Entry 16 - 11/29/11

Dear Readers,

Well, here we are at the end of the school semester. It has come quickly and I am amazed at all of the experiences and that I will be going home before long. We ended the last week of the semester wrapping up classes/finals and checking off the last components of our cultural bucket lists. Though David and I won't be following everyone else home right away, it has been tough to begin our goodbyes with all the friends we have made this semester. This semester has been a great opportunity to learn about European culture as I have also learned that there is more out there in God's world beside Americans. I would recommend studying abroad to anybody. There is nothing quite like it. However, keep praying for me as I finish up my travels through the UK until I fly home (sort of home --> Singapore). We will start in Dublin, move to Edinburgh, continue to Cardiff, and then finish in London. It will be a busy finish, but a fun one. Pray that I will not lose focus and that my reliance would be on Him.

Thanks,

Hayden

P.S. I will probably add one or two more posts while in the UK before I'm done. Thank you for those who have been reading.

Entry 15 - 11/21/11

Dear Readers,

Here we are back in Regensburg. Sorry for having not written in over two weeks. The last two weeks have been hectic in a strangely good way (other than keeping up on my blog). We most recently just finished visiting Austria and Northern Italy. As part of our Art History class we spent a lot of time touring famous museums and churches to get a better understanding of how Western Art developed in Europe over the last couple Milleniums. However, before we were in Austria and Italy we began our two week adventure with a train to Memmingen, Bavaria...

After finishing the Bonhoeffer class, David and I took a train from Regensburg to fly out of the Ryan Air airport with our destination as Girona, Spain. We spent one night in Girona after walking around the city on an ancient wall that allows you to see the entirety of the surrounding cities and forests. Though it was raining we enjoyed seeing a smaller town of Spain before heading into the bustling night life of Barcelona. On Sunday the 13th we headed to Barcelona where we spent one night (we wish we had at least two, but it was great to at least go for a day) in a really cheap hostel that was amazingly located 20 yards from the beach. We were able to walk from our hostel to tour the city and see the awesome sites such as  all the shops at Las Ramblas and the unique structure of the church Sagrada Familia. On Monday we flew from Barcelona to Madrid and landed just in time to get some dinner and get settled down at our hostel before checking out a little bit of the city. Tuesday we went on a walking tour led by a hostel tour guide of the city to see the major sites and learn a little bit of Spanish history. Spain was a very intriguing culture with their North African and European influences. We also learned that their Spanish is not quite Mexican Spanish (and they will let you know it). On Wednesday we departed Madrid and flew into Marrakesh, Morocco. Once we landed we jumped right into the culture as we had to haggle for a cab and then drove through the city on unmarked roads that were somewhat reminiscent of watching an episode of the Amazing Race. We met up with some other classmates at their hostel before David and I split up as I joined a group that was headed to Fez and David decided to spend more time in Marrakesh. Morocco brought on  plenty of fun, but it also became a good learning experience; It was my first time interacting in an entirely Muslim culture. Instead of touring Cathedrals were looking up mosques and the different prayer times of the day as well as not seeing very many women without their head coverings. We were also able to spend plenty of time in the famed markets of Marrakesh and I am still not sure whether looking through and buying gifts is more fun than haggling for an extremely low price. After spending our last few hours trying some local food and grabbing a last few items, David and I headed from Morocco back to Memmingen via Rome. Once back in Germany, we took a train from Memmingen to Salzburg to meet up for the start of the Art Tour...

Once in Salzburg, our class began our tour with some delicious Austrian famed cuisine: The Schnitzel. Actually we started our tour with a walk around Salzburg to visit some of the many sites from the Sound of Music. It was kind of odd to see so many familiar scenes from a movie we all had seen at some point growing up. After Salzburg we headed to Venice for two nights where we went through the Doges Palace and St. Marks Cathedral as we began to learn about the various artistic influences of northern Italy. We then had time to walk around the famed city's canals and look at the various shops with masks and Venetian glass before getting some delicious Italian food. On Wednesday we headed to the world renowned city of Florence, known for its wide range of famous Italian art pieces. For several hours we checked out hundreds of pieces of Art that were absolutely astounding. I now have a somewhat better appreciation for why people go to see art in person; seeing paintings and sculptures (with the help of a professor) in person adds a whole extra dimension to the piece. I was especially impressed with Michelangelo's David, which is an amazing sculpture with such amazing detail put in stone depicting the young Bible hero. After some more delicious Italian pizzas and pastas, we left for the coastal cities of Cinque Terra. Though we were no longer focused on art, we were able to see some natural beauty as we traveled between the famous coastal cities that creep over the edges of mountains along the Liguria Sea. We spent Saturday hiking and walking through the towns before a number of us splurged on a seafood dinner made of local cuisine. Sunday (yesterday) we drove back to Regensburg despite some setbacks, and arrived around 1am this morning. Today we begin our last week of Art History and David and I will be leaving in about 9 days for the U.K. Pray for us as we finish up the semester that we will finish strong. We have been blessed with an awesome semester. Thanks for your prayers.

From Regensburg,

Hayden

Entry 14 - 11/3/11

Dear Readers,

Another week has gone by and so much seems to happen each and every day. This past weekend I took a train up to Berlin to visit Felix, a friend who was a foreign exchange student at Horizon for a year. Friday night (Oct. 30) I spent the night in the hostel while Felix was at work and met him the next day. He showed me a little more around Berlin that I hadn't seen the first time I had been up there. I was also introduced to my first German curry wurst followed by a Donner Kebab.We then spent the afternoon/evening hanging out, playing video games, and getting our Halloween costumes ready. We went out that night into Berlin as zombies, (some pretty legit costumes I might say), and went to different parties with all sorts of Halloween goodies, decorations, and the whole nine yards. It was a great time to catch up with Felix, I only wish I had longer. Sunday I headed back to Regensburg on the train to get ready for class the next day.

This past week has been quite a learning experience, going over German history during WW2 with and emphasis on the life of Bonhoeffer and others of the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer is a great theologian and left quite a legacy of a life lived in difficult situations. I would highly recommend reading a little bio on his life as well as his book The Cost of Discipleship. This week, despite classes, has also been quite eventful in itself. It is fun to go work on homework in the old city and check out various cafes. Yesterday we visited Nuremberg and the rally grounds. The museum was very informational on the history behind the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party and their reign through the end of the war. I had no idea that Hitler had plans for so many monstrous buildings near and around the rally grounds, and had only completed the famous stadium and part of the "Colosseum-like" building where they had the rally commonly seen on WW2 films/documentaries. It was also interesting to learn that all Germans have to visit the site and learn about the Third Reich heritage at a certain point in their education as a measure of preventing similar events from repeating. The Germans are far from proud of their country during the Nazi era and work hard to hammer into their children how terrible of a time it was. It was not all serious though. We were able to go into the center of town and check out the old city and shops where the Christkindlesmarkt  is held each year. We will return later this semester to go shopping there when it opens.

It just amazes me that it is already November. It has been a very fun semester, but has also challenged me in many ways. I know I can't see it yet, but God has me here for something more than just a fun cultural experience. Please continue to pray, and thank you again for your prayers.

In Christ,

Hayden