Photos!!

Finally!!! Photos!!!! I got them organized, so I'm posting them all at once!! honestly, i posted 20 photos and these are the only ones that show up :( ill try to put more later... I've been all alone here at Leeds in the flat (aside from steph who lives the next block over). Anna came back (just for today because she's going to visit her brother in Edinburgh for New Year's. ALthough I've made an eary resolution to eat healthy, Anna brought back from Belgium some delicious Godiva chocolates... mmmm soo good. as you can tell, the studyings going really well...


photo captions:
1) panoramic tower view of Frankfurt
2)chessboards in Geneva
3,4,5) sledding in Swiss Alps!
6,7) my cousin Robyn and Andrea

Just a Little Bit...

Amidst all the studying and mental brainpower which I am generating, I cannot help but treat myself to a little rant:

Tis is the season to be jolly, and amongst the celebratory reverie of Christmas and Hannakah (or Chrismakkah, if you prefer), and any other cultural festivities (Happy Kwanza ad Feliz Navidad), all these meaningful evocations come to mind. I recently spent the holiday season celebrating Christmas with a British family, basking in cozy warm fireplaces, sipping wine, munching on roasted chesnuts, and eating the Swiss/Austrian delicacy of rosti (aka potatoe latkes), during which memories and associations spring to mind of a distant childhood surrounded by family and holiday television shows. As it is written somewhere in the Passover seder: "what is the meaning of all this, of all these rituals and customs?"

To take it one step further, what is the meaning of religion itself- what purpose does it serve? In modern times, one could instantly formulate a persuasive argument against religion. We can easily contend that religion creates more problems than it can solve. From the US's "War on Terror", to Islamist Fundamentalism, and even the Holocaust, the negative and dividing aspects of religion are readily observable.

But take it one step further- look at Darfur, Rwanda, the Bosnian massacres- atrocities that are perhaps politically rather than religiously driven. How can we not question what purpose these social, religious and political groupings serve?

Functional institutions created to preserve and protect communal and private features have evolved into highly complex mechanisms at the mercy of rational human motivations and emotional passions. The state of 'civilization' is perhaps presently deteriorating a dangerous point at which our original ends are no longer being served, to the point eat which the basic underlying human fundamental principles are no longer being preserved.

Everyday the World Health Organization tackles pervasive diseases like AIDS and Malaria, the United Nation occupies itself with the egos of individual countries, all attempting to solve problems and issues to which there is no simple solution. While individuals, institutions and communities are all governed towards an apparent self-interest they seem to have lost their place in the world.

And it is in the home, in the family, in the local community that we form our own self-concept in which we become aware of our place in the world. Our customs and traditions, religious or cultural provide the foundations for our own personal and individual identity. Completely contingent on time and space, on serendipity and circumstance, experiences are the groundwork for formation of character. But we are merely individuals in the world. Does our network of family must extend to include all human beings in the world?

All it takes is a moment of enlightenment. My host at Christmas asked me what languages I speak- I told her I spoke a bit of Hebrew. She then asked me if I was Jewish, to which I replied yes. She told me how she would invite her Jewish neighbours over for Christmas and she'd attend their Passover seders. What is most deeply enriching, deeply humbling about my first Christmas experience is their acceptance, appreciation, and most of all, respect for other cultures and religions. So while we spin our dreidels, open Christmas presents under the tree, regardless of one’s level of religious commitment, a little tolerance, a little humility, a little respect goes a long way.

Geneva-> Manchester-> Leeds

I'm exhausted, but I'm back home (home is where the bed is, as Steph says). We took a bus back from Manchester this early afternoon and got home sometime around 3 or so- I've spent the last hour and some trying to clean my room and unpack. Unfortunately, the vacuum seems to be broken and only seems to be making my room even more dirty than it was in the first place.

As I sit here with my coffee I will try to remember the details of the rest of my trip.

In the last post I mentioned how we took a train through 5 countries to get from Brussels to Geneva. We were to be staying at my cousin Robyn's place so she had given us the appropriate directions- hop on the bus from the train station for a few stops. Unfortunately, she had told us to go right instead of left so when we got off the bus we were quite lost. Fortunately, the kabab shop on the corner was helpful and made for a very yummy shwarma for dinner. Now my cousin also had forgotten to tell us which room she lived in. Some lady that lived there yelled at me and Steph for a minute for not knowing where we were going but we found her name on a mailbox, and then quickly discovered that the first floor was actually one floor up- not the main floor. So we got in and took a rest, watched the movie Gia, with Angelina Jolie which I thought was very well done and waited for her to come home- I hadn't seen her in so long I almost didn't recognize her, but it was very nice to finally see her after all these years.

The next day, we wandered around Geneva (at this point I'd lost all track of time). We tried to make our way to the life-size chessboards we had found the day before- we ended up going for a nice little walk around the city and finally foudn the chessboards and played a game of chess. It wasn't too cold outside, but being outside and hardly moving for the duration of the game made us freeezzing. We made ourselves some sandwiches with stuff we had bought earlier from the grocery store (Switzerland is one of the more expensive European countries) and ate them inside a subway station as people walked by and said: "bon appetit". We fed a bit of left over bread to the birds by the water, explored a Swiss novelty shop, then decided to head into a department store for some warmth, bought some stationary and paper and found a cafe to write some letters! We bought some dinner at the grocery store and had dinner over the bottle of wine we bought in Frankfurt... mmm...

The next day we thought we'd make good use of our rail passes and took an 8 hour scenic train ride to Luzern, at the other end of Switzerland. We climbed the hills of Montreaux for a gorgeous view of the mountains. Although we only got to spend just over an hour in Luzern (its the journey not the destination, lol) Steph and I frantically searched for some rosti- kind of like a potatoe latke, but Steph to this day insists that they are not the same. After we found a place with a waterside view, I must still contend that the two are very similar, however, rosti, is mmm amazing, and sorry Steph, but I it was also my little mini hanakah celebration!!!. We walked up the bridge, enjoyed the view and headed back into the train station for a 3 hour ride back to Geneva (ironically so much shorter). Well the reason we rushed back was so we could meet Robyn at this waterside fondue place called Bain de Paquis. We had cheese fondue mixed with champange (Robyn said it was the best she's ever had) as she told us about her Saharan adventures and we told her about our trip so far.We then met some of her coworkers at the Demi Lune Cafe over hot wine. It was a very fun day, but exhausting!! zzzz

Our final day in Geneva was definitely one to remember. We woke up at a reasonable hour (9 or 10) and headed to the chess boards again! Only this time, we decided to take the shortcut route that we had taken the night before from the bar. We wound up on top of an overlooking hill in the old town and got to see the older side of Geneva. We walked through the campus (which is where the chess boards are) and got distracted by one of those carousel park things that spins round and round, whoops. We then played a pretty intense game of chess. We noticed as we were leaving (again, freezing in search of coffee) that the guy who had been watching us play was following us. Steph kept insisting that he was still looking at us, but we kept walking until abouta couple blocks later, he pulled up beside us. We quickly realized that he was a nice harmless guy and invited him along for coffee (he even treated us), we learned he was from Germany and he later offered to show us around the city. We told him we were headed to the museums- we osmehow stopped by the church and some other sites until he got the idea we weren't staying in the city long and weren't really interested. But he was a nice guy, we had good conversation, even though it didn't take long for Steph and I to realize how bad our French really was- although we know alot of words and bits and pieces thanks to the Canadian educational system and the Quebecois influence, we still have a bit of trouble forming coherent sentences. In fact, sometimes Hebrew comes out with mine, and Steph said the same thing happens with her and Spanish.

Anyways, after that whole adventure we headed back to Robyns place to meet Andrea and her brother Dustin and for a little hor d'eorves and some champagne before she took us out for dinner. We then stopped by Robyn's coworkers party at a posh place that looked like a beat up student hangout with class (it was a student bar) with books on the bookshelves. We tried to convince Dustin to join us in Interlaken, a ski and tourist resort that we were going to, but he just didn't wake up in time the next day!! hehe. Anyways I had a lot of fun that night nad it was nice getting to know everyone! I thought it was funny how Robyn thought that I was the adventurous cousin sleeping in airports and taking the longest overnight routes so we could sleep on the train rather than having to pay for a hostel, but in truth, Robyn's navagated through the Sahara desert, and moved to Geneva and has been travelling the world- I think that's pretty cool!!!! But if you're reading this, Robyn, thanks for a great time!!! We shall have to meet up soon, in some random European country maybe.

The next morning Robyn made us breakfast- matza and egg (I'm sorry I don't know the name... matza kugel?) and Steph and I headed to Interlaken once again to be stunned by the beautiful views. UPon arrival we immediately noticed how friendly our hostel staff and guests were- we stayed at Balmer's Lodge in Interlaken. TEhy gave us chocolate and a mousepad that says "I had a great time at Balmers". Steph and I wanted to take a boat ride of some sort that would have been free with our Eurail pass but however they run only on Sundays and there wasn't much we could do sinec it was already sunset so we cut our losses, bought some dinner at the co-op (grocery store) and relaxed for a bit. Now what made Balmer's so great was that it was so elaborate- pool and fooseball tables, club, bar, restaurant, amonst other things- it is world renowned and came highly recommended by Andrea. Steph and I went to the bar, got our two for one happy hour beers and chatted for a bit. After a while, when we were thinking of leaving, a couple of guys approached us asking if we were American- we told them we were Canadian and they were very nice guys from teh US army who were in Germany. Apparently they are officers and can take off work whenever they like so they were Skiing in Interlaken for a bit. We had fun speaking to them, had a little 'power drink' with them and after they went to bed, we met some Aussies who were very rowdy and probably very drunk. I won't mention all the details because there is a wide audience of people reading this but basically we walked into our hostel room and found a little aussie surprise in one of the other girl's bed. We didn't get much sleep that night becuase of that and other disturbances but hahah it was so histerical. (Mom don't worry, nothing bad happened at all)

The next day, Steph and I grabbed a bus and train after breakfast to the mountains (away from the wee little hills). Since we were on a tight budget and weren't properly dressed for skiing (we wore all our pants, and sweaters an shirts, 4 pairs of socks and running shoes), we decided to go sledding!!! Even the bus driver warned us that we'd be cold but when we arrived at the top of the mountain (by a shaky bus), it was surprisingly warm, and wonderfully picturesque. It was a beautiful day and I am so happy I got to go sledding in the alps. It was a 5k run down the mountain but we took 3 hours or so, taking our time and snapping photos. What a beautful day. We then headed back to Robyn's place (she offered us a place to stay even though she was in Verbier skiing- we couldn't join her as the train schedules didn't allow us to get back in time for our flight :( .

Now, the next day we almost missed our flight. We were supposed to get up at 6 or so but Steph didn't hear her alarm (neither did I of course) and I woke up at 8 or so and asked her what time it was. We ran out in an organized panic and caught the next bus, took the trian over to the airport and arrived at 9 for our 10 am flight.. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeew... that was scary, especially considering I was perfectly broke at this point lol.

We flew to Manchester and met Steph's friend Clare to join her and her family for Xmas. I had a very nice time, they were so sweet and I loved spending Christmas with them. We went out Christmas eve and met some of Clare's friends- as it is customary for the English to head to the pubs the night of the 24th. We woke up the next morning, or afternoon for Xmas brunch, before which we had some more alcohol, enough to have us a bit enubriated before lunch... but mmm i love turkey meals. We sat around the fire afterwards, played pub quiz and trivial pursuit (the British version, so of course I wasn't much help on some topics)- it was a great way to spend the holidays!

In Britain boxing day is not a day of shopping, but rather an extended day of Xmas so the trains were all closed so we took a bus back, which brings me back to my room at my laptop a little dazed, a little tired, writing to you. Now that my journey is over, I am certain that it is only the first of many more to come in my lifetime. During these last two weeks, and of course these last 3 and a half months, I have been fortunate enough to experience things and meet people that will have a lasting impact on the way in which I view life and the world. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same. After experiencing different cultures, different languages, my eyes have been opened to the myriad of perspectives of people all over the world. From sitting in a train to the French countryside, to sledding in the Alps, staying with different families, getting to know my own family, I have learned so many things about the world, and of course, myself.


Both Steph and I will readily affirm that our trip literally went off without a hitch. Although there were some minor obstacles along the way, we certainly proved a little improvisation, a little patience, and a little creativity goes a long way. Of course, perspective makes a difference, and our little glitches remained merely glitches, and the road remained smooth. I have to thank Steph (whether or not she reads this) for being an amazing and fun travel buddy, I'd do it again any day.

And now, it's time for the 2-3 weeks I've been most dreading, exams... I'm off to spend the next little while in studious isolation. Until next time I have learned to always remember, that every day is an adventure. xoxo.

Merry Chrismakah!!

Hi!

I am at Steph's old friend Clare's house in Manchester UK. So much has happened in the last few days that I don't quite have the time at the moment to write all about it but I just wanted to let you all know that no, I have not fallen off of the face of the earth into obscurity, although I could have easily fallen off of the Swiss Alps (probably almost did at some point). Our trip seems to have gone well, without a single hitch (aside from a few minor obstacles here and there haha) I will keep you posted shortly within a couple days or so, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannakah!!!

Brussels->Basel->Bern->Interlaken->Geneva

Today definitely seemed to reiterate the phrase: "it's the journey, not the destination..." In fact, the more random and sporadic the journey, the better the destination.

We left Anna's around 650 am this morning, managing to stumble out of bed before the hours of daylight and Terry was so nice to drive us to teh station. Our train to Basel actually was a direct route that passes through France, which is not allowed on our select pass of `Germany, Belgium and Switzerlnd so Steph and I were very nervous for our journey. Well the French customs checked us twice, yet said nothing on either occassion. wheeew. We passed through the French countryside- Strasbourg included, which was very scenic, and was a nice backdrop for some journal writing, sleeping and conversation. I find train rides to be very peaceful actually, because my thoughts are usually running through my head at the speed of a train- perhaps they seem to balance eachother out somehow along the way. The morning passed by so quickly, as we arrived in Basel at 130. We originally thought that Basel was at the southern tip of Germany, but we realized very shortly after arriving that we were, in fact, in Switzerland... We thought we'd take a nice route to Geneva- thought it might be a good idea to do the golden route from Luzern to Interlaken to Montreaux but we decided to save that for another day. Instead we took a train to Interlaken, which means in between 2 lakes because that is literally what it is and as soon as i stepped out of the train i felt myself out of balance with the huge overwhelming mountains in the background- it was literally like stepping off onto a mountain. It was just such an incredibly unstabilizing but very cool experience. In fact, these we just baby hills in comparison to the rest of the mountains.... wow.. And the fresh air was like nothing i've ever breathed- so crisp and clean, I can't even begin to describe...

On the way to Bern, whcih was on the way to Interlaken, excuse my lack of organization, it is 2am, but on route to Bern we met a very interesting older man named Martin in the dining car. He had basically started up development projects for mining all over the world, Australia, Siberia... etc. and speaks 10 languages, 6 fluently, and has citizensip in 4 countries..wow... he was very nice to chat with over lunch- steph and I ddecided to splurge a little on a light lunch and a beer. The scenery just completely enriched the whole experience.

We did eventualy make it to Geneva- en route we were in a car with 5 obnoxiously loud teenagers and a screaming and crying baby, and the train to Geneva was so crowded (rush hour i presume). Nevertheless, we made it alright to my cousin Robyn's place, and having a great time. It is so nice to see her considering that she used to live in the states so we never really saw eachother too often. I'm not so sure what will happen these next few days, but then again, the more spontaneous, the better.

Bruges

If you only had 24 hours left to live your life, how would you spend it? You may spend it travelling, with your loved ones, or perhaps doing everything you've always intended to do but never got around to. I for one, would probably spend it travelling, or writing, and certainly with my family and friends. These past 3 months I've spent abroad and travelling have showed me that we should not live on these 'intentions'. It is inexcusable to say that you intended to email someone, meant to send someone a Christmas card, or meant to return that call. As the years go by, something as simple as forgetting to send a friendly email accumulates into something along the lines of, oh I meant to keep in touch with that person, but I just didnt. Before I send myself off on a tangent, the point is that life is just far too short to put things off. I've noticed often when travelling that I've had thoughts of, oh I'll just have to come back to Berlin or Brussels and do this next time, but the fact of the matter is, if we spend our whole lives putting things off for tomorrrow, being too lazy or lacking ambition and initiative to do the things we want to do, we will have never really lived at all! Although I feel like I'm contradicting myself by dancing around the point here, it's just so hard to perfectly articulate, but whether you have 24 hours, 24 days, or even 24 years, there is never enough time to do everything you want to do, so it seems foolish to ever wait for the next time. It's all in the little things (cliches are cliches because they are true).Otherwise you'll be busy wondering how 24 hours turned into 24 days, and then 24 years.....

On that note, I sent my parents some Belgian chocolates today from Bruges and I guess this means that I have already ruined the surprise... Bruges is a small town, about a half an hour away from Brussels. It is an old, Renaissance town that is almost entirely full of tourists. There are cute little chocolate shops, horse-drawn carriages, and of course, a bicycle rental place, as there seems to be all over Europe. We spent the majority of the day walkíng around, enjoying chocolates and the scenery. Well I should admit that we spent quite a while in the train station reserving our complex route to Geneva tomorrow. Apparently, Europe closes down on Mondays so all the eurail backpackers have opted to spend their Monday on a train- all the seats on our desired route were full. But don't worry, we booked the next viable alternative, it is just unfortunate that the train leaves at 7 am.... oy vey.... Anyways we bought some chocolates, still havent finished them. Steph and I got these sort of round Belgian donuts with at least a cup of icing sugar on them wrapped in a paper cone. There was a looooooooot of sugar there, mostly ended up all over us with all the bumping around inthe crowded square of tourists. there are before, during and after photos of Steph eating her donut... she turned her face into a tourist attraction (I helped). Anyways, we made it back to Brussels alright intime for dinner with Anna, Elisabeth, Terry and Jamie, and two rounds of desert!!!!! mmm definitely not backpacking anymore!!!! Iø'd like to give them a very very special mention for their wonderful hospitality, this will certainly be one of the best and most memorable parts of our trip! so thank u!

A La Bruxelles

So it is my third day here in Brussels, and it is already proving to be quite a contrast from the rest of our journey. We arrived miday Wednesday at Annas, and slept until 5pm, because we were just that tired from having gotten so little sleep the night before on the train. We had dinner with Annas family, who have just been so sweet and welcoming and watched a film, well Anna, Nicole and Steph did, I just passed out.

Yesterday, Friday, we spent the day wandering around Bruxelles, a guided tour, of course, courtesy of Anna. We saw the Royal Place, the beautiful Grand Place, all the chocolate shops (there are many of them), the famed fountain where a 5 year old boy got lost in the city and was found by his father who caught him in a compromising position- peeing of course, and thus a replica statue has been erected there in his honour out of his father's gratitude. We stopped at a cafe outside a really posh hotel with beautiful scenery. IT was pretty well a walking tour of the city, saw a lot of things, but of course, at an entirely more relaxed pace than what STeph and I had been used to in Germany. AH, the joys of NOT being a tourist....

That night we cooked dinner for the family, made chicken fajitas and tacos- I was quite impressed myself, and Anna, Steph, Nicole and I headed for a night out on the town. We first went to a local univeristy pub, wait, Anna is yelling at me over my shoulder- its THE school pub. where Anna introduced us to some of her friends. I had my first taste of Belgian beer- Jupiler. We then took a cab, where I had a 'power nap' to our next bar, called Delirium. THey had 2004 varieties of beer, even from Canada. I tried a variety of Belgian beers on tap- STraberry flavoured, apple flavoured, peach flavoured. ALl those were great, but I didn't particularly like the Delirium beer- I could not finish it. Additionally, not to give you a bad impression of the bar or the city at all, but Nicole asked for 3 peach beers but got something else, so when Anna ordered a round, she enunciated the word peach, even said it in French, peche. THe bartender asked her where she was from, although she is from Denmark, she has actually lived in Belgium for 18 years (but of course the bartender didn't know that). The bartender said to her: "Well I don't know how they do it in Denmark, but in Belgium we say please" and then he flashed her an insincere and according to Steph, a 'vile' smile. Well Anna made it a point to say thank you after he brought her those beers...how rude. TO make it worse, Steph asked if her beer was supposed to have 2/3rds foam on top of it. Rather than answering her, that same bartender resentfully yanked the glass from her hand and filled it up some more, handed it back to her, pointing at all the advertisements of foamy beers on the wall and stating rudely in his French accent, that "this is the way de Belgian Beer is served". What a sweetheart...... It was a fun night out, came home sometime after 3, don't really remember but for that reason we decided to postpone our day trip to Bruges until tomororw, which turned out to be a wise choice considering that it rained all day today.

Nicole, Steph and I went to the museum of Modern Art today. Sadly, Steph and I only got through the 19th centruty and 14th-15th century exihibits in about 3 hours. THere was just so much to see and appreciate and the time just flew by. But what was most interesting to see was how much art had changed in just 400 years, from being completely religiously based, to the romantic gothic era, to the abstract impressionism we see today. I think the whole idea of modern art lacks a sound institutional basis- it is rarely concerned with politics, religion- mostly landscape, portraits, and other such abstractions. As well,STeph and I were noting how it is only recently that facial features have become more pronounced and developed in art. AS well, I couldnt' help but notice some Hebrew scripture in a Christian painting, and I wondered why I didn't see a single 'Jewish' painting, but I figure that must be because so many synagogues and cultural artifacts were probably destroyed during the pogroms and religious persecutions. Anyways, it's always nice to visit a museum for a day, makes me want to take up painting, although if you do visit, make sure you give yourself a full day....

Anyways after our museum visit, we got some waffles from the street vendor (like hot dogs in Toronto). I must say it was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. AS a side note, Nicole got to visit a museum where you walk aroundw ith headphones and hear a whole mosaic of instruments playing as you approach the displays. So little time, so much to do...

Steph and I wandered around into the chocolate shops- looked amazing, I intend to send some home and ventured into the Grand Place for the most spectacular musical and lighting display. In the square there are some old buildings, a church, a museum and many shops, with a Christmas tree in the middle. THere were lights coming from all corners, shining on the buildings, and bubbles coming from the Christmas tree, and images of snowflakes and reindeer on buildings and colour changing lights. IT was almost like a magical fairytale- so gorgeoys with jazz music in the background. WOw...

Just had dinner with Anna's family, with wine and music of course, which was so nice and delicious (especially desert). Tomorrow we should be heading to Bruge, an old town in Belgium. My experience here so far has been so different, in the sense that I am probably getting a more true sense of Europe by not spending my time as a tourist running amock. Belgium is a mix of Dutch and French in language and culture, with a hint of German. THe flag very closely resembles the German flag, but according to Anna, they don't like to talk about it. WIth cobblestone roads, old, gothic architecture, the city is so full of statues and history, and of course so much culture, but yet still modern. It is definitely on my list of favourite places, for food, culture, and scenery alike.

Well that is all for me now, I hope I haven't forgotten anything too entertaining, but if I have, I'll try to remember for next time! Anna keeps correcting my blog for details, spelling and grammar,.... this doesn't feel like a vacation anymore.... justkidding...Cheers and Happy Hannakah!

From London, to Frankfurt, to Berlin, to Brussels!

Hello!!!

I am now at Anna's place in Brussels with a PROPER keyboard, so hopefully there will not be as many spelling mistakes as the last entry....

We arrived in Frankfurt Sunday morning, and spent Monday there as well. The hostel was rather nice, except there was one guy in our room who was always there and seemed so sketchy, but seemed like a nice guy regardless. We woke up Monday morning, after a very nice, long sleep to make up for our 'woodstock'-like experience at the airport all sprawled out with the other travellers. We checked out of the hostel, stored our bags there, and headed out for the day. The first thing we did was walk through the park, saw the Bethoven statue- although I am unsure of the significance, and went up to the 54th floor of the central tower. It was so windy up there I thought I was going to get blown off the tower, but we got a very picturesque panoramic view, snapped a couple of photos, and got a better geographical understanding of where we were going. At some point in the day, we visited the local Klein (smal)market and bought a really nice bottle of wine from a really sweet and adorable Italian vendor. He insisted we try some balsamic vinegar, and gave us a small flute shot..mm... he even threw in a corkscrew for free... aw I can't wait to go to Italy! We alsovisited the restored church in Frankfurt- quite nice. Very brown.

That day we also noticed how there are all these DB (a rail company) bicycles scattered throughout the city. Apparently you can just call a number and they will unlock the peddles and you can ride it through the city for an alotted amount of time. Although the weather wasn't kind enough for us to give it a go, we headed into the city to find some lunch and a post office, where I mailed my parents a nice postcard! For lunch we ate at a rather posh spot in the middle of the outdoor shopping center (no malls here in Europe) under a heater. We walked around some more, walked through the Christmas market and went for crepes and cappachinos at a place with a view of the market. Deciding that we were too tired and weary to keep walking around, we headed back to the hostel, with a detour around the entire couple blocks of the red light district immediately adjacent to our hostel (without any exaggeration whatsoever..) and wondered how there could be enough good looking women to fill all those live shows. Steph said she'd heard a show announcer through her wall in the hostel the night before- sweet dreams? just kidding. Anyways, headed back up to the hostel, decided to write (I boughta journal) and relax. We met a few guys, one from Brazil, one from the US, and I am not so sure about the other. He offered us some of his German beer, and I got into the most interesting conversation with him. He told us he had a flat in Amsterdam because some guy wanted to grow some marijuana in his name, so he's technically the owner and can stay whenever he wants. ALthough he offered Steph and I a place to stay there, I think we'll explore other options when that time comes... But he was the most intruiging man- had spent the last couple of years travelling the world, and gave us hints on where to go- highly recommended Cambodia, says there are more 711s in Thailand than the US. He left me with 2 recommended pieces of literature- RObert Frost- Road Not Taken (one of my favourites) and a song by the Greatful Dead- Throwing Stones. As well, we had an in depth discussion about global warming- he said to me that the idea used to depress him, but lately he's been looking out the windows and seeing the green in December,and thinking that perhaps it isn't so bad after all- it is all a part of evolution. I sat and thought about it, and it seemed to me quite a reasonable approach, although very interesting considering that i am studying for an exam on th effects of climate change that I will be writing in January... Although I am not necessarily inclined to agree, it's something to think about, especially considering I have not seen any snow throughout the duration of this trip... HE said his daughter was coming to visit him from California, that he hadn't seen her in years, because there was some law put into place when Bush came into presidency and hasn't been able to go home since :( He told me to google his name and the word cannabis, and then I'd know who he really was. I haven't had the chance to do that yet, but his story was so touching and I couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the night....

We headed that night from Frankfurt to Berlin overnight by train. ALthough the journey takes only 4 or so hours by a high speed train, travelling overnight seemed a better and cheaper alternative to staying in a hostel so we took a lower class train that lasted 7 hours or so. THe chairs were so comfortable and cool- a curvy sloped chair that reclines. I found it pretty comfortable, aside from the fact that Steph kept waking me up because she was nervous we'd miss our stop. THat hasn't happened yet. We arrived in Berlin in the morning, found our train, then bus to our hostel- found the place pretty well- THe Meninger Hostel- very nice hostel- the y have locations in other parts of Europe. We put our stuff in our room, went grocery shopping and headed out for the day.

We realized there was a free, and a highly recommended tour available at 1. We barely made it there after taking 2 buses trying to find the group. I must say that the tour was amazing. Our guide was so enthusiastic and sweet- he must have spoken for 3 hours in total!!! SInce they don't get paid, they make money only from tips- so of course the go the extra mile! We started off at Brandenburg Gate near the Adlon HOtel (where Michael Jackson's baby dangling incident took place), saw the remnants of the BErlin Wall in the ground, walked through the new Holocaust Memorial (put up in 2005), which is made of a couple thousands of tombstone-like pillars arranged in rows and of different heights (will show pictures soon). It's supposed to resemble the obstacles faced by the Jews anmd the growing anti-semitism in Germany- dedicated to all those murdered in the Holocaust. Controversially, the monmument is covered in a synthetic protective layer- manufactured by a company that also made the gas-chamber gas in WWII- as a 'reparation' they coated the monumnet for free... how you interpret this gesture is up to you. We then saw Hitler's Bunker, the ugly Czech Embassy, the Berlin Wall, and a famous German Choclatier, as well as the centre of the city which is full of museums (museum island), memorials, churches, etc, that I couldn't possibly go in to them all. As well we saw the university in Berlin where 29 nobel prizes have been won- home to Einstein, Marx, etc. I forget what it is called exactly, I will have to look it up to you- but was also the site for the infamous book burning.

THe tour had pretty much exhausted us, we wandered around the city trying to find a toilet and had a coffee. We then tried to find the pub crawl that apparently everyoen talks about, but didn't really find it so we had a drink at this nice Mexican bar , which was fun. We thought it would then be wise to go to bed and wake up early the next day. Although we slightly overslept, we spent Tuesday at Sachenhausen, a concentration camp located in the outskirts of Berlin. We did a tour through the same company, and I found it to be highly worthwhile. It's one thing to read and learn about the Holocaust through books, and second-hand accounts, but an entirely different experience to see it for yourself.

Although Dakau was the first one built, Sachenhausen was designed as a model concentration camp, an example for the rest that would follow. Its central feature is its triangular design. AT the top of the triangle stoood the gate, marked by the words- "work shall set you free" (in german- ironic) equipped with a machine gun, that could reach every single possible spot in between bunkers, which were laid out in rows of three around a semi-circle. It reminded me of Foucault's panopticon- a perfect surveillance system with a high level of deterrance. Since the prisoner has no idea when he is being watched, he must assume that he is always being watched, whereas the guard only has to keep sporadic watch. In fact, so many things about the concentration camp were entirely arbitrary. In the center remains a memorial in place of the gallows, where people were hung depending on the guards' liking, and were made an example of. In fact, one prisoner who had tried to escape had failed- he was electricuted by the fence. The guards left him hanging there, blackening, burning, and rotting for 3 days, just to make an example out of him. We learned about the standing barracks, where some prisoners were made to stand all day, without moving, sometimes outside if it was raining or snowing. We went inside bunker 38, saw the blue and white pinstriped uniform, some bunks, the toilets, and sinks, where apparently some prisoners were drowned by guards. There was also a special prison for VIP convicts. Some prisoners were also hung by their arms over their back (just to make it more painful) and beaten. At the back, in line with the gate, there is a memorial that was put up during communist Germany immediately following the war. APparently the artist had to redesign the centrepiece 3 times until the prisoner did not look like he weighed 87 pounds and had been entirely dehumanized. We saw the shooting barrack- where prisoners were taken to be shot during the early extermination phase, as well as the place where they were gased, or examined by a 'doctor' to see if they had any fillings, and were 'weighed' so they could be shot in the head by a guard who never even saw their face with loud music blaring in the background so no one around could hear, and of course, an oven at the end of the line... THe gas chambers were later developed as a "final solution' a quicker, more efficient method to exterminate the Jews. We also saw the site where grusome medical experiments were conducted- inflicting infections or Hepititus in adults and children in order to try and find a cure, which they never did find. Some prisoners were even killed immediately because the autopsy doctor liked to collect tattoos- those who had them were killed for 'sport', so to speak. Anyways, there are so much more details to mention, but I must stress that although we said never again, parallel atrocities are occuring even in our generation- Rawanda, Darfur... China... The guides message to us, was to make us realize and see what ordinary human beings are capable of. A psychological study randomly assigned people the roles of prisoner and guard- the study got out of hand within a week. Look at Stanley Milgram's studies in the mid 1900s- people deliver shocks to other human beings simply because they are told to, despite that the person on the receiving end is clearly in pain! Although we deny it, of course, human beings are certainly capable of such horrible things... My visit to Sachenhausen was an enriching experience, felt so daunting and gloomy all day walking through the camp. Like I said, it's one thing to watch a video, another to see a piece of their shoe, or their clothing, to stand on the site where it all happened. I highly recommend visiting a camp- I'd like to see Auschwitz sometime.

When we got back to central Berlin, we visited the holocaust museum, which actually exits right into the memorial- quite spooky after dark. The museum had a room in which the name of a victim was flashed on all 4 walls, while a 30 second biography was recited- courtesy of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. To recite the names and stories of all victims (not all have yet been named), would take over 6 years... wow.

We also visited the Reichstag, which was an interesting experience considering the events of the day. A parliament building erected in the spirit of democracy, from the top, we could see people being led through various security checkpoints by guards.... very eerie, reminded me of a concentration camp almost. But the view from the top was beautiful. There is a spiral that ascends in the dome all the way to the top, with the congress in view below. After that, we headed to the train station to board our way to Belgium!

The train was over 30 minutes late, we were placed in a cabin with 4 other people, quite different from our previous overnight train experience. The first guy we met was an American who had been travelling for over 4 years. He gave us quite a stare which scared us a bit- looked a bit strange, but didn't bother us. Another guy was aloof, in and out of the train, reading Kafka and bobbing his head rhythmically and passionately to his music... hehe. One quiet guy was headed to Brussels, the other guy was French, and very nice, we got to chat with him a bit while the others went for a smoke. According to Steph, the sleep on this train was worse than our night in the Airport, although I'd disagree. I did sleep alright, a little uncomfortable. We arrived at 6 am, earlier than expected, despite that the train was 30 mins or so late. We grabbed some breakfast at a cafe in the station, and crashed on the benches for a couple hours, and were woken up by an officer and his big guard dog who brushed his nose against my leg, and told us we couldn't sleep there. We sat up and fell back asleep soon on top of our bags like the guy in front of us. We couldn't get ahold of Anna, but we took a bus/tram over to her place (by the way, Europe seems to have an honour system with short-distance bus and train tickets- we are hardly ever checked..). We eventually found it and were greeted with smiles, hugs, coffee, and chocolate!! Hopefully the next couple of days will prove far less hectic and more relaxing than our previous ones.

Steph has just looked the guy up- apparently he is a huge marijuana activist in the states (no surprise there) and is wanted for 10yrs up to life in prison for growing marijuana- sought asylum in Western Canada, and apparently we've found him. Still, quite a remarkable story. Well that's all for me and my sore fingers now!!! I will leave you with those Greatful Dead Lyrics.



Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face.
But afraid, we may our home to waste.
Theres a fear down here we cant forget hasnt got a name just yet
Always awake, always around singing ashes to ashes all fall down.
Now watch as the ball revolves and the nighttime calls
And again the hunt begins and again the bloodwind calls
By and by again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some mens eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets
Stalking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat, you and me, you and me.
Click, flashblade in ghetto night. rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley roll them bones. need that cash to feed that jones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Commissars and pin-striped bosses role the dice
Any way they fall guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray, selling guns instead of food today.
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirits sleeping, then the flesh is ink.
Historys page, it is thusly carved in stone
The futures here, we are it, we are on our own.
If the game is lost then were all the same
No one left to place or take the blame.
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or this shinning ball of blue we can call our home
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians are throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south while white comes north
And the whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashions set the pace.
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical he rant and rage, singing someone got to turn the page
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone
But his pants are down, his covers blown
And the politicians are throwing stones
So the kids they dance they shake their bones
Cause its all too clear were on our own
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Its dizzying, the possibilities. ashes, ashes all fall down.

Greetings from Deutschland!!

Wow, at internet cafe here in Frankfurt Germany. weird keyboard- y is misplaced somewhere in exchange 4 z (theyre reversed).... recap so far:

Friday Night; flat x mas dinner with block A- 12 ppl then fruity xmas party- not so good- impossible to move.. bed at 3 or 330 am..

Wake up next day at 6am- finish packing, shower, almost forgot camera

730 am- arrive at stephs flat shes not ready so i make peanut butter sandwiches

823- oy were late.. lucky enough to catch cab with a girl named suzzane- supposed to go to bus station- or so we thought- had to rush over to train station to catchmegabus- made it in just the nick of time. steph had a heart attack..

9-130- megabus, so hot so uncomfortable...looong.. finallly arrive at victoria station, grab a map and head to Buckingham palace, sit, eat, watch tourists snap 50 million photos-beautiful sunset at 330 pm lol.. walked through st. james park, birds, more tourists, joggers...walked to big ben and decided to trek to london bridge with our backpacks and one suitcase on wheels- took us a lot longer than we thought- 2 or 3 hours.. but its the journey not the destination.... then had a coffee break at the train, took a train back to victoria station to find out theres a victoria greenline station when we re supposed to be at the victoria coach sttion... another close call..

we take bus to stanstead airport- looking for somewhere to sleep.. all the benches are taken by all these backpackers camping out all over the place at the airport- we settle for the heaters only i didnt know it was a heater till i was freezing for an hour because mine was broken- needless to say, did not sleep tooo well... but was quite the experience

woke up at 530 am checked in, got searched, got peanut butter taken away because i forgot it was in my backpack..oh well. i slept through take off until landing, woken up only by steph taking photos over me out the plane window of the pretty sunrise

arrive in frankfurt at 1030 am.... need to get to central bus station- hauptenhauf- 12 euro coach ride- its actuallz an hour and a half away! ryanair flight was soo cheap because it was in the middle of nowhere#!!! it turns out it wasn#t even the central airport we arrived at

nap on bus, get to train station- reserve seats for berlin, brussels, activate eurail pass!! walked through citz, saw goethe statue, giant euro monument in the middle of the city- verz random----- we#re in the stay and learn hostel- reallz really nice place... went to the xmas market tonight- the whole citz is literallz turned into a giant xmas market- had bratworst, roasted chesnuts, went on merrz go round (an accident hahaha).. ate a giant pretzel- saw a kid eat one- it was bigger than him, and of course, a coffee break at starbucks!! soooo nice here! more walking around to do tomorrow!! will have to go, sorrz for fragmented entry.. hope its readable.... danke to u for reading!! xoxo

School Disco

Wow let me just start off by saying how so very glad I am that I went on exchange. It is absolutely by far the best thing I have ever done in my life and I encourage anyone even thinking about it to go pursue it (yay Elana!) To just think that Steph almost didn't even apply because it seemed like too much paperwork (she handed it in right at the last minute)!!! But I'm also talking about life in general- if there's something you want to do, don't make excuses, DO IT!! (ahem, vegas ladies of hamilton)

Well I am just writing to say what a fun last few days it has been. The University School Disco party was so much fun (we even took an E block 3 'class' photo with the girls across the hall), I worked at Oceana last night (voted best club at Leeds- and may I say, by far). I'm down to my very last lecture this semester in an hour, and exams are a month away- but I have been doing a bit of 'revising' as they call it.

Tonight block A and E are doing a joint xmas dinner (if we can get a table lol) and then heading to the University XMas party. Tomororw morning, I'm off to London and then off to the land of Europe!!! I will try to write as I go along but I may or may not have internet access, but I'm sure we are bound to get lost and run into all sorts of trouble/problems along the way... whoops! Stay Tuned...

An Entry Sprinkled With Love

Although the weekend is half over, I've accomplished so much I thought I'd document it. (note: "so much" may or may not be sarcasm: up to your discretion ;).

Anyways, I thought I'd spend last night studying in my room, however, Anna bought these speed dating tickets for Halo from someone in the building. On top of that, it was Keven's birthday, and Sophie and Anna, made him dinner, got him a present (a football/soccer shirt), and socks lol (what's an xmas with socks?) a card, and got him an amazing cheesecake (I kind of helped lol- again, sarcasm?) Anyways, people kept calling him and we couldn't bring him the cake because he kept leaving the kitchen. Finally, Sophie and I lit the candles and just as we opened Sophie's bedroom door he was walking by... by the time he actually got around to letting us give him the cake and sing happy birthday, the cake had 'sprinkles' on it because the melted wax was dripping from the candle onto the cake. But I am glad he liked it!

Back to the speed dating, by the time we left the flat and arrived at Halo we had already missed the speed dating, but never mind, we still paid less than everyone else to get in the club. We had a few drinks, a good time, lots of dancing in a very crowded nightclub church- I headed home early (1:30- yes this is early for people here on a Friday night) to go to bed since I had to work this morning.

In order to keep up with my lucrative traveling habits, I now work for a company that hires temporary bar and waitressing staff (something along those lines), so I spent this morning working pulling pints at the Leeds United stadium (yes people were drinking at 11 am). Not only did I get to be a bartender of some sort, I even got my first glimpse at a live football match!! They pay pretty well when you factor in the exchange rate. Fun! but it was sooo cold!!!

I've done a bit of readings for classes, but I got distracted in the kitchen hahaha, anways, Europe is in 7 days, and me being in trouble for exams happens in about a month!! Now, because my mom is reading this, I will say that I am kidding- I'm sure I'll be fine, we are bringing some stuff with us to study- (again: sarcasm?)- but to show you how serious we are, we may only be bringing a backpack for 2 weeks or so and still managing to bring some school papers along for the ride ;)... I am somehow doing quite well so far, good results on everything I've submitted up to this point, whew!

Oh, and on the way back from work on the bus I got a chance to appreciate the true beauty of English Christmases. The lights here (which I will have to take a photo of) are just sooo festive and gorgeous!

And.. Happy Hannakah/Channaka! (as my flatmats say...) with mucho grande love.

and photos aren't uploading :( check facebook soon