Oktoberfest photos!

Don't worry, I drank this liter of beer real slowly...

I don't know if u can see the outfits but what the one on the right is wearing is typical. Oh the view of the fairground is pretty good in this picture!

A little blurry but YES we did buy these hats! THEY ARE AWESOME!!!

Oh hey guys what's up? Oh ya know, just out for a casual run prior to a day of drinking. NBD


Unfortunately, I can't upload my video but I'm gonna work on it tomorrow, because I really want to take you inside Oktoberfest!

Oktoberfest 2011...

     Last weekend, my friends and I met up in Munich for Oktoberfest...the world's biggest beer festival. Now before I tell you about the festival, I'd like to share my first experience traveling alone in a non english speaking country. I was very nervous for this trip for many reasons.
1. I didn't have a working phone to contact my friends (how did they do it without cellphones!?)
2. I don't know any German...at all
3. I had to take the metro...alone, from the airport to meet my friends at a predetermined location.
4. NOTHING WAS IN ENGLISH!

     With that being said, everything was successful and I had a blast getting caught up trying to figure out which  train I had to be on and trying to make my way through Munich with my huge backpack and hotel directions. Haha that sounds sarcastic, but I really did enjoy my adventures!
     Seeing my friends Margaret and Meimei made me realize how much I miss them when we are all off in different countries. It was great to catch up with them and just explore Munich at night, which was amazing! We went sightseeing pretty late that night because we knew we might not have an opportunity to see the city after Oktoberfest. We saw so many beautiful buildings in the city center and I was really impressed by the intricate architecture of the buildings. It was kind of odd: like a city stuck somewhere between trying to preserve their medieval history through old buildings and a new, completely modern city which is entirely focused on progress and the future. I'm not sure if this analogy makes sense, but I think you get the idea. Nonetheless, we had a great time just walking around for hours! And, we even met up with our guy friends who we had been looking for all evening! This was pretty exciting because they were staying with us in our hotel and we hadn't heard from them all day (typical boys). Although you probably won't believe this, we were in bed by midnight on that Friday so that we could get up at 6am on Saturday...YES 6AM!!! Clearly our priorities were making it into the tents at the festival! We took the metro to the site and we were in line by 745, where we waited for an hour for them to open the doors to the Haufbrau tent. So one unusual fact about this festival...Everyone dresses up! The boys all wear their traditional outfits and the girls all dress like beer wenches! This was something I wasn't expecting at all! When we were finally herded into the tent like cattle, we managed to find a table in a crowd of at least 5,000 people!!! THAT'S SKILL!
     So we were pumped and then the day just got wicked crazy. At 9am sharp the beer wenches brought out the first steins of beer (the litter jugs that you drink out of at Oktoberfest)...People started chugging them and everyone was chanting! I think we were all in awe when this happened and I seriously doubted that we were going to drink a beer at 9am...but we did! We had our first beer by 930 and this was followed by a 10 minute long photo op. So as we sat and drank more beer and ate a really large pretzel, people started to stand on the tables and everyone got up and danced! The band was great and the national anthem was a popular choice (German anthem). So this was a lot of fun for us! We also had the pleasure of meeting people from all different countries! Just at our table there was France, Belgium, New Zealand, Germany and USA!
     After we left this tent about noon time, we wandered to another tent, The Paulanergarten, where we wanted to sit outside in the sun. Luckily we found seats and spent the afternoon there and met people from Brazil and Italy! Sometime in the afternoon, we wanted to be real Germans...so, we went to the lawn where people take naps at Oktoberfest and we took a nap with thousands of other people! This was hilarious and everyone was pretty wiped at this point in the day. After deciding to get up and leave, I noticed the sea of drunken zombies around me which was really funny to witness. I was surprised at how calm everyone was and I think it's because everyone was just tired. On our way out, I captured on last glimpse of the festival and I realized, there is no adjective or verb that is every enough to describe or show the magnitude of Oktoberfest. Now I understand why people come from all over the world to experience it and why people say it's a once and a lifetime event. Also, the fairgrounds are insane...there are more roller coasters than any amusement park I've seen and that's saying something. How people manage to get on these rides? I still can't imagine.
   So although the above paragraphs are full of short and disconnected sentences...it's the only effective way I can describe my weekend. It was amazing but there was so much going on that I can't write it all down and describe every detail! If I can try to be concise...I had the best weekend ever, with the best friends ever, at the best beer festival ever and I hope someday I can go back to Oktoberfest! I'm going to post some pictures that at least show the progression of our day, and hopefully I can post a video as well!

This is downtown Munich: A beautiful building surrounded by people celebrating Oktoberfest!

This is the status and temple right in front of the fairgrounds. This was taken early in the morning, and it looks so peaceful...

Me Meimei and Margaret drinking our first steins of beer! This was an exciting moment for us!

 

Pictures of University College, Christ Church and Oxford:

This is Christ Church courtyard, you can see how big and grand it is! That tower was also in Harry Potter, as one of the entrance points to Hogwarts. It also has a really cool fountain in the middle.  

This is the inside of University College, it looks like a castle!

This is from the back of the chapel near another little courtyard for the fellows. 

This is part of Christ Church, a courtyard near "Tom's Tower"

Is it me or is this an intimidating exterior for a library? No doubt pretty and Medieval, but still creepy looking.

Alright here we go! Harry Potter Staircase, where the Hogwarts students frequently walk on. 

This balcony look familiar? Oh how bout in the Sorcerer's Stone when Hermione and Ron wave at Harry at the end of the movie? SO COOL!

This is a very confusing college: called the College of No Souls where there are no students, nor professors...So basically it's for the smart of the smart, who get invited to be part of this college. But they don't teach or anything because they are too smart? That's what we were told. haha

This is me Punting! Haha it was so funny and difficult. Sitting in the boat posing are Jamie and Lara, my friends! :)

Oxford Living: Hogwarts and Secret Passages

     After my crazy day of field tripping all over Wiltshire, our whole program migrated to Oxford for the week. It is truly and incredible place, full of very very smart people! So we are staying at University College, the oldest college in England!
     Basically Oxford University is made up of about 15 little colleges that hold about 500 students each. I didn't know that Oxford wasn't one, large and contained campus. It's rather fifteen little campuses that have a courtyard, a chapel, a great hall (looks like Hogwarts) academic areas and student housing. So where we are staying is beautiful and the dining hall looks like Hogwarts and it's wicked cool to eat there and be like "This is just like the Ravenclaw table right now!" Yesterday though, our table got demoted to Hufflepuff because a group of faculty had stolen our table. Another really unique quality about the little colleges is the living style. I live in a single with a huge sink, a bed, a desk and a closet...BUT...I have a whole room next to me that's mine also! We all have insanely large rooms here! With that being said, it doesn't really have a social vibe, because it's not long hallways with doubles. Instead it takes me 8 doors and four staircases to get to my room which is surrounded by just two other rooms before having to walk down a narrow hallway to the next cluster of rooms. I don't know if you can picture that, but basically it's very isolating because of the doors and staircases. Another fact I bet you didn't know about Oxford is that you don't walk on the grass! It's a real rule...Nobody walks on the grass, but there are no signs that say this so it's just a known and unwritten rule. haha i walked on the grass for a second...
     I don't want to post too much at once but I have so much to tell you about! The history surrounding Oxford is amazing. The colleges date back to the 1200s, when the King of France kicked out all the English students and scholars because of a war. Because Oxford was the furthest corner away from the Bishop's house which is about four hours north, it was a perfect location to hold college because the church wouldn't have control of the liberal teachers. This is how Oxford became the smartest place in England... Two nights ago my friends and I went to a pub called The Turf and you have to walk through three old, medieval allies to get there and through a castle wall. It was amazing to feel like you're eight hundred years in the past even though you're in a modern city! The pub was so fun and it was a classic English experience, with a huge patio and many little tables sporadically placed throughout a quirky stone house.
     We had another very English experience and we went Punting! I didn't know that punting is basically when you have a flat river boat and a long pole and you make your way around a canal in this awkward boat. As you know, I'm fairly athletic and adventurous so I thought it would be relatively easy...FALSE! it was soooooooo hard!!! OMG! We crashed so many times and it took forever to make our way around this little canal. Nonetheless, it was hysterical and so much fun. Our boat had a great time and we laughed so hard for the whole journey.
     I'll post about the rest of my trip later, but the final exciting thing I did was go to Chirst Church College, which has so many Harry Potter references. I got to see the Great Hall, as well as the staircase where the students are always hanging out! I love feeling like I'm in such a magical world. I'll post those pictures next time. Christ Church also has a beautiful Cathedral and I went to church there Sunday. It was beautiful and the choir was amazing! I felt like I was listening to a national choir or something because they were so good!
     While in Oxford, it was also Bid Night at Gettysburg. Although I haven't felt homesick yet, I felt very far away and disconnected from my school. I really would've loved to be part of Bid Night and I know my friends abroad feel the same. So this is probably the most homesick I've felt but I wouldn't trade my experience. But I know for sure that when I get back in the spring I'm going to be so happy to meet all of our baby violets!!! Everyone tells me they are great and I'm so excited to meet all of them and get to know them as sisters! I'm thrilled that I have so much to look forward to :)
     I guess you can tell that I love Oxford even though it's a very quirky place. I don't think I would like to go to school here, but I can see why it's such a prestigious place with such a high reputation. I'm going to Munich this weekend so I'll have a lot to blog about next week I bet!

Montacute:

The second part of our field trip was to Montacute estate and it was very fun! I'll admit I didn't like it as much as Stourhead, because the garden was too artificial and maintained. But it was still beautiful! Also, it was exciting to try my first cream tea. For those of you who don't know what cream tea is, I still don't really either. I guess you can go to a shop and ask for cream tea and it's something like this: 2 scones, strawberry jam, clotted cream, and a pot of tea. Now I'm still confused why they call it cream tea if it's really just scones and tea but I think it's because of clotted cream which is a heavy combination of butter, cream cheese, and whipped cream. It's seriously delicious and seriously deadly. Haha I don't know how people here don't have high cholesterol. So here are some beautiful pictures of the estate and surrounding gardens!

This is a great example of how amazing these gardens are.

My first cream tea! So yummy. 

Stourhead: Scenes from Pride and Prejudice

 Last Friday my eighteenth century house and garden class took an amazing trip to the estates Stourhead and Montacute. Stourhead is known for some of the most famous gardens of the time period, which was apparent after seeing how incredible the gardens were. In class, we are learning about how the landscape of these estates contributed to ideas about the relationship between man and nature. Through Stourhead, it appears as though the designers wanted to make you feel part of the landscape and it was much less artificial than typical gardens because of the way the gardens forced you to wander through caves and up hills and around waterfalls. My favorite place was the grotto, a spiritual place similar to a cave, that was used as a place for "thinking" and contemplation. It was amazing because there were huge Roman style statues inside the grotto that made you feel pretty connected to a spiritual world. Also, looking out through the cave openings showed the view from across the lake, which was amazing and it showed two grand temples created for an aestetically pleasing garden.

A Beautiful Waterfall at Stourhead Gardens

This is wear Pride and Prejudice was filmed! There was a scene with Mr Darcy here where he proposes.

This is inside the grotto and it's a statue of the water god Poseiden. The grotto was really cool and all stone. 

This is the most amazing view from the beginning of the garden. The bridge and then the Temple across the way make it so special. It seems like arch a peaceful place, and that's how it felt too. 

Things I love That Exclude the Weather...

The past week in England, I've learned so many new things about myself and my surroundings!
     I've learned that when you run in a city like Bath, the top of the hill is always further away than it seems. I've been exploring the city and I can see this beautiful park from the top of my house. I decided to take a nice little run up that way and see if I could get to the top of the hill for an amazing view. However, I left my house and I live on a really really steep hill, and I always thought I lived near the top. Nope, that's false! I ran uphill for 14 minutes which is along way to be on the same hill! The, I reached the top and there was no view because it was a fenced in golf course! I still had a great run though, it's such a beautiful area that I didn't even mind the crazy hill workout.

Beautiful rose bush in the garden

      Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned this week was how to make apple juice. You probably don't know this but I'm volunteering in Bath by working in the botanical gardens in the park right next to me. It's so peaceful there and the people are all very welcoming and just happy! Even when it started to pour...the old woman said, "Oh looks like it's tea time!" I thought she was kidding until we all went into the little shelter and drank hot tea and ate cake! It was great getting to know the local people and doing something new and exciting. Anyways, making apple juice was very challenging. First you have to pick a lot of apples, like maybe 20 buckets. Then you have to cut them and make sure there are no worms or bugs in them. After that daunting process, you put the apple slices in a grinder...Twice to make sure the pieces get chopped up evenly. After that, you put the buckets into an ancient apple press to get the juice out. Although it took awhile to make, it was AWESOME! So rich and tasty, more like apple cider than pure juice. I loved the whole experience.

Me and Allison after bearing the pouring rain at pub night.

      At gardening, a plant bit me! I thought I got stung by a bee, but I didn't! I got a rash on my arm around these little bit marks from a plant's oil that bit through the skin! It was very painful, but the girls I was with said it happens to them all the time to them so I would be fine. So I guess I learned to beware of this biting plant in my future gardening skills.
     On Tuesday night, we went to watch a football (soccer) game at a local pub. Although the day before I thought I learned my lesson about the rain, I really didn't. Even though the weather said that there was a 0% chance of rain....We got stuck in a crazy downpour 20 minutes from my house! It was pretty miserable but I think I'm finally used to it. Along with this, on Friday we went out to a club and I didn't bring a jacket because there's nowhere to put it. And, I decided to straighten my hair so it would look a little better! It failed because as soon as we went outside, it started to rain. So I had a realization that I should always expect and embrace the rain, because there's no way around it and I just shouldn't waste my time doing my hair. At least now, I can say my lesson is officially learned which is a relief!

This is from inside the estate. It's a beautiful garden! 

     On Friday, we went on a field trip to the Bowood House, an old estate that is set on a 4,000 acre property.That was incredible because we got to walk around with our professor and explore the old, Victorian house for hours. I really like that every class goes on study trips on Fridays, because it's a great chance to explore England and see places in the country side that i would have no chance to see otherwise.

Bowood from the back, across the lake. It's so beautiful there 

    











     The highlight of my weekend was seeing some friends from Gettysburg! They came on a field trip from London and stayed for the weekend so that they could see Stonehenge and Salisbury and Bath. I saw Ryan, Nick, and Kelly and it was so nice seeing familiar faces after the past few weeks. I met up with them Friday and we went to a pub together, then they came over my house and we just out and talked. So that made my weekend very interesting! This is a picture of Kelly and I! I was so excited to see a sister of mine in a foreign country. It was so cool that we could take this Sigma picture will in England!

     The only thing I've started miss is the ability to drive. Even though I can walk everywhere, yesterday I went to the grocery store and had way too much to carry back with me! I had my backpack and even so, it would've been nice to just drive home instead of walking for 20 minutes. Perhaps next time I'll just take a cab! Besides grocery shopping, I love walking    everywhere because it makes the city so much fun to explore!

Yum Yum in my Tum:

Food in England isn't as bad people say it is. It's not great like in Italy or France, but I like it. One challenge so far this semester has been deciding what to cook for myself all the time. Because I live in a huge tourist area, buying food is a little pricy so I try only to buy lunch when i get a baguette or a pasty.

So in my quest to cook for myself, here are some of the things I've succeeded with so far:
*eggs on a baguette with brie cheese (yum)
*broccoli and spinach with garlic mixed with pasta and pesto (yumm)
*udon noodles with peanut butter, sechuan sause and chilli sauce (yummm)
*spinach and cheese omlett (yum)
*portebello mushrooms in salt and butter with raviolli (yummmm)
*classic English Tea (yumm)
*baguette with pesto and brie (yum)
*corn flakes in yogurt with peanut butter (yum)
*rice cakes with cream cheese and peanut butter (yummm)

I think that's about it for food I've become great at cooking...As you notice, there's not a lot of meat in my diet just because it takes long to cook. But this weekend I'm going to make chicken and I've been trying to eat a lot of veggies which is good. The final delicious food that I will miss a ton when I return to the U.S in Hobnobs with Nutella...SO AMAZING! For my other friends in Europe, I hope you try some of these!

The Phenomena of Rain:

     Until about five hours ago, I didn't understand the extent of when people say it rains a lot in England. Not only does it rain, it pours! And it could be perfectly sunny one moment and then start to downpour the next!
     So here is my story: I knew it was cloudy out and it had been drizzling on and off for the whole morning, with pockets of blue sky and sunshine. Nonetheless, I thankfully put on my wellies and grabbed my umbrella as I headed for class, just incase. The second I stepped outside my door, IT STARTED TO POUR! So I was like great I'm so prepared! But...As I continued to walk in the storm of rain and wind, I noticed that little by I became more wet even with my umbrella and boots.
     Oh! And then, this english man in mid 20s came up to me, and was like "I really like your wellies!" Meaning my boots, and I was like "oh thanks!" That was nice because even in the rain people seem so friendly on the streets.
     By the time I arrived at my school, I was soaked! It was very strange, and then I realized that England just has crazy, unpredictable weather. It will take some time to get used to since I don't really like walking very far in the pouring rain.
     But I figured out that even as I walk around in the rain, as long as I look around and realize how beautiful Bath is, then I will be happy! Lesson learned today: Be prepared and even if it rains, keep a positive attitude, because that's how the Britons make it through when it rains everyday! What I love about the rain and the weather here is that people look so lively when it rains because it changes simple routines. Basically, it mixes things up a bit, perhaps people who usually walk will take the bus that day or they simply pick up the pace while walking through the center of town because trying to avoid the rain. And it seems to bring people together, because it happens to everyone at once and everyone is wishing it wasn't raining. I noticed people were looking around trying to figure out how everyone else was bearing through the harsh weather. Overall, it seems as though rain doesn't prevent the happiness of everyday life like it does sometimes at home which is makes the rain less of a hassle.

Being A Tourist in a Magical Country:

     Today was amazing! We went to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Lacock, three different tourist sites. First, we went to Stonehenge, which was really interesting and although it's in the middle of nowhere, I loved the scenery and incredible nature of the stone circles so naturally I tool a million pictures! Our tour guide, Andrew Butterworth, a professor at our school explained the historical aspects of the stone cirlces and how they align with the summer and winter solstice. As an anthropology major I thought this was pretty interesting. Also, even though Stonehenge is a huge tourist destination, I though it was peaceful with all of the open fields in the background.  The pictures below are of me and my Northampton friends at Stonehenge as well as a beautiful picture just of the circles.

     Next, we took our bus to Salisbury, a cute little town with a beautiful abbey. The church was incredible with classic gothic architecture built in the 1200s. It's impossible to imagine the precision involved in creating such an amazing abbey without even having pens and pencils to sketch it out before. Along with the tombs in the abbey, an original Magna Carta remains in the church! That's so cool because there are only four in the whole world! Our group loved seeing that I think, it reminded us all how young America really is.  The picture to the left is of Salisbury Abbey from the outside and it lolls so gothic and classic.
                                                                                    

This is the outside of Lacock Abbey, where Harry potter was Filmed!

Look familiar?! This is the courtyard that students walk through!!!!!!

After we left Salisbury, we went to Lacock which is a historical medieval town that is quite famous from being part of where Harry Potter was filmed! We went to the Lacock Abbey and its a 13th century church with a beautiful courtyard used in the first and second Harry Potter films. There was also the mirror room, where Harry sees himself with what he wants most, his parents, in the first movie. After the Abbey, we went to a really old pub, from the 14th century! It was delicious but very clear that the building was so old because of the slanted ceilings and old wood. Also, I ate the mot delicious toffee sticky pudding ever! It melted in my mouth and was so creamy and sweet! I loved it! After dinner, my friends and i walked to where Slughorn was hiding at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was interesting to see how the filmmakers took a very real place and made it into a fantasy world! This was also the case for Harry's house in Godric's Hollow where there's an actual family living in a house that is famous because of it's fantasies.   Walking around the little square, which is also used as Hogsmede, was so quaint and peaceful. It made the day real special to see such a beautiful little English village. Overall my day was amazing. I learned a lot about the past centuries in England and it added to my experience of being abroad!              

Slughorn's hiding place in Lacock.

The Mirror Room where Harry saw his parents in the mirror.

This is Harry's house in Godric's Hollow! It was amazing to see in person.

All Things Awesome and English:

      Today is Saturday and I've been in Bath for almost a week. So far I love it! It's certainly different from what I'm used to and it's been a challenge adapting to this new way of life, but overall I think I'm doing a pretty good job.
      On Monday, I traveled from my hotel in London to Paddington Station to Bath! It was quite a journey and you guys would've laughed to see me wandering alone with two huge suitcases and a hiking backpack...I wish I had a photo of that. When I finally made it to my house, I got to meet four of my roommates! They are all so friendly and I really like them! I live in this beautiful 18th century building on a massive hill (great exercise) and our house is really narrow but four stories high. It's a place with a lot of character and it's kind of quirky which I really like.
     The rest of the week my new friends and I explored the city and had our orientation week at our school-The Nelson House. I live 20 minutes from school, and I don't mind the walk because it's through all of the shops and cafes in the town center.  Also, I live right near the park called the Royal Crescent which is so beautiful and the other night me and some housemates went there to just sit and talk and it was so pretty. Although we live far from town, we have a Co-op which is great to buy beer, cheese, eggs...basically all the essentials and that's just a two minute walk away. At school, we've just been learning about our classes and meeting everyone which was difficult because people kept showing up at random times because of all the delays Irene caused. We also went to see University of Bath and that was really cool and made me want to join the gym so I can take classes like yoga and Zumba.
     And the food is amazing! Everyone says the food here is awful, but it's really not! I eat a lot of baguettes with cheese or these things called pastys which are like a pot pie inside a hot pocket. The broccoli and cheese one was delicious and I also had a leek, bacon and cheese that was so yummy. We haven't gone out yet to big restaurants, we've just made it to the local pubs which are fairly good. The supermarket is where we've been getting fruits, veggies, and everything. So it is different because there are a lot more takeout places that aren't fast food like you could get a sandwich on any street corner. The best drink is the hard cider they have! It's a little like apple juice but better and not always as sweet. So I'm certainly surviving with all these foods and it's just strange to cook all for myself everyday. I've been eating a lot of eggs...
     Overall, I'm having a great experience so far. I love the city and it's so easy to walk around and meet people. Of course I miss home, but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.  Many people ask about culture or transition shock and the only thing that's hard for me is to look the opposite way while crossing the street, the @ symbol on the key board is different and the British slang still sounds really funny. But other than that I'm adjusting well! The supermarket today was perhaps the most overwhelmed I've felt because everything was just organized differently and I felt so out of place. That will get easier as I learn what foods are where and how to get around. If I could sum up everything so far in one sentence it would be...I LOVE BATH :)