Sunday, February 25, 2007

Posted 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours, 2 minutes ago

Yes, we visited both countries during our trip. Five of us flew down to Faro, Portugal, and rented a car.  It was the most relaxing and beautiful place! Because of the off-season, there weren’t too many tourists around. We saw Faro, which is the capital of the southern region of Portugal - Algarve. Then we explored the beaches of Portugal. It was not really warm there, so we ended up driving east to Spain’s beautiful beaches and explored their towns as well. This trip was wonderful.

Many people do not usually go to Portugal, and I do not understand why. The towns were beautiful, the people were extremely friendly and the prices were very low.  It was probably one of the cheapest trips I have traveled so far. The weather was gorgeous. It was sunny and in the low 70s. The towns had lots of a type of palm tree, which really enhanced the beach atmosphere. Faro was a very historic town and had an old district that was unique and interesting.

The greatest thing about this trip was that I spoke Spanish to everyone there. The people in Portugal speak Portuguese, but they all understand and can speak Spanish as well. I was so impressed with how well I spoke Spanish. I was able to express myself 100% and understood just about everything that people were saying to me.  I want to thank all of my Spanish teachers, especially Hermana O’Connor. (The seed has definitely grown into a beautiful plant!) I can’t wait to start traveling more in Spain!

I took almost 400 pictures of our trip, but here are some of the highlights:

Portugal:

Spain:

Monday, February 19, 2007

Posted 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, 14 hours, 24 minutes ago

Yes, it’s that time. Ever since Valentine’s Day, our school has been on vacation. I don’t go back to school until my Dutch class next Monday.  This week is an official holiday week for Carnival.

It’s simply hard to explain unless you come here yourself, then I could show you.  Easily put, most of the towns in the south of the Netherlands (which is where I am) party hard during these days before Ash Wednesday (Lent).  My family is Catholic, so I am very familiar with these traditions, but I never thought that it would be celebrated like this here.  The streets are packed with people in costumes singing and dancing and ‘embracing life.’ Everyone is happy and jolly and it all goes on til the break of dawn (I’ve not been a witness to how long it really lasts, but I am just guessing it would stop at sunrise...?). The parade was today through the streets of Breda, and tomorrow night is the finale where it should be the biggest party of Carnival. New Orleans has nothing on Breda!!

I have a paper to write that is due on the 27th, so I must get back to that. On Wednesday, a group of us are going to Brussels to spend the night before our plane leaves early Thursday morning for Faro, Portugal.  We are going to be spending a nice break down on the beaches of the southern-most point of Portugal. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Posted 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 33 minutes ago

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 months, 2 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes ago

Nothing had predicted snow for us - and on the day of my presentation!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 months, 3 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes ago

While browsing through car photos on Nopi’s website, I actually found a photo of my car when we drove into the Atlanta Motor Speedway back in September of 2004 (before my time at Western) for the car show. I have really put my car on hold for my education. It’s an expensive hobby, but you do it piece by piece when you can (except if you can afford it). The reward is to drive it and show it. Unfortunately, I haven’t driven it since I left for DC back in May. I have shown it in Rockingham and Nopi back in 2004, but it will be wonderful to start working on it again after I graduate!!

For those of you who don’t know, Nopi is a motor sports show that is held across the nation throughout the year, and in September, Nopi Nationals is held in Atlanta, Georgia (a must-see for any car/truck/whatever - enthusiast). It’s not such a far trip from Cullowhee, as most of us know. But in the summer, Nopi North Carolina is usually held at ‘The Rock’ in Rockingham, NC. This is more fun for me because you can watch them drag race the whole day! But Hot Import Nights (HIN) is another show held in Charlotte, which is a nice break from all of those hot and sunny car shows (and closer for me).

This is my car (with my old hood) as we entered the actual race track to park for the car show: