First haircut in a year and a half.

Yup, that's right. My last haircut was in August 2010. I just kept putting it off and I meant to get it cut before I went to Berlin, but it never happened. And when I told the stylist that I wanted a healthy trim (however much that was), she told me that it was already healthy and that I didn't even really need it. Thank goodness for my healthy hair genes....

Its already 2012?

How did this happen? Its amazing how quickly time flies. I printed out a good portion of my pictures from the past semester and put them into multiple photo albums. It was incredible to see all the places I was able to visit in just a few photo albums. One of my goals is to eventually make a scrapbook of at least Berlin, but that will definitely take a long time to do.


Here are some pictures from my last couple of days in Berlin before I headed back to California.

The Sony Center all decorated for Christmas

I love the Lego Santa!

Berliner Dom - Protestant church on Museum Insel

I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. (Siehe ich bin bei euch alle tage bis an der welt ende)

And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. (Unser glaube ist der sieg, der die welt ueberwunden hat)

Inside the church

Eerie crypt below the church

Dozens of coffins/caskets

The Berliner Dom was really cool to visit and I'm glad that I had a chance to climb up  to the top, where I got a spectacular view of the city. After that, I packed up all my stuff and headed to the airport. After a short flight to London, I boarded my 11 hour flight to LAX. Everything went according to plan and I got to watch 5 movies on the way home...which was nice considering I hadn't seen any movies in awhile! My plan was to not sleep on the flight home so that I would be exhausted by the time I got home. So much for plans! I could not have been more awake than I was when I got home. It took about a week for me to adjust to the time difference but I am still adjusting to being back in California. I don't start classes at Chapman until the end of January, so its nice to be on a break. And I found out that I am nearly done with the courses for my major AND minor. So what am I going to do? Pick up another minor.

Last Post of 2011

I'm pretty sure its the last one. And I realized that I have some more pictures I need to upload that I took of my last day in Berlin. Being home is definitely not as exciting as being in Berlin, but I love being home. Another thing I realized is that I actually really enjoy blogging, so that might be one of my New Years resolutions. 


Having 2011 come to a close, my life has shifted. Shifting for the better. Definitely. Looking back on 2011, I regret nothing. Everything that happened -- I'm glad it did. Gaining a new perspective helped me to become happier and made me realize that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. But I do know that whatever I do, I want to be happy. Sounds like a good plan to me. See you next year :]

Final Thoughts

To say that this entire semester was a learning experience would be a vast understatement. When I started this blog, my goal for the semester was to be put out of my comfort zone and explore what the world has to offer. On the one hand, I’ve traveled all across Europe and seen unbelievable places and met amazing people. On the other hand, I have been shoved out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. The ways I had imagines being put outside of my comfort zone greatly differed from what actually happened this semester. But when do we ever get what we expected? Life is so unexpected and if there is one thing that I learned, it is that I need to simply realize that everything will work out and I should just be happy. In no way to I regret anything that happened these past 4 months and if I had a chance for a redo, I would choose everything to happen the same exact way. All the good and definitely, all the bad. Something that I am proud of is deflecting negativity from my life and purposefully choosing to just be happy. In a way, I feel like life kicked my ass to see if I would give up or let it get me down. If that was a test, then I feel like I have passed with flying colors. Despite being in a foreign country and far away from many loved ones, I have never felt more happier. I honestly believe that this happiness comes from my personal growth over these 4 months and accepting life’s challenge as they come. When will everything be exactly as we expected or even hoped? Never. When will everything go exactly as planned? Not gonna happen.

Aside from major life lessons, there are a few things that I happened to pick up along the way. Swan Lake is not the Nutcracker and in fact, has nothing to do with Christmas. McDonalds in Europe is where all the cool kids hang out. Also, when in doubt, McDonalds will always have a clean, free bathroom. It is easy to spend hours at a café or restaurant – most likely, they expect you to. You will always have to ask for the bill because the waiter will never want to rush you. Scarves are accessories in southern California, but necessities in Berlin. Mittens and wool socks probably saved my life this semester. There’s nothing worse than seeing your train/bus leave right as you arrive at the stop – its always a good idea to just run for it. Despite that Germans are dead silent on trains and buses during the day, theyre they best places to meet them at night, when they’re loud and rowdy. Germans and other Europeans are more conservative in their smiles and I realized that I smile a lot. Thank you and I’m sorry were my key phrases in all the different countries I visited. More often than not, people are willing to help you out. More often than not, people want to have a conversation with you. My trusty boots will always earn me a friendly patdown in airports. Foregoing studying for finals for a few hours to see Michael Buble perform live, up close, will probably be one of my greatest decisions yet. My mind is still blown that I have literally crossed the Berlin Wall so many times over the past few months. Time goes by so much quicker when you have a friend next to you on the bus. Starting in October, I dreaded every time I saw a single decker X83 bus because I knew it usually meant cozily squishing together will all my classmates and other FU students. I don’t understand Germany’s declining birthrate….I see nothing but babies. Everywhere I go, there is always a crying baby following me. When contemplating whether or not you should go on an adventure…always do it. Always take a million pictures or make friends that take a million pictures. Not to sound too cheesy, but kindness is a language that everyone understands. Many German stores are closed on Sundays, so stock up on food before then. Meeting up with friends and family across Europe can give you a little piece of home. Pierogi is probably one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. Fall in Poland is gorgeous. The beaches in Ibiza are shockingly beautiful, although I could do without the topless/nude bathing. I could probably spend a lifetime in italy. Never will I forget that my first glass of red wine was sitting next to the Duomo in Florence. Paris wouldn’t be complete without climbing the Eiffel Tower, seeing it glitter, and eating sugar crepes. Neither would London without sipping tea at Harrods. Vienna is a city filled with beautiful Christmas lights and my best friend. I don’t think Christmas will ever be the same without the Berlin Weihnachtsmarkte. Berlin is a crazy and incredible city that I never expected to fall in love with, but now I can say that it feels like home. I need to learn some more adjectives besides beautiful and amazing, but I don’t know how else to describe everything I’ve seen!


Today is my last full day here in Berlin and I'm doing all the things I haven't gotten a chance to do and trying to make the most of it. I will try to get in a goodbye post (maybe free wifi in the airport?), but if not -- then I will be seeing all of you soon! Auf Wiedersehen!

Pouring it at just the right angle..

Graves of the Grimm Brothers

Hofbrauhaus

Cheesy shirt collection!

Schwanensee - Swan Lake Ballet

Farewell Dinner with my favorite prof

I love these girls!

Sarah's taking over the world

City of Lights

As I’m writing this blog on the 10 hour train ride from Vienna to Berlin, I can’t help but think what a perfect way to end my semester abroad than with Sally in Vienna. Not only did I get to see all of Vienna’s sights, but I got to just relax and spend time with Sally, which for sure kept me sane these past few days. It’s honestly a bittersweet feeling in that I want to be home in California, to what I know and all my friends and family. But at the same time, I don’t want to leave because it feels like this is my home here and Berlin holds a special place in my heart. Vienna was the perfect place to go right before heading back to California, especially since they speak German!

I was pleasantly surprised when Vienna was slightly warmer than Berlin, I didn’t even need my wool socks or mittens! Visiting Schonbruss, I could still see how magnificent and pretty it was despite the missing greenery and flowers. Since most of Vienna was kept intact during WWII, it was cool to see all of the preserved architecture. It just have you the feeling of living in a different time. To me, Vienna has the sophistication of Paris but it just seems nicer and more relaxed. The Weihnachtsmarkt were interesting to visit because they were definitely more decorated and more religious than the ones I have seen in Berlin.

Hands down, the lights in Vienna are the most amazing ones I’ve ever seen. They were all over the city and so elaborately decorated. I can only imagine what they citys electric bill must look like. There were lights in the shapes of hearts, snowmen, starts, huge chandeliers, glitter, and lights that literally looked like falling starts. Every street in the city center was filled with these beautiful lights.


The Schnitzel and Cordon Bleu were soo good but nothing compares to watching Bridesmaids with Sally!

Schloss Schoenbrunn

Cool light projections inside St. Stephen's Cathedral

In the city center of Vienna

Amazing lights. And Sally Rudi.

Vienna Rathaus

Vienna!

So I have been in Vienna since Saturday night after a long train ride that took up pretty much all of Saturday. Next time, I probably should have set multiple alarms in the morning to ensure I wouldn't be rushing to the train station. Lesson learned.


Vienna is such a beautiful and relaxed city, but the favorite part about this trip is spending time with Sally. Nothing feels closer to home than watching Bridesmaids next to this amazing girl. And I get to spend another day and a half with her before I take another unfortunately long train ride back to Berlin, pack up all my stuff, and squeeze in all the last minute things I want to see and do. And my 21st birthday is in 11 days...this feels so weird! I have kind of forgotten that my birthday is so soon, but I'm definitely excited that I will be 21 in the United States!


I will definitely get in one last post before I take off from Berlin on Friday morning :]

1 week left!

It's unreal knowing that in exactly 1 week, I will be on a flight home to California. Where did the time go? Today was a little sad, since most of my close friends left today to go back home and I am still here for another week. But the great thing is that I get to see Sally tomorrow and spend 3 days with her in Vienna. I am unbelievably lucky to be able to spend time with my best friend and stay with her in Vienna -- especially since she's going to be my own personal tour guide. After finishing up finals, it was nice to celebrate with all my friends and see a little bit more of Berlin. Last night was our program's goodbye dinner - it was hard to say some goodbyes!


Hopefully I will get to squeeze in another post before my flight back home next Friday!


I was trying to post this on Friday before I left for Vienna but the internet definitely did not want to cooperate and load the pictures I wanted to put in here...