did you know that peanut butter is a liquid?

yes, i had a rough time in airport security when jenn and i flew from venice to paris. not impressed. my carry on was completely emptied and searched. now, for some this may not be a big deal - but you see, ryanair has a ridiculously low weight allowance for luggage, so jenn and i worked very hard to jam as much stuff into our carry on's as possible. meaning, when mine was overturned, it took forever to put back together. and it means that they threw out our peanut butter - our staple for lunches while travelling. so you may be able to understand why i am not too impressed about this. however, i am doing my best to throw away all the negative feelings and try to focus on the positive:

right now, i am sitting in a hotel in paris. (okay, we are talking two star budget hotel, but cmon, its still pretty cool) and i just came from venice - which i have to say i am headoverheels in love with. venice is simply beautiful. canals weaving through the city that is filled with tiny alleys and mismatched houses. it really is utterly adorable. jenn and i were able to take a gondola ride!!! how incredible is that! we got together with two guys who were in our hostel and were able to split the cost four ways (a whole lot cheaper than paying the full 80 freakin euros...wow). so i am super pumped that we were able to do that.

and venice also meant getting to see tim kirk and derek again! what are the chances that we would meet up twice in europe....very very cool. and we had such an awesome time! our first night, after settling into our hostel, we met up with them for some gelato and beer and chilled by the canals. and tim bought jenn and i a rose - what a sweetheart!

the next day we all hung out together, visiting the national art museum, playing poker in a park, and goofing around on the playground. in venice!! sooo much fun.

the next day, after our gondola ride, jenn and i ventured out on a water bus and visited mirano island - the island of glass blowing - and burano island - the island of cool houses and lace making. i have to admit tho, after a lot of time on that boat, we both felt a little sick at the end of the day.

so theN we toured around venice the following day with a guy from the hostel before the incredibly awful experience with the airport, and struggled to get to our hotel. who apparently didnt have our reservation. again, not impressed. then we awoke to step onto the bustling streets of paris! we checked out le louvre and the park nearby as well as the notre dame cathedral (love "the hunchback of notre dame" and enjoyed seeing the cathedral in "real life"). then we pretty muched soaked in the interesting french style and fell in love with paris fashion.

yep, its pretty great over here. then we settled into our hotel with a baguette and nutella - truly submersing ourselves in the french culture :)

tomorrow we meet up with danielle (super pumped!) to go to the very top of the eiffel tower (which i believe jenn may be a little scared to do considering her intense fear of heights....but you are only in paris once right?). then i think she is going to show us the moulin rouge area and take us to her apartment. so i am really excited for tomorrow and to see her! its really going to be incredible!

im not sure if i will update this before i am back on canadian ground again - so if i dont i want to say thank you to everyone who has faithfully read my blog while i have been gone for the past for months and also to those who have read it once and awile :) it really means a lot to have so much support behind me. see you back in canada very soon!

and everyone from abuoxford programme that is reading this - email me cuz i miss you all sooo incredible much its unreal!!! i want to hear all about your travels and summer stuff!!

BYE!!

love italia!!

this place is wonderful! we are having such an amazing time and absolutely loving italia! now, we are in firenze (florence) and tomorrow will take the train to venezia (venice). and i discovered that at our hostel i can post pictures so.....most are from our wonderful time in roma and a few from today in firenze. yeah!!!

us in the colosseum!! this place was ridiculuos! jenn was my tour guide through the whole place, as she recited facts from her roman civilization class! yeah!!!
madre teresa!

the food here is like nothing i have ever tasted - i have had so much pasta and pizza and gelato!! ...the italians definately know what they are doing! incredible....

the mouth of truth

beautiful trevi fountain...we made two wishes :)

the beautiful view of florence! we love it here!!

jenny has been one of the coolest people to travel with and we have had some hilariously funny moments! love her!!

CIAO!

hello from rome! ridiculus!! we are loving the weather and everything there is to see here. i still cannot believe i am here with jenny! yeah! she wants to say something: this is such an honour! to have my words posted for lots of people to see! ROME IS AMAZING! i couldnt be happier. the hostel isnt my favourite place in the world, but rome is definitly an amazing city to see! and the food is to die for!

yeah, the hostel is kinda brutal but i am excited for all you can eat pasta and all you can drink wine!! good times! i wish i could post some pictures but for some reason of course this is not working. but we did a lot of walking today and got to see a ton! we are lovin rome!!!

JENNY!

things have been amazing! i have had the best time in the netherlands with sheryl and bryan and i have to say i was sad to leave! i have seen and done so much while ive been there...and i got to see tim, kirk, and derek (tims cousin!) ridiculus! we had an awesome time! and now.....jenn is coming! i will see her in less than 24 hours and i cannot believe that we are going to see italy and paris together! we are going to have a blast, no doubt, and i cannot wait to see her! only about two more weeks and i will be in canada...where has the time gone?? LOVIN IT!!!

ive discovered that when in the mountains, time moves at a much slower pace. i can feel like ive been hiking for 7 hours, when in reality its only been 3. or i can stare at the view for eternity, but the clock will tell me its only been a mere minute. this, i love. i have been forced to spend time on my own, thinking and contemplating. i have nothing else to do but stare out at the towering mountains, at the villages below me, and at the peaceful town surrounding me. this is precisely how i will remember my experience here. not rushed around, trying to get all the sites in one day. but relaxing, reading a book, and soaking in life.
i love it here, i truly do. today i dished out big money to take the cablecar up to schilthon - piz gloria. this is the very top of the mountain, one of the highest peaks in this area. i honestly could not get over the extreme beauty. i arrived and made my way up to the piz gloria restaurant where i paid a ridiculuos amount of money for a coffee and a bowl of wonderful vegetable soup. this restaurant is revolving with glass windows (you know, like the one at the top of the cn, but 500x better!!). so there i sat, sipping my coffee watching the mountains and skiers as i slowly revolved around. what an experience. then i went outside to the lookout. you would think, considering i am canadian, that i would dress warmly enough for a snowcovered mountain that is over 9000 feet in the air. nope, i didnt. so i suffered the cold to simply stare out at the view. there is no way i can even begin to explain to you what it looked like. i have never seen anything like this ever and i dont think i ever will again. i really didnt want to leave, but i realized that unless i wanted to pay for another ridiculously priced bowl of soup (which was the cheapest thing on the menu i might add) i had to begin my journey downward. on the way down, i began to talk with this older man who is from the middle east. we were talking about how beautiful it is and he said "you know, you look at something like this, and you have to know there is a creator. i mean, until you get out into the world you can never really understand. too many of us get comfortable in our own little lives in our own part of the world and never witness the gloriousness of what the creator has made" (paraphrased...cmon thats a lot to remember word for word)
isnt that wonderful? AMEN!

switzerland!

well, i left barcelona behind a few days ago. i had a wonderful last day there, taking in all sorts of attractions and spending the afternoon on the gorgeous beach!! i also met a spanish street dancer who thought he could convince me to get a drink with him by simply wiggling his man boobs. i think he was serious but i burst out laughing at him and continued on my way. i then caught a flight at 645 (meaning i had to get up just after 3...brut) and landed in Zurich.
i remember on the plane, when we got closer you could look out the window and see mountains. when i did, i got sooo excited and stared out the window as little excited giggles erupted out of my. i tried to control myself for the sake of the other people on the plane, but boy was i excited. than that turned into tears because it was so gorgeous. then i realized that i really needed to get some sleep. yikes.

i arrived in zurich, took the trian into the centre of the city, jumped on a trolley bus and toured the city for two hours. it really wasnt that special, ill be honest, but it was cool to stop by zurich lake (which i learned was formed during the ice age when the glaciers melted...cool) and stop by the old market square. while i was trying to enjoy a peaceful bus tour, the guys in the back thought it was necessary to make conversation with me. and of course, before they left, they had to snap a pic with me. what is it with europeans???

after, i began my mega long journey into gimmelwald. this consisted of a train, transfer to another train, transfer to another train, transfer to another train, transfer to a bus, then up the cablecar to gimmelwald. and all of this took place within three hours. it was intense. on one of the trains, i met this super nice lady who had a suitcase the same size as mine. i knew how much i was struggling and i was baffled at how she could manage it. well, she couldnt. so i helped her get off the one train and on to the other. and as a thank you - she gave me a handful of real swiss chocolate!!!! i already had one and they are like nothing else you will ever have. incredible.

so i get off the cablecar and i stop dead in my tracks. i am competely surrounded by towering snowcapped mountains. all around me. i have to keep pinching myself to make sure this isnt a dream. gimmelwald is an adorable little town. quiet and peaceful. and surrounded by mountains. its honestly ridiculous. i look out the window of my hostel and i see mountains. crazy!!
today i went for a hike. i had great ambitions to go on this intense one up a mountain to the highest point of this area. well, yeah, lets just say i wasnt too successful. and considering i was walking by myself, i thought it a wise decision to turn around and try an easier one. just as i decided to do this, i fell. yep. now i have a huge bruise and scrap on my leg and tailbone. not fun. but the hike i did afterwords was wonderful. very snowy but supercool that i was hiking through a snowcovered mountain. and all along the way i was surrounded by mountains on teh other side. crazy!!! i dont know else to describe it here. sooo beautiful! heather, i am so excited for you to come here, you will love it!!

barcelona baby!!

I LOVE BARCELONA.
wow, this place is ridiculous. i have been having such an amazing time here and ive only been here one day!! i dont want to leave! its not just the touristy things that are cool, its just the whole city in general. the people are all so nice (well, except the pick-pocketers but i havent run into any of them yet) and the place is just beautiful!

i started off my day with a wonderful breakfast at my hostel...seriously this place is more like a hotel than a hostel (well, except for the 11 other people jammed in the same room as me).
then i stepped outside into the beaming sun, whipped out my sunglasses, and began my journeys with the biggest smile on my face. i began to head in the direction of the coast and just see what i would stumbled upon. sure enough, i found a huge hill. so naturally i started to climb. i reached the top (very hot and sweaty by the way) and was greeted to a glorious view of barcelona. this is the precise moment that i fell in love with this city. it was spectacular.

i then began my descent and continued on to the coast. on an imulse decision, i decided to jump on a boat tour which takes you along the coast of barcelona. GORGEOUS. i stepped on, grabbed myself a barcelonian 'beeresco' ( i dont really know if thats what it is...im just guessing), sat out in the sun and let the wind blow my hair as i sailed along the coast of barcelona...then i realized that it was only 1100 in the morning and maybe a little too early for a beer? oh well, im on vacation so its okay! ah, satisfying.

the relaxing was over as i grabbed a cup of coffee for energy and began to hit up the touristy places. the first thing that struck me as i began to walk, was the gorgeous buildings. i wish i could post pics to show, but its not working. so you will just have to trust me that the architecture and design of their buildings is unlike anything else. seriously, i want to live here :)

i walked up to the 'Museu Nacional D'art' and my breath was taken away. there is no way i can even begin to describe this to you. wow. after climbing a kazillion stairs (it seems that no matte what you want to see, you always have to climb up to see it) i sat on the steps of the museum looking out over the city as i was seranaded by a man playing spanish music. wonderful.

i continued on my way to the 'Teatre Grec' (i saw a bunch of stuff on the way but these are just the highlights of my day). this was incredible. thank you amanda wrigley for teaching me about greek drama which made me appreciate this so much more. i just sat there, in an ancient greek theatre, for probably 15 minutes just taking in the whole experience. i could almost see oedipus rex being peformed....

then it was off to the 'Estadi Olimpic' from the '92 olympics (correct me if im wrong...). this was really really cool. and of course i managed to find the 'camp de baisbol' - call me a nerd but i had the biggest smile on my face when i managed to find the actual olympic baseball stadium. way to neat.

i wandered around for a bit more but eventually had to call it quits. i hobbled back to the hostel (im telling you, there is a ridiculous amount of stairs!) and now im sending a few emails and will head to bed soon. tomorrow - its the beach!! cant wait!!!

did i mention how much i absolutely love barcelona?

the final days..

well...right now im actually in barcelona...but i feel i need to wrap up the trip to england before i move on to other things. so...we all said goodbye monday morning. wow - that was so hard. there was some full out sobbing going on. it really really sucked. and i miss them all already. but we had an amazing night on saturday to end it all with a bang. unfortunately i cannot upload images with this internet connection so i wont be able to show you them until later...but ill talk about it anyways.

Banquet - so much fun! a bunch of girls came over to my house beforehand and there was a whole lot of primping going on! then we walked down to the baptist church for pre-dinner drinks and conversation. we were then treated to a wonderful dinner (sooo good). after dinner, speeches began. this was when my tears began. we recieved our certificates and i bawled on stage. yep. i was the only one. anyways...

after all the gifts and awards were handed out, we began to dance!! we had such a blast!! even mad, marion, peter, and andrew joined in and they were a hoot! i loved it soo much! after everyone came back to my house for some more wine and chilling.
and thats it. its over. crazy.
i wouldnt trade any experience i had for the world - i had the best time of my life in england and i cant wait till i can see everyone again in september and then the rest in february! and england...well i hope one day i can come back.
everything im trying to say about the program is all jumbled up inside my head...and attempting to explain will not do it justice. so im just going to end it with a big
"Pip Pip Poppets" - its been amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

procrastination...

well, essays have to be done for tomorrow at 12...i will get it done but some things like sleep will have to be cut out. oh well! i blame most of my lack of sleep on the jays and all their late games....
and so, instead of papers, i painted my nails and wrote a poem. laura suggested i post it on my blog and i thought that was another wonderful way to put off finishing my papers...so i hope you guys like it! i cant believe this is almost over!!

In my mind
Exists a manuscript
Catalogued epoch
Submersed in
Cobblestone memories
Sunny snapshots
Ripples of laughter
Explode in colour
A simple smile
A wave
Words of kindness
Etched in recollection
Many books
One chapter
Distinctive characters
Pages overflowing
Words written
Capturing life
Love
Timeless memories
Kept forever
Tucked away
To reminisce
Of friendships
Everlasting
Though roads part
Stories
Continue to be written
We can
Never erase
A single segment
Of exclusive
Chronicles

Melodious Memories

SNOW!

so, yesterday was exams...and well lets say i am extremely glad they are over! now papers...

to celebrate the end of exams, i went to ree's house to watch the jays game on my computer with beer and a pizza - i felt like i was back at home! cant wait to see the jays this summer!! anyways, then we got together with everyone at the church to watch 27 dresses (yes, i watched it again - "come over here"...hehe those of you who have seen it know exactly what i am talking about!) after the movie, a few of us went to the pub here in charlbury. and after a pint...a man appeared at the window asking us to let him in...the sweetheart that she is, alisha opened the door for him. he was extremely grateful to her and to pay her back he bought her a glass of wine. he proceeded to sit down with us and buy us all a round! what a character! we had such a hilarious conversation with him, i think around charlbury he is known as 'father christmas' - hehe hilarious! anyways, poor tim was being made fun of for his 'tea cozy'. so much fun! after another round on him, i was ready to head to bed. much to my surprise, jodi and i were awoken by ree at 830 in the morning telling us to look out our window - when we did there was a foot of snow on the ground! ridiculous! okay, maybe not a foot, but a lot! check it out...is this really england?

after getting ready for church, i bounded over to ree's house to play! she was itching to get out in the snow so i didnt have to do much convincing!

all the kids in the charlbury flocked to the hill by her house and we convinced one kid to lend us his sled...so ree and i got to show them how canadians sled! well...except i made some people doubt we actually were canadians cuz i wiped out hard! and i think ree said "c'mon sharon! we're canadians! this is what we do!" oops...oh well, we still had such a fun time!!!

seriously, is this even england or are we in canada? what is this?

it was beautiful! a little taste of home...but wait, didnt you guys have 13degree weather the other day? isnt your snow all melted?!?! thats okay, cuz ours has already melted too!

oh by the way - i think laura is probably one of the most amazing people in the world!!

happiness!!

i never thought i would be the person to post random blogs not about anything in particular, but simply about whats on my mind at a specific moment. And yet here i am…not much new to report to you…but i just feel so contented and happy that i wanted to share. gabby, laura, jodi, and myself just came back form watching “27 dresses” in the theatre (yes i know, movies come out much later in England) and we all left with permasmiles plastered across our faces laughing at the most random and stupidest things. But its great! And when I got home, although I should have been doing homework, I went through pictures and videos from the whole semester…truth be told, I got a little teary-eyed. You see, this program is almost over, and its really hard to believe. It really has flown by, just as everyone predicted. I have made 11 amazing friends in the past 2.5 months, friends that I will never forget and who have sincerely touched my life in ways they may never be able to comprehend. When I was going through hard times up here, every one of them stood behind me and supported me. I know, being away from all my family and friends back at home, I would not have made it through and stayed so strong had it not been for them. I remember one time, back during drama week, I was a nervous wreck. I had never acted before and am terribly frightened to speak in front of a crowd. As we were doing a popcorn prayer before we went out, mark singled me out ask God specifically to help me through this - and it is things like this that I cherish. I will miss this entire group so incredibly…more than I ever thought I would. Well, this has turned a little depressing somehow, but I want to get the point across that I am so happy here and seriously have had the best time of my life. Honestly incredible. I still have that permasmile on my face. So I want to leave you with a few pics (okay, a lot of pics) of all of us. And now, time to watch the jays season opener…its after 12 at night, halladay is pitching, I have chocolate and starbursts, and im lying on the floor of the church with my fuzzy blanket watching it online - life could not be any better…Go Jays Go!

neon and tights - its the 80's!

last night, we were all treated to an evening of glow-in-the-dark bowling by peter for his birthday! but, to make it even more fun - bee thought we should all dress up in 80's attire! how fun! it was absolutely hilarious - i just wanted to share this pics with everyone! love it!

bee and leash looked absolutely amazing! straight from the 80's - no kidding!

pro-bowlers for sure!

redeemer vs abu - we kicked their butts!

gabby's hair is amazing! seriously, how did she get her poof to stand that high? ridiculous!

what will we think of next? hope you like the pics!