Jet lag can't touch me...

Hey everyone!

So as the title suggests, I haven't (thankfully) had any issues with jet lag, which makes this trip even more enjoyable. In these past few days I've been able to sample various foods that China has to offer. I've also gotten to experience the joy of Chinese traffic/transportation. I think I understand where they got the idea for the game Frogger; needless to say, by the time I go home I'll be a pro at the game. I also got to go see the Yellow Crane Tower, a "historic" landmark. I include the quotations because the current tower was built in 1982 (?). However, the original tower was built hundreds of years ago and has been rebuilt many times. I got a good view of city from the top, and even got to ring a huge bell in the courtyard.

We've also gotten to relax quite a bit, which has been nice. We've watched a couple of movies, gone for walks, gone to Joey and Stephen's basketball game, and even gotten Pizza Hut pizza. This morning (Sunday) we went to fellowship (maybe 30 foreigners), at which a different member volunteers to give the message every week. The rest of the day has been pretty relaxing; eating and playing games and working on a puzzle.

Until next time.

Zhong guo huanying nin

By the way, that means "Welcome to China" (according to Jenny)

That's right, after countless hours in planes and airports I've finally arrived. The flights were long, but uneventful, which is just fine with me. We've started off slow (for my sake, something about jet lag), so far I've gotten a tour of the area, lost a game of Settlers, chatted with the police, and had a two hour foot, back, and lower leg massage (all for around $10). We're going out for supper tonight when the boys get back from school; I haven't actually seen them yet (awake).

The dog's even warming up to me now.

Heading out soon

So I haven't posted on here in forever, but since I'm going to China, and am not sure how often I'll be able to get on Facebook, I'll be posting on here.

I leave in just a few days (Tuesday to be exact), and will be busy packing until then I'm sure. I'm excited to get going; I'm sure it will be an adventure. At least last time I traveled to a different continent I spoke the language over there; I know just a few phrases of Chinese (and I'm sure I'll be butchering the pronunciation).

Either way, I'm looking forward to my time over there visiting the Gronseths and the Bankers and getting to experience a new culture (not quite as excited for the hours in planes). Next time I post I should be on the other side of the world!

Finishing up Valladolid (and hopefully Spring break!)

Hola chicos, 

So Friday was our graduation ceremony at the Plaza de Santa Cruz.  Everyone got called up and given a diploma and shook hands with a school official.  Afterwards there was tons of picture taking, as well as some tables filled with food.  After awhile people started drifting off in small groups, until I was one of the last ones left, so I went home too.  I didn't really do anything that afternoon, but that evening a small group of us (the majority that was still left in Valladolid) went out for Doner Kebab one last time.  Yesterday (Saturday) I started my packing.  I've made some good progress so far, but I've got some work ahead of me before my dad shows up tomorrow.  I did take some time off from packing to go meet up with Rut, from my Bible study, and we went to a cafe and chatted for awhile.  She had choir practice at the church I go to, and she invited me to come listen to them practice, so I did for awhile.  I came back home, ate supper, and packed a tad bit more...but now it's time to return to my adventures over spring break.

The following day I went out to Wawel castle in town with the guy from Canada, Dave.  I took everything with me, and just went to the train station to meet up with Brenna Dee, my traveling buddy.  Once she arrived we went to get our Eurail passes validated...turns out no one in the city of Krakow knows anything about Eurail passes, because we couldn't find anyone who knew anything about validating them, even though you can buy them for Poland.  We got a ticket to the border, and were told to talk with the people in the Czech Republic.  After that fun adventure we went back into the center of the town, where we picked up some lunch at the market and wandered around for a bit.  Later, we went back to the train station and waited for our train to show up, which we rode to the border, where we tried talking with the people there.  They also had no idea what was going on, but thankfully they let us on anyways.  

We finally arrived in Prague the next morning, and asked all around the station for the location of the Eurail aid office, which according to the booklet we had received was around somewhere.  We eventually realized that it was at a different station in Prague, so we walked over to that station, only to be told that it was at the first station we were at, turns out the booklet is wrong.  The lady was nice enough that she called the number for us and found out the exact location for us, so we hiked back and finally got our passes validated.  We dropped our packs off in some security lockers and took the metro into the town center.  I went into a cathedral, and then we both went into this castle on the top of the hill overlooking the city, and checked out a museum about the area and a basilica.  After stopping for a Starbucks drink, we continued on and bought some food for lunch, which we ate on some famous bridge.  We proceeded to walk around the town, then went and bought some food for supper, which we ate on the front steps of a museum before heading back to the castle/hill to take some night shots of the city.  We returned to the train station and waited until our train to Austria.  One of the guys in our train compartment happened to be from the same home town as Brenna Dee; small world!  

The next morning we arrived in Salzburg, Austria, around 10 in the morning.  We moved into our hostel, and then headed into town and grabbed some lunch.  On one side of the city is this big hill, so we took an elevator up to the top, and explored the trails up there, as well as some ruins

 of some old fortifications.  From the top we could see the mountains we would be going to out in the distance.  We went back to the hostel for a little bit, then we went out to the Mirabell gardens, which is suppose to be related to "The Sound of Music" somehow, but I'm not sure how.  After that we stopped by a store and picked up some food for supper, then went back to the hostel to eat.  After dinner Brenna Dee had to work on a computer, so I started playing cards with some girls I had heard speaking English, so I got to hang out with them for a while before watching part of "The Sound of Music."  As I was watching it, a girl came up to me and asked me if I could help with her computer because it wasn't connecting with the internet.  As we were talking I found out that she was a student at UW-EC too, and was studying abroad in Germany for the semester!  It was pretty late by that point, so I went off to bed.  

The following day we took a train to the town of Innsbruck, the home of the 1976 Winter Olympics, and we explored the town for a bit before heading back to the train station.  We decided to take a different route than we had orginally planned, and were able to leave slightly earlier than planned.  We got to the town of Interlaken, Switzerland alittle after midnight, only to find out that there were no more trains, and that the station was closed for the night.  Whoops.  We walked through the town a few times to stay warm, and around 1 AM decided to go into a casino we had walked past a few times, since nothing else was open and we figured they would have heat.  The lady working the front desk was nice and didn't make us pay the 5 franc cover fee since it was so late.   I played my first casino game (slot machine), but I didn't win anything because I didn't know what I was doing (all of the instructions being in German didn't really help any).  It wasn't really a big deal though, because I only spent 2 francs the whole time I was there (under 2 dollars).  When the casino closed we went back over to the station and sat down and played some cards, before actually falling asleep for awhile.  Around 4:40 a station worker came biking up, but when she saw us waiting there she wasn't very happy and told us to leave (I think she thought we were homeless bums).  We started getting our stuff together, and I decided to ask her what time the station opened.  I'm pretty sure she didn't speak any English, because she started freaking out in German, and the only thing I understood was she was going to call the police or something, so we got out of there in a hurry.  We walked up and down the town once more, and then it was time for our train (6 AM), which took us to the city of Lauterbrunnen, but I'll write about that another time.  My dad gets here in a few hours, so I better finish with the packing!

Coming to an end

Hello again, my life has once again been quite crazy, but I find myself with some free time, so I'll (try to) post about what's going down and the end of spring break.  

I'm officially done with everything over here, this past Monday and Tuesday were finals, and we just got our grades today.  It's so weird to think about, the time has gone so fast and yet so slow at the same time.  Other than studying, I've been busy with goodbyes (sad day).  On Sunday our church had a going away party for us, which was a lot of fun, but sad at the same time.  I'm blessed in that I'll get to go to church again this Sunday, but I think I'm the only one.  They sang us some songs, had pictures, videos, and food.  A couple of us also sang "Grace Like Rain" for them.  Tuesday was our last Bible Study, so we met at our bar/cafe one final time for our study.  A few of them didn't have anything going on that Wednesday because of a holiday in Valladolid, so we made plans to get together.  The following day we went to the "beach" (the water's not safe for swimming) and had a picnic lunch and played frisbee.  It was a beautiful day out, and a blast to just relax and hang out with friends.  That evening we went to a bullfight, my first one.  I'm not really a fan of blood and whatnot, but it was a good experience, even if we were sitting in the sun (cheapest seats!).  We've all gone out these past few nights, going to Doner Kebabs, hanging out, playing darts, fun stuff like that.  We've got our "graduation" ceremony tomorrow, and then almost everyone is leaving Valladolid.  A majority are heading straight home, a few are traveling, and I'm hanging around til Sunday, when my dad gets here.  We're go

ing to travel for a week, then head back to the states, where I'll have 2.5 days at home before camp starts up.  Ok, it's time to catch up more with spring break.

So, after spending the night in Portomarin, I got up and eventually caught a bus to Lugo, a city I knew nothing about.  When I got there I wandered around until I found a 12 Euro single person hostel room (let's just say it was 12 euros for a reason...at least it had a lock, so I felt safe).  I went out and explored the city, and found that there is an old roman wall in the middle of the city, which also marks the more touristy part.  I spent most of the day just relaxing though, because I was still sore from the Camino.  The following morning I got up nice and early to catch the 9:30 bus, only to find out that it was only on the weekends, so I waited around the station for an hour and a half.  I got to Santiago around lunch time (in Spain that is) and found a 10 euro hostel room.  After dropping off my pack I went out around the town, and then went to the Cathedral of Santiago, the ending point of the pilgrimage.  While I was there I saw the crypt where they think the Apostle James and two of his disciples are burried, and sat through part of a mass.  I then went for a walk through a park nearby, where there was a Christian group holding activities for kids and doing surveys a

nd such.  I volunteered for a survey, and afterwards the kid invited me to the meetings they were having all the week in the evening.  I was looking over the invitation he gave me when I realized that my watch had gotten messed 

up, and it was actually Thursday and not Wednesday, and that my train to Madrid left that night!   Thankfully I realized this a few hours before my train left, so I was able to get to the station with time to spare.  I got on my train, and went to bed (it was a sleeper car, so I had an actual bed that was about 6 feet long, when I stretched out flat my head and feet were touching).

I didn't actually see anything in Madrid, other than the metro and the airport, where I waited for several hours.  While waiting in line to board I heard the two people in front of me speaking English, so I starting talking with them.  The plane ended up being an hour late, yet somehow we only arrived 30 minutes behind schedule.  When I got to Milan I realized that since I hadn't booked this hostel, I forgotten to print off directions and my phone didn't work in Italy.  The people I had met in the airport had forgotten their directions too, so we went to a nearby hotel, and thankfully the worker was really nice and got directions for us.  After taking the metro to the right part of town I walked to the hostel and checked in, where I met 5 others from my school who happened to be in Milan at the same time as me.  We chatted for awhile, and then all went to bed.

The following morning the others left to continue their trip, and I moved my stuff over to another hostel for the day.  I got there too early to check in, so I left my stuff there and went out.  I ended up going to the Leonardo Da Vinci Scienc

e Museum, and got to see some of his drawings, and learn about things like glue sticks and televisions.  I went back to the hostel after that and talked with my new roommates for awhile, and then went out to a castle in town, followed by an aquarium (not as cool as th

e one in Lisbon, but free!).  That night I just chilled in the hostel and talked with one of the owners because she was from Spain, so I was able to practice a little bit.  The following morning I got up early and took the metro to the airport, where I waited for awhile before boarding my plane to Krakow.  After the plane landed they made us all get on a bus to take us to the terminal, which ended up being less than 30 feet away.  I took a bus into town, and was lucky enough to find my stop on the first time around (I had no idea how to say the name) and found my hostel.  I got checked in, and walked into the city center.  Since it was Easter Sunday, I went to the basilica, and thought about going to a service, but realized that I wouldn't understand anything.  There was also a market in the city center, so I bought a waffle-like thing with whipped cream and sprinkles (really good!) before heading back to my hostel.  I met the guys staying in my room (one from Canada and one from Australia) and we hung out and played some cards before going out for supper, where we found a really good meal for really cheap (I love traveling to places where the dollar is actually stronger).

Well, I think that's good for now, so I'll write some more tomorrow or Saturday.  Until then!

Long overdue (otherwise known as the beginning of spring break)

Hey everyone, so I realize this is a little (or a lot) late, but I've finally got free time again, so better late than never, right? These past couple of weeks have been insanely busy, what with spring break, regular homework, school excursions, and a ten (Spanish sized) page research paper, but with the paper out of the way I can get back to this. In this post I'll share about the first half or so of spring break, and write the rest another time, so this doesn't get too long (yeah right).

For those of you who don't know, the Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage with the main route starting in southern France and going to Santiago de Compostela, a city in the northwest part of Spain, with the destination being the cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, where they think the remains of the Apostle James and two of his disciples are located. I walked with Erin, Ian and Eric, and we started in the town of Ponferrada, 200 km from Santiago. Not long after we got there we met this young woman from Germany, Vicky, that was just starting too. She had came by herself, so we invited her to walk with us, at least for part of the time. We set off the following morning around 8, and ended up walking for 29.3 km the first day, and we stopped in this little town called Pereje. While we were at the albergue (hostel for pilgrims on the Camino), we also met these two guys each with one of their children, from Murcia, staying at the same place, and they showed us these elevation charts they had of the Camino, so we could see the hill that we would have to tackle the following day. We decided that we would walk to a small town a few kilometers past the summit of the hill, and just hung out and got ready for bed.We were in bed by 10, for the first time since I've been in Spain, haha.

The next morning we were up at 6:30, because you want to get as much walking done early in the day before it gets hot, and to make sure you get a spot at an albergue (more of an issue during the summer). The first couple of hours weren't too bad, the path followed the road weaving amongst the hill through the valleys, so it was pretty flat. Eventually we reached the hill, and started up. It was tough and it took quite a while, as we had to go up over 1000 meters in elevation. Vicky and I stopped at this little village near the top, and she went into a bar to get a bottle of water. While she was there she also found out that the albergue we wanted to go to was closed for renovations, so when we caught up with the others we decided to just wait and see how we were feeling after reaching the top before making our decision as to where to stop. We finally reached the top and the path more or less leveled out; the view was beautiful, we could just look back and see all the hills and valleys that we had walked through up until then. As we walked along the top, we also crossed over the border from Castilla y Leon to Galicia, and not long after that we came to the village. Vicky decided to stay there for the night because she had a lot of bad blisters, but the rest of us decided to go another 9 kilometers to another albergue. We set off, and it was brutal. Both Erin and I weren't feeling too good, and the path involved several big inclines that really slowed us down. We finally got to Alto de Poio after walking a total of 31 km. It wasn't actually a town, just a bar with an albergue in the back and a hostel across the street. The albergue there was the smallest, dirtiest, and coldest one we stayed in the whole time, and we had to buy something to eat from the bar because there was no grocery store for kilometers.

Day three was the most miserable weather-wise, it sprinkled or rained pretty much all day so some of the paths were pure mud. We had to walk up a hill that was pure mud, and I thought for sure Erin or Ian were going to fall and slide all the way down because they weren't using walking sticks like Eric and myself, but we made it up. Later on in the day we had to walk through some small hills, and it was so foggy you couldn't see more than 15 ft. in front of you. Eric walks faster than Erin or I, so soon we lost sight of him. We figured he would get a little ways up, and then stop and wait for us, but after 1/2 hour we still hadn't seen him. Even after we finally got out of the fog we couldn't see him anywhere, so we just kept walking, hoping to find him. I think we walked 15 km or so without any big breaks because we were looking for him. We finally found him at the town of Sarria, waiting for us. We went to the public albergue in town, and got some beds. Us guys went out shopping for some supplies and some food, and we went back and made a ton to eat, it was sooo good after a hard day of hiking. All in all we went 32 kilometers that day.

Day four was my last day of hiking, because I only had 2 1/2 days to walk 113 kilometers so I could catch my train down to Madrid. The walking was fine; we actually had to get off the Camino at one point because there was a herd of cows coming down the path and there wasn't room to go around them. Only in Spain (or Wisconsin I think). We also stopped at the 100 kilometer marker, and took our picture by it. I stopped in the town of Portomarin, after walking 23 kilometers, but the others went on because they didn't have to catch a train as soon as I did. I went to the albergue, and went out to get some food. When I came back, I found one of the guys from Murcia and his son Jorge playing cards, so they invited me to play with them. We played some American games, and then Nico, the other dad, came back to the albergue with his daughter Maria, and we all played a Spanish card game with a Spanish deck. When they found out that I was by myself, they invited me to eat supper with them, so that was really cool just getting to hang out with them. We hung out a little bit longer, and then it was time for bed.

Alright, that's good for now, I'll post some more later on this weekend, so talk to all of you later!

Only one week til break!

Hello everyone, sorry I'm running late again, I don't even have a good excuse like studying for tests or anything like that this time. The rest of last week was pretty laid back. Two Thursdays ago was Father's Day in Spain, so we didn't have school. Because of this, a lot of people skipped school on Friday to go traveling, so there were only 3 of us in class, so we played games in two of the classes, pretty relaxed. The weekend as a whole has very low key, I didn't do much other than go to an outlit mall and regular mall, church on Sunday, and a friend from church's concert. The concert was really fun; I ended up being the only American that went, so I hung out at the concert with one of the girls from our Bible Study. Afterwards she introduced me to a few people, and then I went to Burger King to eat some dinner, and as I was eating, the people I had just met came walking in! They invited me to sit with them, so I got to hang out with them and practice my Spanish.

The past week was normal, didn't do anything too exciting, just school and school work, with Bible Study (always a high point of the week) thrown in. Friday night I went out to Pizza Hut with some friends and had some nice greasy pizza, and then a few of us went to a supermarket and split some ice cream. I made sure not to be out too late, because today we had an excurision, and had to leave at seven in the morning. The bus ride was about 3 hours both ways, so I was able to get a little sleep there and back, as hard as that is for me on a bus. They don't really make seats for tall people. We went to Las Médulas, an old Roman gold mine. This trip was quite different from our normal ones where we go see cathedrals and castles, but it was a good change. We did a lot of hiking, including up a big hill (everyone was dying on the way up), and got to go into a few caves. Going up the hill was tough, but the view from up top was amazing and worth it in my mind. I'm going to put a picture or two up, but they don't really do it justice. I went out with friends tonight, but came back early so I can get enough sleep for church tomorrow. Ah yes, also, we have our time change tonight, so I will once again be 7 hours ahead of everyone back in the states.

Just in case you haven't heard yet, my parent's sold our house and are going to move before I get back. Well ok, I did know about this before hand, but I still think it sounds funny and makes for a good story. We're going to stay in/around Eau Claire, but at this point haven't found anything. Well I better get to bed here, so have a good night and enjoy the pictures!