I finished my last test today!!! and I passed! International mikrooeknomik was soooo hard...but I guess in the end it was worth all the studying. Now that I am exhausted, it's time to start packing up my things and paint my walls. That's right, I have to paint my walls because this paint is peeling off with just tape. It looks terrible!! SEE YOU SOON

Food for thought...or something like that

4th of July celebration in Bamberg, and there weren't only Americans celebrating...







Erin rolled around in a chair in the halls wishing EVERYONE happy 4th of July! O us Americans!

The people that check you out at the grocery stores are ridiculous! In Germany, it is normal for one to bag their own groceries; that is not a problem. However, while they are swiping your things, you have to speedily bag because after you pay...they will start ringing up the next customer. It's crazy!! It is like you are at a batting cage but the machine keeps feeding you balls!
**It's going to be weird going back to the States where you have baggers.

Riding bikes with jeans is not a good idea. To date, I have ruined four jeans with the bike...and not because I have fallen!

People from this semester are already leaving...:( Three have already gone including Sarah from England, and Keka and his roomie from Spain. The realization is kicking in that I AM GOING HOME!

COE summerfest party

June 29
I totally wasn't planning to go to this party. My living complex throws many parties, but I typically don't go just because I don't want to drink. However, I feel because my days are numbered here, I should hang out with these people as much as I can. It was a fun night...and I did jello shots which I thought I would never do again after Halloween 05'. For some reason, the Vorgluehen is always in my room!
O...and Omar broke my squirt gun!!

These are the gardens/fields behind COE where I live! I will really miss walking around in the fields of Bamberg! MORE PHOTOS

Life

6/29 BIKE ACCIDENT
So me, the clutz, managed to live through another accident. This accident happened to be on a bike, where Katie and I were trying to make our way to Tapas from COE. After Sebastian pumped up my tire, I pushed myself off and feel right away. Not being fully aware of how critical my fall was, I continued to ride my bike. Katie, on the other hand, also had trouble riding her bike so we decided to return back to COE and take a taxi into the city. While we were talking to Wes, Andreas, Jon, and Beverly, Katie needed to use my washroom. However, she never returned from my bedroom or made it to Tapas for she passed out on my bed!!! Andreas and I ended up taking the taxi to Tapas where we were guided by two German girls to the club. Finally we arrived! The music wasn't very good, but there were a lot of people there. It came to my attention, thanks to Katrina, that I had a rather big blood spot on my shirt. Therefore, I wore my jacket the rest of the night. Because Tapas was rather a drag, Katrina, Shawn, and I made our way to Cali's later followed by Jenny and Sarah. Katrina and I were ready to head back to COE when we bumped into our good friends Andreas and Ted. Ted wasn't finished with his night yet, but Andreas took a taxi with Katrina and I back to COE. A normal taxi wasn't good enough for a Danish guy though; we head to continue a bit until we found a mercedes taxi. On the way back, Andreas and the taxi cab driver were talking about how AMAZING a mercedes is...it was hilarious! After we arrived back to COE, Wes and Andreas continued to keep me up by speaking to me through my window while Katie was still passed out in my bed. Overall, the night was interesting and now I have a huge gash mark in my back!!!

May 28-June 3
This week I visited my great aunt Anni. I had a very nice time. It was like spending a week with your grandmother really. Every day she made a different traditional German meal for me. It was deliteful! She also took me to Esslingen, Stuttgart, and Schwaebisch which were all beautiful cities. In Stuttgart, we went to a museum where old artifacts, such as glass and jewelery from the Roman times, were shown. We also did a bit of window shopping and walked around the campus. In both Esslingen and Schwaebisch we walked around and visited Johakim and Marita's shoe store (my second cousin and wife). Unfortunately it rained most of the time I was there, but I was able to read 2 1/2 books and watched some German tv.

June 14
I went to a party at morph club. There wasn't too many people because it was pouring rain. Beverly and I began our night talking with a very interesting American solider. He was telling us that he is no longer allowed in America because he did something really bad; however he can work for the army....weird. So he came with us to Morph club. Beverly and I were well on our way and decided to have fun with the small crowd there. We basically sandwiched every guy there. One guy bent too far back and spranged my finger. It still hurts! After dancing around for hours, we headed back. Because I was absent of a bike, I made Beverly walk with me. It was raining like cats and dogs...we were soaking! We thought it would be a good idea to try riding the bike together, but that didn't work out so well and we both fell. We were not too badly injured...just minor scratches and a rip in my jeans. Another pair of jeans with a hole in them!!! I can afford that! You seriously ruin so many jeans riding a bike!

June 15-17
This weekend I went with my friend Katie to visit our family friend Hilde. It was a very interesting weekend to say the least. Besides doing the typical shopping, we met up with Claudia (Katie's friend who once studies in America) and toured the city. At night time, we drank some apfel wein and listened to the festive music. The conversations with Hilde were very interesting. Someday you may all meet her when she visits Germany after her operation.

Finals are a month away and then a fly back home! I am really looking forward to seeing everyone when I am back in the states!

Partycipate im Sand

May 22










Just another party off of Sandstrasse. Entritt 4 Euros = night of fun in any club or bar off of Sandstrasse!

Regensburg Half-Marathon

May 20

Today I went to my first half-marthon...I didn't participate, but I was there.
Joined by other exchange students, I cheered on the runners Craig, Katie, Molly, and Theresa.














Katrina and I made these fabolous signs to support the runners, but unfortunately Katie was the only runner to see the sign while running, and that was only after I shoved it in front of her.


Being my first race, I didn't really know what to expect, but it was actually fun to attend and see people finish the half-marathon, which is 13 miles! It is such an accomplishment for these runners and you can see it on their faces as they crossed the finish line.
Some people crossed the finish line single, while others held hands with their significant other or a group of friends. Some children even ran with their parents through the finish line. It was so cute!

I am so glad that I went to experience the half-marthon with the participants!

Chao

May 8-14
Italy was amazing! I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. The cities were beautiful and ancient, the gelatin was delightful and the guys were gorgeous. The Italian boys fulfilled every girl's dream guy: tall, dark and handsome!

May8
The excursion began in Nuerenberg where Beverly (Penn.), Katrina (Clemson) and I took a train to Nue. Because we were running so late, we were not able to buy a train ticket before we got onto the train. This is typically not a good decision to make because the fees are ridiculously high. As predicted, a lady came through the train checking for tickets. After explaining that we needed to get on the train because of our flight to Rome, she decided to let us off our fines and pay nothing at all. We were in so much luck! I have to say, it was so much nicer to fly to Rome then spend over 10 hrs on the train. We arrived around 8pm and headed straight to our headquarter...which was a campsite. I know what you are probably thinking now...'Priscilla stayed at a campsite?!' Yes I did! Well, I guess a typical camper would not consider this an actual camping adventure since we had our private room with bunk beds, but it didn't start off that way. When we first arrived at Camp Tiber, which was 20 minutes from the main city centre, we were placed in a complex that always had the overhead light on, had 4 beds in each room that what was closed off by a curtain, and there were bugs crawling on the walls and beds from the windows being open. Beverly headed back to the reception area and questioned about the safety of this type of environment. Way to go BEV! After little discussion, Camp Tiber put us into our own four bunk room with a lock! We were so happy!
That night, we went to the bar/restaurant and got us some beers. We were in need of something after our day. We headed back to our room and played cars the rest of the night. I know...we are so cool!

May 9
We had an early start after walking to our showers and peeling kiwis with our fingernails for breakfast. We headed straight to Rome's main information center, which was a load of crap. Basically, you don't walk into any tourists' information place unless you know exactly what information you want. We had no idea what there was really to see in Italy besides the common knowledge things such as the Colosseum, Vatican, and the Roman ruins. Eventually we got the information necessary to continue with our scavenger hunt through Rome. Our first stop though was good old McDonald's. All I have to say is that we were on a budget and were so hungry. After our lunch, we headed to the main Archaeological area. There we saw the Colosseum and the Forums. As we were walking in the Colosseum, Katrina broke her flip flop so we needed to find a store to buy new ones. After spending 15 minutes walking around, Katrina walked into a store and the lady offered to staple them...that was the best solution we had found and it worked! As we made our way from Capital Hill, we walked to the Pantheon which is Rome's only intact architecturally monument from classical times. It contains the tombs of many famous people including Raphael and kings and queens of Italy. The Pantheon is an open dome where when it rains, little wholes in the floor drain the water. It is pretty amazing to see!
Our next stop was the Fontana Di Trevi, where the three of us three coins into the fountain because supposedly this means that one day we shall return to Rome...which I hope to do! As we were eating our Gelatin, we wandered towards the Spanish Steps. Here many people sit and enjoy the scenery and company of others. At the time, there was some modelling thing going on, where Asian girls were posing with their flag. I wonder if it was for a Next Top Model show!
Anyways, by this time we were all pretty worn out from walking around all day in the heat, so we headed back to Tiber Campsite where we ate dinner, drank really bad beer, and played cards.

May 10
The next day we woke up a little earlier to visit the Vatican Museum. As we approached, we realized that the line was very long. However, the Vatican was a must see and the line seemed to move pretty quickly, so we waited. Later I found out that the Pope blessed the crowd ever Thursday...so the crowd must have just come from being blessed! Schade I wasn't there. Inside the Vatican was nothing that I expected. It was huge with so many different pieces of artwork. You could have been there the entire day and just see a quarter of the artwork! The highlights of the Vatican included seeing the 'Last Judgment' by Michaelangelo, the Sistine Chapel, and many painting by Michaelangelo and Raphael. It was amazing to see such fine artwork dedicated to preaching the word of God.
Next to the Vatican Museum is St. Peter's Basilica, which claims to house the remains of the apostle St. Peter. Besides a statue of St. Peter where one rubs the feet, the superb baldaquin catches visitors' eyes. It was very beautiful. We climbed the Dome of St. Peter's, which was painted and made by Michaelangelo. Going up was quite difficult. The steps were narrow as well as the walls. The walls ever curved inward the farther up one went. It was definitely worth climbing to the top though because one was able to see picturesque views of Rome.
Our next stop was Piazza Navona or Circus Agonale which traced the shape of the Stadium of Domitian. Here was once were naval battles were staged, but now is a place where many artists paint and sell their pieces of work. We then headed back towards the Archaeological ruins to see Circo Massimo, where the chariot races were held. Currently, there is not many remains besides a few stones, but the shape of the area remains. Our final visit in Rome was to the Roman Baths of Caracalla. The remains we saw were hard to really picture what they once looked like, but it was still a sight! Being our last night in Rome, we decided to actually buy a meal. We went to a pizza place and each bought pizza and a dessert. The Tiramissu was delicious, however I think I still like Chicago pizza the best!


May 11
Today we were traveling to Florence, the heart of art and culture in my eyes. As soon as we arrived, I had to make a few stops. First thing was first, I had no more room on my camera to take pictures so I needed to upload all my Rome pictures to a CD. I also needed to buy new sandals, because like Katrina, I broke my sandals that day in Florence. The sandals I bought were the most uncomfortable shoes I ever worn...but they lasted me through the day. Our first must see was the Academy Gallery which houses the famous 'David' statue by Michaelangelo. He was beautiful! Pictures do not do him justice! The rest of the gallery housed busts, painting, and old artifacts, but the David...o the David.



We then saw the Cathedral of Florence, which was amazing both in the inside and outside. Right next to the Cathedral was Baptistery of St. Giovanni with the famous 'Gate of Paradise' doors. While Katrina waited in line for the Museum of the Uffizi Gallery, Beverly and I wandered around. As we left Katrina, Beverly began to haggle with a guy for a copy purse of Chanel. She brought the price down to 15 euros, but we still walked away because we had no money on us. This was probably a good decision because after returning from Italy, we found out that the replica purses that our friends bought were already falling apart. As we saw the Ponte Vecchio, the city's oldest bridge, the next interesting thing happened. I wanted this girl to take a picture of Beverly and I in front of the bridge, but she bluntly refused and this random guy came up and wanted to grab my camera to take a picture. Of course I didn't give it to him...he was so sketchy!

Beverly and I walked around a little more across the Bridge and realized that shopping is amazing in Italy. We had to get ourselves out of there otherwise we were going to be dirt poor. We headed back to where Katrina was waiting in line so we could enter the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery was really nice to see with millions of well-known paintings. There were so many rooms that my feet were actually starting to hurt so I had to take breaks with Beverly. After we finished walking through the gallery, we headed to the Church of San Lorenzo, where the internal facade was done by Micahelangelo. Unfortunately it was already closed so we could not go inside. The outside was plain for Michaelangelo was not able to finish it.
After our long day in Florence we headed to Venice, where once again we would be staying at a campsite called Della Serenissima. This time it was actually a trailer, but it was not that bad besides being really hot!

May 12
This was our first day in Venice and our last full day in Italy. Venice was definitely my favorite city from all the cities we saw in Italy. We took a boat taxi to the main Lagoon. As we wandered around, we came to the main tourist sight, Piazza San Marco. I knew coming to St. Mark's square that I wanted to feed the pigeons like you see in the movies. As I bought the seeds, I immediately was being attacked by pigeons. It seriously freaked me out! I basically threw the bag to Katrina and let her start feeding the pigeons as I prepared myself. Katrina was being swarmed with pigeons so I decided it was my turn to grab the bag of seeds. I attempted three times to feed the birds and each time I was screaming. It was just so weird to have birds sitting on you and eating from your hand. I believe I attracted many onlookers because I just couldn't keep myself from screaming as the pigeons were on me. Once we finished the bag, the three of us headed to St. Mark's Basilica. It was the most beautiful basilicas that I have seen. It was very medieval looking inside.


Walking around in Venice, we knew that it would be impossible to follow a map, so we basically got ourselves lost. We did see many things including the Clock Tower, St. Mark's Basin, The Sigh Bridge, and the theatre. Mostly, we spent money on souvenirs for us and our families. We also witnessed four weddings...but no funerals. It's a joke...Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Anyways, we came back to our campsite and hung out on our porch area eating dinner and looking at our purchasers. Yes, I gave in a bought a mask with Beverly. It's my first piece of really art that I bought!

May 13
After packing up and storing our bags, we went on a boat taxi that taxied around the Grand Canal. Our destination was the island of Murano. Here we went to a glass factory and witnessed the creation of glass products. We also gave in and bought some jewelry. We then headed to a little cafe and ate spaghetti. It was good but nothing special. I honestly do not understand why people make such a big deal about the pizza and pasta in Italy. The best food we ate there was the Galeto...ice cream! Our next stop was the supposedly one of the world's best known beaches in Lido. Too bad I didn't bring my bathing suit, because the beach was beautiful.
After finishing up our time in Venice, we headed to the airport where we flew to Munich...which took about 30 minutes. It had to be the shortest plane ride I ever was on! Unfortunately we missed our last train to Bamberg, so we stayed in the airport until 4am and then took the first train back to Bamberg.
Overall, Italy was amazing and I would return in a heartbeat!



MORE ITALY PICS

Lotte's Visit

April 12-19
Lieselotte visited




























April 17
Partycipate semester start-up



















































April 20
Usi macht Musi

May 2
Today was a very eventful evening. It began with Romina, Katrina, Wes, Jon, and myself seeing Spiderman 3. It was sooooo good even though it was in German! When the film ended, Katrina and I were suppose to be four German students that will be studying in Clemson for the next school year. Since we still had time to spare, we went with the rest of the group to stand outside of the Atrium and talk. We were also waiting for Omar and Katie to join us. For those of you who don't know, Omar, Katrina, Katie and I all study at Clemson. As we were just minding our own business, a brawl broke out between some youngsters and the police officers!
*First of all, this would never happen in the U.S.
*There would be back up!
Anyways, I guess that there was a big group of young people standing between the Atrium and the bahnhof just drinking. This is kind of strange as it is...and probably not the best place to be drinking. All of a sudden, a policeman supposedly came and took their pictures. I have no idea why they would do this, but eventually he asked to see ids. They do have a drinking age in German ladies and gentleman...16! Instead of just giving the officer their ids, the youngsters decide to cause excitement between the group and the officers by asking for the film and why they need ids...etc. After calling in backup and a lot of wrestling, a police van came and took 6 people away to jail. 5 minutes later there was another uproar and more backup was called in. In the next police vehicle, 3 more people were taken to jail.
Katrina, Romina, Jon, Wes and myself were not the only people standing and watching all this excitement. People came from every direction with their curious minds. There was even a tour bus that passed through. As everyone began to thing the excitement was over, another uproar started but this time with one guy. He eventually got mase sprayed in his face and was taken to jail. What a night!
When Omar and Katie finally met with us, we all headed up to the Dolphin's Diner to meet the four German students. I am happy to say they were all very nice. Talking about Clemson and the U.S. really made me miss home. I am so excited to come back!!

PICTURE ALBUMS ARE FINALLY POSTED!