Easter 2011 in Berlin

Rowan’s always gotten a bad rep for being a Suitcase School – plenty of students stay in Glassboro during the week but once the weekend arrives they all flock home in droves – but I’ve always stayed. I was paying for on-campus housing, so I wanted to get my money’s worth; plus, with a weekend part-time job it just made more sense to stay. I would only go home twice a semester: Me and my dad’s birthday weekend / Spring Break; and Thanksgiving / Easter. Every year, without fail.

Until this Easter.

Easter was never really that big with the Jaworski’s. We’d wake up, my mom would already have the ham in the oven, my sister and I get little baskets, my grandmother (and sometimes my uncle) come over for a nice meal. With me abroad and my sister on a cross-country train ride, my parents did not celebrate Easter.

And I think what I saw of Berlin encompassed some of that sentiment, albeit unintentional. Many Germans are not Catholic so I don’t think it is anywhere near as big a production as it probably was in Italy, Spain or even France. Everyone just sort of went about their business. And if I didn’t have a scheduled Skype date with my parents that night, I might not have really noticed that it was Easter.

For Berlin I’m going to do a little something different. I’m mainly posting photographs with captions, but here are a few highlights:

• Tim and I hopped on the Metro after arriving in Berlin and we picked a station at random to exit. Crazy the kinds of adventures you can have when you don’t plan anything.
• DUNKIN DONUTS IN BERLIN. DUNKIN DONUTS IN BERLIN. DUNKIN DONUTS IN BERLIN.
• Watching street performers right around the American Embassy, which can be seen in my Munich/Berlin video.
• Despite carrying a number of souvenir bags, a backpack and a DSLR camera, a couple of people came up to me and asked me something in German. (I think it was either something like, “What time does the bus leave?” or “Where is the bathroom?”) Unfortunately I couldn’t communicate as well in Germany as I had in Spain and Italy, so all I could say in reply was, “Ich spreche kein Deutsch.”
• Food. Glorious food. 

Author’s Note, Present Day: It’s been over a year since I visited Berlin (and the rest of the places I’ve gone to after Berlin), but I am still very interested in telling my story. Now that I have graduated from college I will have plenty more free time to do as much, and I hope to update more often than I have as of late.

Home! Time to relax — sort of.

Ah, it’s good to be home. Except for the cold, but it certainly could be worse. I could be snowed in at school right now – and while I love the snow, I was about out of food (and more than ready to come home).

But with that, I’m finally done. No more classes, papers, mandatory photographs, presentations, or films to edit – at least for the next four weeks or so. I’m free to see my hometown friends, watch The Pacific (and any other TV shows or miniseries I can find), and just enjoy how close Christmas is now that I’m finished with my semester.

See you in September, Rowan.

On the other hand, I officially moved out yesterday, which was so weird.

Not the moving out itself, but rather that four weeks from now all of my friends will be moving back in while I’m stuck, packing my life in a suitcase here in Hamilton. There’s only a few days’ difference between move-in and my departure, but I’ll notice.

However, in the midst of all that packing yesterday I got some pretty great news: I’ve been selected to be one of EuroLearn’s Video Bloggers next semester! Thanks, EuroLearn!

Now, what does that mean?

Well, I’m given a Flip Video Camera and in return I record and edit a number of video blogs while I’m over in Europe. I’m really excited about it; I had planned to make video blogs while studying abroad, and I’m able to use the Flip even after next semester for my journalism classes. Not to mention that 1. This guarantees that I’ll be updating this blog, and 2. My posts have more flair to them – I’m a fan of multimedia, so I’ll be adding photos and/or video when I can.

This isn’t the first time EuroLearn’s done this; their YouTube channel already has many videos from their two video bloggers this semester. Take a look-see.

I’m not sure what’s ahead for me next month. Hell, I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow, but I’ll figure it out.

Next goal: Going to bed before 3am.

Tick-tock, tick-tock

I kind of can’t wait until the semester ends.

While my final projects and exams have taken their toll, the ticking clock reminds me what little time I have left here. That and the Internet helps.

Almost complete!

Like, EuroLearn – the liaison between me and Kingston – has this really nifty To Do List so I know what forms I have to fill out and when they’re due. It was daunting at first, but I think I like it a lot more from the other side.

A couple of the coordinators have also created a Facebook group, which allowed us to “meet” other students attending our university from all around the country. I’ve talked to some of them so far, and I’m actually on the same flight as three others, so at least I’ll have somebody to possibly talk to on the plane.

Also, Rowan had this “mandatory pre-departure meeting” the other day where someone from the International Center went over some of the main points about living abroad and being safe and all that. Afterwards we were all separated by country (or region for us and the lone girl studying to Scotland), and I met the two guys also going to Kingston; oddly enough, one of them only lives a few doors down from me right now. Small world.

Only two more weeks until I go home, two more weeks…

Module selections

For the past couple of weeks my friends here at Rowan have been comparing schedules: Some elated, some disappointed, others ‘meh’ about it. It really depends on the person, the major, the number of early and/or Friday classes in each schedule…all of those things. And I’ll let them talk it to death, until they turn to me.

“Michelle, what’s your schedule like?” And then I just glare at them.

“Oh yeah, you won’t be here next semester.”

Unlike my other classmates, I scheduled differently. I had to pick six modules (or classes) and get them pre-approved by my advisors by the end of September. Then, when I was accepted into Kingston, I had to write down eight – nitpicking to find two more – and send them in; at least I could do that in the middle of the day. And while I kept telling my friends that I didn’t know what I would be taking, I received an idea: My program coordinator sent me an email letting me know that five modules were pre-approved at Kingston.

• British Life and Culture: The name’s pretty self-explanatory, plus we get to go on trips to places like Stonehenge, the Globe Theatre, Parliament…basically, touristy London attractions, all while learning about British culture and history and all that.
• Victorian Literature: A study of literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria. I’m looking up the era right now on Wikipedia, and I’m glad to see that Charles Dickens isn’t the only prominent author (I’m not a fan but I’m sure I will be by the end of next semester). I’ve actually heard of many of these authors: Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. G. Wells…so this isn’t all bad. This is basically the last general education course I need to take before graduating – and the literature-based course I need.
• Watch the Skies: Science Fiction Television and Film: I cannot wait for this module. It’s like nerdy heaven for me. The only problem with it is that it is a level 3 module (senior-level course for the Americans), so I was already warned that it may be rather difficult. But…science fiction! Hopefully an early start time is its only deterrent.
• Independent Creative Writing: Well, it’s creative writing. Save the spelling differences, it’s probably similar in nature to other creative writing courses. And it’s a great opportunity to write again for fun – or somewhat fun, at least. I hope.
• Vamps, Divas, Tramps, Lolitas: This pretty much equates to a “Women in Film” class, and although I’m not film-oriented, the name drew me in. I mean, look at it. It’s awesome. This is also another level 3 module, so I hope it isn’t as difficult as I’ve been told.

Once I arrive at Kingston I’m told that I’ll drop one or two of these modules, so at least now 1. I have an idea of what I’ll be taking over in London, and 2. I have ample time to decide which one (or two) I’ll drop. Because, from what it looks like, there’s more out-of-class coursework overseas – so five classes might be a bit much.

But even with the level 3 heading, I’m still excited for that sci-fi module.

We all have stories

I miss these shoes. Fell apart, poor things.

Once upon a time I had this crazy notion of seeing the world.

Here I am, a New Jersey native (nothing like what MTV depicts, I assure you) who’s never left the country, who’s never seen the Pacific Ocean, a late bloomer, a college student with a flicker of an idea.

And somehow, with an enormous amount of patience, persistence, and a little stubbornness, I did the one thing not enough people take advantage of: I applied for study abroad. And I got in.

And that’s where the real fun begins.

Hi, I’m Michelle. I’m a junior journalism/RTF dual major at Rowan University reigning from central Jersey (yes, it exists). And for the Spring 2011 semester I will be studying abroad at Kingston University, located in Kingston upon Thames – it’s basically London.

I got the idea for this blog from a fellow Rowan student studying abroad – her name’s Sandy. She works at the International Center, but she will be in France next semester, so we bonded over the massive amount of paperwork we have to in order to make our desires to leave the country possible. Once finding out about my journalism major she suggested writing about it (and getting it published, but I seriously doubt that will happen).

I have a personal blog already, but I have the feeling that people will become annoyed with me very quickly with my talk of London – even if I’ve just left. So I’m making a compromise: Create a new blog under my username – I did the same thing for my Online Journalism class last semester – and devote it entirely to my experiences next semester. That way, it gives people the option of seeing what’s going on in my life “across the pond” without spamming the rest of the world (this is also why I created a Flickr account). See, I’m considerate!

And yes, I don’t leave for London for another two months and change, but I was oddly inspired to get this up, not to mention that I’m currently procrastinating on taking my Film I quiz. Plus I have somewhere to vent when the paperwork pisses me off to no end. Thankfully that part is almost over.

So, this is the start of my story, hopefully a life-changer. What will yours be?