I just Skyped with my dad's almost entire side of the family while they were all at my aunt and uncle's house for a father's day party and it was wonderful! Just wanted to say hi to all of you again and it was so good to see your faces! I miss you! Thanks for helping me "attend" the party electronically =) And HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Wisconsin Dad =) [View Full Entry]

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Well I think I have had the most interesting experience of my study abroad trip so far...read on to learn more... Yesterday was our last official Friday class trip...we got a later start than our past trips at 4 p.m. and began in Poreč, a small coastal town in Croatia. We saw some old Roman villas and a Byzantine Basilica with original frescoes and mosaics, which was pretty awesome. After a little more walking tour of the city, we stopped in an outdoor cafe area to enjoy the city and watch the first half of the Romania-Italy soccer game. I got [View Full Entry]

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Well I definitely know how to watch soccer now... these Europeans are CRAZY about their soccer! Sunday night we watched the Croatia-Austria game, which Croatia won 2-0...it was like Badger game days...after the game walking home everyone was honking their horns and driving really fast and cheering all over the city. Everyone wears jerseys and clothes with the Croatia flag design on them, which reminds me of NASCAR...its like red and white checkers. So I did wear red and white to get in the spirit ;) Oh, and I won a t-shirt by buying a beer! What a great deal... Then [View Full Entry]

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It has been a very busy past few days! My birthday was wonderful, although I did miss all of you. Right after I finished blogging on my class break, I went back to class and they surprised me with candles on a cake and everyone sang to me again! Tiramisu and a chocolate cake...which we all shared using gelatto spoons...and bubbles, which we proceeded to blow throughout the rest of class. Nonetheless, it wasnt all that productive! After class we went to this cute restaurant by the open air market and then to the beach for a few hours. Then everyone [View Full Entry]

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Today is my 21st! YAY! It is weird to be not at home with all my friends and family for my birthday but the people I have met here have already made it great and we have some fun plans for this evening. It is rainy and cooler so far today but thats OK, we will make the best of it. Last night at midnight one of my classmates gave me a shot glass from Croatia as a gift, and we took a shot of vodka at exactly midnight Croatia time to celebrate my being 21 and US legal! Dont worry, [View Full Entry]

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I am sorry it has been SO long since I wrote and updated, but we have been really busy here! I have decided the thing I miss most about home is ice cubes. Nothing here is very cold and yet it is like 80 million degrees outside by like 8 a.m. Random thought, but I am craving ice! Onto the exciting things...the most exciting news so far is that I am probably going to be able to go to Brescia, Italy on the very last day Im here! It is only 2 hours away from the airport and we have to [View Full Entry]

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Im trying to learn some croatian phrases to use...one of the ones in my rommates travel book is "call the fire brigade," and we keep laughing about it, hence the title of this post. i do know "hvala" which means thank you. NOTE TO ALL: the keyboard is super different here and so its hard to type! the y and z are opposite, which is the most difficult. and it took me at least 5 minutes to figure out how to type the @ sign! so sorry if it is hard to read! got up early this morning to go for [View Full Entry]

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Got to Trieste, Italy airport around 10 a.m. this morning and took a 3-hour bus ride to Croatia, through Slovenia. The bus driver didnt speak any english so that was interesting. We are staying at this cute little villa with a balcony and tons of flowers -- rooms of two. its a little apartment building owned by an older couple named Bora and Tsia (phonetic) who dont speak english but are so sweet. he lived through a serbian concentration camp as a kid here. Did a quick walking tour of the town and important spots with our Professor (Toma). i feel [View Full Entry]

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