Dancing time away in Bratislava

I've reached the end of day 4 in Bratislava and I must say that I'm slowing begining to love this country and the people The people in the research group have been excellent hosts. Last night, they took me to a local restaurant in the city where i got a full meal (drinks, salad, and one large dish of food) for only $4.25! No joke. My entire meal was under $5, and I couldn't even finish it. It was crazy. Every day at 3pm we all take off for a coffee break in the academy cafeteria where coffee and a desert cost only 75 cents! Its great. Anyways.....enough about the cheap food.

Today I started working on my actual research. Its been over two weeks since I last performed calculations so I was a little rusty to say the least. It took me over an hour to set up a calculation that ussually only take 5 minutes. But at least, I started the calculation in time. I even had time to make some pretty pictures today. See the picture on the right.



I took off early this afternoon (just like every one else) so I could do some grocery shopping at Tesco. Tesco is like a Walmart. In fact, they sell the same clothes Walmart does. (Cherokee anyone?).

So Tesco is this really big store about three blocks away. Its so big, it even has its own bus stop, and McDonalds. (I must add a quick note about McDonalds, slovak's don't eat there because the food is too expensive. I have to agree, the average McDonald's meal costs $5, which is much more expensive than my large healthy meal in the city.) Tesco is pretty big, even for someone accustomed to Super Walmart. Tesco sells furniture ($300 for a couch isn't bad), clothes, electronics, movies, gas, and finally food. The quality of food isn't great but the selection is pretty decent. But I still haven't been able to find hummus. (My slovak hosts had never heard of hummus so they couldn't help).

Anyways, another highlight of my day was waiting for me at home. I walked into my apartment building to really loud dance music. My first thought was...oh no, one of my neighbors is having a party tonight. Well, I was somewhat correct. My apartment overlooks a small school for developmentally impaired children. I often wake up to them playing on the playground (I live on the 7th floor so its not too loud). Today was "Celebrate the Child" day so the school brought in inflatable games, motorcycles, and a dj for the kids. Earlier today they sold handicrafts that the children made. When I came home around 7pm, a bunch of kids were dancing on the pavillion and getting rides on motorcycles. If you look past the trees, you can see kids waiting in line to get on the motorcycles. The dj was stationed under the gazebo. A bunch of kids just stood around a danced. One kid who couldn't walk was pushed around in a wheelchair while the rest of the kids danced around him. With nothing better to do, I just pulled a chair to my balcony and watched them all dance for a while. Just watching the kids brought a huge smile to my face. My only hope is that they stop dancing before 11pm so I can go to sleep. I'm sure they will. Anyways, I'm need to get back to work. I miss you all very much and I hope to post more pictures soon.

Home sweet Gulag

So I arrived in Bratislava today. Strangely, I had no problems with travel despite the fact I had to catch two planes, a bus, a train, and somehow contact my hosts within a 14 hour period. I'm happy to say that I succeeded and I made it safely and on time to Bratislava. I actually met an American student and a Hungarian professor on the train and we had a lovely conversation about European culture and life in general. It turns out that we all had a strong interest in fantasy and science fiction novels. Who knew? Anyways, because I talked the entire train ride, I couldn't nap, so I'm extremely tired right now. Even though its only 5pm local time, it feels like 11pm. I feel like I could sleep for weeks. I probably will. My hosts are supposed to take me shopping and then I plan on crashing for the night. Hopefully I can tell you more about Slovakia once I've slept. I also have to tell you about switzerland and Budapest and the American wedding. So much to say, so little brain power to say it all. But in the mean time, I've posted pictures of my Slovakian apartment.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chariteach/SlovakiaMyHome

I actually like my apartment, even though I refer to it as a gulag. The building is pretty ugly but the interior was recently renovated so my room is quite cheery and clean. I can't say the same for the elevator. The lift (aka closet as it can only hold 3 people at a time) has a plywood floor and 6 shades of paint peeling off of it. I would take the stairs but my room is on the 6th floor (7th floor American). I have access to a group kitchen and a tv room down the hall, but other than that, I don't have much. However, the room should do quite nicely for 3 weeks. Well, I'm really tired so I'm going to sign off. Hopefully I will see some of you online tommorow.

I miss you all very much!

Some Budapest Pictures up

I just wanted to let you know that budapest pictures are up. You can check the pictures online at

http://picasaweb.google.com/chariteach/BudapestOrientation

I'm added notes so you have some idea what you are looking at. I'll upload more pictures when I have time.

elite status in a frequent flyer program

I decided today that I will try to gain elite status in a frequent flyer program. I haven't decided which one, but I will soon. I discovered today that if I had flown all my flights on the same carrier, I would have earned elite status two flights ago, giving me free access to airline lounges. I speak of airline lounges because I am in one right now. My northwest ticket came with a day pass to their day lounge. The only problem was that I had to use it before July 25th. Considering that today is the last day I will be in Ohare before July 25th, I decided to use it. The lounges really make flying a much more pleasant experience. No noisy crowds or crying babies. Instead an empty chair with free drinks and snacks and free wireless. Now I just have to decide which carrier to use. American airlines services more domestic destinations but flying isn't always a pleasant experience. I definitely won't use them internationally. For international flights, I prefer swiss air and lufthansa, which share miles with united. I definitely prefer the service on united flights, but they don't service all the airports I need domestically. I'm closest to elite status on Northwest, but I really hate flying them, so I think I will avoid them for the time being. Does anyone have a suggestion for a frequent flyer club?

P.S. - If you didn't know, I'm writing this post from the Ohare airport. I flew back to the US for a wedding and now I fly back to Europe to start my fellowship. I'm sorry if I didn't call you. I was only on US soil for 48 hours so I didn't have much time to call people. We can still email. :-)

Budapest is awesome but tiring

So much has happened in the last few days. I wish I had time to share but I don't. I will try later this week. Here are highlights, I ate chicken parts (ask me about them), I slept on a boat, I went to a symphony in a European concert hall, met my mentor, and fell asleep on two trains. Today I'm on my way to a real Turkish bath. Which is why I can't write long. Budapest is full of sights and things to do and the fellowship has kept me very busy. Its crazy. I will try to write me while I"m traveling this week. I promise to respond to emails next week!

exploring the pest in buda

Wow, its crazy that sooo much can happen in just two days. In 48 hours, I said goodbye to the man I love (that would be Andy if you are confused) and a dear friend (Jenny) and hello to an entirely new culture and group of people. I've spent the night on the Danube river (my hotel is a boat), enjoyed my first bowl of Hungarian cuisine (it was really cheesy), gotten lost in Pest, seen three amazing cathedrals, and learned much about European research life. Its crazy. I've taken pictures but I still haven't been able to find an internet connection strong enough to load them to picassa. I promise to load them as soon as I can. I also want to write more about how amazing these people are and the rich history I've learned in just two days. But we have to be at a dinner 20 minutes across town in 15 minutes. But since I can't share all of my experiences, I will leave you with a link to the wikipedia article on St. Stephen's Basilica.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen's_Basilica

Enjoy! I will post more once I can get more internet time.

Safe in Hungary

I am now safe in country number 2 (well 4 if you count layovers in Belgium and the netherlands, but I don't). Typing on foreign keyboards is always an adventure. I am deeply sorry for any typos. So far I can say two words in hungarian, yes and thank you (but I still mispronononce thank you). I will post pictures of my house boat soon (once I can connect my laptop to the internet). Well, my time is almost up. I will talk to you later!

Say Cheese

It rained today, which meant that we couldn't go hiking like we planned. But have no fear, Jenny and I purchased swiss rail passes before we left, so we all decided to take the train somewhere fun. WE ended up taking the train to Gruyeres, which is a small German town in the alps. Gruyeres is famous for two things, cheese and the chateau. We experienced both. We got to visit a cheese factory and watch cheese mold. Its really more exciting than you think. The cheese factory is mechanized so you see this robot flip huge rows of cheese around. After sampling 6month old, 8 month old, and 10 month cheese (included in the museum price), we hiked half a mile to a chateau in a perfectly preserved medieval village. We saw amazing veiws of the alps shrouded in clouds and some really cool flowers. I'll include pictures later. Right now, my internet connection is weak so I can't really do much more than post to this blog.

Also, its nearly 11pm and I need to wake up early for the trip to Zermatt. Pray it doesn't rain again so we can actually see the Matterhorn.

Safe in Martigny

Hi, I made it into Martigny with all luggage. I was able to get some sleep on the plane and I even got to take a shower in Amsterdam. You can rent a shower stall for an hour. Actually, its more like a large walk in closet with a shower at the end of it. They provide two towels, shampoo, soap, a shower cap, and a hairdryer. Its really nice. I definitely felt more human after washing off the grime of the airplane.

What is it about airplanes that makes you feel so gross? I was ready to take a scalding hot shower 2 hours into the flight. Oh yeah, the guy next to me was sick, so I may end up with a cold later this week. :-/ But alas, I am safe and sound and hogging the internet at Andy's apartment. Andy's getting impatient to show us around town so I guess I'd better go soon. More posts to come!

Charity

Travel days are tiring

I write this post from the airport. Jenny (travel companion) and I are such internet junkies that we splurged on the $7 to use the internet. Anyways, I'm always amazed at how much travel wears me out. I'm not even 12 hours into my travel and I'm ready to go back home. Traveling also reminds me how much I like home. I love seeing new places, but nothing beats the feeling of my own bed and my own couch. Now don't get me wrong, I'm excited to travel to a new country and meet new (and old, happy I mentioned you now Andy?) friends. But for some reason, I'm really nervous about this trip. For one, I"m tired (2 hours of sleep will do that to you). Secondly, I don't know what this summer has in store. I fluctuate between excitement at the unknown adventures and terror for the unknown failures. This is the first time I've tried to work overseas, we'll see how well it goes.

I don't know how Andy traveled abroad for a whole year! I'm nervous about 8 weeks! I should be nervous at all. I've travel thousands of miles and I have worked in places far from home. My entire life has been about moving from one place to another. I've overcome nervousness before, so I should be able to do it this time too.

Well, since I have an internet connection, I should take some time to work on some chemistry before I leave. Please email me if you get the chance and keep me up to date with your life. I will definitely keep you up to date with mine. :-)

Before I go, here is a picture of the sun through our amtrak lounge window.

Saying goodbye

This weekend I said goodbye to my family in KY. The weekend was stressful due to the large amount of traveling but lots of fun because I was with my family. I can't believe how amazing my relationship with my sister's is today. On Saturday night we all sat around Loletuth's bed, talking about life, love, and religion. Even though Erin spilled her drink all over the floor, we still had an amazing time. It seems like no matter how much we disagree (which this weekend showed that we disagree a lot ideologically), we still love each other enough to forgive and look past the other's flaws (i.e. voting Republican, hehe). But as my sister's and I grow closer, we move farther apart. Together we were only home for 36 hours and within 48 more hours we will be spread across continents. Now just as I want to get to know these amazing girls I call my sisters, I have to say goodbye. But I know that my sister's will always be close.

Since I don't want to leave on a sad note, I leave you with a picture of my sweet car rental this weekend. Enjoy!

The travels begin

So today my travels begin. I travel to the airport this afternoon to pick up a car so I can drive to my sister's graduation in KY. While in KY, I will visit 6 cities in 36 hours for family photos, graduations, and open houses. I have to return the car to Champaign by 5pm on Sunday night. Then I'm off to a graduation party for a dear friend and say adieu to my wonderful grad iteam (which may be dead but lives on in my heart... I'll never let go grads...I'll never let go). Anyways.

It never fails that no matter how much you prepare, the days before you leave are frantic with packing, unpacking to see if you packed the stuff you needed, repacking and forgetting to pack the stuff you needed to pack, and then collapsing onto the neatly packed piles of clothes from pure frustration. Well, I guess I'm being dramatic but these last couple of days are always rather frantic. In between packing things you need to take, you also try to find time to spend with people you have to leave behind. Last night I said goodbye to my home fellowship, which was harder than I thought considering I've only known these people for 4 months. I'm going to miss frisbee in the park and dinners at Ty's house quite a bit. Today I say goodbye to a dear friend and prepare to say goodbye to my family.

A lot of goodbyes but they all lead to some big adventures. Details about my adventures to come in subsequent blogs. Now I need to get to work on research and last minute errands.

Welcome to my travels

Welcome to my new blog. Thanks to Ty for the awesome title. :-) This blog is about all my travels to Central Europe this summer. I hope to update often and possibly include pictures. :-)
Well, I'm off to the plethora of parties tonight. I will update more later!