Greece!

So I'm posting my Greece blog a few days late, I'm in Turkey now, just got out of Istanbul - definitely one of the coolest places I've ever been. Recapping my time in Greece will definitely be a mouthful, so I'll just give a few highlights :)

We flew from London to Athens on September 24th, then took an overnight ferry to Crete! This was a pretty awesome first stop. We immediately visited the archaeological site at the Palace at Knossos, which was fantastic! There was a wonderful museum in town, we hit a beach late in the afternoon and I got my first chance to swim in the Aegean Sea :D We went from there on a catamaran to Santorini, which was as beautiful and amazing as I expected. After spending some time at the beach, we had an evening lecture discussing the myth of Atlantis watching the sunset from the caldera where our hotel was. We went from there to Mykonos, probably my favorite stop thus far. We went out, went shopping, and went to the site of Delos which was probably the best-preserved archaeological site we've been to yet. We went on to Athens, saw the Acropolis, the Agora & MAN did our hotel have the most amazing rooftop garden view of the Acropolis. The Acropolis museum in Athens is probably the most incredible museum I've ever been to. It's displays are set up in the same dimensions as the site, displaying the pediments and sculptures from the Parthenon as the would exactly be on the site. Best of all, the whole building is made of large windows that look straight at the Acropolis itself. Ask me about it when you see me next. I'll probably talk for hours about this museum. Needless to say, this was probably my favorite museum yet (and that's saying a LOT- lots and lots of museums!)

Our program basically is using the sites as an outdoor classroom, then each day I write a journal entry like 3-5 pages reflecting on the day that will be my final grade for this part of the program. It's a busy schedule, we change locations almost every day and you want so badly to get every drop of experience out of every city but its difficult sometimes. I've loved Greece so much, and fortunately we've gotten a little downtime as well, and I managed to get a little tan.

We went onto Nafphlion in week two, which was a pretty incredible city! Beth & I had experienced the Greek postal system in Athens to send home some clothing that weighed down our bags, and we went on a pretty lengthy adventure in Nafphlion to find our friend Tyler a birthday card. Needless to say, those two experiences definitely made me feel a little more Greek, finding our way to some off the beaten path locations and such. We saw the ancient sites of Tiryns and Mycenae (the people who were involved in the Trojan War). We went to Olympia, the site of the ancient games, and Delphi, where the famous Oracle at Delphi prophesied from the god Apollo. We jumped off cliffs across from the great ancient city of Corinth into the Mediterranean.

That was Greece!
The info is a little rushed - but here are a few things I learned in Greece:

1. GREEK YOGURT WITH HONEY IS AMAZING. there is nothing like it.

2. I get seasick. Who would have known? We took two catamaran ferries and they were ROUGH.

3. I apparently am pretty capable of losing important items while traveling... left my wallet on a bus, my phone in a hotel (permanent loss unfortunately... sorry Dad)

4. I really enjoy classical history.... more than I ever expected. There are so many incredible remains throughout Greece that have been inspirational and incredible to visit.

5. I'm a pretty good barterer... although I learned this in Istanbul so that's cheating on this list...

6. Knowing how to sleep on a coach bus is an exceptionally important quality to have when traveling constantly around a country

7. You have to go out when you can. It is pointless to get on facebook in Nafphlion instead of walking around the corner for gelato from the incredible Italian-run family ice cream joint.

8. Subway systems.

9. The art of visiting a museum everyday without it being overwhelming. Pick 2-3 things that you want to see. See them, focus on them. Leave museum.

10. European Studies invests in some good hotels and some good food. I thought this to be slightly frivolous before, but have realized now how much this can make or break your travel experiences. Good food is definitely a big part of experiencing the culture.

I'm literally having the time of my life. Turkey is amazing so far and I'm looking forward to everything else we have ahead of us. I'm just slightly past the halfway point of our continent adventures, and can't believe we still have a week here in Turkey and a week and a half in Italy after that. For my mom - don't worry, Turkey seems safe enough thus far :)

Unfortunately basically all the internet connections I've had have been no good for uploading pictures or skyping, so this blog is lacking some photo proof of my trip. I promise at the end I'll create an incredible photo montage.

Love & Miss you all!

Your (now) Turkish adventurer,

Sarah

Oops.. Long Time No Blog

So, I haven't updated in over two weeks, my great apologies for lacking in my blogging skills.

Here's a pre-warning on how long this blog post will be :)

First off, I went to Dublin two weekends ago. Ireland was AMAZING. It was exactly how I imagined, and I mean that in the best way possible. Irish pubs were so typical, I heard the eh eye eh eye eh song from PS I Love You twice in one night :D

We flew out early Friday morning (left Lincoln @ 4AM!) to Dublin. We stayed at Trinity College, which is right in the heart of the city center of Dublin. Friday we went to the Guinness Factory/Brewery, had some afternoon free time, and ended the night with an amazing 3 course meal in typical European Studies fashion (have I talked about how good of food they give us here?)

St. Patrick's Cathedral - Dublin, Ireland

On Saturday, we got up and went to the National Gallery, which had a pretty good variety of art. I've learned to really love art museums here, something I never thought I'd say. Weirdly enough, I think I just had no idea how to go about observing and enjoying an art museum until I got here. My best friend Beth was surprised to discover I'd never learned the "you shouldn't try and look at everything" lesson about museums. Beth, Staley and I went on our own adventure after the National Gallery to get a taste of Dublin. We saw St. Patricks Cathedral, which is surprisingly not Catholic, but a Protestant church. We saw that, the Dublin Castle and got a little shopping in, as well. Sidenote- I've worn out a pair or two of shoes already, so I picked up my first pair of TOMS and am pretty obsessed with them. We found ourselves some Irish pubs at night (note the previous comment on the movie PS I Love You).

Irish Countryside

Sunday was a pretty extraordinary day. I was pretty exhausted to say the least, I didn't get a lot of sleep between Oslo and Dublin weekends back to back. We drove a coach up to the English countryside (I've learned to sleep on coaches pretty effectively) and did a short hike up to a beautiful lake, shown in the picture. We had a great lunch at a nearby hotel and ended up seeing an old beautiful mansion with some incredible gardens seen in the hot air balloon scene from the film version of The Count of Monte Cristo. It was pretty exciting to be where that was filmed, and the house and property were pretty incredible. We flew back to Oxford Sunday evening, and I was utterly exhausted.

It was wonderful to have another weekend adventure, but I was pretty ready to get back to Oxford and spend some time at my new home. That Monday we transitioned into a new set of classes, this time Philosophy, History and Literature of Rome instead of Greece. I find these classes a little more interesting/enjoyable. I'm about to enter my very last week at Oxford, which I'm pretty disappointed about. In some ways I wish I could stay in Oxford all semester because I love the city and I know my way around and have my favorite places. On the other hand, I've been looking forward to these next 5 weeks of travel since I started looking at this study abroad program before I even decided I was going to Rhodes.

I've gone into London four times in the last two weeks, something I'm glad I've gotten the opportunity to do. Two of these were "field trips" sponsored by my program to The Globe Theatre for a production of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as a guided tour the next Friday through The British Museum's ancient collections. Fun fact: The Butler from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was one of the main characters in the Shakespeare production we saw! Talk about a surprise... The Globe was pretty amazing, I'd never seen a Shakespeare play actually performed, and I definitely now have a better appreciation of the productions he wrote. I've always loved Shakespeare, but it is way better as an actual play than just read from paper.

The two other times I've been into London have been some of my best experiences yet. I got to see Les Miserables in the London theatre, and it was BEAUTIFUL AND INCREDIBLE. I mean that in all caps. It was the best production I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot. I saw Les Mis on Broadway with my old summer camp when I was younger, but this was even better. Also, I got to eat at Chipotle in London before the show, and the burrito was just as delicious as ever. It was so nice to get some Mexican-ish food that was yummy, I've been eating a lot of potatoes lately...

Yesterday I went into London again for a full tourist day. I went to the Tower of London, which I could talk about forever. I love the Tudor era of English history, and there was so much history to be seen in the Tower. If you ever go to London, this is a must-do. I saw the crown jewel collection, there were some amazing pieces of jewelry from the royal regalia. I then got to see Buckingham Palace, including a limited time display of Faberge Eggs, and Kate Middleton's wedding dress, shoes and cake!! I was in tourist heaven.

This Saturday we head out of Oxford and we start island-hopping Greece. I'm looking forward to some beaches, warm weather and a lot of outdoor Greek ruins :) I've had an amazing few weeks. My good friend Jonny, who was an English exchange student at Rhodes for the last year, has been able to see me like four times since I've been here - so he should get a special shout out. We'll have our last high table this week, and we'll say goodbye to the Western Track of our program (they study Renaissance and Medieval History and see France, Germany and Italy on their tour)

I'm sad to say goodbye to Oxford, but excited to head out on this last big part of the program. I think it's really hit me how quickly this whole experience is going by. I'm not at all ready to come back to the US (sorry mom.) but I know after the next 5 weeks of straight travel, I'm probably going to be ready to sleep for weeks. I miss home in so many ways, but I really think this is the happiest I've been in a really long time. I've learned a lot about myself and how I interact with people in new situations. I can't wait to see where the rest of life takes me when I get back, it's scary to think I only have a year and a half until I'm a college grad and onto a graduate program. I feel a need to say thank you to my Dad, I know you hate being called out, and I know you're modest about this fact, but you have been the person who has allowed me to do everything I've wanted to do in life - you're pretty awesome even if you don't know it.

This blog post has definitely been long enough. I'm already getting sentimental about leaving and looking back on this experience and I'm only through the first leg. Can't wait to see what else will come...

:D
Sarah

Oslo & More Oxford!

Hey All -

So I guess the trick to getting me to post a blog is have me writing a paper I'm trying to procrastinate! :)

So I can't believe I'm on my third week in Oxford, we're wrapping up finals for our first 1/2 session of classes on Greece, and we start the Roman stuff on Monday! This weekend I'm venturing to Dublin, Ireland with my trip, and I think I'm more excited for this weekend than I've been for anything so far. SO EXCITED.

Life in Oxford has become pretty routine. My classes have been fascinating, but it's a bit of a challenge to be taking three classes in such a short time crunch. Lots of papers! It's always a bummer to stay in writing rather than experience day-to-day Oxford life. We've done a lot of exploring, though! The night life in Oxford is great, but just walking around during the day has to be my favorite thing. We have a covered market right outside the gates of Lincoln, and I either get a delicious Ben's Cookie or a Moo Moo's Milkshake at least every other day! :) Cool thing - Emma Watson (Hermoine in Harry Potter) was spotted by one of my friends in the covered market last week! She's studying at Oxford this semester so I'm hoping to get a glimpse of her at some point myself!

Beth and I went to church the weekend we were in town, which was one of my favorite experiences. We went to St. Alban's, which was a contemporary service in a 13th century cathedral. It was so cool to worship God in such a revered environment. I have to say this was one of the best experiences I've had here, and the community was so welcoming and awesome! (Hope Fellowship may have some English competition for coolest church in the world...)

Here are some of my favorite Oxford pictures (I don't have a lot... haven't quite gotten that it's okay to act like a tourist sometimes in the place I live!)

This was on a tour of Oxford - this is a copy of a bridge in Venice

Some of my girlfriends and I at our first High Table, these amazing formal dinners we get each Thursday

Our Punting Adventure (I was pretty good if I must say so myself...)

So besides the amazing experiences I've had in Oxford, I had my first vacation trip last weekend! Me and six friends went to Oslo, Norway for the weekend, and I might've had my doubts... but it was probably the most awesome place I've ever been! We had some trouble planning something for this three day weekend and settled on Oslo because of the cheap flight and the big group that was going. I was excited to go somewhere I'd never really thought about visiting. Oslo is a walking city at heart, and the weather we experience was beautiful. This trip started at 1 AM late Thursday night and we got back at 4 AM Monday morning, and it was worth every second I didn't sleep! I think Scandinavia may have my heart now...

A few highlights:

Our fantastic group :)

The Nobel Peace Center!

Oslo City Centre

This Sculpture Park was AMAZING!

We also went on a fjord bay 2 hour cruise, hit up an ice bar, and avoided spending a million dollars on food (2nd most expensive city in the world! I'm talking $40 pizzas!) Funny story, we missed our bus coming back to Oxford after landing in Stansted airport (3 hours away). Luckily, the nice people at National Express got us back!! (at 4 AM!)

So it's off to Dublin this weekend! Can't wait to get to share about this weekend! I'm excited to begin a new set of classes and get ready to jet-set to the continent in a few weeks.

love/miss you all!

Sarah

PS- A big shoutout to my Kappa Delta sisters at Rhodes this weekend, so bummed to be missing bid day! Good luck with the rest of rush, can't wait to meet the new babies!!!!! AOT

Oxford

I'm finally in Oxford!! I can't believe I'm finally here. I've heard so much about how amazing this city is and how beautiful the university is, but I still think it's exceeded my expectations.

After a week in York, we traveled up to Hadrian's Wall in Northern England and were pleasantly surprised to be staying at these BEAUTIFUL bed & breakfasts in the countryside. I got a hot bath, some amazing amazing food and a little rest while enjoying the Roman remains on the wall. Hadrian's Wall was the northern frontier of the late Roman Empire. The wall is still generally standing today and runs between the thinnest point of the United Kingdom and used to be the boundary between the empire and the Barbarians (England & Scotland). We saw some amazing preserved Roman forts and got to do a 3 mile hike along the wall with some beautiful views from the hilltops.

We made our way to Oxford on Sunday, and we're housed at the beautiful Lincoln College. Oxford is spread around the city into thirty-something small colleges where students are housed and dine. I'm lucky enough to have a single room here at Lincoln and live right in the heart of the city for the next 6 weeks :) We went on a walking tour of the city and saw a bunch of Harry Potter filming sites, which was pretty awesome. We had our first High Table dinner and started classes today.

I'm in love with Oxford already and already having the most amazing experience! Can't wait to continue this journey and get to know this city over the next 6 weeks.

Sarah


PS - Here are the photos of Edinburgh and York I didn't get to post on my last blog.

View over Edinburgh, Scotland from a hilltop hike

 York Minster Cathedral

Tattoo Performance in Edinburgh

First Week!

Hey All!

So we finally have some level of internet connection, so I'm posting my first blog! It has been the most incredible week here, and I am so glad already that I made the decision to study abroad.

We flew into Edinburgh, Scotland at the end of last week, and that was an amazing way to start. We had beautiful sunny cool weather, which is pretty much unheard of there, so we were really lucky! We ate at a great sandwich shop the first day and I got talking to the owner. Turns out his sister lives in Gunter, Texas. One of the first reminders I've had here of what a small world it is! We had an AMAZING dinner at a restaurant called the Dome, probably one of the nicest places I've ever eaten (Thanks European Studies!). We explored/walked all over Edinburgh for the next few days, and if you've talked or chatted with me once since I've been here you know I've fallen in love with this city. One of the highlights was the last night we saw the Scottish Tattoo, which is a military band show during the huge festival that occurs in August in Edinburgh. See picture below :) It was raining and cold but it was right in front of the Castle and one of the coolest shows I've ever seen. There were large bands and performances from around the globe - so so great.

We then headed onto York, and I'm ashamed to say I slept through the entire bus ride through the English countryside. I am glad that I waited until tonight to post this blog, however, because today was probably the best full day we've had yet! We've been studying Ancient Rome's role in Great Britain, which is kindof backwards history-wise but has been a great place to start. I could talk about a lot of really amazing Roman sites we've seen in the countryside, but I pretty much only want to talk about today, anyways.

We went to an archaeological dig site that's being excavated to clear the area for some new housing. It was so large, look at the picture below! We had a great guide show us where all these Roman graves and Viking houses were dug up. Then we got to go inside their excavation site and see some of the remains! It was literally amazing. I saw real human remains from the Roman period (2/3rd century), and a lot of other really exciting finds. I don't know if I've ever seen real history being discovered before my eyes.

We then went into the city of York and went to their history museum which was full of exciting items. Then I got to go to the Evensong at the York Minster Cathedral. It is a beautiful site I got to see the first day, but was even more beautiful when filled with a choir and prayers.

I've loved my first week in York, I'm already in love with England. The nightlife is exciting, the people are friendly, the sites are breathtaking and it's so nice to just walk around beneath history and so many amazing places.

I apologize for the fact that I haven't really talked to anyone, but I am alive and having an amazing time :D I can't wait to share more of my adventures, and cannot believe that this is only week one.

NOTE: Sorry, the internet is too slow for me to post any pictures. I promise there will be some for this blog as soon as I get to Oxford on Sunday!

Cheers,

Sarah

A Schedule of Events!

So upon realizing that not even my best friend or my mother have a clear idea of where all I am headed to in the next few months, I decided to share some dates/places with everyone! I'm finishing up class at Sewanee this week and have finals this weekend.

Sunday July 31- Thursday Aug 4th: Heading home to Dallas! I'm looking forward to a few days of friends, family, El Fenix, RA and going to the JCrew outlet. No surprises there.

Aug 4: Fly to Edinburgh, Scotland!
Aug 7-13: York, England
Aug 14- Sept 23: Classes at Lincoln College, Oxford University

So for these 6 weeks, I'm studying at Oxford with professors there! I am taking 12 credit hours, but have the weekends for free travel and a few planned excursions for our program.

Aug 26-28: Oslo, Norway with friends
Sept 2-4: Dublin, Ireland with the program

The next portion of the program is our travel component. We're studying ancient greece and roman history, philosophy, architecture & art. The travel portion is a class, as well, as we journal our interpretations and reactions to everything we see that we've been studying at Sewanee & Oxford.

Sept 24- Oct 7: Greece! (We're basically island-hopping, probably what I'm most excited about!)
Oct 7-16: Turkey
Oct 16-23: Italy
Oct 23-27: Back to London to wrap up program!

On October 27 my program with Rhodes is over! Fortunately, thanks to my awesome Dad and the lucky fact that one of my very best friends from high school is studying abroad in Florence, I'm heading to Italy for a few extra days. We're planning on hiking the Cinque Terre together so I can have a few days of independent travel!

Oct 31: Back to London, Back to Dallas!


I'm really excited for this upcoming semester, and appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers as I embark on this journey!

Now I just have to get over my fear of flying, pack everything I could ever need in one suitcase, and accept the fact that I won't drink another Dr. Pepper for 3 months.

Happy Travels!
Sarah

PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL SMITH.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough (or is there?)

Friends & Family,

This week officially began my fall semester on European Studies! For those who don't know, this semester is a joint program between Rhodes and the University of the South, in Sewanee, TN. We take a class at Sewanee for 3 weeks, then have a few days off before we all jet-set to Europe.

Well I was excited to come to Sewanee, which is on a mountain, but I encountered my first trouble of the trip- a lack of cell service. I'm a city girl at heart, so being this far away from civilization is pretty new to me. Surprisingly enough, this has already turned into one of my favorite new life adventures, full of hiking and nature, new friends and a lot of interesting Greek Philosophers.

This hike was about a mile high, but we got to climb through this really great rock enclosure, shown above! You had to climb up into it, but a little ways down the other side was a beautiful and refreshing waterfall in the first picture. I'm hoping for more of these hikes, we're going to try and do a 7.5 mile loop next Saturday!

The lesson learned: to me, there may be such thing as a mountain too high from civilization, but my fear may be trumped by a new adventure I'll love.

Your Suburbanite in Sewanee,

Sarah


PS- I also really enjoy class! :) It's inspiring my blog title, since our theme for the travels and classes is ancient greece and rome. It's classical history, art and philosphy, all of which is new and exciting to me!

20 Days until Departure!