Tell the world I'm coming home

Today is officially my last day in Europe (not counting the few hours tomorrow morning before my flight) and it is definitely an interesting one.
Actually, let's start from the beginning of my free travel time...I started off my 11 or so days by going to Budapest with Alyssa, Ruth, Chelsey, and Lindsey. We had a great time in the city and met some pretty awesome people. David and Nick met us there after the first day and came to the spa and sightseeing with us (including yet another castle). We basically didn't do very much except stay in and relax. Budapest, Hungary uses the Florint as their currency and it is about 300 florints for every euro...kinda awesome. Everything is super cheap there and we found some great burgers for about 2 euros (550 florints). After our three nights in Budapest, most of us parted ways leaving just David, Alyssa and I to travel to Ljubljana, Slovenia where we met up with Maria and Trace. We arrived at the hostel pretty late and only had the next day to sightsee. It ended up pouring all day and we didn't get to do any of the things we wanted but it was still a good time. The next morning we left for Croatia bright and early. This is by far the best experience I have had yet far. We stayed in a resort town called Rabac (Rabatch) in a nice hotel for the five of us. It was so nice and warm and sunny and wonderful! I definitely got my tan on ;) we did little sightseeing and for Maria's birthday we went on a dolphin cruise (and saw no dolphins). The lack of dolphins was disappointing but the endless drinks and shots made up for it. We did a lot of pre-noon drinking during our stay in Croatia lol it was great. The girls and I even went to a nude beach one day. The last day (yesterday) wasn't as sunny out which was kind of sad but as Maria and I were walking to the store we saw dolphins!! It was so cool! So now I'm satisfied :) the only downfall to Croatia was that we never got to see the national park, Plitvice Lakes. After going back and forth for numerous days we ended up not going because of the price (not going into details but Alyssa and I were quite peeved).
Now, here I am. Sitting on yet another train, headed to Munich to meet up with the whole crew before our flight home tomorrow. I'm quite sad about leaving Europe but excited to go home in some ways. This has been the adventure of a lifetime and I can't wait for more adventures like this in the future.
Chau for now!
And see you all...TOMORROW!

Finally

Welcome the new Angie! Better Angie, who knows? I have just over two weeks left of my journey and I feel like a different person, in some ways at least. I was just thinking about going home to all of my clothes and things and how it's going to be weird wearing things that the old Angie picked out and used to love. I wonder how I am going to feel about my old wardrobe once I get home and how my style has changed since being here (I know it has quite a lot). I have also learned to be a minimalist. Living out of a suitcase for 3 months will do that to ya and now I feel the need to go home and declutter my life. Sounds very liberating!
In other news, I feel bad about not keeping more journals for memories and I know I will definitely regret not doing so, I already have started regretting it actually. But I also feel like this experience is so special and all the little things are unimportant compared to looking at the big picture. The overall experience is what matters.
I have completed almost all of my classes with great grades and I only have 2 papers and an essay left of the semester. All due in a matter of days...yey.
I decided to go to Budapest, Slovenia, and Croatia for my last 10 days with Ruth and Alyssa. It should be a wonderful time. Jamie and I hardly talk anymore and I am totally fine with that. I feel no need to associate myself with bitches who ignore me on a daily basis. (yet another change in myself) I don't need to be by her or anyone else to have a great time and I don't rely on anyone for anything. I'm used to being the leader of things and planning out details or events because then I get what I want and don't have to give anything up. I usually find that a couple people tend to have the same wants as me in the end and they follow me. It's quite odd...but not bad.
I'm thinking about changing my major..again. I kind of want to add a business minor or something. Not quite sure but we will see. As for the near future, no immediate plans. Except for my trip to Bratislava tomorrow with the gang.
I'm excited to go home but I also never want my journey to end. I miss everyone and I also know that Europe has not seen the last of me. This gives me satisfaction and relief.
I know also that I am going to miss Europe so much when I get home. I don't think I'll ever be completely satisfied with my location lol
As for other random tidbits of my life...we all got food poisoning last night. I love every city I have been in. I miss my family but I know I'm going to miss my ITC family a lot. I also miss my boyfriend. He means a lot to me and I can't wait to see him. I am going to get drunk and then get waxed...Brazilian style (yikes!) before my beach vaca.

I think that's it for now. Chau!

Angie Jo <3

Sooo I haven't posted in awhile and a lot has happened. I'm going to try to update as much as possible before I go to bed. I left off on the day we did the Ceilidh dancing and had Haggis for dinner. The haggis was surprisingly pretty good and dessert was even better. It was the traditional Scottish dessert and it was phenomenal. We had an ice cream type thing but it was warm like cool whip and it was served with a raspberry glaze and a shortbread cracker...yummy! After dinner we learned how to Ceilidh dance which was really fun and then tried a couple of local pubs with Jamie, Chris and Terisa.
The next day we had music class in the morning and watched the Phantom of the Opera. We also had Willie Dunn, a Scottish politician come and talk to our Contemporary Europe class and he was surprisingly really laid back and cool. Definitely not what I expected from a politician. I learned a lot about the Scottish government including about their universal healthcare which I thought was pretty interesting and we should probably have it in the states...just saying. Willie even told us where to get the best food and drinks in Dalkeith.
we got all dolled up to go out on the town in Edinburgh. Maria, Hannah, Tina, Jamie and I did a little shopping and ate a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant in Edinburgh..I been tried a long island iced tea...it was delicious of course and then we went to a pub called Aspen and met some really nice bartenders and tried a couple drinks as we waited for the group to meet at the opera. The opera ended up being nothing like I expected and I could barely keep my eyes open during it...along with the rest of the audience but it was still a great experience.

I just found this post that I never finished or posted but I decided to publish it now anyway...haha! Cheers!

Day 2 in Scotland

The last couple days have been kinda crazy. Very little sleep and lots of stuff to do to get situated and whatnot. So far we have done some pretty cool stuff including a first foreign meals, layover in Amsterdam, walking tour of Edinburgh, and our first classes today. Tonight should be pretty fun, we are in class right now and after we will be going to the store in town. For dinner we get to try Haggis and the Scottish traditional dessert. After dinner we get to watch this dance and join in as well so hopefully I'll go to the pubs ahead of time for some liquid courage! Haha I have been having a blast in Scotland and our palace is super cool! It's kinda cold here but we are staying warm with soup and coffee and layers of clothes. I'm excited for the rest of Scotland and then Ireland on Saturday. Well...better get back to taking notes :) Chau!
PS thanks for the comfort food mom! Mike and Ikes have been my go-to snack so far. :)

Couple things I have learned/done:
1. Rode a double decker bus
2. I love the accents but they are hard to understand
3. "half 7" means 7:30
4. We went under the city in Edinburgh where they used to store wine and such way way long ago
5. Castles are huge...water is cold...and you WILL get lost on the way to the bathroom...and back to the room...and then your key won't work in the door
6. Alarms only work if you get up after them and not be late for class

So much to do...so little time!

10 days, 13 hours until I will be on the plane to Europe! I am slightly starting to freak out! Okay...maybe more than just "slightly". Sleep has become scarce occasion and I'm getting really anxious. Along with the stress of packing I have to write a 15-20 page paper on the politics of Croatia. THAT should be fun...not! I pretty much have the contents of my suitcase figured out and only a few nic-nacs left to purchase. Other than that I have a list of tasks yet to accomplish before leaving and I have been spending a majority of my time devoted to preparations. It's starting to feel so real! I remember when my countdown said 120 days to go and now it's on the last double digit day...yikes! I already am starting to miss everyone and I haven't even left yet lol but I've been waiting for this for so long and all my worries will disappear when I get on that plane. Gahhh this is so unreal! Well, that's all for now I suppose. Back to paper writing for me!

Adios amores!

Background

Hey Everyone,
My name is Angie and I am a student at UW-River Falls. I have created this blog for my family, friends, and whoever else is interested so you all can follow me during my semester abroad in Europe. I will be leaving on January 22nd (the day-by-day countdown has already started) and I will be returning home on May 2nd. The whole 102 days I will be exploring as many countries as possible while studying and taking classes with 35 classmates. I am excited (to say the least) to leave for my trip and I can't wait to see what adventures lie ahead!
This is my official first blog post and there will be many more to come as I start to pack and prepare for my journey and even more during the semester. I will also try to add pictures and videos (or at least links to them) when I can! I am not bringing my phone or computer along for the ride so my iPad will be my only form of communication with you all.
Well, I suppose that is all for now. Creating this blog was one of the first steps towards leaving the country...now off to step two: packing...yikes! 4 months, one suitcase, and a clothesaholic does not make for fun packing! Wish me luck!
Fun Fact: the background of my blog is from a trip I took to Europe about three years ago :) but that trip only lasted 10 days.
Chau!
Angie Jo <3