Holy Land--Jerusalem

One of the top places I would like to visit, would have to be Jerusalem, or more generally, the Holy Land.  Because of my beliefs and the complex history that goes along with this land, I would love to see what I've read and heard about for so long.  Oddly enough this city is holy to three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  With a long history of wars and political as well as religious conflicts, if you want to know the history, take a look for yourself: http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2


The Temple Mount includes many of the religious sites that are famous in Jerusalem.  Aside from the religious significance of the city, there is also a presence of artistic and cultural contributions.  This includes the Israel Museum, The Jerusalem Theater, The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and The Jerusalem Film Festival are just a few examples.


Here's one performance by the orchestra:


Jerusalem Symphony

View of modern Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount.

The Jerusalem Theater.

While this post can't cover all there is to see and know about Jerusalem, hopefully it has peaked your interest a little bit, I know I want to learn more about this place and one day, I will be able to blog from my personal experience.

Ciao,

Lauren

Take me to the mountains

Because I clearly have an obsession with mountains, I decided I definitely want to visit the Rocky Mountains someday.  And also, they are actually in the United States, unlike most of the other mountain ranges I've learned about/posted about in this blog.


The Rocky Mountains stretch around 3,000 miles from northern British Columbia all the way to New Mexico.  In both Canada and the US, the mountains attract many visitors each year to the national parks that have been created as a part of this range.  Yellowstone National Park is one of the most well known of these parks and contains a super volcano, the Yellowstone Caldera.

The highest peak is at 14, 440 feet at Mount Elbert in Colorado.  While I have not skied in about 5 years, I think it would be really cool to be able to ski somewhere within this mountain range someday.  Not only this, but I would really like to go hiking (perhaps somewhere that's warmer and also when the weather is warmer.)  In sum...well you know I love mountains.  :)

For more info: http://www.rocky.mountain.national-park.com/

Ciao,

Lauren

NYC

I know, I know, it's unbelievable that I have never been to New York City.  But for that very reason I want to visit as soon as possible.  I'm already a fast walker, so what more could I do to prepare?  Thankfully, my relatives are all cooler than I am, and one of my cousins goes to NYU, so I'm also plotting a trip to visit her next semester (if funds allow) :)

So..I'm going to talk about some things I would like to do on my one or I'm sure, more trips to NYC.  Of course there are endless possibilities...and these may be very touristy, but unless you live in NYC, what else are you going to do there?

1. Visit the Statue of Liberty-a giant woman with a torch, what could be better?

2. Stroll through Central Park.

3. See a Broadway show (preferably something I like or have heard of before)

4. Go shopping... of course.

5. Travel to the top of the Empire State Building.

Those are my ideas for now...so if you've ever been to New York, tell me about what you've done and some things I should do/see when I go!  

Ciao,

Lauren

Morocco

Through the advice of my friend Rodney, I'm going to talk about some places to see in Morocco as well as some advice when you visit this country on the northern tip of Africa.  Suggested places to visit include:

1. Fez

2. Meknes 

3. Marakech 

4. Rabat 

5. Casablanca

6. Chefchouen 

7. Essaouira

People there are usually willing to talk to you as well, however it does help knowing a little French or Arabic as most speak one or both throughout the country.  Another experience Rodney said any visitor should have is a trip to the market, as it's basically just an overload of everything going on at once.  One tip he gave is that it is best to haggle for anything you buy, and they usually over charge non-natives...so be careful not to spend more than you should.  :)

Morocco is also super close and easy to reach from Spain, so when I return to Spain/Europe, I'm definitely going to take a trip over to Morocco for a few days.

For more info: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco

Ciao,

Lauren

India

Known most often for its poverty and living conditions, India intrigues me.  Having talked to a couple people who have visited this country, I've heard that in some strange way, it's terrible but wonderful at the same time.  I feel like this is an experience I need to have.


Located in South Asia, most interesting to me about this location is the difference in culture.  Having a long history of strict social hierarchy, many Indians live in segregation.  As a part of their culture, religion is also a huge influence on their lives.  I would think it would be very interesting to visit a country where Christianity is not the dominant religion, which may be partially because I am Christian and differences in beliefs fascinate me.  Hinduism and Buddhism are the largest religions in India.


Two sites I would love to see that may be touristy in nature are, the Taj Mahal and Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi.

Built in the 17th century, the Taj Mahal is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

Built in the shape of a lotus, it is known as the Lotus Temple, and was completed in 1986 and is meant to be a place where those of all religions could come and worship God.

Northern India also features the Himalayan mountains...you know I want to see those.  (there's just something aesthetically romantic about mountains...)  :)

More than anything, if I go to India someday, I think I would like to go in order to serve in some way.  I don't know how I could help or what organization I could go with, but I feel like that would be an awesome way to experience this country specifically.

Ciao,

Lauren

Chi-town

While I haven't visited this wonderful city yet myself (plans are in the works for next semester), I talked with my lovely sister who attends DePaul University, and she gave me some pointers of places to see/visit while in Chi-town.  Beginning with the most popular and moving toward the general:


1. The Bean-sculpture in Millennium Park

2. Sears Tower-now Willis Tower (a necessity to visit this, especially the sky deck)

3. Take a ride on the Brown Line uptown...according to my sis, there is a great view.

4. Cupcake shops--Molly's Cupcakes

5. Giordano's Pizza--apparently one of the best.

6. A comedy group called: Second City, famous for many of its performers going to SNL.

7. Water Tower Place-only mall in downtown Chicago.

If I wasn't excited to visit Chicago before...I am now pumped to go!  Has anyone been there?  Tell me about it!  :)

Ciao,

Lauren

Culture Shock...don't let it get you down.

Whether you're just going on vacation or planning to live abroad or even visit for a few days, culture shock is a very real possibility.  Sometimes, it doesn't even kick in until a few days later, it is not always immediate.  Being in a new place can be so exciting that, it just doesn't happen until you start getting homesick.  In case you're unsure of what culture shock is, here's a definition: Culture shock is the difficulty people have adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from their own.  The shock of moving to a foreign country often consists of distinct phases, though not everyone passes through these phases and not everyone is in the new culture long enough to pass through all five.


The five phases you may go through are: the Honeymoon Phase, the Negotiation Phase, the Adjustment Phase, the Mastery Phase, and General Note.  Not everyone goes through all the phases, and if you've traveled enough, culture shock may not happen at all or may be for a shorter period of time.

A different way of looking at the process of culture shock.

For me, I can trace the different phases from my experience in Spain.  The Honeymoon Phases lasted a few days, but not quite a week.  I fell in love with Spain, and while I compared everything to the US, I adored the country.  After moving in with my host family and living in Granada for a few days, I found a new frustration with the language and the siesta hours, in which I could not go shopping even though I had free time.  While adjustment is supposed to take 6-12 weeks, I think I went through an adjustment period of my own and was well adjusted for the following weeks (for about 3 weeks), and I spent that time just enjoying the differences and trying to enjoy my time there.


There was definitely some frustration involved in this process, however I also found I had to experience it all over again when I came back.  Everything here seemed different and I went through the phases all over again.  It took about two months I think to fully adjust back to the point where I wasn't missing/talking about Spain every single day.  I still talk about Spain and often think how it seems better there than here, but I've also been able to enjoy the comforts of home again.


Some things you can do when you're going through the phases:


1. Keep in contact with friends/family at home.
2. Write postcards.
3. Take pictures.
4. Enjoy opportunities/sites around you.
5. Get to know/make friends in the culture you're living in.


For more information, do a Google search.. :)


Ciao,


Lauren

Poland...of more interest than most

For some reason, Poland seems to have the most appeal of any of the other countries I've talked about, perhaps because it seems to hold more interest and I don't know very much about it.  While somewhat obvious, Warsaw is definitely one location in Poland I would like to see.  In particular, historical sites related to World War II are very popular, such as the remains of the Warsaw Ghetto.

Warsaw.

As in many other places, Poland has a lot of natural beauty, which is something I am most interested in and hope to see when I travel to these places some day.  Of course seeing cities and architecture are really awesome as well, but nothing can compare to witnessing creation as it is.  With many different attractions across the country, one option is Święty Krzyż, or Holy Cross mountain.  This mountain has a somewhat dark history, believed to have been used to practice witchcraft by witches, dating back to the 9th century.  This area is now a monastery dating back around 1000 years.

A part of the monastery.

Besides these, there are many different tourist destinations both related to nature or history, or whatever you may strike your interest!  So...Ja nie mowie po Polsku, (I'd really like to learn though), Do zobaczenia!  :)

Ciao,

Lauren

Slovakia

While perhaps lesser known, Slovakia is a country in Central Europe with a population of over five million.  Not knowing very much about geography, I was not aware that Poland and Ukraine are neighboring countries, so it makes sense that along with Slovakia, these three countries make up my heritage on my mom's side, with Irish and German coming from my dad.

Like the Ukraine, Slovakia's borders contain the Carpathian Mountains, and out of all the places I've blogged about thus far, I'm convinced that every place in the world must have mountains, except Ohio, of course.  ;)  The majority of Slovakia is Slovaks, with the second largest group being Hungarian.  A majority of the country consists of Roman Catholics, however the Slovak constitution guarantees religious freedom.

As with many other European countries, tourism consists largely of historical sites.  In particular, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts are the most popular to visit.  A majority of the visitors come from other European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany.

Two popular locations include Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and the High Tatras, one of the mountain ranges in Slovakia.

Bratislava Castle.

High Tatras, mountains bordering Slovakia and Poland.

Ciao,

Lauren

D.C. yeah that's where I wanna be!

Okay.  Back to the U.S. for a moment.  (Don't worry I know you're anxious to hear about Poland and Slovakia).  One place that I've actually been, is Washington D.C., and I LOVE it.  I've been there a number of times in the past few years.  The first of those times was during a visit to Philly, we headed over to do the tourist thing for a few days.  The next time was an Alternative Break where we served in the D.C. area over Thanksgiving Break two years ago.  And then a short time later, I had the opportunity to go for the March for Life parade in 2009. As the capital of our nation, it would take more than a day to see everything there is to see in D.C.  I'll give you some highlights of my trips there.


The first time was in 2008 with my family:

My sister and I in front of the White House.

At the World War II Memorial.  Ohio.  :)

And...here are a few from my Alternative Break Trip:

At the Jefferson Memorial.  

Serving at SOME (So Others Might Eat)

From the March for Life:

Rallying.

At one of the museums we stopped in.

I'm thankful that I have not only experienced the tourist side of D.C. but also the urban (through service and walking the city), as well as the political side from the March for Life.  I would recommend, if you ever get the opportunity to go there to go for different reasons if you can, whether it's just to check out a restaurant or concert nearby, you can also check out the tourist sites.  It's great to be able to experience every aspect of an area.  And I love D.C.--I can't wait until I can go back again someday!

Ciao,

Lauren