Why being on a college swim team best prepares you for the real world more than any other NCAA sport... 1.) Just like prelims and finals, you've got one chance to do it right. If you nail it, you make it on to the next round. But if you mess it up, you don't have another chance. 2.) You aren't racing for yourself, you're racing for the team. Even if you are having an "off day", your team is still counting on you to put your best foot forward. Just like in the office, maybe you forget your coffee one day and are a bit more tired than normal. It doesn't mean people aren't counting on you to get your stuff done... GET IT DONE. 3.) There is no "try your best", just "do your best". My mom always said, be a "do-er" not a "try-er". 4.) You become a professional at changing in public. Do you know how many times you find yourself in a rush coming back from the gym, trying to wrestle on your dress in the car? Swimmers know not only how to get dressed fast, but how NOT to give the creep in the car next to you a free show. 5.) We will eat anything, due to our enormous appetites. So, you know those horrible work dinners where the boss orders your uber fancy food that everyone is afraid to try? Well, the chances that YOU won't eat it are slim to none. 6.) You learn to sleep practically anywhere. From bumpy bus rides, uncomfortable bleachers, to loud pool decks. If you can close your eyes and lay out, you are golden. 7.) Adversity has nothing on you. How many times do you come in to practice and think you are doing one thing, but Coach decides today is a great day to do 10 x 100s off the block? If a change is thrown your way, you've had years of practice to adapt. 8.) How many people know how many yards are in a mile or how important one one-hundredth really is? Not many my friends, not many.

YUM

Avocado-spinach pesto pasta with sauteed mushrooms / Recipe

Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar day and night by @volavissem

Route 104 - Clarkson, NY

theboy1755

© Morgan

Albufeira, Portugal

Last of the last-firsts

Well, I’m alive… Barely. From moving in with 90 degree heat alone, to getting back in the pool after a little too much time off, I am holding on by a single thread.

Not only am I up to my neck with senior year activities and stresses, but I’m surrounded by kids talking about their “Last-first”. Don’t know what I am talking about? I’m talking about your “last first day of school EVER”, your “last first morning lift of your swimming career”, you “last first all-nighter after you procrastinated all week”.

Don’t get me wrong, I am counting down til’ my final lap as a competitive swimmer just as much as the next kid, but the last thing I want to do is hold myself to this idea of everything being my last.

Who is to say I may never go back to school or jump in to a pool again? Who’s to say my procrastination with reading mediocre novels of the Renaissance Age is going to get any better?

While I am DEFINITELY excited for the closing of this chapter in my life and the beginning of the next, I refuse to hold myself to this idea of “last first”. If I say this is the last time I will ever do something, I better be 100 years old on my death bed.

From a girl who is ranting on this idea of “last-first”, I can promise you this one thing… This will be my first AND last time using this overly-committed term.

First time EVER experimenting with video on the blog! You would think after all my broadcasting classes I would become used to seeing myself on the screen. Hopefully, this is something we can try and incorporate more!

the beginning of the end

it is two days before I leave for Albany for my fourth and final time and I could not be more torn up about it. After not seeing my friends and teammates for seven months, of course I am more than ready to be reunited with them. But seeing everyone again, also signifies the beginning of the end. Yet, this ending is more than just an ending to my 4 amazing years at Siena College, but the ending to a love-hate relationship of 16 years--swimming.

I have spoken with so many retired athletes who tell me, “once it is over, the only thing you are going to want to do is go back”, yet when I even think of my alarm going off at 5:45 three times a week I can promise you I AM READY FOR IT TO BE OVER. But as I am packing up my final things and doing some last minute shopping, it is starting to hit me. This is really the end.

I am remember being 15 years old, right around the time I hit my plateau, and counting down how many years it would be until my last race. I remember being a senior in high school and wanting nothing more than to hang out with the rest of my school friends, rather than go to practice. I remember my first practice of junior year and accidentally sleeping through my alarm, thinking how ready I was for this sport to be over. Yet, here I am not wanting to return to school NOT because of the practices, but the mere fact that once they start the end is closer.

What is one to do? I have always explained myself to people as “the swimmer” or maybe “ the girl from (fill in the blank with California, Florida, or Tennessee) who is on the swim team”. Never have I once in 16 years had to describe myself as anything other than, the swimmer. 

So as I enter into my fourth and final year of school, I will be proud to be “Emily the Swimmer”. As I know, after this year I may never hear it again.

-Emily the swimmer from all over the country

i now pronounce you best friends

For most people studying abroad is the time to go off on your own, to step out of your comfort zone, and to truly learn about who you are as a person. This whole concept of "finding yourself" is surrounded with the idea that in order to do so, you must navigate this journey solo. So, when many people heard I was going to study abroad with my best friend I was greeted with some concern.

I would get pulled aside at parties and asked, "is this really what you want",  "do you wish you were doing it alone", or my favorite "don't you think you'll get sick of each other"? I would manage to escape these meaningless conversations with a simple "no, I think we will be fine" and proceed on with my night, while in the back of my head contemplating this drunken exchange. I would go home that night and begin to wonder, what if this is the wrong decision? What if we do get sick of each other? Is this really worth ruining our friendship? But the months turned into weeks, the weeks to days, and before we knew it we were on a flight from JFK to Oslo. We were really doing this... Together.

Our first few weeks in Germany were our time to adjust. Trying to figure out public transportation, what grocery store was the cheapest/who carried chocolate chip muffins, and is it possible to navigate Germany with very little German knowledge? These were all obstacles that lie ahead, but we would tackle them together.

Around the third week in to our experience I found myself suffering from an EXTREME case of homesickness, tears and all. Yes, tears. For those who know me well, I do NOT like to cry. I'm the girl who starts hysterically laughing in "My Sister's Keeper" because I have no clue how to handle my emotions. So, you can only imagine how I felt when I found myself homesick and crying in my bed at 1 am. Calling my mom, dad, and boyfriend hoping one of them could make it better, but no cigar. Luckily, I was abroad with my best friend who was a mere 6 feet away and is accustomed to sharing a room with me. So what do I do?I pull  my mattress into her room by 2 am and find myself sleeping on her floor the next two nights. It was the best sleep I had in my 5 months here.

Next came our first real experience at traveling abroad. We had booked our hotels, managed to work the train system, and we were ready to take on sunny Spain and Portugal. We slowly, but surely, made our way through the winding halls from the train station to the airport when we learned we did the unthinkable... We went to the wrong airport. In this odd turn of events, we did the stupid thing and went straight to the last minute booking counter and bought a €300 ticket (FYI, that is a little more than DOUBLE our original flight and about the price of all our flights together). Either way, we managed to buy our tickets and Bridget was assigned a false alias *revert back to old blog posts* but we made it. When we finally hopped on to the plane all we could do was look at each other, shake our heads in dismay, and say "never again". Heaven forbid that was me traveling alone or I was with someone other than Bridget,I think I would have been on the next plane to the U.S. Thankfully that was not the case. No matter how unfortunate the situation turned out to be, it is something only we can share and will always be a source of laughter in the years to come.

Since arriving, we have been to 9 different countries, somewhere around 24 cities, met people from all around the world, survived the Spanish heat in March, listened to a live band from our window in Portugal, cruised through the Greek Islands, photo bombed a wedding shoot in Berlin, cheered on the U.S. from Prague as they beat the Czech in hockey, sang along to The Sound of Music sound track as we biked our way through Salzburg, taken the obligatory Leaning Tower of Pisa tourist picture, and popped champagne at midnight under the Eiffel Tower.  We have truly conquered the world... Or at least 9 countries in it.

But now this probably has you thinking... did you really gain as much from the study abroad experience with your best friend versus going solo? And my answer to you? Yes. Yes, I did. While I may not have had to order at a restaurant alone or learned how to use the public bus system on my own, I still had to do these things. I sill had to learn the proper was to pay at a grocery store. I still had to learn how to set up a German bank account. I still had to learn how to separate your trash according to German standards. I still had to do all of this, except I was lucky enough to have a support system with me the entire way.

One thing I will say about studying abroad with Bridge, that only those who share our type of experience can understand, is that I can confidently say I we have passed the test of friendship. Going abroad and immersing yourself in an entirely new culture is challenging. There are some days you will not want to do it anymore and you will want to go home. Traveling becomes exhausting and after 2 hours of leading each other the in the wrong direction on an empty stomach is a situation asking for moody 21 year olds. In 5 months, one of you is bound to have an off day or even week, which is totally normal, but being able to get past these situations and knowing how to handle each other during these times is of the utmost importance. Being able to walk for hours and not talk is sometimes necessary, especially after 10 days of traveling. Being able to realize that maybe one of you just needs a hug or a good laugh is all the encouragement needed to get out of a funk.

Many say that to test a relationship and see if you can really make it, you must travel together. While normally they are talking about couples with marriage on the horizon, I like to consider 'best friend-ship' a marriage of sorts. She is someone I want my kids to know and be confused whether Crazy Aunt Bee is blood-related or not. She is someone I want next to me as I say "I do" to the man of my dreams. She is the person I want to call when I am sick of my job and all I want to do is quit. She is the person I want to tell me when you can see my underwear through my dress and my new haircut is ridiculous. She is my best friend and traveling together has not only pushed this friendship to the test, but it has made it stronger than ever.

So to those who are debating studying abroad with your best friend, but are afraid you won't gain the full experience don't cross it off just yet.   It takes a select person to constantly be with for 5 months in some high-stress, sleep deprived, situations, so choose your best friend and travel partner wisely. If you do choose to go with your best friend, I hope you are as lucky as me. You will share some of the most amazing moments in your life with your best friend right there the whole way.

So this last post is for you Bridge, I wouldn't have wanted to do it with any one else.

Cheers to surviving Germany, turning 21, senior year, and best friend-ship! Ich liebe dich

Raindrops on Roses and Blue Satin Dresses

Dear Salzburg:

You have won my heart forever.

Love,   Some girl who now realizes why my mom wouldn't leave me, until I went to Austria.

*this is where I now apologize for the horrible Sound of Music references to follow*

I've been hesitant to say this, butttt Salzburg is quite possibly my favorite place. Sorry Florence, but you have no chance against a young Julie Andrews narrating my entire trip. Besides the fact that one of my favorite movies was filmed here, the sheer beauty of this place would win anyone over. The river running right through the middle of town, speckled with tourists and natives alike along it's shores,cozying up to a bottle of wine. The old pastel buildings lining every street broken up by old cobbled streets. Coffee shop after coffee shop, only to be separated by a bakery in between. The place is something out of a fairy tale.

While the city-center alone is something that one could spend days exploring, the real beauty lies outside the inner-city limits. Bridget found us a Sound of Music Tour that took us all around the city to see many of the iconic places in the film. From the abbey, to the Von Trapp houseS--two houses were used to create a more grande estate, to the famous greenhouse where "You are Sixteen, Going on Seventeen" took place, which sadly is a lot smaller than you anticipate; Fräulein Maria Tours did its name justice. While I will have to say, it is a bit upsetting when you realize how many things were NOT set in Bamberg, but either in a Hollywood Studio or a town very far away, I would still suggest signing up for one of these tours solely on the fact you can bike thru the countryside. I mean how many times in your life will you bike through Salzburg, in a bike caravan, lead by a man with too short of jean shorts, all while listening to Julie Andrew's? The answer is very few.

Basically if you get the chance to go to Salzburg, GO TO SALZBURG. The hills are so much more than just alive, they're captivating and will steal a piece of your heart.

I'd like to leave you with "a few of my favorite things" and reasons as to why you should visit:

DOE- it might cost you some {dough}, but what doesn't? RAE- while it may be one of the rainiest places, when you catch a glimpse of those golden rays all in the world is okay ME- Me love Salzburg FAH- it might be far (pronounce with a British accent, this is harder than it looks), but it's so worth it! SO- So, why are you still reading this? Get packing! LA- in regards to Ashlee Simpson's one hit "Lala", this place will make you wanna do a lot more than just LaLa TEE- You must go to Café Tomaselli, the absolute cutest tea garden in Salzburg DOE-but seriously doe, you gotta go.

And there you have it folks, the next Julie Andrews in the making!

Em

A Gelato a Day Keeps the Doctor Away… or Maybe 3?

***For those of you that aren't savvy readers here's the general idea of this post (Dad this does not include you, no matter how much you hate to read) •Rome: Very touristy, lines for sights takes forever, if you go to Italy you have to go to Rome once •Florence: GO! Great food, great atmosphere, if stairs aren't your thing only climb the Duomo •Siena/Pisa: If you have an extra day, you should definitely go. How many times can one pose with a leaning tower and not be judged by thousands around? •Milan: If you have an abundance on money, the more to you***

   Ciao, Bella!! Welcome to the land of pizza, wine, and never ending gelato. The past ten days Bridget and I have travelled throughout the beautiful country of Italy. From Rome, to Florence, and ending our trip in Milan with a day trip to Siena and Pisa (had to get our picture with the leaning tower) we conquered all forms of transportation. Plane, train, AND bus we were able to travel the country at a reasonably(?) low-cost. With that being said the cheapest forms of transportation aren't always the nicest, but for the most part we had a great experience.     I quote Bridget when I say, "Rome wasn't built in a day, but we are sure are gonna see it in a day" and with that said we did it to the best of our ability. We stuck to our hop-on-hop-off bus tour and I would say if you have limited time in Rome, this is definitely the thing you should do. We were able to see the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and the Vatican to name a few. Normally, we take the international company (don't remember the name, but it's the red bus with cartoon drawings on it), but we found a cheaper Italian bus line that also included two more stops--The Trevi Fountain and the Vatican Museums. I would definitely suggest taking this line, it's called the Green Line GTL. For you Jersey Shore fans, just remember Mike the Situations catch phrase "Gym(G) Tan(T) Laundry(L)" and you'll be fine. For two euros cheaper and two extra stops, you're basically making money! Unfortunately for us the Trevi is currently under construction so that extra stop wasn't worth the time if we had known, but the two euros we saved was well spent on gelato.     We left the following day at 5 p.m., so we decided we were going to do the Vatican that day. Had we taken into account that we would be visiting on a Saturday and not a Friday, we probably would have switched our itinerary around. If you are given a chance between visiting the Vatican on a weekday versus weekend, definitely go with the weekday. The lines we saw on Friday were nearly tripled in size on Saturday, but when in Rome one must visit St Peter's and the Sistine Chapel so we persevered. After waiting 2 hours for St Peter's Basilica, which we gladly learned about half-way thru the wait was free (score!) we realized we were only waiting for the Basilica and would again have to wait in line for the Sistine Chapel. With a tight squeeze for time, we decided it was worth the money to pre-buy our tickets to visit the Chapel and skip the line. For about €17 and a 5 minute wait instead of 3 hours, it was definitely the more effective way to go about it.     Seeing as we still have not learned our lesson, we tend to book our hostels/hotels/AirBNBs about two days before we leave. Due to this, we usually are not in the "ideal" locations, but so far we have been happily surprised by our finds. In Rome, we stayed in an AirBNB located in the area right outside the Vatican wall known as Prati. While we were not sleeping next to the Trevi or walking along the Colosseum late at night, I definitely feel like we were staying outside the "tourist area". Cheaper food, better food, and overall a more authentic feel or as authentic as Rome next to the Vatican can get?     Overall, I would give Rome a solid 7/10 on my scale. While there is history painted all over the town, I feel you can never really take the time to fully enjoy it as you are bombarded by men either selling hats or selfie-sticks. The food was overpriced and it was very, very congested. If you are trying to make it on a college students budget, want to see all the sights and eat as much gelato as humanly possible, it will definitely set you some dollars back. Ultimately, if we had more time to take it all in and I had enough money to fulfill my gelato needs I think I would have had a different experience, but I would not advise doing Rome in 1.5 days.     After Rome, we took a train to Florence. The trip took about an hour and a half and lucky for us, was absolutely stunning. If there's one way to travel through Italy it is by train. If I could take a train and see rolling hills painted with vineyards and deserted Tuscan mansions every time I took a train I don't think I would travel any other way. Our hour and a half hour under the Tuscan sun came to an end and we were in Florence! We navigated our way to our hotel, quickly changed, and made our way out to find some cheap wine and a good meal. My dad told me, "there is no such thug as a bad meal in Florence", so with that advice in mind we decided to take the the streets with no direction and hope for the best. We wandered through the streets finding gem after gem, only to decide on a quaint little Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. Not even 5 minutes into our dinner, we realized that every other American in the city limits of Florence decided upon this establishment as well. A little bummed that we decided on the biggest tourist attraction we did not have high expectations in regards to the quality of food, but to our tastebuds dismay we were delightfully surprised! I ordered the sole Florentine seafood dish, of cod with some type of pesto-like topping with a side of Italian white beans in olive oil, while Bridget stuck with cheese pizza. Needless to say our stomachs were thanking us for that meal, but there was still something missing to top off that meal--gelato. We grabbed some gelato down the street from a trendy little boutique gelateria and made our way back to the hotel.     The next day we decided to tackle the Duomo. After having some issues locating the ticketing office, we finally purchased our ticket and hoped in like to climb the tower NEXT to the Duomo. About an hour and our first gelato of the day later, we started our ascent of 458 stairs. Now I like to believe I am an in-shape girl; I swim competitively, I run everyday, and I go to the gym about 4 times a week. With that said, my body was NOT prepared to climb not only 458 stairs (not to mention the 478 of the actual Duomo, but I'll get to that shortly), but 458 stairs at a 90degree angle. When we finally reached the top, we were greeted by a beautiful 360 degree view of Florence. Only problem was this view was completely obstructed by the wire cage that covers this outside landing! After 20 minutes of taking in the view, we notice people even higher than us WITHOUT a cage on top of the Duomo. So our descent began and off we went to conquer the best picture atop of Florence.     Now we thought the hour wait to climb the tower was bad, but this was incomparable to the wait for the Duomo. We had not eaten lunch, so we decide maybe we should grab some food and then we will wait the line out--lord knows how moody we get without our food. Thankfully, Bridget suggested that I go and check the closing time for the line before we scoot out. Well our stomachs were not too happy when we learned we were one of the last groups allowed into the Duomo for the day, which meant we were going to have to wait the 2 hours WITHOUT food. At this time we decide that our pictures atop the caged-in tower will do and we will just climb the 100 stairs to view the frescos up close, instead of going the whole 400 for the panoramic view. We start climbing and arrive to what we think is our stop to view the ceiling quickly, but what one of our plans has ever worked out the way we planned? Once we divert from our climbing group and walk to the viewing platform, a lady guiding the flow of tourists informs us that we cannot go this way as we are cutting a long line and therefore we must climb all 400 stairs. Now the stairs in the tower next to us were steep, but they have NOTHING on the Duomo stairs. Not only are they steep, but they are very dark, extremely hot, and have ceilings meant for people no taller than 5-10. Lucky for us we are both a solid 5-6 MAYBE 5-7, but those 3-4 inches of space still leave one with an extreme case of claustrophobia. The view from the top was definitely worth it, but if you come at a peak time like we did, it appears you get stuck up there for 30 minutes waiting to get down? With two ravenous, 20 year old, anxiety stricken, women this is NOT the place to get stuck. Eventually we made it down, after seeing the fresco art of the duomo up close, and then we made a beeline to the closest gelato store we could find. Even with the long lines and missing out on some parts of the city, Florence is so far my favorite place we have been too with a solid 9/10.     As for Pisa and Siena, these were both included in a day trip we made from Florence. We left around 10 am and headed to Piss, where we did our best "holding the leaning tower" tourist pictures. From holding, kicking, punching, to kissing it we nailed all the signature poses all in about an hour and a half. The leanings tower was definitely a sight to see (yes, it is ACTUALLY leaning), but I don't think you need more than 3 hours tops there. In an hour and a half we had enlightened time to walk thru Pisa, visit the large church that is directly in front of the tower, take our pictures, and catch the next train to Siena. Next stop: Siena, Italy. We've had numerous friends/ classmates study in Siena and heard such great things about it that we decided we could not miss out! While our time in Siena was short, it is definitely a place both of us said we will visit again. I found that Siena provided me with what I had pictured "Italy" as in my head-- the mom & pop restaurants, hidden gelaterias, laundry hanging from the windows--breathtaking. We had a late lunch in Siena and this is where I had my first pasta dish. I ordered something along the lines of, thick noodles, with Parmesan and cracked pepper, and for the most part that is what came out. The spaghetti was much chewier than the box of Barilla we use at home and the Parmesan was more of a parmesan-Alfredo sauce, but I was not left unsatisfied. I would suggest to anyone that has an extra day in Florence to definitely make the Pisa/Siena trip, you will not be disappointed!      Our last stop of our Italy trip was a 24 hour stop in Milan. We already knew coming here that we would not be able to afford more than a scoop of gelato at most, but traveling with Bridget Francis, aka the Fashion Queen, it was a stop that would not be wasted. We got to our AirBNB with a few bumps along the way, but soon made our way into the city center. Louis, Chanel, Dolce and Gabana, Brooks Brothers, and even a GAP (yes, we made a stop in. No, we didn't not make a purchase), Milan's shopping district had it all. While it was definitely a sight to see, on a poor girl's budget all I could afford to do was window shop. We did treat ourselves to some "fancy gelato", which really means €2 per scoop versus our normal €1 scoop, but boy did that euro make a difference! While Milan might not have been our favorite place, it definitely wins the award for best gelato. I would say if you have a flight out of Milan, like we did, all you truly need is an afternoon in the city, unless you are rolling in money which if that's the case go crazy! So moral of this whole post? If/when you got to Italy: stray away from the tourist-y area, strategically plan your attractions, and eat as much gelato as humanly possible

How NOT to Hostel

What would be a traveling blog post from me without having some sort of travesty? I think at this point, the reason these horrible things keep happening to us is because a) we are cursed from Bridget breaking her mirror the second week we arrived b) we are cursed because I repeatedly spill salt shakers over at restaurants c) we are just plain cursed. With that being said at least it is us and not you, so if you ever choose to travel to Europe or anywhere for that matter, you know what NOT to do.

Back to Berlin, we had a little trouble finding our bus, but we partnered up with a French and Japanese exchange student and were able to pull together all of our language skills to successfully find it. In our defense, we keep hearing about this idea of "German Punctuality" which let me put it blatantly... It's BULL. The bus was 25 minutes late, but I will take a late bus versus the wrong airport any day. The four of us (we travelled with our two close friends Garner and Megan) loaded our belongings on to the bus and off to Berlin we left. We arrived at the Berlin ZOB around 5:50 pm, when we were then faced with the next challenge of finding a taxi. Now of course, it is assumed since Bridget and I are from New York that we know how to get a taxi. If only people knew finding a taxi in Albany requires a phone call to Capital Region Taxi, followed by a 5 minute wait no matter where you are in the city. But, when given a task we are determined to succeed. We ended up doing that thing where you awkwardly make eye contact with the taxi driver, start frantically waving your arms in some sort of motion, and then start to point at all 4 people as if he can't see there are 4 of you. After about five minutes of misfortune, we finally were able to get a cab. We're doing good, right?? WRONG.

We enter the cab, to a middle aged man who had come to Germany from Afghanistan. He informed us his English was not very good, but that he would get us to our hostel successfully. Once we gave him the address of our hostel, that promise was then revoked. We should have known at that point, when he began suggesting other hostels to stay at, that our hostel was going to be unsatisfactory, but we kept pushing onward. After the scariest 30 minutes of my life with him weaving his Volkswagen in and out of traffic, making use of the lane that reads "BUS ONLY" every twenty meters, we made it to a large building that appears to have been abandoned. We would have never guessed this is in fact was where we would be getting out, until Mr. Taxi driver points out a little painted piece of paper that reads "EastPax Hostel". He helps us get our luggage out, but this experience could not be finalized without one last comment from our lunatic of a driver. He did not say good bye, or good luck, or enjoy your time in beautiful Berlin, but rather left us with an emphatic laugh and a "You girls stay in scheiße hostel. Scheiße, you know? Like you say in America, Shit?". At that point I was so taken back by the whole situation, that I too started to laugh in agreeance with him.

We walked into this "shit-hostel" and let me tell you, it did not upset. On a scale of 7-11 bathroom on the side of the highway to back alley bathroom in the Bronx, this hostel ranked itself a solid port-o-potty at a three day music festival. Not to mention, the entire façade was covered in graffiti of Swastikas and the word "Kommunism" spelled out in red spray paint stretching 20 feet across the wall.

Thankfully, Apple created this thing called FaceTime which put me in touch with Jim Carideo and in a new room at the Sheraton.

Besides the "scheiße-hostel" experience, I would give Berlin a solid 7/10. The history there is endless and it's amazing to see how a city can fully rebuild within such a short time span. Unfortunately, due to the war many of the old buildings were completely destroyed leaving just a few buildings unscathed. It is a big city with very confusing public transportation as well. Normally we utilize the metro systems when we visit, but it was nearly impossible, even for four people! What we did do, which I would now do for ANY large city, is buy a tourist bus pass that allows you to hop on and off throughout the day. We bought a 24€  two-day pass that would drop us off at all major tourist sites, along with an audio tour so you knew exactly where you were and the history behind it. DEFINITELY the best investment on the trip, besides switching to the Sheraton.

If you are one who enjoys rich history, long days at endless museums, only to be followed up by a cocktail at an fusion restaurant or a glass of wine at one of the million Italian restaurants (literally, every corner is an Italian restaurant), then Berlin is the place for you!

Mama is ALWAYS right

When it comes to rules, anyone that knows me will tell you I am the epitome of a "rules follower". While some may say that living life this way is boring and does not provide one with enough excitement, I like to believe that the unimaginable events in my life, like going to the wrong airport while traveling in a foreign country (see previous post for a good laugh), provide me with enough excitement. One rule my mom has ALWAYS taught me is to separate my darks from my lights when it comes to laundry. While the occasional grey shirt may make its way into the white load, I for the most part stick to my mom's rule. Living in Germany for the past month and a half, I have realized the only way you will make it here is if you are willing to adapt and that is including the way in which you go about doing your laundry. Sorry mom, but I had to give in. 

 At Siena we are fortunate enough to pay for laundry services for the entire semester, meaning we do NOT have to carry quarters on us every wash. Unfortunately, in Germany that is not the case. We have to go to our "Hausmeister" during her extensive office hours of 2 hours per day and pay for special laundry coins, averaging about €2 per coin, and THEN are we able to do our laundry. With that being said, €4 for both washer and dryer takes a toll on your wallet after a few loads of laundry. In order to save money I have neglected my mom's rule and have started to wash all my clothing together. I have done this two previous times and everything has gone smoothly, what was mom always preaching this seemingly silly rule for? Well, this week I once again did my load of laundry and have now suffered the consequences. Not only did my washing machine skip the spin cycle, leaving my clothes ten pounds heavier and much more wet, but it appears a pair of my new jeans snuck their way into my wash accidentally. Needless to say, it is as if I have purchased a whole new closet where every article of clothing is some form of blue! Who needs to buy new clothes when you can just dye them a different color, right? While I would like to say my laundry madness ends there, it does not.

After three hours of leaving my clothes in the dryer, as they were much more wet than usual, I walked downstairs to find my clothes were just as wet as they were in the washer! Hmmm... I know what to do? I know, I am going to borrow one of the drying racks from downstairs. So up I go with my 20lbs. of wet laundry and large drying apparatus into my room. I had a quick battle with this metal contraption, but luckily I found myself victorious. I successfully set it up and strategically placed my clothes on the drying rack for the optimal drying experience. While it took some time to get used to the musky smell in my room, I was able to fall asleep.

9:15 A.M. the next morning and I realize I have to leave for the bus in 10 minutes. I rush over to my laundry and grab a pair of leggings from my drying rack and would you look at that... STILL WET. While I was not late to class and may have had to wear jeans I had been wearing for the past three days, I was able to make it thru my day unscathed and welcomed the next morning with dry, blue-tinted, clothing.

Moral of the story? Always listen to your mom and if you have to adapt to new circumstances, pick one that your mom HAS NOT made a rule about.

Emi

Smell ya, Mallorca! We’re off to Madrid!

It's only an hour, it's only an hour--my mantra for the next hour as I sit next to not only Spain's largest man, but quite possibly Spain's smelliest man. When two people book the aisle and window seat in America on a partially full flight, NO ONE chooses to sit in the middle seat and I mean no one. It's like a common courtesy, you know? So once again making the mistake assuming Europe is just like the states, what do Bridget and I do? Book the aisle and window seats.

After rushing off the bus to make sure I could save Bridget and I space in the overhead compartments, we comfortably seat ourselves in row 5 seats D and F. Ten minutes or so pass and the flight attendants start to shut the compartments, as it appears everyone has boarded the plane. WRONG. After Bridget and I do our celebratory high-fives as we "beat the system" a family of 4 walks on to the plane. Mother walks by us, daughter walks by us, younger brother walks by us, WE ARE SET, and in the blink of an eye a rather large man in a fire engine red polo shirt comes trudging down the aisle. After reciting some sentence in Spanish that I had no clue the meaning of, I was able to deduct that he in fact was seated in row 5 seat E. I decided to save Bridget the pain and told the man that he could take my aisle seat, but don't worry folks it gets worse. Not even 30 seconds after he thanks me, he reaches over his head to place his bag in the overhead compartment. At first I thought the old man with the bun two rows ahead of us must have passed some gas or it was the box of food the lady had behind me, but as the seconds passed and the man sat himself the smell became stronger and stronger. The smell was coming from Big Red, who was now sitting in MY AISLE SEAT.

It has now been about 20 minutes into the flight and I have taken a total of about 30 breaths, with the occasional sniff into the Haribo Gummy Bear bag to relieve myself from the stench. Oh and to make matters even better, the pilot has now brought it to our attention that the flight is actually an hour and ten minutes, not an hour. If I do not write another blog post, it is because I have suffered from extreme brain trauma due to lack of oxygen. Mom and Dad I love you, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Unfortunately, in this case it was to not breathe. While those past three sentences may be just a tad bit dramatic, the stench coming from this man is not being over-played. 

Gotta go, time for me to inhale into the Haribo bag! Em

**10 minutes after post is written, it appears we are descending into Barcelona and Bridget misunderstood the woman saying it was a 70 minute flight, when in fact she said 17 minute flight. THERE IS A GOD, WE HAVE LANDED. Oh and can someone explain to me, why do people applaud and loudly cheer after EVERY landing? Must be a Spanish thing**

Alive and Well (post-21 bday)

Well folks, I made it out alive after celebrating NOT ONLY St. Patrick's day, but my 21st birthday as well. While St. Patrick's Day in Germany is as you can imagine, almost non-existent, they sure do understand the importance of one's 21st birthday! My parents will be happy to know, all the drinks that were bought for me were beer and even though I am now legal, one thing has not changed....that being my hatred for beer. So it was a nice, "Oh thank you so much! You shouldn't have" exchange and then a quick run to the bathroom so I could pour it out before they noticed. I can prouldy say Emily Carideo FULLY remembers her 21st birthday.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Bamberg men's basketball game(not sure what they are called, but the town refers to themselves as 'Freak City'?) with the family who I will be tutoring. While the oldest son Lukas (14) can speak English pretty well, the youngest son Johannes (10) speaks ZERO english. Not exactly sure how far our communication will go the first few weeks, but I can only assume I will learn just as much German from those two boys as they will English from me. Lucky for me, the provided me with a bike and are currently looking for one for Bridget! Hopefully by the end of the month we will both be proud owner's of bikes in Bamberg, which is a very selective group of people. Supposedly there is a black market of bikes in the town of Bamberg, as so many people are in need of them that people will carry chain cutters with them, so when the opportunity strikes they can steal a bike and hope to resell it. Needless to say, I have the Michael Jordan of bike chains-- about 3 inches thick, titanium coil, covered in 3/4 inch plastic. No german bike stealers for me!

Friday marks our last day of our preparatory course and then we are off to Spain and Portugal for a week! We will be going to Valencia, Mallorca (Majorca?), Madrid, and Lisbon. While we are unsure how the travel and rooms we will be staying will be, we will have to keep you updated. I can only imagine what it will be like since we bought literally every discount airline ticket and AirBNB room possible. Let's just hope we the experience of visiting four beautiful cities will be worth the horrible airlines and bedrooms.

Well it is currently 1 A.M. on a Saturday night and while I would like to say I have to go because we are meeting friends, I actually have a few episodes of Hart of Dixie that are calling my name! Ciao Em

Deutsch Class, Monday Nights, and Bratwurst

Guten Tag, Ich heiße Emily aus den USA. While it is not much, my German skills are definitely a work in progress! How couldn't they improve when you are stuck in a classroom for four hours a day with a lady that barely speaks English? Sitte, our second German teacher, is quite a handful. She refers to all the Americans as the "Anglo-phones" and requires us to repeat her every word, to rid of our funny accents. If you asked me I would say Frau Sitte is the one with the funny accent, but what Sitte says goes. As you can assume, we aren't the biggest fan of her. Our first week of intensive German class has consisted of learning how to say: Hello my name is_____ and I am from _____, how to count all the way to 100, how to say the alphabet, and how to conjugate a handful of verbs. Useful, yes. But when you are in a country that barely understands you, I think I could make better use of some other phrases. Maybe a, "Can I please have a beer" or "I like anything with chocolate, what is your favorite"? Until we learn those phrases looks like my charade skills will only keep improving.

Besides Sitte and having limited communication, Bridget and I seem to be adjusting quite well. We have all of the buses that can bring us somewhere in the near vicinity of our dorm memorized, we have found some favorite wines that not only rival Arbor Mist in taste but price as well (they are only a euro and a bit, score!), and we have learned that Monday nights are the best night of the week. Yes, you heard me right. MONDAY NIGHTS. In Bamberg it is a tradition that all the students go to the local bar, LiveClub, where you can listen to live bands until 11 and once 11 hits half price drinks AND American music. This is one of the few times our ears are graced with the beautiful language we call English, so even if it is horribly dated pop music we will take what we can get.

This Saturday we are going on an exchange student excursion to Nürnberg where we have been told has wonderful museums, a lively nightlife, and our favorite GREAT SHOPPING. Maybe we will be able to find a green, 21st birthday outfit or two! While many might say it stinks to be overseas on your 21st birthday, I would beg  to differ. Not only does it save me from not remembering it and the horrible 48 hour hangover, but I get to be with my best friend, in a breathtaking country we could only dream of months ago. So while it may not be the typical "American 21st", I think I will be able to deal. Tomorrow is our second Friday here and if it is anything like last Friday, I can only assume it will be another one for the books!

Tchüs! Emily

Oh I forgot, also had my first bratwürst today. If you ever get over to Germany you must try!!!! (Yes, mom. You were right)

Wilkommen to Bamberg

We made it! Bridget and I arrived in Bamberg, Thursday, around noon. Lucky for us Bridget's tandem partner picked us up and took us to the dorm, where we were greeted by a non-english speaking woman, Frau Gudrun Brandstetter. After her best attempt at Germ-English, she gave up hope on us EVER understanding her and switched to just German. Not exactly what you want when signing contract after ccontract, so thankfully Janna (Bridget's tandem partner) was able to translate for us. We then went to Real, which is the local supermarket, where we were able to buy all the necessities. Bedding, food, detergent, Real had it all! I would say it is the equivalent to a Walmart back in the States. For people that know what Bridget and I's room back at Siena looks like, they will understand how hard it was for us to not overdecorate and coordinate all of our colors. While studying abroad we need to save as much as we can, so we ended up getting the cheapest bedding we could find. Needless to say it is quite fitting (refer to photo gallery just to see what we are working with). We have met one girl, coincidentally named Emily, who we have become good friends with. She is from Colorado, goes to CSU, and lucky for us speaks enough German to get us by. One thing I will say since being here is how amazing it is that people from all different corners of the world speak English, along with many other languages. We have met people from Hungary, China, Italy, Spain and so many other places and they all are able to speak to us. They say they enjoy speaking to us because they are able to practice their English even more. Yet, what shocks them the most is how many languages we speak... one! While we both did take a language in high school and I took another year of French in college, I would not say that I speak French, but it is not like that with the other foreign students we have met. When they say they "do not speak English" they mean they speak English just very slowly or with a heavy acccent. I would say on average they all speak three languages: their native language, English, and enough German to get them by.

It has now been three days since we first arrived in Bamberg and I would say we have adjusted pretty quickly. While our dorm is located about two miles from the city center, we have been able to navigate the bus system,  without breaking any of them! What is super convenient in Bamberg is that all students travel on the bus, free of cost. This means that children as young as kindergarten all the way up to people in college are able to ride around the town for free. While this has been super helpful, there of course is a downside to it. All children (elementary-high school) get out of school at one o'clock, so the buses are PACKED with small, smelly, loud children. As you can assume, we have learned very quickly to avoid using the buses during this time. While last night (Saturday night) our jetlag finally caught up to us, keeping us in, we did make our way out for our first Friday night in Bamberg and I will say their was much more life to it than I was expecting. People of all ages were out and about in the different bars lining Ober Sandstraße (popular street). Teens who are 16-17 are allowed to drink at the bars until 10 p.m. and can only drink beer and wine, but once you turn 18 here you are free to drink and stay as late as you please! When I say "as late as you please" I am not kidding either. The bars here don't close until the last customer is out. We were talking with someone and had said we were very tired because we had been out late on Friday night, but when he heard we only were out until 3 he looked at us like we were crazy, "For us German's three is like leaving before the party ever started, a late night here is leaving when the sun is rising!". Needless to say, I think there are still a few adjustments we will need to be making in order to fit in around here.

Seeing as I havent done laundry since we left on Tuesday, I am going to go and attempt to find my way around this building and find the laundry room. Wish me luck! Em