I haven't done an update in awhile, i could say that i have been busy but, besides the weekends, i generally just sit around trying to do reading and watching a lot of british television shows (if you are my parents, please disregard that last part). I think that was probably signifying the end of the "honeymoon"phase of the study abroad experience; generally people get really homesick but i did not, i just got really lazy. I was also fighting a mean german cold i must have acquired at some point between chugging steins and getting unwelcome kisses from bald, fat, and drunk italian men at Oktoberfest. Although the sexual harassment does not sound like a good time, Oktoberfest was amazing. It was everything i could have hoped and dreamed; beer, beer, food, and more beer. I was joined in my german shenanigans by Suzy and Barbara. We skipped our friday classes (again, disregard that part mom and dad), and hopped a flight to Memmigen West (located about an hour and a half and 20 quid from Munich). Once we landed we boarded a bus that took us to the city- you could start the weekend out with a beer for 2 euro, and of course we did. We arrived in the city with absolutely no clue where our hotel was, although we did have an address- the street names and numbers meant nothing to us. We asked our kind bus driver how to get to it and he pointed us in the direction of the train station and told us to take the U2 (the underground), seemed easy enough. No. Apparently there are multiple levels of this train station and living up to the "Stupid American" stereotype that was far too complex for us. So we had to ask. Upon finding the stop we boarded our train- turns out we were about 25 minutes from the city center and those minutes seemed to only multiply when we sat down next to three Portuguese men who stared at us and tried to initiate conversation in another language. They probably meant no harm but because of the language barrier and the awkward staring, we were creeped out. We arrived at the hotel and then went in search of food, offering us another experience with the language barrier. The only thing remotely near our hotel was a mall with a food court and even there the only thing we could order (even by pointing and gesturing) was pizza. For the evening we ventured back to the city center and wandered around- purchasing souvenirs and food for breakfast (including champagne and orange juice). After being hit on in about four more languages, we headed back to the hotel. Waking up at 530 am was made slightly easier with the help of chocolate chip muffins, mimosas, and powdered cappuccinos- breakfast of champions. We then treked back to the city center and to the Hofbrauhaus tent. After standing outside, squished like sardines for an hour, we were finally let into the tent. There we met some American Marines stationed in Italy and hung out with them for awhile. They were not really our style so we decided to wander around. Amazingly, after barely escaping the women's bathrooms with my life, i ran into a friend of my sisters from Santa Clara who directed me to "the Santa Clara section" where i found a bunch more SCU people that i'd met through my sister. There were even some tears shed from the sight of "Anna Callaghan's sister!!". It was great to see some familiar faces, i even ran into a few Redlands kids too. It was nuts to run into people i knew that far from home. After a hard 10 hours in the tent, i couldnt feel my legs, Barbara couldnt speak, and we were all deathly hungry. We bought some crepes and Suz and i went for a ride on the swings and then we boarded the underground for our hotel. After showers and recapping the day, we passed out for approximately 12 hours. The next day we reversed our trek into Munich and boarded our flight back to Edinburgh.
This weekend the IFSA-Butler program treated us all to a sightseeing trip up to the Scottish Highlands where we saw waterfalls, the Jacobite Express aka the Hogwarts Express :), the site of the Battle of Culloden (the defeat of the Jacobites by the Government Army and the ultimate end of the clan system), a sheepdog farm- probably the cutest place ive ever been, the Glenfiddich Whiskey Distillery, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, and the mountains of Glencoe. It was a whirlwind and it wasnt until i got home and looked on a map that i saw how much of the highlands we'd seen. I also experienced my first hostel, first sweet toffee pudding, kopparberg pear cider, and sheep feeding. Its great to spend time with all of the people from the program and get out of the city for a little bit, the fresh air is a nice change.
Now its back to the grind, for real this time. I have an Ecology write up due on friday- 600 words and worth 20% of my grade, joy.
We might go up to St. Andrews to hang out with some other girls from the program on Thursday, only if my write up is done though :)
Cheers, here are some pictures from the Highlands trip.
