My Life!

So I have decided that I’m not going to write about each individual day anymore, just my main explorations… Except for maybe my trip to Italy since I will be exploring new things each day. I just don’t do enough exciting things on a daily basis to write about each day.

Today is Saturday, May 19^th, and it is such a beautiful day! I really should be lying by the lake or walking around the city or something, but I am feeling tired. I slept with my contacts in last night, and my left eye has been giving me such problems today. It waters so much, especially when I’m in a warm or bright area, so the indoors is necessary today unfortunately. I try not to sleep with my contacts in, but it happens accidently once in a while.

So I’ve been thinking about something lately, and it’s not a news flash to me or anything; I have been well aware of this for a while, but I have been thinking about it a lot since I’ve been abroad. I am one extremely blessed girl. I have such a wonderful family. My parents do everything for me that they can, and then they wish still that they could do more. My brothers are great and we have become so much closer now that we are all out of the house. Then on top of that, my aunt and uncle treat me as if I am their very own daughter and are willing to do whatever to make sure I have what I need. Beside this immediate family of mine, all my cousins, other relatives, and even family friends are all so supportive of me as well.

To add to my support system, I was thinking of everything they have all done for me that has gotten me to where I am. I get to go to a good university across the country from where I grew up AND across the world! My only regret is that I am only studying abroad for one semester. I can’t even imagine how the people who study for just a summer must feel. What a waste of money to just go for the summer. It doesn’t even cost that much more! But yeah, I really am living the life that so many other people dream of. Studying, traveling, partying, building a nice contact list, being independent… Everything that will turn me into a successful young women in the very near future! I’m scared to graduate just because I don’t want this to all end yet!

I hope everyone knows though that I try my very best because of all these opportunities I have been given. A lot of people from back home just think I’m spoiled and get to do all these things like it’s no big deal. It all is very big deal though, and I’m so appreciative of everything everyone has done for me! If I was getting bad grades, completely broke and only partying then yes, I would consider myself a spoiled brat. That’s all what I strive not do though. I plan to have a good time, but get my work done so that everyone knows I used what I have been given to do something better for myself  and to make everyone, including myself, proud. So people can go ahead and be snobby, jealous or rude. I don’t care because when I get to where I’m going no one will be able to say that what they did for me was a waste of time or money!

A very deep blog post today, I know, but it’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. I love my life and everyone in it! Hugs and kisses all around!

Another Week in Linz!

May 7th / Day 69 – May 14th / Day 76

I know, I am a total slacker! I don’t really feel the need to write so often and in so much detail anymore because now everyone in the family has Facebook. That’s a much better way to keep track of my travels! I also haven’t been doing anything real exciting anyway, besides when I go somewhere of course!

So throughout the week I kind of just relaxed. Miro was studying really hard all week for exams, so I left him alone, and we only met up to cook lunch and dinner together every day. Tuesday was the Asian Stammtisch. The food was pretty good, but it was just making me think about sushi, and I really want that! I also finished my final exam for my PR class at GSU today, and I received an A in the class! Success! I new I could handle two schools and an online class abroad! Ashley tried to get me to go out to some party at a dorm far from campus after the Stammtisch, but Michael and I decided not to go because we wanted to sleep.

There was a mensafest party at my dorm on Wednesday, and it was so much fun! I just had a few drinks, and we were all jumping around like crazy like we were at a concert! There were definitely some interesting people there too… Not just students. Overall, that was a good night out with Ashley and some of the other girls and guys!

Ashley left for the weekend to go to Prague, so I hung out with just Miro all weekend after his test. We watched movies Friday and then Saturday night we went into the city to an apartment where our French friend was having his birthday party. There were only about 13 of us, and it was really relaxing and fun. We had some boxed wine, but I think it’s OK because it was from France. He also had two bottle of Champagne… Like real Champagne… From the Champagne region haha. We felt fancy celebrating his birthday with bottles he brought back from France! A bunch of the Americans made burgers for everyone, and they made his huge and greasy and super cheesy! Just watching him eat it, I thought MY arteries were getting clogged! I have to admit, I love burgers, but I don’t think i would have eaten that thing.

Sunday was a relaxing day of doing some homework I guess. it was rainy all weekend so there wasn’t much else I could do. I sent my mom flowers and two cakes, since one got ruined with Spanish writing! She loved them! Happy Mother’s Day again, mom! Today is Monday, and I have been doing homework today as well. I finished everything for my only class tomorrow, and later I will cook dinner with Miro. Other than that I don’t really have anything else to do today. Actually, I revised Miro’s business proposal stuff for an attorney in Chicago. I corrected a bunch of small English grammatical mistake and felt like a teacher! It was nice actually, and i enjoyed it.

I have pretty much figured out plans after my Croatia trip and how to get to Frankfurt and Italy. I just need to book it all now. I am trying to figure out my remaining weekends as well because yesterday Courtney, my freshman roommate, arrived in Spain for her summer study abroad! I am so excited for her! We plan on meeting in Spain because I still need to go there! I think we are planning to meet in Barcelona. I’m trying to find a friend to go with me though because Courtney only has weekends off of school, and I wanna be there longer than two days, but that’s the hardest part.

Innsbruck!

May 4 / Day 66 – May 6 / Day 68

Ashley, Sarah, Miro and I all went to Innsbruck for the weekend for the first time. We left Friday morning on a three or three and a half hour train ride. We got to Innsbruck around noon and found our way on a bus to our hostel. It was so hilarious arriving at our hostel because it was under construction and the front door was blocked! We were like, “Is this real life?!” W got out two rooms, which were kind of cool, bu nothing special. Ashley and Sarah shared a room that was pretty modern. Mine and Miro’s room was like in a loft area it seemed. The room slanted down and there were huge blocks of old wood for support. Out shower was just in the corner of the bathroom with a string going across from one wall to another with a shower curtain on it! And the best part was when I opened the bathroom door for like the fifth time that day and it came off the bottom hinges! We were all cracking up, and Miro fixed it.

We left the hostel to explore the town, which was just done the hills a little; we were staying in a perfect location. The scenery was just so beautiful, especially by the river. there’s no need for me to write n and on about the beauty because I honestly just can’t even begin to explain it. All I ave to say is it is the most beautiful place I have ever been to in the entire world… So far. We walked all the way across the city to another mountain and started hiking it. We go to one part and saw the Olympic statue and took a lot of pictures up there over the city because it was such a great view. We ate food from little stands and small pizza cafe places that evening for dinner, and then we all went back to my room. We were trying to figure something out on my computer in there, and we all fell asleep for like two hours. Luckily my room had three twin size beds we could all fit on! Later on Ashley and Sarah went to their own room and it took us forever to fall asleep again.

On Saturday we all met downstairs at 5:30 a.m. to go to the train station to head to this place in Germany to tour the castle that Cinderella’s Castle was modeled after! We were all so excited, but the incompetent train workers had no idea what we were talking about and couldn’t figure out how we could get there. Finally after at least an hour and a half a worker found a route we could take with the train and then a bus. We bought the tickets and went to the platform and was wondering why our train never came. Turns out that was the wrong platform. We were so mad at the worker, and luckily we all got all of our money back. Then, we found a bus we could take to the castle, but we ended up not going because it would only allow for us to be at the castle and that city for about two hours. We went back to our hostel and the owner called all these places trying to help us out. It was even on the front of the news paper about the train that goes to that castle. Seriously those train people were idiots. Apparently there is a bridge that has to be repaired every 100 years, and of course, the next day was marking the 100 year anniversary! We finally decided to rent a car and have Miro drive. We were ready to call the taxi to get us when Miro realized he didn’t have his license with him, so that got canceled. After all that, we decided it must be a sign that we were not meant to cross that bridge and go to the castle!

We all took naps and then by 2 we went up another mountain on a different side of the city. It was by a zoo, and we took a little tram up the mountain some ways. It was funny because we met a man and women from the same city near Chattanooga that Sarah is from. They knew the same people and were talking for quite a while. Small world, huh? It was drizzling out and really cloudy, so we were bummed out when we got to the top, but the was a restaurant where we ate. It was not impressive, and clearly over prized since it was at a ski resort. We had a nice time afterward up there though because it cleared up, and we were able to take some great photos!

We walked around the city some more and bought some wine for the evening. Each of us girls had our own bottle, and Miro didn’t drink like usual. We all hung out in my room for a few hours just having major girl talk, and Miro just sat there observing! It was a really fun evening! We ran out of wine and decided to walk to a bar, like originally planned. We got there and Ashley and Sarah got a beer, and in less than probably ten minutes I wanted to go home. I was extremely tired and have never drank a bottle of wine to myself before! It didn’t help that it was super cheap white wine either. Miro and I went back to the hostel and went to bed, and I slept great!

We woke up early and started on our journey to go see a castle in Innsbruck. We were walking for well over an hour and a half I’m sure and decided there was no way we could get to the castle that was back through the woods and on the mountain. So no castles for us in Austria or Germany this weekend. We went and had a great lunch and went to get our stuff from the hostel to head to the train station. We got our tickets and were on the train a few hours later and all fell asleep instantly. After a couple hours we woke up and were wondering why we hadn’t even made it to Salzburg yet, which was the half way mark. It turned out that this particular train took like 5 hours at least. So we got home at 8:30, and I went to my room and was asleep by 11:30. Overall though, it was a wonderful weekend in a beautiful city!

Another week Plus Some in Linz

April 23 / Day 55 to May 3 Day 65

Well, I once again have been slacking on my blogs. Nothing interesting has happened though. I had a lot of work to do last week and was pretty stressed out. I gave two presentations and finished my last week of class at GSU!

Semester Reflection

I was asked to write this week about my semester, since it now coming to an end at GSU. I’m not sure if it is supposed to be just about my PR writing class, or the entire semester of classes, so I will include some of both.

Since I have been abroad this semester, I have realized and come to appreciate how structured and organized Georgia Southern is. I love how when we register for classes, if one conflicts, you aren’t allowed to register for it. The school I am at in Austria, JKU, does not have a system to prevent conflicting classes. I have had numerous classes conflict with one another throughout the past two months, and it is so frustrating having to miss classes to go to another, when you are only allowed to miss three class periods before failing anyway! This was definitely a low for me at JKU. A low for my PR class was having so many assignments due in one week. They weren’t all hard, and not all of them took very long, but I still had more work for this one class that I do for all of my classes at JKU put together. This week is especially stressful for me because I have a lot to do this week of GSU finals and presentations for JKU.

A high for this entire semester has been the opportunity I have had to study abroad. I love it here so much and have made so many friends. I want to travel a lot more, but it’s hard finding people with the same schedule and money to travel with. A high for the PR writing class is that I have learned to write so many different and important things that every PR person will need to know. I have enough different pieces of writing now to have a pretty decent portfolio and articles to reference back to for my internship this fall with CRI.

There are two things that are both a highs and lows for me also. I am dropping out of my German class this week because I have not learned anything new in the past two months since the first two weeks I was here. The credits won’t go toward my major or minor, so I am only taking the class for the basic skills of German. Like I said though, I haven’t learned anything new, and I won’t even be comfortable enough to put the basics on my resume. I can now have more time to travel and focus on other classes though. Another high and low is that I realized I am really unsure what I want to do after graduation. I realized I just want to do international conference event planning, like my uncle’s friend does. She is still connected to the Ritz-Carlton though, and that’s what I want my job to be like. I will at least still try to intern with them or the Four Seasons though and hopefully try to figure out exactly what I want to do!

Week 14 Blog Comments

AUTHOR: Rob Todd
BLOG: Hey Batter Batter… Swing
LINK: http://ramborodd.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/hey-batter-batter-swing/#comment-27
COMMENT: I actually really like both your ideas about giving away hats or koozie to the first 100 people. I think they are both easy solutions to entice people to come. They aren’t things that would necessarily cost a lot, yet they are still free items that people enjoy trying to get.

AUTHOR: Jay West
BLOG: Batter UP!
LINK: http://vocalexchange.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/batter-up/#comment-19
COMMENT: I like how you say that the goal is to increase game attendance every season. i think that is very true, and some people may forget that sometimes. Just because a team is losing, it doesn’t mean that is the only time to put full effort forth to increase attendance. Although it is somewhat rue that there is more motivation to get more people to buy tickets if the team is losing because the team needs more support during that time than ever. All in all though, a team should always be supported if you are a true fan, if not of the team, then of baseball in general.

PR for MLB

When I was a kid I loved more than anything that I was one of the two best girls on my softball team and in the entire town. My best friend’s parents coached one of the teams and paid for me to be on the team every year because my parents couldn’t afford it, but they wanted me so badly. I had a great time playing, but I stopped in 5th grade when a teacher offered me an after-school job, and I thought it would be cool to have spending money. I never got back into softball after that year because I was scared I fell behind. I almost tried out for the high school team, but after about seven years of not playing, I thought it was way too late to even try to be a player who would be better on the bench or as manager.

I have always stayed interested in baseball, but never watched much of it. I have actually never even been to a game beside the ones in my home town, which aren’t anything special or big. I would absolutely love to go to a Braves game since I live so close to Atlanta now, as well as a Falcons game, or any other professional sport in Atlanta for that matter. Since I have never been to a game though and don’t know a lot about baseball, describing what I would do to entice fans to come to more games during good and bad times is a little tough.

I think anything involving kids would be a good incentive for more fans to come. Baseball is something that parents and their children can enjoy, so going to a game as a family is a win-win situation for everyone involved. As a PR professional, I would recommend that when the team is doing well, all children’s tickets are put into a raffle and a certain number of tickets, maybe 10, are drawn. The children whose tickets were drawn would get to go meet the players of the home team and get signed baseballs or t-shirts or something. When the team isn’t doing so well, there could be a family day where each child who is at the game with at least one parent/guardian would get a free team t-shirt, 15% of a ticket, or something similar. I think both of these options would draw in more crowds because they evolve around families and children. Some families don’t have enough time to spend together, but having incentives like these might cause them to enjoy a good game together, while increasing ticket sales.

First Week Back from Spring Break

April 16 / Day 48 – April 22 / Day 54

I know I haven’t posted all week, but nothing extraordinarily exciting happened, so I’m just going to wrap up the week real quick.

On Sunday I mainly just slept and cleaned. I was expecting Ana to be coming hoe that evening with Miro on the bus from Zagreb, so I needed to tidy up our room. Turns out Ana had a wedding to attend, so she would have to wait to get on the next bus that would be traveling Thursday. I don’t really know what else I did all day, nothing really. Miro finally arrived in the evening and I went to visit him.

On Monday I had my first day back to German class. I also bought the book package for my new class that would start later in the week. Tonight was the Eastern European Stammtisch, so people from countries like Russia, Hungary, etc. were preparing food for us for the evening. I had a really good time out tonight. It was nice to see everyone back, and some of the food was pretty good.

On Tuesday I had my religion’s class, and I spoke to the professor afterward to tell him I think I am struggling with the class. We haven’t had to do any work for the class, and there are only a couple for things we will eventually turn in that should be fairly easy. I just don’t understand the readings because I don’t understand a lot of the biblical terms, and I have no background education really on religion. I thought the class would be more about learning the history and theories of God and whatnot, but it’s not. I don’t really know how to describe what we are learning because, like I said, I don’t understand the readings or lectures. The teacher told me not to worry about it though, and he made it very clear that as long as I get something from the class, whether I just leave the class knowing one thing different or whether it makes me think a little bit about a particular theory, then he is satisfied. So, fingers crossed that I pull out of this class OK.

On Wednesday I had classes and lunch with some friends, nothing too exciting, but tonight there would be the semester Spanish party. A bunch of the Spanish guys just get together every semester and have a party in the LUI on campus after the soccer match on TV is over. This night was also pretty fun. Ashley was so wasted, and Miro actually drank one beer tonight. He was very lively and fun tonight especially! By the way, everyone loved my new bright pink Aztecy looking shirt that I bought in America during spring break!

On Thursday I had my new class, and it was easy since it was just the introduction, but it was such a long day! That class was over three hours long and so was my German class. So I was in classes from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. It really sucked. So I was worn out from lack of sleep and a long day and decided not to go to mensafest for the night. Miro and I watched a movie instead and it was a much better choice I’m sure. Ana also got back tonight, so I was able to chat with her for a while before she decided to go to mensafest

On Friday I went to the store to get groceries for the weekend, and Miro and I decided to just start shopping together and splitting everything since him and I cook together all the time anyway. Oh, and the other night I bought some fish, and I cooked it amazingly! So delicious! I have never even heard of this type of fish though. No one really did anything tonight. I think just a small group of students drank and played games in the kitchen.

On Saturday Miro and I cooked this awesome lunch that I can’t wait to make for everyone when I get back to the U.S! it was very tasty! I was looking so forward to going out tonight, and I was ready for a great night out. This turned out to be the worst night since I’ve been here, and it ruined my entire weekend. Ever since we started pre-drinking in the kitchen, I was in a terrible mood. I haven’t been grumpy at all while here, but I definitely was last night. Miro and I weren’t having fun at all even after the first bar, and then when we all went to Remembar only two out of the five guys we were with got in. The bouncers were being complete jerks. They wouldn’t even let Miro in, which has never happened to him at any club before, and he is very clean and good looking. We were all so mad, and Ashley started yelling at them in German, and we all stormed out of the place. Miro and I ended up getting lost from the group, so we just decided to go home because I was still in a bad mood, and he wasn’t having fun either. We found out friend Sarah and ended up catching a taxi together.

Today is Sunday, and I slept in past noon. I don’t have any plans today really beside cooking lunch and dinner with Miro at some point and watching a movie. I should probably read for my classes, which is most likely what I will do to pass the time today. It would be so much better if it was nicer weather out, but it is a little bit chilly and gloomy today. Hopefully this week gets a lot better than last night was!

Week 13 Blog Comments

AUTHOR: Sydney Brown
BLOG: Traveling
LINK: http://sb03182.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/traveling/#comment-62
COMMENT: I used to want to minor in Spanish as well. I never took nearly as many Spanish classes as it seems you have though. I’m sure you’re better at it than you think! I’m currently trying to decide whether I want to go to Madrid or Barcelona, but I’m leaning toward Barcelona. Having your Spanish skills while there would totally help though!

AUTHOR: Ali McConnell
BLOG: If I Could Travel Anywhere
LINK: http://alimcconnell.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/if-i-could-travel-anywhere/#comment-48
COMMENT: I think staying several weeks in Australia would be the only way possible to get a full experience traveling there. It is so big, and there are so many different aspects to it. I would love to go scuba diving there as well! I have had my certification since I was 16, but I only dove in the ocean once since then. I know I would love looking at the reefs and seeing all the cool fish and everything like you said you would, but I would probably be too scared!

Travel is the Only Thing You Buy That Makes You Richer

Traveling! My favorite thing to do! As most people know, I am getting to do a good bit of traveling throughout Europe this spring semester and summer. I have been to a few places already that I always had a desire to go to, such as Vienna, Paris, Mexico, multiple islands in the Caribbean, and over half the U.S. states. There are still some places I would love to travel to if I had the resources and time. I would love to go to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. I have wanted to go to these places for quite a while now just because I love being on the beach, and all three have amazing beaches and scenery! I even considered studying abroad at all three of them at one point until a very successful businessman pointed out to me that if he saw that on my resume for study abroad, it would appear to him to be more of a long vacation rather than an international learning experience. I would also like to go to Hawaii and Alaska. These are two states I have never been to, yet they are the most appealing to me. They seem so drastically opposite of one another, and I would love to ride on a dog sled in Alaska and attempt to surf in Hawaii.

The main destination I have always wanted to go, as far back as I can remember, has always been Italy. I am part Italian and German, and I always wanted to see where my great-grandfather came from in Italy. I have distant cousins there who I have been in contact with, and it would be exciting to meet them as well, even if they are too distant of relatives to really feel a connection with. I have family who has been to Italy multiple times, and all the pictures and stories I have seen and heard are amazing. This is one trip that is finally coming true for me! Rather than just spending a long weekend in Italy while studying here in Europe, I am going to spend two full weeks there! I am staying in Europe for longer than a month after classes are finished just to travel. I plan on spending more time in Croatia, France, Spain, Greece, as well as a few other places. But for my last two weeks, my aunt, uncle and two of their friends are meeting me in Rome! To me this is the so exciting because they have traveled Italy before and have specific things they would like to show me. We are only doing northern Italy, that way we can hit all the major cities and spend more than one day in each location. I couldn’t think of a better way to travel Italy… my family will be providing me with meals at nice restaurants and teaching me all about wine, rather than me staying in hostels and eating from curbside stands!