PS

Just booked a trip to Germany!

And a tour of the Colosseum/Night Tour of Rome!

YAY

I'm scared to check my bank balance now...ick

Stonehenge and Harry Potter

This past weekend we all went on a tour of a few cities in England and made our way to Stonehenge. The first day (Saturday) was quite a let down, not only because I was hungover and felt sick all day, but also because they basically drove us around, let us off the coach for 30 min, then took us to another town to do the same thing. Our first stop was in Oxford, and that was alright. We got to stand in front of the library that they filmed some of Harry Potter where he used the invisibility cloak. We couldn't go in though because it's closed to the public all the time. We made our way to Oxford college's hall where they eat, and that's used as the great hall in Harry Potter. When we got there though, it didn't open until 1pm, and we had to be on the bus at 1pm so it really sucked.

After Oxford, we made our way through other little towns. They were pretty, but there wasn't really anything to do. I guess it was just more of a sight seeing tour of pretty places. The next day was a lot better. We went to Bath where the Roman Baths are. It was 9 pounds to get in so I didn't go in them, but it was a really pretty city. We got to see Jane Austin's home and drive around the area where Kate Winslet lives. I got a bun from this restaurante that used to be this super old house. It was SO good. I also bought this homemade cinnamon butter they make there...delicious. Then we made our way to Lacock. It was really exciting because I got to see this area where they filmed some more Harry Potter. In the first movie where Harry is holding Hedwig in the little courtyard, and it's all snowy...that's where I was. That was exciting. I can't wait to watch the movie again because I can say I was at those places!

We then made our way to Stonehenge. It really wasn't what I imagined it to be. It really is a stack of huge rocks in the middle of fields and sheep. It was cool to see it, but I think the reason that it wasn't that big for me was because no one knows what it really is. I listened to the audio tour as I made my way around it, and they were listing some myths about how it came to be the way it is, but it all just doesn't make sense. I don't know; it was nice seeing it, but it just got me upset that I really didn't know what I was looking at or why.

I'm at the library now. I'm hoping to get 2 of these big papers out of the way so I can have a blast for the rest of the time that I'm here. We're going to have a Halloween party this weekend. I don't even know what I'm going to be so I have to do a little shopping sometime this week too.

That's about it though. Miss and love you all so much!

Whatevz.

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.

-Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth

I found that quote in the book The Shack that my lovely friend Terese bought for me to read over here. I miss her so much too! I thought it basically said what I would say to all of you back at home; it took the words right out of my mouth so I had to post it on here. It was an excellent book, and I can't wait to see if they make a movie out of it. It definitely left me with the impression that things could always be worse then what they are.

Today, I received a card from my mom, and it was so sweet; I didn't realize she missed me that much! Love and miss you momma! The card made my eyes tear up :(

I was supposed to see this comedy hypnotist at school right now, but since I had to register for classes, I would only have been there for about 30 minutes, and it would have cost me 2 pound 50 so it wasn't worth it. I can't believe I have to register for classes for next semester already! I'll be home before you know it people!

Our field trip this weekend is a 2 day trip to Codswold, Bath, Oxford, Lacock, and Stonehenge. I'm very excited for it too! It should be lots of fun.

I don't really have anything else to say. I read that quote from that book like 3 weeks ago and kept forgetting to post it on here, but I remembered to bring the book with me and post it finally!

Miss and love you all so much! I'm posting another picture from France on here. It's me and the Mona Lisa! Gross picture of me though :(

PARIS!!!

There is absolutely no word that can describe Paris. The words that come to mind would include, incredible, insane, unbelievable, beautiful, shocking etc. Even those words combined don't amout up to what it actually is like. The pictures I took are nothing compared to what it looks like when you stand there. Paris is the best place I've been to in my entire life so far. Rome has A LOT of competition. I took 388 pictures/videos. I wish I would have been there for a week because it really felt like we were there for 2 hours. It went by way too fast. I'm going to try to tell you what happened before I forget.

I was planning on waking up at 5:40am on Friday so I could take my time and pack, shower, eat a good breakfast, but that night we were up till 3:00am talking and hanging out. I ended up turning off my alarm and not waking back up. It was my job to call the taxi for all of us to the train station and have the cab waiting for us at 6:40am, but my friend Christina (who leant me a bigger memory card otherwise I would have had hardly any pictures) called me at 6:39am, and I was still sleeping. So I didn't get to take a shower or eat breakfast, but somehow I managed to pack and get downstairs in 10 minutes...a miracle. I also almost forgot to bring my camera, but luckily Amber reminded me and ran upstairs to get it while I was running around the kitchen. I would have cried and bought a new one if I forgot it haha.

We took a bus to a ferry to a bus and arrived at the Eiffel Tower around 6pm. The traffic was horrible. So it did take quite awhile to get there. The ferry made me sea sick, but I didn't throw up thank goodness.

When we arrived, we walked out of our bus to the sight of the amazing Eiffel Tower. I took so many pictures of it, and I still feel like it wasn't enough. We then took a boat tour down a river that lead us through basically most of Paris and all the sights. We then got to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower by elevator. It was an amazing sight to see all of Paris. Words literally don't exist to describe what I saw; I become silent and stutter on words that could attempt to amount what it was like. Lily, Angie, and I took the stairs down from the second level. I felt like I lost control of my legs because they seemed to start going at their own pace. The lights were also shining in ours eyes so it felt like I was going to fall. After that, we waited for the tower to light up and sparkle. I took a video of it so you can all see. We then had a bus tour around Paris then went to our hotel. The hotel room was very nice. I forgot to take a picture of it though :(. We had the opportunity to go out to eat (and this was around midnight) so we ate near the Bastille. I thought I ordered a burger for 3 euros, but it ended up actually being 13 euros! I also got a margharita and a shot of tequila so my bill was 28 euros!!! INSANE! I couldn't believe it. On our way back, Jen, Shannon, Brenden, and I went to a sex shop for a little bit, and it was weird. We were only there for like 5 minutes because it was kind of creepy. On our way back, Brenden and I imitated the Rocky scene where he runs up all those stairs to the top, but we ran up Palais Omnisports of Bercy. Then we finally passed out by 2 in the morning.

Saturday, we started our day out by going to a church called Sacre Coeur of Montmartre. There were SO many stairs! My legs were killing me, but the view and church was absolutely incredible. AH! Amazing. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the church, but I bought a post card of what it looked like when you walk in. It was a HUGE mosaic of Jesus and angels etc. I also lit a candle for my dad there because it seemed like the right place at the right time. From there we went down a street with a bunch of shops, and I bought some goodies; from there we went to Notre Dame. It kind of reminded me of the cathedral in Washing D.C, but the back of it was so beautiful. We studied the Notre Dame in a Freshman art class I took, so it was amazing to see the actualy architecture of the flying buttresses etc. in front of my own eyes. We also had the opportunity of driving through the tunnel where Princess Diana had her tragic accident. It was a really short tunnel so they had to be going so fast for that to happen. We made our way to the Palace of Versailles. OH MY GOSH...I just sat here at the computer for like 2 minutes because I can't think of what to say about it. Ummmm...unbelievable, incredible, beautiful and more. The gardens stretch over 2,000+ acres. It was sooooo pretty. The pictures give it absolutely no justice. I can't believe people lived there. Obviously we didn't get to see the whole place since there are more than 700 rooms, but we went on a tour of a main part. The ceilings were amazing. It looked fake almost. The only thing I was upset about that day was that they had a bunch of art work by Jeffrey Koon, and I hate him now. His art it SO stupid. It made me REALLY upset that his work was there while there was so much history and insanely beautiful masterpieces surrounding us. When we went into the gardens, Amy, Mandy, and I got some of the best ice cream I ever tasted, and we walked around the gardens. It was so pretty. There were some areas with these huge hedges, and it reminded me of the Tri-Wizard tournament in Harry Potter haha. Anyway, after Versailles we were dropped off in the middle of the city. I just want to say that I am so proud of me, Jen, Nina, Brenden, and Christina because we navigated our way around Paris like professionals. We walked to the Opera House and Church of Mary Magdalyn (I also had the opportunity to "step into our map" like Joey does on FRIENDS while they are in London to find out which way to go haha...by the way it worked); then we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the spiral staircase of hundreds of stairs to get to the top. I think I enjoyed that view more than the Eiffel Tower because we were lower to the ground and got a closer view of things but seemed to see just as far off into the distance. Then we ate crepes and baquettes in front of the Moulin Rouge. It wasn't as big as I thought to be honest, but still very cool. There were a lot of sex shops around there, but we didn't bother going into any of them. We then took the metro back to our hotel until we heard the the Louvre was lit up, and Nina wanted to see Pompidou (which is a building where the architect designed it so the plumbing and parts of a building that are hidden in walls are actually shown on the outside so it's kind of inside out). This was after midnight, but I got this huge adrenaline rush, and Nina, Jen, Brenden, and I ran to the metro and took it to the Louvre. I felt like I was in the DaVinci Code. The pyramids lit up were unbelievably cool. AH! So amazing. Then we made our way to the Pompidou and took some pictures then walked all the way back to our hotel which was like 45 minutes away. We made really good time though, and it was absolutely worth it.

Today (Sunday), we had our last breakfast in Paris then made our way to the Louvre. We only had a little less that 3 hours in there, but we saw the Mona Lisa (I took a video), and other random art. The ceilings in there were incredible. I was walking around with my head turning in all these directions; I'm surprised it didn't snap off. Nina, Jen, and I went back to the Pompidou to get a picture of it during the day, and then we made our way back and took more pictures of the Louvre during the day. We then made our way back to the coach and drove back to the ferry. Before that though we stopped at a wine shop, and I got 2 bottles of wine and some chocolates. Hopefully I won't open them and will save them for when I get back home :). The drive took FOREVER though; I was getting so pissed off. The ride back to England on the Ferry was so windy and wobbly that I felt like I was drunk. We finally made it back home around 8pm, and we ate dinner together then rushed to the computers so I could tell you guys all about it before I forgot.

I think that might be it. We saw SO much, but I think those are the highlights. I can't wait to show you all my pictures!

I love Paris. Best city yet by far. I have to go back.

p.s. I took that picture by the way; my camera is amazing. If you don't know what it is you need to be slapped.

YAY

I'M GOING TO PARIS TOMORROW! I'm so freaking excited too! It's going to be amazing. I'm really excited for the tour of Versailles or however you spell that. It's the castle where I think Mary Antoinette lived etc...So cool.

The State of Matter show I went to on Monday was...stupid...I was so excited for it, and it was basically worse than an episode of So You Think You Can Dance. It was just these 8 guys dancing the whole time, and then it would get really cool where they would start to breakdance, but then some would start to do ballet or just bad interpretive dance, and it would just go downhill. It was a waste of money, but it was something to do.

Tuesday was a really good day because I got my care package from my momma. Makes me miss her even more, but there were plenty of wonderful things in there. Thanks momma!

Last night, we had a little beer pong party then went out to BAA Bars. I love that place so much. I had a blast. This morning though my roommate Emma called me because we all got letters under our door about being too loud, and if we keep being loud we could possibly be kicked out. It has to be our one roommate Julia from Romania that complained. Pisses me off...she is gone the whole entire day and comes home between 9pm-12am then expects everyone to just be quiet. It's not even like we're having parties everyday; sometimes we could just be hanging out in the kitchen with friends after dinner and be talking and she'll get mad and come down and yell at us. I think she should just move out, but the next time I see her I'm just going to whisper when I talk to her because she seems to have ears like a dog if she hears us from all the way on the third floor...ugh

Anyway, it's kind of upsetting to see my planner and how the rest of my time is spent here because it's just going to fly by since there is basically some trip every weekend. Oh well...I'm definitely coming back here in the future. Hopefully some of my friends will visit Chicago so I can show them around too!

That's about it for now. I have class at 5, and then I'm going to go to ASDA and see if they have little shampoo travel bottles or something, then pack, then pass out because we have to be at the train station at 7:45am tomorrow!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend while I'm in Paris...jealous? Cause you should be.

2 months and London

This past Friday was 2 months since my dad passed away. It was also my mom's 46th birthday, and our first trip to London...talk about a day of mixed emotions. To be honest, there isn't a day when I don't think about him or that day when everything happened. It just seems to replay in my head constantly, and I can't make it stop. What I would give just to talk to him on the phone and let him know about everything going on...indescribable.

On a better note though, London was a lot of fun. We left in the morning at 8am and I didn't get home till 1:30am. My feet basically felt like they were bleeding by time I got home haha. SO MUCH WALKING! Once we arrived there, we were given a tour of London. We didn't get everywhere (like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace), but we will on our other tours. I also got to see this area where they filmed part of Harry Potter where he walks into the pub to get into Diagon Alley. It looked kind of stupid in the picture I took, but you had to be there I guess. We weren't able to have a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral because they cancelled all the tours that day due to the filming. When we were heading back to the bus though we walked past Jude Law and didn't even realize it, but then when we did I turned around and got a picture of his back, and I was screaming "HEY JUDE...HEY JUDE", but he didn't turn around :(. So I got a picture of his back haha. Since the tour was cancelled we went to the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and so many other amazing things. I forgot to upload my pictures otherwise I would post one on this blog.

After the museum tour, the dad of a girl in our group had a play going at a theatre where we were. It was called "Fat Pig", and it was hilarious. It was a very very good play. I think it's also playing in New York, but although he is from Illinois and lives there, he doesn't have his plays there I guess because theatre isn't as big as other places. The play was really good though.

After the play we had to rush to the tube, and that was the first time I used the tube. The escalator to get down to the tube was SO steep. I felt like I was going to fall! I also felt like I was in Harry Potter because it reminded me of the scene where Mr. Weasley couldn't get through the gates...anyway...Then we couldn't find the bus, but it was so exciting, and I felt like I was on the Amazing Race tv show or something just because we had no idea where we were, what we were doing, and we were running everywhere. It was a huge adrenaline rush.

Saturday we had another party then went to 2 pubs and called it a night. Again, it was a lot of fun, but that was about it.

Today I tried to play football (soccer) with this girl (Christina) in front of our flats, but I kicked the ball to hard and it went over the fence so we only played for like 10 minutes haha. Amy, our british friend, made a nice big dinner for all of us, and now I'm here, and then I'm going to go back and read my ass off.

Tomorrow I'm going to the library at noon and working on all my homework till 7pm and then going to the show Nina, Jenn, and a few others and I booked a few weeks ago. It's called State of Matter and has all the crazy acrobatics and stuff going on. It should be exciting!

This weekend I'm going to Paris! Can't wait!

I still can't believe I don't have interent. It's really pissing me off because once I get it I can chat on skype with many of you!

That's about it though. Miss and love you all!

Sweet

I just got done booking my flight and hostel for Rome. We are planning on spending 4 days there Nov. 14-17. The whole Milan idea didn't work out because it was too expensive :(.

On Monday night, a group of us went to Chill night club. It was so much fun, so packed, and it was neon night. Everyone was dressed in bright colors and there were a lot of black lights in there. Seeing that I don't own anything very bright colored my roomie bought this neon hair dye that lasts for the night, so my hair was green, and I looked ridiculous haha. It was still a lot of fun though.

I'm so excited for this Friday. It's our 3rd field trip, and we're going to London. One thing we're going to see is St. Paul's Cathedral, and they are currently filming the Sherlock Home movie which stars Jude Law. All other tours were cancelled due to the movie except ours and a few others, so we've been told that there is a VERY good chance we might see him. That'd be so cool. I don't think I've ever really seen a famous person haha.

I have to go though because we're about to book this 4 hour tour of the Vatican!

Miss you all

Untitled

So I put the first british song that I can remember hearing on my myspace: www.myspace.com/jeffbania

I love that song.

I'm at the library almost ready to leave. I've been here for awhile. I just wanted to finish my paper so I could go out tonight to club Chill!

Nothing is really new to be honest. Just trying to keep up with the homework. I can't wait for this weekend because our trip is to London, and I'm staying in a hostel till Sunday. Holler

Now go listen to that song!

Last Night

So last night was simply amazing. We had a party at our flat and played beer pong/flippy cup, and it was packed. I had so much fun! It was very cool just because so many people here have either never played it or never heard of it so it's funny to see them play for their first time. A lot happened, some of which I can't even remember happening ;) but all in all it was an awesome night. I would write about some stories, but it might be inappropriate for everyone to be able to read ;). Everyone had a good time though and nothing was broken!

After class on Thursday, H&M had a discount sale going on for students so a group of us went over there. I got a new jacket just because the one I brought isn't very dressy, and people here are very dressed up usually. I love it though; it's so nice. I also got 2 shirts and a zip-up, but I'm returning the zip-up. I also got another back pack that would be better for the traveling I'm going to be doing, and a new pair of shoes because the ones I brought aren't "allowed" in clubs. They don't really want light shoes/gym shoes. Whatever, so I spent a decent amount of money, but I needed that stuff.

I just booked a trip to Scotland. The tour takes us to Edinburgh, Loch Ness, and Highlands. We also have a day to do whatever we want so were going to visit Mary King's Close which is basically a preserved underground city that is supposedly haunted. I go December 5th so it's going to be very cold, but I have my new jacket to keep me warm! I'm just worried because finals week is right after that, but it's my last big trip, and it's right before I go home too.

I need to do some more research on Italy. I'm pretty sure I'm going, but I just have to look around for prices on flights and trains. A few friends and I are planning on flying into Milan to visit my friend that studied at my high school, then taking a train to Rome to visit a friend who is studying abroad there. I can't wait!

I'm reading so much...ugh...to read a Shakespear book by yourself in one week not knowing what you should be looking for or what to be reading for is very annoying. The professors here are basically just guides for their students. They just tell us to read some book before the next class, and then you get an assignment. I don't know, I'm still getting used to it.

I think that's about it. Today was basically a chill out/do homework day because of last night.

Miss and love you all!

YAY

So whoever is praying for me back at home...keep doing it because it's obviously working. Things have been going much smoother over here now. I'm only worried about planning my classes for Spring at ISU right now. Other than that, things seem to be going very well.

I woke up this morning to the loud clunkings of the men working outside. I finally got up and realized that they were putting grass in and also installing internet!!!!! I should have internet in my flat by Monday hopefully. I will be able to talk to some of you over Skype finally!!!

I've never read so much in my life. I think I'm juggling 4 books right now for my classes, and there are more to read soon. That's not even including the papers I have to write. Ick...I really don't like it just because I'm not going to be able to actually enjoy the books.

I didn't finish booking my Italy trip yet, but once that's done I have to start researching Amsterdam. I'm hoping to go right after Halloween and stay there for 2 days. It should be fun!

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but they sell hot dogs in a can here. My roommate and I were shopping, and we really had a taste for a hot dog. We were in the cold food section and couldn't find them so we finally asked somebody where the hot dogs were, and he led us to the canned food sections. I bought them anyway and tried them. They aren't bad at all. They still taste like hot dogs.

We're planning on having another party tomorrow but at my place this time. I made a friend over here who djs, and he is going to bring his music over and dj for us. My new roomie is going to bring her friends though so I think our house might be kind of full. It'll be fun though. Tequila is so expensive over here! A bottle of Jose Cuervo was $32...CRAZY

I have my American Dream class in 20 minutes though so I better head out.

Peace

Things are good

So I've finally had all my classes, and I have a shit ton of reading to do. Not just reading in textbooks, but actually reading in novels such as Great Expectations, The Canterbury Tales, King Lear, Dr. Faustos, A Passage to India, a lot of poems, and more. That's what I get for taking 3 literature classes at one time! So I've been reading a lot basically.

My flat is full now! We got our last roommate yesterday. Her name is Emma and she is loud and British and I love it. There are 2 Americans, 2 Romanians, and 2 Brits. The house is still very quiet though, and Emma and I are really the only people who have been loud and socializing a lot. There is one other guy than me, but he never comes out of his room!

Oh well. Yesterday was very stressful, but things went so much better today. I got my last book (hopefully the last one), and it's HUGE.

So I'm in this management office and it started to smell really bad like hydrogen peroxide. So everyone started to smell their computers haha, and it turns out it's my adapter. Great...it never happened in my room so I wonder if it's just the power surge I was using. I don't know, but my battery is going to go out, and I have a lot to do still on the internet (like booking a trip to Italy!)

Miss and love you all