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¡Oh, qué tragedia!

So in the midst of studying for my re-sit exams, stumbled across this random piece of information that probably only I find interesting. But anyhow, the word tragedy stems from ancient Greek drama where it literally meant "goat song." Many of the plays back then were performed to honor greek god Dionysos, who later was known as Bacchus (aka God of wine and all that good stuff.) In typical ancient-greek-good-time-fashion they would sacrifice a goat to his honor and sing songs about it, so these sacrificial goat song things became intermingled with the plays.

Un-baaa-lievable right? I love how much history can be found in a word.

Okay baaa-ck to work.

#greek #tragedy #goats #exuse my excessive puns

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Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

Terry Pratchett

Here's to a monumental 10 months in a foreign country where I grew more than I ever thought that I could in ways that I did not expect.

I always thought it was so cliché when people said that they did not return from their travels as the same person who they left as, but when I look into the mirror I see the incredible truth in that statement. My time abroad challenged me, tested my confidence, my authenticity, and my commitment to others around me. I made a whole lot of mistakes, took falls, opened my heart and my mind to something new which I allowed me to learn a lot about myself and the world around me in both good ways and bad. The experience has truly opened my eyes to seeing the world and my own life in a new light. I could not value the experience higher and know that even though my time abroad has ended, my adventures are not over.

#study abroad

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The Pantheon | Rome, Italy 

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Fun fact: There is not a single painting inside of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. All the artworks are are actually mosaics copied off of original paintings. Incredible how tedious this must have been...and how much those poor artists' fingers must have hurt from placing those millions of tiny mosaic pieces! (at Città Del Vaticano | Vatican City)

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Carnevale di Venezia

One of the things I enjoy about my travels abroad is how no two countries or trips have been the same. I've traveled in a large group, I've traveled by myself, I've been on guided tours and I've had trips where I've done nothing but wander my way around the town with no map at all. I've had trips where I've been focused on cramming every tourist attraction I could in the short amount of time that I spent in the city, but I can safely say that my trip to Venice, Italy was an entirely different experience than any of my other trips. This trip was focused on embracing the time and the people around me. There were no strict deadlines, no places I really needed to be, few destinations that I absolutely needed to see, just truly soaking in the pleasure of being in a beautiful city with a group of old and new friends. 

The Group at Lunch 

Even though I always had the dream to visit Venice, the main reason why I booked the trip was to visit a friend that I made from the house last semester, Caterina. Unfortunately, this beautiful Italian only was able to study abroad in Leuven for one semester before returning back to her home in the center of the canal city. It was really a wonderful thing to see one of the international friends that I made from the house, and get to know her even better.

A quick thought: No matter how much time you spend with a person, I don't think you really get to know...or maybe understand them until you know where they come from. It was really so great visiting Cate in her hometown because I learned so much more about her "real" life, how she grew up, and what normality was to her. 

And let me tell you something, this girl lives in one of the most beautiful cities in all of the world. I honestly could not believe that someone could actually live in this fairy-tale town. 

Venice is a city of the northwest coast of Italy that is made up on 118 small islands, separated by canals and connected by bridges. 

Since there are barely any roads in Venice, the main mode of transportation is boat. The police officers used boats, the trash collectors used boats, and even the ambulances were...yep you guessed it, boats. (all this talk about boats reminds me of this HIMYM scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnMptkO04VE )

Every canal was really just picturesque, so when I got there I really could not walk anywhere without taking a million photos. I'm pretty sure Shannon and I got left behind a few times for doing just this. I really just couldn't help myself, it was all just too beautiful. 

Another awesome thing about this trip was the fact that it was Carnival when we went to visit! For those like me who just associate the word carnival with fried oreos and semi-life-threatening amusement park rides, Carnival (or Carnaval) is a holiday season before Lent celebrated by most of Europe. Everyone typically dresses up in costumes (much like our halloween) to celebrate. In Venice people celebrate on the streets in these fabulously outrageous baroque costumes that really transport you to the culture hundreds of years ago.

I took a million photos because everyone was so gorgeous.

It was pretty funny to note, that all of these people were just normal people, not being paid or anything but just doing it for the fun of it. I suspect that these people love the attention though, because wherever they walked a million tourists would be asking to take their photos. (incuding myself) My absolute favorite part though was to see the costumed people "out of character" in a sense, when they would be eating lunch or sitting down to take a break. Something about a person in a completely outrageous and over the top outfit sipping on an espresso just really cracked me up. Wish I had taken a picture for you all to see!

Also in Venice it was impossible to avoid the millions of the iconic Carnival masks for sale. 

This was a cool store that we wandered into that sold really elaborate handcrafted masks

It was also pretty funny to see how the prices rose and fell as we got closer to the city center. Potentially Helpful Tip: You can get a good quality and pretty mask for 2 euro if you wander away from the more touristy areas like San Marco Square.

Lastly, my absolute FAVORITE part of the trip was our cruise through the canals. Caterina and her cousin graciously took us on their own boats through the city's picturesque waterways. And oh my god was it breathtaking, being able to slowly float down the winding passages from a new vantage point, bumping into gondolas here and there and just really embracing the moment. I really do believe that it is one of those experiences that will stay with me for a lifetime. I can't even begin to describe it, so I will just show you...

Ugh so beautiful...

VENICE I MISS YOU ALREADY! 

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MRW I realized Cookie Butter is made out of Speculoos. 

#Perks of living in Belgium

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Just got back from a Frank Turner concert in Brussels, it was freaking awesome. Besides being an overall amazing artist, Frank gave an incredible performance and really interacted with the crowd (including two hard core stage dives.) I hadn't really listened to the band since highschool, besides his new album, but it was surprising how many songs I remembered. It was also really nice to go to a concert because it is something that I definitely miss doing at home. 

Speaking of home one of the songs that he played called Wessex Boy which really reminded me of my roots in a little town in Southern Maryland called Hollywood.

Here's a great live version of it. 

so thoughts? Even though I'm abroad, visiting these major cities, expanding my horizons, seeing things and meeting people I never would have thought I would have done before, it's always important to remember and appreciate where you came from.

And even though my small little country town may not be the tourist site of the century and I constantly complain about it, it's nice just realizing that it plays a big part in my life and even thought it's not as grand it should be appreciated as much as any city I visit. Because hey it's my hometown.

"There's something about hometowns you never can escape

The triumphs and the tragedies and those of little faith

The welling of nostalgia and feeling kind of strange,

Cause despite the little changes yeah this place still feels the same"

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Wishing Steps • Blarney, Ireland Folklore is deeply rooted in Irish culture. From fairies to witchcraft, the Irish have many superstitions that are especially tied to the natural landscape that can be found in places like Blarney. The Wishing Steps are believed to grant a person's wishes if they are able to walk all the way down and back up the steps backward with their eyes closed thinking about nothing but their wish the entire time. The wishes are supposed to be granted by a witch that lives in the forest to pay for the firewood that she steals. (May or may not have almost fell on my face in the process of doing this)

#blarney #studyabroad #folklore #ireland

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🇮🇹😘 (at Venice)

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Catching Up

Greetings everyone! My DEEPEST apologies that I have not been keeping this blog really up-to-date, things have been so incredibly busy.

So sit down and whip out your cup of tea for a moment whilst I give you the summary of my life over the last 30 or so days...

In this last month I have

Finished and passed my European final exams woop woop!

Explored the tiny nooks and crannies of Leuven (including a few amazing coffee shops and hideout spots) 

Took my very first completely solo trip to Seville, Spain and then met up with some friends for an AMAZING weekend in Morocco

Took another solo trip, with many bumps along the way, to Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary

Found out a lot about myself and had some period of self evaluation with the help of the friends that I have made here

Played tour guide for my best friend and co-dj Courtney "CK" Kozieja while she had a quick visit to Belgium. We did everything.

Attended the ballet performance of the little girl I babysit and practically cried in realization of how quickly she is growing up and realized that I am growing up as well right along side her

So, I am going to try my best in the next couple of days to go into detail on as many of these things as I can but there's absolutely no way I can cram all of the life experiences I've had over the last month even the longest of blog posts, but while I have time over the next week I am going to try my best to share my experiences and MY PICTURES with you all.

xx Nicki

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[nothing but] flowers (at Kruidtuin)

It felt like spring today in Leuven. So glad I kicked myself out of bed to experience the day.

#leuven #kuleuven #kruidtuin #belgium #study abroad

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Jazz Night (at STUKcafé)

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Goedemorgen Leuven

(Photo evidence of my 8 am run) 

#leuven #ku leuven #belgium #town #rainy #overcast

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An Overdue Praha Pt. 1

So I feel like a total ass because I never posted about one of my favorite trips that I took a before break which was to:

....or Prague, for everyone else.

The largest city and capital of the Czech Republic, Prague is known as being the "city of a hundred spires." 

The moment I gazed out of the window of my hostel, which was conviniently located on the famous and extremely steep Nerudova street, I could see why. With almost the same vantage point as the view from the Prague Castle next door, the town looked absolutely picturesque.

Quick Random Thought: You see that awesome green dome in the distance? The whole town was painted really brightly and it wasn't uncommon to see buildings with pink, yellow, orange, or purple facades, so it kinda felt like the pastel green dome was fitting. But really it wasn't intended to be that color...because it is just rusted copper. Like the Statue of Liberty, I always try to imagine what these things would have looked like when they were originally built and bronze in color. Not sure If I would like it better. But it's kind of funny how time can change things. 

One thing I loved about Prague was that you could walk everywhere. Being at home now...where I literally cannot walk anywhere in my town...makes me really appreciate how pedestrian friendly Europe is. Anyhow about 5 minutes walking away from our hostel was... 

The John Lennon Wall

And here's a short video I made about it.

Quick Facts:  The John Lennon Wall started in the 80's as a wall where students voiced their political beliefs through artistic means...in particular their opposition towards the communist regime. The government banned most Western pop music, so to spite them they filled the wall with Beatles inspired quotes, celebrating Lennon and promoting peace and love. Awesome right?

I guess from my minor research before visiting, I had concocted this grand vision in my mind of this giant iconic structure with beautiful graffiti artistically strewn throughout it. But when I got to see the actual wall, my initial feeling was a bit underwhelmed. But, before you Beatles maniacs start throwing tomatoes, please hear me out...

The wall is probably about 30 feet long and 18 feet high and literally is just located on the side street of a normal looking neighborhood. At first glance, the graffiti looked like nothing more than intense vandalism. Instead of the infamous quotes of love and Beatles lyrics I had heard so much about, I saw more names of tourists who wanted to leave their mark. Students were going through great lengths to paint "UCSB ROX" as their contribution to the wall.... In my personal opinion--no offense to Santa Barbara--but that is comparable to a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.

During my visit, a general feeling of angst towards my generation came over me. How could people turn something that was such icon for political youth movements into some freakin meaningless graffiti guestbook!? We are given the freedom to express our political opinions and all we can do is write our name to upload it to facebook? It made me think of how people (especially myself) are so prone to documenting the moment and proving that we were there for bragging rights, like some check in the block, as opposed to actually finding meaning in the moment and standing for something that is more than ourselves.

But you know, regardless, I was still appreciative to be there. As a girl who finds a deep emotional connection to music, I really was amazed to be in the presence of one of the few physical objects in the world that showed how music can have such a big impact on society. Cheesy as it is, good music can really touch the soul and change people---it brightens moods, it makes you think, and it can inspire you to make a better world. The John Lennon Wall really represented that for me.

Despite of my issues with the wall, we liked it enough to return a second time. To my surprise this additional visit really allowed me to see just how alive the wall really was. Not even over 24 hours since our last visit, the wall had noticeably changed. The graffiti that was there the day before had been covered by new messages.

In a kind of metaphorical way, I guess this could symbolize the ever-changing and numerous political views that our generation has worldwide. Or maybe in a different sense it could represent how we are clamoring all over each other to make our mark on society...Eh, whichever way you look at it, I still caught myself just staring at the wall, imagining the history behind those layers of paint, contributed by so many different people. That itself, no matter what, is beautiful.

And there was so much more to this amazing city, that I am going to make a part 2! (I'm deeply sorry that I am so far behind with updates, but I am really trying!) 

Tot Ziens!

#Prague #Praha #travel #study abroad #john lennon wall #czech republic

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Happy Birthday to My Favorite Person on the Planet

This sassy cat is 21!

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My Reaction Now That Finals Are Done

And yes, I have Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" playing on repeat in my head

#yay

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Forgot to share how beautiful my departure was. I adore night flights.