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Hi everyone! 

I have been avoiding posting in here because there is so much I want to say.  Here goes...

On Friday the 19th I left for my 10-day fall break through Switzerland and Italy.  It was amazing!  Here are the highlights from each place we went to...

Zurich, Switzerland:  What a cute town!  We were only there for a day and mostly we just walked around and got a feel for it.  Switzerland has THREE national languages - German, Italian, and French.  Each area is heavily influence by the country of the language they speak.  We were in a German speaking area, so we got a feel for German culture as well.  We went to a fabulous chocolate shop (mmm Swiss chocolate!) and hung out by the lake.  For dinner we went to a sausage restaurant and tried to get a taste of Central European food.

Lugano, Switzerland:  The most gorgeous place ever!  Mostly walked around the town and lake and took a lot of pictures.  It was soooo beautiful though.  This area of Switzerland was Italian-speaking.  I also can't leave out the train ride from Zurich to Lugano...incredibly beautiful!!

Venice, Italy:  Venice is a truly unique city and it was one of my favorite places.  I love how it is on the water - it's so interesting - and there are no cars or anything, just gondolas, boats and waterbuses.  The gondola rides were expensive and we'd been told it wasn't worth it, but we did got for a ride on the waterbus which was a lot of fun.  Their 2 big things are Venetian glass and MASKS!!  Also, in every city in Italy we ate lots of pizza, pasta and gelato, which was SOOO YUMMY!

Florence, Italy:  Interestingly enough, Florence was not my favorite city but it was the city where we did some of my favorite things.  There is a giant church (the duomo) and we climbed 463 steps to the top of the dome...it was totally worth it.  We got a view overlooking the entire city that was breathtaking.  We saw Michelangelo's The David...I didn't expect to be so impressed by it, but I actually caught my breath.  Another highlight was climbing to the top of a hill (Piazza de Michelangelo) and getting yet another spectacular view.  Saw a lot of churches and a lot of religious art.

Montalcino, Italy:  We headed out to the countryside for a little change of pace.  From the start, it was "an experience."  We got off the train in the middle of nowhere - there wasn't even a train station.  It was 8 pm, pitch-black, and raining...and we had no idea where to go.  We found a bar across the street that was open and turned out to be the town hang-out...EVERYONE in this tiny town knew each other.  We went inside and of course, nobody spoke a SINGLE WORD of English!  But eventually we made it to the hotel and had a lovely couple of days.  The town was adorable, the countryside was beautiful and we got to meet (and attempt to communicate with) some interesting people.  The town is known for their production of Brunello ( a red wine) and we went for a tour and wine-tasting at a vineyard, which I  really enjoyed.

Rome, Italy:  Rome was amazing.  There is just so much history there and I loved every aspect of it.  We saw the Colosseum and the ancient city, the Vatican, St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and more.  It was very surreal to actually SEE all these things that I've always read about and seen pictures of.  Rome surprised me.  I think it was my favorite city!

After my trip, I came back to London for a few days of classes and then headed to West Wales for the weekend.  A few friends and I had signed up for "an adventure weekend"...it was most certainly was an adventure.  We got there Friday night (after a few difficulties with the commute, but that's another story).  Saturday morning we learned how to surf.  In the afternoon we went coasteering, which is basically a combination of swimming, rock climbing and cliff jumping.  Sunday morning we went for a 7 mile hike along the coast, which was GORGEOUS.  We made a lot of friends and hung out around the bonfire.  Honestly, it was one of the best weekends of my life.  I challenged myself and had an amazing time.

....those are the highlights!  I hope you've enjoyed reading about my travels.  I'll post pictures when I have a chance.  I can't wait to see you all!  Tomorrow I'm meeting Mom, Dad and Dave in Paris...I can't wait!

Love and miss you all!!

Cheers, Lisa

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been a while since my last post...I'm still getting used to this blogging thing.

Aunt Egg sent a message asking about my classes, and I realized I haven't mentioned them at all in my blog (can you blame me?)  My classes are going pretty well.  Since I attend the Syracuse University London Program, almost all of the students I have class with are from Syracuse - no locals.  It makes it easier for school purposes but since I am living with and taking class with all Americans, it is harder to meet young Londoners.  My classes are Islam & the West, Culture, Subculture & Style, Crime & Punishment (history of crime in Britain), and Religion, Identity & Power.  Culture, Subculture & Style is my favorite class - the teacher is really cool and we use music and movies as springboards for discussions.  The other classes I don't care for as much - my history class is boring, and with the other two we discuss a lot of information I already know (since I'm a religion minor) so that gets old.  But hey, I'm only in class 3 days a week, so it's fine.  I'm not taking any Newhouse courses, which makes life easier, but I do miss learning about something I have a passion for!

A few highlights since I've last posted...

Tuesday 9/18 we went to a John Mayer concert.  It was totally last minute - we heard he was in town and got our tickets.  It's the second time I've seen him live (saw him in Syracuse last spring) and he was just as amazing as I remembered!

Friday 9/21 we went to Stonehenge and Salisbury.  It's one of the 7 wonders of the Middle Ages!   It was pretty cool to see - when you look at the pics it just looks like a bunch of rocks, but in reality the sheer size of it is pretty awesome.

Tuesday 9/25 we went to an Arsenal v. Newcastle soccer - whoops, FOOTBALL - game.  That was AWESOME!  I am officially an Arsenal fan!  Aresenal won 2-0 and we had a great time.

Thursday 9/27 I went to a play at Shakespeare's Globe.  The Globe is a faithful reconstruction of a Shakespearian playhouse.  The building itself is cool to see, and I loved the play. We saw Love's Labour's Lost.  I think I'm finally starting to have an appreciation for Shakespeare.

On Friday 9/28 we went to Barcelona for the weekend!!!  What an amazing trip!

We got there Friday evening and walked around Las Ramblas, which are these streets where no cars can go and there's all these crazy street performers and little stands to buy things.  Very cute.  We found a little local place to eat and then we hit the bars, but came back early because we were so exhausted from travel.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to La Sagrida Familia, a cathedral by Gaudi - he was an architect held in really high esteem in the city, basically Gaudi = Barcelona.  It was under construction, which they did not warn us about, so we didn't get the full effect of it...kinda disappointing.

After that we went to our next stop, La Padrera, which is another Gaudi building.  On the way there it started to rain, and we were walking around looking for it and getting drenched.  When we got there the roof was closed because of the rain. So we explored the inside...and then things started to turn around.  The rain stopped, the roof opened up and we went up there....it was AWESOME, just really architecturally cool...one of the highlights of the trip.

After that we went to a park which also had a bunch of stuff designed by Gaudi, including a mosaic toad that we had seen replicas of in the all the gift shops...like I said, Gaudi is Barcelona!  We walked around the park a bit and then stopped to get tapas for lunch!

After lunch we went to the Picasso Museum...very cool.  Obviously it didn't have any of his really famous stuff, but there were a lot of pieces and it was interesting to see his progression as an artist.

Then we went to a square in town where people congregate and do the national dance a few times a week. It was mostly older people, and I really hope that younger people pick it up so it doesn't get lost.  It was really cute!  I was trying to pick up the steps and then this old man came over and was helping me and then we all wound up joining in and dancing the national dance in the square!

That night we got paella for dinner - basically rice with different things in it, seafood, chicken, veggies, etc.  The schedule in Spain is so crazy...they wake up late, do their thing, have lunch around 2, then a siesta, dinner around 10 and then they stay out and party till all hours.  Kind of how I wish our society was! But a tough schedule if you are not used to it and are waking up early to sightsee!!  We had to keep getting snacks to tide us over till their meal times, but it was great because we got to experience the Spanish cuisine.

To go off topic for a minute, I just found out where the phrase "tide one over" comes from.  Yesterday my roommate said "we'll get some food to tie us over"...so of course instead of just letting it go, I had to make sure that I hadn't been saying it wrong and immediately looked it up on the internet.  To tide one over comes from the ocean tide, which will carry you over an obstacle, or hunger, or financial situation, etc.  I love etymology, I thought you would all find this interesting as well.

Ok, so back to Barcelona!

It was actually really interesting to see the cultural differences AND similarities.  In a lot of ways they are more like us than Londoners.  But they have no customer service, I think because you don't tip them so they don't have to really work for it.  Also, almost everyone speaks English...it really is a global language.  Fun to practice our Spanish anyway.  Sometimes we would speak to people in Spanish but they could tell we were American so they would just answer us in English.  Other times they would let us try our Espanol.

Saturday night we went out to a few bars - like I said they are on a different schedule.  The bars don't get hopping until around 2, but we couldn't stay out that long.  Gettin old.

Sunday was our day to SHOP!  Lots of great things to buy.  After shopping we went to the beach - it was a beautiful day out and the water was warm!  I can't believe how hot it was the last weekend in September...I went swimming!

That night we went to this huge fountain where they do a water/light show.  VERY COOL.  It only runs through September so we caught it on the last night!!  The thing is huge and they do an amazing show.

Last stop was dinner in this really cute square.  Good Spanish food and a nice way to end the trip.

Of course then we went to leave...around 11:15 Spain time we caught the metro (it stops at 12 during the week).  Then we sat at the bus station for 3 hours until our 3 am bus brought us to the airport for our 6:30 am flight.  We landed in London around 7:30 (we gained an hour), took the train to the tube station, and then took the tube back. Got back to the flat around 9:30 am London time.  OY! 

This weekend has been pretty quiet.  On Friday I went to Hampton Court Palace.  A lot of my flatmates are in Estonia for class so it's been pretty quiet around here.

Ok, now here's what you've all been waiting for...PICTURES!



Straddling the Meridian Line in Greenwich



Being silly on the beach in Brighton


With my roommate in front of Tower Bridge


London at dusk


With my friend Rob at Stonehenge


On the roof of La Padrera in Barcelona


The National Dance in the town square

  On la playa (the beach) in Barcelona


My roommate Sarah & I in front of the magic fountain


At the end of our trip to Barcelona...WE LOVE BCN!

Hope you are all doing well - e-mail me and tell me what's new!!  It's Lindsey & Nicole's birthday party today so happy (belated) birthday to them!  And of course...GO YANKEES!!

Love & miss you!!

Love, Lisa

Hi everyone!

I really enjoyed this weekend - it was a little more low-key so it was nice not running around London and being on my feet all day.  Yesterday we went to Portobello Market, which I LOVED.  Of all the markets we've been to, this one was def my fave.  They had great deals on fresh fruits and veggies, lots of clothes and jewelry and anything you could think of.  It was really fun walking around and I bought myself a few presents, too.  At night we went to Walkabout, which is an Australian bar chain.  All 8 of us who live together went, which was cool because we've never all been out together.

Today we spent most of the day around the flat doing homework.  In the evening we went to the Thames River Festival, which was really cool.  Lots of street performers, like this one guy who dislocated his shoulders (ewww!) and got himself out of a straight jacket.  There were a million little stands and it was all really cute, right by the river.  Then we watched the fireworks, which were AMAZINGGGG!  There were 2 synchronized displays over the river.  They were huge and filled the entire sky, def one of the best fireworks shows I've ever seen.

Tomorrow I have the day off but all of my flatmates and friends have class.  I think I'll go explore Hyde Park, since I haven't really done that yet and it's right near the flat.

Love & miss you all! 

Cheers,

Lisa

Hi all!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a nice holiday.  Last night my roommate and I went to Rosh Hashana dinner at our friend's flat.  He made brisket!!  It was nice to have a real holiday dinner, especially since I didn't expect to.  The food was really, really good.  It was by far the best meal I've had since i"ve been here.  It sounds silly but it was soooo nice just to feel really satisfied with a meal.  Though I gotta say, the "London diet" is working for me, because I have definitely lost weight since I've been here haha.

Today we went on a trip to Brighton, which is a little ocean town about two hours outside the city.  It was really nice driving through the countryside and getting to see the ocean!  We had fun walking along the pier and on the "beach" - it's all rocks there, and I gotta say I like sand better!!  There were a million little shops there that were really cute.  Mom, we could have spent days there just shopping.  We toured the Royal Pavilion (basically an old mansion) - that was cool, but it probably would have been cooler if I had seen it before Buckingham Palace.  Oh, I also had my first FISH N CHIPS experience!!  It was good, but really greasy, so not something I'd want to eat on a regular basis!!

We were all tired from waking up so early to go to Brighton, so tonight we went to the movies with some friends.  We saw Superbad - it was opening night here.  It's so weird, all of the movies and music here are a few months behind.

Overall, I'm having a great time and finally starting to feel "at home."  Since we just finished our second week of classes, I have more of a feel for my schedule and I'm just getting used to everything.  It's fun to live in another country and notice all the little difference.  I love reading the paper here because their even their style of writing is different.

Guess that's all for now.  Tomorrow I think we are going to Portobello Market - if we can wake up in time.  Still getting used to being on the go so much, it really wears you out.  Hope you're all doing well.  Love and miss you!!

Lisa

Hey everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted very much.  It's been crazy here but things are finally starting to settle down.  I finished my first week of classes and got to do a lot of sightseeing this weekend.

Yesterday I went with my Jewels of London group - about 20 kids led by this old professor who knows sooo much about London.  The only downside is that he talks WAY too much and sometimes it's pretty boring.  The upside is that we get to go places for free (or cheaper than usual) and he knows so much about it all.  On Day 1 we did Museum of London, Roman remnants and architecture around the city, Wren church and the Tower of London.  Day 2 (today) we went to Westminster Abbey, St. James' Park and Buckingham Palace.  I think Buckingham Palace was my favorite thing - it was so ornate and beautiful, I can't even describe it but it was amazing.

So yesterday evening we were taking the tube home after a long day of sightseeing, and Sarah (my roommate) saw in the paper that Jamie Cullum was playing in North London.  For those of you reading this who are not Aunt MTV Michele, Jamie Cullum is an amazing jazz-inspired artist from London.  I can't even tell you how many times we have talked about how amazing he would be to see live  - but he neverrrr tours in the states.  I checked his site numerous times before I came to London, but no gigs were posted.  But he was playing!!  So despite the fact that we were exhausted and our feet were killing us, we knew it might be our only chance to see him live so we decided to go.  There was only standing room left, so we had to stand the whole night on our aching feet, but we were really close to the stage and the concert was amazinggggg!!!

So there's the Reader's Digest version of my weekend.  Tomorrow we are going to East End on a walking tour for some festivals and a market.  I posted pictures on facebook, I will put them on another site soon so you all can see them.

Love and miss you!

Lisa

Hi everybody!! I don't have much time to post because I have to get to a dinner social, but I just wanted to say hi. London is an amazing city and I'm having a great time so far!  

Yesterday we got to the hotel around 1:30 pm (8:30 am your time!) After dinner and a meeting, we went on the London eye!  I will post pictures when I have a chance (probably this weekend). It was a lot of fun and a great way to start things out, we got to see over the whole city! After that some friends and I went out to get a drink. We came back to the hotel early and crashed (I didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane so at that point I hadn't slept for over 24 hours).

Today we had meetings and then went hunting for a flat - and found one!  It is a great place - 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths for me and my SEVEN roommates! It is in a really cute area right near Hyde park and another smaller park. We are very close to a tube station and several bus stops, and only a 30 minute walk from school. We move in Friday afternoon so at that point I will have internet and I'll be able to talk to all of you!

Love & miss you all!

Lisa

Just now I was taking a break from studying and started to fool around on Facebook.  Somehow I wound up at a group called "Keep Your Fucking Hand Down in Lecture.  No One Cares."  I laughed to myself, thinking about how there is always that one kid who is constantly raising his hand in lecture, usually to ask a question about something the professor just answered, and makes class last an extra 10 minutes when all you want to do is go home.  Groups like this are supposed to be funny, not serious, so I checked the page out.

The first thread I saw was about "non-traditional" students aka older students.  Just someone poking fun at the fact that older students seem to always sit in the front row, ask a lot of questions, share too much information about their lives, etc.  People wrote in with complaints about how older students tend to talk down to a younger professor, things like that.  I mean, the whole thing was supposed to be a joke.  And based on my experiences with older students in class...it's true.  They do like to sit in the front row.  Sometimes, yes, they do resent us younger students.  Generally, that's because they think we all "have it easy" and are having college paid for by our parents.  In my case, that's true, and I recognize the fact that I'm very fortunate.  For many of my peers, this is not the case, and they hold several jobs and have taken out a million loans... which they will be paying back for a long, long time.

Don't get me wrong.  I respect people who are "here to learn," and I really do respect older students for coming back and getting an education...for a lot of them, circumstances have not made that an easy task.  But is poking fun at them for sitting in the front row really that harmful?

Apparently for one girl it was.  She wrote in just ranting about how we should all treat our elders with more respect.  She made a lot of generalizations and more or less trashed Western culture.  In response, people went off the handle.  They criticized her spelling, grammar, arguments, culture...everything they could think of.

Personally, I think they all look like idiots.  The girl who started it 1) cannot take a joke and 2) made broad and insulting generalizations and stereotypes.  And the people who responded?  Well, most of them were just plain MEAN.  I agreed with a lot of their points, but so many of them stooped to unnecessary insults.

It's not just this one Facebook group.  I've noticed it in so many in the past, and it just makes me really sad.   Debate is fun.  I love engaging in debate with my friends, for no reason at all.  But why does everyone have to get so NASTY?  Are we incapable of holding civilized debate?   Why do we have to nitpick at every little thing we see in one another?  Forget respecting our elders...sometimes I think nobody has respect for ANYONE else.

Ah, look at me, making broad generalizations...

Lisa

3 more days until I'm home for summer!

The end of this semester has been very bitter-sweet for me.  I am excited to go home, to see my family and friends and not have to worry about any schoolwork.  I'm also excited for my internship.  BUT I've had an amazing time this semester, and I hate to see it end.  ESPECIALLY since I won't be back on campus until January!  And some of my friends are going abroad in the spring, which means I won't see them for over a year. 

I've gotten much more used to leaving to go home...to go to school...to go back home.  I'm used to living in 2 places and I try to be happy wherever I am instead of always missing people or wanting to be somewhere else.  Still, it can be sad to leave.

HOWEVER - this is the beauty of finals.  They  make you want to scream and pull your hair out and be anywhere but at school.  They make you want to have SUMMER more than anything else, because at least during summer you don't have to worry about exams.  I think finals were created by the administration to make us want to leave for the summer - otherwise nobody would want to go.  It's all a big conspiracy.

Needless to say...I'm ready for summer!  Sometimes people get bored going home where there's "nothing to do"...but somehow, my friends and I make our own fun.  We really don't need to do anything at all...we can just sit around and talk, or watch a movie, or play board games...we just enjoy being together.  Sometimes we'll come up with something different to do, too.

Last summer, for instance, we were bored on a Sunday afternoon so we decided to organize a scavenger hunt around town.  Everyone paired up into teams and got a list of items to track down.  Each team also had a digital camera, and a lot of things on the list were about taking pictures.  We had "take a picture in front of a Welcome to Hillsborough" sign, take a picture getting kissed on the cheek by a stranger, etc.  Afterwards we all met back at my house to show "the loot" and share pictures, count up points, and share stories (and there were a LOT of funny stories).

We also had a twilight hike.  The Sourland Mountains run through my town and there are certain spots on the trails, if you hike up really high, that overlook the whole town.  On a clear day you can even see the New York City skyline.  One day my friend and I hiked up, found a nice spot and staked our claim.  Then we gathered up all our friends and we got subs for dinner, lawn chairs, blankets, chinese paper lanterns, music, etc. and we all hiked up to the top.  We hung out there till the sun started to set, and then we took out our flashlights and hiked back down.  Technically the park closes at dusk, so I guess we were trespassing...totally worth the risk though.  We had a blast.

Another fun day last summer was when we went to the local park and played kickball.  It seems silly, right?  Just a simple game of kickball...and yet it was so much fun.  Sometimes you just need to let loose and be a kid again.  It's even more fun if you get decked out in sports attire and paint black under your eyes, set up competitive teams, etc. 

Looking forward to this and so much more this summer.  All that's standing in my way?  Two exams, a 10 page paper, miscellaneous work...and packing & a 4 hour drive home...

3 days.

Lisa

Today at lunch I was reading an article in The New York Times about how Republicans who are vying for the presidential candidacy are handling "the problem" of Bush.  Do they agree with him & his decisions to win primaries (Bush has high approval with the Republicans)?  Or do they separate themselves from him in a long-term strategy to win the presidential campaign from an increasingly dissenting public, but risk not even getting to that point because they might lose primaries?  It's sad really, because it's not about what these candidates think or feel at all.  It's all strategic planning to win, so they can then do what they want.

But anyway, the whole thing got me thinking in general about criticizing the president.  Which then led me to realize how my thoughts have changed over the years - from thinking as a child, to thinking as an adult (or at least I hope so).  Here are just a few things my opinion has changed about:

Criticizing the president:  When I was kid, I didn't think you should criticize the president, even if you disagreed with him. I mean, he's the president.  We should show him respect!  How will our country run if we don't stand behind him?  Now I realize that our country can only run if we do criticize the president.  Just because something has been one way for a long time, doesn't mean it's right - and sometimes, making a fuss about it is the only way to get things to change.  The government needs to hear our voices.  Communicating dissent prevents dictatorships...it makes our country grow and evolve.  Not only that, but by criticizing our president, we are employing one of our greatest rights - freedom of speech.  That's a right we have in our country, and we should use it, even if it is to criticize our country/government/president.

Religion & Atheism:  There was a time when I felt bad for Atheists - I pitied them for not believing in anything.  When it came to relationships (and the thought of marriage) I didn't really care if my future husband had the same religion as me, but I wanted him to be religious in some way, to believe in something.  Now, I think that being Atheist is a really courageous stand to take.  To face the thought that there isn't any greater power - there is no one watching over us, no greater plan, and sometimes things just happen because they happen - it is really brave to take that attitude.  Atheists aren't immoral people.  Their lives aren't empty.  In fact, in some ways I think they embrace life more because they aren't waiting to get somewhere else, to get to an after life - they are living it up now because they believe that now is all we have.  I struggle with my beliefs on a daily basis.  I constantly question G-d's existence, or lack thereof, and I don't have the answers.  But my purpose here is not to debate whether G-d exists or not.  I just think that whether you are religious or not, it's OK.  I no longer pity those who don't believe in a higher power.

Questioning what I see/hear/read:  When I was kid, I believed everything I read in the paper, or saw on the news, or whatever.  Now I realize that all information is filtered through a person, and each person comes from a different background, a different life experience...and each person comes with baggage.  Misconstruing things may be intentional or unintentional, but either way, you need to question everything.  Not to be cynical, or go through life suspicious of everything and everyone, but just don't take for granted that what you hear is truth.

I'm sure there's much that has changed in my thought process since I was kid.  I guess, even though I turned 20 a few months ago (wow, still hard to believe) I'm still a child in many ways.  But growing up doesn't happen overnight, and it's a process that I am certainly enjoying.  As they say, "The road is long, and in the end, the journey is the destination." 

Lisa