Zdar....loverly, May 14

Hiya!
After a few action packed weeks of my birthday celebrations and good bye parties I am back in the school library (school is over my computer is just broken :( ) Trying to plan my 20 day adventure, then a 15 day adventure with my mom after that. It is a bit overwhelming and with further flight cancellations and delays with the volcano Ash i am apprehensive to book anything but trying to get all the research done so I have options! Also trying to psych myself up for my solo travel experience. I know it will be great but after travelling for 4 months with amazing people I can see myself getting lonely and being indecisive!

People from my program are leaving daily and it is very sad because some of them I am sure I will not see again. But these memories have been the best and they are not over yet!

This weekend I was able to visit the hometown of Zdar with my friend Hana. It is about 3 hours away from Prague by train. The second largest fun fair festival in the Czech Republic was being held there this weekend. We arrived at the airport and I met her mother.Hana proceeded to be the translator the whole time because her family does not speak English, some of her friends did but it was a small town and i did get started at quite often when i was talking. (Kinda felt like a celebrity!) On the way to her house she said that her dad had dressed up to meet me, and when we walked in she said he was drunk because he was nervous. it felt very odd to make people nervous but they had never had a guest from America before. They were so hospitable the whole time getting me anything I needed. It was honestly so refreshing to be in a house and have a meal at a table and dinner conversation and everything. The fair was very fun, I rode rides and bought typical Czech sweets and the weirdiest gyro I've ever had. Pita, meat, ketchup, mayonnaise, and some spicy sauce. Hana's dad and brother kept offering my shots of SLivoviche, a terrible Czech alcohol that burns all the way down. But it is customary for them to offer and impolite if I refuse :)
I met her grandparents and her grandpa talked to me about cowboys and Indians and sang the only English that he knew :) their house smelled like home baked cookies and he is a carver and gave me a box that he had carved. It really touched my heart!
I can honestly say this is the type of experience I have been looking for here and experienced it when I went to Znojmo with my roommates and one of their Moravian boyfriends. It was so great to get away from the city and see the countryside and how most Czech people live. Most of the students go home EVERY weekend to spend in their villages with their family. the train stations are mob scenes on Fridays and Mondays! I think this inspired me to do trains and ferries for my solo travel because I will be able to see so much more. i wish i had pictures to show you but my computer is broke. just expect 2000 pictures in July when i get home and can upload them :)
I leave Thursday (2 days!) for Ireland. Bought a 1 way ticket. Finding my way home from there. Sometimes in life you have to bite off more than you can chew! Wish me luck and prayers.
Love you all,
Peace
Shanan

A great Spring Break in Munich and Amsterdam!

hello family and friends,
it has been some time now. I had a delicious spring break full of fun, litre beers, and Holland tulips. I am back at school for an intensive course which is four days of 6 hours of class. I spent all day in class thinking about all the papers i have to write, the planning i have to do for after school travels and all the fun activities that are going on for the last two weeks of the program! The class is strategic risk management and today we learned about decision and performance quality and that "paralysis is a consequence of having too many choices" thats kind of how i feel about my travels after school,, i have so many plans and ideas and so many places to go and i am paralyzed and afraid to make certain plans in case other more interesting options arise!! oh the trials and tribulations of being in Europe :)

(there are two boys behind me in the computer lab speaking Norwegian....such an interesting, cool, language)

I feel like after traveling for 10 days and experiencing the volcano and everything i have learned a lot about traveling. I have a list of things I am learning trip by trip:
1. How to dodge the transportation police in various countries
2. How to prioritize what i want to do/see the most because there is never enough time for it all
3. How to use the toilets here...big button for #2. little button for #1
4. How to take a deep breathe and a moment to truly enjoy and appreciate where i am
5. Do not get in the way of the trams, they will not stop.
6. Expect to be kissed on teh cheek when meeting some Europeans
7. How to drink lots of (good) beer!
8. How to speak slower or use different words to be understood, the American accent is hard I guess and we speak really fast!
9. Do not expect good customer service in the Czech Republic

I'm going to have to sum up spring break in a few key points because i have a 5 page paper to write and a nation to nation party to attend later tonight. It is German and Austria party and Germany is one of my favorite countries!!!

MUNICH:
Bused to Munich and went straight to Spring Fest which is a much smaller version of Oktoberfest. The beer gardens were amazing and since it was 4 in the afternoon we just felt the vibe ofr awhile and sipped on a litre beer (ummmmmmm) while admiring the other attendees. There were families and older men sitting around chatting and laughing, the beer garden waitresses (Im sure they have a special name) were often older women who would carry at least 8 litre beers around to the tables. all the servers and lots of the people there wore the traditional leiderhosen and the women had their traditional dress which really accentuated the breastal region :).
Second day in Munich and we went to a large flea market which had great stuff. I got a cool red hat, some religious charms, and some gifts to bring home.
also spent the afternoon at the beer garden (beer garden, flea market, and fair with rides and stuff were all in the same park) we met a groups of about 8 German men that were part of a 16th century war reenactment club. and we beer gardened it up with them. There was polka music playing and giant giant pretzels and bratwurst, everything German you could imagine, it was ggreat!!!

Last day we did a walking tour and rented bikes and rode around. This is the most bike friendly city i have ever seen and even on the roads i felt completely safe because the cars give way to bikes! walkers even give way to bikes. There was a nudist meadow in this large park where we saw some sunbathers....very interesting.
Spent one day in the airport trying to figure out if the volcano would let us continue our spring break. flights were cancelled all over the place and so we were trying our train and bus options as well. I almost gave up and was thinking about going to Austria but they finally opened up the next day.
AMSTERDAM:
Arrived to a beautiful day, went to our hostel in a prime location and started wandering the canals of Amsterdam. Something we would end up doing a lot because they were so confusing and I got lost so much!! We actually had some other friends here at the same time so we found them and went to a coffee shop. Walked quickly through the red light district that night just to check it out and see what all the hub ub was about. It was weird for sure. The next day we went to the Ann Frank house and saw the whole thing, the museum is really cool and is the actual house with pictures still on the wall and everything; very moving. Found some markets, a book market and tulip/flower market along the canals and walked them. Had such beautiful weather here that the next day we went to a large park and hung out there, some friends rented bikes so we traded for about hour. Amsterdam is well known for its bike friendly streets and have separate lanes and everything. the canals were really cool and i felt close to the ocean the whole time but kind of closed in because the narrow streets and tall buildings. bought a picnic from the store and enjoyed our last full day of spring break. the next day we headed home around 5 but not before hitting up one more market. thanks mom for giving me an odd love for flea markets. :) love ya.