Part One: the first half of my adventures after school

I'm going to put up as much as I have written about Kyle and my after-school European tour. I haven't done Spain yet, but for now, know that it was awesome.
I probably won't post nearly as much for a while after this, since I would be saying things like "today I ate meatloaf." That's not interesting. But stay tuned: my Colorado Springs Gazette internship starts May 19, so I'll be posting (hopefully) daily about that. Keep checking back for the rest of my Spanish adventures... until then, read this!

I think it would be impossible to describe every little thing that Kyle and I did during our 10-day tour south through Europe. That said, I'm going to try to remember as much as I can about it. For posterity.
Sitting here in Starbucks, listening to jazz music and drinking a mixture of fruit juice, lemonade and tea, I feel about as far from Europe as I ever have. Did I really live in London? Have I really spent the last few days sleeping in various beds of various sizes and hardness?
Sitting here, watching Starbucks employees happily taking orders for "grandé-carmel-mocha-soy-frappuccino-no-whips" and "venti-sweetened-shaken-passion-iced-tea-lemonades" (that's what I got) from, like, 17-year-olds in short-shorts and tennis shoes, there's no way I could not have been out of the country for three and a half months. Why are these people so friendly? Why are the Starbucks bathrooms so nice? Why is that "small" coffee so big? Why is there so much saturated fat in my muffin? My perspective on coffee shops - and everything else - has completely changed. I could go on for pages and pages about the differences between Europe and America, but that's for another time... I'm supposed to be writing about last week.
So.
Kyle and I were the first to leave the flats; our train to Amsterdam left at 7:30 a.m. a day before the rest of the group. We took a high-speed Eurostar train to Brussels, Belgium, and then a normal train the rest of the way.
AMSTERDAM
We got to Amsterdam about 3:30 and checked into our hostel with no problems. Then we went out to explore the city. Amsterdam is, without a doubt, the strangest place I've ever been. We took a guided tour one day we were there, and the guide told us the government in Amsterdam doesn't really care what goes on in the city, as long as it makes money for the city. Most people who live in Amsterdam seem to have the same mindset: they kind of look the other way when it comes to "illegal activities" (you know what I'm talking about) or, really, anything. I've never been to a place where I don't feel like someone, somewhere, is judging me in some way (take that as you will); I'm not sure I liked the feeling. It's not that people didn't care at all about anyone else, it's just that they were completely indifferent to everyone else. It's not something I'd like to get used to, as much as I might complain about people judging me.
The first thing that really struck me was the plethora of bikes. In this city of canals and narrow, winding streets, it was much easier to ride a bike than try to navigate through the streets with a car. Kyle and I rented some one day, and it was an adventure riding next to cars and through the throngs of people in the pedestrian areas. We also rode out to the countryside north of the city, which was a really nice change from the crowds.
The next thing that struck me was the smell of marijuana. Everywhere. Literally, everywhere. Since it's legal to carry small amounts of it, it seemed like everywhere we went someone was smoking a joint. It was an interesting experience.
Our hostel was close to a lot of the museums in the city, away from the craziness of the Red Light District, which was a blessing. We went to the Van Gogh museum one day, which I really enjoyed. It was a huge collection of Van Gogh's work, so you could see how he changed and progressed as he got older. That was neat.
AND we went to a live taping of "Diggnation," a weekly online show about stuff online. Kyle got me hooked on it after we realized British television is crap, so I've been watching it pretty regularly for about three months. It was awesome to actually get to see it live, and afterwards we met the two guys who host it, and I got a picture with one of them. It. Was. Awesome.
I think that was the highlight of Amsterdam. I'm glad I saw the city, but I don't think I'll go back anytime soon.
After Amsterdam we took a train to
BORDEAUX
Wine country! The trains didn't work out like we wanted them to, so we ended up only having about 24 hours in Bordeaux, but I really enjoyed it. Since it's not really a huge tourist destination, not a lot of people spoke English. That was kind of exciting, since it gave me a chance to try to speak French. I realized I really don't know much... something I had suspected in Paris but hadn't really thought about since most people seemed to know what I was saying. Here, though, people were not as used to hearing American-French accents, so I had a harder time communicating. I got through it, though.
I wanted to take a wine tour, or tasting, or vineyard tour, or something, but time and money had a stronger say (does that make sense? We didn't have enough time, or money). All the tours we found were at least 30euro and lasted two days. Great. We ended up just walking around the city and buying a bottle of wine from a supermarket and taking it back to the hostel. Almost the same thing, right?
We were planning to take a night train from Bordeaux to Barcelona, but night trains are kind of going out of fashion, so we had to book another night at our hostel in Barcelona and leave Bordeaux in the early afternoon. That was disappointing, since we had planned a night train to save money for a night.
Anyway, we finally made it to Spain after a long train ride and a harrowing search by Spanish border patrol agents. By "harrowing" I mean we had to show them our passports for the first time ever on a train, and they took one guy on our car away because he didn't have a passport. Yikes!

still alive! ...didja miss me?

Hello!
This is my first post from the United States in a few months, and I promise it won't be my last. I'm not going to write a lot tonight, since I'm still recovering from Kyle and my 10-day tour of Europe last week. Which was awesome, by the way. I mean seriously awesome. I'll tell you about it, I promise.
Coming back to Columbus was weird, just like I thought it would be. I think the strangest thing is how wide-open everything seems: I'm so used to living in a city where the buildings are all touching each other and there aren't any less than six stories tall. Being in a suburb, where there's lots of room and I can look straight ahead and see the horizon, is kind of disconcerting. It's kind of like claustrophobia, but in reverse. Also, after living with so many people in such close proximity, it's weird to be alone again, sleeping, doing errands, driving... I've gotten so used to being always with people, even while I'm sleeping, that I'm kind of lonely now. But at least I get to drive again! That was one thing I really missed whilst in England: although public transportation like the Underground and the red busses were great, nothing beats the feeling of freedom you get from rolling down the windows and pressing on the gas pedal. It was great to be able to sit in my car and know I could go anywhere, without having to worry about which stop to get off at or how far I'd have to walk once I came out of the station. Now, if only gas wasn't $3.50 a gallon... Also, I have walked far less than I had been in the last few weeks – a consequence of the suburban lifestyle. That will be something to get used to; although I love being able to drive right up to the door at Target, it's a lot less healthy and eco-friendly (Great Britain is all about being "green"). And, finally, and maybe most importantly, my house feels really lonely without a dog to keep me company.
I miss my dog.
A lot.

Cheers!

school's out, school's out...

Well, it's over. This was definitely the best semester I've ever had, ever, and I'm so thankful to have had this opportunity. I can't believe I have to leave... it feels like we just got here... and that we've been here forever.
I love London.
I wish I could stay longer... it's so sad to look at my dresser and not see clothes (or clutter), and to have no food on my shelves.
Today I'm taking my two enormous suitcases to a long-term storage place near Heathrow, where they will stay while I'm on my Last European Adventure for a Long, Long Time. I don't even want to think about it.

I will be incommunicado for a few weeks while I am exploring Europe, but I plan to keep this blog after I get back... instead of European Adventures, I will soon be having Colorado...ian Adventures as the design intern at the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Until then,
Cheers!