The city of Here, NY

I'm learning a lot mostly by watching and experiencing, and I still have plenty to do! So far, I've seen two shows, La Soiree, and Preacher and the Shrink. La Soiree was a series of acts consisting risque and circus themes. I saw a Bearded Lady, two muscle men throw each other around, and a strip "tease" much like you would see in the musical, Gypsy... but only more revealing. Preacher and the Shrink reminded me of some things, except, without the sexual misconduct accusations and suicide. A daughter confronts her father after 8 years of no communication about how he devoted himself entirely to his ministry and not his family, hence why his daughter becomes "worldly" and her siblings live in Africa. Both shows were fantastic.

Oh, before I forget, I'm thrilled to say that I'll be volunteering tomorrow and on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, I'm wheeling around the elderly to and from a Protestant Christmas service in Harlem (kind of a dangerous area). Christmas Eve, I will be spending time with HIV/AIDS victims several block from where I'm staying. I'm relieved that this is happening because of some complications with the website I'm going through. Go me!

Anyway, below are some wonderful pictures around the city:

ORD to AMS (Spring Break)

January 20th, 2014, I will (potentially) be purchasing two plane tickets for my next overseas trip. Although I'm craving an exotic trip to India filled with volunteering, there isn't enough time during spring break to accomplish my goals for developing nations. Right not, I'm deeply considering traveling to Amsterdam and Romania March 13th-23rd. So far, the flight shall be around $920, which isn't too harsh. The alternative is to find a happy medium between AMS and India - Ethiopia. My friend currently volunteers for the Peace Corps and although I've been a terrible friend and haven't reached out for a year, I'd like to entertain the idea of visiting her before she heads out. Honestly, I'm also deeply considering to volunteer for the Peace Corps if I do not find complete favor in finding a teaching position after graduating.

What's next?

NYC. December 19th (until the 25th), I fly out of the Central Wisconsin Airport for a wonderful vacation in the Big Apple full of Broadway shows, excellent food, swell company, and four heart-filled days of volunteering. I've never really been a huge fan of the holidays. In fact, my favorite Christmas film is Jim Carrey's, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It's actually ironic because he other day, I just happened to stumble upon (literally, not the website) NY Cares, a NYC-based volunteering organization that allows individuals to volunteer whenever they wish. This Friday, I'll be "attending" an online orientation/training session that will semi-prepare me to serve! I cannot wait to share all about that. Until then. 

...

MKE to DEN

It's starting again... Although I finally feel 100% more comfortable around the naive and close-minded individuals who almost always seem to be in front of me everywhere I turn in Stevens Point, I still make the time to get the hell outta dodge and travel. Already, I've visited Chicago with a good friend and have a plane ticket for NYC over Christmas. I may end up in Chicago once or twice more throughout the semester "just because." Within the next few months, I will be purchasing a plane ticket to Amsterdam for spring break. I haven't decided where else to go during that trip. Spain, perhaps? It's my passion, it's my life. Traveling, that is.

Currently, I'm waiting in the airport for a Frontier plane to whisk be away to Denver. Several of my close friends moved to Denver within the past couple years and I must go visit! Another big part of the trip will involve touring a PhD program at Colorado State University. I'm nervous because I'm interested in pursuing teaching, not research... I'm not sure what they will push. Research or teaching.

Regardless, I will have a blast in Denver! Literally. It's going to be epic. One of my graduate school friends decided to join me! She will be flying in tomorrow morning. It's her birthday on Sunday. Perfect timing, Amanda. Kudos.

Dear world, I miss you

What a trip. What a life! Traveling is what everyone should do, and I mean more than 1,000 miles from your front door. Out of everything, everything was my favorite. Alright, to be specific, Edinburgh was my favorite place to visit. Like I mentioned earlier, The Fringe Festival (the world's largest arts festival) was going on when I arrived, and I happened to be in heaven. My other favorite part of the trip were the people I met. I shall never forget Jess' Australian energy while we pub crawled around Galway or Michelle's needed company on my way to Liverpool (the long, scenic way). And I will never forget the great time with a Britain native who showed me how to laugh beyond my prejudices. Additionally, I shall never forget the German company during the Galway pub crawl and briefly discussing American conspiracy and sustainable living. All good stuff. 

As promised, here's the link to the better photos from the trip: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100997495@N04/   *Start from the bottom and work your way up*

I am still in the process of adding descriptions and locations and minor editing. Please, enjoy them as much as I enjoyed their content. 

Cheers!

Random thoughts

Last day on this trip. Naturally, I want to stay here. Forever! Haha, but I must return and complete one more year of reading a million pages per week (*crosses eyes*), typing endless pages of what will hopefully be a published article (*nervously caresses fingers*), and working my tail off doing retail (*sarcastic grin*), promotions for the school (*widest grin possible*), and teaching children to speak good (*normal smile full of excitement*). Anyway, as I look back on the trip, I realize that this blog does not cover nearly half the adventures I fought, ran, and laughed through. That's okay, you should have joined me ;)

Here are some random things that I would like to share not really highlighted in other posts:

I about died of laughter when I saw this advertisement... EVERYTHING is being made into a musical

Everywhere you go, you see these bikes for rent. Even in smaller cities! Let's get with it, America!

NOT a condom machine, but rather a "gum" dispenser... You pick your condition (alcohol or smoke breath) and for only 2 euro, out pops the remedy... hilarious

Jasmine, a German gal from the pub crawl in Galway and loads of fun!

Lmao, so true... I noticed that Americans were worse than Japanese people when it came to taking photos! "OMG I gotta put a picture of my half-eaten meal (with a nasty retainer in a glass of water) on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and Google + and also email it to my mom and post it on my blog and send a mass text to everyone else who actually does NOT give a s***!"

At the British Museum. I watched a short video about how these pieces (originally from the Parthenon in Greece) may have been painted. They showed what the pieces may have looked like painted. To me, the color REALLY adds more intense emotions to the piece

I STILL cannot believe that I met these gals (Something and Channing...haha) in Cork and then saw them again in Galway... I swear, I have seen more people at different times and days in different areas and cities SO MANY TIMES! Such a small Island

The music over here is SO anti-commercial, meaning, they do not overplay the current pop hits like in America... American radio stations and DJs ruin all music...

No, I did not carve my initials in Blarney Castle... Someone who knew I was visiting already did ;)

What's Europe without a show... ;)

These drag performers were the best I have ever seen

Well, readers, I am all out of adventures. Watch, within the next 24 hours, I will have met Meryl Streep and joined her at the set of her latest movie, eaten dinner with a member of the mafia out of force, escaped the mafia just in time to catch Riverdance, and had breakfast with a homeless man who used to work for the Prime Minister of England. Haha, maybe... you never know. 

XOXO

The End is Near

And I am okay with that because I am sick of the UK! Haha, not really, but it is getting a bit boring due to the lack of funds for doing anything exciting and being back in Dublin where everyone and everything is loud, drunk, and expensive. Okay, maybe not everyone and everything... The next two days shall include further exploration and chilling at different bookstores and libraries. Currently, I am at Starbucks taking advantage of their wi-fi. The hostel I am staying at is a joke that no poor person laughs at.

http://generatorhostels.com/en/destinations/dublin/

The Generator Hostel is actually a chain with about six different locations. Apparently, the one in Dublin (where I am at) is the place to be. I would like to argue that is is not the place to be. ULESS you are in a large group with loads of COH. Although the hostel's website is hip and user-friendly and although they do reply quickly to emails, when I entered, I got the feeling of commercial, over-the-top, hipster hostel that only rich travelers ("pretending" to be on a budget) stay at. The interior is very modern, clean, and colorful, but the overall attitude is really stuck-up. However, the French guy in my room is surprisingly friendly! Anyway, at smaller, more intimate hostels, the reception is loads of help providing lots of information about the hostel facilities and the city. They also typically give you a map of the city and mention when and where breakfast is. When I arrived to check in, the receptionist looked really bored and disinterested. Again, probably because of its commercial feeling and probably because it is a large hostel with over 75 rooms (I think). Readers, I also cannot believe that I missed this on the website, but all of the drinks at the bar are over 4 euro (like, $6!) and breakfast is not free. Not even the continental! When I walked down to the cafe area, the seemingly annoyed receptionist looked shocked when I asked where the free coffee was (that most, if not, all hostels provide). Instead, she directed me to the expensive cafe where a small pastry cost 5 euro. Shut up.

All negatives aside, let us take a trip back to Edinburgh and chat about the Castle and Arthur's Seat.

Edinburgh Castle was truly one of the highlights of the trip. I decided to go there right when it opened and it is a good thing I did because the queue behind me stacked up quickly. Below is a picture (again) of the castle while I was in queue:

Not a dragon in the sky, but a gull... Did not see my dragon :(

Once I entered the Castle, I noticed people gathering for a guided tour. I heard the guide mention that the tour would be 4.5 hours and I opted not to join. I kind of wish I had joined but still got a lot out of the Castle in three hours. 

I did not realize that Scotland has played many roles in wars. There was so much information to take in that I actually do not recall most of it... however, I did find one thing extremely fascinating -- the recruiting posters. Check out the photos below:

"Finest job in the world"

"This is the life"

Pay and Advantages

Travel as a highlander!

Rugby or football incorporated

This one was hard to interpret

Please understand that I am not showcasing these posters in a condescending way, but rather out of inquiry. What do these posters mean and what did they mean to the young Scottish men, back then? Was most of the pressure to join the military from fathers, older brothers, mates, these posters, or something else? I did not read anything about the country desperately needing more highlanders. What kinds of messages did these posters truly communicate to the young men, their families, and other people viewing them? What did it mean to the women who may have wanted to fight? It would be very interesting to study the progression of these posters from whence they started and compare them to a progression of other countries, specifically, the US. During my Mass Media Comm seminar last semester, we briefly discussed how the Swastika symbol was originally a sign of good luck and incorporated in many different posters and even objects around Western Europe. Then, we talked about how it dramatically changed when Hitler used it for the Nazi flag. 

Anyway, I thought that perhaps you readers would enjoy this little bit from within the Castle. 

Haha, another funny thing I really enjoyed was viewing certain Mary Queen of Scotts artifacts. Below are some photos:

Part of her throne!

Inside one of her chambers

Her only son

I would love to learn more about Mary. I do not know much, but for some strange reason, I think she gets a bad rep for things we quite do not understand. Perhaps she was mental?

After the Castle, I took a nap and decided to climb the 250+ meter hike up to Arthur's Seat. I have no idea why it is called that but it was pretty awesome to hike up. Here are some pictures:

I have to climb what?!

Atop Arthur's Seat and some Scottish gals

Part of a church, I think?

Ah, a Chapel. Anthony's, actually

Well, readers, these were two of my favorite highlights of the trip. Now, I get to spend two more days in Dublin before I fly back to the US. If I could mention the most common thing Europeans view Americans as, that would simply be, "dumb." To most of the Europeans (and Australians) I came across, they almost always mentioned Americans as really naive and stupid about other cultures. Additionally, they think we are really prideful and arrogant. They think we do not understand anything but our own "American" ways and culture and feel that we are entitled to many things. For most rural Americans, I think naivety exists. But it also exists in rural areas within Ireland, Scotland, and England. And remember, this was coming from Europeans and Australians who have been backpacking for months around dozens of countries and cultures. These are my people. 

All the best.