Hey, hey, hey!
I know it's been awhile, yet again. I've had a lot of school work to do lately, and not much time to blog. But, I had two finals today, which means I only have one class left. Finance and Marketing are officially over! The exams weren't bad at all, so I'm not worried. I scheduled my classes for fall quarter today. I am taking two accounting classes, one (hopefully two if I get pink-slipped in) MIS classes, and an econ class. I was stressing about being able to get into all the classes I needed, but it all worked out.
Last weekend was a lot of fun. After class Friday we went to Tarbes, about 45 minutes east of Pau. I went with two other Americans: Jerome and Ashton, and three French students: Florence, Celine, and Mickael (a boy). We stayed in Florence's (we call her Flo) house. I was very surprised when her mother came to the gate and she was... British! Well, she's French, but she lived in London for three years so she has a British accent when she speaks in English. She was so nice and hospitable. We bought her an oil distiller and two different oils as gifts for letting us stay in her house.
On Friday night we had kiesh for dinner (I probably spelled that wrong). It was really good! Then we had ice cream for dessert and went to bed soon after. We didn't eat until around 9 and were exhausted for some reason. The next day we went to the open market. It was really cool. Local farmers come and sell whatever they grow, goat cheese, spinach, honey, what have you. It was a really neat experience to see it.
Then we drove to Toulouse, which is about an hour and a half away from Tarbes. We met Danielle's (Flo's mother) friend there, and she showed us around the city. We saw an art museum and the town square. There was a rugby game that day, and we saw all of the supports in full-out team gear and face paint. It was pretty rowdy. We walked all over and got lunch (Danielle paid), which was really cool. After that the adults let us walk around by ourselves for an hour, and I found a cool store in which I bought my Dad's father's day present. (Don't worry Mom, I didn't leave you out).
Then we went home, rested and waited for dinner. Danielle (by the way, she insisted that we call her that because the Americans couldn't pronounce her last name) made shepard's pie and it was delicious! Afterwards we had goat cheese and honey for dessert- something I didn't think I would like, but I enjoyed very much. That night we met Flo's boyfriend at a bar and then went to O2 or Oxygen, the biggest discotechque in the area. It was really cool, and we danced and had a really good time. We only stayed until 2:30, though. (Thank goodness!)
The next morning Danielle let us sleep in and we had an American breakfast: sausage, scrambled eggs, croissants with jam, and goat cheese and honey again. Then we had chantilly and fresh strawberries afterwards. Soon after we headed back to Pau and our fun weekend was over. It was really nice, though, to have some time with the Frenchies outside of class. The six of us have become really good friends and it will be sad when we all have to part ways. But, we have made a pact that 5 years from now, when we have good jobs, we will meet up somewhere and see each other again.
Okay, that's it for now! Less than a week left!! Love you!
jeudi 29 mai 2008
dimanche 18 mai 2008
Nothing exciting lately..
Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, nothing really exciting has happened since I got back from Italy. We had another long weekend for the first weekend after the break. Traveling is expensive and I kind of wanted to take a break from everyone, so I opted to stay in Pau and maybe travel to surrounding cities that are close by. Well, I only made it to one because the weather was pretty crappy. On Friday Ashton, Mike and I went to Lourdes. It was so breath-taking. It brought tears to my eyes, especially because I went to Magnificat. It was just overwhelming to see the place that I've heard and read about since grade school at St. Angela's. We saw the Cathedral, the life-size stations of the cross, the grotto where Mary first appeared to Bernadette, and I got some holy water. I said special prayers for Grandma and Mr. Gaspar and Kevin Healy, and I even got to light a candle for Grandma.
The rest of the weekend I stayed in Pau and worked on the mountain of homework that seemed to accumulate.
I have no other major plans really. I have a mid-term tomorrow in my Strategy class, and on-going work for a project that is due at the beginning of June. I have only two more trips planned, aside from when my family joins me. This weekend I am going to Tarbes, one of the French girls invited a couple American students to go to her hometown with her. So the good part is that I won't have to pay much, if anything, for meals, and I have a free place to stay! The second trip is to Pamplona, don't worry not for the running of the bulls or anything. Our program ends on June 4th, but my family doesn't arrive until June 7th. So I am going with Ashton to visit her host family from when she studied abroad for Spanish in Pamplona last year. More good news, free place to stay and little to nothing for food!
That is all for now, I will hopefully get a chance to write later. Love you all!
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, nothing really exciting has happened since I got back from Italy. We had another long weekend for the first weekend after the break. Traveling is expensive and I kind of wanted to take a break from everyone, so I opted to stay in Pau and maybe travel to surrounding cities that are close by. Well, I only made it to one because the weather was pretty crappy. On Friday Ashton, Mike and I went to Lourdes. It was so breath-taking. It brought tears to my eyes, especially because I went to Magnificat. It was just overwhelming to see the place that I've heard and read about since grade school at St. Angela's. We saw the Cathedral, the life-size stations of the cross, the grotto where Mary first appeared to Bernadette, and I got some holy water. I said special prayers for Grandma and Mr. Gaspar and Kevin Healy, and I even got to light a candle for Grandma.
The rest of the weekend I stayed in Pau and worked on the mountain of homework that seemed to accumulate.
I have no other major plans really. I have a mid-term tomorrow in my Strategy class, and on-going work for a project that is due at the beginning of June. I have only two more trips planned, aside from when my family joins me. This weekend I am going to Tarbes, one of the French girls invited a couple American students to go to her hometown with her. So the good part is that I won't have to pay much, if anything, for meals, and I have a free place to stay! The second trip is to Pamplona, don't worry not for the running of the bulls or anything. Our program ends on June 4th, but my family doesn't arrive until June 7th. So I am going with Ashton to visit her host family from when she studied abroad for Spanish in Pamplona last year. More good news, free place to stay and little to nothing for food!
That is all for now, I will hopefully get a chance to write later. Love you all!
mardi 6 mai 2008
Italy on Speed
Hey hey hey!
Long time, no post. The internet has not been working at the hotel since I got home from the break. Finally it is back up, but who knows for how long. So I thought I would fill everyone in since my last post after Barcelona.
Over the ten day holiday, I went to London and all over Italy. I traveled with three other girls: Jenna, my roommate, and Lauren. We had to fly to Italy, and to use the cheap airline you have to fly from Pau to one of the three other cities in Europe that it goes to from there. We picked London. Unfortunately, it was not that great. We didn't get there until about noon, and we had lunch right away which took about two hours. After that we went exploring, but I didn't see anything. We wanted to buy a bus tour that goes all around the city, but by the time we thought of that we realized the buses stopped running an hour later. But I walked around Picadilly Circus, which is like Times Square, and went into some of the little shops.
After London, we flew to Florence. Well, we flew into Pisa and took a bus to Florence, which was only an hour away. Florence was really, really cool. The food there was amazing, and we got to stay with Lauren's *a girl in my program who went with us* friend who was studying abroad at NYU there. Her friend's name was Rosie and she was so nice and guided us around everywhere and took us to the best places. It was awkward constantly getting harrassed to buy fake designer handbags or sunglasses or belts, though.
We stayed in Florence for two nights, and we didn't see a whole lot of monuments or things that Florence is famous for simply because the lines were so long. We walked around the markets and got gelatto and tuscan food.
After Florence, we took a train to Venice. We only stayed in Venice for one day, but we saw a lot of the city. We took a gondola ride around the canal and walked around Saint Marc's Square. We headed back to the hostel early to get up the next morning really early to take a train to Naples. By the way, the hostel situations in Italy were MUCH better than in Barcelona. The rooms were all private, just for the four of us, and clean and sanitary.
Now, our original plan had us staying in Naples, but we heard from Rosie that because of a terrible ongoing garbage strike, Naples might not be an ideal vacation spot. So we quickly reconfigured our plans. Instead, we went from Naples to Sorrento, and took a ferry from Sorrento to Capri the next morning. Capri was so beautiful. I've never seen such clear water, but the beaches are all rocks. We went on a two hour private boat ride around the island, and saw the Blue Grotto and other cool caves and stuff. After Capri, we were headed to Rome. But not before having some interesting stories. The first, my gelatto experience from Hell. Now, for those who have never ordered gelatto in Italy before, here is how it works: typically, you choose a size of cone or cup and fit as many flavors as you want in that size. By this time I had eaten gelatto every day of vacation, and it was the seventh day, so I was no rookie. So I am the first to order, and I point to a waffle cone and ask how much it is to get it. The man tells me Three Euro. So I tell the woman that I want the waffle cone, with three flavors. I choose my flavors and she hands me a monstroctiy of an ice cream cone. It was at least as big as my head. Instead of filling the cone with my three flavors to the edge, she piled about 12 scoops in it. I was so mad, I had to pay ten euro and the gelatto was so bad I ended up throwing most of it away anyways. I'm sure they just conned me out of my money, and I tried arguing, but to no avail.
The next story is about our run around trying to hike Mount Vesuvious. Now, we go to climb it on May 1st, a major holiday in Italy. Therefore, the Pompeii ruins are closed so the people who wanted to see those went to Mount Vesuvio instead. So it was PACKED. To make matters worse, due to the holiday, there was no guarantee that a bus would actually come to take us there and back. So we take a taxi, the driver tells us it will be 35 euro total. Halfway up the volcano, still in the taxi, the driver tells us that we can't get in because it is too crowded. So we have to turn around and go back, but he gives a discount on the price. We found out later that it was probably a complete scam because people we met had went to Vesuvio that day and said it was just fine to hike it. ARG! I hate being foreign where people can take advantage of you.
After the Vesivious disaster, we were headed for Rome. Agh. Talk about chaos. The lines for everything were SO long. The only things we got in to see was the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. We walked by the Colesseum during the day and at night, but we didn't have time to see anything else. Not to mention no one was helping Jenna and I plan where to go and how to get there, and I was sick of everyone's complaining.
Finally we left Rome at midnight and got to Genova very early the next morning. We spent a few hours on a beach there, and then left to come back home to Pau.
So there you have it, Florence, Venice, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Rome, Genova. All in ten days. Phew, it was too complicated and if I had to do it over again, I would just stay in Capri. That's all for now, I love and miss you all!
Long time, no post. The internet has not been working at the hotel since I got home from the break. Finally it is back up, but who knows for how long. So I thought I would fill everyone in since my last post after Barcelona.
Over the ten day holiday, I went to London and all over Italy. I traveled with three other girls: Jenna, my roommate, and Lauren. We had to fly to Italy, and to use the cheap airline you have to fly from Pau to one of the three other cities in Europe that it goes to from there. We picked London. Unfortunately, it was not that great. We didn't get there until about noon, and we had lunch right away which took about two hours. After that we went exploring, but I didn't see anything. We wanted to buy a bus tour that goes all around the city, but by the time we thought of that we realized the buses stopped running an hour later. But I walked around Picadilly Circus, which is like Times Square, and went into some of the little shops.
After London, we flew to Florence. Well, we flew into Pisa and took a bus to Florence, which was only an hour away. Florence was really, really cool. The food there was amazing, and we got to stay with Lauren's *a girl in my program who went with us* friend who was studying abroad at NYU there. Her friend's name was Rosie and she was so nice and guided us around everywhere and took us to the best places. It was awkward constantly getting harrassed to buy fake designer handbags or sunglasses or belts, though.
We stayed in Florence for two nights, and we didn't see a whole lot of monuments or things that Florence is famous for simply because the lines were so long. We walked around the markets and got gelatto and tuscan food.
After Florence, we took a train to Venice. We only stayed in Venice for one day, but we saw a lot of the city. We took a gondola ride around the canal and walked around Saint Marc's Square. We headed back to the hostel early to get up the next morning really early to take a train to Naples. By the way, the hostel situations in Italy were MUCH better than in Barcelona. The rooms were all private, just for the four of us, and clean and sanitary.
Now, our original plan had us staying in Naples, but we heard from Rosie that because of a terrible ongoing garbage strike, Naples might not be an ideal vacation spot. So we quickly reconfigured our plans. Instead, we went from Naples to Sorrento, and took a ferry from Sorrento to Capri the next morning. Capri was so beautiful. I've never seen such clear water, but the beaches are all rocks. We went on a two hour private boat ride around the island, and saw the Blue Grotto and other cool caves and stuff. After Capri, we were headed to Rome. But not before having some interesting stories. The first, my gelatto experience from Hell. Now, for those who have never ordered gelatto in Italy before, here is how it works: typically, you choose a size of cone or cup and fit as many flavors as you want in that size. By this time I had eaten gelatto every day of vacation, and it was the seventh day, so I was no rookie. So I am the first to order, and I point to a waffle cone and ask how much it is to get it. The man tells me Three Euro. So I tell the woman that I want the waffle cone, with three flavors. I choose my flavors and she hands me a monstroctiy of an ice cream cone. It was at least as big as my head. Instead of filling the cone with my three flavors to the edge, she piled about 12 scoops in it. I was so mad, I had to pay ten euro and the gelatto was so bad I ended up throwing most of it away anyways. I'm sure they just conned me out of my money, and I tried arguing, but to no avail.
The next story is about our run around trying to hike Mount Vesuvious. Now, we go to climb it on May 1st, a major holiday in Italy. Therefore, the Pompeii ruins are closed so the people who wanted to see those went to Mount Vesuvio instead. So it was PACKED. To make matters worse, due to the holiday, there was no guarantee that a bus would actually come to take us there and back. So we take a taxi, the driver tells us it will be 35 euro total. Halfway up the volcano, still in the taxi, the driver tells us that we can't get in because it is too crowded. So we have to turn around and go back, but he gives a discount on the price. We found out later that it was probably a complete scam because people we met had went to Vesuvio that day and said it was just fine to hike it. ARG! I hate being foreign where people can take advantage of you.
After the Vesivious disaster, we were headed for Rome. Agh. Talk about chaos. The lines for everything were SO long. The only things we got in to see was the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. We walked by the Colesseum during the day and at night, but we didn't have time to see anything else. Not to mention no one was helping Jenna and I plan where to go and how to get there, and I was sick of everyone's complaining.
Finally we left Rome at midnight and got to Genova very early the next morning. We spent a few hours on a beach there, and then left to come back home to Pau.
So there you have it, Florence, Venice, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Rome, Genova. All in ten days. Phew, it was too complicated and if I had to do it over again, I would just stay in Capri. That's all for now, I love and miss you all!
lundi 21 avril 2008
Barcelona: Day Two
Well, after an exciting day of sight-seeing and being creeped out by weirdoes, we were all excited to go out and see everything else Barcelona had to offer. Kelly was there and I was excited to spend the next two days with her- seeing a friend was exactly what I needed to cure my homesickness.
First stop: Sagrada Familia. Oh, but wait... there's a market all along La Rambla. But we decided to save that for after. The Sagrada Familia is amazing. You have to see it in person to know exactly what I mean- my pictures don't do it justice. I say that for two reasons. 1. I was excited to see the Sagrada Familia, of course, it's what Barcelona is famous for. But I couldn't have imagined the wonder and awe of this masterpiece until I stepped off of the metro and was standing right in front of it. It took my breath away. It was so... incredible. The art and sculpture is so detailed that I think it might be more impressive than the Grand Canyon. 2. Everytime I would take a picture I got frustrated, because what I am seeing on the screen is nothing compared to what I am seeing with my eyes. I highly recommend to anyone who has not seen it, to go if you get a chance. It is amazing!
After the Sagrada Familia, we all went to the tourist shops close by. It was really fun to bargain with the store owners to try and get a lower price. Maureen Vavro would have been proud! I bought a Barcelona purse (it just says Barcelona all over it), and a gift for Grammy and Grandpa and Grandma and Papa. After that we had pizza and went back to La Rambla to explore.
The market booths all up and down La Rambla sold tons of different things. Most sold jewelry or handmade clothing and scarves. *While I'm on the subject, scarves are BIG here- you don't fit in unless you wear one. I was able to find a few that would be 5 Euro for two. If anyone thinks that they would actually wear one, I would love to buy some as souveniors if I can find them as cheap throughout my travels. Please let me know!* I bought myself two scarves and two others that I have in mind as gifts.
After this we all got ready and went out for a night on the town together! We bar-hopped, exploring different avenues and seeing what the city night-life was like. I eventually refused to speak English to the natives, which made communication a little difficult, but it was really fun at the same time. We called it a night around two, and I had a good night's sleep.
To be continued...
First stop: Sagrada Familia. Oh, but wait... there's a market all along La Rambla. But we decided to save that for after. The Sagrada Familia is amazing. You have to see it in person to know exactly what I mean- my pictures don't do it justice. I say that for two reasons. 1. I was excited to see the Sagrada Familia, of course, it's what Barcelona is famous for. But I couldn't have imagined the wonder and awe of this masterpiece until I stepped off of the metro and was standing right in front of it. It took my breath away. It was so... incredible. The art and sculpture is so detailed that I think it might be more impressive than the Grand Canyon. 2. Everytime I would take a picture I got frustrated, because what I am seeing on the screen is nothing compared to what I am seeing with my eyes. I highly recommend to anyone who has not seen it, to go if you get a chance. It is amazing!
After the Sagrada Familia, we all went to the tourist shops close by. It was really fun to bargain with the store owners to try and get a lower price. Maureen Vavro would have been proud! I bought a Barcelona purse (it just says Barcelona all over it), and a gift for Grammy and Grandpa and Grandma and Papa. After that we had pizza and went back to La Rambla to explore.
The market booths all up and down La Rambla sold tons of different things. Most sold jewelry or handmade clothing and scarves. *While I'm on the subject, scarves are BIG here- you don't fit in unless you wear one. I was able to find a few that would be 5 Euro for two. If anyone thinks that they would actually wear one, I would love to buy some as souveniors if I can find them as cheap throughout my travels. Please let me know!* I bought myself two scarves and two others that I have in mind as gifts.
After this we all got ready and went out for a night on the town together! We bar-hopped, exploring different avenues and seeing what the city night-life was like. I eventually refused to speak English to the natives, which made communication a little difficult, but it was really fun at the same time. We called it a night around two, and I had a good night's sleep.
To be continued...
Barcelona: Day One
Well this past weekend I had my first opportunity to travel outside of Pau. Elizabeth and I left Thursday night at 6:38 on the night train, scheduled to arrive in Barcelona at 9:00 AM Friday. The night train was...different. I was on a sleeper car, which means instead of seats we slept in a tiny little bunk bed, the room fit 6 beds- three on each side. I had a great night's sleep surprisingly, even though the pillow was about an inch thick.
Barcelona was a little chilly and it was raining when we arrived, which put a slight damper on my mood. But I was determined to make the most of the experience, especially since one of my best friends (Kelly Berry) was meeting me later that day. The hostel... was DISGUSTING. I guess you have to expect that sometimes with the cheap rates you are paying, but I was completely unprepared for the grossness that was Abba Youth Hostel. The showers were SO gross- I don't know if they ever got cleaned. The sinks were always full of hair and the toilets didnt flush. I slept clutching my belongings because we were in a room with 5 people that we didn't know. I think that might have been the only good thing, besides the location, and by that I mean we got to meet a lot of different people with such different backgrounds. We met two Canadian twin girls who had been studying in Germany for the past few months, and decided to travel to other European countries for a few weeks. It's amazing the kind of people who have the ability to just backpack through Europe, with no agenda really, just kind of making up their adventure as they go along. I don't think I could ever do that. I always need a plan and a companion or two.
Well, after we got settled and showered (EW), we headed out to see some sights and get something to eat. It was such a nice change going from French to Spanish. I quickly refreshed my memory of spanish vocabulary and conjugation. We ate a quick lunch of chicken salad at a buffet restaurant named Micky's. Then we found an internet cafe and planned out the rest of our day. We decided to see two of Gaudi's houses: Casa Batilo and Casa Mila. We didn't go inside because the lines were ridiculous and it was pretty expensive. After seeing those things, we wanted to check out the rest of La Rambla (the main street in Barcelona that is a mile long).
Because it was so crowded on the strip, we walked down by the harbor in the opposite direction, to a mall called Maremagnum. Now, I hadn't intended on doing any shopping, the stores we had gone into were pretty pricey. But we wanted to walk around and see what was available. Needless to say we saw a European store called Lefties and I was in HEAVEN. Prices ranged from 2,95-14,95!! I bought a lot. I found an adorable sweater that is a really pretty teal blue a gift for Meg, two pretty sundresses, a cute summery shirt, and a fun shirt that is totally European that I would never usually buy.
Then the real weird stuff starts to happen. So I guess European bachelor parties are a lot different than American ones, or maybe I'm just naive. When we were trying to enjoy a nice dinner, a rude, obviously drunk (no, make that WASTED) group of British men decided to harrass us. They were on a "stag tour" for one of their friends, and were so obnoxious and creepy. They kept asking us to come back to their hotel and offering to buy us drinks, and even trying to kiss us. I was appalled- and we are thought to be the embarrassing country! But anyways, after dinner I was getting worried because I hadn't heard from Kelly yet and she was supposed to stay in the same hostel. So before Elizabeth and I went out, I left a note for her.
We went out to that bar, Dow Jones just to check out the atmosphere. It was really cool and I was glad that I went. We stayed for two rounds, and then left because we were so tired. When I walked in the door of the hostel there was Kelly!! She had arrived late- around midnight. But I was so glad to see her! After that we went to bed because the next day we had to get up early to see the Sagrada Familia.
To be continued....
Barcelona was a little chilly and it was raining when we arrived, which put a slight damper on my mood. But I was determined to make the most of the experience, especially since one of my best friends (Kelly Berry) was meeting me later that day. The hostel... was DISGUSTING. I guess you have to expect that sometimes with the cheap rates you are paying, but I was completely unprepared for the grossness that was Abba Youth Hostel. The showers were SO gross- I don't know if they ever got cleaned. The sinks were always full of hair and the toilets didnt flush. I slept clutching my belongings because we were in a room with 5 people that we didn't know. I think that might have been the only good thing, besides the location, and by that I mean we got to meet a lot of different people with such different backgrounds. We met two Canadian twin girls who had been studying in Germany for the past few months, and decided to travel to other European countries for a few weeks. It's amazing the kind of people who have the ability to just backpack through Europe, with no agenda really, just kind of making up their adventure as they go along. I don't think I could ever do that. I always need a plan and a companion or two.
Well, after we got settled and showered (EW), we headed out to see some sights and get something to eat. It was such a nice change going from French to Spanish. I quickly refreshed my memory of spanish vocabulary and conjugation. We ate a quick lunch of chicken salad at a buffet restaurant named Micky's. Then we found an internet cafe and planned out the rest of our day. We decided to see two of Gaudi's houses: Casa Batilo and Casa Mila. We didn't go inside because the lines were ridiculous and it was pretty expensive. After seeing those things, we wanted to check out the rest of La Rambla (the main street in Barcelona that is a mile long).
Because it was so crowded on the strip, we walked down by the harbor in the opposite direction, to a mall called Maremagnum. Now, I hadn't intended on doing any shopping, the stores we had gone into were pretty pricey. But we wanted to walk around and see what was available. Needless to say we saw a European store called Lefties and I was in HEAVEN. Prices ranged from 2,95-14,95!! I bought a lot. I found an adorable sweater that is a really pretty teal blue a gift for Meg, two pretty sundresses, a cute summery shirt, and a fun shirt that is totally European that I would never usually buy.
Then the real weird stuff starts to happen. So I guess European bachelor parties are a lot different than American ones, or maybe I'm just naive. When we were trying to enjoy a nice dinner, a rude, obviously drunk (no, make that WASTED) group of British men decided to harrass us. They were on a "stag tour" for one of their friends, and were so obnoxious and creepy. They kept asking us to come back to their hotel and offering to buy us drinks, and even trying to kiss us. I was appalled- and we are thought to be the embarrassing country! But anyways, after dinner I was getting worried because I hadn't heard from Kelly yet and she was supposed to stay in the same hostel. So before Elizabeth and I went out, I left a note for her.
We went out to that bar, Dow Jones just to check out the atmosphere. It was really cool and I was glad that I went. We stayed for two rounds, and then left because we were so tired. When I walked in the door of the hostel there was Kelly!! She had arrived late- around midnight. But I was so glad to see her! After that we went to bed because the next day we had to get up early to see the Sagrada Familia.
To be continued....
lundi 14 avril 2008
More about last weekend...
Sorry I wasn't able to write very much last time. Hiking was awesome and the mountains were beautiful, as you will be able to see from my pictures.
Saturday night was exhausted so I watched P.S. I Love You online, by streaming it from the internet. It was a really good movie, but if you cry easily watch out- it was SO sad and kind of morbid.
Sunday was really gloomy out so I watched two movies in bed and then did my homework. In Operations we are starting the OMLS project, which is basically an computerized simulation of running and managing a bicycle manufacturing plant. We are each in charge of hiring and firing workers, and of assigning workers to different work stations in order to maintain profitability and efficiency. AKA- boring!
I am starting to get really excited for Barcelona, it's going to be so much fun. I am definitely going to check out the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila, and Casa Batllo. It will be really nice to speak Spanish for a change instead of stumbling through French. We also heard about a bar called "Dow Jones", where the system resembles the stock market. When the demand for a certain drink goes up, the price increases as well. Also when the demand for a drink is low, the price falls. In addition, there are frequent "market crashes" in which the lights flash and all the drinks fall to their minimum price and the bar gets crazy.
Our train for Barcelona leaves on Thursday night at 6:38 and we arrive in Barcelona 9:00 AM Friday morning. Kelly arrives sometime around 2 on Friday, so Elizabeth and I will have some time to settle in before she gets there.
I'm starting to get really annoyed about the 10 day vacation coming up in less than two weeks. The guys had this trip all planned out before they came, and me and three other girls agreed that we would do our own thing. First of all, the guys are going to 4 different countries in 10 days, leaving about one day or less in each city to sightsee and travel. I am all about seeing as much as I can here, but I feel that that plan is unrealistic and will be exhausting. I would much rather go to Italy and pick 3 or 4 cities and spend two or three days in each. But of course, my roommate doesn't want to lift a finger to help plan anything, so she is just going to go with the guys. And I am stuck all by myself being the only person who doesn't want to do that. She went to Paris this past weekend with Jenna, another girl on the trip, and I was amazed at how little she did. She basically made a list of all the places she wanted to see, and Jenna planned everything. She booked the dinner cruise, their hostel, she organized directions from one metro station to the other so they would know how to get around. It's really unbelievable sometimes how she can't lift a finger to do anything for anyone else, or even herself. She missed class Friday to go to Paris, and I told her I didn't know how to do the homework. It's not fair that I help her because she missed class, when I know she would never help me if I didn't understand something.
Tonight will be really fun, some other students and I are playing badmitton with the Frenchies. And then Wednesday night the Americans are playing soccer against the French students. Guess who wont be in attendance for either game? (I'll give you a hint... it's not me) I'm terrible at soccer but I am really excited! Okay everyone, time for class! Love you!
Saturday night was exhausted so I watched P.S. I Love You online, by streaming it from the internet. It was a really good movie, but if you cry easily watch out- it was SO sad and kind of morbid.
Sunday was really gloomy out so I watched two movies in bed and then did my homework. In Operations we are starting the OMLS project, which is basically an computerized simulation of running and managing a bicycle manufacturing plant. We are each in charge of hiring and firing workers, and of assigning workers to different work stations in order to maintain profitability and efficiency. AKA- boring!
I am starting to get really excited for Barcelona, it's going to be so much fun. I am definitely going to check out the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila, and Casa Batllo. It will be really nice to speak Spanish for a change instead of stumbling through French. We also heard about a bar called "Dow Jones", where the system resembles the stock market. When the demand for a certain drink goes up, the price increases as well. Also when the demand for a drink is low, the price falls. In addition, there are frequent "market crashes" in which the lights flash and all the drinks fall to their minimum price and the bar gets crazy.
Our train for Barcelona leaves on Thursday night at 6:38 and we arrive in Barcelona 9:00 AM Friday morning. Kelly arrives sometime around 2 on Friday, so Elizabeth and I will have some time to settle in before she gets there.
I'm starting to get really annoyed about the 10 day vacation coming up in less than two weeks. The guys had this trip all planned out before they came, and me and three other girls agreed that we would do our own thing. First of all, the guys are going to 4 different countries in 10 days, leaving about one day or less in each city to sightsee and travel. I am all about seeing as much as I can here, but I feel that that plan is unrealistic and will be exhausting. I would much rather go to Italy and pick 3 or 4 cities and spend two or three days in each. But of course, my roommate doesn't want to lift a finger to help plan anything, so she is just going to go with the guys. And I am stuck all by myself being the only person who doesn't want to do that. She went to Paris this past weekend with Jenna, another girl on the trip, and I was amazed at how little she did. She basically made a list of all the places she wanted to see, and Jenna planned everything. She booked the dinner cruise, their hostel, she organized directions from one metro station to the other so they would know how to get around. It's really unbelievable sometimes how she can't lift a finger to do anything for anyone else, or even herself. She missed class Friday to go to Paris, and I told her I didn't know how to do the homework. It's not fair that I help her because she missed class, when I know she would never help me if I didn't understand something.
Tonight will be really fun, some other students and I are playing badmitton with the Frenchies. And then Wednesday night the Americans are playing soccer against the French students. Guess who wont be in attendance for either game? (I'll give you a hint... it's not me) I'm terrible at soccer but I am really excited! Okay everyone, time for class! Love you!
Fun filled weekend
Bonjour!
I hope everyone had a very good weekend, I heard grandmas speech went very well with no tears, yay! I was so glad I got to talk to grandma and papa and some of my cousins, and of course, Mom, Dad and Abby.
This weekend was a lot of fun, as you know we went hiking on Saturday morning. It was really fun! But, there were HUGE slugs on the ground everywhere which was sick! Not to mention, for the first half hour we somehow went off the trail and were forging our way through thick forest. Finally we stumbled upon the correct path and laughed for about ten minutes. It was like we had been professional hikers, climbing STEEP hills.
The view from the top was breath-taking. It was kind of scary, I dont think Grammy would have liked being up so high and walking so close to the edge. I will definitely work on getting all my pictures together and in an album for you to view. I will post more later!
Love,
CP
I hope everyone had a very good weekend, I heard grandmas speech went very well with no tears, yay! I was so glad I got to talk to grandma and papa and some of my cousins, and of course, Mom, Dad and Abby.
This weekend was a lot of fun, as you know we went hiking on Saturday morning. It was really fun! But, there were HUGE slugs on the ground everywhere which was sick! Not to mention, for the first half hour we somehow went off the trail and were forging our way through thick forest. Finally we stumbled upon the correct path and laughed for about ten minutes. It was like we had been professional hikers, climbing STEEP hills.
The view from the top was breath-taking. It was kind of scary, I dont think Grammy would have liked being up so high and walking so close to the edge. I will definitely work on getting all my pictures together and in an album for you to view. I will post more later!
Love,
CP
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