Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Home
It is good to be home! I made it home yesterday and was greeted by my parents brother and Tammy who rushed out of a final and made the trip straight to Memphis. We then met my Grandparents at Huey's. My flight was uneventful and it was a nice evening to relax and be with family.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
So Close!
I am getting very close to going home and I can't wait. I have been studying for finals and working on end of the semester projects almost none stop since Thursday. It has been hard but worth it. This is really the first time I have had to do school work since I got here so I can't complain to much. I can't believe I will in the USA this time next week. I am very excited about getting home not only to Memphis but Fayetteville as well! I am looking forward to eating at all my favorite restaurants, and eating all the American dishes I have missed to so much. I am also looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my family and New Years with my friends in Memphis. Hopefully we will also be celebrating a Hogs Liberty Bowl victory on Jan. 2nd. I am so glad they made it to a "big" bowl game this year. I have missed watching football over the last for moths and it makes me happy to think about watching the Hogs play when I get back.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Less than 14 Days
Yes, it is official. I am inside the 2 week mark! This time next week I will be over half way home. I haven't started packing yet, but I have started to think about how I am going to get all of my stuff home. I have bought a lot of cool stuff while over here and it is defiantly going to require me to purchase another bag to get it all home.
Although I am very close to being done I have got to stay focused on the task at hand. I have a lot of work to get done between now and Dec. 16th. I have 2 finals and 3 large assignments for my too classes that I must finish before I go home. I am trying to get as much done before leaving for Salzburg Thursday night, and will have to really work my back side off net week. I feel like I will get it all don't though. Thankfully I have Christmas music from WRVR and Ben Rectors new Christmas CD to work too.
On a music note iTunes has good Christmas songs as there free download this week.
1. Katherine McPhee- I'll be home for Christmas
2. Darius Rucker- Candy Cane Christmas
Both are good and work the download, esp since they are free!
Although I am very close to being done I have got to stay focused on the task at hand. I have a lot of work to get done between now and Dec. 16th. I have 2 finals and 3 large assignments for my too classes that I must finish before I go home. I am trying to get as much done before leaving for Salzburg Thursday night, and will have to really work my back side off net week. I feel like I will get it all don't though. Thankfully I have Christmas music from WRVR and Ben Rectors new Christmas CD to work too.
On a music note iTunes has good Christmas songs as there free download this week.
1. Katherine McPhee- I'll be home for Christmas
2. Darius Rucker- Candy Cane Christmas
Both are good and work the download, esp since they are free!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A is for Athens
As you all know I was in Athens this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. It was probably my favorite place I have traveled to thus far. Athens is clean, friendly and fun. All of the people are very nice. They dont all speak a lot of English but they try to speak as much as they can to help you out.
Athens is also a foodies dream! I ate lots of kebabs and meat on skewer. For breakfast each morning I bought very large fresh doughnuts from vendors on the street. The first night I was there I ate a this locally owned family restaurant where the wait staff reminded me of the family out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I even saw a guy carrying around a bottle of Windex. When they learned it was my first time in Athens they brought be a free dessert of yogurt and honey. I also got to visit the Athens Central Market. It is a large market that is made up of there smaller markets; meat market, seafood market, and the vegetable market. Now, the market is not for those with a weak stomach or for those who don't like to think about where there food comes from but it is a really cool experience. There were whole animals skinned and gutted hanging up, pigs heads, the biggest pigs fee you have ever seen, whole livers, chopped livers, pork, and steaks. You name it and it was there. The fish market was neat too. It had all kinds of fresh and frozen fish. Squid, lobster, salmon, grouper, sardines, clams, oysters or sea bass; if it once swam you could buy it there. It was very fun and enjoyable to walk through the market and observe the commotion. I went back to the market later that day to have lunch in one of the restaurants located in side the market and had an amazing meal! There were no menus in this restaurant and the place was full of locals. I was the only American or tourist in the place. The waiter quickly realized I didn't speak Greek or know anything about what they served so he took me up to the counter, showed me what they had, asked me what I wanted and sent me back my table. When in 2-3 minutes I had a wonderful bowl of soup and a whole snapper (minus the head guts thankfully). All of this cost me only 7.80 Euro. I would highly recommend a meal in the market to anyone traveling to Greece.
Shopping! Why no one talks about the shopping in Athens in beyond me?!? I would put the shopping in Athens up against any city in the world. Seriously, New York Milan Chicago Dallas Atlanta, Athens has them all beat in my book. It doesn't matter if you want couture, designer knock, affordable shopping, touristy stuff, antiques or junk for a flea market, you can find it all in Athens. Sundays are by far the best day for fun and random shopping, none of the legitimate stores open, but all of the tourist shops are open and literally the entire city center turns into a flea market with everything from from antiques to knock of hand bags. These are the best knock offs I have ever seen too.
Oh Yea! Athens has lots or really great historical sites too and they are very affordable. As a student it only cost 6 Euro for me to see all 6 archeological sites and the new acropolis museum. They were all very interesting and I enjoyed them a lot more than the sites here in Rome. From a historical preservation stand point there has been a lot more reconstruction and intervention than you find in Rome. We can debate for hours as to whether or not this is good or bad, but I really appreciate the way they have preserved the sites.
On Sunday, I went to the Byzantine Art Museum. My visit was not so much about seeing the Byzantine Art, though it was nice, but about seeing the special Andy Warhol Exhibit they were having. It was very interesting.
I also got to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider twice. Once on Saturday and then again for the formal changing of the guard at 11 am on Sunday where there are more guards, a band, and people laying wreaths.
Despite my rocky start to the trip I had a WONDERFUL time is Athens. It was a blast and I would go back in a heart beat!
PS It is hard to believe but I will be home 2 weeks from Tomorrow.
Athens is also a foodies dream! I ate lots of kebabs and meat on skewer. For breakfast each morning I bought very large fresh doughnuts from vendors on the street. The first night I was there I ate a this locally owned family restaurant where the wait staff reminded me of the family out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I even saw a guy carrying around a bottle of Windex. When they learned it was my first time in Athens they brought be a free dessert of yogurt and honey. I also got to visit the Athens Central Market. It is a large market that is made up of there smaller markets; meat market, seafood market, and the vegetable market. Now, the market is not for those with a weak stomach or for those who don't like to think about where there food comes from but it is a really cool experience. There were whole animals skinned and gutted hanging up, pigs heads, the biggest pigs fee you have ever seen, whole livers, chopped livers, pork, and steaks. You name it and it was there. The fish market was neat too. It had all kinds of fresh and frozen fish. Squid, lobster, salmon, grouper, sardines, clams, oysters or sea bass; if it once swam you could buy it there. It was very fun and enjoyable to walk through the market and observe the commotion. I went back to the market later that day to have lunch in one of the restaurants located in side the market and had an amazing meal! There were no menus in this restaurant and the place was full of locals. I was the only American or tourist in the place. The waiter quickly realized I didn't speak Greek or know anything about what they served so he took me up to the counter, showed me what they had, asked me what I wanted and sent me back my table. When in 2-3 minutes I had a wonderful bowl of soup and a whole snapper (minus the head guts thankfully). All of this cost me only 7.80 Euro. I would highly recommend a meal in the market to anyone traveling to Greece.
Shopping! Why no one talks about the shopping in Athens in beyond me?!? I would put the shopping in Athens up against any city in the world. Seriously, New York Milan Chicago Dallas Atlanta, Athens has them all beat in my book. It doesn't matter if you want couture, designer knock, affordable shopping, touristy stuff, antiques or junk for a flea market, you can find it all in Athens. Sundays are by far the best day for fun and random shopping, none of the legitimate stores open, but all of the tourist shops are open and literally the entire city center turns into a flea market with everything from from antiques to knock of hand bags. These are the best knock offs I have ever seen too.
Oh Yea! Athens has lots or really great historical sites too and they are very affordable. As a student it only cost 6 Euro for me to see all 6 archeological sites and the new acropolis museum. They were all very interesting and I enjoyed them a lot more than the sites here in Rome. From a historical preservation stand point there has been a lot more reconstruction and intervention than you find in Rome. We can debate for hours as to whether or not this is good or bad, but I really appreciate the way they have preserved the sites.
On Sunday, I went to the Byzantine Art Museum. My visit was not so much about seeing the Byzantine Art, though it was nice, but about seeing the special Andy Warhol Exhibit they were having. It was very interesting.
I also got to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider twice. Once on Saturday and then again for the formal changing of the guard at 11 am on Sunday where there are more guards, a band, and people laying wreaths.
Despite my rocky start to the trip I had a WONDERFUL time is Athens. It was a blast and I would go back in a heart beat!
PS It is hard to believe but I will be home 2 weeks from Tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A New Outlook
So yesterday I (well my mom actually did the work, thanks again mom) changed my flight from the 22nd to 16th of Dec., and today I had a really good one on one with my professor. In my one on one with Davide, my professor, we went over my exam, which i did well on(he said I needed to watch my spelling surprise surprise), and discussed both of my projects for the end of the semester. The drawing project I wasn't worried about but the research project on the other hand was totally stressing me out. He was very helped me put more direction on my research project and helped me find more sources. I now feel like I can actually do the project and do it well. I am very excited that my flight was changed. I know 6 days isn't that long but there is something about being able to say I go home in 35 days instead of 41 that just makes it seem like my time here is a lot shorter.
Changing my flight combined with the great meeting I had with my professor has given me a whole new outlook on the semester. I know feel like I can make it, have fun and do well. Before today I wasn't so sure most of the time.
I am also very excited about all the things that lie between here and going home. I have no doubt they are going to make the time fly by. I leave on Friday for 5 days in Northern Italy. Next Friday I have a regional field trip. I am going to Athens for 4 days over Thanksgiving. The First weekend in Dec. I will be in Salzburg on a Sound of Music tour, and the last Friday before finals I am signed up to take an amazing 5 hour Italian cooking class. Needless to say the rest of the semester is going to be pretty awesome!
Changing my flight combined with the great meeting I had with my professor has given me a whole new outlook on the semester. I know feel like I can make it, have fun and do well. Before today I wasn't so sure most of the time.
I am also very excited about all the things that lie between here and going home. I have no doubt they are going to make the time fly by. I leave on Friday for 5 days in Northern Italy. Next Friday I have a regional field trip. I am going to Athens for 4 days over Thanksgiving. The First weekend in Dec. I will be in Salzburg on a Sound of Music tour, and the last Friday before finals I am signed up to take an amazing 5 hour Italian cooking class. Needless to say the rest of the semester is going to be pretty awesome!
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