Dear Visitor

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to Letters from London! This is where I write letters to my friends and family in the states, and to anyone or anything else I can think of, about my time spent studying abroad in London. If you’re new to my journey, don’t fret, as you can start reading from the beginning. If you’re interested in certain experiences or letters to certain people, then use this as a guide to the blog. If you don’t know why you’re seeing this, and have been reading for awhile, this is just a post I added to the front of the page for new readers, you can scroll down past this for my most recent update.

I hope you enjoy the blog and following me in my journey through London, the UK and (hopefully) some of Europe.

Peace, Love and London,

Jillian

Start from the BEGINNING
Letters to my MOM
Letters to my DAD
Letters to JARED
Letters to my FAMILY
Letters to my FRIENDS
Letters to MYSELF
Letters to COUNTRIES
Letters to THE REST

Dear Family & Friends

Dear Family & Friends,

After reading the first three days, you must be itching for more. I’ll jump right into it.

January 5: Day 4 

The Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem

We woke up early, as usual, and brought our packed bags to the bus before breakfast. After eating quickly, we boarded the bus and made our way to Jerusalem. Our day began with a tour of Yad Vashem. Our tour guide, John from England, was spectacular. I could have spent days and days in the museum, and we only got three hours. The most moving part was the end, when we went into the Hall of Names. It’s difficult to describe, but the room is circular. Binders line the wall with all the names of people lost in the Holocaust and a round banner with some photos and images of pages of testimony hangs . In the center of the room is an opening into the bedrock of Jerusalem that is filled with water. When you lean over and look in, the water reflects your image with the photos, reminding you that you have a connection with those lost and those who survived.

During the tour we talked about propaganda, righteous gentiles, concentration camps and the liberation at the end of the war. We also went to the Children’s Memorial. You walk into a dark tunnel. The room is entirely encased in darkness, except for a few starlights that are reflected in mirrors. Overhead, you can hear speakers reading the names, ages, and hometowns of all the children who died in the Holocaust. It’s overwhelming.

We stopped for lunch (falafel, anyone?) and then went to the Israel Museum where we split into two separate tours. We first went to see the model of the old city of Jerusalem which is left unchanged, despite the discovery that it’s not entirely accurate.

Next was to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls. The exhibit itself has a copy of the scrolls in the center. Around the edges of the room are the original scrolls with explanations of the time they were written and what they meant or said. The scrolls were found by bedouins who were sleeping in the cave – I think. They knew that they had hit a jackpot when they saw that the writing was in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic.

After the Israel Museum, we went to our hostel for the next three nights, the Sephardic Center in the Old City of Jerusalem. Definitely a nice place to stay. My roommates for this hostel were Kasey and Lily. We dropped off our luggage and freshened up before meeting downstairs and getting on the bus to Devon’s (Sachlav CEO) house for a barbecue. The food was delicious. We ate outside, but I didn’t mind because he had a ton of hot tea for me to drink. Of course, I couldn’t put milk in my drink because dinner was meat. Sad. Before dinner, however, we talked about a Bible passage. No. Thank you. Once again. I love my culture and I love Israel, but I don’t need the Bible at meals. I just need the food.

Jen and I on Ben Yehuda Street

We went back to the Sephardic Center where we changed so that we could go to Ben Yehuda street. We were given a few choices of what we could do. Most of us went to a bar. I wandered Ben Yehuda street to shop and eat. I had a delicious crepe and saw a lot of cool shops which I took note of for when we returned. At one point I ventured back to the bar to see if it was any fun, but it was dark and dingy and I decided to go back to Ben Yehuda. There, I ran into my good friend Jen who was with a different group volunteering in the south. Jen and I went to Hebrew school together and ran against each other in track in high school. She realized this when she recognized me her freshman year at BU at an ice cream social.

After meeting Gadi back at Ben Yehuda street, the group made their way back to the hostel. I was exhausted and fell right asleep.

January 6 – Day 5

After waking up, we went downstairs for breakfast and to meet as a group for a timeshare. After that, our Israeli soldiers arrived and we received instructions that they are not there for protection, but to be part of the group and give both groups a chance to learn from each other. We played a bonding game where we all tossed around a thing of yarn and told an interesting fact or crazy story, creating a web with the yarn. After we all went, we cut the yarn and used it to create little friendship bracelets.

We then walked around Jerusalem. We began in a square right by our hostel, outside a school. The kids were out for recess, and a few of them came and played around us, running through our giant circle. After we talked about… well, I’ve forgotten at this point or I was too distracted by how funny the kids were to remember. Anyway, after we went over to join the kids’ soccer game and play for a little bit. We then continued to walk through Jerusalem, stopping again at a small memorial for soldiers. This is where someone walked by with his two kids, nodded to us, and said, “Shabbat Shalom, bro.” I can’t make that up. From there we walked through an old marketplace, but it was too loud and busy for Gadi to speak to us, so we moved quickly onto a spot right outside where you could look over a wall and see stones from different periods of Jerusalem’s history, a recurring theme in the trip.

Jared and me at the Western Wall

We next went to the Western wall, where we said Shehecheyanu and then were able to go and explore the area ourselves. The wall is split into two sections, one for men and one for women. I went with Melanie to the women’s side where we sat down and wrote our prayers onto a piece of paper and folded them to put in the wall. It’s incredible to see all the people there praying and crying and being so moved by this wall. At home, I have a small copy of the wall I made in Hebrew school with my mom. We glued together stones and added little bits of grass. On the back is a drawing of the Jerusalem skyline. I didn’t expect to be moved, to be honest. I teared up a bit when I was writing my prayer, but I didn’t break down and cry when I touched the wall. It was cool to see and I’m so glad I got to see it and put a prayer in the wall, but I didn’t feel anything, I guess.

We regrouped and took some photos and then made our way to the marketplace to buy some goodies for Shabbat. My small group had to buy candy, which we did immediately. We only had 45 minutes to explore the entire marketplace. Not nearly enough time, as we had to feed ourselves. We pushed our way through the crowd to find some falafel and spent a lot of time waiting in line for it, watching everyone hurry around us.

After the marketplace, we went back to the hostel to nap, shower and get ready for Shabbat. After a few hours of rest, we walked to the Western wall via a “rooftop” tour. It was incredible to see so many people at the wall. It was so crowded that I knew there was no way I would make it in there. Mom and I, well, we’re terrified of large crowds because it’s easy to lose a short person in a big crowd. I opted instead to stick towards the back and people watch.

After this, we went back to dinner. Another group was there and they kept singing and dancing and I was pulled into that somehow. After dinner I went to get changed and ready for bed. A lot of people were hanging out and playing music and snacking on candy, but I started to feel sick, so I took a couple benadryl and conked out.

January 7 – Day 6

Hanging out with some lions on the way back from the b'nai mitzvot.

We got to sleep in Saturday morning until 10:00 a.m. I woke up far earlier than everyone else since I had gone to bed so early and laid in bed to read before breakfast. After breakfast, we all met up to go for another walking tour of the area. We then went back to the hostel to change once again, and then we were off to the Western Wall yet again for the b’nai mitzvot. All of the kids on the trip who had not had a bar or bat mitzvah were given the opportunity to have an informal service on Saturday. Six took advantage. They also got to choose Hebrew names if they hadn’t been named as a baby.

Once again, we made our way back to the hostel to change and go to Ben Yehuda for shopping before we toured the kottel tunnels. I got my grandparents a gift and my mom a gorgeous dreidel for her collection.

After shopping and dinner, it was time to light the havdallah candle we had bought in Tzfat and then go to the kottels for our tour. I had always been under the impression that the Western Wall was all that was left standing and the rest had been destroyed. In reality, the rest of the wall is there, it’s all just hidden underground. Our tour took us down into these excavations to see the rest of the wall and talk about what it would have been like to go there when the temple was standing. Jared found this to be the most interesting tour; he likes architecture and archaeology.

After the tours we went back and I fell right to asleep again.

Those were the next three days. The next installment will finish off the trip!

Dear Family & Friends

Dear Family & Friends,

A year after ending my travels in Europe, I found myself preparing for another adventure. This time, I was off to Israel for 10 days.

I guess I should start with some background. I have obviously always loved to travel, ever since I was bitten by the bug in 2007 when I spent two weeks in France with an exchange. When I turned 18, I heard about this program called Birthright. Essentially, a group of people will send you to Israel for a mere $0 because they believe it is a Jewish person’s birthright to go to Israel. I learned more about it, and looked into going. My dad was, naturally, nervous about sending his first-born and favorite child to the Middle East and I postponed the trip again and again. Finally, when my little brother turned 18, we were both old enough to go and I jumped at the chance. I signed us both up this past fall and we were accepted.

Boston University’s Hillel offers students the chance to go on a trip with fellow Boston University students (and any friends or family that would like to tag along). In just a few simple steps, you can go to Israel. I first registered through Sachlav/Israel on the House. I was then accepted and paid a $250 deposit which I can either donate or get back post-trip. Finally, I packed my bags and got on a plane to Israel.

I’m going to post this in three or four day increments. If I did all 10 days at once, or even five days at a time, this would be the longest post ever. Instead, you can read it in short increments at your leisure. You’re welcome.

January 1-2: Day 1

After spending a night out in Boston to ring in the new year with my best friend, Colleen, I was up and at ‘em at 8 a.m. to drive into New York. Our flight was from JFK on Long Island to Zurich, Switzerland to Tel Aviv, Israel. I thought that spending the night out in Boston would ensure that I would sleep on the flight. That plan was quickly squashed when I promptly passed out in the back seat of my mom’s van for the entire ride to New York.

It took forever, but we finally arrived in Tel Aviv!

We arrived at the airport an hour earlier than we had to be there. Jared, my parents and I found the terminal and then went to have a quick lunch before meeting up with the trip coordinators, Katelynn and Nathan. At around 1 p.m., we easily found the group and checked in. We sat around the airport for a few hours (our flight wasn’t until 6:10) and made friends. After checking in and breezing through security, the entire group played the “picnic” game. You know, “My name is Jillian. I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing jam. This is X and they’re bringing Y.” When the group is 40 people, though, you skip trying to remember what everyone is bringing and instead just try to memorize the names of the people. Who cares if you’ve got a face to match up with them? Jared and I were towards the front, so we didn’t have too many names to remember.

It was finally time for us to board and we quickly made our way to our seats. I sat with Erin. We were fed kosher meals which was confusing because none of us had requested them. I was excited for the pasta dish, too. I was so mad that I didn’t get a choice in my food. I don’t keep kosher and I didn’t intend to. But not having a choice was really the worst part of it for me. I picked at the food and watched Contagion. After that movie I couldn’t help but be attuned to every cough and sneeze around me.

I tried my hardest to sleep but just couldn’t. I might have gotten about 30 minutes of rest, but even that seems generous. Finally, after about 7 hours, we were in Switzerland for our layover. Jared and I wandered around to see if we could get wi-fi, but to no avail. We then boarded the next flight which would only be about three or four hours. On this flight I watched the new Footloose. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m totally in love with the Boston-bred boy who played Ren.

We finally landed in Tel Aviv and got our luggage. We went out to the bus to drop off our stuff, exchange money, and get our phones and call our parents so they know that we’re safe and sound. We went back into the airport so that we could meet our tour guide, Gadi, and the CEO of Sachlav, Divon. After deciding that we’d been kept awake long enough, they let us go onto the bus and sleep during the two hour drive to our Kibbutz, Dgania Bet.

A kibbutz is, essentially, a communist/hippie/socialist community. Back when people began to move to Israel, a lot of the Russian immigrants created communities based on the socialist ideals of the Soviet Union. These communities are called kibbutzim and exist today. In order to be a member of a kibbutz, you must volunteer. A kibbutz, by definition, is 1) totally voluntary, 2) totally egalitarian and 3) totally democratic. One night, however, we wandered around after dinner and found a neighborhood of the kibbutz that is much nicer than the section we were staying in. When we asked about it, we learned that many people who grew up in the kibbutz wanted to raise their families on the land, but did not want to be part of the egalitarian lifestyle, hence the clear hierarchy in lifestyle.

So, the group settled in with their roommates (I lived with Sheina and Lily) and then went to get a quick dinner. Afterwards, I called my mom to let her know that we were in for the night and went to bed. I woke up freezing in the middle of the night and pulled on my sweatshirt in an attempt to get warm, which worked until my alarm went off around 6:30 a.m.

January 3: Day 2

A 6:30 wake-up call made this day the earliest for me in a long time. I quickly got dressed and went to breakfast. Finally, a glass of milk with a meal. We got on the bus and drove to Tzfat, one of the four holy cities in Israel. We began at a park where a memorial for Israeli soldiers stood. From there, we walked the streets, stopping to see the homes of Israeli philanthropists and stopping into a Synagogue where the bimah was in the center, not in front of the ark.

I don't remember David beheading Goliath...

During our walk, we stopped at a seemingly average alleyway. But this is no ordinary alleyway. According to Gadi, this alleyway is where the Messiah will come. That’s right. On a Friday evening (Shabbat), the messiah is going to come to Tzfat by alleyway. Gadi told us that women used to cook dinner and wait by the alley all day on Fridays, waiting for the Messiah arrive. They cooked food because, they said, the Messiah would be hungry after his long journey. The moral of this story is that Jewish mothers like to feed people. We next stopped at a small square with food shops where I would later have my first falafel and witness a frightening number of stray cats.

From there we went to a candle shop where we saw how Shabbat candles are made. The shop had all kinds of incredible candles. There was one of David defeating Goliath and another of Noah’s ark, including all kinds of animals like Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore. The best, I think, was of SuperJew defeating Robot Hitler. Next we were given some time to shop (I bought a scarf) and eat.

We next walked to an art gallery where we learned about Avraham, who is originally from Detroit but is now studying Kabbalah. He explained where his inspiration from his art comes from (teachings of Kabbalah) and his name. Born Roger, he began going by his hebrew name, Avraham, when he was around my age and learning about Kabbalah and meditation. This became a very long, very passionate speech about the history of the Jewish people and our names.

Fun fact: my Hebrew name, Esther, is Persian. Not Hebrew. My brothers, Baruch Moshe, is half and half. But we’re named for our great-grandparents, so we’re sticking with them.

After Tzfat, we went back to the bus and began our journey to Haifa. One of the cool things about driving around Israel is that, suddenly, the tour guide might point to a hill and say, “This is where Christianity began.” He will then, a few minutes later, point to a town on a hill and say, “This is where Mary Magdalene was from.”

Our group of ten in Haifa. Photo courtesy of Jillian Seroka.

We arrived in Haifa, Boston’s sister city, and went to a school where we talked about the sister city program and were split into a few groups. My group was handed off to Stephanie and Ronnie, two girls (both around 17) who took us to a gorgeous spot that overlooked the entire city. There, we took a few pictures and talked about the differences and similarities between our cultures. Based just on fashion, these girls wouldn’t look out of place in Boston with their leggings, Ugg boots, and sweatshirts. However, Stephanie will be leaving for her mandatory army service on July 15, my brother’s 19th birthday. If you went to a high school in the US and asked people to raise their hands if they were going to the Army or wanted to, not many people would raise their hands for either. In Israel, not only are they required to be in the Army, many of them want to an feel it is their duty. That’s the difference. Ronnie said that she always wanted to be in the Army, why wouldn’t you when rockets were hitting your neighbor’s houses and shrapnel comes through your windows?

After Haifa we went back to Dgania for dinner. A few of us wandered around the kibbutz, getting what we  thought was lost and finding our way back in time for a meeting to talk about our feelings and then a night at the kibbutz bar.

January 4: Day 3

Instead of our planed hike today, we drove through the Golan heights and stopped for a presentation (all in Hebrew, not really geared towards a primarily [read: entirely except one person] English speaking group) about the Golan. This was followed by a 3D presentation on a giant map of the Golan that went through the history of the area (in English, thank goodness.) The cancellation of the hike, basically, pissed us off. We were all looking forward to this part of the trip and having it cancelled so we could go to Jerusalem for the mega-event was not welcome news.

After the presentation, we walked over to the winery for our wine-tasting. We learned about where different types of grapes were harvested and then the process of making wine. After seeing the factory, we were brought in to taste three different types of wine, a red, a white and a dessert wine. We learned to use all five senses in tasting wine:

1. Sight: Hold the glass by the stem and hold it up to a light or white surface, looking for discoloration.
2. Smell: First, smell the wine and notice that there is a slight scent to it. Swish it in the glass a bit and smell it again. Swishing it further releases the scents.
3. Hearing: Say the prayer over the wine and L’Chaim!
4. and 5. Taste and feel: Taste the wine and feel it in your mouth. Delicious

A glass of delicious white wine with the wine list in Golan.

I liked the white wine the best. I’m not a big red-wine fan (I get that from my mom) and the dessert wine was too sweet even for my sweet tooth (and my roommates will attest to the fact that I have a VERY sweet sweet tooth. My brother and I bought two bottles of wine, the white and the dessert, to take home.

After the wine tasting, we went back to Dgania to tour a different part of the kibbutz where we learned about the history of kibbutzim since before Israel was declared a state. After that trek through the mud (not the learning part, we literally had to trek through mud to get to the monument) we got back on the bus and made our way to Kibbutz Almog, stopping on the way for lunch. Almog would be our home for the night. We dropped off our bags and got back on the bus to make our way to Jerusalem for the mega-event. (Note: There is more security at this event than the airports in America. Seriously.)

There was one cool part of the mega-event. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, was there to speak. Essentially, this event brought together all the birthright groups from all over the world currently in Israel and made a very clear point: you should move to Israel and make Jewish babies. The event began with all of us sequestered in the lobby of the convention center where people played the drums and sang and danced. Terrifying. We were then gathered into a giant auditorium where BiBi and major donators to Taglit spoke about the importance of coming back to Israel and defending Israel while you are at home and convincing every Jew you know to go to Israel.

Just to be clear: I love Israel. I love to travel, and every place I’ve been holds a special place in my heart. But what I liked about the other places I’ve visited is that they didn’t shove moving there down my throat. I will gladly return to Israel and I do want there to be an Israel to visit, I just don’t appreciate it when people try to force something on me.

After the speeches, a few musicians came out and sang songs that I didn’t know. I also was sitting in the perfect spot so I could see the MC’s teleprompter. I took this opportunity to MC the event myself. Also, an entire row of our group managed to sleep through all the excitement. This is when we decided that we were the “belligerent Birthright group.” We had spent the day complaining and being tired and angry and negative. All the other groups were all best friends and were passionate and excited and involved. That would change, though.

Nathan saved us, I mean, ended the night early, and had us leave and get onto the bus back to Almog. Oh, Almog. Earlier in the day, Lily went to unlock our door, only find that it was, in fact, already opened. We quickly learned that the door doesn’t actually close, but there was no time to fix it since we had to run to the bus. Same problem for the girls with the cockroaches two doors down.

That night, I was concerned that someone would try to come into our room. I didn’t really feel very safe in a room with a door that didn’t close, so I brought my valuables to my brother’s room, which had a door that closed AND locked. Since there was nothing the kibbutz could do, we decided to use my suitcase as a barrier. That way, it would make it a little harder for someone to walk right on in, and the suitcase falling would alert us. I didn’t think that it would happen, but then it did. Around 2 a.m., Lily, Sheina and I jolted awake when my suitcase fell. We then heard someone let go of the handle and leave. I went back over and picked up the suitcase, happy to know that it worked, but upset that someone tried to walk in. Looking back, we think it was just someone from another birthright group that had spent the night at the pub and didn’t know where they were. Or at least, that’s what we hope.

And there are the first three days. Keep an eye out for the next three!

Dear Everyone

Dear Everyone,

I lied.

“And I promise, this really is over, now.”

See? I lied. However, I can 100% honestly, truthfully, without-lying-ly say that this will be my last post ever. Its purpose? To show you the video I made (which can be liked and favorite-ed on youtube) to some snazzy songs about my time Abroad. This has some videos and pictures that you may or may not have seen before – both from me and my friends and family.

I really hope you enjoy it and watch it over and over – I know I will be.

Love,

Jillian

Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

Can’t get enough of my wit and insightful insight (what?) into studying abroad? Want to read more about my life and the (in)consequential things that happen? Interested in my opinions on music (mostly), movies, trends and life for your average, American teenage girl? Then great! You can get all the links to those blogs over on the right hand side.

What I really want to tell you about (I know – I’m terrible at putting this blog to rest. I’m at home already! What more could I say?) is my friend’s blog. She is a film/television (emphasis on television) major studying “abroad” in Los Angeles. Read her blog, “‘Abroad’ in LA” to hear about the abroad experience that’s still in the US with clips from television and movies that relate to what’s happening with her. She’s as funny as me and is sure to have some really awesome things to say and stories to tell. She is in Hollywood, after all.

Thanks!

And I promise, this really is over, now.

*Image thanks to google.com

The Last Letters

Dear EUSA,

Get your act together. You could have done better. We’ve discussed this, though. No hard feelings. I had a blast, but come ON. Seriously.

—

Dear Future Study-Abroader,

Nervous? Read my blog. I am the epitome of someone who was so ridiculously homesick but somehow made it through. Heck, not only did I make it through, I cried when I was leaving and want to go back. Now.

—

Dear Kate & William,

Good luck! I hope the wedding is amazing and you’re together forever. I’ll be watching the live broadcast, don’t you worry. And Will – Rogaine. Seriously.

—

Dear London,

Please let me come back. Now. There’s still so much I need to do and see. Just let me come back soon!

—

Dear God,

See above. Please let me go to London. I promise I’ll be good forever. Pass this letter onto Santa, too.

—

Dear Mom & Dad,

No offense, but I want to go back. You can come, too. We’ll sell the house and move. It makes perfect sense. Tugger can come, too. In fact, we can go to Harrod’s and get that dog I played with. I’m sure he’s still there, waiting for me, biting the ankles of anyone who tries to take him home.

—

Dear Me,

Print out this damn blog already! And since you didn’t diary, start writing what you can remember. And start a scrapbook – try doing a legit one. Don’t cheat and use shutterfly or snapfish or whatever else cameralingo+animal websites there are.

—

Dear everyone,

I lied. Remember how I said that we almost missed our flight out of Italy because of my friend Jess? Big. Fat. Lie. We almost missed our flight out of Italy because Colleen and I bought wine for certain family members as a Christmas gift and it took a million years to figure out how to send it. Thanks to a man who spoke English in line who translated for us for getting our packages to our families.

—

Dear Readers,

Thanks so much for reading and following and commenting and liking and whatever else. I appreciate every person who even glanced at my blog. If you really miss my musings, then click some of the links over to the side to read more of my ramblings.

Seriously. You’re amazing and I love you all.

Dear Family

Dear Family,

I’m sitting in the gate at Dublin airport. I’ve already gone through customs and am just awaiting my flight. The wifi is free. WIN.

Kissing the Blarney Stone

But I’m really here to tell you about my last week. I last left you with my arrival in Ireland after leaving Italy. Now, I’m leaving Ireland for the homeland and I couldn’t be happier. I loved my study abroad experience and London and traveling, but I can’t wait to be at home with my family and sleeping in my own bed. On a mattress that doesn’t kill my back. Especially that.

Anyway. I arrived in Ireland on Monday and we took the bus to Cork from Dublin. Tuesday, Colleen and Katie had a final, so we just hung out around the university campus for their final and to see the area. Dinner that night was delicious, since Colleen and Katie can actually cook, and we watched Home Alone 2.

Wednesday (12/15) was my first day of tourist-ing. We went to Blarney Castle so I could kiss the stone and get the gift of gab (as if I need it). Katie and Colleen thought it would be a good laugh to go into where the dungeon would have been to scare me. Unfortunately, Katie had a run-in (literally) with a rock and cut her forehead. So, Colleen bandaged her up and placed her somewhere safe, away from rocks and ruins, and we made the trek up. The views from the castle were gorgeous, even though it was a grey day and Katie was a wee bit injured. Kissing the stone was kind of scary. I laid on my back and grabbed onto two poles. Then, an old man helped guide me over the edge and I had to pull myself lower to kiss the stone before pulling myself back up. I got the picture, too.

After that, we went back down to fetch Katie and walk the grounds a bit. I went up and down the wishing steps backwards with my eyes closed. We also saw the Witch’s kitchen and the Witch stone and the Druid circle and a big rock that no one knows how it got there. There was also a fairy glade that is probably way prettier in the spring and summer. After that we went to the woolen mills where I got my sweater and some little goodies for you… That night we went to a pub. I won’t even try to type the name of it because I can’t pronounce it. There was a trad sesh which was basically just four guys sitting at a table and playing some traditional Irish music.

Christmas party cookies

Thursday (12/16) we went to city center to buy some ingredients for holiday cookies and other errands and then got stuff ready for the party Friday night. That night we went to another pub, The Washington Inn, fondly referred to by my friends as The Wash. Since it was Thursday everything was a lot busier and the musicians were up front in a clear place where they played. A bit more formal of a “show” I guess. It was a lot of fun, but since pubs close earlier, we went across the street to Rearden’s (not 100% sure if that’s the correct spelling) which can stay open later since it’s more of a club/pub mix like O’Neills in London. Since the buses stop running even earlier than the London tube, we walked back and went to bed.

The next morning we ran some errands before going to Katie’s for her Christmas party. The Christmas party was a lot of fun, and we played pin the tail on the reindeer that Katie’s flatmate, Mariah, made. It was a lot of fun and the cookies we had made were delicious. It started to snow, which made some of us nervous about our bus ride to Dublin the next day since the UK and Ireland have some… difficulties when it snows. Everyone called it an early night (around 11 or 12.. so kind of early) since there were a lot of bus rides and flights out that weekend and people wanted to be well rested.

My Goodness! My Guinness!

We went back to Colleen’s dorm where we were pretty much all ready to go. We woke up that morning to get a cab to city center where we got on the bus to Dublin. The ride was a lot easier than we expected it to be. We thought that we would be a few extra hours because of the snow the night before, but we actually made really good time. We left out suitcases at the airport, then took a bus into city center and checked into our hostel for the next two nights. Jess was supposed to be in our room, but she was a floor above us which was annoying, especially when we had two open beds. So, she and Katie went to run some errands while Colleen and I ran around to Dublin Castle, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College. Trinity was cool. We went in to see the Book of Kells which is a gorgeous book with incredible art about Jesus. The last part of the exhibit was the long room, which was basically a library. One of the books on display was a book about one of Colleen’s ancestors!

After that, we went back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit before going out the next day. Jess checked out early that morning to catch her flight home. After that, we went to Guinness for a tour. The tour was really cool. The building is built like a pint glass and they show the process of making Guinness. It starts with Arthur Guinness’ 9,000 year lease. During the tour they have a few places where you can taste it, but we saved that for the end. We saw the different ways they’ve advertised the product and tested our knowledge about how alcohol affects the body (I did better than Colleen. Just saying…) before going to the Gravity Bar for our free pint.

It was the perfect way to end the trip. A pint with friends and a great view of Dublin. After that we went to get lunch (my last Fish & Chips) and met up with Greg, a friend from high school. He was visiting friends in Ireland before going to Spain to study for the semester. He’s already studied in Spain for about a year and a half, and just couldn’t stay in the US for more than a semester. Haha.

Colleen, Katie and me at the Gravity Bar

Katie’s roommate Mariah called us at one point and told us that her flight was cancelled and that she was in Dublin. We told her where we were staying and had her meet up with us. Originally, she was going to fly from Cork to London to home, but London was virtually shut down. So, she decided to just get on a bus to Dublin and see where that took her. She had a flight for Tuesday, but wanted to get home, so she came to the airport with us and waited standby. Luckily, she was able to get on our flight. Not so luckily, a lot of people didn’t. My friend Kait’s flight out of London was cancelled, so she switched to a flight from London to Dublin and then she would connect and take our flight, but she couldn’t get out of London for another day. Now she won’t be back until Wednesday.

So, we got to the airport. Through security and customs and to our gate before boarding and taking off. It has sure been an adventure.

Being home rocks, though!

Love,

Jillian

P.S. I finished this once I got home. Just an F.Y.I.

Dear Ciao Roma

Dear Ciao Roma,

As a bus tour company, you kind of suck. Sorry, but the truth hurts. You see, since none of us speak Italian, except Jess and Colleen (note: Colleen took a semester and Jess hasn’t taken it in a long time and can read better than speak) we relied on you to get us around the city. I mean, we know the landmarks, but we don’t know where they are and when they don’t look like the pictures, we’re bound to get confused.  And don’t get me started on being tired at the time…

The Colloseum!

Let’s start at  the beginning, though, shall we? I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready and grab my stuff before catching a cab at 5:00 and going to Heathrow. I figured it would take 30 to 45 minutes to get to Heathrow from my dorm, and it really only took about 30. I definitely expected to be sitting in some traffic or have some difficulty finding a place to park the cab so I could get out. Nope. Not at all. It was so quick and easy that I didn’t know what to do with my time when I got there. I checked in, gave them my bags (which they didn’t weigh…) and wandered around. I bought a book since I read everything I own too quickly and called my Mom (relax, it was only 12:30 or so when I called so I only kind of woke her up) to tell her that I was actually sad to be leaving London and was tearing up (read: crying) at the airport. After that, I went through security, which also didn’t take much time at all. They had to swab the straps of my backpack, probably to make sure that I didn’t hide a bomb in them? No idea. I took my shoes off since you always have to do that (even when you’re wearing flip flops) back home, but they told me I didn’t have to. This was confusing.. but I went with it. I had plenty of time once I got in the terminal, so I decided to sit for a bit and have a snack and read.

Me in front of the Trevi Fountain!

About my book… I bought a James Patterson called Worst Case. The title was vaguely familiar to me, but I figured it was just because my mom had read it before and I had seen it. Once I started reading it, though, I realized that I had read the first few chapters with my mom. It was the night of the Taylor Swift concert last summer. While we were waiting for traffic to slow (it didn’t) we decided to read aloud the first few chapters of the book. I finally was able to finish it and find out what happened. It was a really good book, but I finished it way too fast (story of my life). Anyway… I was craving something warm, so I decided to find the Starbucks (since there’s no Dunkin Donuts…) for a Toffee Nut Latte (delicious). That hit the spot, and I wandered back to my gate to wait for boarding. When we finally boarded, I realized that the flight was only half full. I didn’t have someone sitting directly next to me, and I had the window seat. I guess they didn’t need to weigh my bag because the flight wasn’t full. Good deal. I slept for about an hour since planes are impossible to sleep on, and then I just looked out the window and read.

The Duomo in Florence

I got off the plane and went through passport control and then got my luggage. I waited a bit and then met up with Katie, Colleen and Jess! It was so great to see them and then our goal was to get to our hostel. We finally found it after getting a bit turned around. The hostel was really nice! We were able to leave our bags since it wasn’t time to check in yet, and they gave us some tips on getting around and what to see and where to go. This is where you come in, Ciao Roma.

We grabbed what looked like a pretty good bus tour map. Hop on hop off. The biggest sights. Sun. What could go wrong? Apparently, your map and bus. After a sketchy adventure getting to your office to pick up the tickets and a sketchier adventure on a small van to get to the bus stop, we were off. Headphones in ear for our audio tour, this worked for the first five minutes. I don’t think it was working when we went by the Colloseum and old city, which was only fifteen or so minutes into the ride. Anyway, we saw a lot of old monuments and ruins in Rome, but we decided we wanted to get off at Stop 7: The Pantheon. Getting off at the stop, we did not get what we were expecting. It wasn’t as square as we thought, more rounded, and a lot more open. We took some pictures and then went to find a restaurant we had been recommended. We had a bit of trouble finding this, though, so we just stopped for pizza at a place that looked good, even if it clearly catered to tourists. The pizzas were giant and I could barely eat half. I usually polished off most, if not all, of my pizzas in London, but this was about 30x the size (slight exaggeration…) of a London pizza. After that, we hopped back on the bus and decided to get off at the next stop, Stop 8: The Vatican.

The Vatican was kind of underwhelming. Not as grandiose as we expected. Kind of a let down, to be totally honest. Since it was getting late and we wanted to see a few more things before Florence the next day, we decided to hold off on going inside until we got back to Rome on Sunday night. We got back on the bus and headed to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps. The Trevi fountain was obviously easy to find. It was absolutely giant and elaborate. We stopped off for some gelatto and threw our coins in the fountain. I should be getting some love and luck, and I might return to Italy with my one true love. We’ll see about that… From there it was off to the Spanish steps for some more fun pictures and sights.

We found a parade in Florence

Here life got a bit.. confusing. Map in hand, we decided to venture back to our hostel. Somewhere along the way, we found ourselves back at the Vatican after way too short of a walk. I sat down to carefully look at the map and we realized that we are all huge, giant, idiots. We were not at the Vatican. We were at the Piazza de Popolo. We had never seen the Pantheon. That had been the Vatican. We had left the Vatican… to go to the Vatican. Fail.

Basically, we blame you, Ciao Roma. If your map had been right, then we would have known where we were, not been guessing at places.

Anyway. We did finally make it back to the hostel and got into bed since we had an early train to Florence. We woke up the next morning and went down to the train station for our train. When we got into Florence, we wandered around to the Duomo and other sights on our way to the hostel. It took awhile.. but we finally found our hostel after asking three guys at a restaurant where on the street it was. We put all our bags down and went back to the Duomo to climb the 463 steps to the top of the dome. The steps were so tiring. My legs were on fire by the time we got to the top, but it was totally worth it. We could see all of Florence and while we were up in the dome we were right against the giant painting which was both beautiful and scary. After that, we walked over to the market at San Lorenzo, a church near where Colleen’s brother went to school, and Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge that the Nazis failed to destroy when they were leaving Florence. That bridge is also really cool because it has shops on either side that hang over the water.

Getting some luck from the boar.

We tried to go to the Bobboli Gardens, but they cost money. Since we wanted to go there for a view of Florence, we instead went to the Piazzale Michelangiolo where there is another statue of David. While we were there, we sat to relax on some steps. There was a group of students from Japan in Florence at the time, and a group of them came up to us with their cameras. We went to take the cameras so take a picture of them, but it turns out they wanted a picture WITH us. No idea why. Maybe “Americans in Italy” was on their scavenger hunt list.

After that, we crossed back over to our hostel to kill some time before dinner. We wandered around the Christmas market a bit and then went to Aqua Al Due for dinner. This has come highly recommended by both Colleen’s brother Brendan and my cousins, Brendan and Ryan who all studied there with Bentley University. We were told to order the pasta sampler and the blueberry steak. Let me preface this by saying that I hate red meat. I don’t eat meatballs. I avoid beef. I only eat my mom’s hamburgers and hot dogs from Fenway Park. I loved the Blueberry Steak.

After that (and two bottles of wine) we decided to call it a night. The next morning we wandered around the christmas market again where I got a banana and nutella crepe. The market is in the courtyard of a giant church, the Piazza Sante Croce, and the church has a huge star of David on it. Some kids studying in Florence told us that the architect was Jewish, and that’s why. We also went to find the boar which was lucky if you rubbed it’s nose. We thought all you had to do was rub the nose. Apparently there is more to it than that. You also have to put a coin in its mouth and let go so it falls into the grate. Colleen, Katie and I all had no problem and got it on our first try. Jess struggled a bit… After that we walked to the train station for our train back to Rome.

Me at the Vatican!

That night we went to the Vatican (for real this time) to see if we could get in. Since it was Sunday, they closed early, so we just got some more night shots of the entrance and where the Pope does the morning mass. We also went to the Pantheon so we could see it for real that time. We also went back to the Trevi fountain for more gelatto. We got dinner before the Pantheon at a place that was delicious. The waiter reminded me of my Dad’s co-worker’s son. The food was really good – so good that I wanted more and helped my friends clear their plates when they usually have to help me. Yeah. That good.

We wandered around Rome and finally made it back to our hostel. The next morning was to be relaxing (except getting Jess off to her friend’s) and a train ride to the airport and then a flight to Dublin.

I’m officially in Cork with the best tour guides ever (take that, Ciao Roma). More on that later.

Ciao!

Dear Mom & Dad

Dear Mom & Dad,

I’m sitting here at 9:52 p.m. The sound of an ocean is behind my head. No, I’m not by the beach… my radiator just makes that noise. Anyway, my alarm is set for 4:30 a.m. and I will be on the road to Heathrow at 5. On my way to Rome by 7:30. With Colleen and Katie by 11:30.

My last week consisted of a lot of studying and preparation for leaving. NOT.

St. Paul's Cathedral

I’ve been traversing London, seeing everything I’ve wanted to see. I believe I last left you with our Paris trip. This week I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Globe Theater, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Portobello market, the Prime Meridian and the O2 Titanic exhibit and saw Jersey boys.

St. Paul’s Cathedral (Sunday 12/4) wasn’t so much me going in as me walking past it and taking pictures. They charge for you to do the cool stuff in there like go into the dome, so I decided to skip it and just take pictures of the front. I’m pretty sure this is the fourth one to be built in the 1700s since it burnt down the same year as the Globe Theater in 1666. (Is that right? The 666 seems too weird…) I then crossed over the Millennium Harry Potter Bridge to the Globe Theater. It was a really great tour. I got to look through the museum first, and then I went into the theater. We started out on the ground where I showed my impressive knowledge by correctly answering that the people who had “seats” on the ground were called groundlings. We then moved up to the seats in the middle section. These are the most expensive seats in the house. We then moved to the Gentlemen’s boxes, which is where the Queen would have sat. They’re the pretty painted ones off to the side of the stage. It was a really cool tour and I learned a lot about the actual building. The stage is supposed to represent heaven, Earth and Hell. Heaven is the roof where angels fly in. The stage is Earth, and under the stage is Hell, where Hamlet’s father’s ghost would come up from.

The stage in the Globe Theater from the "best" seats

After that I had a bit more time so I went into the Tate Modern to poke around a bit. I saw some cool books in their gift shop, but my opinion of modern art hasn’t changed much since I went to the MOMA with Bubbie and Papa for my 16th birthday. Some of it is kind of cool, but a lot of it could be done by a 3 year old.

The next day (Sunday 12/5) I went to Kensington Gardens. It was a gorgeous day out, and really made me think about how lucky I was and how much I love and will miss London. Even though Kensington Palace is under construction, it’s still totally cool and I can’t wait to visit it after it’s refurbished. I liked the exhibit they have up right now. The rooms are gorgeously decorated, and the art, though modern, is really cool. Some of it was creepy and made me nervous and kind of scared, but I really love Royalty and am totally fascinated by them, from the oldest princesses in history to the future Princess Kate. Also, Princess Margaret was totally beautiful. Even more beautiful than Queen Elizabeth.

seven princesses are dreaming...

After that I had to hurry home so I could get ready for Jersey Boys! It was totally amazing and cool and I just loved it. The music was fantastic, and most of the Jersey accents were spot on. There was one that was realllly bad, and some were really good, with a lot of okay ones. At some parts, they would show one of the Four Seasons’ big performances on a screen and the actors in the musical would mimic it EXACTLY. The choreography, the timing, where they looked into the camera: all perfect.

Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theater

When I got home from that I bumped into the Chabad house celebrating Hanukkah at the menorah they set up outside Gloucester Road tube. I got a menorah of my own and some hot chocolate and chatted with Sarah. She has two little ones, Yitzi and Chaya. Yitzi has long blonde hair and is 2 and a half. He is so funny and sweet. Chaya is just 7 months old and is so little and precious. I went to the Chabad house for some food and candle-lighting the next night which was really cool. The Chabad house is, so far, one of the few Jewish places that I don’t feel judged for being half-Jewish. Who saw that coming?

Tuesday (12/7) I woke up early for then changing of the guard. I didn’t really enjoy it and wish I had slept in a bit. After that, though, I went to Portobello market where I bought a necklace and a t-shirt. Portobello was pretty slow that day. I think it’s cause it was a week day mid afternoon. Not a weekend. Ya know.

Today I had a final and then I went to Greenwich. This was really where it all began with our River Cruise three months ago. This time I went up to the Royal Observatory and straddled the Prime Meridian. It was really cool and I’m glad I did that finally.

Straddling the Meridian!

The coolest thing, though? I touched the Titanic. What? Touch the Titanic? How could that be? It’s over 2 miles beneath the ocean! Not all of it… I went to the Titanic Exhibit at the O2 (where I saw Les Mis). It was AMAZING. When you go in they give you a ticket to the ship with the information of one of the passengers. I got a first class woman. Then you go through and see all these artifacts they took from the bottom of the ocean. The last room has a piece of the hull that you can touch. They give a little hole at the top for you to stick your finger in and touch the Titanic. Cool, huh?

After that, you can see if the person you got on your ticket survived. Mine did with her son, but her husband died.

From there it was back home to pack. Italy tomorrow morning! So I’ll wrap this up and chat with you after Italy and a few times in Ireland. See you (for real!) in ten days!

Love you!

Dear Family & Friends

Dear Family & Friends,

Hello! I had a wonderful ten days with my parents and it totally sucks that they had to leave. Seriously. I think they should have said “Screw Woburn” and stayed with me another week. That would have been nice.

But, that cannot be. So, as of Monday, they have gone home. The last thing that I told you about was our first weekend together. After that I had class and work, so they all explored London & even went outside the city to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. That, however, is a letter that they should write.

After work on Friday, though, I was theirs for the weekend. Sure, I had dinner with them each night after work (I have never eaten so well), but we got to really spend time together that weekend. When I say weekend, I obviously mean Paris.

The obelisk at the Place de la Concorde

Yes. We went to Paris. It was awesome.

I slept over! I slept, Mom didn’t. Oops. Up at 5 and on our way to King’s Cross Station at 5:30, we were exhausted, to say the least. The Eurostar ride was easy, though. I passed out immediately and slept on and off for the two and a half hour ride. I’m not sure I was awake for the chunnel, but I’m pretty sure, on the way back, I didn’t really notice when we were under it. I couldn’t tell if it was an underwater tunnel or just a regular tunnel. But we obviously had to have gone through it at some point.

We started off on that bus tour where the really gross people sat behind Mom & Jared. We rushed past the highlights: The Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Opera Garnier, Musée D’Orsay, the Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, and the Quartier Latin. After that, we hopped onto a Seine River Cruise to see the Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame Cathedral, among some of the museums we had already seen. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the original Statue of Liberty. It’s too bad we didn’t because I think it should have been part of the cruise.

After that, we went back to Eiffel Tower Pier and got to go to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. I have always wanted to go to the top. When I went in 2007 with the French Exchange, we were only taken to the second floor because the weather was bad, even though another elevator to the top is just 5 Euro. We were told it was easy to go to the top. For just 5 Euro and a wait in line, it would be no problem. Since I speak (passable) French, I went up to one of the cashiers in the gift shops to ask how we did that. She was unsure and directed me to the store one over to ask them. When I asked, she not only refused to answer, but she refused to talk to me. I made the effort to speak in French, and I have always gotten along with the French people I meet. This girl was obviously just a huge bitch. She was also another word that people don’t like to hear, so I will refrain from using it (See You Next Tuesday!)

The view from the top!

I was beyond pissed. I thought that we had been lied to and were stuck on the second floor. I thought that I had missed another chance to go to the top, and that I would now never be able to do so. The weather was finally good enough. I was with my family. I was in Paris. But I couldn’t get to the goddamn top of the Eiffel Tower.

Needless to say, I had a bit of a meltdown. I felt like we had wasted a trip to Paris. The view from the second floor is good, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not the top.

My mom and dad are wonderful for taking charge from there. For stopping me from ripping the tickets and finding someone who was not a total you-kn0w-what to give us some information and get us to the top. About an hour later, we had our tickets, food in our bellies and were in the elevator to the top.

The top. My dream. Realized.

The view was amazing. I could see everything. I’m pretty sure I could even see Normandy from there (slight exaggeration). Words cannot express. Everyone has to go to the top. Even if it is freezing cold and taking pictures hurts your hands. Even if it’s raining. Even if there are scary military men walking around with huge guns. Even if there is a terror threat. Get. Your ass. To the top.

Jared and me in front of the Eiffel Tower

After I had died and gone to heaven (or at least, gotten pretty damn close) we descended and took some fabulous pictures in front of the tower.

Katie and Colleen just happened (hah!) to be in the city that weekend as well. Colleen was visiting her French soeur (sister), Floriane and Flo’s family for Thanksgiving. She and Katie were in the city with Flo when we were, so we ditched our tour group and hopped on the Metro to the Opera.

The Metro. Oh man, the Metro. It sucks. I don’t remember it sucking in 2007, but it sucked. Maybe because it was Saturday during the Christmas season. Good planning. Anyway. We walked to Fauchon’s, a bakery that my mom went to when she was 12 with my grandparents. My papa worked for a company that was either based in France or had him travel to France often. Either way, he also speaks passable French and has been there a few times. My mom loved their éclair au chocolat so we had to get some while we were there. Flo was extremely helpful in getting her what she wanted since my mom doesn’t speak French. In fact, she pronounced everything there with a Spanish accent.

Fauchon’s is right across from the Madeleine, and then we walked to the Place de la Concorde. We crossed over to the Champs Elysees. The Christmas Market is going on, so there are stalls all set up with food and sweets and everything wonderful. I wish we had more time to wander the street and market, but we had to head out. We went back to the metro station (in fact, this was the first metro station I ever walked out of when I first went to Paris) and took it to Gare du Nord. It was absolutely packed, and my dad actually forced me onto the train with my mom. He and Jared were left behind, so we just met them at Gare du Nord.

I was pretty proud of us for getting around Paris and using the metro, even if we did get a little help from Flo. I wish we had a full weekend, but once again, I’ll just have to go back one day.

The next day I did my basic weekend routine: laundry and Sainsbury’s. After that everyone came over to help me pack up my big suitcases and get me down into one smaller suitcase with just enough to last me. It sucks that this is coming to an end, and it just doesn’t feel real.

Fact

The next morning Mom, Dad and Jared had to leave. I met them at the hotel for breakfast and then I had to leave to take the tube to my class. Of course, there was a tube strike and it was cold as hell, fabulous. I hung out with them as long as I could before leaving. My class went to Soho for a tour of the area for our last class. I got there with plenty of time to spare, so I stopped for a latte at Starbucks. We then walked around the area once everyone was there and saw some pretty cool things. Getting home was a bitch because we weren’t near an open tube stop. I would probably have walked all the way back home if it was warmer and earlier in the day.

My next letter will probably be soon. I’m going to write more letters since I’ll be doing a lot. You’re sure to hear about my last day of class, the fun things I did today and will be doing the next week. Since it’s my last week (I leave for Italy on Friday) I am cramming lots of stuff in. The more I do, the more I write. Plus, I have a lot to say about London’s reaction to snow, FIFA and my internship…

Dear Thanksgiving

Dear Thanksgiving,

I’m sorry for making fun of you and not appreciating you as a holiday. I’m sorry for focusing on the negative parts of the Native American/Settler relationship. I’m sorry for complaining about Christmas coming too early and Black Friday being a stupid day. I’m sorry that I haven’t loved you like I should have.

I really missed you this year, more than I thought I would. I missed the turkey. I missed the mashed potatoes. I missed the family dinner. I missed Dad’s home-made cranberry sauce and my can-shaped cranberry sauce. I missed apple pie. I missed the pumpkin shaped bowls. I missed the weird soups Dad likes to make. I missed the gross pies Dad likes to make.

The Italian dinner we had was good, don’t get me wrong. Pizza for Thanksgiving was a nice way to mix it up.. but I missed you more than I imagined.

So, I promise to be better next year. I promise not to complain about you and roll my eyes when people start playing Christmas music. I promise to play Christmas music all day next year and not to go to my room at all when we have family over. Pinky promise, even. Now that means I’m serious.

Since I missed you, here are 25 things I’m thankful for.

1. Music
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Boston University
5. Taylor Swift
6. Warm sweaters
7. Warm socks
8. Pretty colors
9. The Union Jack Flag
10. Soccer
11. Hockey
12. Dancing
13. Funny TV shows
14. Glee
15. Skype
16. My dog
17. My fish (R.I.P. Lilo. Sorry Jared sucks at taking care of things and that I never got to meet you)
18. Pasta
19. Cranberry sauce from a can
20. Fish & Chips
21. Pictures
22. Concerts
23. Medicine
24. Peanut Butter
25. Summer

See you next year!