Hey all.
I realized people might be interested in seeing what I produced. I made it back home safe and sound years ago now (awww...) and I created a 43-page paper. I also presented about my trip to the UWRF Geological Society and presented a poster last year in the Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (URSCA) Spring RSCA Day.
I'm currently working on finding a way to share my paper.
Italian Volcanoes...and Other European Travels
This is my account of my trip to Europe with the UW-RF program Study Abroad: Europe. I'm going to Italy to study volcanoes, and then exploring the rest of Europe!
My Travel Map!
Oct 13, 2014
Dec 5, 2012
Best night EVER!!!
So, I'm in London!
This morning when I got on the tube, there was a newpaper open to a random page on the seat next to me. So, I looked at it...and it was talking about the World Premiere of Les Miserables in Leicester Square at 5:45, a red carpet event! So...I decided to go!
Best decision EVER!!! I saw all kinds of celebrities!!! I got Anne Hathaway's, Hugh Jackman's (twice!), Russel Crowe's, Eddie Redmayne's, and Amanda Seyfried's autographs!!! I also saw Helena Bonham Carter! I saw a bunch more, but can't name most of them! It was amazing!!!
I got Amanda's autograph because I yelled for her! She was switching theaters, as the movie premiered at two theaters, and I called for her, "Amanda! Can you sign?!" And she looked at me! She made eye contact with me! But she was looking at me like, I'm sorry, I can't. So, then I said, "Please?! Please?! Please?!" And then she nodded!!! She came over and gave me her autograph!!
It was an amazing night! It was also a long night! But I am so jazzed now! It was fantastic! I loved it!!! I had so much fun!
This morning when I got on the tube, there was a newpaper open to a random page on the seat next to me. So, I looked at it...and it was talking about the World Premiere of Les Miserables in Leicester Square at 5:45, a red carpet event! So...I decided to go!
Best decision EVER!!! I saw all kinds of celebrities!!! I got Anne Hathaway's, Hugh Jackman's (twice!), Russel Crowe's, Eddie Redmayne's, and Amanda Seyfried's autographs!!! I also saw Helena Bonham Carter! I saw a bunch more, but can't name most of them! It was amazing!!!
I got Amanda's autograph because I yelled for her! She was switching theaters, as the movie premiered at two theaters, and I called for her, "Amanda! Can you sign?!" And she looked at me! She made eye contact with me! But she was looking at me like, I'm sorry, I can't. So, then I said, "Please?! Please?! Please?!" And then she nodded!!! She came over and gave me her autograph!!
It was an amazing night! It was also a long night! But I am so jazzed now! It was fantastic! I loved it!!! I had so much fun!
Nov 22, 2012
Giving Thanks
So, it’s Thanksgiving back home. This
means that today is a day to reflect on your life and what you’re grateful for.
On the train yesterday, I was working on my reflection paper, so I was
reflecting on my life, especially how I’ve changed and grown up since getting
to Europe. In doing this reflection, I’ve realized a lot about how grateful I
really am.
I’m most grateful for my mom. And for
our relationship. We’ve always had a close relationship. I’ve always taken it
for granted though, because it was just how it was. During, and after, my first
week in Italy, when homesickness and a fear of the unfamiliar. But, while in
Italy on my own, I realized just how special our relationship is, and how
important it is for me to use it and maintain it. Mom really helped me with my
homesickness and loneliness in Italy, and I am unbelievably grateful to have
her for my mom, and to have this relationship with her.
I’m also grateful for the rest of my
family. Once again, until Italy, I never really realized how important they are
to me. Missing my birthday with the family, I realized how much traditions like
that mean to me. And now, missing Thanksgiving, I want to be home with the
family, and their AMAZING food, more than ever! My family is amazing. They’re
so supportive and caring, and they’ve always made me feel like I can do
anything. So, I’m grateful for them and their support.
Next, I’m grateful for my boyfriend,
Dusty. He’s very supportive of me, and he pushes me to do my best, though not always
in the best way for me. He’s also super loving and caring. And, it means a lot
to me to have him there for me, and have him waiting for me at home, anxious to
hug me and see me again, and he makes me so happy, so I can’t wait to see him
again!
I’m also grateful for all of my
friends, as they’re always there for me when I need them.
Finally, I’m grateful for this
opportunity. Here in Europe, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a
lot about volcanoes, which is a chance for me to further my career and
education. I’ve gotten to see and do a lot that most others don’t have the
opportunity to see and do. And I’m grateful for it. I’m thoroughly enjoying my
time here and all that I’m learning.
So, now that I’ve told you what I’m
grateful for, and why…it’s time for you to stop and reflect on your own life.
It’s so humbling and amazing to stop and reflect on what you’re grateful for. I
want everyone who reads this to think about it, and admit it to someone or
write it down, because it’s also clarifying. And I feel like I’ve grown up and
matured a little more in writing this post.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 21, 2012
Prepare to Party...
So, I took a train to Rome, then to La
Spezia, then to Levanto. In just reaching the area of Levanto, I was in awe of
the beauty of the coastline! I was so excited to be arriving! In part, because
it meant I was going to be with my friends, who speak English and understand me
when I talk! (Unlike most Italians…) But I was also excited for the new
scenery, to celebrate my birthday, and because this meeting marks the start of
our month of free travel!
On arriving at the Levanto station, I
wasn’t sure how to get back, and really didn’t feel like trying to figure it
out with how heavy my bag was, so I took a cab to the hostel, It was very nice
to not have to walk. Then, I called my teacher and Dennis came and helped me
figure out room type stuff, as the reception was closed. While I was changing
into shorts, most of the girls that were already in Levanto showed up, so I got
to actually go to my room, drop my stuff off and claim my bed! Jess and Kay
wanted to go to the post office to send packages home, and I still had a
postcard to send, so I joined! It was a lot of fun wandering through the town
for the first time with Jess, Kay, and Liz, especially after being on my own
for so long! After that, we came back to the hostel for some internet time.
That first night (November 6th),
we ended up eating as a full group, minus a couple members that hadn’t arrived
yet, some of whom joined late. Then, a bunch of us went out drinking, kind of
as a celebration of my birthday, at least in my eyes, but pretty much just to
go out. I had two small glasses of lemoncello, and I was drunk…apparently that
stuff has a really high alcohol content…whatdaya know? But, I had Mallory who
was my designated walker, so I didn’t fall or trip on the walk back to the hostel.
I went to bed pretty happy, so it was a good night.
Cyan, DJ, and I out drinking! |
The next day was the first day of
one-on-one meetings with Dennis. I signed up for this day, so spent most of the
day milling around, relaxing, other than my meeting, which went swimmingly, if
I do say so myself! Around 1, Jess, Kay, Dennis, and I went to lunch at a
little pizzeria nearby, which was super cheap with amazing quality! I was quite
pleased! That day though, I started feeling more and more distant from the rest
of the group as a whole. So, I started thinking that I must not have bonded
with them as well as I had thought in Paris, or on the first night in Levanto.
I talked to Mallory about it as we walked to the beach and strolled along it,
and she comforted me, like a good friend, saying it was probably my imagination
and people do like me and all of that. We had lots of fun walking the beach and
looking at the rocks there, and collecting sea glass, before we returned to the
hostel, where I borrowed someone’s iPad as my computer refused to connect to
the internet after the first night, and registered for classes!
As I was registering, as we were
supposed to be meeting at 5 and my registration was at 5, Dennis came and
hollered for me, telling me to hurry along. So, as soon as I finished, I ran
upstairs to join the group. After I sat down, Dennis called order, and said
that they had a surprise for me…they got me a birthday cake, made me a second
volcano birthday cake, and found me a rock on the beach that everyone signed!
That’s why I was feeling so distant, they were all working on this surprise
party! I was completely in shock! And I was thrilled! The bought cake was
amazing, but we didn’t cut into the volcano cake that day. After finishing the
first cake and the Christmas beers that Sean bought the group, we headed out to
a winetasting before dinner. We had so much fun at our group dinner and the
winetasting, or at least I did! That
night was one of my best since I’ve been in Europe, it was amazing!
The Christmas Beer |
Me and my two birthday cakes! |
Sarah, Jess, and I eating the milfoil cake! (Cake of 1000 layers!) |
The next day, Mallory, Liz and I went
on the open and near part of the Cinque Terre hike. It was absolutely stunning.
We hiked for most of the day, eating lunch on the hike. We also found these
weird little “peach-berries” as we dubbed them, and we really wanted to try
them, but they were red, so we decided to play it safe…until we saw someone
else pick some and eat them, at which we rushed to a tree to try them too! They
were pretty good. Mallory loved them, where Liz and I each had only one, she
had like ten. So, naturally, we decided that if they were poisonous, and that
lady had an immunity to them, or had no idea, Mal would be the first to die,
giving Liz and I time to get to a hospital, if we even had enough to be
affected. They weren’t poisonous, so it was all good.
Liz, Mallory, and I on an overlook at Cinque Terre! Gorgeous!!! |
The "peach-berry" |
Friday, November 8th, was
departure day. Everyone packed up and departed, which was pretty sad, at least
for me. It was also exciting, of course, but I loved spending time with the
group again, and was sad to see us split up. I had a couple chores to do before
I took off though: I had to ship a package full of rocks back home and take
care of my birthday rock. So, I went to the post office first. I sent it home
via boat, and it was only 61 Euro, despite the fact that it was 10 kilograms!
So glad to have that weight off my back!
Then, I needed to take care of my
birthday rock. So, what do I mean by that? Well, in collecting the rock that
the group signed for me for my birthday, they knew I couldn’t carry it through
Europe, so they talked and said that I should sign it too, and then leave it on
the beach in Levanto, thereby leaving our group’s mark in Levanto! So, I went
to the beach, and found a place to put it, before saying my last goodbye to
Levanto and catching a train to Venice!
"Ralph da Rock", my birthday rock! |
My birthday rock in its new home! |
Skype 101
Sunday, I was invited to dinner at
Boris’ home. So, early afternoon/late morning on Sunday, he and Ida came over,
and spent a little bit with me at i Rustici playing with Mimi, as Ida loves
cats! And Mimi’s a baby, therefore unbelievably adorable! Then, we went to
their home, where Catherine made a delicious dinner with real potatoes in it!
Of course, that wasn’t the meal. It was a French meat dish with potatoes under
the meat, but I loved having plain potatoes again! After dinner, Boris and I
discussed the presentation we were planning.
I had talked to Ian, my advisor at
UWRF, about Boris giving a presentation to the geoclub…and when he talked to
other UWRF geology professors, it evolved into Boris taking over a geology 101
class over skype! So, now Boris and I needed to create a presentation and
question sheet for the class, which was Thursday, November 1st. I
offered to make it for Boris, if he gave me his old powerpoints and videos.
Then I could pick out the parts that I thought were best for a 101 class, and
merge them together, and take it off his hands. I spent all that week working
on the powerpoint and my abstract. I felt so much pressure, and was sure there
was no way I could accomplish all that I wanted to!
But, Boris and I got together at INGV
on Thursday a couple hours before the class, and we finished the powerpoint up,
fixing little issues that I’d been having, and emailed it to Ian, who actually
got it and downloaded with plenty of time to spare! Then, he taught a class in
room 200 in the Agricultural Science Building in River Falls, WI from Catania,
Italy! It was SO COOL! I was on a total high after that! I was justhappy! I got
to see all my professors and a bunch of the geoclub people I’ve been missing,
and I got to be on the big screen and all the little screens of room 200! It
was awesome!
My powerpoint! |
Boris and I on the screens in room 200 |
Boris and I on the screens in room 200 |
The next day, Friday, Boris was going
on an excursion with some of his friends, acting as guide, so I got to tag
along! This excursion is one that Boris and his friends created, that begins in
Mascali, the only town completely destroyed by Mt. Etna. So, I learned a lot,
and saw a lot of new things…including the road to nowhere! This is a small
stretch of an old major road that was cut off on both ends by the same lava
flow. So, it’s just this random stretch of road in a forested area, that stops
and ends there. It was fun to see! The Mascali Tour ended with a winetasting at
Gambino Vini, and this time, I actually got to meet Boris’ friend, as well as
go into the area where they make the wine and hear about that.
Saturday was my birthday celebration
with Boris, Catherine, and Ida. We did homemade pizza margherita and exchanged
pictures, started watching the first Harry Potter movie, in French, and Boris
gave me a book! That actually made three! It was an excellent day! I thoroughly
enjoyed my time with them, but then it was late and time for me to head home,
leaving the next day for packing.
The $1000 Meeting
So, after mom left, I was immediately
looking at my professor coming for his site visit. He had emailed us earlier to
remind us about the importance of our meetings, and informing us that these
were, in fact, $1000 meetings! So no pressure! Haha, right. I was nervous and
did my best to plan things out for him, so that he could learn and see as much
as possible. Boris and I talked before his arrival and got at least one day
figured out.
Tuesday morning (October 23rd),
Boris and I went to the airport to meet him and pick him up, and immediately,
Boris and Dennis were bonding over coffee. The whole time he was here, Dennis
was soaking up knowledge! After coffee, the three of us went back to the office
and Boris and I showed Dennis around. Then, Boris had meetings to go to, so
Dennis and I talked about plans for the rest of his site visit, and about my
project and how things were going with it. Finally, we went back to i Rustici,
my home in Trecastagni and checked Dennis in.
Dennis and I in the control room |
That night, Dennis and I went into
town to pick up some amazing roasted chicken for dinner. We talked while
we ate outside my room, on my little patio. He encouraged me to submit an
abstract to the Posters on Capitol Hill presentation. He also told me I had a
great project with tons of information, and there was a lot I could do with my
project in the future, which was great to hear!
The next day, we got to ride along
with Salvo and an associate into the field, to take some gas measurements,
learning lots about gas emissions on Mount Etna and how they affect the people.
It was very interesting…and then it started REALLY raining. It was down
pouring, and the streets were like rivers! It was insane! So, we only stopped
once, instead of twice, and went to lunch early. We had our lunch at a favorite
restaurant of the volcanologists, but there was an anniversary party there,
which Dennis and I thoroughly enjoyed! They kept making random couples in the
group kiss, and kiss properly! It was hilarious and so entertaining to watch!
And most impressively, I tried mushrooms! I didn’t like them, but I tried them!
Salvo and I while Salvo was fighting with one of the gas instruments |
That night, Boris took Dennis and me
to dinner with his family in one of their favorite restaurants. I had amazing
pizza margherita, deciding I could eat something safe like pizza after trying
mushrooms at lunch. I also taught Ida, Boris’ 7-year-old daughter, to play
tic-tac-toe! And, to finish off the evening, we had some lemoncello, or lemon
liquor, which is my favorite alcoholic beverage! It tastes like the sweet coating
of a lemonhead! AMAZING!!!
Catherine enjoying watching Ida and I play tic-tac-toe! |
Ida won! |
The two days, Thursday and Friday,
were relaxation days for me, as Dennis left and Boris was busy. And they were
so nice. Although, I spent a lot of time working on my abstract and thinking
through the poster I’ll hopefully get to present to members of Congress in the
spring. The Posters on Capitol Hill presentation is a poster session for
undergraduate research to show members of congress the importance of funding
undergraduate research, so hopefully I get to teach them all about Mt. Etna! I
decided a poster on all of my research would have too much information, and so
be too difficult for me to create, especially for my first professional poster
for a poster seminar!
Oh! And, as far as I can tell, my $1000 meeting went great! Yay!
Nov 10, 2012
Birthday Tugs!
So, the fifth was my twentieth
birthday. Usually, I get very excited for my birthday, and make a big deal of
it, and, of course, celebrate it with my friends and family. This made this
birthday hard for me. Not only do I not get my normal birthday cake, nor do I
get to celebrate with my friends and family back home, nor do I get to see my
twin cousin (we were born the same day of the same year, and I’ve always called
her my “twin cousin”), but it was a travel day, so I couldn’t even celebrate on
the day with my new Italian friends or European traveling friends. It was a
very disappointing birthday for me. And a very lonely one. It was pretty much
just a long day of traveling, just like any other.
Until I met an Italian boy in his 20s
that spoke English while waiting for a ferry. We never learned each other’s
names, but we were both going to Rome last night, him to return home, and me as
one leg on my journey to meet the Semester Abroad: Europe group in Levanto. He
and I talked and joked and had a good time together while waiting for the
ferry, on the ferry, and while waiting for the train to Rome. We found food and
drinks at the Villa San Giovanni train station and we found our platform
together, where we sat and talked for another hour or two.
On the ferry, I told him it was my
birthday, and he showed me an Italian birthday tradition. While we have
birthday spankings, they have birthday tugs. They grab each ear lobe and tug
them, every other ear, and count to your new age. So, he gave me my 20 birthday
tugs! It’s nowhere near as good as a birthday cake with my mom and aunties and
cousins (most importantly my twin cousin), but considering I’m an ocean away
from them, it was the best I could have hoped for. So thanks to this kind young
man, for making my birthday much brighter and less lonely, and for giving me my
birthday tugs!
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