Deutschland!

so tonight my friends and I are leaving for Germany! we'll be spending a few days in Freiburg, which should be super awesome. we're going for a Christmas market. Freiburg is supposed to be one of the best places for Christmas markets, and I'm sure it'll be amazing! it's right on the black forest and right by France and Switzerland so there should definitely be an interesting mix of cultures and stuff there.

Last night I went to a comedy show here in Swansea. The last Wednesday of every month there is a comedy show at the Swansea Grand Theatre so I went last night since it's my last time to see it before I leave. They're not doing one in December so last night was the Christmas one (meaning the best one, duh!) It was absolutely great. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a chance to go. I had a blast. All of downtown Swansea is decorated really pretty and everything, too. They have a fun little carnival type thingy here that I will hopefully be checking out soon! It's so pretty here this time of year. It's still green here, too, which is nuts to me! I don't understand how it's almost December and it's super cold but still so green. wow!

So yeah here are some more pictures from Paris and of my new hair! I got it cut in Paris and then I put color in it yesterday here in Swansea. yayyyy!

wonderful weekend in paris!

Well we just arrived back in Swansea last night from Paris! We had a great weekend there. We spent Friday just kind of exploring the area around our hotel and parts of the city. We had a great dinner and then went to the Louvre! We got to go for free, too, because Friday nights they have a deal for people under 26. That was amazing. I saw some amazing art, including some of my all-time favorite paintings (the Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People, etc). I saw some Picasso and some Delacroix...it was great!

On Saturday, two of my friends and I went on a biking tour of Paris. It was amazing! The tour took us to many places in Paris that are off the beaten path so we got to see a lot of the unknown parts of Paris. After the tour, we went to the Catacombs. That was just nuts. So many bones! It seemed like the catacombs went on for miles or something. We were just in awe of how many people must be down there. After the catacombs, my friends and I went shopping! We actually didn't really buy any clothes or anything but it was awesome just to look. We didn't really have enough time for shopping, though, so we only looked around for a bit. Then we went off to the Eiffel Tower! We found a nice place to eat very near it, too. Love French food! It was funny, though, because there was a family sitting next to us at dinner that were obviously American so two of us took a bet to see who could get closest to guessing their state. I won! They were Texan and I just knew it! haha so that was fun. Then we went up the Eiffel Tower...that was scary. Very, very, very high. It was windy and cold, too, which was a bit disappointing, but it was totally worth it!

We really didn't get to do anything on Sunday since we had to leave so early. But that was OK because we were able to do a lot while we were there. It would've been nice to have more time, but the time we had was definitely amazing!

Paris!

We had our meeting for Paris today. It's so exciting that it's happening so soon! We are leaving Thursday evening. Getting there is going to be an adventure. Rather than flying, this time I'll be traveling by bus and ferry. hmm...should be a new experience. It's really going to feel like a school trip or something since we're going by bus. We travel at night, as well, which will be really neat so I can sleep and have lots of energy when I get there (hopefully!) but yeah, we're leaving Thursday and getting on a bus to take to the coast. Then we transfer to a ferry to France, where we get on another bus to Paris. interesting... It's really nice, though, that everything is basically figured out for us on this trip and whatever we do once we get there is up to us, which is also great. I have so many great friends that are going, too, so it's definitely going to be a fun trip.
Right now I'm trying to eat lots of my food that will expire when I'm gone. It's difficult. When I went to Venice, though, a lot of my food expired while I was gone so I'd rather not have that happen again. Food expires so much more quickly here than at home because they use fewer preservatives. It's better for you but it's just hard to get used to!

I decided to post some older pictures that I have from the various places I've been. I can't believe I'm leaving here a month from today. That just seems way way too soon. I'm not ready to go yet at all! A month from today I fly off to Dublin, though, and then onward back to Oklahoma a few days later. I'm going to miss so many people so badly! Not that I'm not missing people back home right now, and not that I'm not ready to see many people from home again, but I'm just not ready to leave! Time is just really flying by for me here.

I've been preparing for law school lately, which is just crazy. I can't believe that I'll be doing that next year. I've been corresponding with a human rights attorney in London since that is what I'm interested in. She's being quite helpful to me! Applying to law school is such a stressful process, but it makes me feel like a senior in high school again or something. It just really takes me back to applying for college! Hopefully I end up at a law school that is as amazing as RSU has been for undergrad. I really hope I find a place that I love as much as RSU! I'm going to be applying for my internship in Uganda soon, too, as soon as the applications are online! I can't believe I'm enrolling in my last semester of school, too! craziness!

EEK! so I'm off to Paris a week from today! I leave late Thursday night! I have a meeting for it on Monday! So exciting! This time I'm going with a huge group of people, which is neat. It's through the student union here. They went to Amerstam a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't go on that trip. Couldn't pass up Paris, of course, though! I plan on getting my hair cut while I'm there, too. My friends and I are going to the Louvre and on a bike tour of Paris, which will be awesome! This is my first real trip with a huge group of people since I've been here, too. Edinburgh was just four of us and Venice was just little ole me! Venice was amazing, though. Waking up in sunny Venice (when it was supposed to be rain) and finding out that Obama had won was just a once-in-a-lifetime, indescribable feeling!

Blah..I need to go to city centre and do a little shopping for various things, such as band-aids! (or plasters, as they're called here...) ugh but it's raining (of course) and I just don't want to go out in the rain again today! It rains so much here! rainiest city in the UK!

So everyone should know that today is the second annual "to write love on her arms" day. it's a great organization that everyone should know about and read up on!

Well I'm off to brave the weather!

venice

aaah I am now back from Venice! I had a blast! words can not describe how amazing that place is. it's like a little microcosm or something. it's a bubble that is practically isolated from much of the influences of the world. I love it! you can not compare Venice to any other place because it's so profoundly different. I'm proud of myself, too, because I didn't get lost! I went by myself and didn't get lost at that. everyone was warning me that getting lost is just part of it.

I stayed in a very interesting hostel. It was really small and used to be a museum. There were only about seven of us there at any given time. It was absolutely gorgeous and was all marble. The people who ran the hostel gave us breakfast and dinner every day so that was awesome! I met some really cool people and hung out with them while I stayed there (they all got lost, though, getting to the hostel for like 2 or 3 hours).

it was supposed to rain while I was there but instead it was like 65 degrees every day and so sunny! I loved it! it was like a mini summer break. Now I'm back to the cold and the rain, though. No..I'm actually glad to be back so it's ok. I've come to love this place and think of it as home!

Yeah I had a great, pretty inexpensive little trip to Venice. I would recommend that to anyone. It was my first time on the Continent. Defintely awesome. I feel so proud for going alone and not speaking the language or anything. yay bravery!

Now it's just 2 weeks until Paris!