The wedding party I had a rough day coming back because of all the work that I had to catch up on. However, that completely changed when I got the news. Apparently, my best friend Karim who I have been talking about in the blogs since last semester has been trying to study abroad in the United States. Not only did I find out that he got accepted to a school here but it is also in Florida. The best part about it is that the school is in Saint Pete so I am only going to be an hour away from him. Words cannot explain the emotions I am feeling right now. To know that my best friend is coming to the US puts me at ease because I was getting worried about next year. It is going to be hard, but I know what I want and that is to graduate in the Honors Program with Magna Cum Laude. I feel that I have worked this hard all my time here for a reason and I cannot stop now. Finals are coming up and that will be where the challenge is, but after that it is a smooth ride. I will be heading off to Texas specifically to Austin to spend my summer with my brother whom I haven’t spent time with in so long. I know a lot of people are scared about the future but I am all about it. I have nothing to be scared of and everything else to fall back on. Therefore, let the good times roll. Thank you for reading my blog and catching up with me about my adventures in Switzerland and back at home. Who knows… maybe you’ll be tuning in next year. :D
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Enjoying the concert
At the bowling alley with friends
Friends
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Ray
Me
Me hanging on after making it to the top of the rock!
Trey and Ray putting on their rock climbing gear
The three of us after rock climbing
The three of us back in the room
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Emilio and I
Me, Ray, and Brian
Chris and I hanging out after Applebees
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My fraternity brothers and sisters
Posing at Gasparilla
Partying with friends at Gasperilla
Rock Band night!
A few great friends.
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My suite for the night
First Class :D
I must say though that it is so weird to go from twenty degree weather to ninety degree weather. It felt good to see the palm trees and better yet, my brother and sister. I didn’t know but apparently they came down for Christmas and to see me which made it a first time in ten years that we were all together. Right now, the feeling of being with my family is taking my mind away from leaving Switzerland. I miss it so much right now and didn’t expect the past four months to change me the way it did. I can honestly say now that the past four months were definitely the best months in my life. I have made friends that I will always keep in touch with and experiences that I will never lose. I also now feel in control of my life for the first time and cannot wait to see what lies ahead of me. I only have a year left to spend and hopefully I will be going back to Saint Leo with friends who still remember who I am and hope they are ready for the new ME.
The family
At Naples Beach
Got my Audi back
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Mary, Mimi, and Myself
Charla-Maye and I
The group of us at the Christmas Party
Oh, I forgot to mention that I also went snowboarding. It was crazy to be on a board again considering the last time I snowboarded was over ten years ago. We left at dawn and left right at dusk so it was extremely tiring but well worth it. I guess it was our last bonding experience because next week is exams. I will post my next blog entry when I get home so stay tuned til then. Au’voir
The incredible view
Chris, Karim, and I
Me with the Swiss Alps in the background
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Me at the top
Billy in the cave
It was pitch black so I had no idea what I was looking at
Billy and I at the end of the day
Besides caving and hiking, I also went paragliding, wine picking, and rock climbing with Carol who is the activities lady. Paragliding is a rush as you go from the top of the mountain to the bottom. It looks like it is a fast ride, but honestly it is about twenty minutes which gives the perfect view of the village. Grape picking made me appreciate the wine that I have been drinking here a lot more. I never realized there was so much hard work that needed to be done. We were out for most of the day picking grapes which was a good exercise for me because I am not one for doing labor unless it’s a sport or working out. Rock climbing is seriously fun because it gives a person a sense of accomplishment once they reach the top. Back home, I never would have thought of doing any of these things simply because it didn’t fit my lifestyle or character. However, when I came to Switzerland, one of the key things for me was to be open and exposed to the life which broadened my horizons in the long run.
What I learned is that when you don’t set limits for yourself, the world is at your fingertips. As I am writing this, I am actually exactly a month away from going back to the United States so I am just trying to take every last experience in.
The instructor and I
View of the Village
Me Picking Grapes
Yvonne Vineyard
Billy and Chris
Billy and I all packed and ready to go
Me climbing to the top
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I am still sitting in the train station in Rome as I am writing about the next blog entry. After the Louvre, the six of us took the train back to Switzerland, but Billy, Christopher, and I took a flight the next day from Geneva Airport to Rome, Italy. If you want to talk about polar opposites then do what I just did because Paris and Rome are completely opposite from each other. First off, while Paris is an extremely big city, Rome is pretty small with everything from shops to food located in the center of the district. Here, the three of us met with my friend Karim who is from Italy and offered to give us a tour of the city.
Our hostel
Breakfast
We stayed a hostel where room service regarding breakfast was included. Nothing like a cappucino and sugared roll to start the day. It is funny that when I went to Rome, I started to realize that I just came and have spent the past four days in Paris. I saw what Paris had to offer and now I was stoked for Rome because everyone always talks about Roma. The first day the four of us went to the Coliseum which was a lot bigger than what I expected. For the history of the place, I am still surprised that it is in decent condition because of weather and the effects of nature over time. We then went to Caesar August's Palace which had little standing but was enormous in size.
By now, you are expecting me to talk about another place that we went to, but the guys and I decided to take a break. What did we do? We went shopping. In the last blog entry, I talked about Paris being expensive for everything from clothes to food. In Rome, if you find the right places then it is the complete opposite. Both Chris and Billy paid about $150 to $200 US for real Italian leather jackets which retail in the United States easily for $600 to $800 dollars. I, on the other hand, do not need a leather jacket in Florida so I spent about a 100 euros on three silk ties, italian jeans, a polo, a muscle shirt, and three sweaters which would have easily costed me about $400 US in the United States. Better yet, we went to eat after that and found italian pizza to be about 5 Euro for a huge pie which was a sigh of relief on my part because I was so full after that that I didn't need to eat anymore for the whole day which easily saved me 30 euros a day compared to Paris.
Coliseum
Karim and I inside
The Group (Chris, Myself, Billy, and Karim)
Only five euros for this
Famous Gelato
Server getting spaghetti from a parmesan wheel
The next day, we decided to go to the Vatican which again would make my parents proud because my mom absolutely loved the Vatican and wanted me to see it when she went to Europe two years ago.
Vatican
After the Vatican, we wanted to go shopping again, but instead made an agreement to go see three attractions before we did so. We went to see the Pantheon, Fontana de Trevi, and the Spanish Steps. Sine, they were so close together, we finished all three and did it in a fast rate at two and a half hours. The Pantheon is known for a huge circular opening at the top of it which wasn't quite good on the day we went because it rained to the center of the building.
Pantheon
Circular opening at the top
The Fontana de Trevi is a huge fountain with the ancient gods all around it, and the Spanish Steps gave an incredible view of the city and the one street where the rich go to shop in Europe.
Fontana de Trevi
Me before throwing a coin in the fountain
Spanish Steps
Gucci, Prada, Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton, and many others lined this one street where everyone besides tourists were dressed in suits. It made me appreciate the style of Europe because people get dressed to go shopping which is a rare commodity in the United States. Again, we only spent 10 Euros for dinner which was Fettucine in a mushroom sauce and all the bread I wanted. I will not emphasize it enough. Take chances and opportunities as they come because it is rare that you will get a second chance. I know previous students who went abroad, but didn't do any traveling outside the country they were studying in which they later regretted. Regret is something I do not live by so I am making sure to make the most of what I do and where I do it.
Now that I am comtemplating the past week, I want to bring up a dinner conversation that the four of us guys had last night. It dealt with the money we spent and what we do when we are back in the United States and the state of the economy globally. My friend Chris explained that we are not paying for the goods whether it be clothes, attractions, or food, but instead for the experience. Compared to the rest of the people at Saint Leo University and even the people who have never left the United States, I feel great knowing that I have this experience to talk about it through this blog and with friends back home. I also am looking forward to the day when I can talk about it my son, daughter, grandchildren, etc because this is a ONCE in a lifetime opportunity which both Saint Leo and my parents have given me.
I am about to board a train for Florence in the next couple minutes and then will head back to Switzerland so hope everyone reading this takes what I have to say with a grain of salt. The quote for this blog entry is one that Karim, Billy, and I make fun of Chris for saying because he says it all the time but I now know it's true.
Life is good.
Ciao Italia. Back to Switzerland
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So I just finished my mid-term exams and am now leaving Switzerland for the first time. As I am writing this, I am actually sitting in a train station in Rome just pondering about the past week and let me tell you that it has been both a gracious and welcoming position. On the 24th of October, I left for Paris not knowing what to expect. Of course there are the stereotypes that I have heard of that Paris smells and that the people are rude, but I came to Paris with an open mind because I wanted to see for myself what the country had to offer.
Right before we left Switzerland, look at the flavor of the chips
There were six of us who went together which consisted of myself, Billy, Christopher, Charla-Maye, Joy, and an art professor named Ms. Julianna Bark. As soon as we got off the train station, I felt like I was in New York City all over again. There were people everywhere and the noise was something I wasn't used to since I have been living in a small village for the past two months. We stayed at the hotel Gare de Lyon which was right next to the station.
For the first day we were there, we decided to get out and walk around the city because I was told that there were beautiful squares located around the city and from there get food from a restaurant nearby. Let me tell you first off that the waitress we had was extremely nice which was far from what I expected. I ordered the hen which had a sauce that Ms. Bark said only the French people could do best. I still couldn't believe that I was in Paris nevertheless the fact that I left the United States.
One of the many squares
Delicious hen
On the second day, we went to the Museum d'Orsay. I was against it asking that I be excused to see the city by myself but I was persuaded to go because the rest of the group was going. Compared to the art museums in the United States, it was so surreal to actually see the paintings which were being talked and questioned about in my classes with Dr. Reynolds. I was actually in the area where great art was being produced without realizing it. After the museum, we walked around the whole day and ended up at the Eiffel Tower at night. I know that I may be redundant in this blog entry when I say that the Eiffel Tower is a truly amazing experience but forgive me because as an American, these are sights that I never thought I would see in my life in person but only in pictures. Every hour, the tower lights up for a five minute period which impressed me because everyone around the area would just stop whatever they were doing to just stare at the tower and enjoy the show. For that five minute period, nothing else mattered to me except to just live in the moment because I may never see it again.
Me with crepes with nutella which is pretty much a chocolate sauce
Museum D’Orsay
Art student recreating one of the sculptures
Me and the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower lit up
The next day I went to mass at Notre Dame. Let me say it again. I went to mass at Notre Dame. For my parents, that is a big deal because Notre Dame is one of the biggest and oldest churches in the world which was yet another experience. Finally, the last day we went to the Louvre which is the biggest and best museum in the world. I was surprised to find out that it takes a full week of going from open to close to see and appreciate the whole museum. I saw the Mona Lisa with my own eyes and was fortunate enough to find a girl to take a picture of me with it. The sculptures and statues amazed me because of how detailed and sophisticated they were.
Me with a statue
Notre Dame
Inside Notre Dame
The Louvre
Me with the Mona Lisa
Me at the Arc de Triomphe
Now that I have talked about the good, I think I deserve to tell the readers about some of the bads. While French food is delicious, it is quite expensive and you get smaller portions which leaves you hungry. Also, the city of Paris is so big that you have to take several metros to get from one attraction to the next which kills a lot of time. Also, everywhere we went had a sign to watch out for pickpocketers, but that is to be expected since it is a place for tourists who carry a lot of money. Overall if anyone is reading this blog, let me just say take every opportunity you can take because life passes by faster than you think. Do not hesitate to take chances because that is time wasted in itself. Thus, I will end this blog entry with two quotes.
Sometimes the things we cannot change end up changing us the most.
Finally, this quote should've been on the first blog entry, but I only found this one recently which describes my initial thoughts to Switzerland even now Paris and Rome. It is from a song by Bryan Adams called 'Here I Am'.
Its a new world
Its a new start
Its a life with the beating of a young heart
Its a new day
In a new land
and its waiting for me
HERE I AM
Next Stop: Italy
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Chateau De Challon
Through a survey, it is shown that Zurich is the number one city to live in for it has the best standard of living. The richest people of Switzerland live here, which is shown by the Bentleys and Porsches that they drive.
Amazing Sushi Tram
Gorgeous City of Zurich
Zurich at Night
Bern is the capital of Switzerland which has all of the government buildings and Swiss banks.
Aigle is a small village right by the school where I just had the privilege to go grape picking for wine. I also just found out that the white wine that comes from Aigle is known to be the best from Switzerland.
Interlaken is the adventure place and is out of all the cities in Switzerland the most American. By this, I mean that everyone speaks English perfectly and it even has its own Hooters.
Interlaken Sign
HOOTERS
Para gliders Paradise
Charla-Maye and I at dinner
Gimmelwald is a mountain peak which has an incredible view of the Alps.
Gimmelwald Sign
Amazing View of the Glaciers
Lauterbrunnen is to me the nicest place I have ever been to in my life. To look in front of you and to see a waterfall to your right, a glacier to your center, and a mountain peak to your left is just absolutely amazing for all the best parts of nature are together in one view. If it wasn’t for class next day, I can see myself camping out and enjoying the scenery which I cannot do in the states.
Waterfall to the right, Glacier to the center, Mountain to the left
Because of the fact that Switzerland is neutral, a lot of time and money isn’t spent on its military but instead on its consumer goods. The cheese and chocolate here make me wonder how I grew up eating Hershey’s chocolate and Cheddar cheese. The amount of time spent on quality here shows that the Swiss are truly dedicated to their line of work.
Best idea ever, mix of ice cream sandwich and chocolate eclair
Other than all this travelling, I have been focused on school which shows because I just got an A on my online management class through Saint Leo so if I want to play hard then I have to work hard as well. I will be heading to France and Italy in the next couple of weeks because of school break so stay tuned because there is a lot more to come.
“Every person lives by two things… responsibility and accountability.�
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The Alps
I then arrived at my school which completely surprised me. This is because I found out that the classrooms, dorms, cafeteria, student lounge, and fitness center were all in one building which meant that I never had to leave the building unless I wanted to which I do. Even more surprising was the fact that there were thirty two students in total. This whole time I thought Saint Leo was small but compared to the school in Switzerland, Saint Leo is incredibly big with 1600 students.
My new school
My new room
With there being six new students, either I would become friends with them or else if all fails then I will be staying in my room all semester. Luckily, it was the former rather than the latter that prevailed and honestly is mostly credited to orientation that we all got close. Besides me, there are two other Americans. Billy is the outdoorsman from Maryland while Christopher is the sophisticated guy from New York. Then there is Charla-Maye who is a current junior at Saint Leo from the Bahamas. From France comes a girl name Marie who speaks amazing English particularly due to the fact that she travels to the US and Canada on a yearly basis. From Jordan comes Karim who can speak English and Italian quite well along with his native Arabic. Finally, Marko is my roommate from Montenegro who gives me no problems and is making my stay here quite convenient.
New Friends (From L-R, Billy, Me, Charla-Maye, Marko, Marie, and Chris)
Now that I have described each and every one of them, I shall continue on. Orientation was basically the solid foundation that brought us all together. First off, the campus directors and administrators as the most welcoming and friendly people that I have ever met. They took us on a tour of the village of Leysin as well as local areas such as Vevey and Montreau. At the end of orientation, we had fondue and wine on top of the mountain which made it seem so surreal.
Village of Leysin
Sign of Leysin Promoting the Fresh Air
Montreau
Montreau
Vevey
Marko, Myself, and Billy with the spoon
Marie, Marko, Charla-Maye, and Billy on top of the mountain
I still couldn’t believe I was in Switzerland nevertheless being in Europe. With this and all the trips, this is mainly how and where we got close. The way I looked at it, we all came from different areas, but we were open to each others differences which made it work. The stereotypes that typically come with every nation were dropped on the spot because we wanted to find out who each other was without the bias of where they came from. Even though it has been a month so far, I see these same people everyday along with the current students and we have gotten closer finding out who each of us are beneath the skin. That is pretty much it so stay tuned because there is a lot more to come.
“If you want what you’ve never had then you have to do what you have never done.�
Swiss Wine
Planchette which is basically dried meats with vegetables
FONDUE
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