Just a heads up...

While I will be posting on both sites for awhile, I have decided to make the executive decision to switch over to wordpress for various reasons.  Luckily, despite my technology-disabledness I was able to import everything that I have written up until now!  Yay! 

So please keep reading...hopefully on wordpress :)

http://nerdygirlatw.wordpress.com

Just thought I'd share...

So it has been brought to my attention that it has been ten days since my last post and I have yet to write anything talking about the rest of my trip.  Apparently I am prime procrastination reading material and so in not posting have been letting certain people down.  I'm shameless, I'll take it.  Since I am in the midst of writing a paper discussing "Nachkriegszeit" (After the war time) auf Deutsch my time is limited.  This weekend I will get back to my procrastinating self, I promise.

But I do think that this sign I saw when I was in an Australian bar in Rome (no one there spoke Italian) is worth putting up all on it's own...

For those of you who are distracted by the glare that I found was unavoidable (and this picture was taking on my blackberry so I didn't have technology on my side) here is what it said:

ALCOHOL CANNOT BE CONSUMED OUTSIDE THE YELLOW BAR.

Sorry for any inconvenience,

10% of the money made from these drinks goes to

"The Prosthetic Body Part Foundation and

Little Timmy really needs that new Femur."

Well, not really... Just really, really bored

behind the bar and we need some

customers to keep us happy.

So go on, buy a drink.

Buy a drink with Little Timmy in your thoughts.

The sheer cheek of those Aussies!  Can't say I didn't laugh.  A lot.  And I made sure to buy a drink...For Timmy obviously.

Let's get ready to [Las] Ramblas!

So last time we left off I still had lots to explore in Rome and pasta to eat, mission accomplished, this morning I got up at the crack of dawn (okay, 7:30) to catch my flight to Barcelona.  In my last post I mentioned that the view of the outside of St. Peter's Basilica  took my breath away, well the outside has nothin' on the inside, let me tell you!  If I lived during the time this was built, I sure as hell would believe in God and his almighty power.  Then there was Michaelangelo´s Sistine Chapel, my last "tourist stop."  After shelling out 14 Euros, I was well on my way to seeing possibly one of the most legendary works of art that I can think of.  I still remember learning the history behind it, the relationship between Michaelangelo and the Pope Julius II in 10th grade history and dying to see more than the poor quality photo that was in my textbook.  However, that museum was going to make sure that I got my money´s worth.  With each arrow that said "Cappella Sistina" I felt the butterflies in my stomach and thought FINALLY!  It was like the butterflies I used to get when getting ready to see the tree in Rockefeller center for the first time that Christmas season. (My grandmother was Catholic).  However, it felt like one big tease.  (Although I was pretty taken aback by the Raphael rooms and thought the hall of maps was pretty sweet) Forty minutes had passed and I had almost started give up hope.  Forgive me, and maybe I am just influenced by the religious context, but it sort of felt like The Passion of the Christ.  (The movie.  And no I am not comparing myself to Jesus - more like one of the poor fools following behind him in the procession with the hot sun beating down.)  That said, the view, was more than worth it.  Even if I could take pictures, it would have been futile.  (Especially without the flash)

Now I am in Barcelona and ready for action!  Hearing the Spanish is not quite so intimidating...oh wait, no, it´s not Spanish!  AH!  It´s Catalan... Crap.  I think this trip has been good for me because I´ve really had to rely on myself (and I have yet to take a taxi!).  On top of the fact that Barcelona is a city that I have been dying to visit for a super long time, I get to see my close friend Alison!  I can´t wait for the romantic dates we´ll have walking down Las Ramblas...

Again I apologize for the lack of pictures.  I have been taking them!  It is just that when I made the executive decision NOT to carry my laptop, I didn´t take into account that I would feel uncomfortable loading pictures onto a random computer in a random internet cafe.  What if someone saw my pictures and decided to do sketchy things? Like, what if I was cloned?! Creepy.  Yeah, you´ll just have to wait in suspense.

When in Rome...

(I admit that that was super cheesy but how often can you say that...and it be true???  Exactly.)

Okay so last time I left off I was preparing to leave for almost two weeks of traveling and while I am sorry for my truancy (does that work for blogging? hmm.) I have barely had a moment to breathe since I left early Tuesday morning to go to Dresden and Prague with my program.  Dresden, a city that was almost fully destroyed during wwII and then taken over by the soviets during the reign of the DDR, has been almost entirely rebuilt and it is pretty gorgeous but also kind of haunting.  Part of that may be because the stones the Saxons used to build the massive buildings turn black over time...and the lovely weather we had which included but was not limited to rain, bitter, cold, hailing, and snow.  Prague as always was a gem and I have to say as much as I have loved Rome so far I miss the craziness that comes with traveling with my group!

Rome has actually been a bit of a culture shock.  I guess that it is because I am used to the orderliness that is Berlin.  I mean here I have experienced at least 10 near death experiences trying to cross the streets (which seem to be lacking traffic lights in clear areas...) while in Berlin it seems as though NO ONE jaywalks.  My pensione while clean is not exactly reinvigorating.  This morning I was woken up by the sound of a barking dog and yelling Italians (I presume the mother and son who own and run the establishment) but I didn't come to Rome to hang out in my hotel so off I went to experience my 'Roman Holiday' and have checked quite a few sights off my list... I think my favorite of the day (choosing from Spanish steps, Pantheon, Colosseum and a few others) was the Fontana di Trevi...but I think that because I have always found myself drawn to water.  Then again I have yet to experience the Vatican in its full glory.  I did go to St. Peter's square though and the view of the basilica as I walked closer literally took my breath away.  Tomorrow I am getting up early so that I can take a real tour and see Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel, a sight that I have heard about and looked forward to for so long that I am almost scared.  I mean it has quite the reputation to live up to.

So here are five lessons that I have learned during my last 24 hrs in Rome:

1.  There is no such thing as jay-walking.  If you don't you will never get where you need to go.
2.  If you want to find it, just follow the hoards of people holding maps in their hands.  Which seems to be pretty much everyone.
3. When you are on your own, your navigation skills are forced to improve.  While I have yet to become the next Magellan, I haven't accidentally ended up in Florence.
4. Italians are not a reserved people. (quite the opposite of their German counterparts)
5.  Don't be lazy and get your bum out of bed if you want to actually see stuff.

Arrivederci!

How SWEET it is to be loved by you, by you!

There are just somethings that taste the same no matter where you go which can be super comforting when even the "Diet Coke" has become "Light Coca Cola".  Sweet potatoes, my friends, is one of those things.
 I have recently hit my limit where I can no longer stomach the idea of living on Döner Kebabs (as tasty as they are), "Asian" noodles from the street vendors, and though I loathe to admit it, the occasional fast food chain.  A friend of mine has actually made it his business to find EVERY McDonalds in Berlin...I told him that if he survived past the age of 30 then I would buy him a McDonalds.  (That MAY have been a mistake.)  Anyways, back to sweet potatoes, which I rediscovered as I begun my foray back into the land of the healthy eaters.  While I am a big fan of the baked sweet potato, there is something to be said for sweet potato fries...leading me to the inspiration for this post (aside from my recent eating habits):

Intro to Cooking: Sweet Potato Fries  (Compliments of my favorite, CollegeCandy!)

Mmmm....

I guess I'm a little hungry, could you tell?  Well, lucky for me my mom is going to be in town for the next few days and she'll feed me!  (I hope.)

And we're all a week older than the last time I posted...

Whoops. Sorry.  While I did not forget, I do have an excuse!  The past week has been crazy (with no promise of lightening up!)  First there was my official entrance into legally drinking adulthood (yay 21!) which was also a German holiday.  October 3 is "Der Tag der Deutschen Einheit" (Day of German unity) and so think big party, all the stores are closed, etc...  This year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall there was a special presentation at the Brandenburg Gate called "Die Riesen"  (Which translates into "The Giants")  There were two "Riesen" (a big one and a small one) who traveled through the entire city to be reunited with each other at the gate.  Kind of like Berlin finding it's way back to a reunited Germany, perhaps?  Awww.

I must say that it was pretty cool celebrating on my birthday because while they may not have known it, the crowds were also there for me. (Though I have heard that the German Reunification was KIND OF a big deal...) To top it all off my host dad and I enjoyed dessert as we watched the small one pass by.  I had Apfelstrudel mit Schlagsahne und Eis. Mmmm...

(Translation: Apple Strudel with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream)

Second, It has also been midterms this week (up until Monday) and I have been scrambling to study and just get myself ready.  Even more so because my mom is coming for three days and I am pretty sure that I'd rather spend time with her than my German vocabulary book...