at the painting itself. I suppose the fame lies in the mystery of her expression but I am not a huge fan. Sorry Da Vinci. I prefer works that are more aesthetically pleasing or that have significance or meaning. Pilgrimage to Cythera by Watteau is really interesting because it shows an entire story and it synthesizes mythology with everyday life of the 18^th century. If I must be so blunt it shows the stages of seduction or love in the depiction of 8 different couples as the progress towards a mythic boat that will take them to Cythera where Aphrodite lives. “Going to Cythera” was an idiom for making love in the 18^th century. Reading from right to left, 8 couples show the different stages of love. First, a man whispers “sweet nothings” (thanks to the audio guide) into her ear, then in the next couple, the woman accepts and the following one begins to walk to the boat.

The whole experience of the Louvre was overwhelming due to the masses of tourists snapping pictures at every famous painting and sculpture. It was annoying because they would hardly pause to look at the art, just get the picture and move on. I felt as though I couldn’t enjoy the works in the busy areas. My favorite sculpture was Cupid and Psyche by Casanova. It is truly a masterpiece that suspends you in a moment of their embrace. Cupid’s wings, although made out of stone, look as light as air. Each one’s embrace creates a circle around the other and every angle is gorgeous (check the slideshow!). Overall, the Louvre felt like it was too much. It ends up seeming like a matter of pride rather than art. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and the French will keep it that way as long as they can.

I will write more about Paris soon! The Eiffel Tower at night was amazing and the Luxembourg garden on a sunny day was a definite highlight. Bonsoir!

photos...

Check out my slideshow to see pics of Scotland!

Here Comes the Bride!

I’m now on my way back to London to join up with my group. This weekend was packed but amazing. I had such a good time with family and friends. I arrived in San Diego completely exhausted because it was already 8am London time and I hadn’t really slept. My dad and little brother and sister picked me up at the airport and we began our search for our hotel. Once we got there, I just about passed out. Ok…a little exaggeration. But I was tired. My dad and step-mom hosted the rehearsal luncheon at Il Fornaio, one of our favorite Italian restaurants, that was right on the water on Coronado. The rehearsal was at Point Loma Naval Base, where the wedding and reception would be held the following day. It was a gorgeous site! We were outside right on the water with blue skies to gaze at. I loved being so close to the ocean while enjoying San Diego’s amazing climate.

That evening, the bridesmaids, Erica (the bride!) and I went to downtown San Diego for a late dinner. We ate at Stingaree, a very posh and trendy place to be. We felt a little out place among the short skirts and high stilettos but we still enjoyed ourselves. We stayed that night downtown in the Sheraton; the girls in one suite and the guys all packed in another. The luxury of an evening wedding allowed us to use the whole day to get ready. Crystal came to the hotel to do the bride’s and bridesmaids’ hair. Ashley, my 9 year old sister, was the flower girl so she and Kim, my step mom, joined us to finished getting ready. I had fun doing Ashley’s hair in an up-do, so different from her normal ponytail. Before the ceremony, the limo took us to take pictures right by the bay. I think all of us girls enjoyed feeling like models for the day. I’m sure Erica felt like we were her entourage/Paparazzi as we followed her around snapping photos.

The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous and very touching. Daniel escorted our mom to her seat and even their dog, Kenzie, got to come down the aisle! They incorporated a lot Philippino traditions into the ceremony as well as many relevant scriptures and symbolism throughout. The seven sisters (Erica’s five sisters, Ashley and I) read blessings for the couple, a Hebrew tradition. We each got to choose our blessings which ranged from Hawaiian, Scottish, Irish, and Catholic to Native American. I felt honored to read the Catholic blessing but could hardly look Daniel and Erica in the eyes because the emotion was too much.

After the ceremony, we enjoyed and beautiful and fun reception on the deck by the water. The DJ was really good- and that’s a rare occasion. He played all my favorites: Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Norah Jones. We danced all night long to disco and other dance floor classics. A lot of their friends from UCSB came as well as old friends from high school. Dan’s best man was Joe Purcell who he’s known “since the mid-60’s as Joe put it. Both he and Kayleen, the maid of honor, gave nice toasts. And one lucky girl caught the bouquet… ME! Haha… That was actually the second bouquet that I’ve caught… I’m not sure what that means but I think I have good reflexes! I better stop catching those because I have a feeling that none of the other girls are going to like me anymore. ;)

We left the venue late and totally spent; a long weekend. I had to say goodbye to all my family except my mom and Rich who took me to the airport this morning. I’m so glad that I was able to share that special time with my brother and new sister or sisters (I inherited six more sisters to make a total of ten including my step sisters!). Everyone was so joyful and the bride was gorgeous! I wasn’t able to play them a video I made in Scotland for the newlyweds but I gave them a copy to watch later.

Now I need to switch modes and get ready for Europe. I feel like my trip is finally beginning now that I have three and half straight months of travel and study. That reminds me…I have a paper due on Thursday! I’m sure Professor Khilstrom will be gracious to his jet-lagged student. Congrats if you made it to the end of the long blog! I love you all and until Paris, keep being your awesome selves!

a little detour

Right now I'm in between flights in Detroit. You may be wondering why I am back in the States... Well, my big brother Dan is getting married on Sunday. So, I took a little detour from London to come celebrate. Finding Gatwick Airport outside of London was a bit intimidating. I packed my backpack then walked to the nearest underground which cost me 4 pounds ($8)! I got off at Victoria to board a train to the airport which cost me another 9.50 pounds! I spent about $30 just to get to the airport. That would sound reasonable to me if I took a taxi or a nice coach or something... but I wandered around London to find my way. At least it was an adventure and I feel accomplished for having succeeded on my own!

My connecting flight to San Diego takes off in a few minutes and then I will spend two days in US. Just enough time to go to the rehearsal and the wedding before I turn around and join up with my group again in London. Please pray that I recover quickly from jet-lag! Thanks!

Two nights ago, we were in Stratford, the birthplace of Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. We visited her home and charming garden and had class at Holy Trinity Church where their remains are. We saw Taming of the Shrew and enjoyed dinner at the Black Swan (AKA the Dirty Duck).

Apparently, some say that Shakespeare intended for there to be an induction for some of his plays that consisted of actors tricking a drunkard into believing that he is a lord. They then put on a play for this "lord" and try to trick into thinking he actually is royalty. The version that we saw had such an induction that was set in modern times, bookending the original. The show was enjoyable most of the time but by the end wore on us. The general sentiment is that it was really chauvinistic and crude. Percutio's main purpose was to break Caterina's spirit and make her submit to his every whim. He succeeds and turns a free-spirited woman into a slave. The storyline of "10 Things I Hate About You" is loosely based off this work, so you may know the premise. However, it is a bit different. When I return to London, we will be seeing 3 more plays on consecutive evenings. I have never before spent so much time at the theater!

Well, I'm about to board the plane... more to come later.

More Fringing at the Fringe

As a part of the Fringe Festival, some friends and I went to Balé de Rua, which means “street ballet” in Portuguese. It was an incredible production from Brazil with capoeira, samba, percussion, and hip hop. We were wide-eyed and mystified for the entire show. The dancers first came out in modern looking Brazilian suits dancing and doing fun tricks with their hats. Those samba moves sure looked fast. The setting reversed to the time when the tribes in Africa were untouched by European powers. Through dance and few props, they were able to portray the long and painful voyages below the decks of ships to Brazil. They were greatly mistreated as slaves, forced to row in horrible conditions. The performers portrayed beatings by spiting paint on one of the slaves. With pure body movements, they clearly portrayed a slave being beaten in shackles and even alluded to Christ on the cross. The sounds created by the percussionists were so strong that we were entirely enthralled in the action and the feats performed showed the dancers’ athleticism. It was amazing to see the narrative of distant Africans taken as slaves in the New World and how capoeira and samba grew out of the slave/mulato culture. At the end of the show, the performers came down into the aisles and danced with audience members. At that point, we were really regretting sitting on the tier above! Balé de Rua was truly a beautiful and exciting way to relate the experiences of many Brazilians.

On Saturday, we attended the Budapest Orchestra which was a very polished group of musicians. In this performance, they incorporated gypsy style music and even included an instrument that gypsies use. The soloist violinists were beyond impressive! One special guest was so amazing that he had the audience on the edge of their seats. He somehow made us laugh at certain points. I am still wondering how orchestral music can be comical and yet so stunning… I sat next to some very nice Scotsmen who gave me tips on restaurants in Rome that I am looking forward to trying out.

On Sunday morning, we attended worship at St. Giles Presbyterian Cathedral which was as aesthetically pleasing as music the night before. It was a beautiful building made out of primarily stone and designed with pointed arches and numerous stained glass windows.

It has been really funny to me that the Scottish accent is so had for us to understand. Whenever I talk with “Scotsmen” I find myself asking them to repeat what they said quite often. I was getting directions and told by a couple Scottish men to look for “Dick and Brody’s” as far as I could tell but it turned out to be “Deacon Brodie’s.” Prince’s Street is pronounced like “princess” and Rose Street sounds something like “roostry.” We also enjoy all the Scottish words we see and hear, not to mention the culinary delight that is the one and only haggis- sheep entrails! Yes, I tried it. What do you think I came to Europe for but to try all the regional cuisine? As the Scotts would say, we’ve been making sure to bin our litter and stand in the queue for the toilet. Apparently, making the peace-sign with your fingers is offensive here. It means something like “up yer kilt!” Thank goodness we didn’t encounter any problems when we ignorantly held up the peace-sign for a snapshot!

Edinburgh has been a sweet city to wander around and breathe in the art-saturated air. The architecture is gorgeous every where we turn and the cafes and pubs (“public houses”) are not lacking here. We are moving on to York, England for one night then to Stratford-on-Avon where we will see The Taming of the Shrew by some guy named Will. I hear he’s alright.

Cheers!

I’m in Edinburgh! My first flight started off very well because I was seated next to an Italian woman, Maria, who speaks four languages. We chatted in Spanish for over two hours about traveling, culture and languages. The downside of the flight was that it was 10 hours and I couldn’t sleep at all and it was delayed causing us to almost miss our connection at Heathrow. Luckily, we are a group of about 45 people, so they held the plane for us. Prof. Kilstrom told us to look on the “bright side” when we found out that our luggage wasn’t on our last flight, because then we wouldn’t have to load in on the coach and someone would deliver it to us… but… it didn’t come all day… it actually didn’t come until the next morning at 10am. We all just slept in our clothes and learned how to deal without some basic things and we survived believe it or not!

Yesterday and today have been free days to wander around the city in the rain- Scotland is not exactly experiencing the same drought we are back home. The center of Edinburgh is quite picturesque with old buildings (the “new” part of town was built in the 1800’s) and pubs everywhere. The Fringe Festival is going on right now, so the streets are teeming with street performers and artists. The city doubles in size during the festival which means that there are one million people here right now. The Fringe Festival is so huge that there are 376 venues throughout the city with 10-30 performances per day of different productions. That’s a lot of theatre, comedy, music, dance, physical theatre and so on.

I’m continuing this blog a day later… now it’s Thursday in Scotland.

I’m enjoying seeing the name Robertson around town. I took a picture next to an alley named “Robertson’s Close” and also next to a bar by the name of Robertson. Last night we went to Plague! The Musical by Bubonic Productions. It was really well done with some talented actors and singers whose spit we could see and almost feel from our second row seats. It was almost two hours long and it started at 9:30pm… we were pretty tired by the end since we are still getting used to the time change. Yesterday we took full advantage of the bus system with our day pass for 2.5 pounds. Bus route 33 goes from near the University of Edinburgh to the center and is complete with double-decker buses.

We had our first classes this morning and were reminded, to our disappointment, that this trip is for school and we don’t get to play all day everyday… only some days. Now we are heading off to the center to get lunch and see about more productions in the Fringe.

Delta 7766 SMF to LAX

God is so good! I get to go to Europe today! Right now I'm sitting in Sacramento airport waiting for my flight to LA where I will meet my group to head to Scotland! I can't believe I'm actually leaving right now. I'm so excited I didn't even sleep last night... My bag weighs exactly 45 lbs which is the limit for European airlines... close one! I spent my last couple days with my family in Pilot Hill and playing Taboo with friends which is the best way to spend the last weekend in the country :)

The rest of my time in Hawaii was amazing. My mom and I went to a gorgeous sunrise at Kailua beach and another day we drove my stepdad's convertible along the coast from the south shore to North Shore for sunset (Waimea Bay!). We made sure to eat some yummy shave ice at Matsumoto's in Haleiwa. My last day, I took Riley to Kailua beach for a jog and some boogy boarding- he just barked the whole time. I was hoping to see Obama jogging on the beach too but we had no such luck.

I just signed up for a service called iPass (thanks Shane!) that costs $45/month and allows you to connect to any wifi signal around the world. That means I'll have internet access in my hotels and cafes without paying 10 euros/hr! I'll be on Skype more, so add my name: katherine.sara and we can talk.

After completing a long to do list and months of anticipation, it is more than surreal to be sitting, waiting, wishing for my European expedition. Keep it real USA!