TravelStream™ news feed for member beccaboyer on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/beccaboyer en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:23:00 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1246891379/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1246891379/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1246891379/tpod.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:23:00 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Yes, I know I have been a failure at updating my blog this term!! Two straight weeks of non-stop, depressing travel in Palestine really wore me out. Plus, I got back a week after the term began ... somehow I already had a lot of work to do!Things have been really boring around here this summer, primarily because I have had to research and write my thesis ... which took a TON of time! I finally finished it up today, so I'm pretty much skating through my last week here!There haven't been a lot of Webster people around Leiden this the summer, so it's been quite quiet. I'm really grateful to have the people here that I do, and we've managed to sneak in a little fun here and there :)Webster Leiden had its 25th Anniversary Party. It turned out to be really fun ... not that it is hard to have fun w/ loads of free booze! They gave us a tour of the new building they are opening next year. It is going to be a huge dorm for all of the students (right now the students are spread in various dorms), and it is REALLY nice! We just barely missed getting to live in them :( After the party a bunch of us went out to continue the celebration ... let's just say we had a lot of fun! That Sunday, Kieffer and I met up with the International Law professor we had while we were here the 1st term. He invited us over to his house for lunch with his wife and family. They are probably the greatest people I have ever met (he was the one w/ the Nobel Peace Prize in his bathroom). After lunch, he decided we need to have the true Dutch experience, so he and his son took us for a brief little sailing trip. Trying to go sailing w/ him was a joke amongst our group ... so it was really funny when he offered to take us. It was really nice of him and was a beautiful trip! The few of us that have been around for the summer had a BBQ a couple weeks ago. We didn't realize that the grill in the back of our dorm was missing the actual grill part ... we had to improvise ... we took the metal part off of the burners on the stove top and put some foil over them ... officially making the ghetto-ist grill of all time! It worked, though, and we had a delicious meal. This past Friday, Leonard, the professor that took us to Palestine, invited us all over for a BBQ/Group reunion at his house. He lives about an hour away, in Zeist. It was really enjoyable to relive some of the trip ... especially because a lot of the annoying people didn't come!Those have pretty much been the highlights of my time back in Leiden. I have made several bike rides out to the beach and have enjoyed the sunshine at the many cafes that popped up for the nice weather. I haven't done any traveling and have failed at checking anything off of my list for Holland ... I guess I'll just have to come back again someday (shucks!). The term here ends on Friday, and I'm meeting my awesome parents in Italy on Saturday for a 2 week vacation. So ... I'll FINALLY be home July 24th!! Hopefully I will see you then!Oh, and if you here of any awesome jobs, I'm still in the market for one of those too, so let me know!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243543414/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243543414/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243543414/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 19:30:31 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Ramallah, West Bank and Gaza

On Monday we visited Al Haq, a Palestinian organization that promotes and protects human rights in the occupied territories. They attempt to bring about action and change through international litigation against Israeli violations of international law. One of our presenter's most important points was that the occupation has become highly profitable for the Israelis. Because there is a lack of proper economic infrastructure in Palestine, supplies needed to rebuild destroyed roads or houses must be bought from Israel. Not only are Palestinians more or less forced to buy the supplies from the Israelis, the supplies are also heavily taxed, sending even more money back into the Israeli economy. There are stories that some houses have been destroyed and rebuilt several times a year.**I bought a couple of DVDs at this organization that will play a vital role in my time at the Tel Aviv airport**We spent the rest of the day at the grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid<i> Wall Campaign, more commonly known as Stop the Wall. They explained that the Israelis are using 4 strategies to completely control and take the land of the Palestinians. They are using:1. The wall - which divides cities, destroys commercial markets, confiscates and isolates people and resources2. Apartheid roads - have separate, distinguished roads that the either Israelis or Palestinians can drive on. Often these roads act in the same manner as the wall - completely cut people off from the resources they need. These roads have taken an additional 1.5% of the West Bank land (which is significant when you only have 12% of your original country). 3. Checkpoint terminals - Every car must be searched by the Israeli military at these checkpoints. Some people have to wait in line for hours (P.S. It is unGodly hot in Israel/Palestine). One guy even told us that his grandfather died of a heart attack while waiting in line at a security checkpoint.4. Industrial zones - Israel takes Palestinain land and builds factories on it. Yes, this does create jobs for the Palestinians, but they are only paid about 1/3 of what the Israelis in the same factory are paid. Just a few other facts about the Wall, since that was the organization's primary focus:1. The wall is cutting the West Bank into 3 separate ghettos (divide and conquer strategy)2. 266,442 Palestinians are facing livingconditions that soon will force them to abandon their homes andcommunities and to turn into refugees3. 8,000 houses have alredy been destroyed in Jerusalem alone, in order to build the wall - Arabs have enormous famlies and many homes house multiple families. So, each home demolition can leave between 12-30 people homeless!4. The wall has been used as a means to completely destroy groves of olive trees, which are protected under international law ________________________________________________________________________________The next day we visited An-Najah University in Nablus. We were met by one of the directors of the school and a bunch of students from the university. They gave us a tour of their state-of-the-art university (seriously, it was nicer than most of the buildings on the main quad of U of I). The wall is having an effect here, too, as many students are stopped for prolonged periods of time at the checkpoints between their homes and school. They explained to us the difficulty that they are having attracting professors to their university, since the West Bank is stigmatized as such a dangerous place. There was a guy from Colorado there who has set up an organization to link foreign universities/professor to An-Najah, so that they can teach via the web. *** So, if you know any professors who may be willing to teach through internet feeds, please let me know!! Thanks Jennifer for already sending a name!!!!!***They also took us on a tour of the old city of Nablus. Nablus has been a key battle ground for both Isalmic militants and the IDF. Although I'm sure the rockets that were fired from Nablus had some detrimental affect to the Israelis, no quantitative numbers have been released. After the rockets were fired, a severe Israeli operation was launched on the city that lasted 7 years. We heard stories from local people about their experience during that time. The Israelis had implemented a heavy curfew for the people, and at times it was even a 24-hour curfew, also known as a complete lock down! The Israelis completely took over houses and would lock the family that lived there into a single, tiny room (once again this could be a considerable number of people!). The Israeli's also implemented a system of housing tunnels, in which they essentially knocked through the walls of people's homes. They prefered this method of getting around instead of using the open streets (not sure why), but the remains are still evident and haunt the everyday lives of the people that live there. Evidence of the destruction was every where, from torn down houses to bullet holes, to memorial posters for those who have died. Afterward we visited another refugee camp. Like the other one, this one consisted of relatively permanent structures.&nbsp; Evidence of the original tent set up can still be seen - mainly in how insanely close the houses are to each other. These paths we were on are the "roads" of the town. ________________________________________________________________________________Nicole, Karl, and I couldn't take another day of devistation and destruction, so we bailed on Wednesday's program (the last day of site visits). We caught up on some much deserved rest and walked around Ramallah's markets. That night, we went out w/ the people who had been showing us around the West Bank for one last night together. It was really fun and we stayed out WAY too late! ________________________________________________________________________________Since that's the end of the serious part of the trip, I just want to share what I took away from the experience and what I hope you may gain some incite on as well. Karl actually wrote a great email to his friends that really personalizes what we saw, so I'm going to use parts of that as well ...I saw things that would turn your stomach, I really did. I feel I have a duty to tell people what I've seen. The same way everyone has a responsibility to learn about whats going on. Because its happening in our name. Its happening in the name of the Western World which makes us complicit in the human rights abuses that the Palestinians are suffering on a daily basis. If we forget about the political complexities for a second and focus on the human aspect to this whole thing it really helps. For example, think about every time you and your parents/spouse/kids/whatever want to go to the store. In reality, the store is only 10 minutes away from your house, but you have to maybe account for 1 or 2 hours to get there because the Israeli "security" wall is blocking the normal route. As well as this obstacle, you have to stop at the checkpointS along the way. At the checkpoint, manned by Israeli soldiers, all of whom are approx 18-20 years old, with automatic weapons as long as my leg, you have to produce papers, answer questions, and face humiliation by the teenagers who are in charge. &nbsp;You eventually get through and get to the store, but on the way home, you have to go through the same again. This time is may be easier or it may be. Maybe this time the 17 year old points his/her gun in your mom's face. Maybe the soldier shouts at your her, maybe insults her. You've just had to take 4 hours out of your day to go to the store. Now think about every activity you have in a day, think about how many times a week you go to the store, think about the humiliation you would face at the hands of someone who in the eyes of the law is above you based solely on their religion or ethnicity. Think about this...how would you react? I know what I'd do if someone did that to my mother, father, brother, sister. Every urge in my body would want to lash out. Think about the restraint these people show on a daily basis. I get pissed off when the cleaning ladies in my dorm hold the bathroom or kitchen hostage ... I can't even begin to imagine what this would be like.&nbsp;So, next time you hear on the news that another suicide bomber struck, lets think about why. What happened to him/her to make them do this? The last thing I'm doing is condoning killing innocent people. Nobody should have the right to take another life. This is my firm belief and its unwavering. Murdering people is deplorable and cannot be condoned. But why do normal people react like this? Its too easy to play it off as "another religious nut has gone and blown himself up". This may be the case sometimes, but not all the time. But just as you wouldn't sit idly by as your friends and family are harassed and belittled, neither will they. When things get to such a horrible condition, when you get treated like an animal, there is nothing but rage and hate. And when you feel like you have absolutely no other way of fighting back, you can begin to understand why firing some rockets at Israel becomes so appealing. It's just as wrong for teenagers to point guns in the faces of women and children walking from one neighborhood to the next, as it is to shoot a rocket at innocent people in Israel. Either way, it's wrong, and it can't continue.In all the papers and books I have read, I somehow missed the human picture. I was too focused on politics to realize that the numbers behind the death tolls are all people like you and me. They could live around the corner from any one of us. They are going through this because they were born somewhere else. They like music, and sports, and television, and girls, and boys, and partying, and whatever other pleasures we enjoy...they get into stupid arguments about the same things we get into...they aren't exceptional, nor are they inferior...they are exactly the same. Next time we hear that 10 people died in Gaza, or someone was killed inthe West Bank, just put a face on them, whether its your friends or parents face, just try it b/c then we get some semblance of what it feels like for them on a daily basis. ok ... off my soap box ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242857563/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242857563/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242857563/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 19:03:52 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Tel Aviv, Israel

After a rather intense week(s), Nicole and I headed out by ourselves (we couldn't take the group for another minute) to the DEAD SEA! One of my friends had been over a previous break and told us the best place to go ... Ein Gedi Spa ... she was right! It was so awesome! The view on the way was absolutely insane. The Dead Sea is located along the Negev desert, and down at the sea, there are these enormous cliffs. First thing, we caught the little tram out to the Dead Sea. It was a pretty good hike, b/c the sea is evaporating so quickly. They had little markers of where the sea was at a specific year. When I was born, the sea was right up against the spa! Nicole and I had so much fun floating in the sea! It was crazzzzzzzzzzzzzy! It was almost difficult to walk when you got out far enough, and was really hard to stand up once you were floating. I'm pretty sure I don't need to mention how salty the place was ... but there was salt EVERYWHERE! Afterward, we went and played in the mud! It is supposed to have all sorts of health benefits and makes your skin all nice and soft!! We got done just in time to make our hot rock massage appointments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously considered proposing to the masseuse ... I loves me a good massage!We relaxed a bit more, before it was time to rejoin the group in Tel Aviv. It was a pretty low key night back at the hostel. We sat around in the lobby and absorbed all the (fast) Internet we could take in. The Israel basketball finals were on TV, and it turns out Dee Brown (from U of I) plays for the Tel Aviv team! All the Israelis were impressed by my knowledge of his skillz!The next 2 days were filled with beach time and drinking in Tel Aviv. It was good to have a chance to relax, but we still had an overwhelming feeling up guilt b/c of the good time we were having vs. what we had seen. Almost everyone else in the group left late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Because I flew from Vienna originally, my flight was later in the day on Sunday. I walked around Tel Aviv in the morning, and then headed to the airport 3.5 hours before my flight!When you walk into the airport (even before you check in), the airport people start asking you questions about where you were and who you were traveling with. Then, they give you a number between 1 and 6, 1 being the safest and 6 being dangerous ... I got a 5! (Part of the issue is that if you're a single woman traveling by yourself, and ESPECIALLY if you have been to the West Bank, you are very suspicious. I guess a while back some women were convinced they were in love with these Arab guys, and they used them to carry bombs for them - unknowingly becoming suicide bombers)Then, they 3-D scan all of your bags. You go over to a counter where they look at the images they took of your bag, and then search anything questionable from the image (1st check of my backpack/purse). They were really suspicious of my converter. They also rub everything w/ some kind of ion swab and then check it to make sure there is nothing questionable. I passed this section w/ flying colors b/c I had a lint roller in my bag, and the lady automatically assumed I had a dog ... nice conversation ensued. Once you pass your scans, you check your bag and get your boarding pass. Then you head to your terminal and they search your carry on bags again. First they scanned my bags (2nd inspection), then brought me over to a table where they proceeded to take anything electronic out of my bag (chargers and everything). They sent those though the scanner and my backpack and purse separately through the scanner (3rd inspection). Then they rubbed all of my stuff w/ the ion detector-thingy again. As the guy was going through my stuff, he came across the jacket to the DVD that I had purchased several days before at one of the NGO's. The back was written in Arabic and English. When he found it, he told his boss and they FREAKED! Within about 3 minutes I was completely surrounded. They proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions about where I had been and why.Two of the women that surrounded me took my backpack somewhere else to check it, and another woman proceeded to check my purse again (4th inspection). When they came back w/ my backpack, I was taken to a back room where they patted me down. When I came back from there, EVERYTHING in my backpack and purse was strewn across several tables. The lady looked at me and w/ some attitude said, "Sorry about the mess." (5th inspection)They allowed me to pack up all of my belongings, and they held me there while they retrieved by checked bag from the cargo hold. Then, they took me to this basement room where they checked by backpack and purse while they waited for my checked bag to arrive (6th inspection). When my checked bag arrived, they took EVERY single thing out of it. They rubbed everything down w/ their magic ion stick. I had a poster tube in my bag that had some of the pictures I've had on my wall all year, but it also had some posters from one of the organizations that we visited that said "Boycott Israel." The opened the tube, but weren't able to get the posters all the way out of the tube. Thank God, otherwise I would have been stuck in Israel FOREVER!After the thorough search of that bag, they escorted me to my plane. My flight was already boarding!!!! My flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was about 30 minutes late, and I only had a 50 minute layover. They had announced on the plane, that there would be people to take us to our next gate, but when I got off the flight, no one was there. I asked a lady that worked for the airline and all she could say was, "you better hurry." I made my flight w/ about 2 minutes to spare!Needless to say, when I got to Amsterdam, there was no sign of my checked bag. All the rest of my stuff that I had shipped from Vienna was locked safely in the school. So, the first night back in Leiden was a bit like camping.All my stuff arrived the next day and I spent the entire night nesting into my new room. It's really been great being back in Leiden! The weather is so nice, almost cool (which is welcome after a week in insane heat!). My classes aren't too bad, but are a little more work than I had planned on putting in this summer ;)That's about it from here! I hope you enjoyed my novel about my trip!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242504634/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242504634/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1242504634/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 16:43:27 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Bethlehem, West Bank and Gaza

Ok, so I think this may be the most appropriate point to add a little bit of (slightly biased and over simplified) history about the Arab-Israeli conflict so you have a better understanding of what I'm talking about ... if you already know this stuff, feel free to skip to the section below the line!In my opinion, the problem really began with the 1922 British Mandate, in which the League of Nations promised "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" (with some qualifiers to the statement). As a result of the Holocaust, Jews emigrated to Palestine in order to escape the persecution they suffered during that horrible time in Europe. The UN attempted to partition the Palestinian territory in order to create 2 states - one Jewish and one Arab. The partition divided the land so that Arabs, who originally owned the land (69 percent of the population) received 43 percent of the land and the Jews (31 percent ofthe population) got 57 percent of the land. Clearly the Arabs did not accept this offer, and civil war ensued. In 1948, Israel declared itself an independent state and was quickly invaded by the surrounding Arab nations who were all looking to take a slice of Palestine. Arabs were often forced to leave and were "expelled in considerable numbers by Israeli commanders at the local level ."Sometimes refugees were literally deported across borders, and in certain cases the Israeli Defense Forces terrorized Arab Palestinians to accelerate their flight from Israel . When the war ended, Israel controlled almost 80 percent of the land formerly known as Palestine,and about 750,000 Arab Palestinians were seeking refuge in neighboring nations, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Today, as a result of natural growth, there are about 4.6 million Palestinian refugees. The refugees of 1948 expected to eventually return to their rightful homes from 1948. However, the Israelis razed complete towns and villages and erected new, Israeli houses over the top,leaving them with no homes to return to. Thus, the Palestinian refugee problem continues to provoke unrest in the region.Another war broke out in 1967, in which Israel dominated the Arab nations. In doing so, theyannexed some more land (ie. they took it over as part of Israel). They also decided to occupy some land too. This didn't mean they were taking it over indefinitely, just that they were occupying it for the time being. The idea being that they would give the land back in return for peace agreements. So they occupied the West Bank, the Golan Heights(part of Syria) and the Sinai desert(Egypt) and Gaza strip. They returned the Sinai to Egypt in return for a peace agreement in the late 70s. However almost immediately after 1967 they started building settlements in Gaza, Golan and of course the West Bank. Jewish settlements on land that they are meant to give back eventually.So, the refugee problem is a result of the 1948 wars and the occupation (and settlements) are due to the 1967 war. This is as REALLY over simplified version of the situation ... as there were several more wars and a "peace process" that have contributed to the current situation. However, it's better than nothing, and at least gets to the point of how the whole mess was created.________________________________________________________________________________So,on Saturday, we all packed onto a mini-bus with all of our luggage and headed to Bethlehem. I'm going to go ahead and tell you that it's not as great as it sounds. First of all, I didn't go to the nativity church, and second of all, for me, the reality of the situation was somuch more important than any religious aspects of the place. Our first stop was Hebron ... probably the most horrific place we visited during the entire trip. Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank and was once the economic epicenter of the region. However, 4 Jewish settlements in downtown Hebron have essentially crippled the economyand ruined the city. We have heard a lot about Jewish settlements since Obama's meeting w/ Netanyahu and its very important to understand their significance. Under international law, these settlements are completely illegal, but the settlers believe they are "religiously justified" in owning the land. These settlements, in my opinion, are being used to slowly encroach on and eek out thePalestinians. As much as 40 percent of the settlement land in the West Bank is privately owned by Palestinians.Jewish Israelis have built up their community directly adjacent to Arab neighborhoods, andtheir homes are built taller than the Arab's, giving them a strategic position of power. Many of the homes overlook the market place, which today, is almost entirely shut down. The settlers teach their children (b/c they are not under jurisdiction of Israeli law until they turn 13) to throw rocks, water, and even acid onto the Palestinians below. This has forced the Palestinians to put up fencing over the top of the market place to, at the very least, shield them from the (often very big) rocks that are thrown at them. &nbsp; The settlers have also created Israeli-only roads and sidewalks in the town. So, if an Arabfamily's front door faces onto one of these streets, they must find another way to exit/enter their homes. The settlers' power is also bolstered by the Israeli army who "patrols" the town. They basically enforce a system of lock down on the Palestinians and turn a blind eye when they see them being miss treated I have done a terrible job at describing the place, but hopefully some of the pictures will really bring the story home. In the end, the result of the settlers in Hebron, has been that the Palestinians are basically treated as animals. Their children have to be walked to school byinternational volunteers b/c they fear they will be attacked by the settlers (b/c they have been in the past). They must cover their windows with metal netting in order to protect their windows from being broken and their homes from being broken into. They have an enforced curfew and the military restricts their movement. We were led through the area by TIPH, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, which monitors the situation in the city. Even while we were there, some of their workers were called away to respond to an incident. They even told us stories and showed us pictures of how they, international observers, were attacked by the settlers. I know it may be hard to really understand what I'm talking about, but I'm pretty sure Hebron is as close as it gets to hell on Earth ... if you need any further proof of how terrible the place is, take a look at this graffiti ... Settlements in the news TODAY________________________________________________________________________________On Sunday, we visited the Aida Refugee Camp, near Bethlehem. We got to walk around the camp a little bit. It's not the tent-based refugee camp that we normally think of, because it has been around for about 60 years, so people have built more permanent homes. The UN is almost solely responsible for taking care of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. They build schools, hospitals, infrastructure, etc. However, there is certainly not enough money to provide for the 5500 people that live in this camp alone (there are 18 other camps in the West Bank that house about half a million people). The refugee camp is nearly surrounded by the wall that is being built around the West Bank for "security purposes." First of all, the West Bank is probably one of the safest places I have ever visited, and I definitely felt safer walking around there (except when the Israeli military werearound), than I do sometimes in Belleville. So, all this nonsense about needing to build a wall for security purposes is complete crap!We were shown several examples of how the wall is being used so that the Israelis can inconspicuously add to their land under the guise of security. IF they wanted a wall for security, they should build it on their OWN land. Instead, they have been building it a couple of feetinside of Palestinian territory, and surround both sides w/ a road that is under Israeli control. Right now the West Bank is about 22% of the original size of Palestine, and the wall has helped the Israelis take another 10% of the land ... leaving on 12% for the Palestinians!This wall makes the Berlin wall look like a picket fence. It's about 25 feet tall and in the end will cover about 436 miles! It greatly restricts peoples' movement within the West Bank. For some, a trip to the store that used to take 15 minutes, can now take up to 2 hours b/c of the wall and checkpoints along the way. Like the settlements, the wall too, is illegal under international law. &nbsp;I don't know if I have mentioned it yet, but the United States gives almost 4 BILLION dollars a year to Israel to use however it pleases ... that means some of your tax money is being used to create the "apartheid wall" and even more of it is being spent on buying (enormous) guns for the Israeli army to use in its occupation of Palestine. ________________________________________________________________________________After our enlightening morning in the refugee camp, we visited the mayor of a town that is slowly being encompassed by the wall. Every week he and his villagers go to peacefully protest the building of the wall because it cuts families from each other and people from their cities. He was recently arrested at one of the protests. He told us about his time in prison and the human rights violations that he experienced there. My favorite quote from him is, "there is no difference between the bulldozer and the driver. They are both machines." I think this sums up the situation quite well ... it's basically what we saw during the recent war in Gaza ... that Israeli soldiers act as machines when completely destroying schools, homes, and even UN buildings w/o regard for the human lives there.&nbsp;Later, he took us out into a field to show us how the wall will affect his community, as well as showed us the settlements around and the Israeli-only road.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243433280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243433280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243433280/tpod.html Wed, 27 May 2009 19:52:33 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Jerusalem, Israel

Our Jerusalem experience started the second we got out of the cab. We stayed in the old city, right by the Damascus Gate. It was really cool until we had to schlep our bags (I have the biggest/heaviest bag in the world) down several flights of stairs, through a very busy open-air market, and up several flights of stairs into our hotel) ... just picture chaos! We had enough time to check in and throw our bags down before heading to our next meeting at the Jerusalem Center for Women. Miriam, the head of the center, was probably one of the coolest people we met on the trip. She is a Palestinian living in Jerusalem (technically Israel), which means she is in a completely different situation from Palestinians living in the West Bank or in Israel proper. She was really passionate about the Arab/Israeli conflict and had great things to say. Her 2 best points where: 1. That there is an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness after Israel's recent incursion in Gaza. Everything that people had been working for their entire lives (peace process, coexistence, cooperation) was completely undone by the few weeks of terror in Gaza. 2. That the Arab nations are relying entirely on the Palestinians to fight their battle for Jerusalem. Jerusalem is home to the al-Aqsa Mosque, the 3rd holiest site in Islam.&nbsp; However, none of the Arab nations are willing to put up their side of the fight for the mosque. As she said, "They can have the mosque, but they will not walk over my dead body for it." After our meeting, we had dinner on the roof of our hotel. The hotel had one of the best views I have ever seen ... You could easily see both mosques of the Temple Mount. Later in the evening a few of us (Nicole, the other global that was in the group (not in my cohort), Angel, my old TA, and Karl, everyone's favorite Irishman) went out for drinks in the new part of Jerusalem. Angel and I were the last 2 out. When we walked back to our hotel there were about 4 soldiers standing on the stairs. We asked if we could get by them, and they tried talking to us in Arabic. They were testing us ... and we failed! The next morning we went to the Knesset, Israel's Parliament building. We only have pictures from outside, b/c they wouldn't let us take our cameras inside. It was pretty cool, b/c we got to see where the Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat delivered his speech to the Israeli Parliament about his plan for peace. It was a truly monumental speech and had a vital impact on the conflict. Fun fact: the seats on the floor of the Parliament are arranged in the shape of a menorah! Afterwords we went to the Holocaust museum (which is shaped in the shape of a triangle for a reason, but I can't remember why. Considering the property is 45-acres and contains everything from the Holocaust History Museum to the Hall of Remembrance, to outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities,&nbsp; and more, there was certainly an overload of stuff there. It is totally understandable b/c the Holocaust played such an enormous part in the founding of the Jewish state of Israel. Our tour guide went on FOREVER. After about an hour and a half of her talking, I decided that I had had enough (plus it has only been like 6 months since I was at Auschwitz, and that was way more beneficial to me than the museum). So, a few of us bailed on the rest of the tour, which was good, b/c I'm pretty sure it went on for 3 more hours! :( There was another talk that afternoon, but it's not really worth mentioning. The next day, Friday, was our only free day to be tourists in Jerusalem, but the Pope was in town and was actually visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which wasn't far from our hotel. It wouldn't have been an issue if Old Jerusalem was a normal city, but it certainly isn't! It's basically just a bunch of narrow ally ways. So, the only way to secure the area near the church, was to completely block most of the allies within the Old city. Nicole and I attempted to go out and explore that morning, but failed miserably b/c of the Pope Show. All of the city tours were also closed that day, which was a complete disappointment. However, there was a REALLY smart Romanian kid in our group, Bogdon, who said he would take us on a tour of the city. So, once the Pope cleared out, we were on our way - first stop, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is said to encompass both Christ's tomb and the Rock of Calvary (rock where the cross was put for crucifixion). At the entrance to the church, they also display the stone of anointing, where Jesus was said to have been prepared for burial. Wikipedia has more info if you care: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre We also visited the room that is said to be where the Last Supper was held. However, the current room was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century. It is possible that it stands over or near the original site of the Last Supper. The room was transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans in 1524. They weren't so much concerned w/ the Christian understanding of the room and were focused on King David's tomb(which was closed when we were there), which is located on the level below. Next we went to the site that is supposedly where Mary was buried ... however there are several other sites in the world that also claim to be where she is buried ... Then we went to the wailing wall. It was pretty cool to finally see something we hear so much about. You'll notice that men get to pray at about 3/4 of the wall, while women get 1/4. Our last stop was the Via Dolorosa, which is believed to be the path that Jesus walked on his way to the Crucification. We stopped by the Church of the Condemnation and a nice little man explained some of the property. Apparently on the floor are games the soldiers played while waiting for the sentencing (?or something like that?). He also showed us the plant that they would have made the crown of thorns with. After a fun filled day of questionable Jesus sites and suffering, it was certainly time for a drink. Angel managed to find the only place that serves alcohol in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem (where our hotel was) and we set up shop there for the night. It was quite interesting, seeing as it was Friday night, and sundown marks the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. We watched Hasidic Jews parade to and from the Western Wall for prayer - it was insane! We were at our little drinking hole for quite some time, so needless to say, getting up the next morning and heading to the West Bank was NOT enjoyable!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243377600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243377600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1243377600/tpod.html Wed, 27 May 2009 19:52:11 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Tel Aviv, Israel

My last night in Vienna was quite enjoyable. I got to spend the last of my time w/ people I actually like from my group. We watched some movies and drank a little, all conveniently avoiding the elephant in the room - that we were all separating the next day :(&nbsp; Like a complete dumbass, I saved the last of my packing, checking my flight info/status, and trading the last of the pictures w/ my group until about 3:30 am on Saturday night. I wanted to get up at about 6:00 to shower and relaxingly pack the last of my crap, before Chris and Erin walked me to the bus to the airport. UNFORTUNATELY, I didn't hear my alarmS and was woken up by them knocking on my apartment door. Never have I been so completely panicked before!! Even now, my heart starts racing at the thought of it! Luckily I have some of the best friends in the world, and they helped me throw the last of my stuff into my bags and head out as quickly as humanly possible. We weren't sure about the airport bus schedule, but luckily we had planned on getting there early, so we had some time to stand around and say our goodbyes. It was extremely sad leaving them b/c I really had a great time, especially with Erin and Chris, over the past 9 months.&nbsp; I got to the airport in plenty of time and even got to say goodbye to them once again over Skype. My flight to Israel was super easy, and I had no problems getting through border patrol. The rest of my study group was supposed to be arriving in Tel Aviv 2 hours after I did, so I had planned to wait around until I saw them come through baggage claim ... but after the crowds from Amsterdam had left, I started to get worried that I missed them. So, I caught a cab by myself to the hostel. When I arrived, no one was there yet. I finally got to shower (since the morning was so hurried and miserable), and the rest of the group arrived about an hour later. They had been stuck in security at the airport b/c of a couple "questionable" members of our group. The entire group went out to a crazy dinner - they basically just brought us a group meal - the ENTIRE table was completely covered in various middle eastern foods. There was everything from hummus to salads, to soups and meat. It was incredible! The next morning, our first meeting was canceled, so we had some time to walk around Jaffa. Jaffa was the most ancient city center and port within the Tel Aviv region. We saw the port and walked around some of the old city. Later that day we met w/ the son of our Professor's friend. He is an Israeli who is against the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories. He was a really great guy. He protests (peacefully) every week against the building of the wall (which you will hear more about in later entries) and has been tear gassed repeatedly and even shot by rubber bullets a couple of times. It's quite a big deal for an Israeli to be that outspoken about the Israeli occupation ... and an even bigger deal/illegal for them to be in the West Bank protesting the wall. After lunch we went to the Israeli "leftist" organization Peace Now. The organization that campaigns against the occupation and for the 2 state solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict by educating the Israeli population about the conflict/solutions. Peace Now received a lot of criticism from other organizations we visited, b/c although they campaign for peace 11 months of the year, they are still required by Israeli law to serve in the military for 1 month of the year (Jewish Israelis have compulsory military service when they are 18 - men must serve 3 years, while women are obligated to serve 2 years. Each year until they are in their 40s they must still be a reservist and participate in 1 month of military activity). So, people at Peace Now are essentially participating in&nbsp; fighting the war they are campaigning against the other 11 months of the year. After our site visits, we headed to the beach for some fun and relaxation. Karl, an Irishman on the trip, had heard there was a Tel Aviv soccer game not far from our hostel that night. So, after some drinks, we decided to see if there were any tickets still available&nbsp; ... and there were! Thus, I got to see my first REAL soccer game ever. It was pretty amazing. The game was a little boring (not many points or much action), but the fans were insane! Hopefully the video I post will work! The next day, about half of the group went to Neve Shalom, a community of 54 Arab and Israeli families that live in peace together (gasp!). It is the only community where Jews and Arabs are mixed by choice. It's a controlled community that only allows equal numbers of Arabs and Israelis live there at the same time. From what we were told, it is supposed to be a sort of example that coexistence is, in fact, possible. However, they still have some not-so-minor problems -- mainly that all government/community activities take place in Hebrew, which gives the Jewish members of the community a sense of power of the Arab community. One of the kids in the community refused to fulfill his obligatory Israeli military service, and he met with us to tell us about his experience. Because he refused to serve, he was sent to a military prison. He told us that under Israeli law, technically he could have stayed there forever, b/c it is obligatory for all Israelis to serve their time in the military. However, he was eventually released for "psychological" reasons ... i.e. he had a psychologist write him a note to excuse him from service. He did, however, mention that not serving in the military has a broader consequence. Since EVERYONE serves in the military, the first question they are normally asked at a job interview is, "What did you do in the army?". If you didn't serve, then you are usually discriminated against ... LAME! The next morning we went to the elementary school in the community. It is the first bilingual bi-national school in Israel. It was a really amazing place and was one of the only positive things we saw all week. They try to maintain relatively equal numbers of Arab and Israeli students. They speak in both Arabic and Hebrew at school. However, it is only a grade school, so once the kids get to a certain age, they are sent back into the "real" world of Israel where Arabs are heavily discriminated against. After our last meeting at Neve Shalom, we headed to Jerusalem ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1241875860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1241875860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1241875860/tpod.html Sat, 09 May 2009 09:51:10 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Well, today's my last day in Vienna, and I won't lie, it's pretty sad. I've really enjoyed my time here, and this semester REALLY flew by! I feel like I just unpacked. This week has been filled with the customary end of the term school stuff. We had two papers and two absolutely ridiculous final exams ... let's just say this term's grades should be interesting! Last night we went out as a group (well, some of us, at least) for our last dinner together. This is our last term as a group and everyone is splitting off and going to different campuses - 5 people are going to China, 4 to Leiden, a to Geneva, and 2 are staying here in Vienna. It's quite weird, because there is a very large possibility that we will never see each other again :( Ahh, well, I suppose I should be focused on how excited I am to be going to Israel/West Bank for 2 weeks. I'm not sure if I mentioned it on here, but I'm going with a school group from Leiden. We are visiting a wide variety of non-profit organizations in the region, as well as the US embassy in Tel Aviv, discussing the ongoing conflict there. It should be really awesome to hear a 1st hand perspective on the whole thing! Plus, the Pope will be there the first couple of days! So ... that's it from here, and in case you were wondering, this is what laundry day looks like when there are no driers: Left aligned photo tag: Love and miss you! B
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240869360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240869360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240869360/tpod.html Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:00:56 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Cesky Krumlov, Bohemia, Czech Republic

&nbsp;That's right ... Bohemia! Two weekends ago, the school organized a trip for us to Cesky Krumlov. These trips are always so nice because we don't have to think about anything or plan anything ... we're just like cattle, they prod us along ... and it's great (especially after 8 months of traveling!). We met bright and early on Saturday morning! After a train ride and shuttle, we landed in Cesky Krumlov. It's a quaint little town. It really doesn't have much of a claim to fame, except that it's known for being crooked (apparently that's what Krumlov means ... I through crooked, was crooked-ski!). The school organized a nice little tour of town for us. We saw all of the major sights ... the river, the castle, random lookouts, the bears, and the "shopping" street. Really, there's nothing there ... but it had some beautiful views and it was a nice get away/excuse to drink excessively! After our tour we had a nice "medieval dinner." You have to wary of phrases like "medieval dinner" ... they're never what you think. If you were thinking something like Medieval Times, you're wrong! I'm not sure how to describe it, but it wasn't nearly as cool as it should have been. As always, here's a picture of our crazy food (this was for 4 people, mind you!) ... This is a standard trip for the other groups of Global MA students, so the people taking us around (the student affairs girl and the director of our department in Vienna) showed us where the "best" bar in town was. It was pretty cool b/c there was a live band that night. Seeing the head of your department "dance" to live music is probably the funniest thing that will ever happen!! The Czech Republic is also known for their selection of Absinthe ... that's all I'll say about that! Saturday morning (those of us who went out) were fighting a potential hang over, so we decided we should curb any consequences before we got on the train back to Vienna ... that means breakfast beers!&nbsp; We found a nice cafe outside and enjoyed the sunshine before it was time to head home. (I also bought some awesome new earrings!). There was lots of sleeping on the trip back. Monday we had to go to a International Economy Conference all day. Painful? Yes! Not to mention that we had International Political Economy both Monday and Tuesday night! Thursday we had a meeting of our professional seminar class, followed by a several-hour-long simulation of a UN Security Council Debate over Iran's Nuclear Weapon's Program. I learned a lot but would prefer to never have such an assignment again! That night, Erin, Annie, Chris and I went to see "Milk" at the English speaking theater in Vienna. We re-instated our drink a bottle of wine policy during the movie (we may sound like alcoholics at this point in this update, but it had been a REALLY long week!). This weekend was spent relaxing. We hung out by the Danube quit a bit and finally had the opportunity to go out IN Vienna (we have night classes, so we never get to go out in town). Saturday night we went to an Australian pub. They featured those towers of beer ... jokingly I said we should have a 2 on 2&nbsp; tower race ... my friends took it seriously ... and it resulted in a VERY long Sunday! &nbsp; I only have (less than) 2 weeks here in Vienna :(&nbsp;&nbsp; I've REALLY enjoyed my time here. Hopefully there will be something exciting to write about (besides papers, packing, and finals) before I leave! I miss you all a ton!!! B
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240682700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240682700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1240682700/tpod.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:03:02 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Vienna, Vienna, Austria

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Vienna. After my last update, we visited the United Nations offices in Vienna, which is about 3 blocks from where we live. We had a little tour and then a talk by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The talk was by a PR person, so our teacher was really pissed and rescheduled it for this coming week. She prefers we actually learn stuff, which I appreciate. Especially b/c they made us watch a video that started with children reading letters to the IAEA, in which they said stuff like, "Dear IAEA, I wish atomic bombs were made out of chocolate and kisses" ... gag me! Now that the weather is nice, we have been spending a lot of time sitting outside enjoying the sun. We live about 2 blocks from the Danube River, and Vienna has made a lot of nice public space - parks, trails, etc - along its banks. It kind of reminds me of the quad in the spring ... except that we're in Europe ... and people love to be naked here ... On Good Friday (this is just a time reference) we went to the Hofburg Palace. We were expecting to just visit the Sissi Museum, but they had a museum entirely devoted to all of the silver and place settings of the palace coupled w/ the other ticket. We pretty much ran through the place settings section saying things like, "I feel bad for whoever had to polish all of this silver!" and made our way to the Sissi Museum and Royal Apartments. We gained a little more incite to the diva Queen and it's cool to see all the old palace rooms ... I could definitely live in a place like that (as long as there are maids). On Easter Sunday, my roommate, Kieffer, and I went to mass. It's not all that easy to find an English-speaking mass in a German-speaking country, but we found one just 2 metro stops from where we live. It was probably one of the funniest masses I have ever been to. First, it started late because the priest felt the need to greet everyone in the church. Then, he would interject comments just about everywhere. He was especially enthralled by the music. He started by saying something like, "Aren't we so lucky to have this wonderful choir with us here this morning (the worst choir ever, by the way). There was a professional choir here earlier in the weekend. They were just great! They sang in German, though, so you wouldn't know what they were saying ..." It was pretty entertaining. He also loved to include all the kids. During the homily, he invited alllllll the kids in the church to come to the alter (which is always a giant production and takes some time). Then he said "Jesus calls us all by name. What's your name?" and then let all of them say their names into the microphone ... then he sent them all back to their seats. He concluded mass by wishing all of us a Happy Christmas? It was funny ... and a good way to spend Easter morning. We had another group potluck to celebrate the holiday. Once again, it was quite the hodge-podge of food, but it was definitely delicous. We try to incorporate as many people's family traditions as possible into our activities. So, we did some egg-butting. A competition to try to break other people's eggs with yours, but still trying to keep yours intact. I won the first round, but it didn't make it through round 2. Later in the afternoon, the girls and I went on a walk down the Danube. We found a pretty crazy bar scene near the Vienna International Center. Somehow we went from being in Vienna to being in Mexico for Spring Break. It was packed, which was quite surprising, considering it was EASTER! Not to mention all the top-less grandmas sunning themselves!! We've had a busy 2 weeks b/c of midterms. Mine went pretty well overall. Somehow I am not horrible at international political economy! Hard to believe since I usually go into a trance at the mention of the word "economy." Globalization remains horrible, but we only have 2 classes left, so OH WELL! Last Thursday we visited the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It's always funny to hear organizations try to spin what they do into a positive light. OPEC was really talented at doing so, especially b/c they are an oil cartel! But, hey, at least we got a free polo shirt! ;) That night we had a group BBQ. It was really fun to spend some time outside with everyone. At one point we looked up and said, "hey guys, it actually looks like we all like each other!" That's definitely not the case about 90% of the time! It's hard to believe we only have 2 more weeks w/ each other ... makes them a little more bearable (just kidding!) That's it for round 1 of the update ... I've included some pictures of my room this time! I hope you're all doing well. I'm failing miserably at responding to emails, but I love and miss you all!! B
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1239308760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1239308760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/beccaboyer/1/1239308760/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:17:49 -0400 The Wierdest Things Always Happen to Me - European Edition

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Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic

So, it's been a crazy week since I've last written! Not to mention that spring finally decided to show up. The absolutely beautiful weather makes it even more difficult to study! Last Wednesday the girls and I went to the Belvedere. It is the former palace of Prince Eugene that now serves as a museum (talk about a down grade). The Belvedere itself is quite a piece of work. Many of the ceilings were covered in amazing frescoes and the architecture wasn't half bad either. Not to mention that the Belvedere houses one of Austria's most famous pieces, The Kiss by Klimt. The security guards were a little intense, so there are no illegal pictures. Here is the link to the wikipedia page, though, so you can see what I'm talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_(Klimt_painting). Blah blah blah ... classes are still ok. Everyone is getting really sick of our Globalization class, but it is still no where near as bad as either of our classes last term! Still, lots of reading and learning going on ... Now onto the good stuff ... This weekend we went on a(nother) road trip, this time to Plzen and Prague, in the Czech Republic. Friday morning we got up decently early for us. Erin and I were in charge of procuring snacks and booze, while Annie and Chris went to get the car. Missions complete. Our first stop was the Budweiser Budvar brewery in České&nbsp;Budějovice, Czech Republic. You may be thinking, "Becca, why would you go to such a place?! We have a perfectly good&nbsp;Budweiser Brewery here in the St. Louis area." Well friends and family, let me tell you a little story about a far superior product, the REAL Budweiser! The town of České&nbsp;Budějovice is historically known for producing delicious adult beverages since the 13th century. Anheuser-Busch used the name of the town b/c of it was well known for its exceptional beer. However, they are now in an ongoing battle over the name. You will find the real Budweiser sold as Czechvar in the US, and the 2nd rate American beer is sold (if it is sold) in Europe as "Bud." I'll just say that they shouldn't have messed w/ the original, it is one of the best beers I've ever had! The brewery tour was quite nice, and b/c it was a smaller brewery we got to see a lot more. My favorite part was the beer tasting (of course), which was not held in a hospitality room ... instead they pour the beer directly out of the tanks! After quite some time in the gift shop, we headed to the town of Plzen. I know you're an above-average readership, so you might be saying to yourself, "Plzen? That sure sounds like Pilsner." Coincidence? I think not. That's right, people, the pilsner style of beer was created in Plzen in the 19th century! How sweet is that! We got into town pretty late in the day, so once we found our hotel, we strolled about town trying to find somewhere to eat. We randomly stumbled upon the Pilsner Urquell restaurant, which had some scrumptious eats and a nice preview of the next day's beer tasting. Saturday morning we headed to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery for another tour. Theirs was much more commercialized, since they are part of SAB Miller. It included a lot of the same information ... hops, barley, yeast, water, malt, but was still fun to see. The city of Plzen has a lot of underground tunnels, and the Brewery has some of their own where they store/age the beer. They took us through some of the tunnels, and they poured us a nice beer out of the casks for our tasting. After some perusing of the gift shop, we went to see some of the sites in Plzen. Mainly, the giant church in the city center and the 3rd largest Synagogue in the world. We got a little distracted by the Easter market that was going on (most towns/cities seem to have at least one). There was quite the array of crap there, and it was fun to look around. Afterward, we hopped back in the car, and I drove us to Prague. Prague is a windy city w/ a TON of construction going on right now. A little stressful (especially w/ a stick shift), but nothing horrible! That night we made dinner in our tiny little hostel kitchen, did some pregaming, and went out on the town. Chris had been to Prague a little over a year ago, and he remembered a fun bar to go to. It was divided into 2 rooms w/ slightly different atmospheres. All I know is the beer was cheap, and we had plenty of fun. Sunday, we went sight seeing in Prague. Our first real stop was Powder Gate, followed by the Astronomical Clock on the old city hall. Every hour huge hoards of people gather around it and watch a parade of carved figures march past little windows. Not much to see, but the clock itself was pretty cool. After all that work, we decided we needed a beer break. We sat at an outdoor restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful weather. EVERYONE around us was wearing blue t-shirts and team memorabilia and chanting. I assumed they were a band of futbol hooligans (Eurotrip reference). So, I asked our waiter what futbol event was going on this weekend. He looked at me kind of weird and said that the world champion volleyball tournament finals were being held this weekend. I didn't know there was such a following for volleyball! Grown, beer-bellied men were singing the fight song ... it was bizarre. Much to Chris' chagrin, we spent quite a bit of time in the Prague Easter Market (which was significantly cooler than Plzen's). Erin and I bought a collection of painted Easter eggs - they are hollowed out and painted beautifully. Chances of them making it back to America w/o getting broken = 0. We passed the opera house on our way to Charle's Bridge. The bridge connects the old town w/ Prague Castle. Apparently the bridge is known to be exceptionally crowded. There were quite a few people, but nothing as bad as we had been warned about. The bridge is lined w/ religious statues and offers a pretty view of the Vltava River. Then, we hauled it up the hill to Prague Castle (the biggest ancient castle in the world). As we entered the palace gates, we saw the remains of the stands for President Obama's visit. There were American flags everywhere. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to see him, but I'm pretty sure he was well on his way to Turkey by the time we got there. The Castle contains St. Vitus Cathedral. It is an amazingly ornate church (at least from the outside). All of these European churches are kinda funny b/c they are ENORMOUS, yet have like 20 rows of pews. This one was especially weird too, b/c the entrance to the crypt was above ground but directly in people's view of the altar. This church had some of the most amazing stain glass windows I have ever seen, though. Too bad communism totally destroyed Catholicism in the Czech Republic, now only tourists get to see them. Sunday night we went to the needle house for dinner. Erin and I shared a giant kabob (on a "needle"). It was quite delicious! We decided we should take our easter eggs back to the car so that they wouldn't get destroyed in the room. We headed down the street where we parked it ... and kept walking ... and kept walking ... oh wait, the car WAS GONE! My immediate thought was, "I hope it wasn't stolen. I left all of my souvenirs from the breweries in the trunk!" We looked around for some sign that we weren't allowed to park there, but to no avail ... mainly b/c everything was written in Czech. So, we headed inside to discuss our little problem w/ the front desk at the hostel. We explained to the guy where we had parked and that our car was now missing. He explained that that was neighborhood parking and we weren't allowed to park there. He then proceeded to point out on the map all the places we COULD park. We explained to him once again that our car was gone and asked him if he knew how we could find it. This cycle went on for quite some time. Eventually we figured out that we need to call the police in the morning to see where it had been towed (or at least we hoped it had been towed). We hung out in the hostel and played cards all night (ie drank to forget our problem). Monday morning, Chris and the hostel people tracked down the car and figured out where we needed to go. After a few stops in some incredibly sketchy neighborhoods, we finally found him ... but we still had to bust him out of jail! We went into the office and tried to communicate w/ the nice man behind the window ... too bad he didn't speak English! Chris tried German as well, but it did no good. Every word that we said, we said at least 3 languages hoping the guy would understand. Somehow we finally got across which car was ours and how much needed to be paid. I don't think anyone has ever laughed as much as we did at the impound yard!! We safely parked Marco (our car) in a parking garage and commenced sight seeing once more. We stopped by St. Nicholas Church and Tyn Church, did another (couple) passes through the Easter market, and went to the communism museum, before we finally needed to head for home. I'll save you all the ridiculousness about how we scraped together the last of our money for a bucket of KFC on the drive home, but will instead provide you with another list of funny details: 1. I'm sure the Czech language was really great at one point in time, but since the invention of new electronic devices and the globalization of foods, they really just stick "ni" or "ski" on the end of their words. 2. The above made for some pretty funny translations. Mainly, when our car was gone and the receptionist couldn't understand us. When we got down to our room, we decided we should have told him that our car "disappearski." 3. It also led to some pretty great nick names: Erinovna Glabeski, Christovski Osmanova, Annienova Scottski, and Becherovka (or Becski) Boyer makes no cool names. 4. Speaking of Becherovka, I got named after one of the crappiest alcohols in the entire world. One of Chris' friends told him that Becherovka is the Czech equivalent to Jaegermeister ... his friend is a dirty liar! It tastes like a combination of pine sol and cinnamon. Too bad we bought the biggest bottle in the store ... that made for a long night! That's it for now ... We're staying in Vienna this weekend, so I'll try to put up some pictures of where we live, our school, and our Easter feast. Happy Easter everyone!!!!!!
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