Check out my new Blog for Burkina Faso!

Hello everyone, thanks for continuing to check in with me and my travels! I am headed off again to Burkina Faso and I would love if you would look at my new Blog for BF.

http://laftheexplorer.blogspot.com/

Thank you all so much for your love and support!

L

Croatia Continued, London, and home!

The next day mom and I took it easy in Split again and just enjoyed our last day and hiked in the park in Split, and spent the afternoon on the beach. That night at dinner I got the call letting me know I had been accepted to go to Burkina Faso this summer! So that will be my next big adventure!

Mom and I overlooking Split from the park

The Coastline in Split from the Park

The 'Riva' in Split at Sunset

We Flew to London the next day and met up with my friends Huw (who lives in England) and Amanda and walked around London with them which was great.  Mom and I got a little lost on the bus ride home at around 10pm but we eventually made it ha! And then it was a really long day flying home to the US, I think we were up for 24 hours :(
But we made it!

Me, Huw, and Amanda in front of Buckingham Palace (Plus my bag that Huw took to London for me!)

The one sunny day in London!

Big Ben! 

Classic London :D

Me and Amanda at the Palace!

And then we were home....

What a crazy adventure it has been.  I'm still kind of in shell shock that in in the US, but it is so nice to just walk in the pasture, see my cows, drive my car with the windows down and the radio blaring.
I'm hoping this is not the end, and that you'll continue to check in on my travels, but I do plan to post on Burkina Faso when I get back so make sure you keep checking!

Thank you all again for listening to my rants, supporting me, and experiencing this life changing journey with me.  Love you all.

Laura

PS I've been home and pretty stationary for about 48 hours so I needed a little change, so as of today....

Ok, all my love :D 

Laura 

Croatia

We left Budapest May 1, and flew to Split, Croatia but had a long lay over in Munich where I actually did a phone interview for an opportunity to volunteer with FFA for the Howard G Buffet Foundation in Burkina Faso June 20-July 9 this summer to work on agricultural development projects.  We arrived in Split late the 1st and we just crashed in our cozy little 'villa' in the middle of the old city in Split.
The next morning we let ourselves sleep in and then spent the day wondering around the old city in Diocletian's Palace and actually walked inside the oldest Cathedral in the world that was originally Diocletian's (Roman Emperor) resting place and Jupiter's temple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian's_Palace.  We really took the day easy, I wandered down to the beach, and we had a great dinner of sea food in the old city.

Diocletian's Palace inside

Mom having a glass at a restaurant in the old city

Diocletian's Palace outside wall with flowers

The next day we got up early and rented a car and drove North to Plitvice Lakes and hiked.  It needs little explanation, just look at the pictures.  One of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life.

Hungary and Slovakia

Mom and I flew to Budapest and her friend Victor picked us up at the airport and then we drove to his home in Komarno, Slovakia about an hour out of Budapest.  Komarno is actually split between Hungary and Slovakia by the Danube River so we were constantly crossing the border, but Victor lived on the Slovakian side.

Mom and Victor at the Budapest Airport

We happened to be in Komarno during the Spring festival which goes for about 5 days until May Day so down town there was live music on both Hungarian and Slovakian sides and lots of food stands, wine stands, and beer stands.  One night Victor and I actually carried our glasses of wine over the bridge from Slovakia to Hungary to check out the music on the other side.  

While with Victor we went to the castle in Komarno that has never been taken by a foreign army (until the communists), went to a farm in his village outside of Komarno and went on a horse and buggy ride through the country side, spent much time with his parents Charlotte and Victor, visited Bratislava and Budapest!

While in Bratislava we walked all over the city (much to my mother's chagrin) and visited the castle, the equivalent to the White House of Slovakia, and the old historic square.  In Budapest we saw the houses of parliament, the Palace, the old Cathedral, and the Chain Bridge.  

Visiting a Stud Farm with Victor in Hungary

I snagged the key to Komarno's un-takeable fortress!

Native Hungarian breed of Cattle

Mom and Victor at the farm

Mom and I in front of the Bratislava "white house"

Mom and I in Budapest 

Mom and I from the Castle in Budapest

With Victor's Family in his parent's flat (L-R Victor, Me, Charlotte, Victor Sr.)

We had such a great time and must say a BIG thank you to Victor and his parents for taking us in and utterly spoiling my mother and me!

Espana!

I'm a lucky duck because I had my uncle Bruce and my mommy to pick me up at the ship! It was so great to see them mixed in with all the tearful goodbyes to my friends.

My Mommy and ME (you can see the MV behind us)!

Bruce and me 

But we headed out and went to the Sagrada Familia which is an incredible church still under construction since 1882 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia 

 

Bruce and I ate Tapas and drank wine, we all went out to dinner and mom actually tried the squid ink rice (which I thought was great) and then I met up with my friends one last time and we all went out together.  The next morning mom and I hopped on a big metal bird and flew to Budapest!

Ghana photos

Here's some photos from Chip from Ghana!

So it comes to a close

Today is my last day on the ship. It's really .... upsetting, exciting, frustrating, and emotional. I am really overcome with a feeling of loss because I know most of these people I will never see again, but I am also really excited for my strong friendships that have begun here and the places we can go together and the relationships we will have in the future.

I get it easy compared to all the other students because I am so lucky to have my mother and my Uncle Bruce meeting me tomorrow in Barcelona and I am so excited to see them!

So I hope you all stay tuned, I will continue to post as my mom and I travel into Eastern Europe!

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I really think keeping this blog has been such a blessing to keep everyone updated and involved in my experiences and will make it easier to come home and readjust.

With all my love from right outside Barcelona~ Laura

Morocco pics

Walking/eating on the roof they were building

Morocco

Morocco considerably exceeded my expectations, I completely loved it. Great people and great food! Huw, Ed and my friend Kiwi and I got on a train to Marrakech the first day right away. We barely made it on the train, it was swarmed with about 250 SAS students, but we got on the very last car, in the very back and ended up having to stand the whole way on and around luggage with the door open. There was a guy standing in the back with us and we got to chatting, he was around our age, had moved to Morocco with his mom about seven years ago and he asked us if we had a place to stay. In typical fashion we didn't, turns out his mom ran a Riad in the old city, so he called in and got us a giant room. The Riad was gorgeous, typical Moroccan style with a courtyard in the center completely open and then rooms and hallways surrounding in a square and a roof top terrace. Our room had 3 twin beds and a cali king and for some miraculous reason they let me have the cali king so I was spread eagle every night taking advantage of all the space!

We just wandered around that night, found a billiard bar and the Brits taught us to play Snooker, which turns out is the worst and longest game ever. Or maybe we were just really bad...

I feel like all we did was eat in Morocco, so much good food! That next morning, we were eating in the Riad and Vivienne (the guy from the train's mom) showed up and started talking with us asking what we wanted to do that day, we said go to the Atlas Mountains. Another coincidence, her husband as it turns out, was a mountain guide, so in a few hours we found ourselves in the back of Vivienne and Mohammad's Toyota like family vacation driving into the mountains. It was a gorgeous drive and we eventually had to stop because the road actually ended and we hiked in about a mile to a village and stayed the night in a Berber village in the High Atlas in Berber Valley. They were in the middle of building another house for the family (about 20+ people living there) so we "helped" a little bit but not really. We really just ate... a lot. I felt like I was going to blow up from eating about 90% of the time. We stayed out and laid out on the roof and watched the stars which was incredible and a great way to spend our last port.

We hiked out the next morning, drove to a Berber market, drove through Oreka Valley and then went back to Marrakech and we spent the evening at the HUGE market in Marrakech just watching all the people (probably 2000 +) and doing a little shopping and then it was back to the ship the next day.

I couldn't think of a better way or better people to have spent my last port with. I am really excited to return to Morocco.

Ghana

So, Ghana.... It wasn't really what I was expecting. I thought I would love Ghana and I just didn't to be honest. I was grabbed on the wrist several times in Takoradi by men which was the first time that had happened and my roommate almost got pulled down an ally and luckily we were paying attention and said no and got out and it didn't hurt we had my 6'7" friend Chip (AKA "strongman" as the local Ghanians called him) following us and removing hands. We went to Cape Coast, hiked through the forest and walked on canopy bridges, visited a slave castle which was incredibly powerful and then stuck around for a choral concert in the castle that night. We then made our way to Accra and spent a day in the city and then I had a field lab doing a drumming workshop at the University of Ghana in Accra. The drumming workshop was probably my favorite thing that I did, but I did have a great time with my friends. We pretty much laughed our way through Ghana, I think I was smiling 90% of the time.

I do have one really funny story about the choral concert though. I should start off with Ghanaian distaste of photographs. In general Ghanaian people get really upset if they see you taking photos, so if walking in a market in Ghana and you take pictures you will hear about five different people start shouting at you and even running towards you. So we had been at the slave castle in the afternoon that day and saw there would be a choral concert that night in the castle (which was actually a really cool venue) so we decided to just stick around the area and go back around 6:30pm for the concert when the people at the castle told us to be there. So we came back at 6:30pm and there were almost no people in the castle for the concert, and none of the choral groups were there so my friend Huw decided to go up on the edge of the castle by the canons that overlooks the ocean and take photos. About 10 minutes later we heard all these sirens coming towards the castle and then about 10 military guys came in carrying flare guns and posting themselves around the castle. They were there because the Ghanaian minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and the Minister of the Central Region were at the concert. So the soldiers are milling around and I see one head off to where Huw is by the canons taking photos and my first thought is "oh crap Huw is going to be in trouble with this guys for taking photos," but the soldier just headed up the steps and eye-balled Huw a few times and ignored him. So I quit paying attention and about 4 or 5 minutes go by and all of a sudden a hear a shot ring out from where Huw is by the cannons and instantly I assume Huw has been shot for taking pictures or something so I whip my head over and see smoke rising from the ground by the soldier's feet and the soldier looks stunned. Several people got up and just left from the audience, and the guys supervisors marched over and ripped the guys flare gun away and starts having a strongly worded chit chat with him. Huw miraculously showed back up and said the guy had been holding the flare gun behind his back and set it off accidentally into the ground. Luckily Huw made it out unscathed, but for about 10 seconds I was certain he was going to be Semester at Sea's funniest statistic from Ghana with "one student shot with flare gun."

I didn't take many pictures in Ghana but I will get some from friends to add later but here's the few I had!

South Africa 5

I spent most of a day trying to register for classes, but that night we all went to a local soccer game in the FIFA World Cup Stadium which was way cool. It was practically empty because it was just the Cape Town team not the national team but it was really fun to see the fans and hear the Vuvuzelas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuvuzela)