The Definition of Bittersweet

I have never once said the statement "This semester went on forever." Time always flies by. I never realize how quickly a semester or school year or summer has gone until it's gone. But saying that this particular semester has flown by is the truest version of that statement that I have ever said.

Today is my last full day in Italy. Tomorrow morning I'll get picked up and spend 11 hours traveling and return back to the good old U.S. of A.

I've never gone through a change like this. I am so incredibly happy in Italy and there are still so many things I want to see and do. But at the same time, I miss home like crazy and cannot wait to see my family.

I've been a little overwhelmed the past few days, with preparing for finals and trying to run around soaking up Verona and trying to squeeze everything into my suitcases. And with shopping too (hey, gotta use those leftover euros, right?).

I started thinking about the day before I left for abroad. I was anxious and terrified and completely unprepared. I even tried calling Italy to tell them that I wasn't coming anymore. I also ran into an open cabinet in my bathroom and fell to the floor pretending I was paralyzed and couldn't go anymore. My family didn't buy it.

But 4 months later I am so happy that Italy never picked up that phone call, because this has been one of the best experiences of my life. I'm coming home filled with memories, stories and a changed mindset on the world. I have fallen in love with Verona and traveling and seeing the world. I never want this to end.

But, of course, I have to go home tomorrow. And it's the definition of bittersweet.

This entire experience would not have been possible without the love and constant support of my parents. I was scared to death but they both told me I could do it and they were right. I am unbelievably lucky to have such great family and friends standing behind me.

I have a few more hours to play around in the city, and then it's off to our farewell dinner. This night felt like it was years away back in January. And now January seems like a blink of an eye ago.

Arrivederci Verona. Ci vediamo! Goodbye Verona. I'll see you later!

A Semester in Statistics

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121 days

82 Trains • 26 U of I Students

34 Planes • 10 Countries • 6 books read

4 courses 

2 Suitcases • 1 Semester

0 Regrets

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Romeward Bound

This past weekend might go down as 3 of the best days in my history. It was my last weekend here in Italy, and I got to spend it with Mark in Rome celebrating my 21st birthday!

Mark got to Italy on Thursday morning, and we spent the day in Verona. I was so glad that I finally got to show him everything I've been talking about all semester. The weather was absolutely perfect that day and we had so much fun!

Between the calzones, pasta and 4 times he got gelato, I think Mark liked the food in Italy (yes, 4, that is not a typo). We saw all of the sights, ate at my favorite restaurant and had some delicious sprtiz! All in all, it was a great day in Verona.

Gelato in Piazza Bra

Our lock in Juliet's courtyard 

On Thursday night we headed to Rome. Mark and I have been planning this trip to Rome since about November. We found out that Fun.-our favorite band- would be playing in Rome on my birthday. It seemed almost too good to be true!

So on Thursday we took an overnight train to Rome. This might have been one of the worst experiences of my life. We were in uncomfortable seats in a small room with people who snored and the train temperature switched from freezing to sweltering about every hour. But after 6 hours we finally made it to Rome, and eventually to our hotel where were able to get some decent sleep!

We woke up a few hours later ready to see the city! After the train we were going to take to the center of the city was CANCELLED, we finally figured out a bus and metro to get there. We started at the colosseum, which was absolutely amazing.We went inside and walked around, and just seeing all of the ruins was incredible.

The Colosseum 

Afterwards we walked around past the forum and saw more ruins. The mix between the big city feel of Rome and the ancient civilization it once was was a pretty strange. But it was also a neat way to see how far human beings have come.

We made our way to the Trevi Fountain after that-gotta make  those wishes! Legend has it that anyone who throws a coin into the fountain is sure to return to Rome.
The fountain was one of the most crowded places I've ever seen. Tons of tourists were shoving and pushing to try to get up there and make their wish. But we eventually got through the crowd and were able to sit by the fountain for a little bit.

Making wishes

We continued walking after that and made our way to the Pantheon, which literally looked fake against the buildings behind it. Inside was a beautiful chapel with a high dome ceiling. We loved seeing all of the big sights of Rome that day!

The Pantheon 

We headed to another area of town after that to find some authentic Italian pizza! It was absolutely delicious, we couldn't have found a better litte pizzeria. After dinner we found a small bar and Mark bought me a drink to have when I turned 21 at midnight! It wasn't the typical crazy night out for a 21st birthday, but there was nowhere in the world I'd rather be.

The next day we woke up and planned on going to Vatican City to see everything.  Once again, transportation to get into the city took longer than expected, but we finally made it!

When Mark and I walked in there and looked on at St. Peter's Basilica, Mark leaned over and said "I just got chills." It was really one of those moments where we realized what an amazing place were were standing in.

Of course, St. Peter's Basilica was just about to close for 3 hours, so we couldn't get in there. Instead we decided to go see the Sistine Chapel, la sistina capella, which was what Mark and I both really wanted to see anyway.

The process of actually getting into the chapel was incredibly long and not at all what we had expected. We knew that to get there you had to walk through the Vatican Museum, which is room after room of beautiful artwork. However, there were so many people in there at once that there really wasn't any time to stop and appreciate the art. We were herded like sheep for about two hours, literally getting pushed or shoved or stepped on. It was hot and stuffy as we walked through and all we wanted was to finally see the chapel.

When we did walk into the chapel, we both felt it had been worth the walk. I've been learning about the different scenes painted in the chapel in art history this semester, and loved finally getting to see them. Mark and I made our way to the center so that we could look up at The Creation of Adam.

There were tons of people milling around the chapel, everyone's heads turned upward to see the famed ceiling. Security guards were constantly yelling SHHH and No photo, no video. But no one listened to them

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

After a few minutes in there, Mark decided he wasn't geting a good enough view. He looked around, and then decided to lay down on the ground and stare up at the ceiling. A few people stared but by the time he stood up someone came up, patted him on the shoulder and said "Bravo."

Mark on the floor of the Sistine Chapel

We spent a lot of time just looking around at the art, talking about how unbelievably amazing it was that we were staring at the work of Michelangelo.

Once we left the chapel we were herded through a few more rooms until we finally figured out how to get out of there.

After the chapel we headed to get some food and tried to get a cab. It was also pouring and super windy so that was a fun time. We finally got a cab and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the concert!

When we walked into the hotel room there was chocolate, a bottle of wine and a happy birthday note from my parents!! They had talked to the hotel and arranged it all. It gave me such a big smile :)

After FaceTiming with my parents Mark and I headed off to the concert! I was so excited to see Fun. again, for the 5th time! We got in line for the concert and had about 40 minutes to wait until the doors opened.

Once we got in we made our to the front and were standing in about the 3rd row, which was the closest we've ever been at ta Fun. concert!

The concert was everything I could've hoped for! They played all of our favorite songs and, as usual, were amazing performers. It was the perfect way to spend my 21st birthday, I couldn't have asked for a better present.

Fun. performing one of our favorite songs, The Gambler

The next day morning we both headed back to our respective cities to spend one last week of our abroad experiences. Rome was beautiful and I'm so glad I spent my last weekend in Italy there. I had a wonderful 21st birthday thanks to the amazing people in my life, and I can't wait to celebrate with my family once I get home!

The End Is Near

Alright. I'm getting nostalgic. Everyday someone sadly states how many days we have left before we go back to the U.S. and I almost burst in to tears each time.

It's not as if I wont' be happy to go home. I have so many things to look forward to, and I can't even describe how much I miss my family. But I'm also not ready for this experience to be over.

I spent months preparing for this trip. From the weeks I spent on my application to buying the essentials (such as the travel toilet paper I bought at REI because someone told me that some hostels make you pay for toilet paper - which I've never run in to) to stressing over what to pack, it's unbelievable that now my thoughts are turned towards "the end."

We're all doing our best to soak up all of Verona that we can! Now that spring has sprung we're having picnics during the day, watch the sunset from the top of the hill at sunset and make homemade pasta together at night! The sunny weather has transformed the city, and we''re having more fun than ever now.

Enjoying an evening on top of the city!

The beautiful Verona sunset

Lookin' good in Verona

It's All Greek To Me

And with this post, I am almost entirely caught up on my blogging! It will feel so good to have all of my experiences and memories down, forever immortalized on the internet, safe and sound.

After returning from Austria on Sunday night I had a few hours to repack before getting on a 4:30am bus to the airport. After a minor panic attack when I realized I didn't know how to pack for Greece for an entire week, I finally shoved some things into a suitcase and wheeled my way through Verona during the early hours of the morning, where 14 of us headed to the Milan airport!

Flying into Athens was an amazing feeling. Greece has always been a place I've wanted to see, for as long as I can remember. And I was finally there.

We had some complications getting to our hostel. We tried taking the metro but it completely shut down that day, after a death on the tracks. It was shocking and we had no idea what do, stuck in the middle of Athens. Eventually we found a cab driver to take us to the hostel.

Once there, we found out some more interesting news. We were scheduled to leave for the island of Corfu on Wednesday. However, a woman from our Corfu hotel called us saying that there was supposed to be a ferry strike on Wednesday, making it impossible for us to get to Corfu. To avoid this, we'd have to leave for Corfu on Tuesday, a day early.

That meant that we only had Monday afternoon in Athens, so we did our best to navigate the streets to get to the Acropolis, the Grecian ruins. While walking to the Acropolis the economic state of the country was very obvious. We saw run-down buildings and graffiti everywhere. It was very interesting to actually see what the news stories had been talking about.

The term "It's all Greek to me" was pretty applicable on this trip. I tried my best to put my sorority knowledge to good use and try to sound out words, but even if I could figure out how to pronounce the symbols, I still had no idea what anything meant.

After a DELICIOUS first meal consisting of gyros and tzaziki and some yummy Starbucks, we made it to the Acropolis. We didn't have a ton of time there, but we had a beautiful view of the city and I couldn't help but feel like Hercules the whole time.

Ancient Greek Amphitheater 

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Me, Maggie, Lisa, Chelsea and Kristin! 

Athens at night

After wandering around the ruins, we did some souvenir shopping we headed back to our hostel, where we packed up and got ready to head to Corfu the next day! Seeing Athens was really cool and I wish we would've had more time there, because there was definitely more to see.

Tuesday consisted of traveling, 7 hours on a bus and 2 more on a ferry. Then a bus labeled The Pink Palace showed up, and we knew we had made it to Corfu!

We had originally heard about The Pink Palace from students who went on the Verona program last spring. They said it was the best trip they took the entire semester, and we couldn't resist seeing what all the fuss was about.

I'm not quite sure how to describe The Pink Palace. It's considered a "party hostel" and during the busy season it's crowded with college-aged study abroad students looking for a typical American spring break destination. However, we were NOT there during the busy season, which made it even more interesting.

The Pink Palace is a secluded little area on Corfu, pretty far from almost anything else on the island. We were contained to the resort, eating most meals there and attempting to lay out on their rocky beach. But I think we really embraced the tackiness of the place, and had a wonderful, relaxing week.

On our first full day we got a bus (A Pink Palace bus) to Corfu Town, which was a small little town with tons of cute shops and restaurants. I loved strolling around the little area and I wished we would've had more time there.

             Hanging around Corfu Town                                       

Our room had a balcony overlooking the water (and some pink buildings), and we had a great view of the mountains. Whenever I looked at it I kept thinking that it looked just like a painting. And then I remembered a song from a musical called "Part of a Painting," which is about a man describing everything he sees while on a trip to Greece. The sunsets we saw from the balcony were absolutely beautiful.

We spent our nights in the Pink Palace lobby, which just had tables and a small bar. We mostly played card games and tried to ignore the large group of Canadians playing beer pong and singing "Oh Canada." We met a group of boys who are from the East coast and studying abroad in Prague. It was fun to swap study abroad stories and speak English. So that's always good when you travel.

The next day was spent laying out on the sun decks over the water. We all talked about putting on sunscreen after getting just a bit of sun, but we all forgot about the fact that our skin hadn't seen the light of day since, like, August. Needless to say, we all burnt to a fine crisp. Most people were waiting for it to turn to tan. I was just hoping not to peel like a banana.



At dinner that night we all looked as pink as the pink palace, but despite the painful burns we sill managed to have a good time.

The next day we decided laying out was just not an option again, so we covered our shoulders, lathered on the sunscreen and went for a hike. Corfu is surprisingly green and mountainous and has tons a beautiful scenery.

The hike reminded me that the past few months of telling myself "I walk so much it's ok that I'm not really working out that often" were completely false. We ended up going uphill both ways (I'm not sure how it happened, but really we did), and ran into some interesting creatures. First we saw a large sheep and a little baby lamb, which was adorable. As we kept walking down the trail we ran into a larger group of sheep and lambs, and then some large horned animal, that threatened our hiking plans. After testing it to see what would happen if we moved closer, he started coming towards us so we decided to give them their space and head the other way.

Just a sign that spring is here!

Just a sign of DANGER

The rest of the hike was hot and sweaty and tough but actually still really fun! I'm glad we got to see the island from a different view, and we found a delicious gyros restaurant along the way, too!

Hanging out on the sundeck

Having some tasty drinks in in Corfu

- Now a short story about a stolen purse -

The next day was going to be a lazy, lay-out at the beach (this time with sunscreen) kind of day. It started off fine, with heading down to breakfast, like we did everyday. As usual, Andreas (the cook) prepared us fried eggs and some questionable bacon. My friends and I were the last 4 people down at breakfast that day, and began the 10-minute uphill walk back to the main building. I realized after about 5 minutes I had forgotten my purse at breakfast, so I went back down to grab it.

Once we got back, I headed to the table we were sitting at and my purse was gone, table completely cleaned and wiped down. The only people left in the breakfast room were Andreas and 3 busboys. We all assumed one of the busboys had seen it and turned it in somewhere. However, no one was able to remember the purse, it had simply disappeared. So my purse, with my iphone, ID and cash, had vanished. We tried calling my phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Meaning someone had turned it off. Meaning someone had my phone. Andreas made a call to "The boss" who said all of the busboys had to stay in the room until the elusive "boss" came to check things out.

After about 45 minutes, we got another call saying bossman was too busy and couldn't make it. Andreas shrugged his shoulders, a sign that there was nothing left to do but check the lost and found for the rest of the day. I went upstairs to my room knowing my phone was gone. I emailed my parents asking them to suspend the service on my phone.

I changed and decided to go down to the beach and come back to check the lost and found later. On my way down, though, I decided to talk to the receptionist about the possibility of speaking with a manager. I wondered if maybe talking with a woman about it would elicit a different outcome. She asked why and after I explained the story she called down to the breakfast room and sternly asked for an explanation. She spoke Greek half the time but sounded angry. Once she hung up she told me that the owner had been made aware of the issue and was going to talk with the busboys later in the day and to checkback at night.

I went to the beach, saying Hakuna Matata the whole way down and just knowing there was nothing I could do to change it now. After about 15 minutes, we all suddenly hear someone yell "ALLY!" from one of the tanning decks above the beach (This is where I should probably mention that Andreas thought my name was Ally the entire time. We don't know why.). We all turned around and saw Andreas standing there with my purse around his neck.

I was so excited that I started screaming and ran up there to get my purse. After checking it I found my ID, debit card and iphone (case had been taken off and put back on upside down). The cash was missing but I was so thrilled I didn't even care. Andreas told us that a maid had found it in a garbage can, under the trash bag. We'll never know who stole my purse or if the entire Pink Palace got drinks on my 40 euros, but I had everything I really needed and that's all that mattered.

- The stolen purse story is now over -

The rest of the week was drama free. On Saturday night there was a pink toga party (so cliche), and we saw traditional Greek dancers, ran around in pink togas and had plates smashed on our heads. I'm not sure if that last part is actually an authentic Greek tradition but we just let it happen.

Toga Party

Our week in Greek was lazy, sunny and a little strange. The Pink Palace is a strange resort where everyone who works there is brainwashed to think it's the greatest place on the face of the Earth. We walked on the beach and ate gyros and danced in togas and played about a gazillion rounds of empire (which I taught everyone and had so much fun playing).

I would love to return to Greece at some point in my life and see more islands, see more beaches and small towns and not be confined to a peptobismol pink bubble. But I really don't have any complaints from the trip. It was completely different than any other trip I've taken this semester, driven by meal times and the temperature outside rather than sight seeing and museum-going. I can't wait to get back to Greece at some point.

Easter Weekend in Austria

After my parents left to head home I had a night or two in Verona. I went to class, did some laundry (because traveling for 12 days makes a lot of dirty clothes), and got some rest.

On Friday, March 29 Kristin and I kicked off our Easter Break in Austria. We’d both been dying to go there, mainly to see the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg!

We took a train to Austria on Friday morning, embracing the Harry Potterness of it all. This train was different than the ones we take throughout Italy. This one had different compartments, where 6 people could sit in each one. We slept for most of the first part of the trip, which was about 4 hours.

We stopped in Innsbruck and had to change trains, and we saw some beautiful mountains while we were there. Even from the train station we could see how great the city was.

When we got back on the train to continue to Salzburg we ended up in a car with a very smelly Austrian woman who had spilled her wine all over the floor and insisted on trying to speak with us even though we could barely understand her. Eventually we switched cars, made some peanut butter and banana sandwiches (because we never go anywhere without peanut butter and bananas…and a loaf of bread).

After about 6 hours of traveling we finally made it to Salzburg on Friday afternoon! We bought a bus ticket for 1 euro (remember the ticket, it’ll be important later) and headed to our hostel.

After checking in we decided to take a bus (with the same ticket) back to the city center and see the Old City, or Salzburg’s main center. That night we saw Mozart’s House, tons of lederhosen and had some great schnitzel. And struddle.

Mozart's House!

We spent the evening just hanging out in the hostel lobby and met some nice Americans and one very interesting Australian. That’s one of the things I’ve loved – meeting other travelers, hearing why they’re here and where they’re going next.

The next morning we woke up bright and early because we tickets for The Sound of Music Tour.  Most outdoor scenes of the movie were filmed in Salzburg and we had the chance to see some of them!

With an excellent tour guide we headed out to see the sights of one of the best musicals of all time.

The back of the Von Trapp house. A completely different house was used to shoot the scenes in the front! 

Liesl's Gazebo

The Unterberg, the mountain Maria ran on at the beginning of the film 

The chapel where the wedding scene was filmed

After the tour, we were dropped off by the gardens where the majority of the Do-Rei-Me song was filmed, and Kristin and I had absolutely no problem reenacting some of those scenes (wait for the video to come up, it’s pretty great).

Running around Salzburg like the Von Trapp was actually one of the most fun things I’ve done this semester – because it felt like we were actually in the movie that I’ve been watching ever since I was little!

Between our hilarious tour guide and mine and Kristin’s ability to sing along with every word of every song we had an amazing time on the tour.

Our great tour guide!

We wondered around Salzburg for a little bit more before heading back to our hostel to pick up our things and take a bus to the train station to head to Vienna. We breathed a sigh of relief when getting to the train station, as we’d made it back and forth on the public bus a dozen times with only our 1 euro ticket. Pretty lucky.

The train ride to Vienna was just under 2 hours long, and we spent the ride relishing in the free wifi on the train (this made us fall in love with Austria even more) and watching The Sound of Music, loving the fact that we had literally walked everywhere Julie Andrews had.

Once we reached Vienna we headed to our hostel, which we found out our friend Tim was coincidentally staying at, as well! We spent our first night there just hanging out in the lobby. The next day was Easter Sunday, and we asked the worker at the hostel to write down direction for us to go to an English-speaking church.

The next morning we woke up and headed out to try and make the 10 am service. We basically spent 45 minutes wandering around Vienna in the snow and cold. By 10:20 we were still lost, and made a decision to just walk into the next church we saw. So what if it was all in German? That’s part of the experience of spending a holiday in a different country!

The church, thank goodness, was Catholic, so I at least had a chance of following along the mass a little bit. During the service they had song lyrics up on an electronic board in front of the church. I couldn’t help but think that the language on the board didn’t quite look like German, but it’s not like I really know that much about German.

When I went up for communion, there were Polish flags on the altar. That’s when I realized I was attending Easter mass entirely in Polish! It seemed like a little bit of fate, and I was actually really excited about the fact that I’d just sat through a Polish mass. I knew the Japczyks would be proud.

After mass we headed to an Easter market, which are traditional in Vienna on Easter weekend! Despite the cold weather, Tim Kristin and I made the best of the day! We had no problem sampling all of the delicious foods and seeing the beautifully hand-painted eggs that were for sale.

Snow covered Easter eggs

What says Easter better than giant pretzels?

After a few more hours of walking around Vienna and eating more schnitzel it was time for Kristin and I to head to the airport and back to Verona!

I’d been wanting to go to Austria the entire semester and am so glad that I finally made it there. I personally liked Salzburg over Vienna. I’ve been finding that I enjoy going to smaller towns over the large cities.