There is so much that went into pre-departure, that it seemed discouraging at times. I was worried that by the time I finished stressing out about leaving, I wouldn’t even have the energy to go anywhere! Luckily, I survived all of the tedious planning and packing (and repacking) , endless airport lines, and what seemed like never-ending flights — and now I’m in London! Wait what? I’m super excited to be here finally, but jet-lag is no joke. Hopefully I get my energy back soon, so I can make the best of this experience.

Attempting to arrange plans so that my travel to London was efficient proved to be a harder task then anticipated. I not only packed my bag once, but three times more towards my impending flight, each time realizing that I need to take out items I really didn’t need. I also managed to go to the store 6+ times in need of items that I neglected to retrieve my first time around within 4 days of my flight out to London.

After getting to the Airport it would seem that the journey was still managing to be difficult. Getting through security for once had been easy, only taking a mere 15 minutes to complete. However when arriving at our gate my travelling partner and I learned we would not be seated next to one another on either of our flights, and had to sit in the middle both times next to individuals we didn’t know. With this too, I met a fellow of mindful cheer, that told me of his family and dreams of further travel. I learned he had two kids,  little  boy and a little girl, he was journeying to Lebanon to see his family for the first time in 5 years; he proved to be of excellent company.

Overall the workings, and flight towards London was  manageable, further pictures and stories of London are soon to come!

Courtney T.

I am so excited! I leave for London tomorrow. This is my first trip out of the country. I am a bit nerves and very happy that I am travailing with friends.

¡Hola, compañeros!

Two weeks down and I seem to be coming out of the “adjustment period.” After an extremely disorienting week where I was bombarded by a new language, new customs, and new people, I finally feel like I’m starting to find my place in this beautiful country.

The adjustment, which began after a long conversation with a friend who is somehow always able to remind me who I really am, continued with persistent effort. It’s been important for me to make time for the things that center and ground me, the things that bring me back to myself. Coming to a new place, where nothing is familiar and there is no comfort zone to cling to, I’ve felt like it would be easy to lose myself in the abyss of the unknown. I don’t always handle change very gracefully.

Yet the tools work!

And sometimes, time just takes time.

With the help of my camera and a conscientious effort to remain positive, life has taken on a familiar rhythm. I’m beginning to find a new comfort zone, one within myself. In the mornings, I follow a regular routine. I wake up, brush my teeth, get dressed, and then go to the kitchen where my host mom has prepared breakfast. After a quick plate of fresh fruit and coffee, I head to the bus stop, where I will catch a bus for a meditative, hour-long bus ride to the university. Now when I smile at people, they smile back (or perhaps they always did… I hear attitude shapes experience, so who knows). I spend 4 hours in Spanish class and now when I leave, I don’t feel completely drained and like I need an immediate nap. In fact, I can talk in Spanish for hours and not get tired! Usually, I return home for comidas and then head to the local coffee shop to get on my homework. Sometimes I spend time in El Centro with my tutoras, touring the local art museum and learning more about Mexican history.

This past weekend the study abroad group took an eventful trip to De Jefe (Ciudad de México), where Murphy’s Law was in full effect. First, we spent hours lost in the pyramids of Teotihuacan and afterward some students got food poisoning from the chicken at a local restaurant (which is just one more reason I love being a vegetarian!).

That evening, we were unable to reach our hotel because of the protest that was blocking the doors. We finally made it to our hotel, but the next day, during a trip to the Palacio Nacional, one of the badges for our group went missing, and the armed guards wouldn’t let us leave! Apparently the badges are a National Security issue, (not enough for them to keep track of the numbers or anything, but enough for them to keep us trapped for an indefinite period of time). Eventually, after about an hour and a half hanging out in the jardín, they let us leave. I still don’t know if they found the badge, realized it was a miscount, or were just waiting us out to see if one of would break and admit we had thrown it away, but we were relieved and hungry!

After that fun time, we visited the Museo de Frida Kahlo, which one of the students missed because of a nice trip to the hospital to get 13 stitches after she cut her leg on a spear (Yes, a spear — another student had bought it as a souvenir for her family), and then, when the student finally got back from the hospital, our bus wouldn’t start. It was fun to watch a tour bus get a jump from a taxi. Ultimately the adventure, which started in frustration, ended in our laughter and complete acceptance that we just couldn’t control things.

So later that night when we couldn’t catch a taxi and had to walk home, we just enjoyed the walk.

It’s been a beautiful, messy, painful experience learning to let go and enjoy the ride; to let things be what they are and to learn to trust myself to handle whatever comes up.

I’m feeling ready for the next adventure!

This week I had the opportunity to participate in the Palio and all the festivities leading up to the huge horse race. The Palio happened on Thursday and during my entire stay there have been events leading up to the Palio but starting Monday is when the big events started happening. On Monday the people on the board of the Palio chose 10 horses of the 17 that were brought to Siena to tryout for their chance to race in the Palio. Of those 10 horses they assign one horse to each contrada competing. As I mentioned previously only 10 of the 17 contrade compete, they have previously tried to get all 17 to compete but it ended up being too many horses on the small track they use in the Piazza del Campo. Once the horses are assigned to their contrada, based on the horse’s reputation, the contrade pool their money to buy a promising jockey to win them the race. People donate large sums of money to the pot that is used as the winning prize and the money is known to go up to a couple hundred thousand dollars or more. Four days prior to the Palio they hold practice races and parades celebrating their contrada. On the day of the race people start piling into the Piazza del Campo as early as 5 am and they see the Campo has been transformed from a normal square where people hang out in to a horse track with hauled in dirt and fences. At the race they close the doors around 7pm and the race starts at 7:45 pm. When they close the doors, they lock everyone inside the middle of the track and this means there is no bathroom and no exit until the race has come to an end. The jockeys are blessed the morning of the Palio and after that, they cannot be replaced. At the start of the race the police escort the man carrying the horse line up to the announcer and there the order is announced and the horses are put into place. At this particular Palio the contrade with good horses got horrible placement in the line up, which meant no one was happy. There was one contrada that doesn’t have any enemies and he kept refusing to get in the line up, staling the race because he was most likely paid off and didn’t want to create any enemies for the contrada. The man in charge of lining up the horses kept relining them up and the jockeys kept getting out of order trying to change places at the last minute. If the race is stalled long enough, at sun down they stop the race and will continue it the following day. Lucky for us, they finally were lined up and started the race. The race consists of a small track and only going around three times. After about the first lap a man next to me was screaming and crying, they take this race very seriously. The group of us happened to be standing in between two enemy contrade, one of which, was known to have an excellent horse and a promising chance of winning the race. Upon the completion of the race, a fight between these two contrade broke out because the contrade with the promising horse won the race and the other contrada were outraged. Everyone started to back away and the fight was broken up and another fight broke out. After everything was said and done I was so appreciative to have the opportunity to attend the Palio and have access to the explanations behind everything. The Palio would not have meant as much without knowing the information behind it all. It was a great experience that allowed me insight into the Sienese culture. Here are some pictures from the Palio and how crazy packed it gets in the Piazza del Campo.

The packed Piazza del Campo

A picture of the Palio (which is also what the win) The Palio is a painting on cloth.

The ceremonial horses

I survived the trip, and I have no idea how! It was my first time traveling by myself, let alone internationally, and in Portland my flight gate was changed twice, in Atlanta the boarding process was postponed hallway through because of a thunder storm, and on the plane about two hours before landing in Barcelona there was a man who stopped breathing and didn’t have a pulse! He is ok now, thankfully. Needless to say, I was relieved to be on solid ground. I met one of my roommates as soon as I got out of customs and baggage, and it turns out we were on the same exact flight! When we got to our apartment, both of us were pleasantly surprised. It was much larger than we had anticipated, we had a washer and dryer, two bathrooms, terraces for each of the bedrooms, a fully equip kitchen, and a lovely sitting/dining area. It looks as if they had just designed and decorated for our stay. We settled in for a few ours, and eventually our other two roommates, who are sisters from Australia, showed up. They unpacked a few of their things and then we set out to find the metro so we could make it to our 3 o’clock orientation (we were a tad late). After a few powerpoint presentations we were brought to the city center for a tour. Despite how incredibly tired I was from traveling, I felt myself falling in love with the city already!

The next day was our academic orientation, which included some presentations and then a bus trip down to the beach and a marvelous Paella lunch! Then we were free to wander the waterfront. It was so gorgeous and the water felt amazing. After another long day of walking, everyone was feeling pretty burnt out, so the next few days were filled with mild exploration and relaxation. I saw a few major landmarks, including La Sagrada Familia (which is right next to my apartment), the Arc de Triomf, Las Ramblas street, and a few others. I already know that this trip is going to be amazing 🙂

Barcelona!!

Tomorrow, I fly out to Ireland! I’m kinda nervous, as I never really have traveled before. I’ve only been out of the country twice, which were both to Canada. In addition, my dad accompanied me. Now, I’m sorta on my own to make my own decisions. One thing that I’m already concerned about is making sure that I bring enough with me. I have one big bag for clothes, a smaller one for various things, and a backpack to take me with across the country. Despite my nervousness, I am excited to go, and I’m really looking forward to what I will experience. My next challenge is to survive the flight, so wish me luck!

This week was just a mix of bad and amazing.  I will start with the bad first.  Then end on a happier note.

Last weekend was awful!  my friend Sierra and I paid to go on a tour to see more history about Italy,  but we missed the tour,  Then my phone was stolen because my phone was stolen we missed our train,  Lastly we got stuck in a different city because apparently in Italy trains do not go far distances after 7:30 PM

Even though all this happened  This week was AMAZING.  Because we missed our tour we made our own day traveling,  while we did that we turning around to ask someone in the line for the bus if we needed a ticket,  The husband and wife tell us they cant help us because they are deaf!  (This is perfect because we are studying sign language)  So we got to try out our new LIS  (Italian sign)  skills. I would also like to add that the classes here are so fun!

Also In my last blog I talked about the different contradas and how the pallio was going to happen.  This week we got to see it!.  This event is no joke!  The tower contrada is the one what won.  Before the race there are parades, then the jokey are blessed and at this point can not be changed.  Then they have police bring a paper of the order of the line up that the horses will stand in.  Now this paper is extremely important because it determines how good you will probably do in the race.  Jokeys will try to switch places, because it has to be in this specific order it can take hours to start the race I would say we stood there for a good two hours waiting for them to quit cheating and get in order.  Then the race started at the end  people started cheering, crying, screaming.  I even saw a few fights brake out between enemy contradas  It was a huge thing.  It lasted from 3 pm- 12am and into the next day.  they paraded around the horses, they were singing, the campo (where the race happened)  was PACKED.  You could only stand there was barley any room, flags were all over the place.

I did a little digging into why people would be fighting,  Apparently  contradas that know they can not win will group up to help another or try to hurt their enemy.  For example, a jokey in a contrada that will not win may whip another jokey or their horse,  sometimes they knock them off their horses, It is really insane.

I really can not explain well enough how amazing and intense the whole pallio was you would defiantly have to see it in person.

Below are pictures of the parade, a horse that raced, and how packed the campo was.

What a whirlwind of a week! So far I have really loved my classes. Coming early with the other Western students was so worth it because we were able to get a feel for the city before classes started. This past Sunday we met our host families for the first time. Mine ended up not working out so I am currently being relocated. Which is for the better! Between getting lost on my way to school and getting sick from the difference in food, it has been crazy. But so, so worth it. Each night we have been out exploring the town which has been really awesome. I am so glad that our group has a really good, strong dynamic. Classes are difficult but my ability to converse in Spanish is already improving remarkably. It is crazy to switch your whole brain around to a different language. Writing back to home in English actually takes some effort. I am looking forward to meeting my new host family and being a little more settled in.